Windows 10 Maintenance & Troubleshooting

Transcription

1 Windows 10 Maintenance & Troubleshooting This guide aims to help you keep Windows 10 running smoothly and to preserve your personal files. It is aimed at an intermediate, rather than expert level. It uses Windows built-in tools and, occasionally, free third-party software. It also follows the principle that the less software you install on your computer, the fewer problems you will have. Since the arrival of Windows 8 in 2012, the Settings app and Control Panel have been repeatedly changed, often to adapt them for use with tablets that may have no separate keyboard, no mouse and no DVD drive. Along with this has been a change to simpler, more automated maintenance that prefers reinstalling rather than repairing software, including Windows. The changes have been an ongoing process, and, even five years later, the built-in troubleshooting tools are a mix of the old and new processes that are stored in a number of places. This guide attempts to unravel this tangled set of options. The suggestions included here are what is available in Windows at the time of writing. It is possible that parts will be out-of-date by the time you read it. Most of the methods here have been tested by me, but other parts are based on Internet research. There may be better methods that I have not yet discovered. For unknown reasons, some of these methods unexpectedly failed on some occasions. Follow these suggestions at your own risk. If you cannot get the solutions described here to solve your problem, it s time to get expert or professional help. Don t experiment beyond your ability and make a small problem into a larger one. Many of these tools and processes can only be run if you are using an Admininstrator account. If you only have one user (login) on your computer, then it is the Administrator. Mark Young for ASCCA (Windows 1703 Update) Page 1

2 This guide is in two parts Part One contains descriptions of tasks and problems. This is linked by numbers to: Part Two that contains detailed, How To guides for most topics discussed in Part One. Look for the red How to #x markers in the Part One text to guide you to the right place in Part Two Part One A Description of tasks and problems SOME TASKS TO DO FIRST Do these tasks before your computer runs into trouble. You may not get a chance later. Backup your data Make a recovery disc or USB Check that Windows Defender is on Check that automated updates is on Turn on System Restore Gather together your program discs, documentation, keys, passwords, etc Create an extra admin user on your computer Backup your data If the only copy of your data is the one on your computer, it is in danger of being completely lost. When you do a backup, you should use a computer account that is an administrator. Windows 10 has a mix of old and new backup methods Windows 7 Style backups Regularly create a system image on an external drive. It contains your entire computer s data including your personal files, programs and Windows itself. Use a system repair CD/DVD disc. These tools are accessed through the classic Control Panel at: Start > All Apps> Windows System. In 2017, the Windows 7 system image technology is still included in Windows 10, but deprecated. Microsoft suggests using third-party software for system imaging. Windows 10 Style backups Use File History to automatically create an incremental backup of your personal file folders on an external drive. Each user on the computer must make their own backup. Use OneDrive to store additional online copies of your files. Use the Windows Recovery Environment to install a fresh copy of Windows. Your apps/programs can be re-installed from the Windows store, discs or manufacturer sites. These tools are often accessed through the system Settings > Update & Security > Backup. Have more than one backup The most important data that you have is your own personal files. It is best to have more than one backup and one should be offsite. Automated backups stop you forgetting, and are more likely to contain your more recent files. Mark Young for ASCCA (Windows 1703 Update) Page 2

3 Drives and speeds. The software is included with Windows, but using it can involve buying a USB flash drive, an external drive (or two) or paying for OneDrive online storage. If you use USB external drives and USB flash drives that are USB 3, you should get about 3 times faster file transfer so long as your computer also has USB 3 ports. USB 3 ports often have SS written next to them and may be blue inside. If your computer has a solid-state drive (SSD), that may speed things up as well. Different kinds of backup that you can do using built-in Windows tools System image: a copy of everything on your computer - personal files, programs, Windows itself. o System images made using Windows can restore all your files, but cannot be used to restore individual files. See Guide #1 on how to make a Windows system image. File copy: copying your personal files only. There are several choices. o Automated copy: the backup software makes copies on a schedule. The best of these do an incremental copy where every time you change a file, a new copy is added to the backup. If you delete a file, the old version is not thrown away. See How to #2 on making backing up with Windows File History o Manual copy: copying your files to an external drive by copy and paste, or drag and drop. See How to #3 on how to manually copy your files to another drive. o Offsite copy: storing a backup drive in another location that is not connected to your computer - even more important in the era of file-encryption ransomware. o Cloud copy: storing your personal files offsite on another computer, such as using like OneDrive, Dropbox and others. Many of these are not a perfect offsite copy because the files are synced with your computer and copy changes and deletions. However, OneDrive does keep deleted files and recent versions of files for up to 30 days. See How to #4 on using Microsoft OneDrive to store copies of your files in the cloud. Commercial third-party backup software You can purchase backup software with more features. Some combine the types of backup tasks shown above and provide a more complete solution. Some of these have a free version. Some are subscription based. These are not discussed here, but the most often recommended on websites seem to be: Macrium Reflect AOMEI Backupper EaseUS Todo Backup Comodo Backup Acronis True Image has been popular in the past, but it didn t work for me. Make a recovery disc or USB If Windows will not start, it can be handy to have a disc or USB that can get it running, access the recovery tools, or let you start a system recovery process from a backup. If you have a CD/DVD drive you can make a disc. See How to #5 on making a CD/DVD repair disc. Otherwise, you can make a recovery USB. See How to #6 on creating a USB recovery drive. These are essentially the same thing. Mark Young for ASCCA (Windows 1703 Update) Page 3

