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Category: Microsoft

Microsoft Dictate Lets You Type by Voice

Dictate with your voice in Office

This feature is available to Office 365 Subscribers only.

 

Dictate in Word or PowerPoint

1) Turn on your microphone and make sure it works. Troubleshoot microphone settings

2) In Word 2016 or PowerPoint 2016, select Home > Dictate.

3) Wait for the icon to turn red.

4) Start talking. As you talk, text appears in your document or slide.

5) Speak clearly and conversationally. Insert punctuation by saying the name of the punctuation mark you want to add.

6) If you make a mistake while dictating, move your cursor to the mistake and fix it with your keyboard. No need to turn off the microphone.

7) When finished, select Dictate again to stop typing.

 

Dictate in Outlook

1) Turn on your microphone and make sure it works. Troubleshoot microphone settings

2) Open a new email message and select Message > Dictate.

3) Wait for the icon to turn red.

4) Start talking. As you talk, text appears in your email message.

5) Speak clearly and conversationally. Insert punctuation, by saying the name of the punctuation mark you want to add.

6) If you make a mistake while dictating, move your cursor to the mistake and fix it with your keyboard. No need to turn off the microphone.

7) When finished, select Dictate again to stop typing.

 

Troubleshooting

I don’t see Dictate, or it’s not working

If Dictate isn’t working, make sure you’re connected to the Internet.

You can enable or disable Dictate by going to File > Options and look for Office intelligent services on the General tab.

 

Important information about Dictate

Dictate is one of the Office Intelligent Services, bringing the power of the cloud to Office apps to help save you time and produce better results.

Your speech utterances will be sent to Microsoft to provide you with this service, and may also be used to improve speech recognition services. For more information see, What are Intelligent Services?

Office Dictate is not HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) compliant.

Replicated Folder Offline in DFSR

We recently had an issue with and Active Directory DFSR – The replicated folder has been offline for too long at Site error for a Windows Server Standard 2016 single Domain Controller environment.

Event ID 4012 – DFSR – The DFS Replication service stopped replication on the folder with the following local path: C:\Windows\SYSVOL\domain. This server has been disconnected from other partners for 149 days, which is longer than the time allowed by the MaxOfflineTimeInDays parameter (###). DFS Replication considers the data in this folder to be stale, and this server will not replicate the folder until this error is corrected.

To resume replication of this folder, use the DFS Management snap-in to remove this server from the replication group, and then add it back to the group. This causes the server to perform an initial synchronization task, which replaces the stale data with fresh data from other members of the replication group. .

Summary

Consider the following scenario:

You want to force the non-authoritative synchronization of SYSVOL on a domain controller. In the File Replication Service (FRS), this was controlled through the D2 and D4 data values for the Burflags registry values, but these values do not exist for the Distributed File System Replication (DFSR) service. You cannot use the DFS Management snap-in (Dfsmgmt.msc) or the Dfsradmin.exe command-line tool to achieve this. Unlike custom DFSR replicated folders, SYSVOL is intentionally protected from any editing through its management interfaces to prevent accidents.

How to perform a non-authoritative synchronization of DFSR-replicated SYSVOL (like “D2” for FRS)

  1. In the ADSIEDIT.MSC tool modify the following distinguished name (DN) value and attribute on each of the domain controllers that you want to make non-authoritative:CN=SYSVOL Subscription,CN=Domain System Volume,CN=DFSR-LocalSettings,CN=<the server name>,OU=Domain Controllers,DC=<domain>msDFSR-Enabled=FALSE
  2. Force Active Directory replication throughout the domain.
  3. Run the following command from an elevated command prompt on the same servers that you set as non-authoritative:DFSRDIAG POLLAD
  4. You will see Event ID 4114 in the DFSR event log indicating SYSVOL is no longer being replicated.
  5. On the same DN from Step 1, set:msDFSR-Enabled=TRUE
  6. Force Active Directory replication throughout the domain.
  7. Run the following command from an elevated command prompt on the same servers that you set as non-authoritative:DFSRDIAG POLLAD
  8. You will see Event ID 4614 and 4604 in the DFSR event log indicating SYSVOL has been initialized. That domain controller has now done a “D2” of SYSVOL.

More Information

If setting the authoritative flag on one DC, you must non-authoritatively synchronizeall other DCs in the domain. Otherwise you will see conflicts on DCs, originating from any DCs where you did not set auth/non-auth and restarted the DFSR service.For example, if all logon scripts were accidentally deleted and a manual copy of them was placed back on the PDC Emulator role holder, making that server authoritative and all other servers non-authoritative would guarantee success and prevent conflicts.

If making any DC authoritative, the PDC Emulator as authoritative is preferable, since its SYSVOL contents are usually most up to date.

The use of the authoritative flag is only necessary if you need to force synchronization of all DCs. If only repairing one DC, simply make it non-authoritative and do not touch other servers.

This article is designed with a 2-DC environment in mind, for simplicity of description. If you had more than one affected DC, expand the steps to includeALL of those as well. It also assumes you have the ability to restore data that was deleted, overwritten, damaged, etc. previously if this is a disaster recovery scenario on all DCs in the domain.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2218556/how-to-force-an-authoritative-and-non-authoritative-synchronization-fo

Have any questions?

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Change Your Windows 7 Login Screen

In this edition of the Windows Vista and Windows 7 Report, we show you how to change Windows 7’s Logon screen wallpaper.

While experimenting with several Microsoft Windows 7 systems recently, we spent a lot of time staring at the Logon screen. During that time, we began to think about changing the Logon screen wallpaper. Now, we have changed the Logon screen wallpaper in just about every version of Windows we’ve used, so we know that there had to be a way to do so.

When we began to investigate the procedure in Windows 7, we discovered that changing the Logon screen wallpaper in the newest version of the Windows operating system is easy, once you know the steps — and you don’t even need any third-party software to do it.

