Tales of Woe, and hopefully meeting a new friend

 After many trials and tribulations, so many, I had given up blogging about them. I’ve had a whole series of older computers from my business die off one by one over a few years. The majority have suffered death by upgrade, so i'm starting to fear those massive windows updates that never really worked. I guess one of the big problems was I had older hardware and it was stuck in Windows 10 land and not upgradeable.

I had replaced an old favourite PC in my studio with a slimed-down Lenovo box. It had a small ssd drive, supported by two hard drives, adequate memory, it was an i5 and it ran Windows 11, I love it. It did have problems running a large-screen TV when using the second screen/monitor or projector. But I do love the fact that I can have a large screen TV on the wall, perfect to paint from. Most of the computer gear sits on a narrow shelf and I have a couple of keyboards, one waterproof on my art table and a second wireless., that can be used anywhere. The table is set up such that I can draw and paint on it or I can also use with one of two easels standing up. I’ve also recovered an old sound bar so I can have good quality music as I’m painting. Its also set up for running Zoom meetings and making You tube videos (if I have the time!)

I still use an older Windows 10 HP Pavilion desktop in my office as the master for my network and main computer. It’s also got a small ssd drive but has 2 internal and 3 USB hard drives hanging off it. It is currently doubling as my master media storage, (eg photos videos and music). Unfortunately, it is misbehaving a bit, Finally I do miss my NAS storage, which no longer works on my upgraded LAN (windows 11 is implicated) , I really wish I knew why.

Quite a while ago the battery died in my beloved little HP Spectre. The little two-in-one that I took travelling, sitting on the couch or in fact all over the place. It was getting quite old and only had a small 11” screen but I still loved it and missed it dearly. The ordeal and potential expense associated with trying to get the battery replaced meant it is lying dormant.

I had a corneal graft last year and struggled a lot when one of my two monitors on my main computer decided to go dark, very dark, too dark to read easily. Taking the monitor off the computer and plugging it into something else showed it was fine so I assume it’s the graphics card on the computer, or a graphics driver upgrade issue, just another frustration with the Windows world. I’ve really had a lot of trouble getting used to what now appear contrasty monitors and smaller text (OK it’s the same size text just harder to see without an update to my glasses prescription after the corneal graft]. I can only get about one hour at the screen before my eyes feel strained. Usually not enough time when I’m playing with photos,

So I’ve been looking seriously at different screen technologies and decided I like TVs with OLED screens. I used to like the Apple iPhone style IPS format screens on my phone and Spectre, and was with LCD monitors. So I had begun investigating screen type and size, by actually looking at them in stores. When I noticed an advert on TV about the Lenovo Yoga Range, two-in-one style computers, checking the web there was a model based on an Intel EVO i7 processor with a 14inch  OLED screen. I was at Office Works on a different matter and so I checked it out. It was very easy to read at a standard viewing distance. I didn’t take long to decide it was time to get an upgrade.

So welcome Slaty, so named because it’s very thin, layered and a dark grey. I look forward to you becoming a great friend.

Just a moment ... ...

 

If you have been wondering why my blog has fallen silent of late. There are two reasons, some health issues (I'm well on the mend now) and arghhh I've had enough of Windows upgrade! I'm and not looking forward to Windows 11!

I have been seriously battling against Windows 10 updates since October last year, even longer if you count my little toshiba netbook (now happily being an occassionally used Linux machine that has stepped up to replace others that have fallen). During this time three (and a half) computers have stubbornly refused to reboot after upgrades and I have wasted too many days trying to reload windows (using both thw offical windows  tools (which end up in deep loops of incomplete installs) and using Ventoy on a bootable standalone USB to install from various ISO files. Trying to install official Microsoft version of windows just lead back to stairng for hours at the Just a moment screen followed eventual with a blank screen and a computer which would boot.

I even tried out the available beta version of Windows 11, it ended quickly on all computer saying the computer was not suitable (no reason given) but I assume thay are in the too old category.

