[AdirondackGrammy]

I have 35+ years in Healthcare Administration…specialty is Operations/Finance/Insurance. Am currently a licensed insurance agent (will be letting my license expire). I can probably answer most questions about all lines of health insurance (Medicare, Medicaid, Commercial, etc). I’m also a Reiki Master/Teacher and am in the process of learning about holistic alternatives remedies. Hobbies include extreme couponing (been doing it for about 20 years), crocheting (been doing it since I was a kid), and canning (can probably answer basic questions about both water bath and pressure canning – only been doing it for about 3 years). I can be reached at [email protected]

[SLINGSHOT]

Hello Grammy, i was just wondering that during the height of the covid scamdemic did you ever hear anything about seniors in healthcare or assisted living type places being threatened they would lose Medicare/Medicaid benefits if they didn’t get vaxxed up. I was curious because i have heard some rumors.

[Cathail]

Windows 7 and 8 are such different animals.. 7, I hung on to as long as I could (hard drive crapped out) and 8 I gave a 2 hour try on a new machine before I nuked it and put 7 on the machine. Microsuck does not like it when you do that. They had stopped selling 7 but I had a 5 install OEM disc. Wait.. is that greek to you?

OEM is original equipment manufacturer, those CDs are usually reserved for “certified windows installers” but when windows 7 came out, I managed to get one.

If you want to hang on to windows for a while, a good system cleaning is where you want to start.

The cleaning programs I used for windows are spybot search and destroy, superantispyware, malwarebytes and I used a stand alone defrag program too.. trying to remember the name… drawing a blank. All can be downloaded from the majorgeeks site. Oh.. what they’re calling apps now, I call programs.

Linux comes in many flavors.. they’re called distros (distributions) I use Linux Mint, with cinnamon, but there’s Ubuntu Debian, Xface, red-hat and a slew more. Linux doesn’t care which one you run or how many on the same machine either. It can also be run directly from a USB stick… which is a great way to look at different distros without committing hard drive space to another OS.

I use mint/cinnamon because the desktop environment is similar to windows and can handle graphics rendering (depending on the computer’s guts)

Choosing a distro is generally based on what you do on the computer. Some are better for people that write code (not me) some are light weight bare bones interfaces – just the terminal window, which is what windows machines call the command prompt window and some are very close to what we see in windows systems.

For me, the most challenging thing was making my own bootable USB stick. it’s not a hard process but it is a pain in the tookas. First the easy part.. download the files. Then there’s what they call verifying the download.. confused the crap out of me. There’s generally a link to do that on whichever site the download comes from. I still don’t know what that does exactly.

The first time I installed linux, it was when a windows 10 machine just froze and I didn’t have a usb/stick/flash drive with linux yet and had go buy one. Little independent computer stores will sometimes make one cheap, especially if you bring your own stick. Sadly, I chose the wrong store, but water under the bridge. Since then, I have made 2 more bootable USBs. All 3 are linux mint, just different releases. It’s that prepper backups to backups thing.

One of my favorite things about Linux is that when there are updates available, they show them to you and let you decide if/when to update. Another is not needing an anti-virus program.

I wish I could re-read your post but this reply window is in front of it.. hmmm.

Do you know anything about the hardware in your machine? age, hard drive size..RAM..?

Not all software runs in Linux. What kept me from jumping off the windows ship for years was that two of the programs I use didn’t run in the Linux environment. Now with more software for linux, they do, sort of. There are alternatives to things like the windows office suite.. not too bad a learning curve.

There are intro to linux videos on youtube to get a feel for it without doing anything to your system.

was that too much of a pre-coffee-absorbtion post?

[Tin-Foil-Tiara]

Our computer runs on *goes to look* Windows 8.1 Pro. I can’t remember what the computer itself is, other than it’s a refurbished HP. A friend helped pick it out several years ago. I don’t know if it just needs a good cleaning or if it’s age but it’s starting to get slow. It boots up just fine on the rare occasion we actually turn it off (was told newer computers should be left on overnight if used daily) but it’s just not quite as speedy as it used to be. Our children like to play games on it and it simply cannot handle it as well as they’d like. Games like Stardew Valley, Slime Rancher, The Sims, and various online games, just to give you an idea.
When we eventually get a new computer, I’m leaning towards a gaming computer. Supposedly, if something craps out it’s easier to fix or replace things? Idk…My main reason for leaning that way is to handle the games. I don’t do much on it other than basic internet things (email, looking things up, boring adult stuff lol) but they whine about games lagging and taking forever to load. Maybe it’s more money than we really need to spend? Idk…

“Linux comes in many flavors.. they’re called distros (distributions) I use Linux Mint, with cinnamon, but there’s Ubuntu Debian, Xface, red-hat and a slew more. Linux doesn’t care which one you run or how many on the same machine either. It can also be run directly from a USB stick… which is a great way to look at different distros without committing hard drive space to another OS. I use mint/cinnamon because the desktop environment is similar to windows and can handle graphics rendering (depending on the computer’s guts)”

***Hmmmm, this is making me hungry. USB stick, huh? Interesting. I’m old enough but young enough to remember my dad going and buying Windows 95 and so forth and spending what seemed like forever in the basement installing it. My, how times change!***

“Choosing a distro is generally based on what you do on the computer. Some are better for people that write code (not me) some are light weight bare bones interfaces – just the terminal window, which is what windows machines call the command prompt window and some are very close to what we see in windows systems.”

