-
WSmaxdanger
AskWoody Lounger“But how do you attach the bare drive to your computer?”
For external attachment of drives for cloning or other purposes, I usually use
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812232002
VANTEC CB-ISATAU2 SATA/IDE to USB 2.0 Adapter
Broad Compatibility–supports a wide range of SATA/IDE devices including 3.5″ and 2.5″ SATA and IDE hard drives and 5.25” optical drives such as CD-ROM, DVD-ROM and DVD burners.
USB 2.0 Compliant–compliant with high-speed USB 2.0 to deliver transfer rates of up to 480Mbps.
External Power Adapter–quickly add or swap between drives without the hassle of opening your computer chassis to access the PSU.
$19.99 free shippingEasier, faster, more flexible, more compatible than enclosure mounting. Very handy for maintenance and troubleshooting.
-
WSmaxdanger
AskWoody LoungerI assemble my own kit of free, specialty security programs including Malwarebyte’s Anti-Malware (MBAM), which I also recommend and install for others. To extend remarks by cyberdiva, MBAM is not only not an anti-virus program, but it’s search for malware produces a list of proposed items to remove which includes registry keys. This list should be carefully reviewed before clicking the Delete button or you may lose desired settings or functionality, as with any registry editing procedure.
In installing and maintaining personal and business systems, I have always had to remove Norton and have never had anyone ask for its re-installation. -
WSmaxdanger
AskWoody LoungerFast Explorer (free and feature rich) at http://thesoftpro.tripod.com/downloads/fe/index.htm creates user defined submenus and separators.
OpenExpert at http://www.baxbex.com/openexpert.html is small, fast, free, and flexible. “Open with” file type associations open sub-menus of user selected programs. While user-stipulated separators are not supported, dummy file entries might create spacing gaps.
In the discussion of past experiences with context menu software and desirable features for Donation Coder’s planned ContextMenu Commander (to be free with donation requested) at http://www.donationcoder.com/Forums/bb/index.php?topic=648.0, see, e. g., reply #9 for links to other context menu software and #10 for links to software which adds specific features to the context menu, but all three pages of forum discussion have a wealth of information.
![]() |
Patch reliability is unclear. Unless you have an immediate, pressing need to install a specific patch, don't do it. |
SIGN IN | Not a member? | REGISTER | PLUS MEMBERSHIP |

Plus Membership
Donations from Plus members keep this site going. You can identify the people who support AskWoody by the Plus badge on their avatars.
AskWoody Plus members not only get access to all of the contents of this site -- including Susan Bradley's frequently updated Patch Watch listing -- they also receive weekly AskWoody Plus Newsletters (formerly Windows Secrets Newsletter) and AskWoody Plus Alerts, emails when there are important breaking developments.
Get Plus!
Welcome to our unique respite from the madness.
It's easy to post questions about Windows 11, Windows 10, Win8.1, Win7, Surface, Office, or browse through our Forums. Post anonymously or register for greater privileges. Keep it civil, please: Decorous Lounge rules strictly enforced. Questions? Contact Customer Support.
Search Newsletters
Search Forums
View the Forum
Search for Topics
Recent Topics
-
Privacy and the Real ID
by
Susan Bradley
4 hours, 49 minutes ago -
MS-DEFCON 2: Deferring that upgrade
by
Susan Bradley
5 hours, 5 minutes ago -
Cant log on to oldergeeks.Com
by
WSJonharnew
6 hours, 54 minutes ago -
Upgrading from Win 10
by
WSjcgc50
13 minutes ago -
USB webcam / microphone missing after KB5050009 update
by
WSlloydkuhnle
18 hours, 15 minutes ago -
TeleMessage, a modified Signal clone used by US government has been hacked
by
Alex5723
19 hours, 32 minutes ago -
The story of Windows Longhorn
by
Cybertooth
7 hours, 17 minutes ago -
Red x next to folder on OneDrive iPadOS
by
dmt_3904
21 hours, 30 minutes ago -
Are manuals extinct?
by
Susan Bradley
1 hour, 31 minutes ago -
Canonical ditching Sudo for Rust Sudo -rs starting with Ubuntu
by
Alex5723
1 day, 6 hours ago -
Network Issue
by
Casey H
17 hours, 43 minutes ago -
Fedora Linux is now an official WSL distro
by
Alex5723
1 day, 18 hours ago -
May 2025 Office non-Security updates
by
PKCano
1 day, 19 hours ago -
Windows 10 filehistory including onedrive folder
by
Steve Bondy
1 day, 20 hours ago -
pages print on restart (Win 11 23H2)
by
cyraxote
21 hours, 52 minutes ago -
Windows 11 Insider Preview build 26200.5581 released to DEV
by
joep517
1 day, 23 hours ago -
Windows 11 Insider Preview build 26120.3950 (24H2) released to BETA
by
joep517
1 day, 23 hours ago -
Proton to drop prices after ruling against “Apple tax”
by
Cybertooth
2 days, 6 hours ago -
24H2 Installer – don’t see Option for non destructive install
by
JP
22 hours, 57 minutes ago -
Asking Again here (New User and Fast change only backups)
by
thymej
2 days, 17 hours ago -
How much I spent on the Mac mini
by
Will Fastie
1 hour, 20 minutes ago -
How to get rid of Copilot in Microsoft 365
by
Lance Whitney
20 hours, 58 minutes ago -
Spring cleanup — 2025
by
Deanna McElveen
2 days, 23 hours ago -
Setting up Windows 11
by
Susan Bradley
1 day, 18 hours ago -
VLC Introduces Cutting-Edge AI Subtitling and Translation Capabilities
by
Alex5723
2 days, 19 hours ago -
Powershell version?
by
CWBillow
2 days, 20 hours ago -
SendTom Toys
by
CWBillow
1 day, 6 hours ago -
Add shortcut to taskbar?
by
CWBillow
3 days ago -
Sycophancy in GPT-4o: What happened
by
Alex5723
3 days, 16 hours ago -
How can I install Skype on Windows 7?
by
Help
3 days, 15 hours ago
Recent blog posts
Key Links
Want to Advertise in the free newsletter? How about a gift subscription in honor of a birthday? Send an email to sb@askwoody.com to ask how.
Mastodon profile for DefConPatch
Mastodon profile for AskWoody
Home • About • FAQ • Posts & Privacy • Forums • My Account
Register • Free Newsletter • Plus Membership • Gift Certificates • MS-DEFCON Alerts
Copyright ©2004-2025 by AskWoody Tech LLC. All Rights Reserved.