Is it just a hammer job ?

once again having problems with this, been on charge all day from 88% but still only at 90, yesterday charged in 1 hour.
Have tried 2 different chargers but same with both.
Vaguely remember someone saying something about silver paper but can't remember what.

I need to buy a new laptop and am wondering if anyone can recommend a good one that is reasonably priced? I just need it to do all the usual, everyday functions but am not at all techy so anything too fancy is wasted on me. Can anyone suggest something suitable as it's ages since I've bought one and don't really know where to start. Thanks for your help.

If you ever have doubts about a website address, go to Virustotal.com , select URL, and enter the address in the search box. It will then be scanned by many virus checkers.

This is a serious request. I'm hoping that someone in this loop, whether techy or non-techy, knows of a charger for NiMH rechargeable batteries that can charge a set of three AAA cells.

I only use rechargeable batteries now (for AA/AAA sizes). I have several torches that are powered by three AAAs, but all the chargers that I have seen can only charge 2 or 4 cells, thus requiring faffing about when charging is needed.

Anyone?

[Update: The thread below offers a number of suggestions if you are looking for something like this. I am going to hunt down a discontinued version of Duracell's CEF22, as it seems to be ideal for my needs.]

For days I was getting loads of junk mail in my in box, all of which I blocked/reported.
Now I am not getting emails that are expected and confirmed by senders.

https://safelifetips.com/1-incredible-computer-tip-you-must-know-slt/?cep=YZ1c5KT9-tC2wHxjTuOWnA4qkXDEWfb-9K0acN1bW21qBQXAx_wLXgdRtWY1kydSW6mkjDnyOxbKop4g9z0iyos2akvX4HygUCqDO-LwxA4G0oKbHJOZpw9GGx2WHHOyPSmJUmXsNEXRCmyatzaKTovKgssnOkR1_a4MgixyP1O4XUGX3xXQ8IjUaAdIvNfg-L0HdZV66d8Jfr_fmfqnZ857-VkbDmVjghqV2I3QVcv_zxNKBwom6wsKIQAzruNSpiTs9J4sH4H_0IPjg0mc7zokyz4wS9C_N8USGeX_aAohb4jM_qKVJMjHWCYYbsXfW8zH_Hk8WXYmyAsjxvKKfc74MDaNY6vcOH7QOf8qZJrNOqnOMkmIB9lwx9nnGrKLe5-gmoDo4VfwztpkMJwJDfhrWO7-sIKTocCGeNwe4ZG3thciTQo8LSmKo0lYLuSgEGUhcXiwhOdbT74Qee7x_ebQRRf7OnHjxtd4vNGiCBA_T8hbkN1kvaFG51UiQm6GB4IuwJeSAZCbC-Mf-7Jsk-PSYynHTcbl4_ZpPAUOaZG-65lH9bbrq0k-zV1jwrld9J7KZ6363avuaS_8mfKAsuL07d3RcxGaPU94XE0aqPENh2cCwBSeZASEEwMjx3AVO83FVqv0gLDgbxLs6Evgif6rJJkW_xZMZNqKkkdSsL9L5L8rHKEVfbnDW0PNJeyG-FPBM1zYQDAzNRvLu8nRoMimEJL_UIBtElaJljECJSZqDEn1iP9_Irew2YxPe9O1X_KI9RJlelPeoJab9IMrEQ&lptoken=16da365019fe409c7007§ionid=0079d45d13dbee8a758e06ddf169ecae2d§ionname=MSN+-+EN-GB+-+Windows+Task+Bar+-+PREMIUM+Header+Bidding&publisherid=00ca4f06a55254ac2832378a55557d4ca3&publishername=MSN+UK+%28PREMIUM+Header+Bidding%29&adtitle=This+Simple+PC+Tip+Will+Amaze+You+%28Do+It+Now%29&OutbrainClickId=v1-d8ce3f2357da1866397f31ab293998dd-00650bfeec662c5fc2d73f1fd1ec02e0ec-&dicbo=v1-d8ce3f2357da1866397f31ab293998dd-00650bfeec662c5fc2d73f1fd1ec02e0ec-

