The Digital Surgery (computer questions/problems here)

[Homer]

In any case, for efficient use try to explore the menu, browse the help, customize the interface, and change the default settings to your liking.

Fairy tales? I love it. I would have used Toilet water, as in: Why don't you watch CNN? For the same reason I don't drink toilet water.

[Homer]

Are your hard disks healthy? There's a free way to check.

Last week I had to plug in my oldest external backup drive twice before windows recognized it. Then it happened again, so I ran the latest version of Crystal Disk Info (CDI). It reported status as 'Caution', with the other options being 'Good' and 'Bad'. So I ordered a replacement. And a replacement for my boot drive which has been in use since I built the PC in 2014. After 6,125 Power On events and 11,835 Power On hours, it's status is also Caution.

How does CDI know? How accurate is CDI? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.M.A.R.T.

Download https://crystalmark.info/en/download/ Note, make sure you download Crystal Disk Info, not Crystal Disk Mark. The .zip version runs without installing the program. Three versions. Standard has a generic background, the other 2 feature anime characters.

[Homer]

Recently I mentioned in an email to a friend that I do a incremental backup of my C drive before installing any program. That drive has Windows and all my programs. With image verification it took 2m 50s. He wanted to know more. Thought what I wrote him would be useful to others.

Windows System Image (WSI) is a part of Windows. Macrium Reflect (MR) costs $70. Compared to both MR and common sense, WSI loses IMHO, despite the price advantage. Everything below about WSI applies to Win 7. Probably applies to Win 10 because in the Win 10 Control Panel, both the WSI and 'Backup and Restore' labels are followed by "(Windows 7)".

Restoring a WSI image is intended to work to the hardware on which it was made. That prevents you getting multiple Windows installations for the price of one. That means if you've changed your hard drive(1) or motherboard (not sure about cpu only), or anything with a driver that must load during the boot sequence, a WSI restore will not create a running copy of Windows. Wizards have figured out to get around this feature. They write their how-to articles for the tech savvy. Feeling lucky?

A MR disk image or backup will restore to any drive, any machine, creating a running copy. I don’t have an SSD so I haven’t looked into if an image made on a conventional disk will restore to a SSD, or vice versa.

Other MR advantages
- Clone or backup whole drives or a subset of folders. With WSI you can only select whole drives.
- Three image types: Full, Differential, Incremental(2). Differential is useful when you want to backup before installing a windows updates or new program(s). That's fast. WSI is Full only.
- It's fast. Made a 43gb Win7 only image in 4m33s.
- WSI restore is all or nothing. Of course MR also does a full restore, but you can access the image as if it were a drive. Select individual files to view, copy or restore.
- Macrium isn't Microsoft.
- Macrium claims images made with it's paid version can not be modified by ransomware. They don't mention that if any hacker turned their general purpose ransomware into something that could hack such files, all bets are off.

(1) The exception is if you replace a hard drive with the same model, then change the unique drive ID number. Good luck on finding the same model 4 or 5 years after your computer was built.

(2) Don't use Differential or Incremental images without a thorough understanding of the chain of files you must keep. Otherwise your restore may not contain what you think it contains. It’s a rare home user that needs Incremental. Differential is easier and you’re far more likely to have the proper chain of files when you need them.

[hhinner]

I use the free version of Macrium Reflect and it's fine for me. Just to add to Homer's post above - free version can do differential backups, but can't do incremental backups. Nor can it do restores to different hardware. Differences between free and paid versions can be seen here: https://www.macrium.com/reflectfree

[Homer]

.... free version can do differential backups, but can't do incremental backups. Nor can it do restores to different hardware. ...

Having incremental backups in the paid version is a slight advantage, but not worth paying for.

For me, their ReDeploy feature (their name for restores to different hardware) is. Reinstalling the operating system and all my programs can take a weekend, one that starts on Fri night. That's enough to discourage me from upgrading for more speed or to meet minimum system requirements of a program I want. With ReDeploy I'm not discouraged.

I make several images after a new install: 1) After installing windows, 2) After Installing drivers, 3) After Windows Update has finished, 4) After installing the programs I use the most, 5) After installing the programs I know I'll use infrequently, and 6) After installing all the programs -- uh, the one program -- I didn't pay for because I found a cracked version on piratebay. #1 is a full system image, the rest are differentials between themselves and #1.

ReDeploy has another advantage. As more programs are installed and uninstalled, junk accumulates, Windows slows, and odd behaviors happen. At that time the best fix is to back up all your data, wipe the drive, then install #1 and either #4 or #5.

[Nereus]

Internet Banking:

I use Interent Banking to my bank in Australia. I have been doing it this way since it was introduced years ago. Worked fine yesterday, but to day I get a notice:

Access Denied
You don't have permission to access "http://ib.nab.com.au/nabib/index.jsp" on this server. Followed by a string of numbers.

I had somebody that has access to my account in Australia go into the bank this morning and they claim that "my server is at fault". I have tried clearing the cache and rebooted both the computer and the WiFi modem with no change.

Everything else works including access to an account in the USA. Windows 10 with latest updates(which MAY be the problem) and the inbuilt Edge browser.


Any suggestions would be much appreciated. ps: my cheap phone cannot connect to the Internet.

[Big Boy]

You haven't accidentally left your VPN on have you? I get a similar response if trying to access mine with a VPN.

[Nereus]

You haven't accidentally left your VPN on have you? I get a similar response if trying to access mine with a VPN.

Nah, don't have such an animal. Thanks for the clue anyway.

[handdrummer]

Have you tried changing your browser?

[Nereus]

Have you tried changing your browser?

No, I am reluctant to install another browser(read-not sure how to).

[buksida]

Really, it is that easy and would be the first thing to try if the one your using is not connecting:
https://support.google.com/chrome/answe ... ktop&hl=en

[handdrummer]

Have you tried changing your browser?

No, I am reluctant to install another browser(read-not sure how to).

Trust Buksida, Even I, who is digitally impaired, installed google chrome. It's just a matter of following simple directions, namely, "click here to install" and google will do the rest.

[laser]

Internet Banking:

I use Interent Banking to my bank in Australia. I have been doing it this way since it was introduced years ago. Worked fine yesterday, but to day...

Getting a new browser won't help.
I tried with 3 OS and 6 browsers, both with (geo)location enabled/disabled (did not try using an local elite proxy, too risky for banking even if that would work). Clicking the Internet Banking menu results in the 'access denied' message.
However, the next menu item "NAB Connect"
https://www.nab.com.au/cgi-bin/nabconne ... er=correct
gives a login sceen. I don't know whether that gives you access your accounts for effective online banking, or any such must be done via that *broken* "Internet banking" menu item.

Their Farcebook says:
" NAB
Yesterday at 5:15 AM
Some customers may be experiencing intermittent disruption to our desktop Internet Banking service. Our Mobile Banking App is currently unaffected."
attracting 54 comments so far.

[Nereus]

I don't know whether that gives you access your accounts for effective online banking, or any such must be done via that *broken* "Internet banking" menu item.

Thanks. Tried that and appears to be just for "Connect" as it requires a different password.

I have a "Power of Attorney" rep in Australia and in the NAB local Bank yesterday they claimed the fault is with my "server". She was able to connect using my usual ID and password. NAB as per every time something like this happens the local branch tell me to "call the following number". And every time I get shunted around or left hanging! So I refuse to call.

If the fault is with "my server" then just how is ANY phone call going to fix it?
I have yet to try another browser.

[Nereus]

Having done absolutely nothing except wait, my Internet Banking is back up and running this morning! So I guess big brother has completed his spying and put it back to "normal".