Let your PC start the new year right!

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BEN’S WORKSHOP By Ben Myers Service your Windows PC thoroughly to get a big-time payoff in the coming year. First, ask the question “How healthy is my
[See the full post at: Let your PC start the new year right!]

Total of 23 users thanked author for this post. Here are last 20 listed.

dragonfly888, katiedid, opti1, Deo, HE48AEEXX77WEN4Edbtm, windbg, Cybertooth, Ed Tittel, abbodi86, fisher75, Norio, rc primak, LH, shadonoz, Steve S., Patricia Grace, SueW, Casey S, rizzquery, DLivesInTexas

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From past experience I wouldn’t trust Clear Disk Info app and its reported 4% lifetime.
Have you run CrystalDiskInfo on that SSD .. ?

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rc primak, Fred

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Yes.  Same result (not as easy to interpret), which one can expect from a heavily used laptop with only 8GB of memory and a small SSD.

Past experience?

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rc primak, Fred

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My word, Mr. Myers, talk about a Master Class! This was one!
I’ve seen many of those links before, but having them in One Article to Rule Them All is helpful. This essay is going into OneNote for easy recovery. Thanks!

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dragonfly888

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Thank you!  Just wait.  Next year will be better.  Had a few more thoughts and ideas after my writing went to edit.  Now I have to keep track of those ideas.  But this is sort of a summation of my everyday activity.  Well, not quite.

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rc primak

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Ben Myers wrote:

Given the overwhelming Microsoft emphasis on OneDrive, it is no surprise that there is sparse information (no information?) about File History on the Microsoft websites.

See https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/backup-and-restore-with-file-history-7bf065bf-f1ea-0a78-c1cf-7dcf51cc8bfc (recently updated).

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rc primak, Fred

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Good to know.  Will add to next year’s edition.  Thank you.

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b

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Ben Myers wrote:

Secure Boot, when enabled in the computer’s UEFI, effectively prevents booting from a device other than the system drive. When maintaining or troubleshooting a computer, it is often helpful to be able to boot the system from an external USB device. To do so, Secure Boot needs to be disabled.

This is still not true, no matter how many times you’ve said it over the past six months. Ask anyone!

Various members have related their experiences where disabling secure boot was unnecessary, but you’ve ignored their responses.

If you’re running certain PC graphics cards, hardware, or operating systems such as Linux or previous version of Windows you may need to disable Secure Boot.
…
Before disabling Secure Boot, consider whether it is necessary. From time to time, your manufacturer may update the list of trusted hardware, drivers, and operating systems for your PC.

Disabling Secure Boot

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David A, rc primak

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It depends. When you are a consultant like Mr. Myers and are working on many different models of computers, I’ve personally found myself that I have to be flexible and try all sorts of combinations to get systems to boot.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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rc primak, Ken_T, Cybertooth

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Okay, let’s compromise.  In the worst case, it IS necessary.

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rc primak

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Ben Myers wrote:

Past experience?

Yes. Clear Disk Info app marks as obsolete SSDs that are found to be good by CrystalDiskInfo, Samsung Magician, AS SSD Benchmark..

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rc primak

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Alex5723 wrote:

Yes. Clear Disk Info app marks as obsolete SSDs that are found to be good by CrystalDiskInfo, Samsung Magician, AS SSD Benchmark..

@Alex5723, the allegations you make above are based upon a thread and posts that are now 2½ years old.

In the intervening time, Clear Disk Info has undergone seven version revisions covering many disclosed and undisclosed bugs. The allegations you make about its behavior may have been fixed in that intervening time.

If you have evidence of that behavior recently happening, please post a link to the evidence of the recent behavior from a recent version of the program.

 

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dragonfly888, Ben Myers

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Alex5723 wrote:

Clear Disk Info app marks as obsolete SSDs that are found to be good by CrystalDiskInfo, Samsung Magician, AS SSD Benchmark..

Which could mean that CrystalDiskInfo is correct; perhaps you need to review your reviews for accuracy, a dictionary and translator might help.

Hint:- obsolete does not mean or imply damaged or something that’s about to implode. No longer made, out of warranty/favour/fashion, or older technology would be more fitting.

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rc primak

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How do I get to read Ben’s article? The “Plus newsletter” link for his post on the home page takes me to the following page:

(I’m assuming that there is more to the article than the three short paragraphs shown on the home page.)

