Recent Posts

76

Living Room / Re: [Breaking News] Cyber Attack cripples UK NHS.

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 14, 2017, 08:25 AM »

It is the faults of the UK and US governments primarily.

It is the US governments fault for legislating that the NSA can snoop on American citizens that ultimately got stolen by/leaked to hackers (which everyone knows is inevitable) - this is going to happen more oftne inthe US and UK and we should all be railing against the decimation of our rights and privacy as citizens.

It is the UK's fault to refusing to fund the necessary upgrades to computer hardware/software in the NHS. It isn't by negligence but a decision not to fund.

When the NHS were building integrated infrastructure across all branches of the NHS everyone knew this would be an inevitable result - to be honest I am surprised it took so long!!

77

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 update screwed dual boot system - STUMPED!!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on May 01, 2017, 06:28 AM »

Sorry I am being dense but I didn't follow most of that - both installations were on MBR format disks.

I currently have 6 hard disks in my system plus an SSD drive (Disk 0 - still labelled Win7ProSSD because I never got round to changing the label to Windows 10)



They are all MBR disks apart from Disk 5 - which is a 3Tb data GPT drive

The system currently books from disk 1 (which was the first drive to have windows installed on it when I built the original system.

The System Reserved folder on disk 1 has a BOOT folder and bootmgr system file

During all the recent messing about I set the Windows 7 (C:) partition active and that now too has a BOOT folder and bootmgr system file

Should I set the System reserved partition as the active partition and remove the extra boot info from C:

Also at some point M: (which is on the GPT drive) also acquired a BOOT/bootmgr setup - I don't know when this happened as the drive was added to the system after the SSD but before I upgraded to Windows 10 on the SSD.

I presume the boot config appeared on M: when I upgraded to Windows 10 but was unaware that had happened.

I am not really that familiar with disk formats and the boot process - how can I best recover the boot system to make Windows 7 on C: the only boot option (which it currently is) using the original boot process - and can I then delete the extra BOOT/bootmgr bits on the other drives.

If at that point I start installing a freshly downloaded Windows 10 onto the formatted/SSD what effect will that have on boot processes?

78

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 update screwed dual boot system - STUMPED!!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on April 29, 2017, 05:24 PM »

Should the windows partition be set to an active partition or should it be the small system partition set to active?

79

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 update screwed dual boot system - STUMPED!!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on April 29, 2017, 04:06 PM »

Thanks - seem to have 'almost' recovered Windows 7 but the windows 10 upgrade via windows update has hosed the SSD completely - files are still readable but there isn't an OS installed on there.

I seem to have a boot folder and bootmgr in that little partition as well as on C: and another hard disk.

I think the one on C: is the one being used

Got to the point where I can't face any more! At some point I will do a clean install!

80

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 update screwed dual boot system - STUMPED!!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on April 29, 2017, 11:18 AM »

Back to square one - just a windows 10 style blue screen saying Boot\BCD is missing or corrupt error 0xc000014c

I have made a Windows 10 recovery CD on my laptop - automated repair hasn't worked so I tried firxmbr, fixboot and rebuildbcd options - it doesn't even find windows 10. No change after that lot

I did the same with a Windows 7 repair disk, automated repair said it was fixed but it wasn't. I even used Microsoft's instructions to backup/delete/rebuild the BCD info which I did only adding the original Windows 7 Ultimate as an option.

I still get the Windows 10 style error screen

What is odd is that the Boot\BCD folder isn't on either of the Windows partitions??? It is on another drive altogether

Any other ideas - I got Windows 7 up and running again once but on restart I was back to the same pale blue screen???

81

General Software Discussion / Windows 10 update screwed dual boot system - STUMPED!!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on April 29, 2017, 07:15 AM »

I 'had' a dual boot system of Windows 7 Ultimate on hard disk and Windows 7 Pro on an SSD!

Windows 7 Ult is my main OS on a large hard disk and I used the free period to install upgrade to Windows 10 on an SSD in dual boot mode to get the free license for future upgrade.

I use Windows 10 on my laptop all the time so rarely on my desktop PC which usually boots into Windows 7.

Dual booting has worked fine and I could use the system properties to set the default operating system (worked fine).

Stupidly yesterday I booted Windows 10 and decided to run Windows update and leave it over night. Because it had a Windows version update to do I switched to automatically boot into Window 10 so it could get on with it while I was asleep.

Got up this morning to a blue screen"DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION"

I rebooted and on restart got missing/damage \Boot\BCD error with error code 0xc000014c

I thought - no big problem and bunged in Windows 10 Recovery CD and booted from that - it failed to find Windows 10 - instead it found Windows 7 Ult (phew) and the legacy Windows 7 Pro folder (Windows.old which is still there from the Windows 10 upgrade).

