If you are using Windows 10 or Windows 11 then please do not “Shutdown” your computer before reading this first.

There is a Right Way and a Wrong Way to Shutdown and/or Restart

As everyone in the World knows by now, rebooting your computer will often “make it work properly again”. This has been happening since the dawn of the Microsoft Personal Computer. All of a sudden a device works or a program which wasn’t loading and opening will now work, once the computer restarts. If you haven’t experienced this, then you are a Mac user. In this situation most people follow the “Turn it off then back on again”, REBOOT = “All Good”.

Not Necessarily “All Good”

The reason may not be as well-known however, when you restart your computer it wipes:-

• RAM (Random Access Memory)
• Clears any caching from the SSD or HDD
• Deletes any temporary files
• Deletes any logs that have been created
• Clears all Operating System files
• Services and hardware/software drivers.

When the computer restarts, it firstly loads the Operating System (OS) from scratch then any hardware/software drivers required then any programs designated to start on “Start-up” then awaits for your input to start any programs you wish to open.

This is why it can take several minutes if you have a mechanical HDD or about 20 seconds if you have an SSD for your version of Windows to start-up and present a login request (username and password) or the Desktop (depending on the setup).

Microsoft introduced a while ago (Windows 8) that if you used “Shutdown” then they wouldn’t actually “wipe the slate clean and start again”.  This saves a few seconds and makes the operating system seem fast.

Fast Startup

Due to Windows 8 being slow to boot (as opposed to Windows 7), Microsoft called this “The Fast Startup” which became the default for every Windows version since. Windows 8, 10 and 11 were/are slow to boot normally with a mechanical HDD drive as C: so to make it look and feel faster they would instead “reuse” the old information and start your computer that way. No “clean slate”.

The problem with this (many of you will now be nodding your heads) is that any issues, corrupt drivers or corrupt information anywhere that has been saved on Shutdown will of course be used again and the “problem” of why you Shutdown in the first place will just be straight back at you when you have once again logged in or retried whatever you were trying to do before. For the sake of those few seconds this defies, in our opinion, logic. The file that is saved by Windows on Shutdown is called the Hibernation file and it is this file that is read when the computer boots up from a Shutdown.

The Solution

By now you will probably be asking yourself “how can I shutdown the computer without all these Hibernation problems”, well you can, but you need to follow the few simple steps outlined below:

1. Search for “Control Panel” in the Windows 10 or 11 Search box
2. Once presented by Control Panel window select “Category” (in blue top right of windows)
3. Click on “Category” and choose “Small Icons”
4. There will then be about 48 items to choose from, find and click on “Power Options”
5. Then select “Choose what the power button does” (left hand pane)
6. Under “Shutdown settings” you will most likely see a “Turn on fast startup (recommended)” but it will be greyed out.
7. Above that in blue, you will see “Change settings that are currently unavailable”
8. Click on that then the option to uncheck the “Fast startup etc” will be available.
9. Uncheck that box (Turn on fast startup…)
10. Then at the bottom “Save” your change, and that’s it.

Now, when you shutdown OR reboot, the Windows Operating System will restart from scratch (a clean slate). Most people that we have done this for have not noticed any difference in the startup time from the original default (Hibernation) state to the “Clean Boot” state, so really you have very little to lose. Anyway, you now know how to change it back if you want to. We can also guarantee that rebooting/shutdown issues will not necessarily be a thing of the past but you will be pleasantly surprised at how much better your computer works.

If you have any questions or issues that you would like us to address, then please contact Affordable Computer Repairs and Service.

This article was written by David, a technician at Affordable Computer Repairs and Service on 0409 974 707

Author Technician David

When it comes to Apple computers there is a wide choice of products that suit every budget and application. I will break this down to laptops (MacBook’s), iMacs (All-In-ones) and Mac Mini (computer only). This article does not do a deep dive, it’s more of a general guide to what is available in October 2022.

