Never seen that before. I have seen updates mess up some games before, but man, my whole desktop, which was pretty full on my older laptop, looks crazy. It's some sort of really light background with a seaside and cliffs, but it's so light I can't see my desktop icons very well.

I know how to "fix" it (I think, pretty sure) by changing the background, but has anyone ever seen a Windows Update do that before?

EDIT: Guess I should clarify, I am 100% sure it was the Windows Update because the first thing I noticed when I looked on my screen (the same old screen I've had forever) was a notification that a restart was required for a Windows Update, and just as soon as it restarted and came back up there was this new desktop.

I've had something similar when restarting after GPU drivers update and using multiple monitors.

Well mine also changed the background picture and then i changed it back. Also my old laptop is on 25% cpu most of the time with system interuptions in task manager. Think it may need a cleaning inside and maybe new fan since the heat is obvious. Noticed this right after the picture was new. Gonna give it to uncle so he can give it to a repairman since i only know to clean desktops and not laptops.

I remember the Malware and updates they pushed when they wanted you to take Windows 8/10, where you couldn't opt out. You turn the computer off one day, boot it up and it's suddenly completely different.

First thing i do when i install an OS is disable updating. If something works you don't mess with it, only do updates when there's a critical problem or you need something for another piece of software to work.

Plus Microsoft has shown themselves to be more and more spyware bloat as time goes on.

https://www.sordum.org/9470/windows-update-blocker-v1-8/

I still have to upgrade from Windows 10 20H2, because fuck Microsoft.

Weshould have some critical regulation in EU for this monopoly practices. Updates always should be optional and with options to install only security updates and not "features" bs updates that broke system. Same for drivers. Fuck microsoft monopoly.

Updated this morning (Win11) I see no ill effects, desktop looks the same.

I haven't bothered to "upgrade" to Windows 11 yet, but when I left my PC to update last night, it got stuck on the Cleaning Up 100% phase for quite a while. It did return to normal after a while, but I too was afraid my PC would have been borked.

Days like this make me glad to have long given up windows. Today, I'm using the Trinity Deskop!

If in your mind a member of the general public revealing lack of aptitute to keep a windows OS in perfect order warrants celebration i envy you because your life surely must be a non-stop party.

At my end both w10 installs (gaming desktop, laptop) are already outliving the hardware. They both updated yesterday and everything is as it always is, tip top shape, so there's that i guess.

On the other hand, imagine being able to snap my fingers and say, "I feel like using NeXTSTEP today!" and having it happen?

It's the best kind of time machine.

There is no "on the other hand" as far as i'm concerned.

I'm a gamer, not an OS/GUI enthusiast, the OS - whichever one - is something i put up with, not something i treasure or enjoy.

Since i devote my time to PC gaming an OS install that can run games for a decade without an hitch, without the need for clean reinstalls or whatever, is already every dream come through, no finger snapping required.

My gaming machine is from April, 2015, at the time running w7. The migration folders tell me that it iterated to w10 on August, 2016. On the whole this OS install already outlived my cpu cooler which apparently, at best, has a life expectancy of 7 years. Yes, all same hardware shoved in there in 2015 except the replacement cpu cooler, a gpu upgrade swap and an added M.2. And, yes, running games every single day since April 2015.

If we're talking about Windows as an adequate gaming platform for a gamer, seriously, just do the math.

If we're talking about enjoying OS/GUI hopping, yeah, the criteria is going to be different and also utterly meaningless to me.

As for time travels, i keep an assortment of varied speccy's models in working order, i'm plenty covered ;)

The math suggests that Linux is running circles around Windows in terms of gaming performance; especially on older titles, many of which are impossible to run on Windows these days.

I dunno, it's almost as if massive corperations are putting their backs into making these old programs work.


And things like DosBox Staging help a lot too.

If it's all the same to you 'll leave the "us vs them" tribal bullshit to you and anyone else interested in "investing" their time in it, i have zero interest in pissing on any given OS simply because it happens to be an OS i don't use.