Windows 8 offline

Back in February 2008, I bought an HP Pavilion desktop from John Lewis.

Upgraded to Windows 7 from Vista and to MS Office 2010 from Office something else in October 2010.

An offline PC - it does not even seem to be wifi capable - which has served well since, at least until recently, say the last few months, when it started to crash for no apparent reason. Sometimes when in Excel and most recently without even going that far.

So I thought maybe an update to Windows 8 was called for, at least as something worth trying before going back to John Lewis for a whole new PC. I wondered about whether having Windows 8 on an offline PC was going to be a problem and asked google, who dug up a DT flavoured pundit who assured some reader with a similar query that it was not: Windows 8 might be keen on the internet but it was not mandatory.

So off to Staples, where for a little less than £100 I was able to buy Windows 8 in a box.

Loaded up OK, even keeping the user files which I had said it could dump.

Found the original media and reloaded up Office 2010 OK, with my managing to copy the 30 digit activation code from the telephone OK. Presumably OK as this was only the second installation from that disc.

At which point, I notice that the screen - an HP w2207h - was not OK. Most of the text was too large and some of it was fuzzy. The only relevant option I could find was to take the resolution up to maximum, which was not recommended but which did seem to make things better, even if everything was rather flatter than it should be. Dark talk of drivers from google, which will be a bit of a pain to sort out on an offline PC.

Prompt reply from an contact address on an HP page on the internet, telling me to try some other address. This I have yet to do.

Some time later, Windows 10 announces that it wants an activation code too. Taken on a drop of alcohol by this time, so it took a bit longer than the first time, but I get there.

At which point, I find that I am not being asked for a password when the screen wakes up, which I thought I had asked it to do. Also that while there is an option to tell an idle screen to go to sleep, there does not seem to be an option to tell an idle computer to go to sleep. Which it doesn't, even if I leave the thing overnight. Rather a pain as that means I will need to turn the thing off and the end of every working day.

I also find that the help which comes out of the box is not that great and what it seems best at is suggesting that I get myself online where I can get some proper help.

Another oddity, which seems to have passed, was powerpoints firing up when I had not thought I had asked for them.

One way forward, would be to hump the thing downstairs, plug it into my BT infinity router and get the helpful BT people to look at it. But then I have to worry about anti-virus and I have used up the three seats included in my current license from Norton. Don't really want to have to stump up the necessary to get some more, just for the temporary use I have in mind.

Go to Norton (having remembered to use my googlemail flavoured account rather than the gmail one), to find that I can buy a shiny new product at £50.00 for 5 seats for a year. Log into to my account to find that I have indeed used the 3 seats that I bought back in 2011, but that I can have 3 more for £45, not quite the same as their headline offer. On the other hand, as things stand, I have Norton on just 2 PCs, and one is buying seats not installs. Maybe I can work out which one of the three to disable and so free up a key. Can I be bothered?

Verdict so far, OK but not great. At least I have not had a crash.

PS: just remembered that maybe I have used the 3 seats after all, with the third being on a PC I gave away some time ago. Plot thickens.