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More Win7 to Win10 ‘Free Upgrade’ info

Posted on by Fred Langa

Longtime reader Miles Wolbe send in an information-rich comment to the recent Langa.Com item, Is Windows 10 still free for Windows 7 users? Hi, Fred! Thanks so much for putting tinyapps.org on the map way back in 2001! It’s been a lot of fun maintaining it over the years. I’ve been trying (unsuccessfully) to get…

“About that Optane-based PC…”

Posted on by Fred Langa

LangaList readers are sending in questions about some of the details in the recent three-part series on spec’ing, buying, and setting up a new Optane-equipped PC. Quick recap: In Part One, Taking the plunge with a new PC (AskWoody Plus newsletter 2019-06-03), you saw how I used Windows’ built-in performance tools to identify system bottlenecks,…

July 1 Newsletter now available

Posted on by Fred Langa

This week’s new AskWoody Plus newsletter is being emailed and posted; and (for now) you can read it for free. LANGALIST: A welcome change in Win10’s cleanup tools ON SECURITY: Windows 7: Preparing for an uncertain future BEST OF THE LOUNGE: Detailed steps for changing your email address PATCH WATCH: Putting June’s updates behind us WINDOWS…

“If a power outage occurred while my ASUS PC is updating firmware, will I be able to recover it afterwards?”

Posted on by Fred Langa

(Answer requested by Hong Shen) I have bad news, and not-as-bad news. The bad news is ASUS’ official BIOS update guide, which says in part: “READ THIS BEFORE YOU BRICK YOUR MACHINE!… A failed or interrupted BIOS update process almost always means death for the computer. For this reason, never ever interrupt a BIOS update that is…

“I changed the voltage on my CPU to fix one problem, but it created another. What’s going on?”

Posted on by Fred Langa

Alfredo Sanchez’s full question: “I changed the voltage on my CPU and this fixed my BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death) problem, but now when I reboot the computer it starts up and then powers off and constantly powers on and loses power and tries to power on again.… eventually it will power on. How do…

“Should I let Windows decide which apps will run in the background in battery settings?”

Posted on by Fred Langa

(Answer requested by M. Vincent Holguin) Sure. At least as a starting point, why not? And that’s true of all PC/phone/tablet/TV/etc. system settings. It’s not just a Windows/Power-setting thing. Default settings usually aren’t random. With major vendors and successful products, the default settings are what the vendor has found will work for most of the…

June 24 Newsletter now available

Posted on by Fred Langa

This week’s new AskWoody Plus newsletter is being emailed and posted; and (for now) you can read it for free. In this issue WOODY’S WINDOWS WATCH: Why I recommend pausing Windows updates every month BEST OF THE LOUNGE: Customize the initial Windows 10 installation LANGALIST: Optane disappointment leads to a ‘Plan B’ BEST UTILITIES: Freeware Spotlight — System Information Viewer…

Update on Lithium-ion fire suppression in small devices

Posted on by Fred Langa

After reading “What is the fastest and safest method for putting out a lithium-ion battery fire?“, frequent correspondent “App” wrote: According to the FAA, water is not a last resort…it’s your first choice, because you don’t only want to put the fire out, you want to cool it, too. So a water fire extinguisher does…

“What is the fastest and safest method for putting out a lithium-ion battery fire?”

Posted on by Fred Langa

(Answer requested by Richard Janezic) LI-ion batteries are considered Class B (flammable liquids/gases) fire hazards (info). LI-ion fires are ferocious, and the gases are nasty. If there’s a fire, unplug the device (if plugged in), call the fire department, and then use an ABC- or BC-rated fire extinguisher (info) to suppress the fire. In a…