Computer not booting up properly

Computers, Internet, Mobile, TV, Audio etc - Help & advice on your tech questions.
User avatar
seahermit
Posts: 1107
Joined: Sat Aug 26, 2017 10:53 pm

Re: Computer not booting up properly

Postby seahermit » Fri Apr 16, 2021 12:25 am

Both Dropbox and Google Drive are dead easy to use and all my important files and photos are stored in the cloud.

An extremely useful benefit is that, if I am away from home and want to view a file/photo or show it to someone else, I can use my smartphone to access things stored online.

UncleB
Posts: 46
Joined: Tue Dec 03, 2019 9:56 am

Re: Computer not booting up properly

Postby UncleB » Sat Apr 17, 2021 1:51 pm

One thing I have learned from seeing people burned by data loss over the years is that just backing up regularly isn't enough - you need to have your data distributed in case of loss.

If you rely on the cloud and this ends up as a sole point of failure then sods law says you will suffer a hack or laps of subscription - or even the cloud owner has lost the data and cannot get it back (been there, thanks Microsoft!).

If you back up to external media - have more than one copy and keep one offsite. I've seen staff lose their house in a fire and their computer plus backup disks were all lost. Admittedly that was for a lot of data that wasn't cost effective to backup to the cloud but it was enough to cause much wailing and gnashing of teeth.

If the data is sensitive then encrypt it and keep the password safe - ideally leave a copy of the password with your solicitor (or in your will) just in case you die and important records are in the encrypted file. A password encrypted ZIP file is the simplest but if it is super squirrel secret then use something like Truecrypt or BitLocker.

Just my 2p worth on this.

User avatar
Derek Jempson
Posts: 377
Joined: Fri Jan 17, 2014 6:56 am

Re: Computer not booting up properly

Postby Derek Jempson » Sat Apr 17, 2021 5:32 pm

As for backing-up, my system is to have daily back-ups on two external disks and a weekly back-up on a third external disk. I also (and perhaps more importantly) have a daily back-up on a USB stick that goes with me everywhere, and I mean everywhere, even inside my home!

User avatar
Richard
Posts: 3347
Joined: Tue Mar 11, 2014 3:36 pm

Re: Computer not booting up properly

Postby Richard » Sat Apr 17, 2021 8:08 pm

The USB widget is the way I store copies of vital files.
Easy to transport and quite cheap.
I use more than one as corruption of files is always a possibility.
64 gigabyte capacity widgets are more than enough for my purpose.

User avatar
seahermit
Posts: 1107
Joined: Sat Aug 26, 2017 10:53 pm

Re: Computer not booting up properly

Postby seahermit » Mon Apr 19, 2021 1:36 am

I suppose I should have automatic back-ups in place but it seems like overkill for my limited needs. But I try to keep precise track of what is being saved and at the end of each session I back-up anything important to USB and Dropbox, also a lot of my writing (and photos) is saved onto CDs.

I should keep copies off-site but I don’t have relatives around to look after stuff for me! Likewise, I have suddenly realised that I am getting a bit older .. if I conked out, there would be some difficulty getting into my PC and my various websites/emails – that is a problem I am wrestling with.

After almost three weeks of continuous Windows updates and my PC being largely put out of action (I have never heard of this happening on this scale – is it normal?!), the PC seems to be finally settling down and things are working again. The Sky connection, which has been poor for four years, seems to have improved (was that being affected by problems within the operating system?).

I have done countless checks, disconnected everything etc. and, despite it looking as if the computer had major problems, it does seem that the main issue was solely with Windows 10.

This leaves me with two major questions I have to resolve. If my PC was needed for running a small business, I would probably have gone bust by now – even so, how can I avoid further Windows updates causing this level of disruption? I am hoping to get someone in to help me shortly – presumably I should try to keep alternative (older?) versions of Windows around in case of need?

Secondly, so that I have alternative access to the internet, I am thinking of getting a tablet. Surely, that would not be so vulnerable to massive software updates – I wouldn’t need Office on there but maybe I could download a copy of Word for my writing?

Again, thanks for all the advice – helped me considerably and thrown light on the situation - although I will need some help with making any changes to the innards of the PC.

UncleB
Posts: 46
Joined: Tue Dec 03, 2019 9:56 am

Re: Computer not booting up properly

Postby UncleB » Mon Apr 19, 2021 11:40 am

seahermit wrote:I have suddenly realised that I am getting a bit older .. if I conked out, there would be some difficulty getting into my PC and my various websites/emails – that is a problem I am wrestling with.


If you keep a will , then keep your account details along with this. Ideally have a fairly long password to be secure. At the very least have your email address included so the executor of your estate can request a password reset from the email supplier.

seahermit wrote:This leaves me with two major questions I have to resolve. If my PC was needed for running a small business, I would probably have gone bust by now – even so, how can I avoid further Windows updates causing this level of disruption? I am hoping to get someone in to help me shortly – presumably I should try to keep alternative (older?) versions of Windows around in case of need?


