this post was submitted on 16 Mar 2024
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Rant: My recent experience of trying to install windows for gaming and why I'm really thankful for Linux (feddit.uk)
submitted 8 months ago by sirico@feddit.uk to c/linux@lemmy.ml
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I thought I'd chuck windows on my gaming laptop an Acer nitro 5 from last year, to see how it's going do some bits I can't on Linux VR, certain multiplayer games etc.

What a disaster! I've spent the whole day brute forcing drivers and generally dicking about trying to get my setup sorted.

Upon installation, Wi-Fi drivers don't exist, so you cannot use the internet while installing if you're on Wi-Fi. Mint's had this since what 2006? But that's cool, Cortana is here to chat away and not understand any requests. Once finally in the OS after 20 questions that could be considered harassment if it was a person, nothing was ready to go. Every single driver needed sourcing and installing.

People have the cheek to complain about Linux's Nvidia install, literally two clicks on most distros if it isn't already baked in. Go to website find driver, download click click click agree click wait more software click click wait.

Plug in my sound card OK it's a bit old now UA-25 but nothing happens...hmm find obscure video partially install a driver from Vista then cancel the installation program so you can side load a driver from 8,1 but wait there's more disable core isolation to allow the driver to work reboot into a now slightly more compromised OS.

OK plug in wheel again not new stuff G25 oh it works cool. Oh, no H-shifter OK download driver. "Can't find device, ensure it's plugged in". Windows decided it knew better, downloaded its own driver that blocks the official one and loads a steering wheel as a gamepad..GG cool cool.

I do not understand why we still have this image that Windows is noob friendly, it's such a convoluted obfuscated process to do anything. It does worse than nothing, it thinks it's smart enough to carry out tasks on the user behalf and just bork it.

All of these issues are because I don't have the new shiny things, but it really highlighted why I love Linux now if you'll excuse me I'm going to install a distro and play on my 20-year-old peripherals

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[–] stoy@lemmy.zip 49 points 8 months ago (56 children)

Wi-Fi drivers don't exist

They absolutely exist, but perhaps isn't part of the installer.

Every single driver needed sourcing and installing.

Windows Update solves 95% of that automatically these days, as long as you have internet it will sort it out for you.

Plug in my sound card OK it's a bit old now UA-25 but nothing happens.

This an external USB sound card from 2004, Roland has drivers for it working on Windows 98/ME/XP/2000/Vista/7/8/8.1 it is a 20 year old card, it awesome that it works on Linux, but you can't blame Roland or Microsoft for not supporting a 20 year old device on the latest versions of the OS.

OK plug in wheel again not new stuff G25 oh it works cool. Oh, no H-shifter OK download driver. "Can't find device, ensure it's plugged in". Windows decided it knew better, downloaded its own driver that blocks the official one and loads the steering wheel as a gamepad...GG cool cool.

You are whining about a modern OS not being compatible with a 18 year old steering wheel? You can't expect indefinite hardware support for every random little device you happen to find, this like the sound card above is on you, not Microsoft.

I do not understand why we still have this image that Windows is noob friendly.

None of the above quoted examples are noob issues, this is like you are talking to a person in old english from the mideval times and being mad that a random guy in the middle of Londing in 2024 can't understand you.

A noob would realize that their devices were too old and buy new devices.

Windows is noob friendly in that most software have a Windows version, most people use it, it is a known variable.

Like it or not, Windows is the defacto standard, and that means that is it safe in the perspective of a noob user.

I am saying all of this as an IT guy who has worked professionally with both Linux and Windows, I ran Linux as my main OS for a year or two, I LIKE Linux, but this is not fair critisism of Windows.

[–] beatle@aussie.zone 18 points 8 months ago (15 children)

It’s concerning that you think “just buy new stuff” is reasonable and that Windows should only work on new hardware out of the box.

[–] unwantedpamphlet@mastodon.social -2 points 8 months ago

@beatle @stoy expecting any modern os to support 20 year old hardware is silly.

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