Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2020 i Windows Help & Advice

In a world of endless wireless connectivity, it’s amazing how often things don’t pan out the way we expect them to. Dropped connections, weak signals and outright internet failure are just some of the problems plaguing people up and down the country (never mind all over the world). In this feature we’re going to focus on arming you with all the know-how you need to troubleshoot network and internet connections – primarily wireless, but also wired – plus examine ways in which you can improve performance and make your connection perform reliably. We’ll open with a look at local connection issues – those networking problems affecting just your PC, complete with full walk-through of key troubleshooting steps to follow. You’ll also gain valuable insight into what to do if your…

At the heart of your network lies your modem router, which provides a conduit to the internet (as well as other shared network resources) for all your wired and wireless devices. If you run into connection problems on all your devices at the same time, the cause can usually be traced to a problem with your router. The adage “have you turned it off and on again?” is never more aptly applied than to your router. It’s usually on 24-7, and many problems can often be fixed simply by switching the router off via its power button or the plug, waiting 30 seconds for its memory to clear, then switching it on again. Wait a couple of minutes for things to get up and running, then retry your connections. Network…

One major bottleneck in getting good transfer speeds is your wireless connection. Despite the eye-catching speeds advertised, the reality is much less appealing. Performance drops off the further you are away from the router – particularly on the newer 5GHz network bands. There are also problems caused by interference – both through local network congestion from too many competing devices within your own network, plus neighbours’ Wi-Fi signals swamping your own. Fix wireless interference Before looking at improving overall signal strength, look to tackle interference from overlapping networks as well as competing demands from the ever-growing number of connected devices in your own home. Start by focusing on network interference by installing Matt Hafner’s free WiFi Analyzer app from the Microsoft Store. Launch the app, choosing Europe when prompted. Click…

One of your network’s principal functions is to share resources between machines, and it’s this interaction that can often lead to problems, particularly when it comes to sharing between different platforms, such as PC to Mac, or Windows to Linux. Sometimes glitches can occur even when attempting to share files between PCs running Windows. If one PC doesn’t appear on the network, the step-by-step guide reveals the key steps you can follow to make things work once again. Access other platforms If you want to share files with Linux or Macs, then there are a few tweaks to ensure everything runs smoothly. The simplest thing to do is get everyone else talking the same networking language as your Windows PCs: on the Mac, navigate to System Preferences > Sharing and…

Intel’s 10th-gen CPUs are here. But wait – what about the desktop? For now, there are three different families of 10th-gen chips and none are mainstream desktop processors. So, what gives? According to the narrative that has emerged over the last year or so – you guessed it – the problem is 10nm. Rumours suggest that Intel is still having problems clocking the new process up, and also with yields. The first issue seems to be confirmed by the low clock speeds and relatively unimpressive TDPs of the first 10nm Ice Lake mobile chips. By way of example, the quickest quad-core low-power Ice Lake CPU tops out at 4.1GHz, while the fastest of the new 14nm Comet Lake family, also part of the 10th gen, hits 4.9GHz. In the ultra-low-power…

Windows can pull your account picture from your Microsoft account, but you can also use the built-in camera on your PC to snap a picture of your face, or upload one from an existing file. Open Settings, and head to Account > Your Info. From here, you’ll see options to use the camera or browse for an image. Webcam shots can be of varying quality, so be prepared to take several photos before you’re happy.…

The act of reinstalling Windows 10 can feel daunting. Never fear: we’re going to step you through the entire process from booting from your Windows installation media to running carefully through the post-install setup options. If you’ve not yet done so, visit www.microsoft.com/en-gb/ software-download/windows10 and click Download tool now to download and run the Media Creation Tool. Insert a blank DVD, or plug in an unused USB flash drive (8GB or larger). After launching the tool, accept the licence terms, then choose Create installation media… and follow the prompts (use recommended options when asked) to create your flash drive or generate an ISO file. If you choose the ISO file option, click Open DVD burner at the end to write it to your blank DVD. Once your installation media has…

