Messages

26

General Computer Support / Re: CHKDSK occasionally runs on SSD at startup

« on: July 15, 2019, 07:59:26 am »

It may be Wednesday before I get the chance to look at the laptop but I'll try the Hibernation thing - but, because it's intermittent, I may not know if it fixes it for a bit.

27

General Computer Support / Re: CHKDSK occasionally runs on SSD at startup

« on: July 15, 2019, 06:35:58 am »

Thanks, Tom, I'll give that a try when I'm back on the laptop. That unexpected shutdown in the Smart log showed up fairly early on and I'm not sure why - but most boots have been fine. Whenever I've done a random check to see if the DIRTY bit is set, it's not.

28

General Computer Support / CHKDSK occasionally runs on SSD at startup

« on: July 15, 2019, 05:28:44 am »

I recently replaced my 1 TB HDD on my Lenovo G560 laptop with a Crucial MX500 SSD of the same size. I cloned the old drive with Casper 10, which is my backup software of choice. All went swimmingly with the installation and the computer is transformed in terms of speed and usability. I have, however, had an ongoing quirk in that Windows sometimes decides there's a need to run CHKDSK on boot, although the results don't seem to show any errors found (see below). Crucial Storage Executive reports no errors.
S.M.A.R.T. all looks fine. See attached PDF.

I did raise a support request with Crucial but their advice was to return the drive for exchange - something I'm reluctant to do as I can't see any problems with the drive and I don't want to exchange it if it's performing correctly, never mind the hassle. Is there anything I've missed in the reports or can anybody shed any light on why SHKDSK is running? Windows shut down correctly yesterday (I have the VERBOSE option active as it helps me spot any problems on shutdown) and this morning CHKDSK ran at boot - but that's an infrequent occurrence, and I can't link it to any other activity. Reliability Monitor shows all has been fine for weeks...................


*******************************************************

Checking file system on C:
The type of the file system is NTFS.
Volume label is SYSTEM.


One of your disks needs to be checked for consistency. You
may cancel the disk check, but it is strongly recommended
that you continue.
Windows will now check the disk.                         

CHKDSK is verifying files (stage 1 of 3)...
  405504 file records processed.                                          File verification completed.
  2427 large file records processed.                                      0 bad file records processed.                                        0 EA records processed.                                              60 reparse records processed.                                       CHKDSK is verifying indexes (stage 2 of 3)...
  507358 index entries processed.                                         Index verification completed.
  0 unindexed files scanned.                                           0 unindexed files recovered.                                       CHKDSK is verifying security descriptors (stage 3 of 3)...
  405504 file SDs/SIDs processed.                                         Cleaning up 39 unused index entries from index $SII of file 0x9.
Cleaning up 39 unused index entries from index $SDH of file 0x9.
Cleaning up 39 unused security descriptors.
Security descriptor verification completed.
  50928 data files processed.                                            CHKDSK is verifying Usn Journal...
  208571360 USN bytes processed.                                             Usn Journal verification completed.
Windows has checked the file system and found no problems.

 930661375 KB total disk space.
 253872744 KB in 244267 files.
    155860 KB in 50929 indexes.
         0 KB in bad sectors.
    708447 KB in use by the system.
     65536 KB occupied by the log file.
 675924324 KB available on disk.

      4096 bytes in each allocation unit.
 232665343 total allocation units on disk.
 168981081 allocation units available on disk.

Internal Info:
00 30 06 00 a8 80 04 00 f0 ab 07 00 00 00 00 00  .0..............
b2 21 00 00 3c 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  .!..<...........
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  ................

Windows has finished checking your disk.
Please wait while your computer restarts.

