Windows 10: I know what I'm doing

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Serious Hardware/Software Crap > Windows 10: I know what I'm doing

doctorfrog: Mar 14, 2007; Great.

Hipster_Doofus posted:

I have found Hotswap! to be invaluable. Hasn't failed me yet. (Sometimes Windows says "device requested a reboot" blah blah, but the device has always been actually ejected and safe to unplug.)

Thanks, I'll give this one a try!

# ? Nov 27, 2020 05:52

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# ? Apr 24, 2024 00:52

Pablo Bluth: Sep 7, 2007; I've made a huge mistake.

Have you tried using resource monitor ('resmon') or Process Explorer to see what's actually accessing the drive?

# ? Nov 27, 2020 23:20

The Grumbles: Jun 5, 2006

Hello! due to the order that I've been incrementally upgrading my pc, I've got an old and fairly small SATA SSD which is my boot drive, and a newer NVMe SSD that had all my media on it. I've just got a third, much bigger hard drive, that I've been able to dump all my media on to, so now I'd like to transfer my windows install onto the NVMe so there can be a bit more logic to how everything's organised. Is there a straightforward way to do this?

# ? Nov 28, 2020 16:56

Klyith: Aug 3, 2007; GBS Pledge Week

The Grumbles posted:

Hello! due to the order that I've been incrementally upgrading my pc, I've got an old and fairly small SATA SSD which is my boot drive, and a newer NVMe SSD that had all my media on it. I've just got a third, much bigger hard drive, that I've been able to dump all my media on to, so now I'd like to transfer my windows install onto the NVMe so there can be a bit more logic to how everything's organised. Is there a straightforward way to do this?

macrium reflect free version to clone the drive

since your new drive sounds like it's bigger than the old SSD, steps 4 & 5 here are how you resize your partition to take up the whole drive

# ? Nov 28, 2020 17:46

doctorfrog: Mar 14, 2007; Great.

Pablo Bluth posted:

Have you tried using resource monitor ('resmon') or Process Explorer to see what's actually accessing the drive?

Yeah, it's "System"

code:

System	4	File	G:\$Extend\$RmMetadata\$TxfLog\$TxfLog.blf
System	4	File	G:\$Extend\$RmMetadata\$TxfLog\$TxfLog.blf
System	4	File	G:\$Extend\$RmMetadata\$TxfLog\$TxfLogContainer00000000000000000002
System	4	File	G:\$Extend\$RmMetadata\$TxfLog\$TxfLogContainer00000000000000000001

# ? Nov 28, 2020 20:49

Ihmemies: Oct 6, 2012

I installed 20H2 because I wanted to run the 3dmark RT benchmark. It didn't seemingly break anything or delete my files on my 8700K+3080. Swell.

# ? Nov 28, 2020 21:06

THF13: Sep 26, 2007; Keep an adversary in the dark about what you're capable of, and he has to assume the worst.

I'm building a personal PC for the first time really since Windows 10 launched and I'm not sure what advice still applies. I'm creating a basic list of general advice that should be done for any setup.

Install windows without internet access to avoid MS account sign in
BIOS/firmware updates. Lots of devices these days have updateable firmwares, GPU, SSD, TPM chip all could potentially have updates. If everything is working well though probably only should worry about BIOS
Graphics drivers from windows update will be out of date and should be installed manually
Ninite to do most common application installs
Install game software like Steam in custom directory like C:\Games to keep game installs out of Program Files. Makes modding games avoid issues with Windows security settings
Install UBlock Origin in browser
Show file extensions for known file types and Show Hidden Files in folder options
Open File Explorer to "This PC" instead of "Quick Access"
Change DNS from ISP to google/Cloudflare/Quad 9 if not set on your router
Enable WSL, Telnet Client, Remote connections, file sharing if necessary. Like to do this now if I may use any of these features.
Disable Fast Startup

Applications I make sure are always installed

7zip
Some screenshot tool, ShareX, Cloudshot, Greenshot
Notepad++
Putty
WinDirStat
LibreOffice or Microsoft office
Sumatra PDF
VLC, I don't use it primarily but it's a nice fallback that will play basically anything you throw at it

Finally there are so many privacy settings to change it's simpler to say what I keep on

Let websites provide locally relevant content by accessing my language list-
Let windows track app launches to improve Start and Search results
Allow Desktop Apps to access your Camera/Microphone

# ? Dec 1, 2020 08:33

kirbysuperstar: Nov 11, 2012; Let the fools who stand before us be destroyed by the power you and I possess.

