Cloudeight InfoAve Premium Bonus Questions & Answers: Part 14
Each week we receive more questions than we can answer in the newsletter due to space restrictions. We try to answer every question we receive. Unfortunately, we just don’t have room to put all the questions and answers in our weekly Premium newsletter.
So now, each week, we will put some of the questions and answers we had to leave out of or Cloudeight InfoAve Premium newsletter and post them here and share them with our Cloudeight InfoAve Premium subscribers, our InfoAve Daily subscribers and our website visitors also.
Below are just a few of the questions and answers that we didn’t have room in this week’s (January 17, 2020 – Issue #849) InfoAve Premium newsletter.
Thanks so much to all of you who sent us your questions last week. Please keep them coming!
Gail has been getting mail that appears to be from her friend but it’s not
I have been receiving emails that appear to be from a dear friend but that I know are not. I have informed her about it & have suggested that she change her anti-malware program to Emsisoft because I think someone has gained access to her contact list & sending out fraudulent emails. My questions are: once I determine the real email account from which these emails come, will replying to it actually be received to that sender? Is there a way to block them? The sender’s real account is always different each time I receive their email disguised as coming from my friend. It’s not so much a big deal as it is annoying. Thanks for any help with this. Gail
Our answer
Hi Gail. If the sender is an amateur and does not know what he or she is doing, you can find the IP address of the sender and where he/she is located, but that’s not going to do you a lot of good. Spammers don’t send from real email addresses (they send from forged email addresses) and they use thousands of email addresses so it’s impossible to block them. It’d highly unlikely someone has gained access to her contact list, but very likely that she or someone she sends to has put everyone’s email address in the CC line (instead of the BCC) line. We have seen it hundreds of times where people put dozens and dozens of peoples’ email addresses in the CC line and thus expose all those addresses to spammers.
The best way to control spam is not to block senders, it doesn’t work. The best we have ever found it to use Gmail to filter your mail. See this page to learn how to get a free Gmail account to block spam.
We get hundreds of emails each week and rarely do we ever see a spam email in our inbox. We’ve been controlling spam this way for many years and we love it because it works.
——————
Gail wrote back: “Hi TC. Thanks for being so sweet & taking the time to reply. I suspect, based on your information, that the culprit is someone to whom she emails because I don’t think my dear friend even knows what the Cc or Bcc is, much less how to properly use it… Anyway, thanks again. I sincerely appreciate it. Best wishes to you as well, Gail,
Robert wants a good free photo-editing site
You advised a good free site for the best photo editing – I am interested in a free photo editing service. Is that something you can provide for me.
Our answer
Hi Robert. There are several online photo editors we have tested in the past. We have not tested any recently. But here are several we have tested:
Pixlr
Be Funky
https://www.befunky.com/ (Good for beginners, not a lot of advanced features)
PhotoPea
https://www.photopea.com/ (Advanced online photo editor – with features like Photoshop)
I hope you find one that meets your needs.
Yvonne has questions about upgrading her Windows 7 PC to Windows 10
Hello…… I have a Windows 7 machine; I had it for years and know for a fact I won’t be able to download Windows 10 because of low RAM which is not expandable.
I have 2 Gmail accounts from which I and my husband use to send emails, etc.
In the Windows 7 Library, I have things saved in: Documents, Pictures, Music, and Videos. I use Google as my default browser and have bookmarks and passwords saved in Google.
In my Desktop, I have multiple folders as well.
I also have a membership with Big Fish, a computer video game company who uses a game manager to show games I have purchased and allows me to play them. The progress of each game is kept on my computer in its own separate file (somewhere).
I think it is time I start to save what I wish to install on my new computer once I buy it; so could you please send me instructions on how to do these things? Once everything is ready and the new computer is purchased, I will most definitely use your services to set the new computer up to look like Windows 7.
Our answer
Hi Yvonne. The minimum requirement for RAM for Windows 10 is the same as it is for Windows 7. So, if you can run Windows 7, you can run Windows. There is no simple set of rules for updating to Windows 10. You just have to try it. If it fails, you lose nothing, it goes back to Windows 7.
We do not recommend that you move programs from one computer to another… most of the time it results in a mess.
