Options for controlling updates in Windows 10

Problems upgrading Win10 to Version 1511

A reader encounters repeated failures when upgrading Win10 to the major new version 1511. Here are likely solutions for that and similar upgrade issues.

Plus: A Win7 image backup file type unsupported failure and using Windows’ Encrypting File System (EFS) with Home editions.

Solving Windows 10 Version 1511 upgrade problems

Reader Ken Brown had no trouble upgrading from Win8.1 to Win10, but now his Win10 setup fails every time he tries to install the first major update of Win10 — “November Update,” aka Version 1511.

• “I have been trying to upgrade my 64-bit Windows 10 Home to Windows 10 Version 1511 via Windows Update. I’ve made two attempts, but both times, when the update gets about halfway through, the screen goes to a blank, light-blue color. All I can do is power off my computer and then turn it back on; after two or three efforts to restart, I finally get the message, ‘Restoring your previous version of Windows.’

  “I’ve had no trouble [with Win10] until now.

  “Do you have any idea what might be happening; and if so, how can I proceed?”

Ken, this problem could be due to a number of issues, including system problems in the current Win10 setup, a problem with Windows Update itself, a driver issue, or other factors.

Whatever the cause, I’m certain you can get your system upgraded to version 1511.

Because the only overt symptom you describe is a failed video display, let’s start with the most likely culprit, a video-driver issue. That’s easy to fix.

Visit your system vendor’s website and download/install the latest (ideally, Win10-specific) drivers written for your exact PC model. You might as well update everything while you’re there, but, at a minimum, I recommend installing the latest drivers for video, storage (e.g., hard drive), and other major components (chipset/mainboard/system).

Once the new drivers are installed and running properly, perform a thorough system maintenance, both to clean up any digital debris and to check for errors. For more information on that task, see the Jan. 16, 2014, Top Story, “Keep a healthy PC: A routine-maintenance guide.”

Next, try the Windows Update upgrade again. To avoid possible permissions issues, run the update from an administrator-level account. And, to avoid conflicts with background apps and such, simplify your system during the upgrade process. For example, exit any apps you don’t need and temporarily turn off or disable as much background software as possible, including anti-malware applications.

Similarly, temporarily unplug unneeded peripherals such as printers and external hard drives. If your system has a very high resolution display (e.g. UHD, HXGA, QHD, and so forth), temporarily switch to a more common setting such as 1600 by 900, 1600 by 1200, 1280 by 1024, and so on).

If that upgrade attempt fails, I suggest you make a full backup and then try an OS repair using Win10’s Reset options (Settings/Update & security/Recovery/Reset this PC/Get started). Select the Keep my files option first and, when that’s done, immediately try the update to Version 1511. If that also fails, use the Remove everything option; then try the update once again.

If even that fails, you should be able to bypass whatever’s causing the problem by using the free Windows 10 media creation tool, available on the Get Windows 10 site. That will let you create a new Win10 V. 1511 installation medium (e.g., flash drive or DVD). Boot your PC from the installation medium and then either upgrade your existing version — or as a last resort — wipe it out completely and install Version 1511 from scratch.

Again, this is a last-resort option; it’s a bit extreme. But with just a little luck, things won’t get that far.

The simpler approaches — current drivers; a clean, error-free system; and a simplified environment while the upgrade is running — should get the job done with minimal hassle and no or little effect on your existing configuration, apps, and files.

Win7 backup failure: ‘file type unsupported’

Jeff Thau encountered an unusual error when trying to make an image backup.

• “I just tried to make a system image using Win7’s Backup and Restore. But it failed with a message stating that the file type was not supported in this version.

  “Any idea what went wrong here?”

There are two possible causes for that message: issues with partition types and disk formatting.

For example, to fully access today’s very large hard drives or partitions, you must be running a 64-bit Windows version on a PC equipped with a UEFI BIOS. If you’re running 32-bit Windows and/or the PC has a traditional (non-UEFI) BIOS, you simply might not be able to access and use the full drive. For more info, see the March 21, 2013, LangaList Plus column, “Up against the 2TB drive-size ceiling” and the Microsoft Support article 2510009, “Microsoft support policy for 4K sector hard drives in Windows.”