In order to make it easy for OEMs to customize Windows 7, Microsoft built the ability to change the Logon screen wallpaper right in to the operating system. In this edition of the Windows Vista and Windows 7 Report, we’ll show you how to change Windows 7’s Logon screen wallpaper.

A Registry tweak

The process begins with a very minor Registry tweak. Even for those who would not normally feel comfortable editing the Registry, this one’s a piece of cake. To begin, click the Start button and type Regedit in the Search box. Then, select the appropriate result and press [Enter]. When you do, you’ll see the User Account Control, shown in Figure A, and will need to click the Yes button.Note: Editing the Windows Registry file is not without its risks, so be sure you have a verified backup before making any changes.

Figure A

You will encounter a UAC when you launch the Registry Editor.

Once the Registry Editor launches, locate and right-click on HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE key and select the Find command. When you see the Find dialog box, type OEMBackground in the text box and make sure that only the Values check box is selected, as shown in Figure B.

Figure B

Type OEMBackground in the Find dialog box.

When the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Authentication\LogonUI\Background key opens, locate and double-click the OEMBackground value. When you see the Edit DWORD dialog box, change the value data from 0 to 1, as shown in Figure C. (If the OEMBackground value doesn’t exist in the Background key, you’ll need to pull down the Edit menu from that key and select New | DWORD (32-bit) Value).

Figure C

Change the value data from 0 to 1.

To complete this part of the operation, click OK to close the Edit DWORD dialog box and then close the Registry Editor.

Creating folders

In the second part of the operation, you’ll need to create a couple of folders. To begin, launch Windows Explorer. Then navigate to the C:\Windows\System32\Oobe folder. Once you access the Oobe folder, click the New Folder button in the Windows Explorer toolbar. You’ll see a confirmation dialog box, like the one shown in Figure D. When you click Continue, the new folder will be created and you can name it info.

Figure D

When you click the New Folder button, you’ll encounter a confirmation dialog box.

Then, open the info folder, click the New Folder button again, work through the confirmation dialog box, and then name the second new folder backgrounds.

Configuring the wallpaper

You can use any image that you want for your new Logon screen wallpaper. However, the image has to be in JPG format and you need to name it backgroundDefault.jpg. When you copy your file to the Windows\System32\Oobe\info\backgrounds folder, you’ll encounter and will need to work through a confirmation dialog box similar to the one shown in Figure D.

Two other things to keep in mind: First, the actual file size of backgroundDefault.jpg cannot exceed 256 KB. Second, you’ll want to use an image whose dimensions match the screen resolution that you are using. If you use a file whose dimensions are smaller, the image will be stretched and may appear distorted.

Altering shadows

As you know, the button and the text used to identify your user account on the Logon screen have shadows behind them to give them a 3D-like look, and these shadows work well with the default Logon screen wallpaper. Depending on what image you use for your new Logon screen wallpaper, these shadows might not work so well.

In addition to making it easy to change the Logon screen wallpaper, Microsoft also made it easy to adjust or disable the text and button shadows to accommodate your particular image.

To alter the shadows, launch the Registry Editor again as described above and access the

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Authentication\LogonUI folder

Once you open the LogonUI folder, you’ll create a new DWORD value called ButtonSet, as shown in Figure E. You can then configure the shadow by setting the value data to one of the following numbers:

  • 0 — Light shadow
  • 1 — Dark shadow
  • 2 — No shadow

Figure E

The ButtonSet value allows you to adjust or disable the text and button shadows.

Have questions?

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Call us at: 856-745-9990 or visit: https://southjerseytechies.net/

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Most Business PCs Haven’t Upgraded to Win10

According to a new study released by Softchoice, less than 1% of business machines have upgraded to Windows 10, opting instead for Windows 7.

Windows10controversy

Windows 10 has been one of the more controversial OS releases of recent memory, bringing privacy concerns, bugs that disable certain hardware, and other nasty surprises. And the enterprise, it seems, is avoiding it altogether.

According to a recent study by IT services firm Softchoice, less than 1% of Windows machines were actually running Windows 10. That means that, one year after the release of the latest Microsoft OS, more than 99% of machines haven’t yet made the switch.

The study was performed as part of a TechCheck analysis by Softchoice, which looked at more than 402,814 Windows devices operating among 169 organizations. So, what were these firms choosing instead of Windows 10? Overwhelmingly, they were running Windows 7.

“It appears businesses are hesitant to take advantage of the various Windows 10 upgrades and, at least for now, are satisfied with Windows 7,” Softchoice’s David Brisbois wrote in a press release. “Historically, OS upgrades have been viewed as major time and resource-consuming undertakings, and this may be influencing the decision today to hold off on Windows 10.”

The Softchoice looked at these Windows machines in both US and Canadian firms from January 1, 2016 through May 31, 2016. At the time, only 2,999 devices were running Windows 10, which accounted for a grand total of 0.75% of the whole.

In terms of business break down, 42 of the 169 businesses (25%) had no trace of Windows 10 in their environment. Additionally, 73 of the 169 (43%) had fewer than 10 devices running Windows 10 present in their environment.

In contrast, 91% of the machines were operating with Windows 7, which marked an 18% increase over the same period of time in 2015. The next largest group were the Windows XP holdouts, which counted for 5% of the devices. Devices running Windows 8 were at 4%, which is double from the 2% measured the year prior.

“It seems businesses don’t see an urgent need to move operating systems, so long as their cloud-based applications are still running fine on Windows 7,” Softchoice’s Microsoft director Craig McQueen wrote in a press release. “In addition to the security benefits, I think once organizations grasp the user benefits—such as touch and Cortana—we will start to see a boost in adoption.”

Although, some of those features may not be enough to sway some users. Cortana, for example, has proven very difficult to get rid of, and other updates have led to frozen machines. The most recent Windows 10 Anniversary Update actually broke some third-party webcams, without a workaround or fix until September. That’s bad news for a business that relies heavily on video conferencing.

Still, there are a host of new features and tools that could make it easier to get work done.

