I bought this laptop early to avoid Win 10.
Today when I opened it, it started the upgrade process with no way to back out. I was furious.
I have since learned a) there is a way back and b) there is a lawsuit possible over the way this has been handled. Apparently MS made an alteration in the splash screen for the ‘free upgrade’ that gives you a choice of ‘now’ or ‘later’ and if you check EITHER instead of just x-ing out of the screen, it will load, either then, or at next use.
Lovely. I’m not the only one this has happened to.
There is a recovery, so long as you ‘revert’ it
-
within a month
and probably easier if you don’t make a whole load of new files beforehand.
The procedure: be SURE you know any Win 7 password if you have one—and then go to:
The windows icon that subs for the start menu. Punch that.
Punch ‘Settings’.
Punch ‘Update & Recovery’.
From there, you get the option to roll the system back to Win 7, and oh, frabjous joy! the assurance that if at any time in the future you develop a longing for 10, you can roll it over to that with no fuss. In other words, congrats, your machine now has 2 versions of Windows on it, but at least it is running.
If you have Logitech Gaming as part of your system under 10, you will come away missing the dll file lcore.dll or something like, but that’s not a problem, or if it is you can easily get the missing dll from Logitech or a dozen other places on the interwebz.
Just sayin’. This was not how I planned to spend an entire evening, but if this happens to you, now you know how to get Win 7 back.
I’ve read that if you upgrade and then roll back to Win 7 or 8, then later you can still get the free upgrade to Win 10, even after the free offer expires on July 29. Not that you want Win 10, but it’s useful to know in case you ever decide to ‘roll forward’ in future.
For people using Win 8 or 10 who are missing the old Windows games like Freecell, Solitaire, Minesweeper, Hearts, etc. and don’t like the new versions that Microsoft has provided, Winaero has some excellent free clones of the classic games.
http://winaero.com/blog/get-windows-7-games-for-windows-10/
Win10 is far better than win8, and while it’s taken a little time to get used to it, I’m generally happy with it. It boots a LOT faster. Of course though there are some software that won’t run, and the whole apps thing is annoying. But much less so than 8.
It’s such a stupid move from M$ and has cost them a lot of good will. We’ve spent years telling people what is bad behaviour from software and then the big players go and copy it from the malware sector. Win10 isn’t bad. I’d put it just behind Win7 in my “like” factor. Another year or two and it’s probably going to be excellent. Unless of course….
It’s worth noting that Microsoft will end security updates for Win 7 in January 2020, and for Win 8 in January 2023. So 3½ and 6½ years. By then most people will probably have new machines with Win 10.
Even better than that – if you close the upgrade window via the ‘X’ button, it also starts the upgrade. Pretty much anything you click starts the upgrade, which I’d liken to malware except that malware is probably better written.
BBC News article
Have you thought about switching from Windows? 🙂
I recently had to reinstall win 7 from scratch. My system works much faster. I turned off automatic update because it insists on installing junk that slows my system way down. I’d rather not have to turn off security updates but I’m getting to fear Microsoft more than the criminals out there.
@Dave: Your experience has a long history. Back in the day when we were transitioning from Windows 3.1 to 95 and had gotten some collective experience with 95, among my association of computer nerds the idea began circulating that about once a year one ought to copy off one’s personal files, reformat the drive, reinstall, reload your “archive” and carry on. Good things came of it.
The problem is, once Microslop went to the never-to-be-sufficiently-accursed registry system, the registry is always active so you can never back up programs. Generally, backup programs don’t even try. So, any wipe and reinstall needs the individual re-installation of every piece of software, including Office.
(I don’t switch to Linux because I still use a large number of Windows-only programs.)
You still have other options. One is Wine that runs many Windows apps not designed to bomb if not running on M$ Windows. Another, if you have reasonably husky modern hardware, is “virtual machines”, say Xen. That will allow you to run both Windows and Linux on the same box at the same time, switching between them.