If it’s formatting related, note that Win7’s backup/restore mechanisms require the use of NTFS — drives using FAT formatting will usually cause errors. Similarly, if your hard drives are formatted with a nonstandard sector size, Windows’ system-image backup and restore operations might fail. Again, see MS Support article 2510009.

For information on other potential issues with Win7-style backups, see third-party sources such as the EaseUS page, “What you can’t do with Windows 7 backup feature,” and the Aomei page, “Windows 7 Backup Limitations — A Full Review.”

(A note of caution about the aforementioned articles: Although the core information is accurate as of this writing, companies such as EaseUS and Aomei want to sell you their backup products — they have a vested interest in playing up the weaknesses in the Win7 backup/restore tools.)

It’s usually not difficult working around Win7’s backup/restore shortcomings. For example, if your hard drive is using a nonstandard sector size, back up your system and let Win7 reformat the drive using its default settings. (See the Microsoft help article, “Create and format a hard disk partition.”) Restore your system files, apps, and personal data.

If your system has FAT-based formatting, convert your drives to the superior NTFS. See the Microsoft how-to, “Convert a hard disk or partition to NTFS format.”

If you’re trying to use a very large hard drive on a PC with a traditional BIOS and/or a 32-bit Windows version, visit your hard-drive vendor or manufacturer to check whether it offers special utilities that will allow full-drive access. For example, Seagate offers the free DiscWizard (site).

Many third-party backup tools — including free and low-cost offerings from EaseUS, Aomei, Macrium, and others — can also overcome many problems like these. If you run into serious snags with Windows’ built-in tools, a third-party offering might be just the ticket.

Add EFS capability to Windows Home Editions?

Thomas Harmon wants to share data secured with Windows’ Encrypting File System (EFS) across different Windows editions.

• “I’d like to be able to read/edit files that I encrypted with EFS on a Windows 10 Professional computer from system running Win10 Home.

  “Can this capability be added to the Home edition PC? I have access to the recovery certificates and private keys used to encrypt files.”

I’m sorry to say that EFS support is turned off with all Home editions, on all Windows versions. I know of no workarounds or hacks to enable it. If you want to directly use Windows’ native EFS, I’m fairly certain you have to upgrade to a Pro or higher edition.

A more circuitous workaround is to set up file sharing (MS info) or remote-desktop access (MS info) on a local network.

But the better option is to switch to a third-party encryption tool that’s just as secure as EFS but works on all current Windows versions and editions.

For example, I make extensive use of 7-Zip (free/open-source; site) to encrypt all my sensitive files and folders.

Under the covers, 7-Zip employs AES-256 standard encryption — effectively uncrackable with today’s technology, assuming you use a strong password. Once encrypted with 7-Zip, your files will be safe from snooping no matter where they’re stored — locally or in the cloud — and you can access and decrypt them using any Windows version or edition.

For more information, see the May 15, 2014, Top Story, “Better data and boot security for Windows PCs.”

The Yuletide Windows-/Office-patching edition

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, the only sound heard was the click of a mouse.

To prevent the Grinch from trashing our PCs, we’re taking a final note of the patches that are naughty and nice.

MS15-124 (3104002), 3125869

Nice — a manual fix for an ASLR vulnerability

Buried in the fine print of December’s IE cumulative update description (KB 3104002) is a note to let us know that even after installing this security update, we’re still not fully protected. We need to apply a manual step to protect ourselves from an Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR; more info) bypass issue.

After numerous complaints from users, Microsoft eventually made that step relatively easy, via fixit KB 3125869, which hardens the User32 exception handler in Internet Explorer. Still, it’s odd and worrisome that Microsoft didn’t fix this issue by default; I enabled it on my PCs, with no ill effects.

According to the notes for the fixit, simply bypassing ASLR won’t result in a successful exploit, but “an attacker could use this ASLR bypass in conjunction with another vulnerability, such as a remote code execution vulnerability, to run arbitrary code on a target system. Successful exploitation of the ASLR bypass requires a user to be logged on and running an affected version of Internet Explorer. The user would then need to browse to a malicious site.”