That mostly sounds fine? I think WizTree has taken the place of WinDirStat now, though. I tend to go for MPC-HC over VLC as well, but that's just me.

# ? Dec 1, 2020 08:48

Pablo Bluth: Sep 7, 2007; I've made a huge mistake.

mpv.io has almost entirely replaced VLC for me. I don't need any more than it's lightweight interface and playback it always rock solid.

The first step on setting up a new PC should be disable 'hide file extensions for known file types', followed by switching the taskbar to small buttons.

# ? Dec 1, 2020 09:24

RichardA: Sep 1, 2006; .; Dinosaur Gum

Everything from https://www.voidtools.com/ for searches.

# ? Dec 1, 2020 09:59

Dylan16807: May 12, 2010

THF13 posted:

[*]Install game software like Steam in custom directory like C:\Games to keep game installs out of Program Files. Makes modding games avoid issues with Windows security settings

Steam sets custom loose permissions on the game data folder, is that not enough for modding tools to be happy?

# ? Dec 1, 2020 10:03

kirbysuperstar: Nov 11, 2012; Let the fools who stand before us be destroyed by the power you and I possess.

Dylan16807 posted:

Steam sets custom loose permissions on the game data folder, is that not enough for modding tools to be happy?

Some older games (namely Morrowind and Oblivion off the top of my head?) still don't like it much.

# ? Dec 1, 2020 10:17

Ihmemies: Oct 6, 2012

Don't people always install games? to \Games ? My steam folder has always been D:\Games\Steam

# ? Dec 1, 2020 10:45

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

RichardA posted:

Everything from https://www.voidtools.com/ for searches.

Seconded.

Also disable Ease of Access shortcuts (Sticky Keys etc) if you don't need them. And uncheck the "show sync provider notifications" thing in Explorer, unless you want it to pester you with paid Ondrive ads. There's also a setting in Defender where it will pop up if it has scanned files and has found nothing that you can disable.

Recommend setting up a password manager and backups as parts of the list.

# ? Dec 1, 2020 10:58

CFox: Nov 9, 2005

Also give the built in Snip & Sketch a try before downloading a screenshot tool, it might be enough for what you want to do.

# ? Dec 1, 2020 14:51

Klyith: Aug 3, 2007; GBS Pledge Week

THF13 posted:

[*]BIOS/firmware updates. Lots of devices these days have updateable firmwares, GPU, SSD, TPM chip all could potentially have updates. If everything is working well though probably only should worry about BIOS

If your SSD has firmware updates you should definitely install those, because they are generally fixing bugs or problem behavior. However, your SSD probably doesn't have firmware updates waiting,

BIOS on the other hand, in the modern era, rarely has desperate need to be updated.

edit: also, Disable Fast Startup -- I don't think there's any particular need to disable that. If you have a desktop PC and want to disable hibernation so you can recover 16 or 32 gigs of HD space back from hiberfil.sys, that also disables Fast Startup.

Dylan16807 posted:

Steam sets custom loose permissions on the game data folder, is that not enough for modding tools to be happy?

There are almost never issues with putting Steam in Program Files, though the fact that Steam does things with horrible security practices to accomplish them is its own kettle of fish.

There are zero issues to installing Steam in C:\Games or whatever.

Also, if your Win10 install gets hosed up somehow the new "Reset my PC" function is a decent recovery option, for anything that's not a malware infection. That always wipes everything installed in program files, but if you select "keep my files" doesn't touch user-created folders on the C drive.

