I try to avoid windows like the plague. My linux computer died suddenly. I bought a replacement (new, decent but cheap as I could get).

I was checking BIOS and RST is enabled. Linux install indicated that install may not work with RST enabled, better to switch to AHCI. To muck w/ that, I need to modify the registry if I want Windows to work someday.

Well, to get to the registry, I need to sign in to a msft account - finish installing windows. I tried all the usual tricks, including Shift-F10. No joy. MSFT is plugging all the holes and forcing you to sign in. mother fuckers. Why can't I just have a local account?

Anyway, I signed in and waiting for windows to finish updating so i an change the registry to AHCI and may be manipulate the partitions. Or not.

Maybe I'll just install linux and wipe the disk in the process. I wonder if I can just buy a laptop with linux installed. Or no OS. Why does windows have to come pre-installed? I long for the day when msft windows is gone.

after 6 continuous hours, lots of reading, lots of trial and error and reboots and re-configs, i finally got linux installed on the new machine. seems to be working fine now.

i thought this was gonna take at most 30 minutes. turns out, i didn't have to disable RST but i did need to disable encryption / bitlocker.

hope i don't have to do this again for another 10 years plus.

I'm avoiding Windows as well, especially 11.

A project tonight has been to decide what linux to install on a couple very old laptops. It looks like one will get Linux Mint or possibly Puppy Linux. The other will likely turn into a ChromeOS laptop.

Adding Ubuntu to a Windows 10 Thinkpad worked with Rufus and turning it into a dual boot system.

quote:

Why can't I just have a local account?

You can.

I do agree with you about the MS Account is a huge hassle.

Pro Version is very easy and there are some work around's with Home version.
Just Google the plans for the details (easier than taking up forum space here).

I just bought a new laptop last month. I've been using an older one with Windows 7 Pro on it for years, and I liked Win 7. My company-issued work laptop had Win 10 on it and it was fine too. So my new one came with Win 11 on it. Holy crap. I futzed around for several hours trying to make sense of that steaming pile of MicroSlop, decided "f*** this", wiped the drive and installed Linux on it. I'm much happier now.

 
Some things never change.

quote:

Originally posted by henryaz:
 
Some things never change.

Stability is good. Change scares me.

So sorry you are going through all this.

I would change to Apple post haste. It is so much easier. I have numerous ancient Apple hardware still working at the maximum performance Apple will allow, for their vintage. Refreshing the OS is simple. Hardware quality is exceptional.

Buy used, and then rebuild that machine. SSD, more RAM, etc. are usually an enjoyable afternoon project.

What 4MUL8R said. An older Apple computer can be had at reasonable cost, and if you don't want to use MacOS, a Mac is a very robust platform for Linux or genuine UNIX.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
What 4MUL8R said. An older Apple computer can be had at reasonable cost, and if you don't want to use MacOS, a Mac is a very robust platform for Linux or genuine UNIX.

When I bought a new Mac mini (M2-Pro), I hung on to the 2018 Intel mini and installed Debian linux on it. I have never used a linux desktop, console mode only, as I have always used them for their server capabilities. When I want a GUI, it is macOS. And Debian is the only linux distro I have ever used. Uptime on Debian is usually in years.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
<snip>
if you don't want to use MacOS, a Mac is a very robust platform for Linux or genuine UNIX.

What is this genuine UNIX of which you speak? It’s still available for Mac platforms? How do you get it? FreeBSD is solid, but it’s not actually unix.

On my MacBook I seldom open the finder. But I have multiple bash shells open in all Spaces.

quote:

Originally posted by Pipe Smoker:

FreeBSD is solid, but it’s not actually unix.

Linux was developed without the use of any UNIX code.

The source code of FreeBSD can be traced back all the way to the original Bell labs/AT&T UNIX. I was a software developer at Bell Labs in the early 1980's, when UNIX was coming into popular use. I later taught a number of UNIX-related courses, one of which discussed differences between the AT&T and the BSD distributions.

I just saw this video on Linux today. Sam Time's YouTube channel is pretty entertaining to me.

Just reading this stuff makes me want to puke. I do not understand it,yet am forced to deal with it on a daily basis. I cannot afford to hire a "computer guy. So I live with it and grumble. I do enjoy toying with tech guys who absolutely hate dealing with abstract concepts and questions that never have clear answers.

I'm kind of stuck in the Win/10 world. I've recently upgraded to a camera that will do Focus Stacking with a 46mp image sensor.

If you want to merge a 20 image stack into one image with every area with tack sharp focus you either sign up to bend over for Adobe once a month AND have every single image sent to the Cloud checked to insure it's not Porn or of an illegal subject such as a your toddler in a state of undress or some military installation in the background of a Landscape. Adobe also reserves the right to use any of your images for "software enhancement" or for use as an "example" for their AI Image Bank. This means that they can legally steal your images in spite of any copyright because you gave them permission when you accepted the Terms of Service. IF you agree to all of the above then you do have editing software that will run on an Apple product. If you don't agree with all of Adobe's tricks then you are pretty much stuck in the Windows environment.

As you may expect I don't have any Adobe software on my computer. Because I have never liked Adobe products because their interface sucks, they cost too damned much, and the Terms of Service is full of Crap that should not be legal.

I'm also not a fan of Software Leasing, I want to pay once and it's mine to use as long as I am above ground. BTW, currently it's Nikon NX Studio, Corel Paintshop Pro 2023 Ultimate, and Dxo 8. Between the 3 the only thing missing is automated stitching for Panoramas but that really isn't too bad to do manually. Note NX will run on Apple but Corel and Dxo won't. If NX gets AI Focus Stacking and Dxo develops an Apple app then I would be able to go Apple. It will be rather costly but probably worth it just to have someone to actually call and get help figuring how to use a feature.

It's been over a year now but when I was setting up my windows 11 laptop I just unplugged the cable modem from the router after I setup the network password. When it asked me to log in to a microsoft account it couldn't connect to the internet and there was a link on the page to bypass it "for now". Then I just never signed in to a microsoft account when it asked. I don't think I've seen it ask for a long time now.

^^^^^
Good on you Paten!