windows

Infopackets Reader Susan M. writes: " Dear Dennis, I recently bought a new laptop that came with Windows 10 pre-installed. Last week, I received a Windows 10 update and now my battery keeps draining - even with the power plugged in! This doesn't ... make any sense to me; also my laptop is brand new! The balloon over the battery icon is reading '93% available (plugged in, not charging)'. I looked on the Internet to see if I could figure out what was causing this, and there are a lot of people having the same issue. Do you know why my laptop won't charge and how I can fix the 'plugged in, not ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Ian S. writes: " Dear Dennis, Recently I noticed through Task Manager that I have very high CPU usage, even with the computer idle. I looked at Task Manager and it says that 'IAStorDataMgrSvc' is eating 25% of my CPU constantly. I ... read that this is an Intel program and that my computer's BIOS may not be set up properly, which is causing the problem. I also read that if I set the BIOS improperly (in order to correct the issue), my computer may get stuck in a blue screen loop. I am afraid to make any changes for fear that it may screw something up. Can you help? " My response ... (view more)

Security firm Kaspersky Lab has filed a formal complaint accusing Microsoft of acting unfairly over the way it promotes its own security products. Microsoft says it is acting to keep Windows users protected. Kaspersky previously complained to the ... Federal Anti-monpoly Service in its home country of Russia. That led to several changes to Microsoft's policy, including rewording a message that suggested users uninstall third-party security software and use the built-in Windows Defender instead. Now Kaspersky has taken the issue to the European Commission, which oversees competition issues ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Beth R. writes: " Dear Dennis, I am using Windows 7 and the USB 'Safely remove hardware' icon in my tray bar seems to have disappeared. I understand that USB drives need to be 'safely removed' or they can corrupt, which I would ... like to avoid. What can I do to fix the USB 'Safely remove hardware' so it comes back? " My response: There are a few things you can try in order to fix the USB "Safely remove hardware" icon - I'll explain a few approaches below. The fix below will work on Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 10 . How to Fix: USB 'Safely remove hardware' icon missing The ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Peter M. writes: " Dear Dennis, I have a very strange issue. I recently put together a new computer build and installed Windows 10. Everything was working fine for the past month or so, then all the sudden, Windows 10 won't boot ... into the login screen - it simply freezes at the swirling dots. Surprisingly, I can remote desktop into the problematic machine from another, but the system stability doesn't last and eventually it freezes up on me. I suspect I have a hardware problem - perhaps the video card. I've managed to run 'msconfig' and specified Safe Mode with Networking, ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Vema H. writes: " Dear Dennis I just upgraded to Windows 10 and one thing that really bothers me is the taskbar thumbnail previews. For example, if I place my mouse over top of a task on the taskbar, a preview will show up. The ... problem is that most of the time I don't mean to do this, so part of the screen is being taken away by some task preview that I don't care about. Is there any way to disable the taskbar thumbnail previews? It's driving me nuts! " My response: I completely agree with you - I have never had any use for this feature which I believe started some time ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Suzanne S. writes: " Dear Dennis, I just purchased a new Windows 10 PC and I would like to move my Thunderbird emails over to my new computer and new user account. I've looked in the 'Tools' menu of Thunderbird for an 'export' ... feature of some kind - hoping to export my user data for re-import on the new machine - but, there does not appear to be such an option. Can you help? " My response: Moving Thunderbird to a new computer or user account is fairly easy to do using Thunderbird's built in "Profile Manager". All you need to do is copy the Thunderbird user data ... (view more)

Microsoft says most users should hold off getting the next major Windows update until it's automatically installed. The unusual warning is because of some specific hardware compatibility problems that Microsoft is ironing out. The update has been ... dubbed the 'Creators Update' and is the second major update Microsoft has issued for Windows 10, though it has been making minor changes and additions since the system was released. Some but not all users have already received it as an automatic update. That's because Microsoft is deliberately rolling it out in stages and initially ... (view more)

Microsoft says it's patched most of the recently revealed security flaws said to have been used by the National Security Agency (NSA) for spying. But the incident is a reminder not to rely on unsupported editions of Windows such as Windows XP and ... Vista. Windows Vista officially reached its end of extended support April 11, 2017 . A group calling itself "Shadow Brokers" is trying to auction what it says is a set of tools that the NSA were using for surveillance by taking advantage of security failings in widely used software. While that's a bold claim - particularly as it means ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Steve F. writes: " Dear Dennis, I will be upgrading my computer to the new AMD Ryzen 1700 CPU (which has 8 cores and 16 threads!) at a fraction of the price of Intel CPUs. I have searched online but I can't seem to find the answer ... - can you please tell me: after I install the new motherboard and CPU, can I continue to use my existing Windows installation or do I need to install Windows again? Also is my Windows 10 license still valid or do I need to purchase Windows 10 for my new motherboard and CPU? " My response: Short answer: It depends on the type of Windows you own and ... (view more)