If you typically use Chrome or Firefox as your default browser, you might think that you’re at lower risk. But cleverly written malicious code can launch a specific browser, such as IE. So I recommend erring on the side of safety; install fixit KB 3125869 — and download the “unfixit” in case you run into any side effects.

Note: Web servers might have problems with December’s IE update (KB 3104002). The solution is hotfix KB 3125446, which resolves the inability to upload files using an application service provider (ASP) application in IE. The hotfix notes state that it applies to Vista, Win7, Win8.1, Server 2008 SP2, and Server 2012 R2. But the hotfix is needed only on servers — not on workstations.

What to do: To fully protect IE (and yourself), run fixit KB 3125869.

3035583

Naughty — A Windows upgrade patch to pass on

As we approach the end of the year, I often get asked for a list of patches to avoid. Regular Patch Watch readers know I often put certain security updates — kernel fixes, for example — on temporary hold to ensure there are no unwanted side effects. Eventually, they nearly all get installed.

On the other hand, we can pass on optional, nonsecurity updates — and rarely run into a serious problem. (Broken application features that nonsecurity updates often fix are more annoying than threatening.)

With that in mind, I have only one update that I recommend leaving off Windows 7 systems. KB 3035583 installs the “Get Windows 10” app that has shown up on nearly every standalone Win7 and Win8.1 system. Windows 7 users who have no interest in upgrading soon have found this app really annoying — and often difficult to remove.

Those with older Win7 desktops and notebooks have good reason to delay an upgrade to Windows 10, mostly related to hardware-driver issues. On the other hand, anyone still on Windows 8.1 should migrate up to Win10 before the free upgrade offer expires.

As most Windows users now know, the “Get Windows 10” apps shows up as an icon on the taskbar. In some cases, KB 3035583 even downloads the Win10-installation package in the background, taking up a sizable chunk of hard-disk space. Moreover, KB 3035583 has been revised several times, and I anticipate seeing it revised again. If you want to stick with Win7 for now, I recommend downloading and installing the GWX control panel (site) to control and monitor KB 3035583.

What to do: Skip KB 3035583 on any Win7 machine you don’t want upgraded to Windows 10.

3112336, 3112343

Nice — Some needed fixes to Windows Update

For several months now, Microsoft has been updating and revising the Windows Update client to better prepare systems for upgrading to Windows 10. But these updates don’t install anything that actually initiates the upgrade. They do, however, help eliminate instances of excessive CPU spiking when you manually run Windows Update.

The latest versions of these updates are:

• 3112343 – Win7, Server 2008 R2 SP1; fixes “8007000E” error
• 3112336 – Win8.1, Server 2012 R2; includes additional upgrade scenarios

These windows update patches don’t put you in the fast lane for Windows 10 and in fact help an existing Windows 7 machine with all of the updates we’ve been getting lately.

What to do: Again, these updates won’t put you on the fast track to Windows 10. But they so make all updating go smoother. Install KB 3112343 or KB 3112336, if offered.

3102429

Naughty — An update hits Crystal Reports

It’s often the lesser patches that have an unexpected effect on Windows or Office. For example, KB 3102429 updates the Azerbaijani Manat and Georgian Lari currency symbols in Windows. Unfortunately, Crystal Reports users discovered that exporting to PDF failed, along with other errors.

There’s currently no solution from Microsoft. Uninstalling the update solves the Crystal Reports problems for most users, but not all.

What to do: If you don’t need Manat and/or Lari currency symbols, give KB 3102429 a pass.

2975838, 3114560

Nice (sort of) — Fixes for Outlook fixes

This past November and December, Microsoft released several nonsecurity patches that created new problems. For example KB 3114409, designed to help prevent opening Outlook 2010 in safe mode actually caused the suite to open only in safe mode. The fix was a new version of the original update — KB 3114560.

On Nov. 19, Microsoft released KB 2975838, which fixes crashes for some after installing KB 3101488 for Outlook 2013.

At this time, neither of the new updates are on WSUS or Microsoft Update; they’ll have to be installed manually.

What to do: Install KB 2975838 or KB 3114560 as needed.

