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farmerhugh
Junior

replacing desktp

You  have been so helpful to me in the past,,,,  we need to replace our desktop very soon.  What can you suggest that we do to reduce the impact on our data usage when we plug it in..(I,m looking at a Win 7 not 10).  they always need 100 updates at first.  Thanks
8 REPLIES 8
Liz
Moderator
Moderator

Hi farmerhugh,

Welcome back! Any programs that need to connect to the internet to sync or get updates need to be looked at first. Check their settings to see if you can disable them or get manual control over when they need to update.

-Liz
If you have a tech or billing question and need help, please start a new thread in the appropriate board. Unsolicited Private Messages may not get replies.

Slow performance? Click me!

billmiller43
New Member

Hi, You can buy a used iMac easily for $200, and an Airport Extreme router for $50. No great learning curve, no anti-virus, and if it is "Sleeping", it wakes up in a couple of seconds, and you can be "Surfing" in under one minute. As long as it has OS X 10.7 or better you will be fine. Any Mac Pro 3.1 and up is great, and makes PC's look like model "T" Fords. I used Windoz for 20 years as a professional. But actually tossed my last PC in the trash can 15 years ago. Go to eBay and look around. Email me if I can help.
GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV

farmerhugh,

One thing to remember is that Windows 7 has now exited its mainstream support phase.  You'll still continue to receive critical updates (until Jan 2020), but you'll no longer receive product updates and that sort of thing.  Still, a LOT of people are sticking with Windows 7.  It's a great operating system, and you can always upgrade to a higher OS later.  Really, with the Windows 7 OS itself, and even 8.1, there's not much to do to save on data.  It's more installing an adblocker, making sure that Facebook is set to NOT play videos automatically.  Making sure that if the computer comes with some type of cloud service you DON'T use it.  Your aftermarket programs, of course, would be as adjustable as they are, but you are probably already familiar with them (antivirus and such).  Plus, before you even go online, delete the bloatware that's sure to come preinstalled.  Keep what you want, of course, but a lot of it you will probably never use.      

Windows 8.1 takes a little getting used to, but it's not bad either (definitely an improvement from Windows 8).  It, like Windows 7, allows you to control the updates.  Windows 8.1 is also more amenable to touch screen devices, whether a laptop, desktop or all in one. 

Windows 10 will update whenever an update is released, whether you like it or not.  That's the only thing I don't like about it.  Other than that, once the initial updates are done, which for me weren't a lot, the updates aren't really a whole lot more than the other two operating systems.  Again, though, you can't control them (you can "defer" product updates in Pro and above, but not critical updates).  There are also a few more vital things to set in Windows 10 to use less data in comparison to the previous two OSs. 

Assuming that you want to stick with a desktop, if you aren't much of a gamer and are not concerned with upgrading your video card and other peripherals that are occasionally needed to be upgraded for gaming, those all in ones are something to look at.  They are becoming much more popular.  They aren't very upgradable with regard to components, but again, unless your a gamer, that's not something that would really matter.  In such cases, memory would be the only thing that I might want to upgrade at a later time.  I know you didn't ask for advice on the kind of desktop or anything, just the OS and how to set it up to use less data, but I just figured I would give my ideas on them, anyway.  LOL. 

Good luck.   

 


GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV

"unless you're a gamer," not "unless your a gamer"   Oops.  LOL.
farmerhugh
Junior

thanks!!  I bought an Apple last year from Ebay and got burned.  by the time i figured it out it was too late to return it..  My laptop is a 10 and like you say the updates are murder.  my husband is old school (hes 85)  and wants simple.  and he likes the large monitor  (me too lol)  Thanks to Gwalk and the community I think I have my data usage under control and sure don"t want to mess that up!!
GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV

Ah.  Well, in that case, a desktop would certainly be the way to go.  I have a 21.5 inch monitor.  For me, anything bigger would just be too much, though I did connect it to my 40 inch HDTV once for the heck of it.  LOL. 

Computers on eBay are a risk, for sure.  I sold one once, but have never bought one on there.  Most people that sell their computers on there are good intentioned, but once in a while you'll get someone that will try to slip something by you. 

foxbrook
Sophomore

With Windows 7 you can still control when and which updates to install. What I would do is before plugging the ethernet cable in, set Win7 to "Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them" in the control panel. This article explain how:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/change-windows-update-installation-notification#1TC=windo...

Then you can plug the ethernet cable in. It will go and check for updates and them present you with a huge list. Personally I only installed security updates, unless there was a specific issue I needed to address, and I would get up early and do it during bonus time.  If you install all the updates it will start nagging you to upgrade to Win10.
Liz
Moderator
Moderator

Glad to hear it farmerhugh! Feel free to drop on by if you need additional assistance.

Thanks,
Liz
If you have a tech or billing question and need help, please start a new thread in the appropriate board. Unsolicited Private Messages may not get replies.

Slow performance? Click me!