OMG, this Win 10 "force it down your throat" is getting totally out of hand! Time for a different OS?

I've converted from Win10 to Linux Mint on 4 out of my 5 crunchers. One machine is Win10 only because my kids use it for gaming.

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Great news! Windows 10 updates are now being enforced on people's systems.
From GHacks.net:

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Two new types of Windows 10 upgrade messages appeared lately on systems running previous versions of Windows. The first displayed as a timer counting down from 60 minutes giving users options to start the upgrade process or reschedule it (but not disable it).

    It's almost time for your upgrade

    Save your work and leave your PC plugged in and turned on. Your PC might restart several times during the upgrade and it might take a while. We'll let you know when it's done.

    Starting the upgrade in

The second displayed only the option to start the Windows 10 upgrade process after searching for updates using Windows Update (again with no option to stop the process).

    Your upgrade to Windows 10 is ready.

    You need to restart your Pc to being the installation. This might take a while, but we'll let you know when it's done.

Both are reported by the creator of GWX Control Panel, a free program for Windows to block the upgrade to Windows 10 on user systems.
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Workarounds

There is a couple of things that affected users can do to prevent the upgrade from happening in first place.

1. Stop the Windows Update Service. While this blocks the upgrade for the time being, it is not the best solution as it blocks you from receiving updates for your operating system.
2. Use System Restore to revert back to a previous system state. This is one of the better options provided that a System Restore point is available. To run System Restore, tap on the Windows-key, type cmd and hit enter. Type rstrui.exe and hit enter again to open the System Restore interface on the system. System Restore is not turned on by default on newer versions of Windows.
3. Restore a backup or system snapshot that you have created with third-party programs.

So why is this happening?

It is unclear right now how widespread the enforcement of the upgrade is and whether it is a bug, test or on-purpose turning of the screws by the company in an effort to get more systems upgraded to Windows 10.

To give Microsoft the benefit of the doubt, it is possible that this is a bug that is affecting only some systems. While that is not really reassuring to affected users, I find it unlikely that Microsoft enforces upgrades to a new version of Windows without user consent.
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Also at ZDNet:
I've come across unconfirmed reports that using System Restore to take the system back to a point before September 15 will get people out of the jam, although the fly in the ointment here is that Windows 8.1 no longer generates automatic restore points by default, and they can only be created manually.

Only last month it was revealed that Microsoft was quietly downloading the Windows 10 installer files -- many gigabytes in size -- to users who had not asked for the, just in case they decided they wanted to upgrade.

It seems that Microsoft is desperate to get laggards who are still running Windows 7 and Windows 8 onto Windows 10, but there's a fine line between being enthusiastic about a new operating system and behaving like you own every PC running Windows, and I think that in this case that line has been crossed.

Greetings Jord,

My original speculation:

Micro$oft: ALL PCs in the world running Window$ now belong to us. If you want to continue using 'OUR' PCs then you will be required to open an account with us using a valid credit card*. We will take your money once a year so you can continue to use 'OUR' PCs. This is not optional, this is mandatory.
* Cash, debit and gift cards will not be accepted. Credit cards only.

Hmm Looks like my speculation was a bit closer to reality than I suspected... :)

Keep on BOINCing...! :)

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CAPT Siran d'Vel'nahr - L L & P _\\//
Winders 11 OS? "What a piece of junk!" - L. Skywalker
"Logic is the cement of our civilization with which we ascend from chaos using reason as our guide." - T'Plana-hath

My original speculation:

Micro$oft: ALL PCs in the world running Window$ now belong to us. If you want to continue using 'OUR' PCs then you will be required to open an account with us using a valid credit card*. We will take your money once a year so you can continue to use 'OUR' PCs. This is not optional, this is mandatory.
* Cash, debit and gift cards will not be accepted. Credit cards only.

As one who doesn't have a credit card then that will mean I say "Bye Bye Windows". That being the case it would be "Hello Linux". But I will cross that bridge when it has to be crossed - although I may set up a test rig just to see what issues I will encounter (I can see one just now, and that is the lack of a decent 3d CAD system that runs under reliably under Linux, and picks up native Acad & SolidWorks models properly)

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

OMG, this Win 10 "force it down your throat" is getting totally out of hand! Time for a different OS?

I've converted from Win10 to Linux Mint on 4 out of my 5 crunchers. One machine is Win10 only because my kids use it for gaming.

