Resilient File System on Windows 10 Pro

While NTFS is a reliable file system, Windows 10 can have ReFS enabled for data drives and some external drives.  What exactly is ReFS?

ReFS is Resilient File System.  ReFS insures data availability,  supports large file systems without a performance hit and has a Scrubber that supports Acute Error Correction. It supports up to a Max. Volume size of 1 yobibyte (2⁸⁰ bytes) and a Max. file size of 16 exbibytes (2⁶⁴−1 bytes).

Fact – 1 exbibyte =    1,152,921,504.606 Gigabytes (over 1 trillion gigabytes)

      (More information –Building the next generation file system for Windows: ReFS)

So how do you enable it?  (Caution- Perform these steps at your own risk)

FIRST – make a backup and create a restore point.   Then – right click on the menu and select run.  Type regedit.   Navigate to –
HKEY_Local_Machine\system\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem
Next create a DWORD and name it –
RefsDisableLastAccessUpdate and set its value to 1

 

Next navigate to –
HKEY_Local_Machine\system\CurrentControlSet\Control\MiniNT
(Note: You may have to create this Key)

Under this key, create AllowRefsFormatOverNonmirrorVolume and set it to 1 (its value)

Unlike Fat32, you cannot use the convert command to convert to ReFS.  You must backup your data first.  You also cannot use it on your system drive and boot with ReFS.

How to get Office 2016 Updates

Want to get updates for your Office 365?

Open Word 2016 or another one of your office products.  Click on file, then Account – you’ll now see Update Options on the right.  Click the Update Options and select Update Now.

Windows 10 not updating

After the Anniversary edition came out for Windows 10, many people have had the probelm of updating their OS.

What are some of the fixes?

Apparently KB3189866 will hang the OS.

Download and apply this KB (full download of the KB is listed below).  This will update your OS and keep the downloads smooth.

Which one do you download?  If you right click on Your-PC, you’ll be able to see if you are 64bit or 32bit.

KB3189866 x64 (431MB)

KB3189866 x86 (255MB)

Advancing your career with certifications or a degree

TCAT Shelbyville - Technical Blog

The great thing about vocational and technical education is usually the cost,  instructor(s) who have worked in the industry, true hands on, a quick classroom to career time and a higher than average placement rate.    So once you graduate are you done with education?  No.

Today education comes in every format you can think of and with Information Technology, you can’t stop learning or your career can grow stagnant.   With seminars, webinars, MOCCs, supplemental college courses and more,  every topic imaginable can be found at colleges and universities worldwide.

While MOCCs are sometimes controversial, many employers are taking the certificates offered by these institutions.    If you have never taken one, I challenge you to do just that.  They are excellent learning tools and the standards are becoming higher.

Several months ago I took a course at Coursera from the Royal Holloway: University of London – Malicious Software…

View original post 515 more words

A visit I can count on…

TCAT Shelbyville - Technical Blog

Since the mid 90’s I’ve worked in a full-time class and I’ve taught a night class in information technology.  It’s an arduous job working 70 hours a week.  But there’s something I can always count on.  I can always count on a visit from one of our best students.

Several years ago a graduate, Avondale Hutson-Fowler, was in our class.   She worked a full-time job and went to school while being a mom.  Avondale is an Air Force veteran who now works in information technology.

Avondale graduated in the spring of 2011.  Since her graduation, she’s worked help desk and was promoted quickly into her current position as a IT Security Account Administrator with a major contractor near Nashville, Tennessee.  Avondale has unconditionally supported our program.   She’s been a cornerstone in the promotion of technology and IT news while promoting the CIT program through social media.   She’s one of the…

View original post 154 more words

Warning! This Cross-Platform Malware Can Hack Windows, Linux and OS X Computers

Unlike specially crafted malware specifically developed to take advantage of Windows operating system platform, cyber attackers have started creating cross-platform malware for wider exploitation.

Source: Warning! This Cross-Platform Malware Can Hack Windows, Linux and OS X Computers

Warning! This Cross-Platform Malware Can Hack Windows, Linux and OS X Computers

Unlike specially crafted malware specifically developed to take advantage of Windows operating system platform, cyber attackers have started creating cross-platform malware for wider exploitation.
Source: Warning! This Cross-Platform Malware Can Hack Windows, Linux and OS X Computers

Microsoft Office Opening Slowly?

