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Caulfield lost her seat at last year`s general election, after nearly nine years as the MP for Lewes. Read...

Every Windows PC usually starts from the built-in hard drive, as the term “Windows PC” implies. This is because the Microsoft operating system is not anchored in or with the hardware, but is installed on your storage device. However, given the right environment, the computer can also be started in other ways: from CD/DVD, via the network and from external data carriers such as USB flash drives. Because flash drives are most important for external booting, our guide focuses on this scenario. In principle, however, the explanations also apply to other connected storage, such as larger USB hard drives, internal data carriers that are connected via USB cable or adapter, and inserted SD and micro SD cards. Why boot Windows from a flash drive? If the PC usually starts with Windows from the hard drive, the question is justified as to why you should boot from a USB stick. In some cases there are good or even compelling reasons for this. For example, if you bought the computer without Windows, you have to install the operating system first. This can be done easily, quickly and flexibly from a flash drive with customizations. Or if Microsoft’s operating system no longer starts even in safe mode, you can of course reinstall it. get windows 11 pro for cheap Windows 11 Pro Firstly, however, it is advisable to attempt a repair with a bootable rescue system. The same applies to malware and virus infections as well as accidentally deleted data. This is because an externally booted, so-called live system also provides access to files that are hidden by Windows or the malware. When recovering data, it is crucial that a live system, unlike Windows, does not overwrite empty hard drive areas without being asked, thereby reducing the chances of recovery. Booting from a USB stick also helps with system-related operations such as partitioning the system hard drive and cloning the complete system onto a new PC or a larger SSD. Finally, live systems make it easy to try things out: Instead of installing a Linux distribution or something else on an additional partition including dual boot, booting from the stick eliminates any configuration effort. Important knowledge so that everything works when booting You might be familiar with Microsoft’s Media Creation Tool: It creates bootable flash drives for installing Windows 10 and 11. With this tool, all you need to do is confirm the default settings five times, so you don’t have to change anything to configure the setup stick. If it’s so easy, why bother with (a bit of) theory? In fact, the Media Creation Tool hardly causes any problems. But “how” Windows is installed with it is beyond anyone’s control. However, the way it is installed is crucial for certain functions and is therefore important, as the new system should run as long and error-free as possible. Back to the Windows installation stick. All newer computers have long been working with the modern bios successor Uefi (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface). This interface between the mainboard and other hardware ensures that all components function smoothly. Two advantages of Uefi over the old bios are the Secure Boot security function and the GPT (Guid Partition Table) partition style of the boot hard disk. Because the latter is closely linked to starting the computer in true Uefi mode and many computers continue to support the bios compatibility mode, the correct installation and operating mode is crucial. Because the Uefi menus differ from PC to PC, a particular setting is not always easy to find – if it is not missing altogether. The picture shows the choice of boot mode. IDG However, this is not easy to control, as Uefi has hardly any fixed standards: Sometimes the compatibility mode is called “CSM” (for “Compatibility Support Module”), sometimes “Legacy Bios”, sometimes simply “Legacy”. Some motherboards even change the boot mode automatically if the Uefi boot fails. In addition, each Uefi menu is structured differently and certain functions cannot always be found immediately – every motherboard and PC manufacturer really does its own thing here. However, as the Media Creation Tool does not allow any settings for the Windows startup mode, you may only be able to see after installation whether the PC is starting in true Uefi mode and the hard drive is running in GPT partition style. Rufus – More control during Windows installation Rufus offers much more configuration control for your Windows setup stick. This is how it works: Insert a USB stick of at least eight GB into the computer and then start Rufus; no installation is required. At the top of the program interface, you will see the inserted USB flash drive under “Drive”. In the line below, check whether the small black arrow is present on the far right behind “Selection”. If not, click on the settings icon at the bottom and change the “Check for new version” setting from “Disabled” to “Daily (default)”. After