RESTORATION

i think a Windows Lite would go down very well with a lot of people.
best of luck Steve ..

XxXxX said:

i think a Windows Lite would go down very well with a lot of people.
best of luck Steve ..

Click to expand...

Yes, I have a friend who keeps reminding me about Windows X-Lite and I think I really should try it. I so despise Co-Pilot and MS constantly attempting to hold my data ransom. It's very annoying. As a writer I do like MS Word. I know there are other apps out there but I've used word for more than 25 years. We old folks tend to be set in our ways. If it were not for MS Word I'd likely not have much other use of Windows. Sadly, MS is ruining Word too with their online nastiness and Co-Pilot. There are special fonts I use that I can't get with any other apps such as BST Greek and BST Hebrew. Perhaps these things might work okay in X-Lite.


I noticed that all the drives (apart from the NVMe) that have been flagged by Crystal Disk are external spinners. Drive "V" in this picture is a 5TB Seagate Backup+ external hard drive. I have two others which are also giving me warnings. Not much I can do about it apart from shucking the drives and putting them in a case with cooling fans. There are enclosures with cooling fans but I'm not up to shelling out for any. Instead, I have made these external drives switchable seeing that they heat up so quickly. None of these three BackUp+ drives come with switches but they can be plugged into a surge protector of significance so that they can be used only when needed. "Air gapping" of a sort, I suppose.

As for the NVMe I have ordered these:


I was most concerned for my Seagate EXOS and it would seem that my idea for a push/pull fan config has kept the temps at a safe level. 36°C is tolerable for these as they are made to run in commercial servers. Keeping my external drives switched off will also allow me more available bandwidth for USB. So all's well that ends well.

I also ordered one of these for the X299 SAGE build. I think it will look very fitting with all the bare-bladed heat sinks in that build. (Almost makes me want a windowed side panel for that huge CoolerMaster case.)

No apologies. I really relate to this guy.

Every time I think I have multi-boot (including Linux) functional and safe Microsoft finds a way to mess me up.

Well, I'm typing this on Linux right now and it behooves me to say that they have certainly come a long way with Debian Mint. I'm loving it. Personally, I don't advise using Mr. Braxman's method of installing Linux. IMO Linux should be on a completely separate drive and share nothing with Windows. The new GRUB boot menu makes it easy to dual and triple boot to any OS of one's choosing. I like the way LMDE 7 respects my devices and I have a lot of drives to choose from. Lots to play with!

i did say let Linux take the load. the Linux boot manager MKII works very well.
are you using the Mint Ubuntu or Mint Debian version?
best of luck Steve ..

Yes sir, you did say that. I'm using LMDE 7 (Debian). I was using Ubuntu before Windows devoured my boot strap like a bad puppy with a teething issue. We'll see how long it lasts this time. I'm hoping if I keep Linux as my main OS and stick with GRUB I should be okay. Before this I was trying alternative ways to boot back to Windows and this may have been the problem. I'm also running Linux directly through PCIe on an NVMe card so I'm hoping this might change protocols enough for Windows to leave my Linux alone.

Scannerman said:

Yes, I have a friend who keeps reminding me about Windows X-Lite and I think I really should try it. I so despise Co-Pilot and MS constantly attempting to hold my data ransom. It's very annoying. As a writer I do like MS Word. I know there are other apps out there but I've used word for more than 25 years. We old folks tend to be set in our ways. If it were not for MS Word I'd likely not have much other use of Windows. Sadly, MS is ruining Word too with their online nastiness and Co-Pilot. There are special fonts I use that I can't get with any other apps such as BST Greek and BST Hebrew. Perhaps these things might work okay in X-Lite.

View attachment 151236
I noticed that all the drives (apart from the NVMe) that have been flagged by Crystal Disk are external spinners. Drive "V" in this picture is a 5TB Seagate Backup+ external hard drive. I have two others which are also giving me warnings. Not much I can do about it apart from shucking the drives and putting them in a case with cooling fans. There are enclosures with cooling fans but I'm not up to shelling out for any. Instead, I have made these external drives switchable seeing that they heat up so quickly. None of these three BackUp+ drives come with switches but they can be plugged into a surge protector of significance so that they can be used only when needed. "Air gapping" of a sort, I suppose.

As for the NVMe I have ordered these:

Amazon.ca

I was most concerned for my Seagate EXOS and it would seem that my idea for a push/pull fan config has kept the temps at a safe level. 36°C is tolerable for these as they are made to run in commercial servers. Keeping my external drives switched off will also allow me more available bandwidth for USB. So all's well that ends well.

Click to expand...

@Scannerman I hope this helps you


BST Greek Font
BST Hebrew Font

www.biblestudytools.com/resources/bst-greek-hebrew-fonts.html

Now you can use them with whatever you like, just install into Windows.

