Going Chrome OS - Abandoning Windows 8 and the PC

[Homercidal]

Remoted in. Uniondr, if you are back on, you need to restart the remote software so i can get back in.

He ain't lying about how slow it gets sometimes!!

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah, that friggin' hacker fubared the start menu/windows pop up. He definitely dismembered file locations/associations. At least it's a lil better now. Now if Rufus would work, & this darn thing would work removeable drives properly...

 

[Schlenkerla]

Remember when you make a USB drive for Zorin. You need to download the correct file, 32 bit or 64 bit. Then burn the iso to USB.

I use "Unetbootin" to make the USB a boot drive.

http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net

The file will download and the exe file will be in your download folder. No install on windows if recall correctly

 

[The_Bishop]

After monkeying with both of them the other day, I have to say I recommend Linux Mint over zorin. Mint seems more finished and polished and didn't have any hardware or driver issues.

 

[unionrdr]

I'll keep all this in mind till I get windows associations, etc working right again so I can save stuff to the flash drive & external 2TB hard drive. Gotta do that first. Then try to use the Linux stuff. I have to say windows 7 would be OK id it weren't so hack-able. (darn spell check!). But I'm getting quite weary of windows BS. Wanna at least tery the Linux/Ubuntu/Zorin stuff. Something less hack-able would give a lot more peace of mind. I have the 32 bit version (1.3GB?) Zorin saved. Just can'r get removable drive stuff to work 100% yet...

 

[IslandLizard]

After monkeying with both of them the other day, I have to say I recommend Linux Mint over zorin. Mint seems more finished and polished and didn't have any hardware or driver issues.

Thanks for the HU.
I just looked at LinuxMint Cinnamon and must say it promises to be spectacular and very clean with that minimalistic look. I grabbed the torrented image and I'll load it up in a VM to check it out.

One of my old P4 file servers ran on early Ubuntu, but at that time getting the right drivers that actually worked with the RAID card was like pulling teeth. I'm quite hopeful most of those early driver issues have been corrected since.

 

[Homercidal]

I'll keep all this in mind till I get windows associations, etc working right again so I can save stuff to the flash drive & external 2TB hard drive. Gotta do that first. Then try to use the Linux stuff. I have to say windows 7 would be OK id it weren't so hack-able. (darn spell check!). But I'm getting quite weary of windows BS. Wanna at least tery the Linux/Ubuntu/Zorin stuff. Something less hack-able would give a lot more peace of mind. I have the 32 bit version (1.3GB?) Zorin saved. Just can'r get removable drive stuff to work 100% yet...

If you are moving away from Windows I'd say skip the library fix and get to your files another way. You can copy files from the File Manager easily enough. The start menu is just one way to get to them. I will be honest, I'm not sure I've ever used that method myself. I am almost always a WINDOWS+E person. Makes the File Explorer pop right up. I can go to anywhere I want from there pretty easy.

I have to go some stuff for work this morning then maybe we can try to get a USB boot stick made up so you can load some Distro of Linux.

I haven't seen Mint, but Zorin looks pretty nice. I have a friend who basically switched all of his household computers to Mint. most family members were fine with it. I'd have to have a VM or partition with Windows on it, but I could probably use some form of Linux for daily stuff.

 

[unionrdr]

OK. we can go through it later if you still feel like messing with it. I just want to be able to save things to the right external device. Like zorin to stick, the rest to external hard drive.

 

[Owly055]

I've used Linux SUSE for many years now as my primary OS. I unfortunately have to have one system on Windows for a specific mission critical application. This system runs ONLY that application, nothing else, not a browser, not an email program, no office applications, NOTHING. It's the only way I've ever found to keep Windows reasonably stable, and avoid the inevitable performance and stability degradation. The only security software I use on it is Microsoft Security Essentials, as security software has proven to be one of the worst culprits. Windows SUCKS!! It always has.

SUSE has proven rock stable and reliable. Open SUSE comes with a complete set of drivers for virtually everything you need. The installation is fast and simple, and includes all the software I need. You don't have to set anything up..... everything works "out of the box" (hardware). Your internet and networking, email, everything .... is set up and functional when you complete the installation. It will co-exist with Windows with no problems.

Unfortunately the most common user interfaces, KDE and Gnome, have both been "improved"........... Gnome worst of all, so I've been forced to switch to one of the others.... no problem as you can use any of them. I use MATE.

I can't imagine going back to Windows...............

H.W.

