Jump to content

Somebody Slap Me!


NoelC

Recommended Posts

Somebody slap me!

Not long ago I crafted a better looking theme atlas, in which I resurrected rounded corners on my window borders.

I brought my Win 10 virtual machine up to patch level 10586.218 and found that it runs fine. I installed Visual Studio 2015 Update 2 as a test and that went in perfectly and works great.

I did such a good job of it I actually LIKED using the Windows 10 desktop to do this updating / installing / and testing.

LooksGood.png

I caught myself thinking "gee, I could actually like using this on my main workstation".

Briefly...  Emotion trumped rational thought...  Desire overrode caution...  I almost became another sheep...  I nearly gave in to dark desires...

Thank God I came to my senses in time.

I remembered that I can't play all the media I could play with Windows 8.1 MCE.  I recalled that Microsoft is planning to deliver a disruptive in-place upgrade a few times a year.  The knowledge that Windows 10 doesn't actually DO anything better than its predecessors yet resurfaced.  

I came back to the idea that at the end of a day a pig with lipstick is still, well...

24244d1373067958t-windows-8-1-first-look

-Noel

Link to comment
Share on other sites


Oh, I do have Win 8.1 set up just as you say.  Rounded corners and all.  In fact, with a full theme replacement I have better looking controls inside the windows too.  My Win 8.1 setup is quite a pleasure to use, so I'm not really craving better for technical reasons.

It was just a matter of just momentarily NOT feeling the repugnance that Win 10 deserves, and slipping into the "maybe I really could use this" mindset, while temporarily losing sight of parts of the bigger picture.

I'm under no misconception that the older Windows systems will be viable forever - though Win 8.1 will likely be viable a little longer than Win 7, which has already passed its mainstream support end date. 

I hold the hope that there can ultimately be a hypothetically sufficient set of tweaks that (coupled with some improvements from Microsoft) would make Windows 10 actually desirable.  Some would make UI improvements (when we get past this "flat, anti-skeuomorphic" design BS, for example), and re-focus (abandon all the silly "App" BS just like they abandoned all the prior little gadget / web-integrated BS) and get back to systems that WORK. 

Lastly, someone at Microsoft has to come to their senses and decide that a new OS CANNOT be delivered every few months for the computing world to advance.  That policy has to change.  Another that needs to change is that they need to stop delivering malicious stuff through Windows Update!

The UI and technical stuff we can tweak and work around - that's how we made all prior Windows versions usable.  It's the bad policy stuff at Microsoft that evokes the need to slap people who think Win 10 is worth having.

-Noel

Edited by NoelC
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Now, it's still possible to control Windows Updates - though not as straightforwardly as before - so it could be that one could just settle on running, say, 10586 for a long time.  This isn't fundamentally a different concept from running the Long Term Servicing Branch.  That WOULD make the system more stable for longer. 

But part of the utility of Windows has always been in being current.  You know the latest software will work, because the developers keep current as well.  Boxes say "compatible with Windows nn" on the outside.  If you stick with an older version, compatibility (and support) become less a given.

Microsoft doesn't realize that by their policies - followed for decades - they had established a very powerful, very viable computing environment for the world.  What I don't understand is why, with a majority of the world's computing in hand, they suddenly felt the need to try to follow Apple and Google into the mobile space - where frankly they can NEVER succeed.

-Noel

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Microsoft slapped:  Had to do a clean install for windows 7 Pro, hard drive quite spinning.  The slap was when wuauserv grabbed over 90% of the PC memory.  It looks like Win 10 windows update has been moved into the Win 7 world.  Crap rolls down hill.  Felt like a slap.  Down graded Win 10 insider 14316 on the Crap heap because of the Win 7 slap.  Butterfly effect in the MS world.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Actually it's worse than that...  For months now, Windows 7 Updates cause a hard-loop of a core for tens of minutes to hours, depending on how powerful your CPU is.  See this thread among several others on AskWoody.com:

http://www.askwoody.com/2016/the-windows-update-takes-forever-problem/

More recently I've written this:

http://win10epicfail.proboards.com/post/2025/thread

I'm becoming more and more convinced it's a "penalty" being imposed by Microsoft for running Windows 7.  I call it "Windows 7 Deprecation As A Service".