As a small business you would probably have paid for support to get the issue resolved - an hour or two at £20-30 / hour should have covered that.

Windows updates are mostly good, stable and worth the risk, but in the event of issues then most times you can roll back, and in the worst case you should be able to reinstall Windows and keep all the existing settings & files.

Older versions of windows are no longer updated with security patches so are very risky to use online.

seahermit wrote:Secondly, so that I have alternative access to the internet, I am thinking of getting a tablet. Surely, that would not be so vulnerable to massive software updates


Apple and Android also do regular updates and patches and both have the odd issue (just like Windows) that need a rebuild. The tablet is a good option though - you can get really cheap ones secondhand now.

Drop me a line if you are having any emergency issues and I can use some chat app to help you out - WhatsApp is the one I use most. I'll drop you a private message with my number and you can add it if you like. No charge for questions and quick fixes etc and we can agree a job rate for anthing bigger should you can want that. As an ex-girfriend once said of me, I am cheap LOL

User avatar
Richard
Posts: 3347
Joined: Tue Mar 11, 2014 3:36 pm

Re: Computer not booting up properly

Postby Richard » Wed Apr 21, 2021 9:58 pm

seahermit may theoretically own intellectual property rights that produce an income, or be entitled to royalties from the exploitation of such rights, and have an idea of how he would wish these assets to be dealt with after his death.
An option that he could consider is a trust arrangement. This allows for the ring-fencing of intellectual property rights, with trustees assigned the task of utilizing these rights for the benefit of the chosen beneficiaries.
Not a solution that an ordinary 'Will' would accommodate.
Probably a quite expensive dilemma.

User avatar
seahermit
Posts: 1107
Joined: Sat Aug 26, 2017 10:53 pm

Re: Computer not booting up properly

Postby seahermit » Fri Apr 23, 2021 12:20 am

Sorry for my delay in replying. I did put together a response this evening but, because it was not a short message, the Forum "timed out" before I could post it and everything I wrote was erased. It's one of the very annoying and unhelpful features of the Forum and the only way to avoid it is to draft a message in Word and then copy and paste it - should not be necessary!

I can't face having another go until tomorrow.

User avatar
seahermit
Posts: 1107
Joined: Sat Aug 26, 2017 10:53 pm

Re: Computer not booting up properly

Postby seahermit » Fri Apr 23, 2021 6:48 pm

Thank you, Richard, you pinpointed something I hadn’t thought about. If more of my writing is published later this year (maybe), it just might prove to be wildly popular and I will need to decide what to do with the financial benefits and how to safeguard those benefits for others after I am gone. It’s unlikely .. but unlikely things sometimes happen in the publishing world.

Also, I should keep details of my accounts, websites etc. with another person or with a will – problem is that, during the lockdown, I have lost several people I would have trusted, so some difficult re-adjusting going on.

Re: the computer, I greatly appreciate all the helpful advice. But I think an hour or two’s work might not have been enough to resolve the issues (the Windows 10 updates went on for three weeks) – although I suppose that somebody else might have just downloaded a complete new version of Windows 10 to avoid all the disruptions. I get regular software updates of course on my Samsung smartphone, but never anything on that scale! The Sky broadband connection is still disappearing at times, not so bad as before, but if any of those disruptions occurred whilst I was in the middle of planning /booking travel arrangements, it could be disastrous.

Trouble is .. I love my Samsung Galaxy smartphone, best phone I have ever had! And if I upgrade to the larger screen of a tablet, WhatsApp appears to be primarily for mobiles (there are some tricks for using it on a tablet but it’s complicated). Difficult decisions – I may have to keep the Samsung around as a spare phone and so that I can give WhatsApp a try (I didn’t realise it was mainly text-based).

As if I hadn’t had enough problems, Asda Mobile (which is seriously cheap and which I use on my little Doro phone just for calls) has decided to desert EE and to piggy-back off Vodafone. We all have to order new SIM cards and wait for our numbers to be transferred – not a problem really but a bit of hassle and my phone will be out of action for a day or so.

User avatar
Richard
Posts: 3347
Joined: Tue Mar 11, 2014 3:36 pm

Re: Computer not booting up properly

Postby Richard » Sat Apr 24, 2021 8:08 pm

seahermit,
I have never experienced a problem with windows 10 updates.
Broadband providers all have 'outages' when the internet connection is intermittently down.
Tell me of any that do not.
But the 'outages' only normally last for a short period of, say, 5-10 minutes maximum.
Could be that their servers need maintenance, etcetera.

I wouldn't know what 'Whatsapp' is indeed.
Keep it all very simple and basic perhaps.


Return to “Technology Chat”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 8 guests