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I thought about that on/off behavior control-but can’t see how that could be corrupted to keep the machine from booting without requiring that the BIOS be replaced rather than simply reset. Probably a failure of my imagination though-it’s certainly the most likely place for symptoms like these to originate.

BTW, I do include the advice about replacing surge protectors after they take a good hit but it’s an ‘if you realize it’ bit of advice. The problem is that if the protector works properly then it blocks the very symptoms that would tell the user that it’s taking a hit. There’s gotta be a better way! (And IMO a UPS is it.)

I thought about that on/off behavior control-but can’t see how that could be corrupted to keep the machine from booting without requiring that the BIOS be replaced rather than simply reset. Probably a failure of my imagination though-it’s certainly the most likely place for symptoms like these to originate.

BTW, I do include the advice about replacing surge protectors after they take a good hit but it’s an ‘if you realize it’ bit of advice. The problem is that if the protector works properly then it blocks the very symptoms that would tell the user that it’s taking a hit. There’s gotta be a better way! (And IMO a UPS is it.)

Along with there being no excuse for leaving the spyware behind when removing the product, there’s also no excuse IMO for not disclosing up front that the product will install the spyware. Some products do but most that I’ve seen hide their ‘disclosure’ in the bowels of the EULA. If they disclose it at all.

Along with there being no excuse for leaving the spyware behind when removing the product, there’s also no excuse IMO for not disclosing up front that the product will install the spyware. Some products do but most that I’ve seen hide their ‘disclosure’ in the bowels of the EULA. If they disclose it at all.

Phil-I’m curious about your need to ‘reset’ the CMOS. I’ve had many PS’s die on me & while I’ve sometimes lost the CMOS settings when they did so that never left the PC dead (after replacing the PS). Not working right, yes, but never not working at all. Do you know what setting in the CMOS did this?

Bill-Overall I agree with you about surge protectors. I think surge protectors work fine-when they’re new. For those customers who refuse to get a UPS I always advise them to replace their surge protectors annually, just like they do (or should) their smoke detector batteries. I suspect I’m wasting my breath but it does make me feel better.

The idea of surge protectors continuing to deliver power after they wear out is a long-standing pet peeve of mine. IMO that’s negligence on the part of the manufacturers-at a minimum they should provide an audible alarm when the surge protection fails. (The visible ‘alarm’ most provide isn’t enough. Most surge protectors I’ve seen are tucked either underneath or behind desks-so who sees the light? It should be either an audible alarm or complete failure IMO.)

Phil-I’m curious about your need to ‘reset’ the CMOS. I’ve had many PS’s die on me & while I’ve sometimes lost the CMOS settings when they did so that never left the PC dead (after replacing the PS). Not working right, yes, but never not working at all. Do you know what setting in the CMOS did this?

Bill-Overall I agree with you about surge protectors. I think surge protectors work fine-when they’re new. For those customers who refuse to get a UPS I always advise them to replace their surge protectors annually, just like they do (or should) their smoke detector batteries. I suspect I’m wasting my breath but it does make me feel better.

The idea of surge protectors continuing to deliver power after they wear out is a long-standing pet peeve of mine. IMO that’s negligence on the part of the manufacturers-at a minimum they should provide an audible alarm when the surge protection fails. (The visible ‘alarm’ most provide isn’t enough. Most surge protectors I’ve seen are tucked either underneath or behind desks-so who sees the light? It should be either an audible alarm or complete failure IMO.)

You’re right. For me it’s easy to drift across the line from how to recognize a phishing scam to why do people open them in the first place-at least half the ones I get (or I assume that what I get are phishing scams-can’t be sure since I don’t open them) are from banks/people with whom I have no relationship. Common sense tells me that a message sent ‘blind’-as these obviously are-is likely to be a scam. And that, I hope, brings this thread back to how to recognize phishing rather than the ‘why do people open them’ that I drifted into. Sorry ’bout that.

You’re right. For me it’s easy to drift across the line from how to recognize a phishing scam to why do people open them in the first place-at least half the ones I get (or I assume that what I get are phishing scams-can’t be sure since I don’t open them) are from banks/people with whom I have no relationship. Common sense tells me that a message sent ‘blind’-as these obviously are-is likely to be a scam. And that, I hope, brings this thread back to how to recognize phishing rather than the ‘why do people open them’ that I drifted into. Sorry ’bout that.

Could be. For me, it boils down to the same thing-but then I’m happy with what I have, love my wife, etc.

I’ve never understood why people have extra-marital affairs. If they’re happy at home then why risk it? If they aren’t happy at home then why don’t they split up? I think it must be what you’re talking about-to me it’s just greed. What I have might not be the best that’s possible, but it’s good enough for me. If I’m happy with what I have then I’m not going to worry about ‘missing out’ on something, better or not. Good enough is good enough for me. (Jeez-I’m making a hash out of explaining this.)

Could be. For me, it boils down to the same thing-but then I’m happy with what I have, love my wife, etc.

I’ve never understood why people have extra-marital affairs. If they’re happy at home then why risk it? If they aren’t happy at home then why don’t they split up? I think it must be what you’re talking about-to me it’s just greed. What I have might not be the best that’s possible, but it’s good enough for me. If I’m happy with what I have then I’m not going to worry about ‘missing out’ on something, better or not. Good enough is good enough for me. (Jeez-I’m making a hash out of explaining this.)

IMO people are lonely. I see no other explanation of why so many people feel compelled to read everything everyone sends them whether they know the person or not. They must be desperate for someone to talk to. That’s all I can think of anyway. Personally I like being alone, much of the time. Peace & quiet gives me time to think. But then that’s another observation I’ve made-most people don’t like to think.

IMO people are lonely. I see no other explanation of why so many people feel compelled to read everything everyone sends them whether they know the person or not. They must be desperate for someone to talk to. That’s all I can think of anyway. Personally I like being alone, much of the time. Peace & quiet gives me time to think. But then that’s another observation I’ve made-most people don’t like to think.

Try the DOS xcopy command. It’s not that it won’t choke at files it can’t read, but that it has arguments allowing it to be restarted without trying to recopy those it’s already copied. I used it years ago for backup to floppy. Don’t remember all the details now, but it was something like using attrib first to set the archive bit on all files, then use xcopy to copy all files that have the archive bit set, resetting the bit as each file is copied.

Both attrib & xcopy can recurse into subdirectories so (assuming nothing stops them) you can use each command once to copy an entire drive. If something does stop xcopy you can fix the problem then restart it & it will resume where it left off.

Try the DOS xcopy command. It’s not that it won’t choke at files it can’t read, but that it has arguments allowing it to be restarted without trying to recopy those it’s already copied. I used it years ago for backup to floppy. Don’t remember all the details now, but it was something like using attrib first to set the archive bit on all files, then use xcopy to copy all files that have the archive bit set, resetting the bit as each file is copied.

Both attrib & xcopy can recurse into subdirectories so (assuming nothing stops them) you can use each command once to copy an entire drive. If something does stop xcopy you can fix the problem then restart it & it will resume where it left off.

I always felt it was better to raise our daughter to respect the rules. Nothing was blocked but I let her know 2 things. First, that I would periodically check to see what she was doing & second, if I found that what she was doing was breaking the rules then there *would* be punishment. Further, I let her know that the more often I found that she was breaking the rules the more frequently I’d be checking. (I.e. the ‘better behaved’ she was the more freedom she’d have.)

The one difference between our treatment and the ‘real world’ is that in the real world (US) the authorities need to have grounds for suspicion first before they can start checking on you. Of course that’s historically been more honored in the breach than in the practice, and it’s even changing in the law now.