Infopackets Reader Fred W. writes: " Dear Dennis, Thanks for your article on how to play games in 5.1 surround sound . I own the Asus Xonar DX (same as you) and when I first set it up, I could play games in 5.1 surround sound using my optical ... (toslink) cable. I knew this was true because my Harmon Kardon 144 receiver would say 'Dolby Digital' along with each speaker box activated on the display. This meant the receiver was receiving a true 5.1 signal. Recently, Windows 10 updated and now the only sound signal I get on my receiver is Dolby Pro Logic, which is a 2 channel signal up-converted to ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Bob J. writes: " Dear Dennis, I recently built a new computer with the Ryzen 2700x CPU (8 cores, 16 threads) and it's screaming fast. I also purchased an EVGA Nvidia 2080 video card to play games. Everything works great, however ... the games are not playing in 5.1 surround sound. I have researched this issue online and can't seem to find a straightforward answer. Can you please tell me how can I play my games in 5.1 surround sound? " My response: I have dealt with this before and there are two main approaches to resolving this issue. How to Fix: Can't Play Games in 5.1 Audio ... (view more)

Microsoft has announced several steps towards a world without passwords. It not so much a revolution at this stage, compared to a few measures towards convenience. The changes involve the way people login to Microsoft services such as the online ... edition of Office, Skype, Edge browser and the Xbox Live gaming service (on PCs) - all of which work via a single Microsoft account. Microsoft is building on "Windows Hello," an existing system for logging into a Windows 10 PC using a PIN code, facial recognition or a fingerprint reader, rather than relying on a password. Physical Keys An ... (view more)

A Florida court has ruled that "Facebook friends" don't count as real friendships. The decision followed claims that it was not possible for a judge to be unbiased, especially if he was a Facebook friend with an attorney in the same case. The ruling ... came from the Florida Supreme Court, which upheld previous rulings from lower courts. Both rejected claims that having a "Facebook friend" relationship between the aforementioned parties may result in not having a fair and impartial trial. The argument for the judge being potentially biased was based largely on advise given by ... (view more)

Some users of Apple's iCloud software will be unable to get the latest Windows 10 update right now. It's an example of Microsoft blocking the update rather than causing problems with specific applications. iCloud is the online backup and sync tool ... for Apple devices such as iPhones and iPads. It's aimed at people who have iOS mobile devices but also use a Windows PC. iCloud lets users access Apple services and data such as their email, photos and calendar on both the mobile device and computer. Unfortunately iCloud is the victim of yet another glitch in the October update of Windows 10, one of ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Steve T. writes: " Dear Dennis, I am use Acronis 2016 with Windows 10 to backup my system. Recently I tried to restore my C drive, but the backup failed in the middle of the restore operation. I subsequently tried 3 more backups I ... made earlier in the year but they also failed. This makes me think there is something wrong with the backup drive. I ended up having to reinstall Windows clean on my system to get back up and running. I tried running 'chkdsk' on the backup drive, and it reported that the volume bitmap was incorrect. I followed your guide on ' How to Fix: ChkDsk ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Paul D. writes: " Dear Dennis, I have an external drive I use for backups. The other day I went to restore from backup but it aborted, stating the backup was corrupt. I have since run chkdsk (check disk) on the external drive and ... chkdsk reported that ' The Volume Bitmap is incorrect ' and to 'run chkdsk /scan to find the problems and queue them for repair.' I did that, but chkdsk says ' The shadow copy provider had an error ... A snapshot error occured while scanning this drive .' I have searched the Internet for an answer to this problem but can't figure out how to get ... (view more)

Microsoft has begun rolling out the October 2018 update for Windows 10 for a second time. It doesn't take a much of a look at the calendar to reveal that things went very badly . The release is one of the twice-yearly updates that replace the old ... model of having small updates every month and then a completely new edition of Windows every few years. The October update had a variety of problems including: Key document folders being irretrievable deleted in some cases if they weren't stored in the default disk location. Some computers being completely silenced after the update rolled out an ... (view more)

Samsung is working on TV sets that viewers can control with their brains. It's aimed more at people with disabilities than it is the average lazy viewer. "Project Pontis" research is being conducted with the help of the Center of Neuroprosthetics at ... Switzerland's Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne. The initial aim is for users to be able to change channels and control volume without using a remote control. Some sets and remotes do already allow voice commands, so this is both an alternative for disabled users in general, and a solution for people whose disabilities prevent ... (view more)

A judge says Amazon must hand over recordings from an Echo smart speaker to assist with a stabbing case that left two women dead. It's the first time such a court order has been made without a defendant's permission. The New Hampshire case involved ... two women's bodies being discovered under a porch. A man who knew the boyfriend of one of the victims has been charged with two counts of first degree murder, and has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors say there is probable cause that the device could contain potential evidence which could include "audio recordings of the attack and events that ... (view more)