 

[unionrdr]

Windows 7 isn't that bad at all. But I'm just getting tired of it's being the most hacked OS in the world. But zorin sounds like it's more involved to use than windows? Like things have to be done a bit more manually than windows stuff?

 

[IslandLizard]

Windows 7 is really good, and very stable. I have 3 machines here running it, one being a "server," on 24/7 pretty much.

Few Tips:

1. Run Chrome, ditch IE. It's way faster and leaner on your system too.
   
   
2. get Adblock Plus (free plugin). It quiets your browsing experience and prevents most of those intriguing "Click Me" buttons. Curiosity kills the cat.
   
   
3. get a decent AntiVirus program. Avast has been working well for me, and is amazingly unobtrusive. It catches inadvertently clicked bad links and websites.
   
   
4. Stop clicking on boxes, links, and buttons that you don't expect.
   
   
5. If something tells you your machine is infected: "Click Here to fix" you need to kill that window either from the task bar or in the Task Manager (Control-Alt-Delete). DO NOT CLICK anywhere on those windows or buttons.
   Alternatively, unplug the machine.

Safe and happy browsing!

 

[Homercidal]

Windows 7 is really good, and very stable. I have 3 machines here running it, one being a "server," on 24/7 pretty much.

Few Tips:

1. Run Chrome, ditch IE. It's way faster and leaner on your system too.
   
   
2. get Adblock Plus (free plugin). It quiets your browsing experience and prevents most of those intriguing "Click Me" buttons. Curiosity kills the cat.
   
   
3. get a decent AntiVirus program. Avast has been working well for me, and is amazingly unobtrusive. It catches inadvertently clicked bad links and websites.
   
   
4. Stop clicking on boxes, links, and buttons that you don't expect.
   
   
5. If something tells you your machine is infected: "Click Here to fix" you need to kill that window either from the task bar or in the Task Manager (Control-Alt-Delete). DO NOT CLICK anywhere on those windows or buttons.
   Alternatively, unplug the machine.

Safe and happy browsing!

Excellent advice. I never thought of Adblock being a reason for me never getting viruses and spyware, but you make a good point and it probably helps a LOT.

uniondr's computer is older and to be honest, hardware is not up to date for modern browsers etc. I think a switch to Linux, provided the hardware drivers can all be loaded, and these days that's not a big problem for Linux) it should be a net gain in performance over Windows.

I'm a Windows fan. The biggest flaw it has is that it's a massive target for hackers and code writers. It has come a LONG way the past several versions (every other).

If/when Linux gets enough users to make virus and spyware coders take notice, it too will have it's problems. No software is bulletproof. And let's not forget the recent security issues that happen to plague Linux. They are big deal to a LOT of people

My biggest complaint with Linux is/was lack of proper driver support. The other big complaint is the lack of decent how-tos. most of them assume you have a guru-like knowledge of the OS in order to install and configure some of the most basic things. This too has come a long way.

I feel as though there are a lot of good designers and coders for Linux, but nobody wants to take the time to document properly, or if they do, it's documented for a high level of understanding, rather than for the common person.

Oh well, it's still way better than it was 10 years ago. I noticed the desktops have started to resemble the classic Windows desktops, which is important to people migrating from Windows.

 

[unionrdr]

All good to know. I have spyhunter 4, but it doesn't work like an active preventer. Blew so much $$ since March on security Idk? How to delete IE? The usual way? Using Google chrome now...

 

[Homercidal]

IE is in there. You aren't getting it out until you go to Linux. Just don't use it.

I ONLY use free security software at home. At work I use Eset NOD32 for corporate antivirus.

At home it's Avast Virues and I use Malwarebytes for spyware on computers I'm cleaning up. Sometimes I use a specific utility to help clean up a specific threat, or to repair the registry when some dumb F#$%er writes a virus that modifies it. Other than that it's manual cleanup and run a few scans with the two security products.

The biggest thing is to know what to click on and what NOT to click on. Know what is legit and what isn't legit.

And I admit I'm often not on the most legit of websites... I should probably have a sandbox set up for some of that.

 

[IslandLizard]

All good to know. I have spyhunter 4, but it doesn't work like an active preventer. Blew so much $$ since March on security Idk? How to delete IE? The usual way? Using Google chrome now...

Spyhunter and Malwarebytes are great tools to find and eradicate viruses, trojans, malware, and other malicious bugs, but...

...the best approach is NOT to get them in the first place. I'm serious, there are very few people that get actively hacked out of nowhere. Most if not all infections and security breaches come from downloading and executing payloads. In other words, the user invited them in. So stop doing that and you'll circumvent all those problems.