two clicks on “Close”, restart Rufus, now with a selection arrow for downloading the ISO file from Windows. The two functions mentioned are marked in the illustration at the top right. Tip: As an alternative to downloading via Rufus, you can obtain the ISO files from Microsoft or via the Windows ISO Downloader tool. Continue by clicking on the arrow behind “Selection”, switch to “Download” and click on the button again. Now select the desired Windows version including language and 64-bit architecture. Once everything is set, download the ISO file via “Download”, confirm the storage folder in the next step and wait until the download is complete. Before you click on the “Start” button straight away, take another look at the program interface: For real Uefi operation, the option “GPT” and to the right of it “Uefi (without CSM)” are correct as “Partition scheme”. Finally, create the bootable stick by clicking on “Start -‘ OK -‘ OK”. A stick configured with the option “Uefi (without CSM)” ensures that Windows works in real Uefi mode. On newer computers, it is usually sufficient to insert the stick, switch on the PC and press the boot selection button displayed on the monitor when starting. Use the arrow keys to select the USB stick and confirm with Enter to start the Windows installation. If booting from the stick fails, check the boot mode setting in the Uefi menu again and switch to “Uefi” if necessary. Also check that “Secure Boot” is activated. Tip: You can access the Uefi menu from the Windows operating system by clicking on “System -‘ Recovery -‘ Advanced Boot -‘ Restart Now -‘ Troubleshooting -‘ Advanced Options -‘ UEFI Firmware Settings -‘ Restart” in the Settings app. In Windows 10, “Recovery” is located under “Update and Security” instead of “System”. Important: There is no single correct boot option for all systems. If a live system does not offer Uefi, select the CSM variant in the Uefi menu of the PC to boot from the special stick. If booting from the stick fails What should you do if a USB stick boots without problems on other computers but not on one? First make sure in the Uefi menu that general booting via USB is authorized (“Enabled”). You may need to switch on the option separately for different USB ports. If the problem persists, plug the stick into a different socket. On a notebook, try both sides of the device; on a desktop PC, try the front and back – the only thing that really helps is trial and error. Avoid using USB docks and other pass-through sockets. Not all USB sockets on a computer are equally suitable for booting from a stick. In practice, the only thing that helps on both notebooks and desktop PCs is trial and error. IDG The stick configuration may also not match the current Uefi settings: Change the boot mode from “Uefi” to “Legacy” or vice versa. If the Uefi supports both modes at the same time, try this setting. Depending on the contents of the stick, the mobile data carrier may then appear twice. Another stick can also help. Many other tools: Balena Etcher, Unetbootin & Co. There are also a number of other tools for generating bootable USB sticks. Balena Etcher is characterized by its particularly simple operation. After selecting the ISO file – either saved locally or as a download link – and the flash drive, simply click on the “Flash” button. This is convenient, but nothing can be configured. The interface of ISO to USB is unadorned, but the program fulfils its purpose. Unetbootin focuses on different Linux distributions so it’s not recommended for Windows systems. With Universal USB Installer, the name says it all: In addition to dozens of different Linux variants, the tool offers presets for various anti-virus, rescue and emergency systems. The tool also creates installation sticks for Windows 10 and 11 by selecting the option “Windows 10 or 11 Installer”, not (!) “Windows 10 or 11 on USB”. With Balena Etcher, bootable sticks are created in no time: select the ISO file on the left, specify the USB stick in the centre, then start by clicking on “Flash” on the right. IDG Finally, Universal USB Installer can create multi-boot sticks, i.e. mobile data carriers with several installation or live systems from which you can select the one you want. Win-USB also supports multi-boot sticks, but here the pre-selection of systems is very limited. We will come back to the multi-boot sticks at the end of this guide. The prerequisite for creating bootable sticks with all the tools is the ISO file. You can usually download this from the provider’s website and then integrate it into Rufus & Co. Sometimes, however, a Google search is quicker than contacting the software provider itself. For licensing reasons, not all ISO files can be freely downloaded from the Internet. get windows 11 pro for cheap Windows 11 Pro This applies, for example, if a live system is not based on Linux, but on Windows PE (Preinstallation Environment) from Microsoft. In these cases, you must first install the Windows software and then generate the ISO file. The option can usually be found on the software interface