Tech Help and Discussions

Earlier today Rod was provided some information from Microsoft that helps to clarify the burning question out there about Windows 10 - How will Windows 10 activations work? In that article Rod explains that the activation of Windows 10 will occur automatically online when you perform your free upgrade from Windows 7 or 8.1. In order to register your install of Windows 10 an activation code will be created to uniquely identify your system. This is likely going to be some type of a hash code based on your unique system hardware configuration. It will probably use a combination of individual hardware ID’s for multiple items in your system like the hard drive, network c…

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AWS replied June 19, 20159 yr

Hey guys, on startup there is always this prompt below which I have to click ok to close, any way to prevent that prompt please? Windows- registry recovery One of the files containing the system's registry data had to be recovered bu use of a log or alternate copy. The recovery was successful.

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allheart55 Cindy E replied June 18, 20159 yr

Last week Microsoft's malware protection efforts made headlines across the Internet because they decided to add the Ask Toolbar to its list of blocked software on Windows systems. This news was met with widespread praise as the Ask Toolbar, which accompanies Oracle's Java installation and other downloadable software, can wreak havoc with your web browsers default search choices, block your ability to change to your own preferred search provider and at times keep you from completely uninstalling it. The companies that bundle toolbars with their software downloads are always looking for ways to get installs because that is how they get paid. In fact, last October Orac…

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starbuck replied June 16, 20159 yr

It was there in FF but now I can't ind it anywhere?

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mikehende replied June 16, 20159 yr

XP Pro. Cold-started computer, Opened Outlook Express and ETS. Startup in WinPatrol PLUS looked fine. I could travel the internet and Outlook Express with no problem, but I could not type in ETS or OE. Restarted computer; all seems okay. I hate not having a second (rescue) computer to rely on. :cry: Questions: - Should I at least keep a spare keyboard and mouse on hand? - Other than restart, is there any other way to try to activate the keyboard? (There's a really old post on ETS which suggests pressing the space bar - which I don't think I did). - What does the lit-up "1" key on the keyboard mean? (It has been lit-up for months). Thank…

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Mommalina replied June 15, 20159 yr

This desktop unit is "I think" a Dell machine, no sticker anywhere and the front panel is missing. I came with 2 HDD's, a Samsung IDE which is damaged and a Sandisk SSD drive [small thing like the size of a credit card], apparently win7 was loaded on it before but now on bootup I am getting the "NTLDR is missing. Press ctrl+alt+delete to restart" and win7 will not load, the CDRom option is selected in the boot options. I had attached the SSD drive as a slave on another machine and no issues navigating through it so the drive seems fine, any ideas why win7 won't load on it or what else I can try please?

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mikehende replied June 15, 20159 yr

You can upgrade to the final build when it becomes available One of the big questions regarding Windows 10 has to do with acquiring the free upgrade from Windows 7 or Windows 8. Microsoft announced not too long ago that you can reserve your free upgrade to Windows 10 within a year of its launch. However, for those of you already on the Windows 10 Insider Preview program, you will not be required to reserve your free upgrade. Instead, your free upgrade will be available to you once the final build is released. Windows 10 is set to be released on July 29th. "You won't need to reserve, and if you're running Insider Preview you'll be upgraded," Microsoft's Gabriel Aul s…

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allheart55 Cindy E replied June 14, 20159 yr

Windows 10 will have a new mechanism that will allow software developers to integrate their applications with whatever antimalware programs exist on users’ computers. The goal of the new Antimalware Scan Interface (AMSI) is to let applications send content to the locally installed antivirus product to be checked for malware. According to Microsoft, this can have important benefits when dealing with script content in particular, because malicious scripts are commonly obfuscated to bypass antivirus detection. Scripts also typically get executed in the memory of the applications that are designed to interpret them, so they don’t create files on disk for antivirus progr…

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allheart55 Cindy E replied June 12, 20159 yr

The Raiders of the Lost Walmart are a brave band of explorers who comb the darkest corners of the world’s discount stores to find the ancient gadgets with inappropriately high prices. We call these finds “retail antiquities,” and share the explorers’ field notes with the world. Walmart’s discounting practices make it a popular spot to find retail antiquities, and Richard found these treasures at one of the mega-retailer’s stores in New England. First up: the Kyocera Loft featurephone, which features a teeny but full keyboard, and went on the market back in 2010. It could still be a useful phone…but not for this price. In the past, we’ve reviewed why a 56K mo…

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allheart55 Cindy E replied June 11, 20159 yr

Recently, Microsoft posted and then removed a Windows 10 specification page. Why the company decided to remove it is unclear, but it's probably due to the buzz generated around a list of features that exist in Windows 7 and 8 that won't make the cut in Windows 10. A couple of those features left many with concern despite Windows 10 introducing a slew of new and enhanced technologies. Richard wrote about the loss of the features HERE, but all is not truly lost. There are alternatives available already that can be used to replace many of the missing pieces. First off, Windows Media Center, which has been a rallying cry for those that have become accustomed to using i…

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Mommalina replied June 11, 20159 yr

Scotty Zifka was looking for a sales job. He started one in late May at a company called EZ Tech Support, a small inbound call center in an older building in northeast Portland, Oregon. The first day of Zifka’s unpaid training involved listening in on sales calls. But within three hours, Zifka felt something wasn’t quite right. “Everything about it was so weird,” he recalled. The company’s 15 agents answer calls from people who’ve seen a pop-up message saying their computer may be having problems, and advising them to call a number, which rings at the offices of EZ Tech Support. Agents at EZ Tech Support had a job to do: upsell hapless consumers who thought …

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AWS replied June 11, 20159 yr

Hi, I run my elderly XP desktop isolated from the internet but use usbflash drives as a means of shifting folders between it and my connected Windows 7 desktop when necessary. Strangely, whenever I connect a usb flash drive to the XP system, whether it's a USB1.1, USB2 or USB3 device, the Event Viewer reports an error "RSM could not load media in drive Drive 0 of library USB Flash Drive USB Device." However the devices work normally in every way - I can add files, copy or move files between the device and and desktop computer locations and so on. The error log is next to useless and the link included appears no longer to exist presumably because Microsoft gave up …

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Plastic Nev replied June 10, 20159 yr

Does anyone know how I can get rid of the upgrade for windows 10 notification icon in my taskbar? I'm really not ready to tackle something like windows 10 yet. I just got used to windows 7. Help me please?

