Real Life

by Bryan

10 comments

1 Kryten42 { 04.08.18 at 11:27 am }

Speaking of *Real Life*(tm)… One of my major hassles recently, is Win10 (what a surprise!) The last 2 major updates broke a lot of things especially with App compatibility! There were a couple essential & a few non-essential App’s (OK… Games) that even theough they were written for Win10 (released in 2016/17) I had to run in Win7 compatibility mode! How insane is that? *SIGH*

ANYWAY… I found a great free tools that is basically a collection of other freeware/donationware tools & links to standard, but not always easy to find, Win10 settings. It helped me a lot in troubleshooting and repairing issues. SO, I thought I’d share it. maybe it will save someone’s sanity!

One of my biggest recent problems after the Nov/Dec Win10 LTS Branch update, I could no longer update or install drivers with standard or even commercial tools I have! But PatchMyPC & SDI Origin in this little toolbox fixed that. 🙂

Windows Repair Toolbox

Hope this help’s someone. 👍🏾😊

2 Bryan { 04.09.18 at 8:00 pm }

I missed this and I’m probably going to need that group of utilities this week for the monthly patchfest. At least Win 10 has started loading in less than a geologic era due to one or another patch, but it continues to be annoying. I think think they are still in doubt as to what they want it to be when it grows up.

Thanks for the link 🙂

3 Kryten42 { 04.10.18 at 12:58 am }

Any time. 🙂 It also has some good Malware removal tools. I also like the inbuilt notepad! I used that to keep track of error codes and what tools/step’s I tried & results. 😀

Best way to use it for anti-malware is to create a Bootable USB Win10 installation and put it on that. Win10 is needed because the tool needs .NET 4 or later and uses some inbuilt Win10 tools.

here’s a step-by-step guide if needed (use option 2 – Rufus) to created the USA drive.
Windows 10: Create Bootable USB Flash Drive to Install Windows 10

Have fun!

4 Badtux { 04.10.18 at 1:18 am }

The only good thing to say about Windows 10 is that it is far better than Windows 8. At present it appears to have reached Windows 7 levels of reliability while surpassing Windows 7 security-wise. Of course, that is not a very high barrier to reach.

I run ClassicShell because I cannot tolerate the native Windows 10 tiled menu. Other than that, I just use it as a platform for launching programs. Chrome is Chrome, regardless of whether it is running on MacOS, Windows, or Linux.

5 Kryten42 { 04.10.18 at 2:18 am }

Yep. That’s why I paid for an LTSB license (though to get one, you have to know a legit seller that will sell you a single license, or in my case, 3). Funny thing, the LTSB licenses were cheaper than a Pro license! So win-win! Most places will only sell bulk because the M$ paperwork is a PITA! purposely I’m sure! Otherwise, everyone with a clue would get one.

No: Cortana, App Store, Edge, Geolocation/GPS services, Bing, OneDrive, Telemetry, SpyNet, Defender, DRM, WiFi Sense… etc, etc, ad nauseam!

My W10 install is half the normal size. I get regular security updates, when I want them only, except for major update every 2 year (last Nov/Dec was the most recent & that was a PITA!)

It takes some work, but can be made stable. So long as everything that can be removed is!

6 Bryan { 04.10.18 at 1:49 pm }

M$ doesn’t want people with the Enterprise edition to use the LTSB for anything other than process control. They want the office drones to use the annoying ‘full featured’ version with all of the dross, cruft, and rococo doodads that will hinder them from doing their work. In general when I saw someone talking to a computer I suggested a ‘mental health’ day. In the current cubical/open office environment you don’t need computers making noise.

I, too, am using Classic Shell so I can navigate the system and have forced the screen to look as much like my Win 7 and XP screens as possible. They even managed to screw up Solitaire, which really sucks. The Win 10 box is normally used to provide background music. It hasn’t screwed that up yet.

7 Kryten42 { 04.12.18 at 12:28 pm }

You reminded me… Not sure if I posed this late last year, I intended to!

I came across this great Sourceforge Win10 project, called “Windows 10 Lite (Better Privacy)”. I use it on my Notebook.

Windows 10 Lite (Better Privacy)

I found it via the awesome Black Viper (that I know I commented about many years ago!) been using BV since Win XP as my go to source for tweaking & configuring Windoze.

Black Viper’s Windows 10 Service Configurations

8 Bryan { 04.12.18 at 8:48 pm }

Thanks for the links. If I ever have to use Windows 10 for anything important I’ll need them. Currently I boot Win 10 in that box for updates and Amazon Music when the lady who cleans my house is here. The work that is currently done on that machine is done after I boot Linux. 😉

Oh, I forgot to add that after the latest update I had to delete the Amazon Music app and install a new download.

9 Kryten42 { 04.13.18 at 1:09 am }

The BV link has all the tweaks and info since Win XP on the site. A very useful resource for anyone who uses multiple Win releases. 🙂

For music, I’ve been using this very excellent freeware player developed by a Russian group. It’s small, easy to use, can be configured any way you want and has a ton of useful features. I’ve been using it for many years and it’s never let me down. I’ve tried them all, even commercial ones. Look and feel can be changed by one of the many available skins. There re plugins for everything. They also have an Android version, another reason I use it. Then I have a consistent interface on all my devices. 🙂

It’s won quite a few awards for excellence. 🙂

AIMP

10 Bryan { 04.13.18 at 4:46 pm }

I saw that and will be looking at the Win 7 stuff because that is what’s on this machine and my laptop.

I have an Amazon Prime account and can stream all kinds of music legally without saving on my local machine. I use it for background noise so I don’t have to hear the traffic or the tenants.