Friday, May 24, 2013

Can I Just Have My Mac Back?


Some of you may recall how OYT drowned my beloved mac in milk. The Engineer then surprised me with a new Windows 8 laptop, lightning fast, and I was happy because I had a computer.

I am no longer happy. Today I spent 2:42:17 with Microsoft tech support. Tricia (in Costa Rica) was delightful, helpful, sweet, understanding, intelligent, and listened carefully. However, I had not planned on the call taking over 45 minutes (I had planned ahead...) so at one point I had to hand the phone to The Engineer while I drove the carpool to the last day of school. When I returned, the scan which had taken almost 40 minutes was done, the corrupted files found, the problem “fixed”, and it was time to check results.

Nothing was fixed. I won't bore you (further...) with all that's wrong with Windows 8, but basically I have to load web pages MULTIPLE times to get all the functionality, and NONE of my apps work. Windows 8 has all those tiles you've seen in the commercials. They're all apps. I've become particularly fond of the EMAIL app. I find email a rather convenient form of communication, and having my personal, and the email for the A-Z info@, accessible from one application without logging in and out of two google identities convenient. It hates me, though. It also hates Tricia and all her clever attempts to make it listen to us.

So there we were, 14 restarts of my machine and hours later, and still no closer to a solution. So I asked her if SHE was on a Windows 8 machine. “We can solve problems for any of our operating systems. I can help you with XP, Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8.” “But are YOU on a Windows 8 machine?” She repeated that same answer. Suspicious if you ask me. Later, I did finally get her to admit (we had plenty of time for chit-chat as my pedaling-as-fast-as-it-could machine downloaded one update after another) that she was on Windows 8 since that was what my problem was, but it wasn't her usual machine.

In the end though, my apps still didn't work, websites still wouldn't load, AND my personal email account was no longer visible on the mail app. See, even though I couldn't DO anything with my email on that app, I could at least READ the back emails I'm desperately trying to catch up on. Well, until the app just decides I'm done and flips back to the opening screen. I was making progress in the back-log, though.

So after all that time, I'm actually in WORSE shape than when I started, and I've now been escalated to another department which has “more tools” to help me solve my problems. Yeah, I really need more “tools” in my life...sigh.

CAN I JUST HAVE MY MAC BACK?????????

There were two gems that came out of the conversation. She repeatedly, and I'm pretty sure accidentally, referred to the "preferred" browser as “Internet EXPLODEr”. Since it kept living up to its name, we did our work with Chrome ;-)

She also said that I knew the most about Windows 8 of any customer she had worked with. Truly frightening. If I've managed to learn the most about this crappy POS OS, then how is ANYONE coping? I mean, their own tech people run Windows 7...

23 comments:

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Tina .. I'd have given up long ago and moved on. I really don't have that much patience .. especially if I can see 'it' going no-where ...

I do hope you get things sorted out .. maybe explains why the Windows8 laptop appeared quite so quickly!

Good luck .. don't think I can say much else .. but I'd be spitting by now! Thinking of you ... Hils

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

It's not the PC, it's Windows 8 - just say no to Windows 8!
Your husband can take it back and request Windows 7.
We got to beta test it at work before it came out. Unless you have a touchscreen, you can't even begin to get it to function correctly.
I'm serious - go buy Windows 7, reformat your machine, and reinstall everything except the Windows 8.

Karen Jones Gowen said...

Agreed with Alex! Wow, I've heard such awful things about Windows 8. I have Windows 7 and love it on my laptop. But then again, Apple products and Microsoft are so very different that people who are used to one really don't like having to learn the other.

Brian Miller said...

ugh...i hate tech issues...they ruin your whole day....and like alex said---i dont upgrade anything for a year until they work most of the bugs out of it...too many headaches.

Jo said...

Phew, I nearly downloaded 8 a few months ago and then discovered a couple of programmes I have wouldn't work so I didn't do so. Now I am very glad I am still using 7. Especially after your problems and then what Alex said. Thanks for the warnings. Alex is right, ask 'em to put 7 back on your laptop.