It appears that my venerable desktop has now been forced to upgrade to Windows 10…apparently, the fact that I pulled out that update that told me I could get Win10 wasn’t good enough. For whatever reason, my computer is now in the process of updating, even though I had the settings to “Let ME decide what to install.” Microsoft apparently thinks it knows better. Perhaps I should go to the CEO’s home, and decide what he needs and doesn’t need in his house….how about I get rid of that fancy home entertainment system, he obviously doesn’t need all of that room, either, and the car he drives? Oh, no, he doesn’t need that, either. His fabulous and fancy clothes? Nope, gone….he can wear the same things I wear….since he’s in the process of making decisions for me, I’m going to start making decisions for him….like, let’s see…that fancy bonus he’s supposed to get? Nope, going to go to MY favorite charity…..the house he lives in, he’s going to be downsizing to a smaller house……his car? He gets a Prius, not a Tesla….heck, I might substitute and make him drive a Nissan Leaf or a Chevy Volt……
I don’t CARE what their license says, when it’s MY computer, what I install on it is MY decision, not theirs. They’re supposed to be offering “support”, not dictating my usage. I haven’t seen much on the class-action lawsuit, but if there is one, according to the pundits in the IT community, it might be tough to win….although one woman did win a $10,000 award from MS because of the forced upgrade to Win10.
Nothing like flying off the handle….whatever the update was, and it was a very long update, it isn’t Windows 10 (whew!). I’m still at Windows 7 Home, which is where I began with this computer about 9 years ago…..yes, it’s ancient..I’m using a Pentium 4 with 128MB of RAM in my basement for my Amateur Radio and weather station. Unfortunately, for some reason, it won’t load DirectX extensions, so the radar monitoring program I bought doesn’t load…………
Well, at least my rage at Microsoft has been allayed for a little while longer.
Off-Topic: I really enjoyed parts 3 and 4 of Dr. Mary Beard’s Ultimate Rome, Empire Without Limit. Really a fascinating series and pretty even-handed on the Roman Empire’s good points and faults…and how very much like them we are, or how like us they were.
On-Topic: Apple is not without its own strangenesses, but I’m glad I switched back, when I got an iMac a few years ago. I recently booted up my old, old Win7 laptop, and will have to give it some time for updates the next time I fool with it. I was, however, glad it’s still working.
Also, I had to wipe completely my old iPad2, and later this week, I’ll get to finish updating it. Oh, the joys of software/hardware maintenance and low budget. Wrinkle: If the payment account associated with your Apple ID / iTunes / iCloud account won’t accept a charge, then all your content (apps, media) not already downloaded (that is, needing updates or downloads) becomes inaccessible until your budget resolves the lack of funds for billing even the tiniest item. Grr. So I’m waiting a few days.
Notice she said “Punch”, not “Click”? Oooh, she’s mad!
Do we all remember “Colossus, the Forbin Project“, the original movie about “Big Data”. Colossus looks at all the data it has and deduces, “THERE IS ANOTHER SYSTEM”. Last night, while herself was restoring Win7, I was beginning to build version 5 of my own Linux system for 32-bit CPUs, after having built it for 64-bit CPUs. I could have just downloaded and and installed one of a score of complete “distributions”. I build “Linux from Scratch” because I’d rather know what’s inside. Knowledge is power, someone said. It’s my choice when and how!
Lol! THat’d be right. When you lay down the big bucks to have a Win 7 system, and it thinks otherwise, oh, yeah, mad.
I read the book…
This computer came with 8.1 which I hated so I installed 10 as soon as possible. I’ve configured it to work like 7 and haven’t had a problem since.
There’s a utility program called GWX Control Panel that turns off the Win10 notices and blocks the accidentally-on-purpose upgrades.
http://ultimateoutsider.com/downloads/
It also will turn the real update notices back on, as MS turns them off if you have third-party security software (as so many of us do).
