Listening to the Voices in my Head

Windows 10 and I have a love/hate relationship.

I both love/hate how I have 7 days to pause updates. But sometimes I don't want the flipping updates. For good reason.

The most current update screwed up all my setting on MailWasher. I started it up, and it was back to the first time run default settings. Font size, display, items shown all screwed up.

Razer Synapse suddenly forgot I have three devices (left handed mouse, right handed mouse for gaming, and Tartarus gamepad). Even 'lost' my login information. Good thing, this was all local, and I was able to resync all settings from (you're gonna like this one) three different versions of Synapse. Razer's bright idea is to NOT have one version of Synapse to work with all their devices. Lot's of fun making sure the gamepads' buttons were properly assigned. Then I had to start the games I use the gamepad, and lo and behold, the keybindings were all screwed up. So, had to get those fixed... again.

And then there is Windows Media Center. Don't give me the line about it no longer being supported by Micro$oft, and being 'old' tech, but it was when I got my tuner card, and it's still needed now. Again, I know about Plex, NextPRV, Media Portal, but with they come with their own issues.

And there are just a few of the examples of issues I have when updating Windows 10 on my PC. (Any snark comments about I should be using a Mac or running Linux will be deleted, capice?)

And then there is how the updates on the Surface mucks up things. I had it set up so the menu weren't microscopic. And the slide show images were scaled to fit. I got one of those problems fixed, but I had to do a lot of forum surfing to find the right way to rectify the micro-menus, as the previous method no longer worked! ARRRGH!

I hope it works this time

Without errors.  Currently on Win 7, have my Win 10 in external cloning bay, and am currently cloning my up-to-date- Windows 10 system by cloning the drive, rather than doing one of those nonsensical 'system images' that Microsoft seems to think are so wonderful. 

Their BEST system back up was with Windows XP. If you have one file not working right, you could open the back up, and find said file on the back, and restore it to your new set up. This all or nothing Microsoft currently employs? Nope, if you have a problem with ONE system file and you jump through all the hoops and it still doesn't work, you have to restore the entire system to what it was earlier.  No thank you.

Clone, reinsert Windows 10 drive, date and label the new one.

Annoyance with Win10 and Samsung phones.

It's a known, but for some reason, totally unfixable by either MicroSoft or Samsung (each are more interested in fixing the blame, instead of fixing the problem)

Out of the blue, S9 and Win10 can't connect, not unless you remove Samsung device, from computer, unpair phone, and start the whole thing of discovery all over again. Add to this that Win 10, unlike Win 7, you have to MANUALLY start the file transfer on the computer, then start file transfers from phone to desktop. Win 7, select file, select computer and send. Bluetooth isn't as convenient with Win 10.

Use a cable, you say? Did I mention that if you don't have your phone and cable in JUST the right position, Win 10 will cycle through USB device connected, USB device disconnected over and over? Two different computer, three different phones, three different cables, same shit over and over.

Ok, I gave Windows 10 a fair go

Close to 2 months, I used Windows 10 boot drive.   Stability; good.  Updates; too many, too annoying. Updates have a horrible habit of overwriting/removing anything you might have done.

Nannyware/nagware; I so wish Microsoft would understand that people want to control their OS and computers, not have Microsoft do it for them. 

Customizations are more than just a wee bit difficult to do (some impossible), and I can't say how much I dislike..no, loathe that desktop tile layout. It is sloppy.  I installed StartMenuX and got it back to a configurable, cleaner layout. 

Biggest Bugbear for me (and for my husband, too) was not only the total removal of Windows Media Center, but making it so you couldn't even install it even if you had the ability to do so.

I am currently back on my Windows 7 Boot drive.  It took a while to get all the programs and Windows updated after such a long time of not using it.  After that was finished, I can't say how much better Windows 7 is from Windows 10.

It's not just using legacy software that can no longer be installed due to software maker using different authentication service, or legacy hardware (the hardware works in Win 10, but the software for it doesn't. Go figure.

But I find Windows 7 also stable, the updates have only broken one software makers programs (Yes, I really liked ArcSoft MediaCenter. It was better than anything else that has so far followed, but they rather stupidly didn't pay Dolby licensing fees so no updates after v6x, and Microsoft closed off the program's ability to use the kernel for better performance, thereby it no longer would work).

It's not even the desktop layout, because by use of StartMenuX, both Win 7 and Win 10 look the same.

