[Dave Rice]

What a ridiculous set of questions! Talk about either irrelevant, out of context or just a “fact”.

Never mind, fly in the face of the scientific world. I’m sure we’re all fed up with “experts”.

Let’s just get our facts from Facebook, much more comforting when you get things from the echo chamber.

[Dave Rice]

A couple of things.

1. Say goodbye to Windows 7! All of your booting issues will be down to it, it’s just too old.
2. You can’t install Windows drivers before installing Windows 😀
3. AMI is a BIOS manufacturer, UEFI is the type of “BIOS”.

Things changed massively when UEFI took hold of the BIOS world, indeed it shouldn’t be called a BIOS it should be called the UEFI.

UEFI allows the formatting of hard drives as GPT drives not the old MBR (Master Boot Record). There are many advantages that we won’t go into here. It’s GPT , Secure Boot and Windows 7 that are causing your issues.

You can try and force the UEFI to act like an old BIOS and force MBR formatting but don’t. Really, just don’t even try you’ll go nuts believe me.

Get a key for W10 Pro off E-Bay and use the the media creation tool to create a bootable USB stick. Just let it do it’s stuff and Windows will be on there in no time at all. Most times it’s not worth installing the mobo manufacturers drivers, they will be out of date and Windows Update will soon have the correct ones on there.

If son can’t live without Windows 7 use Classic Shell. The problem then is finding stuff because Windows 10 will never be Windows 7. The Control Panel is just about dead. Things are done in a different fashion but TBH it’s a lot more logical. If you can’t find a setting use Search, it’s really good.

EDIT you probably shouldn’t have used your PC to format the drive as odds on it’ll be MBR and that could be an issue. Hopefully the mobo UEFI Compatibility mode will smooth things. You can convert the drive to GPT using these instructions.

[Dave Rice]

I think only the press are using the word lie. The argument is is that his stated reasons for proroguing Parliament – getting ready for a new Queens Speech – were clearly for far too long and the timing was somewhat convenient. Also is it right to deny Parliament the right to deny scrutiny of the executives actions at precisely the time they most need to?

The public are not fools, everyone knows this isn’t a happy accident whatever he may be able to get away with legally or morally. For some it’s just what they want because they think it will ease the passage to another result they desire, but be careful what you wish for. When it works against them they will rue the day because the genie will be out of the bottle big style and can be wheeled out at any time.

The executive cannot be allowed to shut down Parliament at will and for any length of time they chose, I don’t care who they are or whatever the reason. These are the actions of a dictatorship, pure and simple.

I don’t care if you voted Leave or Remain, nobody voted for this trashing of the running of the country. If this had been mentioned at the time nobody would have believed it could get to this. I think we all believed a consensus would be found and we would leave in an orderly fashion that wouldn’t cause too much damage. Had that happened we would be out by now and on to the long term relationship.

What have we got? More divided and that’s been a cynical tactic by a handful of do or die (mostly) right wing evangelists who saw the chance to hold everyone to ransom to get the extreme result that suited them. The language of these people has been to vilify and smear those who oppose them aided and abetted by the more excited parts of the popular press. That includes our judicial system.

Going back to a theme of a year or so ago it’s clear we need to overhaul the entire political system and may be it’s time to get a written constitution. As much as I support the Royals you have to question why they are involved in the process if it’s just a rubber stamping exercise – and I cannot see how it can be anything else. The Lords clearly needs sorting as it can be stuffed at will by whichever side needs to. I’ll confess I have little idea about the working of the judiciary but from what I’ve seen I don’t think they are a problem and I don’t believe anyone wants a politicised one like the have in the USA.

Interesting Times indeed.

[Dave Rice]

It’s easy to check with a mobile phone. The beauty is you’re not tied to a BT socket.

My eldest has just moved into a 3 story town house, the one with the BT socket and no mains nearby! It’s also at the bottom of the stairs so anything would have to be wall mounted or you’ll be stepping on it. Dunno how they get away with it. Anyway they needed to put the unit on a particular side of the house but elevation didn’t make a huge difference. This meant they could find the most advantageous place for WiFi coverage, which did.

I have one of my UAP’s back that they needed in the old town house to get the signal from bottom to top.

[Dave Rice]

I get the Chromebook vs Windows if you are in total control and know how to get around the gotchas. But as BL says expectations are you’ll be using Windows / Office and everything is geared to that.

Then there’s the whole getting ready for the big wide world thing. In business it’s going to be Windows. I know some big names like Airbus have moved Google Apps but it’s still on a Windows machine.

My kids are pretty tech savvy and things like Linux don’t phase them, but there’s no way they were going to Uni with anything other than a Windows machine. Harriet, who trashes everything (her new Lenovo didn’t last 6th form), went with a refurb Elitebook 8460 that I put an SSD in. Looked like new (it doesn’t now – stickers) and 3 years in (so it’s probably 8 years old+) it’s i5 is still more than capable and isn’t going to fall to bits thanks to the aluminium case.

[Dave Rice]

Should be OK

[Dave Rice]

HP EliteBook 840 G1 14-inch Ultrabook (Intel Core i5 4th Gen, 8GB Memory, 180GB SSD, WiFi, WebCam, Windows 10 Professional 64-bit) (Renewed)

£265 on Amazon

There were some G2 about for the same price bracket but seem to have gone. Performance wise there was nothing in  it but they have 1600 x 900 screens.

These are very nice bits of kit.

[Dave Rice]

That’s not an issue for current WiFi with the proper kit. The Whitchurch Legion regularly has over 100 people each weekend evening accessing the internet via two £60 300N units.

