Gongalong

You'd think they would get it right on the release information page. Wikipedia is now showing 2027. Confusing!

Microsoft also seem to be saying to 2032, for both Enterprise and IoT Enterprise https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/release-health/release-information

I was just about to post re. this. This version is being supported to 13th Jan 2032, is that right? At least that's what Wikipedia seems to suggest, but they don't refer to it as 2021 there https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_10_version_history

Lockdown tended to be more advanced stuff e.g. using Teams, Stream etc. These are the 5 tips I've come up with so far, including some keyboard shortcuts and Ctrl+click etc. Snipping Tool has also been added to the list. 1. If you triple click a piece of text it will select the whole paragraph (single click selects where the cursor is, and double click selects the word under the cursor). 2. Learning the shortcuts for copy, cut, and paste, can speed things up. They are universal across windows, so Ctrl+C for copy, Ctrl+X for cut, and Ctrl+V for paste. 3. Ctrl+A is another good shortcut to learn, and again is universal in Windows. If you press this it will “select all” in whatever app you’re in. For example in Word it will select the whole document, in Excel it will select the whole spreadsheet, and in File Explorer it will select all files and folders in the window you currently have selected. 4. Shift and Ctrl clicking is another useful thing to master. Again it can be used in all Windows apps where it’s supported. If you want to select 10 files in the midst of some other files within File Explorer you click on the first one, then hold down shift and click on the last one. That will select all files from the first to last. It will do similar in Word, so if you click once at the start of a piece of text you want to select, then hold down Shift and click at the end of the piece of text, everything between the two clicks should be selected. Ctrl clicking gives you more granular control. In File Explorer if you want to select five files in a list that are all separate from each other, keep Ctrl held down and then click on each file you want to select. Click on a file a second time if you have picked it by mistake. In Word the behaviour is similar, so if you want to select multiple pieces of text you can Ctrl+click each piece of text. If you want to select multiple different cells in Excel you use the same technique. 5. Window snapping. Do you sometimes find you want to compare information between two windows, so would like one window snapped on one side, and the other window snapped on the other. To do this click on the first window to select it, then hold down the Windows key and press left or right arrow. The window will now snap to the side you selected, and fill half the screen. When you let go of the Windows key it will then prompt for the second window. If it doesn’t prompt, or you miss the prompt, you can always select the second window and use the same technique to put it on the other side. If you hover the mouse exactly where the divide is between the two windows, then click and drag, you should be able to adjust where the separation point is between the two windows.

Hi Folks, One of our SLT wants to run an EdTech 12 days of Christmas with various IT tips e.g. snipping tool, keyboard shortcuts, how to snap windows etc. I’ve been wrung out of tips since sending out dozens over lockdown. What’s an indispensable IT tip you’ve discovered that’s perhaps a little more unusual, but still suitable for a teacher audience? Thanks

I've had no luck with Dell support, they've been useless so far. After going backwards and forwards with what I'm guessing are firstline support I was told that my issue was not covered, and I had to pay £48 for a support incident (bearing in mind these are new laptops). It was supposed to be paid on the basis of no-fix no-fee. So I paid the £48, and then spent 30 minutes discussing the issue with someone else in support (no idea what level) who accepted it was an issue, but refused to accept it was Dell's fault. He then said I shouldn't have had to pay anyway and transferred me back to firstline support, and after waiting for 20 minutes in a queue to talk to them I gave up and referred it to my account manager. The issue is clearly with the Intel driver, but I don't see it being resolved until (1) I can get through to someone at Dell that will escalate it or (2) Intel fix it in the meantime, which has happened before with a similar issue. Frustrating!

HDMI has a lot to answer for...

Hi folks, I’ve been asked to find some online polling software with a brief as follows: It’s to be used at some sort of concert for judging winners Audience must be able to use smartphones (or some sort of online device) to vote There need to be up to 10 options per question Results must be shown live on-screen I’ve found Mentimeter(.com) which seems to offer that, but can anyone recommend anything else? Thanks

Yep, forgot to add that those are the supported CPUs, or at least the environments guaranteed to receive updates.

Doesn't the processor have to be 8th Gen (for Intel)? Edit: "Compatible 64 bit processor" i.e. Microsoft's list https://docs.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows-hardware/design/minimum/windows-processor-requirements

Heh, I wouldn't have thought that would affect it.

Ah yes, that could be a good way to do it, as we have OS on the C volume and data on D.

Hi folks, Our two file servers are running 2012R2, and getting antsy about applying windows updates. I know the preference is to rebuild, but is an in-place upgrade to 2019 straightforward, or anything to watch out for? Thanks

Yep, everything I've been testing has been rated as "premium", but they're not all performing the same. What was the cable length, and did it have any joins or wall boxes?