A real savioue was a version of Linux Lite (warning this site was pop up ads which I find annoying), a cut down version of Ubantu that can be run from the USB drive. Using it I discovered that all the computers had been repartiontioned to have a tiny inital partion (too small to load a viable version of windows onto. I then swap the haddrive on my main computer over to a resude harddrive that I had freshly reformated. That the half computer that died above. It look promising for a windows reinstall but soon arrived that the endless Just a moment loops. CHecking drive from the standalone linux lite USB It too was repartioned. Whate the?

Whilst there are hundereds of items showing up under the "failed windows upgrade"serach (you should be totally ashamed microsoft) I could not find any reliable dicussion of this repartioning on any forums. So I got brave and used the Partioning tool in Linuz light to investigate, sure enough I found windows.old and my user data in the second partion. Not so useful as I already had backs on external drives. Then I merged the first two partions and did a windows reset. My laptop had to run through a lot of installing and upgrading including more Just a moment times BUT eventually it was able to reboot itself. Some light at the end of the tunnel at last!

Taking my studio computer off life support

My old but otherwise still useful computer has finally got me to the point of considering Euthanasia. Despite the recent RESET and rebuild with only the minimum software the poor old thing would often start ok but switch into that blue screen with the little spinner and message that it was working on updates, which would eventually lead to the regular desktop, albeit a slowness to do anything.

This was ok  as I only want the big screen (an older TV) to display images for me to sketch or paint and some music. Both don't require anything speedy. My studio is always very messy so no need to look new and flashy.

However about a week ago after shutting down, the very best I  managed to reach is just to say the update has reached 100% (despite letting it run for 56 hours straight). So this afternoon, I disconnected my old friend Obsidian (all my computers are named after rocks), perhaps destined for the storeroom rather than the next hard rubbish collection. Sadly another death by upgrade. Shame on you microsoft.

RIP                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Oh Buggar!

Another set of “apparently” near disastrous, problems after yet another Windows 10 upgrade. Instead of just one issue I was confronted by a number or probably interrelated problem but just on my main desktop computer

1. Much of my software, could read files but could not write files (seemed to be folder/directory specific)
2. I was getting windows defender warning when I used a variety of programs (many where about stopping access to files with %userprofile% in a directory name)
3. Several specific directories (housing my photo collection from several specific years) just would not show up in file explorer (or lightroom). This also happened after last windows 10 update.
4. When I plugged my external USB backup drive into they computer the same folders where missing. BUT NOT when I plugged the same drive onto a separate computer.
5. I could see but not write to the Google Drive or OneDrive folders on my computer. Dropbox however worked fine.
6. I could not write Word Documents or Excel Spreadsheet to my Documents folder, but could save them elsewhere.

The first thing to highlight that things where wrong was an attempt to updated my OneDrive cloud photo archive. This is a bit disappointing as the whole idea of the cloud backup was to formalize the “off site” archive/backup and in theory make my computer immune from file lose etc. It does appear it doesn’t! A check from another computer showed everything was fine. I was probably lucky I had chosen the “manu-matic” approach using PhotoMechanic because I saw the warning and error messages straight away. Using a more automatic script/synch tool may have meant such problems might go undetected.

So what is the cause?

I don’t know, but looking at on-line forums I’m not alone. Further I can not find any believable explanation of the cause(s). I just have three personal theories and a cop-out

1. It is a virus, malware, ransomware that hasn’t work (ie I have received a ransom note and the files are actually still around). Windows Defender Scans report no problem. So for the time being my desktop is quarantined (and disconnected from my home Local area network.
2. The problems are related to the unpublicised turning off of the homegroup feature. My desktop was the owner of my homegroup.
3. My desktop computer boots off drive C: an SSD drive but user accounts and software is located on drive E:, a conventional harddrive (might explain the %userprofile Windows defender messages)
4. The ghost in my local area network has returned (meaning I don’t understand what is going on, and probably never will)

Is it time to panic? No, just sigh! Time to roll back the upgrade and stay off the internet. More importantly do all my important work in the meantime on an older (and reliable computer).

