General Computing Randomness

[hitbyambulance]

my desktop gaming PC has been out of commission for a year now (since i installed that new video card with a not-quite-high-enough-wattage PSU and messed up my main OS partition - who knows what other HW damage was inflicted). i super didn't feel like dealing with it for a long time afterwards, and i've been dreading going back and trying see if i can fix the SSD, or even to salvage what data i can off the drive. the Steam Deck has been great as a 'substitute' gaming machine, i have to say, even if the ergonomics are a bit suspect - and i've been Windows-free this entire time (Steam Deck runs on Linux OS, and my laptops are Linux and OS X, with a self-imposed restriction of no Steam allowed on my new Linux laptop, as it's a school and utility homework machine only! i do have Steam on the MacBooks, but they are both elderly machines at this point - 2011 and 2012 models - with batteries that last less than an hour, fully charged.)

but i think i'm about ready to face up to the task, and i will start... next month. first order of business is to see what i can do to recover the Windows boot partition.

[Anonymous Bosch]

first order of business is to see what i can do to recover the Windows boot partition.

FWIW, I've previously found this Chris Titus walkthrough to be mighty effective for correctly repairing a Windows boot partition with a new system reserved partition, and booting from an existing Windows installation without necessarily reinstalling. Here's the accompanying video:

[hitbyambulance]

first order of business is to see what i can do to recover the Windows boot partition.

FWIW, I've previously found this Chris Titus walkthrough to be mighty effective for correctly repairing a Windows boot partition with a new system reserved partition, and booting from an existing Windows installation without necessarily reinstalling. Here's the accompanying video:

this is good to know, thanks

[Carpet_pissr]

first order of business is to see what i can do to recover the Windows boot partition.

FWIW, I've previously found this Chris Titus walkthrough to be mighty effective for correctly repairing a Windows boot partition with a new system reserved partition, and booting from an existing Windows installation without necessarily reinstalling. Here's the accompanying video:

i actually need to do that and have been putting it off. Still trying to decide if I want to upgrade to 10 from 11 or not.

Is it still recommended to do a completely clean reinstall every few years?

[Anonymous Bosch]

first order of business is to see what i can do to recover the Windows boot partition.

FWIW, I've previously found this Chris Titus walkthrough to be mighty effective for correctly repairing a Windows boot partition with a new system reserved partition, and booting from an existing Windows installation without necessarily reinstalling.

i actually need to do that and have been putting it off. Still trying to decide if I want to upgrade to 10 from 11 or not.

Is it still recommended to do a completely clean reinstall every few years?

The need for a clean Windows reinstall isn't necessarily a one-size-fits-all solution. I'd say it depends on specific circumstances, such as system performance, stability, and frequency of software and driver changes etc. In some cases, regular maintenance, including running system updates (ideally, with the Windows Update service configured to download security updates only), performing disk cleanups, and addressing specific issues as they arise, can be enough to maintain a smooth-running system. But if you experience a gradual decline in performance, increased instability, or other recurring issues that cannot be resolved through troubleshooting and maintenance? Then a clean reinstall may well be the best course of action to address any underlying problems with cruft that have developed over time.

[LordMortis]

Still trying to decide if I want to upgrade to 10 from 11 or not.

I haven't been brave enough to get a machine with 11. The freebe I gave my dad died a few months ago and we picked up a $200 machine for Staples. He had to get 11. blech First thing I did was spend 45 minutes learning how not get forced into a MS Online Account login setup. Then the desktop felt reminiscent of 8. No thank you. But then, I am the olds.

[Daehawk]

Windows 11 just isn't enticing Windows 10 users to upgrade, and its market share is actually falling

According to Statcounter (via Neowin), as of March 2024, Windows 10 accounts for just over 69% of desktop market share worldwide. That's an increase of nearly two points from February. By contrast, Windows 11 claimed 26.7% in March, down from 28.16% in February. A couple of points here and there isn't what you'd call a dramatic change, but a year's worth of data shows Windows 11 has failed to win the hearts and minds of those users familiar with Windows 10.

[Punisher]

Still trying to decide if I want to upgrade to 10 from 11 or not.

I haven't been brave enough to get a machine with 11. The freebe I gave my dad died a few months ago and we picked up a $200 machine for Staples. He had to get 11. blech First thing I did was spend 45 minutes learning how not get forced into a MS Online Account login setup. Then the desktop felt reminiscent of 8. No thank you. But then, I am the olds.

