
Did you know that after Windows Updates have installed and you first log-in, your system can still be processing *stuff* in the background?
This Category covers everything from Windows how-tos, to common issues with the various Windows operating systems.
This week’s Internet Explorer 10 update (KB2828223) has been failing left and right…
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The subsequent result is Windows failing to start in Normal Mode upon reboot. Forcing the system off and potentially booting the system into Safe Mode, is required in order to overcome the “stuck” system. Upon a subsequent reboot, the system shows it is “failing” the update and rolling it back…
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For clients on our System Monitoring service, we’ve disabled the IE10 update across the board and will manually address any installation issues.
We tracked 31 IE10 update failures this week…
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If you do not have Patch Management in place, be sure to keep up to date with the weekly set of Patches coming from Microsoft. These are released every Tuesday and in days prior, Microsoft releases the official announcement for each update. This gives you the chance to manually test updates on one system, before rolling-out updates across each of your systems.
If you come in and find your computer “spinning its wheels” in the morning, we recommend giving it at least 15 minutes to ensure it truly is stuck. If the system is unable to start Windows, the only option is to power-off the computer. Let it ‘rest’ for a minute, then power-on the system again. If the system is able to either recover and reprocess the update OR if it’s able to properly “fail” the update and rollback the system, then you should be able to proceed into Normal Mode. If the system cannot recover, booting into Safe Mode With Networking is most-likely the next step.
As always, if you have any questions, let us know!
Tomorrow is Patch Tuesday and this one’s a big one. Microsoft is releasing a dozen updates that will address a whopping 57 security holes. So chances are, this just means another Manic Wednesday for some users.
Some tips to help avoid bumps on Patch Tuesday:
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Don’t forget to patch your other applications as well, such as Acrobat Reader, Flash, etc. Java should be fully removed unless absolutely required. If you’d like to have The Computer Peeps handle automatic patch management for you, as well as complete system monitoring, we offer those services on a monthly basis with no contracts. Whether it’s us, you, or another tech, someone needs to be patching your systems.
What are you doing for patch management at your consignment store? Comment below if you have any questions!
Edit 2/11/2012 6:46 PM EST: Fixed a typo.
The new version of Windows – Windows 8 – is officially available to consumers as of today. There are some great additions to Windows 8, such as a “one-click” system reset, built-in support for ISO files (I know all of you consignment software users are just DYING for that feature!), and faster boot times.
One of the most controversial changes to Windows 8, is the lack of the Start button/menu:
Many feel that Microsoft are attempting to make a “bold” move and push consumers to something they don’t know they want yet – the touch/tablet interface. With no Start button, once you get to the traditional Desktop, you’re seemingly trapped. How to you launch a new program? How do you shut down the computer? There are invisible “hot spots” in the corner of the screen, which is where Microsoft anticipates YOU will be able to find quite intuitively. Checkout our post, Shutting Down Windows 8 | The Long and Winding Road… to see just how “intuitive” it is.
Windows 8’s UI is clearly more touch friendly and similar to Apple, Microsoft is attempting to unify their operating system across multiple devices – e.g. Windows Phone, Windows Surface, etc.
With many people still running Windows XP, which is now 11 years old and reaches its end of life in 2013, Windows 8 is not the version of Windows we recommend running out and buying.
Windows 7 is a huge leap above Windows XP in terms of security and for business systems – even personal systems – I can’t faithfully recommend Windows 8 just yet. Windows 7 is slated for end of life in 2020, so we have plenty of time.
Another big problem is consignment software compatibility. We’ve tested each of the major consignment programs on Windows 8 and we’ve found that Liberty’s database management system, MS SQL Server 2008 Express Edition, is not compatible with Windows 8:
So for anyone running Liberty, as of right now Liberty is not compatible with Windows 8.
The way it’s looking, it might not be a bad idea to skip every other version of Windows. 🙂 Windows ME – problem ridden. Windows XP – solid. Windows Vista – not as horrible as some think, but still not an OS I would recommend for my worst enemy. Windows 7 – fantastic improvement. Windows 8 – let’s see. Windows 9…
If anyone has any questions, let us know!
Microsoft has done us a favor and doubled the amount of steps it takes to shutdown/restart Windows 8 (as compared to Windows 7). There’s been a bit of criticism of Microsoft’s new Metro UI – i.e. the new ‘tablet-like’ interface which sits on top of the normal Desktop and Explorer interface you’re used to seeing in Windows.
I’m not here to gripe about change and while I’m not personally a fan of the Metro UI aesthetic, I get it. Microsoft is going to be pushing their Microsoft Surface hardware and the general ‘touch’ experience on Windows Phone 8.
So, once you get through Metro and make your way to the Desktop, the fun begins.
Where do we go from here?
We have the familiar Windows Desktop we’ve used for years and years, but what do? The Start button is gone and I don’t see any visual queues as to where to go. What do we do!?
Well, isn’t it obvious? Clearly you’re supposed to move your cursor to the far right-hand side of the screen’s top or bottom corners! 😀 When we move the cursor to the right-hand top and bottom corners of the screen, it reveals
Hmmm, I want to power my computer off, which one of these buttons seems to be the best choice. Well, I guess power is a setting, so let’s try Settings! Oh, yay! I was right! Looks like we found the Power ‘setting’:
Yep, we have a winner! The Power setting lets us Shut down or Restart our system:
Woohoo! We’re finally shutting-down Windows 8!
To recap, in order to shutdown Windows 8 we:
Now, let’s compare that to Windows 7. First, we click the Start button at the lower-left:
Then we click Shutdown – amazing! 🙂
Yay! Two clicks and we’re shutting-down!
So, to shutdown Windows 7 we:
For those of you out there already testing Windows 8, let me know if I’m missing something @ shutting-down Windows 8.