windows 10

Infopackets Reader Jerry K. writes: " Dear Dennis, I've read that the Windows 10 free upgrade ends at the end of this year. I have Windows 7 on my main PC and and my wife has Windows 8 on her laptop. In all, I find Windows 7 easier to use. Can we ... continue using Windows 7 and 8 indefinitely? Can you give me a few good reasons why I should get the free upgrade? " My response: I have been receiving a lot of questions lately similar to this, so I will try and answer this as best I can. First let's address your first question: no, you cannot continue using Windows 7 or 8 indefinitely (at least, ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Jenna R. writes: " Dear Dennis, I installed Google Drive on my system a while ago but it stopped working; I reinstalled the program only to find that Google Drive has been replaced with ' Google Backup and Sync '. Now when I plug ... in a USB thumb drive to my computer, I see this annoying popup message in the lower right hand corner of my screen asking if I want to backup my photos. This also happens when I plug in my smartphone. Despite clicking ' Remember my choice for this device' and 'Not now' (pic), it never remembers that I don't want to use this feature. It's incredibly ... (view more)

The final route to getting a free upgrade to Windows 10 will officially end on December 31, 2017. That's when Microsoft has decided to ditch a special program that many users have been using as a free upgrade loophole. Officially home users could ... only get the free upgrade (from Windows 7 or 8.1) between July 2016 and July 2017 - the one year after the new system launched. That meant avoiding the standalone price of $119 for the Home edition or $199 for the Professional Edition. No Proof Needed For Loophole However, eagle-eyed users noted after this date it was still possible to upgrade by ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Steve P. writes: " Dear Dennis, I have a question regarding the Microsoft policy to have Windows 10 reboot after an update automatically. Oftentimes the automatic reboots cause me to lose my work (example: open documents, open ... tabs on my browser, certain folders open, etc). I would prefer to have it so that Windows 10 doesn't reboot on updates. I understand the policy to reboot on update is forced Windows 10 users but can this be prevented? " Update 20200701 : The script below now works with Windows 10 1909 and Windows 10 2004 branches. My response: You can stop Windows 10 ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Steve T. writes: " Dear Dennis, I am using a Windows 10 PC. This past weekend, my grandchild made some changes to my PC and now every time there is sound, the screen flashes. I have searched and searched how to fix this but I am ... cannot seem to find a solution. Can you tell me how I can make windows 10 stop flashing on sound? " My response: I have not heard of this issue before but suspected it may have something to do with the "Ease of Access" mechanism which has been built into Windows as far back as Windows XP. According to Microsoft, Ease of Access "helps make your PC ... (view more)

The latest major update to Windows 10 starts rolling out to the general public this week. Some of the most useful changes will be behind the scenes, but there will be the first hints in a longer-term program to revamp the way the system looks on ... screen. The "Fall Creators Update" is the latest of the twice-yearly major Windows 10 updates that add new features. That's in contrast to the more frequent updates that fix performance and security problems. As usual, it's been available to people in Microsoft's testing programs before this roll out. Windows 10 Fall Creators Update will be a ... (view more)

Infopackets Ready Sally G. writes: " Dear Dennis, I just bought a new Windows 10 laptop and the touchpad scroll does not appear to be working. On my old Vista laptop, I had a scroll bar on the touchpad (on the far right), but the new Windows 10 ... laptop doesn't have this feature. Normally when I open a PDF file I need to zoom in and out. I would do this on the old laptop by pressing CTRL on my keyboard and using the scroll bar on the touchpad. On this laptop, I am at a complete loss. Can you tell me how I can fix my touchpad scroll? " My response: Each laptop manufacturer has their own way of ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Sarah H. writes: " Dear Dennis, A few days ago, my PC got stuck updating Windows 10 (for over 30 minutes), so I pulled the power cord out. After that, Windows wouldn't boot to the desktop. It would give me blue screen of death ... (BSOD), then reboot, then BSOD, ad infinitum. I knew it was stuck in a reboot loop, so I decided to install Windows 10 again. During the Windows 10 setup, it asks me to select where to install Windows. I selected the C drive, but I get an error message that says: ' Windows cannot be installed to this disk. The selected disk is of the GPT partition ... (view more)

Microsoft says it won't add any new features or devices for Windows 10 Mobile. It's a sign that hopes Windows 10 would revive the company's smartphone presence have largely failed. While what was then called Windows Mobile was once technically the ... most common smartphone operating system, it faded behind Apple's iOS and Google's Android as smartphones became more widely used. The attempt to relaunch under "Windows Phone" failed to make a breakthrough, and the system fell well under a one percent market share. The most recent figures suggest just one in every three thousand phones ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'Giselle' writes: " Dear Dennis, Recently my Windows 10 computer upgraded to the 'Creators Edition', and now the Windows 10 'Photos' app has magically replaced the 'Windows Photo Viewer'. I absolutely can't stand the 'Photos' app ... and I want Windows Photo Viewer back on my system! I have tried going to Control Panel -> Default Programs to change the settings but Windows Photo Viewer is nowhere to be found! Can you help? " My response: I also noticed that the Windows Photo Viewer went missing with the Creators Edition update. Windows Photo Viewer has been a staple in ... (view more)