4 Check that Windows Defender is On Windows Defender is Microsoft s free built-in antivirus and anti-malware app. You can use it exclusively without any other security software. If you add another free or paid antivirus, Windows Defender is turned off. If you remove the 3rd party antivirus, check if Windows Defender is turned back on. To check if Windows Defender is running, go to: Settings > Update & Security > Windows Defender > click Open Windows Defender Security Centre > at the top it should say Your device is being protected. You will get notifications from time to time that it has run a scan. If you want to monitor its state more closely, put the icon in your taskbar: go to Settings > Personalisation > Taskbar > Notification area > Select which icons appear on the taskbar > turn on Windows Defender notification icon. You will see the icon at the right-hand end of the taskbar. A green tick is good, yellow means it needs attention, a red cross means that it has found a problem. Double click the icon to open Windows Defender and find out more. It will run scans automatically, but if you want to run one yourself, open the Windows Defender Security Centre. For more details about Windows Defender, see How to #7 Turn on System Restore When you have System Restore turned on, it will regularly take a snapshot of the state of your computer. If Windows has a problem, you can take your system back to an earlier time and it can often fix it. It restores system files, but does not affect your personal files. Keep in in mind that Microsoft has said that it is now deprecated in Windows 10, but it is still included for now and can be useful. See How to #8 for information on using it. Organise your program discs, documentation, keys, passwords, etc You should keep the discs, installation file, keys, manufacturers logins, etc for your software. Some of this can be kept in your personal file folders, but you will also need another copy if your computer fails. Some programs can be reinstalled from an online installation file or from the Windows Store if you got it from there. Keep this material organised. You don t want to be cursing too much in the panic of a crash. Software discs: Many programs to not come with discs nowadays. Some will supply them at extra cost. Some computers do not have optical drives, but you can get USB powered external CD/DVD drives. However, it is worth keeping the discs and most importantly the activation keys. Software logins and keys: Some software manufacturers to store the installation files on their website and all you get is a link to the site, a login to download and an activation key. Copy the you receive with your account and purchase details. Windows keys: In the past, Windows computers usually had a sticker on them with the key. Now there are a few possibilities and you may even need to use trial and error: o If you upgraded from Windows 7, your W7 key was converted to a W10 key o If you bought a retail Windows key, then you have it. o The key is embedded in the firmware of your computer, or stored on Microsoft s servers with a hashed (cryptic) description of your machine. o In many cases, the computer will find the key for itself and either won t ask, or you can just click skip when asked for the key. Office 365 keys: These are more based on your Microsoft ID than the key. o If you use key discovery software, like the free Belarc Advisor, it may only be able to reveal the last 5 characters of the key. The remainder is held by Microsoft. Mark Young for ASCCA (Windows 1703 Update) Page 4

5 Create an extra admin user on your computer Many people have only one user on their computer, but there are times when having an extra admin login will solve a problem: such as resetting a password or being able to login if one user cannot. We will be adding an admin user without a Microsoft account. This is called a local user Add an extra user You must be logged in to an administrator account to create a new user. If you only have one user then it is the Administrator account. Go to Start > Settings > Accounts > Family & other people. Click Add someone else to this PC. On the next page > click I don t have this person s sign in information. One the next page > click Add a user without a Microsoft account. One the next page > type in the username Local Admin > add a password and a password hint. Immediately write down the password in order to store it later > Next. The new user name appears at the bottom if the screen. Changing the new user to an administrator All new users are created as Standard user accounts. They don t have full rights. Click the Local Admin name > click Change account type. On the menu that is shown, change the option to Administrator > OK. Local Admin will now have Administrator written under it. Test the account Click Start > in the thin left column, click the circle to see the list of users on the computer. Click Local Admin and login with your password. The first time that you login, it goes through the setup process. Once you can see the desktop, go to Start > list of users > Sign out What to do now Now, when you start Windows, it will have two accounts to choose in the bottom-left corner. Choose the one you normally use and login. It always has the last one you have used selected. Don t use the extra Local Admin account until it is required. It s just there for insurance. Mark Young for ASCCA (Windows 1703 Update) Page 5