under “Tools”, “Tools”, “Boot medium”, “Rescue” or similar. The ISO file is created with just a few mouse clicks and all the components required for Windows PE are then automatically downloaded from the Internet. Finally, you can generate your boot stick from the finished ISO file using Rufus, for example. Converting a PC from CSM to UEFI mode Computers that have long since been upgraded from Windows 7 or 8 to Windows 10 or 11 may still be running in CSM compatibility mode, although true UEFI operation would be possible. You can check this by typing msinfo in the Run field in the taskbar. If the system overview shows the entry “UEFI” after the “BIOS mode” entry, the PC is running in true Uefi mode. However, if it says “Previous version”, we recommend changing the system. To do this, check whether the mainboard supports Uefi mode in the Uefi menu as described. If the PC is running in CSM compatibility mode (“previous version”) and the conditions are right, it can easily be switched to real Uefi operation. IDG If this is the case, first convert the system data carrier to the GPT partition style using the MBR2GPT tool integrated in Windows before switching to true Uefi mode. Multiboot: Packing several live systems onto one USB stick Reserving separate boot sticks for the many live and installation systems would be confusing and a waste of sticks. You can avoid both with a multiboot system, where you call up the system of your choice after booting. Ventoy makes it easy to create and configure a multi-boot stick. To save several systems, select a sufficiently large stick with 16 gigabytes or more storage space if possible. After inserting the stick, start Ventoy and click on “Install -‘ Yes -‘ Yes” on the interface. This step, which is only necessary at the beginning, makes the stick bootable and creates two partitions of different sizes on it. While the smaller of the two often remains invisible in Windows Explorer, the larger one appears as a normal drive: you copy the ISO files of your choice to this drive. After booting from the stick, the Ventoy interface lists the different boot systems with their file names for selection and starting. While FAT32 is the appropriate file system for most boot sticks, Ventoy uses exFAT. This also allows ISO files over four GB in size. Tip: To add or remove a system, add or delete the corresponding ISO file in the Windows file explorer. Read...

Having achieved supremacy in most reviews of high-end gaming CPUs, AMD is now flexing a bit. The company recently pointed out that several of its Ryzen X3D CPUs can reach 1,000 fps in esports titles when paired with the right GPU. Unfortunately, that GPU isn’t always made by AMD. Nevertheless, AMD China has published a slide listing six titles in which two of its CPUs — the fantastic Ryzen 7 9800X3D and Ryzen 9 9950X3D — can hit 1,000 frames per second. The slide was published by @realVictor_M on X. An AMD representative in the United States said via email that the slide “appears to be genuine,” though it would have been authored by AMD’s regional PR team overseas and couldn’t be authenticated by press time. The slide simply points out that three CPUs can achieve 1,000 fps when the games Counter-Strike 2, League of Legends, Valorant, Player Unknown: Battlegrounds, Naraka: Bladepoint, and Marvel Rivals are played using the Ryzen CPUs. Not all of the CPUs listed could hit 1,000 fps on all of the games; as the slide indicates, the only games that all three chips could achieve those numbers in were League of Legends and Valorant. It’s also possible that the slide contains an error: on the left, AMD lists the Ryzen 9 9950X3D, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, and the mobile Ryzen 9 9955HX3D processor as part of the “1,000 Club,” as translated by Google Translate and Tom’s Hardware, which noted the slide. But its matrix of games lists the 9800X3D twice, though paired with two separate GPUs. AMD also set some constraints: the test PCs ran at 1080p, and at 540Hz. The test PCs ran Windows 11 24H2, and turned off the Security Account Manager and Virtualization-Based Security (VBS) — though our tests with VBS showed that turning it off or on didn’t have much effect besides a few percentage points’ worth of performance on certain games. Still, even a few frames may have made the difference. We can’t know for certain. It’s also worth noting that of the GPUs listed, only one is made by AMD. In fact, of the three GPUs listed — Nvidia’s GeForce RTX GeForce 5080 and 5090, as well as AMD’s Radeon RX 9070XT — AMD only achieved 1,000 fps consistently with the GeForce GPUs, and not its own. In general gaming, theres always some tension: do gamers really need something like 300 fps and above, or should they instead dial up the resolution and/or visual effects for a prettier experience? In esports, however, it’s all about the victory, and there’s some truth to the “frames win games” slogan. In this case, AMD appears to be making a valid argument that esports aficionados should be buying a Ryzen X3D chip…but also a GeForce to go along with it. Read...

