On Sat, 23 May 2015 08:58:29 -0600, Ken Springer
wrote:


Remember the days of Win 95 and 98, when a computer came with some basic
software installed? Such as MS Works, Media Center, etc.? As most of
these folks can't afford a computer, it's fairly logical they can't
afford commercial software. So I install free stuff, like WPS Office
(formerly Kingsoft), VideoLAN, free AV usually Avira, etc.

Since I'm supplying the monitor, I change the resolution for the best
display the monitor can provide. Adjust icon spacing, etc. as needed,
different wallpaper (just for the fun of it, and it helps me remember
which account I'm in. LOL) Enable Clear Type. I've not looked, but I
suspect the settings of new computers are pretty much what I end up
having when done. I mean, would you really want a computer with 800 X
600 screen resolution. :-)


Not to accuse you of anything, but here's my standard message about
used computers:

If I acquired a used computer, no matter who previously owned it, the
first thing I would do with it would be to reinstall the operating
system cleanly. You have no idea how the computer has been maintained,
what has been installed incorrectly, what is missing, what viruses and
spyware there may be, etc. I wouldn't want to live with somebody
else's mistakes and problems, possibility of kiddy p0rn, etc., and I
wouldn't recommend that anyone else do so either.

In article ,
lid says...

On Sat, 23 May 2015 08:58:29 -0600, Ken Springer
wrote:


Remember the days of Win 95 and 98, when a computer came with some basic
software installed? Such as MS Works, Media Center, etc.? As most of
these folks can't afford a computer, it's fairly logical they can't
afford commercial software. So I install free stuff, like WPS Office
(formerly Kingsoft), VideoLAN, free AV usually Avira, etc.

Since I'm supplying the monitor, I change the resolution for the best
display the monitor can provide. Adjust icon spacing, etc. as needed,
different wallpaper (just for the fun of it, and it helps me remember
which account I'm in. LOL) Enable Clear Type. I've not looked, but I
suspect the settings of new computers are pretty much what I end up
having when done. I mean, would you really want a computer with 800 X
600 screen resolution. :-)


Not to accuse you of anything, but here's my standard message about
used computers:

If I acquired a used computer, no matter who previously owned it, the
first thing I would do with it would be to reinstall the operating
system cleanly. You have no idea how the computer has been maintained,
what has been installed incorrectly, what is missing, what viruses and
spyware there may be, etc. I wouldn't want to live with somebody
else's mistakes and problems, possibility of kiddy p0rn, etc., and I
wouldn't recommend that anyone else do so either.

I usually least check if the thing boots as is first. If so I often look
around a bit; not for personal info but rather for "is there any
software, games, music or movies/videos on here I might be interested in
taking a look at". If so I sometimes make a copy of that if I think it
can be used on another machine.

Then it's format the disk and do a clean install

It does surprise me some people do nothing before throwing a pc away. I
have a laptop here that I dragged out of a recycling bin that booted
once home. What amazed me was it was easy to see who had owned it and
although I didn't delve deeply before reformatting and clean install it
did appear buddy had left banking info, passwords and the lot all there.
There appeared to be nothing actually wrong with the laptop, it was just
getting very old (98SE, very small hd, little ram, no usb or ethernet
connectors etc.

On Sat, 23 May 2015 14:32:44 -0300, pjp
wrote:

In article ,
lid says...

On Sat, 23 May 2015 08:58:29 -0600, Ken Springer
wrote:


Remember the days of Win 95 and 98, when a computer came with some basic
software installed? Such as MS Works, Media Center, etc.? As most of
these folks can't afford a computer, it's fairly logical they can't
afford commercial software. So I install free stuff, like WPS Office
(formerly Kingsoft), VideoLAN, free AV usually Avira, etc.

Since I'm supplying the monitor, I change the resolution for the best
display the monitor can provide. Adjust icon spacing, etc. as needed,
different wallpaper (just for the fun of it, and it helps me remember
which account I'm in. LOL) Enable Clear Type. I've not looked, but I
suspect the settings of new computers are pretty much what I end up
having when done. I mean, would you really want a computer with 800 X
600 screen resolution. :-)


Not to accuse you of anything, but here's my standard message about
used computers:

If I acquired a used computer, no matter who previously owned it, the
first thing I would do with it would be to reinstall the operating
system cleanly. You have no idea how the computer has been maintained,
what has been installed incorrectly, what is missing, what viruses and
spyware there may be, etc. I wouldn't want to live with somebody
else's mistakes and problems, possibility of kiddy p0rn, etc., and I
wouldn't recommend that anyone else do so either.

