Issue #1061
Volume 21 Number 15
February 9, 2024
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I have you as my homepage also use Gmail from there. But if I want to go to Gmail and have your start page open at the same time when I start Chrome? Is that possible? Thanks, Karen.
Our answer
Hi Karen. You can set as many homepages as you want. However, keep in mind, that the more pages you have open when you open your browser, the slower it will be. I would not recommend you have more than two or three pages opening when you start your browser.
Here is a page that shows you how to set a home page in your browser and how to add additional home (or start) pages.
We hope this helps you, Karen.
Bart says his
taskbar search suddenly disappeared on his Windows
10 PC
All of a sudden my Taskbar
search bar disappeared. So I have no way to search
for things on my computer anymore. How can I fix
this? Thanks for your help.
Our answer
Hi Bart. You don't need a search bar to use taskbar
search. You can choose to show a Search icon
instead. Or you can hide the Taskbar search
completely and use the Windows key + S shortcut to
launch the search.
If you want to show a
search box on your taskbar, right-click your taskbar
and choose "Show search box". If you want to show
just a search icon (which takes up less room) choose
"Show search icon".
We hope this helps you, Bart.
Don says his
Windows 10 Update is stuck at 30%
The problem is on my Windows 10 computer and an
update was installed and a restart was required. I
did the restart and my computer went to 30% complete
and remained there saying "Working on update 30%
complete don't turn off your computer." Has not
moved from there for the last 24 hours. Hope
that helps you and me. Thank you in advance.
Don
Our answer
Hi Don. Windows 10 had problems with updates, that
is for certain. As far as your problem goes, I know
it says not to turn off your computer, but you're
going to have to. It should restart and in Settings
> Windows Updates it will show an update is pending.
Usually, if you're patient, the update will
eventually install. There are like 9 million tips on
how to fix broken updates on the internet, but most
of them don't work. Patience, in most cases, pays
off - the update will eventually install. Other than
that, I recommend you
follow the instructions on this page and run the
Microsoft Update Troubleshooter for Windows 10.
Sometimes it does help, but the problem with Windows
updates is that the "error" codes are vague and most
often don't tell you what's wrong.
Margaret asks
what she'd have to do if she were to change her
email address
If I were to change
my e-mail address, what would I have to do, notify
everyone or if someone contacted me, would the
computer show my new address? It is very involved,
I know, but the provider I have wants me to change
my e-mail address so I have access to my messages on
their website. Thank you for your help.
Our answer
Hi Margaret. Once you get your new email
address you should notify everyone in your address
book that you're changing your email address by
sending them an email from your current email
address. Ask them to add your new address to their
address book or contacts.
It's a good idea
to keep your old email address active for a few
weeks after you change to a new email address just
in case. There's no good reason why you can't use
your new email address and keep your old email
address too. I have several email addresses- some I
hardly ever use. But I do have one main email
address and one backup email address. If you choose
to keep your old email address, you don't have to
use it or check it all the time - but having it for
a backup might be a good idea.
We've helped hundreds and hundreds of you with your computers since we started our Cloudeight Direct Computer Care Service! If you're having computer problems - we CAN help you!
We all know that sooner or later our computers are going to start having problems. We can help you with any computer need -- from diagnosing and fixing Windows problems - to setting up a wireless network for you - to safeguarding by creating an image-based backup (the only kind that really works when you really need it to work) - to cleaning up your computer and optimizing it -- and more. We can do almost anything you need done and we guarantee our work - you're either satisfied or we'll refund your money.
We connect to your computer and fix it while you watch
We will connect to your computer via the Internet and fix any problems you may be having. You can watch us work and chat with us while we do. If you have any computer questions you'd like to ask we'll be glad to answer them for you. We don't just fix your computer, we explain what we're doing and why we're doing it and we are right there with the entire time. Since we've started we've helped hundreds of you with your computer problems and we've received dozens of referrals and testimonials from our readers and customers.
We offer many other computer services too! If you have a problem with your computer - we can fix it!
Get more information about Cloudeight Direct Computer Care and or get your repair keys here.
