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Version 6: Some activations not working


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I tried to replicate your problem but I can not select Win+Ctrl+F4 from the dialog because it's assigned to Windows. I know Windows has been taking over more hotkey combinations, it appears this is one of them. Maybe ISS just added this to the restricted list. 

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I fear you may be right. Bad news as I use Win+Ctrl+F12 dozens of times daily and it would take a long time to break the habit of that combination. (The macro copies name and full path of a selected file in File Explorer to the clipboard.)

But my biggest problem with version 6 is the erratic behaviour when activating my 68 pop-up menu macros as described in my earlier post:
https://pgmacros.invisionzone.com/topic/8193-version-6-major-problem-with-popup-menus/

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Sorted!

I stepped through some of the settings and several did not match those in v4. This is despite my selecting what I recall as an installation option to use the previous version's preferences, or words to that effect. I think the crucial ones were in Activations > General and Playback > Delays.

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You're way behind on your Windows version. You missed the fall update to 1809. That also means you might be missing many post 1809 updates. Many security and stability issues were fixed since your version. 

Only a couple months before the spring update. 

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12 minutes ago, Cory said:

You're way behind on your Windows version. You missed the fall update to 1809. That also means you might be missing many post 1809 updates. Many security and stability issues were fixed since your version. 

Only a couple months before the spring update. 

OT: The Windows 1809 was very buggy. It was released and pulled a couple of times. It was supposed to be released in September (09) but was not re-released until November. Microsoft has fixed some of the major issues but some bugs remain. I have several machines that are not even offered 1809.  I have read that the Windows update looks for certain hardware and may not offer specific updates if the updates are not compatible with the computer.

Another interesting thing is that researchers discovered that if you click "Check for Updates" in Windows 10 you may be offered updates sooner than others.  The most recent advice is "Do not click Check for Updates" to allow others to beta test Microsoft's updates/patches.

Edited by Samrae
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I'm with Samrae on this, Cory. Presumably you're happy with 1809, despite the negative comments I've seen reported? But I haven't even been offered it anyway.

Also, on my Win 10 newsgroup, I’ve been told that:

- all security patches have been delivered to 1803 users

- users’ system specs are factors governing whether updates are installed.

Terry, East Grinstead, UK

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I administer many machines and have had no problems with 1809. There was a problem with it wiping out user data and not working when there was too little disk space but that was fixed instantly and is not a problem anymore. I will also point out that was not a problem with 1809, it was a problem with the installer. Different things. And I read many articles about security and you know what it always in the top 3 list for data security? Keep your system up to date. What do I and all the security experts in the world know? And I read 3 different IT newsletters a day. If there's a significant number of users experiencing a problem, I hear about it. Like the user data being wiped out. And of course 1809 is incredibly flawed... That's why  the millions of machine around the world are having all these problems. Wait... What problems? Oh yeah. They're not having any problem now. 

There will always be users in forums complaining about bugs. But I will tell you something, that's not scientifically or statistically valid. I can prove the world is flat if I cruise the right forums. Another thing. I did Windows desktop support for years. 99% of the time someone thinks they are experiencing a bug in Windows, they're not. Most of the time they have a virus, their anti-virus is not properly configured, their hard drive is failing, system files are corrupt, or other problems. Just because a user in a forum claims they found a bug in Windows, doesn't make it so. I think it's better to keep current and reduce the potential threats and enjoy the new features. To always stay one major release behind increases the odds of problems more then the potential problems with bugs in the latest version. That's what I live by, but you can do whatever you like. 

BTW about a third of the thousands of problems I've fixed while doing desktop support the problem was their updates were not up to date. Simply updating them fixed the problem. In fact I had a trouble ticket Monday that appeared to be a OneDrive problem. Once I updated to 1809 the problem vanished. A similar problem happened with O365 Outlook in the same office. Again I updated them to 18099 and the problem vanished. I refuse to work on anyone's problem who is unwilling to update their OS, software and drivers because a large percentage of the time the problem has already been fixed. One simply needs to apply the update 🙂 

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Samrae I heard about your last paragraph. I also heard that it's because people opted for the Windows Insider program, often unwittingly. They didn't realize that Windows Insiders get updates and patches ahead of normal users when they click the "Check for updates" button. I've asked a couple of Windows Insiders if they knew this was a consequence and they had no idea it affected updates. They just thought it was some cool club they wanted to be a part of. Most of the users who lost data with that installer bug were Windows Insiders. 

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OT:

Cory, From what I read the problems with 1809 were not caught by the Windows Insider Program and were distributed with the general release. And no, the problems did not affect millions of computers but they did affect 10s or 100s of thousands. Article about 1809 bugs.

The articles I have read did not say that the Check for Updates has anything to do with the Insider Program. They say that Microsoft can tell if users click Check for Updates and give priority to them for installing new updates. Those authors are recommending that we do not manually click "Check for Updates". See  here here, and here.

In general I agree with you about the importance of updating. However, sometimes it is not possible due to practical reasons.

I am the administrator of 14 computers in 3 separate buildings. Of these 5 are still running Windows 7 because they would not update to Windows 10. They will have to be replaced, probably sometime after next January when Microsoft stops patching Windows 7. The remaining 9 are running Windows 10. Two of those have successfully updated to 1809. The other 7 remain on 1803. We have spent hours trying to get them to update to 1809 but Microsoft is not even offering that update for those computers.

In my home office I have 5 computers. One still runs Windows 7 because it would not update to Windows 10. Only the two newest computers have successfully updated to 1809.

One laptop is still running Windows 10 1703. Periodically it starts downloading an update slowing the computer so much it is unusable. Then it proceeds to install the update. It fails after a couple of hours and then reverts back to the previous version of Windows. And then it repeats the process. After spending hours on the phone with Microsoft they said to reformat the drive. It will take literally days to rebuild that computer. I'm not even sure where all the license keys are for all the software on it. It would be better to replace that computer. I am waiting until I can afford (both in price and time) to buy a new one. In the meantime I use Macro Express to watch for the update process and kill it.

All of these computers that will not update are working great for their intended purposes. Neither I nor the organization I work for can afford to replace all those computers at this time. So, we practice safe computing with firewalls, security software, safe policies but cannot update Windows.

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