I got a new laptop recently and it came with 11.
I was not happy st first cause I didn't want to have to try learning something new but so far it's been fine. Web browsing, watching videos, playing games, etc.. no real issues.
It does look like they've moved tjings around...again... so I've had to Google how to do some tjings but it hasn't killed me yet so I'm ok.

[Carpet_pissr]

I think they peaked with Win 7 - that was an amazing OS ...everything after that one has been inferior IMO. Maybe not from a security standpoint, or even from large distributions, for IT people, etc....but as a single retail user? Tits.

[LordMortis]

I think they peaked with Win 7 - that was an amazing OS imo...everything after that one has been inferior IMO. Maybe not from a security standpoint, or even from large distributions, for IT people, etc....but as a single retail user? Tits.

From my IT world, 7 was easier. Things were more directly controlled and you had to know less about and trust PowerShell a lot less. 7 and 10 each have better bits about them. I like 7 better because it is not so tied to wasting background processes and isn't constantly loaded with crap using bandwidth and doing Internetty things I don't have visibility for or have an active desire to avoid behind the scenes and those things were important to me.

[Daehawk]

Took me a long time to switch from XP to 7. Then a long time to got to 10. I waited years after each was out then was really forced to move thanks to lack of patches for the one I was using or something. I wouldn't switch even when the newer one was free.

[gilraen]

I have a laptop and a mini-PC that both came with Win 11. It's really not that different from Win 10, but I also changed various UI options to look more like 10 because they were annoying me. Things like move taskbar/Start menu buttons to the left. Change the right-click context menu from the stupid icons and having to click "Show more options" to see the full list back to a single list of options. I never created or logged in with a Microsoft account (local login only), and I don't use Cortana, Copilot or whatever other shit they periodically try to push on me. All of that gets immediately disabled.

However, all our work computers are Win 10. There was never any official plan to move to Win 11 (maybe when Microsoft sunsets support for 10). My company is probably one of many (and many and many...) that never bothered with Win 11, which is where those adoption numbers are lagging.

[Smoove_B]

Not really sure what I'm going to to do. The idea of just doing an in-place upgrade to my existing Win10 PC makes me nervous. Not in terms of losing anything, but because it won't smooth or any future issues will always be dismissed as "You should have just done a fresh install" by troubleshooters. I honestly might pay for a year of Win10 extensions and punt to see what happens.

[Carpet_pissr]

I have a laptop and a mini-PC that both came with Win 11. It's really not that different from Win 10, but I also changed various UI options to look more like 10 because they were annoying me. Things like move taskbar/Start menu buttons to the left. Change the right-click context menu from the stupid icons and having to click "Show more options" to see the full list back to a single list of options. I never created or logged in with a Microsoft account (local login only), and I don't use Cortana, Copilot or whatever other shit they periodically try to push on me. All of that gets immediately disabled.

However, all our work computers are Win 10. There was never any official plan to move to Win 11 (maybe when Microsoft sunsets support for 10). My company is probably one of many (and many and many...) that never bothered with Win 11, which is where those adoption numbers are lagging.

One of my biggest gripes is the OneDrive integration they pulled with 11. It REALLY cocked up everything for me personally, and in trying to correct it, I lost quite a few files. It also caused a lot of desktop wonkiness since it seems to be integrated into that as well.

The superficial UI changes I can live with (or change), though I still think they are stepping backwards from usability IMO.

[Daehawk]

Not to mention all the privacy issues and info gathering. Cant turn it all off no matter what. Ive heard some you turn off and appear turned off really aren't.

[Blackhawk]

I think they peaked with Win 7 - that was an amazing OS imo...everything after that one has been inferior IMO. Maybe not from a security standpoint, or even from large distributions, for IT people, etc....but as a single retail user? Tits.

From my IT world, 7 was easier. Things were more directly controlled and you had to know less about and trust PowerShell a lot less. 7 and 10 each have better bits about them. I like 7 better because it is not so tied to wasting background processes and isn't constantly loaded with crap using bandwidth and doing Internetty things I don't have visibility for or have an active desire to avoid behind the scenes and those things were important to me.

Up through 7, the changes were generally fixes and improvements. Since then (purely an amateur's opinion), the 'changes' have mostly been about how to get more money out of the end-user, whether that's through trying to force people into the Microsoft 'ecosystem', ads, or farming data, the biggest motivator at Microsoft seems to be 'how do we change this to better control people and squeeze more cash out of them?"

[Daehawk]

I remember being miffed about Win95. Id rather have had DOS95. Before Win95 I had simply edited my startup files so that Windows didn't load at all. 3.11 I think back then.

