Windows 10 News and User discussion (5 Viewers)

[Tony Bensley]

Last option - and it's a bit drastic.

I found that video you reference. It doesn't look too bad... but is a pain. If you go that route be careful with the ribbon connectors as they can be damaged easily if pulled in the wrong direction. Some have a metal lock plate that keeps them in place. Those usually lift slightly to allow the ribbon to be pulled out. You'll also want a spludger (basically a thin metal or plastic flat blade that's used to pry apart the case to pop those friction tabs open without damaging the case or tabs) to help with case disassembly.

Rather than attempting to remove the BIOS battery you might be able to locate and "short" across the CMOS reset jumper pads. This diagram is one I found for the E1-521 model but yours should be similar. The jumper connections are under the RAM, which you'll have to remove to access. Use some hemostats or needle nose pliers to short across the connections and then press the power button. It only takes a couple of seconds following turning the system on for the CMOS to clear using this method. Do not let the pliers touch any connections other than the 2 CMOS pads. If your system doesn't have the pads labeled as CMOS (like in this image) or the location is vague then just don't experiment as you can ruin the motherboard if you short the wrong pins. This will have the same effect as removing the CMOS battery.

View attachment 54219

Thank you very much for all of your help, Howie!

Unfortunately though, I think that even removing the ram in my Acer Laptop might be a bit more than I'm comfortable with, never mind tinkering with jumper connections on the motherboard. If this were a tower instead of a Laptop, it would be a different story, as I'd have no problem with CMOS Battery removal on that type of setup.

As it stands, a local brick and mortar electronics merchant just gave me a $45 - $55 estimate over the phone, for resetting the BIOS. I'll be calling back Wednesday after he checks with his technician regarding possible trade for my WD 320 GB External HD. I really want to bring my Acer Aspire E1-522 Laptop back from its current useless state, if at all possible.

CHEERS!

 

[BobO'Link]

You're welcome, Tony! I hate that you were unable to get things working without a visit to a repair shop. At least the quote they gave you is fairly reasonable and hopefully they'll charge at the low end.

 

[Tony Bensley]

You're welcome, Tony! I hate that you were unable to get things working without a visit to a repair shop. At least the quote they gave you is fairly reasonable and hopefully they'll charge at the low end.

That's what I'm hoping for, as well. I'll also try to mention your resetting the CMOS jumpers tip, as that is very likely in a far more accessible position beneath the ram, than the CMOS/BIOS Battery behind the SD Bay of my Acer Aspire E1-522 model.

CHEERS!

 

[Tony Bensley]

This is completely off topic, but I just thought I'd mention that I'm able to install Ubuntu 18.04 via USB to use on my Acer Aspire Laptop. While far from a perfect solution, at least I can now get some use out of my Laptop once again. It's a start, anyway!

CHEERS!

 

[BobO'Link]

That's just odd that you can get Ubuntu installed but not Windows...

 

[Tony Bensley]

That's just odd that you can get Ubuntu installed but not Windows...

Agreed!

The key difference appears to be that Windows installation requires the main hard drive (Which I can't access due to my lousy BIOS inaccessibility snafu, that prevents me from changing the necessary settings!), whereas I can simply install Ubuntu on a memory stick. Installing the operating system isn't even required, although I am attempting to do just that, at the moment. Of course, I'm installing on a 16 GB USB stick, and I now see that 25 GB is required, so I'll probably end up having to reconfigure my memory sticks!

I'm beginning to see why so many people are fed up with Windows, regarding their needlessly frustrating installation restrictions.

CHEERS!

 

[JQuintana]

Talking about Windows 10. My work and home PC's both did some big updates this week. Not sure yet of what all the changes were.

 

[BobO'Link]

^If it's v1809 (Settings - System - About) it's mostly "feature updates" of more junk/settings few people asked for or use.

 

[Tony Bensley]

I've started a topic relating to my Ubuntu 18.04 installation: https://www.hometheaterforum.com/community/threads/installing-ubuntu-18-04.360622/#post-4696351

CHEERS!

 

[JQuintana]

I wish I knew what Ubuntu was all about and why it's better or more useful than Windows. I'm not tech savvy when it comes to modifying PC's.