A smart man you be... :) May I ask, I'm totally unaware of how user friendly Linux is or the availabliity of software for it. Any help on that? Others here may be thinking as I am. :)

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River Song (aka Linda Latte on planet Earth)
"Happy I-Phone girl on the GO GO GO"

Some advice to anyone considering upgrading to Windows 10 - DON't! Last night, while I was doing some accounting, I got a critical error message (start menu and Cortana have failed, restarting the system and will try to recover). Thing is I've gotten that message 3 times before on all three of the systems I upgraded to Windows 10. When you try to repair the installation, it errors out with different "critical errors" but doesn't give any detail so you can look for solutions on the Microsoft forums. After 9 repairs, on 3 machines, I'm done with Microsoft. I've run Windows since version 3.0 but no more. Apologies to my wingpersons, but I've download SUSE Linux and will be upgrading all my machines as time permits. No way to save the BOINC directory under Windows as Linux won't recognize the data.

Bill Gates needs to come out of retirement and take his company back from the pin heads who now run it. I've gotten tired of speaking with some Indian/Pakistani at Microsoft who can't fix the problem and you have a hard time understanding their broken English. Worst part is, they get mad when you ask them to repeat their statement because you're having a hard time understanding what they're trying to say.

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If you can grab the data SETI data folders from your PCs, you may be lucky and be able to re-instate it on them after you do the change to Linux.

Good luck.

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

May I ask, I'm totally unaware of how user friendly Linux is or the availability of software for it. Any help on that? Others here may be thinking as I am. :)

Well, installing something like Ubuntu or Mint is very simple. There are thousands of software packages available for Linux, and if your needs are simple like mine, the transition is pretty painless. If you're into gaming or need specialized software, things can get a bit dicey. As far as SETI, there are several very knowledgeable and helpful people here who have helped me to get things running smoothly.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2918397/how-to-get-started-with-linux-a-beginners-guide.html

If you can grab the data SETI data folders from your PCs, you may be lucky and be able to re-instate it on them after you do the change to Linux.

No, that won't work. Because of the change of the operating system all tasks registered under Windows will be discarded of and new work will have to be downloaded.

He'll more than likely will get new hostIDs as well, with new names. More than enough reasons for BOINC to issue new work.

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From this Arstechnica article, Windows 10 upgrade installing automatically on some Windows 7, 8 systems, an answer by Microsoft:

For the first year of its availability, Windows 10 is available for free to most Windows 7 and 8 users, and Microsoft has been trying to coax those users to make the switch by delivering the operating system through Windows Update. Until now, the OS has been delivered as an optional update; while Windows Update gives it prominent positioning, it shouldn't be installed automatically.

This system has already generated some complaints, as Windows Update will download the sizeable operating system installer even if you don't intend to upgrade any time soon, but, over the last couple of days, the situation seems to have become a little more aggressive. We've received a number of reports that people's systems are not merely downloading the installer but actually starting it up.

Our own testing shows that, yes, the optional update is getting chosen by default, and that's not supposed to happen to optional updates.

For those not wanting to make the switch to Windows 10 just yet, all is not lost; the installer does require human intervention to actually proceed, so you won't run the risk of waking up to find your PC running a different operating system. If you're not paying attention, though, you may find yourself upgrading sooner than you expected.

We've asked Microsoft what's going on, and the company tells us that enabling the update was done accidentally:

Microsoft wrote:

As part of our effort to bring Windows 10 to existing genuine Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 customers, the Windows 10 upgrade may appear as an optional update in the Windows Update (WU) control panel. This is an intuitive and trusted place people go to find Recommended and Optional updates to Windows. In the recent Windows update, this option was checked as default; this was a mistake and we are removing the check.

Uhuh, a mistake. But it probably got a couple of thousand unsuspecting people more to turn.

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Many thank yous, Mr Fawkes, and a long distance hugg. :) I wonder if its possible to buy a new Linux based PC like you can with Windows or Apple?

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River Song (aka Linda Latte on planet Earth)
"Happy I-Phone girl on the GO GO GO"

Many thank yous, Mr Fawkes, and a long distance hugg. :) I wonder if its possible to buy a new Linux based PC like you can with Windows or Apple?

There are companies that build and sell computers pre-loaded with Linux, though I have no experience with them. http://linuxpreloaded.com/

Installing Linux Mint is very easy indeed, but beware a hardware upgrade.
Installing new graphic drivers is a pain in the a**.

As i knew it before, i have disabled updates last year on my Win 7 partition.
I will use it as long as it works.

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With each crime and every kindness we birth our future.

Installing Linux Mint is very easy indeed, but beware a hardware upgrade.
Installing new graphic drivers is a pain in the a**.

As i knew it before, i have disabled updates last year on my Win 7 partition.
I will use it as long as it works.

I use the sgfxi script for installing my Nvidia drivers. It automates the entire installation and upgrade process. I highly recommend it.

http://smxi.org/docs/sgfxi-manual.htm

X needs to be stopped prior to installation.

