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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2014 19:35:58 GMT -5
When I have to edit stuff from work here at the house (as I did this morning & am about to do again ... great way to kill 3 hours or so on my day off; too damned bad the salaried employees -- I'm hourly -- aren't worth a damn when it comes to anything online) I'm very, very aggravated at having to use Notepad & (for spellchecking purposes) email. Can't download Word. It won't open, no matter what I do.
My laptop also refuses to acknowledge the existence of my camera, again no matter what I do. The suggested fixes on various sites are utter lies, & the people posting them should be beaten to death.
Both of these, of course, have been the case since I had to get my machine scrubbed maybe 6 months ago eradicate some idiot virus. No such problems with Word or camera recogntion before that.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2014 19:38:35 GMT -5
Is anyone listening to me?  Wipe your computers CLEAN of Windows-anything, and get a Linux OS on them. Use VMware Player (or whatever it is called) and put a Windows partition on your computer so that you can still use those Windows licensed programs, but you can get online on the Linux portion of your computer and you'll never have these issues. Ever. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2014 19:49:33 GMT -5
Tried to install Linux when I was having the aforementioned virus problems. Turned out it had to be done via disc or some such crap, assuming their idiotic website could be believed, which in turn I couldn't burn. Or something similarly cumbersome & stupid. Silly-ass nonsense that I didn't have time for & still don't.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Nov 26, 2014 20:33:09 GMT -5
The suggested fixes on various sites are utter lies, & the people posting them should be beaten to death. Wow. No pressure on us at all, right?  Sounds like the wipe may have taken some key stuff out of your registry. Have you tried reinstalling your operating system? |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Nov 26, 2014 20:34:42 GMT -5
Is anyone listening to me? Wipe your computers CLEAN of Windows-anything, and get a Linux OS on them. As solid as your advice may be, you've got to understand that switching an OS is a huge culture shift for any user, and not necessarily something one leaps into readily. I've been using windows since 95 came out. It's what I know. I've been using a mac airbook at work for the past two years and I still find the subtle differences jarring. Linux is probably better, but comfort goes a long way with a computer user. |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Nov 26, 2014 20:36:14 GMT -5
By the way, I just ordered 8 GB of memory for my desktop, which will quadruple its memory capacity. Considering how little processor speed seems to matter these days, I'm hoping this means I can get another 3 to 5 years out of this old machine. I think I've already had it for about four years now (which would have made it 3 years old at the time I bought it). Bought it used on ebay for around $300 and have since put $40 in parts into it (the previous memory upgrade).
Tonight's purchase was for $82, which is a pretty good value for that much RAM from a reliable manufacturer (Crucial). I went to ebay, of course, instead of buying directly from the company (which would have cost twice as much).
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2014 20:39:01 GMT -5
Is anyone listening to me? Wipe your computers CLEAN of Windows-anything, and get a Linux OS on them. As solid as your advice may be, you've got to understand that switching an OS is a huge culture shift for any user, and not necessarily something one leaps into readily. I've been using windows since 95 came out. It's what I know. I've been using a mac airbook at work for the past two years and I still find the subtle differences jarring. Linux is probably better, but comfort goes a long way with a computer user. I realize this. I used Windows computers all the time at work. And it did take a little bit of an adjustment, but it didn't take long for the little adjustments to make it worth the switch. I don't get random pop up errors. I don't get a blank screen. I don't have to worry about viruses. All very much worth the switch to me. But, I do understand that comfort outweighs a lot of things. And that's okay. I just...after using my linux for most of my main computer things, even switching over to the Windows side of things to use my embroidery software makes me twitch. Windows wants to control EVERYTHING. Linux is so much more laid back, and I find it sooooo much easier to use than Windows ever was.  |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Nov 26, 2014 20:42:34 GMT -5
As solid as your advice may be, you've got to understand that switching an OS is a huge culture shift for any user, and not necessarily something one leaps into readily. I've been using windows since 95 came out. It's what I know. I've been using a mac airbook at work for the past two years and I still find the subtle differences jarring. Linux is probably better, but comfort goes a long way with a computer user. I realize this. I used Windows computers all the time at work. And it did take a little bit of an adjustment, but it didn't take long for the little adjustments to make it worth the switch. I don't get random pop up errors. I don't get a blank screen. I don't have to worry about viruses. All very much worth the switch to me. But, I do understand that comfort outweighs a lot of things. And that's okay. I just...after using my linux for most of my main computer things, even switching over to the Windows side of things to use my embroidery software makes me twitch. Windows wants to control EVERYTHING. Linux is so much more laid back, and I find it sooooo much easier to use than Windows ever was. Agreed. Of course, I know my Windows machines well -- both how to take care of them and how to take back control from them, so I never have the problems you're describing. The sluggishness caused by battling software upgrades today was an atypical exception to this, of course. Windows upgrades have gotten less pushy in recent editions, but they're still obnoxious. And Macintosh -- talk about an OS trying to control everything! Can't stand how little it permits you to get in and tweak. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2014 20:54:22 GMT -5
I feel for you and your sluggish computer problems.  The only time my anything runs sluggish is when we need to unplug the modem, or, well, when I'm running my windows partition for too long. Once I shut the Windows partition down, everything runs great. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2014 22:25:46 GMT -5
I loved messing around in bash, but I had a terrible time remembering commands. I don't think I could do anything with it now.