Klyith fucked around with this message at 15:23 on Dec 1, 2020

# ? Dec 1, 2020 15:11

Perplx: Jun 26, 2004; Best viewed on Orgasma Plasma; Lipstick Apathy

THF13 posted:

I'm building a personal PC for the first time really since Windows 10 launched and I'm not sure what advice still applies. I'm creating a basic list of general advice that should be done for any setup.

I posted this a while ago, but if you install enterprise then change it to pro you wont have any adware in the start menu.
Also ssh is built in now so you really don't need putty anymore except for com ports.

Some those settings can be done at once in:
Update & Security:
For developers:
Enable - Developer mode
Apply all recommended settings

Other windows 10 annoyances from my long work list:
Remove OneDrive
Disable Cortana
Remove "3d Objects folder"
Remove Mixed reality portal
Disable bing in search
Use utc bios time, useful if you ever dual boot linux
Allow ping, by default its local subnet only
Add openssh server

Perplx fucked around with this message at 22:46 on Dec 1, 2020

# ? Dec 1, 2020 22:43

A good poster: Jan 10, 2010

You can keep the Steam client in Program Files, but set up any number of library folders where games are installed in the client wherever you want them.

# ? Dec 2, 2020 02:56

CaptainSarcastic: Jul 6, 2013

Klyith posted:

edit: also, Disable Fast Startup -- I don't think there's any particular need to disable that. If you have a desktop PC and want to disable hibernation so you can recover 16 or 32 gigs of HD space back from hiberfil.sys, that also disables Fast Startup.

It can be somewhere between helpful and necessary to disable Fast Startup if you dual-boot, otherwise it can do things like not release the GPU or wireless drivers properly on a reboot.

Perplx posted:

I posted this a while ago, but if you install enterprise then change it to pro you wont have any adware in the start menu.
Also ssh is built in now so you really don't need putty anymore except for com ports.

Some those settings can be done at once in:
Update & Security:
For developers:
Enable - Developer mode
Apply all recommended settings

Other windows 10 annoyances from my long work list:
Remove OneDrive
Disable Cortana
Remove "3d Objects folder"
Remove Mixed reality portal
Disable bing in search
Use utc bios time, useful if you ever dual boot linux
Allow ping, by default its local subnet only
Add openssh server

I agree with most of this, although I don't usually bother with whatever the 3D Objects folder is, don't care about Bing since it only applies to Edge, and don't need openssh. I also have no idea what the Mixed reality portal is, but it sounds vaguely occult.

I will say that I usually just rely on NTP for setting the time in both Windows and Linux, so other than setting it to get time that way leave it alone - the old UTC thing definitely used to be handy but I haven't had to do it in years now.

# ? Dec 2, 2020 06:48

doctorfrog: Mar 14, 2007; Great.

How big a deal is it that I installed Windows 10 on an SSD as an MBR partition instead of a GPT partition? Can I change it without reinstalling Windows?

# ? Dec 2, 2020 07:49

CaptainSarcastic: Jul 6, 2013

doctorfrog posted:

How big a deal is it that I installed Windows 10 on an SSD as an MBR partition instead of a GPT partition? Can I change it without reinstalling Windows?

For most purposes I wouldn't say it's a big deal. I doubt you could change it without reinstalling Windows, but I don't see what it would matter unless you want to set up more than 4 partitions on the drive or something.

# ? Dec 2, 2020 09:13

Saukkis: May 16, 2003; Unless I'm on the inside curve pointing straight at oncoming traffic the high beams stay on and I laugh at your puny protest flashes.
I am Most Important Man. Most Important Man in the World.

Klyith posted:

edit: also, Disable Fast Startup -- I don't think there's any particular need to disable that. If you have a desktop PC and want to disable hibernation so you can recover 16 or 32 gigs of HD space back from hiberfil.sys, that also disables Fast Startup.

Not outright need, but with good SSDs cold boot is fast enough already that Fast Startup doesn't provide much of a benefit and the bigger delay is starting all your programs. It can also cause issues because the OS gets cold booted so seldomly. Either use cold boots or full hibernation.