The director general says the corporation is `aware of the concerns` around Israel`s participation. Read...

Nvidia’s Founders Edition graphics cards are supposed to be the reference design, shorn of any extras and, crucially, sold at retail prices without any markups. So it was alarming when the Founders Edition of the RTX 5090 and 5080 disappeared from Nvidia’s official store over the weekend. Some wondered if they were gone for good. Turns out, no. When pressed on the lack of availability for the most expensive consumer graphics cards on the market at their standard prices, an Nvidia spokesperson said that they’re just out of stock temporarily due to high demand. They gave the statement to WCCFtech, which posted the reply on Sunday. “GeForce RTX 50 series Founders Editions continue to be in production. They are limited edition products so, from time to time, go out of stock on our website and return when back in stock.” There are all kinds of issues causing a squeeze on graphics cards at the moment, Nvidia’s cards most of all. High demand from gamers (and scalpers, though that appears to be winding down), output supply problems as Nvidia also supplies GPUs to AI-hungry industrial clients, general economic turmoil. But it looks like those sought-after Founders Edition cards aren’t disappearing anytime soon, even if they will remain elusive to anyone hoping to get them at the MSRP. Read...

Current laptops with Intel Core Ultra Series 2 processors rely on a hybrid chip design that is specifically geared towards energy efficiency. The Neural Processing Unit (NPU), used for the first time in consumer systems, plays a central role here. This dedicated computing unit for AI tasks relieves the CPU and GPU of inference-based processes such as image recognition, language processing, or modelling. While the CPU had to take on many of these tasks in conventional systems, the NPU enables a significantly more differentiated load distribution. This lowers the average system load and noticeably reduces energy requirements. As many NPU calculations can be carried out at a low clock frequency and in parallel, the energy balance is significantly improved compared to purely CPU- or GPU-based architectures. Energy-saving components in Intel Core Ultra The Intel Core Ultra V models in particular combine four performance cores with four efficiency cores and a dedicated NPU to form a tiered computing unit. The P-cores take over performance-critical tasks, while the E-cores and NPU remain continuously active in the background and run routine processes and AI functions with low power requirements. Mark Hachman / IDG The integrated Intel Arc Graphics also plays a role in this context: it enables hardware-accelerated video decoding and graphics-intensive display without an additional dedicated GPU, which relieves the cooling system and reduces the overall power consumption. The NPU delivers up to 48 TOPS of computing power with minimal power consumption. This benefits AI applications and AI functions as well as users, as the energy requirements of notebooks can be significantly minimised. Intel Microsoft’s energy-saving mechanisms under Windows 11 Parallel to the hardware platform, new energy-saving strategies have been implemented with Windows 11. The “User Interaction-Aware CPU Power Management” analyzes user activity in real time. If no interaction via keyboard, mouse, or touchpad is detected, the system automatically throttles CPU performance without interrupting active media playback or presentations. In addition, the “Adaptive Energy Saver” function also activates the energy-saving mode regardless of the battery status, provided the system load and usage scenario allow this. Sam Singleton In both cases, the NPU can ensure that AI-supported functions remain active in the background without negatively impacting the energy balance. The AI also balances priorities in the background, for example by delaying cloud synchronization or adaptive process rest. HP Omnibook and other Copilot models in comparison Devices such as the HP’s Omnibook X line already integrate these technologies system-wide. In combination with an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V and an Intel Arc 140V GPU, the NPU enables locally executed features such as Windows Studio Effects or AI functions in HP AI Companion without noticeably draining the battery. Many other models also achieve battery runtimes of over 24 hours in mixed operation thanks to the use of NPUs. Models such as the Surface Laptop 6 or the Surface Pro 10 integrate a dedicated NPU directly into the Intel Core Ultra SoC, supplemented by high-performance CPU cores and integrated graphics. Other compatible devices also rely on the Copilot concept, which combines