Laptops or MacBooks

MacBook Air

Apple laptops aka MacBooks come in various configurations but one of the lightest and most popular is the MacBook Air which is a budget-conscious choice for many. It is very light at around 1.29kg and has a sleek aluminium case. Apple currently offers this in a 13 inch screen and with either the slightly older M1 chip or the very recently announced (July 2022) M2 chip. Both are very power efficient and quick with multiple cores assisting in any processing required. MacBook Airs come in several different configurations with chips (as above), different RAM amounts and different SSD storage sizes. The prices vary depending on the configuration required.

They also have the usual two USB ports for connectivity and more components can be added by purchasing an adapter or USB hub, which Apple sells or you can purchase a third-party item. Wi-Fi is standard as well as Bluetooth for any wireless connections required, pretty much essential these days so a Bluetooth mouse, keyboard or speakers do not require a USB connection.

Apples M1 chips are up to around 20% faster than the old Intel CPUs so wait time is reduced. These are excellent laptops but be warned they cannot be upgraded so think carefully when choosing one of the different models offered.

MacBook Pro

Apple also sell the MacBook Pro again in different configurations and screen sizes 13, 14 and 16 inch. The Apple MacBook Pro is their “top of the line” laptop and is generally larger and heavier than the Air. These computers are designed for the more demanding user and they cost and perform better than the MacBook Air. Again, choose carefully as they cannot be upgraded, what you buy is what you will have.

All the MacBooks have excellent screen brightness and clarity with high screen resolutions but the more expensive ones with Liquid Retina XDR would be the best.

Mac Mini

Mac Mini is Apple’s smallest desktop Mac and is a good combination of price, speed, performance and small form factor. Again as above there are various options with M1 chips and SSD sizes and a M2 version will no doubt be available soon. Connectivity is good with USB ports, HDMI port, headphone jack and a Gigabit Ethernet port.

The Mac Mini does require you to provide your own monitor, keyboard and mouse so take that into account when deciding which Apple product is right for you. The Mini does have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth built into it as with the laptops for connecting peripheries. An excellent little computer and it was the first to receive the new M1 chip in November 2020. The price is also very attractive to many.

Apple iMac

Apple iMac comes in two different screen sizes – 24 inch and 27 inch. Again as per above there are many different M1 and M2 chips available as well as different SSD sizes and RAM specifications and body colours, again choose the one you want as they are not upgradable. The 4.5K Retina screen is excellent with support for a wide colour range and brightness. An anti-reflective coating on the screen assists with readability and light reflection. Again the prices reflect the different options and hence care should be taken to purchase the one that suits your needs.

Connectivity is again good and very similar to above. One thing to note for some people is that the new iMac does not come with an SD card slot so if that is what you require then an external unit will need to be purchased. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are built in with the Ethernet port on the power adapter. Please note that on the lowest priced iMac the power adapter does not have this Ethernet port. One other thing to note is the lowest priced iMac has one fan whereas the more expensive ones have two. Now, this may not be an issue for many users it is something to bear in mind in hot Australian summers.

Mac Studio

There are two other Apple offerings which are the Mac Studio and the Studio Max both with M1 and soon M2 chips. These are designed for the person who wants a Mac Mini sized unit but with more power. Again prices vary depending on configurations and requirements. For someone wanting a built in SD Card slot then these units may be for you. They are designed for a heavier workload than a Mac Mini which is for the more professional video editing, graphics design or media production task. As with the Mac Mini you are required to provide any ancillary devices.

Mac Pro

This computer is for serious server type applications or real heavy duty video/file editing and still uses the Intel Xeon processors. Anyone interested in this computer will not likely be reading this article as they would know all about it anyway as it was released in 2019.

Any Apple computer is an investment in leading edge technology and there is one to suit just about everyone, it’s just a case of choosing what you require and then choosing the hardware that suits your needs.

If you need assistance, then please do not hesitate to contact us here at Affordable Computer Repairs and Service 3397 1215. or 0409 974 707

Microsoft stated in mid-2015 when they released Windows 10, that they would never release another operating system as they would be “upgrading” and “improving” Windows 10 from now on. Well very nearly 6 years later Microsoft have announced a new “built from the ground up” operating system and called it Windows 11.

