{"id":5686,"date":"2021-05-10T08:33:15","date_gmt":"2021-05-10T12:33:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/langa.com\/?p=5686"},"modified":"2021-05-10T08:41:18","modified_gmt":"2021-05-10T12:41:18","slug":"from-bad-to-worse-a-repair-goes-awry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2021\/05\/10\/from-bad-to-worse-a-repair-goes-awry\/","title":{"rendered":"From bad to worse: A repair goes awry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Sometimes, well-intentioned repairs can actually make things worse than before. That\u2019s what happened to a reader who was trying to correct a Windows login error but ended up with a completely unbootable PC!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Is it possible for him to get Windows running again with its already installed software still intact and working? Or is a full reinstall in his future?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Plus: The care and feeding of that little coin-cell battery on your PC\u2019s mainboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Read the full story in the&nbsp;<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.askwoody.com\/newsletter\/anatomy-of-a-malware\/#langalist\"><strong>AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.17.0<\/strong><\/a><em><strong>&nbsp;<\/strong>(2021-05-10).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Also in this issue<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>SAFETY:\u2003Anatomy of a malware<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>PUBLIC DEFENDER:\u2003Buy the drives you need before \u2018chia\u2019 gets them all<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>BEST UTILITIES:\u2003Freeware Spotlight \u2014 O&amp;O Lanytix<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>ON SECURITY:\u2003Is the cloud unsafe?<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Click here for the&nbsp;<strong><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/cdn.forms-content.sg-form.com\/fadcab1b-6abe-11ea-9648-2a7e788be8da\" target=\"_blank\">Askwoody Free<\/a><\/strong>&nbsp;signup; 100% free!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Click here for the&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.askwoody.com\/plus-membership\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>AskWoody Plus<\/strong><\/a>&nbsp;signup; no set price \u2014 pay what you think it\u2019s worth!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.askwoody.com\/newsletter\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"110\" height=\"110\" data-attachment-id=\"5013\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2020\/05\/18\/a-leave-no-trace-way-to-start-pcs\/langa-2-100\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Langa-2-100.png?fit=110%2C110&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"110,110\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Langa-2-100\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Langa-2-100.png?fit=110%2C110&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Langa-2-100.png?resize=110%2C110\" alt=\"Fred Langa\" class=\"wp-image-5013\"\/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right has-small-font-size\"><strong><em>Permalink: <a href=\"https:\/\/langa.com\/?p=5586\">https:\/\/langa.com\/?p=5521<\/a><\/em><\/strong><em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/langa.com\/?p=5521 \"> <\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"104\" height=\"6\" data-attachment-id=\"1999\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2019\/02\/10\/around-boston-the-nearly-snowless-winter-continues\/seperator-short-grey\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/SEPERATOR-short-grey.png?fit=104%2C6&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"104,6\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"SEPERATOR short grey\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/SEPERATOR-short-grey.png?fit=104%2C6&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/SEPERATOR-short-grey.png?resize=104%2C6\" alt=\"[seperator]\" class=\"wp-image-1999\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"text-align:left\"><strong>COMMENT \/ QUESTION<\/strong>  on <strong>THIS ITEM?<\/strong> <em>See the<\/em> <strong>Comment box<\/strong> <em>at bottom of this page!<\/em><br><b><em><br><\/em>NEW QUESTION? <\/b><em>Ask<\/em><b> <u><font color=\"#000117\"><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/contact\/\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a><\/font><\/u><\/b>!<br><br>(<em>Want free notification of new content? Click<\/em><b><strong> <\/strong><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2018\/09\/09\/get-free-automatic-notification-of-new-content\/\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a><\/b>!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sometimes, well-intentioned repairs can actually make things worse than before. That\u2019s what happened to a reader who was trying to correct a Windows login error but ended up with a completely unbootable PC! Is it possible for him to get Windows running again with its already installed software still intact and working? Or is a&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5687,"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-5686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-askwoody-plus","category-langa-com-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/repair-robot-broken-fix-rf-69990007_s-e1620649966507.jpg?fit=300%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paaiox-1tI","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5900,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/08\/wait-for-windows-11-1\/","url_meta":{"origin":5686,"position":0},"title":"Wait for Windows 11.1","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2021-11-08","format":false,"excerpt":"Microsoft\u2019s incremental rollout of Win11.0 is continuing \u2014 newer, more-compatible PCs are receiving the upgrade now, while older PCs will receive