Just a quickie, please. Was given a smart Samsung mobile a while ago which is so slow It's painful. I want now to dispose of it safely. Battery doesn't seem to charge to the 50% charge needed to go to factory settings. Is taking out the sim card the same thing. ie everything is on the sim card and not on the phone? Thanks

Looking through the posts, I see that some members are not acknowledging the help they have been given. Posting guidelines: https://www.scooploop.com/thread/posting-guidelines-please-read-before-posting-2

You may be familiar with the website Wayback machine*, which can take you back to how a website was in the past, they have now created the Web of the future as a warning as to what could happen: Regulation. Censorship. Paywalls. Government Interference. Massive popups blocking you from visiting your favourite sites: https://wayforward.archive.org

* https://archive.org/web/

Why are my headphones not working when I insert the ja k?
I have tried every setting possible but the computer audio is what works
I felt pretty silly wearing my headphones during a zoom meeting when the people in the room stared at me, then I realised they could hear every word while for me the sound was muffled.

Facebook is planning to change its company name next week to reflect its focus on building the metaverse: https://www.scooploop.com/thread/metaverse

Suggest a new name below.

Please could someone explain in simple English what is a "metaverse", what does it do and what is it's use?
I have read 'Facebook plans to hire 10,000 people in Europe to build its metaverse'.

Bugs have already appeared, so if you are thinking of updating, give it a miss for now.

My husband has just new pc and has backed up all his stuff but wants to know if his calendar will still be there.

I don't use Windows live mail but I think it should just be a case of signing in to Windows Live on the new machine and his emails/calendar should still be ok. Is that right or do we have to back it up in some way?

If your machine is 64 bit, see here to check: https://www.scooploop.com/thread/windows-11-quick-way-to-check-if-your-machine-could-be-capable-of-running-it , then visit Microsoft on the link below, and just before the end of the page, click to download the PC HEALTH CHECK APP: https://bit.ly/3uPXNeA

Click START, then SETTINGS, then SYSTEM. At the bottom on the left, click ABOUT. On the right look for SYSTEM TYPE. If you see 32 bit, your computer is not capable of running Windows 11. If you see 64 bit, then provided your machine can meet the other requirements, you will be able to install Windows 11 in the future. You'll find a link to the app to check this, at the end of this post: https://www.scooploop.com/thread/windows-11-if-you-have-a-64-bit-machine-see-below-for-compatibility-requirements

Is there a speaker that can be linked with a mobile phone for phone calls? Someone I know is finding using a mobile difficult at times even when using speaker on the phone.

Or can I just plug in a travel speaker?

Apparently, Microsoft have been a bit naughty, again, and Windows 11 is unhelpful if you want to use a browser other than MS Edge.

This Article was presented to me today and is straight forward to follow, so I thought it would be helpful for others. (The process isn't difficult, but it is tedious.)

I haven't needed this myself yet, but here it is for when we do.

https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-change-your-browser-in-windows-11/

What was your first computer? Mine was a ZX81.

As well as TVs*, Samsung can also kill phones. They recently had an offer of a Galaxy A52s 5G phone with a £100 discount if you traded in your old phone. Should you not send them the old phone within a certain time, they will disable your new phone.
* https://www.scooploop.com/thread/dont-buy-a-samsung-tv-from-del-boy

Just a quickie but is it worth my getting it again at the new reduced price of £12.47? Keep reducing it as I haven't renewed ....

Remember the good old days when you could quite happily have watched your hard disk defragmenting for hours!? Someone said that if Bill had sold the program, he would have made even more money.
Hopefully you are aware that you should not/cannot defragment your SSD (Solid State Drive, but you may not be aware that you can optimize it by typing Defrag in to the search box, click 'Defrag and Optimise drives'. You will then see the usual optimise window that you see with a hard disk. You may see that optimise is not available, but if it is, click it, and your SSD will be 'Trimmed'. Avoiding technicalities, this makes your SSD faster.
https://bit.ly/3kxUW6z

I'm researching desktop towers for a friend. My pc has an intel i7 processor but now I'm seeing Intel Gold and AMD Ryzen. Can anyone tell me whether they are good and worth buying?