*******************************************************

Iain

Windows 7 Home Premium x64 SP1 - Microsoft Security Essentials - Malwarebytes Premium - CryptoPrevent Premium

29

General Computer Support / Re: pc going mad

« on: April 26, 2019, 11:15:38 pm »

I don't have W 10,  but could you use the onscreen keyboard to enter the appropriate commands suggested here?

https://www.intowindows.com/6-ways-to-open-on-screen-keyboard-in-windows-10/

30

Tweaking.com Support & Help / Re: Only booting in safe mode

« on: March 08, 2019, 12:32:13 am »

I dl'd Still_Game's recommendation for Safe Boot, selected boot in "Normal" mode and, wonder of wonders, my system now appears to be functioning normally. Yay! I created a current restore point and will certainly save Safe Boot, as clearly it is a useful and effective tool. I currently am running 1803. Would you recommend that I update my system to 1809 and create a new restore point then or wait on 1809 as it appears as if it may be buggy? Is there anything else I should do?

Thank you very much for your support and assistance in all of this!

Glad that Safe Boot worked for you. I've been aware of the utility for a while but never had occasion to use it as my Windows 7 laptop pops in and out of Safe Mode nicely when needed.

I'm not looking forward to my eventual move to Windows 10 - apart from the fact that neither my Samsung laser printer nor Canon scanner will work with it and I've no other reason to ditch a perfectly functioning Lenovo apart from Windows 7 reaching EOL next year, I'm not convinced about its reliability from one release to the all too frequent next. Linux? Doesn't handle the software I rely on. Apple? Too expensive and restrictive for me.

31

Tweaking.com Support & Help / Re: Windows 10 booting into Safe Mode problems

« on: March 03, 2019, 02:25:05 am »

I'm not sure whether getting locked in safe mode in Windows 10 is a problem for other than WR users, but I suspect so from the release notes for BootSafe 5.0:-

"Special note for Microsoft accounts in Windows 10:

Windows 10 introduces Microsoft (online) accounts as the default user creation type, which allow certain settings and files to be backed up online and/or transferred to other PCs that also sign-in with the same user accounts.  These accounts require a password which may NOT allow login from Safe Mode!

BootSafe v5.0 and above have introduces a feature to optionally create a temporary administrative user (named "BootSafe_TempAdmin") when BootSafe detects that it is run from a Microsoft account.  This temporary user may be necessary for login to Safe Mode, and has no password assigned to it.  Upon return to Normal Mode and login to any other administrative user account, this temporary user will be automatically deleted.

If this user were NOT created, and your Microsoft account password did NOT work in Safe Mode, then you would be STUCK in Safe Mode; therefore if BootSafe prompts you to create this temporary user, it is STRONGLY RECOMMENDED to choose YES."

But, as I admitted, Windows 10 is pretty much uncharted water for me - but I'm aware I might need to dive in when Windows 7 goes EOL in a year's time.

32

Tweaking.com Support & Help / Windows 10 booting into Safe Mode problems

« on: March 02, 2019, 11:46:43 pm »

As a user of CryptoPrevent, I receive regular emails from the developers d7xTech Software and notice that they've released version 5.0 of BootSafe - https://www.d7xtech.com/bootsafe-v5-0-released/.

I haven't used it and am not as yet on Windows 10 (my laptop isn't supported) but was interested in the comments in the release notes' "Special note for Microsoft accounts in Windows 10" and its mention of the possibility of getting locked into Safe Mode in certain circumstances and the claim that this tool might resolve that issue. I thought it might be of interest to the forum as I believe I've seen a few instances where Microsoft 10 users have got locked into Safe Mode.

33

Tweaking.com Support & Help / Re: Windows 7 64 bit Ultimate - mouse or explorer.exe hands up system completely

« on: January 18, 2019, 01:12:59 am »

So it would seem - I just thought I'd post the information in this thread as I'd earlier raised it as a possibility and I'd seen the update on the situation this morning.

