Has W10 fixed these problems yet?

Welcome infinice! I noticed this is your first post-- so Welcome again!

1- "Default App" nags are inevitable until you set your default app preferences as per type of content. No fix is really needed, just your selection of what content is assigned a default app and the nags should stop.

2- Which PIN are you referring to?

3- Many fixes are available to render Cortana to be unobtrusive.

4- Windows 10 is an on-line OS now, so I really don't know how to explain that it is useless and pointless without being on-line; especially Windows 10.

It is an ever-evolving platform and needs its on-line connection virtually all the time. If you want an off-line OS, I really can't explain enough that all the other questions you have become moot, null and void in a sense of an on-line world.

5- Office 365 ads I have never been once nagged with unless it was in my e-mail as an advertisement. Windows 10 has unlimited ways to stop intrusive ads that appear in other areas than just e-mail.

6- Win10 help is link-based now because of the fact of the on-line style OS Windows 10 has become. Has it improved? I would just say that it isn't my first "go to" option, as this site is way more helpful than any Win10 help link I ever clicked.

7- Hi-rez fix can be mostly taken care of with the right drivers if I'm not mistaken.

8- Windows 10 benchmarks are achieved and at their best if you don't try to fight the OS with too much customization. The less I fought what Windows 10 thought was best for itself; the less problems I had.

9- Being on-line is the best way to Activate Windows 10. I'm not sure about off-line troubles, as I never activated Windows 10 that way and don't think I could even if I tried.

10- There is a compatibility troubleshooter for every program that you could possibly want to run on Windows 10; unfortunately, I don't have time to test all the ones you mentioned and therefore cannot assist you further in that area.

I answered the best I can for each and hope you find the answers you are searching for.

3. Cortana- I have it enabled, but it is NEVER visible until I wish it to be. Simply hide it on the tasbar and turn off 'Hey Cortana'.

And you could disable it if you wished.

5. Could have been related to trialware? Never seen this.

6. MS linked help - which worked in Win 7- has virtually disappeared. That started in Win 8, and is still true in Win 10. Some older links are simply wrong now.

This site has a huge number of professional quality tutorials which can often help.

9. You can swap a drive and clean install Win 10 or restore from a cloned or disk image backup - no activation needed.

10. You'd have to check these have Win 10 compatible versions, or try them yourself. These are not programs I'm familiar with except for Winpatrol which does run. Remember you can use compatibility mode both for installing and for execution.

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A great free tweak tool with full explanations that can help:
Winaero's tweaker

Very practical - deals with real things users want.

And the best start menu replacement (great for Win 7 users):
Open Shell (was Classic Shell).
A must have if you have deeply nested large start menus, or want drag 'n drop capability.

And as for appearance: relatively easy to change many icons to Win 7 style; even have windows with rounded borders and transparency.


Best build currently? 1709, generally. Some issues with 1803 (setting associations) and build 1809 has been withdrawn for a month after big problems.

2 - If you sign in with a Microsoft Account (ie) Windows Live, Outlook, MSN etc, you can assign a PIN or just your Microsoft Email. You also don't need to use a Microsoft account if want, you can create a Local account with your own user name and password and you don't need to be online for a Local Account
4 - Just like Windows 7, Windows 10 and just about any other OS (Macintosh OSX, Ubuntu etc) are Internet based, MS wants you to get apps from their App Store, but you don't have to be online to use 10. As stated, Windows 10 keeps evolving and you need to be online to be relevant, but you don't have to.
5. Microsoft is pushing it's subscription service Office 365. You can Uninstall the trial version of Office 365 to get rid of the nags.
6 - All Help files and manuals for computer hardware, software etc is online. Manufacturers do this to save money on paper, also many people throw the instructions out when they get something new. So, you need to be online to access help. Just like posting here.
9 - ReActivation has been an issue with Microsoft since Windows XP, Vista and 7, 8 etc. If you do a major change of Hardware, you need to reactivate Windows, which is not a problem if you are online.
10 - If you want to install a program that does not have a Windows 10 version, you can right click the Setup.exe file and choose Properties/Compatibility then choose to make it compatible with Windows XP or 7 or whatever. And it will install and run. Of course, you would want to go to the software manufacturers web site and see if they have an updated version for 10.

Simple- if you don't like it - don't use it. You are the customer- you can choose.

Not really sure why you asked the question- seems you knew how you felt. As users, we try to help other users with genuine needs.

infinice said:

Thanks for trying to help me Eye-in-Sky, but it seems that MS won't let you. Your replies are about what i expected. I was just writing to confirm my suspicions.
W10 is one-size-fits-all (be online or get lost).
I disagree on 2 points: activation- it hasn't been a problem since XP. Even with W7 i can, and do, swap HD's regularly without having to reactivate. So W10 is a big step backwards, and an escalation of their our-profits-first and customers second or not at all policy.
And the online help only part- hey, it can't cost that much to make a downloadable pdf manual. But MS policy is to cut costs at user expense.
Enough grousing already- thanks again for trying to help, but W10 offers more hassle and no particular new benefits (save for dark theme, sigh). I'll stick with the mediocre W7.

Infinice

I understand where you are coming from and want to be. I miss a lot of the old school ways of being able to manipulate a computer whether it be on-line or not. I apologize for the lack of links stating good, excellent or bad benchmarks for Windows 10, as I currently don't discuss with anyone who uses it completely offline and I'm not even sure if benchmarking an off-line OS has any marks to report. If it does, I would be interested in the numbers myself.

I can't remember if it was @dalchina who posted a link before about Windows 10 benchmarks; but I remember someone did sometime ago. Like I stated though, I'm not certain if benchmarks apply to an OS (Windows 10) that is kept off-line all the time; or if even those types of benchmarks are kept at all.

Then again, I'm thinking that is how benchmarks are originally recorded with an OS being completely off-line in order to test its stability. I myself would like to learn more about the benchmarking techniques used to evaluate an OS.

infinice said:

Thanks for trying to help me Eye-in-Sky, but it seems that MS won't let you. Your replies are about what i expected. I was just writing to confirm my suspicions.
W10 is one-size-fits-all (be online or get lost).
I disagree on 2 points: activation- it hasn't been a problem since XP. Even with W7 i can, and do, swap HD's regularly without having to reactivate. So W10 is a big step backwards, and an escalation of their our-profits-first and customers second or not at all policy.
And the online help only part- hey, it can't cost that much to make a downloadable pdf manual. But MS policy is to cut costs at user expense.
Enough grousing already- thanks again for trying to help, but W10 offers more hassle and no particular new benefits (save for dark theme, sigh). I'll stick with the mediocre W7.

Infinice

Are you kidding - windows 7 activation was a real mess. Windows 10 and digital licences are far superior. It is clear you do not understand windows 10 activation!