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Windows: folder date modified not as recent as that of contained file

Self-tutoring about Windows: the tutor mentions a recent, perhaps surprising, find.

I thought that, when you modify a file, its containing folder is modified as well.

Apparently, a file can be modified without changing the “date modified” of its containing folder. I assure you I’m as surprised as anyone. Yet, I not only have my own experience; another source gives a similar report.

I’m using Windows 7; the other source references Windows 10.

Curious, eh?

Source:

stackoverflow.com

Jack of Oracle Tutoring by Jack and Diane, Campbell River, BC.
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Windows, Computer science: how to print the bell character in a text file

Self-tutoring about scripting: the tutor mentions a way to insert the ASCII bell.

The bell character is ASCII 7; its symbol is BEL.

Notepad++ allows BEL to be inserted in a text file: from the Edit menu, click Character Panel. An insertion panel appears at right: on it, you can double-click ASCII 7 for BEL, or whatever other ASCII character might be needed:)

Source:

superuser.com

ascii.cl/control-characters.htm

Jack of Oracle Tutoring by Jack and Diane, Campbell River, BC.
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Batch programming: running a batch file

Self-tutoring about Windows: the tutor mentions ways to run a batch file.

In yesterday’s post I mention writing a batch script. Today, I mention three ways to run one:

  1. From the command prompt
  2. By double-clicking the batch file in its folder
  3. By entering the batch file’s name, including path, in the search box

Source:

o7planning.org

Jack of Oracle Tutoring by Jack and Diane, Campbell River, BC.
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Windows: batch script to copy directory

Self-tutoring about Windows: the tutor mentions a batch script to copy a directory.

The batch script I wrote (using Notepad):

@echo off

robocopy c:\this_dir k:\that_dir /e
pause

I saved that file as the_backup.bat: batch files need be named with bat or cmd extension.

I’ve run it once; it seems to work fine.

Source:

www.tutorialspoint.com

o7planning.org

ss64.com

Jack of Oracle Tutoring by Jack and Diane, Campbell River, BC.
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Windows, home computer use: command prompt file operations: xcopy

Maintaining a home computer requires frequent self-tutoring. The tutor shares.

This Windows 7 computer no longer performs the COPY command from the mouse, so I use the command prompt to copy files, etc.

Lately I’ve been backing up directories, which contain subdirectories and so on. (Directory can also be thought of as Folder.)

To copy an entire directory, including its subdirectories and the folders contained therein, I use the xcopy command:

xcopy source_directory destination_directory /e

or

xcopy source_directory destination_directory /s

With /e it copies the empty folders, but not with /s.

In my experience, assigning a destination directory is important, since xcopy doesn’t copy the enclosing directory itself, just its contents. So, for instance, if you want to copy the directory desktop0 to a backup called desktop0, you might key

xcopy the_source_path\desktop0 the_destination_path\desktop0 /e

Observations:

  1. Although you can use the forward slash to navigate in Windows, it can’t (in my experience) be used in paths in Windows commands. Rather, the backslash must be. For instance, topdir\dir1\dir2 must be used, rather than topdir/dir1/dir2, within a file command such as xcopy. However, for switches such as /s or /e, the forward slash is used.
  2. You can’t use xcopy from within a directory you’re telling it to copy. I typically do it from the one above.

Source:

www.lifewire.com

Jack of Oracle Tutoring by Jack and Diane, Campbell River, BC.

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Home computer use, computer maintenance, Windows: disk management: how to use unallocated space on a storage device

Home computer use, for me, leads to constant self-tutoring. The tutor shares a video about Windows disk management that he was lucky to find.

My experience: On an external hard drive, if Windows calls a part of it “unallocated”, you can’t store there.

What if you need the unallocated space? One option is to extend the adjacent partition (assuming it’s functional) so that it annexes the unallocated space for use.

In this video, David shows how to extend a useful partition so that it overtakes the unallocated space, making it, too, available for storage.

HTH:)

Jack of Oracle Tutoring by Jack and Diane, Campbell River, BC.

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Windows: file permissions: what does Bypass Traverse Checking mean?

Researching file permissions can mean self-tutoring. The tutor relays the idea of Bypass Traverse Checking.