Windows 11 to be Released Late 2021

Windows 11 will be released officially in late 2021 so for now you can only get the Beta copy which may or may not be the final version released at the above date. Microsoft are obviously testing the waters from their June 24^th announcement so small or large changes may be made, or not. Windows 11 (at the moment) will be a free upgrade from Windows 10 (Home, Professional or S Mode)

So, will your computer run Windows 11? This question has been asked of us by many people in the last week.

Below are the hardware requirements for the new Windows 11.

1GHz or faster CPU with 2 or more cores on a compatible 64-bit processor or System on a Chip (SoC)

4GB RAM

64GB or more of storage space

UEFI Secure Boot capable BIOS

Trusted Platform Module (TPM) version 2.0 (chip on your motherboard)

DirectX 12 compatible graphics card

This website shows the above info.

This website shows the Intel CPs supported.

This website shows the AMD CPUs supported:

If you don’t know what CPU processor your computer has and the above list is unfathomable an explanation is provided below.

CPU Processor for Windows 11

An Intel CPU processor has to be a Generation 8 or later or an AMD CPU processor has to be a Zen 2 based unit or a Qualcomm 7 or 8 Series CPU processor. This generally means that the computer you bought needs to be a 2018 build or later. Even so, computers built today and sold today or even tomorrow will be not able to run Windows 11 as they may contain an Intel or AMD processor which will not be supported by Windows 11.

As an example Microsoft themselves are selling the Surface Studio 2 computer with a price range between low AS5,000’s to around A$7,500 depending on specifications. This computer has a 7^th Generation Intel chip which means, at the moment, Microsoft’ Windows 11 will not run on it as it’s not officially supported, as of today. This information is relevant as at 1/07/2021 but Microsoft may well change their specifications due to negative feedback, we’ll have to wait and see.

The above processor limitations are there to meet Microsoft’s stringent “security and reliability and minimum system requirements for Windows 11”.

Also, support for 32-bit software has also been dropped with Windows 11, so now only newer software or apps will run on Windows 11. Therefore, if you are running any older software then be sure to check that you acquire the newer versions, if available. If not, then do not upgrade to Windows 11 if you require these older applications or software suites.

As an aside, Windows 10 will be supported until 2025 so there is no great rush to move to Windows 11 unless there is an absolute need to.

Removal of Checker Tool/PC Health Check App

Microsoft has also removed their “Checker Tool” – named “PC Health Check app” which was available until around 29^th 30^th June 2021. This tool when ran would let you know if the computer you were checking was Windows 11 enabled giving indications of why not, if applicable. On their website, it now states why: “Based on the feedback so far, we acknowledge that it was not fully prepared to share the level of detail or accuracy you expected from us on why a Windows 10 PC doesn’t meet upgrade requirements”.  They also state on the same web page, “We are temporarily removing the app so that our teams can address the feedback….”.

Also, a very recent fact stated by Microsoft is that starting in 2023 all Windows 11 laptops and 2-in-1s must have a working precision touchpad, a working user-facing webcam and Bluetooth. Maybe this is just a start by Microsoft but who knows?

If you are still unsure about Windows 11 and upgrading when the time comes then our advice (Affordable Computer Repairs and Service) is to wait for at least 6 months after the official release date so that any problems and bugs are sorted out before you switch.

Do You Want an Alternative to NBN?

Elon Musk and SpaceX have been developing a satellite system called Starlink which is intended to rival established and more conventional cable based Internet offerings by countries. It is said that Starlink will completely cover the earth with thousands of satellites in what is called “Low Earth orbit” or LEOs for short.

Mr Musk stated, that “Starting August (2021) we should have global connectivity for everywhere except the poles”. “It is operational, we recently passed 69,420 active users and I think we are on our way to having a few hundred thousand users, possibly over half a million within 12 months”.

Starlink

Currently, Starlink has over 1600 satellites in LEO which is around 500 kilometres above the earth, they then communicate with earth ground stations and small satellite dishes that customers install on their properties which are termed terminals.

Mr Musk stated “there is a need for connectivity in places that don’t have it right now or where connectivity is very limited or very expensive” – think Outback Australia? He went on to say “you can think of Starlink as filling in the gaps between 5G and fibre and really getting to the parts of the world that are hardest to reach”. All of Australia would fit the bill here maybe? Who has fibre connections in Australia? We can only dream of such a miracle.