PS: Ok there is a problem staying off the internet and rolling back a windows upgrade, you can’t! (yet another buggar)

Such a complex web of Niggles

Whilst I was away my home computers (yes there are a few) where all turned off. When I turned them back on the performance was abysmal. Perhaps it was caused by the anniversary update of windows 10? Perhaps there were a lot of updates that need to be installed and that tied up both band width and computer cycles? Perhaps there are now a few driver issues, perhaps with time things will fix themselves (ok that’s not going to happen!) perhaps, perhaps, perhaps ,,,

Instead I am slowly working through the following glitches, which were not glitches before.
1) Scanner not saving files (required software reinstall but fixed now)
2) Network printer not appearing on most computers (possibly fixed but turning printer on/off several times and reconnection on those machines it was missing)
3) Windows app store (and several app that I use like OneDrive & OneNote) missing on one windows 10 machine.
4) Windows machine continuing looking to restart and update.
5) Google Chrome frequently crashing on two of the windows 10 machines
6) My Netgear network “mirroring” backup running but not storing files recently updated files.
7) Google Drive has stopped working on all windows 10 machines but works on Vista machines.
8) I have to relog into one drive each time I start a  computer
9) Emptying the recycle bin does not clear all the deleted files on Windows machines?

It is hard to believe that a bit over a month turned off could lead to so many fundamental problems.
Am I missing something?

Size matters

My HP spectre has a 256 GB SSD drive, which seemed ample for me when I bough it. Roughly 50 GB for operating system and software and around 200 GB for photos. Well that was the theory!
In practise after a week on the road I only have only 64 GB free, but my picture folders (and subdirectories) is only a little 104 GB so what has happened to the space. The culprit is mainly windows 10 update between Windows.old, $windows.~bt & SYSTEM.SAV account for 25 GB. I don’t want to deleted these just now in case I have to recover the install version.
There is still another 50 GB that’s hard to fully account for, Windows itself is Approx 16 GB and my software, mainly photo packages, is just under 10 GB, which only explain around half of this.My original theory was I would use the system for a week or so in earnest before I set up all the system recovery files so I knew I had a viable system to rely on. I just don’t have much confidence in Windows 10 & Microsoft.

Traveling with a Windows 10 Liability in Low Bandwidth

Perhaps I should have known better, but I took my “limp along” upgraded to windows 10 laptop as my only computer on this trip, into a very low band width location. This is actually the best of my laptops the other two are effectively dead since upgrading to windows 10. On Norfolk Island you can buy a sim card easily enough but it is limited to voice and text (ie pre-3G no data). They do however have a good system where several locations in town and many hotels and accommodation place with also have wifi hot spot, for which you can purchase reasonably priced temporary access. This works fine for phone and tablets… BUT…

One Issue I didn’t realise was a problem with my laptop in its “ghost of window 7” state was that I could not change the wifi or connect to a new Wifi because that capability was replaced with the new windows app, which I can not access. Many hours of puzzling later I discovered that I could set up a new user and get to connect to the wifi. However most of the software I wanted to use like OnOne 10, Aftershot pro, corel painter and a long list including Windows office 10 what to reinstall itself, re register or some other on-line setup process… BUT … I can’t get on-line yet!

With considerable re-logging in between by two accounts I was finally able to do a tiny bit of on-line things, like email and upload a couple of photos till the computer locked up …. I suspect it was and automatic update. Now I can’t get on-line anymore, and I have to set up yet another new user. Now I discovered if I leave that account connected on-line, sign out, go back to my original account to do any work on my photos etc. then re-sign in to the new account to upload that work. I have to leave the laptop in sleep mode between all this run around. This is a joke. BUT ...

I AM NOT AMMUSED

Irritation is an understatement :: Windows 10 needs fixing

For what must the the tenth time,  I have lost the start menu functions. I can’t access the modern apps, or search, no pdf reader or use edge or cortana (ok I could never get cortana to work and I’ve certainly lost motivation to try). Unfortunately I have spent many hours attempting to fix these problems with the weird array of special powershell commands. using safe mode and … the list goes on. These only work temporarily if at all. I have now lost these functions on all my windows 10 computers (two Toshiba laptops & 2 HP desktops) and none of the fixes helps anymore. My machine have been downgraded not upgraded.

Looking on the net and specifically on Microsoft related communities. This is a wide spread problem and has been such for 6 months now.

