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Ross wants a copy of all the passwords on his computer
Can you recommend a program to obtain a copy of all my passwords stored either in my computer or by Google. I have access to all the relevant sites etc. now, but my computer is "tired", so would like to have a copy 'just in case'.

Our answer
Hi Ross. Nothing beats a good password manager for managing passwords. If you don't use one yet, it would be an excellent time to get one and start using it. There are many good password managers out there, some are free. Bitwarden has an excellent free password manager. RoboForm and LastPass also offer trimmed-down free versions.

Now, to answer your question: There's no way to recover every password from you Windows 10 computer, but there are ways to recover many of them. First, you can export all your Google Chrome passwords to a file by following the instructions on this page.

And you can use a program called reCall to ferret out other passwords (email passwords, application passwords and software licenses) stored on your computer. Read more about reCall here.

We hope this helps you, Ross.

Barb has a question about her Chromebook
I have a Chromebook that I accidentally erased Linux from. Is there any way you could recover that for me? I have tried unsuccessfully.
I have had your help before on my PC and wondered if you could be my last resort. Thank you, Barb.

Our answer
Hi Barbara. Thanks for your nice comments.

Chromebooks don't use Linux; they use Chrome OS. In any case, we don't work on Chromebook.

But maybe this will help you. You can reset your Chromebook back to its factory settings by following the instructions here.

That would make your Chromebook exactly the way it was when you first got it.

We hope this helps you, Barbara.

Rona has problems with the Windows 10 Photos app
Hello again TC & EB. I am having problems using the photos app. I thought I was doing really well transferring my photos from an external hard drive into albums in the photos app. However, after a day or two when I went back to look at the albums, they were nearly all showing that there were zero photos in them. One or two had some, but not all. What am I doing wrong? The photos which downloaded into the 'collection' folder are all mixed up with some upside down. On my old computer I used Picasa to sort my photos and they were all in folders in which I could edit, add and delete as needed.

I am getting very frustrated. I have tried to find solutions on the Internet, and it would seem that many others have had problems also. But I have been hesitant about trying the fixes suggested. I hope you can help me with some simple procedures as you always do. Many thanks. Rona.

Our answer
Hi Rona. It sounds like the Photos app is not working right. There are two things you can do to try to fix it. You can try to repair it, and if that does not work, you can try to reset it.

To repair or reset the Microsoft Photos app do this.

1. Type APPS in the taskbar search and press Enter when Apps & features appears in the search results.

2. On the page that opens are a list of all the programs and apps on your computer. Find "Microsoft Photos" and click on it. You'll see "Advanced options" directly beneath the title Microsoft Photos (see the screenshot below).

You'll see a lot of different settings and choices appear.

You're only interested in two of them: "Repair" and "Reset". Try "Repair" first and restart your computer. See if that fixes the Photos app. Go back to Apps & features, find Microsoft Photos, click on it and choose Advanced settings again. This time choose Reset instead of repair. After you reset the Photos app, restart your computer and try the Photos app again.

If you still can't get the Photos app working to your satisfaction, we have two alternatives for you.

Microsoft Photo Gallery (came with Windows XP, Windows 7) and works on Windows 10 too. I'm using it on Windows 10 version 21H1 (May 2021 update). For more information on where to get it, how to install it, and what it can do, see our article here.

You may also be interested in reading our article about FastStone Image Viewer (free). It has photo organizing capabilities too.

We hope this helps you, Rona.

Sharon wants to make the taskbar font black
I always appreciate your help; you guys are great! Is there any way to make the fonts on the taskbar black and not white I have a green color on there now and the white doesn't show up well. Thanks again for your help. Sharon S.

Our answer
Hi Sharon. Thank you! It sounds like you have Windows 10 in "Light" mode or have selected a light color for your taskbar. There's no way to change the taskbar font without getting into third-party programs or registry hacks. I don't think you'd want to do that.

So, we're going to help you get your Windows 10 PC out of light more - or help you select a dark color for your taskbar so the white text shows up better.

Let's get you out of light now and into Dark mode this way...

Right-click the taskbar.
Click "Taskbar settings"
Click "Colors"
Under "Choose your color" make sure it says "Custom" (you can select it by clicking on the little arrow).
Under "Choose your default Windows mode" choose "Dark".
Under "Choose your default app mode" you can choose "Light" or "Dark" - it doesn't affect the taskbar color.

Also make sure "automatically pick an accent color from my background is not selected.

You can either choose a dark color from the color chart or under "Show accent colors on the following surfaces", leave the box under "Start, taskbar and action center" unchecked. This will result in a black taskbar and the white text will show up very well.

The text will still be white, but you'll be able to see it much better.

There are programs you can download and themes you can install that may change the taskbar text color - but we recommend that you just make the taskbar darker so that the Windows default white text shows up well.



 

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Robert wants to know how to change the name on the Windows 10 login screen
How do you or can you change the name on the login screen. Or the startup screen or welcome screen. Thanks, Robert.

Our answer
Hi Robert. Thanks to your question, I've created a tutorial on how to change your account display name for those using a Microsoft account, as well as for those using a Local account

Take a look at the tutorial here.

Again, thanks for your question! It was the basis for our tutorial.

Bill wants to stop Microsoft Edge from blocking downloads
How do I stop Microsoft Edge from blocking downloads? It recently blocked a Crucial memory scan which I know is legit as well as a free PDF update. Thanks. Bill.