The 3 big takeaways for Readers

  • 1. A recent study by Softchoice has shown that less than 1% of enterprise organizations have upgraded their Windows devices to Windows 10, even a full year after the OS was released.
  • 2. Most business were still running Windows 7, according to the study, as Windows 8 also saw poor adoption rates after its release.
  • 3. A plethora of concerns over privacy and functionality, combined with the effort it takes to upgrade a whole organization, likely led to the low adoption numbers for Windows 10.

Have questions?

Get answers from Microsofts Cloud Solutions Partner!
Call us at: 856-745-9990 or visit: https://southjerseytechies.net/

South Jersey Techies, LL C is a full Managed Web and Technology Services Company providing IT Services, Website Design Services, Server Support, Network Consulting, Internet Phones, Cloud Solutions Provider and much more. Contact for More Information.

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10+ Windows 7 services you may not need

If you evaluate your organization’s need for certain Windows 7 services, you may find that a number of them can be safely disabled.

Every version of Windows has shipped with a core set of system services that must run so that the system can perform basic operations. However, your organization may not necessarily need to have all the services running, and disabling unnecessary services can enhance performance and security. We’ve put together a list of 13 services you can disable on your Windows 7 systems that will probably not negatively affect your business operations at all.

Before you take drastic action, such as disabling a service on every PC in your organization, make sure that the service you’re disabling is not actually in use. This article makes a couple of broad assumptions: that your company doesn’t need to share Windows Media files and doesn’t use Windows 7’s HomeGroup features.

This is not a definitive list of services that can be disabled; these are just some obvious ones. Read carefully and make sure you test changes before deploying them across your organization.

1: IP Helper

Windows description: Provides tunnel connectivity using IPv6 transition technologies (6to4, ISATAP, Port Proxy, and Teredo) and IP-HTTPS. If this service is stopped, the computer will not have the enhanced connectivity benefits that these technologies offer. Why this can be disabled:Many organizations haven’t even started testing IPv6, much less fully deployed it. As indicated in the service description, the IP Helper service is leveraged in IPv4-to-IPv6 transitions.

2: Offline Files

Windows description: The Offline Files service performs maintenance activities on the Offline Files cache, responds to user logon and logoff events, implements the internals of the public API, and dispatches interesting events to those interested in Offline Files activities and changes in cache state. Why this can be disabled: If your organization doesn’t use the Offline Files feature found in both Windows client and server products, this service can be safely disabled. Obviously, if you are synchronizing files across the network, you shouldn’t disable this service.

3: Network Access Protection Agent

Windows description: The Network Access Protection (NAP) agent service collects and manages health information for client computers on a network. Information collected by the NAP agent is used to make sure that the client computer has the required software and settings. If a client computer is not compliant with health policy, it can be provided with restricted network access until its configuration is updated. Depending on the configuration of health policy, client computers might be automatically updated so that users quickly regain full network access without having to manually update their computer. Why this can be disabled: If you’re not doing network-based remediation or if you’re doing remediation with a third-party tool that doesn’t leverage the NAP client, this service can be disabled.

4: Parental Controls

Windows description: This service is a stub for Windows Parental Control functionality that existed in Vista. It is provided for backward compatibility only. Why this can be disabled:Corporate networks rarely used Vista’s Parental Control functionality. Further, this is a legacy service from Windows Vista.

5: Smart Card

Windows description: Manages access to smart cards read by this computer. If this service is stopped, this computer will be unable to read smart cards. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start. Why this can be disabled: If your organization does not use smart cards for authentication purposes, you can safely disable this service.

6: Smart Card Removal Policy

Windows description: Allows the system to be configured to lock the user desktop upon smart card removal. Why this can be disabled: If your organization does not use smart cards for authentication purposes, you can safely disable this service.

7: Windows Media Center Receiver Service

Windows description: Windows Media Center Service for TV and FM broadcast reception. Why this can be disabled: In most corporate environments, TV and FM broadcast reception on desktop computers is not considered a “business critical” item that needs support, and it’s often not allowed anyway. You can disable this service to save some resources.

8: Windows Media Center Scheduler Service

Windows description: Starts and stops recording of TV programs within Windows Media Center.Why this can be disabled: Likewise, there’s no need to record TV programs in a corporate environment.

9: Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service

Windows description: Shares Windows Media Player libraries to other networked players and media devices using Universal Plug and Play. Why this can be disabled: On a corporate network, Windows Media Player doesn’t have nearly the place it might have on a home network. Disabling this service will have no impact on business activities.

10: Fax

Windows description: Enables you to send and receive faxes, utilizing fax resources available on this computer or on the network. Why this can be disabled: If your organization is not using a network-based faxing service, disabling this service will have no business impact.

11: HomeGroup Listener

Windows description: Makes local computer changes associated with configuration and maintenance of the homegroup-joined computer. If this service is stopped or disabled, your computer will not work properly in a homegroup and your homegroup might not work properly. It is recommended that you keep this service running. Why this can be disabled: It’s highly unlikely that a business organization — except a very small one — is using HomeGroups as a way to share resources on a network. It’s almost always safe to disable this service in a business setting.

12: HomeGroup Provider

Windows description: Performs networking tasks associated with configuration and maintenance of homegroups. If this service is stopped or disabled, your computer will be unable to detect other homegroups and your homegroup might not work properly. It is recommended that you keep this service running. Why this can be disabled: As noted above: Only very small organizations are likely to use HomeGroups to share resources on a network, so it’s almost always safe to disable this service in a business setting.

13: Tablet PC Input Service

Windows description: Enables Tablet PC pen and ink functionality. Why this can be disabled: The vast majority of PCs that are deployed to users do not have hardware that can leverage tablet-like capability. This service simply uses system resources with no possible benefit.

Have questions?

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10 Windows 7 Commands Admins Need

The command line is often the best place to resolve Windows 7 desktop problems. These basic commands will help speed your troubleshooting tasks.

