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Restore, Refresh or Reset

By Don Trauger – Kennett

Published July 2015 in the Guide and Digest

When a Windows version 8/8.1 computer faces a major software problem 3 options may have to be considered. They are Restore, Refresh or Reset. Windows is somewhat smart in that it can detect a problem by diagnosing the computer then followed by an automatic repair. If it can be repaired automatically then that should be the end of the problem. However, what happens if the automatic repair fails to correct the problem? Read further to find out what to do.

 

If it fails to boot and you see repeated failed attempts with the automatic repair, then you must find a different way to correct the problem. Here’s what every Windows 8/8.1 computer user MUST do. Purchase a USB flash drive which is 16 GB or larger in size. On a working computer, insert the flash drive into a USB 2.0 port in the computer. A USB 2.0 port will have a black insulator inside the port connector. On newer computers you will also see USB ports that have a blue insulator. These are 3.0 high speed ports. For compatibility reasons avoid using the 3.0 ports for this procedure. Turn on the computer and boot to the Desktop screen, right click the 4 pane white window icon in the lower left corner. In the menu, left click Control Panel. If you see View by: “Category” in the upper right section of the window, click Category and select Large icons. Next, click the Recovery icon. Under Advanced recovery tools, click “Create a recovery drive”. Select “Copy the recovery partition from the PC to the recovery drive”. Click Next. You will see a message that the drive needs to be 16 GB (or larger) and that it will delete any files that may exist on the flash drive. Under available drives, you should see the flash drive labeled RECOVERY. Click Next. You will see a repeated warning message about file deletion on the flash drive, then click Create. This will take 10-15 minutes to complete. Click Finish. Remove the flash drive and store it in a safe place. Do not use it for any purpose other than repairing the PC.

 

Now that you have a tool to correct startup problems, how do you use it? First, you may have to tell the PC to boot from the flash drive instead of the hard drive. Normally it wants to boot from the hard drive but if it’s not working properly you need to tell it to boot from your flash drive. This can be done either by pressing a function key or going into the Bios to make the change. You may need to consult your documentation or find out how to do this for your particular brand of PC. It’s good info to know ahead of time.

 

When you have a major PC malfunction and it can’t be repaired automatically, turn off the PC, insert the startup flash drive you created and it should boot from the flash drive. After it boots, click US, thenTroubleshoot, Advanced options and click System Restore. You will be able to select which restore point to use for the restore operation. Normally pick the latest one when the computer was working normally. This operation will not delete any of your files or programs that you have saved or installed. After you see successful completion you can remove the flash drive and reboot the computer.

 

There are 2 other remedies that can also be implemented. Without clicking Advanced options, you should see Refresh your PC and Reset you PC. Refresh would be utilized if a System Restore failed to work. Warning – refreshing your PC will save your files but you will have re-install any programs that you installed such as your printer or programs downloaded from the Internet. Resetting the PC resets the computer back to the time when you took it out of the box and turned it on the first time. Your files and programs will be deleted.

 

Hopefully you’ll never have to do any of this. Doing regular maintenance will definitely help keep the computer in good operating condition and avoid major repairs.

 

To help you with questions about this or any subject, we meet on the second Tuesday of every month at 7 PM upstairs in the Ardmore room of the Community Center.

Technology Tips – Published November 2016 in the Guide and Digest

By Don Trauger – Kennett

 

You have a built-in safety net in Windows 10 called System Restore. Actually, it’s been in previous versions of Windows and I’ve written about this feature previously. However, for some unexplained reason a bug in the Windows 10 August update may have turned off this important feature.

The purpose of System Restore is to get your computer working again after a serious malfunction. System Restore can be used when you feel that you can’t troubleshoot a computer problem. To correct a serious problem all you need to do is select a date when the computer was working correctly and let it do the rest. Read my February 2016 article about Repair & Recovery for an overview on System Restore and System Reset. It’s available online at www.hersheysmill.org. In the Search field type “Windows 10 repair recovery” (no quotes).

Assuming you can boot your computer to the Desktop screen, type “create a restore point” (no quotes) in the “Ask me anything” field next to the 4 pane white Start button. At the top of the pop-up window, click on “create a restore point”. In the System Properties window, under Protection Settings, Protection must be “on”. If not, click the Configure button and select “Turn on system protection”. Just below, under Disk Space Usage, set the slider for about 10Gb, then click OK.

