> RAID Reasoning > DisplayPort Doubts > Default Options
Laptop Upgrade
Hi Doc, I am using an MSI GT70 2PC notebook that is holding up fine for now. I’ll likely keep it until they start offering 4K OLED screens on 17-inch desktop replacements. Originally, this system came with a 128GB mSATA SSD as the system drive and a 1TB 2.5-inch disk for storage, which I replaced with a 750GB Crucial MX300 to speed things up. The machine has two additional mSATA bays that aren’t being used.
Despite my best efforts, the C: drive has filled up with Windows updates, software installs that don’t let me specify another location, and Windows 10’s inability to relocate the user folder. mSATA drives are becoming scarce and expensive. I’d like to buy a 512GB or 1TB 860 EVO, but I have a hard time sinking that much money into an aging machine. Both drives benchmark about the same. Can I just swap the bootable partition image to the 2.5-inch SSD, or does Windows have to run from one of the mSATA slots? I have a few external disks and a large NAS appliance to accommodate backing up and holding the images.
–Blake Bond
THE DOCTOR RESPONDS: Technically, Windows should run just fine from a 2.5-inch SSD, so long as you jump into the notebook’s BIOS and specify that drive as your first boot device. But because laptops vary from one model to the next, and troubleshooting is often configuration-specific, the Doc conferred with an expert from MSI’s headquarters in Taiwan, who presented three possible scenarios.
The first is useful if you have a recovery disc created with MSI’s BurnRecovery software. Back up all of your important data to one of your external drives. Then, remove the mSATA and SATA devices currently installed, replacing them with the 860 EVO. Use the recovery disc to get Windows loaded on your new SSD. Once it finishes, re-install the old drives into the notebook, taking care to adjust its boot sequence through the BIOS. Make sure the 860 EVO is first in line.
If you haven’t yet created a recovery disc, find the product page for your GT70 2PC, navigate to the “Service” tab, click “Utility,” select “Windows 8.1 64-bit” from the drop-down menu, and download MSI BurnRecovery. Underneath the download link, there are several hyperlinked questions about using the software. The first should walk you through using MSI’s software.
Lastly, the MSI team considered that you might want to install a fresh copy of Windows 10 to replace the GT70 2PC’s bundled version of Windows 8.1, which can no longer be upgraded for free. This would require purchasing a license for Windows 10 and temporarily removing the old drives as you load the OS on your Samsung SSD. The install routine will create a new MBR, after which you’re able to reattach the old SSDs and use them as storage.
Backup Faux Pas
Hey, Doc. At the end of your section in the most recent issue of the magazine, it looked like your answer was chopped. You noted that you use RAID 5 with spare disks to assure your system is backed up. I’m sure you are aware this is not an adequate backup solution, though. It does not protect you against disasters caused by malware, theft, fire, fat-finger deletions, and so on. To protect against any of those, you need a true backup solution with off-
site storage. A cloud-based solution is excellent for this.
My current PC was put into service in 2012. At the time, I had 42 applications to install and configure. It was my second or third computer with mirrored drives in RAID 1, which I consider essential for preserving my years’ worth of configuration. This protects the availability of data—a single disk failure has no material effect on my system’s usability. Losing your boot drive requires the reinstallation of your OS and software. RAID (other than striping) does help prevent this, but it’s not backup.
Now, here’s my issue. I’m running Windows 7, and I’m afraid of destroying my system if I upgrade to Windows 10. I plan to build an entirely new PC for Windows 10 using double the RAM, mirrored M.2-based drives, and an MX500 SSD for data. I should be able to upgrade in less than six months. But would you recommend taking the leap now or waiting a year, hoping for Spectre/Meltdown fixes in hardware?
–Pete Matthews
THE DOCTOR RESPONDS: The Doc took a lot of heat for that answer, Pete. And deservedly so. A dedicated storage repository collecting user data from PCs throughout the house is better than nothing, and it has helped avoid system-specific problems in his house for more than 15 years. Replace a PC? Reinstall an operating system? Stream terabytes of media to any workstation? No problem with a NAS appliance. But a fire could, in fact, wipe all of that out. So would a theft. The storage server is vulnerable to malware as well, as you point out. Although the Doc does run Acronis True Image on his personal workstation, even the incremental backups created by that software all live under one roof.
Addressing the limitations of local backup requires getting data off site, either through an online backup service, such as Carbonite or Backblaze, or a synchronized cloud-based drive, such as Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive. Naturally, the best solution depends on your personal needs. Are you looking for a solution able to automatically upload the latest versions of important files in the background for safekeeping? Or is it more important to have ready online access to those files across all of your devices?