“Keeping an eye on your PC’s actions isn’t particularly difficult, Windows 10 includes all the tools you might need” Many people look at a Windows reinstallation as a way to fix any and all ills. However, we consider it as being more of a last resort. It’s a little like dealing with unruly children. Before taking drastic action and shipping your PC off to military school, you should really do everything you possibly can to fix the problems you’ve got, and find out the cause of its misbehaviour, because you might just find that a simple solution works better. Heavy-handed metaphor aside, keeping a keen eye on your PC’s actions isn’t particularly difficult, because Windows 10 includes all the tools you might need at your disposal: There’s the Task Manager…

From £129 | $149 www.google.co.uk Nest Wifi is Google’s latest crack at mesh networking, and finally incorporates Google Home into the experience in a meaningful way. This is exactly what was missing from the previous models, whether those be Google Home speakers that weren’t routers in their own right or Google Wifi routers that didn’t double as Google Home speakers. At long last, these two worlds collide, and it feels fantastic. However, do not expect the vast power or throughput and deep, fine control of routers or mesh systems from the likes of Linksys or Netgear. Google Nest Wifi is all about simplicity, focusing on the features that matter most to the widest net of consumers. This includes easy device traffic prioritisation, simple family and parental controls, relatively fuss-free setup…

£230 | $300 www.sony.com Sony’s new WF-1000XM3 true wireless headphones have a lot to live up to: launched as part of the brand’s lauded 1000X family of noise-cancelling cans – that includes the award-winning Sony WH-1000XM3 – the expectation is that these true wireless buds will offer superior noise suppression and no small amount of style. The good news? They don’t disappoint on either count. Available in both regular black, and a rather stylish champagne silver, they’re roughly a third cheaper than the over-ear WH-1000XM3 model they share technology with. They’re also competitively priced against rival wireless earbuds like the £300 Bose QuietControl 30. Design and build If earbuds were only judged on their design alone, the WF-1000XM3 would already win all the marbles: They lack the protrusive bulk of…

Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the world wide web, is worried about the state of the internet. “The forces taking the web in the wrong direction have always been very strong,” Berners-Lee told the Guardian. “Whether you’re a company or a government, controlling the web is a way to make huge profits, or a way of ensuring you remain in power.” In an effort to combat what he sees as the internet becoming a “digital dystopia,” Berners-Lee’s Web Foundation has launched a global action plan designed to prevent corruption and sinister manipulation online, and aiming to turn the web into a force for good. The Contract for the Web (contractfortheweb.org) is over a year in the making, worked on in conjunction with over 80 widespread institutions, and provides outlines for…

If your wider network appears to be functioning well, but the problem is isolated to a specific PC, then this section will hopefully help you track down a solution. Your first step of course is to check the physical connection itself: if you’re connected via an Ethernet cable, check it’s securely plugged in at both ends. If you connect through a HomePlug network check the lights on the HomePlug itself – try resetting or switching the device off and on to see if it can reconnect. You may also have to do the same with the HomePlug plugged into your router, but only if the issues affect other HomePlugs and their connected devices on your network. When it comes to Wi-Fi, check any USB adapter is firmly plugged in, and…

To determine what speed you’re actually getting (as opposed to what your broadband provider claims), start by visiting your router configuration utility and look for the current and maximum rates (remember to divide kbps by 1,000 to get the equivalent figure in Mbps). These should be considered your benchmark rates. In reality you won’t get anywhere near these rates, but get in the habit of performing regular tests using a tool such as www.speedtest.net. You’ll find speeds vary according to time of day based on how many users are sharing your connection – you may also find speeds capped during peak rates if you’re a heavy user. Check your ISP’s pages for details of its fair-use policy. Remember your connection is shared between all the devices on your network, so…

It’s not just interference from neighbouring networks you need to consider when troubleshooting your 2.4GHz connection: internal network congestion is also an issue, particularly if you have numerous wireless devices all competing for bandwidth. To reduce overcrowding on the 2.4GHz band, now is the time to consider switching compatible devices to the 5GHz band. It’s a no-brainer if your wireless device is in direct line of sight to the router itself – the 5GHz band is much quicker than 2.4GHz, so you should see speed improvements straight away. Sadly, however, the range at this frequency is far less than the 2.4GHz band, so be prepared for performance to drop off more sharply the further away you are from the router. Nevertheless, you should still be able to shift even a…

