Windows Tips

Infopackets Reader Steve J. writes: " Dear Dennis, Thanks so much for your website and all the wonderful tips you have provided us over the years. I recently upgraded my main PC to Windows 10 and with your advice I installed Classic Shell to replace ... the horrid Start menu that comes default with Windows 10. I proceeded to click the Start button after the installation finished, but for some reason my Classic Shell Start menu is blank and it's been like this for a few weeks now. I installed Classic Shell on my laptop as well and it has all its icons. What gives? " My response: Whenever I work on ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Bob G. writes: " Dear Dennis, I am running Windows 10. Last week my system attempted to perform a major upgrade (to version 1803, April Creators Update), but the update failed and it rolled back to version 1709 (Fall Creators ... Update). Now when I try and sign into Windows 10, it says: 'Preparing Windows', then it says ' We can't sign into your account . This problem can often be fixed by signing out of your account and then signing back in. If you don't sign out now, any files you create or changes you make will be lost'. I then get a notification near the clock that says ' ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Bob T. writes: " Dear Dennis, Thank you for your Windows 10 article on How to Fix: Computer Name Won't Resolve on Network (April Update) . I tried the fix and it works great - the computers on my local network can see each other. ... However, when I use OpenVPN to connect to my remote server, the server's computer name still does not resolve, whereas before it did before the Windows 10 April Creators Update. You mentioned there is an additional fix for OpenVPN with the April Creators Update in order to get the computer names to resolve. Can you please help? " My response: I am ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Steve J. writes: " Dear Dennis, Last week two of my systems (one a PC, the other a laptop) upgraded to Windows 10 version 1803, otherwise known as the 'April Creators Update' version of Windows 10. Ever since then, I can't access ... my laptop from my PC, though my PC can see the laptop. If I try and access either one directly, Windows 10 says it can't find the computer. Also my remote desktop protocol (RDP) no longer works. Researching ' network unc path april creators update broken ' in Google reveals that this is an incredibly widespread issue. Can you please help? " My ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Shirley S. writes: " Dear Dennis, Recently my Firefox upgraded to version 61 and now when I open a new tab, I see 'Top Sites', 'Recommended by Pocket', and 'Highlights'. I find this intrusive because the Highlights section ... displays sites or web searches I've previously visited or searched for. Previously I had Firefox set to open a blank tab but no longer works. I have looked through Firefox preferences but I don't see an option for a blank tab. Can you help? " My response: I am in the same boat as you - I don't like seeing my previous activity, nor "web suggestions" ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Gord F. writes: " Dear Dennis, I have heard from the media and some friends that I should reboot my router due to Russian malware that is infecting routers. I have done some research on the subject and the story made headlines ... back around May 29, 2018, followed by more updates to suggest that the VPNFilter Router Malware is much worse than originally thought. I have checked and mine does not seem to be on the list of affected routers. What should I do now? " My response: From what I understand, the VPNFilter Router Malware affects routers made by Cisco and Linksys, MikroTik ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Steve G. writes: " Dear Dennis, I just read your article on How to Fix: Computer / Network Infected with Ransomware (10 Steps) and it was incredibly informative. I hope I never get infected with ransomware! That said, I have seen ... software products and services advertised online claiming they can prevent ransomware, but the information is often obscure. I feel like I am none the wiser. Even searching Google for ' how to prevent ransomware ' points to a very short article on Norton's website, which then links to Norton Antivirus. In your previous article, you said Norton didn ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Robert S. writes: " Dear Dennis, I have a network of computers I use for accounting purposes. Suddenly, many of my desktop icons started appearing to have strange names, such as ... '1HjgN1BdTZE3OIqorcj2E5b6CXIE=gdFae89IWgo0RrVfPbCHt851oogccs.ssimpotashka[at]gmail.com'. When I try to open these files, Windows warns me the file may be malicious. When I look in my Documents folder, I see more files similarly named to the one I just mentioned. Some of my .PDF files won't even open. On the desktop there is a text document that says ' HOW TO DECRYPT YOUR FILES.TXT ' - when I open ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Georges A. writes: " Dear Dennis, I have an old HP Laserjet 1200 series printer (from 2001). This printer has worked great over the years, however I can't seem to get my new Windows 10 PC to recognize the printer. If I look in ... Device Manager, the printer isn't under the correct heading - it shows up under 'usb device'. If I go to Control Panel -> Devices and Printers, I see the HP Laserjet 1200 series printer listed, but if I right click to try and print a test page, that option isn't available. Also when I try and print something from MS Word, the printer does not show ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Robert G. writes: " Dear Dennis, I own two computers that automatically upgraded to Windows 10 17134.1 , dubbed the ' April 2018 Update '. Ever since the upgrade to 17134.1, my remote desktop (RDP) and mapped network drives no ... longer work. Also when I click on File Explorer -> Network to view my shares, it says it can't find the computer on the network. It's strange because I can access computer A from computer B, but not the other way around. I have been trying to fix this for over 3 days now and no one on the Internet seems to have a solution. Can you please help me ... (view more)