6 RECOVERING FROM A MAJOR PROBLEM The backups and resources created in the earlier section will help with these problems. Restoring lost files Starting and repairing Windows Removing viruses and malware Recovering or resetting a lost Windows password Restoring lost files There are a number of different situations where you may want to recover a file. You may need the backups that you have made, but not all kinds of Windows backup can restore individual files. You have deleted a file It may be still in the Recycle Bin on the desktop: Double-click on the bin > right-click on the file > Restore > it will go back in the place where it was originally saved. If its original folder has been deleted, renamed or moved, the folder will be recreated. If you have emptied the Recycle Bin. Go to > Download tab > download the free version from piriform.com. It can often recover files that have not been overwritten. The more recently the file was deleted, the more likely that Recuva can get it back. Instructions are on the Support tab > Documentation on the Piriform website. If you use OneDrive and have been storing the file in there: Deleted files are normally stored for 30 days. Login to the online version of OneDrive to see the Recycle Bin. You want a previous version of a file If you have been backing up with File History: See the details in How to #9 about restoring a different version of a file. File History saves changes to files at a chosen interval between 10 minutes and daily. How long your previous versions are kept depends on the size of the folders you are backing up, the size of your drive and your File History settings. The Until space is needed is the most efficient setting for extending the existence of old files. If you use manual backups: there may be previous copies of a particular file stored in old backups. Copy and paste to your computer from your backup drive copy. Take extra care with duplicate file names so you don t overwrite your latest version. See How to #10 for restoring files from a manual copy. If you use OneDrive: Version history is now available for everyone. Versions of all types of files are kept for 30 days. Login to the online version of OneDrive through > rightclick on a file > version history > click on a file in a list of dated versions > Restore or Download. You closed your work without saving Some programs, like Microsoft Word, save automatically as you work: When you reopen Word, a box on the left asks you if you want the versions that you have not saved. The control for this is in: File menu > Options > Advanced > Save > Allow background saves. Online based apps like OneNote, Google Docs, etc save all the time and don t even have a save button. Rescuing your files from a hard drive If your computer has died and you have no up-to-date external backups of your personal files, it could be that your hard drive is still healthy enough to have the files copied from it. Mark Young for ASCCA (Windows 1703 Update) Page 6

7 Remove the drive from the computer. Buy or borrow a USB drive case or a USB connection kit and attach your drive to another computer. You may be able to copy your files to the other computer. Don t delay with copying the files. If it is the drive that is failing, it may not last long. Starting and repairing Windows If Windows is not working correctly, it may freeze or shutdown unexpectedly. It may not save correctly. It may start with a blank screen or have any number of other problems. Often the remedy will involve using one of the recovery backups or tools created earlier. While there is often an option to retain your personal files, I would make sure that I had my own external backup before doing any of this. Major repairs may need you to reinstall all your programs. If you are not confident in working at this level, get help. Do not risk losing everything. Try the simple things first Check the power: it is easy to overlook not being plugged in, or a laptop having a flat battery. o A laptop can have a dead power brick. A desktop can have a dead power supply. o Cables can be left unplugged or switches not turned on. Restart the computer: restarting your computer can magically fix a lot of problems. o Don t forget to make this one of your first efforts. Troubleshooting tools In Settings > Update and Security > Troubleshoot, there is a large number of buttons to ask Windows to try and fix problems. Click the item > Run the troubleshooter > It will diagnose and guide you to a solution. In my experience, it does not work very often, but, when it does, it is a quick and effective fix. Use Advanced Startup Options (also called Windows Recovery Environment or WinRE) It starts your computer and shows screens with tiles for several options. The options that appear on the screens depend on how you arrived at Advanced Startup and how your computer is set up. In some ways, Advanced Startup just collects a number of common Windows tools in the one place. Although there are some new options, when you click on a tile, you may find that it takes you to screen that you have seen before in the older Control Panels. Entry points to the Windows Recovery Environment There are many different ways to get to the Advanced Startup screen to appear: If your computer will start and you can get to Settings o Go to Settings > Update & Security > Recovery > Advanced startup > click Restart Now If you cannot get to Settings o Go to Start > hold down Shift key while you > click Power > Restart. o (Holding down the Shift key when shutting down is an important part of this process. It puts Windows 10 into a more complete shutdown than the usual one.) Your computer may go to Advanced Startup by itself o If Windows fails to start, Windows 10 has the capability of initiating this process itself especially if the startup process has failed twice or there have been two unexpected shutdowns after startup. o (You can simulate the error process by holding down the power button till it turns off. Start the computer > when the Windows logo appears, hold the power button down until it switches off. On the third restart, it should go to Advanced Startup. From my experience, do not do this unless you have to. It may damage Windows.) Mark Young for ASCCA (Windows 1703 Update) Page 7