Windows will create automatic Restore points prior to when it installs updates. However, you can always create one too. I recommend it whenever you plan to make major changes to your PC or even if it’s working fine and you want a timely “safety net”. To create your own Restore point, click the Create button, give it a name in the pop-up window and click the Create button in the same window.

Suppose you have a situation where the computer is not booting correctly. This requires a different approach. You may see Startup Repair try to fix the problem. It will attempt this 3 times before stopping and showing the Choose an Option screen if it has been unsuccessful in making the repair. If the computer continually fails to boot, click Troubleshoot, then click Advanced Options, and click System Restore.

You can also enter Windows troubleshooting mode manually if the computer can boot to the Desktop screen. Click the Start button (the 4 pane white icon) click the power icon which is just above the Start button and then hold down the Shift button on the keyboard while you click Restart.

We’ll show you how this will work for you at the PC Club. We meet on the 3^rd Tuesday at 7 PM of each month at the Community Center.

 

Windows 10 Version 1903 – What’s New

Technology Tips – Published November 2019 in the Guide and Digest

By Don Trauger – Kennett

Microsoft’s support for version 1803 will end on November 12, 2019. Version 1809’s support will end on May 12, of 2020. For 1803 users Microsoft is busy downloading version 1903 to your computer. You may already have it. You can check to see what version you have by clicking Settings, (the gear icon above the Power icon after clicking Start) then click System and scroll down and click About. Scroll down to Windows specifications to view your version.

If you have version 1903 click Home at the top left corner to return to the main Settings window. Next, click Update & Security. You will see a major change in the way Microsoft handles updates.

For some background on this change read my December 2018 and July 2019 articles dealing with Windows Update problems. Go to our web site hersheysmill.org and type windows update in the search field and press Search. The articles will help you better understand why Microsoft is making a change with Windows Update starting with version 1903. Don’t implement any changes mentioned in the articles. If you still have the changes mentioned in the articles, restore your computer back to its original configuration. The new 1903 version will be able to be configured to mitigate Microsoft’s reliability problems with updates. Users with version 1809 may or may not see this new Windows Update feature. Microsoft has stopped offering 1809 as a version upgrade and instead has moved directly to 1903.

Updates are issued generally every Tuesday starting at 1 PM except for high priority security updates that can occur at any time. The timing for these updates does not mean you can get them automatically at 1 PM. Depending on the load for Microsoft’s servers it could be as late as Thursday or Friday before you get them. The first Tuesday of the month is the biggest and consists of the major updates for the month. Weeks 2,3 and 4 may consist of patches to correct any errors made with the first Tuesday patch.

It’s very easy to see that Microsoft issues updates in the beginning of the month then spends the rest of the month figuring out how to fix them. Let me guide you away from this scenario.
Here’s how to configure Windows update to avoid Microsoft’s mistakes. In Settings click Update & Security. Move down to and click Advanced options. Scroll down to Pause updates. Assuming you get your updates in the first week of the month click the down arrow in the field and select the last Friday of the current month (at the earliest) or the first Friday of the following month. Microsoft limits you to a 35 day maximum delay. Whenever you receive your updates then you get a new 35 day delay window.

You can see this feature will always delay updates up to 35 days. However, the first time you use it depends on receiving stable updates during the first week of the month that don’t require patching during the second, third or fourth week of the month. Be alert to any system problems that occur after an update. Click the Resume updates button located in Update & Security under Settings and download the fix. It may take a week or longer to download a stable fix.

Our PC Club meeting is on the third Tuesday of every month at 7 PM upstairs in the Community Center. You’ll get answers to your questions regarding this article and any other issues that you may have.

Technology Tips – Published June 2021 in the Guide and Digest

By Don Trauger – Kennett

 

The standard configuration for Windows Update works automatically by updating your Windows PC beginning on the second Tuesday of each month and continuing thru the fourth  Tuesday. It corrects known bugs, refines features and most importantly corrects security issues. That sounds easy enough but Microsoft doesn’t fully check these updates for errors which can render your PC inoperable until they offer a patch to fix the offending update. In an effort to provide a work-around, you can delay these updates until the problem is fixed then you can update your PC. It’s very easy to see that Microsoft issues updates starting on the second Tuesday of each month then spends the rest of the month figuring out how to fix them. Let me guide you away from this scenario.