Scannerman said:

Yes sir, you did say that. I'm using LMDE 7 (Debian). I was using Ubuntu before Windows devoured my boot strap like a bad puppy with a teething issue. We'll see how long it lasts this time. I'm hoping if I keep Linux as my main OS and stick with GRUB I should be okay. Before this I was trying alternative ways to boot back to Windows and this may have been the problem. I'm also running Linux directly through PCIe on an NVMe card so I'm hoping this might change protocols enough for Windows to leave my Linux alone.

Click to expand...

Windows will not leave the Linux boot manager alone. Windows is not designed that way.
Windows will delete the Linux boot manager and take over all boot requirements, that's the Windows way.

the work around is to disable the Linux drive so Windows cant see the Linux boot manager
then after installing any version of Windows you can re-enable the Linux drive
and add the new Windows version you have just installed to the Linux boot menu.

that is the only way to stop Windows taking over boot management.
best of luck Steve ..

PCUser said:

@Scannerman I hope this helps you


BST Greek Font
BST Hebrew Font

Font Resources

Download BSTFonts in order to view the Greek and Hebrew text in GOSHEN’s Bible Study Tools. ...

www.biblestudytools.com

www.biblestudytools.com/resources/bst-greek-hebrew-fonts.html

Now you can use them with whatever you like, just install into Windows.

Click to expand...

Thank you but I already have these. My issue is that they don't work in Linux. Much of the material I write uses those fonts (among others) and they can only work with Windows. I've been typing my manuscripts with Word for decades. I suppose I could be accused of being an old stick in the mud but it is what it is and I like to use what works. (No pun intended.)

XxXxX said:

Windows will not leave the Linux boot manager alone. Windows is not designed that way.
Windows will delete the Linux boot manager and take over all boot requirements, that's the Windows way.

the work around is to disable the Linux drive so Windows cant see the Linux boot manager
then after installing any version of Windows you can re-enable the Linux drive
and add the new Windows version you have just installed to the Linux boot menu.

that is the only way to stop Windows taking over boot management.
best of luck Steve ..

Click to expand...

There's the rub. Seems pretty harsh that Windows cannot respect my hardware enough not to infiltrate devices it has no business messing with. That said, the installation configuration for LMDE 7 is quite different. I invite you to try it. The script runs a little fast but it is there long enough to see that someone has taken extra care to protect the kernel a bit better. We shall soon see. Usually the infamous 'kill Linux' code comes in the "critical updates" I find. I don't even think I'll be seeing anymore of those with 23H2 and I'm really not that inclined to upgrade on this unit as I have that X299 build to focus on. I still have to pull that system board from the case that you worked so hard to get into my hands. I've been accumulating hardware for that build. I'm thinking of making Linux switchable on that platform so that I can hide it from Windows before doing 25H2 updates but I'm inclined to ask myself why I even need 25H2. I don't use bit locker, I don't use One Drive, I don't use Hello, and I certainly don't use Co Pilot. Alas, I do use Office and what they did with it is horrendous enough. This is my Achilles heal.

using Windows 25H2 gives you longevity for support in updates and security.
i have had 25H2 and Linux Debian and Zorin OS all running side by side
Windows on the main 1TB NVMe internal drive and Linux on an external 1TB NVMe drive.

the reason for using the external drive is quite simply i can unplug the external drive
and reinstall Windows without Windows interfering with the Linux setup
if Windows cant see it Windows cant destroy it kinda thing. it has worked thus far.

best of luck Steve ..

XxXxX said:

using Windows 25H2 gives you longevity for support in updates and security.
i have had 25H2 and Linux Debian and Zorin OS all running side by side
Windows on the main 1TB NVMe internal drive and Linux on an external 1TB NVMe drive.

the reason for using the external drive is quite simply i can unplug the external drive
and reinstall Windows without Windows interfering with the Linux setup
if Windows cant see it Windows cant destroy it kinda thing. it has worked thus far.

best of luck Steve ..

Click to expand...

I have thought of this before. Wouldn't it be wonderful if there were a way to keep Linux and use Windows without having to resort to such measures? In the event that I have to do something so drastic as to reinstall Windows I suppose I could just pull my NVMe card. Linux should not have to play second fiddle to an OS that doesn't even adhere to ethical programming and stoops to sloppy underdevelopment. To be fair, Windows OS has many good features but if the system is in fact made to compromise independent systems and hardware apart from the media it is installed on one wonders who really has ownership of the hardware.

It pains me to say that longevity for support in updates and security is over rated. The fact that I can still log into Windows 7 without issue and type this only proves that I am my own best first line of defence. Sure. It's good to get updates and all that sort of thing but a good VS can run on an expired OS and a well configured fire wall can work wonders. No amount of security can stop a zero day bit of malware apart from staying off the internet. Stuff happens. That's why we have backups. I could go on but I'll leave it at that. There are still some redeeming qualities about Windows that I enjoy but I have my doubts about it ever improving.

