Update hell & goodbye MS

DavidA23 said:

Been there, done it, several times. Will it prevent future update problems? My experience tells me no.

I've got a dozen computers at my house with 4 different users. All of the computers here update with no problem. I had a 5th user in my house (who as since passed away) who had the most horrible internet surfing habits imaginable and he managed to break Windows Update but a clean install fixed that computer. It was no wonder his Windows update broke, though, because his Windows was also a "transplant" - a hard drive moved from an older computer to an upgraded computer.

Windows 10 has been rock solid here. If it breaks, it's because I tinkered with it. Windows 10, especially Windows Update, is less tolerant of user tinkering than previous versions have been. But, Microsoft has to design it to fit the standard user in today's society. Remember the days of setting up the memory settings in DOS, manually de-conflicting IRQ's, and all the manual configuration that had to be done to get Windows NT 4.0 to run? Most of today's modern computer users only wants to push the power button and have everything else happen in the background with no user intervention. Then add to that the users like my father-in-law who used to click on anything shiny and moving that appeared on a webpage...

I think a contributory factor for my issues is that I have the box ticked to 'Give me updates for other Microsoft Products' which means issues outside of Windows 10 itself can get in the way and (I strongly suspect) snarl things up.

DavidY said:

I think a contributory factor for my issues is that I have the box ticked to 'Give me updates for other Microsoft Products' which means issues outside of Windows 10 itself can get in the way and (I strongly suspect) snarl things up.

I've found that to be true with some of Microsoft's programs, tend to screw things up so I have that 'feature' set to Not automatic.

Berton said:

And rather than trash the Dell and not wanting Windows you should consider Linux, in addition to Win10 on a few Desktops and Notebooks without serious problems I use Linux Mint 17.3 on a Dell Desktop and Linux Mint 18 on an HP Notebook. Both are comfortable enough within a few minutes. Both versions have the built-in Update Manager or Software Manager to assure good results. Most versions of Linux come with Firefox for the browser and LibreOffice for working with documents, compatible with Microsoft Office and Works formats. All the above is free. And can download an .iso file to create a bootable LiveDVD to test using Linux. DistroWatch.com: Put the fun back into computing. Use Linux, BSD.

Hi there

if you want absolute 100% stability using Linux try CENTOS 7 -- It's not so "Leading Edge" as a lot of the others but it's 100% reliable -- as robust as any OS can be and is the Free version of the widely used Red Hat enterprise system RHEL Enterprise.

Index of /rolling/7/isos/x86_64

Download the latest DVD image for your system as an ISO, use RUFUS to create a bootable USB stick and install -- it's SIMPLE !!!!. Just boot the USB device and follow the on screen instructions --you can install to any set of HDD's you like - including external ones - unselected HDD's won't be touched by the install process so easy to Dual boot or whatever to test with.

The CENTOS OS is used by literally 100,000's of commercial servers around the planet. 100% Free as well. RED HAT make a lot of their money on service contracts - and they support CENTOS 100%.

Then on that run Windows as a VM and you have the best of BOTH worlds without having to invest in new hardware.

I'm not getting into a discussion here as to which Linux system to choose - but running Windows as a VM seems to me to be a mega good idea - and Linux Networking usually works FIRST TIME straight OOB. !!!!

Suffice to say I run TWO Centos servers on "NAS boxes" with Windows VM's and the only time I have to re-boot these is if I'm actually upgrading the hardware or some defective HDD needs replacing (very rarely). Even on some systems (not mine though) you can HOT SWAP defective HDD's on some RAID configurations without a reboot.

A kernel update also needs (but isn't mandatory) a reboot to use the new kernel - but since CENTOS has long term stability these don't happen very often (although you can if you wish use latest and greatest Software etc by installing it manually).

Note - one thing if you DO use CENTOS you'll have to install package ntfs-3g to read and write windows NTFS files (FAT32 already taken care of). This package isn't installed by default.

Whatever Linux you use also download SAMBA for file sharing with Windows.

Things like VLC and PLEXMEDIASERVER work 100% on Linux too and for OFFICE - forget Libreoffice -- use this one - it's the most compatible office version I've seen for Linux --you'll need though a separate email client.

Best office run on Linux platform, WPS Office for Linux

This is brilliant and free - can't understand why so many mention LibreOffice which IMO is a hideous cludge.