If you are using Microsoft Office and you notice that often large PowerPoint presentations open slow, Word opens slow or Outlook hesitates, try disabling Hardware Graphics Acceleration.

1. Start PowerPoint or Word.
2. Click file and select Options.
3. Click Advanced.
4. Select the Disable hardware graphics acceleration check box. …
5. Click OK.
6. Exit MS Office and open the document again.

You can also try to compress each picture to reduce the file size.

It takes time in the trenches of help desk

That’s right, you’ve earned your way through technical school or college only to land at a help desk job.   Take a second and look at the logic behind this. IT professionals over the years have landed at help desk and the successful ones deliver quality service to the end users.   IT Managers, Directors or CIOs just can’t put someone in their server room without adequate experience troubleshooting computers.  An understanding of the operations of your organization starts by being exposed to all of the software and inner workings of the company.     Can you land that job in the server room or as a network admin?  Sure.   Reality is that it is rare.    It takes time, trust and experience.

When surveyed, IT professionals have a deeper respect for that manager that has done their time at help desk.   Many professionals do their time in this role and elect it as a career.   If you do your time and continue your education by getting more certifications, going to seminars and electe to attend a higher educational institution, you can work your way up the IT ladder.

The stress of help desk is different than any other stress.    While you have to put on your happy face and deliver quality service to your clients, it all starts at this level.    The redundancy of calls,  end-users who are frequent callers and the general grind of problems coming at you that appears to never end causes this stress.

IT managers and upper management in this field take notice of the people who excel at customer service.   IT is a service based career and help desk is your starting point for your career.    Ironically problems in this field go up to the higher level IT professional and solutions have to be pushed down in order to keep everyone happy.

Being positive and upbeat while you do your time in the trenches will bring that recognition to you.   It also allows you to place this experience on a resume for future jobs and positions in your organization or with different companies.

After decades in this career, I can point out hundreds of students who kept this attitude and later in their careers became more successful in IT.   There seems to be a sense of entitlement going through the IT field.   See help desk as a starting point to move up.     What about an example of someone who worked their way up?

One such example is Eric Canneer.   Eric started his career in IT as level I help desk and performed well while keeping a positive outlook.   During his career he never stopped learning and later was hired by one of the world’s largest logistics company and now manages their wireless globally.    While Eric is one example, hundreds of more examples come to mind.    I’ve had students who 95% of the time start help desk and over a period of one or two years worked their way to higher level positions in some of the country’s Fortune 500 companies and in every type of business and industry you can think of.

Are you truly ever out of a help desk position?   No.   You may not have that grind of answering phones daily but you are trying to please the end user and the problems never go away.   With a society that thrives on technology, you have to accept that innovation and  new technology brings on new problems and headaches.

Handling the stress of help desk and continuing your career in IT-

• Accept the fact that you are in customer service regardless of your position
• Obtain higher level certifications
• Continue your education with a higher-ed institution – Don’t take an IT job too soon and don’t leave school before getting your diplomas and certifications.
• Realize that the customer is venting at the situation and not you
• Help other IT personnel and work as a team
• Ignore any negative personnel who bring you down
• IT is in the top ten growing industries and the opportunities are greater than any other career
• Find ways after hours to relax and get away

Information Technology will continue to grow and positions will continually be added in this field.   Less than five years ago, we didn’t truly have mobile computing experts that took care of a field that is growing at an unprecedented rate.   Become an expert in several fields and prove yourself not only to your managers and company but prove yourself to you.

Use stordiag.exe to test your storage

Want to check your hard disk / solid state disk for errors?  Use stordiag to test your storage.

First run stordiag.exe -out c:\users\yourusername\desktop\stordiag

Next run –
stordiag.exe -collectEtw -checkFSConsistency -out c:\users\yourusername\desktop\stordiag

This will return logs, registry entries and other information about your storage devices. Here’s an example of the ChkDsk C.txt file

The type of the file system is NTFS.
Volume label is ACER.

WARNING! /F parameter not specified.
Running CHKDSK in read-only mode.

