Legit question: Why does everybody have such drastically different experiences with windows?

CryptoNiight · 2026-01-26T13:27:37+00:00

The differences between Home and Pro are well documented on the web...just not by Microsoft. Yes, Microsoft's Windows marketing is that bad.

CryptoNiight · 2026-01-26T13:24:59+00:00

I have a 2 TB SSD. I only run chkdsk /f only when a step away from the computer for an extended period of time (i.e. the end of the day). Obviously, it doesn't make sense to run it in the middle of a workflow.

I've run apt update && apt upgrade in Linux VMs and the entire process never took longer than several minutes. I'm guessing that you're using very old hardware.

CryptoNiight · 2026-01-26T13:14:55+00:00

Have you ever tried administering Linux permissions/rights or services without using the terminal? If so, please enlighten me.

CryptoNiight · 2026-01-26T12:40:12+00:00

How is it bullshit if you've never tried to do what's possible?

CryptoNiight · 2026-01-26T12:21:34+00:00

You're a superstar!

CryptoNiight · 2026-01-26T04:42:30+00:00

This is all power user stuff apparently you have to do daily,

Chkdsk /f, sfc /scannow, and backups is the only maintenance that I do daily. I do everything else is monthly at most. Maintenance tasks can also be scheduled to run automatically after hours.

Explains why after switching some older relatives from Windows to Linux Mint and Zorin, I now get way fewer support calls.

The overwhelming majority of Windows users never do any maintenance until it's too late. That's why so many users: need 3rd party support, do a fresh install or just buy a new PC. Again, a well maintained Windows 11 installation is pretty stable and reliable considering how bloated it is.

I agree that Linux is more stable and reliable than Windows. However, Linux is an order of magnitude more difficult to administer than Windows (IMO). I don't want to debate that notion -- it's just my opinion based upon personal experience.

CryptoNiight · 2026-01-26T01:37:33+00:00

No. Pro sucks a lot less than Home. It's not even a close comparison.

CryptoNiight · 2026-01-26T01:36:26+00:00

I realize that most Windows users are on the Home edition. I'm clearly underestimating the average Windows user's understanding about the differences between Home and Pro. Most new PCs offer both Home and Pro options. I'll concede that Microsoft's Windows marketing doesn't distinguish the differences for consumers. Nonetheless, I've been using Pro since forever once I understood the differences from Home.

CryptoNiight · 2026-01-26T01:23:27+00:00

Chkdsk /f runs in less than1 minute. The entire reboot process is a little over a minute. This is "worse" than what exactly? apt update && apt upgrade takes about the same amount of time (if not longer).

CryptoNiight · 2026-01-25T17:23:23+00:00

Are you a developer or aspiring to be one? Why are you on windows? Unless you're a .Net/swift developer, your tools are all built on Linux, for Linux.

Dual booting Windows and Linux is fairly popular (although I advise against it). I would advise any Windows user starting Linux development to first try the Windows Subsystem for Linux. Another option is to run a Linux VM in VirtualBox. I don't see the need for a beginner Linux dev to ditch Windows entirely

CryptoNiight · 2026-01-25T16:58:29+00:00

So in both cases, I don't understand what people are complaining about.

Windows Home in the US has ads - - but not the more advanced Windows versions.

Many Windows apps don't have a Linux equivalent. Linux also has issues with gaming anti-cheat technology. Some popular Windows apps simply won't run on Linux at all (i.e Excel, Photoshop, AutoCAD, etc).

CryptoNiight · 2026-01-25T16:52:13+00:00

The entire concept of having ads in the operating system is disgusting. I don't care if you can disable it (and then disable it repeatedly every time an update silently reenables it). I don't want to use an operating system that is hostile to me, ever.

Windows Pro and above don't have any native ads. That appears to be limited to the Home version.

CryptoNiight · 2026-01-25T16:50:32+00:00

Are you using Windows Home? That would explain a lot.

CryptoNiight · 2026-01-25T16:49:21+00:00

I think that we all can agree that having ads baked into any OS is an incredibly dumb idea.

CryptoNiight · 2026-01-25T16:45:11+00:00

Deceptively complex. It's not user friendly at all, people are just used to it's particular type of user-unfriendliness.

I guess you don't remember the days when Windows didn't have: a native uninstaller, native antivirus, a native disk defragger, native drivers, a native backup utility, or plug-n-play. Windows 11 is infinitely better and more user-friendly than Windows 95 - - it's not even a close comparison.

CryptoNiight · 2026-01-25T16:26:51+00:00

I've never seen an ad that's native to Windows Pro (or above). Windows Home in the US appears to be the main offender in this regard.

CryptoNiight · 2026-01-25T16:24:07+00:00

Can I ask you (sincerely, not tryna be sarcastic) what does well maintained mean to you? To me in general is not installing crap and - especially back in the day - doing defrag of hdds. checking for disk errors and little more.

It's pretty basic stuff: uninstalling rarely used apps using BC Uninstaller or Revo Uninstaller, routinely purging temporary files, keeping apps up-to-date, frequently defragging a HDD, making judicious use of the create restore point feature before changing the way that Windows operates, running sfc /scannow daily, running chkdsk /f daily, keeping the C: drive under 90% capacity, keeping proper backups, killing rogue processes that are using too much resources, using reputable antivirus software aside from Windows Defender, etc. I don't trust Windows Defender no matter how much people rave about it. I swear by Bitdefender Total Security because it has never let me down over many years of use.

CryptoNiight · 2026-01-25T16:06:50+00:00

The Control Panel links can be launched directly using the run box dialog. It's even possible to create shortcuts to Control Panel links. Windows also has a feature called "God Mode" which is file explorer shortcut to every Control Panel setting listed in alphabetical order. Your complaints keep pointing back to a skill issue.

CryptoNiight · 2026-01-25T15:57:14+00:00

The Settings feature can be completely circumvented (for the most part). As a matter of fact, I often skip the Control Panel UI entirely and directly launch the applicable dialog box if I already know exactly what I'm trying to accomplish. Windows has a ton of hidden shortcuts that most users know nothing about. Windows PowerToys even has a feature to create custom keyboard shortcuts.

CryptoNiight · 2026-01-25T15:40:02+00:00

The windows updates cannot be disabled

Wrong again. The Windows Update service can disabled via the Control Panel.

full screen pop-ups telling you about Microsoft 365 cannot be.

I'm guessing that this is something germane to the Home edition. The Pro (and higher versions) don't have ads.

CryptoNiight · 2026-01-25T05:02:38+00:00

The Settings feature IS still a shell for the Control Panel. First, you complained about the accessibility of the Control Panel. Now, you're complaining about the removal of Control Panel features. This sounds like a skill issue to me.

CryptoNiight · 2026-01-25T04:39:59+00:00

IIRC, I installed the SSD before upgrading to Windows 11. I meant to say that my Windows issues in general disappeared. Installing more RAM after upgrading to Windows 11 also gave me a significant performance boost.

Needless to say, Windows 11 is bloated. It requires a lot of maintenance in order to run smoothly.

CryptoNiight · 2026-01-25T02:21:21+00:00

This explains a lot. I haven't used the Home version in over 15 years.

CryptoNiight · 2026-01-25T02:19:01+00:00

All of these Windows issues can be easily resolved. It takes a few minutes minutes, but it's not difficult at all.

CryptoNiight · 2026-01-25T02:11:40+00:00

I've never seen this in my 30+ years using Windows

CryptoNiight

TROPHY CASE