Computer Shopper - UK (2020-07)

LETTERS

ISSUE389|COMPUTERSHOPPER|JULY2020 7

YoucanbuyanexternalDVD/Blu-ray
driveconnectingbyUSB,butit’snotastidyor
space-efficientasabuilt-indrive.Sobuyer
beware:ifyouneeda5.5inexternaldrivebay
ortwo,checkthespecificationandpictures
carefullybeforeyoupurchaseanewcase.
RGWillis

As the need for physical discs is rare,we’d
advise buying amodern case with other
features. External drives are agoodsolution:
you can stash it awayinadrawer when not in
use,soitdoesn’t have to clutter your desk.

Lotusposition
KayEwbankrecentlybemoanedthe
lossofLotusOrganizer(Kay’sCorner,
Shopper382).Itdoesn’thaveto
belikethat.
IinstalleditaspartofLotus
SmartSuite9.8.2inWindows7. It
rolledoverintoWindows10and
itisstillrunninginversion1903.
CopiescanbefoundoneBay.
Mike Wild

Imageconscious
IrecentlyaskedSimon
Handbyifhecouldadvise

astowhethertherewasanofficially

approvedwayofmakingdiskimageswhen

thePCwasusingIntelOptaneaccelerated

drives(Helpfile,Shopper388).Likemany

users,Ihadsearchedextensively,and

concludedthattherereallywas

nosatisfactoryway;theIntelOptane

memoryhadtobedisassociatedpriorto

makinganimage.

Simon’sanswerwasclear,tothepoint,

andveryinformative.Iwasbothpleased

andimpressedthatthetopichadbeen

thoroughlyinvestigatedinthatSimonhad

evenconsultedIntelUK.

Sadly,whilesoftwareimprovementsmay

beinthepipeline,hisanswerconfirmed

whatIthought,saying,“Fornow,imaging

withanOptane-accelerateddriveisapain”.

Thistechnology, whichhasbeenarounda

while,isbecomingincreasinglycommonas

majorPCmanufacturersareusingit.

Meanwhile,oneoftenreadsofusersof

suchdriveshappilyusingAcronisor

Macriumsoftwaretomake

satisfactoryimages.Butsadly,

whiletheymayhavea

satisfactoryimageoftheir

primarydiskinsofarasit

accuratelyreflectswhatison

theirharddrive,itisuseless

asarestorefacilityasthere

arebitsmissing;namely,

thefilesthatwerestored

ontheIntelmemory.

Iacceptweareoften

advisedtocheckourimages,

butwhodoes?Overtheyears,Ihaveoften

verifiedanimageaftermakingtheimage.I

haveoccasionallyrestoredmyPCfroman

imageandsighedwithrelieftoseeallwas

backtonormal,butIhaveneveractually

donearestoretoseethattheimage‘works’.

ThusthequestionIwouldaskis,whydo

imagesoftwaremanufacturersnothighlight

thefulllimitationsoftheirproduct?

Essentially,theimagingsoftwareisnot

fullycompatiblewithPCsthatemploy

Optane-accelerateddrives.Tousethe

software,aworkaroundhastobeemployed.

Thesituationwouldbebadenoughifthe

softwaremerelyfailedtorunonaPC

employinganOptane-accelerateddrive.In

suchcircumstances,atleastalluserswould

befullyawarethatitdidn’twork,orflagged

anerror,ontheirparticularPC.Butherewe

haveasituationwherelesssavvyusers

believethattheyaretakingthesteps

necessarytoprovidethemselveswiththe

bestsecuritypossibletohelppreventbeing

leftwithaPCthathasdiedbecauseofsome

non-hardwareproblem.

Somemayhavegoneoutandpurchased

thelatest2020versioninthebeliefthat

imagingissoimportant,theymusthavethe

latestversionofthesoftware.Butinreality,

themanufacturerhassoldthemaproduct

thatessentiallydoesn’tworkforthem.

Ialsofinditextraordinarythatnoneof

themanufacturershastakenthetroubleto

advisethemanyanxioususersspecifically

askingforumquestionsonthissubject.

Judy Wilson

In the next issue

COMPUTERSHOPPERISSUE390ON SALE IN NEWSAGENTS FROM11th JUNE

UnleashVLC

Thefree media

player that lets you

download from

Yo uTube,convert

video formats, and

playany typeof

online content

Better

broadband

Tips andtrickstoget

ultra-reliable,fast

network speeds for

all yourdevices and

across your whole

home.Plus the best

routers and mesh

systems foryour

home setup

In search

of reality

Fromvision to

sound, and touch

to smell, we explore

the technologies

that makeour

computing

experience ever

more likethe

real world

Soundb

on test

We try out ei

soundbars to

which makes

best home ci

upgrade

bars

ight

ofind

sthe

nema

⬆Externaldiscdrivesare