Long gone, but now back… sort of. :)
In general, “older laptops” were mostly 32-bit systems, which mathematically max out at 4GB of RAM. If the laptop has less RAM than that, I’d consider starting there, to bring the laptop to its full memory complement. Because it’s an “older system,” you probably can buy RAM for cheap. If the laptop is already maxed…
This week’s new AskWoody Plus newsletter is out; and for a while, you can read it for free, here. Here’s what’s inside issue 16.10.0: LANGALIST: Win10’s new winver alternative contains a ton of useful and easy-to-access info about your PC’s security, hardware, and operating system. Plus: Is Macecraft’s jv16 PowerTools still recommended? And, why is a reader’s external drive suspending/sleeping while busy…
Reader Steven Clifford Cohen asks: “I disabled the driver for the camera on my laptop. I also put tape over it. Is that enough?” Enough to prevent video-based snooping, sure. But opaque tape alone would do that; a camera can’t see through an opaque object, period. However, if you’re really worried about remote-snooping, consider the…
In “What’s the cheapest way to network an external hard drive?” I suggested a fully-functional, zero-cost option: Connect the drive to any PC that’s already on the network, and use the OS’s built-in network sharing function (e.g. Win10’s Give access to/Advanced Sharing/ option) to let others access the drive. Several readers had good follow-on comments…
This week’s new AskWoody Plus newsletter is out; and for a while, you can read it for free, here. Here’s what’s inside issue 16.9.0: LANGALIST: Don’t put all your admin eggs in one basket! Losing administrator privileges to your PC will, among other things, leave you stranded — unable to make the repairs needed to restore full access….
The column below was originally published in the May 14, 2015 , Windows Secrets newsletter. Today, it supplements a new column, scheduled for the March 11, 2019 AskWoody Plus Newsletter, focused on what to do if an error causes you to lose all admin privileges on your own PC. Click on over to read the new…
The column below was originally published in the May 10, 2012 Windows Secrets. Today, it supplements a new column scheduled for the March 11, 2019, AskWoody Plus Newsletter, focused on what to do if an error causes you to lose all admin privileges on your own PC. Click on over to read the new column!…
The column below was originally published in the June 23, 2016 Windows Secrets. Today, it supplements a new column, scheduled for the March 11, 2019 AskWoody Plus Newsletter, focused on what to do if an error causes you to lose all admin privileges on your own PC. Click on over to read the new column!…
The column below was originally published in the August 18, 2016, Windows Secrets newsletter. Today, it supplements a new column, scheduled for the March 11, 2019 AskWoody Plus Newsletter, focused on what to do if an error causes you to lose all admin privileges on your own PC. Click on over to read the new column!…
Closing the lid on a furiously-churning PC is kind of asking for trouble. Depending on how your laptop/notebook is set up, closing the lid might put the system into sleep/suspend mode; or hybrid sleep mode; or hibernation; or could invoke full power-off. If closing the lid kills power to the PC, you could end up…