 

Keep Running Windows 7 Safely for Years to Come  
Make Windows 10 look and work like Windows 7

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The “Plus Newsletter” is only available for Plus Members. Your avatar doesn’t have the Plus badge on it. I do see your membership is until 2026, so there may be an issue. You can email Susan at customersupport@askwoody.com and ask her to check into your situation.

 

Win10 Pro x64 22H2, Win10 Home 22H2, Linux Mint + a cat with 'tortitude'.

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Cybertooth

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Thanks, I had not noticed that the badge was incorrect. I have contacted Customer Support to have the issue fixed.

Ironically, this year I had increased my contribution to AW.

 

Keep Running Windows 7 Safely for Years to Come  
Make Windows 10 look and work like Windows 7

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Will Fastie, SueW, rc primak

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Try it now?  Sometimes you have to sync things up on the back side and this is one of those times.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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Cybertooth

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Kudos to Ben for another informative and comprehensive article.

I have 3 questions and 1 observation.

1. I have a Toshiba KBG40ZNS256G NVMe SSD. Are the ChkDsk commands chkdsk /f and chkdsk /r intended for NVMe SSDs (i.e., can these “/f” “/r” switches actually find and repair “physical” errors for NVMe SSDs)?
2. The majority of my apps are portable apps I run from a removable USB stick. Can UpdateHub check for available updates for portable apps? NOTE: Both the UCheck and QuickInstaller software updaters I’ve tested have this ability but both have some limitations in the number and/or accuracy of updates found for my portable apps.
3. Has anyone ever experienced an issue after deleting temporary files located in C:\Users\<myusername>\AppData\Local\Temp\?  HDCleaner and ccPortable will clean both C:\Windows\TEMP and C:\Users\<myusername>\AppData\Local\Temp\ if I clean Windows Temp Files, and even though I enable the option to “Only Delete Files in Windows Temp Folders Older Than 24 Hours” these disk cleaners still find ~ 300 to 500 MB of temporary files to clean every week in this hidden AppData folder.  As far as I know cleaning C:\Users\<myusername>\AppData\Local\Temp\ has never caused a problem on my Win 10 machine, but my tests have shown that Windows’ Disk Cleanup tool only cleans C:\Windows\TEMP.

———————

Regarding S.M.A.R.T. monitoring of hard drives, the attached images show that HWiNFO and CrystalDiskInfo both report an 83% Health Status for my 4-year-old NVMe SSD, while Clear Disk Info always reports 100% Life Remaining. I understand that Health Status and Life Remaining have slightly different calculations, but 100% Life Remaining seems odd for a 4-year-old hard drive.

One glitch I’ve noticed in CrystalDiskInfo is that Threshold (ideal) values are always missing for my NVMe SSD. NOTE: The Threshold column shown in my attached CrystalDiskInfo image had to be manually re-sized (expanded) because of this missing data.
———–
Dell Inspiron 15 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.5247 * Firefox v133.0.3 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.24090.11-1.1.24090.11 * Malwarebytes Premium v5.2.4.157-1.0.5116 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7783 * UCheck Free Portable 64-Bit v5.8.2.0 * QuickInstaller (Preview) v0.3.8859.20616 * HDCleaner Portable 64-Bit v2.084 * ccPortable v6.31.11415 * HWiNFO Portable v8.16 * CrystalDiskInfo Portable v9.5.0 * Clear Disk Info Portable 4.3.0

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windbg, rc primak, satrow

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1. As I interpret it, chkdsk /f and chkdsk /r deal with both hard drive physical errors and also corrupted (mangled, messed up) files and folders that are logically inconsistent due to something gone wrong in software.  For an SSD, there are no physical changes.
2. UpdateHub cannot check truly portable apps like ClearDiskInfo.  It relies on registry entries and the Windows folder containing installation info.  Some “portable” apps still get installed, and UpdateHub may be able to update them.  I need to look at alternatives to UpdateHub between now and New Years 2026.  There are a few, and maybe they all deserve their own article together, but doing an accurate comparison starting from the same baseline of apps could be time-consuming.

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windbg, lmacri, rc primak

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Ben Myers wrote:

As I interpret it, chkdsk /f and chkdsk /r deal with both hard drive physical errors and also corrupted (mangled, messed up) files and folders that are logically inconsistent due to something gone wrong in software.

From https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/chkdsk?tabs=event-viewer

“/f Fixes errors on the disk. The disk must be locked. If chkdsk cannot lock the drive, a message appears that asks you if you want to check the drive the next time you restart the computer.

