I seriously think I do. I know I'm nowhere near the level of computer savviness as most or all here but I really used to be able to hold my own. Windows 10 makes me feel like a bumbling buffoon.

I'm pretty rusty now but sometime back, about 15 years ago, I used to do perform all kinds of administrator functions for my unit in California. We were quite a ways from our headquarters so it was my job to resolve as many issues as possible and I was usually successful. Over the past several years I haven't really had to do anything too in depth on a computer so I've lost most of that knowledge but Windows 10 is the first Microsoft OS that feels foreign to me. I skipped 8.

So I used to create a very limited account for my son and never had any problem. Now I have to create an email address, add him to my family, make him a standard user. Can't find any controls for how to actually manage his account. Have to use Edge to filter his results and I have no clue how well it works. The whole damn thing sucks. I noticed he has Web Bar on his desktop. Nothing shows in my Control Panel but under his there it is, there's Chromium, Lord knows what else.

On previous Windows I would just block every PROGRAM (not app) and then if he'd try to open something he needed I could type in my password to give him access. He's a Standard User, whatever the **** that is, and supposedly shouldn't be able to do **** like that.

If it weren't for this issue I don't have too many usability concerns with Windows 10 but I hate that I don't feel like I have any control over this computer. Now, this desktop is a cheap HP deal I got from Sam's Club just for Internet and Office type stuff. My older XP>7>10 desktop downstairs with migrated accounts probably won't give me the same problems, I don't know. Maybe it will. He just doesn't use that one anymore.

e n t o o

So basically you're going to want to restrict him from being able to run executables. Portable Apps (a project which, IIRC, a Massassian was involved with at one point) let you run web browsers by downloading, unzipping, and executing.

Okay, so you said that, sorry for not reading. I have no idea how to do this on any version of Windows.

\runs away

It used to be VERY easy to set user permissions. Now I get a freakin' webpage that doesn't really let me do much of anything. If I create a local account for him, I'm able to make him a Standard User. Oh, that's reassuring. That what he is already.

Do you have gpedit.msc?

I am reading that it is not included in the Home edition of Windows 10.

lol:



So basically, you're going to push him into running cmd.exe just to start programs, making him well on his way to becoming a computer hacker. :-/

Maybe just disable cmd.exe at that point (and also the task manager)? Some googling shows it could work.

• Go here: http://account.microsoft.com/family
• Add him to your family account.
• See activity reports.
• Block inappropriate websites, apps, games, and other media.
• Allow screen time on PCs.
• Add money to kids' accounts.

As far as usability, just get used to using Win+R & Win+S. Most of the tools you used before should still be there & have probably been improved. If you're really serious about administration, just set up a domain controller & learn to use Active Directory, etc. Also, don't overlook your router's features. Personally, I find it more convenient to manage my daughter's account on her tablet.

I feel Windows 10 only hurts a specific set of users: Those who were "really good" at Win7 but don't know how to find the same tools in Win10. The casual power user, or maybe the smart casual user. I dunno.

I do dislike having ads in my lock screen. But I haven't looked into changing it because I really don't care that much.

That's already done. The main problem with this and restricting him to a standard user is it didn't prevent him from installing potentially malicious software and I cannot see all installed software in my control panel. You really shouldn't have to go to a website to control activity on one computer let alone have to create an email address for your child to do so. Of course I can create a local account, an option sufficiently obscured that it's easy to miss, but then you have even less control.

• Grab the Group Policy Editor as suggested by the Reverend.
• Win+R
• gpedit.msc

You may want to take a look at Administrative Templates while you're at it.

• Win+R
• Shell:AppsFolder

Those are top notch suggestions and I'm looking into those. Really this is all just a progression of something I first started commenting on probably in the XP days where the computer gets easier and easier for the average person to use until there is something that needs tweaking and they've kept burying those settings. In the "old days" you kind of always had to tweak things and it was easy to learn or find what to do on your own.

