Featured

Tired of hearing about it? I know I am. And yet the demise of Windows 7 is an important topic.

You'll note that millions of machines running Windows 7 didn't spontaneously explode when support ended. Imagine that. Just like when Windows XP support ended.

Stuck with, or just wanting to remain with, Windows 7? I have guidance for this very valid scenario.

Also this week

Speaking of updates, if you could pick and choose, how do you know what to choose? You can guess my answer.

Product reviews are great! Except when they're not, which seems to be a lot of the time. Why that is, and what to consider when reviewing the ... uh ... reviews.

Particularly when replacing a hard disk with an SSD, or adding an SSD, you might find yourself needing to restore a backup image from one drive to a drive that's smaller. Here's what to consider.

Survey 2020

Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete my survey. With close to 1,500 responses it's going to take me just a little while to digest it all. I'll report back on the most interesting findings when I've done so.

Naturally I've come up with a few more questions, so I may be posting surveys a tad more often this year.

Featured

How To Keep Using Windows 7 Safely After Support Ends

I want to keep using Windows 7, but support is ending. Am I screwed?

No, you're not screwed.

You may very well be able to keep using Windows 7 safely, just as a small number of people continue to use Windows XP to this day.

You simply have to take responsibility for keeping yourself safe — even more than before.

Continue Reading: How To Keep Using Windows 7 Safely After Support Ends
https://askleo.com/84512

Confident Computing - The Book!

This Week's Articles

How Do I Know What Updates to Install?

How is a novice to know what is useful and what is not when it comes to receiving, downloading and installing Windows 10 OS UPGRADES? (recommended updates or not) I don't want laptops loaded with crap not needed.

Updates versus upgrades, recommended or not, the world of keeping your Windows computer and all the software on it current and secure is complex.

Factor in media reports about the risks of taking updates, and it's not just complex, it's downright scary.

Let me outline what I recommend.

Continue Reading: How Do I Know What Updates to Install?
https://askleo.com/108443

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Why Are There No Objective Review Sites?

Why are there no sites at which computer programs and hardware get a truly honest review? I would be willing to subscribe to such a site, rather than having to depend on reviewers who are biased about products or services which generate revenue.

I feel your pain.

When I try to evaluate something, I, too, go looking for the reviews and evaluations of others to help direct what details I should be looking at. I, too, find it difficult to find sites and collections of reviews I trust.

While I don't think your subscription idea will work (I'll explain why), I'll review why I think we're in the state we are, and what I do when looking for honest reviews myself.

Continue Reading: Why Are There No Objective Review Sites?
https://askleo.com/108973

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How Do I Restore a Backup Image to a Smaller Drive?

Hi, Leo, I recently broke my hard drive. A 750 GB drive. I made a full system image using the Windows backup utility. The data on the drive was about 150 GB. I would like to recover the image to an SSD drive 250 GB, but Windows says that the target drive is too small. Is there any way to do this?

Yes and no.

The scenario is very common, even without a hard disk failure: simply replacing a traditional hard disk with a newer SSD is likely to involve “downsizing” the drive, as SSDs are generally smaller than HDs at comparable prices.

Restoring backup images across differently-sized drives has become easier since this question was originally asked. Unfortunately, Windows built-in backup utility hasn't improved in this regard.

Continue Reading: How Do I Restore a Backup Image to a Smaller Drive?
https://askleo.com/5527

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