The satellite approach has been tried before with various companies offering satellite communications but up to now one of the biggest issues was high-latency meaning several seconds delay in transmitting the signal from a ground station to the satellite then from there back to earth. In Australia, there are a couple of companies using satellites for domestic use, one of those being Optus.

Mr Musk however claims that Starlink has low-latency anywhere on earth with a ballpark figure of 20 milliseconds. To get started on their website an address is required and the costs at the moment in early July 2021 are A$139 per month and a one off cost of $709 plus A$100 shipping for the satellite dish. Starlink is subsidising the cost of the dishes by as much as 50% on cost. Development of the dishes is ongoing so the cost could drop and performance may increase.

Rural Coverage

Starlink is working with telcos, presumably in Australia as well as around the World to bring the Internet to that small percentage of very rural customers who want what we have in the cities. By the sounds of things with Starlink taking pre-orders from Australian customers starting last February the Internet may be closer than you think in rural Australia.

The project started in 2015 and test satellites were launched in 2018, with 60 more test units launched in May 2019. Up to 60 satellites are launched at a time aiming to deploy as of 26^th May 2021 1,7370 altogether and working towards near-global service by 2022. SpaceX has approval by the International Telecommunications Union for 12,000 Starlink satellites and have applied recently for an additional 30,000 to supplement their coverage.

Pre-Orders In Australia

In June 2021 SpaceX announced that Starlink had almost 100,000 users and over 500,000 Starlink orders by consumers. Starlink is accepting pre-orders here in Australia.

This article has been written by David an IT Consultant at Affordable Computer Repairs and Service in Brisbane.

Zero-Day Vulnerability for My Book Live Users

The latest information from Western Digital (the Hard Disk Manufacturing Data storage company) is that a zero-day vulnerability has been exploited by hackers who can remotely wipe its customers’ My Book Live drives. Just in case you are wondering what a zero-day vulnerability is, it’s a vulnerability in a system or device that has been disclosed but is not yet patched. An exploit that attacks a zero-day vulnerability is called a zero-day exploit.

This apparently was discovered last week (end of June 2021) when owners of the said above device discovered a drive that had been working fine and had data stored on it was now “suddenly blank”, with “all the data gone”. In some cases, the directories are still there but the files in those directories (folders) have been erased. It would appear to some victims that the devices had been “factory reset” as well as passwords being reset and changed from the factory default.

Western Difital Response

Western Digital soon after responded by publishing an advisory about the incident warning its My Book Live users of the device, to disconnect their devices from the Internet and offering support services.

They stated, “for customers who have lost data as a result of these attacks, Western Digital will provide data recovery services”. They also added the following, “for customers who have the My Book Live devices will be also be offered a trade-in program to upgrade to a supported “My Cloud Device”.

The way My Book Live devices worked was that they sat behind a firewall and provided remote access through a My Book Live cloud service.

Censys, a Cloud security company, scanned the Internet shortly afterward and found that Western Digital customers had around 55,000 My Book Live device certificates with around 1200 here in Australia.

My Book Live Unsupported Since 2015

The Western Digital My Book Live device first went on sale in 2010 with the last firmware update in 2015, since then they have been basically unsupported. They first presented an issue when in 2018 a vulnerability was reported by Wizcase when they discovered a remote execution issue which “lets anyone run commands on the device as root” – root being a user with administrative rights – meaning they can run or do anything. Western Digital at the time stated that the devices “were no longer covered under our device software support lifecycle”, as they had been discontinued. Mistakes by Western Digital in firmware updates then allowed a simple POST request to the My Book Live device that it should trigger a factory restore process in this latest hack.

There has been conjecture that the 2018 vulnerability had already been exploited by bad actors and such was the extent that Censys estimates that 13000 units had already been compromised around that time. It may be that one lot of bad actors were “fighting” another lot of bad actors and so to stop them they decided the best way was to wipe all their My Book Live units. Maybe so, perhaps we will never know.