powerful NPUs with intelligent energy management. Devices such as the Galaxy Book with RTX 4050/4070 or the Surface Pro 10 with Intel Core Ultra 7 demonstrate these possibilities. In practice, this means that even when language translation, background blurring or real-time image optimization are actively used, power consumption remains low. Software-based optimization and AI offloading A significant contribution to energy savings is made by shifting compute-intensive workloads to the NPU on the software side. Applications such as Zoom, Adobe Premiere Pro or Amuse are increasingly using native ONNX runtime-based interfaces to offload AI processes such as image generation, object tracking or audio filters to the NPU. Adobe This reduces the energy requirements of the CPU, which is particularly noticeable during long periods of use in video conferences or creative applications. The NPU is accessed via standardized interfaces such as DirectML and Intel and AMD platforms, which have native integration into the ONNX runtime. The resulting reduction in load on the main processors makes a decisive contribution to more even load distribution and therefore longer battery life. Interaction of CPU, GPU, and NPU in practice In modern notebooks, the CPU, GPU, and NPU work as a dynamic processing trio. While the CPU continues to control the operating system and general applications, the GPU takes over graphics-intensive tasks or parallelized computing operations. The NPU concentrates on dedicated AI processes and enables continuous processing with low energy consumption. Windows 11 assigns these tasks specifically, and continuously evaluates which unit is most efficient for execution. IDG / Mark Hachman This means that recurring tasks such as speech transcription, person recognition, or background noise filters can be processed directly on the NPU. This not only lowers power consumption, but also reduces the system temperature, which enables lighter cooling systems and therefore more compact and lighter notebook designs overall. Local processing instead of cloud offloading The local execution of AI workloads on the NPU replaces the usual cloud access in many cases. This means that image analyses, language models, or layout suggestions no longer have to be calculated online, but run entirely on the device. This not only reduces latencies, but also avoids unnecessary network activity. This is another factor that reduces power consumption. At the same time, the availability of these functions is increased even without a network connection, for example on the train or when travelling. Battery life then benefits in two ways: through lower computing load on the CPU and GPU and through reduced Wi-Fi or LTE/5G activity. Windows 11 shows NPU utilization in Task Manager for the first time Microsoft has expanded the Task Manager for control and transparency of this new architecture. In addition to CPU, GPU, and RAM, NPU utilization is now also displayed as a separate measured value. This allows users to understand how much their AI applications are actually benefiting from the dedicated hardware. For developers, the ONNX runtime in combination with the Windows Performance Analyzer also offers detailed diagnostic functions that can be used to specifically analyze inference times, operator load, and load curves. This enables fine-tuned optimization for maximum energy gain and minimum runtime delay. Sam Singleton Battery life as the new benchmark for AI PCs While attention has long focused on computing power and model size, there is now a paradigm shift. The actual runtime of a device is increasingly becoming the most important quality criterion for AI-optimized notebooks. Modern AI notebooks achieve video playback times of over 26 hours under realistic conditions, a value that would be almost impossible to realize without NPU-supported power distribution. At the same time, the combination of an adaptive energy-saving mode, local AI offloading, and intelligent load controls opens up new possibilities for mobile applications where the power supply is not always guaranteed. Conclusion: Saving energy with specialized AI hardware The integration of NPUs into current notebook platforms not only marks a technological advance in terms of AI performance, but also enables a sustainable reduction in energy consumption through intelligent task sharing for the first time. In combination with the new energy-saving functions of Windows 11, the result is a platform that not only works faster in everyday use, but also noticeably more efficiently. For users, this means longer battery life, less waste heat, quieter systems, and an overall better balance between performance and mobility, without sacrificing modern AI functions. Read...