Thanks.

Samsung has revealed that its TVs come with a TV Block app, that kills a stolen* TV. When it is connected to the Internet, it sends the serial number to Samsung's server, which then permanently deactivates it.
*From a warehouse etc., not a burglary.

From 1st November, WhatsApp will stop supporting Android version 4.0.4 or older. To find which version you are using, tap 'Settings', then 'About phone'. To avoid losing all your chat history, make sure you back up as late as possible before the deadline. To continue to use WhatsApp, you will have to upgrade your phone.

Some Windows Insiders* are being removed from the program because their machine no longer meets the needs of Windows 11, and are no longer eligible. They are being told to reinstall Windows 10, and continue with the Insider Program for that version.

Windows 11 will be released on 5th October, firstly to those machines that were specially built for Windows 11, then to machines that Microsoft thinks will be able to cope with the upgrade.

*The Windows Insider Program is an optional service provided by Microsoft to let users experience the next version of Windows before public release. The program is aimed at early adopters and the "enthusiast" crowd, or people who enjoy beta(*) testing new software. Besides just using the software, Microsoft encourages testers to send feedback on their experiences through a specialized app, which includes ratings and a place to leave notes to the Windows development team.

(*)User testing or customer validation, beta testing aims to ensure that end users are satisfied with a software product before it is made generally available.

https://bbc.in/3tYihl7

Look out on your phone for the offer to install a new version which has the ability to connect multiple devices. The new version is in Beta*, and will allow you to connect your WhatsApp account on up to 4 devices at once. The new system will operate even if your phone is switched off.


*A beta version is a limited release of a product or service with the goal of finding bugs before the final release.

One of my regular emails from a friend always come up with tiny writing and i have to enlarge to read it - all others are normal sized and more easily read.
Why just these ones ?

Having always been the only person using my home internet connection, I was startled to find that my IP address had been blocked by Wikipedia.
When I explained that to them and asked how to unblock it, they introduced me to the unexpected concept of a dynamic IP address, which might previously have been allocated to someone who misused it on that site and triggered the block.
Since I don't use mobile internet at all, I'd assumed that my IP address was static - but it turned out to be dynamic, instead.
Hunting around in search of clarification, I found this useful guide to finding out whether one's IP address is static or dynamic. (It works, although getting into Command Prompt entailed some lateral thinking.)
https://www.techbout.com/check-ip-static-dynamic-4135/

How do I transfer a video from another site ?

The National Cyber Security Centre is advising that it is best to use passwords containing three random words, and if possible not to add special characters , as attackers are aware of this, and use programs to spot them. They say that three random words are strong and easy to remember, and that this will make people less vulnerable to cyber criminals: https://bit.ly/3zbSKGy I have been doing this for years, with JohnHSecretWords on all my sites, and for banking I add a £ sign!

How difficult is it to put a new battery in a Fire tablet ?
All the Youtube how to demos are American and it shows different tools you need from a kit you have to buy, then you have to buy the battery.
Is it worth it or just get a new tablet ?

I've been trying to get rid of tiresome electronic clutter and unintended consequences, on and off ever since having to begin using Windows 10.

Today's main bugbear was the apparent impossibility of stopping the 'hover click' problem. I don't want the cursor's hovering over a list of what's in my e-mail inbox to result in the computer's deciding to open a message, for instance. I thought that I'd opted out of that, early on - but it's become very active recently.

It turned out that what the Start button on this computer offers when one tries to alter any settings is an app, not the traditional control panel. Some useful geek identified the distinction and how to use the control panel instead of the app - but I lost the reference. The Geek Page approach (at https://thegeekpage.com/how-to-disable-hover-select-in-windows-10/) doubtless makes sense to techies but it's not easy for those unaccustomed to using code to reach what they need. Is there any simpler way of searching the computer for what it actually does (as in Windows 7), as opposed to being presented with a long and confusing list of unwanted apps and web search possibilities?