To copy your files (pictures, documents, music, etc.) from your old computer to a new computer – you’ll need an external hard drive. Then you’ll need to copy the C:\Users\**your-user-name* to the external drive. “Your user name” is the user name you’re signed into Windows 7 with. If you’re not sure, Type Command in the Windows 7 menu (at the bottom) and click CMD or command prompt when it appears at the top. Type NET USER in the command prompt. Your user name (the first 5 letters of it) will appear.
Once you have done that, you’ll need to connect the external drive to the new computer, open the Users folder on the external, and open the folders with the files you want to transfer to your new computer one at a time. For instance open Users/User Name/ Pictures. Select all the pictures in the folder and copy them to the Pictures folder on your new computer. Never transfer the entire folder, only the contents (files & sub-folders in the main directory). You can use or copy to/move to tip on Windows 10. You can read more about that here.
You won’t want to copy the contents of all the folders, just Pictures, Documents, Desktop, Music, and Videos (if you save them). It’s not hard to do this but if it’s not done right, you’ll end up with duplicated folders. So be careful to only copy the contents of the folders you backed up from the old PC to the corresponding folder on your new one.
Changing computers does not change your Gmail accounts. If you used Chrome on your old PC you’ll need to install it on your new computer. Once you install it you’ll need to make it default.
As far as Big Fish Games, I know nothing about them, for advice or support you’ll need to contact them.
I hope this gives you a general idea of how to copy files correctly from your old PC to your new one. It would probably be best to wait until you have the new PC and then if you need me to clarify anything you can write and ask them… it sounds a lot more difficult in the theoretical than it is when you start doing it. If you have a lot of files (a lot of gigabytes) to copy it can take hours – it’s not hard but it can be time-consuming.
And if you want us to make your new Windows 10 PC look and work more like Windows 7 – or if you want to try to upgrade your current PC to Windows 10, just let me know.
Nora’s hard drive failed… now what?
My desktop recently died…I think…I was continually getting a pop up that said “windows detected a hard disk problem” ..back up now, ask me again later or don’t ask me this again. Well, I was able to get back in several times before everything just quit! Now I can’t even get remote assistance or get to my home screen. Is this 6 yr old ASUS desktop a write off?? I really like 8x and a new computer means I would have to get Windows 10 which I really don’t like (but am willing to learn). Is there a solution to this problem? And if I do have to get a new desktop what would you recommend? Also if I do get Windows 10 is there a way you could make it look like 8x?? My son would take it to a shop to see if maybe there’s a screw loose or if something needs to be replaced which would be an easy fix. I don’t know what to do. I do have a key waiting for me with you good folks but it won’t do me any good if you can’t connect remotely. I did get a blue screen which had options to reset and I tried that and it said: “this computer could not be reset”. Another question…can hard disks be replaced?? Thank you for any help. Nora
Our answer
Hi Nora. I’m sorry to hear about your problems. If your hard drive has gone bad, you’re basically done. There are forensic disk recovery firms who can recover data from bad drives, but unless you’re wealthy they’re not an option.
You can replace your hard drive on your current PC but unless and Windows installation media – or another PC that you can use to create installation media – then you’ll need a new computer.
I’ve never heard of anyone asking to make a computer look like Windows 8. If that’s what you want, you could just use Windows 10 in Tablet Mode which looks very much like Windows 8. You can also use Windows 10 with a full-screen start menu, which also looks like Windows 8. But there’s no way to bring back features like the “charms bar”. But Windows 10 has far more features than Windows 8. If you have a backup of your pictures/docs/desktop/music etc., you can copy those backed up files to the corresponding folders on your new PC.
I hope this helps you, Nora.
Bonnie wants to convert PDF files to JPG files
I would like to know the best and easiest file converter. I would like to convert PDF to JPG. Thank You
Our answer
Hi Bonnie. We don’t recommend installing a PDF converter. These kinds of programs seem to be magnets for malware. Rather, we suggest you use an online converter, particularly one that specializes in what you want to do. I tested a few this morning. Some want to play games and try to get you to install or download something, and some like this one https://jpg2pdf.com/ just do the conversion for you. When the conversion is complete, you can download your JPG file. It can also convert PDF to PNG and other file types as well.
