We fix your tech problems
The APC team tackle problems across the spectrum of devices and software we use. Learn a new trick or fix you can use.
HARDWARE
LAPTOP FAN TOO LOUD
Yesterday, I left my laptop running while on charge while I went for dinner. When I came back around 90 minutes later its fan was running extremely fast and loud, while the bottom of the laptop was very hot. I shut down my PC, and today it’s working fine. Is it due to overcharging? Fros Vonex
The fan will run hard and the laptop feel hot whenever it’s running under load – in other words, some intensive process in running in the background. Should the problem reappear, open Task Manager and use the Processes tab to review the CPU and Memory scores – if either is over 50% then click the column header to see which app or process is responsible for the problem. Closing this should reduce the load on your CPU, reducing its temperature and allowing the fans to slow down. If the problem is more persistent, check the vents for dust and other obstructions to ensure the fan is running freely. Also consider investing in a laptop cooler like the Targus Cooling Pad – this provides supplementary cooling, plus lifts the laptop up to improve air flow. Nick Odantzis
OUTLOOK CORRUPTED DATABASE
I suspect my Outlook database has been corrupted. Emails addressed to one person appear – in the Sent folder – to have been sent to someone else. I’ve checked, and they’re going to the correct people. Any pointers? Dev Hope
The Outlook Contacts folder isn’t the only place you’ll find email addresses – when you type people’s names into the To field of an email, they’re recorded in a separate autocomplete list that is designed to help speed up the entry of email addresses going forward. In the past, this information was stored in a file with a .n2k extension, which had to be deleted manually, but is now split across this and another hidden system file. Thankfully, in Outlook 2010 or later, you can clear this list and fix the problem by navigating to ‘File > Options > Mail’ and click the ‘Empty Auto-Complete List’ button to purge the list and correct the problem. Should you ever wish to simply view or edit this list, use N2KEdit (www.nirsoft.net/utils/outlook_nk2_ edit.html) – despite the name, it’s able to work with the auto-complete list from later Outlook versions too. Ian Sleightholm
SECURITY PASSWORD-FREE LOGIN
We keep iMacs in a secure area which we want to give free access to without using a password. How can we do this in Mojave? Jim Utterback
Normally, configuring a Mac to start up into a user account without using a password is a seriously bad idea. Apart from a complete lack of security, it also means that every user of that Mac would have access to the same account, none could do anything in privacy, and key features like iCloud wouldn’t be possible. It’s often simpler to set each Mac up with a simple password which users can type in from a note placed on that Mac.
However, if physical access to the Macs is strictly controlled and users are in full agreement, it should be possible, at least on a Mac without a T2 chip, like the 2019 iMac.
Ensure that the startup disk doesn’t use FileVault encryption, and that the account to be used doesn’t use iCloud to log in or for its keychain. Open the Users & Groups pane, and select Login Options for the user account. Click on the padlock and authenticate, then enable the Automatic login item in the pop-up at the top, ensuring that no password is set for that user.
You’ll also need to open System Prefs > Security & Privacy, and in the General tab ensure that none of its upper checkboxes are ticked, as they would prompt for a password to wake that Mac up or clear its screen saver. If the firmware in these new iMacs still doesn’t oblige, you’ll have to revert to using a short and simple password instead.
Howard Oakley
APPLICATIONS APPS DON’T LAUNCH
I have recently had problems with certain apps not working correctly on my laptop. First, Adobe Reader stopped opening – it would appear to start, but then after the spinning icon appeared nothing happened. I tried uninstalling and reinstalling, but no luck. I’ve switched to Wondershare PDF Element, which does work without problems. Now Garmin Express refuses to open too, again after removing and reinstalling. I checked with Avast Cleanup Premium to see if there may be issues – it flagged up 43 broken shortcuts, which I allowed it to fix, but the problem persists. Allan Burdis
The blame almost certainly lies with Avast Cleanup Premium. I never recommend cleanup tools, because sooner or later they end up introducing problems precisely like those you’ve encountered. Their
value is questionable – they rarely speed things up, and tools like Windows’ own Storage Sense do a perfectly good job of keeping the clutter off your system.
In this case, we suspect the problem is linked to Avast Cleanup’s ‘Background & startup programs’ component. Navigate here via the ‘Speed up’ icon, then scroll down and click the green ‘# programs sleeping’ link to expand the section. If we’re correct, you’ll find both Adobe Reader and Garmin Express are listed here – clicking Wake next to each one should restore them to life. Nick Peers
HARDWARE UNSTABLE UPGRADE
I recently upgraded my graphics card to allow me to use a new 4K monitor, but now the PC keeps rebooting every few minutes after fitting it. If I revert to the old card, everything’s fine. What’s going on?
