Microsoft Edge? Need some advice from the computer folks of Oppo.

"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
08/20/2020 at 18:17 • Filed to: computerlopnik

So here’s the deal. I got a really nice desktop computer ... about 8 or 9 years ago. It’s an HPZ200 workstation with an i7 processor. If I recall correctly, it has 10 gigs of ram and I really under- bought on hard driv e space at 300 gigs . Now, to be perfectly honest with you, I don’t know what any of that means. I’m not a computer guy at all.

I’ve barely used this thing in the last few years, but now that my school laptop is getting breaky on me, so I figure I better kick-start it so I have a backup machine ready to go.

As you’ve probably g athered, it has Windows 7 Professional. I never could be bothered to upgrade to Windows 10 back when you could do that for free. I got the machine started for the first time in almost a year, and have done a bunch of updates since then. Now it is prompting me to install Microsoft Edge.

So, computer folks of Oppo, what the hell is that? And should I go ahead and install it?

Or should I upgrade to Windows 10? If so, how do I go about doing that? Assume I know nothing, because I know nothing.

Thanks!

DISCUSSION (33)

benn454 > shop-teacher
08/20/2020 at 18:22

Run. Run far away. It’s Internet Explorer with a new coat of paint. Use it to download a better browser if you don’t already have one, then never touch it again.

Also, the only thing you're missing from 10 with 7 is the OEM spyware.

lone_liberal > shop-teacher
08/20/2020 at 18:26

You’ll probably get a ton of different answers from different IT people but if it was me I’d go ahead and update to Edge if you can and not mess with a Win 10 update unless you need to run software that won’t run on Win 7. Edge, especially the Edge Chromium, is much better and more secure than IE. Also, uncheck that “Help MS improve” BS.

SmugAardvark > shop-teacher
08/20/2020 at 18:30

It replaced Microsoft Internet Explorer.

Honestly, it’s significantly better than IE. In fact, I’d say it’s probably better than Chrome these days. At least, it ties up WAAAAY less memory. I still prefer Firefox on my home desktop.

SmugAardvark > benn454
08/20/2020 at 18:31

It’s Internet Explorer with a new coat of paint.

I’d hardly classify that as entirely true. Edge isn’t even an upgraded form of IE. It was built ground-up from Chromium.

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > shop-teacher
08/20/2020 at 18:32

Edge replaced IE. It’s Microsoft’s terrible version of Chrome.

So yes, you SHOULD install Edge for those few instances that require the Microsoft browser. However, you SHOULD ALSO be using Firefox as your main browser.

shop-teacher > benn454
08/20/2020 at 18:34

I use Chrome as a browser.

shop-teacher > lone_liberal
08/20/2020 at 18:35

At this point I don’t need to add any software. I use Chrome as a browser.

shop-teacher > SmugAardvark
08/20/2020 at 18:36

Good to know.

shop-teacher > BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind
08/20/2020 at 18:37

I’ve been using Chrome as a browser. I used to use Firefox. Should I switch back? Why?

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > shop-teacher
08/20/2020 at 18:37

Edge is the replacement for Internet Explorer. It’s based on the same bones as Google Chrome, so using it is just like Chrome except it integrates with your Microsoft account instead of your Google one.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > shop-teacher
08/20/2020 at 18:39

Upgrade to Win10, very easy and costs nothing, you might need a 8GB flash drive.

Win7 isn’t supported anymore and Win10 is fine...I know a lot of people like Win7 (as did I, I loved it), but it’s no longer secure as there are no longer any security or bug patches for it as of January this year...I would personally suggest you upgrade, if it were me. I’ve had no issues with 10 at all.

Win10 will come with Edge, but ignore it....it’s basically Chromium browser with a veneer of Microsoft on top. Best to just use Chrome or Firefox...my preference is Firefox. You can go to the ‘Default Apps’ settings after you get Win10 installed to set your browser of choice to something other than Edge if you install Firefox, Chrome or another browser.