***Yeah, no coding here, either. We’re pretty basic. Our oldest is interested in animation but at the moment, besides games, that’s as computer-y as we really get in our house LOL***

“For me, the most challenging thing was making my own bootable USB stick. it’s not a hard process but it is a pain in the tookas. First the easy part.. download the files. Then there’s what they call verifying the download.. confused the crap out of me. There’s generally a link to do that on whichever site the download comes from. I still don’t know what that does exactly.

The first time I installed linux, it was when a windows 10 machine just froze and I didn’t have a usb/stick/flash drive with linux yet and had go buy one. Little independent computer stores will sometimes make one cheap, especially if you bring your own stick. Sadly, I chose the wrong store, but water under the bridge. Since then, I have made 2 more bootable USBs. All 3 are linux mint, just different releases. It’s that prepper backups to backups thing.”

***Your own bootable USB stick? OK, I learned a wee bit of Greek back in high school but I don’t think we made it that far 😛 I know what a USB is but a bootable one??***

“One of my favorite things about Linux is that when there are updates available, they show them to you and let you decide if/when to update. Another is not needing an anti-virus program.”

***Well that sounds grand!***

By the way, any advice on an external hard drive? What to look for? Good brands? Price range? I have a buttload of pictures and videos that need to be backed up asap. Should’ve done it years ago but better late than never.

I know it’s a lot but this is how we learn, right?

Thanks,

~Kitty

PS- Oh, and I found out yesterday on accident that your reply will save if you hit the X and come back to reply.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 3 months ago by  Tin-Foil-Tiara.

[Cathail]

well crud.. I just had a well thought out, long post here and when I hit the post button at the bottom I got this

function(e,t){return new S.fn.init(e,t)}function(e,t){return new S.fn.init(e,t)}

maybe it was too long. I’ll try again in a bit – morning chores have to be done

[Hardrow2hoe]

Nurseryman, garden center , landscape contractor, and landscape lighting contractor. Grew 90% of trees and shrubs for my garden center in our small town . Help became an issue so I sold out in 2008 and now still do some just on a very small scale . If any of this is something that you might have a question on I’d be glad to help if I can . Thanks Rick

[Cathail]

sorry for the late reply.. didn’t get email notification of the post. Information overload on the way.. this got unintentionally long.

Windows 8.. ugh. that was the one they built to be compatible with mobile devices and forgot that it still had to be desktop functional too. I remember most of the bitching was about how much time it was taking to “update” the system, when it was really to fix what they forgot.

I must have a few years on you. We had a pc in the house in the late 80s – windows 3.1 I think, with floppy discs out the wazoo. Dad worked for Honeywell in the computer engineering dept.

I assume yours is all updated and they’ve quit supporting it now, which for microsoft is a good thing.

I think for now, you’re going to want to just clean up the system.

I like external programs to clean with rather than the built in windows stuff. I’d start with malwarebytes.. safe download from major geeks with video tutorial.

https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/adwcleaner.html

After using that one, go ahead an uninstall it, it tends to bog things down if used as a preventative.

That one generally makes a big difference in response time.

There are quite a few games that don’t work in Linux… I’m not a gamer so all that is greek to me.

My “games” are like bejeweled. Simple match 3 games with pretty colors.

Nobody wants sulky kids because the computer doesn’t play their games.

I’m trying to remember how, in windows, to find the RAM (memory) information. It has to be in the control panel somewhere.. system info maybe… oooo Device Manager.. (scurries off to get directions)

ok.. right click on “my computer” and at the bottom of the drop down click properties. The page that opens is the basic info page.. under “system” it says installed memory (RAM)

for windows 8, I’d expect to see maybe 2 GB..though it could be as low as 500 MB. Memory doesn’t always age well either.

It is entirely possible that the games the kids are playing need more memory than the machine has and animation software really needs robust memory.

I wish I could take a peak at your motherboard and it’s stats. Some are built with expansion in mind so extra memory can be added.

By memory, I mean a piece of hardware that goes in a slot on the board.. sometimes there are two slots.

To find motherboard information, Start menu> windows tools > system information.

On the page that comes up you’ll find the manufacturer of the board and it’s model number sometimes called baseboard product. If you post that info, I’ll find a pic of the motherboard and see if it’s got expansion slots for more memory.. and if that’s not confusing enough, memory comes in different formats too DDR3..DDR4 etc.

I think I was using DDR3 in my windows 7 machine, pretty sure that variety is still available.. they didn’t dinosaur it yet.

A bootable USB is like a rescue disc.. if the computer just won’t fire up correctly, plug in the USB and boot from there instead of inside the machine. In windows I think you have to have the boot order set up in the bios to go to the USB second if normal start doesn’t work.. I know, more Greek.