Having to manually reconnect to a frequently accessed shared drive each time you start Windows is a pain. Thankfully you can make network folders more accessible by assigning a drive letter to them: browse to the shared folder in question, right-click it and choose ‘Map Network Drive’. Select your chosen drive letter, leave ‘Reconnect at sign-in’ ticked, and click Finish. Your new drive will appear under File Explorer in the ‘Network locations’ section of This PC. Just click it for instant access going forward (assuming the folder is available) – if necessary, entering your username and password when prompted.…

Packed with informative tutorials Every issue, we guarantee to pack the magazine with great tutorials teaching you all the best things you can do with your PC. Each article features step-by-step instructions to make learning new skills fast and enjoyable. Customise Windows to work your way We all know how to do the basics but getting the most from Windows isn’t always easy. Our dedication to the operating system means you get the very best tips and tricks for all versions of Windows. Get more from your favourite websites We all have our list of favourite sites but often we miss out on great features because they’re difficult to use or hidden from sight. We’ll show you how to do more online, for a more satisfying web life. Discover new…

No video is complete without a nifty title sequence, and OpenShot has a dedicated tool for creating and editing both static and animated titles. They’re really easy to use. Do note, however, that you’ll need to install Blender to make use of the animated titles. Once it’s installed, choose ‘Edit > Preferences > General’ and click Browse to locate it (typically under /usr/bin). If you’d like to design your own static titles, install Inkscape and point to it here as well. Whichever title tool you choose, you’ll be shown a list of templates. Select one, then use the controls in the right-hand pane to enter your title and tweak available options. Static titles can change font, text colour and background colour, while animated titles offer more options depending on the…

Over one teraflop of pure compute performance, support for ultra-high resolution HEVC encode and decode, improved display pipelines, an enhanced rasterizer, variable rate shading, over double the performance in 3D rendering, and support for adaptive sync. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the elevator pitch for Intel’s new Gen11 graphics technology, as seen in the new 10nm Ice Lake mobile CPUs. In terms of actual in-game frame rates, Intel reckons that the fastest Gen11 integrated graphics core is typically around 80 percent faster than the Gen9.5 graphics found in eighth-generation processors, and sometimes over 100 percent faster. Much of that improvement is down to increased complexity. Gen11 graphics tops out at 64 execution units to the maximum 48 of its Gen9.5 progenitor. However, the 48-execution-unit iteration of Gen9.5 was limited to…

Reinstalling Windows 10 is a fairly trivial task. Put in the right media, boot from it, grind away the old OS, and replace it with the pristine bits of a shiny new install. This can be a painless, if time-consuming, procedure that leaves you with a like-new PC, or perhaps an even better one if you were unlucky enough to buy a PC burdened with preinstalled trashware. Before you do this, make sure you’ve checked off a few prerequisites, all of which are good practice even if you’re not planning to wipe everything and start again. “Dig out the product keys for all your crucial software and keep them safe, as you’ll need to reinstall that too” First, keep a record of your product key (if you have one –…

If you’ve gone to the trouble of creating new installation media for any version of Windows 10 past the Creators Update, you’ll probably feel a bit silly when you discover that Microsoft tucked a ‘fresh start’ option into its later Win 10 editions. Using it takes any Windows 10 installation back to the basics of a Windows install, even removing any preinstalled software your manufacturer might have included, and stripping away all your drivers – and it doesn’t require any special media. It’s basically a clean install without you having to directly perform the actions of reinstallation. You’ll find it in a corner of Windows Defender Security Centre, aka Windows Security – select Device performance and & health, then Additional info, before clicking Get started to begin. Again, make sure…

We’re at the point in the PC’s evolution where the overheads of virtualisation are proportionately so small, and the technology enabling it so plentiful, that running an everyday OS in a virtual machine is entirely reasonable. You obviously won’t get 100 percent of bare metal performance from a virtualised instance of Windows 10, but it has a host of advantages. When you’ve got a system running just as you like it, you can take a snapshot, then quickly return to it at any point in the future. You can whip up a fresh copy of Windows in minutes, without any risk to your existing install. You can fire up other operating systems, and run them simultaneously on the same machine. If you’re the kind of person who loves to settle…