Naughty — issues with the Win10 upgrades

As it might be obvious, my current belief is that happy Win7 users should stay on that OS for now, but all Win8.1 users should upgrade to Win10 Version 1511. (All Win8.0 users should have upgraded to Win8.1 by now.)

That general rule doesn’t apply to those running Windows Home Server or any of the Microsoft Essentials servers that have Essentials connector software installed for backups and remote access. Upgrading from the original Win10 RTM to Version 1511 uninstalls the connector software. As noted in a Mark Berry blog post, any of the Win10 build-to-build upgrades will uninstall the connector software. After an upgrade to a new build, admins must delete the hidden local AppData files and reinstall the Essentials connector software.

Moreover, it’s not just Windows code that’s deleted with the Version 1511 upgrade. As noted in a Winaero post, there are reports that third-party applications such as anti-malware packages are deemed incompatible and automatically removed. Unfortunately, I don’t know of any sources listing affected software. So you’ll have to know what’s on your system before upgrading — and what might be missing after.

I’m still somewhat torn over Windows 10. I’m pleased with its enhanced security, but I don’t like it’s heavy-handed updating practices. Nor am I happy with the lack of solid answers from Microsoft about when things will be fixed. If you decide over the holidays to take the plunge, remember to not accept the default “Express” settings option during the upgrade process; it will, among other things, reset browsers and PDF reading to the new Edge browser.

What to do: Be sure to do a full system backup before upgrading to Windows 10 — or from Windows 10 RTM to Version 1511. After the upgrade, check for any applications that have gone missing.

The rest of the December nonsecurity updates

Before celebrating the new year, pour a glass of strong eggnog and take a few minutes to add any of the following updates to your systems.

Vista, Win7 and Win8.x

• 3112343 – Windows Update Client improvements (Win10 upgrade helper)
• 3112148 – Vista/Win7/8.x; cumulative time-zone update

Office 2007/2010

• 2760779 – Outlook 2010; error when using Play on Phone feature
• 3085605 – Office 2010; unknown
• 3114399 – Office 2010; crashes with Information Rights Management and SharePoint access
• 3114404 – Office 2010; formatting issues with Excel-to-Access exports
• 3114412 – Outlook 2010 junk-mail filter
• 3114409 – Outlook 2010; adds admin support plus other fixes
• 3114427 – Office 2007 junk-mail filter

Office 2013

• 3023068 – Office; Office-app support for SharePoint trusted URLs
• 3085482 – Office; errors when synching files with OneDrive
• 3085570 – Office; error on query refreshes
• 3085578 – Office; errors when synching files with OneDrive
• 3114332 – PowerPoint; file corruption on save with new transition
• 3114333 – Office; various fixes and enhancements
• 3114346 – Office; crashes with custom add-ins
• 3114349 – Outlook; numerous fixes
• 3114350 – Outlook junk-mail filter
• 3114354 – Excel; username display flaw, error on refresh, slow filtering
• 3114357 – Access; calculation failures, SQL query issues
• 3114358 – Office; errors when synching files with OneDrive
• 3114366 – Project; numerous fixes

Other updates

• 3039696 – SharePoint Foundation 2013; support for apps adding trusted URLs
• 3039776 – Skype for Business 2015; general update
• 3114331 – SharePoint 2013; support for apps adding trusted URLs
• 3114334 – SharePoint 2013; numerous fixes
• 3114336 – Visio; wrong color patterns with SVG images
• 3114339 – SharePoint Foundation 2013, cumulative update
• 3114341 – Project Server 2013; cumulative update
• 3114345 – SharePoint 2013; cumulative update
• 3114352 – SharePoint Foundation 2013; numerous fixes
• 3114360 – Project Server 2013; various fixes
• 3114363 – SharePoint Foundation 2013; JavaScript error on folder selection
• 3114364 – OneDrive for Business; files deleted during SharePoint synching
• 3114405 – Project Server 2010; cumulative update
• 3114408 – SharePoint Server 2010; cumulative update
• 3114411 – SharePoint Server 2010; duplications and display issues with Manage Content and Structure
• 3114418 – SharePoint Foundation 2010; unknown
• 3114419 – Project 2010; XML files and new projects open slowly

What to do: I’ve not seen any reports of problems with the preceding nonsecurity updates. Install any offer, as you choose.

