I think I've changed something, somewhere, that I shouldn't have done.
Using Explorer, I browse countless photos (jpg) and, using View, usually select Large Icons or Extra Large Icons, but for the last couple of days, all I see is a white square with, in the middle, an icon of the picture viewer which, by default, is PSP5. Tried changing to MS Paint and Windows Photo Viewer to no avail. Tried a cold reboot in case it is a memory problem, but no change. This laptop is 32 bit with 4GB RAM so, with too much stuff open, memory can be a problem, but not immediately after a cold boot.
This is why I hat things like keyboard shortcuts because it can be quite easy to hit some key combo that changes something and because you didn't do it consciously, or notice it at the time, it can be a right PITA to get back to where you were?
I would like a global setting that disabled all keyboard shortcuts, it's *GUI* OS after all. ;-)
Well done. You fixed it before the usual suspects advised you to install linux. :-)
Now check your hard disk properties to see if the "Allow files on this drive to have contents indexed in addition to file properties" box is ticked.
I have one 500Gbyte hard drive partitioned into C: for windows, D: for applications and E: for data.
C and D had this box ticked (? by Win 10) but E: was not.
I'm not sure why Windows would need to index the contents of all the binaries and other stuff that it uses, so I am going to clear mine. Does anyone know why it was ticked ?.
In message <rt9l69$1jhg$ snipped-for-privacy@gioia.aioe.org>, Andrew snipped-for-privacy@mybtinternet.com writes
<grin> Yes! For that, I will be ever thankful :-)
My hard drive is in two partitions, C for progs and E for Data. Neither have 'Compress this drive' ticked. C does not have 'Allow files on this drive' ticked, but it is ticked on drive E, but I don't know why, and am reluctant to fiddle unless someone I trust advises otherwise :-)
Win7 is marginally better than Linux, I'd say. Although see my sig, below.
Why do you bother? I have it all on the same drive on my Mac (with backups, of course). From time to time I move to a new version of the OS (every few years). All that involves is installing it and as soon as it's finished I can use it. No restoring of data required and no loss, either.
The NTFS compression (old-style) is worthless, relatively speaking. It just makes the drive slow. A lot of modern file formats are already compressed, and LZNT1 can't do anything with those anyway, except chug for nothing.
The LZNT1 compression method used, is tuned for speed (such as it is). You get a weak compressor, operating at a mediocre speed.
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Microsoft has written a new compressor.
formatting link
The author of the article, notes the tradeoffs. It's used mainly by Microsoft, to compress C:\Windows for 32GB tablets or the like. It's not a replacement for your E: drive compression. It uses a Reparse Point to tell the file system that a custom compressor is in use. This is not really intended for E: usage. It is intended for data at rest. To help a 32GB tablet, struggling with not enough storage space.
If Windows 10 C: is on a large hard drive, I do this from Admin command prompt:
compact.exe /compactos:query
compact.exe /compactos:never # uncompress Windows assets, for future speed
Microsoft has an even better compressor - it's used to squeeze all those installers onto the Win10 DVD. Again, Microsoft does not distribute this in any ways or means, to compete with
formatting link
.
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I would move the files off E: onto a second hard drive, then reformat E: (taking care afterwards to make sure the compression tick box is off), *then* move the files back onto E: . This will defragment the new content on E: as well as play a part in removing the compression.
I sometimes use the built-in Robocopy for things like this ("re-paving"), but that's a tool that must be used with some care. It has the power to erase hard drives, after all, with some careless choices. While it is nominally a "folder copier", it also handles whole drive letters just fine. It avoids ugly scenes like "Calculating copy size..." dialogs that take forever :-) File Explorer is a freaking pig.
Robocopy from Microsoft, ships with the OS. On WinXP, you have to download XP026 version if you want one.
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Other unrelated tools, would include the ability to make at least one "full" backup to a separate drive, once in a while.
# Free version good for "full" backups, so you aren't left helpless # Make the rescue CD, so you're ready.
formatting link
# lower left corner
Full backups to a separate drive, help cover for cases of drive failure. To detect drive failure early, you can use a tool like this. The SMART Health tab and the "Reallocated" plus the benchmark curve, help determine drive health. Note that a number of Seagate drives, show "two yellow marks" in here. The yellow marks are harmless, and likely corrected in a later (paid) version. If we didn't have this, there would also be SmartMonTools in Linux for checking. A Reallocated raw data value of 0, is a good indicator of health. Plus no huge flat spots in the benchmark curve. This tool does not deal especially well with large drives, and you'll probably notice that after using this for a while. The paid version would likely be better, as the "freebie" is ten years old now.
Quite. On my laptop, number lock keeps on getting switched off. It is on at boot. I have no idea why. Looked for a way of having permanent number lock with no success. Don't have the same trouble using other PCs.
In message snipped-for-privacy@mid.individual.net>, Tim Streater snipped-for-privacy@greenbee.net writes
Because it is easy to back up the data that way. I don't bother with the C drive. Whenever I buy a new (to me) PC, I don't copy across the progs, preferring to start from fresh. A good opportunity to install the progs I actually use and quietly ditch those that seemed a good idea at the time, but are rarely if ever used.
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