Posted on 09/08/2013 1:00:33 PM PDT by Kevin in California
First of all, I HATE Windows.
Anyway, just bought a laptop with Windows 8 installed and I hate it as it's quite confusing.
My question, I know you're able to upgrade your operating system to a current version but are you able to downgrade your operating system? I would like to install Windows 7 which I know how to use and is less confusing. Can I do it and if so, would it be a free download from the MS site?
Thank you in advance:-)
Linux Mint will not run on my machine. I have tried to get the last three versions to work. They all seem to start up and then after a few minutes everything freezes. Same with Ubuntu.
I guess I am just used to having a desktop and the one that I had lasted for 6 years before it just stopped working..turned it on and all I saw was a purple line across the screen, no icons,no nothing..tried going in safe mode to fix it but no go..it made a lot of noise anyway, sounded like an engine so its time for a new one..its between Dell XPS 8700 and HP..just dont know what brand to go with, everyone has an opinion and their own preferences, but Im looking for something with at least 8gb of ram, 1tb hard drive, an i7 processor and a decent graphics card
Win 8 has some good features - very easy to get email, pictures, etc., tile for I heart radio, weather, news.
By the way, is there a Computer Ping list for people who are Programmers?
I secured my 1st computer in Nov. 1977. You had to learn programming in order to use it. Software has come a long way since then, so today, one doesn’t need to “know” how to program.
Despite that, I have been involved in Data Acquisition since 1995 - securing real-time data from industrial manufacturing devices, through an RS232 serial port, and writing the necessary code to facilitate this.
Are there any other FReepers so involved?
It means that any security loopholes will be left open to hackers, and those who enjoy writing virus programs that infect XP. They’ll be all over this within days, if not hours or minutes.
I’m not happy, I like XP, and don’t want to change. I’ll have too though, and if you want your computer safe, you will too.
Hmm, that is odd and unfortunate. As I understand it Mint comes from the same fundamental distro tree as Ubuntu (deb or Debian based). Maybe there’s something in there that doesn’t agree with your hardware. That has become increasingly rare these days but obviously not impossible as you’ve found out. If you have some spare time (yeah, what’s that?) you might want to try one of the RPM based distros. Red Hat’s Fedora Core comes to mind. I’ve run PCLinuxOS on machines here at home in the past too.
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
First of all, I HATE vanity posts.
Most computers have a “traditional” desktop that you can activate in Windows 8. Yes, it is a POS. it is a tablet OS for a desktop.
Use the desktop icon and ignore all the stuff it tries to do.
You can get classic shell to get your start menu and control panel back then go in and change all your defaults. Once you change all your defaults back to normal windows it will mostly operate like Win 7.
Meh. Thestandard install is just like that. I just don’t want to have to. PLUS the search sucks, etc., etc. That stuff that you’re talking about is a relatively small part of what I do with a computer, and for the other stuff, it’s very awkward and intrusive.
I liked Windows 3.1.
If all you do is surf the web and email you could even get by with a Linux machine or even a Chromebook from Google.
You cannot download Windows 7 for free. You can find some laptops and desktops that have Windows 7 and some that have 7 installed and include the disk for 8.
8 is OK with Classic Shell, or Menu 8 from IOBit. Both will bring back the start button and the program menu
Windows hating is normal.
Microsoft won’t let you downgrade, but the dealer might. Win 7 installation DVD can be had for a few buck on Al Gore’s Internet.
In my opinion, the only good thing about Windows 3.1 was that it came with DOS 6.22. I stuck with 6.22 as long as possible.
Win 3.1, '98, ME, NT, 2000, and XP, in my opinion, were all bad. Win 7 is the first MS Windows operating system that I actually think is worth the price. I would always eagerly buy the latest DOS from Microsoft because it was always better than the one it replaced, and it was cheap, around $35. Windows erased all that good will in one blow with Windows 3.1.
You are so right about Win 7.
Word 2003 is the best, The upgrade is an entire flipping publisher and too hefty to use to write a darned letter.
Is that a big deal? What does that mean for those of us who are still running XP at home?
If you run the monthly MS updates, like you should, you will find NO UPDATES for Win XP after April 2014. MS is simply going to stop patching WIN XP.
So, any hacks or exploits that are discovered after that time are going to remain wide-open.
FYI: Same goes for MS Office 2003 - MS support is ending during the same timeframe.
I also purchased MS Office 2013 and will install concurrently with Win 7 this winter.
Use Win XP and Office 2003 after April 2014 at your own peril. Forewarned is forearmed ...
BTW: Win 7 and Office 2013 should be supported by MS for at least the next 10 years ...
I secured my 1st computer in Nov. 1977. You had to learn programming in order to use it. Software has come a long way since then, so today, one doesn’t need to “know” how to program.
Not a programmer at first, but I started as a sysop back in 1970 — that amounted to reading cards (hollerith cards commonly called “IBM cards”) into a mainframe.
No job-schedulers in those days so if you pissed off the sysops, your batch job got punted to third shift (read 1-day turnaround).
Can we start the old-phart reminiscing now? “We had zeros back in those days, but had to bang two rocks together to make ones.” /grandpa_sipmson
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