Windows 11: Ensuring "Recall" is Disabled

According to Google:

Microsoft announced Windows Recall in May 2024 and initially rolled it out as a preview in June 2024 for Copilot+ PCs. Following major security and privacy backlash, Microsoft delayed the broad release, re-engineered the tool with added encryption and opt-in controls, and re-released it to Windows Insiders in late 2024 before making it widely available in April 2025. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Timeline of Windows Recall

• May 2024: Officially announced by Microsoft during a surface and AI event. [1, 2, 3]
• June 2024: Pulled back from its initial public preview release after security researchers exposed severe vulnerabilities regarding unencrypted plaintext data storage. [1]
• Late 2024: Reintroduced to Windows Insider preview testers with mandatory Windows Hello biometric security and encrypted local databases. [1, 2, 3, 4]
• April 2025: Formally rolled out as an opt-in feature for users with compatible Copilot+ hardware running Windows 11 (version 24H2 and later). [1, 2]

Researching further, I discovered settings in Local Group Policy Editor, which are confusing because they are named with a negative context, as you have to "Enable" the configuration to disable the feature.

The settings are listed under User Configuration | Administrative Templates | Windows Components | Windows AI.

• "Turn off saving snapshots for use with Recall" - they claim if it's Not Configured that it will not store screenshots.  I don't trust Microsoft so I "Enable" the settings to tell it I don't want screenshots being saved.  Backwards, but whatever.  I still don't know that I trust that Windows isn't saving them, but it's better than leaving it not configured or disabled.
• "Disable Click to Do" - the description on this says: "... By default, Click to Do is enabled for users." So you must "Enable" this one to disable it.
• "Remove Copilot app" - I hope to high heaven that this actually stops Windows Updates from reinstalling Copilot every time Windows Updates happen.  I also hope that these settings don't revert to "Not Configured" or even worse "Disabled" after Windows Updates, especially major ones.

Another thing I discovered was a command line to uninstall Recall.  I couldn't find that options in the "Turn Windows features on and off" so I ran the command line and it acts like it worked.  Again I don't know how to verify.

The command is:

dism /online /disable-feature /featurename:Recall

If I'm missing settings please help us fill in the gaps.

[SOLVED] Messages app on my iPhone shows more unread messages than I can see

 

Solution: Ask Siri to read your unread messages.  Siri will read the ones you can't find by scrolling through your conversation list in the app and you can watch the badge count drop with each message read to you.

Thanks to this discussion on Apple's Community.

For months, and across multiple iOS versions, my Messages app was showing 4 unread messages every time I went through and made sure all visibly unread messages were read.  Even selecting to filter on unread message only, the app would show that I had no unread messages, but the badge remained.

I tried:

• Scrolling through my entire conversation history until I couldn't scroll anymore.
• Disable the app, power off the phone, reboot, enable the app
• Disabling and re-enabling notifications

I didn't try a System Reset.

I can't express enough thanks to "Jorph" on the Apple Community for telling me the simple fix to ask Siri to "read my unread messages"!  It was interesting to hear which ones were still counted as unread, and I still don't understand why they were counted in some way as unread, but not showing as such in the app.

If you find yourself in the same boat, try out that workaround and see if it works for you!  If you discovered the reason for the discrepancy, please comment and let us all know what happened.  I hope this helps someone else.

PYLE PMXU128BT - Play music from laptop using USB out from laptop to USB in on mixer

Make sure the mixer's power is turned on!!!

I connected my laptop to my PYLE PMXU128BT via USB, trying to play music to the mixer from the laptop.  It lit up nicely but showed the "To PC" icon on the display.  No music came out when I slid the MP3 and "MAIN OUT" volume sliders up.  I understood that the mixer should support this but it didn't seem to.

I contacted PYLE support and the friendly agent informed me that the USB port is only one direction, out from the mixer to the PC.

What didn't make sense to me was that my laptop was showing the mixer as the Output Device.

After ending my online chat with PYLE support, it dawned on me that I hadn't turned the power on to the mixer!!!  I realized that if you don't turn the power on, the board will still work in
mixer >> USB >> laptop mode, so the "To PC" icon was correct.

As soon as I turned the mixer's power on, it started playing my music out through the mixer to my sound system!!  So it appears the USB port is bi-directional after all, you just need to make sure that power is flowing through the mixer.

