Plus: An AskWoody subscriber tries the \u201cput the dead drive in the fridge\u201d trick!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Also in this week’s <\/span>AskWoody<\/strong><\/a> Plus<\/a><\/strong><\/em> edition:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Click here for the AskWoody Plus<\/strong><\/a> signup; no set price — pay what you think it’s worth!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Permalink: <\/em><\/strong>https:\/\/langa.com\/?p=5283<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n COMMENT \/ QUESTION<\/strong> on THIS ITEM?<\/strong> See the<\/em> Comment box<\/strong> at bottom of this page!<\/em> Operating-system upgrades and resets sometimes leave behind nonworking, obsolete, or redundant device drivers that can open the door to future malfunctions. This week’s column in AskWoody Plus shows you how to easily remove any troublesome drivers cluttering up your Windows machine\u2019s setup. Plus: An AskWoody subscriber tries the \u201cput the dead drive in the fridge\u201d…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[29,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-askwoody-plus","category-langa-com-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paaiox-1nd","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5077,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2020\/05\/25\/security-risks-wired-ethernet-vs-wi-fi\/","url_meta":{"origin":5283,"position":0},"title":"Security risks: Wired Ethernet vs. Wi-Fi","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2020-05-25","format":false,"excerpt":"My column in this week's ASKWOODY PLUS* newsletter discusses wired Ethernet vs. Wi-Fi security; provides information on Win10's built-in \"packet-sniffer\" tool for examining raw network traffic; and discusses whether you can install Win10 via USB from an Android phone. Also in this week's ASKWOODY PLUS* newsletter: WINDOWS 10:\u00a0Cheap Windows 10\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AskWoody Plus"","block_context":{"text":"AskWoody Plus","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/askwoody-plus\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fred Langa","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Langa-2-100.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5269,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2020\/08\/03\/is-powerline-networking-secure\/","url_meta":{"origin":5283,"position":1},"title":"Is powerline networking secure?","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2020-08-03","format":false,"excerpt":"An AskWoody Plus reader questions whether data is safe when traveling over common AC electrical circuits. Plus: Yet more tips from your fellow subscribers on hard-drive destruction, salvaging \u2014 and maybe even revival! Those are the topics of my column in this week's AskWoody Plus. Also in this week's AskWoody\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AskWoody Plus"","block_context":{"text":"AskWoody Plus","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/askwoody-plus\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fred Langa","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Langa-2-100.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5252,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2020\/07\/27\/tales-from-the-trenches\/","url_meta":{"origin":5283,"position":2},"title":"Tales from the trenches","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2020-07-27","format":false,"excerpt":"Following my recounting of decommissioning a failing hard drive, readers share their real-world tips on drive destruction. If there\u2019s a creative way to ensure that an old drive never gives up its secrets, it would appear AskWoody readers have tried it. But a nail gun? :) More on\u00a0do-it-yourself\u00a0hard-drive destruction is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AskWoody Plus"","block_context":{"text":"AskWoody Plus","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/askwoody-plus\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fred Langa","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Langa-2-100.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5274,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2020\/08\/10\/more-tales-from-the-trenches\/","url_meta":{"origin":5283,"position":3},"title":"More tales from the trenches","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2020-08-10","format":false,"excerpt":"My report about making a hard drive permanently inaccessible really struck a chord with AskWoody subscribers! That article, \u201c\u2018Moving house is great fun,\u2019 said no one ever\u201d (AskWoody Plus Newsletter\u00a02020-07-13), kicked off a profusion of reader tales about drive sanitizing \u2014 a mix of excellent advice, unexpected suggestions, and amusing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AskWoody Plus"","block_context":{"text":"AskWoody Plus","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/askwoody-plus\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fred Langa","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Langa-2-100.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5012,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2020\/05\/18\/a-leave-no-trace-way-to-start-pcs\/","url_meta":{"origin":5283,"position":4},"title":"A ‘leave-no-trace’ way to start PCs?","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2020-05-18","format":false,"excerpt":"Without explaining the no-doubt interesting context for his question, reader M.R. asked: \"Will booting up from a USB drive leave any trace on the computer?\" Yup. In fact, if you know where to look, every PC boot \u2014 even one that's using an operating system installed on a USB flash\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AskWoody Plus"","block_context":{"text":"AskWoody Plus","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/askwoody-plus\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fred Langa","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Langa-2-100.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5160,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2020\/06\/08\/is-windows-readyboost-worthwhile-in-win10\/","url_meta":{"origin":5283,"position":5},"title":"Is Windows’ ‘ReadyBoost’ worthwhile in Win10?","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2020-06-08","format":false,"excerpt":"ReadyBoost\u00a0is a storage technology available in Windows 10 that lets you enhance PC performance by using ordinary USB flash drives as fast disk caches. Debuting in Vista, ReadyBoost was once cutting-edge technology. But does it still make sense with today's PCs? 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