DH has a W7 laptop that he cannot upgrade to W10 because of software that the vendor says will not run in W10 and they have no plans to upgrade it so it will. So he was very cross when he found, like you did, that it had upgraded on its own. We figured out how to roll back to W7, and I went in to his Windows Update in Control Panel and hid the optional update to W10. I hope that will keep it from popping up again. I’ll also check out the utility that P J suggests above.
We’ve both messed about with Linux/Ubuntu, but since we came up in the DOS/Windows universe, neither of us feels very comfortable with Linux. For the most part my W10 upgrades have gone well, with only minor amounts of hair-pulling when suddenly a printer quits working, or a backup that had been working quits.
@Teegan, if you came from the old DOS/W3.1 era you ought to love Linux–it puts you back in control again. However, I’d remind you Ubuntu isn’t the only game in town, and tends to imagine its users are the Windows/Apple type that don’t want to have to deal with anything under the covers–“Just gimme something that works.” There’s Arch and Gentoo that really give power to the user to bash (oops, sorry for the pun) the system around into the image they want it to have. Fedora, and its derivative CentOS, and SUSE are full-up Enterprize Grade. Personally, I don’t care for Ubuntu, especially its later incarnations. (I keep Ibex-8.4 around, but I loaded Werewolf-15.10 last month on glowing recommendation but couldn’t blow it away fast enough!)
Maybe you just need a distro that “fits you better”.
@All, first, why you should read this. It’s not that I’m biased, I just have higher expectations. In my professional and extracurricular career I’ve had the opportunity to recapitulate pretty much the entire history of computing. “Seen a fair share, done it for pay, wore the T-shirt until it got done for rags.” I’d say I have higher standards for software, objecting to marketing and c**p. A “higher calling”, perhaps.
Now then, there’s then and now. Some of the myths around Linux being difficult may have been legitimate, more so in the past (unless that’s what you want today), but with good reason. Its developers came from the demanding Unix environment. Nowadays, most of the popular distributions present a user interface that is very much the equivalent and in the style of Windows. If you don’t need some special software (and you’re not looking for an excuse to resist change when security and reliability suggest you should embrace it) you should be able to get around and do your work just as well as Windows.
Remember, Apple Mac software is just a “rubber room” wrapped around Unix. Linux/Unix software doesn’t have to be sharp edges and hard to use.
The thing is, you should recognize you as an end-user are not Microsoft’s client! Microsoft makes Windows for the developers that build application systems on top of it, like those that run professional offices, retail chains’ Point of Sale “cash registers”, etc. and so forth. If you can use it for personal stuff, that’s incidental.
On the other hand, you’re rubbing shoulders with Linux and Unix everyday. The majority of Internet is built on Linux/Unix servers and infrastructure(*), and it doesn’t buckle. That’s not what you’re doing? Consider it proof of the case-hardened reliability of the software.
* “Linux” is just the kernel of the operating system, the rest of it comes from the Unix environment.
Rice – oh noble grain. I fixed a pot of rice tonight intended for a stir-fry tomorrow. Of course, I taste tested it when it was done. Wow, perfect. Jasmati rice, which is Jasmine Rice from the Texmati brand. So good I had a small bowl (maybe 8 oz.) plain by itself. I’ve done that before. Why Ilike rice that much sometimes, I don’t know, but it hit the spot. Nutty, sweet, buttery flavorful rice. Mmm. Thanks to all those hunter-gatherers who first discovered it and declared it good food.
Someone here mentioned what is, I think, a red rice I wasn’t familiar with, or anyway a variety of rice to try. I had remembered it a while, but have now forgotten. If fellow fans would refresh my memory, I’d much appreciate it. Thanks!
