LANGALIST By Fred Langa As this weekly column reaches the end of its 25-year run, it’s a bittersweet moment for me. But in large part because of you,
[See the full post at: Shutdown.exe /f]
![]() |
Patch reliability is unclear. Unless you have an immediate, pressing need to install a specific patch, don't do it. |
-
Shutdown.exe /f
Home » Forums » Newsletter and Homepage topics » Shutdown.exe /f
- This topic has 46 replies, 32 voices, and was last updated 1 week, 1 day ago.
AuthorTopicFred Langa
AskWoody MVPApril 11, 2022 at 2:44 am #2438481Viewing 43 reply threadsAuthorReplies-
erbkaiser
AskWoody Plus -
Wayne
AskWoody PlusApril 11, 2022 at 4:35 am #2438509It took me a year and a half to retire from freelance translation and copy-editing for my final client, a science institute. Work got harder and harder to settle down to, with delays long enough for me to forget once familiar shortcuts in my Word substitute program. I’m happy you have been able to stay sharp and meet your deadlines right to the end. Quite impressive!
Here’s hoping you’re planning some summer bike trips, rides at least. Keep the rubber side down!
Thanks,
Wayne
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
Fred
AskWoody PlusApril 11, 2022 at 4:57 am #2438512Hi Fred,
wishing you a good and happy retirement from the The Netherlands.
And when you think to have more time then, . . . forget it, believe me I know ;-D
You will still need a diary to plan free-time, that’s all in the name! hahaGoodbye, so long etc etc
the other Fred
[] 🌹 #нетвойнесУкраиной 🌹 #不与乌克兰开战 🌹 [] -
RoadieToo
AskWoody PlusApril 11, 2022 at 6:20 am #2438489Dear Fred,
I will miss your writing and your very clear descriptions of technical stuff that I didn’t know I needed until you explained them in your columns. I think it was you who introduced me to BootItNG, one of the best bits of software ever.
I remember your bike ride on a Gold Wing.
I hope that you enjoy your retirement.
Best Wishes for the future.
-
grizzleduser
AskWoody LoungerApril 11, 2022 at 6:21 am #2438492Fred,
Thank You for the columns filled with timely and future looking advice about the hardware and the software of information technology and our love/hate relationship with it over the years. I’ll miss your deep dives of all the subjects you presented to us, not mention the stories of what each subject caused you to do a great column(s) about it.
Enjoy a well earned retirement!
Thank you again!
-
wheels4me
AskWoody Plus -
grandma78633
AskWoody PlusApril 11, 2022 at 6:59 am #2438542I have to repeat: Thanks for the decades of wonderful information. I honestly cannot remember when I started reading Langa List, but it had to be about 2000, and I have followed you faithfully ever since. I never wanted to spend the time to acquire the depth of knowledge you not only acquired, but passed on to the rest of us. But I have sincerely appreciated what you passed on!!!
I sincerely hope you will thoroughly enjoy the next segment of your life in different ways!!!
Best Wishes
-
ernie
AskWoody LoungerApril 11, 2022 at 8:07 am #2438554Fred,
I first subscribed to the Langa List, long, long ago. I then followed you to Windows Secrets, and finally to Ask Woody. Much of what I have learned about the technology contained within this amazing device we all know as our computer I have learned from reading your (and many other pundits) posts in newsletters, and on the Internet. To you and all those other remarkable people who helped to enlightened me I owe a debt of gratitude that I cannot begin to express. You have given me much more than a better understanding and appreciation for the hardware and software I use daily. You have taught me to appreciate the ability to make it comprehensible and even easy for technically disinclined people to understand. I want to thank you for all you have given me and my fellow readers, and for all the years you have given to serving the computer using population of the world. Please know that you have changed my world in a very real way, and I am much better for it.
Thank you, Fred,
Ernie
1 user thanked author for this post.
-
anonymous
Guest -
WShollis1818
AskWoody PlusApril 11, 2022 at 9:24 am #2438574Hi Fred, I feel as if I know you well enough to say it that way.
I am a dabbler, not a novice, but not an expert. I subscribed to Langa List for many years and moved to Windows secrets, in part to follow Fred.
I will miss your columns, and selfishly complain that you have left me. But as a retiree, I wish you much success in your future experiences.
