My reply was to answer the Windows 10 issue.
LINUX is the most popular answer. There are other OS's that will solve this too. One actually has the ability to emulate WIndows 7 and XP. I'll be installing this so my 92 year old dad can remain comfy in his Windowx XP environment while enjoying the abilities of a faster computer.

If you already have 10, if it is within 31 days since you got it you can restore your computer back to Windows 7 or 8 (whichever it was.)

If it is after 31 days you will need your hard drive wiped and your previous OS reinstalled. Some systems are set up with an option to restore your computer back to the day you bought it. That could also be used.

If you do this, backup your data first and be prepared to reinstall any programs you have on it.

If you have a previous version of Windows Office on it, you don't have the install cd, and you don't feel like being gouged by Microisoft for Office 365, you can download LibreOffice. LibreOffice emulates MS Office. You can go into general options and preset it to save anything you do in MS format (Libre Office has its own format - ODF).

Additional FREE programs can be found at ninite.com. You can also do a search for open source programs online.

Thanks for the info Dobrien

My work computer is window 7. The platform and service that I pay for and that enables me to transact business and I require. It does not work with Windows 10. To force a upgrade is the opposite of making it easier. Below I posted a link that my tech support gave me . He said it came from the" white hats". and allows you to stop this action.

I saw this post . I spoke with my tech advisor. He gave me a link to thwart this bull$hip move. I apologize if it is redundant as I have not the time to review the comments. http://blog.ultimateoutsider.com/2015...

The PDF Attachment walks you through the install. Use Google Chrome for a browser when you do this.
POP UP Blocker must be disabled for the site to which you will be connected.
Have a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day Weekend.
He sent me a pfd file that I have but I don't know how to attach it to these comments.

Know what you mean, There are things I can not do with 10 that I could with XP, Vista and 7

Why do you think I added the comment about back up of earlier versions, There is a program I use that worked on windows 7 and earlier versions that will not work on windows 8, 8. 1 or ten, I'd uninstall 10 if I could get the drivers for the earlier versions

customers like us are in a pinch, if we use Msoft
products ... this may be a quasi-monopoly which
has a ready solution -- apple or linux. . Msoft could
be a bit more careful. . the backlash might be a tad
brutal in the marketplace. . I bet that Rand would
think that way. -- j
.

As a stockholder in Microsoft, I am disgusted by their underhanded marketing techniques. They tried to load 10 on my win 7 system, 42 times! Luckily, I had it set so they could not access it. I had that stupid blue box, until I found the Windows update from March which put it on the machine. It was listed as a "security update" with NO mention of being for Win 10, that is just criminal deception. They have tried a few times to download that update again, but I get rid of it. My husband and I have the number on our computers, and check for it each updated. I have had them go so far as to change my Bios twice in years past, also something they say they will never do, but their updates did it twice. I just talked to a system analyst who said his computer was coming on at night, and he had not thought about their changing his Bios. Win 8 was a backward step from Win 7, in fact, from Vista! Now with10, no DVD player, no Media Player, talk about lack of quality far below what you expect and want. They have become hacks, trying to force an inferior product on the consumer, even if they have to give it away at first, much like heroin dealers. I don't know who their test group is, but everyone I know is vrey unhappy with the lack of basic features in Win 10. A friend who was head designer for a corp computer system said he "hates" Win. 10. Another friend told me today her husband turned on his PC, and Win 10 just started loading, leaving unable to run several of his programs and unable to access much of his data. That is just wrong, and Microsoft should be held financially accountable.

Yeah, I had Red Hat too, and had similar problems. I used Mint, which worked well, I forget the name of the "tiny" version I tried for a USB stick bootable, and now it seems Ubantu is the most prevalent. The Raspberry PI is based on a small version of Ubantu I believe.

I spent all kinds of time trying to get a WiFi dongle working for a media server I made out of a R-Pi. I had it working in 5 min with the recommended dongle, and then forgot it as I brought the system to my brother-in-law's lake house. I spend the whole weekend editing system files in the (better than VI) text editior they have for the command line now.

Great stuff. Just amazing technology in a free system.

So, I have a question. Many say the solution to this issue is to go to Linux, Ubuntu, Mac, etc.

But, how many specialized and advanced pricey programs are written to be able to run on these operating systems? For example, in advanced geologic modeling, I use Maptek Vulcan, Aranz Leapfrog, ESRI ArcGIS, etc for my work. Are all of these types of programs available for these other operating systems?

Hey, Hey...You know John...I wonder what Rand would think of Microsoft's behavior...it's certainly not ethical nor a "Free Market" way of doing business...

Your welcome...even in this paradigm, I am awake and functioning some of the time...hahahahahahah

I'm not much of a computer geek but I could fix most things on windows 98 back in the day...those options don't exist anymore or are sooo buried it would take a mathematician or a lifetime to find them.

Forgive me, your saying that it only gets rid of the crazy stuff...but not all of 10?

Hey! . I was glad that you had it in here fast -- I was
only wanting that, and Thank You!!! -- j
.

+1 Me old dino can't argue with that.

But it isn't better than Windows 7 or even XP.

The whole point of a computer is to make it easier for you to get things done and use your critical applications. Microsoft has forgotten this for many years now. I've been a Microsoft Admin for 20+ years and I just can't tell you how frustrating it is to get anything done when not only are they putting out new upgrades every other year, but they keep moving all the admin tasks every stinking time. I don't like the huge "ribbon". Give me back the drop-downs which take less space and I can customize. I don't like the tiles - they are for mobile devices, not desktops. I don't like the search - it encourages lazy people to put stuff anywhere and then it doesn't get backed up. I don't like the plethora of services which now are autorun just so one can launch Office. I don't like the plethora of services to constantly update my computer even when I don't want it to or don't give it permission.

Been there, done that. It works.

Or you can use a registry hack to disable the upgrade.

It happened to my wife's Windows 8 computer. Luckily, our computer engineer son told us what to do and we got her back to 8. Even if 10 would have been better, the very fact of how they went about "hijacking" her computer would be enough to get us to never use 10.

There are several GUI versions, but you can also run it from a terminal window like dos in the old days ;-)

This web site reports on 20 versions (https://blog.udemy.com/best-linux-os/) but the only one I know that works for me is Ubuntu. I tried Red Hat and some other versions in the past with no luck so I figure if I can work it with Ubuntu anybody can :-)

I've checked and 16.04 is not ready for prime time yet. 14.04 users will be offered the upgrade in July.

Sorry...This one got me cause you can't X it out...thought that was important.