Newsletter Archives

• Firmware and drivers

  Posted on April 3, 2023 at 02:41 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Why are drivers and firmware so important?

  Once upon a time, you would set up a computer and any display adapter driver or firmware would be automatically installed to match the hardware. More than likely, you would not install new drivers for a long, long time.

  But now with both Windows 10 and 11, I annually review drivers and firmware as the Windows feature releases come out. I go through certain steps and processes to rule out issues that might have been triggered by out-of-date drivers, especially if I’ve encountered side effects that I can’t otherwise explain.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.14.0, 2023-04-03).

  Patch Watch drivers, firmware, Graphics Cards, Intune, Motherboards, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, Patch Watch, WSUS

• MS-DEFCON 4: Win11 22H2 not ready for prime time

  Posted on March 28, 2023 at 02:45 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 20.13.1 • 2023-03-28

  

  By Susan Bradley

  March updates are ready. Windows 11 22H2, not so much.

  It’s time to install the updates for the March releases, and that’s why I’m lowering the MS-DEFCON level to 4. There are a few issues out there, but most appear to be plain old low-risk bugs — things that used to be caught in Microsoft’s beta testing. As usual, it seems we’re the beta testers.

  I have several Windows 11 22H2 deployments in active use. If you are not an advanced user, are relatively new to the Windows platform, or are really into rounded corners and having to click several times to build shortcuts on your desktop, you might be tempted to forgive Microsoft for some of these cosmetic bugs.

  Anyone can read the full MS-DEFCON Alert (20.13.1, 2023-03-28).

  AskWoody Plus Alert, MS-DEFCON Alerts, DCOM, Graphics Cards, Motherboards, MS-DEFCON, MS-DEFCON 4, Windows 10, Windows 11

• Want laptop graphics power specs? They might not be easy to find.

  Posted on May 23, 2022 at 02:45 CDT by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 19.21 • 2022-05-23

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  Some well-known manufacturers of laptops make it a little hard to discover the power ratings that determine their machines’ LCD display performance, even though graphics-chip suppliers such as Nvidia and AMD order the laptop makers to do so.

  One of the suppliers — the graphics-processor giant Nvidia — says about this situation, “We’re requiring OEMs to update their product pages” to reveal a crucial laptop feature known variously as Total Graphics Power (TGP) by Nvidia and Typical Board Power (TBP) by AMD, as I explain.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.21.0, 2022-05-23).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  AskWoody FREE Newsletter, AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Public Defender AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Graphics Cards, Graphics Performance, Public Defender