PC troubleshooting is becoming less common in larger organizations, but consultants and techs in smaller shops still have to get their hands dirty identifying and fixing desktop problems. Oftentimes, troubleshooting Windows 7 means delving into the command line. Here are 10 fundamental Windows 7 commands you might find helpful.

1: System File Checker

Malicious software will often attempt to replace core system files with modified versions in an effort to take control of the system. The System File Checker can be used to verify the integrity of the Windows system files. If any of the files are found to be missing or corrupt, they will be replaced. You can run the System File Checker by using this command:

sfc /scannow

2: File Signature Verification

One way to verify the integrity of a system is to make sure that all the system files are digitally signed. You can accomplish this with the File Signature Verification tool. This tool is launched from the command line but uses a GUI interface. It will tell you which system files are signed and which aren’t. As a rule, all the system files should be digitally signed, although some hardware vendors don’t sign driver files. The command used to launch the File Signature Verification tool is:

sigverif

3: Driverquery

Incorrect device drivers can lead to any number of system problems. If you want to see which drivers are installed on a Windows 7 system, you can do so by running the driverquery tool. This simple command-line tool provides information about each driver that is being used. The command is:

driverquery

If you need a bit more information, you can append the -v switch. Another option is to append the -si switch, which causes the tool to display signature information for the drivers. Here’s how they look:

driverquery -v
driverquery -si

4: Nslookup

The nslookup tool can help you to verify that DNS name resolution is working correctly. When you run nslookup against a host name, the tool will show you how the name was resolved, as well as which DNS server was used during the lookup. This tool can be extremely helpful when troubleshooting problems related to legacy DNS records that still exist but that are no longer correct.

To use this tool, just enter the nslookup command, followed by the name of the host you want to resolve. For example:

nslookup dc1.contoso.com

5: Ping

Ping is probably the simplest of all diagnostic commands. It’s used to verify basic TCP/IP connectivity to a network host. To use it, simply enter the command, followed by the name or IP address of the host you want to test. For example:

ping 192.168.1.1

Keep in mind that this command will work only if Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) traffic is allowed to pass between the two machines. If at any point a firewall is blocking ICMP traffic, the ping will fail.

6: Pathping

Ping does a good job of telling you whether two machines can communicate with one another over TCP/IP, but if a ping does fail, you won’t receive any information regarding the nature of the failure. This is where the pathping utility comes in.

Pathping is designed for environments in which one or more routers exist between hosts. It sends a series of packets to each router that’s in the path to the destination host in an effort to determine whether the router is performing slowly or dropping packets. At its simplest, the syntax for pathping is identical to that of the ping command (although there are some optional switches you can use). The command looks like this:

pathping 192.168.1.1

7: Ipconfig

The ipconfig command is used to view or modify a computer’s IP addresses. For example, if you wanted to view a Windows 7 system’s full IP configuration, you could use the following command:

ipconfig /all

Assuming that the system has acquired its IP address from a DHCP server, you can use the ipconfig command to release and then renew the IP address. Doing so involves using the following commands:

ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew

Another handy thing you can do with ipconfig is flush the DNS resolver cache. This can be helpful when a system is resolving DNS addresses incorrectly. You can flush the DNS cache by using this command:

ipconfig /flushdns

8: Repair-bde

If a drive that is encrypted with BitLocker has problems, you can sometimes recover the data using a utility called repair-bde. To use this command, you will need a destination drive to which the recovered data can be written, as well as your BitLocker recovery key or recovery password. The basic syntax for this command is:

repair-bde <source> <destination> -rk | rp <source>

You must specify the source drive, the destination drive, and either the rk (recovery key) or the rp (recovery password) switch, along with the path to the recovery key or the recovery password. Here are two examples of how to use this utility:

repair-bde c: d: -rk e:\recovery.bek
repair-bde c: d: -rp 111111-111111-111111-111111-111111-111111

9: Tasklist

The tasklist command is designed to provide information about the tasks that are running on a Windows 7 system. At its most basic, you can enter the following command:

tasklist

The tasklist command has numerous optional switches, but there are a couple I want to mention. One is the -m switch, which causes tasklist to display all the DLL modules associated with a task. The other is the -svc switch, which lists the services that support each task. Here’s how they look:

tasklist -m
tasklist -svc

10: Taskkill

The taskkill command terminates a task, either by name (which is referred to as the image name) or by process ID. The syntax for this command is simple. You must follow the taskkill command with -pid (process ID) or -im (image name) and the name or process ID of the task that you want to terminate. Here are two examples of how this command works:

taskkill -pid 4104
taskkill -im iexplore.exe

Have questions?

Get answers from Microsofts Cloud Solutions Partner!
Call us at: 856-745-9990 or visit: https://southjerseytechies.net/

South Jersey Techies, LL C is a full Managed Web and Technology Services Company providing IT Services, Website Design Services, Server Support, Network Consulting, Internet Phones, Cloud Solutions Provider and much more. Contact for More Information.

To read this article in its entirety click here.

10 Reasons Windows 10 May Not Be Right

The end of Microsoft’s free Windows 10 upgrade offer is right around the corner. But while Windows 10 is great, there are valid reasons to reject it.

windows-7-to-windows-10

An offer you can refuse

The clock is ticking, folks. If you want to upgrade to Windows 10 for free, you only have until July 29, 2016 to do so. And most people should! Windows 10 is the best Windows yet, chock full of handy new features, sleek under-the-hood improvements, andheadache-killing extras.

But it’s not for everybody. There are some very real, very valid reasons not to upgrade to Windows 10.

If you’re on the fence about whether to accept or reject Microsoft’s freebie, read on for some concrete justifications for staying put.

windows-media-center

No Windows Media Center or DVD support

Before we dig into the meatier stuff, let’s take a look at what you’ll potentially give up if you upgrade to Windows 10, starting with some robust media playback options.

