WIN10 on new Laptop.

[Douglas JohnstonParticipant @douglasjohnston98463]

What you say about your own experience Clive is just what I was afraid of. I bought the new machine because my current machine was going haywire last week with a number of problems and hangups, and I could barely get online. I now find my current machine seems to be working perfectly and I understand that an update from Microsoft which was issued recently had caused problems with some computers.

​ That Microsoft problem has apparently been corrected which could well be why my machine is now running fine. If my current machine has been cured I am tempted to try to return the new one to PC World as no longer required. Although I have opened the box and inspected the machine, I have not switched it on so I may still be able to go down that route.

Doug

[Russell EberhardtParticipant @russelleberhardt48058]

While Windows 8 required you to have a Microsoft Account, with Windows 10 you can decide to log in with a local account rather than a Microsoft Account. I can't remember exactly where it is but it's somewhere in Settings.

You do need a Microsoft Account if you want to use Skype, Outlook, Office 365 etc., however there are alternatives.

Russell.

[PaulRParticipant @paulr]

Re-reading this thread reminded me that I bought a Windows 10 net-book with detachable tablet (Acer Aspire Switch 10 review: http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/review/windows-tablets/acer-aspire-switch-10-review-3514212/) a few months ago, hoping to install a version of Linux and use it as a media player to stream off my Rapberry Pi. Sadly it's pretty much impossible to get Linux to run on one of these devices due to the heinous 'Bay Trail' processor used to keep power consumption (and price) down.

As a result I have no use for it – if anyone wants to swap it for £10 quids worth of metal or something else useful and is able to collect it (South Staffs) I'd be happy to wave bye-bye to it – PM me. Failing that I'll just give it some 'office space': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjsSr3z5nVk

Just resetting it to pristine Win 10 condition, everything works on it as far as I know. Hope this post doesn't contravene any forum rules?

[BowberParticipant @bowber]

Windows 8 also allows a local account, I've had most windows OS since 98, missed out ME and Vista, and never had a microsoft account yet.

Windows 10 is ok, it's just a bit different to previous versions but the OS is fine. Yes you need to go into the security settings and turn off most of the junk and there is also a keylogger and voice recorder running that is meant to make your use of the Microsoft services more personal (we would call it spying) Just take a bit of time to get used to it and you'll soon be up to speed.

I have my Win 10 laptop running my CNC router via a CNCdrive UC100 usb controller and it runs very well, the old windows XP box before it was very tired.

Steve

[An OtherParticipant @another21905]

Hi, Clive – I don't want to start another round of mud-slinging with this suggestion, because it is just a suggestion.

Why don't you just take a look at Linux, just to get a feel of it?. You can do this on your new laptop if you can get it to boot from a USB stick. This can usually be done when the machine starts up – before the operating system loads, you usually get an option to enter a boot menu (maybe F2 or F12).

You can download a Mint or Ubuntu iso from their sites (I suggest Mint – more 'tradional' menus than Ubuntu) and burn it to a USB stick. You can then boot the machine into Mint from the stick and just see what is available. It makes NO changes to your installed WIndows.

The only problem I can see is that you seem to be having a hell of a problem with WIndows, so I don't know if you can burn a USB stick.

I think this will bypass all the password and account guff from Windows, and you can then see what the machine can do.

This is just a suggestion, not a request for abuse from anybody.

 

 

Edited By An Other on 16/12/2016 18:46:47

[PaulRParticipant @paulr]

@An Other: I suggested that way up in the thread. That's the great thing about Linux, you can try it without changing your system in any way.

One thing neither of us mentioned though… Clive would probably need to enable 'boot from USB stick' in the BIOS to get the device to show up in the boot menu (and possibly disable UEFI if an install is planned).

Paul.

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

I've been running Mint from a memory stick on a laptop for a couple of months, It works fine for a bit then crashes, but the memory stick is then quite warm. I'm waiting for #2 so to install it properly as I don't understand all this partitions stuff. However he is too busy with motorcycles and courting. However when I was 21 (and that's a long time ago), I was quite busy on the same issues, so can't complain

[An OtherParticipant @another21905]

Hello, Duncan,

Saw your comment about 'partitions and stuff' – most popular Linux distros will do all the 'nerd' work for you. I would suggest that really the only decision you need to make is do you want to install Linux alongside something like WIndows – this is the 'dual boot' you sometimes read about – it just means you can leave Windows on a machine, and install Linux alongside it, and when you boot the machine, a menu will allow you to choose which system you want. Most Linux installs will do all this for you.

Alternatively, you can overwrite the existing system (destroy it) and once again, Linux will do this for you. Linux uses several differnt partitions for various purposes, and most installations will do this automatically. If you are an expert user, you may want to change the partitions, but for the general user, this is not necessary – just use the default installation process.

PaulR – I thought my second paragraph in my first post mentions booting from a USB stick. I am trying to avoid being too specific about installations unless someone asks, because there are so many installation variations.

I would recommend people to do an internet search on their preferred distro installation, because there are almost always installation instructions available from the source of the distro, and it avoids propagating confusing info.

[Russell EberhardtParticipant @russelleberhardt48058]

Posted by An Other on 17/12/2016 18:22:43:

I would recommend people to do an internet search on their preferred distro installation, because there are almost always installation instructions available from the source of the distro, and it avoids propagating confusing info.

We're getting a bit off topic but I think one of the problems with Linux is the great number of distributions available. A quick look at Distrowatch shows over 280 different distributions available, many of them coming in various versions.

Although I am a Linux Mint fan I would recommend potential new users to have a look at Linux Lite as it is specifically intended for people transferring from Windows and, unusually, comes with a comprehensive online user manuaL

However, for the OP it is certainly possible to get rid of the requirement for a Microsoft account for Windows 10 but you will need one if you want to use Skype.

Russell.

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