Photos App
Margaret mentioned that she had used the Windows Photos app which we briefly mentioned a couple of sessions ago. The Photos app is installed by default on Windows 10, but can also be downloaded from the Microsoft Store. It has a number of features to edit and adjust your photos. In particular, Margaret mentioned the straightening tool which you can access by going to:-
Edit & Create, Edit, Crop & rotate.
Photos that have been scanned in from slides etc, will have no file information such as date taken. You can edit this in Photos by going to:-
3-dots, File Information
Here, you can edit the Filename and the Date Taken.
Rob mentioned a couple of free programs which he has used for some years that can be used for changing file names and properties:-
Bulk Rename Utility: This can rename multiple files in a variety of ways. For more details and to download it, go to:-
https://www.bulkrenameutility.co.uk/
TigoTago: This is a tag editor that can batch edit tags and rename a huge number of files in one operation. It's an 'old school' program dating back to 2012. For more information or to download, go to:-
http://tigotago.com/
Uninstalling Apps - Windows 10
Margaret was having problems uninstalling ArcSoft PhotoImpression on Windows 10. It failed to uninstall using the normal route which is either going to:-
Start, Settings, Apps, Apps & Features, or
Control Panel, Programs and Features.
This site may help. It lists several ways to remove ArcSoft PhotoImpression:-http://www.uninstallhelps.com/how-to-uninstall-arcsoft-photoimpression-6-win-download.html
One way mentioned is to first re-install the program, which may sound counter-intuitive. However, each program comes with its own uninstaller program, so re-installing also re-installs the uninstaller, thus replacing it if it is missing or damaged.
Rob mentioned Revo Uninstaller which has a free version:-
https://www.revouninstaller.com/products/revo-uninstaller-free/
This helps to uninstall and remove left-over components of a program. It's free, so worth a try.
In Margaret's case, the annoying aspect of PhotoImpression was it popping up when Windows starts. It is fairly simple to prevent this sort of behaviour by using Task Manager as follows:-
- Right-click on the blank area of the Taskbar
- Select Task Manager
- Click on the Start-up tab
- Right-click on any program in the list and select Disable.
This does not remove the program, but just prevents it starting automatically when Windows starts. You can use the same process to re-enable a program if required.
Scams & Security
We discussed Cybercrime and Internet Security at the last Club (14th Oct). Phil mentioned a leaflet on Scam Awareness from Age UK Cheshire East. He will send me a copy which I will distribute to you all with the email following this meeting.
iOS14/iPadOS14
At the Club on 23rd Sept, we mentioned the latest operating system for Apple iPads and iPhones, which was released on 16th Sept. Phil mentioned that there had been a subsequent update to fix some bugs, with version 14.0.1 being released just a few days later on 20th Sept and now version 14.1 released on 20th Oct. Check that you are up to date by going to:-
Settings, General, Software Update
iPhone 12
Apple announced new iPhones on 13th Oct which include the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Mini, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max. These range in price from £699 for the Mini to £1099 for the Pro Max. If you want to have the full 512GB of storage on the Pro Max, the price goes up to £1399.
To compare all iPhones, go to:-
https://www.apple.com/uk/iphone/compare/
Windows
10 Version 20H2
The latest major update to Windows 10 was released on 20th October. The update will be applied automatically, but
if you don’t want to wait, you can do a check manually by going to:-
Start,
Settings, Update & Security, Windows Update and
clicking on Check for updates.
Microsoft
are releasing the update gradually, so you may not get it straight away. If
you are really determined to force the update to happen, you can go to:-
https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows10
Here,
you can click Update now to download the Update Assistant which
you can then run.
You can also download
the Media Creation Tool here which allows you to create an Installation
USB Drive that can be used to install this latest version of Windows 10 on
other PCs. Having created the USB Installation Drive, boot the target PC and connect this USB stick, launch File Explorer on the target system and navigate to the USB stick and double-click on Setup.exe to run it. If you have a non-booting PC, you can boot from the USB stick. I recommend you at least back up your data before doing a major update and preferably, make a full system image backup. You can do this by going to:-
Start, Settings, Update & Security, Backup, Go to Backup and Restore (Windows 7), Create a system image.
Systems which are already at version 2004 will get the update in the form of a Cumulative Update (CU). This is the same method used for the regular “Patch Tuesday” monthly updates which happen on the second Tuesday of each month. It will only take a few minutes for this CU to be applied.
Systems with an earlier version of Windows 10 will need to go through more involved feature update process which will take a lot longer, depending on the speed of the machine.
The 20H2 update is mainly bug-fixes and minor changes rather than any major new features.
You
can check which version of Windows 10 you have by going to:-
Start,
Settings, System, About and looking under the Windows
specification heading.
You
can check the current status of known problems with the 20H2 update on
Microsoft’s Release Information page:-
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/release-information/status-windows-10-20h2
Mini
PCs
Desktop
PCs do not need to be the large tower system that they used to be. By using technology designed for laptops, all
the necessary hardware can be contained in a small box about 4½ inches square
and just a couple of inches tall. Intel
established this form-factor with what they called the NUC – the Next Unit of
Computing:-
https://www.intel.co.uk/content/www/uk/en/products/boards-kits/nuc.html
ASUS
are also producing similar sized PCs based on AMD chips rather than Intel. AMD’s latest processors, the Ryzen 4000
series, are generally faster, cheaper and use less energy than their Intel
counterparts. This TechRadar article has
more on the AMD Ryzen 4000 series chips:-
https://www.techradar.com/uk/news/amd-ryzen-4000
I have just switched to one of these mini PCs, the ASUS PN50, and I showed a couple of photos of the outside and inside of this unit.
Windows PC Time - An Hour Out
Margaret had a Windows system where the time was 1 hour ahead, i.e. it had not changed from BST to GMT. The most likely issue is that automatic daylight saving is not set. To fix this, go to:-
Start, Settings, Time & Language, Date & Time and make sure the daylight saving switch is ON.
On that same settings screen, just check that the Time Zone is set to UTC+00:00 London
Removing Java
Cherry asked about Java and updating it. It is probably not being used, so it could be removed. If you have any Java extensions in your web browser, remove them. Look at your installed apps as described above under "Uninstalling Apps - Windows 10", look for 'Java xxxx' and uninstall it. If you have any apps that need it, they will complain when you run them and prompt you to re-install it.
Retain Windows Installation Files?
Cherry asked if it was necessary to retain the ".exe" installation file after installing a program. In some cases, the installation file is a ".msi" which is a Microsoft Installer file. In either case, it is not necessary to retain this installation file once it has been run and the program installed. However, there is no harm in leaving it there in your Downloads folder.
Just occasionally, you might come across a program that does not install, but runs directly each time from the ".exe" file. Obviously, in that case, you have to keep the ".exe" file. One example of this which I use is a program called Rufus (https://rufus.ie/) which converts an ISO file into a bootable USB stick.
Next Session
Wed
11th November 2020 at 2 pm by Zoom.