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starbuck replied June 10, 20159 yr

Hey guys, I put in a used HDD attempting to reload win7 on it but the system keeps showing "No bootable device..." I have selected the boot order in both the bios and the boot options, I also tried booting disk from an external DVD-rom and chose the USB boot option but same deal and yes I have tried booting from 2 separate OS disks from which I have never had any issues. What is confusing is with Parted Magic linux in the internal DVD ROM it recognizes the HDD and I can navigate around the used HDD without any issues, what else can I try please?

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mikehende replied June 8, 20159 yr

How many times have you seen in on the internet, whether it be in news stories from sites who know nothing about Microsoft, or from commenters who love spreading false information. Or you've seen it from readers who are genuinely confused about what Microsoft plans to do. Let's help stop the FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) and set the record straight. Windows 10 will not have an annual fee. Windows 10 will not charge you a yearly subscription after the free-for-one-year upgrade offer expires. Microsoft's Gabe Aul took it to Twitter just the other day to reiterate this point, after one Twitter user asked him to be clear. Unfortunately, Microsoft may have confused p…

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allheart55 Cindy E replied June 7, 20159 yr

Earlier this week, PayPal was lambasted for its new user agreement which allowed the online payments company to robocall and autotext customers at will. What was particularly jarring about the user agreement — set to go into effect on July 1 — is that PayPal reserved the right to contact customers not just for account problems, but also for surveys and promotions. Even worse, PayPal brazenly advised users who weren’t on board with the new agreement that they should simply close their account and move it along. Naturally, news of PayPal’s new TOS caused something of an uproar online. Thankfully, PayPal has since realized that forcing users to accept automated texts a…

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Mommalina replied June 7, 20159 yr

Windows 10 is fast approaching and while there’s no immediate need to upgrade from 8.1, or even 7, odds are you’ll want to make the jump eventually. Before you do, you’d best check out the Windows 10 “feature deprecation section”, to make sure your favourite features aren’t being cut from the latest release. It’s to be expected you’ll run into a few driver incompatibilities and unsupported hardware and software, but what can sometimes catch you off guard is when entire features are dropped from the core operating system. Probably the biggest cut is Windows Media Center, but it’s not the only thing getting the boot. From Microsoft’s Windows 10 specification page: …

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allheart55 Cindy E replied June 7, 20159 yr

You know what’s not awesome? Answering your phone only to be greeted by a prerecorded robocall telemarketing message. Even a decade after the establishment of the Do Not Call registry and rules banning certain types of robocalls, unwanted calls and messages still top the list of complaints to the FCC each year. Today, FCC Chair Tom Wheeler proposed closing some additional loopholes in order to cut down on these annoying intrusions. The newest protection that could be available to consumers is the ability to tell their phone company — wireless or landline — that they revoke their consent to receive these calls. The rule would also give telecom providers the green…

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Zee replied June 6, 20159 yr

Microsoft says users can perform clean installs on their PCs Windows 10 will be offered free of charge to those who upgrade from Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, but since a genuine product key is automatically upgraded to Windows 10 once you complete the transition, many wondered whether a clean install is possible or not. Microsoft has confirmed today, through the voice of Gabe Aul, head of the Windows Insider program, that clean installs will be possible for those who upgrade to Windows 10 for free from any of the supported Windows versions, but no other details have been provided. He has mentioned that you will be able to clean install Windows 10 on that PC at any g…

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DSTM replied June 6, 20159 yr

Questions about how the Windows 10 free upgrade will work beginning on 29 July are all over social media and popular tech websites. This may feel very familiar because the same thing happened as the Windows 8.1 Update was being released in the fall of 2013. It has also come up when new versions of Windows are being released that are not being offered for free. Maybe it is a good thing that Windows 10 is the last full release of Windows because this cycle may finally come to an end. The questions being asked are good ones as well and make sense. There is concern about being able to clean install Windows 10 on a system that was upgraded for free from Windows 7 and…

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allheart55 Cindy E replied June 4, 20159 yr

"Right now we’re releasing Windows 10, and because Windows 10 is the last version of Windows, we’re all still working on Windows 10." That was the message from Microsoft employee Jerry Nixon, a developer evangelist speaking at the company's Ignite conference this week. Nixon was explaining how Microsoft was launching Windows 8.1 last year, but in the background it was developing Windows 10. Now, Microsoft employees can talk freely about future updates to Windows 10 because there's no secret update in the works coming next. It's all just Windows 10. While it immediately sounds like Microsoft is killing off Windows and not doing future versions, the reality is a little m…

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BigJonMX replied June 3, 20159 yr

Hey guys, windows 7 unit which the owner says he suspects has virus but he also told me that his company checked for viruses but did not locate any, I ran a few virus scans but those did not produce anything. Symptoms are when I boot, it sometimes goes to windows but takes a long time and just doesn't get to the desktop, it is hanging after the logon screen. In safe mode it goes to desktop in normal time and laptop functions as normal, any ideas why it works as normal only in safe mode but can't reach the desktop in normal mode please?.

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mikehende replied June 2, 20159 yr