quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:

quote:

Originally posted by dsiets:
For $30 you can get another year of Win10 updates.

How to get that?

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
Interesting. I checked Update and Security on my laptop and it offered me the option to enroll. I was prompted to sign in and Microsoft sent me a security code via email. Once I entered this code, I received message on my screen that I was enrolled in these updates at no extra cost.

Now in the upper right hand corner of my Windows Update screen, it says "Your PC is enrolled to get Extended Security Updates."

I hadn't looked into it yet on just how to pay the $30 for a years extension. (Something I saw on youtube regarding options for dealing w/ end of service)
But free is even better.
Just did it on mine. Thanks.

I was previously thinking, "If they are planning on continuing updates, why are they making people pay?"

quote:

Originally posted by StorminNormin:
Quicken said it would still function, but security updates would end 10/14/2025 for Windows 10.

Thank you for this information. I can’t have my Quicken go foul.

(I’m wondering now if this speeds my eventual migration to Mac…?)

C:/

My SS hard drive takes 13 seconds from off to ready to go.
That's real progress.

Great tip on the enrolling for extended updates option - thanks.

I can remember a PC on a scientific instrument we bought years ago at work (before anyone had personal PCs). It came with a 300 MB hard drive and we were serious when we said we'd never run out of space. Now my cellphone has 512 GB capacity .

quote:

Originally posted by StorminNormin:
I still remember my fancy 1200 baud modem.

You've got mail!

quote:

Originally posted by StorminNormin:
Ha! I remember 5.25” floppy disks ...

I remember my first computer, apple 2c, and it having a single 5.25" floppy disc. The program (e.g. word processor) ran on the floppy and when it was save you had to pull out the program floppy and insert a data floppy.

My Dad's boss had a Apple 2e with dual 5.25" floppy drives and remember thinking it'd be great to be rich like him so I didn't have to switch floppy discs.

Haha! I still remember the 286-486 days where you had to jumper every hardware change. Now you literally slap it together and it does everything.

It's insane how small PC's have become. We have desktop units at my work that are literally the size of a small book. The base of the monitor is now bigger than the actual PC.

I built a TON of PC's back from around 2000-2010 timeframe but would be totally lost now if I had to do it again, I know like the OP stated that so much has changed.

My Girlfriend has an old Microsoft Surface laptop with the removeable display so it can also function as a touch screen tablet. It's a Gen 2 device. Purchased new in 2017/2018 time frame.
The battery isn't great, but plugged into 120 vac, it IS an operational PC machine.
I recall it came with Windows 9 when it was purchased, and over time we upgraded to Windows 10.
When Windows 11 was announced, Microsoft offered a downloaded hardware checking tool, as M/S had tightened up hardware requirements for Windows 11.

Sadly, that Surface 2 failed the hardware test so Windows 11 could not be installed on it. (according to Microsoft)
The Surface 2 met the minimum requirements for processor speed, RAM, and solid state drive free space.
What it didn't have is a processor that supported "secure boot" and a particular file type system for the BIOS.

I had read online about some different methods of installing Windows 11 onto machines that did not meet the minimum hardware requirements.
Last week, I made my move!

Since the Surface 2 had come with Windows 9 Pro, and Windows 10 Pro had been the upgrade, I downloaded the Windows 11 ISO file from Microsoft without any issues.
(one ISO can do both Windows 11 Home and Windows 11 Pro, it depends which product key you have on your machine before starting the install/upgrade process)
Next, you download a free "file creator utility" called RUFUS from the Microsoft Windows Store, and save it on external media. (USB flash drive or an SD card)
The RUFUS file creator utility tool takes the Windows 11 ISO file, and removes the hardware checking requirements in the ISO file, and then creates the actual Windows 11 installation software. (the .exe file)
One important step, check the box for NOT installing Windows updates during the Windows 11 install/upgrade process, do it after the installation is complete.
I had read online unless the NOT to install Windows updates during the install/upgrade process box was checked, errors would occur.
It's no big deal to do the Windows 11 updates when the Windows 11 install/upgrade is completed, rather than during the Windows 11 install/upgrade process.

It all worked as described, not a single error message. It took about two hours to figure it all out and the end result works perfectly.
That old Surface 2 now has Windows 11 Pro installed, it's fully operational and stable. It also performs/installs Windows 11 updates.
I likely have half a day invested in total, and the old Surface 2 has a new lease on life.
It will be good for pulling/checking trail camera SD cards when at the recreational property/cabin during hunting season.
The display on the Surface 2 is at least six times the size of the average cell phone screen, so MUCH better suited for viewing images.

The biggest update/upgrade you could possibly give your computer is wipe that Redmond wanna-be mess-OS off of it, and install an up-to-date Unix/Linux variant!

Mere hardware cannot match the advances that software (especially free open source software) has made in the last couple of decades. Run your "must have" MS-Windows/MS-DOS apps in a VM if you have to, but this is hardly necessary in the 21st Century.

I miss the days of Radio Shack, Comp USA and Egghead Software stores...

quote:

Originally posted by rat2306:
I miss the days of Radio Shack, Comp USA and Egghead Software stores...

And Computer Shows!

I used to go around twice a year once in the summer and once around Christmas to this huge convention center that was thousands of square feet of people selling parts and components and software, peripherals etc. Always great prices and it was like a computer version of a Middle East bazaar where you could haggle and deal.

I think that is all gone now.

At least you don't have to pay Compuserve for internet access.

$19.95 for an hour of 16.4k. Boost it up to 25% faster at only $24.95 for a whole hour!

I still have my copy of Windows 95 with USB support.

Wait... where do you get the Windows 10 updates for a year for free?

I was just getting ready to wipe 4 PC's here at home (2 desktops and 2 laptops). The desktops were going to get Windows 11 and the laptops were going to get Linux Mint 22.2.

I would like to stay on Windows 10 as long as possible, given they can still get security updates.

PS - All systems are on Windows 10 Pro

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
My SS hard drive takes 13 seconds from off to ready to go. That's real progress.

I purchased 2 new laptops this year -- one for personal use, the other for business consulting. Both take about 15 seconds from cold start, through signing on, to ready for work.
-- Acer, Windows 11 Home, Intel 7 chip, 32 GB, 1TB SSD.
-- HP, Windows 11 Pro, AMD 7 chip, 64 GB, 1 TB SSD.
I am so used to their level of performance that anything less seems archaic. It also helps to have a healthy data pipeline into the house.

Not to date myself, but I remember when mass storage consisted of wood pulp, ground up into a paste and made into flattened panels upon which marks were made to represent letters, numbers, special characters and even graphics!

My son has never purchased a computer - he has always assembled his own. Last time I saw his computer, I noticed a radiator next to his tower. It's liquid cooled.

quote:

Originally posted by wrightd:
Much of this equipment and devices will become more virtualized as the technology progresses, probably in the same way that so much of commercial computing already has.

What exactly do you mean? What on a PC is going to be "virtualized"?

Computers!? I used WebTV a whole bunch of years so I could stop going to the library every two days to check my email.