At work our servers get rebooted once a month but occasionally issues crop up that are resolved by removing power leads and draining the server from electricity. And this not just cargo culting, for some issues that is an official diagnostic step for our HPE Proliant servers.

# ? Dec 2, 2020 09:19

Saukkis: May 16, 2003; Unless I'm on the inside curve pointing straight at oncoming traffic the high beams stay on and I laugh at your puny protest flashes.
I am Most Important Man. Most Important Man in the World.

CaptainSarcastic posted:

For most purposes I wouldn't say it's a big deal. I doubt you could change it without reinstalling Windows, but I don't see what it would matter unless you want to set up more than 4 partitions on the drive or something.

One clear issue is that you won't be able to move the installation to a NVMe drive in the future without GPT.

# ? Dec 2, 2020 09:20

CaptainSarcastic: Jul 6, 2013

Saukkis posted:

One clear issue is that you won't be able to move the installation to a NVMe drive in the future without GPT.

Ah, good to know.

# ? Dec 2, 2020 09:40

doctorfrog: Mar 14, 2007; Great.

CaptainSarcastic posted:

For most purposes I wouldn't say it's a big deal. I doubt you could change it without reinstalling Windows, but I don't see what it would matter unless you want to set up more than 4 partitions on the drive or something.

Thanks, I'll stop worrying about it. Though I'll probably flatten and reinstall some wild and crazy weekend, it's a hard Windows habit to break.

Saukkis posted:

One clear issue is that you won't be able to move the installation to a NVMe drive in the future without GPT.

Not an issue, I don't think this old motherboard even supports it

# ? Dec 2, 2020 09:45

SwissArmyDruid: Feb 14, 2014; by sebmojo

Saukkis posted:

HPE Proliant servers.

Of loving course it would be for HP.

# ? Dec 2, 2020 15:32

HalloKitty: Sep 30, 2005; Adjust the bass and let the Alpine blast

Saukkis posted:

One clear issue is that you won't be able to move the installation to a NVMe drive in the future without GPT.

https://www.thewindowsclub.com/mbr2gpt-tool-windows-10

# ? Dec 2, 2020 15:36

Ruflux: Jun 16, 2012

I used to have MBR because Windows originally decided to be stupid and for some reason slapped the bootloader on my HDD when the installation was obviously on my primary SSD otherwise. Didn't really notice much of a difference after I had to reinstall everything once my SSD bit the dust last year, maybe a few seconds faster boot at best which could easily be explained by getting rid of a lot of cruft from previous installations and not needing the HDD for anything anymore.

# ? Dec 2, 2020 16:33

Fame Douglas: Nov 20, 2013; by Fluffdaddy

You can change it without reinstalling, but it's a pretty involved procedure. The main disadvantage is the boot process being slower in Legacy mode. Never PCs will also at some time in the future stop supporting legacy boot, if you keep installations around for a long time.

# ? Dec 2, 2020 17:35

Fame Douglas: Nov 20, 2013; by Fluffdaddy

Ruflux posted:

I used to have MBR because Windows originally decided to be stupid and for some reason slapped the bootloader on my HDD when the installation was obviously on my primary SSD otherwise. Didn't really notice much of a difference after I had to reinstall everything once my SSD bit the dust last year, maybe a few seconds faster boot at best which could easily be explained by getting rid of a lot of cruft from previous installations and not needing the HDD for anything anymore.

This is why you should disable legacy boot in the Bios, then Windows installing the boot loader on the wrong drive won't happen.

# ? Dec 2, 2020 17:36

wolrah: May 8, 2006; what?

Fame Douglas posted:

This is why you should disable legacy boot in the Bios, then Windows installing the boot loader on the wrong drive won't happen.

Agreed. If you aren't booting a legacy OS turn off legacy boot. For whatever complaints some have about UEFI it really did make booting and especially multi-booting so much nicer. Windows no longer blows up my multiboot loader, bootable USB drives can just be copied without requiring special tools, and the whole thing can be manipulated as files from the running operating system. The only time I have to think about MBR stuff anymore is for my old 486.