Stage 1: Examining basic file system structure …
Progress: 0 of 506880 done; Stage: 0%; Total: 0%; ETA: 0:24:23 Progress: 5489 of 506880 done; Stage: 1%; Total: 0%; ETA: 0:24:19 . Progress: 22529 of 506880 done; Stage: 4%; Total: 1%; ETA: 0:24:01 .. Progress: 40705 of 506880 done; Stage: 8%; Total: 2%; ETA: 0:00:49 … Progress: 56654 of 506880 done; Stage: 11%; Total: 3%; ETA: 0:00:47 Progress: 70657 of 506880 done; Stage: 13%; Total: 4%; ETA: 0:00:46 . Progress: 106241 of 506880 done; Stage: 20%; Total: 7%; ETA: 0:00:36 .. Progress: 130561 of 506880 done; Stage: 25%; Total: 9%; ETA: 0:00:33 … Progress: 155194 of 506880 done; Stage: 30%; Total: 10%; ETA: 0:00:32 Progress: 179457 of 506880 done; Stage: 35%; Total: 12%; ETA: 0:00:30 . Progress: 198469 of 506880 done; Stage: 39%; Total: 14%; ETA: 0:00:28 .. Progress: 230145 of 506880 done; Stage: 45%; Total: 16%; ETA: 0:00:27 … Progress: 253685 of 506880 done; Stage: 50%; Total: 18%; ETA: 0:00:27 Progress: 290507 of 506880 done; Stage: 57%; Total: 20%; ETA: 0:00:24 . Progress: 310909 of 506880 done; Stage: 61%; Total: 22%; ETA: 0:00:23 .. Progress: 315402 of 506880 done; Stage: 62%; Total: 22%; ETA: 0:00:24 … Progress: 327048 of 506880 done; Stage: 64%; Total: 24%; ETA: 0:00:24 Progress: 374742 of 506880 done; Stage: 73%; Total: 27%; ETA: 0:00:22 . Progress: 387069 of 506880 done; Stage: 76%; Total: 28%; ETA: 0:00:22 .. Progress: 408831 of 506880 done; Stage: 80%; Total: 30%; ETA: 0:00:22 … Progress: 419780 of 506880 done; Stage: 82%; Total: 30%; ETA: 0:00:22 Progress: 466945 of 506880 done; Stage: 92%; Total: 33%; ETA: 0:00:20 . Progress: 506880 of 506880 done; Stage: 100%; Total: 36%; ETA: 0:00:19 .. 506880 file records processed.
File verification completed.
Progress: 20875 of 20875 done; Stage: 100%; Total: 27%; ETA: 0:00:27 … 20875 large file records processed.
Progress: 0 of 0 done; Stage: 99%; Total: 27%; ETA: 0:00:27 0 bad file records processed.