Bypass Traverse Checking (file permission)

This permission allows a user to access a specific file that is not protected, but which resides in a folder the user does not have clearance to examine.

Under the Bypass Traverse Checking permission, the user can navigate to that specific file by its full path designation, without the operating system checking the user’s clearance regarding the containing folder. However, without the necessary clearance, the user cannot simply enter the folder.

Source:

www.pcreview.co.uk

docs.microsoft.com

Jack of Oracle Tutoring by Jack and Diane, Campbell River, BC.

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Home computer use: some practical experience with HP Notebook

For me, home computer use means self-tutoring. The tutor shares some experience with the HP Notebook.

When I can’t use the desktop, I often use a Notebook by HP, purchased last May, which runs Windows 10.

I had some problems with the HP Notebook early on, and had to restore it once. I was fearful it wouldn’t succeed, but it did, and worked better afterwards. We have our tensions sometimes, this HP Notebook and I, but they seem less and less.

Today, while I was watching a video on YouTube, the computer suddenly shut down. It turned back on, the screen telling me a problem had happened. It tried to start Windows, but was unsuccessful, so restarted, then tried again. As I recall, it still failed to start Windows, so restarted again.

A different screen appeared, telling me that Windows had failed to start the last time. It offered me two choices:

  1. an advanced system repair, or something similarly named, or
  2. try starting Windows again.

The last time I did a system repair, or restore, or what it might be called, it took a long time. “What can I lose,” I decided, “from just trying to start Windows one last time?” Therefore, that’s the option I chose – to attempt, once more, to restart Windows.

The computer did what I asked, and it worked: Windows did start successfully. A couple of minutes later I logged in like normal.

Although Windows was up and running, I didn’t assume all was well. A question mark icon called the HP Support Assistant is on the task bar. I clicked it, then Troubleshooting and Fixes, lower left on the HP Support Assistant screen.

Across the centre are two options I was happy to see: Performance Tune-up Check and Operating System Check. I first chose Performance Tune-up Check. As I recall, I had to give it permission to run. Then it offered me several checkbox choices, including System File Checker. “Great,” I thought. “That’s exactly what I need.”

When I chose to run System File Checker, I was warned that it could take an additional 30 minutes. I chose it anyway, and though it did take awhile, I could still watch videos, use Excel, etc, while it ran. It just worked in the background.

Eventually the Performance Tune-up Check, including the System File Checker, finished running and reported no problems. Next I clicked Operating System Check. It ran in the background as well. Later on, I looked back and found it had finished, reporting no issues.

HTH:)

Jack of Oracle Tutoring by Jack and Diane, Campbell River, BC.

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Microsoft Word 2016: putting .pdfs and .docx files into a single file

Home computer use can mean self-tutoring. The tutor mentions how to assemble .docx files and .pdf files into a single one.

I was posed the problem of assembling .pdf files with .docx ones into a single file. It can be done on Word 2016:

  1. Copy and paste the .docx files into a single new blank document.
  2. Now, click the Insert tab (just right of the Home one).
  3. Perhaps near the right, select Object, then Create from File, then Browse…
  4. Select the .pdf you want, then click Open. It’s similar to attaching one to an email.

The steps above are as I recall doing, anyway.

Source:

support.office.com

Jack of Oracle Tutoring by Jack and Diane, Campbell River, BC.

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Windows 10: wireless driver update

Home computer use can mean self-tutoring. The tutor shares an experience with Windows 10, updating a driver.

Suddenly, our Windows 10 computer wouldn’t connect to the wireless network. Each time my wife tried, the computer said something to the effect that it had encountered an error, so had to restart.

I hooked up an ethernet cable to the computer. Then, it connected to the internet fine. She used it that way.

I read somewhere (likely at Stack Exchange) that 90% of the time, computer problems result from driver problems. I suspected that a driver update was needed. I went into the device manager, clicked the Network adapters icon, then right-clicked the Wi-Fi adapter. A drop-down menu appeared; I clicked Update driver, then the Search automatically option. Next, I received the message that, indeed, the driver was updating. Within a few seconds it told me to restart the computer for the change to take effect. I did so.

After restarting the computer, I could connect to the wireless network and everything works fine now: I’m uploading without the ethernet cable connected.

HTH:)

Jack of Oracle Tutoring by Jack and Diane, Campbell River, BC.