Windows 10: A Rant: Win Updates and their frustrations.

Greetings everyone.

Installing the Fall update.
Took me the whole day, about.
I hoped, that MicroSoft had learned by now, or changed their point of view on a few topics, but no...

I made sure, before the update, that my system was as clean as possible, and updated to the last drivers/software.

The download went very smooth, for which my thanks, and I must concur: NEVER had an issue in this regard.

Installation took bloody long, odd since I have quite a beast as system.

Upon being installed, and entering the OS, I am greeted by a blinking screen, and a message that one app is causing trouble due to being incompatible.
I uninstalled StartIsBack (the Windows 7 Taskbar mod for Windows 10).
Frankly, the Metro System and the Metro Taskbar are absolutely NOT what I like, au contraire.
I cannot grasp the fact, that the BEST idea ever in the Windows history (and I am around since version 1.01 I think it was, in 1985, which worked under MS-DOS), the "Windows 7 Taskbar" as many call it, was removed and replaced by this new.... thing...
I hoped, they would at least give us the choice/option to either go for the old taskbar, or this new horror.
After uninstalling the StartIsBack app and restarting, I come to the conclusion that the Metro horror does not work as it should be working, half the options are simply dead (such as menu options, the taskbar button, ...).
So, I am forced to reload my Acronis backup.

Did this, entered Windows, uninstall StartIsBack, reboot, upgrade...
Upgrade done, entering Windows, which promptly asks for DotNet 3.5.
No matter what I tried, I could not install DotNet 3.5, due to error 0x800f9something, which I could not get fixed.
None of the fixes helped.
Redeploying Acronis, remove StartIsBack, install DotNet 3.5, upgrading, restart and enter Windows.

Now I come to the conclusion... that my Realtek sound driver isn't working.
Reboot into Safe Mode, deactivate Auto-Driver install, deactivate and uninstall driver, reboot into Safe Mode, install THE SAME DRIVER... and voila, it works.
Odd, that the driver was corrupted over this upgrade, as it 'was incompatible'.
If it actually was incompatible, then why does it accept and run the same driver, clean installed?

Create Acronis Backup, restart into windows, as experiment I install the SAME version of StartIsBack, restart system... it works.

Wait, why was Windows Fall Upgrade being so extreme on this program?
Especially as it seems 100% compatible with the Fall Upgrade???

I have a few files, which Windows Defender seems to see as a 'virus', worms to be precisely, files that belong to simple games.
I open Defender, tell Defender that these files are allowed, then tell Defender to restore these (which Defender every so often refuses), only to have them removed again when Defender feels like doing this (it is very random thus).
How come, when I exclude a folder or file, Defender seems to either forget this, or ignore this?

Windows Explorer: I removed Quick Access on each new upgrade, only to have it staring back at me after yet another upgrade.
I made this register key, only to figure out the register key in the register is secured, and refuses to be overwritten.
Fun.
But not really.
It is quite a tedious task to manually remove this Quick Annoyance.
Why this is so protected, only the Windows god knows.
Quite silly to overkill this register part in this way, especially since it is such a non-important, not valuable something.

Other settings too are undone, makes me wondering, is MS that disrespecting it's customers?
I mean: why blocking or removing parts 'for incompatibility reasons' while in fact these things are not at all incompatible?
In StartIsBack's case, why be so hard on this program?
They only brought back what you, Microsoft, took away from us, never even asking if we wanted that.
You forced things on us, shoving some through our throat with no option to undo this, in the name of evolution, of progress, but to me personally it truly feels more like a de-evolution, a deminishment, where, to me, Windows 7 was THE best ever windows version so far.

I truly hope that some of these annoyances will be dealt with in your next 'seasonal upgrade' (option for decent taskbar, fixes for several errors, like the one I had, ...).

Thank you,
A frustrated Xog.

