Re:Windows 10 or Ubuntu

I am getting fed up with W10, partly because of the updates, and I am considering going Ubuntu so which is better, W10 or Ubuntu and why?

What is it about the updates that's causing a problem? They're not something which I typically notice or have any issues with.

Although Linux is a far slicker experience than it was years ago, it can still veer into the "all you need to do is edit these three config files and follow this 15 page How-To" in order to get device x working.

For a normal everyday user I'd always recommend sticking with Windows. It offers the best driver/device support, the broadest range of software and if gaming is of interest, is the platform of choice.

helijohn wrote: I am getting fed up with W10, partly because of the updates, and I am considering going Ubuntu so which is better, W10 or Ubuntu and why?

I know what you mean about the updates, seems like every time I want to use my pc it's doing updates and the hard disc is 100% busy. After 1/2 hour I give up and use my android tablet. I'm interested in an alternative too.

My Win10 does the same but the computer is still usable. I think this is because i installed a SSD. The SSD makes a big, big difference.

RainerK wrote: My Win10 does the same but the computer is still usable. I think this is because i installed a SSD. The SSD makes a big, big difference.

Completely agree. A SSD is the best performance investment you can make on a PC. The only updates I notice on mine are the full new version releases, the more frequent patches aren't noticeable at all.

An OS like Ubuntu will still need patching and if your PC is slow, it will still be a slow process.

Either replace your HDD with a SSD, or as a cheaper option, add a smaller SSD to host the OS, while keeping your data on your current HDD. Having at least 16gb of RAM won't hurt either, to ensure that you never get paging to the hard disk.

And Linux never needs updating??

BigJImny this morning, see bottom right, only 22 updates

Where to start.
So it looks like Ubuntu/Linux etc. is not recommended.
Almost every time there is a W10 update I get some problem.
Sometimes it is a DVD is no longer readable, yes it might be a coincidence but it has happened coincidentally a lot of times.
Sometimes some peripheral has been knocked off. It was the printer not too long ago.
There are all sorts and they seem to follow updates.....loss of internet is another.
I get a stupid windows "support" page now when I switch on and I think it hates Chrome and does its best to mess it about. I never use Microsoft internet.
Now SSD seems like an interesting move but apart from the (prohibitive) cost I would have to remove one of my two HDD.
Basically I am fed up with Windows. I nearly bought a chromebook but I wanted desktop as I seem OK with my Android tablet and am I right, Android is a Linux derivative!!!

For me with a SSD, 16 GB is not required. The computer runs OK with 2GB and 4GB is better.

I do not notice a difference above 4GB. I think this is because the SSD is so fast in swapping. I do not use a video editing program and I think then this might make a difference if there are 4GB or 16GB.

You are right, Android is a Linux derivative. In fact, you would be hard pressed to find something nowadays that is not a Linux derivative....

My TV - WebOS (Linux derivative)
My phones - Android (Linux derivative)
Home Automation - Alexa (Linux derivative), TP-Link devices (Linux Derivatives)
Internet Router - Linux derivative
My SatNav - Linux derivative
Microsoft WSL - Linux sub-system for Windows 10

It sounds like your Windows 10 PC is the same as mine now. The Disk sub-system cannot keep up with the demand, during an update three separate things are happening.

1. The update - reading and writing disk
2. Anti Virus - Checking each and every file (low security) and disk read/write (high security) caused by step one. Generates more disk activity as it does this
3. Windows 10 indexing. Looks at every file in step 1 to see if it should be indexed. More disk activity that is then also checked by the Anti-virus software in step 2.

So you can see the disk activity queue rapidly increases to 100%. To stop this you could:

1. Change to SSD - runs many times faster
2. reduce the Anti-virus security level to reduce or remove real time scanning down to an off-peak file scan.
3. Turn off Windows 10 indexing. Benefit, faster file access. Downside, Windows searches take forever!

Can't you upgrade to Win7?

I find it to be far,far,far,far,far better than the adware infested machine locking win 10.

I have a laptop that came with win 10, and every single time I turn it on it is completely unusable due to these background updates- and it does have an SSD. It is fine if I turn it on the day before I need it and leave it on overnight.

The latest incarnation of win 10 has the facility to reschedule the updates but they still have to happen.

It makes I feel warm and fuzzy inside that I don't know what anything any of you have said actually means!

helijohn wrote: Where to start.
So it looks like Ubuntu/Linux etc. is not recommended.

Linux is a great OS and I use it myself for certain tasks (such as a small Raspberry Pi server chugging away in the background running a proxy and network-wide ad blocking system). If I were going to run Linux as a desktop OS, then Ubuntu would be my choice, however as a gamer and also working in IT in a Microsoft-centric enterprise, it's not a good choice for me. The point is that any OS will require patching and frequent updates should be seen as a positive, as they keep your machine secure.

From what you've been saying it sounds as though your PC may be fairly old (having spinning disks and optical drives does tend to date computers in this age of cloud storage), which is going to be the main cause of your poor performance when needing to apply updates.

If you just use your computer just for web browsing, email, and office apps, you have a reliable broadband connection and don't need to use the computer offline, then a Chromebook would be an excellent choice. Again, like Android it's Linux at it's core, but this shouldn't be seen as a negative.

If you need more flexibility but don't want to update your hardware, then Ubuntu might perform better on your existing hardware. Installation and use is usually straightforward, however I'd always be reluctant to recommend the use of any Linux distro (other than the heavily modified OS's like Android or ChromeOS) to someone non-techy who just wants a system to work, they're a better fit for enthusiasts and techies.

Finally, you could choose to upgrade your hardware and stick with Windows 10. We're in a nice place at the moment where frequent upgrades are no longer as necessary. I always build my own PCs and used to factor on a motherboard/CPU/RAM swap every couple of years, but the emphasis on CPU performance has dropped away, so my 7 year old i7 CPU is still beefy enough and the only upgrade I've made in the last year was swapping my old 512gb SSD for a 1TB one.

RainerK wrote: For me with a SSD, 16 GB is not required. The computer runs OK with 2GB and 4GB is better.

I do not notice a difference above 4GB. I think this is because the SSD is so fast in swapping. I do not use a video editing program and I think then this might make a difference if there are 4GB or 16GB.

I use my PC for gaming & video editing amongst other things, so 16gb is really the least I'd want and I'll probably goto 32gb when I next upgrade motherboard/CPU/RAM.