Regularly updated problem-patch chart

This table provides the status of recent Windows and Microsoft application security updates. Patches listed below as safe to install will typically be removed from the table about a month after they appear. Status changes are highlighted in bold.

For Microsoft’s list of recently released patches, go to the MS Security TechCenter page.

Status recommendations: Skip — patch not needed; Hold — do not install until its problems are resolved; Wait — hold off temporarily while the patch is tested; Optional — not critical, use if wanted; Install — OK to apply.

Windows Secrets takes its holiday break

Most of the Windows Secrets newsletter staff and contributors will be off celebrating Christmas with friends and family — and trying mightily to avoid overeating. (Damn those Christmas cookies and that eggnog.) And we’ll all be off New Year’s Day, recovering from New Year’s Eve festivities.

So there’ll be no Dec. 31 issue. Look for the next full Windows Secrets in your inbox on Jan. 7!

Out of curiosity, we polled the contributors on what tech gift they’d like to see. The top two choices were the Surface Book (more info) and a really big HDTV. Some of us would be happy with faster Internet connections. (BTW, if you’re interested in a recent report on PC reliability, see the Dec. 15 RESCUECOM article.)

All of us at Windows Secrets send our deepest thanks and appreciation to you for supporting the newsletter through 2015. Your paid subscriptions make up most of the revenue Windows Secrets needs to pay contributors and staff and to keep the lights on. As has always been the case, there’s no Windows Secrets without you.

Everyone at Windows Secrets wishes all of you a joyful 2016. Happy holidays!

    — Tracey Capen, editor

Options for controlling updates in Windows 10

Win10 Pro and Win10 Pro Version 1511 let everyone push off updates — for weeks or months.

Win10 Home users are mostly out of luck, but a couple of options will still let you take some updating control.

Two safe ways to control Windows 10 updates

As anyone who follows Windows should now know, the task of patching Microsoft’s newest OS is a big change from Win7. One aspect of Win10 updating is superior: the updates are cumulative, so you need only the most recent update to get fully patched — handy when setting up a new PC, rebuilding Windows, or upgrading from an older OS.

On the other hand, Win10 — especially the Home edition — offers fewer options than Win7 and Win8 for controlling whether and when updates are installed.

Win10 Home users have very few options for delaying updates. But they can use a trick that’s reported in an InfoWorld article — tell Windows that you’re on a low-bandwidth, metered Internet connection.

Microsoft knows that there are Windows users accessing the Net via cell-based connection or even dialup. To help prevent big updates from blowing through ISP data caps, Win10 includes the Set as a metered connection option (Settings/Network & Internet/Wi-Fi; note: if your PC doesn’t have a wireless adapter, the Wi-Fi menu option won’t appear).

A Microsoft FAQ lists what happens under a metered connection, but the main point is that only priority updates will be downloaded. Presumably, “priority” updates are typically security patches.

The better way for Win10 Home users to get more control over updates is to upgrade to the Pro edition. That will let you use Windows’ group-policy settings. (To upgrade, click Settings/Update & Security/Activation and click the Go to Store button.) The upgrade will cost you U.S. $99. You’ll then have the options discussed below.

Windows 10 Pro users can select the Defer updates option (Settings/Update & Security/Windows Update/Advanced options). That will put off feature updates for some unspecified number of weeks or months (until the next major update) but allow security updates to install immediately. That’s better than nothing, but the recent Win10 upgrade adds more.

Managing updates in Windows 10 Professional

Pro versions of Win10 Version 1511 have settings Microsoft calls “Windows update for Business” — but in fact they’re merely group-policy settings. Don’t let the name fool you — it’s possible to delay feature updates even if you’re not a business or attached to a domain.

Here’s a summary; you’ll find additional details on an MS TechNet page.

Starting the group policy console: In Win10 Pro, click Start, enter gpedit.msc, and hit enter. When the editor opens, I always get a Namespace error. According to MS Support article 3077013, you can ignore the message and simply click OK.