Overall, I find Windows 7 the winner over Windows 10.  So, as long as I can install software on Windows 7 boot drive, I will.  I know that sooner or later I will be forced to move over to Win 10 only as software makers will be painted into a corner of "Make it work with only our latest OS".

Wow, I remember when having a 10mb hdd was a lot of room.

Today, I got my fully functioning Windows 1903 (build 18362.239) that was on a small 500gb drive, onto a 2tb drive.  All is working. The only issue I had was RoboForm AI whining about it not being activated.  Seeing as Windows 10 is the only place I have this version of Robo AI on it, I just reactivated it, disregarding the "this will deactivate from the other machine!"

Cloning your HDD to a larger HDD or even to an SSD shouldn't be so fekking fiddly. But it was. After two days of trial and error (making sure to NOT do anything that would endanger the 500gb drive) it's done! 

Wow, I remember when having a 10mb hdd was a lot of room. 

I swear

Windows 10 has been installing more patches, cumulative updates and security updates than Windows 95, XP, or 7 ever did in the same time period. 

Every time I turn around, another patch or update.

Another computer, another Win10 update

Windows 10 updated on Wing's computer, and just like with mine, the latest update well and truly killed off Windows Media Center. At first, he kinda got upset with us about it, that he liked the computer the way it was, didn't want any updates. I had to explain to him that with Win 10, you don't have the option to NOT update. You can put it off for a week, but it will still end up updating.

I tried to get WMC to work, and it would.. partially. It would scan the channels, load the EPG, but when you clicked on a channel, it would shut down. I did everything I my bag of tech tricks to get it work, short of installing a VM, and nothing worked.

I ended up installed NextPVR on his computer. It's free (donations are appreciated by not necessary. Since we are both using it, would be a good thing to do) Scanned for channels twice, found 31. Set up recording directory, and showed him how to use it.

Doing the great data shuffle/juggle

Windows 10 has issues with the 5 bay external drive (really long boot login time, powering it down without ejecting the drives first, causing data loss), so what I'm doing is shift data/files.  Putting certain files (installation files, back up files, video files)  and others that aren't often accessed on the external drives, and moving the data that is on the external drives, that is (will be was) accessed on a regular basis (photography, downloads, audio files) to the internal drives.

It has taken two days to juggle and shift files.  Currently copying the downloaded videos (ie my UltraViolet and other digital content files) to one internal J drive to the internal O drive, so I can shift my photography files on the external M drive, to the J drive once the digital content files have been moved.  MS time says about 2 hours to shift 1.2 tbs of said content.

Then I get to shift 2.6tbs of photography to the J drive. That will probably take overnight.

Back to using Windows 7

Just when I was getting close to.. appreciating Windows 10.

Shut everything down as normal, and when I booted back into Windows 10, it all seemed to go ok. Tried to start my browser. It wouldn't start. I tried to start compatibility mode to see if that was the issue, and that wouldn't start for it.  Next step, reinstall and reinstall. Nope, didn't work.  Searched the web. Why isn't it the only solution Windows Tech comes up with is either : a clean boot, or reinstall of the OS.  Well, the clean boot didn't do diddly squat, and a reinstall is like killing a mosquito with a sledgehammer.

And for some bizarre reason, both Windows 7 and 10 want to run chkdsk on all the drives.  Why?  I have no idea. I can see running it if the system drive shut down unexpectedly, but this wanting to scan external data drives?

So, booted into Windows, and everything is running just fine.  Browser started without any problems.

I think the next time I boot into Windows 10, I will make a back up of my browser profiles, deactivate programs, and just f**king reinstall windows 10. There's something wrong with it. Maybe start fresh.  I cringe at all the time I'm going to have to waste reinstalling program, and begging one software maker (Panolapse) to please give me a new key for my program, and just reinstall.

Yeesh

I updated my tablet driver, as the Wacom Desktop Center instructed.  Rebooted and wow, color me so not surprised, Windows 10 no longer detected my tablet.  I did all the at home trouble shooting, uninstalling everything, rebooting, reinstalling, rebooting.. nada, bupkiss.

Called Wacom help center, and a very nice young man named Jay, who was very grateful I could give him concise details on what I had done, we were able to figure it out. It seems the driver the WDC had was glitchy, and he had me download a new one. While it was downloading, I uninstall all things Wacom.  After the download, when through the inevitable cycle of reboot, install, reboot.

Plugged tablet in, and Tada! All I had to do was remap all my stylus/pens.