If you are affected by this latest hack on your Western Digital My Book Live then please contact Western Digital as soon as possible so that they can possibly assist you in your data recovery.

This article was provided to you by Affordable Computer Repairs and Service in Brisbane.

Windows 10 can suddenly fill up your Hard Drive (Mechanical or SSD) all by itself, why is this so?

Below we will investigate why this may occur seemingly out of the blue.  You know it is definitely is not your files so who’s are they? You didn’t put them there so who did? One of life’s big mysteries…

Run Anti-Virus and Backup

The first thing to check is are your existing files and folders there? If all seems okay at first glance, then open or view some files just to make sure you don’t have a virus. Now would be a good time to run your anti-virus software, so do that now. After that has run and assuming there are no suspicious files or virus’ there, then this is an excellent opportunity to make a backup of all your data to a seperate external hard drive just in case your anti-virus program missed something or that whatever is consuming your data is continuing to do so.

After you have backed up all your data to an external device we can proceed to the next step.

Find AppData Folder

Open File Explorer (the manila folder on the Task Bar) and go to this PC then Local Drive and your User Account. Click on “Options” on the far right hand side, go to “View” tab and click the radio button which says “Show hidden files, folders and drives”. Hit “Reset”. This will now show you more folders when you go back into your user account name. You will see a new folder somewhat paler than the other folder called AppData. If you hover the mouse over that folder it will show you the size of that folder, if it is more than 5 or 6GB then this may be where all that space has gone to. Double click on that. You will be presented with 3 folders again, Local, LocalLow and Roaming. Again if you hover over each folder you can see what size each folder is.

Find Temp File In The Local Folder

Now usually the culprit in these instances is Local, so double click on that.

Again this will present you with about 20 folders. Hover the mouse over each folder in turn to see which one is hogging the space. Most of these folders contain zero or small amounts of data/files but in the Temp folder if you have hovered over it you may see many Gigabytes of space used. Double click on “Temp”. Inside the folder Temp you may see a large file with some weird gobbly-gook name this would be the file to remove. If it is larger than 10+ Gigabytes then it will be too large for the Recycle Bin so if you highlight it and then double click you may be asked to permanently delete this file, go ahead and do that. Basically, anything in the Temp Folder can be deleted as it is a temporary file.

Make Sure To Check

Going back to File Explorer Local Drive C: you should now see that it is back to what it was before this large file was created by Windows 10.

There are other programs which you can use to look for large files such as these. One program is TreeSize which is a free program that some people use and when run it looks at every file on the computer and lists them so that when you check it a large file such as this can be found and space can be recovered.

The Cause of A Sudden Increase In Files

The causes of this sudden file creation by Windows of such large files the opinions are varied. Some people suggest it not only happens in Windows 10 but it has happened to them in other versions of Windows. Some people say it is not Microsoft Windows doing this but a program or application (app) which can go berserk and start creating this massive file. One thing is for certain unless you put a stop to it quickly you can run out of space on drive C: which can have serious implications for the booting up of Windows itself and or running programs and saving any data.

The best thing to do is monitor your disk usage on a regular basis, backup your files/data on a regular basis because one day you will wish you did.

This advice was provided by David, a technician at Affordable Computer Repairs and Service

The Microsoft Update  KB5001330 from Tuesday 13 April 2021 is BSOD 

Microsoft on Tuesday 13^th April 2021 has released another update which is causing some Windows 10 users to experience a BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death) with the computer not booting afterwards.

This is called KB5001330 with a code of: 0xC1900401 and is called either a “Quality Update” or a “Security Update” or a “Cumulative Update” depending on where you look in Windows 10.

Update KB5001330

In Windows Update (Start: Settings: Update & Security) you will see it as:

2021-04 Cumulative Update for Windows 10 version 20H2 (your version may differ but 20H2 is the latest) for x64-based Systems (KB5001330)

This update can cause issues installing and gets halfway through then causes errors corrupting your Windows 10 Operating System.  The symptoms cause a “boot loop” where the computer tries to repeatedly boot up but then fails and tries again continuously. Basically what you are left with is a blue screen and the circles spinning and “Restarting” in white letters on the screen. Also “Configuring Windows Updates etc” can be displayed.

