Reloading Challenges

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Oh dear!

How long will that take?

[Dave ReedParticipant @davereed72029]

Don’t forget to remove any confidential data first if you can.

If it starts up you may be able to see what’s going on by connecting the screen from your old PC if it has HDMI input

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

It should take around 7 to 10 days.  I’ve been able to sign out from forums, e-mail accounts etc and I don’t store any documents or pictures on any computer, everything is stored, and backed up, onto external hard drives.

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

Well after a few days I received notification that they had received the computer.  Later that day I received notification that it was on its way back!  I received it the next day, with a report saying that the screen had been changed as the old one had a crack!  I assume this was internally as there was nothing obvious externally.  Anyway its been going now for around a week with no challenges so, hopefully, that was the issue.  A bit of a faff but at the end of the day HP did the job and got it sorted.

So I treat myself to a new 2tb SSD external drive to store everything on, which is noticeably quicker than the old HDD and quite a bit smaller.  So in a device around 2″ square, i.e. smaller than a floppy disc, and less than 10mm thick I store around 500 albums, all my articles (around 200 now), around 20 thousand photographs and all my other paperwork, documents, etc.. etc..  And it all takes up less than half the drive capacity.  Pretty amazing really.

Lets hope for a few years of trouble free reliable computing!  We can only hope.

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

You do have a backup of course Richard…..

Colin

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

Yes, my old HDD!  (And one or two other older ones)

[Chris FellowsParticipant @chrisfellows72943]

I’m with you as regards external drives as I’ve got four! And as regards keeping stuff off the PC. I changed my desktop a couple of years ago and was frustrated and annoyed at how insistent Windows etc. had become in trying to force you to store and share things (like contacts/address books etc.) where they wanted you to e.g. when saving things first option that comes up on the PC is Onedrive. I refuse to use this or any Cloud storage except on my phone but I take very few photos using it. In fact with my new PC experience I went through everything on my tablet and phone and turned lots of things off.

Fine if you want and are happy to share these things across multiple devices but it shouldn’t be the route they try and force you down. Final straw for me was when I took a photo on my tablet, which I then deleted, including on Onedrive, which I did use for awhile, and then next morning when I turned on the PC it came up on the screen! Rant over!

I’m also with you as regards a larger screen that I use for spread sheets, drawing and photo processing. I don’t even use my laptop for those, nevermind my tablet.

Chris

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

One Drive is the Devil’s work!

I have several HDDs and an SSD which I use in rotation to back up images, documents and personal files. The backup drives live in my workshop which is just about as far as they can get from the PC. A further HDD which I only back up occasionally sits in a fire safe on the other side of the house.

Colin

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

I’ve always been very suspicious of anything ‘stored’ on line, whether you want to call it clouds or anything else.  I have witnessed a very high end professional ‘hacker’ testing the security of a so called secure ship’s system and gaining access to the personal details of thousands of passengers within a couple of hours, while not even leaving his cabin.

Consequently I store nothing on line and everything in a drive that stands well on its own in a drawer.  I wouldn’t even be brave enough to suggest a hacker will not be able to get into that one day!

[Chris FellowsParticipant @chrisfellows72943]

Totally agree with you there Richard. I wont even use the Folders for Documents, Pictures etc. set up by Windows for any personal stuff. It’s all on standalone backup drives. I go through the default folders now and again, deleting and moving stuff in case Windows has tried to be “helpful”!

Chris

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

You can set up Windows to keep everything local and totally disable One Drive etc. On the other hand anything you post online or on a forum is vulnerable to ‘spiderbots’. Sometimes when doing online searches I have been shown photos I sent to the magazine for publication which have bee ‘scraped’ off the digital edtion. It is all grist for the mill.

You do of course need to ensure that you have a decent security protection on the PC, the mainstream ones are pretty good these days and some experts reckon the the inbuilt Windows Defender is up with the best of them.

Bear in mind that disconnecting your files on demountable media doesn’t necessarily protect you as if you have a bug lurking in your PC then potentially it can affect any drive that you connect to it!

Colin

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

Hence the back ups!

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Following the comments on screen size in earlier posts, I decided to upgrade mine as some of the smaller text was becoming a strain to read. Of course you can configure the screen to enlarge the text which also reduces the amount of data shown, but it doesn’t alter the screen resolution so enlarged text can also become fuzzier.

My new screen is 4K which vastly improves the definition and uses the Displayport connection to the PC. My old screen had a HDMI connection. It arrived today and I have configured it to give  larger text but still more or less the same  amount of information that was visible on the old screen. So far I am pleased with the improvement. it is an LG 27 inch screen and cost £189 direct from LG which was the cheapest price I could find. The old screen was a decent Samsung HD 25 inch curved widescreen which will be fitted to the backup PC upstairs. It is about 8 years old but still works fine.

Hopefully the new one will be a good investment given the amount of time I spend sitting in front of it.

Colin

[Chris FellowsParticipant @chrisfellows72943]

I must upgrade my screen at some point especially as I use it for editing photographs. It’s not a bad size but is a few years old now having outlived a couple of PCs.

Will probably wait until I upgrade the PC though as the current one was only supposed to be a temporary replacement and that was 2 years ago!

Chris

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

My challenge of course is going for all-in-ones.  I’ve always liked them but have to pay the price when its time to renew.  My last one was a 27″ but starting to show its age as regards picture starting to show shadows in some areas and running Windows 7.  Having a browse around the hp website I noticed this 32″ one was a good price so kept an eye on it.  Then one day they knocked 400 quid off it so I couldn’t resist.  I do like the screen and it allows me to have two or three things open at the same time without having to move things around.  Part of my problem is that I have so many books in here space is at a premium and a tower would take up much needed book space!  Plus I have an obsession with hiding wires so a computer with a single power cable is a big plus!  I can’t help but feel a tinge of envy though at a screen upgrade for £189.00

How people work through smart phones or even I-Pads is completely beyond me.  I know I’m a dinosaur but I’m happy like that.

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