It’s been a while since I’ve written about this and with Win10 22H2 coming soon I thought I would post this for new readers.
In the past I used Service Pack updates as an excuse to clean, tweak, and organize my computers as if it were a new install. Gone are the days of Service Packs as Microsoft has moved to a yearly major feature update (version 20H2, 21H1, etc.).
The end result for me is the same and I employ the same strategy as I did before.
* A note before we start, all my “backups” are disk images using a Macrium Reflect Free bootable USB drive.
See: Using Macrium Reflect Boot Media and Macrium Reflect Boot Disk In Action
[Read more…] about Prepping For Major Windows Updates
Search Results for: Macrium Reflect
Thursday News
BBC – Queen Elizabeth II has died, Buckingham Palace announces
She seemed a fine lady who loved her country. I would like to offer my sympathy to my friends in the UK.
Macrium Reflect 8.0.6979
Many fixes.
Download | Release Notes
You’re being tracked through your email. Here’s how to stop it.
“If you’re the kind of person who turns off read receipts on texts and DMs, this is probably not good news to read.“
Wednesday News
Macrium Reflect 8.0.6867
A bunch of fixes.
Download | Release Notes
Firefox 102.0.1
Bugfixes & stability fixes.
Download | Release Notes
Wednesday News
Macrium Reflect 8.0.6758
A few small fixes and additions
Download | Release Notes
Notepad++ 8.4.1
“regression-fixes, bug-fixes new enhancement”
Download & Info
AMD Software Adrenalin 22.5.2 OPTIONAL Drivers
Performance increases in several DX11 games.
Download | Release Notes
Weekend Random Stuff…
Firefox 97.0.2
Fixes 2 security vulnerabilities.
Download | Release Notes
Macrium Reflect 8.0.6635
A few small updates.
Download | Release Notes
OBS Studio 27.2.3
Hotfixes. “Free and open source software for video recording and live streaming.”
Download & Info
Stuff I bookmarked recently. Some off topic, some not:
Meet System Monitoring Center, a Powerful System Performance and Usage Monitoring Tool
Neat GUI system monitor for Linux.
Download & Info
Stronger muscles, longer life: Lifting weights for just 30 minutes a week lowers risk of death from all causes
Sean Payton Explains Why Big Bench Press Numbers At NFL Combine Is A Bad Thing For Linemen
Many, many years ago at a local gym I was working out next to an ex-NBA player. Dude was 7’4″ with an 8’2″ wingspan. He asked for a spot, we chatted a bit. He was very frustrated with his bench press weight. I remember saying something like, “dude, you have to push the bar a foot farther than I do”.
Just get some resistance training in. Anyone who cares about how much weight you’re doing isn’t worth your time. I don’t think I’ve done a one-rep-max in 20 years. I couldn’t even hazard a guess on how much weight I can do in a particular exercise.
My Workout Playlist
Wednesday News
Macrium Reflect 8.0.6584
3 small fixes. Thanks AG!
Download | Release Notes
OBS Studio 27.2.0
“Free and open source software for video recording and live streaming.”
Many New Features, Tweaks, and Bugfixes.
Download | Release Notes
Notepad++ 8.3.1
Fixes and Enhancements
Download & Info
Friday Morning News
It took Friday long enough to get here…
Software Updates
Chrome 97.0.4692.99
Firefox 96.0.2
GPU-Z 2.44.0
Understanding MBR/BIOS and GPT/UEFI
“Master Boot Record (MBR) and GUID Partition Table (GPT), are two different ways of storing partition and boot information on a disk. Understanding these partitioning schemes is essential to understanding how information is stored on your storage devices and choosing the correct partitioning scheme for your scenario.”
Short, informative article from the makers of Macrium Reflect.
Friday News
Clonezilla 2.8.0-27
Clonezilla is a partition and disk imaging/cloning program similar to True Image or Macrium Reflect.
A few enhancements and bugfixes. Linux kernel updated to 5.14.6-3.
I usually use the “alternative stable” download as it is based on Ubuntu.
Download | Release Info
7-Zip 21.06
Bugfix for this weeks v21.05 release.
Download | Release History
Ultimate Windows Tweaker 5 for Windows 11
UWT is a useful tool for Win10 when used judiciously. Not using Win11 so let me know how it goes.
Download & Info
TorGuard Black Friday Sale
60% Off. Plans from $4 per month or $24 a year!
During checkout I chose Anonymous VPN Pro 3 year for $90 which works out to $30 per year.
Tuesday Random Stuff…
Firefox 92
A few fixes and improvements. 5 security updates.
Download | Release Notes
Macrium Reflect 8.0.6036
Many fixes and additions.
Download | Release Info
Stuff I bookmarked recently. Some off topic, some not:
Bosses turn to ‘tattleware’ to keep tabs on employees working from home
“Every minute or so, the program would capture a live photo of David and his workmates via their company laptop webcams. The ever-changing headshots were splayed across the wall of a digital conference waiting room that everyone on the team could see…These software programs give bosses a mix of options for monitoring workers’ online activity and assessing their productivity: from screenshotting employees’ screens to logging their keystrokes and tracking their browsing. But in the fast-growing bossware market, each platform potentially brings something new to the table. There’s FlexiSpy, which offers call-tapping; Spytech, which is known for mobile device access; and NetVizor, which has a remote takeover feature…Employers are reportedly drawing on in-house IT departments to monitor emails for flagged phrases at an increased rate compared with before the pandemic. By receiving alerts when certain employees are discussing “recruiter” or “salary”, for example, management hopes to know when employees are looking to up sticks for greener pastures.”
How Facebook Undermines Privacy Protections for Its 2 Billion WhatsApp Users
“WhatsApp has more than 1,000 contract workers filling floors of office buildings in Austin, Texas, Dublin and Singapore, where they examine millions of pieces of users’ content. Seated at computers in pods organized by work assignments, these hourly workers use special Facebook software to sift through streams of private messages, images and videos that have been reported by WhatsApp users as improper and then screened by the company’s artificial intelligence systems.”
It’s Time For A Flu Shot. Here’s What You Need To Know
Posted just for FYI. Not to be rude but I don’t care what your opinion is on this topic.
Software I Use – 2021 Edition
A while back someone asked me to do a freeware guide for Windows 10 like I have for other Windows operating systems. My heart wasn’t in it. While there is excellent free software out there, in many cases you get what you pay for. I’m tired of talking about second best software I don’t use. So below is a list of the software I have installed on at least one of the 8 PC’s I have scattered across my house.
[Read more…] about Software I Use – 2021 Edition