Windows does still have CMD / power shell, so people can do things the OS wants to not show in the GUI, as long as it is not artificially restricted to enterprise customers.
When they trashed PRO, I knew I could never trust them, even with all the “telemetry reducing” scripts around, the OS simply does not allow switching certain options in the OS, Unless you are enterprise.
But, some options are available in the CMD that aren’t available in the many, GUI menus
This old blog was called Rants and Raves and Vents from the Grave for a reason. People want to come and vent here they’re welcome to. I only ask that they do it in good taste, in compliance with L1 regs, so this old man can stay out of trouble. In other words, rant away Trooper.
The complaints I’ve read about on this blog from others are pretty much all justified IMO. Windows is the OS people love to hate but keep on using because Linux is simply just too limited for the domestic end user. Everything has an up side and a down side. That’s why many still opt for dual booting and I’m in that number myself as well.
I’m a little sad that I didn’t pursue PCs back in my youth like so many of my friends did. I’m a Johnny come lately and I wouldn’t have recognized a command line if it bit me in the hinder parts back in 2000. At that time I just printed documents, played Pac Man, and used the PC for standard domestic jobs. Opening a PC up to have a look inside would have terrified me. Today, I build the silly things.
In my own right I’ve come a long way but I admire these younger fellas with the perspicacity to grab the dragon by the tail and show it who’s boss. I salute them because they make my life a whole lot easier. Come to think of it @Trooper_ish , you’ve already done that for me a couple of times so thanks.
My latest Icy Dock purchase. Reminds me of those old cassette tape decks. Separate power switches, one for each drive, make it handy and I think I’m going to like the quick eject feature as well.
I have a stack of about 100 2.5" hard drives to go through that I inherited and some SSDs to check out. Any useful data will be saved prior to formatting. I don’t really want to be opening ‘mystery drives’ on my work station or my gaming rig. This is where my ROGUE PC comes into play. Even if some malware does happen to gobble up my OS I’ll have a clone on hand to swap it out. I suppose this leads to the question why I do this.
A: I build PCs for free for underprivileged children and adults who perhaps cannot afford a PC or, have never used one but want one. People will donate old windows 98 PCs to me for example, because I abhor e waste and I like to build PCs. I bring them back up to specs and find good homes for them. It’s a hobby for me. When I first started doing this I didn’t think there was much of a demand for it. I was mistaken.
Did you notice that the stack of toasters in that picture you posted were upside down? Not that it matters. lol Yes, these don’t come with fans but this is nothing a little ingenuity can’t fix. I don’t really think fans are necessary on these units because these sled dockers are not designed to hold drives permanently. This isn’t a RAID cage. They’re designed for swapping drives to see what’s on them, repair if needed, and ejecting afterwards. Perfect for my purposes.
For kids, I think Mint 32 bit is fine. I basically refurbish with used parts that I know still work. That’s why I don’t charge. The idea is to help keep old PCs out of the dumpsters and in the hands of people who don’t even have a PC but could use one and want one.
Yeah and a joke that was.
Early pc’s 3.25 floppy drives couldnt tell the difference between a hd and ld disk.
And the computer lab teacher was a mac fanboy.
To make a long story short. He bulk purchased a lot of ld floppies and spent hours formatting them in hd.
Totally unreadable🤣
The guy was quite a jerk when i told him what he did wrong.
Simple fix! Used an old bulk tape eraser and reformatted properly.
The problem then was same as it is now.
Apple equipment was expensive.
And school budget comittee switched to ibm pc to lower cost.
And it required radically changing lots of things including crash course teacher retraining.
Gawd those were fun day😈
All the jokes i played on them kept them hopping🤣
I find it reassuring to know there are still a few of us out here who do this. Admittedly, it isn’t for everyone and it is a labour of love. Still, the smile on someone’s face when they get their own PC when they can’t afford to buy one is priceless and just the knowledge that one more PC was rescued from e-waste is well worth the effort.
It just occurred to me that that might not be a rhetorical question. Sorry. Every child/person I restore a used PC for has the option of getting Linux or Windows. Some people are intimidated by Linux, which is a shame, but until Linux can be the flexible desktop OS that Windows became I don’t see that changing much. Now in the case of old windows 98 PCs, Win ME, XP if I happen to have an old key kicking around for a Win 7, 8/8.1, or 10 I’ll donate it to the cause. Otherwise they’ll just have to settle for Linux or buy their own license key as I’m already giving them free used parts and labour.
Yes. I take old PCs and upgrade them and give them to people for free.
Look at what I found in a recycling bin a few days ago! All it needed was a CMOS battery and a little TLC and it booted up. You can see in the picture it had the old Windows 10 on it.
So, 12 year old built this PC and I helped her with the fans and a couple of plugs when she changed out the PSU. She’s been building PCs since she was 10 years old.
Although she built it she let me O.C. the build after ward. I didn’t increase the core voltages manually but merely did an auto-over clock. I think it clocked rather nicely TBH. This system board almost wound up on the trash heap but I happened to be at the right place at the right time and the person who owned it gave it to me instead. Now it’s being used as a gaming PC for my daughter’s LAN parties when her friends come over to play.
If you want to let her know the i5-3570k is only like $14 US on EBay, that’s been my go-to for my kids’ builds because they’re dirt cheap and you don’t get that much by doubling the price for the i7. They’re fine in Fortnite etc. without the overclock, and she can probably push it more if she needs.
Edit:
Oh and also that girl can build a fantastic looking PC, she’s only 12?
Thanks, Mark. Yeah, I was rather impressed with this little i5 chip. It O.C.'d so easily. I’m having a bit of a challenge with going into the BIOS with a USB keyboard but I can get in with PS2 no problem. Somehow the XFX 580 GFX card causes this issue.
To be completely honest she first built it when she was 11. She rebuilt it when she was 12, swapped out the PSU and graphics card by herself. I have some YouTube footage of her initial build. She didn’t have the strength in her fingers to pull off the front bezel to install the fans so I helped her with that. It was humorous when she put down the screw driver and I’d reach for it. She’d slap my hand and give me a lecture on how this was her build and I was only supposed to supervise.
In the end she wins. Not only did she get the cooler switched out (yup. she did it herself) BUT she got Dad to get the matching pink fan on it. (She let me put on the matching fan as part of the deal.) She has a new trick now: she’ll let me do something on her PC and then she’ll re-do it herself. It’s an ego thing.
In other words, rant away Trooper.