Andrew Fox has been appointed General Manager for HPE Networking in Australia and New Zealand, leading growth and AI-focused networking strategies. Read...

Social media has recently been lit up with claims that a recent Windows update is killing SSDs. According to Microsoft, Windows isn’t at fault. In fact, recent reports show that this problem only occurs on drives with pre-release firmware updates from storage manufacturer Phison. (Pre-release firmware updates are internal builds that never should’ve seen the light of day in actual consumer hardware.) The good news is, the latest Windows update won’t kill your SSD. Even if you’re affected, you can restore your drive with a firmware update. The bad news is, your SSD can still fail for a number of other reasons. Putting Windows Update aside, let’s talk about some of the other real threats to your SSD and what you can do to protect it. Check for SSD firmware updates SSD manufacturers provide utilities that check for firmware updates and monitor your drive’s health. They’re worth installing—and it’s especially true since this recent issue is related to pre-release firmware updates. It’s a good idea to check if your drive has the latest stable firmware installed. Firmware updates may fix bugs and prevent other problems with your SSD. Avoid any beta firmware update files you may see for download on your SSD manufacturer’s website. First, you’ll need to figure out what SSD you have in your PC. One easy way to check is to open File Explorer, right-click your “C:” drive, click “Properties,” and then look under the “Hardware” tab. Or you could just download and launch CrystalDiskInfo. (It’s one of our favorite Windows apps for checking the health of your PC.) Pick the right utility based on your SSD manufacturer: Samsung Magician, SanDisk Dashboard, and Crucial Storage Executive are some big ones. (Despite the name, SanDisk’s utility also handles firmware updates for Western Digital drives.) Perform a web search for the name of your laptop manufacturer and “SSD utility” to find the right utility app. If you have a laptop, your laptop manufacturer’s software may handle firmware updates for the built-in drive, too. This isn’t guaranteed, though. You may need to run a utility created by the company that manufactured the laptop’s built-in SSD instead. Chris Hoffman / Foundry Since I have a Samsung SSD in my desktop PC, I downloaded Samsung Magician. Look for an “Update” option in the app and check if there are any available firmware updates for your drive. If so, make sure you get them installed sooner than later. Ensure your SSD is properly cooled SSDs can generate a lot of heat—especially PCIe 4.0 SSDs and PCIe 5.0 SSDs! Some SSDs come with heatsinks and some don’t, and you can also install an aftermarket heatsink on a standard M.2 SSD. But whether you need a cooler for your SSD really depends on the particular drive you have and the general thermal profile of your case. CrystalDiskInfo is a great way to check your SSD’s temperature, health, and other statistics. If you’re curious about how well it’s cooling, you might also want to run a benchmark using CrystalDiskMark (a synthetic benchmark we use to test SSDs here at PCWorld), which can stress test your drive and monitor it during real-world operations like file transfers. But make sure you check its temperature while writing a lot of data to the drive, not just while reading data from it. Chris Hoffman / Foundry As a rule of thumb, it’s best to keep your SSD below 70 degrees Celsius. If you see the SSD getting hotter than that, that’s a sign it may be throttling itself and not performing at max potential in an effort to stay cool. The exact temperature you need to watch out for depends on your drive—look up its specs in the manual to find its rated operating temperatures. If it’s too hot, look into improving the airflow in your PC’s case and/or installing a heatsink on your SSD. Don’t completely fill the drive Solid-state drives wear down faster when they’re near maximum capacity. That means if your SSD has been at 95% capacity for a long time without much breathing space, it has likely worn down more than necessary. This is less of an issue these days thanks to overprovisioning—many SSDs have a good chunk of “extra” storage—but it’s still a good idea to keep a decent amount of free space on your SSD. Nor Gal / Shutterstock.com For utmost longevity, you should aim to keep your SSD below 80% capacity