Windows 10 Grrrrr!

[DracoM]

Have upgraded from Windows 7 three weeks ago, but.................

1. I now regularly have to shut down twice - why?
2. Suddenly, today, without any warning, it asks me for the computer password.
3. Suddenly, today, without warning, it cancels my screensaver.
4. Internet access is unpredictable, and at the start of the day regularly cuts in and out - the first time EVER in this area.
5...AND suddenly, ALL my pictures c 4000 and documents have apparently disappeared.

I have done nothing out of the ordinary. This morning it was functioning fine, and literally I have just turned it on, and ....zilch!.!!

[Tony Halstead]

Have upgraded from Windows 7 three weeks ago, but.................

1. I now regularly have to shut down twice - why?
2. Suddenly, today, without any warning, it asks me for the computer password.
3. Suddenly, today, without warning, it cancels my screensaver.
4. Internet access is unpredictable, and at the start of the day regularly cuts in and out - the first time EVER in this area.
5...AND suddenly, ALL my pictures c 4000 and documents have apparently disappeared.

I have done nothing out of the ordinary. This morning it was functioning fine, and literally I have just turned it on, and ....zilch!.!!

Is there no possibility of finding a 'restore' point which restores everything back to where it was before the calamity?

[Bryn]

Have upgraded from Windows 7 three weeks ago, but.................

1. I now regularly have to shut down twice - why?
2. Suddenly, today, without any warning, it asks me for the computer password.
3. Suddenly, today, without warning, it cancels my screensaver.
4. Internet access is unpredictable, and at the start of the day regularly cuts in and out - the first time EVER in this area.
5...AND suddenly, ALL my pictures c 4000 and documents have apparently disappeared.

I have done nothing out of the ordinary. This morning it was functioning fine, and literally I have just turned it on, and ....zilch!.!!

Have you done a thorough malware scan? I think the last Windows 10 imposed update was last Tuesday. I have had a few annoying invitations to use their 'One Drive' since then, but nothing like the problems you are having. However, see https://www.quora.com/I-have-to-shut...can-i-fix-this

[eighthobstruction]

....Microsoft practically shoved a fist down the cyberways and forced me to sign up....yes, all to cock....ish....YER nowt special Microbutt 10....you're grinding me towards....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JPnR7C8mZQ

[Gordon]

I have not upgraded from 7 despite blandishments. Most of the people I know who have done so have had problems, some serious. One keen audio fan had his DAC/audio playback system software corrupted badly and only cured by re-intalling 7 and starting again. Fortunately in his case the machine was quite new with relatively little other software and the machine's supplier was very happy to redo it for free. Another one had Windows Explorer corrupted so badly it would not report external HD contents correctly making them think the drive was dead but it wasn't. Anyone contemplating it without good reason, don't!!

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I upgraded from 8 to 10, and fortunately there were no new problems in the transfer. However, things that caused problems in Windows 8 are still there in 10.

I have never understood how Microsoft has maintained such a stranglehold on the market. There's always been something better.

[DracoM]

Thx all for advice.

[Cockney Sparrow]

I'm responsible for the family PCs and laptops, and so I take Computeractive magazine and try to keep up to date. And have a backup and restoration regime in place in case of IT meltdown. I'm sticking with Win 7 for as long as possible. I am mightily discouraged by the control over our PCs being assumed by Microsoft in Windows 10 - forced updates, removal without warning of incompatible software, data mining facility for Microsoft built in - the list goes on.

When Win 7 security updates ends, I'm thinking I will have to go over to Linux, although I'm not looking forward to it - more IT maintenance time etc. And keeping a Win 7 (or even Win 10, eventually) for specific, Linux incompatible programs, hopefully mostly kept unconnected to the internet. .

Given I am talking about 3 PCs and 2 laptops, I've never been prepared to pay the Mac entry premium (and amortise the cost over 5 years before it enters its update obsolescence). And I'm not reassured that Apple's corporate tendencies are any better than Microsoft.

[Dave2002]

I'm responsible for the family PCs and laptops, and so I take Computeractive magazine and try to keep up to date. And have a backup and restoration regime in place in case of IT meltdown. I'm sticking with Win 7 for as long as possible. I am mightily discouraged by the control over our PCs being assumed by Microsoft in Windows 10 - forced updates, removal without warning of incompatible software, data mining facility for Microsoft built in - the list goes on.

When Win 7 security updates ends, I'm thinking I will have to go over to Linux, although I'm not looking forward to it - more IT maintenance time etc. And keeping a Win 7 (or even Win 10, eventually) for specific, Linux incompatible programs, hopefully mostly kept unconnected to the internet. .

Given I am talking about 3 PCs and 2 laptops, I've never been prepared to pay the Mac entry premium (and amortise the cost over 5 years before it enters its update obsolescence). And I'm not reassured that Apple's corporate tendencies are any better than Microsoft.

I sympathise.

I think a lot depends on what you want the computers for, whether you, or others in your family need them for work and/or study etc.

I have largely had a hate relationship with Microsoft over the last twenty or so years, but in a corporate environment, where there is known functionality, and support teams to take all the grunt systems maintenance out of your hands, then MS systems can be fine. However, I do know of some corporate systems which are still running XP or NT, and I even heard of one recently which is still running Win 95 - because it still works, and they know how to fix it and keep it going.

In a domestic environment family members are often rather unsympathetic to moans about Windows. That's often because one poor mug (usually me) knows how to kick the wretched machines back into life when they go wrong. Also, many people are really not doing much that's too demanding, so it's really appalling that so many things do go wrong. Even since 2000 most machines have been able to cope with word processing and files, and a bit of email, which is often all that many people want. I'm afraid I was using word processors 15-20 years before that, and by 1990 some of them were actually quite good.

