The annoying KB4532693 patch and temporary profiles

In February 2020 the Windows 10 patch KB4532693 was deployed and caused on some PCs logins on temporary profiles instead of the normal one. Here's something from my experience!

These days I got a request and the client even thought that the computer reinstalled itself which obviously wasn't the case Therefore no data got lost in this case. I read about the patch problem before, so following making some research I tried suggested steps as well:

1) Starting in Safe Mode, reboot in Normal Mode

- Didn't help, same issue

2) Uninstalling KB4532693
- Despite being listed in downloaded updates, it didn't appear in the list "Installed Updates". So to be sure I deleted the update via cmd command:

wusa /uninstall /kb:4532693 /quiet

Following a restart the situation didn't change. The list of temporary profiles gets piled up even more.

As several restarts didn't work either,  I ended up helping myself by creating a new user as admin, logged off and logged in with the new user, copied all the data, configured the profile and restarted a few times to be sure. Additionally I changed some settings in the registry to ensure the new profile logs in automatically.

It was a private laptop anyway with no connection to a domain whatsoever. 

Not the most ideal solution, but seemingly there's yet no official solution for the patch out yet - only the suggestions I mentioned above. Sometimes they help, in my case they didn't, so luckily I could find a workaround by just creating a new user.

Clearing up old Windows versions

If your space is getting less and less there are many ways to clear up some free disk space...

On way is definitely clearing up temporary browser data or the Windows-TEMP folder (C:\Windows\Temp).

Another way is using a tool like TreeSizeFree to narrow down the areas where some big files are hidden. Sometimes there are big video files or downloads you are not aware of anymore.

But, also important is checking if your computer was reinstalled in a way to keep the old version active. You see that, by checking the C drive, if there's a Windows.old folder. If so, you can proceed as it follows:

For Windows 10, go to Settings/Storage and check for Change how we free up space automatically. Scroll down and you can check for cleaning up old Windows versions. It takes a while, but once that's done you can make up a lot of space. In my case more than 30 GB.

Free YouTube to MP3 Converter no longer free?

As I got asked on why the Free YouTube to MP3 Converter got so slow and is filled with Premium requests... I had to check myself and indeed: The free version is no longer as it was before.

I actually did not notice it myself since I was still using version 4.1.28 and the current version with that big change is 4.1.60 or even older. The included mp4 download is still free and working, but any other format needs now a premium version or is slowed down - no matter if you use the Free YouTube to MP3 Converter or the Free YouTube Downloader.

For years DVDVideoSoft offered these features for free and recently they changed the way of the usage of premium features.

In their forum this very question was asked and the answer is that this step was necessary in order to maintain the quality of the software. Surely understandable, but it will definitely shrink the numbers of users.

For now there's still a way out: Remove the latest version and look for an older version like I had before with 4.1.28. After the test I no longer had a proper installation file of that, but but found 4.1.1 which is still enough for me.

As long as the update does not run automatically (and if, you need to stop it) it seems that you can still continue using the older version - for now...

Chinese Tencent Software Removal

Suddenly you see a Chinese software popped up in your taskbar. But what is it and how do you get rid of it?

The user who contacted me previously tried to install a certain software by using a crack which seemingly failed and installed this 'tool' instead.

It caused lots of unnecessary pop ups in the browser and slows down the system in general. 

But the good news is that you can get rid of it. The bad news is, it's all in Chinese and if you don't know that language it could be difficult.

For me, knowing a bit of Japanese, helped to figure out a few characters. Like 出 means something like 'leave', 'go out' helped to close the software in the taskbar.

Once it's closed, you can proceed with uninstalling the software.

Once it's closed you need to go to the folder as seen in the screenshot above and scroll down to find a file called uninst.exe.
In the next step you need to be cautious in what you select:

• Seeing the next window, select the left option (not the green one!)
• At the next orange window you see three checkboxes - select the last one and proceed with clicking on the red button
• A last checkbox appears and there you should select the left button to complete the uninstall process

After a reboot it should all be fine again, but better check in the control panel under 'Programs & Features' if there's anything left (mostly at the bottom of the list written in Chinese). Try to uninstall other possible software like this as well.

Moreover, I also would suggest to scan the device for some possible malware remnants - my recommendation is Malwarebytes Anti-Malware.

So, try to stay free of certain software in the future!

Open pst files with Linux

Is it possible to open pst files with Linux? Yes. There's a way and I will give you a information how it worked last time for me.

It was a client who used Linux Mint and wanted to use his under Windows created pst backup to be used under his Linux operating system.

This way worked: Install the email client called 'Evolution' + install the pst add-in with which how can you import the pst file.

Copy the pst file to your Linux and start the importing process...

Repair damaged videos from your Android phone

I was recording a few videos recently and during the recording I could no longer press 'Stop'. Video wasn't saved properly and couldn't be played at all. But there was a *.tmp file left...

Using my old Galaxy S3 mini my recording ended up with having no more space on the internal SD card and that's why the video couldn't be finalized and the phone also started rebooting afterwards.

At first, I couldn't really see if there was a temporary file or not, but the phone indeed created a 'mp4.tmp' file. From that point on I was sure I could save the video...

Some research...

At first I tried putting the file into video editing software, but no chance! Using Internet search engines you'll find a lot of software with that feature. I tested an app in Google PlayStore called 'MP4Fix': You first chose the damaged file and then another undamaged video file in order that the app can take the video header from it to repair the corrupted mp4 file.