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From Monday and possibly longer, I’ll be without electricity, until I can get the last of my long-term savings transferred into plain old checking and savings. I’m still working on fonts, but don’t have them out producing income yet, and that’s a ways off. Expenses have been more than I’d expected, and the income source I’ve been living on has reduced yet again, down to, not possible to carry me through a month. I got word I may be due a reimbursement on something, but the paperwork isn’t to me yet, and it could be the end of the month before I get that back to me. How much, and therefore how long it could carry me, I don’t know yet. So…working on fonts as fast as I can, but like with novel writing, it takes a long time and you only get paid when the work’s done you get a vendor that wants to publish it for sale. You get the benefit of their reach in marketing. They get a cut of the sales and you get your cut. So, it’s feast or famine, and I’m still working on my first fonts to put out. Very, very frustrated. My laptop is charged; unsure how long its charge will last. My cell phone should be OK, and I can extend that by keeping it off when not in use. I’ll be cooking the rest of the meat in the freezer tomorrow, as a precaution. I’mhoping I won’t have to be without funds and without power for more than a day, but I don’t know for sure yet how long it’ll take to process. I am not happy. Not with myself, not with the taxing authorities that put me so very low on funds, and not with the economy. But…I am reminding myself to be extra stubborn and get through this. My two cats can tell I’ve been extra worried, and have been sticking close by. I’d even considered having to give them away, but no, I won’t. They’re a main source of help getting me through this. We stick together. Not sure yet how long it’ll be until I can have completed fonts, but I’m going to rethink, scale back, on plans, in order to get something out sooner. And…I haven’t yet applied for welfare, but I think that’s going to be necessary for a while. Not happy, no. But I’ve made it this far, and now I’ve determined to keep going as long as I can. I paid so much in back taxes and back debts that now I have too little to live on, and meanwhile, more is piling up this year. I really want a good way out of this, back to a livable life.
If you folks don’t hear from me for a few days, from Monday, that’s why. I will be back, though. Much to do still to get through this lousy mess.
Anent [thanks, CJ!] welfare, take my money, please. Rather than have welfare depend on the whims, liquidity, and objectivity of various charitable organizations, I happily pay taxes to handle this moral issue. I have been working and paying taxes since I was 17. Not meaning to cross the line into politics, if you don’t take it, Congress will just do something silly with it. So, please.
Best of luck, whatever you decide.
I’ll second that. Welfare is to get you over the hum and out of a tight spot. Heaven knows I pay enough in taxes and Congress will definitely do something stupid with it otherwise. Please take advantage of any and all programs available to you.
Good luck, BCS! If you are looking to apply for any public benefits (which you have been paying in to for many years, remember), I do a fair amount of a public benefits policy/advocacy work in my day job should you have any questions or be hitting any snafus. I know Massachusetts policy best but much is federally rather than state determined. Happy to communicate via email if that is useful… And remember that libraries have computers you can use and log into when the electricity is down at home.
Oh, bureaucracy takes time. I’m still here. I was able to make an electricity payment, but yep, this added an overdraft fee. I’ll have to get my natural gas reconnected, though. Cold showers, but there’s water. Sigh.
I got most of the paperwork I’d been promised, but not all. In order to save a little and bundle things into less trips, I get to wait while looking into more for what I still have to do.
People can reach me at wizen2000 at yahoo dot com. — There’s also an email link on my fiction and audio website, shinyfiction.com, and on my still-brand-new fontstylus.com site. I don’t yet have fonts up for sale, but I’m working on those, to submit ASAP to a couple of the major font vendors, I hope.
Hi BCS, I’m glad you’ve got water and electricity at least. If you’ve got an electric kettle or microwave, so you can heat food and water for spongebaths and to wash your hair at the sink, then it’s a bit like camping, but at least livable. Summer in Texas you don’t need gas for heating except for showers, and people managed without those for ages.
And though I’m not a part of your strange American system I’ll ditto the advice to apply for the welfare for which you are eligible. And don’t feel bad about needing to do that; you’ve paid in lots of taxes, and this is what you do that for. Better to support people in need than warfare, in my opinion.
I hope things get sorted out soon!
In my last home I never got around to gettting a range–for 17 years. I had a table-top toaster/broiler oven, an electric skillet, a Japanese style rice cooker (which cooked anything needing steaming), and an electric teakettle. I got bye, but I’ve also been single.
“hum” … should have been hump.