To install, I run (as root):
cd /usr/local/bin && wget -Nc smxi.org/sgfxi && chmod +x sgfxi && sgfxi

For upgrades, I simply run:
sgfxi

It takes care of the rest. :-)

Good news: Microsoft stops automatic Windows 10 upgrades, says default checked update was ‘a mistake’

“As part of our effort to bring Windows 10 to existing genuine Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 customers, the Windows 10 upgrade may appear as an optional update in the Windows Update (WU) control panel,” a Microsoft spokesperson told VentureBeat. “This is an intuitive and trusted place people go to find Recommended and Optional updates to Windows. In the recent Windows update, this option was checked as default; this was a mistake and we are removing Windows 10 from Windows Update for users that have not reserved a copy of Windows 10.”

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Tool you may want (or not)

Windows 10 When I Want It (Win10wiwi)
http://win10wiwi.com/






Note for: Just enter your e-mail address and click "download":
I used this (instead of giving real e-mail)
https://10minutemail.com/10MinuteMail/index.html

Scan - Detection ratio: 0 / 56
https://www.virustotal.com/en/file/dd78e77bcbf689bb12149017e86ce61f569c0647ff5d0ffc360a109b555d17af/analysis/

Found on this comments:
http://www.askwoody.com/2015/microsoft-clobbers-block-win10-upgrade-settings/#comment-63650

Company:
http://www.sysstreaming.com
https://sites.google.com/site/sysstreaming/our-company


It seems to be good but I don't have a Windows 7 or 8 system to test it, use at your desire/risk

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- ALF - "Find out what you don't do well ..... then don't do it!" :)
 

Installing Linux Mint is very easy indeed, but beware a hardware upgrade.
Installing new graphic drivers is a pain in the a**.

yes it is .. graphic drivers are an issue .. I've not been able to work my way through that portion as yet

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Installing Linux Mint is very easy indeed, but beware a hardware upgrade.
Installing new graphic drivers is a pain in the a**.

yes it is .. graphic drivers are an issue .. I've not been able to work my way through that portion as yet

Take a look at what I posted regarding sgfxi scripts.

Installing Linux Mint is very easy indeed, but beware a hardware upgrade.
Installing new graphic drivers is a pain in the a**.

yes it is .. graphic drivers are an issue .. I've not been able to work my way through that portion as yet

With the AMD driver it's pretty simple in Ubuntu. Go to System Settings/Software & Updates/Additional Drivers and click on the driver you want to install. Then Click on Apply Changes. That's all there is to it.
Unfortunately BOINC looks for the OpenCL library in /usr/lib instead of /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu, so if you have a problem with BOINC not seeing OpenCL it's probably because there isn't a link to the library in /usr/lib. Just make a link and it should work. Same thing happens with the nVidia driver and the libcuda.so library...

Installing Linux Mint is very easy indeed, but beware a hardware upgrade.
Installing new graphic drivers is a pain in the a**.

yes it is .. graphic drivers are an issue .. I've not been able to work my way through that portion as yet

With the AMD driver it's pretty simple in Ubuntu. Go to System Settings/Software & Updates/Additional Drivers and click on the driver you want to install. Then Click on Apply Changes. That's all there is to it.
Unfortunately BOINC looks for the OpenCL library in /usr/lib instead of /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu, so if you have a problem with BOINC not seeing OpenCL it's probably because there isn't a link to the library in /usr/lib. Just make a link and it should work. Same thing happens with the nVidia driver and the libcuda.so library...

Not possible.
No system, no shell and no keyboard in recovery mode.
It hangs during startup.

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With each crime and every kindness we birth our future.

Installing Linux Mint is very easy indeed, but beware a hardware upgrade.
Installing new graphic drivers is a pain in the a**.

yes it is .. graphic drivers are an issue .. I've not been able to work my way through that portion as yet

With the AMD driver it's pretty simple in Ubuntu. Go to System Settings/Software & Updates/Additional Drivers and click on the driver you want to install. Then Click on Apply Changes. That's all there is to it.
Unfortunately BOINC looks for the OpenCL library in /usr/lib instead of /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu, so if you have a problem with BOINC not seeing OpenCL it's probably because there isn't a link to the library in /usr/lib. Just make a link and it should work. Same thing happens with the nVidia driver and the libcuda.so library...

Not possible.
No system, no shell and no keyboard in recovery mode.
It hangs during startup.

It sounds as though You tried to do a manual install without first removing the existing driver, or, you tried to manually install the Cat 15.7 driver in Linux 15.04. Neither of those scenarios work very well. The problem with 15.04 is supposed to be fixed in 15.10. If you are at that point I'd suggest reinstalling the system. Recently Ubuntu released an AMD driver with AMD-APP 1729 available in Additional drivers. That driver should work with the newer cards and avoid the problem with Cat 15.7. I'd stay with Linux 14.04.x for now.

When you reinstall if you aren't using a second partition for /home I'd suggest giving it a try. That way when you reinstall the system your home folder is left intact. It works even better if you use the Berkeley BOINC install and keep the BOINC folder in your Home folder, it makes reinstalling the system less painful.