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Don says he wants to donate his computer but wiping the data isn't working
I have completed the removal of all data after selecting the reset option as instructed. I plan to donate my old pc. Now it has been running for about 5 hours and never installs a Windows 10. How can I prompt it to install a new Windows 10? Do I just connect my internet cable and hope for the best?

Our answer
Hi Don. When you do a reset and also choose to wipe all the data on the drive, it can take 8 hours or more. The reason is, it wipes the data and then overwrites the drive with gibberish so even the best forensic software cannot recover any data from the drive. This takes a very long time. The reset will automatically re-install Windows after everything else is done - but your computer must be connected to the internet for this to happen. When it's finished the start screen will look like a new computer - asking the owner to set up an account, his/her location, time zone, etc. You don't have to do anything be very patient and make sure the computer is connected to the internet.

Barb wants to know if she can stop a Windows update
When I got up a couple of hours ago my computer said windows was updating and not to turn it off. I did not set it to do anything. Can I just shut it off and if it was something important will it just start again when I want it to? I am using my husband's computer to send this. Thank you so much, Barb.

Our answer
Hi Barb. Windows Updates, unless you schedule them, will occur when Microsoft sends them. Do not turn off the computer that is updating. Just let it go. If you turn it off you could find yourself with major problems. All cumulative monthly Windows Updates are important as they include vulnerability patches, security fixes, bug fixes, etc. These are released on the 2nd Tuesday of every month (Patch Tuesday) but not everyone will get them on that day.

Don't turn off the computer. Let it finish installing the updates.

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Sharon has trouble seeing scroll bars on her Windows computer
I have a question. I think I'm using Windows 11. The gray bar on the right side of my screen that moves pages up and down is very narrow. Sometimes hard to see or to grab with the mouse. How can I make this bar wider and easier to see? Sharon.

Our answer
Hi Sharon. Windows 10 and Windows 11 make scrollbars nearly invisible until you hover over them. To make your scrollbars visible all the time, do this...

1. Press & hold down the Windows key and tap the U key to open Accessibility (Windows 11) or Ease of Access (Windows 10).

2. In Windows 11 >Settings > Accessibility look under "Visual effects". Next to "Always show scrollbars" turn the switch on.

See the screenshot below.

If you're using Windows 10, under Ease of Access, find the "Simplify and personalize Windows" section and turn the switch next to "Automatically hide scroll bars in Windows" to "Off". See the screenshot below.

We hope this helps you see the scrollbars better, Sharon.

Cathy has a lot of computer problems
My desktop computer has been doing this for a while. When I try to use the computer the desktop shows just fine but when I click on anything on the desktop nothing works not even CTRL+ALT+DELETE. And I can't even get on the internet. So I have to unplug and replug the tower to get it to work. It started after a Windows update -- the one where people were having problems with their printers not working. It's been a while. I have to unplug and replug several times a day to do anything on the computer. Any suggestions would help. Thanks, Cathy.

Our answer
Hi Cathy. This could be caused by a lot of things, so we're going to give you some things to try.

It could be that your computer is becoming non-responsive and that can be caused by many things, but most likely by a lack of resources (RAM). Either you don't have enough RAM installed, you have too many programs starting up with Windows, you are trying to do more multitasking than your resources will allow or you have serious Windows issues.

Make sure you don't have too many programs starting with Windows. Open Task Manager, and click on the Start Up tab. Disable as many startups as you can but do not disable any Microsoft items or your antivirus. Then restart your computer.

You might also want to try running SFC and DISM to repair Windows. See this page for our tutorial.

If nothing above helps, you might want to do a Windows Reset and keep all your files. A reset removes Windows and all programs, reinstalls a fresh copy of Windows, and then puts all your files back where they were. You can read our tutorial on Windows Reset here.

We hope this helps you, Cathy.

Eileen wants to know if she switches internet providers if she'll lose anything on her computer
Well, I have had it with WOW as my ISP provider but I have a question for you. I am considering canceling WOW and having Comcast as my new provider. I know you mentioned having Gmail, but I think I wouldn't have enough room for all my files. From what I've read I should make sure everything is transferred from WOW before I cancel them but I'm at a loss as to how to do it. Would everything that's in my Outlook email program still be there if I cancel WOW or do I take my chances, go to Comcast, and hope I don't have any glitches? I don't even know if I'm asking the right questions. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Eileen.

Our answer
Hi Eileen. The ISP you use (Internet Service Provider) does not have any effect on the files on your computer (Documents/Pictures/Music/etc.). The internet is the same no matter how you get there - Spectrum, Comcast, Cox, WOW...all take you to the same place. The only thing you would lose is - if you use a WOW mail account - you would lose access to that account. But I notice here you're using Gmail and that would not be affected by the service provider or the email program you use (Outlook, Thunderbird, OE Classic, etc.).

So the only thing that would be affected if you left WOW for Comcast would be your WOW email address - if you have one. Gmail/Hotmail/Outlook.com are not affected by the ISP you and neither are the files on your computer. And if you use OneDrive to back up your computer that would not be affected by a change in internet service providers either.

