Help?

[roamer_1]

I'll have to look at my Thunderbird setup when I get home.  I know my provider has help pages that will tell me what I have...

Is it worth it for me to get Lightning working?  When I first got the T-bird, I didn't find the help pages about setting it up very helpful.

Yeah... Lightning is alright... I run my cal out of google these days, and the google addon handles that great... But I am a ToDo guy - useless w/o lists, and a lot of the tasking gets broke going to google tasks. Currently working all that through my phone anymore, using reminders and lists... which sucks, pretty much. I need a better way. 

[Suppressed]

So much for my bright idea.  Whatever is blocking browsers from contacting the login server is evidently blocking Thunderbird, too.  It's just sitting and spinning as it's "Checking password" when I try to set up the (IMAP) account.

Grrrr...  Guess I have to swap out the SDD.

So... can these SATA drives be daisy-chained or something, or am I limited to just 4 drives?  (Sorry for such a basic question...)   

[roamer_1]

So much for my bright idea.  Whatever is blocking browsers from contacting the login server is evidently blocking Thunderbird, too.  It's just sitting and spinning as it's "Checking password" when I try to set up the (IMAP) account.

Grrrr...  Guess I have to swap out the SDD.

So... can these SATA drives be daisy-chained or something, or am I limited to just 4 drives?  (Sorry for such a basic question...)

@Suppressed
SATA is one per cable. No daisy-chaining.
But you could go get a controller card... My server here has 6 on the board and four more on a promise card.

Did you ever try killing the firewall and AV to see if there's joy?
What about recently added security programs that may be blocking the access?

And I will mention EEK again... 

[Suppressed]

@Suppressed
SATA is one per cable. No daisy-chaining.
But you could go get a controller card... My server here has 6 on the board and four more on a promise card.

Cool.  I'm thinking that I might want to set up a card, then, with a large internal drive for automated backups.  When I get there . . . 

Did you ever try killing the firewall and AV to see if there's joy?

I had tried killing Avast's shields and no luck.  But I just realized I hadn't checked Windows Firewall. 

I went into the Control Panel to that listing, and it's not letting me select "Turn the Firewall on or off".  Gonna reboot to see.

What about recently added security programs that may be blocking the access?

 

I think I killed all and tried.  No luck.

And I will mention EEK again... 

No joy with EEK.  It found nothing.

[Suppressed]

iPhone 6 s plus. Pink

Did you get it all worked out so you don't have an exploding phone, @Freya?

[Suppressed]

I had tried killing Avast's shields and no luck.  But I just realized I hadn't checked Windows Firewall. 

I went into the Control Panel to that listing, and it's not letting me select "Turn the Firewall on or off".  Gonna reboot to see.

Okay, now the firewall is off and it says it's being managed by Avast.  When I turned off Avast, it stayed down, but still no luck.

[Cyber Liberty]

Okay, now the firewall is off and it says it's being managed by Avast.  When I turned off Avast, it stayed down, but still no luck.

Avast may have buried itself in your boot sector.  I'm not sure, but rebuilding from a recovery drive might get rid of that.  I have shit like that buried in mine, but I'm afraid to try it.

[Snarknado]

I switched to TBird when WLM bit the dust, and I'm reasonably happy with it. It manages 8 accounts, all Live or Outlook, so not sure how good it is with non-MS accounts. The filter rules could be improved, like optionally applying on a delayed basis instead of immediately on receipt...

[Suppressed]

Avast may have buried itself in your boot sector.  I'm not sure, but rebuilding from a recovery drive might get rid of that.  I have shit like that buried in mine, but I'm afraid to try it.

Looks like I'd better just follow @DB 's suggestion and do a fresh install.

Wow, I've put a lot of things on this machine.  I'm realizing now how many stupid disks (Bluetooth adapter, etc.) I hope I have! 

[roamer_1]

Okay, now the firewall is off and it says it's being managed by Avast.  When I turned off Avast, it stayed down, but still no luck.

I am running out of bullets @Suppressed . Try uninstalling Avast for the moment, and let the thing come back up with only Windows Firewall, and if still no joy, try disabling Windows firewall.. If that ain't it, I am hanging up my guns. 

[DB]

Looks like I'd better just follow @DB 's suggestion and do a fresh install.

Wow, I've put a lot of things on this machine.  I'm realizing now how many stupid disks (Bluetooth adapter, etc.) I hope I have! 

The real problem is, you can't trust that your machine is secure if you can't definitively find and resolve the problem. You probably shouldn't go get new drivers with the same compromised machine. If you have another computer that is clean, use it to go online to download drivers for the compromised machine. Anything executable is suspect coming from the old machine.

Good luck!

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

The real problem is, you can't trust that your machine is secure if you can't definitively find and resolve the problem. You probably shouldn't go get new drivers with the same compromised machine. If you have another computer that is clean, use it to go online to download drivers for the compromised machine. Anything executable is suspect coming from the old machine.

Good luck!

And if you can't trust the (potentially) compromised machine, you can't trust it to properly install drivers downloaded from another machine.  Nuke from orbit.