How can you leave so many user in limbo, with significantly hindered systems Microsoft?

Once I am forced to go back to windows 7, I doubt I will return

Windows 10 update–Still limping along

I am slowly working through the various hickups and straight out bugs involved with upgrading to windows 10. The list is too long and boring to try and explain here but I have had to update a numbers of drivers and re-install software (strangely some only needed to be reloaded on one machine but not on another) and a lot of fruitless searching forums on the net. It felt like I needed to stand on one foot, do some incantation, wave my hands over the keyboard and paise an unknown deity. {only joking}

Most of the forum notes and recommendations are a little mis-informed and my conculsion is that so much of the “crowd sourcing” assistance is not that worthwhile, infact I am concerned those elaborate procedures could either be damaging or be malware to encourage you to unknowly open security doors. Thus I suggest that you only take notice of genuine sites (eg the manufacture’s or developer’s verifiable sites) and not following a google or bing link to an unknown author, software utilty supplier etc. However having warned you off internet advice I have a little of my own, having found a couple of good solutions to many issues that are pretty simple to fix.

If your icons are still on your desktop from before the upgrade, but the programs no longer work. It may be as simple as running the program under compatibilty mode. To do this right click on the shortcut icon on the desktop. Then right click and go down to the properties item at the bottom of the list of options. This brings up the shortcut dialogue so choice the compatabilty tab, and tick the run this program with compatibility mode for check box, Click on the V on the righthand side of the selection box below and select windows 7 compatability. Finally click Ok. Its very obvious in retrospect but watch a lot of issues dissapear. This worked especially well with my no longer functioning version of HP’s great HP Soltions Center (which handles many of the multi function of HP Photosmart printers). I have to admit I didn’t find this solution till after I’d uninstalled and re-installed the HP printer drivers and all-in-one-printer software updates for a third time only to find the exact same problem not being able to start the software from the computer but that I could correctly invoke some actions from the printer panel!

On at least some occasions when the same software misbehaves under windows 10 it might be as simple as running the software using administrator. this can be done by right clinking on the icon and selecting the Run as Administrator option. If this does fix the problem you can set up a more permanent setting so the program is always run that way. Once again you start with a right click on the desktop shortcut icon, find the properties option and click on it. This will bring up the shortcut dialogue. Now click on the advanced button, to bring up the advance properties dialogue, where you just need to tick the run as adminstrator check box and finally click on OK.

The real elephant in the room for Windows 10 is the problem where the start menu doesn’t work (I have had this on my laptop) and there are often associated problem that cortana doesn’t work and the search windows is unresponsive (can’t type anything in it, if it appears at all) you can not select or run windows apps. Its a long list of associated woes, which all significantly reduces the functionality of windows 10 if you have been used to using it under windiows 7. Lookiong for web advice is frustration overload, especially unhelpful are the microsoft and microsoft oriented forums. Clearly there isn’t one fix for all variations of this problem but this link from Bristish Telecom is the most authorative explaination I have found (and worked for me). It is astounding Microsoft have not already created an upgrade to fix this problem or at least put together a simple to follow set of instructions themselves.

If your icons aren’t on your desktop already you’ll have to solve the third issue first!

Windows 10 :: Blue Screens of (Un)Recovery

I can’t believe that Microsoft would be using a blue screen again? My experiments with my upgraded windows 10 laptop took a very unfortunate turn for the worse. I had not use it much but each time it was noticeably slower and yesterday unusably slow, so I tried a system reset (aka a clean install). The result my Windows 10 machine has died and refused to be resuscitated (ok it appears to boot but gives the sad face message (below centre left) and then restarts and gives the recovery message (several below) and trying out troubleshooting options  leads me to most of the other screens shown below). These are not my screen captures they are just a collection of the images of you google “blue screen of recovery”. There pages of them posed if you care to look.

Given that a BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH is in this collection as well, I don’t think this captive loop and a blue background is going to help microsoft a lot in public perception. Since this problems doesn’t yet have a name I haven’t found much mention of how to avoid it in blog land or forums. What is the appropriate hashtag folks? Any solutions?

I know when I’m licked, time to re-install windows 7 (and guess what that doesn't work either!)