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Windows "Updates"
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So once a month in the middle of the night Microsoft updates your computer and this is somehow ruining your life? You're right; we should boycott Microsoft, lynch Bill Gates (in effigy or not), and mobilize all available social media. Have you prepared a press release? This is the kind of story that the media just love...
Apr 11, 2013
0
#4
You can control when and how Windows updates, or if it updates at all. Look it up: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=configure+windows+updates
I said it was annoying, not "ruining my life." I was trying to use a light touch, not a bludgeon. . .
(It happens any time of day, not just the middle of the night)
apawndown wrote:
I said it was annoying, not "ruining my life." I was trying to use a light touch, not a bludgeon. . .
(It happens any time of day, not just the middle of the night)
You need to follow Nimzo's link and configure it to do it in the middle fo the night on the Wed night/Thur morning (3 am-ish is when I do it) or Thur night/Fri morn. Patches come out on the second Tuesday of evey month, hence the reason it is known as "Patch Tuesday". I always wait until Wed night/Thurs morn in case they get released and there is something really worng I can turn off Windows updates.
I have all 12 of my Windows computers at home set that way, have never had them update "any time of day".
It is a very annoying and obnoxious "feature". It hasn't happened to me in the middle of a chess game, but it has rebooted in the middle of other important work that had cost me a lot of time. Hard to believe someone thought this would be a good idea.
I don't leave my computer on 24/7 so it can't update in the middle of the night. I've found the best solution for me was to just disable it altogether. It's easy enough to do it manually once in awhile.
Rsava, what could someone possibly need 12 computers in there home for?
Apr 12, 2013
0
#9
M_Carter wrote:
It is a very annoying and obnoxious "feature". Iit has rebooted in the middle of other important work that had cost me a lot of time. Hard to believe someone thought this would be a good idea.
I've found the best solution for me was to just disable it altogether. It's easy enough to do it manually once in awhile.
A very large percentage of these annoying and obnoxious updates are SECURITY features to prevent hackers from turning your PC into a "zombie server" or stealing your passwords or loading malware in your OS, etc etc
You can configure updates to download automatically but not install without asking first, or to ask first before downloading and installing. If you're going to do it manually I'd do it every week on the same day without fail. BTW do you have a clue as to how often your AV (anti-virus program) updates its VDF (Virus Definition FIle)? That should be updated daily, at the very least.
Yeah, but unfortunately Linux isn't great for everybody, we don't know what apawndown uses his computer for.
NimzoRoy wrote:
M_Carter wrote:
It is a very annoying and obnoxious "feature". Iit has rebooted in the middle of other important work that had cost me a lot of time. Hard to believe someone thought this would be a good idea.
I've found the best solution for me was to just disable it altogether. It's easy enough to do it manually once in awhile.
A very large percentage of these annoying and obnoxious updates are SECURITY features to prevent hackers from turning your PC into a "zombie server" or stealing your passwords or loading malware in your OS, etc etc
You can configure updates to download automatically but not install without asking first, or to ask first before downloading and installing. If you're going to do it manually I'd do it every week on the same day without fail. BTW do you have a clue as to how often your AV (anti-virus program) updates its VDF (Virus Definition FIle)? That should be updated daily, at the very least.
I meant the implementation is annoying, the automatic reboots. I'm more than capable of rebooting it myself at my convenience. My antivirus program doesn't reboot my computer when it updates, so I fail to see how this relates to the conversation. Suggesting that people should update there av definitions multiple times a day is just ridiculous.
M_Carter wrote:
It is a very annoying and obnoxious "feature". It hasn't happened to me in the middle of a chess game, but it has rebooted in the middle of other important work that had cost me a lot of time. Hard to believe someone thought this would be a good idea.
I don't leave my computer on 24/7 so it can't update in the middle of the night. I've found the best solution for me was to just disable it altogether. It's easy enough to do it manually once in awhile.
Rsava, what could someone possibly need 12 computers in there home for?
Well, you could leave it on overnoght just for Patch Tuesday, once a month.
