How do I..?

How do I get a free email account?

Margot

“If you’re not paying for it, then you are the product”

Technically, there is no such thing as a free email account. Email accounts must be paid for somehow, either by advertising or collecting your data. But having said that, free email addresses are very useful.

You may wish to have a back up email account, just in case something happens to your main email account, or you may wish to have an email account independent of your broadband (ISP) provider.

Free to use

Gmail

provided by Google. Gmail offers a mail import from other email. To sign up for Gmail you will need to create a Google account

https://accounts.google.com/signup/v2/webcreateaccount?flowName=GlifWebSignIn&flowEntry=SignUp

Hotmail/Outlook

provided by Microsoft. You will need to create a Microsoft account.

https://outlook.live.com/owa/

iCloud

provided by Apple, great for Apple fans. You will need to create an Apple ID

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT204316

Free (with lots of adverts) but with a paid for version (No Ads)

Yahoo Mail (Ad free – £26.99 a year)

https://login.yahoo.com/account/create?specId=yidReg

 

 

Further reading

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_webmail_providers

How long do free email providers keep your account alive?

https://mashable.com/2009/02/09/webmail-account-dormant-alive/?europe=true

 

 

How do I connect my android phone to Wi-Fi?

Margot

From your home screen, tap Settings to see the Settings menu.

Now tap Connections

Make sure the Wi-Fi is turned on

Tap Wi-Fi to see what connections are available.

Select the network you wish to connect to, and then enter the Password/Key from your router

Check Show Password so you can see what you are typing. Click Connect and your phone will connect to your Wi-Fi

Problems with Windows Update

Margot

Windows Updates are always annoying, just as you want to turn your computer off, or you are in a hurry for your computer to start, your computer goes into update mode.

Very frustrating. But even more frustrating is this message, that these changes are being undone. Many users will find that they are stuck in a repeating cycle of failed updates

Why does this happen?

  1. Windows Update cache has become corrupted
  2. Conflict with AntiVirus program
  3. Not enough disk space or unreliable internet connection
  4. Faulty Windows update.

This article tackles one problem that occurs with regular monotony, that is the twice-yearly Windows 10 feature update. These updates are not optional, but they can be problematic and do not always install automatically.

Your options are

  1. Run the Windows Update Troubleshooter
  2. If you use a third party antivirus program, try turning this off and then attempt the update.
  3. Use the Microsoft Update Assistant to update to the latest version of Windows 10. Takes a long time, but it will work.

Windows Update using the Microsoft Update Assistant

  1. If you are using a laptop, make sure that it is plugged in, and not running on battery power.
  2. Create a system image and a recovery disk (Use Back up and Restore (Windows 7) from the Control Panel. This is somewhat buried in the system. Will it be needed? Probably not but it will help to restore your computer if something goes seriously wrong.
  3. Start the Windows 10 update. This will take time, maybe a few hours, so allow for plenty of time, perhaps let it run overnight. Go to https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10
  4. Click on Update Now. Click on Save (saved to Downloads). When the download is finished (it doesn’t take long), run the program, following the instructions.
  5. When it is finished, your computer will restart, and you will be able to log on as normal

More information

10 things you can try: https://www.zdnet.com/article/windows-update-failed-here-are-10-fixes-you-can-try/

7 things to try: https://www.drivereasy.com/knowledge/windows-update-fails-fixed/

https://howtofixwindows.com/windows-10-version-1909-failed-to-install/

How do I – back up my data

Margot

How often do you back up your data.? Is your back up automated?

Unfortunately, backing up is something that is often put off. One of those things on the to do list. A very simple form of back up is to plug in an external drive and use the built in software to continuously back up your data.

 

Useful videos:

Back up Windows 10 with File History

https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=Ese0ARnoZR8

An overview of back up options

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vjd6c7wdOhI

Using an Apple Mac?

This tutorial is a good introduction.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cd2YaBCXpaM

And here is a simple guide

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eO-bHcnSNVA

What do I need to buy?