-
CAS
AskWoody Plus -
krism
AskWoody PlusApril 11, 2022 at 10:20 am #2438593 -
DooDahMan
AskWoody Plus -
anonymous
GuestApril 11, 2022 at 10:50 am #2438584I’ve been receiving your emailed column since the 90’s. Each time you would switch publishers (or whatever it’s called), I would worry “uh oh, the contents gonna change” or “dang, now he’s going to be edited and we won’t get true-Fred-writing”. I’m not so sure about #2 cuz I have nothing to compare it to, but it seemed like you were able to focus even more on the topic at hand, maybe because you had less admin work to do. Anyway, I want to thank you for all the insights/tips/tricks in language and humor that I understood. I hope to read guest columns from you in the future.
-
deeleo
AskWoody PlusApril 11, 2022 at 10:53 am #2438586Fred, I’ve been reading your work for two decades. You even answered my questions in your column on a few occasions. So it’s sad to hear the LangaList will be no more. But you’ve certainly earned the chance to rest and pursue other interests. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and humanity with us readers over the years. I’ll look forward to any special appearances you make in the AskWoody newsletter in the future. Take care!
-
anonymous
GuestApril 11, 2022 at 10:57 am #2438598Hi Fred, I have been a subscriber since LangaList (yup 56.6 modem and Pegasus e-mail client 🙂 ), and it has been a pleasure to follow you through all these years. I’ve learnt a lot from you.
I wish you a happy retirement, and hope you’ll return with your wisdom now and then.
Best wishes from Michael, Denmark
-
MrJimPhelps
AskWoody MVPApril 11, 2022 at 11:12 am #2438609Fred:
I started on this journey to AskWoody.com by subscribing to the LangaList newsletter (then LangaList Plus) when it was just an emailed newsletter. (I never did know precisely who was the recipient of the donations generated by my “pay what you want” subscription, but I knew it was some children somewhere!)
I always enjoyed reading your columns. You wrote in very plain, everyday language that anyone could understand; and you always knew exactly what you were talking about. (I came to that understanding as I learned more about IT.)
I still remember your joke about the lab report and the cat scan.
I always dreamed that I would be one of the lucky ones visited by you when you went on your motorcycle trips. I knew that my computer would be better off for it. Alas, it never happened.
I hated to see you go when you retired; I rejoiced when you came out of retirement. Now you’re going again. You will definitely be missed.
I hope you will at least stay an AskWoody MVP and visit the forums from time to time.
Enjoy your retirement! You definitely deserve it!
Jim
Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 8.1 running in a VM -
anonymous
GuestApril 11, 2022 at 11:26 am #2438585Fred,
Please enjoy this new chapter in your life. You have always been my main guiding light with PCs. You helped many when I became the defacto tech support in the elementary school parking lot when my grown kids were little and the word got out that I (barely) knew how to get them to work right.
Thanks for your insight and the dedication, especially through difficult times. You will be missed by many.
All the best, Kevin.
-
anonymous
GuestApril 11, 2022 at 4:41 pm #2438699I always looked forward to receiving the Langa List for the many reasons already specified in this forum and in preceding editorial and its comments!
In the early days of computing, you and the Langa List struck a unique and friendly cord that for me, may no longer exist. I looked forward to receiving your recommendations and learning more about hardware and software, which eventually led to the building of my own DIY boxes.
My move from the Langa List, to Windows Secrets was mainly because of you. In fact, I unsubscribed from Windows Secrets and was PC newsletter-less, until I again found you and AskWoody.
I hope you enjoy whatever you find yourself doing. You will be missed by not only me, but obviously, by many others!
-
AlexEiffel
AskWoody_MVPwavy
AskWoody Plus-
anonymous
Guest
WSjaflady
AskWoody PlusApril 11, 2022 at 4:40 pm #2438720Farewell Fred Langa –
I thank you for so many wonderful columns over decades. I think I subscribed to the original LangaList shortly after it debuted. I read your clear explanations of so many of the new things and problems I was encountering as a seat-of-the-pants IT in a small Ma and Pa dental office. We had several black & green screened old Wyse boxes and I had just puchased a brand new cpu and was moving from DOS to Win 3.1. It was all a brand new and fascinating world – exciting and somewhat mysterious – and you were a reliable guide. I subscribed to everything I could find at the time as well as bought every giant book and magazine and tried to absorb it all.