Stage 2: Examining file name linkage …
Progress: 7632 of 597056 done; Stage: 1%; Total: 28%; ETA: 0:00:27 . Progress: 56851 of 597056 done; Stage: 9%; Total: 30%; ETA: 0:00:27 .. Progress: 132181 of 597056 done; Stage: 22%; Total: 34%; ETA: 0:00:23 … Progress: 211237 of 597056 done; Stage: 35%; Total: 38%; ETA: 0:00:20 Progress: 282810 of 597056 done; Stage: 47%; Total: 42%; ETA: 0:00:19 . Progress: 335703 of 597056 done; Stage: 56%; Total: 45%; ETA: 0:00:17 .. Progress: 405459 of 597056 done; Stage: 67%; Total: 48%; ETA: 0:00:15 … Progress: 479396 of 597056 done; Stage: 80%; Total: 52%; ETA: 0:00:14 Progress: 506897 of 597056 done; Stage: 84%; Total: 56%; ETA: 0:00:12 . Progress: 509587 of 597056 done; Stage: 85%; Total: 56%; ETA: 0:00:12 .. Progress: 512980 of 597056 done; Stage: 85%; Total: 57%; ETA: 0:00:12 … Progress: 515574 of 597056 done; Stage: 86%; Total: 57%; ETA: 0:00:12 Progress: 519741 of 597056 done; Stage: 87%; Total: 58%; ETA: 0:00:12 . Progress: 521352 of 597056 done; Stage: 87%; Total: 59%; ETA: 0:00:12 .. Progress: 523285 of 597056 done; Stage: 87%; Total: 59%; ETA: 0:00:12 … Progress: 524250 of 597056 done; Stage: 87%; Total: 59%; ETA: 0:00:12 Progress: 525793 of 597056 done; Stage: 88%; Total: 60%; ETA: 0:00:12 . Progress: 528480 of 597056 done; Stage: 88%; Total: 60%; ETA: 0:00:12 .. Progress: 529283 of 597056 done; Stage: 88%; Total: 60%; ETA: 0:00:12 … Progress: 530812 of 597056 done; Stage: 88%; Total: 62%; ETA: 0:00:12 Progress: 532525 of 597056 done; Stage: 89%; Total: 63%; ETA: 0:00:12 . Progress: 533879 of 597056 done; Stage: 89%; Total: 65%; ETA: 0:00:12 .. Progress: 536501 of 597056 done; Stage: 89%; Total: 65%; ETA: 0:00:12 … Progress: 538975 of 597056 done; Stage: 90%; Total: 65%; ETA: 0:00:12 Progress: 541850 of 597056 done; Stage: 90%; Total: 66%; ETA: 0:00:12 . Progress: 543634 of 597056 done; Stage: 91%; Total: 69%; ETA: 0:00:12 .. Progress: 545745 of 597056 done; Stage: 91%; Total: 69%; ETA: 0:00:11 … Progress: 549756 of 597056 done; Stage: 92%; Total: 70%; ETA: 0:00:11 Progress: 551653 of 597056 done; Stage: 92%; Total: 70%; ETA: 0:00:11 . Progress: 597056 of 597056 done; Stage: 100%; Total: 70%; ETA: 0:00:11 .. 597056 index entries processed.
Index verification completed.
Progress: 1 of 0 done; Stage: 99%; Total: 71%; ETA: 0:00:11 … Progress: 0 of 0 done; Stage: 99%; Total: 71%; ETA: 0:00:11 0 unindexed files scanned.
Progress: 0 of 0 done; Stage: 99%; Total: 71%; ETA: 0:00:11 . 0 unindexed files recovered to lost and found.

Stage 3: Examining security descriptors …
Security descriptor verification completed.
Progress: 5 of 5 done; Stage: 100%; Total: 99%; ETA: 0:00:00 .. 45089 data files processed.
CHKDSK is verifying Usn Journal…
Progress: 0 of 4340 done; Stage: 0%; Total: 99%; ETA: 0:00:00 … Progress: 4340 of 4340 done; Stage: 100%; Total: 92%; ETA: 0:00:01 35554536 USN bytes processed.
Usn Journal verification completed.

Windows has scanned the file system and found no problems.
No further action is required.

210265706 KB total disk space.
85477192 KB in 194156 files.
164792 KB in 45090 indexes.
4 KB in bad sectors.
628894 KB in use by the system.
65536 KB occupied by the log file.
123994824 KB available on disk.

4096 bytes in each allocation unit.
52566426 total allocation units on disk.
30998706 allocation units available on disk.

 

Windows 10 – Highlighting and copy issues with mouse

Have problems highlighting and copying information after upgrading to Windows 10?
Try these steps-

• Click on the Windows logo
• Go to Settings
• Open the mouse & touchpad setting
• Turn off Scroll inactive windows
• Click on Advanced Mouse Options
• Adjust double click speed – (usually turning this setting down will help)
• 

An interview with Shannon Morse, Internet Media Host & Producer

Image Source

Over the next several months we plan on interviewing technical experts and leaders across the globe to find out how they got started in the technology industry, what their favorite operating systems are, information security trends and more.

This month we reached out (by email) to Shannon Morse, a leading technical expert in consumer technology, internet security and just about anything technical you can imagine.  Check out her website and don’t forget to go over to Hak5 for information security videos,  how-tos and a whole lot more.

Steve-. How long have you been in technology and what got you interested in pursuing tech as a career?