whenever you can. One added bonus here is that SSD write operations are also faster when the drive is less full, so keeping a lot of free space can help boost your drive’s overall performance. Don’t cheap out on your SSD Not all SSDs are made equal. They differ in capacities and write speeds, and some SSDs are rated for more intensive write cycles, which means some drives wear out faster than others. For consumer-grade SSDs, the biggest difference is TLC (Triple-Level Cell) vs. QLC (Quad-Level Cell) flash memory. Drives with TLC storage have a higher TBW (terabytes written) rating, meaning they can perform more writes before the flash memory cells wear out. The trade-off is that QLC drives tend to be cheaper, for obvious reasons. Mark Hachman / IDG A QLC drive is fine for light PC use, but a TLC drive will hold up better if you’re doing a lot of writing to the drive. For example, a 1TB QLC drive may have a 220 TBW rating while a 1TB TLC drive might have a 600 TBW rating. The exact numbers will depend on the individual drives. If you’re a high-demand PC user—whether you’re downloading huge PC games, editing big media files, or performing any other kind of work that involves regularly writing a lot of data to the drive—you’ll get more mileage out of a TLC drive. The next time you buy a drive, check out our recommendations for the best SSDs for all budgets. Just in case: Back up your files Everything breaks eventually. While a modern SSD doesn’t have the fragile moving parts that made traditional mechanical hard drives vulnerable to failure, it can still break down. You may turn on your PC one day only to find your SSD has failed due to a hardware problem or electrical issue, even if its firmware is problem-free. Aiseesoft The only way to truly protect your data is to maintain backups. Back up locally, back up to the cloud, or both. But whatever you do, make regular backups so you aren’t caught off guard when your SSD fails. One final ‘smart’ warning Windows Update isn’t the main threat to your SSD. Firmware bugs, excessive heat, and write-related wear and tear are all problems you can avoid. Electrical issues and hardware failures are also possibilities. Keep on top of those and your SSD should last a while. Note that some SSDs show a “health status” via something called a SMART early warning system, and you can view this using tools like your SSD manufacturer’s utility app or CrystalDiskInfo. But SMART isn’t foolproof. There’s no guarantee you’ll get an early warning when your SSD is on the brink of failure. An SSD could be showing “in good health” and still end up bricked and unbootable the next day. Here’s the takeaway: a software bug probably won’t take out your SSD, and most SSD risks are things you can see coming and adequately protect yourself against. Ensure you’re using current stable firmware, keeping your drive cool, not filling it to the brim with data, and regularly backing up your files just in case. If you do all that, there’s a good chance your SSD will outlast most of your PC’s other components. Subscribe to Chris Hoffman’s newsletter, The Windows Readme, for more real-world PC advice from a real human. Read...

Microsoft is improving protection against malicious files and links in Microsoft Teams, a problem that has been growing lately. According to a Microsoft 365 Message Center alert, users will start receiving warnings when they send or receive messages classified as malicious. In addition, messages in chats and channels that contain EXE files will be blocked altogether since EXE files are a common vector for malware. Thanks to enhanced integration with Microsoft Defender, all communication from blocked domains will also be disallowed. “To help users stay protected from malicious content, we’re introducing message warnings in Microsoft Teams,” says the alert. “This new feature displays a warning banner on messages containing URLs flagged as Spam, Phish, or Malware—whether the message is internal or external. These warnings enhance user awareness and complement existing security protections like Safe Links and ZAP.” See the official support page to learn more about how link protection works in Teams. The rollout of this new Microsoft Teams security feature will begin with a public preview later in September and is expected to reach general availability by November. It will be available to Microsoft Defender for Office 365 (MDO) customers and Microsoft Teams enterprise customers. Read...