Windows 10 kills Windows Media Center off completely, after Windows 8 pushed it into a dark corner. There’s a reason for that: Windows Media Center is fairly niche, and not a lot of people use it. But if you do, you won’t want to upgrade to Windows 10 unless you’re prepared to dive into alternatives like Kodi, Plex, and DVR workarounds.

Oh, and if you’re on Windows 7, be aware that Windows 10 doesn’t offer native DVD playback, though there are no-cost alternatives you can use.

windows-gadgets

No desktop gadgets or widgets

Likewise, if you’re a big fan of Windows 7’s gadgets and widgets for the desktop, they aren’t available in Windows 10. Which is good, because they’re horribly insecure. Whether you choose to stay on Windows 7 or upgrade to Windows 10, you’d probably be better off using Rainmeter’s seriously slick interactive desktop software.

onedrive

No OneDrive placeholders

Windows 8.1 offered a handy feature for hardcore OneDrive users: placeholders. Placeholders showed everything stored in your OneDrive account in the Windows 8.1 file system, but only downloaded files to your PC when you opened them. It was a wonderful way to stay on top of your cloud-stored files without downloading all of them to every Windows device you logged into with your Microsoft account, especially if you’ve stashed dozens of gigabytes’ worth of stuff into OneDrive.

Unfortunately, users found it confusing, and Microsoft ripped placeholders out of Windows 10. There are hints that a similar feature may make an appearance someday, but it hasn’t yet, so if placeholders are a must-have feature for you, you’ll want to avoid upgrading to Windows 10. The new operating system’s less granular selective sync options just aren’t the same.

windows-10-updates

No control over Windows Updates

Aaaaaand here’s the biggie. Windows 10 utterly eradicates the ability to manually control your system updates. Windows 10 Pro will let you defer updates for a few months, but that’s the extent of it. If Microsoft pushes out an update, your system willinstall it eventually (though identifying your Wi-Fi connection as “metered” lets youchoose when updates download, at least).

This isn’t a big deal for people who stuck with Windows 7 and 8’s default Windows Update options, which downloaded patches automatically. But if you like to control your own update destiny, this could be a showstopper.

privacy

Privacy concerns

That segues nicely into another controversial Windows 10 “feature.” Microsoft’s new operating system tracks you far more closely than previous versions of Windows, especially if you use the express settings during the initial setup. The search bar utilizes Cortana, Windows 10’s digital assistant, and sends all your queries to Microsoft servers. Your Windows Store app usage is tracked for ad targeting. Windows 10 tracks your typing, location, Edge browser behavior, program installations and more.

It’s a lot. To be fair, a lot of the concern roaring around this is overblown; most of Windows 10’s potential privacy concerns can be disabled. But there’s no way to turn off some of the telemetry data Windows 10 collects about your system and beams back to the mothership. Microsoft executives don’t consider this a privacy issue. If you do, Windows 10 isn’t for you.

get-office-windows-10-pop-up

Ads and more ads

Windows 10 doesn’t only track your Windows Store app usage for improved ad targeting; it frequently pushes ads of its own at you. By default, you’ll see pop-up notification ads imploring you to get Skype or Office (even if you have Office), ads for suggested Windows Store apps slipped into your Start menu, and even occasional full-screen lockscreen ads for high-profile Windows Store releases.

I loathe the idea that my paid-for operating system—and yes, Windows 10 isn’t truly free—is pushing ads in my face. Fortunately, all of the offenders can be disabled. But doing so requires diving into arcane system settings located in different far-flung corners of the operating system.

 windows-10-full-screen-prompt

Microsoft’s aggressive upgrade tactics

Microsoft’s been acting pretty shady in its aggressive quest to push Windows 7 and 8 users to Windows 10, employing unstoppable pop-ups, malware-like tactics, forced upgrades, intrusive full-screen takeovers, and nasty tricks to coax—and sometimes outright deceive—people into adopting the new OS. It eventually became so heavy-handed that some users have disabled Windows Updates entirely rather than suffer the barrage.

But you know that. If you’re still considering upgrading to Windows 10, you’ve lived through it.

None of that detracts from Windows 10’s underlying awesomeness. But it may have detracted from your desire to upgrade to Windows 10—and rightfully so. If you’re unhappy with Microsoft’s ethics and tactics in handling Windows 10 upgrades, you’re well within your rights to stay put where you’re at.

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Software compatibility

In the wake of those forced upgrades, dozens and dozens of readers reached out to me with tales of woe, many revolving around software that simply doesn’t work with Windows 10. As my colleague Glenn Fleishman recently pointed out at Macworld, old software isn’t inherently bad software—but some of it won’t work in Windows 10.

If you rely on particular pieces of software, do a quick Google search to make sure they’ll work in Windows 10 before you upgrade. Office 2003—the last pre-Ribbon UI Office—isn’t compatible, for instance, nor is software that requires the use of Windows 7’s “XP Mode” compatibility, which isn’t available in Windows 10. Microsoft’s upgrade advisor is supposed to let you know if any software won’t work with Windows 10, but users report that it isn’t very reliable. Doing some homework now could save you some big headaches in the future.

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Hardware compatibility

Similarly, you’ll want to make sure Windows 10 works with your PC, too. No matter whether you’re running Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, I’d recommend running Microsoft’s hardware compatibility tool to scan your system. To do so, open the Get Windows 10 app—the taskbar icon that’s been tossing out all the upgrade pop-ups—and click on the compatibility report option.

But wait! That’s not all. The tool only checks your core PC reliably. Some people who upgrade to Windows 10 discover that their hardware peripherals won’t work, particularly older printers and scanners. If you have any aging peripherals connected to your PC, be it a printer or a beloved keyboard, I’d again suggest conducting some quick Google searches to ensure your gear won’t become paperweights if you decide to upgrade.

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Ain’t broke, don’t fix it

This final reason applies more to people who resist change or aren’t very technically savvy. Yes, Windows 10 is stellar and absolved Windows 8’s worst sins. Getting used to the new operating system shouldn’t be too difficult for many PC users—but the transition isn’t entirely seamless. From Cortana to the introduction of the Edge browser to the radically new-look Start menu, and Windows 10’s evolution into being a more cloud-centric operating system, there are some big changes you’ll need to wrap your head around.