Oh and apparently as the good reverend suggests I don't have gpedit.msc although I can download it from some guys deviant art page. Whoohoo! I can look into it more later. My kid made a mistake once and he probably won't repeat it so I'm not too worried.

However, I do have another question. Has anyone here had any luck running older Windows games on 10 through the virtual machine feature in Pro (I think)? My 20+ year old computer doesn't like the old LCD monitor I've hung on to and the hard drive is only 1.2 GB. If I could be assured that I can run old windows programs on 10 Pro I might be interested. I also might just pick up a newer old computer on eBay for old gaming.

I used to run 98SE in VMware, and that worked fine. Never really tried Virtual PC and I'm not sure if that still ships with Windows 10 Pro. It used to be expensive.

I have 7 on my main laptop and I use 7 at work. I've experienced 10 on my parents laptop after they upgraded unintentionally from 8.1 ... unsurprisingly. I just don't want to move on from 7.

Am I hurting myself? Will MS pull the rug under me soon?

Windows 10 isn't that bad.

Before you try a VM, you should ensure that you've tried all of the compatibility options (including the more obscure ones like DPI settings). I couldn't get JKDF2 running in Windows 8/8.1 (no 3d acceleration), for instance, even with compatibility options, but it magically began working in Windows 10. I continue to have an issue with the in-game overlays (e.g. score tally), but at least I can play it.

Windows 10 has been good to me so far, other than a few bugs that force me to handle Edge with a bit more finesse than I'd like. (Rearranging pinned tabs often results in Edge crashing.) They're finally going to add an e-book store to their Store & they're adding ePub support to Edge. This is something that I mentioned being a major factor for me in a previous thread in determining whether or not I'd ever purchase one of their devices & I even typed up a letter to them on this very subject. They still have a third step that they need to tackle, which is improving Edge's Web Note feature to support ePub/PDF as well as most e-readers. (Highlights, notes, sharing, interfacing with OneNote, & saving all of this & more in the cloud, etc.) It appears to me that they're finally making an effort to position themselves as one of the better e-book solutions, which I think is the inevitable end-game for books that's being grossly underestimated primarily due to e-book costs.

I like it.

This. My only real gripe is that incompatibility with old software (namely games) is even worse than before. Then again, I understand that my use of Windows 10 is pretty narrow and some type of users may run into far more problems than I ever will.

I'm not a fan. The privacy/cortana settings have to be set up for each individual user. The way to set up default apps is a nightmare -- there's essentially a microsoft nag screen begging you to please not switch away from microsoft edge as a default browser. Adding users is a nightmare, you have to lie to your computer and claim that you don't have someone's phone number or email address in order to get to the screen where you add a local user account -- this **** is just inexcusable. There are ads in a bunch of the built-in apps. And not like high quality ads from big brands, but sleazy, low-class ads that I see carrying malware in my day job. There are nag screens all over, "try office 10," "really, cortana can help, turn her on," "let me help with your shopping list," "make a call with skype," etc., etc. It gets really annoying. I think I've turned them all off for my user account but when I glance at my son while he's using the computer they're all back again. As usual the control panel/settings is a mishmash of different generations of microsoft UI, ranging from applets from windows 95 to applets written in metro or whatever they're calling the white-background, super-thin blue font crap they're pushing now. The search box only finds some of it, the rest you just have to remember where it was from using windows for so long.

I feel like if they would just spend some time focusing on not screwing their users, spend some time upgrading some of those old applets, removing some of the friction here and there, they'd be left with something a lot less people would complain about.

I turned off most of that stuff with gpedit.msc

Which doesn't exist in the non-pro version right? Which is fine; but every time a windows 10 thread shows up anywhere on the internet, a billion people like me complain about all that stuff and more. If MS would just listen to their customers they'd have a lot more happy ones. We should be on here *****ing about technical problems and working out fixes for those rather than about stupid policy decisions like putting 3rd party ads in bundled solitaire and putting millions of computers at risk for malware for some tiny amount of money that probably doesn't impact their bottom line at all. You shouldn't have to follow a 38-step guide to not getting ****ed by your operating system just to not get ****ed by your operating system.