Interesting. Did you get it through HP's update software, Windows Update, or something else? I did try Dell's Support Assistant again recently, and downloaded the graphics driver direct from Intel, but it shows June on the driver date as it did before. To the TV, what's the cable length, and any joins, wall boxes etc.?

We had a demo and the software kept crashing, so we were put off. It had the same cable length issue. These are only full HD, so not sure they would work. The issue is the Intel driver sending at 4k, so it would need a Cat 5 system capable of sending 4k. I'm guessing that's extra expense, more cables etc.

Interestingly the 7.5m Antiference cable works on the BenQ.

I've tried a couple of 5m active fibre optic, and still no dice. For me at least they've been worse than the Antiference branded cables. Our installer also tried a 20m fibre optic powered from USB, which didn't work at all. I still get the best mileage from the Antiference branded premium HDMI cables, but I've just got one of those that's 7.5m and that isn't stable either with the Promethean. Basically 5m is as long as I can go at 4k, at least with Promethean. I still think the root issue is that Intel's driver in duplicate mode wants to send a 4k @ 60Hz display, even though the laptop screen is 2k. Annoying! Dell are proving very slow to respond. Just to add, huge thanks to @BenQ_NicolaP as we have been leant a demo 75" BenQ screen. I've used that for testing and it confirmed the issue with the Intel driver sending at 4k, as it clearly displays the resolution and frequency. It's a good screen, and has the edge over Promethean for us because it has USB connectors paired with each HDMI input; in several classrooms we have connections for both desktops and laptops, and Prometheans only have a single USB input. I haven't tested the 7.5m Antiference cable yet with the BenQ, but the combination of 5m, wall box, and 2m has the same issue as Promethean. Again though, I think it's the Intel graphics driver that's at fault for sending at too high a resolution and frequency, and having no ability to change it when using duplicate. Other things I like about the BenQ screen: plenty loud (louder than our equivalent 75" Prometheans), blue light reduction function, built-in annotation, and digital whiteboard (Promethean has both of the latter, but it's well implemented in the BenQ). From an IT management perspective it also has functionality to be controlled remotely e.g. enable/disable volume mute, they can be setup to have information sent to them (I can't think what the posh name for that is offhand! Could be useful in receptions etc.), they have a built-in CO2 sensor (which dates from before COVID), as well as temp, humidity, and particulate sensors (all of which can be set to display on-screen).

ROLINE 7.5m cables haven't worked, even though on the face of it the cables appear to be well shielded and built, and are described as premium and 4k capable. That's disappointing. I've had the most luck with Antiference cables so far, but they don't do anything bigger than 5m. I did some more testing though from the driver perspective, specifically the Intel command center or whatever it's called. When I put the laptop into extend it changed the second screen to 4k. I changed it to full HD and... it came to life. If I switch to duplicate, screen goes off. In duplicate I have no control over refresh rate, I can only choose 60Hz. Otherwise I would have dropped it to 30Hz. So I'm thinking it could be more of a driver issue, and for some reason in duplicate the laptop is sending the duplicated screen at 4k. We aren't worried about using 4k, we just want full HD. I also tested with our Lenovo V15s. Again, they wouldn't work with duplicate. The Intel driver on the V15 though let's me change the frequency. I dropped it to 30Hz and... it works! So on the V15s I can seemingly use duplicate with this one change. I'm not quite sure where to go from here. I have the ticket open with Dell, and have already had the basic troubleshooting response. I suspect I've got a snowball's chance in hell of Dell understanding this fully and referring it back to Intel, if a driver needs to be fixed. I might raise with Promethean again to see if they have any ideas.

"Normal person" = home user?

My work laptop has hit 5 years, and my desktop's beyond that, so I've put in for an upgrade of both so I can at least use it. If I can get Dell to give me a quote...

And in that time will Microsoft change their minds...

No idea. It hasn't appeared in VLSC yet. The only machine I've updated was an in-place upgrade, and there's been no message about activation.

I was struggling to find Microsoft's official word on the matter, but have finally found this. It's rather woolly when you've got to commit to tens of thousands of pounds of hardware, or not: "Installing Windows 11 on a device that does not meet Windows 11 minimum system requirements is not recommended. If you choose to install Windows 11 on ineligible hardware, you should be comfortable assuming the risk of running into compatibility issues. Your device might malfunction due to these compatibility or other issues. Devices that do not meet these system requirements will no longer be guaranteed to receive updates, including but not limited to security updates." https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/installing-windows-11-on-devices-that-don-t-meet-minimum-system-requirements-0b2dc4a2-5933-4ad4-9c09-ef0a331518f1

What @localzuk says. It's really important to note that Windows 11 will only be supported on Intel 8th gen onwards and AMD Ryzen 2nd gen (more or less) with TPM2. I sincerely hope Microsoft see sense and change this, but equally they need to make a decision for schools that have older hardware and will need to plan upgrades over the next 4 years.