External hard drives.. hmm. I have maybe 8 of them from backing up systems since the early 2000s. I don’t think any two are the same brand. Western Digital is the brand I go to for internal hard drives and I’m pretty sure they make external drives too. Prices *eye roll* I don’t even know since the supply chain and inflation went out of control.

I think my 1TB drive was around 80 bucks but it’s been a while and that might be internal drive I got last’s price.

Are your pics and vids in the same folder? If so, right click on the folder, under properties, find the size of the folder(s). You’re going to want a drive that’s at least 20% more storage space than what you want to save. If you fill much more than that the drive can become unstable.

that was a lot, right?

[Tin-Foil-Tiara]

I don’t get email notifications either, even though I have it checkmarked. I’ll come back and reread this later. Skimming over it, it seems like it’s all going to be incredibly helpful. I’ll respond soon, hopefully tomorrow 🙂

[Tin-Foil-Tiara]

Before I start, just know that I changed my nickname on here. I had originally gone with kitty-with-the-apples because I couldn’t think of anything else other than my old nickname plus my kitchen is decorated with literally hundreds of apples and that’s what our computer is right next to haha. It was late, I was tired, and any others that I could think of were already taken. Just so you’re not confused on who’s talking to you 🙂

OK. Anywhoooo…sorry it took me so long to get back to you…been crazy around here. So I couldn’t find anything on the motherboard (I’ll keep looking…I miss the old days when this stuff was relatively easy to figure out instead of all these “hallways” you have to go down to get to the “room” you need.) but I did find the RAM. Says we’ve got 8GB (7.69GB usable). I’m on the hunt for an external drive or two that, like you said, will be 20% bigger than what I’ve got that needs to go on them.

[Farm-Ranch-Homestead]

As with my last post, this one is months afterward…

If you haven’t yet found an external hard drive, I’d suggest looking at Costco (if you’re a member).

I saw an 8TB drive there not too long ago for about $130 or so. I believe it was a Seagate brand, but it might have been something else. It’s hard to beat Costco’s pricing on these devices.

If you’re not a Costco member, you might want to check out NewEgg. That’s where I go for most of my online electronics purchases, especially things computer related.

[Jeremy-aka-One-Step-Closer]

I’m a financial analyst with over 20 years experience working with Excel spreadsheets. I can help people organize business, create budgets, create what if models, and analyze expenses. I also create custom calculators.

[Redcap]

Herbalist/ plant medicine maker for 40 years

Hand sewing and stitchery, mending, darning

Nutrition (beyond the USDA- worked for them and it’s all a pack of lies based on a bigger lie)

Certified midwife and family health educator

Living simply – making do; replacing disposables with reusables you can sew, crochet, knit; organizing

Household budgeting and living within your means – even if there isn’t much to live on

Recipes for wild and foraged foods like acorns, stinging nettles, dandelion, poke (simple ones; I don’t spend a lot of time in the kitchen)

English teacher for many years – can help you help your kids; also special ed

[KimC]

Sure wish you were near me. I’d love to learn more about many of the things you listed. 🙂

[Redcap]

Ask away, anytime! It’s taken me a lifetime to learn all this and I’m still learning new things.

[BearCreekGirl]

I have was an Army Nurse for 18yrs, also worked on the civilian side for a while. I was raised on a farm. Did everything from feeding animals to butchering. Raised garden and preserved what we raised. I taught school for several years. Not sure what knowledge I might impart to someone but I am always willing to give it a try. Ask and if I don’t know I will do my best to find out or get you to someone that can answer your questions.🙏 [email protected]

[SLINGSHOT]

Looks like you have a lot of important skills. You would be valuable in any community. Keep learning what you can and good luck.

[dfhalfhill]

I’ve been a carpenter for close to 45 years experience [email protected]

[Melijahmom]

We do sheetrocking. We live in Wisconsin. Husband is second generation drywaller. Feel free to ask anything!

[Cheryl-TN]

I have been in the medical industry since 2002. I am certified coder and have experience in the insurance/billing field. I know it’s an odd profession to list but I can help with understanding and navigating in the crazy medical insurance world.

[Ss6]

Second generation homeschooler. My experience is outside the system for the past 20 years with my own kids. Laws are different in every state but homeschooling on a shoestring while teaching real skills is what I know. Happy to share ideas. I also have frugal knitting, crochet, sewing, upholstery, canning, and cooking from scratch skills that I’m willing to share. In northern WA state.

[SauceyMama]

I’m a professional seamstress with over 30 years experience. I do alterations, have taught sewing classes, and have a degree in apparel design.

816-352-4028

[Hanidu-Farms]

What a great skill to have!

[Firedog11969]

30 years a fireman and A-EMT i can weld garden and do any thing i set my mind to do i grew up on a farm and i can survive off the land . i also have a degree that don’t mean crap if SHTF . you have to have the right mind set !

[SLH]

My husband is a Master electrician of 20+ years. I do a bunch of this and that, always trying to learn and willing to share what i know with others.