Roger has a similar Acer Cloudbook that can't be updated. Can he turn it into a Chromebook? Leo says it's possible. There are online open source Chromebook installs out there. Another option is to use Windows Media Tool to create a USB key to create an install of Windows 10. Then he could try installing that.
Steve has a NuVision Windows tablet and when he turned it on, it wanted to update, but it can't because there isn't enough space on the drive. How can he update it? Leo says that the biggest problem these tablets have is that there's no space to update it, and it's not possible to connect a thumb drive to do it. He did put a 64GB microSD card into the slot, but that didn't work either. Leo says that's because it probably has to update to the internal memory. Steve can try downloading an updated version of Windows 10 Creators Edition using the Media Creation tool. It could work.
Philip says that after a Windows 10 update, two of his HP laptops won't let him view multiple tabs anymore. It's all full screen. The only way to go back and forth is to click on a "task view" button and select a smaller window to "activate." Leo says there are gesture controls that nobody knows about in Windows 10 and chances are good that Philip accidentally activated "tablet mode." In the lower right-hand corner, there's a quote box.
Brad doesn't want to update to Windows 10, even though he knows it's not that bad of a transition. Does he have to? He keeps hearing of problems. Leo says that it's all about the numbers. When there are hundreds of millions of computers updating, even if .05% of them have problems, that's still thousands of issues and people will post about it. Leo says it's still a great update that's worth doing.
Jose wants to know when he'll be able to upgrade to the Fall Creator's update for Windows 10. Leo says that it's always a good idea to wait for Windows to offer it, but this week Microsoft opened it up to all devices, so he can go download and install it. Leo recommends using the Windows Media Creation Tool to put the update on a thumb drive and then run the installation utility to update it.
John is having problems with two Windows laptops (one 8.1 and one Windows 10). They will connect to the hotspots, but they won't connect to the internet. Leo says that's called "captive portal" and it requires logging in to gain access. It could also be a security update that is preventing it. It could be closing down a port that he needs to access the internet. He could try reinstalling the network driver.
Doug has a Toshiba Laptop running Windows 8. After a recent update, it broke connectivity to his HP printer. Leo says Doug should go to HP's driver site to get the latest drivers for his printer. It may be that HP doesn't have a recent driver anymore for Doug's old printer. But that's the first place to start.
Diane wants to know if she should jump into the new Windows 10 Creators Update when it's available in the fall or if she should wait. Leo says that the Creators Update has very nice features, but big service pack style updates can be problematic. Leo usually advises waiting for a few days to see if any bugs show up. She should be patient and wait until she gets the notification that the update is ready for her computer. Then defer it a few days or week and see if any problems occur. If everything seems OK, then she can go ahead and install it.
Victor would like to update Windows XP. Jason says that XP updates are still available but are usually just on an exploit by exploit basis. He recommends getting all the updates he can and install them. But after that, he should seriously consider not using that XP machine online because it won't be regularly updated.
Image by Nick Perla (CC BY-ND 2.0) via Flickr
David is looking for updates to Windows 8. He needs to install it and Microsoft isn't pushing updates anymore. Leo says to go to the Microsoft Update Catalog and search for "kb4012598."
Photo by Lord of the Wings on Flickr via CC BY-SA 2.0
