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ok, so my Windows on this computer hasn't been updating since April. after numerous attempts and tries by a computer knowledgeable friend. We are going with the Nuclear solution. I'm backing up my art and writing files to a Flash drive. He's going to loan me a removable HD to dump my music and stuff to, and then we are nuking the Drive and starting from fresh with a clean install. This means that for the foreseeable future, no Stuck in a Rut. I'm sorry. But we thought it best to nip it in the bud now, after more and more updates get released and it becomes an even greater issue.
When I am back, I will resume. Right now I'm in get Sht saved elsewhere mode.
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If it's Windows 8, 8.1, or 10
If it's Windows 8, 8.1, or 10, there's a non-nuclear option to try that's a last ditch effort. If it's Windows 7, then nuking it is probably the simplest thing to do.
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
Have you thought about trying
If you are running on Windows 10 you can try to install the most recent update as an upgrade install? You can do it with the media creation tool from Microsoft
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10
May be worth trying first before nuking and it would get you onto the Spring 2019 update
We've tried that.
It gets to 57% installed, cycles to a reboot, and then promptly uninstalls everything it just installed.
That means the client itself
That means the client itself is working.
DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth (from an administrative command prompt)
There's also DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Checkhealth
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
DISM.exe
For those who want to know what DISM is: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/947821/fix-windows-update-errors-by-using-the-dism-or-system-update-readiness
Nuclear option
Sometimes, that is the best. When I was still using Windows, I would routinely do it that way simply because it assures me that there is no malware on the computer.
Nowadays, some people like to use google whateveritis to keep their drive backed up.
Me? I have way too many old drives hanging around and I keep the irreplaceable stuff there. And I run Linux so that I don't have to worry about malware.
+1 for Linux
When MickeySoft dropped support for Window XP, I started looking for alternatives to WinDoz 10. What I found was Linux Mint. The v17.3 Cinnamon desktop makes the transition from WinDoz almost seamless. Moreover, it is way more secure (the GUI is a layered product, not integral with the kernal). The v19.1 is ever so slightly more "proprietary" in its look and feel, but still quite recognizable to one used the MickeySoft interface. It is free, and comes stock with an office suite (Libre Office) that has compatibility features with MS Office. The only thing I miss from MS is the ease in creating scripts (batch files).
I use Libre
the Windows version. This is my first Windows computer. If Apple would get their heads out of their asses and make an AFFORDABLE computer, I wouldn't have switched.
Scripting is actually more
Scripting is actually more powerful in Linux. Look up 'shell scripting' online, or just 'bash scripting'. /bin/bash and /bin/sh are in just about every linux derivative, including Android.
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
More powerful scripting
and therefor a steeper learning curve.
Nah, not for the basics.
Nah, not for the basics. And that's all I use, for the most part. Rarely do I write a script that's longer than 10 lines.
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
Backing things up.
Something else you might ALSO consider doing is making an image backup of the drive. There are backup programs that will create an image but also have a tool that will allow you to mount the image as a read only drive. This lets you look at or copy files you missed.
Saving data/files
Problem with an image backup is that it copies all the problematic data also.
I still have two machines running Windows (7, I will not switch to 10). I backup any data I want with a simple batch file I call "xcbackup.bat, which calls xcopy with switches to drill down and duplicate. Must run from a DOS Command window.
Let's see if I can copy it here.
[[ @echo off
if "%1"=="" goto nosrc
if "%2"=="" goto nodst
xcopy %1 %2 /d /e /v /i /h /r /k /y
goto fine
:nosrc
echo Copy what? No source.
echo usage: xcbackup
echo "." is an acceptable source, unless it is also the desination.
goto fine
:nodst
echo Copy to where? No destination
echo usage: xcbackup
echo "." is an acceptable destination, unless it is also the source.
:fine
]]
(don't copy the "[[" and "]]")
Save the file to any directory in your path. I have a folder called "Utl" and added it to the path.
An example:
to copy an entire folder in your root directory called "etc" to a USB drive called "G:" to which I've added an empty folder also named "etc"
xcbackup \etc g:\etc\
Best Regards,
Deni
I believe WillowD was
I believe WillowD was referring to using the image as a data backup, so you could go looking for what you needed later if something was missing.
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
I have seen this a few times
I have seen this a few times and mostly it has to do with not enough space on the system drive to install the updates. Aka not enough free space on C.
drive size
80 gig is more than enough for windows 10 your problem sounds more like you have some ram that has gone bad. That will stop updates and corrupt all of your programs and is often intermittent.
Have a good day and enjoy life.
Not the ram.
nor the drive space. I have 1.72 TB of open space, and although it's a rerfurb computer, the ram is new.
Maybe the RAM
Several years ago I had a Windows NT4 SP6a server (which should give you an idea how many years ago this was) which would spontaneously reboot. It was a Compaq server, and I had just upgraded the RAM with Compaq RAM, all the same part number. The RAM passed all of the Compaq RAM diagnostics. When I removed the added RAM and inspected it, I found that two of the DIMM modules had silver printing and two had gold printing. Remember, these were genuine Compaq RAM and all the same part number. When I reinserted the RAM, pairing the modules by the color of the printing on them, the problem went away. Who would have thunk it? Just because the RAM is new, and supposedly compatible, doesn't mean it is.
Had a similar problem with new RAM
Upgrading the RAM from 4 to 8 modules, it wouldn't work. Took the original four out, put the four new ones in their place, put the old ones into the slots that hadn't been being used and it all worked. This was on a DELL server.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
To be honest.
No windows vs. Linux please. Do I like Windows? No, I'd rather be on a Mac. But this isn't the place for the platform bashing war.