Do Windows 10’s new features and under-the-hood improvements make upgrading worthwhile? I think so. But if you aren’t comfortable dealing with changes on your computer, you might want to stay put. I know several less technically inclined people who paid technicians to revert their PCs to Windows 7 after they couldn’t wrap their heads around Windows 10.

Conversely, if you’ve perfected your workflow on your current operating system and don’t see much benefit in marquee Windows 10 features such as Cortana, the Windows Store, DirectX 12, and virtual desktops, it may not be worth the hassle to switch over to Windows 10.

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10 Compelling Windows 10 Upgrade Reasons

The deadline for Microsoft’s free Windows 10 upgrade looms. Here’s why you don’t want to let it pass by.

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An offer you shouldn’t refuse

The deadline cometh. July 29 looms, and after that, Windows 7 and 8 users will no longer be able to upgrade to Windows 10 for free. If you’ve been waiting for Microsoft to polish out the operating system’s initial bugs, it’s time to make the leap.

This article’s more for the fence-sitters—the folks who haven’t decided whether to stick with what they know or embrace Microsoft’s new-school operating system. There are some very valid reasons not to upgrade to Windows 10, to be honest. But Windows 10 is the best Windows yet, and most people should claim the free upgrade while there’s still time.

Here’s why.

Improved desktop experience
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Let’s be frank: Windows 8’s fugly, unfunctional, and obnoxiously colored Start screen sucked. So did the way Windows 8 hid crucial information behind hidden “charms,” which had no on-screen hints for how to access them. It scared a lot of people away from upgrading, and rightfully so.

You don’t have to worry about that with Windows 10.

Windows 10 takes the same core ideas behind Windows 8, but makes them palatable for the desktop audience. Windows Store apps are still present, but they’re in desktop windows that can be resized and used like any other. The Start menu’s back, with a pop-out section that puts information-delivering Live Tiles to better use—and yes, they can all be deleted if you want.

True, there are some changes to wrap your head around if you upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10. But the basic building blocks of the operating system will be largely familiar.

Enthusiast-friendly additions
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More than simply being familiar, Windows 10 is superior to Windows 7 for PC enthusiasts, because Microsoft made an active effort to woo desktop diehards.

Windows 10’s hardcore tools range from virtual desktops (pictured) to improved high-DPI monitor support to pasting text inside the command prompt. Easy file version recovery? Better storage management tools? Windows 10 has it all.

The operating system even provides power-user tools for Windows Updates, letting you schedule updates to run at a specific time or distribute patches across your local network using peer-to-peer technology. It’s great.

Under-the-hood improvements
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If you’re upgrading from Windows 7, you’ll be amazed at just how quick and modern Windows 10 feels. Microsoft optimized Windows’ underlying code in Windows 8, resulting in an operating system that boots like greased lightning—especially if you have an SSD—and just plain feels faster.

It’s just one of the many Windows 8 improvements that Windows 7 holdouts will enjoy in Windows 10.

Native security protection
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This appeals more to everyday PC users than hardcore enthusiasts, but Windows 10 is inherently much more secure than Windows 7. The operating system ships with Microsoft’s Windows Defender antivirus software and the Windows Firewall installed and enabled by default, which provides many PCs with a huge security uplift. (You’d be amazed how many people never bother to install new security software after their free Norton or McAfee trial runs out.)

But Microsoft didn’t stop there. Windows 10’s UEFI Secure Boot requirement protects against low-level rootkits that could infect your PC, the SmartScreen filter guards against malicious websites, and Windows Hello makes biometric-based authentication easy-peasy.

Better security is always a good thing.

Cortana
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Cortana, Microsoft’s answer to Apple’s Siri and Google Now replaces Windows 10’s basic search functionality, and I couldn’t be happier. Cortana mixes good humor with web-based smarts that can help you set reminders and alarms, stay on top of sports scores and news, navigate and operate your operating system, track packages, plan trips, and more. Even better: Cortana’s going to become more proactive and usefulwhen the Windows 10 Anniversary Update rolls around August 2.

DirectX 12
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Microsoft’s powerful, next-generation DirectX 12 graphics technology is exclusive to Windows 10 devices. If you’re a PC gamer, this feature alone is worth the upgrade.

We’re still in the early days of DirectX 12 adoption. Most PC games still release in DirectX 11. We’re not really sure of the graphics API’s full potential, but early DX12 implementations in games tend to result in smoother experiences and higher overall frame rates. That’s especially so on PCs with AMD Radeon graphics cards, thus far—check out our Radeon RX 480 review for hard benchmarks—but Nvidia’s GeForce cards enjoy DX12 benefits, too.

More and more games are starting to embrace DirectX 12. Seriously: If you’re a gamer, upgrade now. This isn’t coming to Windows 7 or 8.

Universal Windows apps
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But DirectX 12 has come to the Xbox One. That’s because Microsoft’s console runs Windows 10 under the hood, and Windows 10 devices can all run universal Windows apps. One tangible benefit of the cross-device compatibility is the forthcoming Xbox Play Anywhere feature, which lets you buy a game once and play it on both Windows 10 and the Xbox One, as well as transfer saves and play multiplayer games across the two platforms. Nifty!

Play Anywhere is definitely the highlight so far, but universal Windows apps likewise morph to fit the screens of tablets, phones, and even Microsoft’s HoloLens augmented reality headset. The one caveat: Microsoft hasn’t yet convinced developers to embrace the Windows Store en masse.

The little extraswindows-10-print-as-pdf-8

Windows 10 quietly eliminates many of the biggest little irritations present in previous versions of Windows. You can finally print to PDF natively now, and hovering your mouse over a background window lets you scroll that, rather than the in-focus program. Per-monitor display scaling eliminates visual oddities with multi-monitor setups. Cortana’s natural language search—“Hey Cortana, show my pictures from last Christmas”—can be a serious time-saver when used correctly.

