Home · Register · Join Upload & Sell

Moderated by: Fred Miranda
Username  

  New fredmiranda.com Mobile Site
  New Feature: SMS Notification alert
  New Feature: Buy & Sell Watchlist
  

FM Forums | General Gear-talk | Join Upload & Sell

1
       2       end
  

Archive 2017 · Windows 10 update misery. Help on simple stuff?

  
 
Pavel
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Windows 10 update misery. Help on simple stuff?


I was going to run some Capture One testing on my PC. It's a box which fortunately I have a removable SSD drive bay in and so if I need to use the nuclear option, I won't feel much pain, but ...

After hitting the power button, windows did one of those updates we can't stop, even by begging, and it went through several re-boots. I hate that but such is life with windows 10. But this time, it re-set all those things I had customised for myself. It was not as bad as a whole new instsall, but so many settings were set back to spyware like status and also to send me notifications. Now, I HATE notifications. It's like a bad drunk at a party always wanting to give me a suggestion. I turn them off and feel better for it.

But now, it must be some hard to discover secret. I used to work in IT, but I no longer do, so I don't really want to enjoy fixing problems now. I don't even want to keep up with all the changes. I just want to use my blasted Raw developer.

So these two questions are probably obvious and so I hope very easy.

1) in notifications & actions, every item has been set back to defaults. But this time a bunch of things are greyed out. Without resorting to registry hacks, how can I get ALL notifications turned off? All but one drive are greyed out now.

2) many windows apps that I had deleted in making my windows experience somewhat my own and uncluttered have been put back. This time I can't delete even more of Microsofts choices and that's fine. But I'd like to get rid of the thirty or so shortcuts in my START menu. It is "my" desktop right? Well, I can't. And it drives me NUTS! I have to scroll through 24 items like a shortcut like View 3D, Sticky Notes, voice recorder Cortana and more. I will never use these, how please can I delete them from cluttered menu? I suspect it's really obvious, but not to me after this latest. Someone please help. Registry hacks are fine on this one btw. I'm rusty but willing.

Burger King lets me have it my way. Am I expecting too much from windows 10? If I get this set up to where I enjoy using it again, I shall unplug this box from the internet. Seriously. I'll use removable drives to move my files around or slide in my Windows 8.1 or maybe even Win 7 back in the tray. But how long will the programs such as Photomechanic and Capture one run on Win 7, I wonder?



Aug 18, 2017 at 01:05 PM
Pavel
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Windows 10 update misery. Help on simple stuff?


oh ... and if anyone can explain how to neuter, destroy, sabotage and stab a thousand times that program Cortana, if five easy steps - I'd be much obliged. He's creepy and keeps showing up uninvited. He seems to have the keys.


Aug 18, 2017 at 01:11 PM
Pavel
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Windows 10 update misery. Help on simple stuff?




so just to update this: I got a very nice guy from M$ to remote access into my machine. He said that the changes were a feature of the update - to make it more user friendly.

He then went after getting the ok, and changed several services so that they stopped temporarily, including as a last one the update service. I couldn't follow all of what he was doing but it seemed to be pretty logical.

now he is rolling me back to before this latest auto update and has said that in future auto update will not run, unless I give permission.

Seems too good to be true ... and a much nicer result than I was expecting. Seems my old skills are badly out of date. I'm fine with that.

I hope he's right about the new "old" state of my Box and specially the part about auto-upates ceasing. That I thought was not possible, so if it holds up call me very pleased.

It's not so much about the forced lock-out of something as simple as shortcuts. It's the frustration of having things changed and not being in control of things that we once ours.

So, all's well that ends well. Fingers crossed.



Aug 18, 2017 at 05:47 PM
sjms
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Windows 10 update misery. Help on simple stuff?


just remove from the desktop and she won't say anything to you. personally I use her a lot. sometimes you simply ask any she'll tell you.

preventing updates will eventually cause issues in any OS. but of course that up to you. Cortana has nothing to do with updates.






