Password reset and notification emails are now sending correctly.
If you recently requested a password reset, please check your inbox (and spam folder just in case).
You can now reset your password and log in as normal.
Welcome back to PCHF, and thank you for your patience during our migration process!
— The PCHF Team
Welcome to PC Help Forum!
You’re viewing our community as a guest.
That means you can browse posts, but can’t yet reply or start new topics.
Join us today — it's completely free!
As a member, you'll be able to:
✅ Get personalized tech support from trusted volunteers
🦠 Work one-on-one with our Malware Removal Specialists
I think I’ll go for a clean install of Win 10 and do away with the 2 in no. IDE DVD Drives/PCI Card altogether - causing nothing but problems. This latest loss of DVD Drives is not the first time it has happened.
BTW the $Extend folder has now grown to 18gb !!
Would using CCleaner once a fortnight be OK.
I do not use the registry cleaner.
Try using the Reset your PC to reinstall Windows but delete your files, settings, and apps—except for the apps that came with your PC option, I used this when having trouble with a major update continually failing to install and using this option sorted it out and never had a problem since, see info here
How often you need to use CCleaner depends, how much file swapping do you do, how many programs do you regularly install/uninstall, do you use Drive Wiper etc.
I’ll back up everything I need to keep and either do a reset or a clean install.
Please keep this open and I’ll come back and let you know how things are.
Opted for a clean install of Win 10 Home.
Cut back on the number of installed programs.
Did away with Avast and settled for Windows Defender.
Do I ever need to run Windows Defender manually??
All seems OK at the moment.
One minor annoyance - when my techie friend was installing on my behalf, he put my email address in the Microsoft Account with one character wrong
(Typing error) - haven’t got a clue how to change it. Any ideas?
Windows Defender has improved over the years, and the following box below is a summary of what users from a respected Malware group had to say. If you do use Defender then you should certainly get an extra NON REALTIME security app, something like Zemana free or Malwarebytes free, etc, and run for a second opinion. If you do use Defender make sure you NEVER turn off or defer Windows Updates because doing so will stop Defender from getting updates too. Never run two realtime security suites together, and do remember that no one security app will catch every suspicious action or file every time, hence the reason for a realtime and second opinion tool. The best form of malware protection is safe browsing and common sense with sharing data.
In addition to what has kindly been post by gus and Bruce respectively, you can use VirusTotal to do an online safety check on anything that you may wish to download, see info here
Sincere thanks for all you help - much appreciated.
Please mark as solved (although I still don’t really understand what $Extend folder is all about !!!)
Is it peculiar to Win 10 - never had the problem before.
We process personal data about users of our site, through the use of cookies and other technologies, to deliver our services, personalize advertising, and to analyze site activity. We may share certain information about our users with our advertising and analytics partners. For additional details, refer to our Privacy Policy.
By clicking "I AGREE" below, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our personal data processing and cookie practices as described therein. You also acknowledge that this forum may be hosted outside your country and you consent to the collection, storage, and processing of your data in the country where this forum is hosted.
Comment