How to Remove Update KB50001330

If this has happened to you and if the computer can boot up go to the Start button (bottom left – generally) and remove the update please follow the instructions below:

1. Start button and then Settings (cog wheel) – click on each in turn
2. Update and Security – any updates will be shown
3. Probably “Error encountered” and the date will be displayed
4. Click on: View update history
5. Once there you will see under “Update history” there under “Quality Updates” you will see KB5001330 (in blue) as a “Cumulative Update”
6. Near the top of the page, again in blue, click on “Uninstall updates”
7. Once there choose KB5001330 and uninstall it.
8. Windows 10 removes this update and then reboots with it going through its cycle of installing again with the blue screen and white circle with percentages. This on some slower computers can take a while, so be patient.

What to Do if you Can’t Remove Update KB50001330

If you cannot boot the computer at all because it is in a “boot loop” then:

1. Power off the computer 3 times (using the power button) until you get to “Preparing Automatic Repair”.
2. You should then be presented with 3 options, choose the “Troubleshoot” button
3. Then choose the “Advanced options” button
4. Then choose the “Uninstall Updates” button
5. Then choose the “Uninstall the latest quality update” button
6. Then you get a blue screen with “Please wait” – so please wait it may take several seconds
7. Then you get to choose your user account and it asks for a password to put that in
8. Click “Continue” (blue button)
9. Click on next blue button which says “Uninstall the quality update” which will then uninstall the latest quality update – that being (hopefully) KB5001330
10. Windows 10 removes this update and then reboots with it going through its cycle of installing again with the blue screen and white circle with percentages. This on some slower computers can take a while, so be patient.

Recommendation – Always Pauls Windows 10 Updates for the Maximum Time

To stop this continual disruption to your computer we suggest that you pause updates for the maximum time allowed which is five weeks. To do this please follow the following instructions.

1. Start button and then Settings (cog wheel) – click on each in turn
2. Update and Security – any updates will be shown
3. Mid screen you will see a circle with two vertical bars in it with “Pause updates for 7 days” next to it.
4. If you left click on this button your computer will pause updates for 7 days. If you click again it becomes 14 days and so on for 5 clicks making the maximum possible, pause time.
5. What you don’t want to do is to click ”Retry” or “Check for Updates” as this will put the counter back to zero
6. If you come back in 5 weeks’ time and do the same again then you can pause for another 5 weeks

If you are still experiencing problems with this update or any other Windows 10 problem then please call us here at Affordable Computer Repairs and Service as we can assist you.

Advice on How to Keep Passwords Safe

With the advent of the Internet and various websites requiring passwords to allow you to access them as well as companies such as Microsoft, Apple, Samsung etc, etc which require a login to do just about anything even now in using your computer, the issue of how to keep passwords safe and how to store these multiple passwords has reached pandemic proportions.

You may not like what we here at Affordable Computer Repairs and Service are going to say but please bear with us. There are multiple programs that you can buy and download, (some may even be free), which allow you to keep your passwords safe and available for use over multiple devices. Programs (apps) such as Dashlane, 1Password, Lastpass to name a couple do that for you. There may be advantages to you to use these services as they can generate passwords and remember them for you, as one master password accesses them all. They are said to be kept on encrypted servers that are “almost” impossible to hack. We’ve probably all heard about them and some of us may have tried them, right?

Paper and Pen!

There is a very simple alternative, however, that is the use of pen and paper. What you cry “pen and paper” in the digital age? Yes, pen and paper are simple, safe and only you know where they are stored.

Our suggestion is that you purchase a small notebook from the newsagents or similar and record all your usernames, passwords, date of birth, mobile number, landline number and all other relevant information including the date when added or changed. This helps you keep track of when you changed a password or updated a password or other information. Do, however, make sure your writing is legible and neat as well as using the correct case for letters. Your “doctors” scrawl is not going to help anyone decipher your spider’s like information in the event that you cannot assist them.