I hope this helps you, Bonnie.
Dianna wants to know how to clear the Firefox cache
How do I clear my browser’s (Firefox) cache?
Our answer
Hi Dianna. If you have a menu bar at the top of Firefox, click on “History” > “Clear recent history”. A dialog will appear. You can delete your history and browser cache for the last hour, last day, or choose everything to completely clear your cache.
If you don’t see a menu bar at the top of Firefox, right-click on the title bar (the very top bar in Firefox) and choose “Menu bar”. Then follow the instructions above. If you need more help, let me know.
Patricia has some questions about Internet Explorer and Chrome
I kept getting a message IE-11 is outdated, so Chrome is now my default browser if Microsoft makes a new version of IE-please let me know, I set up Cloudeight as my start page, it works from my end did I connect to your end?
Our answer
Hi Patricia. When you view our pages you’re not connected to us, you just see our public pages. For instance https://www.thundercloud.net/start/. That does not connect you to anything, you’re just viewing our page(s). If you see our pages then all is well!
Microsoft is not going to make any new versions of Internet Explorer. They are making Microsoft Edge and Microsoft Edge Chromium. Eventually, Edge Chromium will be called Edge and the old Edge will be retired. In any case, Microsoft will not be making any new versions of Internet Explorer.
Thanks for using our Start page.
Bernie asks about Photostick
For the last couple of months, my email and Facebook have been flooded
with ads about this “new” gadget. Is it any good?
“Voted best computer gadget 2020
It’s a pretty simple idea… plug this device into your computer and
it will gather and organize every photo you’ve ever taken. It seeks
through downloads, photo libraries and more. You can use it on
multiple computers and laptops to finally get all your photos in one
place.
It organizes them according to when the photo was taken. Because so
often we have numerous digital copies of a single photo, it
automatically removes duplicates, so you only have 1 copy of each
photo.
It can save tens of thousands of photos. And they’re all on the device
itself — ready to print, transfer, and share.”
Our answer
Hi Bernie. It sounds like a very expensive flash drive considering Windows 10 Photos App, FastStone Image Viewer, Google Photos, and many other programs and apps do the same thing. As far as sharing photos between computers Windows 10 comes with OneDrive and Google Accounts come with 15 GB of space you can use for storing photos.
You have to give those people credit though, sticking a freeware program on a flash drive and selling it for 10 times the cost of the flash drive is ingenious. Love how it says “Get all your photos in one place”. I think that started with Picasa about 12 years ago.
Read the Amazon reviews— 38% rated Photostick 0 or 1 star. That’s a very poor rating.
Let the buyer beware!
Bob wants to clone a potentially failing hard drive
I may have an internal boot drive going bad, but it’s been more than 10 years since I cloned a hard drive. Can you give us simple step-by-step instructions on how to clone a hard drive, and what software do you recommend to clone with? Thanks!
Our answer
Hi Bob. A clone is an exact copy of your hard drive – sector by sector. The last thing you want to do with a bad hard drive is to clone it. What you need to do is back up all your files (Photos, Documents, Music, etc.) to an external drive before your hard drive becomes inaccessible. You can then copy the files back to the corresponding folders after you install Windows 10 on the new drive.
You can download Windows 10 here and make an installation DVD (or flash drive) and install it on a new hard drive. Both the installation disk and flash drive are bootable. And you won’t need a product key since you have Windows 10 installed now. Windows 10 embeds the key in your computer’s BIOS. As long as you don’t change your motherboard you’ll never need a product key.
I hope this helps you, Bob.
Pierre wants to use an image backup on his new computer
Hi guys. My question is about that Ashampoo back-up I’ve been using…When going to a new laptop I intend to buy, can I simply plug my external drive to it without doing anything else? Could you also remind me about how to make an image copy of my old computer? Warm Regards, Pierre
Our answer
Hi Pierre. It’s not a good idea to use an image backup made on one computer on a different computer – you could end up with a mess – even if it’s the same brand. There are differences in hardware and drivers between different computer models – even models of the same brand.