Scannerman said:

... I don't use bit locker, I don't use One Drive, I don't use Hello, and I certainly don't use Co Pilot. ...

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@Scannerman I see some of us go to the same school of thought.

I just don't need those things and I often wonder why anyone would. To me, they are traps. I realize user preference prevails and to each their own, but I think they're more trouble then they're worth and I don't want to pay for them. AI is doing enough damage already as it is. One of the best ways to get some ransomware on your PC is to activate bit locker. But hey, who needs ransomware when MS can hold your files ransom with One Drive any time they like? I had a fine time logging into 24H2 because my 2 factor authentication was suspicious. Yup. That's right. . . I don't have a cell so please don't text me. Voice mail and email should be adequate. I'm debating cutting one of my creditors loose because they can't respect the fact that I don't own a cell. IF 2FA isn't reliable who's to say how reliable Windows Hello can be? A: It won't be. You'll risk getting locked out of your account the same way bit locker can lock you out. So I said goodbye to Hello ages ago. That leaves us with TPM. Instead of going on with another one of my long rants about TPM, how security keys are stolen this way, how it fails the user and messes up the BIOS, how they use it to fabricate artificial obsoletion etc. I give you Mr. Braxman:

This guy just keeps on making sense.

I turned off TPM in BIOS. On my Asus board it's called Trusted Computing!! Also turn off UEFI. I also turn off Fast Startup in Control Panel. That seems to keep MS away from my Mint install for awhile. So far I've never had it interfere, been maybe 5 months or so. But I distro hop quite a bit.

snerd said:

I turned off TPM in BIOS. On my Asus board it's called Trusted Computing!! Also turn off UEFI. I also turn off Fast Startup in Control Panel. That seems to keep MS away from my Mint install for awhile. So far I've never had it interfere, been maybe 5 months or so. But I distro hop quite a bit.

Click to expand...

I have a friend who also does a lot of distro hopping. His personal favourite is Arch Linux. I kill fast startup every chance I get. I'll likely turn off TPM on the X299 since Windows seems to want to encrypt everything on that build without my consent (but it could be that I forgot that Bit Locker is on by default with Windows 11). Turning off UEFI could be trickier for me but if it means I can't install Linux without "Other OS" selected then I'll have to roll with that as my confidence in Windows 11 is reaching about 2 on a 10 scale.

Yup. I'm a dinosaur. I don't like where AI is taking us, I don't like where these large language models are going, I don't like Co-Pilot, Chat GPT, the ever failing TPM, One Drive, or Bit Locker. The list just keeps on growing. What many fail to realize is that when Microsoft comes out with things like RECALL and says, "Ooops, the plebs don't like that. We'll just turn that off." This doesn't mean that it's gone. It means that the architecture is in place, ready and waiting to be turned on again whenever Microsoft deems it necessary to do so. More and more the user is having less and less control over what is going on with their hardware when they use a Windows OS.

I really hate to be the party pooper here. I was once a big fan of Windows. Even Windows 7 had Bit Locker but I didn't use it because something about it just seemed "fishy" to me. I live in a small town and every one I know here that got hit with ransomware had Bit Locker enabled. Isn't that ironic? More and more we get less and less and all of it is done in the name of security. Who's security? A: Certainly not ours.

There are things about Windows I will always love but I can honestly say I don't like the direction it's taking. Meanwhile that love list just keeps on getting shorter every year.

Oh yeah, I gut my Windows installation with Chris Titus's script, the Ultimate Windows Utility. Go from 240+ processes running to ~165 or so. Some users advise against it, but it's right down my alley! Also remove all bloat apps, Onedrive, CoPilot, etc. So all seems well, until the next update?!

'Until the next update' is starting to sound like a Windows user's term for farewell. Chris Titus does seem to have a practical approach to Windows although admittedly I've not used it. My old school experience has taught me that the more I tweak the more I stand to lose reliability and functionality. I realize that one cannot make a masterpiece without cracking a few eggs first. Chris has cracked a whole lot more than just a few and maybe that's a good thing.

It strikes me as a bit of a shame that one has to jump through that many hoops and hurdles just to get a half-decent OS up and running. Microsoft really should make a Bare Bones OS for people to add to from the Windows Store. That way it can keep goading the kiddies with all the candy and let the adults get on with their work. I expect that I am from another time and that this will never happen although from a marketing stand point I hardly know why not.

The concept has so much potential : Windows 12 Bare Bones. A bad azz skull and crossbones logo. Commercials depicting a skeleton at the helm of a star ship grinning wildly and sitting in front of a console. Zoom in to console... Windows Store.. Could even throw in a little humour with Co-Pilot seconding as Terminator. Okay, maybe that's a bit much but you get the idea.