So, use CAPITAL letters where applicable, lower case letters where applicable and numbers and special characters as required. Special characters being the characters above the numbers on a keyboard (such as @ # $ * etc) or generally to the right on a keyboard (such as { : ? > etc). This differs of course if you are using a tablet. Make sure that you also do the following:

• Zero’s (0) should have a diagonal line thought them differentiating them from O
• Z z zeds should be differentiated from a number 2 by putting a line horizontally through the middle of them in European fashion
• 7 sevens should also have a line horizontally through the middle of them in European fashion
• Make sure the number 1 is defined as a 1 and not mistaken for a letter l

It may be opportunistic to avoid some of the above anyway so that there is no confusion.

Hide Your Written Copy

The problem here is your scrawl, which when misinterpreted, can cause an issue as many websites only allow 3 or so goes at a password and then the account is either locked for good or you are timed out from trying again for a number of minutes or hours. So making a mistake on a password is not advisable as it can lead to a lot of pain and anguish. Believe me, I have only experienced this a million times with customers.

Many customers I have met over the years are completely blasé about passwords and seem to think that they don’t matter, they do, so be smart and keep yours safe and updated.

Keeping a written copy of your information is safe as long as you keep that information hidden, you can give a copy to a relative or friend or even keep it in a safe somewhere. But, don’t forget to update that information when required or added to for new accounts or programs. Do it straight away so that you don’t forget.

Don’t Try to Keep Passwords Safe on a Mobile Phone

I know many customers who keep their passwords on their mobile phone which in our opinion is dangerously unsafe as you could lose your mobile or get it damaged, stolen or waterlogged. If that does happen, then all your passwords and information is either irrevocably lost or badly compromised.

Don’t Try to Keep Passwords Safe on a Word Document Unless On a USB or SD Card

Another popular way of keeping passwords is on your computer in a Word document, or such, with the title “passwords”.  Not a good idea as whilst it can be updated quickly and easily done to, you could be hacked one day or the computer/device is stolen and then you realise just how important all that information was and how irretrievable it all is.

We would recommend using the aforementioned as a way of keeping your information safe and correct but NOT keeping it on your computer but on a USB Drive or memory SD card and then keeping that in a safe place, locked away? When a change is necessary or something needs to be added then it is easy to retrieve the removable device, plug it back in and record the changes, save the file/document and eject that drive and store it away again.

Have Different Passwords

Finally advice on how to keep passwords safe would not be complete without advising that you do not use the same password or combinations of the password for multiple accounts or websites as a hacker once they know your “root” password can then add another number – such as 11, 12, 13 to your password until they crack it, or similar such differences. Having different passwords, we understand is painful and possibly problematic but this is very important so as to keep you safe and secure in our digital world.

If you require assistance in the above or anything else to do with computers, then please contact us here at Affordable Computer Repairs and we can endeavour to assist you.

On 19 March 2021 Microsoft Released An Update To Fix the Printing Issue Caused by Update KB5000802

Those versions of Windows 10 computers affected by this March 2021 Microsoft release are: Version 20H2; Version 2004; Version 1909; Version 1809; Version 1803 and other Enterprise/Server versions.

Background

Microsoft released their flawed Cumulative Update KB5000802 on 12th March 2021 which has caused severe issues with many users wishing to print. This update caused an unexpected Blue Screen Of Death better known as a BSOD and the computer subsequently reboots.  The error message was “Stop code: APC_INDEX_MISMATCH” with a “What failed: win32kfull.sys” message included. This message is only on the screen for 3 seconds so you need to be watching for it.

Update

Microsoft has recently released on March 2021 another update to correct the error caused by the Cumulative Update KB5000802

What you Need to Do

These steps are recommended for those who are still experiencing the BSOD problem.

Proceed to Settings (cog wheel) from the Start Menu (bottom left) then to “Update and Security” in the next list. Then proceed to “Check for updates”.

This will then log onto the Windows 10 Update Server and hopefully download the fix. This will then let you print after it’s been installed.

This update is called: KB5001649 so look out for that one. It may well be listed under “View all optional updates” so click on that and check. If it is under the latter optional area, you will need to install this Windows 10 update manually, which is easy to do. Check the box and then click “Download and install” button at the bottom of the black screen.