[hitbyambulance]

Up through 7, the changes were generally fixes and improvements. Since then (purely an amateur's opinion), the 'changes' have mostly been about how to get more money out of the end-user, whether that's through trying to force people into the Microsoft 'ecosystem', ads, or farming data, the biggest motivator at Microsoft seems to be 'how do we change this to better control people and squeeze more cash out of them?"

it is for this reason that Win10 is definitely my last Windows-for-gaming-PC OS. Wine/Proton has gotten good enough (THANKS VALVE) that I can put some Linux distro on my next gaming PC and i won't miss much at all. definitely won't miss the behind-the-scenes info scraping and data collection.

i do think Valve should invest more into SteamOS - that could really be a good alternative for Windows for gamers with some more continuous support. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SteamOS



(Apple is also annoying me with their required 2FA for Apple accounts, and i'm also swearing them off)

[Kraken]

I think they peaked with Win 7 - that was an amazing OS ...everything after that one has been inferior IMO. Maybe not from a security standpoint, or even from large distributions, for IT people, etc....but as a single retail user? Tits.

It was my favorite interface. So much so that I run a program called Classic Start Menu that gives me Win 7 back. Whenever I have to face the Win 11 start menu on Wife's machine I'm lost. Da hell is all that crap?

[Rumpy]

My favourite ones were always XP, and 7. I would actually maybe include 10 in that. It's interesting how much of a gap there are between them.

Oh and yeah, I also run the Classic Start Menu. It's so much easier to deal with and customize.

[Blackhawk]

98, XP, and 7.

I do like the pinnable tiles in the start menu, though. I use it to create a quick set of shortcuts for the things that I launch most often. That allows me to keep my desktop relatively clear (I hate excessive icons on my desktop - it's a to do list, not storage.)

[Punisher]

My favorite is still DOS.
Prigram crashed? Reboot and all is forgiven. Yes you had to tweak ot for gaming but thats what got me into IT. Having to learn all that.
With windows you never knew when ot would be a crash that killed the OS and you had to start all over.

[Carpet_pissr]

Gaming on cassette tapes is where it’s at. I loved waiting an hour to load a text based adventure game.

[telcta]

Gaming on cassette tapes is where it’s at. I loved waiting an hour to load a text based adventure game.

I had an Atari 800 that I loved, but I kind of remember the cassette drive being different than in the video. I could be wrong since that was so long ago.

The sound takes me back.

[LordMortis]

We eventually go a 5 1/4 rather than the cassette for our Atari 800. Dad gave us the choice between that or a MODEM. As long distance was verboten and the knowledge for how to use a MODEM was limited and with no ability to store stuff. The $300 of late 1970s money was much better spent on the 5 1/4, which was the beginning of computer education for two of his five children (though three of us would would eventually get in to computer careers at one time or another).

[Carpet_pissr]

I find it amusing that ‘long distance’ was such a big thing back then, almost a bad word in my household, and 20 somethings (?) probably don’t even know what that is or means.

[hitbyambulance]

My favorite is still DOS.
Prigram crashed? Reboot and all is forgiven. Yes you had to tweak ot for gaming but thats what got me into IT. Having to learn all that.
With windows you never knew when ot would be a crash that killed the OS and you had to start all over.

i also blame MS-DOS (PC-DOS?) for getting me into my current career path. ending up with a 286 PC-compatible was a major disappointment for a fifth-grader who really, really, REALLY wanted an Amiga 500, but it paid off in the long run... after the 80s were over. (also kudos to my dad for also buying a reference flipbook for DOS commands, which is where i feel my practical computer learning truly began)


(i still wouldn't have minded having that Amiga alongside that 12Mhz DOS machine...)

[Daehawk]

I started wanting a PC badly around 1989. Then it was a 286 I was dreaming of. By the time 1994 rolled around and I was actually going to get a PC I was hoping we could afford a 386. Lucky Circuit City was havign a sale that day and my wife was able to get me a 486 for $850.

[Rumpy]

Our first PC was I think in 1986, and as was popular back then, it was termed an IBM Compatible, an Intel 8088. I think it was 4Mhz? We didn't even have a color monitor the first few years. It was one of those green CRTs. It wasn't until late 80's/early 90's that we finally got color.

[jztemple2]

My first computer was in 1980 and was a TRS-80 from Radio Shack. It used a cassette player for storage and had a built-in monochrome screen. I had several during the rest of the century but I was really into video gaming so I had several console units too. I did get a Hewlett-Packard that ran Win95 in the second half of the nineties.