Paul French
Paul confessed that he’d simply swapped out his old AMD card for a newer Nvidia card without first uninstalling the older card. On closer inspection, the crash revealed the error was being traced to the ‘Catalyst Control Centre’, which is the AMD graphics driver software. On uninstalling this from his PC, the problem ceased and he was able to enjoy the full resolution of his new display. It’s important to uninstall your old hardware completely: uninstall it in Windows, then shut down your computer. Swap old the old component for new, then restart your PC – Windows should detect the new card and install the latest Microsoft-certified driver. Once done, you can then download the latest manufacturer driver if you wish to take full advantage of it. Alex Cox
MEDIA
FREE BLU-RAY PLAYER
I’m looking for a way – preferably free – that allows me to watch Blu-rays on my
Windows 10 PC with all the menus. VLC Media Player does a decent enough job, but its lack of menus makes it difficult to navigate. Gemma Soubry
Try LEAWO Blu-ray Player (www.leawo. org/blu-ray-player), which despite the nag about being unregistered, is completely free to use for watching Blu-rays. You gain access to the menus, and it also promises region-free playback for both Blu-rays and DVDs. It can also be used to play a wide range of video and audio files too. The Premium version (US$23 per year) adds the ability to convert your Blu-rays and DVDs to MKV files, but this functionality can also be found elsewhere for free (try MakeMKV – www.makemkv.com).
TABLET
MISSING KEY DRIVERS
I have a Linx 1010 tablet and was only able to upgrade to the latest version (1909) of Windows by installing it from scratch. The install went fine, but now I find key functionality – the touchscreen, audio and so on – is missing. I’ve tried searching Windows Update, using DriverBooster, but no luck. Given it’s an Intel chip, I’m hoping the drivers exist somewhere on the Intel website but have no idea what I should be looking for. Please help!
Linx no longer supports the 1010-series of tablets, but thankfully the user base has tracked down the key drivers you need to get this functionality back again. You need to download a single driver from Intel: the System-on-aChip (SOC) Driver Package for STCK1A32WFC, which you can download directly from https:// downloadcenter.intel.com/ download/25311 – save the SOC_BYT_ Win10_32.zip package (less than 1MB in size, believe it or not) to your PC, extract the contents and then run the setup file. Once complete, you’ll find all the missing functionality is back in place – if you then run a scan with DriverBooster again, you’ll find it will detect driver updates for all those core components, which you can download and install if you wish. Ian Sleightholm
WINDOWS LOGIN-FREE WINDOWS
I recently reinstalled Windows using the excellent guide in your magazine, and it went very well. On setting up I was asked to create a PIN number, which I did, recalling that in previous setups I’ve been able to remove this later. However, this time, after removing the PIN I find I need a password to log into the machine. Is there any way I can circumvent this? Martin Gulliver
Press Win-R and type ‘control userpasswords2’ and press Enter. Verify your username is selected from the list (assuming it’s not the only one there) and then untick the ‘Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer’. Click Apply, enter your Windows password twice when prompted, and click OK.
Reboot and you’ll no longer need to log into Windows.
Note, you’ll still be prompted for it at certain points, such as when waking Windows from sleep (disable this by choosing Never under ‘Require sign-in’ via ‘Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options’)
Alex Cox
SECURITY HAS MY PASSWORD BEEN COMPROMISED?
I’ve switched to using random passwords in conjunction with the Bitwarden password manager. How can I tell if my master password is a safe one? Julie Bracken
This step-by-step guide reveals how to first enable two-factor authentication (2FA) on Bitwarden for additional protection against breaches, then shows where to go to find out if your password has been compromised.
Log into https://vault.bitwarden. com and navigate to ‘Settings >
Two-Step Login’. Click Manage next to ‘Authenticator App’ or ‘Email’ to configure a secondary challenge when logging into your accounts for greater protection.
To check if a password is compromised, go to https:// haveibeenpwned.com/passwords
– check the lock in the Address bar to verify it’s not been hacked, then enter your password and click the “pwned?” button to check.
If your password has been compromised, you’ll need to log back into the Bitwarden vault and this time navigate to ‘Settings > Account’. Tick ‘Also rotate my account’s encryption key’ (make a note of the warning) for maximum security.
It’s also worth visiting https:// haveibeenpwned.com as well as other reputable sites like https:// monitor.firefox.com to enter your email address to see if that’s been involved in any potential hacking or data breaches. Nick Peers