Throughout all the years of keeping an office running safely, expanding it, fixing it and on into my own personal computer adventures I loved reading your advice. Now I have been long retired and still very much enjoying all your writings but I think you have given us amazing treasurers in understanding. Time for you to explore other interests and enjoy only keeping up with the tech that you enjoy. You will be much missed so I do hope you check in once in a while.
Thank you again
anonymous
GuestApril 11, 2022 at 4:40 pm #2438712Fred has been one of my favorite tech authors since his Windows Magazine days. He will truly be missed by many – I know that I will really miss seeing him regularly here. We’ll all be poorer for it.
Being sorta, kinda retired myself, I know I can’t quite quit. Seems like it wasn’t that long ago he took time away to go out on his motorcycle, but he finally came back and I hope he is like me and not quite quit. While I certainly can’t begrudge him a wonderful retirement, I do hope we see him back here again – at least once in a while, but the sooner and the more frequently, the better. Best wishes for a wonderful future.
WSJahk
AskWoody Plusbaggins
AskWoody PlusApril 11, 2022 at 4:40 pm #2438668Thank you, Fred. LangaList was my first tech newsletter subscription. Your tips and stories were a godsend. Grateful for your colleagues who continue to share the knowledge. Keeping up with tech without your expertise and patience was not pretty. I hope to join you soon following other passions. Thank you so much. Be well.
-Karlanonymous
GuestApril 11, 2022 at 4:41 pm #2438653Oh, Fred. I don’t think you realise just how much you have helped me over the years, and if me then that must be multiplied by all the readers of all the columns you have written. I really cannot remember who introduced me to the LangaList but it was like a light going on and I followed it avidly from then on.
Just don’t think that you will get a rest, Fred, life will soon fill all that time, just remember to make it all fun. Enjoy it all Fred. Live long and Prosper.
Steve, England
cybercrone
AskWoody PlusApril 11, 2022 at 4:52 pm #2438745Really going to miss you Fred!
I ran across you in the magazine, signed up for the Langalist Newsletter when it started – and I still have them all saved on my oldest computer. You’ve been part of my computing life for so long. I might just have a few tears in my eyes.
But as you move on you’ll now have time to take a fresh look at the world, grow in your other interests and probably even find some new ones.
Bon Voyage. May the wind be always at your back."She was not quite what you would call refined. She was not quite what you would call unrefined.
She was the kind of person that keeps a parrot."
--Mark Twainanonymous
GuestApril 11, 2022 at 6:54 pm #2438753Fred,
No doubt you will be missed by all those who subscribe to “Askwoody”. You have saved my life (computer speaking) on several occasions over the years. I thank you for the professionalism you always display, and the high-end technical fixes that we all looked forward to.
Whatever endeavor you decide to tackle, may they bring you enjoyment, tranquility and time with your family.
Enjoy life……it is short enough
BobN
Canadaanonymous
GuestApril 12, 2022 at 12:15 am #2438774Fred
During all these years you felt like a friend to me, helping me fix the problems that I encountered, many of them, my own making.
I hope you will enjoy your ‘retirement’ as much as I have enjoyed your friendship throughout all these years, good luck and Godspeed Sir….. You deserve it…!
G
AskWoody Plusanonymous
GuestApril 12, 2022 at 12:15 am #2438786Like so many others, I’ve enjoyed your wisdom, humour and plain speak since the early days of the Langa List and from Australia I’ve followed you through the other sites even after dabbing on the dark side (Mac – sssh). You will be missed Fred but no one deserves a better retirement. Enjoy it to the full!
MHCLV941
AskWoody Plusanonymous
GuestNetDef
AskWoody_MVPSteve S.
AskWoody PlusApril 13, 2022 at 8:57 pm #2439256Many thanks, Fred, for all the wise computer counsel over the years via Langa List, Windows Secrets and AskWoody. May you treasure your retirement and future endeavors like we have treasured your tips and guidance. Salute!
Oh, and yes. To add to what someone else said above: It’s amazing how many things can keep us ‘retirees’ busy, engaged, and sometimes tuckered at the end of the day. Pick the fun ones!😄
Win10 Pro x64 21H2, Win10 Home 21H2, Linux Mint + a cat with 'tortitude'.
barrym
AskWoody Plustcc089
AskWoody PlusLaurelSprings
AskWoody Plusanonymous
GuestMHCLV941
AskWoody PlusApril 15, 2022 at 1:52 am #2439559Oh, and yes. To add to what someone else said above: It’s amazing how many things can keep us ‘retirees’ busy, engaged, and sometimes tuckered at the end of the day. Pick the fun ones!