Use American Express gift card on Amazon

EDIT for Dec 2023 and beyond:
Trying to do an Amazon Reload for the entire amount minus $0.10 got rejected every time, even using lower increments like $100 or $50.

It appears you can process two $25.00 Amazon Reloads in a 24-hour period.  You must run one and wait for it to get to completion (takes around 5 minutes), then try the next one.

A better idea (kudos to my boss for suggesting it) is to take your AMEX gift card to Walmart and purchase an Amazon Gift Card from them for the same amount.  Then you can run one Amazon Reload transaction for the full amount.

[SOLVED] Remove bad autocomplete suggestion from Google Chrome

At some point we all do it.  In a big hurry to get to a commonly visited website, we quickly start typing the URL into the address bar of Google Chrome, and mistype a part of it before hitting the ENTER key.  Once you realize the mistake, it is too late.  The auto-complete feature of Chrome has already remembered your URL and will now suggest it every time you try to type in the correct URL on future attempts.  It even seems to suggest it before the correct URL that you have previously navigated to in similar fashion; probably because it was entered into the browser more recently.

To solve this:

• Start typing in the URL into the address bar and watch the autocomplete list come up with the bad URL:

Partially typed URL with bad URL auto-completing
(I typed "tech")

• Highlight the bad URL by using your arrow keys (see screenshot above).
• With the bad URL highlighted, hit SHIFT-DELETE.

The bad URL will disappear from the autocomplete list and you can get the URL corrected in the address bar to have it appear going forward when auto-completing.

Happy browsing!

[SOLVED] Dolby Atmos isn't working with VUDU on my Roku Ultra!

If you are experience audio playback issues with your home theater system while trying to play UHD movies with Dolby Atmos soundtracks through VUDU on your Roku device, but can play other Dolby Atmos movies through other means (like Blu-Rays), try the following:

• Start at the Roku Home screen
• Navigate to: Settings | Audio | HDMI and S/PDIF
• Make sure the setting is "Auto detect" (not one of the other issues that can force formats)

Roku: HDMI and S/PDIF audio setting configured for "Auto detect"

For a detailed explanation of what was happening with my own system when I encountered the issue and how I came to the solution, see my detailed write-up on it.

I hope this helps save someone some time so you can spend it enjoying those amazing Atmos soundtracks!

[SOLVED] Unable to remote desktop LAN computers after router upgrade

The Fix:

Make your Windows 10 device discoverable (which will convert the network from Public to Private.)

If you were using the computer when the new connection was detected and connected to, Windows 10 should have prompted you when it detected the new network asking if you wanted to make it discoverable.  If you missed that prompt or answered "No" when it asked, you will need to reconfigure that setting.

Steps to fix:

On the machine you want to control, do the following...

• Hit your "Start" button and type "ethernet"
  
  
• Click on "Change Ethernet settings"
• On the Ethernet settings view, click the name of the network you need to configure.
  (In my case, it was "Network 11")
  
• Toggle the "Make this PC discoverable" switch to "On"
  
• Try connecting via Remote Desktop to said machine with another device on your network

Why it Happened:

After upgrading my router tonight, all of my Windows 10 devices detected a new network and automatically decided they would be "Public" and defaulted the device to be undiscoverable.

The problem for me was, one of my devices is a server that has no keyboard or monitor hooked up to it.  I needed to remote in to make sure some services were up and running again.  I had to track down a monitor, DisplayPort-to-HDMI cable and keyboard to be able to access the machine and get it configured so I can remote again.

While frustrating, this is actually a useful feature of Windows 10 to assume that any new network if potentially dangerous and default it to Public.

I hope this helps save someone a few hours of frustration thinking your new router is defective!

[SOLVED] Change login credentials in Remote Desktop Connection Manager v2.7

I love using Microsoft's Remote Desktop Connection Manager v2.7.  It's a useful tool and I wish it were still being maintained.  There are some funky things with it that keep it from being perfect (what software is?) but this bugger is the hardest for me to remember the workaround.