Our answer
Hi Bill. You can circumvent Edge's "SmartScreen" filter at two different ways.

Option 1:

Click the download link.
Click the View downloads button to the right of the "(this file/extension) is unsafe to download and was blocked by SmartScreen Filter" warning.
In Downloads, the blocked file will be listed with the "This is unsafe to download and was blocked by SmartScreen Filter" message.
You cannot click it to download it, but you can right-click the blocked file and choose "Download unsafe file" to download it.

Option 2:

You can also disable the Edge SmartScreen Filter (not recommended).

1. Open Microsoft Edge.
2. Click the 3 (...) horizontal dots icon in the top-right corner.
3. Click on "Settings".
4. Click on "Privacy, search, and services.
5. Scroll down to Security
6. Turn off the toggle switch next to "Help protect me from malicious sites and download with Microsoft Defender SmartScreen."

Our answer assumes that you have good antivirus/anti malware software installed. Otherwise, we do not advise that you to turn off SmartScreen.
-----------
Bill wrote back: "Thank you for the quick answer. I ordered 4GB ram from Amazon after a scan by Crucial.com. And I also go the update from free PDF. I have used Emsisoft from the beginning and in a couple of days you will be asked to renew it. Bill"

Debbie followed our instructions to increase the number of days to go back to a previous version of Windows, but...
I went back to your article on increasing the number of days to go back to previous installation of windows, copied & pasted the verbiage & it was not found. Has Microsoft closed that loophole in the latest version?

Our answer
Hi Debbie. The DSIM commands in our article "How to Increase the Number of Days to Go Back to the Previous Installation of Windows" are only valid during the period of time when you can still go back to a previous version of Windows.

If either of the following are true...

1) Windows has removed the previous version automatically after 10 days.

2) The previous version (Windows.old) has been removed using Disk Cleanup or another cleanup program.

You'll get "Error 1168: Element not found." This error message indicates that the previous version has been deleted, and there's currently no previous version to go back to.

I hope this answers your question, Debbie.

Lynnda wants to know about the new Brave Search
I'm just curious. What is your take on the new Brave Search? Thanks, Lynnda

Our answer
Hi Lynnda. I just now tried Brave Search because of your question. "Brave Search" results seem a bit sparse and off-target when compared to Google. However, Brave Search is in the beta stage meaning it's in the testing stage right now. Perhaps it will be better in time. You can try using it at https://search.brave.com/

If you're looking for a search engine with some modicum of privacy (nothing is private on the web), I suggest DuckDuckGo. They've been around a long time, and while DuckDuckGo's search results are thinner and much less robust than Google's, so are Bing's and Yahoo's. And neither Bing or Yahoo offer much more in the way of privacy than Google does.

And while you asked about Brave Search, we've been testing the Brave browser for many months now. While it has a few irritating (to us) features, it is an excellent browser for those looking for more privacy and security. It's based on Chromium, so it has a "Chrome" feel about it. If you haven't tried it yet, you might want to give it a test drive. You can download it (free) here.

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Troubleshoot Blue Screen Errors (BSODs)
Windows 10 (all supported versions)

Microsoft has updated its blue screen troubleshooter which may help you to figure out what’s causing your BSOD (Blue Screens of Death). It’s easy to use, but because of its simplicity it may not be able to help with you with your all possible BSODs – but hey, it’s worth a try, right?

It can help you with the following blue screen errors (and more):

It’s a question & answer set up. Each successive question is based on how you answered the previous question, until you finally arrive at an answer and, hopefully, a solution.

Microsoft has also added a “Need more help?” section to the page that’s essentially a search form you can use to research your BSODs.  You’ll also find “Ask the (Microsoft) community” link and a Microsoft “Contact Us” link.

If you’re having problems with BSODs, you should give it a try. It may not always solve your problem, but it is certainly worth a try. 

You can try the Microsoft Blue Screen Troubleshooter here.

On Masks and Vaccines and Stuff

In a spate of ethnocentrism, the other day, I walked outside into a beautiful summer day. I took a deep breath and let out a sigh of relief that the pandemic, which began over a year ago, seems to be finally losing its grip on my little town.

I’m guilty of assuming, I know. Just because the pandemic is easing here, does not mean it’s easing where you are. But that’s kind of how I think. My world is your world too – although I know it’s not.

It looks like the worst is over and things are getting back to “normal”, whatever that is.

One thing I’ll never forget about the “pandemic experience” is the craziness it caused – and is still causing. We have maskers and anti-maskers. We have vaxxers and anti-vaxxers. We have believers and deniers. There is all manner of craziness going on.

What kind of world do I live in if I am afraid to say “Yes, I’m fully vaccinated!” for fear I’ll raise someone’s political ire.

I’ve been around the block more than a few times. I was a child when the Salk polio vaccine was first distributed. In 1956, my parents took me to be vaccinated – kicking and screaming, I might add. I hated needles. I’m not sure “hated” is the right word. To say I was deathly afraid of them would be more apt.

Maybe I was too young to know what was going on, but I don’t recall people raising a fuss about all kinds of crazy stuff being put in the polio vaccine in an attempt to control society. Well, yes, you’re right – that was long before Bill Gates or microchips.

And I don’t recall anyone going on television claiming the polio vaccine made them magnetic...

Please read the rest of this essay here.

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