I usually least check if the thing boots as is first. If so I often look
around a bit; not for personal info but rather for "is there any
software, games, music or movies/videos on here I might be interested in
taking a look at". If so I sometimes make a copy of that if I think it
can be used on another machine.


OK, looking around isn't a problem if you're careful about what you
copy.


Then it's format the disk and do a clean install

It does surprise me some people do nothing before throwing a pc away. I
have a laptop here that I dragged out of a recycling bin that booted
once home. What amazed me was it was easy to see who had owned it and
although I didn't delve deeply before reformatting and clean install it
did appear buddy had left banking info, passwords and the lot all there.
There appeared to be nothing actually wrong with the laptop, it was just
getting very old (98SE, very small hd, little ram, no usb or ethernet
connectors etc.


If it were me, I would never have that kind of info on a laptop. It's
too easy to lose a laptop or get it stolen.

On 5/23/15 11:10 AM, Ken Blake, MVP wrote:
On Sat, 23 May 2015 08:58:29 -0600, Ken Springer
wrote:


Remember the days of Win 95 and 98, when a computer came with some basic
software installed? Such as MS Works, Media Center, etc.? As most of
these folks can't afford a computer, it's fairly logical they can't
afford commercial software. So I install free stuff, like WPS Office
(formerly Kingsoft), VideoLAN, free AV usually Avira, etc.

Since I'm supplying the monitor, I change the resolution for the best
display the monitor can provide. Adjust icon spacing, etc. as needed,
different wallpaper (just for the fun of it, and it helps me remember
which account I'm in. LOL) Enable Clear Type. I've not looked, but I
suspect the settings of new computers are pretty much what I end up
having when done. I mean, would you really want a computer with 800 X
600 screen resolution. :-)


Not to accuse you of anything, but here's my standard message about
used computers:

If I acquired a used computer, no matter who previously owned it, the
first thing I would do with it would be to reinstall the operating
system cleanly. You have no idea how the computer has been maintained,
what has been installed incorrectly, what is missing, what viruses and
spyware there may be, etc. I wouldn't want to live with somebody
else's mistakes and problems, possibility of kiddy p0rn, etc., and I
wouldn't recommend that anyone else do so either.

Yea, I do a clean install, each and every time. Sometimes I don't even
know who owned it previously.

What I don't do is look around on the think like pjp does. I could care
less what's on there.

I'd take you all to Vegas and bet that 99& of the new owners wouldn't
have a clue how to reinstall the OS


--
Ken
Mac OS X 10.8.5
Firefox 36.0.4
Thunderbird 31.5
"My brain is like lightning, a quick flash
and it's gone!"

On Sat, 23 May 2015 22:54:57 -0600, Ken Springer
wrote:

On 5/23/15 11:10 AM, Ken Blake, MVP wrote:
On Sat, 23 May 2015 08:58:29 -0600, Ken Springer
wrote:


Remember the days of Win 95 and 98, when a computer came with some basic
software installed? Such as MS Works, Media Center, etc.? As most of
these folks can't afford a computer, it's fairly logical they can't
afford commercial software. So I install free stuff, like WPS Office
(formerly Kingsoft), VideoLAN, free AV usually Avira, etc.

Since I'm supplying the monitor, I change the resolution for the best
display the monitor can provide. Adjust icon spacing, etc. as needed,
different wallpaper (just for the fun of it, and it helps me remember
which account I'm in. LOL) Enable Clear Type. I've not looked, but I
suspect the settings of new computers are pretty much what I end up
having when done. I mean, would you really want a computer with 800 X
600 screen resolution. :-)


Not to accuse you of anything, but here's my standard message about
used computers:

If I acquired a used computer, no matter who previously owned it, the
first thing I would do with it would be to reinstall the operating
system cleanly. You have no idea how the computer has been maintained,
what has been installed incorrectly, what is missing, what viruses and
spyware there may be, etc. I wouldn't want to live with somebody
else's mistakes and problems, possibility of kiddy p0rn, etc., and I
wouldn't recommend that anyone else do so either.

Yea, I do a clean install, each and every time.


In that case, I misunderstood you. Sorry.


Sometimes I don't even
know who owned it previously.

