My computer doesn't like me!

John King

John King

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Here is a good one - not. I have access to 5 different E mail accounts, two are semi official and get little use except for their intended purpose. The other 3 are private addresses which are used regularly depending who the message is intended for.
Shortly after 2 pm today, it became obvious that there was a problem in that I could type a message but when I went to send it, the actual send button was missing on the screen. I tried with all 5 accounts sending test messages and the same was apparent on each one. Then they all came back, but some decided to fail again, then come back. At the present up until 10 mins ago, all were working. They were on a windows laptop with Windows 11 installed. What on earth is going on?

I have had a good clean of all the cookies and refreshed the system (Control +R) but it is still not a certain cure from when I first discovered the problem, I can get around it even when the send button isn't there so long as I press control and enter the message can still be sent. Any thoughts
 
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Update all but two have now returned to normal use but I still have no idea what has happened, Yahoo being the worst. I have also had problems actually logging with Yahoo
 
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A further update. I have an older laptop and a desktop which are not affected so it looks as if there may be a problem with that one. Of the three the one that has the issue has windows 11 the other two are windows 10. Absolutely nothing else appears to be affected.

The ones that are affected are on my laptop screen as shortcuts, so what I propose to do is to delete the shortcuts then do a deep clean up to get rid of the cookies and then put them back onto my laptop as new shortcuts. If it works then that was the problem but if it doesn't it is back to head scratching again.
 
The matter is partially solved but not completely. I have found that if I enlarge the screen to 150% I can see the send button together with the small symbols which also disappeared. It is looking like a settings problem but I cannot figure out which is correct to do the job myself. it is looking more and more like Windows 11 is the culprit.
 
All back to normal today at 3pm. So whatever it was restored itself with little intervention from me.

I tried to find an address to send an E mail to Microsoft in case it was something that they may be interested in because it was only a widows 11 computer that was affected. No E mail found, but I discovered by pressing the windows symbol and F together you access a panel where you can write down the problem in detail for their information and send that. What do they do?- Absolute buffoons, limit the number of characters you can type so they don't get the full picture. These people in their Ivory Towers of Microsoft are so detached from reality they don't have a clue what ordinary people are trying to do to help them if they don't provide the means to do so.

I really do despair sometimes.
 
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John

You should join me in my quest to get a job testing software from a user perspective.

More than once I’ve been told (eg):

- it doesn’t happens to anyone else
- no, it’s just you
- you’re not supposed to be able to delete that built-in app
 
Now it has cleared up and working normally again I can say it was only that particular computer (this one) which was affected and this is the only one with Windows 11. I rest my case Me Lud!
 
I'm bound to say John that until I finish transferring all my files, I'm operating two computers at the moment, one with W10 loaded and the other using W11. Both are OK but I find that I prefer the W11 operating system to W10. It's faster and easier to navigate particularly in the "Settings" area. In hardware terms, both machines are about the same.
 
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I look upon a W11 computer as being like a highly strung pedigree dog that demands attention all the time whereas Win10 and even Win7 were stable and reliable just like a friendly old sheepdog that did what it was told and just got on with the job. I don't need speed, I don't need complexity I just need something simple that I can reply upon. I fell foul of Windows shenanigans when they discontinued Win7 and some of my expensive hardware ceased to work.

Probably the finest bit of digital kit I have ever bought was my Nikon Coolscan V scanner, but because Microsoft decided they would change the operating system from Win7 it would no longer work. You can get aftermarket software that does allow it to work, but at my expence, so that ain't going to happen ( I have seen some work from this aftermarket software and |I am not impressed) So I found a good Win XP laptop and use that for scanning, but then transfer the images in a memory stick to the main desktop to play around with.

Now with my main computer, (desktop) which is elderly and possibly should be pensioned off, If it were a horse it would be shot! it won't accept the latest updates from Adobe PS although it will accept the RAW updates! but the Adobe programme I can access still works, and does all I want. It is reliable and to get a similar computer with all the bells and whistles would cost close on £1000 ( My present one was made to my specification. I have asked for an estimate for a new out of curiosity) It does what it does, when I want it to, so why should I spend my money just because Microsoft decree it? I don't have the latest and fastest and as far as I can see, more temperamental bit of kit just to fill the coffers of Microsoft.

If all else fails, I still have my darkroom, dishes, film, heaters, paper, Thermometers, timers and chemicals. Plus my enlargers. Microsoft would find it hard to update a LPL enlarger, with it's simplicity and my personal skill. It is actually fun to work with, and I don't have to rely upon a geek in an office half way around the world to get me out of a pickle.

Sorry.......... Rant over.
 
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I agree the lack of drivers for older devices is annoying. Other than that I find windows 11 stable and low maintenance. Mine updates in the background which works for me as I don't feel the need to maintain older versions of software which might be affected by such updates. Thankfully none of my software works on a subscription basis so there is no financial penalty for doing so.

I write as somebody who still listens to long playing records and uses film cameras so I do understand the allure of older tech. On the other hand, as a retired engineer, I also understand the burden of maintaining support for devices in the field long after their manufacture has ceased. After a while it simply becomes economically and logistically prohibitive.
 
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I am not a computer expert and what I have been told and what I have self learned since I started using one would hardly fill a couple of sheets of
A4 paper. I find Win11 to really have a mind of it's own sometimes and it comes with little instruction and relies upon intuition or previous knowledge to get it to work satisfactorily. I find it does things and acts without me pressing a key. For instance there was a date in January this year when I was due to go into hospital for a few days and wouldn't have access to it, nor would anyone else. Before going into hospital I backed most that I needed onto a remote SSD but did not shut it down immediately. I did so about an hour later without accessing anything at all. Was it me, did I accidentally touch a key, well I must have accidentally touched several because the document and pictures are/were stored in separate folders.

The next time I opened it up, I found that several of my files had disappeared from my Documents and photographs were jumbled out of sequence. this must have happened before I shut it down and had left the computer still active. I don't know, I am not a geek! As I said I didn't actually really loose anything because it had been downloaded onto an SSD. All the documents were there and the photographs were in the correct order. Go figure that.

Nor do I like, trust or need cloud storage. If Microsoft made it they can access it, and to be brutally honest I totally do not trust them. Think of Fujitsu and the post office computer debacle. They denied being able to access it but that was an outright lie and possibly one of the biggest breaches of Data Protection legislation ever. I hope they like porridge and sharing a cell!

If push comes to shove, I.E. when I am forced to change the present equipment I will be going over to Apple. I don't know if they are better than MS but they certainly cannot be any worse.

Sorry guys - last rant of the year from me. Have a good new year everybody.
 
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About three years ago I finally got so fed up with Microsoft that I switched my two desktops and a laptop to Linux and that was the best move I have ever made. Because there is no more of the spying that Microsoft does, older less powerful machines become much quicker and no longer need to be replaced simply because Microsoft says. One of the drawbacks - or benefits - is that some software (Adobe) will not work on Linux. I have now switched to FOSS (free open source software) and discovered there are lots of excellent, free programs to do everything - including photo editing - that are MUCH better than their commercial counterparts. This option is not for everyone but it certainly is easier and more straightforward than many people think.
 
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