BTW also FREE Windows version for those who don't run / can't afford Ms Office on Windows.

Cheers
jimbo

jimbo45 said:

Hi there

if you want absolute 100% stability using Linux try CENTOS 7 -- It's not so "Leading Edge" as a lot of the others but it's 100% reliable -- as robust as any OS can be and is the Free version of the widely used Red Hat enterprise system RHEL Enterprise.

Index of /rolling/7/isos/x86_64

Download the latest DVD image for your system as an ISO, use RUFUS to create a bootable USB stick and install -- it's SIMPLE !!!!. Just boot the USB device and follow the on screen instructions --you can install to any set of HDD's you like - including external ones - unselected HDD's won't be touched by the install process so easy to Dual boot or whatever to test with.

The CENTOS OS is used by literally 100,000's of commercial servers around the planet. 100% Free as well. RED HAT make a lot of their money on service contracts - and they support CENTOS 100%.

Then on that run Windows as a VM and you have the best of BOTH worlds without having to invest in new hardware.

I'm not getting into a discussion here as to which Linux system to choose - but running Windows as a VM seems to me to be a mega good idea - and Linux Networking usually works FIRST TIME straight OOB. !!!!

Suffice to say I run TWO Centos servers on "NAS boxes" with Windows VM's and the only time I have to re-boot these is if I'm actually upgrading the hardware or some defective HDD needs replacing (very rarely). Even on some systems (not mine though) you can HOT SWAP defective HDD's on some RAID configurations without a reboot.

A kernel update also needs (but isn't mandatory) a reboot to use the new kernel - but since CENTOS has long term stability these don't happen very often (although you can if you wish use latest and greatest Software etc by installing it manually).

Note - one thing if you DO use CENTOS you'll have to install package ntfs-3g to read and write windows NTFS files (FAT32 already taken care of). This package isn't installed by default.

Whatever Linux you use also download SAMBA for file sharing with Windows.

Things like VLC and PLEXMEDIASERVER work 100% on Linux too and for OFFICE - forget Libreoffice -- use this one - it's the most compatible office version I've seen for Linux --you'll need though a separate email client.

Best office run on Linux platform, WPS Office for Linux

This is brilliant and free - can't understand why so many mention LibreOffice which IMO is a hideous cludge.

BTW also FREE Windows version for those who don't run / can't afford Ms Office on Windows.

Cheers
jimbo

I'm struggling here to see the advantage. It may be 100% stable but since I will only be using Windows and
all the software, drivers etc I use are for Windows then what would I be using CENTOS for other than a base. Presumably the VM Windows will still need updates (the nub of the problem) and so CENTOS adds just another layer of complexity. I'll check it out but at the end of the day all I want is an OS that works for the stuff I do - mainly graphics.

DavidA23 said:

I'm struggling here to see the advantage. It may be 100% stable but since I will only be using Windows and
all the software, drivers etc I use are for Windows then what would I be using CENTOS for other than a base. Presumably the VM Windows will still need updates (the nub of the problem) and so CENTOS adds just another layer of complexity. I'll check it out but at the end of the day all I want is an OS that works for the stuff I do - mainly graphics.

@DavidA23, wasn't it you that posted:

DavidA23 said:

Can anyone here blame me for vowing never, ever, even at the point of a gun, to use a Microsoft OS again? OK, so a Mac will cost significantly more to purchase but considering the work/time/money I have lost with Windows 10 I should have gone the Mac route in the first place.

So what gives?

DavidA23 said:

I'm struggling here to see the advantage. It may be 100% stable but since I will only be using Windows and
all the software, drivers etc I use are for Windows then what would I be using CENTOS for other than a base. Presumably the VM Windows will still need updates (the nub of the problem) and so CENTOS adds just another layer of complexity. I'll check it out but at the end of the day all I want is an OS that works for the stuff I do - mainly graphics.

Linux isn't the right answer for you. If you want to use Windows software, you really should stay on Windows.

NavyLCDR said:

@DavidA23, wasn't it you that posted:



So what gives?

The others were suggesting possible solutions. Obviously I've invested in Windows software so if the update problem were sorted then I'd carry on with MS. However, since it seems that it's not going to be & since I find it immensely frustrating to waste hours attempting to restart the PC following most updates then who can blame me for hating Windows.