We hope this helps you make a good decision.
 

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How to Quickly Clear the Windows Clipboard
Windows 10 and Windows 11

Whenever you copy sensitive data to your clipboard, it’s always a good idea to clear it right away. For example, if you’ve copied your credit card number to the clipboard, you don’t want to leave it there. The simplest way to remove it is to copy something else to the clipboard as the default Windows clipboard only stores one clip at a time.  

But there are other ways to do it too and we’re going to show you three of them that will force clear the Windows clipboard quickly.

1. Right-click on the Windows 10 or 11 Start button, click “Run” and type or copy & paste the following command

cmd /c “echo off | clip”

And press Enter.

2. Type CMD in the taskbar search and press Enter. At the prompt, type

cmd /c “echo off | clip”

and press Enter

3. Create a Windows batch file (.bat).

Open Notepad and type the following command:

cmd /c “echo off | clip”

Save the file with a .bat extension. Be careful now. Notepad saves everything as a text file by default, so be careful here or your batch file won’t work.  Type the file name as Clear-Clipboard.bat (or whatever you want to name it) and then choose “Save file as” and use the arrow to deselect “Text Documents (*txt) and select “All Files”.

Above: In the “Save as type” dialog, click the down arrow at the right edge and choose “All Files”.

Now save your file anywhere you like. I saved mine to my desktop.

Now, anytime you want to clear the Windows clipboard, just click on the batch file you just created.

Our Favorite Windows Key Shortcuts
Windows 10 and Windows 11

Everyone uses their computers in different ways. We’re shortcut fans; anything that saves time is welcome. If you’re not using Windows Key shortcuts you’re missing out. Windows Key shortcuts can save you time, but only if you use them. And yes, you’ve seen this tip before, but Windows Keys shortcuts are time-savers, and easily forgotten if you don’t use them. So, this is a reminder that these 10 Windows key shortcuts will save you time. 

We put our heads together and came up with a list of what we think are the ten most useful Windows Key shortcuts. These are the Windows Key shortcuts we use most often, and we hope you find these shortcuts useful too!

Using Windows Key shortcuts is a great way to save time. Do you use Windows Key shortcuts as much as we do?

Add Spice to Your Sticky Notes with Links, Pictures and Emoji
Windows 10 and Windows 11

Did you know that you can add links, pictures, and Emoji to Windows Sticky Notes? You can. And you can also add links and bulleted lists, and change font styles (Bold, Italic, Strikethrough).

Here’s a cute sticky note that includes a picture of one of my heroes…

How to open the Sticky Notes app in Windows 10 and Windows 11.

The easiest way is first. Type “Sticky Notes” (without the quotes) in the taskbar search and press Enter. Or choose Sticky Notes from your start menu.  HINT:  If you use Sticky Notes often, you can create a taskbar shortcut by opening Sticky Notes, right-clicking its icon in the taskbar then choosing “Pin to taskbar”.

How to add a picture to your sticky note

OK, first, keep in mind that, any image you add will be added to the top of your sticky note. HINT: Compose your sticky note text first and then add the image last.

Then, when you’re ready to add the image to your sticky note, click on the picture icon at the bottom. When you do Windows 10 File Explorer will open. Select your image and add it to your sticky note.

Above Sticky Notes in Windows 10; below Sticky Notes in Windows 11

Inserting Emoji into your sticky note

Type your sticky note and format it any way you want. Then press the Windows key and tap the period key/dot key (or semi-colon key) to open the Emoji pad (or Emoji panel as geeks like to say). Then just click on the Emoji you want to add. You can add as many as you want.

We have thousands of Windows tips, tricks, and more on our InfoAve website.

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Now available: Reg Organizer 9.0

If you purchased or renewed Reg Organizer through Cloudeight within the last 12 months, you're entitled to a free version upgrade to Reg Organizer 9.0. Works great with Windows 10 and Windows 11!

Save $14 on Reg Organizer right now!

Reg Organizer - A Swiss Army Knife of Windows Tools - Works Great on Windows 10!

Two Really Good Free Cleanup Programs for Windows

A couple of years ago, Microsoft warned Windows 10 users not to install CCleaner. CCleaner was once a highly regarded Windows system cleaner that was purchased by Avast.  And that has led to a lot of controversies as Avast started using CCleaner to spy on its users, as an advertising vector for Avast antivirus, and as a way to entice users to download software bundles, etc. You can read more about that here. The article is not new, but then again, we’ve seen nothing coming from Avast that shows the company has changed its ways. They still bundle useless software with their “free” antivirus in an attempt to make money from freeware.

While Windows Storage Sense does a good job of keeping Windows 10 and Windows 11 computers clean, many people prefer using a third-party cleanup app. There are dozens of free cleaner apps available… many of them don’t work well and some come bundled with useless even malicious software.

So we’ve sifted through the mess and found two good free system cleanup tools and we’ve tested them for you. The two are BleachBit, and PrivaZer. Let’s take a look at each of them.

