Updates

It wasn’t always this way…

By Mike

For those of us who use 3rd party start menus, upgrading to Windows 10 1607 can be a shock. The upgrade removes Classic Shell which would be fine if all users knew how to put it back. My clients do not know. They ask me to give them something they recognise, and I do it for them because they are not interested in technicalities. A question … What is it about Classic Shell that is so bad that it has to be removed? Removal just sets in panic and some users call bogus ‘help’ companies, turning a bad situation into something much worse…

The ‘Windows Anniversary Update’

By Mike

Sorry, all of you classic PC users (me included) but there will not be too much for you this time around. See here.. The days when Microsoft Windows just lived in relatively ugly cream coloured boxes have long gone. Now, features have to be made suitable for the way more mobile smartphones and tablets as well. There is an update called ‘Redstone 2’ pegged for release sometime in 2017 which holds promise of better times for all, but that is still some way off.. 🙂

MS Office updates..

By Mike

.. take hours running into days on my trusty little Toshiba Netbook. It has just finished security updates, and all is well. I am thankful that the Netbook was given to me. If I had to pay for it, Toshiba would not be getting a Christmas card from me EVER again. Apart from the above, everything else works, even the Homegroup still. Windows 10 has been the saviour of the machine, and hopefully the hardware will last a bit longer. Nuts. It just blue-screened as I was typing this. Looks like I have a bit more unpaid work to do on … Continue reading MS Office updates..

My website came this close to being dumped.. Updated

By Mike

.. but it has had a short reprieve. The problem was basically  ‘I can get to it but can’t update it’ , and it came out of the blue. I tried a different FTP client, but that didn’t work. The end was looking to be very close. After it was suggested that maybe the firewall was to blame, I took a peek at the ‘allowed’ list, and FileZilla wasn’t a part of it. Strangley, SmartFTP, the alternative I tried, was. Anyway, I added FileZilla to the list, and Hey Presto, I updated the website. Unfortunately, my website is worth very little and certainly … Continue reading My website came this close to being dumped.. Updated

A complete Windows 10 re-install.. (Updated)

By Mike

.. and all because of some really stubborn malware picked up yesterday. I am pretty good at removing it 99.99% of the time, but this one stumped me. So, looking to do a clean install for a while, I bit the bullet and backed up the most important data that I would need to re-construct the system, and here I am again.. 🙂 The install went well and passed by fairly quickly, but I have been left with one or two operational issues that I didn’t really have before. Issue #1.. IE11 and Outlook now behave like Edge was doing, that … Continue reading A complete Windows 10 re-install.. (Updated)

Windows hardware drivers..

By Mike

Are you feeling lucky? Well, are you, ****? In the 1511 update, the one that Microsoft pulled recently, the dialogue box is slightly different if you want to stop hardware drivers being installed via Windows Update.. Note that I have opted for the route that is NOT recommended, and have had to do this since the update because the update defaults this setting to the one recommended by Microsoft. C’mon you guys. You must know by now that hardware updates have never been one of Windows Update’s strengths. Quit it before you lose out BIG time.. 🙂

The downloadable 1511 update (10586) has been PULLED..

By Mike

There is not enough thought these days before rushing in like accidents looking for somewhere to happen. From now, you will no longer be able to download the Windows Media Creation Tool which includes the ‘version 1511’ 10586 update. What you will get is the 10240 RTM release, the original Windows 10 that was released to the public. You also lose the chance to activate using a valid Windows 7 or 8 key code. Ed Bott talks about it here.. Included in the text are explanations from Microsoft as to why the version 1511 10586 was pulled. My comment has been made … Continue reading The downloadable 1511 update (10586) has been PULLED..

The 1511 update went well overall..

By Mike

All of my machines are now at 1511, and none are showing ill-effects of any kind. The Lenovo G780 was last to convert and it did so without complaining. In all honesty, I don’t think that any of the new improved features are going to impact the user base here, but I prefer computers to be up to date, not lagging behind. There are other ‘family’ machines needing my attention, but they have to be made available first. One of them make come into radar range today, and the others? Who knows.. 🙁

Updating the HP Elite M9500Y..

By Mike

.. could have turned into a real battle, and it looked like it was going to do that yesterday. Today, I ran the updates, three of which installed after what seemed like an eternity. It asked to reboot, and eventually presented me with the 1511 update. I didn’t time it but it is now done and everything appears to be ok, with just a little fine tuning to make. I suspect it does not like installing if there are too many other updates which need to be installed. The 1511 update has finally made it to South Western Ontario and … Continue reading Updating the HP Elite M9500Y..

Collateral damage? ..

By Mike

A quote from a source I will not name.. “Windows 10 is an UNMITIGATED failure To start with – why force updates on us – when they fail – we are stuck for example the latest update 1511 build 10586.  non-compatible with my system – stuck at 36 % for several hours – will have to roll back – but will Windows allow me to run an out of date OS, without continually trying to force me to update ? Then there’s the security/snooping aspects – don’t get me started I will NOT be upgrading my perfect Win 7 Pro … Continue reading Collateral damage? ..