Edited on Aug 18, 2017 at 06:28 PM · View previous versions



Aug 18, 2017 at 06:17 PM
frdjohns
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Windows 10 update misery. Help on simple stuff?


Next time you need to remove something from your start menu, Just right-click on it and chose "unpin from start".

It is still in your program list, but won't show in your start menu.



Aug 18, 2017 at 06:18 PM
sjms
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Windows 10 update misery. Help on simple stuff?


frdjohns wrote:
Next time you need to remove something from your start menu, Just right-click on it and chose "unpin from start".

It is still in your program list, but won't show in your start menu.


not the same situation.



Aug 18, 2017 at 06:20 PM
sjms
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Windows 10 update misery. Help on simple stuff?


unlike some other OS's you pretty much have control over most aspects of how Windows interfaces with you.


Aug 18, 2017 at 06:26 PM
frdjohns
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Windows 10 update misery. Help on simple stuff?


sjms wrote:
not the same situation.




sigh... In the 2nd question from the OP, he states in part "But I'd like to get rid of the thirty or so shortcuts in my START menu."

I gave him one (not the only) way to do that. I was just trying to help him.




Aug 18, 2017 at 06:29 PM
sjms
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Windows 10 update misery. Help on simple stuff?


oops correct. I apologize.


Aug 18, 2017 at 06:54 PM
Pavel
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Windows 10 update misery. Help on simple stuff?


frdjohns wrote:
Next time you need to remove something from your start menu, Just right-click on it and chose "unpin from start".

It is still in your program list, but won't show in your start menu.


That's what the help support guy said, and that's how my Win 10 installation worked as best as I can remember. I gave him remote control and he went to remove something - three or four times and didn't type "wtf" but instead mentioned that this is a new feature "to make the windows user experience better" or something close to that. Then he immediately asked if I'd like him to roll the machine back. I replied "yes" but won't the auto-update simply undo that? He told me that he could turn off completely the auto update.

So fine, go ahead. He turned off a bunch of services, some of which I would never have thought of, but it was too fast for me to follow if I were to try to do it again now myself. Anyways after that he restored the machine back. I was happy - enough.

Problem is that then I went to re-organise the mess that the update had made - and it still didn't work as he said it should. I suspect that he rolled it back, but not far back enough - or just something in the update glitched with my system and installed software. That would not be the first time. The last time was when I was attending training at a NetApp sponsored virtualization course. In the middle of it I had some practice labs at home and windows did an update. When I tried to click on running the software, Windows said I had to install it. When I ran the installer, windows 10 told me that it was already installed. When I tried to remove the old package, it told me that it could not locate a needed DLL for the removal and failed.

I solved the problem by using the roll back feature to go back to windows 8.1. Rebooted the machine and got kernel panics. Format C:/ yada, yada and about three hours later I was good to go. I only lost about six hours total, so it was not a huge deal, but only being allowed to delay updates M$ calls critical (yeah, like Skype) is a confidence suck.

At work we always delayed our Tuesday updates until our lab ran then first on machines (eight of them) that were all configured with our different standard installs for the different departments. After no disasters for several days, we had our SUS servers push them out overnight. Still once in a while we had mayhem the next day, but mostly from people who had "other" software packages installed.

What brought this about is that I wanted to test the new version of Capture one out to see how it ran on my PC. Phase one hasn't yet gotten back to me if an install is per machine or per operating instance. If I can install the new one on Win 10 and Win 8.1 at the same time - no problem. I'll set it up on both and use Win 10, with my 8.1 disk as a fall back against the next time if something should blow up. If that's not the case - I'm just going to use 8.1. Life's too short. Win 10 can sit on the disk and get use for games, or until I decide to play with Slack again.

Is it all well anyways - if it didn't end well?



Aug 19, 2017 at 11:18 AM
Pavel
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Windows 10 update misery. Help on simple stuff?


And I guess I'll mention that I'm now, this morning finding out I'm greyed out all over the place, It's too much trouble to explain all the detail.

I can't even In fact since the update there are control panels that I use from time to time that launch, but will not let me make any changes. Others work just fine. I suspect I haven't discovered the whole mess yet.

