How bad is Win 10? Options

[pandy]

Maybe you look somewhere where it displays the chosen APN? There's a sh*tload to choose from. You on Android? Here how I get to the list.

Settings | Network & Internet | Mobile Network | Advanced | Access Point Names

That's where I looked.

Strange. Did you buy your phone from your provider? In that case maybe they made it hard coded. Otherwise it's odd. The support person didn't ask if I had those settings. He presumed that I did.

[Christian J]

Did you buy your phone from your provider? In that case maybe they made it hard coded. Otherwise it's odd. The support person didn't ask if I had those settings. He presumed that I did.

No I bought it independently. I can only assume the settings come with the SIM card or are downloaded from the carrier when you set it all up. My APN name is the same as my carrier, which doesn't seem like a coincidence.

No idea why they give you so many options, could it me the phone maker that added all of them for the Swedish market? Or maybe it's how your carrier does things for some reason? Or do you have some kind of special SIM card?

[pandy]

No idea. Maybe it's loaded from the SIM card in your case, they erase everything they don't want? Many phones can use two cards now. Wonder what would happen if you switched to a card from another provider.

I have problems with GPS and compass. But that can't have to do with this, can it? It's probably the phone's sensors. The reason I bought this phone was that I play a GPS game. Previously I have used phones with exchangable batteries, so I can take a bunch with me when I'm out. Powerbank doesn't work so well because it takes time and often the phone doesn't work so well while you are loading. It was impossible to find a good phone with exchangable battery that didn't cost an arm and a leg this time, so I went for one with a very large battery instead. It weighs a ton, but one gets used to it and I never have to wonder if it's still in my pocket.

Everything about the phone is great - except the GPS and compass. Exactly the things I needed it for! Strangely enough the GPS gets better all the time, like it's learning. But still wonky. If I use something like Runkeeper it logs maybe 50% longer distance than I really covered, because it wanders so much. And with the game it takes longer to take the zones, as we call the spots we should visit, since I often have to wait for it a bit.

The compass is a little better too, but I would never trust it when it's important, like out in the woods. I have to carry a real compass. I've had no problem with compass and GPS on previous phones, except occasional and expected disturbances.

[Christian J]

I have problems with GPS and compass. But that can't have to do with this, can it? It's probably the phone's sensors.

GPS just needs to detect the satellite signals, but they can be obstructed by buildings etc. Maybe the phone also uses the local mobile towers for locationing, their signals should be as easy to detect as any phone call or message.

Everything about the phone is great - except the GPS and compass.

Is it worse in the same places you visited with the previous phone?

Strangely enough the GPS gets better all the time, like it's learning.

That sounds odd, what is there to learn? Either it detects the satellite and cell tower signal or it doesn't. Unless if it contains software that just guesses your location based on previous movement patterns.

[pandy]

Yes. These zones are all over the place. In the cities they are pretty dense. You can see how it looks here. The map in the app is better, but you can see the zones and players that are out
https://turfgame.com/map

Now it's mostly that the GPS is slow and wanders a little before it gets to the right spot. But in the beginning it was crazy. Last summer I biked to a small community maybe 25 km from here to take new zones along an old country road on the way back. Every darn zone was a pain. I had to try for 20 minutes some times before I could take them. If that happened in the city I would just leave it. But since this was far from home and I didn't want to go back there anytime soon I wanted to take them. The trip took several hours more than it would have had the darn GPS worked!

My "little man" (that is a nice green color btw ) could turn up several km from my real position. I've had cheap and not so cheap phones. The one thing that has never bothered me before is this. But I'm cheap. I'm not throwing away a fairly new phone, so I live with it.

It's a PITA though. In the city I know where to zones are or I can use the map to figure that out. But along a country road or in the forest I have to trust the GPS - and I can't.

[Christian J]

If it's worse in the countryside, maybe it's because the GPS can't be enhanced with nearby mobile masts.

I once read GPS used to be intentionally degraded for military reasons, called Selective Availability. That apparently ended decades ago, and today the largest error is "the unpredictable delay through the ionosphere". Maybe there have simply been more ionosphere disturbances lately? There might be information about this online somewhere.

[pandy]

It isn't worse in the country, not in general. Of course the signal isn't reliable in a deep forest with high trees, but that's always the case. It's worse for me because I can't use the map to find the right location because there are no significant landmarks like in the city. In the city I can easily judge form the surroundings if I stand at the right spot and wait for the GPS marker to come to me. In the countyside, if there doesn't happen to be a church, a crossroad or something like that, I don't know if I am at the right spot. In the forest I'm totally lost.

[Christian J]

A relative accidentally deleted lots of files from her Win10 PC, apparantly so many that there was no room for most of them in the Recycle Bin. As a result, it appears only the few that actually ended up in Recycle Bin could be restored afterwards. What's the easiest way to get the other files back? There seems to be a program called Windows File Recovery, is that easy to use or are there better alternatives? I suppose System Restore can't recover lost user documents (just restore system files)?