Most users will find a 2TB drive sufficient, but if you really do not have much data, a smaller (1TB) drive will suffice.

You will need a USB 3.0 disk. USB 3.0 will give you high transfer speeds. A drive can be bought from PC World or John Lewis.

How do I find my iPad iOS?

Margot

The version of iOS that you iPad is using can be found in Settings.

On the iPad home screen, look for the Settings icon:

Tap Settings to open the Settings app.

Scroll down to find General. And then tap About

Information about your iPad will be displayed.

Look for Version. This will tell you which version of iOS is running on your iPad

In this example, the iOS is 10.3.3.

You can also find the model number, and if you are running a recent version of iOS, the model name.

More information: http://osxdaily.com/2019/07/13/how-find-ipad-model-name/

How do I find my Google Contacts

Margot

One of the great mysteries of the universe is why software developers keep changing things. Gmail for instance. In a previous existence, it was possible to find the contacts tab so you could edit your contacts, create mailing lists etc. But now it has changed, and the contacts seem to have disappeared, and what looks like a link to contacts, is actually a link to “Hangouts”. Quite useful if you wish to chat to someone face to face, but not if you wish to create an email to send to a list of friends.

The contacts tab has not disappeared, but it is more difficult to find.

There are two ways to find the Contacts app.

Go to https://contacts.google.com. Bookmark this page, so you can find it again.

 

Alternatively, click on the “Apps” button and navigate to the Contacts icon:

 

A list of available apps will be displayed

Look for the Contacts Icon

The problem is that the Contacts icon is not always displayed.

In this case click More and another list of functions will be displayed

 

How do I find my Google Contacts?

Margot

One of the great mysteries of the universe is why software developers keep changing things. Gmail for instance. In a previous existence, it was possible to find the contacts tab so you could edit your contacts, create mailing lists etc. But now it has changed, and the contacts seem to have disappeared, and what looks like a link to contacts, is actually a link to “Hangouts”. Quite useful if you wish to chat to someone face to face, but not if you wish to create an email to send to a list of friends.

The contacts tab has not disappeared, but it is more difficult to find.

There are two ways to find the Contacts app.

Go to https://contacts.google.com. Bookmark this page, so you can find it again.

 

Alternatively, click on the “Apps” button and navigate to the Contacts icon:

 

A list of available apps will be displayed

Look for the Contacts Icon

The problem is that the Contacts icon is not always displayed.

In this case click More and another list of functions will be displayed

 

 

 

Chrome Book – reset Cookies

Margot

If your Chromebook is acting strangely when you are logging into your favourite websites (such as Banking), it may be because your cookie cache is overfull.

Note, once all your cookies are deleted, you will be logged out of your favourite sites, so you will have to log back in again.

Clear all cookies

If you remove cookies, you’ll be signed out of websites and your saved preferences could be deleted.

  1. On your computer, open Chrome.
  2. At the top right, click More Settings.
  3. At the bottom, click Advanced.
  4. Under “Privacy and security,” click Site settings.
  5. Click Cookies  See all cookies and site data  Remove all.
  6. Confirm by clicking Clear all.

Delete specific cookies

Delete cookies from a site

  1. On your computer, open Chrome.
  2. At the top right, click More Settings.
  3. At the bottom, click Advanced.
  4. Under “Privacy and security,” click Site settings.
  5. Click Cookies  See all cookies and site data.
  6. At the top right, search for the website’s name.
  7. To the right of the site, click Remove

Delete cookies from a period of time

  1. On your computer, open Chrome.
  2. At the top right, click More .
  3. Click More tools
    Clear browsing data.
  4. At the top, click the dropdown next to “Time range.”
  5. Choose a time period, such as the past hour or the past day.
  6. Check “Cookies and other site data.” Uncheck all the other items.
  7. Click Clear data.

Useful Links

https://www.meetchrome.com/delete-chromebook-cache-and-cookies/

https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95647?co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop&hl=en