/r Locates bad sectors and recovers readable information. The disk must be locked. /r includes the functionality of /f, with the additional analysis of physical disk errors.”

I’ve always used chkdsk /r.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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windbg, satrow, David A, Alex5723

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A couple of more responses.

I routinely delete everything from %temp% and C:\Windows\Temp, manually.  Well not everything.  If a file or folder is in use, I skip over it.  I cannot recall an issue doing so.  CCleaner does more or less the same thing.

ClearDiskInfo, CrystalDiskInfo and any other software that examines SMART data have a severe challenge to overcome, because SMART data for SSDs has never been standardized, as it was for hard disks.  So these programs may depend on some sort of reverse engineering to figure out what the SMART data means for different brands and even different models of the same brand name.  It is no surprise that they report different results, or, rather, different interpretations of the same results.

 

 

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lmacri, David A, Alex5723, rc primak, satrow

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I find that these tools work best on name-brand SSDs. The issues I’ve seen with incomplete data or data in  formats not human-readable have come mostly from off-brand or no-name SSDs, often OEM components of PCs like my Intel NUCs. These tools also won ‘t work properly on SSDs in external enclosures.

-- rc primak

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Ben Myers wrote:

I routinely delete everything from %temp% and C:\Windows\Temp, manually. Well not everything. If a file or folder is in use, I skip over it. I cannot recall an issue doing so. CCleaner does more or less the same thing.

Hi Ben:

Thanks for the clarification.

For some reason I assumed %temp% pointed to C:\Windows\Temp. I re-read your article and I confirmed that entering %temp% in the address bar of File Explorer actually opens C:\Users\<myusername>\AppData\Local\Temp\, so I feel more comfortable now about letting apps like HDCleaner and ccPortable clean the huge number of temp files that accumulate in that AppData folder every week when I enable the option to clean System Temporary Files.
———–
Dell Inspiron 15 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.5247 * Firefox v133.0.3 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.24090.11-1.1.24090.11 * Malwarebytes Premium v5.2.4.157-1.0.5116 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7783 * HDCleaner Portable 64-Bit v2.084 * ccPortable v6.31.11415

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Ben Myers wrote:

I routinely delete everything from %temp% and C:\Windows\Temp, manually. Well not everything. If a file or folder is in use, I skip over it. I cannot recall an issue doing so. CCleaner does more or less the same thing.

I use Revo Uninstaller Pro > Tools > Junk Files Cleaner to take care of tmp files about once a week.  It gets C:\Windows\Temp and \Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Temp\.  It ignores “in use” files.  I also run extended Disk Cleanup daily via Task Scheduler.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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lmacri wrote:

Has anyone ever experienced an issue after deleting temporary files located in C:\Users\\AppData\Local\Temp\? HDCleaner and ccPortable will clean both C:\Windows\TEMP and C:

I am using ccPortable from PortableApps.com not CCleaner. I recently updated it to v6.31.11415 from v6.28.11297. In the older version I had unchecked “Only Delete Files in Windows Temp Folders Older Than 24 Hours” with the hope it would clean out the C:\Users\<ID>\AppData\Local\Temp folder, but it did not. I had to remove all the junk myself manually. It removed nothing.

I left the settings as is when I upgraded to 6.31 and got a surprise. It DID remove the contents of the Local\Temp folder! All of them. I went back this morning and checked the box to leave the contents for 24 hours, ran it, and today’s files were still there. So it seems the newer version is now complying with the settings – deleting the files older than 24 hours, leaving the newer ones.

I haven’t had any repercussions from totally cleaning out the Local\Temp folder, but decided (since it’s apparently working correctly now) to leave the contents for 24 hours.

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opti1, Sueska, Alex5723, satrow, rc primak

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PKCano wrote:

I am using ccPortable from PortableApps.com not CCleaner … I left the settings as is when I upgraded to 6.31 and got a surprise. It DID remove the contents of the Local\Temp folder!

Hi PKCano:

See my 26-Dec-2024 bug report at ccPortable v6.28 Windows Temp File Cleaning in the PortableApps.com forum about ccPortable v6.28 failing to clean C:\Users\<myusername>\AppData\Local\Temp\ as expected.  John T. Haller’s 30-Dec-2024 reply <here> in that topic confirmed that bug was fixed in ccPortable v6.31.
———–
Dell Inspiron 15 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.5247 * Firefox v133.0.3 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.24090.11-1.1.24090.11 * Malwarebytes Premium v5.2.4.157-1.0.5116 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7783 * HDCleaner Portable 64-Bit v2.084 * ccPortable v6.31.11415

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Sueska, Alex5723, PKCano

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Thanks for the discussion and the links.