I'd take you all to Vegas and bet that 99& of the new owners wouldn't
have a clue how to reinstall the OS


I won't bet with you. The number might be a little less than 99%, but
I agree that it's very high. But as far as I'm concerned, it doesn't
matter; you should do it with a used computer whether you know how or
not: learn how or get a friend to help you.

On 5/24/15 7:56 AM, Ken Blake, MVP wrote:
On Sat, 23 May 2015 22:54:57 -0600, Ken Springer
wrote:

On 5/23/15 11:10 AM, Ken Blake, MVP wrote:
On Sat, 23 May 2015 08:58:29 -0600, Ken Springer
wrote:


Remember the days of Win 95 and 98, when a computer came with some basic
software installed? Such as MS Works, Media Center, etc.? As most of
these folks can't afford a computer, it's fairly logical they can't
afford commercial software. So I install free stuff, like WPS Office
(formerly Kingsoft), VideoLAN, free AV usually Avira, etc.

Since I'm supplying the monitor, I change the resolution for the best
display the monitor can provide. Adjust icon spacing, etc. as needed,
different wallpaper (just for the fun of it, and it helps me remember
which account I'm in. LOL) Enable Clear Type. I've not looked, but I
suspect the settings of new computers are pretty much what I end up
having when done. I mean, would you really want a computer with 800 X
600 screen resolution. :-)


Not to accuse you of anything, but here's my standard message about
used computers:

If I acquired a used computer, no matter who previously owned it, the
first thing I would do with it would be to reinstall the operating
system cleanly. You have no idea how the computer has been maintained,
what has been installed incorrectly, what is missing, what viruses and
spyware there may be, etc. I wouldn't want to live with somebody
else's mistakes and problems, possibility of kiddy p0rn, etc., and I
wouldn't recommend that anyone else do so either.

Yea, I do a clean install, each and every time.


In that case, I misunderstood you. Sorry.

No apology necessary, Ken.


Sometimes I don't even
know who owned it previously.

I'd take you all to Vegas and bet that 99& of the new owners wouldn't
have a clue how to reinstall the OS


I won't bet with you. The number might be a little less than 99%, but
I agree that it's very high. But as far as I'm concerned, it doesn't
matter; you should do it with a used computer whether you know how or
not: learn how or get a friend to help you.

I agree totally. I've reinstalled my OS often over the years, starting
with my Atari ST1040 computer.

But it's so darned hard to get people to learn anything about the OS and
how to even use it, much less reinstall it.

An example is a good friend of mine. She's constantly complaining how
slow her computer is. She's spent hours looking for fixes on the web.
But will she take the time to reinstall and start from scratch? Nope.
Will she let me do it? Nope. I just let her complaining go in one ear
and out the other, these days.


--
Ken
Mac OS X 10.8.5
Firefox 36.0.4
Thunderbird 31.5
"My brain is like lightning, a quick flash
and it's gone!"

On 2015-05-24 11:33 AM, Ken Springer wrote:
On 5/24/15 7:56 AM, Ken Blake, MVP wrote:
On Sat, 23 May 2015 22:54:57 -0600, Ken Springer
wrote:

On 5/23/15 11:10 AM, Ken Blake, MVP wrote:
On Sat, 23 May 2015 08:58:29 -0600, Ken Springer
wrote:


Remember the days of Win 95 and 98, when a computer came with some
basic
software installed? Such as MS Works, Media Center, etc.? As most of
these folks can't afford a computer, it's fairly logical they can't
afford commercial software. So I install free stuff, like WPS Office
(formerly Kingsoft), VideoLAN, free AV usually Avira, etc.

Since I'm supplying the monitor, I change the resolution for the best
display the monitor can provide. Adjust icon spacing, etc. as needed,
different wallpaper (just for the fun of it, and it helps me remember
which account I'm in. LOL) Enable Clear Type. I've not looked, but I
suspect the settings of new computers are pretty much what I end up
having when done. I mean, would you really want a computer with 800 X
600 screen resolution. :-)


Not to accuse you of anything, but here's my standard message about
used computers:

If I acquired a used computer, no matter who previously owned it, the
first thing I would do with it would be to reinstall the operating
system cleanly. You have no idea how the computer has been maintained,
what has been installed incorrectly, what is missing, what viruses and
spyware there may be, etc. I wouldn't want to live with somebody
else's mistakes and problems, possibility of kiddy p0rn, etc., and I
wouldn't recommend that anyone else do so either.