After a lot of faffing, swearing and stomping around, and in the end using a windows 7 recovery disk, I finally managed to get Windows 7 Ult running again.

Anyone any idea how to fix the Windows 10 installation to dual boot again so that I can try to get it running and updated properly?

I am stumped - almost all the info I can find on dual booting is a mix of Windows and Linux.

To give a bit more description:

When Windows 7 was set as default the 'Select operating system' screen during boot up was the Windows 7 version, but when I switched to Windows 10 default it swapped to the Windows 10 version.

Also no I can find a Boot folder on either drive (hidden or not)

82

Developer's Corner / Re: TempleOS - A Constructive Look.

« Last post by Carol Haynes on April 02, 2017, 06:48 AM »

Interesting - like his video demo

83

Living Room / Re: Removing Spam classification from your mail server

« Last post by Carol Haynes on February 26, 2017, 01:28 PM »

 

84

Living Room / Re: Removing Spam classification from your mail server

« Last post by Carol Haynes on February 26, 2017, 11:42 AM »

I had a similar problem ages ago - the simplest solution is to have multiple IP addresses on your server and when a problem arises and you are sure nothing bad is going on simply ask the data centre to swap to an alternative IP and presto you are clear again.

By the time the problem arises again (and it will) the old IP will be clean again so swap back.

My data centre seems pretty happy with doing this.

85

General Software Discussion / Re: So, what are you now using instead of Outpost?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 09, 2017, 08:33 PM »

I swapped to Windows Defender/Firewall and MBAM - and a dose of common sense. Been using it for years without problem and (famous last words) been safe.

86

General Software Discussion / Re: Affinity (Serif) goes head to head with Photoshop & (maybe) Illustrator

« Last post by Carol Haynes on November 19, 2016, 07:31 AM »

Another one to consider is Xara Designer: http://www.xara.com/uk/designer-pro/

Bit more expensive but includes excellent vector graphics, photo editing and web design all in one package and it supports PhotoShop plugins.

87

Adventures of Baby Cody / Where is Baby Cody

« Last post by Carol Haynes on August 27, 2016, 06:35 PM »

Last post about Baby Cody seems to have been in 2014

Anyone any idea where the little guy is now?

88

General Software Discussion / Re: Help! WINDOWS 10 ----> WINDOWS 7

« Last post by Carol Haynes on June 24, 2016, 06:14 AM »

Start > Settings > Update & Security > Recovery > Go Back to Windows 7

That option should be available for 30 days after upgrade

If that option doesn't exists the only option is a factory restore of your system - or try installing windows 8.1 drivers for your hardware

If you system has a manufacturer's recovery system it shouldn't have been affected by the Windows 10 upgrade unless you re-partitioned.

If all else fails order a set of recovery disks from the manufacturer

89

Living Room / Email problem

« Last post by Carol Haynes on February 15, 2016, 04:37 AM »

I am a bit stumped by a problem for a client - anyone got any ideas

She uses MS Outlook from Office 365 to deal with email via IMAP

It sends and receives email fine everywhere EXCEPT in her own home. At home IMAP syncing appears to complete normally without error but nothing is actually synced.

I visited her home and deleted the IMAP account and set it up again from scratch  and it all worked fine while I was there but next day it wasn't working again.

She has satellite broadband (remote rural area) with a supplied modem and a bought router.

She is using Windows 8.1 with built in MS antivirus and firewall

Given that nothing else is behaving oddly at home I have no idea what is going on.

I have suggested rebooting all the network gear but she says she has done that.

Anyone any ideas? TIA

90

General Software Discussion / Microsoft - Windows 10 aggression

« Last post by Carol Haynes on February 04, 2016, 05:50 AM »

It is official - now Windows 10 is part of the recommended updates for Windows 7

http://www.theverge....e-recommended-update

If you have the default Windows Update settings it will download and start the installation. Ok you can stop it but I can see my life getting busier over the next few weeks.

Not sure if this isn't actually criminal - I have some programmes that are not Windows 10 compatible that I rely on for work - an automated update would really mess with my business!!! Wait for the law suits

If you want to block Windows 10 upgrades altogether create these registry keys (you can create a .reg file in notepad and cut and paste the following - then double click the file and add the entries automatically):

[Select]

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\OSUpgrade]
"AllowOSUpgrade"=dword:00000000
"ReservationsAllowed"=dword:00000000

[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\OSUpgrade\State]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\GWX]
"DisableGWX"=dword:00000001

91

General Software Discussion / Re: Sync Laptop & Desktop

« Last post by Carol Haynes on February 02, 2016, 08:56 PM »

What about Syncback Pro?