Terry says websites don't remember him and
he always needs to sign in
Hi, you two. I can't assign blame
to anything Microsoft has done recently but for about a month I have been asked
repeatedly to sign in to all websites I usually went straight into without that
process. Notably Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). Still others, including my
MS account, ask for a sign-in and X has a button to push to avoid signing in
again. Needless to say, I push the button. I still have to sign in daily. Any
ideas what could have changed to put me through all this? I just reloaded Edge
but no joy. I'm still signing in.
Stay happy and healthy. Terry.
Our answer
Hi Terry.
Windows has nothing to do with sites remembering your information and/or keeping
you logged in. This is strictly a browser issue or a personal privacy issue.
If you use clean-up programs like CCleaner, PrivaZer, BleachBit, etc. you
will completely wipe out your browser's history and cache if you use these
programs with their default settings.
Also, your browser needs to be set to accept cookies for a site to "remember" you. All browsers allow you to reject cookies, but none of them do so by default. Some browsers have a Do Not Track feature that can be turned on If this is turned on sites won't remember you and you may have to log in each time you visit them.
There are also "privacy" extensions available that can block tracking. And if you use a VPN it will disguise and change your apparent location from day to day even hour to hour - so sites won't recognize you.
To summarize: There are many reasons why sites don't remember you and thus
you have to sign in each time you visit those sites. but none of them have
anything to do with Windows.
I don't have enough information to answer
your question. All I can do is give you some of the reasons why sites don't keep
you logged in and why you have to sign in each time you visit a site... and
hope that something "rings a bell".
Sandy did some tweaking
and now her icons are not displaying correctly
I did some tweaks with Reg Organizer. All of my desktop
icons lost their pictures. They are just a white box with
something blue inside of it. I went back to Reg Organizer
and undid all of the tweaks. That didn't help. Is there
any way to get the pictures of these icons back? I tried
shutting down and rebooting, but that didn't help. As a
side, Facebook Messenger on my laptop is acting weird. The
messages are just scrolling and scrolling. I'll assume it's
coincidental and Facebook is having an issue
Our answer
Hi Sandy.
Last things first. We can't help you with Facebook Messenger. It seems you're
one of many that have problems with that program. We receive a lot of emails
with complaints about Facebook and Facebook Messenger. My best suggestion is
that you uninstall it, reboot it, and then reinstall it.
First, try the easiest method. Press CTRL + SHIFT + ESC to open the Task Manager. Make sure the Processes tab is selected. In the list of processes find (under Windows processes) Windows Explorer. Right-click on Windows Explorer and choose "Restart". All of your desktop and taskbar icons will disappear and reload. Check to see if your icons displaying correctly.
Lee wants to know if he should wait for Windows 12 or buy a new computer now
Dear Darcy and TC. Could I please have your views regarding when to buy a new computer? My wife and I both have aging computers, over 10 years old, running Windows 10, but hers seems to be on its last legs! We were thinking of purchasing new ones soon until I read the Wednesday Newsbytes article from last week. It mentioned Windows 12 and 16Gb requirements of RAM as a minimum. Should I hold off buying until Windows 12 is likely to come out? The W11 computer we are looking at has 12 GB of RAM and a 512 SSD. As always, your thoughts are most appreciated. Thanks, Lee.
Hi you guys, I hope all is well with you. I'm sorry to say that I've been diagnosed with breast cancer which was found as a result of my yearly mammogram. I'm scheduled for a lumpectomy on the 12th; but it is what it is, so I'll just adapt the new me, whatever it will be. Please do an Important Notice to just remind women to get a mammogram once a year. It could very well save their life. Thanks for your help and God Bless you two for all you do.
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last 12 months, you're entitled to a free version upgrade to Reg
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Reg
Organizer - A Swiss Army Knife of Windows Tools - Works Great on
Windows 10 and Windows 11!!
Do You
Have Standard Hard Drives (HDDs)
or Solid State Drives (SSDs)?
Windows 10/Windows 11
Here's how to find out if
your computer has a standard
hard drive (HDD) or a
solid-state hard drive (SSD).
Right-click on the Start
button. Click “Run”. In the Run
box type
dfrgui
and press Enter.