Mac forever.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2014 22:54:33 GMT -5
People who get all cultish & stuff about their computers, their phones or whatever manifestations of corporate technology are interesting to me. I have friends who fall in that category, but the very concept is beyond my ken. I've been to plenty of conferences where shills extoll the virtues of "brand loyalty," of course, but I gather I'm pretty much the opposite of their dream consumer.
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Post by Randle-El on Nov 26, 2014 23:17:59 GMT -5
Is anyone listening to me? Wipe your computers CLEAN of Windows-anything, and get a Linux OS on them. Use VMware Player (or whatever it is called) and put a Windows partition on your computer so that you can still use those Windows licensed programs, but you can get online on the Linux portion of your computer and you'll never have these issues. Ever. I've never used Linux, and it's been about 10 years since I've used Unix of any kind. But I did install FreeBSD on my desktop many years ago when I was doing my Master's degree. The graduate lab I was working in maintained a FreeBSD cluster where we were doing all our work, so I created a separate partition on my desktop just for my graduate work. It was a nice operating system, but definitely required a bit more tinkering "under the hood" to get it working. Since then, I've never really felt compelled to have Linux or other Unix variant OS on my machine -- mainly because I would have had dual boot rather than go Linux only, which would have been annoying. Also these days Windows is a lot more stable than it used to be, and even though it's not as lean as Linux, machines these days are so inexpensive that it almost doesn't matter. A simpler solution than switching to Linux to avoid a lot of malware would be stop looking at porn and other shady websites.  I've had a few friends come to me asking to fix their computer problems, and more than a few were caused by shady porn sites, illegal video download sites, that type of thing. By the way, I just ordered 8 GB of memory for my desktop, which will quadruple its memory capacity. Considering how little processor speed seems to matter these days, I'm hoping this means I can get another 3 to 5 years out of this old machine. I think I've already had it for about four years now (which would have made it 3 years old at the time I bought it). Bought it used on ebay for around $300 and have since put $40 in parts into it (the previous memory upgrade). Tonight's purchase was for $82, which is a pretty good value for that much RAM from a reliable manufacturer (Crucial). I went to ebay, of course, instead of buying directly from the company (which would have cost twice as much). Actually, it makes a lot of sense that a memory upgrade would help. Given the age of the system you're describing and the amount of total memory you have, that probably has a lot to do with your sluggishness. I went back and read your original message and I must have missed it the first time when I read it, but just now caught that you said you were maxing out at 1.6 gigs. I'm currently running Windows 7 on a 3 year old machine with 4 gigs installed, and I'm at a little over 2 gigs with several Chrome tabs open and a few background applications. More than likely it's just the newer versions of the software you're running demand more resources than your machine can provide. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2014 23:37:14 GMT -5
If coldwater stops posting, we will know Bill Gates secret police have come and taken her for advising someone use something other than windows...such behavior is not tolerated in the Windows World Order!  -M |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Nov 26, 2014 23:47:21 GMT -5
Actually, it makes a lot of sense that a memory upgrade would help. Given the age of the system you're describing and the amount of total memory you have, that probably has a lot to do with your sluggishness. I went back and read your original message and I must have missed it the first time when I read it, but just now caught that you said you were maxing out at 1.6 gigs. I'm currently running Windows 7 on a 3 year old machine with 4 gigs installed, and I'm at a little over 2 gigs with several Chrome tabs open and a few background applications. More than likely it's just the newer versions of the software you're running demand more resources than your machine can provide. Yep. Amazingly enough, the machine was getting by on 512 mb only three years ago and worked like a dream. I sometimes think these software developers are paid to intentionally make their upgrades demand more resources, thus pushing people to keep buying new computers. |
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Post by shaxper on Nov 27, 2014 0:01:24 GMT -5
If coldwater stops posting, we will know Bill Gates secret police have come and taken her for advising someone use something other than windows...such behavior is not tolerated in the Windows World Order! -M I think Bill Gates stopped caring a long time ago Truly, Microsoft has been panicking for the last few years. The rise of the smart phone has eliminated the need for many folks to have a home computer. Folks like us, who use our machines for more than facebook and e-mail, still couldn't live without desktops, but many (my wife, for example) absolutely could and do. |
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I've had a few friends come to me asking to fix their computer problems, and more than a few were caused by shady porn sites, illegal video download sites, that type of thing. 