MS Windows Code Automatically Corrupts Itself to Force You to Upgrade!!!???

Since you are in the software field, you most likely overlooked the simple fact that hardware degrades as well.

Most machines with Windows XP still installed are pretty old. An upwards of ten years old even. Many computer components are not designed to last an eternity. Take for example, power supplies - their capacitors degrade, and eventually become unusable. Even processors, they could very well drop dead well before a decade.

I always had the notion of believing old electronics - CRT televisions in particular - were rigged to blow a fuse or something after a few years of service. Nefarious I know, but from a strictly business standpoint it's actually a good tactic to keep the profits rolling in. Having said that, I honestly doubt Microsoft would do that with their software. Would you really expect the few "Security Update"s MS is rolling onto XP nowadays to be rigged to corrupt the OS?

reply to post by beyondsense


Hello!

I am a computer Nerd. I'm going to tell you some stuff that i've noticed over the years!

From the first Windows ever made, right up untill now, there is ALLWAYS a problem over the system slowing down and degrading over time. This has nothing to do with the hardware on the PC. It's entirely to do with the software.

As a dedicated gamer during my teens and growing up - living in a middle class family - my parents simply diddnt have the money to buy me everything i wanted, which at the time would have been a fast PC. So learning to optimise what i did have resulted in a distinct pattern.

Every 3 to 6 Months, i would Reformat my PC. Then Re-Install Windows. Why? Over time the pc would slow down for seemingly no reason - wiping it and starting from scratch would reset this.

Over time this issue is becoming less and less aparent (as the OS's evolve, you will notice it alot more on Windows XP than you will on Windows 7)

Why is this the case?

As you install and remove software from your PC, it creates, removes and modifies entries. Think of your PC like a book with no pages. When you install windows your book now has 500 pages, all arranged in a specific order.

As you install a program (say... Adobe Flash Player, or Windows Messenger) your PC "book" gains another 50 pages, for the mostpart they are all placed into the book together, but some are placed randomly throughout the book.

The same happens when you uninstall a program, only it doesnt remove all the pages that it put in when you installed it. Some are left behind.

Not only are pages created and removed when you install programs, this also occurs when you run programs. Say you open a video file, a word document, internet explorer to view this webpage! Everything you do is moving and shuffling stuff around, adding and removing.

Now, fast forward a year of this - How big is this book? How long is it going to take you when you open the first page to get to the origonal first page that "Windows" was when you installed it?

Natrually beuase it's such a mess in there, things are going to start going wrong, as well as slow. It's going to look for one page, it wont find it, or it goes to a page and it cant read the text because over several occaisons of the computer not being shut down properly (it crashes, power outage, or your simply frustrated and pull the plug) the pages get damaged. So you're looking at an incredibly big book, thats all out of order (but you can still get around and find what you want it just takes ages) that now has torn pages, runny ink, and perhaps pages that were once in english are suddenly now showing as some sort of mutant language that's a cross between Arabic and Japanese.

Windows does try to moderate this stuff - but it can only do so much (hense the as windows is evolving this issue has been decreasing - but its still there, it just takes longer before it is noticable)


The best solution to the problem i have found so far:

Have two hard drives. One for Windows + your Games/Main Applcations. Another harddrive for everything else.

Since your saving everything to the 2nd hard drive, when the time comes that its getting lethargic and needs a kick up the bum - its incredibly easy to do. Wipe the drive, install windows, install applcations, everything else is still there.


Hope this helps explain things in non techy terms

reply to post by beyondsense


Yes.
You need to buy an old government laptop. Nothing ever happens to them because it's for the Gov.
Have you noticed that those flipping ATM machines never go down? Why? because the banks would destroy the company that tried to engineer obsolesance into them,
The non elite have to buy the same thing again and again. The rich, not.

Ok, I'm sorry but I did used to think the same thing...that there is some kind of purposely built in code that corrupts the Windows OS....

HOWEVER...I asked a friend who works for Microsoft tech support who said that it would be absolutely suicidal for the programmers there to do such a thing. Because of the FCC and the insane amount of lawsuits that would result if it were to ever be discovered that they did purposely put code like that into their OS. Microsoft would go bankrupt faster than you can say Apple. And yes, someone somewhere would most definitely find it and exploit their findings. It would have come out into the public by now.

Also, the fact that the OP offered zero PROOF of such claims...and I have yet to find any either, it is just another baseless argument that seems to be pervading ATS these days...conspiracies with nothing to back up "hunches" and "theories" with no evidence presented to support such claims. Sigh...

Originally posted by VforVendettea
reply to post by beyondsense

 

Yes.
You need to buy an old government laptop. Nothing ever happens to them because it's for the Gov.
Have you noticed that those flipping ATM machines never go down? Why? because the banks would destroy the company that tried to engineer obsolesance into them,
The non elite have to buy the same thing again and again. The rich, not.

Sir, I wish this was the case. Having worked on a government machine for the last 7 years, I can assure you that we suffer from many of the same kinds of issues. My machine gets re-imaged every 12-15 months.

I wouldn't put it past Microsoft, but I don't think it's the case. Windows is just a terrible OS. I stared using Apple exclusively about 4 years ago and never looked back (just got a new MacBook). In fact I have an iMac thats close to 4 years old and it still works like the day I bought it. That being said XP was their best one in many people's (including mine) minds. I think that since Microsoft can never reclaim the praise they got for XP they might be trying some things to get people to move on.

Mad over everyone using that bootlegged Windows XP corporate key version.....

Microsoft crawled in bed with Phoenix Bios to create hardware kill switches. They can now remotely disable computer motherboards via the Bios. HP's been using that successfully to kill off laptops after the warranty expired to get people to buy new laptops and keep them going.

Guess they got caught and why they announced they were getting out of the PC business.

Microsoft disabled hundreds of thousands of LEGITIMATE Windows XP versions with that "Windows Genuine Authority" software. They can SEE every computer connected to the net. IF they see 2 or more versions using the same KEY, they disabled BOTH. Even if 1 was legitimate, Kids with key generators spoofing others legitimate windows software, were outsmarting Microsoft.

Do yourself a favor and start collecting PRE-2003 computers. They have BIOS's that don't have Microsoft's hardware kill switches.

Originally posted by stumason
reply to post by Toadmund

 

I think you have your thinking arse about face.

Well, you don't have to be so rude!

If Linux was as good as you claimed, then it would have such a market share.

For one thing you are putting words in my mouth, Linux's low market share is because MS has been trying to kill Linux any way they can, patent laws, silverlight on netflix, direct x, basically trying to shut linux out because they are big and try to close source software that only works on MS instead of multi-platform.

Fact of the matter is, it is a bastard to get working, whereas a windows machine can be up and running from boxed up parts to a full system ready to use inside of a couple of hours that any old moron can navigate around and get their applications working.

(bastard to get working), what the hell are you talking about? Most of the drivers are already loaded and ready to go.

Also, the much vaunted fact there are "no viruses or security problems" with Linux is simply down to the fact no one uses it.

Nobody? Surely you lie.
If more people would support open source instead of being M$ corporate fanboys, Linux would be equal or better than Windows in every area. What if every computer for sale was installed with Linux? Then microsoft would be the one 'no one uses'.

And you are a rude dude!

It's important to remember that programs are needed just to run the Internet and even those basic programs lose support for older computers like Internet explorer flash etc.