Look under “Media type”. Standard hard drives show up as “Hard disk drive(s)” and solid-state drives (SSDs) show up as "Solid state drive(s)". It will also show the last date the drive was defragged (HDDs) or "Retrimmed" (SSDs).
Back-Up Your Bookmarks The Easy
Way
Windows
10/Windows 11 - Chrome, Edge, &
Firefox browsers
If you are like us, you have amassed a fairly large number of bookmarks (Favorites) over the years. Also, if you’re like us, you don’t give much thought to backing up your bookmarks (Favorites). Sure, you should back up everything with a good backup program but many people don’t. Today we’re going to show you just how quick and easy it is to back up your bookmarks. We are including instructions for the three most popular browsers: Chrome, Edge, and Firefox.
All three browsers will save your bookmark backup as an HTML file (a web page). All three browsers allow you to import your bookmarks from this HTML file. The best part is that the bookmark backup file can be opened with any browser and all your bookmark links are clickable.
Chrome
With Chrome open and visible, use the Ctrl + Shift + O (letter O) shortcut to open the Bookmarks Manager opens click on the three vertical dots in the top-right corner.
In the dialog that opens, click on Export bookmarks. Select the location to which you want to save your bookmarks file. It will automatically be named with the date you created the backup. You can change the name if you like.
Microsoft Edge
With Edge open and visible, use the Ctrl + Shift + O (letter O) shortcut to open Favorites (bookmark). Click on the three horizontal dots near the top-right corner. Select “Export Favorites”. Select a location where you want to save your bookmarks (Favorites) backup. Edge will automatically name the file with the date of the backup. You can change the name if you want.
Firefox
With Firefox open and visible, use the Ctrl + Shift + O (letter O) shortcut to open the Bookmarks manager. Click on “Import and Backup” then click “Export Bookmarks to HTML”. Then, select the location where you want to save your bookmarks. Firefox will automatically name the backup file with the date you do the backup. You can change the name if you want.
Handy
Shortcuts for Google Chrome and Microsoft
Edge (and many other browsers Too)
Windows 10/Windows 11 (most popular
browsers)
NOTE: If you don’t have Chrome — or don’t use Edge — don’t worry. Many of these shortcuts work in Firefox and other browsers as well. The best way to find out if they work in your browser of choice is to try them. They’ll either work, won’t work, or will perform a different function than described.
Keyboard shortcuts are time savers. They can save you the time of hunting down a dialog box or menu item. The only problem with keyboard shortcuts is… remembering them. The best way to remember them is to use them. We don’t expect you to remember all of these keyboard shortcuts, but you might want to commit to memory the ones you find the most useful. It will save you time — we tells ya!
Ctrl + P – Print the current page
Ctrl
+ S – Save the current page
Ctrl + O –
Browse files and folders on your computer
F5 – Reload the current page
Esc – Stop
page loading
Ctrl + F5 – Reload the current page
(ignore cached content)
Ctrl + D –
Bookmark the current web page
Ctrl +
Shift + D – Save all open pages as bookmarks
in a new folder
Alt + Click on a link –
Download link
Ctrl + F – Open the
browser’s search box
F3 – Find the next match for your input
in the search box
Shift + F3 – Find the
previous match for your input in the search
box
F11 – Open page in full-screen mode
Ctrl + + – Make the text larger
Ctrl + –
– Make the text smaller
Ctrl + 0
(zero) – Return text to normal size
Ctrl + Shift + B – Toggle the bookmarks
bar
Ctrl + H – View browser history
Ctrl + J – View recent Downloads
Ctrl +
R — Refresh the page
Shift + Esc – View
the browser’s task manager
Ctrl + Shift +
Delete – Open the Clear Browsing Data Dialog
F1 – Open the browse help page in a new
tab
Ctrl + U – View the current page’s
source code
Want more tips, tricks, and information??
We have thousands of Windows tips, tricks, and more on our InfoAve website.
Subscribe
to our free InfoAve Daily newsletter.
We've helped hundreds and hundreds of you with your computers since we started our Cloudeight Direct Computer Care Service! If you're having computer problems - we CAN help you!!