Very flexible - you can specify what replaces what (with optional prompts) and also if things are deleted if you delete one device.

http://www.2brightsp.../syncback/sbpro.html

There is a freeware version with reduced features too - but it works well.

Only drawback is it isn't realtime - you can schedule though or run a sync manually.

92

General Software Discussion / Re: Agnitum (makers of Outpost Firewall and AV) has been acquired by Yandex

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 28, 2016, 12:37 PM »

I have given up using anything other than built in security software ... most of it seems to do very little to combat online threats these days which mostly seem to be drive by and don;t get picked up by commercial packages.

I use MSE (on windows 7) and Windows Defender on Windows 8 (and 10 if/when I bother to upgrade)
The built in firewall
And Malwarbytes AntiMalware (lifetime licenses).

IME the latter is the only one that seems to pick anything up these days.

93

Living Room / Re: Holy S***, I've been here for 6 Years!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 28, 2016, 08:58 AM »

Cor can't believe I have been around for 11 years come July - not that my presence has been obvious much in recent times (though I do still read a fair amount and lurk  )

94

Living Room / Re: Very slow internal network speed - any ideas

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 23, 2016, 08:06 PM »

Thanks - with a bit of judicious rejigging of cables I have got the PC back on 14Mbps

You are right though I need to get the whole mess tidied up!

Thank you everyone for the suggestions - really appreciated.

95

Living Room / Re: Very slow internal network speed - any ideas

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 23, 2016, 04:32 AM »

Just updated the driver - has improved it somewhat to about 5Mb (still not the 14 I get on WiFi).

Maybe it is my ethernet setup.

Until recently my ISP only provided about 6Mbps. So maybe the cabling/switch combos I have are slowing things down.

I have an 11n router (ISP supplied) with 4 ports and three of those posts have 4 way switches attached. Not sure if it is entirely Cat 6 or Cat 5 cabling either. Need to do some checking.

Oddly my Sony TV connection (wired) is faster and that goes through one of the switches and powerline adapters!!!

96

Living Room / Re: Very slow internal network speed - any ideas

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 22, 2016, 07:05 PM »

Think it must be a hardware issue - I have installed a dual boot copy of Windows 7 and that gives the same readings.

It is a Realtek built in NIC on a Gigabyte mobo

I will try a USB wifi connection and see if that improves things.

97

Living Room / Re: Very slow internal network speed - any ideas

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 22, 2016, 06:19 PM »

The NIC says it is connected at 1Gb speed

Network isn't flooded - if I close the browser window there doesn't appear to be much traffic happening at all.

Not a problem with the ISP as my phone, internet enabled TV, laptop etc. all report high speeds - just my desktop.

I is connected via a 4 port switch which is connected to the router but I have tried connecting the router direct to the PC and it made no difference at all.

Installed Glasswire Free - can't see anything unusual or suspicious accessing the connection - and no excessive usuage.

98

Living Room / Re: Very slow internal network speed - any ideas

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 22, 2016, 02:08 PM »

Upload speeds seem unaffected.

If it was downloading in the background wouldn't that have a knock on effect for other devices on the network?

99

Living Room / Very slow internal network speed - any ideas

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 22, 2016, 11:10 AM »

My main desktop computer has started accessing the internet slowly - other devices on the network don't seem to be affected.

My laptop gets 14Mbps via wireless but my desktop is getting 1.7Mbps via ethernet.

As far as I can see the driver for ethernet hasn't been updated (well there isn't a roll back option).

I did a bit googling and someone suggested disabling AMD QuickStream but I can't find that on my system (AMD processor, mobo and graphics though)

Anyone got any ideas what is going on or how to fix it?

System Windows 7 x64 - loads of memory and fast CPU graphics

100

General Software Discussion / Re: Is Windows 10 a trojan?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on January 15, 2016, 01:36 PM »

You can block windows 10 and the tray prompts by applying this reg file

-Carol Haynes (January 14, 2016, 12:44 PM)

Thank you Carol, but how do you do the "applying"? Sorry, I'm not versed in this at all.

-dr_andus (January 15, 2016, 04:29 AM)

Download the file - change the extension from .txt to .reg (couldn't upload a reg file) and then double click the file - allow it to make changes and then then restart you computer.

I also disable OS upgrades (not Windows Update).

-Carol Haynes (January 14, 2016, 02:01 PM)

hi Carol,
anyone know how ^this^ is done?

On this machine I only see 'Windows Update' (no relevant settings), and 'Windows anytime Upgrade' (which has no settings at all).
Note: on this and on my other Windows 7 machine I'm not getting any update to windows 10 messages, (possibly because I mostly only ever install security updates).

-tomos (January 15, 2016, 05:20 AM)

It is a registry setting - see the reg file I uploaded up the page


This registry file stops the nagware and the tray icon.