My New Computer

[gamba]

Had to renew my very old computer. Have acquired a HP with Windows 8.1

Have decided to give up - the alternative is to be ' taken away by the authorities. Am in a state of total bewilderment & anger.

Nothing appears to function in a reasonable way. It has gone berserk, NO! I have or am going berserk.

Showered with rubbish items so that I cannot see what I have just written. It appears to have a mind ( or half a mind ) of it's own.

And this is meant to be progress !!!!! The instructions ( for dummies ) are little more than gibberish.

Items leap about the page as if having a mind of their own.

Have had enough !!

Bye folks - nice knowing you.

gamba

[Frances_iom]

Don't worry given that brand it probably won't be working within a month - very poor reputation - Win 8 is a joke - if you do decide to keep machine I strongly suggest installing Linux (probably easier to put in a new harddrive £40 or so for a 500G) - try Mint17 or Kubuntu both based on long term support Ubuntu 14.04

[Pianorak]

Gamba - don't throw in the towel just yet. I had the same problem. Got an IT professional and paid him for two hours' labour (£80) and he set it up for me, got rid of those dreadful and confusing 8.1 tiles and installed Classic Shell which looks just like the old familiar XP.

[french frank]

Gamba - don't throw in the towel just yet. I had the same problem. Got an IT professional and paid him for two hours' labour (£80) and he set it up for me, got rid of those dreadful and confusing 8.1 tiles and installed Classic Shell which looks just like the old familiar XP.

Was going to say much the same. Paying a professional for an hour or two taking you through it so that you have exactly what you want is worth more than wasting time trying to work it out on your own.

[Frances_iom]

as I said a joke - assuming a £400 machine 15% already spent on the windows tax and now a further 25% to sort it out - when will people learn that Gates's empire is a rip off concern

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I agree. It's a nightmare, masquerading as a comic strip. I eventually found the icon to click to get something like the useful starting screen.

After that, trying to install Microsoft Office just didn't work. I went round in circles. So I called in an expert, and even he couldn't understand why things were not behaving as they should.

[umslopogaas]

This is worrying, because sooner or later I shall need a new computer. But I am quite happy to pay the local IT expert to sort it out, assuming she will charge me, since I shall probably get her to supply it.

[french frank]

This is worrying, because sooner or later I shall need a new computer. But I am quite happy to pay the local IT expert to sort it out, assuming she will charge me, since I shall probably get her to supply it.

When I first moved over to a Mac, I ran both computers until I was quite sure I'd got the hang of the new system. I do still have a Windows laptop but it has gradually been less and less used, especially now I have a MacBook as well. I can still try the Mac upgrades out on one machine first.

(I downloaded Ubuntu but couldn't get it to work with a BT Home Hub. Sometimes life is just too short. Get in an expert and take advice. )

[Bryn]

There are plenty of little used 64 bit Windows 7 laptops to be had relatively low outlay. I got a March 2011 manufactured Acer Aspire 4752 (2.53GHz M380 i3 processor, 4GB RAM, 500GB hard drive, DVD burner, keyboard and touchpad showing no signs of use) for £150 a couple of weeks ago. Works a treat. Mind you, there were literally a gross of Windows updates awaiting it when I first took in online, and I did have to clear Norton and a few other bits of dross off it, but that's par for the course with laptops that have been little used since the original purchase.

[johnb]

Apologies for repeating myself ad infinitum but computers with Windows 7 preinstalled (mainly, but not wholly, targeted at business users) are readily available from reputable, established online suppliers.

(Windows 7 is pre-installed using the downgrade rights of Windows 8. The computers should also come with the Windows 8 DVD should you with to 'upgrade'.)

[gamba]

I am grateful to you all for your kind & constructive suggestions. I really need a few days in which to unwind. This has been growing into a problem of some magnitude during the past week or so. It all seems so unnecessary. I'm sure age has something to do with my reaction !

I would be very foolish to leave our group. Besides, I don't think someone around the Sidcup area would allow me to do so.

With apologies for my outburst & good wishes to you all, gamba

[Dave2002]

I am grateful to you all for your kind & constructive suggestions. I really need a few days in which to unwind. This has been growing into a problem of some magnitude during the past week or so. It all seems so unnecessary. I'm sure age has something to do with my reaction !

Take a few days off, sleep on it - and hopefully it'll be possible to make more sense of it in a short while. Although I have a considerable dislike of Windows of any flavour, I do think it should be possible to cajole a new machine into a usable state without too many problems.

Good luck with getting to know the machine. I wouldn't actually recommend attempting to install Linux at this stage, though it can be a useful system to have around. Not sure what support you have in your area - here we have U3A groups which offer support with computer buddies - would that present a way forward? That could be a cheap option if there are people in the area with the right expertise.

[Russ_H]

Before you lash out paying IT persons, bear in mind that Windows 8 can be tamed fairly easily.

Classic Shell can be downloaded from here:

http://classicshell.net/

To disable the Charm Bar and Hot Corners:

Bring up the Charm Bar.
Click the bottom button - it looks like a toothed gear wheel
Click on the very bottom option "Change PC Settings"
Click on PC and Devices
Click on Corners and Edges
Adjust the settings to your requirements
Click in the extreme top right corner to escape

My Windows 8 laptop replaced an ageing XP computer. Once set up, Windows 8 seems to be
much more stable and reliable than XP.

[Old Grumpy]

Thanks Russ_H. I may try that. I have had 8.1 for a wee while, but installed Classicshell more or less on receipt of the device, on advice from forum members on here. The "apps" (stupid name!) do jump out at me from time to time though, if I put the cursor in the wrong place. As regards the "Windows Tax" - do you mean Microsoft Office, Frances_iom? I have solely Open Office on my machine - this seems to do everything I need of it.

OG

[Frances_iom]

.. As regards the "Windows Tax" - do you mean Microsoft Office, Frances_iom?

No - MS forced all PC manufacturers to pay a fixed amount for all PCs they manufacture whether or not a MS product is installed if they wished to install a MS O/S (almost certainly illegal under many administrations but not those where PCs are made) - given this manufacturers just standardised on windows - they had nothing to gain by producing bare machines or installing other O/Ss - thus a positive feedback ensued - compounding this many peripherals manufacturers especially scanners and wifi receivers, refused to release enough info to allow anyone to write drivers.

MS office should have been split off - this would have happened under the USA court ruling re monopoly but as everyone knows you can buy legal decisions in USA and Bush allowed MS to continue with the monopoly - many manufacturers offset the cost of windows O/S by installing what is normally referred to as crapware (ie unwanted + fairly if not totally useless programs such as Norton) which require further payment by the buyer.