It's funny how people don't really mind that Android requires a Google account, but when Microsoft tries to do the same thing it's the end of the world.

Do android phones really require this? Apple requires it to use the store only I believe.

Yes (didn't remember but Google search confirms). Don't have to actually use any of the services though. Probably like Apple (never had one).

I generally try most of the compatibility options but sometimes it's as simple as a program that cannot be run on a 64 bit machine. I like to use old Blizzard titles as a benchmark as they seem to be the easiest to install on newer OSes in my limited experience. I got Starcraft to install but not the expansion on my newest, mostly for internet, machine although that and Warcraft II Battle.Net Edition run at their native resolution in the middle of my monitor. Installs and runs fine on my older computer that is 10. I wonder if one being HDMI and the other on VGA is the difference. I read somewhere something about a ddraw.dll or something but I'm fine with it running on the older PC.

Quake II ran perfectly.

Off the disc? Just curious.

Well, the on the disc is an installer which copies most of the files onto a hard drive or SSD. Then you launch it from there. The disc is needed to verify that you own it, but the game doesn't run off the disc. But yes, it was the disc version, not the Steam version, if that's what you were asking. I downloaded and installed the latest official patch (not any of the cool aftermarket ones).

Correct, only for the store. And since it's Android, you can be cheeky and download APKs from elsewhere instead (although this is generally a really bad idea unless you know what you're doing and your sources).

Praise Carmack.

Sweet article, thanks for the link. I may have read one of these for Quake I, or III, or some other game, but I must have missed this one. I have loved all the Quake games (including IV which I know wasn't an id software game).

I used to like Windows 10 just fine before the forced "Anniversary Edition" updates and the stupid "lol shutting down the computer during "inactive hours" stuff started. And I'm quite certain that the privacy settings (no keylogging et al) changed a bit at some point... oy.

Isn't being able to provide "inactive hours" a tiny bit better than it just doing it right when you're in the middle of working on something? I mean, I'd much prefer it never auto-updating, only running updates when I choose to, and only rebooting when I tell it to, but allowing me to tell it not to auto-reboot during specific hours is a little better than it was before. Of course, being microsoft, they totally ****ed this up and made the interface stupid and restricted near worthless but I just don't expect much out of them anymore.

The privacy settings are still a load of ****. And they are really anti-privacy settings. You still can't choose to never send anything to MS and they still refuse to disclose what is being sent, and given that everything is closed source, you can't actually verify what is being sent anyway so even if they told you, you'd have to "trust" that they were telling the truth.

The only reason we have windows is for a gaming computer and my son is really the only one who uses it. I'm hoping microsoft gets the information we're sending: "no, we're not using your operating system for anything serious."

Same, minus Quake IV--I never got around to it for some reason. I had a bit of fun with Quake Live as well. I actually really enjoyed Rage, despite the bizarre ending. While the vehicular combat mode in multi-player was fun, I always thought it was a great shame that there was no multi-player (non-coop) shooting mode. The weapons in that game were fantastic.

My son and I enjoyed the hell out of Rage but we never played it online. The computer we used at the time wasn't quite up to snuff anyway. We should replay it now that we have a decent computer, thanks for reminding me!

i've had a couple of nitpicky grumbles since the "anniversary update"

1. absolutely broke the theme i was using... (which was a windows 8.1 style theme) after the login screen it was just black screen and a mouse pointer... eventually somehow managed to get the computer to use the default theme and have since deleted the 8.1 theme to avoid accidentally activating the ****ery... i've learned to accept the win10 look
2. every time i update video drivers it ignores my settings for default audio device (onboard sound) and sets it to my monitor (which has no speakers)... never happened with 8.1 or windows 10 prior to anniversary update

Thanks for being a beta tester!

Other than my main complaints in this thread I haven't had too many issues with 10. I do have an occasional freeze on my newer PC that seems common. My searches suggest uninstalling the anniversary update.