Why is Windows so unstable? So self-destructive??

In the early days of PCs, hardware manufacturers chose software that could be accomodated on their machines.

And software writers took great pride in writing good, compact programs that would run on existing hardware.

Bill Gates recognized that was not the way to great fortune.

His money making idea was to write software that was:

(a) as big as possible and

(b) that would not run on older hardware.

The harware manufacturers loved him because every time a user bought new software he also had to buy new hardware (bigger drives, more ram, faster CPU, etc.)

So the hardware folks began locking in on the latest version of Windows.

Third party software writers loved the concept because you had to buy new versions of their programs every time you bought new hardware to work with the new version of Windows.

And Windows has continued the symbiotic relationship.

Change is they way they make money. Once they sold you Windows 2000 and Office 2000, they make no more money off you until they force you to upgrade.

You buy new hardware, you need new software.

You buy new software, you need new hardware.

You buy new hardware, you need new software.

You buy new software, you need new hardware.

Here is a quote from Microsoft on a problem I am working on:

 

All of my computers that run Windows work flawlessly. It's all about preventative maintenance. Or you could get a Mac

 

The problem, most likely, isn't your PC's hardware; it just isn 't set up properly.

When I work on OEM machines I usually have to tell the owner at some point that it's the extra garbage the maker dumped into the OS -AND CHARGED THEM FOR- that are causing the problems.

All those 'demo' apps, from the Norton Virus on down, will screw things up later on. I remove them ASAP, and have far happier curstomers than Dell has, that's for sure.

I can install a standard copy of XP Home on your Dell, update it and harden it in under three hours.

And from that point forward, you will not see any of these problems unless your hardware has issues.

BTW, the prob with the HDD and fragmentation is that XP has control over the size of your Virtual RAM space. Bad, bad. Oh, and Dell's app doesn't always give precise readings...

Just so you know, this is precisely why I try to steer people away from these OEM headaches. It costs around twice what an identical custom rig would to tune up a Dell, Gateway ect. so it'll finally run anywhere near as well.

To me, that's a waste. But at least you guys get to tell firsthand horror stories--which helps keep others out of the same situation.

Best regards,

Eric

 

are you having issues with an older Windows 98 or ME machine? if so...those suck...and 98se is more reliable than ME (or MEH as I call it).

XP is pretty solid. if its acting up that badly, its pooched and should just be reinstalled from scratch, and protected against malware...since it sounds like that's your big problem...garbage malware destroying your OS.

 

Do you use Internet Explorer?

I have an 8200 with XP that hasn't had any windows updates in years, has only free software (antivirus, firewall, etc) on it, has been defraged maybe three times ever, and rarely gives any trouble at all.

Unless you have no way to back it up and would lose a lot of stuff, it isn't at all hard to reinstall windows and start over. I agree with fastvfr, if its a demo, trial version, 30-day liscense, or any other form of temporary software, get rid of it first thing.

 

I am surprised we haven't had a dozen "Get a Mac" posts yet.

 

It's a feature, not a bug!

BTW, do get a Mac...a MacBook or Pro, Boot Camp (to run Windows) and get the best (and worst) of both worlds.

 

And then along came OOPS and c++

Do CS majors even learn assembly language anymore?

ARS

 

I just got a Dell for the FD. Tomorrow, out goes the conglomeration of crap that Dell installed and on goes a fresh XP home. Apparently it is next to impossible to remove McAFee. I ran the uninstaller and yet XP security still thinks it's there. Install AVG and now there are two anti virus services installed.

ARS

 

Here's what I have learned from my years of experience with computers (27 personal, 17 professional).

Microsoft products are crap. Except Notepad. Notepad is a simple, well written app, and this makes me wonder if Microsoft didn't buy it themselves. lol

Now, I don't mean to stir controversy, but this is my honest opinion. They are bloated apps, chock full of legacy code, usually because it costs Microsoft more to hunt down and remove old code than it does to patch it later. Take MS Office. One of the most bloated products in history. Hundreds of MBs, for what? A word processor and spreadsheet. That's all most people use it for. Most will never use powerpoint (unfortunately I have to), Infopath, etc. They use Word and Excel. Next time you're in Office, hit the "help" button, and see just how long it takes to launch a simple HTML viewer app. I was a system administrator (in one flavor or another) for Windows systems 3.11-XP for desktops, NT-2K3 for servers) for years, and the flaws, bugs, and patched literally drove me nuts.