-Noel

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, NoelC said:

Actually it's worse than that...  For months now, Windows 7 Updates cause a hard-loop of a core for tens of minutes to hours, depending on how powerful your CPU is.  See this thread among several others on AskWoody.com:

http://www.askwoody.com/2016/the-windows-update-takes-forever-problem/

Trouble is that the official fix for it is contained within one of the updates we're asked to ignore as part of our 'say no to Win10' decision.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

26 minutes ago, Yzöwl said:

Trouble is that the official fix for it is contained within one of the updates we're asked to ignore as part of our 'say no to Win10' decision.

Ain't that a happy coincidence? [/SARCASM]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quote

Trouble is that the official fix for it is contained within one of the updates we're asked to ignore as part of our 'say no to Win10' decision.

Are you sure about that?  Do you have a specific KB number that fixes the problem?  Is it one of those below?

I've reproduced it on a Win 7 test system that has only these hidden:

  • KB3035583 - GWX itself
  • KB2952664 - Diagnostics to determine compatibility with Win 10
  • KB3021917 - Diagnostics to determine if there will be performance issues with upgrading to Win 10
  • KB3068708 - Updates the Diagnostic and Telemetry service
  • KB3080149 - updates the Diagnostics and Telemetry tracking service
  • KB3123862 - adds capabilities to some computers that lets users easily learn about Windows 10
  • KB971033 - update for Windows Activation Technologies

There's far too much misinformation and speculation out there with regard to this issue, and if you have hard knowledge of an update that actually fixes the problem, please let us know.

-Noel

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, NoelC said:

Actually it's worse than that...  For months now, Windows 7 Updates cause a hard-loop of a core for tens of minutes to hours, depending on how powerful your CPU is.  See this thread among several others on AskWoody.com:

http://www.askwoody.com/2016/the-windows-update-takes-forever-problem/

More recently I've written this:

http://win10epicfail.proboards.com/post/2025/thread

I'm becoming more and more convinced it's a "penalty" being imposed by Microsoft for running Windows 7.  I call it "Windows 7 Deprecation As A Service".

-Noel

My slapless solution:  Confirmed that the Win 7 was at SP1 update level.  Disabled wuauserv.  Changed update setting to none.  17" Dell laptop is running like new now!  Maybe a "Reverse Slap?"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Reasonable, though nothing is without risk, alas.  There is the possibility - however small or large depending on your security landscape, what you use the computer for, and how conscientious you are - that one of the more recent security patches would be prudent.  My understanding is that there ARE exploits out there that take advantage of vulnerabilities some of the published patches eliminate. 

Of course, there's ALSO risk that a patch will make things more unstable too.

At the moment I'm testing a Win 7 VM with two of the above listed updates installed (KB3068708 and KB3080149), and carefully monitoring to see whether anything additional runs or is reported to Microsoft.  So far, with the other things I've done, there is no attempt at all to send telemetry, so this could potentially lower the risk of hiding updates causing system instability.  In summary, now I have only these hidden:

  • KB3035583 - GWX itself
  • KB2952664 - Diagnostics to determine compatibility with Win 10
  • KB3021917 - Diagnostics to determine if there will be performance issues with upgrading to Win 10
  • KB3123862 - Adds capabilities to some computers that lets users easily learn about Windows 10
  • KB971033   - Update for Windows Activation Technologies

FYI, the update check that led to me unhiding those two also discovered a Windows Defender update, and did NOT cause a long delay.  It's clear that there's more than meets the eye with that CPU looping behavior.

-Noel

Edited by NoelC
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...