34

Tweaking.com Support & Help / Re: Windows 7 64 bit Ultimate - mouse or explorer.exe hands up system completely

« on: January 18, 2019, 01:06:46 am »

It seems that Malwarebytes may be on the way to resolving the Windows 7 / Malwarebytes freeze issues - see post #2 in this thread. Here's hoping!

https://forums.malwarebytes.com/topic/241223-malwarebytes-for-windows-and-windows-7-freezelock-up/

35

Tweaking.com Support & Help / Re: Windows 7 64 bit Ultimate - mouse or explorer.exe hands up system completely

« on: January 12, 2019, 06:25:34 am »

Malwarebytes should work well with most conventional antiviruses for a multi layer approach but Malwarebytes claim that their software is really all you need. I run mine alongside Microsoft Security Essentials and I'm pretty confident in that combination.

I'm not familiar with the other software you mention except for Advanced System Care, which I would not recommend. Registry cleaners are a big no-no! Even Tweaking.com's Windows Repair is designed only be run to resolve specific errors rather than being a system tune-up. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

36

Tweaking.com Support & Help / Re: Windows 7 64 bit Ultimate - mouse or explorer.exe hands up system completely

« on: January 11, 2019, 11:12:04 pm »

Hi Satrow - unfortunately, the latest Malwarebytes release doesn't fix this issue, see post # 3 in this thread https://forums.malwarebytes.com/topic/236862-announcing-malwarebytes-for-windows-361/

I've got Windows 7 and am a Malwarebytes Premium user and haven't had any problems yet,  but Malwarebytes don't yet have a solution for the significant number of Windows 7 users who have reported freezes. I know they're devoting a lot of resources to the problem and I'm sure they'll crack it soon.

37

General Computer Support / Re: How to Copy or make a backup image without bad blocks?

« on: December 28, 2018, 09:23:48 am »

I don't think you're correct in your assumption that a backup solution will copy bad blocks (bad sectors). For instance, using my backup solution of choice, Casper 10, to make a bootable copy to a new hard drive, the copy will have all the original operating system, programs and data files but I can't see any scenario where bad blocks could be copied across. Or am I missing something?

38

General Computer Support / Re: Which partitions to keep when cloning with Macrium

« on: November 30, 2018, 11:25:20 pm »

I clone using Casper 10 (and have used Casper for many, many years) - I currently run 3 hard drives in usb enclosures on a rotating basis and, if the need arises to resolve a serious issue, merely physically swap the drive in the laptop for one of the clones. Because the clones are exact bootable copies and all partitions are copied, the process is seamless and pretty-well foolproof. I do run an occasional system image to another drive but must confess I've never had to restore from that yet.

39

General Computer Support / Re: Question about heic files

« on: November 21, 2018, 01:44:53 am »

Have you read this link? I don't run W10, but there is a suggestion that Windows 10 can open heic files with a little jiggery-pokery!

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.howtogeek.com/345504/how-to-open-heic-files-on-windows-or-convert-them-to-jpeg/amp/

40

General Computer Support / Re: error Ox80070643

« on: November 07, 2018, 08:38:30 am »

I think this says it all as far as Tech Utilites is concerned https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-networking/watch-out-for-tech-utilities/05a11f59-dc45-4313-8c0a-acff6af5b4ee

41

General Computer Support / Re: Safe mode on laptop

« on: August 03, 2018, 08:35:39 am »

Also, I'd only just noticed that there is an option to boot into Safe Mode in the Right-Click Menu of the Windows Repair Tray Icon.

You don't even have to right click it - it comes up with a normal left click, but I had forgotten about it.

So it does - I'm a compulsive right-clicker by default, generally easier than trundling through drop-down menus in infrequently used programs most of the time

42

General Computer Support / Re: Safe mode on laptop

« on: August 03, 2018, 08:10:07 am »

Also, I'd only just noticed that there is an option to boot into Safe Mode in the Right-Click Menu of the Windows Repair Tray Icon.

43

Feedback & Suggestions / Tweaking.com home page

« on: July 31, 2018, 11:53:27 pm »

Just a reminder - the displayed order of WRAIO releases on the home page is still in a random sequence, and has been for some while.

And I know every site needs revenue, but it saddens me to see the big green "DOWNLOAD NOW!" button at the top of the page linked to Reimageplus.com.

