Plastic Nev

Hi Mike, it may well work OK providing the hardware is exactly the same if the operating system is Windows 7 or lower, however Windows 8 and above the product key is now embedded in the UEFI BIOS system, add to that the hardware recognition is more sophisticated and from what I can gather it takes note of serial numbers. So I cannot be sure if a transfer to a different but similar machine will work with the higher operating systems, a case of try it and see. A note also about the difference between a system image and a system clone. A system image is the entire system, operating system, installed programs, and data that is turned into a compressed file for storage on an external storage medium such as an external hard drive. That image can then be reinstalled to the computer should the original drive become corrupted or duff. Usually requires a boot disk to run the install and does take some time to do. A clone is once again everything except it is not compressed and is an exact copy of the system, usually copied onto a spare hard drive that can be installed to replace an original hard drive. No boot disk required and no waiting time. For home or even business backup purposes I personally think that the expense of having a spare hard drive holding a clone is well worth doing, as it is just the time required to remove a duff drive and fit the spare, the computer is back up and running again. It may not even be a duff drive, it could be one locked up by one of the ransomewares such as cryptolocker for example. Nev.

Last week my friend told me he would buy me a Christmas present from Amazon. I just got a phone call telling me he was in Brazil!

Indeed a merry Christmas from me too Mike and may your new year be a good one. Nev.

I have a friend and his son uses Linux, I will pass on this warning.

Hi Mike, I have also done the same and in two different ways, I have cloned from an original standard hard drive to a new SSD, I also have created an image of an existing drive to be stored on an external drive, then used that image to install everything back. In both cases nothing needs to be reactivated as the activation is copied along with everything else, in laymans terms. It does now depend on what type of backup your friend has used and which program he used to create it. For what it's worth I used Macrium reflect free version to do both clone, and/or create an image. Let us know a bit more about what he has done, and what he used to create his image and we can help further if needed. Nev.

Hi Kick, I have my update system set to "Check for updates, but let me choose whether to download and install them" I have always had it set that way and so far no problems or errors. The only thing that started happening recently is that I no longer get a notification that updates are available, so I have to check if there are any updates manually every now and then. Have you tried the "Get help with this error"? Quite often there is Microsoft fixit available! Nev.

For anyone who may still be running Windows live mail 2011 or earlier, you will have to update to 2012, this article explains how. http://windowslivemailtutorial.com/download-windows-live-mail-2012.php

Thanks both, with it coming a day after I got a definite but very cleverly worded scam mail for Paypal, I wasn't too sure.

Considering the scammers seem to be getting more persuasive at writing their scam mails, and also so far I cannot seem to find any news from Microsoft about this, I am a bit concerned about this E Mail! Why send it and ask you to look for and install an update that I would expect to come in with normal updates? Here is a copy, unless you know for sure they are OK don't click any links :- Important information about your email service Dear user, In a few weeks, we will be making some changes to our email services that might impact your @outlook.com, @hotmail, @live or @msn email account. These changes will prevent your email from being delivered to the Windows Live Mail 2012 application that you use. In order to continue using Windows Live Mail 2012 to send and receive email for your account, you need to install the latest update published here. If you use Windows Live Mail 2012 on Windows 8, Windows 8.1 or Windows 10, we recommend that you switch to the built-in Mail app in Windows to stay connected and get the latest feature updates on Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10. Windows Live Essentials 2009 and 2011 are not supported any more, and you will need to update to Windows 8/8.1 or Windows 10 and use the Mail app, or use www.outlook.com. To learn more about the Mail app, please click here. We also recommend all Windows Live Mail users on Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 to upgrade to Windows 10 and use the built-in Mail application to stay connected and get the latest feature updates. We suggest saving this email so you can refer to it later. Thank you for your understanding and continued use. Yours sincerely, The Outlook team

Youtube and quite a few other video hosting sites are now using the HTML5 player and no longer use Flash. Nev.

I am beginning to wonder if some updates to Windows 7 may be doing the same, elsewhere on a different forum a user reports that an update turned off his WIFI and cannot get it back.

Windows 11, 12, -----? You have to have watched or seen the series "Red Dwarf" to recognise these.

The possibly best thing you can do is to keep the handset off if landline, or the call if on a mobile open, let it run its course as the longer the line is open, the more it will cost the caller, robot or otherwise. Just have a quick listen now and then till the other end has disconnected. If we all did that, the cost to the robot operators just might become no longer worth it.