Yea, I do a clean install, each and every time.


In that case, I misunderstood you. Sorry.

No apology necessary, Ken.


Sometimes I don't even
know who owned it previously.

I'd take you all to Vegas and bet that 99& of the new owners wouldn't
have a clue how to reinstall the OS


I won't bet with you. The number might be a little less than 99%, but
I agree that it's very high. But as far as I'm concerned, it doesn't
matter; you should do it with a used computer whether you know how or
not: learn how or get a friend to help you.

I agree totally. I've reinstalled my OS often over the years, starting
with my Atari ST1040 computer.

But it's so darned hard to get people to learn anything about the OS and
how to even use it, much less reinstall it.

An example is a good friend of mine. She's constantly complaining how
slow her computer is. She's spent hours looking for fixes on the web.
But will she take the time to reinstall and start from scratch? Nope.
Will she let me do it? Nope. I just let her complaining go in one ear
and out the other, these days.

I had no idea that it was even possible to re-install an Atari 1040ST's
operating system. As far as I knew, the operating system was in ROM and
therefore couldn't be affected by viruses. An upgrade would also require
a user to replace the chip on the motherboard, no?


--
Slimer
Encrypt.

- "NTFS is just slightly faster than apples HFS. And that is the slowest
FS of all. EXT 4 is several times faster than NTFS, and *that* is the
reason you dimbulbs now troll against EXT4."
- "Like NTFS, which is at best at beta stage right now?"

(Peter "the Klöwn" Köhlmann lying shamelessly about NTFS to desperately
defend the fact that ext4 has been shown to corrupt data in Linux kernel
4.0.x)

On 5/24/15 12:06 PM, Slimer wrote:
On 2015-05-24 11:33 AM, Ken Springer wrote:
On 5/24/15 7:56 AM, Ken Blake, MVP wrote:
On Sat, 23 May 2015 22:54:57 -0600, Ken Springer
wrote:

On 5/23/15 11:10 AM, Ken Blake, MVP wrote:
On Sat, 23 May 2015 08:58:29 -0600, Ken Springer
wrote:


Remember the days of Win 95 and 98, when a computer came with some
basic
software installed? Such as MS Works, Media Center, etc.? As most of
these folks can't afford a computer, it's fairly logical they can't
afford commercial software. So I install free stuff, like WPS Office
(formerly Kingsoft), VideoLAN, free AV usually Avira, etc.

Since I'm supplying the monitor, I change the resolution for the best
display the monitor can provide. Adjust icon spacing, etc. as needed,
different wallpaper (just for the fun of it, and it helps me remember
which account I'm in. LOL) Enable Clear Type. I've not looked, but I
suspect the settings of new computers are pretty much what I end up
having when done. I mean, would you really want a computer with 800 X
600 screen resolution. :-)


Not to accuse you of anything, but here's my standard message about
used computers:

If I acquired a used computer, no matter who previously owned it, the
first thing I would do with it would be to reinstall the operating
system cleanly. You have no idea how the computer has been maintained,
what has been installed incorrectly, what is missing, what viruses and
spyware there may be, etc. I wouldn't want to live with somebody
else's mistakes and problems, possibility of kiddy p0rn, etc., and I
wouldn't recommend that anyone else do so either.

Yea, I do a clean install, each and every time.


In that case, I misunderstood you. Sorry.

No apology necessary, Ken.


Sometimes I don't even
know who owned it previously.

I'd take you all to Vegas and bet that 99& of the new owners wouldn't
have a clue how to reinstall the OS


I won't bet with you. The number might be a little less than 99%, but
I agree that it's very high. But as far as I'm concerned, it doesn't
matter; you should do it with a used computer whether you know how or
not: learn how or get a friend to help you.

I agree totally. I've reinstalled my OS often over the years, starting
with my Atari ST1040 computer.

But it's so darned hard to get people to learn anything about the OS and
how to even use it, much less reinstall it.

An example is a good friend of mine. She's constantly complaining how
slow her computer is. She's spent hours looking for fixes on the web.
But will she take the time to reinstall and start from scratch? Nope.
Will she let me do it? Nope. I just let her complaining go in one ear
and out the other, these days.

I had no idea that it was even possible to re-install an Atari 1040ST's
operating system. As far as I knew, the operating system was in ROM and
therefore couldn't be affected by viruses. An upgrade would also require
a user to replace the chip on the motherboard, no?