We all know that sooner or later our computers are going to start having problems. We can help you with any computer need -- from diagnosing and fixing Windows problems - to setting up a wireless network for you - to safeguarding by creating an image-based backup (the only kind that really works when you really need it to work) - to cleaning up your computer and optimizing it -- and more. We can do almost anything you need to be done and we guarantee our work - you're either satisfied or we'll refund your money.
We connect to your computer and fix it while you watch
We will connect to your computer via the Internet and fix any problems you may be having. You can watch us work and chat with us while we do. If you have any computer questions you'd like to ask we'll be glad to answer them for you. We don't just fix your computer, we explain what we're doing and why we're doing it and we are right there with the entire time. Since we've started we've helped hundreds of you with your computer problems and we've received dozens of referrals and testimonials from our readers and customers..
We offer many other computer services too! If you have a problem with your computer - we can fix it!!
Get
more information about Cloudeight Direct Computer Care and/or get your
repair keys here.
16 Personalities – A Cloudeight Site Pick
What type of personality do you have?
Let’s talk about personality. Who doesn’t like a good personality test? I mean, it will be laughably wrong or spookily right. Yes, EB, spookily is a word. And speaking of EB and personality tests… EB and I, each took a personality test and it was “spookily” accurate. I mean spot on. You want to know the results don’t you? Yes! Of course, you do.
Anyway… EB and I took the time to have our personalities evaluated. Heaven knows I’m going to get into trouble for revealing this, but I have to be honest. The results were 100% accurate. EB has a “DICTATOR” personality, and I, good ol’ TC have an introverted “MEDIATOR” personality. And I can tell you it’s creepy how accurate this personality test is.
Above: My personality test results… I
do not prevaricate! I am the shy ambassador of
good tidings! I cannot show EB’s results, she’d
take away my food privileges!
After 25 years, I know a dictator when I see one. I’ve been working under the strong-arm policies of EB for decades. She has strong-armed me into working 20 hours a day at less than minimum wage while she toodles off traveling the world.
I sure didn’t need a personality test to tell me she has a dictator personality. As for me, yours truly, I am the diplomatic, even-tempered, helpful type as you have probably surmised all along.
Here you go… look at the definition of an INFP Personality type (i.e. my personality type) 🙂 …
An INFP, which stands for Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, and Perceiving, is one of the 16 personality types identified by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). People with this personality type are often described as:
Idealistic: They have strong values and a desire to make the world a better place.
Creative: They have a rich inner world and enjoy expressing themselves through art, writing, music, or other creative pursuits.
Compassionate: They are empathetic and care deeply about others.
Independent: They value their autonomy and prefer to do things their own way.
Reflective: They enjoy spending time alone to think and process their thoughts and feelings.
Please don’t tell EB I wrote this or I may be writing tips and tricks and doing sessions from an isolated dungeon somewhere under Lake Michigan. She’s brutal. Sorry, I am making a short story — long.
Our site pick today is 16 Personalities.
As they say on the 16 Personalities website…
Introduction
Often the very first question people ask after completing our personality test is “What do these letters mean?” We are of course referring to those mysterious acronyms like INTJ-A, ENFP-T, or ESTJ-A. As you may have already learned from the Type Descriptions or articles on the website, the five letters of these acronyms each refer to a specific trait, with certain trait combinations forming various types and type groups. But before we discuss those traits in depth, let’s explore their historical foundations.
The Historical Detour
Since the dawn of time, humans have drawn up schematics to describe and categorize our personalities. From the four temperaments of the ancient civilizations to the latest advances in psychology, we have been driven to fit the variables and complexities of human personality into well-defined models. Although we are still some time away from being able to do that, the current models account for our most important personality traits and can predict our behavior with a high degree of accuracy.
Personality is just one of many factors that guide our behavior, however. Our actions are also influenced by our environment, our experiences, and our individual goals. On our website, we describe how people belonging to a specific personality type are likely to behave. We outline indicators and tendencies, however, not definitive guidelines or answers. Significant differences can exist even among people who share a personality type. The information on this website is meant to inspire personal growth and an improved understanding of yourself and your relationships – not to be taken as gospel.
