I.T. Northeast Thoughts

Should you buy a reconditioned PC?

Sat, 27 Apr 2024 18:05:32 GMT

What to look out for and value for money.

I was previously contacted by a customer who had bought a reconditioned PC via an Amazon seller. I was asked to setup and configure the PC for email and printing etc.

The customer had bought the PC online for under £100 - which at first glance may seem to be a fair price. It was a Dell 3020, small form factor with a fresh Windows 10 installation, but nothing else.

When did the problems start?

Immediately. The system did start up ok and loaded the desktop, however the task manager was showing disk utilisation at a continuous 100% which did not let up. The system had been connected to the internet and was busy downloading windows and other updates. On a 4GB system with a SATA drive, things were taking an age.

After a couple of hours and with the realisation that it could take many more, I forced a shutdown of the PC and took it back to base where it could be worked on, away from the customer's premises.

Did things get worse?

Yes. After updates were finally installed, it failed the Windows 11 readiness check. In addition, the system had a soft restart issue which was highlighted and unresolved on Dell's website forum by multiple owners. In short, the system was obsolete.

After further checks it was found that the PC had a fresh Windows 10 installation in the early part of 2024, but had seen service in 2022 and it is likely it was a post pandemic system, whereby older and perhaps already retired systems were put back in use by businesses to enable home working and then subsequently sold off as staff went back to the office .

Things to check before buying

If you are thinking of buying a reconditioned PC or laptop, check with the seller before payment is made. Windows 10 will be end of life on 14th October 2025, so ensure your purchase is either running Windows 11, or is ready for the upgrade. 8GB Ram is a minimum and SSD drives are much more responsive than the older SATA disk drives. If your pre-purchase questions fail any of those 3 requirements then you should avoid buying.

When purchasing reconditioned systems it is very much a case of buyer beware. They may be offered at little cost, but in the main they will bring major headache.

A review of the Lenovo Thinkcentre M70s

Thu, 18 Jan 2024 09:51:41 GMT

M70s Gen 3 Desktop (ThinkCentre) - Type 11T8. 2 months in - is it any good?

In October my main PC system started to play up. This was a 6 year old system that had done me proud, but it had become problematic and inefficient. It's a laborious task to rebuild a PC support system which has been honed over the years, but it is best to address these things as soon as possible.

Having installed hundreds of Lenovo PC's, I opted for a small form factor M70s Gen 3 Desktop (ThinkCentre) - Type 11T8. It is Windows 11 Pro, 512GB SSD, 16GB RAM, i5 12500, DVD. Out of the box and as standard with Lenovo and most manufacturers, you get a keyboard, mouse, power cable and documentation.

The Setup

Microsoft increasingly try to guide users to set up new systems using a Microsoft email to login to Windows. We need to protect customers, which is why I always advise the Pro version of Windows. This allows setup using a local account of your choosing, which may also be used in a Domain / Server environment. The Pro version also comes with Bitlocker encryption which caters for fixed, as well as removable disks.

Windows initial setup is straightforward from this point. There is a batch of updates plus a cleanup required post install. You will then need to install or restore all of your programs and data, configure email account(s), PC and Internet security. User names and passwords are required to be able to access customer support facilities and this is a good time to review and strengthen weak passwords.

It is much easier to rebuild a new system if the old one is still functional, so always try to replace a system in good time whenever possible. Having a working system from which to export data and site login details will be hugely beneficial.

The Negatives

The M70s does not come with Bluetooth. I had a spare USB Bluetooth dongle and they can be bought for less than £5, but this could be annoying if you need a Bluetooth connection quickly.
There is no integrated WiFi. I was aware of this before purchase, but I carry TP Link USB WiFi adaptors which are excellent. At around £30 they are a mainstay for IT support personnel.

After 10 weeks of use, I'm more than happy with the M70s. Browsers are notoriously memory hungry, but I can have multiple programs and browser tabs open and rarely is the RAM usage at more than 50%. Disk usage is generally at 1%, while CPU hovers between 1-4%. The system is responsive, bordering on immediate.

The PC was £659 plus VAT and my model comes with 3 years next day business on site warranty.

Since October I've installed 2 other Lenovo M70s' and both are performing well.

You can find variants here: https://www.lenovo.com/gb/en/p/desktops/thinkcentre/m-series-sff/thinkcentre-m70s-gen-3-(intel)/len102c0010?orgRef=https%253A%252F%252Fwww.google.com%252F

If you would like advice or help in purchasing and supporting new systems, please contact me .

How good are your backups?

Wed, 11 Oct 2023 07:15:07 GMT

What can go wrong?

A number of years ago I had a call from a customer with a major problem. They had purchased good backup software, were diligent with their backup routine and had taken daily backups. Unfortunately their server with critical data had failed and was non bootable, so naturally they went to the previous day backup in order to restore the backup to another system. But there was a problem. The password used during setup had since been changed or forgotten and after hours of failed attempts and contact with the backup software vendor we realised we had to move onto the next step. The good news was that all data was recovered from the drive by other means, but not without major concern for the customer and a stressful few days.