As for speed, for most people at home it only needs to be faster than the stream or internet uplink. It could offer better coverage, but again properly designed units can do this today or (more commonly) it’s an environment issue.

Remember all these claims were made for AC and N before it, we will probably get the same half arsed implementation in cheap ISP kit. BT, TT, Sky and Virgin are all complaining about each others misleading adverts, which they all are IMO.

So don’t fall for the hype. If you have an issue it’s probably not going to magically solve it. The biggest issue domestically is the WAP is just in the wrong place in the house. It may be convenient for BT / Virgin to put their external connection there but that’s it. I’ve even seen a new build this year that doesn’t have mains anywhere near it!

However for large scale and / or specialist implementations it opens up all sorts of opportunities.

[Dave Rice]

It’s just part of the conspiracy theory Ed. Our own incompetent Government passes the buck on and people chose to believe it.

It’s actually the EU improving things for the likes of Cornwall.

[Dave Rice]

But before a project finishes in London they’re teeing up the next one.

We finally get electrification and it’s cancelled, but not to Cardiff, they darent. Bristol is a net contributor to the UK economy too and an IT incubator but here the argument does not apply. So its still rules based on politics not logic. Bristol votes Labour so grayling loses nothing, but he can’t stand up to the Welsh assembly.

[Dave Rice]

That is a good point Keith, I’d forgotten that.

If the tech is too new W10 will only allow basic generic drivers.

[Dave Rice]

No reason I can think of not to. I know of 4 now including customers and family. All OK

[Dave Rice]

I really wouldn’t worry about Win 7, it’s only got months left. You can still get Classic Start to make it look like 7.

[Dave Rice]

2nd link’s not working.

I have a Huawei dongle in the back of a Draytek router at one customer which runs a permanent site to site VPN back to their HQ. Works a treat and very reliable.

The only gotcha is the dongle has it’s own external IP address which louses up dynamic DNS (DYNDNS detects the dongles internal address – which is in a different subnet to the router – not the site’s external address).  That’s all down to some router protocol for USB LTE dongles, doesn’t happen with a PC and dongle. Doesn’t much matter as most things are Peer to Peer these days and I can just VPN into HQ to get at the branch network.

This is why I wonder if the D-Link or TPL solutions may be better i.e. no dongle involved, but in my experience site to site VPNs are crap unless the router has the word “business” in the description. Might have to find out the hard way.

I’m cursing renewing my TT contract, but at least after a drop this morning it’s back up to 40/10.

[Dave Rice]

They have upped their game recently. I’ve tried one of their MTX cases and it was fine.

[Dave Rice]

Once you’re settled the D-Link router may suit you well.

[Dave Rice]

Apparently they left their own lawyers in the dark over Proroguing and may about to pay the legal price. They’re already reaping the moral one. BoJo really is getting a hard time every opportunity the public get.

I don’t think there is a master plan any more. There may have been but it’s not working as expected. I don’t think many of the public see him as their champion and Parliament is firmly ganged up in him including his own side. TBP are waiting.

I don’t thing there is any ace, the only hope he has is a deal and I just can’t see it happening. Even if the DUP agree with BoJo Dublin will not give them the veto and Sinn Fein will probably not reopen Stormont anyway. Of course that will play well in the it’s not me it’s them narrative.

[Dave Rice]

And he stood up at the DUP conference and said he wouldn’t do it. But then he said the same about Heathrow.

The Scotland – NI bridge looks like being the latest bridge project (garden and Dover straits). What is it about bridges and BoJo?

So basically BoJo is back to TM’s plan with what the EU wanted from day one on the backstop? And that will get through? Really? Also I understand Stormont has to OK it and that isn’t up and running. If we impose direct rule that will queer the pitch too.

Not much of an Ace.

EDIT for all this yacking on about fishing I see the required legislation is one of bills that’s died with the proroguing of Parliament. And so has the Trade Bill that would have given the UK the powers to implement new trade deals and set up a Trades Remedies Authority. Never mind Domestic Abuse (now OK for a knighthood candidate) and Animal Cruelty. What a brave new world awaits us.

[Dave Rice]

Well there will be no TBP and Tory alliance, but that could all change as there is still a way to go. But as I said before I doubt it will ever happen or there will be no point in having a Conservative Party.

I think the timing of the publication of (almost all) the Yellowhammer documents and that announcement was no accident. It points to No Dealers being set up as extremists in one direction – we’ll never willingly go there – and the EU being set up as the protagonists if we end up there. It’s still the May strategy of trying to play one side off against the other and thinking you’re seen as the reasonable one. Didn’t work then, won’t work now.

Proroguing of Parliament hasn’t had the desired effect of shutting everyone else up. It’s just made them more determined to fight tooth and nail. Boris’s big announcement of the T21 contracts drowned out by accusations of his telling fibs to the Queen. Ooops.

Looks like the DUP are going under the bus any day now, he might regret that come the GE. Could be a way to a deal though as that was the EU’s Plan A for the backstop and most people this side of the Irish Sea don’t give a monkeys. I think a lot would be glad to see that particular problem fade into a United Ireland. The USA wouldn’t be blocking a trade deal either.

We’ll see. Lots more to come.

[Dave Rice]

Absolutely loads. I ran on 128GB for nearly 2 years and it never stopped me downloading ISOs etc and doing what I wanted. Every 6 months or so I’d clear the old crap out but I do that now I have 500GB! I’m current on 137 / 431 and nearly 30GB of that is in my Downloads folder. Time for a spring clean.

After installing W10 and updates, Office, all the usual utilities and a disk cleanup I reckon on sending out a new PC with well under 30GB used.

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