 

Here’s how to configure Windows update to avoid Microsoft’s mistakes. In Settings click Update & Security. If you see Pending downloads press the Downloads button to allow the process to continue until completed. Assuming you get your updates on or just after the second Tuesday of the month, move down to and click Advanced options. Scroll down to Pause updates. Click the down arrow in the field and select the last Friday of the current month (at the earliest) or the first Friday of the following month. Microsoft limits you to a 35 day maximum delay. Whenever you receive your new updates then you can reset a new 35 day delay window.

 

You can see this feature will always delay updates up to 35 days. However, the first time you use it depends on receiving stable updates during the second week of the month that don’t require patching during the third or fourth weeks of the month. Be alert to any system problems that occur after an update. If you see a problem go to Settings click Update & Security and click the Resume updates button and download the fix. It may take a week or longer to download a stable fix. Once an issue has been corrected reset the update delay.

 

Now for a new issue. Although it’s been going on for awhile now, Microsoft seems it can’t offer  an update sequence that is problem free. What I mean is that during the updates it pops up small windows that say Click restart now. They may come in the middle of a download or during an installation of the updates. I figured Microsoft knows what they doing so I clicked Restart which I thought would speed up the process. It didn’t speed up the process but instead created errors that were logged into the Reliability Monitor. You can read my previous article about the Reliability Monitor here: https://hersheysmill.org/?s=reliability+monitor. Furthermore, when checking to see if an update was installed successfully in View Update History of Windows Update, it said it was successfully installed. What to believe? I’m not sure how to answer that except to say when Windows Update starts its process, let it complete the downloads and installations to the point nothing is taking place and it’s quiet. Now you can press the Restart button in the window or in the lower right corner of the screen to complete the update process.

Technology Tips – published November 2015 in the Guide and Digest

by Don Trauger – Kennett

 

Windows 10 Privacy Settings

 

Windows 10 has many more ways to track your Web surfing than previous Windows versions. Through the use of cookies, targeted ads can arrive and be displayed. Targeted ads are ads based on the Web sites you have visited. However, Windows 10 allows you to control this type of advertising.

 

Controlling your privacy is easy in Windows 10. Click the 4 pane white icon in the lower left corner of the Desktop screen. Click Settings just above the icon. Click Privacy then General and turn off “Let Apps use my advertising ID…“  Also, turn off “Send Microsoft info about how I write…” and “Let websites provide locally relevant content…“ Microsoft has an opt-out selection for ads Web site that you can visit to control ads. Copy the following link in your browser. https://choice.microsoft.com/en-us/opt-out. At the site, choose to turn off the two available selections. Be sure to sign in to turn off the middle box choice. Do this for each browser you have installed. The new Microsoft Edge browser does not save your choice. When using Edge, you must reset the opt-out choice each time you open the Edge browser, if you choose to do so. I’m not a fan of this browser for this and other reasons.

 

Another area of concern is a new item called Wi-Fi Sense. This is turned on by default and provides web access to visitors coming into your home. It works automatically by sharing your encrypted router password with your visitor and your password protected router. Your visitors never see your password but they must use a Windows 10 device for this to work. I think it’s very handy for those of you that have Comcast modem/routers that have those long passwords. If all of this bothers you, you can turn it off. In Settings, go to Network & Internet, Click Wi-Fi and click Manage Wi-Fi settings. Turn off Connect to open hotspots and Connect to networks. Just below is another area called Wi-Fi Services. Turn that off unless you plan to use paid-for hotspots.

 

Microsoft has allowed other ways to receive updates and system files for your computer. Instead of the traditional downloads from Microsoft servers, Microsoft farms out updates to other users in bits and pieces of files needed for updates. When an update is needed you may be connected to others that have the necessary files that your computer needs. If this bothers you, and it should, then turn it off by going to Settings, Update & Security, Windows Update, Advanced Options and click Choose how updates are delivered. Click to turn off.

 

I’ve covered the more important areas of Windows 10 privacy concerns. However, there are many more items listed under the Privacy category. Many are self explanatory and have accompanying information regarding their use.

 

The PC Club meetings are open to all regardless of computer experience. If you have questions that need answering, be sure to attend on the 3^rd Tuesday of each month at 7 PM, upstairs in the Community Center. We are now covering Windows 10