The process was successful and then the app offered the option to 'Play' the video. It worked, it had the actual length and also the sound was working. But now the downside: If you chose 'Save' you'll get the offer to upgrade the app to 'Premium' for 3.99€. Of course that's an option and an easy an quick solution, but for me it was rather a challenge to find a free solution.

Some Windows software were using the same 'freemium' model like a software called 'Remo'. Fixing and watchng within the software works, but no free way to save or export it. Through further researching I actually saw a few times the same good solution by 'cheating a bit' while using a demo version of another repairing tool...

A little workaround...

Here's how it goes: Google for 'Video Repair tool Grau' and you'll find a demo version of that useful piece of software. The thing is that you can save 50% of your video with the free demo version! And if you cheat a bit, you can even save 100% of your video by converting 50% of two copies of your damaged file. But let's put into an order:

1) Download the tool
2) Copy your damaged file into an 'easy-to-reach' folder
3) Rename it simple (it chose just 'V1.mp4')
4) Copy 'V1.mp4' and name it 'V2.mp4'. Now you have two files with the same size.

5) Open command ('cmd') as administrator and go the folder with these two video files
6) Use this command to merge the two files:

copy/b V1.mp4 +V2.mp4

7) V1.mp4 is now twice as big as before. 

8) Open the 'video repair tool'

9) Select the new 'V1.mp4' file and another reference video file from copied your phone. Click 'Scan' and the video will be created (because of the trick even in full length) in the 'repaired' folder as seen in the screenshot.

It's a quite simple workaround, but it works perfectly. My video was saved and I hope yours will be, too!

How to download your pictures from Google Photos

Google Photos is an easy way to put taken pictures from your phone into the cloud - especially because Google offers a bit more basic space than others. But how can you download your pictures again?

While using Google Photos you can select single pictures to download or also from a single day, but there's no option like 'Select all'.

Luckily there's another way you can apply in order to download all your Google Photos.

Use Google Takeout, a tool to download all your data from your Google profile - including Photos. So select Google Photos, the file type you want (like *.zip) and decide where you want your data to have delivered. Options are OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox or even as an email link.

Once you've made you decision, an archive of your pictures will be created...

PS: Do you know from which city the pictures above were taken from?

5 reasons why Google Picasa will be missed

The announcement was expected, but also a shock: Google will end its support of Picasa this March in order to focus on Google Photos. Today we will look back at five reason why will miss Picasa.

1: Geotags

Current cameras, but mostly smartphones showed very early the possibility to tag photos with their current GPS location. Once tagged, the coordinates are found in the Exif metadata of pictures. And of course you are also able to manually add the GPS data.

By with having all your pictures in the database you can see all the places in the world where you've taken geotagged photos. It looks similar to the map in Facebook, but I'm sure you won't post everything online only to have a proper view of these locations.

I don't know any better way to do just that.

2: Face recognition and tagging

At the beginning there's a bit of work to do: You have to give the faces names, but with more and more data Picasa helps you recognizing persons to connect them with their name profile.

These name tag are also added in the Exif metadata of the picture file, but as far as I know only Picasa can use them properly in a database.

And even if the face recognition doesn't work, you can also add faces manually.

3: Database

The database itself has a lot to offer: You can chose a folder or drive to be scanned and Picasa shows you all pictures and videos from it - the subfolders are even sorted by changing date.

The database is stored in the following location:
C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Google\Picasa2
C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Google\Picasa2Albums

By copying these folders you can transfer your Picasa profile to another computer.

4: Automatic scan of specified folder

You can select to have an automatic folder scan after starting the application.

All new photos and even videos will be added to the database in that procedure and the face recognition might has already done its job.

With a little trick you are also able to scan the entire hard drive...

5: Offline

As mentioned before: Despite there was an option for an online connection, you can use it completely offline.

Obviously for that reason Google decided to drop the tool, because they don't seem to have much interest to invest in offline applications any further. They say the Picasa users can switch to the online service Google Photos but there are all the important features missing....

That's also the reason why the end of its support is not really the end: You can still use it as long as it's installed. You better save the Setup file - just in case.

Forcing the upgrade to Windows 10

Since its start of distribution last summer Windows 10 has been deployed on a lot of former Windows 7 oder 8 computers. At the beginning you could wait for a while to get your upgrade - by now it usually doesn't take too long for an invitation to upgrade. And if not, you can force it with a tool...

In the case of a newly-installed Windows 7 with missing updates you usually have to wait for a while to get the direct opportunity to upgrade to the latest Microsoft operating system.

The folder on drive C:\

Following this link you'll find a Microsoft tool (GetWindows10-Web_Default_Attr.exe) with which you can start the upgrade. It goes through a few steps: Of course first the download itself. While the process on the C:\ drive three new folders are created (as seen on the right).

It's important to keep this download running - what also means having a proper internet connection. Once this download is aborted for some reason you can't continue it with this tool.  

You get the message, that you need another restart to make this tool work again, which will appear every time you try. You need to delete these new folders on the C:\ which is in the easiest way only possible by starting your computer with a Live OS on a CD/DVD. 

Else, the biggest file within this folders can't be deleted because it's in use. Maybe Safe Mode is another way, you just have to get rid of these folders. Once that's done, you can continue by starting the tool again.

After the download follow some checking routines and you have to accept the license agreement before a search for updates starts.

Following that the usual Windows 10 installation procedure continues.

And that's it.