Change to ‘Current branch for business’: In the group-policy editor, navigate to Computer Configuration/Administrative Templates/Windows Components/Windows Update.

The Windows Update section has several adjustments I typically make that aren’t related just to Win10. For example, to ensure I don’t accidentally install updates upon system shutdown, I enable Do not display ‘Install Updates and Shut down.’ (You can also set this value via the Registry, as noted in an AskVG blog post.

Enable deferred updates: In Win10 Version 1511, while you’re in the Windows Update options, enable the group-policy setting: Defer Upgrades and Updates. That action lets you put off feature upgrades for the next several months or until the next major feature release (or “branch” — Version 1511 was a branch release). The original Win10 RTM (the July release) has similar settings, but they didn’t include an option to defer upgrades.

Some Windows Update settings caveats: Note that if you used group policies to turn off telemetry or make updating adjustments, the options within Defer Upgrades and Updates won’t function.

These options include the following (see Figure 1):

• Defer upgrades for the following duration: “Upgrades” means the large feature/branch releases. They can be delayed for up to eight months, in one-month increments. (For Win10 Pro users, the recent Version 1511 release will become a mandatory upgrade in eight months.)
• Defer updates for the following duration: “Updates” include both security updates and cumulative updates. These can be delayed for up to four weeks, in one-week increments.
• Pause Upgrades and Updates: This option pauses upgrades and updates until the next monthly upgrade/update release. (The installation of Windows Defender definition updates won’t be affected by this setting.)

Figure 1. The Defer Upgrades and Updates option in the group-policy editor

According to the deferral information, if Specify intranet Microsoft update service location is enabled, none of above three options will function. Nor will they work if the Allow Telemetry policy is set to Enabled and the Options value is set to 0.

A 4sysops blog and a Microsoft post discuss the Pause Upgrades and Updates option, but it’s still not sufficiently explained. For example, it’s not clear is how the option interacts with Defer updates …. Does it push updates off for an additional 30 days?

Other important changes in Windows Update

Long-time Windows users will have to remember that, with Win10, there’s no Windows Update in the Control Panel — you can access it only via the Start menu’s Settings.

Also, to read the Windows Update log, you must open an elevated PowerShell window and run the Get-WindowsUpdateLog -ForceFlush command. That will put a plain-text version of the log on your desktop, as noted in MS Support article 3036646.

Small-business users will have to decide whether to run Windows Server Update Service (WSUS) in a local server. If you’re running Small Business Server (SBS) 2008 or 2011, the installed WSUS won’t support branch releases such as Version 1511. And as noted in a WSUS post, Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2 must have hotfix KB 3095113 installed.

For the older SBS releases, you have a couple of options:

1) You can change group policy so that Win10 workstations look to Microsoft Update rather than to your local WSUS server. Then use the group-policy settings discussed above to control and adjust the updates as you can.

2) Install branch updates manually via Windows Update (Settings/Update & Security). Once you’re on the next branch release, WSUS will pick up again and install updates normally.

Bottom line: If you have a Windows 10 machine connecting to SBS 2008 or SBS 2011, plan on taking special actions to ensure that these systems are kept up to date.

Version 1511 gives you more control over Win10 updating, but not enough. If we’re lucky, the next major upgrade (branch release) will make updating more flexible and eliminate the need to go into group-policy settings. I’d also like to see a better updating-options UI — for both business and home users.

For Win10 Home users, I’m calling this the upgrade tax: You might have received a free upgrade to Windows 10, but to control patching, you’ll need to pay for the upgrade to Win10 Pro!

Scammers exploit tech news to fool you

Online thieves don’t just pretend to be your bank confirming your credentials or your best friend touting a diet plan. They often pretend to be Microsoft.

But in a timely wrinkle this week, a scammer pretended to be part of a Microsoft team blocking a user’s Outlook.com account.

As Lounge member Tonistein and others point out the details that give away the email lie, you might realize how attentive you need to be not only to the message but also the metadata of your emails. Take care online and in your email inbox to help keep your holidays happy.