JO ON FOOD, MY TRAVELS AND A SCENT OF CHOCOLATE

JoJo said...

See this is why I'd rather keep my 2008 lappy with Vista that's never given me trouble, than to buy a new one.

Amanda Trought said...

Wow, you definitely had patience there, I'd agree with what has been said, there is a lot of push to get windows 8 but the problems that arise and the new systems have not been ironed out. I have resisted so far, and your experience has made up my mind. Blessings for the weekend. Amanda

Andrew Leon said...

I hate Win8. Hate it. I have some posts up about my switch when my old PC died last year. Everyone kept telling me, "Oh, you'll get used to it. It's better. Blah blah blah." It's been more than six months, and I'm still not used to it, and I still hate it.

Pat Hatt said...

Windows 8 is complete crap, go back to 7 indeed.

Tina said...

So after ANOTHER LONG CONVERSATION (2.25 hours this time...)WITH TECH SUPPORT, TEAM ESCALATE...I now have a FIXED computer. However, the hardware on this computer will not let me use older operating systems...so I can't go back to Windows 7...However, I did talk them into GIVING me Office 2013 Professional Version. Which they installed. And it's working.
~Tina

Tina said...

P.S
So don't go buy a laptop with Windows 8 cuz you'll be stuck with that. Well, unless you're willing to be a beta tester...which they don't warn you about...
~Tina

jenn said...

oh, i'm very sorry. as i type this, i'm using a windows computer, but...

i have a mac. neener neener.

Anonymous said...

I hate Windows 8 with an unholy passion. I'm not much good with changes to my OS admittedly, but even my techie husband thinks it's awful. Our worst mistake ever. I don't know how you persisted for so long. I often threaten to chuck our PC out the window after mere minutes of its stupidity...

Lucy said...

Oh, gosh, I haven't heard good things about Window 8, I hope this turns around for you.

Lucy from Lucy's Reality

Jo said...

I have just nominated you for the Blogger Sisterhood award. Check my blog for May 25th.

JO ON FOOD, MY TRAVELS AND A SCENT OF CHOCOLATE

Carol Kilgore said...

Ouch! What a way to ruin a Friday. Glad you're fixed and got the new Office Pro out of the deal.

I hope I won't need a new computer until after whatever's next comes out.

klahanie said...

Hi Tina,

Shall keep my comment brief. It has been well discussed in your comments. I have heard about the horrors of Windows 8. I have Windows XP Home Edition and until my computer blows up, I'm leaving things just as they are.

Internet "Exploder", indeed. I hate Internet Explorer and love the simplicity of Chrome. Simple, I can do.

A lovely weekend, I hope, to you.

Gary

Donna Smith said...

Oh, you will be back
to a Mac...

CA Heaven said...

I'm still on Windows 7 (and Linux). No plan to change in the near future. Actually, it's my employer's computer, so they decide what we're running. Fortunately, they never installed Vista.

Cold As Heaven

Annalisa Crawford said...

My son is using Windows 8 without problem, as I can see. But he's 13 - I think that might be the target group?

J said...

I would get a mac if I had the money to invest in one, but PC laptops are usually more in my price range. I hear macs are so much better, and I can attest to having many problems with dells and HP laptops. Recently I had to troubleshoot my four year old dell laptop all by myself because it is way out of warranty.

Anonymous said...

Thanks, Tina. I learned so much from this post today! No windows 8 for me!

Unknown said...

I just got a new laptop in January with windows 8 and was really pleased as I'd been suffering vista for ages. When it's on form it's great but it get so many niggles it's driving me mad. One and only time I open IE, by accident I was trying to delet it, went straight into install and also installed a mad crazy toolbar called blekko that opened a backdoor to allow a damn Trogan virus into my lapttop, what a nightmare getting rid of it, if indeed I have. Mircosoft for goodness sake sort it out without a million updates, some of us have a 10gb limit on our broadband.Never again.