I had issues trying to get credentials changed in Remote Desktop Connection Manager after my password expired on the servers in a group. I was trying to get to it by doing:

• Right-click the group name | Select "Properties"
• Go to Login Credentials
• You'll see that the options are disabled

SOLUTION:

• Right click the root node of the left pane | Select "Properties"
• Click on the "Profile Management" tab
• Highlight the Profile you need to change | Click the "Edit" button
• Make the necessary changes and click the "Save" button
• Click "OK" to get out of the Properties dialog
• Click "File" | Save or Save All

Hope this helps!  I know I'll need to come back and remember this in 75-90 days when the next password reset comes around.

[SOLVED] Samsung Data Migration "An error occurred while writing to the Target Disk" 301001

QUICK ANSWER:
Make sure your source drive is Disk 1 and target is Disk 2 (whether that is forced via physical connections or configured in your BIOS) -- please leave feedback if there is a better way to articulate this answer!

Read on below for more details if you need them...

Today I was required to clone a Samsung 840 EVO SSD that has been intermittently failing ever-increasingly in the past couple of weeks.  My new drive is an 850 EVO.

I connected the 850 EVO via a Thermaltake USB 3.0 dock.

The Samsung Data Migration software happily detected both drives (although the software listed my 840 EVO as a "Generic- Compact Flash USB device"), but when I started the clone, after about 8 seconds, the software stopped with the following error:

"An error occurred while writing to the Target Disk"
(with the error code 301001)

Perplexed because it detected the drives fine, I began investigating.

After playing around with a few ideas, I had the thought that maybe it didn't like the fact that I was plugged into an external dock.

Unfortunately I didn't have any extra cables, so I had to unplug a secondary internal drive to be able to plug my 850 EVO in.  This worked like a champ and I'm about 46% finished cloning as I'm writing this.

I began writing this with the intent to tell my readers that you need to plug it in to the internal and not use an external adapter.  However, with further investigation, I discovered the following in Samsung's Data Migration Software manual (English - other languages here) under "Limitations" on page 5 of the PDF:

#5. "On systems with two(2) drives of more (e.g. "C:", "D:", and "E:" drives) with the operating system installed on the "C:" drive, only the first two drives will be cloned.  The "System" partition that is created during Windows installation is automatically replicated.

Now I may have read this incorrectly, but it suggests to me that you need the Source disk as your first HD and the Target as your 2nd (whether that's configured through plugging into the correct ports on your motherboard or set in your BIOS I am not certain at this time) for this to work.

I think it worked for me because I limited myself to the two SATA drives so there would be no confusion (though that only happened because I needed to use the storage drive's SATA cable and power.  LOL

I would love to hear from you if you have had a similar situation... especially if you kept more than two drives connected and/or if you successfully used a USB/SSD dock/adapter.  I would imagine those with thin laptops that can't connect a second drive would need that to work.

I hope this helps save someone some time!

[SOLVED] Adobe Flash not working on Windows Server 2012 in Internet Explorer

I've been accessing a web site that uses Adobe Flash.  From a Windows 2012 Server using Internet Explorer, however, it always asks me to install Flash.  No matter how many times I install Flash, I'm constantly told that Flash is not installed and prompted to install it again.  The Flash content never displays.

From searching the web, everything I found talked about enabling the "Shockwave Flash Object" under "Manage Add-ons".  However, I never even see the Shockwave Flash Object under Manage Add-ons, regardless of the number of times I've uninstalled and re-installed Flash.

I finally figured out the answer.  By default Windows Server 2012 does not allow you to use "consumer" level features like Flash.  Flash is installed but disabled, and there is no way to enable it without installing the "Desktop Experience" feature.  Servers are intended to use a web browser for setup of the system, but not for consumer level things like Flash.  You have to install the consumer level features on your server.

To fix this, run Server Manager on your Windows Server 2012 machine.  Select Local Server and scroll to the bottom in the “Roles and Features” section.  In the upper right corner select Tasks > Add roles and features.

Press Next through the screens until you get to “Features”.  Scroll down to the bottom and open up “User Interfaces and Infrastructure”.  You will have 2 of 3 installed.  The missing one is “Desktop Experience”.  Check “Desktop Experience” and press Next until you are finished.  Then reboot your server.  Flash should now be enabled, and you will see "Shockwave Flash Object" in the "Manage Add-ons" dialog.

Here is the link where I found the answer:

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windowsserver/en-US/4a178833-1fe0-4cec-81b0-bb8769f0ea03/how-do-i-install-flash-player-in-server-2012

Hope this helps!