44

General Computer Support / Re: Run common repairs and have some questions

« on: July 14, 2018, 06:57:31 am »

I haven't tried to create a restore point via WR in a while, for the reasons stated, but I will try to create and restore one again from WR, just to see if I can still demonstrate the problem in Windows 7. Probably won't have the chance for a few days. Are there any logs I could provide that might be useful in diagnosing the problem if I can recreate it?

Just tried the Create System Restore function in Windows Repair 2018 v. 4.0.23 and it reported that it had created one about 5 seconds after I had pressed the button!!!!!!

 I don't think it works for me on my Windows 7 system.............

45

General Computer Support / Re: Run common repairs and have some questions

« on: July 04, 2018, 03:12:22 am »

I haven't tried to create a restore point via WR in a while, for the reasons stated, but I will try to create and restore one again from WR, just to see if I can still demonstrate the problem in Windows 7. Probably won't have the chance for a few days. Are there any logs I could provide that might be useful in diagnosing the problem if I can recreate it?

46

General Computer Support / Re: Run common repairs and have some questions

« on: July 03, 2018, 11:08:02 pm »

if there is a known issue with the restore points not being created then there should either be a warning or take the feature out until it can be fixed or at least let is say it was NOT completed successfully. The fact that it says it was completed led me to believe i had a backup and was good to go.
Im not sure a registry restore will get me completely back and quite frankly im not to trusting right now. Do you think restoring the registry will get me back to the last state the machine was in?

I've got to agree with BarneyFife on this one - I think this issue needs to be fixed or, if it can't be proven to work reliably, removed from Windows Repair. It's fundamental to the repair process and can catch out the unwary. I know it doesn't work reliably on my system, don't rely on it, and would always use Windows' own process to create a restore point, which has always worked for me - and I always have a recent disk copy and / or image created with Future Systems Solutions' Casper, as well as a registry backup, prior to "dabbling".

I don't understand why this process can fail in Windows Repair - I would have thought it just calls up exactly the same procedure that the Windows process does. Where does it differ?

47

Tweaking.com Support & Help / Re: Problems installing WRAIO 4.0.19

« on: May 19, 2018, 09:19:28 am »

You're welcome - BTW, I'm still finding that WRAIO update windows hide themselves behind the program window. I'm so used to this behaviour that I automatically click on the hidden window in the task bar but this has been happening for me for ever. Is it just me? And is there a solution?

Iain

Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64x
Malwarebytes Premium 3.5.1
Microsoft Security Essentials
CryptoPrevent Premium 9.1.0.0
Casper 10.1 Backup
Windows Repair AIO 4.0.19 including Registry Backup 3.5.3

48

Tweaking.com Support & Help / Problems installing WRAIO 4.0.19

« on: May 19, 2018, 02:58:39 am »

Just a heads up that I tried to update the PRO version of WRAIO today via the inbuilt notification on starting and it failed. I then downloaded the installer from the Tweaking.com website and it failed again when trying to decompress files. I have Malwarebytes 3.5.1 Premium installed and have recently had problems installing KeePass 2 updates - I got round this by temporarily disabling the Ransomware protection module, when the installation then proceeded as expected. I tried the same trick with WRAIO and could then install it without problems. Malwarebytes are aware of installation/updating problems in some circumstances and there are several reports in their forums, including mine. I'm sure they'll resolve the problem shortly but at least there is an easy work around.

Just in case this helps anybody else........................

49

General Computer Support / Re: Critical Windows Component Failure

« on: May 03, 2018, 12:39:46 am »

Glad that you've resolved the problem and it wasn't anything serious. For my part, I still create regular System Restore points in Windows 7, but don't rely on them. Like you, I uses a reliable backup program (Casper in my case) and also make regular Registry Backups using that element of Windows Repair All In One. Can't have too many backups!

Thanks for your feedback.

50

General Computer Support / Re: AdwCleaner 7.1 & 7.1.1 new version

« on: May 02, 2018, 03:58:27 am »

It's the previously banned "Makinero" with a new forum identity - same bad attitude, same stupid games.