All in all, these little touches add up to a big usability difference. Check out PCWorld’s story on the 12 obscure new Windows 10 features that eliminate everyday hassles for all the details.

It’s free!
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C’mon. It’s a free upgrade until July 29. If you’re considering upgrading to Windows 10 at any point in the future, now’s the time to do it. Just be aware of what you’re giving in return.
It’ll keep getting better
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Microsoft isn’t resting on its laurels now that Windows 10 is out in the wild. A majorWindows 10 Anniversary Update is due to land on August 2, stuffed with new features and bug fixes, and Microsoft’s continually updating the operating system with the help of its legion of Windows Insider preview testers.

Windows 7, meanwhile, is solidly past the new-feature phase of life, though security updates will keep on a-rolling until 2020. Windows 8 is still ostensibly in its mainstream support phase through the beginning of 2018, but don’t expect to see any new goodies added there.

Counterpoint
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That’s a pretty compelling list of reasons to upgrade to Windows 10—and the security boost might even push you into encouraging your non-geeky friends (you know, the ones always asking you for unofficial tech support) into accepting the upgrade, too. A safer environment for normal people is a safer world for everybody.

But again, there are some valid justifications for rejecting Microsoft’s offer. Most people should embrace the new operating system with open arms, but before you make the leap, be sure to read PCWorld’s list of the 10 reasons why you shouldn’t upgrade to Windows 10—especially if you’re using older hardware or software.

Have questions?

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Windows 10: 5 Reasons Not to Upgrade

From privacy to compatibility and control, these are the reasons why you might want to give the upgrade to Windows 10 a miss.

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At the end of this month Windows 10 will, at least for now, cease to be available as a free upgrade to Windows 7 and 8 users.

Microsoft is engaged in a final push to get users to upgrade, stressing the new OS introduces fresh features to Windows and overhauls its design. However, is Windows 10 right for you? Here are some of the reasons you might not want to upgrade.

1. You’re worried about privacy

By default Windows 10 collects more data than many users are comfortable with. This includes information about how Windows and Windows apps are used, what you type, your contacts, your location, calendar appointments and more. If the virtual assistant Cortana is enabled, this data extends to web browsing history, voice commands and even more information about your activity.

Users of Home and Pro versions of Windows 10 can only reduce this data collection to the “Basic” level. On this setting, Windows 10 collects information about security settings, quality-related info (such as crashes and hangs), and application compatibility. Microsoft describes this information as being essential for maintaining and improving the quality of Windows 10 and says that only “anonymous identifiers” are transmitted.

However, questions remain about the information that Windows 10 sends back to Microsoft, even when you turn the data gathering settings down a minimum. Tech website Arstechnica found that even with the virtual assistant Cortana disabled, Windows 10 sends a request to www.bing.com that appears to contain a random machine ID that persists across reboots. Similarly, even when Microsoft OneDrive cloud storage was disabled and Windows 10 was not tied to a Microsoft account, the OS still seemed to be sending information to a server connected to OneDrive. While Microsoft stressed there is no query or search data being sent, Arstechnica queried the inclusion of a machine ID.

ZDNet’s Ed Bott has said the very basic telemetry data collected by Microsoft is anonymized and doesn’t reveal anything more than very high-level information along the lines of an unidentified Windows 10 user ran a particular app for half an hour.

However, for some users, even the gathering of anonymized usage data is more than they’re willing to put up with.

2. It might cause pain for older machines

Windows 10 can run on a computer with relatively modest specs, working on many older PCs that shipped with Windows 7. But just because you can run Windows 10 on paper, you may not be able to in practice.
While the Get Windows 10 app that schedules the upgrade from Windows 7 or 8.x should check your system compatibility, some users that pass this test complain the upgrade still fails or devices don’t work properly.

As Microsoft states: “The upgradability of a device includes factors beyond the system specification.”

Microsoft gives you the option to rollback your machine to its previous OS, but there are reports from multiple people who claim the upgrade left their machine virtually unusable. In these cases either the rollback feature didn’t work or it did work but the earlier OS is no longer stable, with previously working programs crashing.

f the upgrade process completes successfully, missing driver and firmware support has also caused difficulties for some Windows 10 users. Those affected cite problems such as monitors not working at their native resolution. Some of the Intel integrated graphics chips used in older laptops are also incompatible with Windows 10, though Windows 10 should warn of this fact.

These problems don’t seem to affect the majority of upgraders, but it’s worth being aware they exist, particularly if upgrading an older machine.

On a less serious level, upgrading to Windows 10 may not break your machine but it could mess with your settings. Microsoft has come under fire for Windows 10 changing users’ default settings in a number of areas, such as swapping the default browser to its own Microsoft Edge.

3. Less control over updates

Windows 10’s update process happens both more frequently and less obviously, with Windows Home and Pro users automatically receiving updates when they’re available.

Windows Home users have less control over how long they can postpone updates for, and less easily-available information about what changes these updates will make.

The lack of control that Home users have over when updates are applied led to a group of users petitioning Microsoft to let them delay and refuse these downloads. Their reasoning was that since forced updates can crash machines, for instance via bad firmware or driver updates, all users need control over how updates are applied.

Another core concern for some users when it comes to Windows 10’s frequent updates is the amount of data downloaded, with updates often weighing in at hundreds of megabytes. However, Windows 10 does allow users to block all but essential updates by toggling on ‘metered connection’ in the WiFi settings.

4. You don’t like the new look

As much as Windows 10 has won people over by bringing back elements of the classic Windows desktop and Start menu — anyone fresh from Windows 7 will need to adjust to Windows 10’s new look.

