Username change caused serious problems
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Hello dalchina,
Comparing CPU clock speed to perceived speed, subtracting the extra effort needed for the nice graphics we get nowadays, there is still a large margin. What can the computer be doing? The little lights in different places never stop blinking. Oh yes, yes, sorry... itīs always checking allīs well.
Old computers were considerably slowed down by anti-virus even when they were new. Nowadays they are rendered unusable, and can only be run off-line without antivirus, if needed for old programs that canīt handle modern hardware. Even a top range souped-up Pentium 4, once winning the Grand Prix, creaks and groans now. All this checking that allīs well must really be a hard job.
It must be complicated and difficult to program this modern, multi-use OS, for all this open-architecture hardware. I get the impression that modern computers should run much faster than they do, but are programmed to do too many things we donīt need. And then, after a couple of years, the average user who doesnīt know enough to prevent his machine from getting bottle-necked, gets fed up, trashes it and buys a new one. Whatīs the point? Sell more and collect more data, I suppose.
Cheers,
Van
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Hello Gentlemen, again! dalchina, Ztrucker, Navy LCDR,
Iīm pleased to say the Win10 laptop you counselled me with, is going flawlessly, without any updating problems. Itīs behaving so well that my wife decided she wanted Windows 10 too, also because we got Age Of Empires Definitive Edition for her, which we didnīt know only works on Windows 10.
Now, the following may be of interest to Ztrucker, and others, possibly:
Upgrading a legal Win7 or Win8 licensed machine to Windows 10 by using Windows Media Tool is still possible - my wifeīs computer just upgraded to Windows 10 Home Edition a moment ago.
It seems the Validation Servers have not shut down altogether (yet...).
Although it asked for the license Key (I had to get a program to extract it from the BIOS), it wouldnīt accept it, but I read it could be inserted later, or that it might not need it and read the BIOS itself.
In effect, it finished upgrading and didnīt ask for it. In total it was only perhaps three hours. Great stuff!
It started up with her old user account - and I did remember to switch off as many of the espionage and tracking options as possible. Now itīs doing some upgrades.
Windows 10 is certainly better than Windows 7 or 8, in my opinion, (although I personally prefer Windows XP
but itīs slowly getting more difficult to stay above the water.)
Thanks again, and Iīll keep in touch.
Cheers,
Van
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Upgrade success turned into dire failure?
Hello dalchina, hello Ztrucker,
I called victory too soon perhaps... The laptop being upgraded this time from Win8.1 to Win 10 Home is a 4-year-old AMD A10 Acer Aspire V.
After getting all the drivers and starting up several times, everything seemed to be perfect with the upgrade, including the first group of perhaps 7 Win10 updates, and I thought Iīd try a further batch before saving a disk image. Never a worse decision...
During the manually started next batch of updates, after about 24 %, Win10 decided it needed restarting, announcing that the hardware wasnīt working and that the update reeded a restart to take effect. 
The Restart is now a total fail. For over an hour there has been a black screen, with the only indication
of any Bit-life being sporadic blower-on periods, and the red optical mouse-light flashing like a hard-disk led.
The big question now, is if this is normal, and how long one should wait before doing anything like trying to restart it again, or pressing F8, or maybe trying to factory restart it to Win8.1 again, and forget about Win10.
So, frustrating Win10 again! I wonīt trash the computer, though, but Iīd like to trash
something else, like Microsnot.
Whatīs the point? Beats me...
Itīs like a roller-coaster, isnīt it, and a hate-hour wonīt help.
Once again, Iīd deeply appreciate any ideas...
Thank you in advance.
Cheers,
Van
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Hi, this may be of interest, in that it could suggest an earlier build of Win 10 may work and problems followinf particular updates (not an identical PC, but it's the principle that counts)
Windows 10 freezing on Acer Aspire V5-122P - Microsoft Community
Note that manually upgrading to a given build side-steps any protection MS provides via Windows Update such that incompatible builds are not delivered, thus adding to the risk. Naturally, we have no idea how effective their 'AI' is in this- perhaps rather minimally- and naturally depends on user reports.
Hopefully you created a disk image of your installation before attempting the upgrade, so you can go back if necessary, should you be unable to use 'Go back to the previous version'.
Go Back to the Previous Version of Windows in Windows 10 | Tutorials
Similarly, hopefully you created differential disk images at different points thru the upgrade and updates, so you can use those to go back to a working state too.
Disk imaging: Macrium Reflect (free) + large enough external storage for disk images
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Hello dalchina,
What an incredibly quick reply! You are most kind.
I wish I could treat you to breakfast and some nice tea!
OK, Iīll look into that.
Meanwhile I lost my patience and forced a second restart, and there is still a black screen.
So...
Oh! Wait!! The blower has come to life again! The snide, treacherous, hideous, backbiting blackguard!
It has just gone blue in the screen, announcing that it is working on the updates, and the update is 100% completed, and I shouldnīt switch off the equipment. Microsnot should get the ax for their incongruous texts. They never tell you anything until itīs almost too late.
No wonder people trash their computers in desperation.
Now itīs saying the same thing, but with a 24% completion comment.
What an obnoxious state of affairs.
I wonder what it will do next.
Anyway, Iīll read what you linked to and report back! Thanks a lot!
Update: OK, Iīm back: It has restarted itself. I logged on Iīm getting the normal desktop.
After announcing it needed ANOTHER restart, I did it , and it appears to be working OK.
OH? It wants yet another Restart... but OK, although this is giving me the willies. I wonder happens next.
Anyway, Iīll follow your advice and NEVER EVER undertake ANY more manual updates.
Live and learn... Thanks for your valuable help ...and moral support of course.
Anyway - itīs time for a disk image, and itīs doing it.
Cheers,
Van
Last edited by Van Allen Belt; 16 Nov 2018 at 02:43.
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Nice idea.. thanks 
If it is actually processing updates successfully, try to get to a stable state and create a disk image as soon as you can.
Manual updates are appropriate in particular situations e.g. when you have both prepared a backup and preferably can be reasonably confident in the outcome. An in-place upgrade repair would be a particular case.
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OK, dalchina, thanks for your advice.
As soon as I got the chance now, when it didnīt say it wanted yet another restart,
I got the external hard drive and itīs putting a disk-image on it.
Relief at last...

Cheers,
Van
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Sounds good.. now check various things actually work ok from playing video and audio without stutter onwards.
Keep an eye on the various bugs reported with 1809, assuming you've got that now, in the New thread(s) on that build. MS hasn't fixed everything.
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Hello dalchina,
OK, the disk image is done. It took up 73 Gb, and thereīs room to spare for two more.
Now a Defender Update and Windows Update 1803 are queueing, so Iīll let them in,
and later watch out with Number 1809, as per your warning!
Thank you very much for your on-going help!
Update: Iīve re-started the computer again, and itīs doing it again - the
black screen, with the blower episodes, but this time without the mouse-laser flashing.
My other daughter says itīs not good to press the start/stop button, that itīs an issue with
the Aspire V5 122p laptop, not Win10. It tells you nothing during prolongued black screens
after updates.
If that is so, I have to imagine the text "Windows is working on Updates - dontīt switch off
your computer".
God gave us computers to exercise our patience.
Cheers,
Van
Last edited by Van Allen Belt; 16 Nov 2018 at 05:07.
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If upgrading to 1803 note there's a bug - acknowledged- on setting default programs.