it in the weeks to come. You also can manually upgrade eligible PCs at any time, but note: Microsoft has changed the manual-upgrade methods, including a new Media Creation\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;AskWoody Plus&quot;","block_context":{"text":"AskWoody Plus","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/askwoody-plus\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/win11.jpg?fit=460%2C423&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5908,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2021\/11\/22\/windows-11-not-quite-ready-for-prime-time\/","url_meta":{"origin":5686,"position":1},"title":"Windows 11: Not quite ready for prime time","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2021-11-22","format":false,"excerpt":"These early days of Win11 are looking a bit rough. Driver issues remain the leading cause of serious upgrade problems, and some solutions are out of end-users\u2019 hands until Microsoft and various OEMs and software publishers catch up. To make matters worse, Win11\u2019s\u00a0Device Encryption\u00a0may stumble when upgrading a Win10\u00a0BitLocker\u00a0drive, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;AskWoody Plus&quot;","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":4905,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2020\/05\/04\/750mb-of-undeletable-log-files\/","url_meta":{"origin":5686,"position":2},"title":"750MB of *undeletable* log files!","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2020-05-04","format":false,"excerpt":"Sometimes, Windows can't or won't delete old, no-longer-relevant log files. Worse, these files may be locked or still marked as in-use, preventing you from manually deleting them. There are several methods \u2014 including using\u00a0Safe Mode\u00a0\u2014 to rid your PC of old, hard-to-scrub log files, and to reclaim potentially large swathes\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;AskWoody Plus&quot;","block_context":{"text":"AskWoody Plus","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/askwoody-plus\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5578,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2021\/02\/15\/from-the-inbox-pdf-woes-a-cleanup-tool-kills-two-pcs\/","url_meta":{"origin":5686,"position":3},"title":"From the Inbox: PDF woes; a cleanup tool kills two PCs!","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2021-02-15","format":false,"excerpt":"One reader-submitted email asks for the fastest, easiest way to print or save-as-PDF only\u00a0limited portions\u00a0of AskWoody Plus \u2014 or any other email or web page! The second details a reader\u2019s first-hand experience with the destructive power of a\u00a0too\u00a0heavy-duty PC maintenance tool. Read the full story in\u00a0AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.6.0\u00a0(2021-02-15). Also\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;AskWoody Plus&quot;","block_context":{"text":"AskWoody Plus","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/askwoody-plus\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"black and gray digital device","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/pexels-photo-193003.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/pexels-photo-193003.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/pexels-photo-193003.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/pexels-photo-193003.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/pexels-photo-193003.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3925,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2019\/12\/20\/how-to-stop-two-windows-defender-annoyances\/","url_meta":{"origin":5686,"position":4},"title":"How to stop two Windows Defender annoyances","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2019-12-20","format":false,"excerpt":"Win10\u2019s built-in\u00a0Windows Defender\u00a0has matured into a top-ranked anti-malware tool, based on independent testing (e.g. AV-test.org info). But several of its default behaviors can be downright irritating. Here\u2019s how to tweak Windows Defender with a few buried settings and a Task Scheduler change. Plus: Does Adobe Flash Player really need as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;A reader asks...&quot;","block_context":{"text":"A reader asks...","link":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/category\/a-reader-asks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/medium-punching-computer.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/medium-punching-computer.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/medium-punching-computer.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/langa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/medium-punching-computer.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5918,"url":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/2021\/12\/13\/askwoody-members-try-windows-11-with-mixed-results\/","url_meta":{"origin":5686,"position":5},"title":"AskWoody members try Windows 11 \u2026 with mixed results.","author":"Fred Langa","date":"2021-12-13","format":false,"excerpt":"Today\u2019s examples: One reader got good (albeit confusing) results with Microsoft\u2019s free Win11 Virtual PC, but another suffered a much less happy outcome with a for-real installation. This column provides additional detail regarding the free Win11 VPC and the likely causes (and remedies!) for the second PC\u2019s problems. Read the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;AskWoody Plus&quot;","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":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5686","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5686"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5686\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5689,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5686\/revisions\/5689"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/langa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}