To install 10, you don’t need to wipe your machine - you can do an in-place upgrade straight from 7 to 10. Just get a 8GB USB drive, then go here:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/software-download/windows10

‘Download Tool now’ to get the tool which should when you run it, if memory serves, just let you upgrade Win7 to Win10 on the spot, though it’ll take awhile. If it doesn’t (my memory is poor), do it the way I do and use the tool to create a Win10 bootable USB disk with the 8GB drive I mentioned. After the drive is set up, open it from My Computer and run the setup program to start the Win10 upgrade.

A hint, if you run the upgrade tool to upgrade Win7 to Win10, tell it NOT go get the Win10 updates now and get them once Win10 is installed through the Windows Updater....letting the tool get them as it goes takes a lot longer.

Ask me for more info as you go if need be! I do 7 -> 10 upgrades all the time as computer repair is my side business from teaching! :)

Heck, I’d even remote into it from here using Teamviewer if you’d like to help get you on the go with the upgrade if you’d like, I don’t mind at all!

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > SmugAardvark
08/20/2020 at 18:39

+1 for Firef ox!

shop-teacher > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent
08/20/2020 at 18:39

I don’t have a Microsoft account. All my stuff is on Google, both personal and work. I guess I’ll just stick with Chrome.

lone_liberal > shop-teacher
08/20/2020 at 18:44

I forgot to mention that since Win 7 is not supported anymore it could be more vulnerable to malware and viruses so it would be important to have up to date AV software on it.

shop-teacher > lone_liberal
08/20/2020 at 18:45

Good call. Any recommendations?

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > shop-teacher
08/20/2020 at 18:46

This sums it up well. Basically Firefox is more efficient and has better security. Does it make a big difference? Probably not for the normal person. I’ve just always used Firefox since 2002 or so and haven’t switched :

www.digitaltrends.com/computing/mozilla-firefox-chrome-review-comparison-2020/%3famp

lone_liberal > shop-teacher
08/20/2020 at 18:48

I like Malware Bytes but that’s another area where different people have different favorites.

shop-teacher > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
08/20/2020 at 18:48

I may take you up on that, thanks . I’ll have to order an 8gig flash drive.

facw > shop-teacher
08/20/2020 at 18:51

Yes, upgrade to Windows 10. Windows 7 is no longer supported, and you don’t want to be using an OS that doesn’t get patches. And really as an OS, it’s fine.

Yes, you want to get Edge. You don’t have to use it, but it’s much better than IE (either in the o riginal Edge form, or its new form, which is built on Chromium, so it’s basically like Chrome).

facw > benn454
08/20/2020 at 18:53

Not at all. That wasn’t true of the original Edge, which was a wholly new browser, with excellent performance, but somewhat lacking extensibility, and it’s not true for the new version of Edge, which is based on the same code base as Chrome. If you wanted to call it Chrome with a new coat of paint, that might be more accurate.

This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: > shop-teacher
08/20/2020 at 18:58

I do believe that I recently read that IE was being fully depreciated, so no use keeping it around. Allow it to make the switch to edge then use whatever browser you prefer on the daily.

As for the computer otherwise, if the processor and ram suit your needs and that hard drive you mentioned earlier is an optical drive and not an SSD, that would be something that I would immediately upgrade. Switching to an SSD for the drive that contains your windows partition will make a noticeable and likely dramatic difference in the perceived speed of the computer. Big SSD’s can get spendy but you don’t necessarily need to buy a huge one. I stuck a 120gig Aliexpress special that I picked up for something like $30CAD into my decade old machine and kept the 1tb optical I had been using for mass storage. Significant improvement.

winterlegacy, here 'till the end > lone_liberal
08/20/2020 at 19:05

MBAM is an anti-malware. I’m sure it’s got more AV features nowadays, but it’s primarily still a “ah hell, it’s on my system and I need to get rid of it”.