The following links are this week’s most interesting Lounge threads, including several new questions for which you might have answers:

Office Applications
General Productivity	Upgrading Office 2013 to 2016
Word Processing	Macro to set absolute locations for multiple images
Spreadsheets	Copying VBA variable’s numeric value to clipboard
Databases	Query with time
Visual Basic for Apps	Find specific text in cell
Microsoft Outlook	Outlook (Office 365): Connecting to Verizon
Other MS Apps	Successful running Skype on Android 6.x?
Windows
General Windows	How to stop Windows spam?
Windows 10	Can’t sign in to Microsoft account or Cortana
Windows 8	How to see thumbnails instead of photo-editor icons?
Windows 7	Fix for transferring old HP 882C printer driver
Windows Vista	Upgrading to maximum memory?
Windows XP	XP Home SP3 download
Windows Servers	Have original version of Windows Server 2008 R2?
Internet/Connectivity
Internet Explorer and Edge	Stop pop-up in Internet Explorer?
Third-Party Browsers	Firefox 43 now deactivates unsigned add-ons
Networking	Unable to RDP to other PC
Other Technologies
Security & Scams	MS Outlook scam
Hardware	Imminent disk drive-failure message
Graphics/Multimedia	YouTube: Same video content, different file sizes
Other Applications	Macrium email legitimate?

starred posts: particularly useful

If you’re not already a Lounge member, use the quick registration form to sign up for free. The ability to post comments and take advantage of other Lounge features is available only to registered members.

If you’re already registered, you can jump right into today’s discussions in the Lounge.

A 12 days of Christmas plus five Wacky favorites

Children in our extended families believe in magic — flying reindeer, for example — during the winter holidays. The more ordinary animals in our households, on the other hand, tend to believe in food — all year round — and maybe in the good will of their humans, too. In this video, a great many companion animals tolerate special holiday-time attention from their people, which comes at them in the form of cameras, lights, and funny hats. Nobody knows how many pounds of cheese, cookies, and birdseed were consumed in the making of this video, but we hope you enjoy it — and however many partridges in a pear tree seem right and pleasing. Click below or go to the original YouTube video. You might also enjoy reprises of the five most popular Wackies of 2015, which you can view below.

Just as you catch up with the art and science of selfies, you discover a newly extending hazard: selfie sticks.

In the old days, selfies happened at arm’s length. But now, narcissistic self-regard has easily parodied consequences, as you can see in this video. Beware the range of a selfie stick! Click below or go to the original YouTube video.

Whoever uses “birdbrain” as a term of abuse ought to think again — clearly, this time.

This BBC video documents the problem-solving prowess of a crow, who can work out an eight-step procedure without losing any of his tools (each of which he has to discover and retrieve) along the way. I was impressed. Maybe we should worry less about being out-foxed than out-crowed. Click below or go to the original YouTube video.

In the midst of bathing, Faa Sai, the elephant, decided to adjust her personal sprinkler. She wanted more water, right now.

Her plumbing techniques might not work for everyone, but they were certainly effective for her, as you’ll see in this video. She’s so clearly satisfied by the effect of her tinkering that you might think she has intentionally honed her skills. Who knows how many sprinkers she has improved? Click below or go to the original YouTube video.

The spectacular July 4 fireworks display you’re about to see was photographed by videographer Jos Stiglingh a year ago in Florida. He flew a DJI Phantom 2 quadcopter deep into the fireworks show and recorded it with an attached GoPro Hero 3 videocam.

The performance — or rather, the entire collection of performances — was high-risk for a flying camera passing inside all that explosive technology. We’re in considerably less danger watching this video version of the show. And yet many of us will be watching live fireworks this Saturday and on other occasions, because we like to celebrate time and history in this very loud and colorful way. (For a short history of our habit of watching choreographed bombs bursting in air, take a look at a related video.) Click below or go to the original YouTube video.

Conan O’Brien and Andy Richter had some fun recently at Apple’s expense, as they quizzed Siri about the time of day via Andy’s new Apple Watch.

As everybody knows, Apple doesn’t make mistakes. So you can watch this video for the wry pleasure of two comedians’ take on technology — and at our sometimes misplaced expectations. How many times have you said: “Gee, I must be doing something wrong.” Click below or go to the original YouTube video.