8 If your computer does not go to Windows or the Recovery Environment o The best option is to boot from a disc or USB. You may be able to see the recovery environment or be able to re-install Windows. A re-install of Windows often means that you will have to install all programs that didn t come with your computer. Some options, like using a previously created system image, may retain your files, albeit not the most up-todate ones. Up-to-date external backups, will rescue your files. o See How to #11 for how make a Windows 10 Installation DVD or USB o See How to #12 for how to start (boot) from a USB or DVD o If you have made one in advance, a System Repair CD/DVD or a Recovery USB can also be used to start your computer in the same way. It may be that your computer has a recovery partition created by the manufacturer o Check your documentation for this. o These usually put the computer back to factory settings and you ll lose all installed programs and files. But, hopefully, it will run as new. Once you see the blue advanced startup screen, you can use tools like: Refresh Windows (reinstall Windows but keep your files), run System Restore, run your computer in Safe Mode, etc. Below are some of the Advanced Startup menus in the order that you may see them. Mark Young for ASCCA (Windows 1703 Update) Page 8

9 Using the Advanced Startup options You need to be logged in as an administrator to use some of the tools here. Once you are in the Recovery Environment you have a number of interconnected menu screens. Choose an option menu o Continue: exits this menu and starts up Windows 10. o Troubleshoot: opens the Troubleshoot menu. o Turn off: to shutdown. Troubleshoot menu o Reset this PC: to install a fresh copy of Windows. You can choose to keep your personal files or remove everything. There is no option to keep any programs and apps that did not come with the Windows. o Advanced Options: brings up another menu. The Advanced options menu: o System Restore: see How to #8 o System Image Recovery: see How to #13 o Startup Repair: diagnoses your computer, runs a disk check, tries to repair any problem it finds and starts up Windows if it can. o Command Prompt: for the techies. I avoid this if I can. You need clear instructions from someone, and you must type the commands perfectly. I m not covering this here. o Startup Settings: This takes you to a list of special startup modes to try if you have had trouble starting or you think a recent install has caused a problem. A common choice is to use Safe Mode. It starts your computer in an almost Windows only mode without a lot of 3rd party software and drivers starting up. It can help you narrow down a problem o start Windows when it otherwise could not. It may give you a chance install a better driver, remove an incompatible update or remove some malware. Many of the other startup choices in this menu are more technical and not discussed here. o Go back to previous version: You are able to go back to the Windows update build just before the one you have. For example: taking build 1703 back to You cannot go back to a version like Windows 8.1 or Windows 7. For more details on these options: see here: Resetting Windows In some circumstances, the best option is to re-install all your software and files. This can especially be true when your computer has a malware infection that has been hard to remove. The previous section on Starting and Repairing Windows contains similar information if you want to carry out these processes before Windows starts. This section covers starting the re-install within Windows. Resetting your computer: o Go to Settings > Update & Security > Recovery > Reset the PC > click Get started o As the description says, This lets you choose to keep your personal files or remove them, and then reinstalls Windows. o The idea is that a clean copy of Windows is better than a used one copied from a previous system image. The new copy only contains the apps that come with Windows. It does not contain the programs that you installed. It also does not contain the junkware that often comes with new computers. o If you choose to delete your personal files, you will need a recent backup of them. Mark Young for ASCCA (Windows 1703 Update) Page 9

10 Fresh start: o This has appeared in the 1703 update of Windows o Go to Settings > Update & Security > Recovery > More Recovery options > click Learn how to start fresh o A link to this is also in Settings > Update & Security > Recovery > More recovery options. o It takes you to the Fresh start option in the Windows Defender Security Centre. o I have not tried this, but the description seems very similar to the Reset this PC option. o Perhaps a fresh copy of Windows is also the most effective virus infection remedy. Removing viruses and malware Of course, the best solution to is not to get infected in the first place. For computer users, the greatest source of malware is links and attachments. Don t be tricked into opening dodgy ones. (Keep in mind too that many scams do not install anything on the computer at all. They just con people into paying money or revealing login passwords.) Here are some tips to regain control of your computer. Windows Defender scan See How to #7 to find out how to run a manual scan and how to show the Windows Defender icon in the taskbar so you can keep an eye on it. Safe mode If your computer is suddenly plagued by something that slows it down, pops up messages or stops other programs running, try starting up in Safe Mode. Often Safe Mode is used when new driver software for a component is installed, but it causes problems. See above in Advanced Startup Options on how to access Safe Mode through the Windows Recovery environment. Safe mode may give you more control so you can run a Windows Defender scan or uninstall the software that is causing the problem. System Restore This will take Windows and your programs back to an earlier time before you had the problem See How to #8 for information on using it. Re-installing Windows A clean copy of Windows is likely to remove any viruses and malware. You can choose to retain your personal files. See the section above on Resetting your computer Mark Young for ASCCA (Windows 1703 Update) Page 10