There’s a lot of AV solutions out there and I’m still not sure which one I’d pick.

lone_liberal > winterlegacy, here 'till the end
08/20/2020 at 19:11

It has real time AV protection built in and, in my opinion, does a better job at getting rid of malware than the others. That said, there are fans and detractors of all the AV types so there’s no real right or wrong answer.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > shop-teacher
08/20/2020 at 19:33

Don’t order it yet - try the tool without it. I usually use the Flash Drive method (I just keep one already configured for Win10 installs/upgrades in a drawer, already prepped) , but I THINK there is a method to do the upgrade straight from the tool, if memory serves!

tpw_rules > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
08/20/2020 at 20:52

The tool can do it itself without a flash drive.

In my experience though, the tool isn’t particularly reliable. My preferred technique is to do an in place upgrade so the license transfers. You should be able to check that the Windows 10 is digitally activated or so, so that the activation is stored in the BIOS firmware. You can then completely reformat the machine and install Windows 10 fresh to ensure there’s no Windows 7 garbage left over and it will automatically activate itself with the activation in the firmware .

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > benn454
08/20/2020 at 21:36

Edge isn't Internet Explorer with a different coat of paint, its Chrome with a different coat of paint. Microsoft gave up on trying to make their own browser earlier this year and just reskinned chrome instead.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > tpw_rules
08/20/2020 at 21:38

@tpw - that’s what I thought, but it’s been so long since I did it with just the tool that I couldn’t remember for sure!

As for the BIOS license key - good point, but that shouldn’t matter anyway. If it’s an activated copy of Win7, the Win10 upgrade will just convert it to a Win10 license...though it won’t be stored in the BIOS, I don’t think digital activation can store things in the BIOS....?

I thought it was only that Win8 or Win10 machines that came from the factory with those OSes installed had the license key embedded in the BIOS, but older machines (his being Win7 era) do not...?

bison78 > benn454
08/20/2020 at 21:39

No, it’s Chrome* with a new coat of paint and lots of added “Telemetry” [spyware]. But it is fine at its job, which is to download Firefox or Chrome. After that, don’t use it.

* It’s actually based on Chromium, which is open source, but doesn’t have support for various things. Both Ch rome and the new Edge browser have closed source support for these functions that are not supported in Chromium.

bison78 > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
08/20/2020 at 21:42

Another source of upgrades can be found here:

https://linuxmint.com/

It has got a lot easier to use Linux in recent years, and with Zoom and Chrome supported on Linux, unless you need Photoshop (or some other Wi ndows-only program) or are a gamer, there really is no reason to stick with Windows.

tpw_rules > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
08/20/2020 at 22:26

I’m pretty sure the activation process will store the converted Win10 license into the BIOS. That’s why I said to double check though!

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > tpw_rules
08/20/2020 at 22:41

Was just doing some research to look into this and found this (copy-pasted):
“On new computers the product key is stored in BIOS and is activated automatically by Windows when connected to the Internet. In Windows 10 hardware activation is used. Your Windows 10 will be automatically activated until you make major changes to the hardware.”

Pretty sure it’s only stored in new machines and installing Win10 on older ones doesn’t store it in BIOS, though it can be linked digitally to a Microsoft Account if one is signed into through Win10:

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-link-your-windows-10-product-key-microsoft-account

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > bison78
08/20/2020 at 22:45

I still run Win10 on my desktop PC, but I run Linux Mint on my laptop and Media Center PC. I do still like Windows, but I honestly think I’d switch to Linux if I didn’t need to run certain programs on Windows. That being said, though Linux has improved drastically in usability over the years to the point of being pretty on par with Windows (at least to me), I DO still run into odd glitches in Linux now and then that can be a bit of a faff to sort out for the average user.

bison78 > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
08/20/2020 at 23:04

The only Windows program I need is Taxact and I run that in a Windows VM. Chrome on Linux has been a big help.