• Paul Foreman

    Paul Foreman

    @paulforeman

    Viewing 11 replies - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)
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    • in reply to: My Acer 32 gig is now on 21H1 #2381980

      Since I retired and don’t “need” a computer for work but just the little, simple low-end HP I got about four years ago to do things at home and keeping up with all the updates has become a “do it when I have to” task.  With that, I did do the 21H1 update yesterday.

      It took some considerable time (about 6-7 hours?) to finish but seems to be working just fine after the install.  I use the ‘Classic Start’ by IVOSoft and didn’t have to re-set anything with it after the install which I found interesting.  Everything else seems to be just the same and all my custom settings etc. appear to have come over without a glitch too.  I also checked to see if I could use Windows 11 and (not a shock) my little old box won’t go there.  I figure this upgrade gives me a little bit more time before I have to figure out what to do next come 11.

    • in reply to: Microsoft Home Use Program #2319787

      Yup… that works ok but it has to be done to each individual file which is not realistic.  Oh well, at this point I will just have to pay attention to the file extension and won’t be able to spot them by the cute ico image and fix it as I touch each one.

      I’m still worried about the whole suite going up in smoke and need to have a good recovery plan if the suite quits working.  I had hopes that in retirement I wouldn’t have to ‘fight’ with computers so much but fate has it that the struggle will continue!

      Paul –

    • in reply to: Patch Lady – just a kind reminder about Office 2010 #2296065

      I’ve got the same question as “Scooby” in that I had/have Office 2010 installed and then put the Microsoft Office Professional 2019 package on my PC when it came out without uninstalling the 2010 program.

      So, can I uninstall / delete the 2010 suite without issue?  I’ve retired and don’t have an active Microsoft account and keep the suite as off-line as I can and use it for my “home use” only.  I am using Outlook 2019 with my ISP for mail but that’s it.  Advice?

      Paul –

      1 user thanked author for this post.
    • in reply to: Outlook and Mediacom #2286335

      UPDATE…

      Being frustrated with all this – I took the little dog for a walk and mulled it over with the idea that I’ve got everything backed up so I can do some trial and error testing.

      So, making it a point to NOT follow the directions from the cable company after our walk, I started trying every possible security setting and got it to work again by using the “Auto” selection rather than the required SSL selection for outgoing mail.  Why this would work is beyond me but, I can now send again and still receive messages.  I would still like feedback on this as my “solution” seems less than elegant and is ‘wrong’ per the instructions.  Thanks!

    • in reply to: Windows Health Release – the AskWoody version #2175643

      I, for one, have become a lot more “complacent” about computers as I have retired and now only need to maintain my little/simple home set-up.  However, I count on Woody and the whole crew here to keep me informed and this Dashboard idea is great for me.

      An example is when the MS-DEFCON number hit “3” I ran all the updates to my home machine using 1909 and it went smoothly and without issue.  After the update, everything got locked down again.  It is a very simple response for me and seems to work well so far.  If I need to find out about some glitch – the Dashboard is a great ready reference.  Thanks!

      3 users thanked author for this post.
    • in reply to: Does the Win10 Search box still work for you? #2135269

      I am using Windows 10 – 1909 build 18363.592 Home version and not having problems.

      I’ve shut down/blocked updates since the start of February (did update when the defcon setting hit three) and do not have any Microsoft (365, account, etc.) open or running.  When I do a search it first looks at my disks on the machine. I can then pick ‘search the web’ and it then opens my default browser (Firefox) and uses the default search application (Smartpage) without issue.

      My hunch is it is a Microsoft issue and by not using their connection preferences I’ve dodged this problem.  Hopefully (for me at least) it’s really that easy.

    • in reply to: Is Microsoft messing with your Win10 Search box? #2125252

      I am currently running:

      Windows 10 Home 1909
      Build 18363.592

      This is on a ‘simple’ HP home computer and as I am retired now – I don’t worry much about network connections or the like except to support my home wi-fi and what I’ve got here.  With that, I also do NOT use my Microsoft account and I have it “off” and don’t use much of any of the on-line connections involving Microsoft.  When I use my installed version of Word (2019 from a CD) it wants me to sign in and I just ignore that without any issues.

      I am able to search just fine using the file explorer search box for stuff on my PC and the Window search box from the Start/Windows button is also working fine.  If I pick the Internet, a search pops up in my default browser (foxfire) using the default search application (Startpage). I have Outlook for email using a link to my Apple iCloud account and my ISP mail account – again, no Microsoft links.

      Could part of this issue be connected to being on-line with Microsoft?  Just my 2 cents worth!

      1 user thanked author for this post.
    • in reply to: MS-DEFCON 4: Time to get the November patches installed #2015441

      Yeah… I pushed the pause out to the 35 day max and will wait and watch to see if it really holds.  At about day 30 to 34 I will likely go back to StopUpdates 10 and turn off all update attempts.  I’m just curious to see if the pause is real or not.

      So far – fingers crossed – the upgrade from 1809 to the latest 1909 version (Home) has been smooth… time will tell if there are any hidden glitches I’ve yet to see.

    • in reply to: MS-DEFCON 4: Time to get the November patches installed #2015296

      I just took the plunge and updated my Windows 10 Home version on the PC I’ve got at home.  I’ve retired so don’t worry about any of the work stuff anymore – just keeping my own up and running with the wife being happy with it.  I am reporting “good” results.

      Success – going from 1809 to 1909 using Windows Update.  It didn’t take very long… I walked the dog around the neighborhood, had lunch and it was done sometime in there. I did an extra restart as one taskbar icon was not showing up (Sophos Home) which fixed that.  I did another ‘search for updates’ and got a couple of .net fixes which I installed and restarted after.  All in all – it seems to have worked.

      I have used “Classic Shell” and was still using it and the new install told me the Administrator had blocked it.  However, it was running just fine.  It was annoying so I re-installed the program as an admin and never got any more back talk from the system.

      I have been using the third party StopUpdates10 software but have not turned it back on… I’ve set the Windows ‘pause’ to the max and will see what happens in 35 days.  It’s nice when these things actually work as advertised.  I’m going to let it run for a couple of days, let it do the scheduled back up run and shutdown and after that all works I will feel comfortable.  Oh, thanks to all the contributors and Woody for the support and help!  Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and an error free New Year to all!

      1 user thanked author for this post.
    • in reply to: Updates to a ‘new’ install of Office 2019 #1352901

      As I was doing (at home) the patch/updates this weekend for Windows and due to the programs nagging me every time I opened an Office 2019 application, I clicked on the dreaded “update now” bar in Word and Office dutifully started to download updates – and it never finished.  Every time I responded “ok” to the requests to download and then to install, nothing ever updated but the computer assured me that the downloads were happening and asked to install them.  I had finished the Windows updates and figured this was being done separately so, persisted.  Rebooted (a few times) and tried it several times with no joy.

      I got frustrated with it and went to Programs and clicked “repair” for Office and that took off ok.  About 20 minutes later it started up my office and ask for the product key (dug that out and put it in) and Office is now ‘updated’ and no longer is nagging me to do so – it looks like I am now done and everything appears to be working properly (Outlook, Word and Excel tried) and no data loss or noticed improvements.  I was not impressed.

    • in reply to: Updates to a ‘new’ install of Office 2019 #1214370

      Thanks for the insight – I think I will leave ‘sleeping dogs’ alone and ignore the update requests and wait.

       

    Viewing 11 replies - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)