Unlike Windows 7, Windows 10’s Start Menu takes up far more room, thanks to a menu full of tiles that is bolted onto the side. While most users should be able to quickly adjust to these cosmetic and layout changes, other alterations may grate more. Perhaps the most controversial tweak to the Start Menu is theinclusion of adverts for apps in the Windows Store. These promoted apps are tiles that link to the Windows Store or to apps that have been automatically installed on your PC by Microsoft. With the latest Anniversary Update, the number of these promoted apps will double, from five to 10.

And while it can be argued that Windows 10 is arguably easier to navigate, with its search function built directly into the Taskbar, the new OS introduces some significant changes that may confuse new users.

Whereas Windows 7 allowed users to adjust their system settings using the Control Panel, Windows 10 has both the Control Panel and Settings pages — with some configuration options exclusive to one or the other. This mix and match approach has been described as disorientating by some users.

5. Missing features

Windows 10 may add many new features — the virtual assistant Cortana, the new Edge browser — but it also lacks some key elements of earlier Windows operating systems.

Perhaps the biggest omission are the placeholders for Microsoft’s OneDrive cloud storage service. In Windows 8.1, placeholders, also called smart files, let users see all of the files stored in the OneDrive service, whether those files were stored on the device or not. This feature was removed from Windows 10.Microsoft appears to be working on reintroducing placeholders, although there is still uncertainty about when they will be brought back.

Windows Media Center, the software for TV, music and movie playback is also gone from Windows, so if you are particularly attached, and not willing to mess around with an unofficial version, you may want to pass on the upgrade.

Have questions?

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Call us at: 856-745-9990 or visit: https://southjerseytechies.net/

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Maximize Your Windows 7 Experience

If you’re one of the many business users who has not upgraded their computer to Windows 10, there are still resources to boost your experience. Here are 10 tips for getting the most out of the OS.

Windows 10 faced a controversial roll-out, with privacy concerns, bugs, and other issues plaguing many users. And as of August 2016, just 1% of business machines had upgraded to Windows 10, according to a study from Softchoice. Instead, 91% of the machines were operating with Windows 7—an 18% increase over the same period of time in 2015.

“It seems businesses don’t see an urgent need to move operating systems, so long as their cloud-based applications are still running fine on Windows 7,” Softchoice’s Microsoft director Craig McQueen wrote in a press release at the time. “In addition to the security benefits, I think once organizations grasp the user benefits—such as touch and Cortana—we will start to see a boost in adoption.”

While experts predict Windows 10 deployments will pick up this year, it’s important for those still using Windows 7 for business to get the most out of their machines. Here are 10  articles with Windows 7 tips that will help enterprise users operate the machines more effectively.

1. 10 ways to speed up Windows 7

While Windows 7 generally performs well, over time, the system can slow down and require some care to get it back up to speed. The OS also contains certain features that users can take advantage of to improve overall performance. Here, we outline 10 steps business users can take to enhance the performance of your Windows 7 system.

2. Use multiple monitors with Windows 7’s Remote Desktop Connection

Windows 7 allows users to connect to a remote computer and utilize the local system’s multiple monitors. Here is a step by step advice on how to configure and operate multiple monitors using Windows 7’s Remote Desktop Connection, as well as how to connect to and from Windows versions that do not support this feature.

3. Quick Tips: Flush the ARP cache in Windows 7

The Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) cache is an important part of IP networking on any OS, as it links Ethernet addressing to hardware addressing. Newly mapped addresses are saved in an ARP cache, which is usually fine, but can sometimes cause issues with internet connections and web page loading times. Here, are the necessary steps to clear the ARP cache, and how to manage it going forward.

4. 10+ Windows 7 services you may not need

While every version of Windows includes a core set of system services, business users can disable some that are not necessary in order to improve performance and security. In this article, we highlight 13 services that users can disable if they so choose on Windows 7 systems that will likely not have any impact on business operations, including IP Helper, offline files, and Network Access Protection.

5. 10 Windows 7 commands every administrator should know

IT staff who troubleshoot Windows 7 problems often have to dive into the command line. Here, are 10 fundamental Windows 7 commands that are useful for IT administrators, including System File Checker, File Signature Verification, and Driverquery.

6. Modifying the Windows 7 boot loader with the Boot Configuration Data Editor tool

In Windows Vista and later versions of Windows, the bootloader was moved from boot.ini to a utility called BCDEdit. This article walks users through how to modify the boot config data using this tool.

7. Change and customize Windows 7’s Logon screen wallpaper

Changing and customizing the Windows 7 Logon screen wallpaper is easy once you know the steps, as Microsoft built the ability to change the wallpaper right into the OS, as opposed to needing any third-party software. Here, we offer a tutorial on doing so.

8. Change the Processor Affinity setting in Windows 7 to gain a performance edge

Most applications have been designed for multi-core processors, and work with an OS to distribute their operations evenly across cores to enhance performance. However, you can sometimes achieve better overall performance from certain applications by configuring them to run on different processor cores, which Windows 7 allows via the Processor Affinity setting. In this article, we explain two ways to change the Processor Affinity setting in Windows 7.

9. Use Windows 7 Event Viewer to track down issues that cause slower boot times

Experiencing a slow Windows 7 boot time? You can use Windows 7’s Event View to investigate the source of the problem. The Event Viewer includes a category of event logs called Applications and Services Logs, which track key elements of the OS. Here, we explain how it is possible to find out how long it took to boot up your system every time, since the day Windows 7 was first installed, along with instances where boot time slowed down, all through these logs.

10. Tag your files for easier searches in Windows 7

This article, walks users through how to tag files to make them searchable via the Search filters built into Windows Explorer’s Search box in Windows 7. It’s possible to do this easily from many applications while saving a file. The ability to more easily find files is a boon for business users who want to enhance their productivity.

Have questions?

Get answers from Microsofts Cloud Solutions Partner!
Call us at: 856-745-9990 or visit: https://southjerseytechies.net/

South Jersey Techies, LL C is a full Managed Web and Technology Services Company providing IT Services, Website Design Services, Server Support, Network Consulting, Internet Phones, Cloud Solutions Provider and much more. Contact for More Information.

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