One suggestion: set all of the links in the article to open in a new tab.

Thanks.

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I, also, very much appreciate the year-end review and suggestions!

The article itself, while long, was easy to follow. I took the liberty of passing it along to all my computer-literate family members. One of them immediately produced a rather nice AI bullet-point action summary. I won’t bother providing that since everyone now has that capability.

Thanks.

 

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rc primak, Ben Myers

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lmacri wrote:

Are the ChkDsk commands chkdsk /f and chkdsk /r intended for NVMe SSDs (i.e., can these “/f” “/r” switches actually find and repair “physical” errors for NVMe SSDs)?

Chkdsk /r does not actually repair anything on modern hard disks (SSD or HD), the disk does the work reading and correcting what it can and reports anything it can’t fix to Windows.
This is where SMART is useful because it records the internal health status (the data the disk itself maintains).

If your disk is reporting errors to Windows then it has significant internal errors and should be replaced ASAP.

cheers, Paul

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lmacri, rc primak

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At one point in the not too distant past, I seem to recall reading that the use of chkdsk /r actually was harmful to the longer term use of an SSD.

Is that still true for today’s SSDs?

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It will write to all sectors, but SSDs don’t care about an extra couple of writes. It’s lots of writes to one place that reduces life and that doesn’t happen here.

cheers, Paul

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rc primak

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The “New Year” check up is great except one thing. Why are you so anti-AMD? No program to check AMD CPU’s????

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I would like to find a utility for AMD CPUs that is comparable to the Intel one.  Can you point me to one?  Thank you.

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David A

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I also sent an email to AMD’s corporate press people, introducing myself and asking if AMD has a CPU test program available for public consumption.  We’ll see what sort of response I get.

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rc primak, Fred

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[Fred]

Ehhh, how much time do you have?

(ps: thanks for your tremendous input)

* _ ... _ *

• This reply was modified 2 months ago by Fred.

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Does this work as a CPU diagnostic for AMD CPUs?  Seems to.  See screen shot.

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Ben Myers wrote:

I would like to find a utility for AMD CPUs that is comparable to the Intel one.

From AMD forum :

Here’s my testing routine for AMD CPUs:

Check basic info and speeds with CPU-Z

Run Cinebench R23 for a quick performance test

Use AIDA64 for a more comprehensive stability test (1-2 hours)

Monitor temperatures with Ryzen Master throughout testing

If overclocking, repeat tests after each adjustment

Remember, stability is just as important as raw performance!

corecycler

“A PowerShell script to test the stability for single core loads.

Modern CPUs can adjust their CPU frequency depending on their load, and have mechanism that allow them to clock higher
when only one or two cores are loaded (“boost” clock).

With this script you can test the stability for each core, which helps you to validate if your Ryzen “PBO” resp.

“Curve Optimizer” settings are actually stable. It also works to test Intel’s “Active-Core” Turbo-Boost settings.
“

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rc primak

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I’ve thought about your considered response for a while now, much appreciated.  Here is what I have to say.

In the context of assuring that a computer is working 100% A-OK, my motivations for testing CPUs are twofold.  I simply need to have assurance that a CPU is 100% functional.  I do not want to or need to test a CPU for hours and hours.  Intel’s test runs about 5 minutes, about right.

Others may care about performance, but performance is not the goal of making sure a computer is working well UNLESS there is an obvious performance anomaly.  CINEBENCH is a very good test of overall computer performance, not just graphics.

If, as part of setting up a computer for someone, I am asked to assess performance, I will do so, to make sure the performance meets buyer expectations.

I still prefer an AMD-supplied CPU test available to the general public, but so far my request through AMD’s media people has been crickets.  AIDA64 is worth a look as a surrogate for an actual AMD utility.  Maybe Intel’s CPU test is, too, but I need to make the time to find out.

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TechTango

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See my recent post with screen shot, using Intel CPU diagnostic to test AMD Ryzen.

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Ben wrote, “Open File Manager and type %temp% into the address bar.” Is File Manager the same as Windows Explorer? Some say it is, and some say it isn’t. Don’t confuse us. Some of us are confused enough already.