 

[Tony Bensley]

I wish I knew what Ubuntu was all about and why it's better or more useful than Windows. I'm not tech savvy when it comes to modifying PC's.

I don't know about Ubuntu necessarily being better or more useful than Windows, just that I can't install the latter with my current configuration.

What I did notice:
I was able to connect online via Firefox, which is Ubuntu's browser of choice.

YouTube videos do play on the uninstalled Ubuntu 18.04. I haven't had any success with my own video files, however.

CHEERS!

 

[BobO'Link]

I wish I knew what Ubuntu was all about and why it's better or more useful than Windows. I'm not tech savvy when it comes to modifying PC's.

It's just another "flavor" of Linux. There are several distributions around. Some GUIs look like OS-X, some look like Windows, some look like neither. But many differnet GUIs are available on many different flavors of Linux (you pick the one you like during install and can change it later if desired - KDE and Gnome are two popular ones). I really couldn't tell you why one Linux distribution is better than another outside of some are easier to install and configure. Linux can be a bit difficult to work with and people seem to want to keep the "how do I do xxx" somewhat hidden from "casual" (i.e. average Joe) type users. It's an open source variant of Unix. OS-X is Unix certified. That's not to say Linux is OS-X just that they come from a common core and share many root level commands and functions.

BUT - if you're comfortable with a bit of digging it can be rewarding and more secure. If you're looking for a mostly browser based experience with some word processing on the side it'll do quite nicely as it supports Chrome, Firefox, and other (I don't know all of them) browsers as well as Libre Office and Open Office suits (both of which also have Mac and Windows installers) which are excellent replacements for MS Office or Apple's built in Office applications. I use Libre Office on my personal systems.

I wouldn't say it's "better" or "more useful" than Windows (or OS-X) as it depends on just what you do with your computer. It's a 100% free alternative and that makes it attractive. There is tons of software for it - but not necessarily games or main-stream applications. Browsing, word processing, audio/video editing, image processing/editing, CD/DVD ripping, and lots more with most of it being open source. Most of the world's web sites are run on some flavor of Linux.

Many of the distributions are available as "live" images. That is, you can "install" it to a flash drive or DVD and run it from that media rather than do an install on your HD. This allows you to test drive it before deciding what you like. That's what Tony's doing... running a "live" distro from a flash drive.

 

[Tony Bensley]

It's just another "flavor" of Linux. There are several distributions around. Some GUIs look like OS-X, some look like Windows, some look like neither. But many differnet GUIs are available on many different flavors of Linux (you pick the one you like during install and can change it later if desired - KDE and Gnome are two popular ones). I really couldn't tell you why one Linux distribution is better than another outside of some are easier to install and configure. Linux can be a bit difficult to work with and people seem to want to keep the "how do I do xxx" somewhat hidden from "casual" (i.e. average Joe) type users. It's an open source variant of Unix. OS-X is Unix certified. That's not to say Linux is OS-X just that they come from a common core and share many root level commands and functions.

BUT - if you're comfortable with a bit of digging it can be rewarding and more secure. If you're looking for a mostly browser based experience with some word processing on the side it'll do quite nicely as it supports Chrome, Firefox, and other (I don't know all of them) browsers as well as Libre Office and Open Office suits (both of which also have Mac and Windows installers) which are excellent replacements for MS Office or Apple's built in Office applications. I use Libre Office on my personal systems.

I wouldn't say it's "better" or "more useful" than Windows (or OS-X) as it depends on just what you do with your computer. It's a 100% free alternative and that makes it attractive. There is tons of software for it - but not necessarily games or main-stream applications. Browsing, word processing, audio/video editing, image processing/editing, CD/DVD ripping, and lots more with most of it being open source. Most of the world's web sites are run on some flavor of Linux.

Many of the distributions are available as "live" images. That is, you can "install" it to a flash drive or DVD and run it from that media rather than do an install on your HD. This allows you to test drive it before deciding what you like. That's what Tony's doing... running a "live" distro from a flash drive.

My Ubuntu OS became corrupted in less than a week after installation. I finally bit the bullet and cracked open my Acer Aspire Laptop and reset my BIOS, which proved nightmarish.