Shannon -I started becoming interested in technology as a hobby when I was a small child. My father would take me to local computer shops and he would let me watch him build computers and install software. In my early teenage years, my dad allowed me to build my first personal computer with his help, which really got me interested in learning more about the internals of PC technology and understanding it as a whole. As I grew older, I developed other interests such as working in theater as an actor and working in the service industry, but I always had an inclination towards technology. When I went to college I focused on another passion of mine – running a hospitality or restaurant business – so it wasn’t until I met the Hak5 crew in 2006 or 2007 that I really saw the ability to mold not only my love for theater and entertaining but also my love for technology into a real life job, and this job didn’t exist when I started college several years prior. I’ve been with Hak5 for almost a decade, and over that course of time I’ve also worked with many other podcast networks such as Discovery Digital Networks (an online subset of the Discovery Channel company), TWiT, and Sony. I’m grateful that I’m able to do what I do now as an online media presenter as it gives me the chance to continually learn and develop my own education.

Steve– You are very proficient and an expert on nearly all operating systems.  What is your favorite OS and why?

Shannon-First off, thank you for saying that! I’ve worked hard not to monopolize myself into one operating system or mobile OS, because I think it’s important to understand them all. My current favorite desktop operating system is Linux because of it’s wide use in smaller devices and availability. I am currently using Ubuntu, but am proficient with Kali, Mint, and some other Linux distros. I find it fascinating that Linux OS’s are used to operate important infrastructure as well as run tiny Raspberry Pi-like PC’s for home use. I love a Linux distro’s ability to be customized to a users preference but still be user friendly as well, while still being free to run. For mobile, I prefer Android. I enjoy the flexibility of Android OS and it’s usefulness for OTG testing (such as the ability to use it with an external radio adapter for software defined radio).

Steve– With security being a ‘hot’ topic in today’s world, what applications and skills do you see as being needed for IT personnel with medium and large companies?

Shannon-Security should always be a hot topic, not just a fad that shows up because it hits a few news articles online. I feel that security should be a leading focus of any business that works with users on a day-to-day basis, specially when user data is a part of that business entity. I think that it’s important for IT personnel to get proper training in logical security and privacy when first joining a company because a human being is the first and most often point of failure when it comes to breaches in a network. Having an understanding of networking, simple reconnaissance and ability to recognize attack vectors would be extremely useful as they would be the first people in a company to notice something and report it to an Information Security professional. Specific tools an IT professional would use would vary depending on their company, but I’ve found some such as Wireshark, Netcat, NMap, and the WiFi Pineapple (a Hak5 branded device) would be crucial, and surprisingly simple to use even for newcomers.

Steve– What do you recommend for girls/women in tech to stay ahead of the curve and on-track for a technical career?

Shannon -First and foremost would be to not let yourself be singled out in the work force as “the woman”, as if that is your only bargaining chip. Being a woman in a technical field is definitely tough, because we are often judged on things that do not actually matter for the job (like our makeup, hair, intonations of voice, etc). For the first five years or so with Hak5, I did not speak up for myself very much when being criticized for things that didn’t necessarily matter. But as I’ve become more confident in my own job as an influencer in the infosec community and as someone who believes everyone should be treated fairly, I’ve learned that a part of that job is speaking out against discrimination and being a voice of reason when another voice may not be heard. Bringing ideas to meetings and showing that you have a passion for your job is very important when trying to stay ahead. For anyone, ongoing education in the ever-changing market should be seriously considered.

You can follow Shannon on Twitter.

Thank you Shannon!

Fixwin 10 – An excellent tool from the Windows Club

Have a few errors with Windows 10? Here’s an excellent tool to get you back on track.  The Windows Club comes through again.

Information and download is found here.

Features –

Here is the list of fixes offered by FixWin 10 for Windows 10.