That qualifies as one of the understatements of all time!
FastEddie2654
AskWoody PlusApril 16, 2022 at 12:37 pm #2439849I’m wishing you well in your much deserved retirement. Welcome to the club. You won’t regret a single minute of your newfound freedom!
I find it hard to believe that I’ve been following your various newsletters and columns, and more importantly, your advice since the late 90s but alas that’s the case. Many of your tips and such I passed on to others having created my own little tech help network.
Thank you for all you’ve done to make tech easier for all of us.
lylejk
AskWoody PlusApril 18, 2022 at 8:13 am #2440216Was a Langalist Plus! subscriber since the late 90s and followed you to WindowsSecrets and became a lifer there. That then transferred here to AskWoody. Before all that, I read your articles in Byte back in the 80s as well. You are truly a gem, sir, and your presence will be missed. Enjoy your retirement, Fred. If anyone deserves one, you do. Still, don’t be a stranger. 🙂
IreneLinda
AskWoody LoungerApril 21, 2022 at 11:55 am #2441000Dear Fred Langa,
Your farewell post was very moving. I even had a few tears in my eyes by the end. How kind of you to thank us, when it is we who should be thanking you! Still, I know what you mean about needing feedback so here is my final feedback … your columns were immensely helpful to me, a non tech y type, as I tried to navigate the technology of Windows and all its various parts. Thank you for your wisdom, your clear writing and your totally understandable explanations. I will look forward to your occasional appearance back in these pages. Meanwhile, have a wonderful break from deadlines and all the best in every adventure you undertake in the future.
Another fan,
Linda
anonymous
GuestApril 25, 2022 at 5:49 pm #2441926Long time subscriber and recently retired quasi-tech guy here.
I have always appreciated your lucid articles and have found them very useful over the years.
When you announced your first semi-retirement due to personal reasons and annouced your discovery of motorcycling, I was thrilled! I too discovered the joy of motorcycling, although it was back in 1970! But I started my own business around that passion and had my fill by about 1992 and then went onto the next passion.
I sincerely hope you find and enjoy your next passion with your new found time!
Cheers! Roland
WSTarpon
AskWoody PlusMay 7, 2022 at 10:14 pm #2444964Many thanks to Fred Langa, and as much enjoyment of retirement as possible.
Throughout the years I’ve read his great articles and advice to we nerds, and to those ‘just users’ of all this wonderful and often aggravating tech stuff.
I still have a copy of the first [and others] Byte magazine in my stacks, and have read much of his work since. Always creating useful and informative writing, a very productive career and now for a richly deserved [semi-]retirement.
I actually pre-date the ‘PC’ era, beginning my serious tech career in 1969 [preceded by years of skool] with your basic supercomputer mainframes. They were running at 5.5MHz, which looked really fast on a Tektronix 466, but they had huge amounts of storage, both RAM and permROM- later huge Burroughs hard drives]; with chingos of lines of code. And using the pre-cursors to ’email’ ~1972′ on systems that preceded UNIX. Doing both hardware and software and thinking [in your sleep too] in components, subsystems, systems, machine codes, assembly, and up, binary, octal, decimal, hexadecimal, etc. Retired 22 years ago and slowly wound down the ‘obsessive necessity’ to stay current, as Fred indicates.
Of course my interest in PCs was high when they appeared, got my first PC ~1985. That PC was an AT&T 6300+ [Olivetti M24] with a blazing fast Intel 8086 at 6MHz, 256K RAM, and a huge 20Mb hard drive with a floppy. It ran both MS DOS/Windows and UNIX. Those were the days, eh? Now my PCs each have a thousand+ times the power of those ancient machines.
Continued good luck and many more accomplishments, Mr. Langa
Viewing 43 reply threads -
Welcome to our unique respite from the madness.
It's easy to post questions about Windows 11, Windows 10, Win8.1, Win7, Surface, Office, or browse through our Forums. Post anonymously or register for greater privileges. Keep it civil, please: Decorous Lounge rules strictly enforced. Questions? Contact Customer Support.