From £799 | $1,035 www.microsoft.com The Microsoft Surface Pro 7, seventh iteration of its award-winning product, should serve as a victory lap of sorts. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case here. After Microsoft Surface Pro 6 failed to be the generational leap many of us were waiting for, this is certainly disappointing and perhaps a big setback for the Redmond manufacturer. It’s starting to feel like Microsoft might be resting on its laurels. Either that, or it’s saving the majority of its hardware and software innovations for even more exciting products that it’s supposedly unleashing on the near and distant horizons. The base configuration gets you an Intel Core i3 processor (CPU) 4GB of memory (RAM) and a 128GB solid-state drive (SSD), with the latter points upgradeable to as much as…

Device trackers like those from Tile make finding things easy. No longer will you need to hunt around the house hunting for your keys; with a tracker on your key-ring, you can literally use your phone to ring your keys, follow the sound, and find them straight away. If you lose them in the wild you’ll be able to find out their last known location, and they’ll emit a pulse which can be privately picked up by anyone also using that service and relayed to you. How neat.…

Windows’ new icons Free http://bit.ly/MS-medium-icons Posting on the blogging site Medium, Microsoft’s head of Microsoft Office design, Jon Friedman, unveiled a new look for icons in Windows 10. The ‘icon kaleidoscope’, which includes what looks rather like a tweaked Windows logo in shades of inky blue, have sprung from Microsoft’s Fluent Design System, already used to create the icons for Office 365 and the new Chrome-based Edge browser. “Fluent emphasises building off the familiar,” Friedman wrote. “Designing for what our customers already understand, not asking them to develop new habits or learn something new. Fluent is also about creating space for a diverse yet connected system. To account for such a breadth of contexts and experiences, we expanded our initial library of icon colours, materials, and finishes.” We don’t yet…

1 Check network status Your first port of call should be the network icon in the Taskbar Notification area. A yellow exclamation mark confirms your connection but indicates a problem; a red cross indicates no connection. In either event, click the icon to see a more detailed diagnosis. 2 Network missing A globe icon indicates you’re disconnected, but that your adapter is working and other connections are available – if interference is an issue, you may find another of your own networks (say 5GHz instead of 2.4GHz) is available. Try connecting through that. 3 Run network troubleshooter Click ‘Network & Internet settings’ to open Settings. The Status section should reveal if – and where – your connection has broken. If it’s broken between the connection and the…

1 Log into router Ask your neighbour to log into their router’s configuration page via their web browser – look on the router for login information if required. Look for the section on Guest Networks – it may be buried inside the Advanced or Wireless section if it’s not immediately visible. 2 Configure You should only need the 2.4GHz guest network – the 5GHz one is unlikely to reach into your home. Make sure your neighbour sets a strong password (shared with you) and that they leave all options for seeing or sharing other guests or the main network disabled. 3 Connect to network Return home and you should see the guest network in your list next to your neighbour’s main network. Click Connect, enter the network…

If you’ve purchased a Wi-Fi extender to boost your network’s range to a specific part of the house, placing it in the sweet spot between the router and the room you want to extend to is a tricky business. Place it too far from the router and it’ll relay at best a weak signal, but if you place it too close to the router than its own signal will compete in terms of signal strength with the router itself. Result? Devices may periodically lose their connection as they struggle to determine which network signal is the best one to latch on to. If you have a HomePlug network already in place, consider replacing the extender with a HomePlug device that has built-in Wi-Fi. This carries the network signal to your…

1 Check visibility On the PC that’s not visible on your network, type ‘sharing’ into the Search box and click ‘Manage advanced sharing settings’. Expand Private as shown above and ensure both ‘Turn on network discovery’ and ‘Turn on file and printer sharing’ are selected. If necessary, click ‘Save changes’. 2 Verify running services Press [Win] + [R], type “services.msc” and click OK. Right-click each of these services in turn and choose Properties, ensuring they’re all set to start automatically: Function Discovery Provider Host, Function Discovery Resource Publication, SSDP Discovery, and UPnP Device Host. 3 Check shared folder If the PC still isn’t visible, it may not have any shared folders set up: open File Explorer on the PC in question and type \\localhost into the Address…