As far as # of machines, I work remotely for a software company so - personal computers for all family members (4), a VM server (1), which runs four VMs for app testing (4), two Windows Server (2008 R2 and 2003) machines for live environment testing of upgrades (2) and a work laptop (1). The VMs run 24/7 to simulate real world environments.
I also have a couple of Macs but only the Mac Mini runs 24/7 because that is my media server - I love Plex!
The power compnay loves me and my $350/month electric bills.
I have been using Linux since 2006 for workstations and web surfing... However when it comes to gaming, sadly nothing matches Windows, and does not even come close. If you want to try Linux use Ubuntu or Mint, those are about the most user-friendly ones.
Rsava wrote:
M_Carter wrote:
It is a very annoying and obnoxious "feature". It hasn't happened to me in the middle of a chess game, but it has rebooted in the middle of other important work that had cost me a lot of time. Hard to believe someone thought this would be a good idea.
I don't leave my computer on 24/7 so it can't update in the middle of the night. I've found the best solution for me was to just disable it altogether. It's easy enough to do it manually once in awhile.
Rsava, what could someone possibly need 12 computers in there home for?
Well, you could leave it on overnoght just for Patch Tuesday, once a month.
As far as # of machines, I work remotely for a software company so - personal computers for all family members (4), a VM server (1), which runs four VMs for app testing (4), two Windows Server (2008 R2 and 2003) machines for live environment testing of upgrades (2) and a work laptop (1). The VMs run 24/7 to simulate real world environments.
I also have a couple of Macs but only the Mac Mini runs 24/7 because that is my media server - I love Plex!
The power compnay loves me and my $350/month electric bills.
I could leave it on, but I find it more convenient to do it manually. I try to do it a couple times a month, but I'm not religious about it. I can count the number of problems I've had in twenty years on one hand.
As far as the power company goes, I can relate. I own a wood-shop, and the electric bill makes me cry.
Apr 12, 2013
0
#15
1. Linux is cool.
2. Windows is also fine, just configure it to give you a notification when updates are available, you can then install them manually whenever it suits you.
Apr 12, 2013
0
#16
pfren wrote:
RogerOT wrote:
Is there a particular version you'd recommend?
I use a hardcore distribution (Archlinux), but for new users I would suggest either Debian/ Ubuntu, or some tweaked derivative of them, like Linux Mint. Linux is really easy and it does everything- the only users which will be disappointed are gamers (the games written for Linux are really few), and professional graphists (you can do professional graphics and DTP in Linux, but you must forget everything you know, and start virtually from scratch).
For chess, you have almost everything a windows user has: chess GUI's, native playing engines, big databases, fairly efficient publishers... you will hardly miss anything. Once you understand right from the start that this damn OS is NOT windows, so you have to learn a couple of things and accept its peculiarities, you will get used to it and love it fairly easily. Its advantages over windows are very important (no viruses/malware, no blue screens of death, virtually all software is free, the whole system can be tweaked to your exact needs and likings... and so on).
Linux is susceptible to malware though (I don't want to hear this same reasoning that was proven flawed with Macs written here). If you use flash, adobe, or any windows emulators, there are vulnerabilities possible (not to mention that there is malware that were specifically written for Linux). Then you could also have a user set something to have root access and privileges.
Even if a piece of malware may not spread on a linux system, it can be spread when it connects to a windows system such as with a macro virus.
Linux does have the advantage of having a very small marketshare compared to Windows so most malware writers target Windows.
Yes, linux malware is theoretically possible, but I have yet to meet anyone who has had any infections nor had any myself. Ever. Can anyone say that about Windows?
@RogerOT - I would recommend trying Lubuntu. It only requires 128 megs of RAM.
How many games have been lost on time here due to Microsoft's hideous habit of invading computers with no warning in order to install updates? Hundreds? Thousands? I'd bet this is the cause of LOTS of prolonged disconnects.
Of course these things do average out: I suppose that over time one gets as many wins as losses because of these technical snafus. And those Windows Updates invasions can screw up far more important stuff than a chess game. Still it's annoying as hell. I think Microsoft deserves some kind of public humiliation!
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