[pandy]

The main thing is to stop using the computer immediately so the fragments aren't overwritten.

I've used several of those programs, there are lots, and many are free. All have worked but I have maybe not been able to recover all files. Don't have a favourite and don't remember what the programs were called. It's been so long between the times I've had need for such a program I have just found one when I needed it.

Those I've tried have had an explorer like interface, easy to use.

[Christian J]

It's been so long between the times I've had need for such a program I have just found one when I needed it.

Do you know if they can find any and all recently deleted files, or do you need to specify each file name? The latter would be practically impossible in this case.

Couldn't Windows System Restore revert even file deletions in Windows XP and Vista; and if so, have they removed that excellent feature?

Those I've tried have had an explorer like interface, easy to use.

Seems Windows File Recovery uses the command line.

[pandy]

No, you don't have to specify file names. I *think* you direct them to a directory. As I recall the files they find may not be named as you named them either but can have fishy 123Rty56io7 names.

I'm not sure about this. It's been quite long since I used such a program. But I do remember it's easy-peasy, you don't need any special skills or anything. But if your relative has used their computer after the mishap, for several days as it sounds, I wouldn't have high hopes.

[Christian J]

As I recall the files they find may not be named as you named them either but can have fishy 123Rty56io7 names.

We tried Recuva, and it actually preserved the file names (but not directory structures I think).

But if your relative has used their computer after the mishap, for several days as it sounds, I wouldn't have high hopes.

It happened late last night, and she only used the PC to install Recuva today. Despite that it seems some of those newly deleted files are already damaged, which seems unlikely.

The reason all this happened was because she tried to erase files on a USB backup stick, but accidentally choose the PC's SSD instead (the USB stick had stopped working, BTW). I've almost done the same thing myself once or twice (like accidentally overwrite files on my PC with older versions from my external backup drive). That Windows lists all drives side by side like that seems like a very error-inducing way of doing things, I'd prefer that external drives were clearly labelled as such.

[pandy]

I think as long as the computer is on, things may be written to the HD.

My last mishap was when I installed a new photo organizer. I had to add folders to a panel to the left. I played around with that and then wanted to start over so I deleted everything. Turned out it wasn't a virtual tree as I had assumed (it LOOKED very virtual and that's how my old program worked.... ). Well, it wasn't so I deleted the files from the disk. And they didn't go to the bin either. Darn ported Linux programs. They always cause me problems. Well, in this case it maybe was me being thoughtless, but in other cases that hasn't been the case.

[Christian J]

I tried Recuva om my own PC, for some reason it only detected files from 2022 (all damaged), nothing older or newer. I didn't do a deep scan though, maybe that would have returned more.

[pandy]

Odd. I don't know how Windows uses disk space, if it fills the disk from center out or vice versa, tries to spread data evenly or just scatters it at random. But I imagine it doesn't care about what's on it already, how old the data is, as long as it's marked as allowed to be overwritten. So I guess it's possible that your newly deleted files have been on a part of the disk that, for some reason, is more attractive or convenient to use.

[pandy]

Now I got the search bar after a Windows update. Not sure it was the same search bar as before though. This thing was floating in the center of the screen. And it was accompanied by a window with two choices. OK, I get it and Turn the searchbar off. My reptilian brain turned it off before I figured out what it was.

[Christian J]

Microsoft wants to move Windows fully to the cloud
https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/27/23775117...nsumer-strategy

Microsoft announces Windows Copilot, an AI ‘personal assistant’ for Windows 11
https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/23/23732454...1-copilot-build

[Darin McGrew]

Microsoft announces Windows Copilot, an AI ‘personal assistant’ for Windows 11

[pandy]

Yeah, I also thought of that.

Are they bonkers? So if my internet goes down, I can't use my computer at all? And what if I actually venture off grid? But I guess such places don't exist in their world.

What do they mean with "Windows 365 to enable a full Windows operating system streamed from the cloud to any device.". Phones too?

Not to speak of what this will do to data transfer. I hear the pipes are tight already. Everything over 5G?

[Christian J]

So if my internet goes down, I can't use my computer at all?

That's not a bug, it's a feature: https://www.frontpagemag.com/if-amazon-thin...our-smart-home/

What do they mean with "Windows 365 to enable a full Windows operating system streamed from the cloud to any device.". Phones too?

Sure, but it would require making phones that run Windows again I guess.

Not to speak of what this will do to data transfer. I hear the pipes are tight already. Everything over 5G?

Doesn't Chromebook work like that already, just using the browser for all communication with the Google Cloud services?

But for me, the whole the point of Windows is to run third-party programs on it, and I doubt Microsoft will let such programs be installed in the Cloud. Rather, I guess Microsoft will push it's own Microsoft Store apps even more.