Ariel Millennium Thornton @arielmt@computerfairi.es

i don't think it's related, but an almost-coincidentally timed incident of microsoft being microsoft was just brought to my attention: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/02/05/windows_10_binged/

fast startup can be disabled, but manually rebooting once a week or so for decent daily use does the job, too.

there's no permanent solution for that because, since #windows 8, microsoft cheated to get decent startup and shutdown times: the fast startup feature.

when you tell windows to shut down, it goes into a hybrid sleep/hibernation state instead, & the next startup is basically a wake-up instead of a true kernel startup.

reboots don't do that. windows goes through a proper shut-down & actual startup.

go long enough without a proper reboot, & windows does strange things. this is one.

i have a customer who uses #windows 10, and they said they couldn't reach the internet anymore: all they got was a big black box. turns out, they actually use the taskbar search box to type web addresses, and the search results popup is what went blank. simple fix: reboot the pc.

tech is broken today. google maps is pinning some of my would-be customers 1,500 miles away, & no one can tweet on birdsite.

That first bit is frustrating, but that last bit is kinda relaxing. blessed silence.

*migrates files including firefox profile from old pc to new pc*

*installs firefox*

firefox: "the old profile is for a different firefox"
me: "crap, that's right, they use esr"

*uninstalls firefox*

*installs firefox esr*

firefox esr: "this profile is too new"
me:

"if you don't want a microsoft account, just make a microsoft account during #windows #oobe, then add a local account & delete the microsoft account afterward! easy peasy!"

i think you might be missing the point, help forum authors.

#til: if you want to set up a new #windows desktop pc with a local account & never know a microsoft account, you *MUST* prevent it from connecting to a network before #oobe finishes.

if you make the mistake of connecting on wifi first, a microsoft account is your only choice now. the *ONLY* thing you can do then is:

1. force-off the pc,
2. get out of wifi range or turn off your router,
3. turn on the pc,
4. don't go back or turn the router on again until the desktop appears.

seriously.

"The tools and tricks that let Ars Technica function without a physical office" - Looking at the “future of work” with a team that’s been living it for two decades: https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/01/no-office-no-problem-how-ars-technicas-remote-workers-work/

sometimes when searching for niche tech, you come across what can only be described as technological shitposts:

#til among the many simple things you could do in outlook express that you can't do in the #windows 10 mail app is forward a message as an attachment. https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/apps_windows_10-outlook_mail/windows-10-mail-forward-as-attachment/e9a87269-c211-413e-b293-128f6ea8225b

my customer has the user's guide that came with microsoft word 2.0 for windows way back in 1991. it's an 800-page tome. fast forward 28 years, & neither word nor the rest of the still-expensive microsoft office suite come with manuals anymore.

i just turned on a customer's laptop for the first time in months. the battery was completely drained, so i had to find & plug in their charger. after the laptop powered on, windows immediately logged off & shut down.

why?

because the laptop lid was closed right after the owner clicked on shutdown. windows stopped the shutdown & went into sleep mode instead, so it didn't finish shutting down until today, & it stayed in sleep mode until it drained the battery.

default windows behavior.

oh, btw, why i was hired to replace the battery: in the 100, the ram doubles as semi-permanent storage like a disk drive, & the ni-cad battery is what preserves it when it's turned off. when it fails, a symptom is random memory corruption even after a cold start.

i repaired vintage computers before, but up to now they were all mine, so it wasn't really a profession. now, after thorough testing of the Model T in my care, i can at last call myself a PROFESSIONAL vintage computer repair tech. *level-up.wav*

today, my computer fairy wand is on: someone else's TRS-80 Model 100.

the soldered-on nicad battery needs to be replaced. the original's been in there since 1983.