In this issue

LANGALIST: 750MB of undeletable log files!

BEST OF THE LOUNGE: Device Manager’s endless search for new hardware

Additional articles in the PLUS issue

PATCH WATCH: Is it safe yet?

SAFETY: Simple ways to receive severe-weather alerts

WINDOWS 10: Controlling Windows update downloads

• “Hi Fred. I read your recent article about .evtx log files. I would like to know how to delete these and similar files.

  “On my system, it appears that Windows automatically deletes some files daily. But there are close to 750MB of various OS-generated logs. I’m guessing that the total log-file assemblage could grow indefinitely. It just seems like a waste of a useful resource. I can see no purpose in retaining this stuff.

  “What do you think? If you agree, can you advise me as to how to dispose of them? When I’ve tried that task, I keep getting a nagging pop-up demanding administrator privileges. When I elevate my privilege level, the complaint becomes ‘can’t delete as file is in use.'”

• Click Settings/Update & Security/Recovery and, under the Advanced startup heading, press the Restart now button, as shown in Figure 1. (Windows 8 users needing help with Safe Mode should head over to Microsoft’s “How to easily enter safe mode in Windows 8?” post.)

  
  Figure 1. In Win10 (all versions/editions), the road to Safe Mode starts in Settings.

• When your PC restarts, you’ll now see the Choose an option menu. Each option opens a new page or set of pages. Select Troubleshoot, then Advanced options, then Startup Settings. In that window, click the Restart button. (Figure 2)

  
  Figure 2. Review the summary of startup-settings options and then click Restart.

• After this second restart, you’ll see another menu detailing the various startup options to choose from (see Figure 3). Select Enable Safe Mode, usually #4 on the list.

  
  Figure 3. Startup Settings offers a long list of options; select 4) Enable Safe Mode.

• “Start your PC in safe mode in Windows 10” – Microsoft support page
• “Find safe mode and other startup settings in Windows 10” – MS support page

• “How to delete event logs automatically from C:\Windows\System32\winevt\Logs folder” – TechNet page
• “Low disk space after filling up C:\Windows\Temp with .evtx and .txt files” – superuser.com article

• “300GB of files now unreadable and undeletable” – Windows Secrets Newsletter 2016-05-03
• “Deleting ‘undeletable’ files and folders” – Windows Secrets Newsletter 2015-10-08 (scroll down)
• “Delete files that Windows labels ‘undeletable'” – Windows Secrets Newsletter 2009-08-20

• “Event Log Policy Settings” – MS support page
• “Event Logs — archive log when full” – TechNet discussion
• “Adjusting Event Log Size and Retention Settings” – netwrix.com article

BROWSERS

While perusing Task Manager, Plus member alphacharlie noticed lots of running Firefox processes. Why so many when there’s only one instance of Firefox open? Is that normal? Savvy Loungers responded with some enlightening details on the browser’s inner workings. Have you wondered about that phenomenon, too?

HARD DRIVES

When someone asks others in the forums for the “best way” to do something on a computer, they soon find out there isn’t one — there’s only what’s best for a specific setup and circumstance. Plus member southieguy opens that can of worms with a question about partitioning a refurbished Dell with Win8.1. Was it possible to set it up with two partitions instead of the five it came with? Fellow Loungers offered their solutions and experiences — including thoughts on the age-old question: whether to separate the OS and data.

HARDWARE

Disabling a hardware “option” should be as simple as switching it off. But as Plus member Mike was reminded, things are rarely that simple in Windows. The question at hand was how to permanently disable Turbo Boost. When Mike uninstalled its drivers, Windows automatically reinstalled them. Possible solutions are still forthcoming.

Networking

Plus member petermat had three systems with relatively consistent Internet upload/download speeds. Then one system suddenly developed far more leisurely network connections. Puzzled, petermat asked Loungers for possible methods for measuring local-network and Web speeds separately. The first step? Check the networking cables.

Windows 10

Plus member berniec was looking for an easy way to send a text message to a colleague’s phone — from a Win10 computer. But berniec didn’t know the type of phone. Readers made short work of this quandary by offering several solutions.

USING THE FORUM

Plus member Perq wanted to make a change to a post but couldn’t find the way to do it. The need to modify a post arises from time to time — perhaps to correct a spelling error or to add/fix entered information. It’s not hard to do, but there is a catch. For 15 minutes after you first submit a post, you’ll see an “Edit” option above the post. After that, the option disappears. Perq simply waited too long to make a change.

Publisher: AskWoody LLC (woody@askwoody.com); editor: Tracey Capen (editor@askwoody.com).

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