If for some reason, best known to your particular computer, the update is not available then you can proceed to the next step and manually download it yourself. You can also read about this problem on the Microsoft website, search for the KB5000802 headings.

To download the KB5001649 manually you need to go to this website of Microsoft’s and click on the version which suits your computer for versions 2004 and 20H2:

This is the correct place to download version 1909.

That said, generally, you do not need to manually download the Windows 10 Updates but the above information is provided in case this update is delayed as we would expect demand to be extremely high for this update to fix the flawed update.

Recommendation

One thing we do suggest is that you regularly “Pause updates for 7 days” for Windows 10. This has to be done on a regular basis as you can only “Pause” for 5 weeks or 35 days. To do this go to “Settings” (cog wheel) the “Updates and Security” then click on “Pause updates for 7 days” five (5) times and you will see the date change at the top for 7 + 7 + 7 + 7 + 7 each time you click the “Pause updates for 7 days” button. If you do this, then any flawed updates may be fixed by Microsoft before they hit your computer. It’s what we call preventative rather than reactive.

If you require any assistance with this BSOD and the updates we have talked about above, then please do not hesitate to call us here at Affordable Computer Repairs and Service.

Fix For Windows 10 Cumulative Update KB5000802 and Windows 10 Version 2004

As recently as Friday 12^th March 2021 Microsoft has installed the Cumulative Update KB5000802 for Windows 10 which creates a BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death) when you try and print a document. The BSOD flashes on the screen for 3 seconds or so then the computer reboots and when it has rebooted everything seems as it was, Desktop icons and programs and files all appear as they were. On saying that, if you crashed with the BSOD then some data could have been lost if you were editing a document or some such.

We here at Affordable Computer Repairs and Service have seen this 4 times in 3 days (Monday 15^th to Wednesday 17^th) and each occurrence was the same and the Windows 10 version was 2004. To find your Windows 10 version type in “winver” without the quotes in the white box at the bottom left of the screen.  If this problem has occurred on your Windows Version 2004, then the below fix for Windows 10 Cumulative Update KB5000802 may well be your answer.

First Backup and Create a Restore Point Prior to Un-installing

Before un-installing this cumulative update we would always recommend that a backup of the files and data that you have on the computer be done as well as creating a Restore Point as well. We have another document detailing Restore Points so that will not be covered here. Failing that just google it.

Un-install Windows Update KB500802

After the backups have been done and the Restore Point created then proceed to Settings (cog wheel) and then to Updates and Security. Under the heading of Updates click “View Update History” then “Uninstall updates”. Then search for the following update: KB5000802. As above it should be there somewhere with a date it was installed. The most recent will be at the top. Click Uninstall (usually in blue) near the top of the page. The uninstall will start and when completed your computer will reboot.

Our Experience in This Fix For Windows Update KB5000802

On reboot the percentage figure will run from 0% to 100% and you will be greeted with your login screen, proceed as normal.

On one occurrence all the Desktop icons disappeared on the other 3 they didn’t so you may have 100% success or not. Now try printing something and it should work as before.

We would strongly suggest that you pause updates for 35 days by clicking 5 times on “Pause Updates” this will give you 5 weeks of breathing space before then next updates occur.

A computer I “fixed” on Monday with the above problem re-installed the update the next day (Tuesday) and I was informed of this fact early morning Wednesday hence the need to pause updates.

The file concerned according to the BSOD is win32kfull.sys with the STOP CODE: APC Index Mismatch.

A Google search of this reveals: Apc_Index_Mismatch is an error caused by “incompatible drivers or faulty hardware”. Obviously, it’s not hardware so a driver has been corrupted by the KB5000802 update.

This website explains more.

win32kfull.sys is one of the many kernel mode device drivers in Windows 10 and obviously has something to do with printing.

I have seen this problem with a Kyocera printer, as in the beeping computer web page, but also on other printers as well, so it does not appear to be localised just to Kyocera.

Until Microsoft can get to fix this KB5000802 issue there seems to be nothing else but to uninstall the update and then stop all further updates for at least 5 weeks.

If you need any assistance, then please contact us as we can do the work detailed above if this is what you require.

Article provided by David from Affordable Computer Repairs and Service