You can use your Ashampoo backup to copy your files (Pictures/Music/Documents) to your new computer. Then all you need to do is install any programs you want or need.
I hope this helps you.
Olstan is having network problems
Hi Darcy/TC. This problem of mine is probably outside your range of assistance. Using my computer (it was the same with an older computer) I frequently get interrupted by “stoppages” with a message “No internet etc etc” or “Your connection was interrupted etc”. Sometimes if I wait 20 seconds or so and it will come right. At other times I have to log out of where I was and try again. I have been in touch with my internet and NBN provider and of course, it is not their problem. They said to try Microsoft but they don’t want to know about it. I would appreciate any suggestions. Kind regards, Olstan.
Our answer
Hi Olstan. I’m guessing that if you have an older computer that your network adapter is going bad. If you’re using WiFi, using a USB WiFi adapter is an easy fix – see this page. If you’re using Ethernet (plugged into the modem) it’s not so easy a fix – you’d need to buy a network adapter. Open the case, remove the old adapter from the motherboard and replace it with the new one.
Other than that, your modem/router could be the problem but your provider should have checked that.
Microsoft almost certainly not the cause, but it was a good way for your provider to steer you away from them. If you’re using Windows 10 you can completely reset your network – see this page – but I doubt that will correct your problem.
I hope this helps you, Olstan.
Margaret can’t open Word docs with Open Office
Most of the files that I created were done in Microsoft Word and saved to a CD. I only have one program on the computer which is Open Office and I cannot open the files in that program. I have tried to retype the file so that I can print it on a 5 x 8 index card, but it doesn’t work either. Is there another Word program available for Windows 10 that will support these files. If so, then I can uninstall Open Office.
Our answer
Hi Margaret. If you have Open Office installed, just right click on one of those documents, and choose “open with”.. and then click “More apps…{ and you will see Open Office as an option. Choose it and choose “Always open these types of files with …”.
This should work, assuming I am understanding your question correctly 🙂
Also, you can open Microsoft Word Docx and Doc formats with WordPad. To open WordPad type WRITE in Taskbar search and click it when it appears at the top. You can also open it from the Start menu… Start > Windows Accessories > WordPad.
Bill is having problems accessing our Start page
The past 3 or 4 days, Microsoft has put a message on my home page which is Cloudeight stating that IE has restricted this website from running scripts, etc. I click the X and check show all content & the message disappears until I refresh or restart. Is there a way to stop this? Thanks, Bill.
Our answer
Hi Bill. We began our switch to secure servers on January 5, 2020, and it took a few days for everything to get back to normal.
Try this:
1. Open Internet Explorer.
2. In the top menu, click on Tools and then Internet Options.
3. Click on the Advanced Tab.
4. Find where it says “Disable Script Debugging” and tick the box beside it.
5. Find where it says “Display a notification about every script error” and untick the box beside it.
Also, have you tried refreshing our pages? Here are a couple of pages to try:
https://thundercloud.net/start/
https://thundercloud.net/infoave/new/
Thanks for using our Start page.
Bob P. does not want Windows 10 Mail App as his default mail program
Hi there folks… This is a problem that I have no doubt you have been presented with before and it involves setting a default program for the sending of email from the right hand click on (say) a photo file. Since I updated to Windows 10 (version 1909) I cannot get away from Windows Mail as the default emailer. I did a fair bit of Google/YouTube research and followed the directions of all suggested cures – all alas to no avail. With long experience of your abilities to give concise, accurate instructions to put to right such problems, I have turned to you to give me a “light bulb” moment in how to get this wretched machine to accept that I wish to send stuff via Mozilla Thunderbird.
Our answer
Hi Bob. Type DEFAULT in taskbar search. Windows 10 Settings > Apps > Default apps will open. Click on Email > Choose an app and click on Thunderbird. Now close the Settings dialog. Thunderbird should be your default email client.
We have had a couple of folks who had installed Thunderbird and it simply was not on the list. If you find this to be the case, uninstall Thunderbird, reboot and then reinstall Thunderbird. Now, follow the instructions in the preceding paragraph – Thunderbird should be in the list of email clients.
You made it! Thanks for reading the extra questions and answers from Cloudeight InfoAve.
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