You cannot easily uninstall IE. Just don't use it. Set the default browser to Chrome. Chrome even asks you to do that, at time of installation.

The only time you should use IE is to download Chrome. Or Mozilla, Opera, or any other great browser. Mozilla is a bit heavy on memory, and Chrome can get there too, if you have many, many tabs open.

To stay on our forum's topic, my "Brewputer," an older XP laptop, won't even run IE anymore, it slows to an agonizing crawl. No problems with Chrome, though, even with 10 tabs open.

 

[edco76]

I never have driver issues any more with linux. UNless you have some sort of really weird hardware, I dont see it being an issue.

 

[unionrdr]

Well, homercidal knows my computer better than the rest, including me! So now I'm not sure which OS to keep, as I'm not the programming student anymore. A system that assumes I know all about OS's & doing things manually might not be a good thing? But this one sure as hell needs work to get it all "back to normal"! And I still like the idea of something to keep viruses, etc out to begin with. I just don't know anymore which one to pick. Malwarebytes doesn't get anywhere near as specific about what it finds compared to spyhunter 4. So some preventative software, free better still, would be great. And chrome is my default browser. Pretty decent after getting used to it. Sorry if this reply took awhile, I was working on my book about John Henry & The Blue Collar World...

 

[IslandLizard]

IF you decide to stick with Win7, you can get Comodo AV. They have a truly free version, and only get it from their site, of course, nowhere else.

 

[unionrdr]

I found Avast's website & downloaded/installed free version as mentioned. Works pretty decent so far with chrome. It even checked add-ons for bad stuff/ what prevents it from working 100%, etc. Not bad for free! I needed some preventative measure anyway. Even chrome working a bit better now. Hey homer, it's interesting that those programs you mentioned that could be bringing in spyware, etc having been removed seems to be working. Thanks for that. Avast found nothing of the usual BS. Now if I can just get everything working again, this 5 year old machine with windows 7 would be fine. Certainly easy to use vs manually done stuff on the other OS?

 

[IslandLizard]

I found Avast's website & downloaded/installed free version as mentioned. Works pretty decent so far with chrome. It even checked add-ons for bad stuff/ what prevents it from working 100%, etc. Not bad for free! I needed some preventative measure anyway. Even chrome working a bit better now. Hey homer, it's interesting that those programs you mentioned that could be bringing in spyware, etc having been removed seems to be working. Thanks for that. Avast found nothing of the usual BS. Now if I can just get everything working again, this 5 year old machine with windows 7 would be fine. Certainly easy to use vs manually done stuff on the other OS?

Ah, good. You're all set now?

I see, Avast offers a truly free edition. Excellent!

During day to day work I've found Avast the most quiet and least intrusive of all AV products I've tried in the past. No irritating balloon pop ups the whole day (Hi, I'm here...), only when something suspicious was being detected.
It also offers a few special features I've not seen offered by its competitors.

 

[unionrdr]

Ah, good. You're all set now?

I see, Avast offers a truly free edition. Excellent!

During day to day work I've found Avast the most quiet and least intrusive of all AV products I've tried in the past. No irritating balloon pop ups the whole day (Hi, I'm here...), only when something suspicious was being detected.
It also offers a few special features I've not seen offered by its competitors.

You got that right! very unobtrusive compared to so many I've used over the course of time. Now if I can fix the rest, I'm good for awhile longer. Once again, thank you all for your knowledge & patience. I still want to get the removable drive thing fixed though. And some file associations, etc. Get it back to where it should be functionally.

 

[Homercidal]

IMO IF you install Linux I doubt you will have a problem with it. As a repair and configuration "expert" I find it difficult to work with. I think it takes years of experience to get to the point where things are as easy to do as in Windows. As a user you might never have to mess with it. It really depends on the person behind the keyboard.

Any of those lightweight Linux distros should run better on your hardware.

That said, a clean Windows 7 should run as well, but you will have to be careful about loading up too many browser windows, applications, etc. at a time. 2 GB is below my recommended starting point for Win7. 1.8Ghz CPU is somewhat low too. It's like putting too much in the back of a pickup. At some point you just put too much in. Yeah, they come out with newer, more powerful trucks, but they cost $$. You still have to be careful about the hitchhikers you pick up along the way!

Now I don't' use Chrome. I don't' have a problem with it, I just got used to Mozilla. I'm sure there must be an adblock plus install for Chrome. I highly recommend it. You can set exceptions for certain sites you might want ads on, like Homebrewtalk.com. And you may need to enable ads for *some* sites in order to get them to load properly, but that will be a VERY rare occurrence. So much so that I don't think it's worth thinking about.

