I have Windows 10 installed on my new PC but still like to use Windows 7 as it is much easier.
It is under guarantee so should be faultless for some time
But just paid £250.00 for a new Hard Drive and service for my Apple Mac Pro Laptop. apparently it will now last another 4 years.
I have Windows 10 on my laptop and do not like it at all. I tend to use my iPad more than the lappy. When I complain to my son, I am told that I should have listened and bought a Mac instead of an HP. That is why he gets mad when I ask for help, he loathes Windows with a passion.
I tend to agree with him. The only problem is that Macs tend to be heavily overpriced.
If you want WIN 10 to look and behave like WIN7 then install Classic Shell. It creates the menus you are familiar with whilst retaining the advantages of a more modern faster operating system. If you occasionally want to use the windows 10 menu (?) it is only a click of the button away.
Get it from here:
I know Macs can seem to be the way to go but really, there are no shortage of people who become disappointed with them. Happy users would never agree but Macs aren’t always the answer. Try searching for ‘I hate macs’ for instance.
Mrs Mart bought an iPad 3 based on its reputation. It works OK but is nothing special. A little on the slow side if anything. After a couple of years, she gave up on it in favour of a Microsoft Surface Pro 4 (W.10 OS) and is a lot happier with its interface and performance. It is used in tablet mode without a keyboard attached.
I’d still say to try Linux Mint 18.2 if wanting to get away from MS Windows. I have it installed on my HP laptop computer. It is set up with all programs needed and customised to requirements. This being done without having to use the Linux Terminal once. Linux also costs nothing unless deciding to donate.
I’m thinking of asking Mrs Mart if I can install Mint on her desktop computer so she can say how she finds using it.
I keep thinking that I might like to try Linux Mint on one of my old laptops, but one problem that suggests I wouldn’t use it is that, as far as I know, it would not run Photoshop Elements which I use a lot.
Is there, perhaps, some means of allowing it to run that programme?
There is a Linux addition called WINE that allows some Windows programs to run on Linux but I haven’t had that much success with this and similar programs.
I don’t know how well Photoshop Elements would work under WINE (or similar) but I wouldn’t hold out much hope for it running properly. If Linux becomes popular enough, then maybe one day Adobe will bring out a Linux version.
The nearest program to Photoshop that runs on Linux is Gimp. Many will say that it equates to Photoshop pretty well. I have used this program to a degree and found it works well. Quite a learning curve to it though. There is a Windows version of Gimp available if you want to give it a try.
If you get on OK with it, the lack of being able to use Photoshop Elements might not be a show-stopper. If you have both Windows and Linux you can always start Windows when needed. Also, JPG - PNG - TIFF (and other) files are interchangeable and compatible between systems.
Thanks.
Yes, I have tried Gimp, but I found it much less convenient than Photoshop although, of course, I was used to Photoshop.
You make a good point about Linux becoming more popular and, as a consequence, Adobe and other software publishers may well be prompted to bring out Linux-compatible versions.
If Microsoft should become more dictatorial, and Windows less attractive - or, perish the thought, they begin charging for continued use of it! - having a Linux computer for some things, including internet access, and a Windows computer without internet access (so MS can’t get their sticky hands on it) for running programmes such as Photoshop, might be a good idea.
Linux and Windows can be set up on the same computer using a dual-boot arrangement (choose the system on boot up). I did this ages ago but when I decided Linux was not for me, it was difficult to put the boot system back to Windows only.
Maybe I’d find it easier now but since I’ve got more than one computer, it’s nice to keep the systems separate on different computers. Linux Mint 18.2 (Cinnamon) is on a laptop computer that originally had Windows on it.
If you have a spare computer (or two) hanging around doing nothing, it could be used as a test bed for Linux.
Just something worth mentioning: Linux isn’t necessarily light on computer resources. I installed Mint 17 on an old Desktop computer and the graphics card overheated. I had to get a better one. The computer had an intermittent fault on it that eventually became permanent (power supply I think). I didn’t bother mending it and it now lives under the bench in the garage …it has got a good graphics card in it though. 
I have a DVD with Zorin burned into it. Might load it into a laptop. Any good as an OS, and would it help to format the laptop’s HD first ?