File Explorer

– Recycle Bin icon is missing from Desktop
– WerMgr.exe or WerFault.exe Application Error
– Folder Options is missing from Control Panel or has been disabled by administrator or malware
– Fix Recycle Bin when its icon doesn’t refresh automatically
– Explorer doesn’t start on startup in Windows
– Thumbnails not showing in File Explorer
– Reset Recycle Bin. Recycle Bin is corrupted.
– CD drive or DVD drive isn’t recognised by Windows or other programs
– “Class not registered” error in File Explorer or Internet Explorer
– “Show hidden files, folders and drives” option isn’t shown in Folder Options

Internet & Connectivity

– Right Click Context Menu of Internet Explorer is disabled
– Cannot connect to internet. There’s some problem in Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
– Problem regarding DNS resolution. Fix it by clearing DNS resolver cache
– Long list of failed and installed updates. Clear Windows Update History
– Problem with Windows Firewall settings. Reset Windows Firewall Configuration
– Reset Internet Explorer To Default Configuration.
– Runtime errors are appearing in Internet Explorer while surfing
– Optimize Internet Explorer maximum connections per server to download more than two files at the same time
– Internet Options are missing in Settings under “Advanced” tab of “Internet Options” dialog box
– Repair Winsock (Reset Catalog)

Windows 10

– Having problem downloading Apps from Store. Clear and reset Store cache
– The Application wasn’t installed from Windows Store. Error Code: 0x8024001e
– Windows Store apps not opening. Re-register all apps
– Reset Settings app. Settings doesn’t launch z
– Disable OneDrive. OneDrive runs in background and syncs huge amount of files.
– Repair corrupt Windows Component Store z
– Start Menu doesn’t work or doesn’t open in Windows 10
– Wi-fi doesn’t work after upgrading to Windows 10
– Windows Updates stuck downloading updates after upgrading

System Tools

– “Task Manager has been disabled by your administrator” or Task Manager Option is disabled
– “Command Prompt has been disabled by your administrator” and can’t run any cmd or batch file
– “Registry Editor has been disabled by your administrator”
– Enable MMC Snap-ins. Some viruses disable Snap-ins which prevents Group Policy (gpedit.msc) and similar services to run
– Reset Windows Search to defaults. This will fix issues related to Windows Search
– “System Restore has been disabled by your administrator. Please contact your system administrator.”
– Device Manager isn’t working properly and not showing any devices.
– Repair Windows Defender. Reset all Windows Defender settings to default.
– Action Center and Windows Security Center don’t recognise installed AntiVirus or Firewall or still identifies old AV as installed.
– Reset Windows Security settings
– Under a seperate Advanced System Information tab, you can seee specifications of your system like number of threads in processor, number of logical processors, maximum display resolution, maximum refresh rate, etc.

Troubleshooters

The following built-in Windows troubleshooters can be launched directly from FixWin:

– Playing Audio
– Recording Audio
– Power
– Printer
– Shared Folders
– Homegroup
– Internet Explorer Performance
– Internet Explorer Safety
– Windows Media Player Settings
– Windows Media Player Library
– Windows Media Player DVD
– Internet Connections
– Hardware and Devices
– Incoming Connections
– System Maintenance
– Network Adapter
– Windows Update
– Search & Indexing

Plus: Links to troubleshooters that fix:

1. Mail & Calendar apps crashes
2. Settings app does not launch
3. Windows 10 Printer troubleshooter
4. Windows 10 Store apps troubleshooter

Additional fixes:

– Enable Hibernate. Hibernate option is missing from Shutdown options
– Restore the Sticky Notes delete warning dialog box
– Aero Snap, Aero Peek or Aero Shake isn’t working
– Fix Corrupted Desktop Icons. Fix and rebuild corrupted icon cache.
– Taskbar jump list is missing or doesn’t store MRU file list
– Notifications have been disabled
– Windows Script Host access is disabled on this machine
– Office documents do not open after upgrading to Windows 10
– The recovery image cannot be written. Error code – 0x8004230c
– Windows Media Player shows following error: “An internal application error has occurred.”

FREE Printable USGS PDF Quads

Use topographical maps?  Go hiking or are you with an organization that uses maps?  National Geographic has free printable Quads.  Link

Buzzing – Static noise after upgrading to Windows 10

Have a buzzing or random static noise after upgrading to Windows 10?

Here’s a link to help resolve this issue.