On the other hand, try to do anything really more demanding, such as complex calculations (who apart from research students do those?), or video processing and the whole ball game changes. I have recently hit some hard metaphorical brick walls with video processing, and it's taken me months to get on top of the software and hardware. 16 Gbytes memory, plus loads of fast backing store, plus fast processors and also the latest OSs are very likely to be needed. Audio processing is a doddle compared with video.

For years I have found my Apple machines to be very good, and I think I've saved a lot of time by not having to be always doing systems admin work simply to keep them going. This also extends to other family members. However, sometimes - you are right - Apple stuff is just as bad, or seems as bad, as the MS kit. Some of the Apple software is (IMO) just really not that good even though it's cheap, or free. For example, Numbers - I really have never got on with that, and Excel is mostly much better. Pages? Well - maybe some people like it. I usually now use OpenOffice in preference to Word or anything else. People who have to work/interact with corporate bodies often have to use MS stuff anyway, for compatibility, or make sure they are up to speed with appropriate formats and file conversions.

Sometimes things aren't reallly bad, but just not explained properly. After all, who bothers to read or even write manuals these days? Discovering that something in your software doesn't work, but three days later you discover from an obscure web site (probably written by a blogger on Planet Zog) that it is working fine - but you just have to know (since everyone else does) that the obvious key press you used to use has now been replaced by ALT+SHIFT+CMD+FN11! Simples! Obvious!

I've just spent days in Adobe Premiere Elements trying to adjust the colours in a video. The odd thing was that I was able to do that on day one, but then couldn't repeat it. I then found out about adjustment layers, and how to adjust the colours using Effects, but oddly I was still not able to adjust using RGB controls. Eventually I noticed that on my machine the one adjustment which is not available as an Effect for use in an adjustment layer is RGB colour control - but it is available via a button labelled Adjustments. Things like that are just a pain.
Another is trying to use Time Machine in El Capitan, and noticing that the TM drive doesn't show up properly - something Apple just don't seem able to fix. Actually it works if you Force Quit and relaunch the Finder (usually - and it's safe to do that), while another pain is that blank DVDs in the slot drive don't show up on the desktop in El Capitan. So Apple kit is not without problems - it just takes time to notice them, then try to find out fixes and work arounds.

I've tried Linux several times over. Useful sometimes, but mostly I wouldn't recommend it. It's not a panacea.

Despite all this, I have considered (and maybe still am) buying a new Windows based PC in order to run some software, and I hope that if I do that I won't get bogged down with yet more unwanted systems work if I go to Windows 10.

[Beresford]

I have a 5 year old laptop upgraded from W7 to W10. Each month or so it crashes out on restart, and has to be cold booted (power-off) 3 or 4 times, to get back to being OK. Once I had to remove the battery to close it down (try that on a tablet!!). Each time it has spent an hour or so recompiling or whatever its recent updates, then gone quiet and OK. I suspect these sort of issues have followed a "major update", so maybe leave it on for a few hours after a restart?
I have read that it would be more reliable if I downloaded an ISO of W10, and did a clean update, but I am reluctant to wipe the disc, and it might raise new issues, and waste more time. A similar laptop running W7, Windows Updates switched off when I bought it, has had no problems in two years.

[Cockney Sparrow]

As a matter of practice our PCs and the laptop are powered down, usually at the end of every day. If not, then the performance can slow down. With a laptop its easy just to put it in sleep mode, I understand.

I've never had crashes on Win 7 machines - nor, really, on XP. My backups (complete images on backup hard drives) are taken against hard disk failures - for which Windows is not responsible (and I suppose virus and encryption malware).

Apparently for users with auto update, Microsoft has downloaded the large file containing the Win10 upgrade files. So the update is resident on users hard discs, ready and waiting - unless they stay alert, they won't untick the upgrade box and the upgrade will be made. To me that is intrusive and a confounded cheek.....

[DracoM]

Well, have to say if I knew then what I know now, I would never have upgraded at all. W7 was fine for what I want.

The worst feature is the way W10 TAKES OVER THE MACHINE AND DOES WHAT IT WANTS. For some reason W10 seems to have moved all my pix out of Picasa3. I gave it no permission to do so, and was in a total panic before I eventually found them.

Can I get these pix folders back into Picasa? If so how?

[MrGongGong]

I recently "found" (not really lost) my ATARI 1040 ST
Best computer I have ever had and it still works if anyone wants to make me an offer?

(It doesn't have a HD though and you have to load the OS on a floppy)

[Bryn]

I recently "found" (not really lost) my ATARI 1040 ST
Best computer I have ever had and it still works if anyone wants to make me an offer?

(It doesn't have a HD though and you have to load the OS on a floppy)

Still got mine too, and an Amstrad PCW8256 (memory upgraded to 512) and a Cambridge Z88 (keyboard no longer functional), and a MicroWriter AgendA, and a Sinclair ZX81 and QL ...

[gurnemanz]

Well, have to say if I knew then what I know now, I would never have upgraded at all. W7 was fine for what I want.

The worst feature is the way W10 TAKES OVER THE MACHINE AND DOES WHAT IT WANTS. For some reason W10 seems to have moved all my pix out of Picasa3. I gave it no permission to do so, and was in a total panic before I eventually found them.

Can I get these pix folders back into Picasa? If so how?

I'm no good at advice but did read that Picasa in being discontinued.

Windows 10 has worked OK but I have had occasional blue screen crashes causing a restart which I never had with 7. The error messages are incomprehensible to a layman. Last time I wrote it down: "Driver IRQL not less or equal."