1 Properties pane All objects – clips, transition effects and so on – have their own set of editable properties, accessible here. 2 Project Files Drag video clips, images and audio tracks to this pane to add them to your project. 3 Switch view Use these tabs to switch between viewing project files, transitions and special effects. 4 Play-head/ruler Use this to position the playback preview window at the correct point in your movie. 5 Video Preview Use this to play your movie – complete with any added effects or overlaid tracks. 6 Tracks Place your movie’s elements on the relevant track to build up your movie.…

1 Select clip to trim You should edit – or ‘trim’ – your clips before placing them on the timeline. The original clip is left untouched; instead, a copy of the trimmed clip is added to the Project Files pane for you to select like any other. This enables you to produce multiple clips from a single video file. Start by right-clicking your chosen clip in the Project Files window and choosing ‘Split Clip’. 2 Select start and end points Either use the slider or click Play to locate the exact point where you’d like your edited clip to start. Click Start and you’ll see its thumbnail appear inside the Start button. Now position the slider where you want the edited clip to end and click End. If…

Hardware CAN MY PC SUPPORT 4K? Q I read with interest your article on configuring an Ultra HD monitor [WHA167], and wondered if my Intel Core i3-6100 with onboard graphics was enough to run one? Dafydd Lewis Nick P’s solution Most Intel Core processors from 2010 on support 4K displays – for basic usage at least. The Core i3-6100 has onboard Intel HD Graphics 530, which can display 4K images and play certain video formats, but will perform poorly when it comes to games. We contacted Dafydd to find out which motherboard was powering his PC – this is critical because the HDMI output may not support 4K at the recommended refresh rate of 60 Hz. Sure enough, his ASUS Z170-A only supported 4K output via HDMI at 24Hz. Its DisplayPort…

One of the factors that contributes to our pessimism surrounding reinstalling Windows is that we desperately don’t want you to lose anything. We’re kind like that. But there is another, slightly frivolous way to do a reinstallation if you’ve got working hardware to play with: you can turn one Windows installation into two. If you have a second drive that is able to support a Windows 10 installation, or enough access to your current Windows 10 installation (and enough free space) to be able to trim down its drive using Disk Management then create a new clean partition, you can install a second copy of the operating system alongside the first. Simply select a custom install, and then point Windows 10 at that spare disk space – it should do…

Reinstalling is, or should be, a last resort – and if you ever come to the point where you absolutely have to reinstall Windows and don’t have copies of your files, it might be too late. A hardware failure, a cryptographic malware attack, whatever the case may be, you don’t want to be left stranded. We’ve talked about using Windows’ File History tools elsewhere, which is a good way to keep regular copies of your personal files, but Windows also includes a more thorough backup procedure in the form of Backup and Restore (Windows 7). Now, we can’t be entirely sure how long this is going to last, given its archaic name, but for now, it works, and we’d wager that Microsoft will supply a tool to restore its backups…

£999 | $1,300 www.microsoft.com Microsoft’s newest attempt at an ARM-based Surface Pro device could have been impressive as well. It even boasts Microsoft’s first-ever original processor, the SQ1, which it co-developed with Qualcomm. However, it unfortunately falls short of expectations. We’re more than a little let down by a few key Pro X design choices. Particularly, this tablet/laptop hybrid doesn’t have an audio jack, and its battery life, while decent, is subpar compared to predecessors and contemporaries. And, that’s without getting into the pricing. £999 gets you 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD. You can double the storage, which brings the price to £1,269, and up the RAM to 16GB with a 512GB SSD, which costs £1,819. It’s simply too pricey for the level of performance you’re getting. All…

1 eM Client  www.emclient.com eM Client has been around for nearly 10 years now, and throughout that long development has evolved into the best free email client for Windows. The app makes it easy to migrate your messages from Gmail, Exchange, iCloud and Outlook.com – just enter your email address and the client will choose the appropriate settings for you. eM Client can also import your contacts and calendar. It’s easy to deselect these options if you manage them separately. eM Client is also packed with options such as automatic translation, delayed sending and encryption. It’s a remarkable set of tools, and for managing two email accounts, it’s ideal. If you have more accounts, it’s well worth upgrading to eM Client Pro for a one-off fee. This lets you…