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katiedid

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File Manager = Windows Explorer.

cheers, Paul

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I thought as much, but I thought, ‘He should have said “Windows Explorer.”‘

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But it’s been File Explorer for more than 12 years:

Microsoft has renamed its Windows Explorer to File Explorer in Windows 8. [Jun 29, 2012]

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But Ben said, “File MANAGER,” not “File Explorer.” File Manager is the older program. That’s why I was confused.

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My error!  When my mouse pointer hovers over the icon on my task bar, the name “File Explorer” pops up.  Sorry about that.

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Dear Ben: a truly mammoth and useful undertaking. Thanks for reminding me about several utilities I should use more often esp Nir Sofer’s BatteryInfoView, Webcam Test, and so forth. I’d also recommend mentioning WinGet for app and application updates, and using DISM /cleanup-image to check (and if needed, clean up) unused or orphaned WinSxS packages. Again: thanks for your heroic efforts and hard work.

-Ed-

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windbg, Andy M, Cybertooth

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Ed, Your comments are much appreciated.  I intend to look again at the numerous program updaters and change next year’s article as appropriate.  The difficult part is and apples and apples comparison against the same set of programs in a computer, in a non-updated state.

Nir Sofer has a treasure trove of useful little programs, filling in the gaps left by Microsoft.

One could use command line or Powershell to find out the condition of a battery, but why do the extra work to see a result that needs some interpretation.  BatteryInfoView, and there it all is after a couple of clicks.

.. Ben

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Cybertooth wrote:

Ironically, this year I had increased my contribution to AW.

Thank you!

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Thank you for the excellent article on servicing a Windows PC. For us novice PC users, it is great to have all this information in 1 article. I am going to try to follow your article step-by-step to test my computer: Dell XPS 8900: Windows 10 Home, version 22H2, Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-6700 CPU @ 3.40GHz 3.41 GHz. However, I have a two questions for you and would appreciate your assistance.

I don’t know when or where, but previously I was told not to install optional updates unless I was having issues with my computer, since installed driver updates can sometime do more harm than good (I don’t know if this is true or myth). Over time, I have received various updates from Intel and Nvidia which I have hidden without downloading or installing. However, I am starting to have minor issues with my monitors (very occasional flickering), so I have questions about these hidden updates.

QUESTION #1:
When I go to Control Panel/Device Manager/Display Adapters/Nvidia GeForce Gt 730/Properties I receive:
Device Status: This device is working properly
Driver Date: 12/24/2019
Driver Version: 26.21.14.4187
Events: 9/10/2022 12:26:37 pm Device install requested
9/10/2022 12:56:50 pm Device install requested
9/10/2022 1:00:31 pm Device migrated
Information: Device PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_1287&SUBSYS_10831028&REV_A1\ 4&34f8990a&0&0008 requires further installation.

I have no idea what this information means; however, it looks to me that the driver was not fully installed.

When I check with Dell support at Intel HD Graphics Driver | Driver Details | Dell India, it shows the latest recommended version information:
Release date: 08/07/2020
Driver version: 26.20.100.8142, a10

The driver that the Dell website recommends has a newer release date, but is an older version than the version installed on my computer 26.21.14.4187. Therefore, it seems that I already have the latest version on my computer.

This above information is gibberish to me, so could you clarify what all this information means and what actions, if any, I should take based on this information concerning my display adapter? My main concern is that since I do not know what this information is, and my system is working fine except for occasional flickering in the screens, what should my actions be? Simply put, I do not want to create more problems by making changes of which I have little working knowledge.

 

QUESTION #2:
When I go to Control Panel/Device Manager/Processors/ the same processor is listed 8 times Intel Core i7-6700 cpu @ 3.40 GHz:
Device Status: This device is working properly
Driver Date: 04/21/2009
Driver Version: 10.0.19041.4355
Events: 9/10/2022 12:56:36 PM
9/10/2022 12:56:36 PM
9/10/2022 12:56:40 PM
Information: Device ACPI\GenuineIntel_-_Intel64_Family_6_Model_94_-_ Intel(R)_Core(TM)_i7-6700_CPU_@_3.40GHz\_8 was started.
Driver Name: cpu.inf
Class Guid: {50127dc3-0f36-415e-a6cc-4cb3be910b65}
Service: intelppm
Lower Filters:
Upper Filters:

After running Window Update in the past, I have hidden the following Intel updates:
Intel – System 3/14/2016 12:00:00 AM – 1.2.0.0
Intel – other hardware – Intel Xeon E3 – 1200/1500 v5/6th Gen Intel Core Plce Controller (x16) 1901
Intel – System 1/1/1970 12:00:00 AM – 10.1.1.42
Intel – System 10/3/2016 12:00:00 AM – 10.1.1.38
Intel – System 2031.15.0.1743
Dell Inc. – Firmware – 0.2.9.1

Once again, this information is gibberish to me, so could you clarify what all this information means and what actions, if any, I should take based on this information? Simply put again, I do not want to create more problems my make changes that I have little working knowledge of.

