issues with other peripherals,
specifically audio devices,
connected via USB 2.0 ports.
Other workarounds
reported by users that you
could try include bumping the
SoC voltage up and minimizing
power saving for PCIe. Type
‘power plan’ into the Search
box and click ‘Edit a power
plan’. Click ‘Change advanced
power settings’ and expand
‘PCI Express > Link State
Power Management’ and
change the setting to ‘Off’ to
see what effect that has.
One final suggestion is to
open Device Manager after
updating the BIOS and drivers,
navigate to the Universal
Serial Bus controllers
section, then remove all
USB controllers and hubs
before rebooting to allow
them to add themselves back
automatically.
100% CPU usage
I've been following the
magazine for a couple of
years now, and have started
to try my hand at buying used
PC parts, building a system,
and flipping it for profit.
I recently built a modest
gaming system with an AMD
A10 9700 and a GTX 960 2GB
(which I found for a great
deal considering today’s GPU
prices) along with 8GB of
DDR4, but I’ve encountered an
issue with the CPU reaching
consistent 100% usage in
games and even just on the
desktop for some reason.
Obviously, this is an older
system, but I have a nagging
feeling there’s more to it. I
suspect issues with the AMD
chipset driver or Windows
power settings, but what are
your thoughts?
—Gavin Jones
THE DOCTOR RESPONDS: We
suspect the key issue here is
your hardware spec: the A
is six-year-old tech that has
been massively outclassed
by today’s CPUs. Indeed,
it’s currently comparable to
the Pentium Silver J5040, a
fanless, SoC designed for low-
powered servers. With that
in mind, it’s going to struggle
with the increased demands
placed on today’s ultra-fast
processors by both Windows
and applications alike.
Hardware upgrades that
will help alleviate these
problems include more RAM
(aim for a minimum of 16GB
for multi-tasking) and a fast
SSD boot drive. That said,
it’s worth seeing if you can
identify specific processes
or applications that may be
taking more than their fair
share of system resources to
exacerbate the problem.
The next time it happens,
open Task Manager, go to the
Processes tab, and click the
CPU column once to show the
most intensive processes at
the top of the screen. Focus
your troubleshooting on
whatever processes are taking
up available CPU resources,
for example, is the Windows
Search Index constantly
running in the background?
If you’re unable to target a
specific culpri t, or you find it’s
a case of too many applications
struggling to rein in their
demands, you might have to
look at a tool like Process
Lasso ( https://bitsum.com/),
which is designed to balance
heavy loads on underpowered
machines by reining in
processes making excessive
demands.
The free version provides
all the key balancing
functionality you need, but
upgrade to the Pro version
and you’ll be able to set up
profiles and exercise fine-
tuned control over specific
processes.Password manager
Hope I’m not being a pest,
but I have another request.
I’ve been using KeePass
Password Safe v1.71 for more
years than I can recall. It’s
a simple encrypted basic
database of all my account
passwords and usernames,
along with their URL and a
comment box for notes.
It still works fine for my
needs, but only supports
Internet Explorer. The
problem is that lately when
I click an account’s URL,the URL opens in Internet
Explorer and I often get a
message that the site doesn’t
support IE and wants me to
switch to a different browser.
I ha ve been searching for
a new password manager,
but I can’t find one that works
similarly to KeePass. I want
one that keeps everything
on my local PC, not in the
cloud. Free would be great,
but I don’t mind having to pay
a one-time fee—monthly or
yearly subscriptions are out of
the question.
I know I’m being picky,
but the only issue I have
with KeePass is that it just
supports IE. If my only options
are to go to the cloud or pay
for a subscription, I’ll just
keep this outdated KeePass
and then switch browsers
when necessary.
—Steve VanettiTHE DOCTOR RESPONDS: It
sounds like you’re relying
on the KeeForm plugin to
allow you to open websites
automatically from KeePass,
and this only works with
Internet Explorer.
Given that KeePass
development has stalled of
late, you might want to look
at a KeePass-compatible fork
such as KeePassXC (https://
keepassxc.org). This boasts
a more modern look and feel,
and can import your current
KeePass 1.x database and
convert it into the 2.x format.
It also comes with a range of
free browser extensions that
enabl e you to easily access
your passwords from within
your browser.
If you’re looking to move
completely away from
KeePass, perhaps to a tool
that can be used with your
mobile devices as well as
your PC, then check out
Buttercup (https://buttercup.
pw/ ). Again, your passwords
are stored offline in a secure
database, but you can also
install browser extensions
and mobile apps (iOS and
Android) to gain access to your
passwords on the go in the
same way as a cloud-based
solution such as Bitwarden.Block Win11 update
What can I do to prevent
Windows Update from
upgrading to Windows 11? I
recently bought a new laptop
that will support Windows
11, but I don't want to do that
upgrade until all the bugs are
sorted out and resolved, and
most of those missing Win
features are added back in.
I found a Registry hack
on How To Geek (www.
howtogeek.com/765377/
how-to-block-the-windows-
11-update-from-installing-
on-windows-10/) but am
hoping for something that
does not require going into
the Registry.
I’ve turned off Secure Boot
and disabled the TPM, but am
skeptical about that working.
The BIOS has an option to
‘Hide’ the TPM, but I am also
skeptical about that. I have
made an external image of
the drive a couple of times,
but it is too small to allow for
frequent internal backups
(once it is out of warranty,
I will fix that).
—Dave MarshallTHE DOCTOR RESPONDS:
However insistent its prompts
may be, there’s no way
Windows 11 is going to force
itself on you before you’re
ready to upgrade, Dave.
Unless Microsoft breaks
all known conventions, it
can’t switch the TPM on in
your BIOS or enable Secure
Boot without your say-so. If
Microsoft has determined that
your laptop isn’t compatible—
and it technically isn’t without
Secure Boot or the TPM
enabled—then it shouldn’t
keep nagging you to update
it. The only feature updates
you should be seeing will be
the latest Windows 10 (21H2)
update, which obviously is safe
to install at this point.
Dave confirmed that he
wasn’t being prompted to
update having disabled Secure
Boot—he plans to revisit
Windows 11 next year, at which
point, he will then need to
re-enable the TPM and Secure
Boot to receive Microsoft’s
invite to install it.FEB 2022 MAXIMU MPC 15