 

[unionrdr]

Seems to me I had addblock plus at one time? Have to look at it sometime.

 

[IslandLizard]

IMO IF you install Linux I doubt you will have a problem with it. As a repair and configuration "expert" I find it difficult to work with. I think it takes years of experience to get to the point where things are as easy to do as in Windows. As a user you might never have to mess with it. It really depends on the person behind the keyboard.

Any of those lightweight Linux distros should run better on your hardware.

That said, a clean Windows 7 should run as well, but you will have to be careful about loading up too many browser windows, applications, etc. at a time. 2 GB is below my recommended starting point for Win7. 1.8Ghz CPU is somewhat low too. It's like putting too much in the back of a pickup. At some point you just put too much in. Yeah, they come out with newer, more powerful trucks, but they cost $$. You still have to be careful about the hitchhikers you pick up along the way!

Now I don't' use Chrome. I don't' have a problem with it, I just got used to Mozilla. I'm sure there must be an adblock plus install for Chrome. I highly recommend it. You can set exceptions for certain sites you might want ads on, like Homebrewtalk.com. And you may need to enable ads for *some* sites in order to get them to load properly, but that will be a VERY rare occurrence. So much so that I don't think it's worth thinking about.

Well said.

Within Chrome, go to Adblock Plus and it will offer the plugin to install.

Turn on the switches (if they're there) and UNcheck to "allow unobtrusive advertising."

It also suppresses all the pestering ads in Yahoo Mail, including the one on the top line < ugh >, sidebars, etc. and the annoying clicking noises they make on reloads.

Best of all: < drum roll please > It suppresses those annoying ads that prefix YouTube videos. Now you can finally view those vids again the way it used to be.

Re: Linux
Much smaller runtime footprint than any other OS, except for MSDOS then. Still worth considering, IMO.

 

[atoughram]

[*]get Adblock Plus (free plugin). It quiets your browsing experience and prevents most of those intriguing "Click Me" buttons. Curiosity kills the cat.

Good advice! Thank You!

 

[IslandLizard]

Good advice! Thank You!

YVW, spread the news!

Ads have become a large annoyance. Once you notice them you can't un-notice them, they're like mosquitos. A friend of mine actually led me to that plugin a few years ago. Comes for most browsers. Life is good again.

 

[Schlenkerla]

Windows 7 isn't that bad at all. But I'm just getting tired of it's being the most hacked OS in the world. But zorin sounds like it's more involved to use than windows? Like things have to be done a bit more manually than windows stuff?

Unionrdr

I suggested zorin only because it one that's an easy way to move into linux and away from Windows. The looks are similar. Not exact, just very similar. It comes with WINE for running Windows programs.

You can run Zorin from the boot media. USB, CD or DVD. If you don't like it, don't install it. So it's no loss to try it on your Windows machine now.

I agree with the earlier comment about Zorin not being polished. I was thinking its mainly the old monitor. The OS works good but it lacks the "3D" shadow that is pervasive in window frame within every Windows pop up.

Try it you'll know what I mean.

Linux Mint is a very very good choice too. They don't try to copy the appearance of Windows though.

If you have a smart phone, and get a new one every time the contract is up. Then have to learn the subtle changes to your phone, well you'll find that learning Linux will be about the same when it comes to getting accustomed to the GUI.

 

[unionrdr]

I already have zorin 32 bit downloaded. I just gotta get removable disk drive windows stuff to function correctly. Plus saving zorin to flash drive as a bootable...

 

[Homercidal]

I'm sorry for not getting back with you uniondr. I had an unexpected chore today to attach an old COMMODORE monitor to an EDM machine that they were working on when the monitor died. The pinout was very odd. They recommended I try swapping the monitor from another EDM machine that has seen it's last daylight, but it's an entirely different kind of monitor.

So back to ordering a D15 plug and D9 plug to try to get the Commodore monitor hooked up JUST so they can determine if the machine is any good.

Just had to uninstall a Windows update because it was messing with our new ERP system and then help a guy having trouble getting emails from a specific person and then replace a keyboard in accounting...

I'm pretty sure this is Monday in disguise.

 

[unionrdr]

Sounds like you got your work cut out for you this weekend. This thing's working well enough for the moment. Got to look at those file associations at some point this weekend & see if I can do anything. Got extraneous stuff cleared out pretty good. Some windows updates didn't want to install on this one either. WU seems to have glitches of it's own? Good enough for now...