Monthly Archives: November 2019

• Should you upgrade or stick to the MS-DEFCON rating?

  Posted on November 26th, 2019 at 09:32 woody Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  I created a lot of confusion with my Computerworld post yesterday. In a nutshell, it goes through the pro’s and con’s of upgrading to versions 1809, 1903 and 1909 and, once you’ve chosen the version you want, gives detailed instructions on how to get there.

  To put this in perspective with the MS-DEFCON rating you see above…

  I published that article knowing that many of you in the US will be visiting with family and friends over the next few days. If you’re going to upgrade your Deranged Uncle Darth this year, many of you will want to get the dirty deed done while everybody else is watching football. (American football, of course – and I say that with apologies to my Sainted Aunt Martha.)

  I should’ve made clear that, if you’re concerned about bugs this month – of which there are a few, but not many – you should wait until the MS-DEFCON level goes down before you move from one version to another. (Note, in particular the fix for the Access bug hasn’t been completely rolled out.) But if you’re under some pressure to get things sorted out in the next week or so, it’s OK to upgrade now.

  Windows 10 Releases, Windows Patches/Security Win10 1803, Win10 1809, Win10 1903, Win10 1909

• Here’s how to control the upgrade from Win10 version 1803 or 1809

  Posted on November 25th, 2019 at 12:54 woody Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  Yes, you can choose which version you want to run — 1809, 1903, or 1909.

  There are direct methods from moving from 1803 to 1809, 1903 or 1909.

  And there are direct methods from moving from 1809 to 1903 or 1909. You do have control, with either Win10 Pro or Home.

  A discussion of options and upgrade details in Computerworld Woody on Windows.

  Windows 10 Releases Win10 1803, Win10 1809, Win10 1903, Win10 1909

• Seven Semper Fi: Windows 7 do’s and don’ts

  Posted on November 25th, 2019 at 01:15 Tracey Capen Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  

  WOODY’S WINDOWS WATCH

  By Woody Leonhard

  With Windows 7 support sliding away in January, and Black Friday deals now in full view, many users of that venerable OS are no doubt wondering whether it’s worth holding onto Old Nelly — or putting her (him?) out to pasture, never to be harnessed for real work again.

  Buy new or keep the old? That question became personal recently when one of my brothers asked me whether he needed to buy a new PC in order to upgrade to Windows 10.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 16.43.0 (2019-11-25).

  Windows 7 AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Win7 support, Window updating

• Hardware questions move to the fore

  Posted on November 25th, 2019 at 01:10 Tracey Capen Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  LANGALIST

  By Fred Langa

  Two AskWoody subscribers are looking for help with very different hardware issues.

  One asks what will happen to his Windows setup if he replaces the mainboard, CPU, and RAM. The other was seeking — and found — a zero-cost mechanical fix for a mysterious startup problem.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 16.43.0 (2019-11-25).

  LangaList AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Hardware upgrading, Reactivations, Startup fix

• ‘Tis the season — for holiday scams

  Posted on November 25th, 2019 at 01:05 Tracey Capen Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  ON SECURITY

  By Susan Bradley

  This year, give your friends and relatives the gift of digital security.

  Ah, the holidays … a time when you can eat until you groan, watch sports until you fall asleep on the couch — and take an equally guilt-free break from relatives by heading off into the back room and quietly cleaning their PCs. (This process should always include running the Microsoft Safety Scanner tool.)

  Providing a bit of IT support for friends and family is well and good, but with smartphones, tablets, Windows 10, and wireless “assistants,” our digital world has become far more complex — and dangerous. So this holiday season, I suggest you spend a little time telling those you care about how the bad guys really are out to get them — and what they need to do to stay safe. Here are a few simple points to help with that discussion.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 16.43.0 (2019-11-25).

  On Security AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Holiday scams, Two-factor authentication

• Solving search problems in Windows 10

  Posted on November 25th, 2019 at 01:00 Tracey Capen Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  TROUBLESHOOTING

  By Lance Whitney

  Most of us rely on Windows’ built-in search to track down files, apps, settings, and other content.

  But sometimes a search fails to generate the results we’re expecting. If that happens often, it’s probably time to peek under the hood to check your search settings.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 16.43.0 (2019-11-25).

  Troubleshooting AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Search problems, Windows Search settings

• Known problems with Win10 version 1909

  Posted on November 24th, 2019 at 05:45 woody Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  With Win10 version 1909 now (… checks watch …) 12 days old, I figured it’d be a good time to come up with an Airing of Grievances for the latest version of the last version of Windows.

  Let me kick this off.

  Stutter in File Explorer search

  Mayank Parmar in Windows Latest says:

  Windows 10 November 2019 Update makes File Explorer’s search pane unresponsive. According to posts on Microsoft’s community forum, users have to wait for an abnormally large amount of time before the search box unfreeze and the cursor appears. We were able to reproduce this bug after several attempts.

  Thx, Divyanka

  Text in File Explorer search box very small

  jjblau reports:

  When I click in the search box in File Explorer the text is so small I cannot read it.  I had no problems in 1809.  The search works but you do not know if you spelled your search correctly until you see the results.

  Search box in File Explorer not responsive

  An anonymous commenter adds:

  Right-click on the explorer search box get nothing. Ctrl-V to paste into explorer search box is currently impossible, I can’t even access it to type.

  Problems installing 1909

  Let’s see. This is a day with a name that ends in “y,” so I guess we’re going to see Win10 upgrade installation problems. Mauro Huculak at Windows Central has an enormous compilation of upgrade problems and solutions:

  If you’re still running the October 2018 Update [that’s version 1809 to us normal folks – WL], April 2018 Update [version 1803], or an even older version, then the upgrade process will require full reinstallation. Therefore, increasing the chances of running into problems or stumble upon hardware and software compatibility issues.

  Moving from 1903 to 1909 should be easy — the 1909 update simply plugs in the Christmas tree lights that were already installed by 1903 — but there are reports of problems. For example, hotcore on TenForums says:

  Shortly after the reboot I see the Windows logo and the dots are circling, but after a short time the system hangs completely… I managed to solve the issue by creating the 1909 ISO with Media Creator and installing from that.

  What to do

  Nothing. There’s absolutely nothing in Win10 1909 that you need to have just yet. Let’s give it a few months and see what problems arise.

  For those of you still running Win10 1803 or 1809, I’ll have a detailed step-by-step analysis of your upgrade options — what to consider when upgrading, and how to thread the needle — coming this week in Computerworld.

  In the interim… have you heard of any Win10 1909 specific bugs?

  Windows 10 Releases Win10 1909

• Gahan Wilson, R.I.P.

  Posted on November 22nd, 2019 at 16:01 woody Comment on the AskWoody Lounge

  

  Other Gahan Wilson
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