11 Resetting a lost Windows password In the first section of this guide, it was advised that you have more than one Admin user on your computer. This is one of the times that this strategy will pay off. For security reasons, computer passwords cannot be viewed, only reset to a new one. If you login with a Microsoft ID: You can reset your password online here If it is a local account and you have an admin account that you can log into: Login to this administrator account Right click on Start > Windows PowerShell (Admin). On your computer, it may be called Command Prompt (Admin). When asked to allow changes > Yes The PowerShell window will open. Wail till it says: PS C:\Windows\system32\ At the cursor, type: net user username password Instead username, type the real username of the account. Use underscore for spaces. Instead of password, type the new password for the account. Press the Enter and the password will be changed Create a special Linux disc that can reset any password without having to get into Windows: You will need to boot your computer from the disc. See the first part of: How to #13 See here for instructions: get_it_back/ Mark Young for ASCCA (Windows 1703 Update) Page 11

12 LESS SEVERE PROBLEMS & MAINTENANCE JOBS Some of these jobs only need to be done when you have a problem. Others are good maintenance practices, but are not usually urgent. For some you need to visit the Control Panel. Go to Start > All Apps > Windows System. I suggest that you right click and pin the Control Panel to the Start menu to make access easier. In the Control Panel window, have the View by menu near top-right set to Large icons I have used most of the procedures here without any real problems. If you are unsure, get help. As explained at the start of this guide: as insurance, you should have at least a backup of you files, a system image and have System Restore turned on. Slow performance and freezes Running out of storage space Some functions do not work Controlling Updates Controlling Notifications Slow performance and freezes Don t have too many programs or apps installed These can be a source of conflict and crashes. They may not be updated often enough to maintain compatibility with updates to Windows. You may never use some of them. Think about whether you really need to install a new app/program. Don t try out too many things just based on suggestions you hear. Don t install free to download versions unless necessary. To remove Windows 10 style tile apps: go to the tile or the All Apps list> right-click > Uninstall. Some built-in apps cannot be uninstalled. To remove Desktop style programs: go to Control Panel > Programs and Features > right-click on the program name > Uninstall Take special care with uninstalling desktop programs. Only uninstall programs that you recognise and are certain that you do not need. Get help if you are unsure. Uninstall only one program at a time > restart your computer and see it is is working fine. If you can, leave it for a while before uninstalling anything else. Use the Task Manager to see what is happening This can be used to escape from programs, check resource usage and turn off some start-ups. Save anything that you were working on. Leave any apps running. Hold down Ctrl + Alt keys > keep them down and tap the Delete key. When the blue screen appears: let go the keys > click Task Manager. The Task Manager Window will open > click the more details button at bottom-left. On the Processes tab: look for any abnormally high usage in the CPU column. If an app looks suspicious, click on it to highlight > click End task at bottom-right. You will need to investigate why this app is using so many resources or maybe it is malware End task can also be used for apps that are stuck, or for exiting your browser when you have arrived at a suspicious or scam website and don t want to click on anything on the page. On the Startup tab: look in the Startup impact column for High impact apps. Evaluate whether you use these often enough to need then starting every time. If you turn off a possible problem item, restart to see if your computer starts more efficiently. Then run the app. If there is no difference, go back and turn the startup item back on. Take care and don t overdo it. Don t turn off important things like: security software, Windows Defender, OneDrive, Outlook, mail software, etc. Mark Young for ASCCA (Windows 1703 Update) Page 12

13 Run Error Checking (aka CHKDSK) This process checks your drive for errors in the file system or the disc surface and attempts to correct them. Close all apps and programs before you start. Go to File Explorer > This PC > right-click on your main drive > Properties Click the Tools tab > Check > it may say you don t need a scan, but click Scan drive anyway On a large drive with a lot of data, it can take a while. Don t use your computer while it runs. It will tell you when it is finished > Close I have found this to be more effective than the Optimise and defragment drive (aka defrag) tool that is found in the same place. Do not run Defrag on SSD (sold state) drives! Add more RAM memory Many old computers have low amounts of RAM. Minimum for Windows 10 is 2GB, but machines with only 2GB are quite unresponsive, especially when switching programs. Go to Settings > System > About and look at 2 things: Installed RAM and System type. 32 bit computers only recognise about 3.7 GB RAM. If you only have 2 GB you could get 2 GB more. 64 bit computers can use much more. 4 GB is fine, but 8 GB might give 10% better performance. For most users, going beyond these suggestions would not give much extra benefit. With desktop and some laptops, adding RAM is fairly simple, however, some newer laptops are difficult to open and some Windows tablets, like Surface, cannot be opened at all. Advice on buying and fitting extra RAM is beyond the scope of this guide. Turn off all visual effects Doing this does not really make your computer faster, but it can seem that way mainly because items snap open rather than slide or fade. Changing it can be quite effective on very low spec computers. For better computers, it makes little difference and it is not worth the trouble. Go to Control Panel > System > near top-left click Advanced system settings. Then go to Advanced tab > Performance section > Settings Click the Adjust for best performance > this removes all the ticks > just click the third last one (Smooth edges of screen fonts) so it is ticked again or text will be harder to read > Apply > OK Consider Re-setting your computer Sometimes Windows gets slow from the build-up of junk, errors and old software. See the previous section on resetting to start over with a clean copy of Windows. Mark Young for ASCCA (Windows 1703 Update) Page 13