Why ship an OS with 30K KNOWN bugs and flaws? Because it's cheaper then fixing them now, and after 1+ years of delays already (like w/ 2K and XP), they need that new product out the door!

Now, I will give Windows it's due. It's basically simple to use. The wizards can walk most people (even most computer fearing people) through app installs, simple maintenance, etc. And as long as you install, (disable a few services like the Windows Messenger service), and don;t install tons of crap (like OEM junk), CometCursor, etc, and keep the updates current AND do regular maintenance (defrag, scandisk, etc), you should be ok. If you want to do serious gaming, Windows is really the only game in town.

Now to expose my bias. I'm a Linux person at heart. Toyed w/ it for a few years, now I am a Linux System Engineer and Security Analyst. I find Linux to be superior to Windows on multiple levels. More secure, apps are not as bloated, less bugs in the OS and in most apps, I can custom compile my apps from source code and taylor it specifically to my system (software and hardware combos), no need to defrag the drives, etc, etc. But I suffer in the gaming arena. Sure, lots of new games are either native to Linux now, or run in emulation like Cedega, but not enough. I have yet to have any trouble finding an open source app that does what I want it to do, and have all the same functionality as my Windows box. Except for the gaming ability.

Bottom line, IMO, Windows can be relatively stable, but not completely stable. You will still have the occasional crash, the required reboots after patches, etc. One of the reasons I prefer Linux. I can install most system patches and updates, and not need to reboot.

Ok, I'll stop my rant and STHU now.

 

Switch. Seriously. Either Opera or Firefox and you'd be worlds ahead. The ones of us recommending them don't do it just because we hate MS, they really are far, far better. I bet that at least a third of most people's computer problems are caused by accessing the internet through IE.

If you don't already have it, download and run Spybot Search & Destroy. It probably won't fix all the problems, but that along with a different browser should help a lot.

 

I had a similar experience with Nortons. The uninstaller locked up during the uninstall. I had to remove everything file by file, including all the registry entries. Fortunately, Symantec seemed to have known that this might happen, as they had directions for manually removing the software (well hidden) on their website. Both of them are so bulky that the really slow down anything but the newest computers. Before giving up, see if McAfee has any instructions on their website, or if anyone else has posted something online.

 

If McAfee is installed, one of the biggest preformance hits you will take is from the "On-Access scanning" it does. Basically, anytime a file is access, McAfee scanns it. If, like me, you have many large files that get accessed often (databases, powerpoint presentations, technical documentation, Visio or CAD drawings, EMAIL files, etc, etc), they get scanned each time they are accessed. What a HOG! My work PC used to use McAfee, and I always shut that right off. It made it almost impossible for me to work.

 

My PC's(which I build), always work flawlessly from a software standpoint. Maybe an occasional glitch, but nothing to get in a huge tissy about.

I think the problem is several different things. 1. Poorly written software as Egyas explained. 2. Terrible hardware on these cheap PC's that everyone loves buying. This is all done to keep profits as high as possible which are already razor thin as it is. Then 3, the resource hogging software that is crammed onto these cheap PC's, probably to make them seem like more of a value. From games, to AV software, to some version of office product, etc, the list goes on. Its absurd.

To the original poster....

Work up the courage to build your own, and you will see the problem isn't all MS Windows, but its a comination of things. I have no problems at all with the PC's I build, or the ones I've built for family and friends.

IGF

 

That's a common problem with Windows. The solution is to write a small check and mail it monthly to Bill Gates. I've been sending Mr. Gates money for about 3 years and my PC's all run fine.

 

I always thought it was McAfee's background scanning. I think AVG also scans files on access, but I don't even know its running as far as its effect on computer speed. Whatever it is, McAfee really slows one down. I recently came across some old Optiplex GX1s. I was switching out HDs to test them in a computer I knew was working otherwise. One had Win98, Office 2000, and nothing else installed. The other had the same with McAfee. The second was far, far slower. Once McAfee left, there's no noticeable difference.