freebsd stable - Jul 2020 - URGENT: Microsoft overwrites boot loader!

On 7/16/20 1:28 PM, Alan Somers wrote:
> On Thu, Jul 16, 2020 at 2:20 PM Don Wilde <dwilde1 at gmail.com 
> <mailto:dwilde1 at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>     The [deleted] ones in Redmond have done it again. My multi-OS
>     GRUB2 boot
>     loader is gone, and in its place is a 500M partition called
'Windows
>     boot loader'.
>
>     The purpose is to force us to look at MS' new version of Edge. All
my
>     old boot files are gone.
>
>     It's taken me much of the morning to get underneath this, since on
>     this
>     unit my only OS (other than Doze 10) with a WM and GUI is Ubuntu.
>
>     That's the last time I will allow this, and I'm calling those
>     [deleted]s
>     tomorrow to give them a piece of my mind. After that I will erase
>     every
>     vestige of that obscene OS from my disk.
>
>     -- 
>     Don Wilde
>     ****************************************************
>     * What is the Internet of Things but a system? ? ? *
>     * of systems including humans?? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?*
>     ****************************************************
>
>
> Edge?? I thought that was a browser.? What does it have to do with 
> boot loaders?
> -Alan
It is. They over-wrote my boot loader with a special package touting 
their upgrade and its features.

AUTOEXEC.bat is no longer sufficient for them!

The only way to get out of it was to reboot to a different disk. By 
installing a new copy of Ubuntu from DVD on a portion of that drive, I 
was able to get to the rest of my disk through its GRUB2 (which had been 
trashed by MS).

I sent a really pointed message to MS "Senior Technical Advisors" but 
nobody (of more than a dozen who were on-line and saw it) responded. I 
hope nobody commits seppuku, but I'll bet there will be some resignations.

MS Windows is the toxic RoundUp of the software world, and 10 is the 
most egregious one yet.

-- 
Don Wilde
****************************************************
* What is the Internet of Things but a system      *
* of systems including humans?                     *
****************************************************

On Thu, Jul 16, 2020 at 5:47 PM Don Wilde <dwilde1 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> On 7/16/20 1:28 PM, Alan Somers wrote:
>
> On Thu, Jul 16, 2020 at 2:20 PM Don Wilde <dwilde1 at gmail.com>
wrote:
>
>> The [deleted] ones in Redmond have done it again. My multi-OS GRUB2
boot
>> loader is gone, and in its place is a 500M partition called
'Windows
>> boot loader'.
>>
>> The purpose is to force us to look at MS' new version of Edge. All
my
>> old boot files are gone.
>>
>> It's taken me much of the morning to get underneath this, since on
this
>> unit my only OS (other than Doze 10) with a WM and GUI is Ubuntu.
>>
>> That's the last time I will allow this, and I'm calling those
[deleted]s
>> tomorrow to give them a piece of my mind. After that I will erase every
>> vestige of that obscene OS from my disk.
>>
>> --
>> Don Wilde
>> ****************************************************
>> * What is the Internet of Things but a system      *
>> * of systems including humans?                     *
>> ****************************************************
>>
>
> Edge?  I thought that was a browser.  What does it have to do with boot
> loaders?
> -Alan
>
> It is. They over-wrote my boot loader with a special package touting their
> upgrade and its features.
>
> AUTOEXEC.bat is no longer sufficient for them!
>
> The only way to get out of it was to reboot to a different disk. By
> installing a new copy of Ubuntu from DVD on a portion of that drive, I was
> able to get to the rest of my disk through its GRUB2 (which had been
> trashed by MS).
>
> I sent a really pointed message to MS "Senior Technical Advisors"
but
> nobody (of more than a dozen who were on-line and saw it) responded. I hope
> nobody commits seppuku, but I'll bet there will be some resignations.
>
> MS Windows is the toxic RoundUp of the software world, and 10 is the most
> egregious one yet.
>
Are you saying that they overwrite the bootloader in order to display some
kind of popup add before the main OS loads?  That makes no sense
whatsoever.  It is the crazy ravings of a madman.  Except, I know Don to be
reliable.  There's definitely a madman involved with this story somehow,
but I don't think it's Don.

-Alan