Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Situation dire, Desk Top failing......

This old Vista HP laptop has Power Options in Control Panels also. Like your 10 machine it just never woke up gracefully. Another thing some folks don't like is 10's dictatorial attitude about updates.
The following link may help, getting aggressive about taking control of your operating system can help too although Microsoft doesn't consider 10 as your property.

https://macpaw.com/how-to/control-windows-updates

I never knew the 'small icon' option would give me all those different options.

Thanks, lets see what happens.

Good luck, hopefully that works. If that falls you could look for a local shop that sells refurbished office computers. I've been eyeing a local shop shop that is selling refurbished ones with Windows Pro 10 and Office 2016 installed for $200, this includes a 20" monitor, keyboard and mouse. They also come with a warranty.

To H3(( with window 10, why not strip it off and go Linux

Been running Ubuntu for 4 years now and not one single problem.

Mac too expensive? How much would you pay for a nice rifle? Which are you going to use more, a nice rifle or your computer?

I ran Linux Mint 19.1 off a bootable USB stick on a Windows 10 desktop just long enough to see that everything except the printer worked OK. This is completely reversible, if you don't like the Mint OS you just pull the USB stick and boot up windows again. Went ahead and installed Mint 19.1 with no drama. The machine has no memory of windows 10. Some nights, when the wind blows and the squirrels howl, I have dreams of those dark days under the 10.

Go to the website for Linux Mint, ubuntu manjaro linux ect. Download live cd, dvd.
Boot with cd, dvd and try linux from the drive no need to install yet if all works it is windows not the machine.
If you like install and get more life out of your computer. I have been useing Manjaro linux for 10 yrs. no hickup yet and always up to date.
charlee

You'll have to buy 3-4 windows machines to match a Mac's lifespan.

What's the opinion of this thread on buying a pre-loved Mac?

I been using a chromebook for 4+ years now, no issues.

iPad would be great for all that.

I feel your pain. Our 8 year old HP died earlier this year and I bought a new Acer. The computer is just fine but I absolutely hate the so-called "new and improved" Windows 10. I didn't sign up to have to totally re-learn everything. Now the old Windows 7 is no longer supported and lots of websites won't even work with it. It just makes me feel old, and I'm saying it's a plot against us Geezers.

Opinion would be that there's no sanitation/sterilization short of fire that would prompt me to purchase a used computer. I'm not even talking about the potential for the previous owner to somehow access all your personal data. I'm talking about the previous owner, porn sites, and residual fluids.

My HP is a 2012 model - and, so far, it's doing fine.. But I just KNOW my time is coming where it'll take a chit and it's off to the online store to buy another... Damn things..

From Apple? No qualms at all - they've been checked out and anything near failing replaced and thoroughly cleaned. From anyplace else? Pass.

https://www.apple.com/shop/refurbished/mac

I've used Mac's at home since 1987 (S/E30) and at work in a Windows-centric environment since 2000. I've also built and used Windows desktops and servers and Linux for 20 years. Other than a Fedora box in my workshop to play with it's been a Mac ecosystem at the house.

The only windows program that I wish was local is Visio and I can get that at work via a Citrix Server so no big loss. For 95% of users the apps we use are web-based and pretty platform, albeit not browser, agnostic.

The strength of Mac these days is the ecosystem. Chat messages hit my laptop, desktop, phone and iPads and work equally well. My wife adds things to a shopping list and it pops up on my notes. Photo's and music shows up as needed. It makes life much easier. I have also found that since Mac owns the hardware none of the issues I see with windows/linux compatibility and drivers exists.

They'll all work fine with proper care and feeding but I've been very pleased with Apple.

Windows is no different than any other. You just get used to it.

Hey Pugs...🎃

Kenneth,

First:

If there's stuff on the old one you want like pics, documents, or music it'd be hard to replace, get them moved someplace safe; to dvd or an online backup service; something. Don't dawdle, or you'll be sorry.

If it were my computer, I'd back it up while it's still running, then run whatever diagnostics tools available to you. Could be the disk is corrupted (no big deal), really fragmented (again, nbd), or dying. With a good backup, replacing it isn't that hard, but you'll need a revovery disk, usually made with a big USB memory stick, but a desktop might have an optical drive you can use.

If you just want to get something new, I always recommend the Mac. Once over the very short learning hump, you'll never need to learn a new OS again, just new features of OS updates. A Mini will probably allow you to repurpose your old tube. My Mini is 12 years old, and past the point of updates. I once had to reformat and restore from backup, and a few months back the disk finally crapped, so I had to replace it. Still humming along, though used mainly for playing music while I row or fondle guns. My wife has an iMac she brought with her when she moved in, and it works just like my antique.

I also have a newish laptop my father gave me running W10. Been a long time since I used Windows, except the Citrix version we used at work. No problem leaning that either since it's setup with a normal destop, unlike that mess they used with W8. You'l figure it out as you go. Seems very stable, and according to CNET, the built-in security is pretty good. If you don't want to spend a bunch of money, go to Walmart and spend $300-$400 on an HP or Acer.

If all you do is browse around, an iPad is a great tool, for about the price of a laptop. If you use an iPhone, all your apps and pics, etc will move over without much effort. I use mine a hundred times more than either computer.

I love windows 10, use the search in the bottom left to find where you want to go

My current MacBook Pro was bought from a pawn shop for $300. It had a wiped hard drive and I just cloned the drive in my older MacBook Pro. Then i swapped the memory from the old to the newer and installed an SSD drive. Runs great and the speed increase is nice.