Just purely as a matter of interest, why not upgrade to W10? I’m using it at home, finding it works well and boots quickly. In comparison my works W7 machine – where the upgrade to W10 has been prevented due to the need to keep all the machines on the same OS – is slow and clunky.
I have a solid state drive, so mine moves pretty fast anyway, and I really am NOT picture-oriented. The reliance of Win10 on icons and boxes is crazy-making, distracting and hard to read, and yes, I could revise it, but I also don’t like its data-mining and its ‘helpfulness’. I came up through DOS and think through my fingers, fairly rapidly, with a set of moves that are pretty automatic after several decades of doing things the way I do them. Win 10 requires argument with its methods. A short exposure to it was enough to tell me I wouldn’t be happy with it until I’ve scrubbed it of most ’10’ behaviors and gotten it to look and act just like 7 or some facsimile thereof. As I will have to do someday—I have no illusions it won’t ultimately have to be implemented, but right now 7 is working the best of any version I’ve ever used, speed is fine, and I’ll wait and let them shake the bugs out of 10.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, I have an older Pentium IV that was running Windows XP Professional. Because of several issues with the way it was set up when I received the computer, I decided to slick the hard drive and reinstall Windows XP Professional under the license I had. Well, Microsoft has decided that there is no more support for XP, but that I still need to “activate” the license within 30 days.
I’ve tried to find out if Microsoft will even give me an activation code for the setup, even though the OS is grossly outdated. I don’t want to have to go out and buy new hardware to work with a new OS, when the hardware I have is working perfectly well, and has no issues with XP. According to articles I’ve read, Microsoft was still giving activation codes as late as last year. I’ll give it a try and see if they’ll help me…some folks wonder why I’m using such an outdated OS – because the equipment I have works with XP, not with Vista, not with Windows 7, certainly not 8, or 8.1, and I refuse to upgrade to Windows 10. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
How many UNIX machines are still working, chugging along doing their thing, not to mention LINUX…I learned a bit of Solaris, since we ran a videoteleconferencing network from a Sun SPARC 20 workstation…..is there any reason to come off those OSs, simply because there’s something new out there? Well, maybe UNIX and LINUX can be rendered backward compatible, but Windows is just not going to budge on that, it seems.
DH makes, for his business, something he calls a Pele server, a UNIX box that is quite robust. We know of several that have rebooted once in 11 years. The little sister is the ‘keiki’ server which we use for backups, almost as stable; the record on that is 8 years.
@Joe – I’d be interested to know if that works. I have an early i7 box I intend to run CentOS-6.6, or possibly Xen, on as a “bare metal” virtual machine host. I’d like to make one of them XP, just to prove it can be done. I’ve got a few old, unused boxes with XP licenses that would be better off with Linux. TIA
I was having trouble with the network interface, but once I got it to work, I decided to try to activate XP. I did it over the internet without registering it, and it took about 10 seconds and came back up as “Your copy of Windows has been activated.”
So, I guess they ARE still doing activations….no tech support, but then, I don’t need it, as what I’m using XP to drive doesn’t need the latest greatest stuff. My flatbed scanner wouldn’t run under Windows 7, but did fine under XP. My weather station runs under XP, the amateur radio digital communications software and associated hardware interface between the radio and the computer works great under XP (it also works under 7, too). Since it’s working, I’m happy.
If you ARE getting that prompt and don’t want to do the “upgrade”, find and download the tool called “GWX Control Panel” from a reputable download site (cnet, majorgeeks, etc.). It will remove the daemon that sits in your system tray AND remove all files Win10 has downloaded. That will prevent further nagging. M$’s free upgrade is scheduled to end by the end of the month, barring extended deadlines…
Microsoft released a bunch of critical patches yesterday on “Patch Tuesday”. I know it can be annoying, even confusing, to deal with these things–sometimes they themselves are flawed, the cure worse than the disease–and it’s tempting to turn OFF updating. If one has done so, it looks like one should attend to these. See the story here.