Windows Wasted 2 Hours

[Vince4Amy]

I fix Windows PCs for a living & I've managed to get a few people on Ubuntu. I've come across some bad machines in my life but the one I just finished working on was probably the worst machine I've ever used.

Firstly Windows took 15 Minutes, yes 15 minutes to load up loads of processes before I could work on it. The owners of this computer have installed things such as Limewire, Bearshare, Imesh etc. The thing was running at a crawl.

I decided to run a virus scan that took ages, I'd blame this down to the fact they are downloading so much rubbish especially on 256Mb memory. So I took care of the viruses.

Then the spyware & adware etc. After all of these I needed to restart almost every time I did anything like this (Why?). Also Limewire proclaims to "Open Up The Internet" and "Thank you for keeping the Internet open" what is that all about?

Anyhow I did Windows update & there was a media player update. I had to reboot (For a media player update?).

I know this was mostly user fault but it felt nice going back to Ubuntu after this machine. Anyone had similar experiences with others computers. I could write a book on the stupidest configs/questions I've had thrown at me.

[DeadSuperHero]

Believe me, Ubuntu is a great refresher. Plus, any smart person would know to use Frostwire, which works wonderfully on Ubuntu.
It's also more fun to experiment in any Linux distro, because it's all completely fixable.

[phrostbyte]

I always thought the people who appreciate Linux the most are the ones that have to repair or maintain Windows machines. I work as a Windows sysadmin so I feel your pain.

Remember the two basic rules of Windows troubleshooting:
1) If it doesn't work, reboot
2) If it still doesn't work, reinstall

[phrostbyte]

I once did a spyware scan (adaware) a computer which returned 1400 objects. The computer was otherwise pretty decent (Pentium M/512 MB RAM), but was running insanely slow, the start menu took about 2 minutes to open.

That was a reinstall. :)

[Seisen]

I did an virus scan on a Windows XP box that before it was even finished i was up to over 2000 virus's, I just rebooted the computer and reinstalled Windows for the person I was helping. Its crazy the amount of spyware and other crap you can accumulate on a unsecured Windows Box.

[cmat]

I always thought the people who appreciate Linux the most are the ones that have to repair or maintain Windows machines. I work as a Windows sysadmin so I feel your pain.

Remember the two basic rules of Windows troubleshooting:
1) If it doesn't work, reboot
2) If it still doesn't work, reinstall

Ha, true :)

[csimons]

I used to work as a PC technician. Something that made things easier when working on residential computers (which tend to have outdated hardware and all the latest software) is to keep 1GB or 512MB sticks of all types of RAM going back to 168-pin SDRAM. Stick them in while you're working on their PCs and you'll save yourself time and sanity. Just don't forget to take them out before you're finished!