14 Running out of storage space Run Disk Cleanup Some computers have old files that are left over from previous installations or in the Recycle Bin. Go to File Explorer > This PC > right-click on your main drive > Properties In the centre, it shows the used and free space on your drive. At least 20% or free is good, but there is no strict rule. Low free space will affect performance. On the right side, click Disk Cleanup > in the window that opens, click Clean up system files. When it has completed > scroll through the box near the top. The items have files that can be safely removed. Under it shows the total space that that will be recovered by removal. If you have temporary Windows installation files listed (Often show in Drive C as Windows.old), they can take gigabytes of space. Removing them does removes your chance of going back to the previous system. But if it has been over a month, you cannot go back anyway. Personally, I tick all the items listed. Click OK > agree to delete > it shows a progress bar and disappears. The diagram will show more free space. Check that you don t have too much drive space allocated to System Restore points See How to #8 on using System Restore Install foldersize to investigate what is using all your space Go to this exact site There are many folder size calculators on the net. I like this one because it uses minimal resources and it is easy to turn off. Continually calculating folder sizes slows down File Explorer. It will ask if you want the 32 or 64 bit installer. If you don t know, go to: Settings > System > About > look at System type. After you install, restart your computer. By default, Folder size is set to startup when Windows starts. This is not what you want. o First, go to File Explorer > This PC > open your main disk (probably C:) > open Program Files > Folder Size > right click on FolderSize.exe > Pin to Start. (If you cannot find the Folder Size folder, try looking in Programs (x86). o Second, go to the taskbar and click the menu arrow at the left end of the notification area. In the box that pops up > right-click the Folder Size icon> untick Start on Windows startup. So now, the Folder Size tool does not run when you start your computer. To use it, click the tile in the Start menu. To turn it off, go to the notification area > right-click the icon > Exit. To compare folder sizes, start Folder Size > right click on a folder and a small window pops up at top-right showing the size and folders within it. When you re finished, exit from the taskbar menu. Store some files in cloud storage, on an external drive or an internal SD card. If you have some cloud storage, you could store some files there. An external drive could store lots of files. Some computers have a slot for an SD or Micro SD card. After you check that the files you have stored externally are a good copy, you would then delete the files from your computer. However, since you now don t have a copy on your computer, make sure you include these files in your backup routine and have more than one copy. Mark Young for ASCCA (Windows 1703 Update) Page 14

15 Remove other user accounts If your computer has other user accounts, check that their files are not using up too much of your storage space. If these accounts are no longer used, ask the other user to copy their documents to an external drive. Then delete the user and their documents. Go to Settings > Accounts > Family & other people > Other people section > click the username you want to remove > Remove > Delete account and data. Some computer functions do not work Try the Troubleshoot section for a possible automated quick fix Go to Settings > Update & Security > Troubleshoot There is a long list of problem areas > click on the one you want > Run the troubleshooter. Use the Device Manager to check that components have the right drivers After a reinstall of Windows, some functions may not work correctly. Common culprits are Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Video, sound, touchpad, USB. You can go to the Control Panel or right-click Start > Device Manager A window will open with a list of hardware components. If any of these have a yellow triangle, they are the ones with a problem. Search on your computer manufacturer s site for Windows 10 compatible drivers for your model. Controlling Updates Updates are virtually compulsory In most versions of Windows, updates are automatically pushed to your computer and installed when possible. This has been controversial, but it is probably better than waiting for users to do it. To check on updates, go to: Settings > Update & security > Windows Update. If your computer is usually connected to the Internet, it will probably say that your device is up to date and say the time of the last check. You can click the Check for updates if you think you need to. In the same part of Settings > Update settings > Advanced options. If you have other Microsoft products, you can tick the top button. If you have the Pro version of Windows, you can delay most updates (but not security updates) for up to a month and some up to a year. The Home version has none of these delay options. Avoiding updates on a metered connection While you are on a Wi-Fi connection where you don t want updates downloaded from it, go to Settings > Network & Internet > Wi-Fi > Click on your network name at the top > turn on Set as metered connection. If you are on a wired connection, you can also set it as metered using the Ethernet option in the left-hand menu. Microsoft only says that some updates won t be installed automatically. Mark Young for ASCCA (Windows 1703 Update) Page 15

