w 7 problem

[dick merrill]

My W7 desktop is acting odd. It started out by freezing up after about an hour or so, but now it freezes after only a few minutes. I was told it might be a power supply or over heating problem but at last test it ran for hours in safe mode.Problem seemed to start after loading a new Epson printer software so I uninstalled all the Epson stuff and it stills freezes up. Any ideas will be greatly appreciated.

[Cole Loftus]

Have you tried going back to the last saved restore point? I forget the exact terminology Windows uses for that, but it should be saving system restore points periodically, after each update, etc.

[Terry Carraway]

That is what they are called, Restore points. A good idea to manually set a restore point before installing new software.

[Russell Holton]

Hit should be saving system restore points periodically, after each update, etc.

It depends on if that feature is turned on.

While I would check into the software, I wouldn't completely rule out a hardware problem. Safe mode may not push the hardware hard enough to fail.

BTW, Win7 has approximately one year left before all security patches stop. You may want to factor that into your planning.

[Terry Carraway]

BTW, Win7 has approximately one year left before all security patches stop. You may want to factor that into your planning.

Yeap, but my one computer is not compatible with Win 10, so unless I decide to build a new one, I am stuck with Win 7.

[Russell Holton]

Yeap, but my one computer is not compatible with Win 10, so unless I decide to build a new one, I am stuck with Win 7.

What's not compatible? I've only seen one computer that wouldn't take it - a "netbook" with a oddball video card. Come next year, I'll probably load up Linux on it. I understand that with Wine, Linux can do a reasonable job of running a number of Windows apps.

[Dave Siciliano]

Hey Russell, I'd really appreciate it if you keep us abreast of that if you could. I'm still running Windows 7 and am considering upgrading both the computer and software, but really would like to get off the Windows bandwagon if there's a reasonable alternative that will run some of my old programs. Some aren't compatible with Windows 10.

[Russell Holton]

Hey Russell, I'd really appreciate it if you keep us abreast of that if you could.

I'll let you know how it goes. Right now, it's just a infrequently used "travel" laptop whose primary function is to be small and to off-load my photos while traveling. As such, something with a small HDD doesn't quite cut it. But there are advantages to upgrading - like USB 3.0.

But Microsoft has gotten really irritating on a number of fronts. I've installed Linux a time or two for special things but haven't dug into it at all. It works, but it's going to take time to learn how to work it. It's OK if all you want to do is run apps, but I still haven't figured out how to pop the hood and make changes.

For the record, the end of support is Jan 14, 2020.

[Bill Bridges]

Hey Russell, I'd really appreciate it if you keep us abreast of that if you could. I'm still running Windows 7 and am considering upgrading both the computer and software, but really would like to get off the Windows bandwagon if there's a reasonable alternative that will run some of my old programs. Some aren't compatible with Windows 10.

Dave,

I run Win10-64 on all my computers (5) without any issues. I did the free upgrades on 4 of them and have bought 1 where it was installed. It is my understanding that if a program will run on Win 7 that it will run on Win 10. There is a function in Win 10 (Windows compatibility mode) that tells it to run a program in Win 7. Contrary to a lot of reports, I have found Win 10 to be excellent.

Grace and Peace,

[Russell Holton]

It is my understanding that if a program will run on Win 7 that it will run on Win 10.

The biggest issue has been hardware. With Win10, the standard became 64-bit. Devices that don't have 64-bit drivers won't work on a 64-bit OS (unless you run them in a 32-bit virtual machine).

As for Win10 issues, the updates have become painful. It may decide on it's own to update at an inopportune time. I'm talking about an hour-long update. And that's not even discussing the issue they had in October where some folks lost their files. On top of that is the shovelware found even on the "Pro" version of Windows (Candy Crush, anyone?) The Microsoft of today isn't the Microsoft of old. I'm glad it's working for you, but it's been frustrating to me at both home and work. It does work, but the annoyances are adding up.

[Bill Bridges]

The biggest issue has been hardware. With Win10, the standard became 64-bit. Devices that don't have 64-bit drivers won't work on a 64-bit OS (unless you run them in a 32-bit virtual machine).

As for Win10 issues, the updates have become painful. It may decide on it's own to update at an inopportune time. I'm talking about an hour-long update. And that's not even discussing the issue they had in October where some folks lost their files. On top of that is the shovelware found even on the "Pro" version of Windows (Candy Crush, anyone?) The Microsoft of today isn't the Microsoft of old. I'm glad it's working for you, but it's been frustrating to me at both home and work. It does work, but the annoyances are adding up.

You must be running a different Win10-64 than I am. My updates are in the background and I don't know it until I turn the machine off in the evening and then it asks about restarting after the update.

As far as complexity the flight sim program I run and the supporting programs will push any operating system and equipment to the limit. I would be surprised if you are running anything as complex. I also run FSX (32-bit program) on a Win10-64 without any problems. I'm still running an old version of QBasic on my system also.

For me Win 10 is the best operating system that MS has come up with and I've had them all including DOS3.0.

Grace and Peace,

[Dave Siciliano]

Bill: I have a number of business apps which will all have to be upgraded if I move to 10. I also have old apps that I've check on and are not compatible with 10. I also have a couple trading platforms that will have to be changed, so, it's a pretty big undertaking for me. Glad it's working well for you and I may look at your sim again now that we can log some approaches on them.

[Ray Tackett]

I have a junk notebook which I loaded with the Ubuntu desktop version. Dunno how much direct WinDoze capabillity it has, but there are plenty of functional replacements which can use MS files, e.g. Libre Office instead of MS Office. It's stable and functional, but it's still a slow little notebook. There is a version of Firefox for Ubuntu, and all extensions are available and work.

I have two fairly powerful machines which have been running Ubuntu server (command line-only) for years. One has gone from version 15 to 16 LTS (Long-Term-Support) to 18 LTS. Everything has been backward compatible through the upgrades.

Unlike W10, there is no "telemetry" at all unless you turn it on.

Installation takes 1/10 the time of an XP or W7 installation. Bootup is faster, too, which is mainly a laptop issue.

My main machines are still Windows out of habit and for backward compatibility with DOS and W386/95.98 games, but for getting work done, I see nothing wrong with Ubuntu, especially if you've used an Apple before. (Apple's laptop system is another flavor of Unix.)

[Bill Bridges]

Bill: I have a number of business apps which will all have to be upgraded if I move to 10. I also have old apps that I've check on and are not compatible with 10. I also have a couple trading platforms that will have to be changed, so, it's a pretty big undertaking for me. Glad it's working well for you and I may look at your sim again now that we can log some approaches on them.

Dave,

MS support for Win 7 ends in a little over a year.

Grace and Peace,

[kmccutcheon]

I have numerous business and development applications that started out running on Windows 2000. These are used to operate the businesses and websites behind www.enginehistory.org and www.weakforcepress.com. I have ported the applications all to a Ubuntu 16.04 machine running VirtualBox, which seems to run the old Windows stuff under Windows XP flawlessly (even Windows 2000 if you want). Ubuntu takes a bit of work, but I have been able to install everything and solve all problems that cropped up using Google to find solutions.