As just an example I can switch my branch cache services to automatic, but a re-boot changes it back to off (I was pretty sure that the default is on or on with delayed start) but trying to start it manually I get error code 1260. One thing I am certain of is that this is a native Windows service, so this is weird. Perhaps it's part of what the guy did to stop Auto updates?

The behavior is the same on my backup admin account. It doesn't seem to a local rights problem or corrupted profile.

Can't make any changes in my MSConfig. Error log has a bunch of Error messages, some of which I've no knowledge of ( I mean what's the CldFit service for anyways? I'd hunt it down but I have about twenty Error and many more warnings, and they persist through re-boots.

Just one last question. Has anyone used the new win10 "fresh Start" feature ... and how did it go?

Good thing it's all fun.

Cheers. That's about all on this one.




Aug 19, 2017 at 11:48 AM
Pavel
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Windows 10 update misery. Help on simple stuff?


frdjohns wrote:
sigh... In the 2nd question from the OP, he states in part "But I'd like to get rid of the thirty or so shortcuts in my START menu."

I gave him one (not the only) way to do that. I was just trying to help him.



To reply to you ... I can't even remove them using powershell. I've been using windows since DOS version one, actually since the CP/M days, which as I'm sure you know is what Gates copied and called DOS.

I just thought this was something simple and obvious that I was missing - one of those changes for changes sake I didn't know about. I didn't want to waste time on it. The cortana part, that was a joke and a sarcastic comment, not a serious question in case some didn't get it.

But your post was helpful in that it showed that it IS supposed to be simple and that it was an update gone amok.

How funny is that? Not wanting to spend needless time and running windows 10?






Aug 19, 2017 at 12:00 PM
sjms
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Windows 10 update misery. Help on simple stuff?


i think you did a few things and you really kinda caused your own issue.

yes i have used it. but i think you need the full clean reboot which is also available within the OS

go to settings and then recovery reset your pc



Aug 19, 2017 at 01:36 PM
sjms
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Windows 10 update misery. Help on simple stuff?


oh, to find what version of the OS you are using
go to "Settings"
then go to "system"
then go to "about"



Aug 19, 2017 at 02:09 PM
Pavel
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Windows 10 update misery. Help on simple stuff?


sjms wrote:
i think you did a few things and you really kinda caused your own issue.

yes i have used it. but i think you need the full clean reboot which is also available within the OS

go to settings and then recovery reset your pc


You keep looking for something to take off the blame the infallible gents at Microsoft - you know, the ones that gave us Windows Me, Windows 8.0 and other such gems. I did nothing with this win 10 version since I installed in about a year ago. I played games on it and tested the behavior of Photomechanic and Capture one. I didn't use it much for editing despite the nice setup the hardware was, only due to a detail of how Photomechanic works differently under windows.

Once the strange behavior started yesterday after the machine auto updated itself in a cycle two or three times when I woke it - it hasn't been off in like four months, the update caused a startup wizard as if it were a new install, and installed a bunch of junk like Skype. It locked me out of a whole bunch of of strange things.

Only after that I went in and started to look around a bit deeper, and found more bizarre things.

You seem to have a hard time accepting that M$ has options that are flawed by design and blow up on people with good regularity. Auto Updates which are impossible to stop, only delay are a poor idea from the get go. It's fine on some play box, but not on something considered a production machine. I should have known better. But I like some of the things of Win10 and it seems to play games a bit better.

The good thing is I don't depend on win10. I only installed it again, after an early update ate screwed things up ( on four people out of 22 in my virtualization class ... btw) because I figured that it was brand new back then and M$ normally need a service pack, sometimes two, before things hum.

You may be warm and fuzzy with your OS of choice, but if you want to get the scope of how common this sort of thing is ... look through the M$ tech boards. Windows is sooo much more reliable - but still has dumb by design time bombs that can go off. But of course if you have only a PC - then one doesn't have many choices for editing Photos, it's windows or windows or windows.