16 Controlling Notifications Reducing and personalising notifications Notifications are pop up messages or sounds. Apps and Windows functions can give notifications in the top section of the Action Centre and in other places like the lock screen. The Action Centre is popup list that appears when you click the message icon at right-hand end of the taskbar. Go to Settings > System > Notifications & actions. In the Notifications section: Turn on items that you want to give you notifications. In the Get notification from these senders section, the number of items here depend on what is installed. Turning them off will turn off all sound and text notifications. Click the name of the item to get a longer list to turn each type of alert on or off individually. Changing toast notification time Toast notifications are the slide out boxes that appear at bottom right of screen, such as when a device is attached. Some people find that they disappear too quickly. To increase the time that they appear, go to: Settings > Ease of Access > Other options > at Show notification for > change the time on the menu to 15 seconds (or more) Mark Young for ASCCA (Windows 1703 Update) Page 16

17 Part Two The Detailed Guides These notes are a detailed set of instructions for some of the procedures explained in Part One. Not all parts in Part One need a detailed version. How to #1 Create a system image with Backup & Restore (Windows 7) Although this was originally for Windows 7, it works fine on Windows 10. This backup system needs to temporarily use some of your computer s hard drive space. It may fail if your computer s drive is showing red (too full) in This PC. Advantages Backs up your whole computer and it can be restored from it. It contains drivers for the hardware on your computer You can restore individual files. Disadvantages It can take a while to complete. Especially the first time It only keeps the latest versions of your files. You can only see the files in the backup by using the backup program and then you can only see the user created files. If your computer had ongoing problems, you might be just recopying the same problems back onto your machine. It can sometimes try to backup files that have been deleted and then show an error. It is really only for the computer that it was created on, but it could be used to clone a computer that is the same model. You should run it when you are not using the computer. Setting up your drive Get an external drive with at least double the storage used on your computer s drive. Calculate this by going to Taskbar > File Explorer > This PC > subtract the used GB from the total GB. For most computers, a 1TB drive would be enough. If you have already used the drive, copy from it any file that you want. We will be clearing the drive for use with Backup and Restore. Attach your drive directly to a USB port on your computer, not into a USB hub. USB 3 ports are fastest. They may have SS on the USB logo next them or be blue inside. Ignore any popups asking what to do with the drive. Click File Explorer (the yellow folder in the taskbar) > in the lefthand pane, click This PC > in the right-hand pane, find your external drive > right click on it to see a dialog box. o File Format should be NTFS o Change the Volume Label to System Images. o Quick Format box should be ticked. o Click Format After the formatting finishes, leave the drive attached. Mark Young for ASCCA (Windows 1703 Update) Page 17

18 Starting your backup Go to Settings > Update & Security > Backup. Click Go to Backup and Restore (Windows 7). A window will open. In the middle, it says Windows Backup has not been set up so Click Set up backup. In the Window that opens, it should recommend your external System Images drive, by highlighting it in blue > Next. In the next window > Let Windows choose > Next. In the following window, leave the settings as they are for now > click Save settings and run backup. When the backup runs A window appears that shows progress. The bar will move at an uneven rate. Click View Details to see more. On my machines that had SSD drives, an image for a computer with 62GB of data took about 20 minutes to complete. Another one with 340GB of data took over 2 hours. The size of a system image is around the same as the total amount of data on your computer. When it is finished The progress bar box disappears and asks if you want to create a System Repair Disc. It s a good idea to do this if you have a CD/DVD burner drive. See How to #6 for how to create a Repair disc. Safely remove the drive. Click the menu icon (the up arrow near the right-hand end) > click the USB drive icon > click eject my xxx After a moment, it says Safe to Remove Hardware If it says that it cannot be removed, shutdown your computer and then remove it. Setting a schedule The default is run Every Sunday 7pm. This will be fine if you remember to attach your system image external drive attached at this time, and don t want to use your computer. To change this, first attach your System Image drive Go to Settings > Update and Security > Backup > click Go to backup and Restore (Windows 7) The Backup and Restore window will open > in the backup section, at middle bottom > click Change settings In the window that opens > Next > Next > in the third screen, near middle-bottom, click Change schedule. In the window, you can make changes. Do not to set this backup to run too often, since your computer should not be used while it is running. Scheduled backups missed by not having the drive connected, will be caught up the next time the drive is connected. This can be inconvenient, so you might want to backup manually by clicking Turn off schedule at top left. Mark Young for ASCCA (Windows 1703 Update) Page 18