Our approach has its roots in two different philosophies. One dates back to early 20th century and was the brainchild of Carl Gustav Jung, the father of analytical psychology. Jung’s theory of psychological types is perhaps the most influential creation in personality typology, and it has inspired a number of different theories...
And so on… you get the idea. And now you want to take the personality test right? Well, it’s free and you don’t even have to surrender your email address to take the test. Wouldn’t you like to find out if you’re a tyrannical dictator, like EB, or a diplomatic, introverted ambassador of goodwill like me? Sure you would – admit it.
Come on, visit our site pick 16 Personalities take the free test, and see what the test says about your personality.
The test is 100% free…you can take it, we know you can!
We gladly help everyone who writes every day by answering their questions and helping to solve their computer problems. Please help us continue to do that!!
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Thank you so much for your support!
It’s Superb
Owl Sunday! Come to My Party!
For one brief but ugly moment last
week, I deserted the cynic inside me. I left the
comfort of cynicism intoxicated by the sweet
poison of hope. Don’t worry. I’m back in full
vigor now. No more rose-colored glasses for me.
There is comfort in cynicism. I have my security
blankie back. I am my old cynical self again.
This Sunday is “Super Bowl Sunday”. A Sunday I
call Superb Owl Sunday. See, I call the Super
Bowl the “Superb Owl”. Now you think about that
for a few minutes.
Anyway…
I
notice that restaurants and some stores in my
little town are closing early because of it. I
find it odd that Bob Evans, which closed at 8:00
PM on Christmas Eve, is closing at 6:00 PM on
Super Bowl Sunday. The sign on the door says “We
will be closing at 6:00 PM on Sunday, February
11, 2024 for the Super Bowl.” The store where I
buy my USA Today newspaper also has a sign on
its door. The sign reads: “We will be closing at
6:00 PM on Sunday, February 11, 2024 for the
Super Bowl.” That same store closed at 10:00 PM
on Christmas Eve.
You gotta love this, I
tells ya...
Read the rest of this essay here.
THE ONLY CLOUDEIGHT-ENDORSED EMAIL PROGRAM
OE Classic is the only Cloudeight Endorsed Email Program - Very Similar to Windows Mail & Outlook Express!!
If you're looking for an email program that feels familiar and works much like Windows Mail & Outlook Express, OE Classic might be exactly what you've been looking for!!
What
are NFTs?
Most of us have
seen or heard the term "NFT", It means
"Non-Fungible Token. Well, fungible means
"mutually interchangeable". For instance,
you can exchange a $10 bill with me for
another $10 bill- they're interchangeable.
(Don't switch $10 bills with EB - you may
end up with a counterfeit $10 bill! Just
kidding.)
If you want to learn more about NFTs, this is from "NFTs For Dummies Cheat Sheet"
"A non-fungible (meaning unique, non-replaceable) token (NFT) is a unique digital code that represents some kind of digital item. It could be digital art or music, for example. An NFT is secured and stored on a public blockchain. One token is not interchangeable for another, and a token cannot be further divided.
There are many different types of non-fungible tokens, and they can be created on well-known blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum..."
Want to know more? Take a look at "NFTs For Dummies Cheat Sheet" and learn all about non-fungible tokens.
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offer single Emsisoft licenses and multi-computer licenses at discount
prices. Also, we offer our exclusive Emsisoft with Cloudeight
installation & setup. Get more information here.
Reg Organizer: Reg
Organizer is the Swiss Army Knife of Windows tools. It's far more than
just a registry optimizer and cleaner - it's a Windows all-in-one
toolkit. Reg Organizer helps you keep your computer in tip-top shape
and helps you solve annoying Windows problems. Reg Organizer works
great with Windows 10 and Windows 11!! Get more information about Reg
Organizer (and get our special discount prices) here.
Windows 10 Customization: Make Windows 10 look and work the way you want it to. Learn more.
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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!
Darcy & TC
Cloudeight InfoAve Weekly - Issue #1061
Volume 21 Number 15
February 9, 2024
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