Hello everyone. So how crazy is this idea? I want to set myself up so I don't waste any more time (than absolutely necessary) fighting with my PCs.

Over the years, I have spent countless hours troubleshooting, debugging, and generally getting aggravated while trying to keep my PCs running. I tell anyone that will listen that keeping a PC running should not be this hard. I have always run Windows (starting with Win 3.0) not because I like it but because that OS gives me the largest selection of application programs to choose from. And I've always enjoyed being connected to others; in the early days thru a BBS and now thru the Internet.

This past weekend was the straw that broke my back; I tried updating my sound card driver and as a result, now my sound card doesn't work anymore (see my post under "Sound..." for details). And I am an amateur muscian so this is a big deal to me. So what I've decided is to get this desktop PC running again (even if it means wiping the drive and starting over again) and NOT connect it to the Internet. I want to spend the time and money spent on anti-virus and spyware tools on other things. I want to use this PC just for music related projects like recording, composition, teaching music, and guitar playing.

To stay connected to the rest of the world, I'll use my laptop. And most importantly, I'll be prepared at a moments notice to wipe the drive on the laptop and start over if the anti-virus and spyware tools miss something and my machine gets trashed. And since I absolutely enjoy surfing the net and exploring that big wide world out there, this laptop will probably get trashed often. So' I'll just wipe the drive and start over. (I need to learn more about Ghost.)

Anything that comes into my laptop via the net that I want to move to the desktop PC can be done via sneaker net or intranet (with the inter PC connection setup only temproarily for the transfer). Only 1 PC, the laptop, will be connected to the net so that the desktop can remain isolated and safer (hopefully). And when I buy a new PC, if my plan described here pans out, I'll keep that off of the net also (except to do OS and application updates).

So there's the essence of the crazy idea. To give up on the fight and just be prepared to wipe drives as needed to get back to a running machine. So what do you think? Are there others out there that have just had it with the seemingly constant struggle? Are there others that approach the problem as I am suggesting and have multiple PCs and use these different PCs for separate functions and NOT connect them all to the net? With PCs becoming cheaper and cheaper, it seems more and more reasonable to consider having multiple machines instead of counting on 1 PC to do everything. Is this a crazy idea?

Years ago, when my daughter got her first Nintendo system (she was 3 years old), she could run it herself AND it would always run. It occurred to me then and still does that PCs need to be as robust. And to get to be so robust, maybe they need to stop trying to be all things to all people. Maybe there needs to be an internet connected PC that, by design, can't get trashed by a virus or malware (boot the OS from CD maybe?). (Witness the modern game systems that allow for internet play and don't get trashed. These game systems are essentially game playing PCs that have been optomized for game play. They're safer from being trashed by using an embedded OS that can't easiely be trashed. And how well has the public accepted these products? How many million units have been sold? Nitendo, Playstation, Game Cube, ...)

Maybe there's a market for PCs that are optomized for special purposes (like business, or graphics, or video) and because they are designed for a specific purpose, these machines are easy to "reset" to their out-of-the-box condition? Maybe PC owners need to start considering this point of view.

Yes, most PCs come with a restore CD to bring a PC back to its out-of-the-box condition, but most people install so many more applications as time goes on. And then there are software updates. Wouldn't it be great if the original OS provided a tool to make a custom restore CD (or DVD) that would make "resetting" a PC easier. Maybe Ghost (or something similiar) does this so I need to learn more.

OK, I'm stepping off the soap box now, because it's your turn. So what do you think?

Matt

I wipe my drives all the time (once every few months), operating systems tend to get bogged down after time. I just make a backup of my files, reinstall the OS and put my files back.

When it comes to PCs not being robust, it's not the machine itself, it's the operating system. PC OSs are much more complicated then the OS that nintendo systems use. This is because the operating system on nintendo is designed to do one thing, and to do it well: play games.

There are however operating systems for computers that are specifically designed to do certain things, and there are OSs you can boot from a CD. Windows is designed to do everything, for everyone, however there are countless versions of linux out there, designed to be specifically what you want.

You don't need to buy a specific computer for certain task, just download a specific operating system.

If you want, download Knoppix: http://www.knopper.net/knoppix/index-en.html. It's a version of linux called a "Live CD", which means it can be burned to a CD and booted without being installed on a hard drive.

If you like it, consider installing a distribution of linux that fits what you need on your hard drive. Linux is basically immune to viruses, it's free, and it can run most windows programs. Granted linux is a bit harder to use then windows, until you get used to it. I've been using linux for years now, I have a version that's perfectly designed for what I need, and I've never touched windows since.

If you're interested, here's what my desktop looks like (I'm running fedora linux):

Attached Images

fedora.jpg (97.4 KB, 6 views)

http://www.ubuntu.com/

ubuntu linux is supposedly...easy to use-- I'vr tried it-- but not for what you wish to do. It would be much less susceptible to viruses/spyware etc. It does have a learning-curve-- but if you go back afa 3.1 Windows you should be able to figure it out. the big thing with Linux is finding the right plugins for your apps.

Thanks for the replies.

Is Linux the only OS that can boot from CD and not be installed on a hard drive?

What made you guys try and then adopt Linux?

Matt

As far as I know, it's the only CD bootable OS.

I heard a lot of things about linux, so I decided to download it and try it out.

Mine was largely to learn about a 'foreign' setup... I haven't run it much...for those who run it as their primary OS --linux is a way of life. Many people despise Windows because of all the security issues. They view those who run it as less-skilled/knowledgable than themselves.(true to some degree... linux does not run Windows software, the kernel is setup differently, etc.) What windows can do automatically, linux can do -- but only if you have the correct plugins-- and know how to make them run. The advantages to linux are:

it's 'open source' which means there are many customised versions out there-- and you can (once you are able) write your own software/modify the Kernel/make your own personalized version.. Whatever you want.

it is viewed as inherently more secure than Windows because (I have read) the code was better-written to begin with-- and because it's open source-- people are constantly examining the code looking for flaws all over the world, whereas Windows flaws are often pointed out only after a large security-breach-- or by a few security-oriented websites.
Windows, of course --is the OS on millions of home and corporate PC's so naturally, any person wishing to cause the most mayhem on the web is going to target the most-used Operating System out there. It only makes sense. Especially when the OS is deemed 'easy' by those doing the bad stuff.

If you want to check out the open-source "movement" as it is called by some-- there really is a whole separate world of software out there from Operating Systems to Office Suites to music or video editing... anything you want --for free --it just runs a little differently, thats all.

http://sourceforge.net/