# ? Dec 2, 2020 21:22

beefnoodle: Aug 7, 2004; IGNORE ME! I'M JUST AN OLD WET RAG

Perplx posted:

I posted this a while ago, but if you install enterprise then change it to pro you wont have any adware in the start menu.
Also ssh is built in now so you really don't need putty anymore except for com ports.

I had no idea. Thanks for this!

# ? Dec 11, 2020 18:26

hooah: Feb 6, 2006; WTF?

Is there a way to tell how long a laptop has been unplugged for?

# ? Dec 13, 2020 03:28

AreWeDrunkYet: Jul 8, 2006

hooah posted:

Is there a way to tell how long a laptop has been unplugged for?

"powercfg /batteryreport" might have what you need.

I don't think there's an event logged in when someone unplugs it, but you could run "Get-WmiObject -Class BatteryStatus -Namespace root\wmi" on a schedule and log it yourself.

AreWeDrunkYet fucked around with this message at 04:51 on Dec 13, 2020

# ? Dec 13, 2020 04:48

hambeet: Sep 13, 2002

hooah posted:

Is there a way to tell how long a laptop has been unplugged for?

If it won�t turn on, too long.

# ? Dec 13, 2020 11:27

hooah: Feb 6, 2006; WTF?

I'm trying to upgrade my laptop from Windows 10 Home to Pro. I got a key from a goon in January and successfully upgraded my old laptop, but the activation window won't accept that key, nor any of the generic ones. I had some issues with the previous upgrade, and the seller said to use the Media Creation Tool to upgrade, but choose "I don't have a product key" during installation. That option doesn't come up anymore. How can I upgrade?

# ? Dec 13, 2020 14:30

mystes: May 31, 2006

hooah posted:

I'm trying to upgrade my laptop from Windows 10 Home to Pro. I got a key from a goon in January and successfully upgraded my old laptop, but the activation window won't accept that key, nor any of the generic ones. I had some issues with the previous upgrade, and the seller said to use the Media Creation Tool to upgrade, but choose "I don't have a product key" during installation. That option doesn't come up anymore. How can I upgrade?

Switching to pro and activating are two different things. If you've already switched to pro and can't activate that sounds like a problem with the key.

The generic key is just something you use to choose the version of windows but it obviously won't activate.

# ? Dec 13, 2020 14:35

hooah: Feb 6, 2006; WTF?

mystes posted:

Switching to pro and activating are two different things. If you've already switched to pro and can't activate that sounds like a problem with the key.

The generic key is just something you use to choose the version of windows but it obviously won't activate.

I can't get it to switch to Pro, never mind activate the Pro version.

# ? Dec 13, 2020 14:47

Fame Douglas: Nov 20, 2013; by Fluffdaddy

hooah posted:

I'm trying to upgrade my laptop from Windows 10 Home to Pro. I got a key from a goon in January and successfully upgraded my old laptop, but the activation window won't accept that key, nor any of the generic ones. I had some issues with the previous upgrade, and the seller said to use the Media Creation Tool to upgrade, but choose "I don't have a product key" during installation. That option doesn't come up anymore. How can I upgrade?

During reinstallation, Windows will pull the key for your Home version from the ACPI table of your laptop. You need to add a file with the name "ei.cfg" and the following content to the "sources" directory of your installation media to get the version selection during setup:

code:

[Channel]
Retail

# ? Dec 13, 2020 14:49

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# ? Apr 24, 2024 00:52

hooah: Feb 6, 2006; WTF?

Fame Douglas posted:

During reinstallation, Windows will pull the key for your Home version from the ACPI table of your laptop. You need to add a file with the name "ei.cfg" and the following content to the "sources" directory of your installation media to get the version selection during setup:
code:
[Channel]
Retail

So I can't use the media creation tool directly? I have to make a bootable device first?

# ? Dec 13, 2020 14:54

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