To make a long story short, I'm back to using Windows 10. With this being a clean install, I do miss certain leftover pre Windows 10 features, such as Windows Photo Viewer and Microsoft Photo, primarily for its photo cropping capabilities. What makes their absence harder to take for me, is I've found their Photos app to be really buggy, and less user friendly, of late. I really miss its zoom in at more than 100%, while still able to keep the image frameless capability. Now, it can no longer be in full screen mode, when doing this.

On the plus side, Windows 10 has retained Microsoft Paint, at least for the time being, so there is that!

CHEERS!

 

[BobO'Link]

My Ubuntu OS became corrupted in less than a week after installation. I finally bit the bullet and cracked open my Acer Aspire Laptop and reset my BIOS, which proved nightmarish.

To make a long story short, I'm back to using Windows 10. With this being a clean install, I do miss certain leftover pre Windows 10 features, such as Windows Photo Viewer and Microsoft Photo, primarily for its photo cropping capabilities. What makes their absence harder to take for me, is I've found their Photos app to be really buggy, and less user friendly, of late. I really miss its zoom in at more than 100%, while still able to keep the image frameless capability. Now, it can no longer be in full screen mode, when doing this.

On the plus side, Windows 10 has retained Microsoft Paint, at least for the time being, so there is that!

CHEERS!

Irfanview. Just watch the installer and uncheck the add-in/piggyback apps that are not needed. The last time I checked they'd dumped all the piggyback junk but you never know.

You also want to select "Images only" on the file types selection screen or it'll take over your media files and you don't want that.

 

[Harry-N]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ho...-your-default-image-viewer-on-windows-10/amp/

 

[Tony Bensley]

Irfanview. Just watch the installer and uncheck the add-in/piggyback apps that are not needed. The last time I checked they'd dumped all the piggyback junk but you never know.

You also want to select "Images only" on the file types selection screen or it'll take over your media files and you don't want that.

Thanks, Howie! This is along the lines of what I was looking for, although a bit roundabout. I still wish Windows would have just left the zoom feature in on full screen mode for their Photos app.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ho...-your-default-image-viewer-on-windows-10/amp/

Thanks for this most helpful tip, Harry! I wonder why Microsoft does stuff like this, to begin with?

CHEERS!

 

[Tony Bensley]

Here's yet another glitch I've run into with my latest Windows 10 setup. A couple of years back, it was brought to my attention that to Print Screen capture the contents of my monitor and paste it into Microsoft Paint, I just had to press the Windows Key, plus Prt Scn. Now, for some unknown reason, when I attempt this, the Start Menu pops up instead, and the Clip symbol for Paste on MS Paint remains greyed out.

Does anyone know a way around this issue? Quick googling didn't uncover any alternative solutions.

CHEERS!

 

[Harry-N]

Just use the [PrtScn] key. It automatically places your screen contents into the clipboard. In Paint, use "Paste" to put it into the Paint program. (Don't need the Windows key.)

There is also a more sophisticated tool these days in Windows 10. It's called "Screen Snip" and is handily located in the notifications area on the right. Press the "cartoon balloon" icon to get to the notifications area.

 

[Tony Bensley]

Just use the [PrtScn] key. It automatically places your screen contents into the clipboard. In Paint, use "Paste" to put it into the Paint program. (Don't need the Windows key.)

There is also a more sophisticated tool these days in Windows 10. It's called "Screen Snip" and is handily located in the notifications area on the right. Press the "cartoon balloon" icon to get to the notifications area.

Nope to the first. Prt Scn alone was what I actually tried first, but the Paste option was greyed out in Paint. I'll give Screen Snip a try. Hopefully, I'll have better luck with that option. Thanks for the tip!

CHEERS!

 

[Clinton McClure]

Tony - PrtScn by itself should work. Strange that it doesn’t. Try using Ctrl + PrtScn. It turns on a printer echo feature for text but should work ok with normal screen captures too. Alternately, use Alt + PrtScn to capture the contents of your active window and not the entire screen.

Since Windows 8, pressing the Windows key in conjunction with PrtScn saves the screenshot to your default pictures location on the hard drive.