My searches did result in a useful post about getting rid of background apps - including the one that only exists to try to sell one unwanted subscriptions to Microsoft Office - at https://www.howtogeek.com/241752/how-to-stop-windows-10-apps-from-running-in-the-background/ . (Sadly, the list of apps that one can turn off didn't seem to include one that produces the nagging McAfee subscription pop-up.)

Should I do this and what are the benefits ? - I already remove cookies.
Will it delete stuff i don't want deleted like saved passwords/messages/photos ?

Unofficial downloads of Windows 11 are being offered that contain malware, and may not even include Win 11. If you are keen to be an early user of Win 11, only download from Microsoft. At the moment, only a Beta* version is available.
*A version of a piece of software that is made available for testing

Pages no longer exist, some have been turned into Loops. You can see all the current Loops here: https://www.scooploop.com/groups/?tab=all

https://www.scooploop.com/groups/scooploop-workshop
The Workshop - a place for users to experiment! Create posts, events and polls. Write comments. Add photos and videos. Try using the editor. And generally see how a loop works.

I'm using a 5g phone on a 4g network but now I have a message from my phone company saying they've upgraded me to 5g and I can use that when it's available.

I've looked but I can't find where to enable it for 5g or even if I need to. Might it be done automatically?

Edit...I don't think I actually need 5g but it made me curious.

I am seeing emails that have times on them that are wrong, saying they were here ages before they were.

An otherwise useful website that I just consulted was impossibly littered with Google-generated ads, so I clearly need to equip this new computer browser with an effective ad-blocker.
I was prompted to consider TotalAdBlock but was put off by user reviews saying that they'd been pestered by constant pop-ups nagging them to buy the more sophisticated version.
Is there a good ad blocker that doesn't have this tiresome sting in the tail, please?

We're all used to having to reject unwanted cookies whenever visiting any website and to choosing whether to avoid using American-type websites, which don't offer any options to reject any cookies at all.
But I've just found myself needing to buy a specialist item from a UK company whose UK website (ending in .co.uk) wasn't working properly yet but referred me to its "main site" whose name ends in .com. That "main site" offers one no chance to reject any of the numerous cookies that they use (and list) if one refuses simply to "accept" all their cookies but follows the "learn more" button on the cookie banner. Yet one of the cookies they list seemingly claims to allow customer choice about cookies, being (somewhat ambiguously) labelled:
"USER_ALLOWED_SAVE_COOKIE Indicates whether a customer allowed to use cookies."

I went looking for an example of the infinitely more familiar and manageable cookie options list that I've seen and used so often but the first UK selling website that I tried (which I've used for years) now sends one off to a site called https://www.allaboutcookies.org/ - which discusses this at great length.

As far as I could gather, our right to opt out of cookies comes from the 2002 e-Privacy Directive, as helpfully interpreted by the ECJ in October 2019 to require that "Storing cookies requires internet users’ active consent" (not just pre-ticked checkboxes). That EU law presumably still applies in the UK and (if I read correctly) to all websites which sell to EU customers.

Is there any simpler guide to what and which businesses must do about imposing cookies on visitors to their websites?

Acer provides little information. It says 'Windows 11 will run on the vast majority of products on the market, including those announced in the past three years'. They are promoting their Swift 3 laptop* as their top choice for Windows 11.
*https://acer.co/2UWtOEg

Acer to follow.

HP says its Spectre, Envy and Pavilion PCs are 'expected to be upgradeable' to Windows 11: https://bit.ly/3BTx7wO

Other brands to follow.

Dell has hundreds of computer listed, with help to find out which model you have: https://dell.to/3zOAV0r

Links to other brands to follow.
Unfortunately Lenovo does supply a list of computers, they only show technical requirements. https://lnv.gy/3BKLfZb

Due to the requirements of Windows 11, which is expected later this year, it is not advisable to buy a new PC at the moment. I shall be posting links to where you can find out if your current PC is expected to be able to cope with Win 11.