19 Updating System Images System image backup is does not need to be run every day. If you have an additional backup system copying your files, you may only need a system image update every month or two. You could update your system image before major upgrades. An updated system image can go on the same external drive. It overwrites the previous image with an updated version. System images for other computers can be put on the same drive if there is the space. How to #2 Backup your personal files with File History This is an automated system that only copies your personal files. It does not backup everything in the way that a system image does, but it can update the backup with newly changed or created file. When File History first came out in Windows 8, I found it hard to trust because it did not give enough feedback on what it was doing. The Windows 10 version is much better. Advantages This makes a copy of the personal folders that you choose. It adds a new copy of any file that it finds has changed to give you a history of your changes, depending on the space on your drive. It can be used to recover individual files without recovering the whole computer. Disadvantages It does not back up your programs or Windows itself. You must regularly attach your File History drive to your computer. Each separate user account on the computer must do their own File History backup. It s hard to tell that it is actually working. Setting up your drive It is best to use a separate external drive for this. The larger the drive, the greater the number of old version of files can be stored by File History. Depending on the number of files you have, 1TB drive is probably the minimal size Setup the drive as shown in How to #1 Setting up your drive, except change the Volume Label to File History. Leave the drive attached. Starting your File History backup Go to Settings > Update & Security > Backup. In the Backup using File History section > Click Add a drive and it will search for a suitable drive. Click the File History drive that you have created > the Automatically back up my files switch will be turned on. Mark Young for ASCCA (Windows 1703 Update) Page 19

20 File History Settings Click More options under the switch to see some choices. The timing: Every hour is the default. It depends how often you add or change files on your computer each day. If you create a lot of material, a short time is best, because a system crash will take out fewer files that haven t been backed up. How long to keep your backups: Forever is the default. If you choose Forever, and your drive gets full, you will have to manually remove files with File History in Control Panel. Until space is needed is a better choice. Which folders to backup: The default is all the folders in your user profile, like Documents, Music, Pictures, etc. If some of these are not important, click on them > Remove from the backup. Make sure Desktop, Downloads and Public Folder are included. Also include cloud services like OneDrive, Dropbox, etc if you use them. When you add a folder, it includes everything inside it. Click on the + sign to add a folder to back up. This will show you a dialog box to choose a folder. It only shows document folders and not programs, apps or Windows files. Starting and checking on your backup Click the Back up now button at the top. When a backup is complete, above this button will show details of your latest backup, including the date completed. File History runs on a time schedule, so you must join your drive into your computer regularly for new or changed files to be added. When you open the File History > Backup options page, you can click Back up now to start File History at any time. The Last Backup date will change to Backing up your data until it s complete. If a message appears in the Action Centre saying: Your File History drive was disconnected for too long > connect the drive and follow the instructions above > make sure you click Back up now to get it started again Mark Young for ASCCA (Windows 1703 Update) Page 20

21 How to #3 Making a manual direct copy of your personal files Copying your files to an external drive by copy and paste, or drag and drop. Advantages A fairly simple process. It makes an exact copy of all your files at a point in time. Needs no special software or method to read the files. Good for making a clean copy for moving to a new computer. If done using the method below, it will contain the personal files for all users (log ins) on the computer Disadvantages Because it is a manual job, it is easy to forget to do it. It gives no history of changes and it is soon out of date. Each new copy is a complete backup and takes up a lot of space. This limits the number of backups you can keep. The copy will probably have some hidden folders, some of which cannot be copied correctly since they are in use. This should not be your only kind of backup. Create a backup folder on your external drive You need at least an empty 1TB drive so you can get at least three full copies of your files on it. Plug your external drive into the computer. Some also have their own power supply that also needs to be plugged in. Dismiss any notifications or Windows that open. Go to File Explorer > This PC > open the external drive. Create a folder on the drive with a name like: Home-PC (The computer name followed by the date backwards.) This helps distinguish each backup from any others on the drive. Having the date backwards makes files sort correctly in date order. Setup the backup folder for copying Close any folders that you have open using the cross, including any programs or apps that have open windows. Look for any icons in the Taskbar that have a line under them and close those apps. Open the folder that you previously created on the external drive. Snap the folder window to the right side of the screen. (To snap a folder: double click the folder to open it > drag it by the title bar towards the middle side of the screen > keep dragging until the tip of the mouse touches the side > the window will then take up half the screen.) Setup your personal files for copying Open File Explorer (the yellow folder in the taskbar) > open This PC > open drive C (It may be called Windows_OS). You will see a number of folders inside. Snap this window containing all the folders to the left side of your screen, so the windows are side by side - with the source folder on the left and the destination folder on the right. Mark Young for ASCCA (Windows 1703 Update) Page 21