[LegalAmerican]

Google is the culprit.  Support TRUMP, and he will fix this next.  BIG CORPS. BEING BIG BROTHER.  OR  you could keep shooting yourselves in the foot.  Ego is tough to over come, for good of the country.

[DB]

And if you can't trust the (potentially) compromised machine, you can't trust it to properly install drivers downloaded from another machine.  Nuke from orbit.

He's starting over with a clean drive. The point was to not use drivers download on the same machine prior to doing the new, clean installation.

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

He's starting over with a clean drive. The point was to not use drivers download on the same machine prior to doing the new, clean installation.

Okay, great point.

[Suppressed]

Spent last night starting a fresh install with brand new SSD (thank goodness prices have come way down).
 
I almost choked when it had trouble connecting to hotmail even on the fresh install, but it seems that was just a momentary glitch.   

With zillions of reboots necessary, gotta love SSD!

But it's not acting very smooth... hanging on log off, etc.  So I think I might just start it from scratch again. 

I haven't used any drivers from compromised machine...just license key information.  It's a fresh Windows 7 Professional install.

When I was going through the Windows Updates, I didn't do any of the optional Windows ones -- no, I DON'T want Windows 10!


Thank you all for being there while I go through this.  I used to do installs in my sleep, but this brain is old and leaky!

[roamer_1]

Spent last night starting a fresh install with brand new SSD (thank goodness prices have come way down).
 
I almost choked when it had trouble connecting to hotmail even on the fresh install, but it seems that was just a momentary glitch.   

But it's not acting very smooth... hanging on log off, etc.  So I think I might just start it from scratch again. 

@Suppressed
To be expected... Especially if you are installing from a Win7 Pro gold iso instead of a Win7 SP1...

Don't judge it until the updates are done.

If you do rub it off and start over, try this:
https://softlay.net/operating-system/windows-7-all-in-one-iso-free-download-32-64-bit.html

Not a hack. You will have an extra little bit to go through... Be sure to select for both type (home, pro, etc) AND 32/64bit, as it will do any of them. This IS for sure, an SP1 disk, and may contain quite a few of the updates since.

If you know how to put it on a bootable thumb, it stores much better, and goes much faster.

after install, have chipset, vid, and nic drivers ready, and put them in first. MS Essentials as AV till you are all the way in... It suffices, and you won't be dealing with any errant takeovers of firewall and such

Then let it update fully... you can install other drivers along the way, but most will probably come in on the update stream. Then deal with whatever other drivers are left.

It WILL be hinky until all the way updated.
And optional updates are fine - necessary if drivers. I would encourage driver installation that way, because the driver is pinned to certain updates being present before the driver update is presented to you.

Addendum: Upgrades are vastly decreased AFTER SP1 if you have the distributable Internet Explorer 11 (I think 11 was the last one that works on 7) and latest WiMP (Windows Media Player) distributable on hand.

[Suppressed]

@Suppressed
To be expected... Especially if you are installing from a Win7 Pro gold iso instead of a Win7 SP1...

Don't judge it until the updates are done.

If you do rub it off and start over, try this:
https://softlay.net/operating-system/windows-7-all-in-one-iso-free-download-32-64-bit.html

Not a hack. You will have an extra little bit to go through... Be sure to select for both type (home, pro, etc) AND 32/64bit, as it will do any of them. This IS for sure, an SP1 disk, and may contain quite a few of the updates since.

If you know how to put it on a bootable thumb, it stores much better, and goes much faster.

after install, have chipset, vid, and nic drivers ready, and put them in first. MS Essentials as AV till you are all the way in... It suffices, and you won't be dealing with any errant takeovers of firewall and such

Then let it update fully... you can install other drivers along the way, but most will probably come in on the update stream. Then deal with whatever other drivers are left.

It WILL be hinky until all the way updated.
And optional updates are fine - necessary if drivers. I would encourage driver installation that way, because the driver is pinned to certain updates being present before the driver update is presented to you.

Addendum: Upgrades are vastly decreased AFTER SP1 if you have the distributable Internet Explorer 11 (I think 11 was the last one that works on 7) and latest WiMP (Windows Media Player) distributable on hand.

I'm using a GEN-U-INE Micro$oft Win 7 Pro 64-bit with SP1 (for OEM) DVD.  I didn't even let it install IE11 yet...I'm still waiting for it to finish the Important Upgrades.  It evidently hung trying to install the upgrades, as I let it continue overnight and it still hadn't finished.   



I'm thinking that I should gather up all those drivers like you suggest and redo the install if it keeps up, but I'll see if it calms down before giving up and doing that yet.  I goofed and did AV first, so maybe that was one of my problems.

But that's interesting what you said about some drivers being pinned to the updates.  The optionals I did do were Intel ones, monitor...anything but MS.

Okay, you've calmed me down.

[roamer_1]

I'm using a GEN-U-INE Micro$oft Win 7 Pro 64-bit with SP1 (for OEM) DVD.  I didn't even let it install IE11 yet...I'm still waiting for it to finish the Important Upgrades.  It evidently hung trying to install the upgrades, as I let it continue overnight and it still hadn't finished. 

