So glad to be Windows free (sortof) again!

[user1397]

I tried to keep my dual boot setup of Windows 10 and Ubuntu 16.04 for as long as I could. I need Windows currently because of some Windows-only software I need for my classes (hopefully won't need these ever again after I graduate). I was really fed up with Windows 10 (don't like all the telemetry crap, don't use the Windows app store, Cortana, forced updates, confusing settings options, interface in general). My last straw was the other night I had some school documents open and unsaved, and Windows decided to just restart on its own to apply some updates.

So I backed everything up, completely wiped Windows 10, did an Ubuntu 16.04 install with the option "erase disk and install Ubuntu", and now I am setting up a Virtualbox Windows 7 VM for those pesky Windows needs. So glad I don't have to deal with Windows 10 anymore, glad that I don't have to dual boot and just have Ubuntu as my main OS, and glad that Virtualbox is so awesome that I can use Windows through it and it's remarkably quick.

Anyway, just feel relieved :)

[CharlesA]

How did you get a license for Windows 7?

[coldraven]

In July I bought a second-hand Lenovo laptop with Win 8 but kept it switched off so that it did not get the "free" update to Windows 10. I don't really have any need for Windows but I suppose it will come in handy sometimes. My main reason not to update was to annoy Microsoft :)
Glad to hear that your Win 7 is now bottled up!

[user1397]

How did you get a license for Windows 7?

I bought a legit windows 7 key years ago.

[ventrical]

My last straw was the other night I had some school documents open and unsaved, and Windows decided to just restart on its own to apply some updates.
Anyway, just feel relieved :)

And Microsoft would have you believe that this is some form of malware or exploit to shift the onus of responsibility off their backs. It is a classic history stack of the facts.

Windows does have it's place however. I have several hdds with Windows on it from old PCs and I use it to test Linux based antimalware (which there is currently none) but it is amazing how much MS designed crapware can be found on a Windows hdd when it is not running as system.

Great testimonial.

Thanks.

Regards..

[RobGoss]

I can surely understand how one may feel after using Windows for about 16 plus years, I finally move away from MS all together and deleted my Windows partition and all it's content. I had only one machines as a dual boot out of 6 machines and after seeing I only booted Windows maybe once a month just to compare things. I decided to use that 180 GB for a real operating system that I really enjoy don't miss it at all

[poorguy]

We have been Windows free for two years and see no need to ever return back to Windows.
LibreOffice 5 works well for the classes we are taking at the local college.

[n0wje]

Last time I used windows was XP, Been on Linux ever since. Tried to go back to windows with 10, including my daughters. It failed I hated it and installed ubuntu back on everything including my main machine which was dual booting windows 10 and mint. Ubuntu just feels right......

[tech291083]

My main reason not to update was to annoy Microsoft :)


I wish millions of us could do that, thanks, I could not stop laughing, made my day, Sir.

[irv]

The last laptop I purchased had Windows 8 preinstalled on it so I upgraded to windows 8.1 and then 10. I used it for awhile to see if I would like it and found it to be buggy. Then I started reading articles like this one, Windows 10 Anniversary Update keeps freezing? Here's how to fix the problem. (http://www.windowscentral.com/windows-10-anniversary-update-keeps-freezing-heres-how-fix-problem)

There were other things I found along the way but I won't bore you with them. To be honest Windows 10 was the better of the Windows releases and that's not saying much about Windows. Throughout the years I can tell you I lost a lot of data from crashes, freezes, Blue Screens etc. I keep Windows around for odds and ends, but today this changed.
I had a spare SSD lying around I picked up for and laptop I was fixing up for my grandson, but the laptop died so I pulled the SSD out of it and that is why it was a spare. It had Ubuntu 14.04 installed on it already, so I pulled the one I had in my laptop out, (the one with Windows 10 and Ubuntu 16.04 on it), and replaced it with the SSD.

I then upgraded to 16.04 but didn't move any data over to it. I don't need to because I order an external USB 3.0 case so I can just plug it in to get at my data. I have most of my files in the cloud anyway so I don't need much off of it.

My laptop is an Intel i7 with 8 GB RAM and now an SSD. It boots in 11 seconds from a cold boot, and most programs, like my Chrome Browser, and LibraOffice starts up in 3 seconds. I feel like I have a new laptop.

[autocrat]

I tried to keep my dual boot setup of Windows 10 and Ubuntu 16.04 for as long as I could. I need Windows currently because of some Windows-only software I need for my classes (hopefully won't need these ever again after I graduate). I was really fed up with Windows 10 (don't like all the telemetry crap, don't use the Windows app store, Cortana, forced updates, confusing settings options, interface in general). My last straw was the other night I had some school documents open and unsaved, and Windows decided to just restart on its own to apply some updates.

So I backed everything up, completely wiped Windows 10, did an Ubuntu 16.04 install with the option "erase disk and install Ubuntu", and now I am setting up a Virtualbox Windows 7 VM for those pesky Windows needs. So glad I don't have to deal with Windows 10 anymore, glad that I don't have to dual boot and just have Ubuntu as my main OS, and glad that Virtualbox is so awesome that I can use Windows through it and it's remarkably quick.

Anyway, just feel relieved :)

W10 was really starting to bug me. Using Ubuntu full time relieved a lot of the anxiety I had about making the switch. In the end, ripping off the band aid and doing it made everything better :)

[ltrtiger2]

I can surely understand how one may feel after using Windows for about 16 plus years, I finally move away from MS all together and deleted my Windows partition and all it's content. I had only one as a dual boot out of 6 machines and after seeing I only booted Windows maybe once a month just to compare things. I decided to use that 180 GB for a real operating system that I really enjoy don't miss it at all

Similar experience. I'd been a window user or years. Made a move to Apple and was basically married to the OS and hardware. One year I had a long overseas flight scheduled and needed a small netbook with a long battery life. Bought an ASUS and hated seeing Windows again so I reformatted the hard drive and tried Elementary. Ran like a champ. Really enjoyed the experience. Then I discovered I had one of those macs that used lead free solder on the processor. Guess mine finally overheated to the point that the solder failed. Impossible to hack and reflow the solder and apple said I'd missed the "deadline" for filing a claim by 10 days. I argued that as a registered owner, I should have at least gotten an email to let me know about this issue and my options. They didn't agree. At that point, I became an ex-Apple user and decided to cut ties with Apple completely and go Ubuntu. Very pleased. Yes, there are bugs and things that frustrate me. Plus I know I've got a lot to learn, but I somehow feel "free". Not sure that's the best way to describe it, but I'm very pleased to be on this course. Don't think I'll ever go back to Windows or Mac.

[Sableyes]

Been Windows free since Gutsy Gibbon I think... Hardy Heron was where Ubuntu had 'made it' for me. 2008ish?

It is not that I hate Windows. But I just found I had no reason to go back. Once Linux was working for me without needing regular fixing (I'm looking at you pre 2008 Mandrake/Mandriva), i just had no reason to use Windows for anything. I had Second Life, a web browser and GIMP. That's about all I needed.

[speedwell68]

I have W7 in a VM. Just for iTunes. Apple gave me a free iPod. However, I have recently got a mobile phone that plays nice with Xubuntu and the iPod is now gathering dust. So I guess I will soon be ditching Windows for good again. Ironically it is a Windows 8 phone.