The above illustrates that even when you think you have good backups, things can go wrong. Consider the following:

Are you backing up and what or where are you backing up to?

Cloud based systems come with backups included as part of the agreement. however lots of businesses still run their main software locally. This needs to be backed up with a schedule depending on how often the data changes. Businesses may need to adopt a mixed backup strategy whereby key data is backed up daily, while other data is backed up less frequently, such as image folders or archived document folders which do not change at all.

Backup locations and devices

Cloud based backups offer peace of mind and an efficient way to recover data quickly, but they are not for everyone. Businesses with sensitive data often do not wish to have that data stored on an unknown server or network storage device and quite possibly located in another Country. This is where local backups work well, however there is a trade off with the manual aspect of connecting, disconnecting and then storing the backup device securely in a fire proof safe or at another location. There are plus points; large capacity backup drives can be purchased for little cost, rotated and stored securely within the business. Full backups can be taken for even large data sets, though frequency may be affected. Backup media should also be encrypted and password protected and this can be achieved and managed with Windows Professional. Ensure that passwords are logged securely and can be produced when needed.

Have you tested your backups?

And finally, to reiterate the first paragraph; do your backups work? Do you check the backup log after each backup? Have you checked that backed up files can be opened and edited? Have you ever restored a backup as a requirement of your Disaster Recovery Policy ?

If you need an audit, advice or support please contact me .

Are you ready for Windows 11?

Tue, 10 Oct 2023 09:21:24 GMT

Don't leave it too late

Did you know that Windows 10 support from Microsoft will come to an end on October 14th 2025? We are almost exactly 2 years away from that date so there is still time to plan your upgrades or replace older machines. While your Windows 10 PC will still run after this date, there will be no further security updates issued by Microsoft, which leaves Windows 10 systems increasingly prone to malicious attack. At this point the upgrade is still being offered at no cost by Microsoft and is a like for like upgrade, meaning that a Windows 10 Home system will be upgraded to Windows 11 and a Windows 10 Pro system will be upgraded to Windows 11 Pro.

Don't let Microsoft decide for you

For qualifying systems the Windows 11 upgrade is downloaded as part of the usual windows update program and is offered for free. It may be installed deliberately or inadvertently by the PC user, assuming they have appropriate rights - both of which are outside of standard I.T. support and Employee Use of Computers Policy . It is vital that systems are checked and processes put in place to help prevent unplanned upgrades.

What are your choices?

Most PC's bought in the last 4 or 5 years should be able to be updated and you can check this through your normal Windows updates with the system readiness download, or you can get it from the Microsoft Catalog. If the PC is upgradeable then a decision should be made as to how much life remains in the PC. Is the hard drive a fast SSD, or an older SATA? How much capacity is left on the drive? Can the RAM be upgraded? Is the PC a known brand with Windows 11 drivers available to download if necessary?

What to expect

It would be easy to answer that with "the unexpected" and while most upgrades will work with only minor issues which can be corrected, there are plenty of things which can go wrong in any rushed or badly planned upgrade. I've detailed below a few of these which I have encountered over the last 18 months or so.

1. Bitlocker

On a laptop upgrade from Windows 10 Pro to Windows 11 Pro, the upgrade installed as normal and all looked to be going well until the restart after the upgrade installation. At this point Bitlocker kicked in at start-up and asked for the recovery key, whereas it should have started up and used the Windows password. Thankfully I did have copies of the key and the laptop was fine thereafter, but it is a nervous few minutes. So if you have Bitlocker working either at start-up or using the Windows password, ensure you have a copy of the recovery key before you start. You may also consider removing Bitlocker from the system prior to upgrade and then setting it up again post upgrade.

2. Microsoft Office Activation

I've had at least one instance of Microsoft Office becoming de-activated after the upgrade. This is easily rectified, assuming you have the Office install key or know where to access it.

3. No sound

On one particular PC model I have encountered the same issue on all upgrades and that is loss of sound. Rectifying the issue is simpl e and now takes only a minute on subsequent upgrades, however finding the first fault was tricky and took a few hours of searching support sites and forums.

4. Post installation clean-up

With the correct planning, hopefully your Windows 11 upgrade has worked, however there is still a necessary clean-up process. This includes removal of certain programs and apps which are installed as part of the upgrade, plus testing of all previously installed applications. The grace period to roll systems back to the previous operating system is very short at 10 days, so it is easy to imagine an unplanned upgrade on a PC left running during a user's 2 week holiday becoming a major issue on their return.

Above all else!

Most importantly and before all else and prior to planning an upgrade, I cannot emphasise enough how important it is to take a backup. At the very least your docs, downloads, desktop, pics, outlook email and autocomplete data. If you're running Sage or equivalent then a backup should be taken from that program, as well as any others. In essence you should audit the PC and list all programs and data locations prior to upgrade.

If you require advice or support, please contact me .