[Daehawk]

I wanted a TRS80 back in rhe day. They got me an Atari 800Xl. Cassette player and floppy drive. Still have it in box. Used to play F-15 Strike eagle from floppy, a few homemade games some my step dad worked with on cassette and Buck Rogers Planet of Zoom on cartridge. That was like 1981 I think.

[Punisher]

I went from TRS-80 to C64, to 286.
My 286 was bought solely so I could play the original Battletech game.
I bought the game first then took it from place to place to see if I could try it on a floor model.
Only PC Richards let me. I spent 3 hours playing it and demoing it to customers. Needless to say they earned my business.

[Blackhawk]

I had my first exposure to a computer in 1982 or so, something that they wheeled around from classroom to classroom in elementary school, for a week at a time in each. That was just enough for each class to get it twice that year. In the sixth grade (1983-84) I was given access to a Texas Instruments... something. I desperately wanted a computer after that, but it was never something we could afford - not even close. In high school I took computer typing (a brand new class - the first semester was on an IBM Selectric, the second on computers.) I also took a basic programming course (basic BASIC), then the advanced, then 'computer math.' My first year in college (so 1993) I was a Computer Lab Tech (basically I unjammed printers and taught new students how to use basic software - WordPerfect, Lotus 1-2-3, etc.) I never did get a computer growing up, and never saw one outside of a school.

I 'got' my first computer in 1998. Yep, that late. It was a 486-66 with 4MB of RAM and a 640MB hard drive. I rented it (from a rent-to-own place - I was even more naive then) to properly type up a project I was working on. I did notice one thing at the store - a copy of the Lords of the Realm II for $10. I figured, "Why not?" I've never gone back.

When I finally got rid of that Dorito, I replaced it with an Intel Celery 333 - also rent-to-own, but from a local place, and with much better terms. When I paid it off in 2000 I was given an upgrade to a Celeron 500 - which was actually near cutting-edge at the time.

That's the machine I started hanging out on OO with in early 2001. It's also the last machine that I didn't build myself.

[jztemple2]

I also took a basic programming course (basic BASIC)

I had a semester of basic programming in college, back in 1972. We used, no joke, punch cards to write our program which was compiled and run on a mainframe.

[Daehawk]

Only BASIC I ever did was from magazines of the time. They usually had a small BASIC program to do. I can remember one was a rainbow.

[gilraen]

I actually had a job where I coded in BASIC (it was a custom in-house version but still just BASIC, using old-school terminals).

I kid you not, it was in 2003.

[Blackhawk]

10 GOTO 1985

[Rumpy]

My first computer was in 1980 and was a TRS-80 from Radio Shack. It used a cassette player for storage and had a built-in monochrome screen. I had several during the rest of the century but I was really into video gaming so I had several console units too. I did get a Hewlett-Packard that ran Win95 in the second half of the nineties.

Man, I miss Radio Shack. They were the shit back then. They made an exit in Canada in 2004 when the Canadian operations were bought by, get this, Circuit City. Then we got a rebrand of the stores to The Source by Circuit City, later shortened to simply The Source, after CC went through bankruptcy, but the store themselves are still around. Hmm, I see now that they'll become Best Buy Express stores.

[Daehawk]

Grew up with a shit load of stuff from Radio Shack...especially around Christmas.

After the 80s though not so much. An item here and there. In 2011 when the tornado hit we had no power for 4 days so on the 2nd day me and my wife when there and overpaid for a card USB charger for our cell phone. I think it cost us $20.

I can remember in a Radio Shack standing watching a loop trailer for MYST. And another time at another mall seeing a HUGE 17" CRT. Well HUGE to me anyways on my 14". I had to have one lol. Took me about 2 years but I got one. Still have it.

That reminds me I have a outbuilding it a crushed roof full of my 1st pc, old monitor, all the star trek books made until the 2000s that I read...all my old magazines that are left if any..all my childhood stuff. Its a 2 room building and only the newer side roof was smashed..but its ruining everything with moisture and animals getting in. I thought I had a nice old rocking chair recliner..not any longer. Something made a nest out of it.

But I have zero room in my home to move it all down to. Really sucks.

[Punisher]

I also took a basic programming course (basic BASIC)

I had a semester of basic programming in college, back in 1972. We used, no joke, punch cards to write our program which was compiled and run on a mainframe.

In high-school we didn't have BASIC. They taught assembly. I tjink our project was a pacman game.
I learned some BASIC in my DOS days. I also became REALLY good at bat files. Had a single bat file with a game menu to liad specific games with their specific settings.