Your advice about a clean re-install is good. Unfortunately I didn't consider it before the M$ tech support guy, who seemed very knowledgeable and obviously experienced sent me back in time with an earlier snapshot and took steps which he claimed would then make it to never Auto Update. I was happy enough with that, heck I only use three programs ever on this machine.

Come to think, it was running but not used for at least two months because I spent five weeks on a trip and just got back two weeks ago. Either the update or the secret sauce he applied - really messed the thing up.

I was going to try restore or more likely do a clean install but then I decided to wipe it out instead.Maybe some other time. Perhaps win11, will be more of a win.

The last line of rationalizing for Microsoft fan zombies is "well, it works fine for me". I wonder why they always have to repeat that - as if somehow invalidated the disasters that occur too often for comfort? Kind of like texting and driving. "yeah man ... works fer me man". How brilliant.

But no big deal. Just one of life's little bumps. Win 8.1 is pretty decent - I've never hated it like some did.



Aug 19, 2017 at 05:23 PM
sjms
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Windows 10 update misery. Help on simple stuff?


ok, simple math. I have done over 30 installs for people that I take care of their machines for a fee. these machines are photocentric in nature and are of varied configurations. it is in my best interest to take well care of these people. these machines do run very well and when its update Tuesday it is done pretty much automatically and no problems. even my daughters school (college) laptop went through w/o a hiccup 4 years and 2 degrees and 1 OS upgrade that her friends advised against (they followed suit after her. too much FUD). even i'm amazed cause she beat that thing unrelentingly and still does. I will be replacing her video cooling fan soon as it is getting annoyingly noisy.
you on the other hand are a mystery as far as accurate info and such. this is why I say there is more to the story then meets the eye. so i'm sorry you are having issues and if I were near you i'd clean it up and it would perform as advertised.

I have found of that 30 the few issues they had before the only real malware was the user and discipline. we spoke of due diligence and responsibility. things got easy.




Aug 19, 2017 at 05:48 PM
skid00skid00
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Windows 10 update misery. Help on simple stuff?


Pavel, it sounds like your sign-on user doesn't have administrator privileges.

Log in as admin, or change yours to admin, and the grayed out stuff should be usable.

You can usually also right-click, or alt-right-click, and see the option 'run as administrator'. Use that.



Aug 19, 2017 at 06:02 PM
sjms
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Windows 10 update misery. Help on simple stuff?


- if it was an install over the last OS he should have the same rights he previously had.
- if it was a clean install he would have admin rights by default.
- if it is a reinstall one gets admin rights by default.
- if someone messed with it anything goes.

admin methodology hasn't changed from win 7



Aug 19, 2017 at 06:08 PM
Pavel
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Windows 10 update misery. Help on simple stuff?


I have a backdoor admin account. I did that because one day I installed Linux and then with my chemo-addled brain forgot my root password. Since then I always put two admin accounts on and I did test that the behavior was not different.

I think sjms was on the right track when he suggested that I made it worse if it was not what I consider the second most likely scenario, that the tech guy who had remote access may have made a mistake, or of course that something on my box had an allergic reaction to the update. I understand that M$ can't test for all software possibilities. That's why good practice has always been to have a test box, at least in wide scale deployments.

I've since blown the install away, so now it's just an interesting question - with no certain answer.

I have sometimes been drawn to the idea that I could run it all as a virtual instance, but at least the last time I used that approach it was always a case that the graphic card is not accelerated. Not good for editing software and completely makes games no fun at two seconds per frame.




Aug 19, 2017 at 06:35 PM
sjms
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · Windows 10 update misery. Help on simple stuff?




now you know if you have a second computer that functions well you can download the full ISO for win 10 burn it to a DVD and reinstall it clean

USE THE DOWNLOAD TOOL AND FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS to make the reinstall disk.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

your computer is already registered with MS and will install your S/N when it goes online. yes you will have to do this.



Aug 19, 2017 at 06:45 PM
1
       2       end




FM Forums | General Gear-talk | Join Upload & Sell

1
       2       end
    
 

You are not logged in. Login or Register

Username       Or Reset password



This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.