Reader Support
Your tech problems fixed
Did you print the wrong DISM command?
QI have tried the DISM clean-up command, as shown on page 52 of Issue 529, but the Command Prompt window will not recognise the instruction. Are there any spaces in the code that I am not seeing? David Dye
A we’ve checked the command that we printed and it is definitely correct, and works. So yes, either you made a typing error, or something else is awry.
You didn’t say what error message you were seeing but first check that you’re using Command Prompt in ‘elevated’ mode. This is required to run any DISM command. We explained how to enable this permanently on the preceding page of the same issue but you can launch an elevated Command Prompt on an ad-hoc basis by right-clicking Command Prompt before choosing ‘Run as administrator’.
If you still have no joy, a typing error must be to blame. Our column width means that longer commands sometimes wrap to the next line, so it’s not always obvious where there are spaces. To save you any more errors, we’ve posted the first full command on our Pastebin account, at www.snipca.com/28283 (see screenshot below). Copy and paste it into your elevated Command Prompt window, and then just press Enter.
Do I need a different DNS?
Q the ‘Change your DNS for faster internet’ Workshop in Issue 527 showed how to switch to a faster DNS. My laptop is connected to my router via an ethernet cable, not Wi-fi. Will this same procedure work for laptops like mine, which are connected by a cord and not wirelessly? If not, what should I do? Michael Brumby
A IF you followed Steps 1 to 3 then yes, the method is exactly the same. The changes are made in the WAN section of your router, which incidentally stands for ‘wide-area network’, not ‘wireless’ as you might think – so any device connected to the router will benefit.
However, not all routers will allow this change. So, if you followed the second method, then at Step 5, after clicking ‘Change adapter settings’, you need to right-click the icon representing your wired local-area network (LAN) before choosing Properties (see screenshot above). After that, once again it is the same.
Why won’t the Windows 10 ISO Download Tool work?
Q IN Issue 529’s Reader Support page you referred to the Windows 10 ISO Download Tool, at www.snipca.com/27684. I followed your instructions and the winisodl.exe program file duly appeared in my downloads. However, on trying to run it on both my Windows 10 systems (one 32bit and the other 64bit) I get a Microsoft screen saying my system cannot run the tool, referring me to Edge. Roy German
A we’ve tested the Windows 10 ISO Download Tool on multiple Windows 10 systems and it has worked without hiccups on all, and we’ve never encountered any message referring us to Edge. However, we have a suspicion that you’re encountering a Windows Defender Smartscreen message, which is indeed from Microsoft and includes a ‘More info’ link that looks like a typical website link – so perhaps you’re assuming that clicking it would open Edge.
In fact, this is Windows Defender doing its job by telling you that you’re about to run a program from a publisher that’s not verified by Microsoft. That’s exactly what Windows 10 ISO Download Tool is, and why this message pops up.
As long as you’re sure you’ve downloaded the right program from the right place, you can tell Windows to run the program. If you click the ‘More info’ link, the Windows Defender warning will change, displaying a ‘Run anyway’ button (see screenshot below). Just click this to launch Windows 10 ISO Download Tool.