I have tried Zorin but not for a long time. It could be best to download the latest version if you have had the disk for a while. I think Zorin is another distro (distribution) that, like Mint, tries to be easier for Windows users to get on with. Probably better now than when I tried it.
It can’t be guaranteed to work on your laptop but Linux Mint is working OK on the HP laptop I have (i5 intel processor - 8GB RAM - Nvidia graphics). The only thing not supported by Mint is the fingerprint recognition function that the laptop has. That’s not a real problem though.
If you have anything you want to keep on that laptop, don’t forget to transfer it to a USB stick or other storage media first.
Linux (Zorin) will likely come pre-installed with all the programs most people need. Probably Firefox, Thunderbird, Libre Office, image editing programs and more. Extras can be installed but the only extras I needed were Skype and Inkscape (drawing program). Everything else was there and only needed customising as regard appearance, adding mail accounts and bookmarks - adding a printer etc. All in all, a more or less workable OS from the start.
When installing Linux to a hard drive, rather than using it from the DVD, you should be asked if you want to keep the original Windows OS as well as installing Linux (dual-boot arrangement) or if you want to overwrite the existing system.
I’m not sure but overwriting might format the disk first, then write the new files to it. It’s also a while since I set up Linux in a dual-boot arrangement and I’m only assuming it would be the same as when I did it.
Edit: Forgot to mention that I added ‘Steam’ (company name) games to it as well. Steam now have a good number of games that will work on the Linux platform. The program is slow to start up on Mint 18.2 but it does work.
But they will allow you to pick and choose, if you turn off automatic updates.
The trouble is that usually, the names/descriptions given to the updates can’t be understood …but they don’t have to be done. They can be ignored altogether. Individual ones can be selected or ignored. There can be plenty of them too …especially if the release is fairly new.
Thanks Mart, I will play soonest…
You’re not wrong, I tried to save an old netbook computer by loading Ubuntu but it was soooo slow, I tried Lubuntu (less resource hungry) but it was only a marginal improvement so, alas, that computer sits unloved and unused in a box somewhere.
From memory if you install as Linux operating system only the installation program does that as a matter of course (though it might ask you) - pretty sure that was true with Ubuntu which I still use on one old laptop rescued when Vista went west.
Personally I can’t see the point of having both systems installed unless you want to try before you buy and you only need to do that once, or as in the case of Vista or XP, unless you want to spend money Linux is really the only option.
Not only will they allow you to pick and chose it is open source code so you can check every line to make sure there is absolutely nothing that you don’t like contained within any part of the operating system.
Am new round these parts, so Hello to everyone here.
I don’t know a great deal about Linux, but had a bit of a play around with different versions via a virtual machine at the end of last year. My computer is 11 years old and I was still running XP and getting scared by all the warnings about the dire consequences of doing so! 
I had problems running most versions of Linux in the virtual machine, apparently because of the age of my computer and because the processor wasn’t good enough. I am not sure whether things would have been better if I had been brave enough to try out Linux as the sole operating system - but in the end I chickened out went for the easy option and installed Windows 7. Maybe one day when our computer is finally replaced I might have another try with Linux.
Hello channeal - Perhaps it wasn’t because of the age of the computer but because of the reasons so well described here. Having said that, modern Linux won’t always be OK on an older computer. See post 95 where it says:
Comment by Mart - Just something worth mentioning: Linux isn’t necessarily light on computer resources. I installed Mint 17 on an old Desktop computer and the graphics card overheated.
Comment by Bruce - You’re not wrong, I tried to save an old netbook computer by loading Ubuntu but it was soooo slow, I tried Lubuntu (less resource hungry) but it was only a marginal improvement so, alas, that computer sits unloved and unused in a box somewhere.
I think there are sometimes compatibility issues with Linux and older computers, that particular netbook was a case in point, My computer currently running Ubuntu is slightly older made by the same company (Dell) yet It runs perfectly and fast - finding suitable drivers are sometimes the bane of life with Linux.
Thanks to mart and Bruce for replying to my message and also for explaining.
I had a bit of fun playing around with a few versions for a while, but settled for Windows 7 and am happy with that for now.
Will maybe have another try once this trusty old computer finally bites the dust.
Thanks JBR - I have tried with my hairdryer on cool, but it hasn’t worked. Will have a go with the compressed air.