Thank you for any assistance you can provide.

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I suggest going to the Nvidia website to download and install the drivers for the Nvidia GeForce GT 730 video card.

Device Manager shows one “CPU” for every thread.  The i7-6700 has four cores and eight threads.

I am not 100% certain about the roles of all the drivers that are now hidden, but it’s better to install these drivers from the Dell web site than to rely on Windows Update. Dell also provides its somewhat automated procedure to update drivers for its models of computers.

Updating the Dell firmware, usually the BIOS, is not absolutely necessary, but, if the Dell website calls the update urgent, do it.  The Dell website lets you search for the drivers and BIOS/firmware updates by model, using either the actual model or the service tag to find the drivers available.

Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) is an open standard that operating systems can use to discover and configure computer hardware components, to perform power management (e.g. putting unused hardware components to sleep), auto configuration (e.g. Plug and Play and hot swapping), and status monitoring. – Wikipedia

There is something that is poorly understood about drivers, with the misunderstanding created by the brand name computer manufacturers.  Whether the manufacturer is Dell, HP, Lenovo or any other brand name, the drivers used for a particular device or chip are the same ones, because the chips are identical.  Same with motherboards from Asus, Gigabyte, MSI and others.  All these companies do is put their own wrapper around the driver installation software to make it look like their own.

In the cases of Intel, AMD, Nvidia and others (e.g. audio, SD card reader, webcam, mouse), the drivers on their web sites are more up to date than what Microsoft provides and often with additional features.

To put it differently, Microsoft’s Windows update provides the bare bones of drivers. As an example, yesterday a client called me about his all-in-one printer-scanner-copier, saying that all he could do was print, not scan.  I found the link to download the  complete driver package for the printer, sent him the link.  He ran the installer and now he can scan documents.

 

1 user thanked author for this post.

Cybertooth

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Ben Myers wrote:

There is something that is poorly understood about drivers, with the misunderstanding created by the brand name computer manufacturers. Whether the manufacturer is Dell, HP, Lenovo or any other brand name, the drivers used for a particular device or chip are the same ones, because the chips are identical. Same with motherboards from Asus, Gigabyte, MSI and others. All these companies do is put their own wrapper around the driver installation software to make it look like their own.

Hi Ben:

Do these custom wrappers from Dell, HP, etc. also change the “original” version number of the driver supplied by hardware manufacturers like Intel, NVIDIA, AMD, etc.?

There are multiple reports in the Dell forum from users who experienced a variety of issues after installing a newer “generic” graphics driver from the manufacturer (e.g., Intel, NVIDIA,, AMD, etc.) that was not certified for their Dell BIOS. For example, see fabioluzo’s 01-May-2024 Vostro 3520 Keeps Crashing, who had their dump files analyzed with WinDbg <here> on the BleepingComputer site and solved their BSODs by rolling back to the custom Intel and NVIDIA graphics drivers recommended on the Dell support page for their Vostro 3520 as advised by BleepingComputer.

The support page for my Dell Inspiron 5584 at https://www.dell.com/support/product-details/en-ca/product/inspiron-15-5584-laptop/drivers currently recommends driver v27.20.100.9664 for my Intel UHD Graphics 620 GPU, but that specific driver version was never offered on the Intel UHD Graphics 620 at support page https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/products/126789/graphics/processor-graphics/intel-uhd-graphics-family/intel-uhd-graphics-620.html#drivers-software for my 8th gen processor graphics.
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Dell Inspiron 15 5584 * Intel i5-8265U CPU * Intel UHD Graphics 620 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.5371 * Firefox v134.0.1 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.24090.11-1.1.24090.11 * Malwarebytes Premium v5.2.4.157-1.0.5116 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7783

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I have not found changes to the driver version numbers in the wrappered drivers supplied by the name brand companies.  There is little motivation to change them, as the approach is to simply take what the chip manufacturers provide and add the wrappers.  Anything else becomes more work and more responsibility.