You're correct, but technically you kind of reinstalled it every time
you turned in on. snicker, snicker

OK, that was in fun.

On the serious side, you reinstalled the OS, in this case an upgrade,
buy removing the ROM and installing a new one. Which I did. But
thinking back, that was on my Mega 4, not the 1040.


--
Ken
Mac OS X 10.8.5
Firefox 36.0.4
Thunderbird 31.5
"My brain is like lightning, a quick flash
and it's gone!"

Slimer wrote:
On 2015-05-24 11:33 AM, Ken Springer wrote:
On 5/24/15 7:56 AM, Ken Blake, MVP wrote:
On Sat, 23 May 2015 22:54:57 -0600, Ken Springer
wrote:

On 5/23/15 11:10 AM, Ken Blake, MVP wrote:
On Sat, 23 May 2015 08:58:29 -0600, Ken Springer
wrote:


Remember the days of Win 95 and 98, when a computer came with some
basic
software installed? Such as MS Works, Media Center, etc.? As
most of
these folks can't afford a computer, it's fairly logical they can't
afford commercial software. So I install free stuff, like WPS
Office
(formerly Kingsoft), VideoLAN, free AV usually Avira, etc.

Since I'm supplying the monitor, I change the resolution for the best
display the monitor can provide. Adjust icon spacing, etc. as
needed,
different wallpaper (just for the fun of it, and it helps me remember
which account I'm in. LOL) Enable Clear Type. I've not looked,
but I
suspect the settings of new computers are pretty much what I end up
having when done. I mean, would you really want a computer with
800 X
600 screen resolution. :-)


Not to accuse you of anything, but here's my standard message about
used computers:

If I acquired a used computer, no matter who previously owned it, the
first thing I would do with it would be to reinstall the operating
system cleanly. You have no idea how the computer has been maintained,
what has been installed incorrectly, what is missing, what viruses and
spyware there may be, etc. I wouldn't want to live with somebody
else's mistakes and problems, possibility of kiddy p0rn, etc., and I
wouldn't recommend that anyone else do so either.

Yea, I do a clean install, each and every time.


In that case, I misunderstood you. Sorry.

No apology necessary, Ken.


Sometimes I don't even
know who owned it previously.

I'd take you all to Vegas and bet that 99& of the new owners wouldn't
have a clue how to reinstall the OS


I won't bet with you. The number might be a little less than 99%, but
I agree that it's very high. But as far as I'm concerned, it doesn't
matter; you should do it with a used computer whether you know how or
not: learn how or get a friend to help you.

I agree totally. I've reinstalled my OS often over the years, starting
with my Atari ST1040 computer.

But it's so darned hard to get people to learn anything about the OS and
how to even use it, much less reinstall it.

An example is a good friend of mine. She's constantly complaining how
slow her computer is. She's spent hours looking for fixes on the web.
But will she take the time to reinstall and start from scratch? Nope.
Will she let me do it? Nope. I just let her complaining go in one ear
and out the other, these days.

I had no idea that it was even possible to re-install an Atari 1040ST's
operating system. As far as I knew, the operating system was in ROM and
therefore couldn't be affected by viruses. An upgrade would also require
a user to replace the chip on the motherboard, no?



This is back when ROMs were expensive, but disk drives were
more expensive.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_TOS

The ROMs in that case, would be considered "wastefully large"
when compared to what was used on other computers.

Paul

On Sat, 23 May 2015 08:58:29 -0600, Ken Springer
wrote:

I set up basic accounts because of the malware issues these days, but a
tutorial of why it's done and how to properly use them is supplied with
the computer.

The most radical thing I do is partition the hard drive, and move the
data storage to the new partition. Relocating those personal data files
LOL And the new owners get instructions on never putting files on
C:\. LOL

While I see your reasons for doing that, it's non-standard and is probably
going to confuse a few folks. Personally, I've always just advised people
with whom I come into contact to make backups on a regular basis. With a
good backup strategy, it doesn't matter as much where things are stored.

Case in point, one lady *asked me* to create a second partition and a folder
structure in it, then move her personal documents there. I got a frantic
call about week later advising me that all of her precious documents were
gone. Turns out, she had simply forgotten that she'd asked me to move them.
The part I felt bad about was when she told me she had been searching for at
least five days and had finally called me because she thought that I had
accidentally deleted them.