@Suppressed
Likely update busted itself. That is a frequent or at least common occurrence. Win7 is getting pretty long in the tooth, and MS is not dedicating very much resource into maintaining its gigantic database. I think that is purposeful - By now, they easily could have released an SP-2 with all of these updates already knitted in, but I think they purposefully make it a PIA.

A LOT of the important updates are contained in the IE and Media Player subsystems, so even if you have to go get the full feature distributables, Getting them shoehorned in there solves a bunch of problems. One thing that comes with them is DotNet, which is a butt-ton of the update train. Since DotNet is specific to IE versions, shoving in the newest avoids not only all the IE upgrades, but all the multiple DotNet upgrades per version that inherently go with it.

You may find it easier to just upgrade to Win10... I bailed on Seven a long time ago, just because the install is so unmanageable (see associated PM).

I'm thinking that I should gather up all those drivers like you suggest and redo the install if it keeps up, but I'll see if it calms down before giving up and doing that yet.  I goofed and did AV first, so maybe that was one of my problems.

But that's interesting what you said about some drivers being pinned to the updates.  The optionals I did do were Intel ones, monitor...anything but MS.

Okay, you've calmed me down.

Yeah... AV products are super integrated anymore - especially AV suites that invade firewall and browser, and every other little thing. MSEssentials, while not as effective, plays nice with MS stuff and so, stays out of the way.

As far as optionals are concerned, I do em all - There are some that are specific to particular hardware, and without some serious study, you may be foregoing a fix that your specific machine needs to install and function properly. 

[DB]

I'm using a GEN-U-INE Micro$oft Win 7 Pro 64-bit with SP1 (for OEM) DVD.  I didn't even let it install IE11 yet...I'm still waiting for it to finish the Important Upgrades.  It evidently hung trying to install the upgrades, as I let it continue overnight and it still hadn't finished.   



I'm thinking that I should gather up all those drivers like you suggest and redo the install if it keeps up, but I'll see if it calms down before giving up and doing that yet.  I goofed and did AV first, so maybe that was one of my problems.

But that's interesting what you said about some drivers being pinned to the updates.  The optionals I did do were Intel ones, monitor...anything but MS.

Okay, you've calmed me down.

There's a bug in the original Win7 with updates. I think the patch was included with SP1 but you have to have it on disc with the installation before doing online updates. When the backlog of updates exceeds some threshold it breaks the update process and it will never complete them. There's a couple of MS patches to fix it. I'm trying to find my notes...

[Suppressed]

Well, I've got Win 10 running.  Thanks to everyone, and some additional applause to @roamer_1  for helping me via PM, too.

Still am puzzled why I can't just hook up my old SSD and get it to boot anymore, but I'm looking forward and didn't lose too much.  My next step is to figure out how to set up a nice backup system!

[roamer_1]

Well, I've got Win 10 running.  Thanks to everyone, and some additional applause to @roamer_1  for helping me via PM, too.

Still am puzzled why I can't just hook up my old SSD and get it to boot anymore, but I'm looking forward and didn't lose too much.  My next step is to figure out how to set up a nice backup system!

Happy to help - Glad you are sorted out.

[Wingnut]

FWIW.  My problem with Vista running Chrome has been corrected.  I started using the Avast Browser.

[Elderberry]

I'm glad to hear you're machine is back up and running. I know how extremely frustrating computer problems can be.

For backups I've been using Macrium Reflect, though it can be confusing to set up and use.

https://www.business.com/reviews/macrium-reflect/

Macrium Reflect received a C for ease of use during the backup process. It’s easy to see from the interface's design that the app isn’t made for someone who has never backed up a computer before. The homepage displays the various disks, volumes and partitions under the Create a Backup tab, rather than focusing on backing up specific folders and files. This poses a significant learning curve for novices, as they’re unlikely to know what these terms mean, much less want to back up entire disks, volumes or partitions. That said, creating a backup set is relatively easy, though it takes about 11 steps. Users with advanced technical knowledge will likely prefer this design.

In contrast, the restore process received a B+ for ease of use. While the backup process has many steps, the restore process has just four. There are some minor learning curves – additional options in the steps and an interface designed for an advanced user – but a novice can restore their files without much trouble.

Macrium Reflect’s best feature is its backup and restore performance. Both phases received an A- for speed. While the software wasn't the fastest at processing data, it was close. In addition, it didn't hog resources, receiving an above-average grade for CPU usage in both phases.

[roamer_1]

If we are going to get into Backup, I think it deserves its own thread....

But I will say this...
Storage is cheap.

Never rely on a single set - multiple means, multiple chains, especially when dealing with automated systems.

Image-style backups are less robust than raw copied files. an Imaged set is very convenient, restoring with ease... But it is in the end, a single file - and if a single file becomes corrupted, for all intents and purposes, all my be lost. Raw copied files must be restored more laboriously, but if a file becomes corrupt, that file is lost, and the rest are still there.

Not that an imaged set is not to be used - It can be one means, one chain... But it is not as reliable as raw copy.

Off Machine, Off Network and Off Site should all be goals, in that order of importance.