:)

 

Removing unwanted TSR programs like Cortana

Never mind, just a frustrated rant, because I was too stupid to disable an OS addon T_T

 

How do you save your contacts to your sim card on the Samsung Focus or export your contacts to another Samsung Focus?

No problem. I've ranted on this forum plenty myself...

 

Win10 seems solid under the hood but I’m not understanding the need for this rolling release nonsense. There just isn’t enough difference between releases to justify it.

It looks like all they’re doing is updating apps that come with the OS. Why does it take an in-place upgrade to add some frosted glass effects to your theme and apps? Seems like the feature updates exist only to push this “Windows as a service” model and to drop support for whatever hardware they feel like at the time.

It’s an Operating system that exists for the purpose of managing any applications and hardware the user wants to use, not a damn cable tv station or a mobile phone App Store/launcher.

You can attach fancy names to your updates all you want but it doesn’t gloss over the fact that all you’re really doing is annoying people that simply want to get **** done. In-place upgrades twice a year, forced non security related driver updates, rearranging stuff for the sake of change, no QA beyond the volunteer community and a CEO that believes app advertising and auto installing apps you might like without your consent is ethical, alienating businesses with a mobile mindset in a desktop OS are going to hurt MS at some point down the road.

 

Apparently that is the justification - small bite-sized changes from one release to the next. A continuous evolution instead of the 'culture shock' of shifting from 7 to 8, and then 8 to 10.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/win.../waas-overview

 

@Bree

Name one “culture shock” during a major release of Windows that impacted users for months after release.

“Windows 8!”

Why was that release such a shock?

“The Start screen!”

Make a case for the reason the Start menu. How has your work flow been positively impacted by it? How were you less productive on previous versions of Windows?

I’m not against change except change for the sake of change. They don’t need to push an in place upgrade twice per year. They’re doing it because they feel it makes them look nimble, which is all the rage these days.

 

If they upgrade it far enough it will make users buy new hardware that will run it. They did not start making The Surface for nothing, They did not give Win 10 away for free due to their generosity.*Smile

 

You asked why Microsoft changed their service model - I provided Microsoft's reasons (I didn't say I necessarily agreed with them *Smile)

Actually I avoided 8 precisely because I couldn't be bothered with the steep learning curve. I made an emergency purchase of a used Win7 instead of a new Win8 when my faithful XP box died a sudden death.

We're now more than two years into Windows 10. Have you actually run an RTM 10240 recently? I do, I have all versions available on my test machine (system two in my specs). 1709 is very different from the original 1507, but can you say you have noticed the changes? Lots of small changes add up to a major shift, but it's been so gradual you don't notice unless you can step back in time.

 

Unless one is into 3D Virtual reality 1709 is not of any help to the average Windows user. The features that are in 15063 are about the level that most users will ever need.

 

I noticed changes but none of them have added much value IMO.

Sorry if I came off like a troll. I just get irritated with some of the stuff companies pull these days.

Getting old *Smile

 

Windows 10 is getting increasingly hard to swallow lately,
it's not an operating system anymore, it's a friggin Toy Store!

(Had to throw my 2¢ in there!) *Wink

 

You are not the only one my Friend. Many users are not happy. I am staying on 15063 as long as I can.

 

Unfortunately we have to embrace change now, or risk using a vulnerable system. 15063 will be out of support in nine months.

Microsoft | Windows lifecycle fact sheet

 

I share the frustration. I blocked the spring update, and I'm blocking the fall.
I'm fine with Windows 10. I don't need Windows 11 and 12 pushed onto me. There's no need.

And, after reading in these pages the horror stories of problems resulting from the updates I have to ask myself:
Q: Do I want to update this new system, which has NOTHING broken now, and risk breaking it?
A: No.

My next OS upgrade will come with the next, replacement computer. That'll be about five years from now.

Since we're now at Windows 13 and we're seeing two releases per year, that future box will probably ship with Windows 23. That'll be my next version.