Plus Membership
Donations from Plus members keep this site going. You can identify the people who support AskWoody by the Plus badge on their avatars.
AskWoody Plus members not only get access to all of the contents of this site -- including Susan Bradley's frequently updated Patch Watch listing -- they also receive weekly AskWoody Plus Newsletters (formerly Windows Secrets Newsletter) and AskWoody Plus Alerts, emails when there are important breaking developments. Click here for details and to sign up.
Search Newsletters
Search Forums
View the Forum
Search for Topics
Recent Topics
-
Out in the front yard watching the Blood Moon tonight.
by
Susan Bradley
39 minutes ago -
Blocked URL
by
aaron451
4 hours, 48 minutes ago -
Storage Limit for OneDrive for Business
by
Colorado_Hiker
11 hours, 46 minutes ago -
Compared: USB 3, USB 4, Thunderbolt 3, Thunderbolt 4, USB-C..
by
Alex5723
23 hours, 47 minutes ago -
Ewaste or usable – week 2
by
Susan Bradley
1 hour, 40 minutes ago -
UPGRADE FROM OFFICE 2016 TO 2019 OR 2021 ??
by
HE48AEEXX77WEN4Edbtm
12 hours, 33 minutes ago -
Duplicate Favorites
by
BobStr
1 day, 9 hours ago -
Comcast/Xfinity Android app problem
by
ibe98765
1 day, 22 hours ago -
Firefox Ending Support for Wiin 7 in Jan, 2023
by
RonE22
8 hours, 58 minutes ago -
Return “Green Colored Padlock” icon in Firefox 100?
by
Tex265
1 day, 15 hours ago -
HP’s taking a turn at the new firmware game..
by
oldguy
1 day, 9 hours ago -
Windows 11 Slow File System
by
fsaw805
2 days, 10 hours ago -
Microsoft 365: Stuck on Downloading Office Updates
by
WSBill Don
2 days, 2 hours ago -
Windows 11 Insider Preview build 25115 released to DEV
by
joep517
3 days, 7 hours ago -
Windows 11 Insider Preview build 22621 released to BETA
by
joep517
2 days, 12 hours ago -
Recover Space from WD My Book Drive
by
WSwalterwood44
2 days, 14 hours ago -
CVE-2022-26925/Incomplete Reportage
by
Nibbled To Death By Ducks
19 minutes ago -
Gaming laptop thermal performance
by
Ascaris
3 days, 23 hours ago -
Master Patch List as of May 10, 2022
by
Susan Bradley
2 days ago -
MS Reminds Us Windows 11’s Start Menu is (Supposedly) Based on User Feedback??
by
anonymous
1 day, 22 hours ago -
Access to “Quick Access” folders on save
by
CeeJay
3 days, 10 hours ago -
Monday on steroids – but the calendar says Wednesday!
by
cyberSAR
3 hours, 29 minutes ago -
May 10 2022 Cumulative update KB5013942 – causes issues
by
RayG
2 days, 6 hours ago -
Windows 10 Breaks Scheduled IDrive Process Already in Progress
by
Mr. Austin
1 day, 10 hours ago -
EU : CSAM to become mandatory
by
Alex5723
2 days, 20 hours ago -
Sneaky forced Microsoft Account
by
R-Type
3 days, 12 hours ago -
British government sets out plans to rein in Big Tech. What next?
by
OscarCP
4 days, 7 hours ago -
WindowsImageBackup Restore
by
steven.h.lutz
2 days, 12 hours ago -
Keyboard from Windows to a regular Nokia
by
itstudent2015uk
5 days, 10 hours ago -
Here come the May updates
by
Susan Bradley
18 hours, 9 minutes ago
Recent blog posts
- Ewaste or usable – week 2
- Master Patch List as of May 10, 2022
- Here come the May updates
- (USA Centric) Want a discount on your Internet?
- The one thing you need to know about the metaverse
- Are Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) good or evil?
- How to use two-factor authentication the right way
- Is firmware patching important?
Key Links
Want to Advertise in the free newsletter? How about a gift subscription in honor of a birthday? Send an email to sb@askwoody.com to ask how.
Home • About • FAQ • Posts & Privacy • Forums • My Account
Register • Free Newsletter • Plus Membership • Gift Certificates • MS-DEFCON Alerts
Copyright ©2004-2022 by AskWoody Tech LLC. All Rights Reserved.