How to backup your computer, your Windows Key and to create a recovery drive to troubleshoot your computer – Windows 7/8.1/10

Step One

Find your Windows Product Key!  This is important in the event you have to reload Windows.  Use NirSoft’s ProduKey to find your key.  Download from Here. (Thanks Rick at What’s On My PC for this Tip)

Step Two

Download the ISO from Microsoft and create a Windows DVD (Operating System) from Here.   Know your Version.  You can right click on This-PC and find it

After the Media Creation Tool Download, run it and save the ISO for safe keeping (Make a DVD or put on a flash drive.

Put the ISO and Key in a place for SAFE KEEPING.

Downloading your version from the tool (below).

Burn the ISO to a DVD (Note: You can also use a blank 4 gb flash drive)

This is used with the key in the even you want to reinstall or repair Windows.

Step Three

Backup your important files and do this on a regular basis.  It is great to have an external USB drive to move your pictures, documents, spreadsheets, pdfs and other documents to the drive (Simply copy and paste or use Cobian Backup or other freeware solutions to do this).  Here’s some tips from Rick.

You can also use BackBlaze to backup files so that they are away from your home or office. (Backblaze is unlimited and only $50 annually).  Your files are encrypted and SAFE.

Step Four

Need a recovery drive to troubleshoot startups?  Here’s how to make a drive so that you can boot and troubleshoot why Windows is not starting up.

In Windows, type recovery.  Next, click on the recovery app.  Insert a 8 or 16 GB USB (Blank).  Windows will format the drive and any information you have on the drive will be deleted.   This will NOT backup your data!   It is import to always backup your data so that you will have it in the event your computer truly crashes.

If you view what is on the drive now, you will see the recover has created a bootable drive for you to troubleshoot your computer in the event is does not start up.

So what do you do if Windows doesn’t start?   Insert your USB recovery drive and use the tools to troubleshoot startup.

What if it really crashes?  Use your DVD you made to reinstall Windows and recover your files from your backups.  You may have to reinstall software such as Office or anything you may have installed.

Open a lot of tabs in Chrome? Is your computer sluggish? Here’s what you can do

If you are an internet surfer and open a ton of tabs, you may notice that your computer has become sluggish.   Many times this can be from using a lot of memory usage (caused by a website) in Chrome.  Here’s what you can do if you don’t want to lose where you are at.

Hit the Shift + Esc key.

This will bring up the information about each tab in Chrome.   See which tab is using the most memory and highlight it.  Click on End Process. Close the process window.

You can now use the history (Ctrl + H) option to open the tab you closed if you want to go back to the website you closed.  This will often free up memory in Chrome.

Cannot reset winsock, isatap yellow exclamation, no wireless or internet

A reminder that IT can be tough

TCAT Shelbyville - Technical Blog

Have a wireless card that doesn’t see the wireless?  Does checking the Device Manager show a yellow exclamation mark on the isatap or Teredo Tunneling Pseudo Interface?

Mickey and I tried everything on someone’s computer and we couldn’t delete the wireless or other networking adapters above that had a problem.   The error, it turns out can be from multiple areas.   We found someone on the internet who doesn’t want any credit.  So to that ‘person’  we say thanks and we owe you.

Always backup your computer before performing advanced commands.

Steps

1. Load the latest driver for the wireless or Ethernet card.
2. Reboot if necessary
3. Go to the properties of the nic card with a problem.  Uncheck IPv6 protocol.   You can check this later after the repair. Close the properties Windows
4. Go to the Device Manager
5. Double click on the isatap with a yellow exclamation, click update driver…

View original post 250 more words

Download the Windows 10 Anniversary tool here

Want the Anniversary update to Windows 10?  Updates not showing it ready?  Follow the link below and click the Download Button.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/12387/windows-10-update-history

Make sure you go back and clean the Windows.old folder.  Use the disk cleanup tool under This-PC.   Simply right click your HDD, and select properties.   Then click disk cleanup.  Double check for previous versions of Windows.

When engineers don’t think about the technicians

Recently my niece dropped her laptop and the hard drive stopped working.   Normally an easy fix, I looked for the access panel for the hard drive so that I could replace it.   What? No access panel?  Oh, easy fix, lets rip the laptop apart, remove the motherboard and every screw so that I can now find the hard drive mounted and attached to the bottom of the motherboard.  Do you think any home user could perform this task?   Oh, and the screws were so tight you have  to hold a screw driver on the screw and use pliers to turn it.