BleachBit

BleachBit is a Cloudeight freeware pick. If used with its default settings it is easy enough to use that just about anyone can safely use it.

From BleachBit…

“BleachBit has many useful features designed to help you easily clean your computer to free space and maintain privacy…

“When your computer is getting full, BleachBit quickly frees disk space. When your information is only your business, BleachBit guards your privacy. With BleachBit you can free cache, delete cookies, clear Internet history, shred temporary files, delete logs, and discard junk you didn’t know was there. Designed for Linux and Windows systems, it wipes clean thousands of applications including Firefox, Adobe Flash, Google Chrome, Opera, and more. Beyond simply deleting files, BleachBit includes advanced features such as shredding files to prevent recovery, wiping free disk space to hide traces of files deleted by other applications, and vacuuming Firefox to make it faster. Better than free, BleachBit is open source…”

BleachBit works with Windows 8.1, Windows 10, and Windows 11.

Read more about BeachBit and/or download it here.

PrivaZer

Privazer is almost like a cult favorite. It has a very loyal following and for good reason. PivaZer is a very powerful deep system cleaner even when used with its default settings. PivaZer is extremely robust and continues to be a favorite among advanced users who like to twiddle around with PrivaZer’s advanced settings.

After testing it again today, we think almost all of you – even those of you who are not advanced users – will find PrivaZer useful right out of the box… without messing around with any of its advanced features. 

PrivaZer is certainly one of the most complete and powerful free system cleaners available. We have tested it several times and found it to be safe if used with care (default settings).

From PrivaZer’s website:

With simply one click, PrivaZer is able to clean securely

. Internet browsers
. Index.dat
. Cookies
. Cookies Tor
. Cookies Flash
. Cookies Silverlight
. DOM Storage
. IndexedDB
. AppCache

. Registry
. RAM
. Pagefile.sys and Hiberfil.sys files

. Use of software
. Messengers
. Histories of visited websites, videos, software, opened docs, etc.
. Jumplists

. Recycle bin
. Temp files
. Log files
. Invalid Prefetch entries
. Indexing service
. ThumbCaches, Thumbs.db

. Residual traces of deleted files
. Free space
. File table (MFT or FAT)
. INDEX attributes in MFT
. USN Journal, etc.

PrivaZer is a cleanup tool that comes highly recommended. To get the most from PrivaZer, be sure to read the documentation and instructions. 

PrivaZer works with Windows 8.1, Windows 10, and Windows 11.

Read more about PrivaZer and/or download it here.

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A Single Flake of Snow

With a single flake of snow, winter begins. Like that first faint shadow of twilight, we hardly take notice of it. It’s just another season in a lifetime of seasons; it’s just another snowflake in a long cycle of winters.

The autumn leaves, glorious and resplendent, catch our attention as we hurry through our lives... but that first flake of snow is a sentry of winter and we like to pretend it is not there so we let it go. We ignore it. We go on about our lives relying on calendars and watches to keep track of seasons and time. Still, winter begins with a single snowflake, whether or not the calendar agrees.

It’s nearing the end of October and today a single flake of snow catches my eye. It is a dull, gloomy, and lifeless autumn afternoon. The air is chilly, but not cold and the sky is spackled with gray but not the dark umbrella gray of winter. My eyes follow the snowflake as it falls softly to the ground. And my mind drifts back to another time – when the world was a much smaller and simpler place.

I’m getting off the school bus. It’s the last day before Christmas vacation. I am nine years old. I am happy and running towards my little house, on a quiet street, in a small village near the Southern shore of Lake Erie. It is snowing lightly and watching it fall makes me happy and excited. It is a dull, gloomy, late-autumn afternoon – the light is weak and tired – but to me, a child, it’s a winter wonderland; bright and happy...

Read the rest of this essay here. 

Let's grab a Byte

TB stands for terabyte; GB stands for gigabyte; MB stands for megabyte, and KB stands for kilobyte. EB stands for Eightball - and she has an overbite.

A byte is a single bit of information. A zero; a one, an on, an off -- you know just arcane geeky stuff like that.

A kilobyte is 1024 bytes. A megabyte is 1,024,000 bytes. A gigabyte is 1,073,741,824 bytes. A terabyte is 1,099,511,627,776 bytes. That's generally the accepted definition. However, when talking about storage devices like hard drives and external drives, it gets a little simpler. For this purpose a kilobyte is 1000 bytes, a megabyte is 1,000,000 bytes, a gigabyte is 1,000,000,000 and a terabyte is 1,000,000,000,000 bytes.

And now, before we byte off more than we can chew, we're going to end this right here so we don't take up more bytes on your hard drive.

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We hope you have enjoyed this issue of Cloudeight InfoAve Weekly. Thanks so much for your support and for being an InfoAve Weekly subscriber.

Have a great weekend... be safe!

Darcy and TC
Cloudeight InfoAve Weekly - Issue #993
Volume 19 Number 51
October 21, 2022 

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