I totally get your frustration. You’ve jumped a long way. The rest of us have had Windows 7 to ease into Windows 10. (Though be happy you aren’t in Windows 8, which was more obtuse.)
I would suggest you make a list of these things you know how to do in Windows XP that you can’t figure out in Windows 10. Then try Googling for solutions. If you can’t find one (or can’t figure out how to ask in a way Google likes), then ask here. You need help? We can give help.
I do doubt that things are as bad as they seem. You come off as overwhelmed. But there is a lot of familiar stuff in Windows 10, and you can basically ignore most of the new stuff (at least, once you get it set up). You can do it.
I have only a couple of pieces of concrete advice, simply because it does sound like you’re so disoriented that you can’t easily isolate what you want fixed. (“Everything” is a valid answer, but not very actionable. :o)
On my one Windows 10 installation, I installed Classic Shell, which gives you back a no-kidding Start Menu. It will feel a lot like XP, although the default settings are more like Windows 7. Still, from XP to 7 wasn’t the agonizing long leap that 10 is, so you may be closer to comfortable with a start menu that resembles something you’ve seen before, and not Windows 10’s abominable mutation of Windows 8. More to the point, its “Classic” setting looks a whole lot like what I remember Windows XP looking like, so it may help a lot.
Using Classic Shell allows you to stick to the Desktop environment, more like the standard environment of XP. The alternate environment (the Windows-8 style tile UI) is lurking back there, but will only surface if you choose to use it. Even App Store applications, that live in the 8-style environment (what was often called the Metro UI in the press, after its internal codename), will run on the desktop just fine. They’ll look odd, flat, and cartoonish, but they’ll work.
Things that used to live in the Control Panel may have moved to the Control Panel’s Metro-style evil twin, Settings. Moved without a forwarding address, in fact. Until you get familiar with which to use for what settings, I recommend using the search bar built into taskbar to find the correct Control Panel or Settings program.
I hate to actually say it, but that stupid searchbar may be the most useful element in the UI. Sometimes the only way to find a desired program is to search for it by (approximate) name.
Good luck! When you can isolate specific stumbling block, bring 'em here and we’ll find the way around them.
Apologies for my last post. I am surprisingly easily overwhelmed, plus I was on antibiotics, in addition to my usual psych meds, all of which made me grumpier & whiner than usual.
It just seems to me to be a waste to have stuff running in the background that I’m not using and may never use. To me it’s like being alone in a big house with all the lights on and electronics & empty appliances running while you sit in your study reading.
I feel ya. But the only stuff there that you can remove basically involves knowing how you use your computer and whether you’d ever need that stuff.
Personally, I’d get rid of all the HP stuff. I might keep the documentation, but the rest would be useless to me. (I don’t see anything about making a recovery disk: do they not provide that anymore? That’s another program I’d keep).
As for your apps, I don’t print anything or use iTunes, so I’d get rid of Bonjour. I’m also not going to be using Mail, Maps, Messaging, or People, for sure. I have a Google account, and it does everything those apps do. The rest I’d leave alone, including the Energy Star from HP, which could be a nice (it’s a power plan).
But I just don’t know if you would really want to do this. You might like what some of the HP programs offer. You might want to try those apps I mentioned. You may use iTunes. So I can’t really tell you.
As someone getting overwhelmed, I would basically say to leave it alone, and just don’t use what you don’t like.
What I will specifcally say that no one should get rid of App installer, anything Store or REALTECH related, or Vulkan. You would just be crippling your PC.
As for your CPU question: sorta. Having more cores does make things a lot better for normal computing tasks. Only gamers or other highly CPU intensive app people run into single core performance problems, usually.
However, compared to your Windows XP computer, the bigger difference is probably just the CPU architecture. CPUs have just gotten a lot more efficient, meaning they can do more at lower clock speeds. That’s why we largely don’t compare gigahertz directly anymore.
As for AMD vs. Intel: what you have is a CPU designed to be low power and low heat, and to be able to be used on smaller hardware. That’s one of the tradeoffs of small form factor computers like the all-in-one form factor for your computer.
That said, for what you use your computer for, it’s fine. I actually don’t own any computer that has a CPU that’s any better than that one. And I probably do more CPU-related stuff than you do. The days of needing anything near a top of the line CPU is long gone.
What does that have to do with AMD vs. Intel? AMD, until recently, had basically decided to specialize in those types of CPUs, because they found that people had enough raw power. They decided to focus on making their CPUs run cooler/quieter and use less power.
Sorry, didn’t mean to be rude. My experience with computers (not being much technically inclined) has been negative regarding removing what I’d thought were unnecessary programs.
At this point, I find if it doesn’t continually/repeatedly crash (reliable) and doesn’t heat up too much, I"m happy. And I try to keep the crapware to a minimum.
:eek:
