Saturday Bonus Questions and Answers – 113024

Diane is looking for a free or cheap MS Excel Replacement
I am looking for a free or cheap Excel program.

Our answer
Hi Diane. We don’t know of any standalone programs like Excel, but we have recommended several free office programs that include programs nearly identical to Microsoft Excel. Please see this Cloudeight article for all of our recommended free alternatives to Microsoft Office.

We hope this helps you, Diane. 

Tim has a new PC and wants to move files, etc. from his old PC
Hi boys and girls… from an “old” reader. Well, I’ve finally bit the bullet and bought a new PC. At my age, this may very well be my last. And I’m looking for a “how to” on getting my stuff (files, etc.) from the old to the new. I’m sure you folks must have addressed this at some time, but as I didn’t need it, I didn’t save it. So, please direct me to your article concerning moving to a new PC. And I am moving from Win 10 to Win 11- from old to new. Thanks, and thanks for the invaluable help you offer to thousands of nongeeks like me! Tim

Our answer
Hi Tim. Thanks so much! OK, we’re going to give you a short (well kind of) tutorial on how to move to a new PC.

First, don’t try to move programs.

It’s possible but we do not recommend moving programs from one computer to another let alone moving programs from computers with different operating systems. There are programs like PC Mover that claim to move everything from one computer to another – but if you use it, you use it at your own risk. It can create a huge mess on the new PC. It is always best to reinstall the apps and programs you need on the new computer and avoid trying to move programs from one PC to another.

You’ll need an external hard drive.

Using an external hard drive, it’s easy to copy/move files from one computer to another even if one has Windows 10 and the other has Windows 11.

You can easily move documents, pictures, music, videos, and other personal files from one computer to another by using an external hard drive to copy the C:\Users\your username folder from the old computer to the external drive and then plugging the external drive into the new computer.

Then on the new computer open the Documents folder on the external drive select everything in it and copy it to the Documents folder on the new computer. Do the same with the Pictures, Music, and the other user folders you copied to the external drive.

But heed this warning! Never move entire folders from the old computer to the new one. For instance, don’t just copy the entire documents folder to the new computer or you’ll end up with Documents/Documents and have to open two folders to get to your files.

Open the Documents folder on your old computer, select one of the files or folders inside, and use the CTRL + A shortcut to select all files and folders inside. Once they are all selected copy them to the Documents folder on the new computer. Do the same with the Pictures, Music, Video, and Favorites folders.

Make it easy on yourself!

Having Copy to / Move to on the right-click menu on the old computer will make it a snap to copy files. If you don’t see Copy to/Move to on your right-click menu, you can easily add it by following this Cloudeight guide. 

If you do not have an external hard drive, you can get a 1 TB external drive for around $50 at Best Buy, Amazon, Walmart, etc.

We hope this helps you, Tim.

Peter & Shirley ask about TotalAV
Hi. I just saw an advertisement for something called, TotalAv. It’s a Microsoft App to clean and maintain a computer’s working life. What do you think?

Our answer
Hi, Peter & Shirley You have to be really careful when reading ads on the Internet as many of them, like the one you’re asking about, are deceptive.

TotalAV is a scam and while they may claim to be “Microsoft Certified” so have many other malware and scam programs over the years. Anyone can earn the “Certified Microsoft” seal if they pay the money. Certified Microsoft does not mean it’s a Microsoft product – TotalAV certainly is not a Microsoft Product. The only antivirus that Microsoft makes comes free with Windows 10 and Windows 11 – it’s called Microsoft Defender.

See the article here exposing Total AV for what it really is.

Paul wants to know how to make his computer ask for a password after waking it from sleep mode
When my computer goes to sleep and I wake it up, it does not require me to sign in with my PIN. How can I change this so it asks for my PIN before using my computer?  I hope you can help. I’ve looked for the answer everywhere. I found a lot of answers but none of them worked.

Our answer
Hi Paul.. Assuming you’re not using a screen saver do this:

— Right-click on the start button and click “Settings”.

— In Settings click on “Accounts” and then click “Sign-in options”.

Under Sign-in Options, under “Require sign-in” make sure under “If you’ve been away, when should Windows require you to sign in again?” “When PC wakes up from sleep” is selected. See the screenshot below.

If you are using a screen saver do this:

— Type Screensaver in the taskbar search. Press Enter when “Change Screensaver” appears in the search results.

— Make sure the box next to “On resume, display logon screen” is checked. Then click Apply/OK.

We hope this helps you, Paul.

Rex asks about Linux
Hi Darcy/TC. No one has given so much to keep Windows users in the loop and computing way beyond their time enjoying the use of their computers and being able to keep in touch with their friends and the world.

For myself and on their behalf I send you a million thanks. I know our initial investment in Windows got us many free version updates and it’s time for Microsoft to cash in on its invention.

I hesitate to suggest that instead of us planning to stop computing in five years if you start a section on the use of LINUX, the little I have researched so far shows it will do most everything a Windows user does now and at little or no cost so we can continue to stay with the world if we are hard pressed to afford a PC with Windows 11 and all the costly Office software which I admit is good for the young business users.

I don’t know how you manage to keep us all going up to now adding new demands seems selfish, but I thought I would ask. Take care and thanks for the many years of extra computing you have made possible for all of us. Regards, Rex.

Our answer
Hi Rex. Thanks for your nice comments. There’s no reason to stop computing in five years. Just because Windows 11 is coming out, and Windows 10 will no longer be supported after October 14, 2025, does not mean you have to give up your computer. It’s a far less steep learning curve to go from Windows 10 to Windows 11 than from Windows 10 to a Linux Distro. And some very inexpensive computers can run Windows 11. I bought one for less than $350 with 12GB of RAM and a 256 GB SSD. And so far it makes my old Windows 10 computers look like they’re in slow motion. Plus, you have options to continue to run Windows 10 safely after October 14, 2025, for instance. 0patch.

Windows 10 was a free upgrade to Windows 7 and Windows 8 users. Windows 11 is a free upgrade for Windows 10 users. 

Windows 11 will run on most computers 5 years old or newer. And even newer budget computers can run Windows 11.

Consider this. By the time Windows 10 is no longer supported, those computers that won’t run Windows 11 will be 8 to 10 years old or older. Ten years is a long time for a computer — at some point — if you want to keep on computing you’re going to have to buy a new computer because eventually, all hardware wears out. The average lifespan of an HDD (standard hard drive) is about 7 years. Motherboards, graphic cards, sound cards, network cards, wireless cards, etc. don’t work forever, and over time display screens fade and eventually stop working. Installing Linux won’t fix your aging hardware.

Windows 11 is much more like Windows 10 than most people have been led to believe. And it’s far closer to Windows 10 than any available distro of Linux is.

We like to think we’re Windows experts. We don’t write much about Apple devices or Android devices –while we use them but we are not experts with them.

And while I am familiar with Linux, I am certainly not an expert with it and I don’t have the time to put into becoming a Linux expert. I do know most average Windows users would not be happy with Linux. If someone is an advanced Windows user they may be able to make the transition. But there are tens of thousands fewer freeware programs available for Linux than there are for Windows, which is another drawback.

We have written tutorials on how to install Linux on Windows machines before. I read that there’s a new version of Linux (Linuxfx) coming that uses WINE to run Windows programs. From the previews I have seen, it looks like Windows 11—but it’s still in development and won’t be released for a while yet. Should that Linux distro see the light of day, we’ll be glad to look at it and write articles about it.

I guess, Rex, after all these years, we are still trying hard not to be “jacks of all trades and masters of none”…so we’ve stuck with what we know best, and that is Windows.

There are many great free alternatives for Microsoft Office that run on any version of Windows, including a free web version of MS Office that includes Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. You can read about some of them here.

Thanks again for your long-time support and your nice comments.

Tammy wants to know what PDF conversion site we recommend
There are so many sites that convert PDF files to work. I’m afraid to try them without some guidance. What website do you recommend for converting PDF files to Word? Any help is appreciated. Thanks, Tammy.

Our answer
Hi Tammy. There are many PDF conversion sites online. I tried three of them today and this one seems to me to be the easiest to use and works very well.

https://simplypdf.com/

Just click on “Select a file to convert” and Windows Explorer opens. Navigate to the PDF file you want to convert and click “Convert”. When it’s done you’ll see a download link to download your Word document. You can do as many as you like, just click “Do another conversion.” I did 3 PDF to Word conversions in less than 2 minutes.

We hope this helps you, Tammy.

Cloudeight Direct Care Key + a One-year Emsisoft Single PC License or One-year Renewal

Total price $50 – save up to $30!

This Cyberweek offer includes a Cloudeight Direct Computer Care key good for any computer service PLUS a one-year single PC Emsisoft license good for one full year of Emsisoft protection. If you’re currently an Emsisoft user, we’ll add one year to your current Emsisoft license. If you’re a new Emsisoft customer, this license can be used for a new Emsisoft subscription.

Take advantage of this special offer right now!

This offer is valid through Sunday, December 8, 2024