Long gone, but now back… sort of. :)
Quora.com — it’s a question/answer forum of unvetted, wildly-varying content quality — uses software to determine who sees which questions. The Quora software knows I’ve written about operating systems. And it knows I’ve written about Windows in particular. And it knows I’ve written about bugs in software. So, the Quora software sent me this question…
If a PC is running slow despite having reasonably current and otherwise-healthy hardware, then too-little RAM is for sure a prime suspect — especially if the PC was originally configured at the low end of the OS’s RAM recommendations. Of course, if your PC is old, or has an underpowered CPU, or an old spinning-platter…
I recently wrote about my still-working, antique, “made-for-XP” netbook as part of a fun PC-vs-Mac discussion here. Apparently — judging from the popularity of the post — there are a lot of other people out there maintaining seriously old PCs, too! For example, correspondent “twinmustangranchdressing” asks: “What upgrades and modifications have you made to this…
The newest AskWoody Plus newsletter — including a new LangaList item — is now posted on the AskWoody site. You can read it for free. This issue: ASKWOODY.COM EVOLUTION: Coming soon: Windows Secrets archives! BEST OF THE LOUNGE: Upgrade leads to lost disk space LANGALIST: A ‘tip of the iceberg’ problem with RPV DROLL TALES: LABS: Meet the Quantum…
(Answer requested by Aditya Verma) If you really mean “authenticity,” that’s a programmatic question, and I can’t help you: You’ll need to hire someone (or learn yourself) to compare whatever password you’re trying to authenticate to whatever database or algorithm or other authentication-source you specify. But if you mean you want to check how good,…
(Answer requested by Dex Jackson) It’s new? Still under warranty? First, make sure the problem isn’t something obvious: Plug the drive into different, known-working electrical power outlets; and into different, known-working USB ports. If a different PC is available, try temporarily plugging it into that. If it doesn’t work with any known-good USB port or…
(Answer requested by Lorenzo Gramigni) Sure. The system doesn’t care how you provide cooling, as long as you keep the CPU safely within its designed temperature rage. Most PCs use air as the working fluid for heat removal. You can prepare many PC’s for modest overclocking simply by adding a larger heatsink and higher-capacity fans….
(Answer requested by Miguel Camino) Laptop hardware and usage varies hugely, and viruses (which don’t usually damage hardware) have little to do with it. At one end, you might have a cheapo laptop that bangs around in a student’s backpack and lives in a dorm; and at the other, a high-end, graphic-artist’s laptop, professionally maintained…
The newest AskWoody Plus newsletter — including a new LangaList item — is now posted on the AskWoody site. You can read it for free, there. ` This issue: LETTER FROM WOODY: Where we’re headed with AskWoody Plus — an update BEST OF THE LOUNGE: Taming passwords LANGALIST: When software just won’t let go DROLL…
Seriously? A kilo of feathers weighs the same as a kilo of lead, right? A kilo is a kilo, even if the materials have different densities and volumes. Likewise, a TB of storage is a TB of storage, even if the materials change. SSD, HDD, floppy, cassette, punch card, perforated tape — or even written…