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I can’t use UPDATEHUB, it’s too unstable. It locks up, flags to update software already updated, and it finally just stopped working. I’m not reinstalling it again. I’m using UCheck which works but would like something better.

win 10 dual monitors

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I am not crazy about UpdateHub either.  Between now and the next new year, there will be time to investigate alternatives and maybe select another one.  When used very selectively (i.e. don’t try to update Microsoft libraries or update software whose release number has increased by .001), it is easier than checking the same programs one at a time.  I also get the sense that UpdateHub is a work in progress.

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HE48AEEXX77WEN4Edbtm wrote:

but previously I was told not to install optional updates unless I was having issues with my computer

This is “driver updates”. Driver updates may fix some things, but we know from experience that they break things too. In relation to your monitor flicker, the driver has been fine, presumably for several years, so there is no reason to suspect the driver has suddenly failed.

I would check the cable connecting the monitor, remove and re-connect.

HE48AEEXX77WEN4Edbtm wrote:

When I go to Control Panel the same processor is listed 8 times

Does the CPU have 8 cores?

cheers, Paul

1 user thanked author for this post.

HE48AEEXX77WEN4Edbtm

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My rule of thumb for hardware driver updates is not to use the ones provided by Microsoft, instead installing drivers from either the chip manufacturer’s website (e.g. Nvidia, AMD) or the website of the computer manufacturer.  More often, they are more up-to-date.  Video drivers offer more options, some of which may be very useful.

1 user thanked author for this post.

Alex5723

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hhhenry1 wrote:

I’m using UCheck which works but would like something better.

What needs improving? If it performs the check is there anything else for it to do?

cheers, Paul

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HE48AEEXX77WEN4Edbtm wrote:

QUESTION #2: When I go to Control Panel/Device Manager/Processors/ the same processor is listed 8 times Intel Core i7-6700 cpu @ 3.40 GHz:

The Intel Core i7-6700 @ 3.40 GHz has 4 cores but supports Hyper-Threading, which allows it to handle 8 threads simultaneously.

Desktop Asus TUF X299 Mark 1, CPU: Intel Core i7-7820X Skylake-X 8-Core 3.6 GHz, RAM: 32GB, GPU: Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti 4GB. Display: Four 27" 1080p screens 2 over 2 quad.

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HE48AEEXX77WEN4Edbtm

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Ben Myers wrote:

so there is not much else to do except to verify that TRIM is already enabled. To do so, open a command window as administrator and enter the curious command fsutil behavior query DisableDeleteNotify. Windows responds with DisableDeleteNotify = 0 to tell you that TRIM support is enabled on your SSD

This tests whether Windows has TRIM enabled, not whether it works.
See this post (step 3 of the TRIM check) for a real test.

cheers, Paul

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Just to clarify, is it the general Ask Woody consensus to update the Microsoft Store and all apps in Store/there that apply to a PC regularly (monthly)? Confused, as there has been discussion over the recent years to not do so vs do so.

As well, if recommended, do people update Microsoft Store & all apps in each local account individually? ie local Admin, local user etc? (In past, when I update via Admin, User is not always updated, needs it’s own ‘check for updates’)

Win 10 Pro,  M/soft store auto update set to “off”, winshowhide. Thank you!

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Deo wrote:

Just to clarify, is it the general Ask Woody consensus to update the Microsoft Store and all apps in Store/there that apply to a PC regularly (monthly)? Confused, as there has been discussion over the recent years to not do so vs do so. As well, if recommended, do people update Microsoft Store & all apps in each local account individually?

Hi Deo:

AFAIK, the MS-DEFCON system used in this AskWoody forum that lets you know when it’s safe to install patches only applies to Microsoft Updates normally delivered by Windows Update, not the Microsoft Store. Unlike Alex5723, I have multiple Microsoft Store apps installed on my Win 10 computer and just let the Microsoft Store app automatically download and install app updates in the background (the default setting). How you choose to manage your Microsoft Store apps is entirely a personal preference.