In the end, a more wellthought-out solution might involve many forms of backup: hardware redundancy to safeguard against disk failures, local software for capturing drive images, cloud-based backup for maintaining data across multiple locations, and a synching service to keep certain files easily available. For the record, readers horrified by the Doc’s setup suggested IDrive online backup, Bvckup 2 for simple local backups, and Duplicati, an open-source utility that stores encrypted backups online.
As for delaying a new PC build, it’s worth noting that Intel recently announced plans to ship updated eighth-gen Core CPUs with hardware-based fixes for Variants 2 (Spectre) and 3 (Meltdown) in the second half of 2018. AMD says it is not vulnerable to Variant 3 due to its processor design, but is actively deploying microcode updates for Variant 2 through motherboard partners. Variant 1 (also Spectre) is mitigated by operating system patches.
Connector Confusion
Hi Doc, I have some questions for you. I’m really confused about display connectors, specifically HDMI, DisplayPort, and USB type A/B/C. How about the versions of each (1.2, 1.4, 2.0, and so on)? And what about cable formats? If my TV has DP 1.4 and my graphics card is limited to DP 1.2, am I in trouble?
I want to buy a Wacom graphics tablet that needs a USB Type-C port supporting DisplayPort Alternate Mode, but what does that even mean? My PC doesn’t have USB Type-C; can I buy a PCI card with this functionality built-in?
By the way, I love your magazine. Holding it in paper form is a wonderful sensation. Please don’t give up on the printed version!
– Cesar Rosadio S.
THE DOCTOR RESPONDS: The system requirements for Wacom’s Cintiq Pro specify that you need USB Type-C with DisplayPort Alternate Mode to run at 3840x2160, or miniDisplayPort and USB Type-A for 2560x1440.
Breaking that down, USB Type-C and Type-A are physical connectors. Type-A is what you’re most familiar with—it’s prevalent on mice, keyboards, webcams, thumb drives, and so on. Type-C replaces Type-A (and B) with an easier-to-use reversible connector.
Although USB Type-C is backward-compatible with USB 1.1/2.0 transfer rates, the fact that Wacom specifies Alternate Mode support makes it clear we’re talking about a host with at least USB 3.1 Gen 1. How does the Doc know this? Within that 24-pin Type-C connector, there are four high-speed paths normally used for USB 3.1 data. Support for DisplayPort Alternate Mode means one, two, or all four paths can be utilized for DisplayPort signaling instead. This is what gives the Wacom tablet enough bandwidth for 4K resolution at 60Hz.
If your motherboard doesn’t have this functionality built-in, then yes, you need an add-in card to enable it. Support emails from Wacom suggest that some customers are successfully using the Sunix UPD2018, a single-lane PCIe 3.0 card with USB 3.1 Gen 2 support and a pair of USB Type-C ports. One of those two ports facilitates DisplayPort Alternate Mode capabilities. Sunix bundles a DP-to-DP cable that you connect between its input and your graphics card’s output.
If your graphics card is, in fact, DisplayPort 1.2-compatible, you’re fine. That standard offers up to 17.28Gb/s of bandwidth; 3840x2160 at 60Hz requires 12.54Gb/s.
Disappearing Defaults
Hi Doctor, I’m using Windows 10 Home (64-bit) version 10.0.15063 Build 15063. Every morning when I boot up my computer, Windows changes my default browser to Edge, and I have to manually change it back to Chrome. The same thing happens to the .pdf files on my desktop. The default gets changed to Microsoft Edge, and I have to change it back to Acrobat Adobe Reader in the shortcut properties.
It’s a minor (but still annoying) hassle. So, I’m wondering if there’s a way to tell Windows to stop changing my defaults and allow me to set those preferences permanently.
–Bob Klepner
THE DOCTOR RESPONDS: This is one of those problems apparently shared by many, understood by few, and solved in a number of ways, depending on the root cause. However, on his site http://winhelponline. com, Microsoft MVP Ramesh Srinivasan suggests that the issue is user profile-specific, and mostly seen on systems with Local (rather than Microsoft) accounts.
As such, one proposed solution is simply switching to a Microsoft account. Open settings by pressing the Windows and I keys, then click “Accounts.” Under “Your info,” click “Sign in with a Microsoft account instead.” You’re prompted to either enter existing account credentials or create a new account.
If you’d rather stick with a local account, it’s important to make sure Microsoft account information is scrubbed from the list of “Accounts used by other apps.” Again, in the “Accounts” menu, select “Email & app accounts.” Where you see “Accounts used by other apps,” select your listed Microsoft app, and click “Remove.” Hopefully, one of those solutions will prevent Windows from altering your defaults.