Each user that logs into the same Windows machine can have their own customized library of Microsoft Store / UWP apps, similar to the way that each user can customize their desktop. There are also different types of Microsoft Store apps (e.g., like the “built-in” provisioned Microsoft apps like Calculator, Camera, Paint, etc. that are added when a new user account is created versus an app downloaded from the Microsoft Store that will only be installed for the logged-in user). I don’t pay close attention to the background updating of my Microsoft Store apps since I almost always log in to Windows with the same user account every day (my “extra” user accounts are mainly used for testing, and I have a backup Administrator account I could use in an emergency if my “regular” Administrator account was ever corrupted), but if your Microsoft Store app performs an update while you are logged in as “User A” I believe this might not update all Microsoft Store apps for “User B”.
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Dell Inspiron 15 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.5247 * Firefox v134.0.1 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.24090.11-1.1.24090.11 * Malwarebytes Premium v5.2.4.157-1.0.5116 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7783

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Deo

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Thank you for astute info. Once online, I shall post back, yet I surmise you are correct in updating needs to be done ‘per user’. It has in past for me, been time consuming. I wonder what happens if you rarely login ie to local Admin acct, therefore not ‘up to date’…would it impact security of overall system? hmm

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Deo wrote:

It has in past for me, been time consuming. I wonder what happens if you rarely login ie to local Admin acct, therefore not ‘up to date’…would it impact security of overall system?

Hi Deo:

I’m not a security expert so others users might want to jump in here, but if you are not signing in to your alternate accounts on a frequent basis then, generally speaking, I don’t believe having outdated Microsoft Store apps that are unique to those accounts would pose a significant security threat. The next time you sign in to one of those alternate accounts just launch your Microsoft Store app and run a manual check for updates.

If you tend to download third-party apps and games from the MS Store the greater risk to security is that you inadvertently install a malicious app on your computer (see the Feb 2022 BleepingComputer article Malware infiltrates Microsoft Store via clones of popular games for one example).   Another risk is using an old legacy app that does not have the security features built in to modern Win 10 and Win 11 apps packaged in the MSIX format.
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As a test I logged in with my “regular” Microsoft account that I use on a daily basis that has automatic background updating of MS Store apps enabled. I launched the MS Store app, clicked the Downloads button on the menu bar, and ran a manual check for updates. This updated two apps (Mail & Calendar and Copilot) that still had updates pending in the download queue.

I restarted my computer, logged in to a “test” account [a local account with Standard (non-Administrator) permissions] that I haven’t used for more than a year that also has automatic background updating of MS Store apps enabled. I launched my MS Store app and ran a manual check for updates, and it updated a grand total of one app (Web Search from Microsoft Bing) that is unique to that “test” account.
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Dell Inspiron 15 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.5247 * Firefox v134.0.1 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.24090.11-1.1.24090.11 * Malwarebytes Premium v5.2.4.157-1.0.5116 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7783

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Deo wrote:

is it the general Ask Woody consensus to update the Microsoft Store and all apps in Store/there that apply to a PC regularly (monthly)?

I have uninstalled all (except Microsoft Store) apps and set Microsoft Store to not install.

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Can’t find PKCano’s “uninstall m/soft apps” post, not sure if it still works ie all users vs users issues back then. And is time consuming, haven’t had opp as I’m sure it has to be done per user and commands have changed?

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https://www.askwoody.com/forums/topic/removing-built-in-apps-from-win10-2004-20h2-21h1/

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PKCano wrote:

Can’t find PKCano’s “uninstall m/soft apps” post

Hi Deo:

Along with PKCano’s Removing built-in Apps from Win10 2004/20H2/21H1, you might also find some helpful information in Brink’s TenForums tutorial How to Uninstall Desktop Apps and Windows Apps in Windows 10.

I’d also suggest you read my April 2023 topic Can’t Remove Remnants of Some Old UWP (Microsoft Store) Apps. In particular, see geekdom’s instructions in post # 2554921 of that topic for uninstalling Microsoft Store apps using the Dism++ Portable v10.1.1002.1 utility as well as my feedback in post # 2555198 about how I used PowerShell commands and Dism++ to clean up the last remnants of some hard-to-remove Microsoft Store apps.
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Dell Inspiron 15 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.5247 * Firefox v134.0.1 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.24090.11-1.1.24090.11 * Malwarebytes Premium v5.2.4.157-1.0.5116 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7783

1 user thanked author for this post.

Ben Myers

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Brink’s TenForums tutorial is very thorough.

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TenForums is where I got the commands to start with, then I added my experience ii doing the removal in the thread I linked above. That’s noted in the Topic.

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How do I know which Memory test is safe to download and install?  There are so many when I click on your link.

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Which link, from whom?
The MemTest86+ link in the article takes you to one place.

cheers, Paul

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