Fred's Ramblings

For the past year, I have been getting notices to update my Windows 10 system to Windows 11 but I kept delaying it because I was concerned that everything I have on my laptop would be lost in the event the update went wrong. Yes, I could have backed up my laptop but that became a daunting task when I looked at everything that I would want to back up. I realize that I have to have a better back up system in place.

Not too long ago, I took one of my son’s old laptops which was running Windows 10, upgraded the RAM from 8 GB to 16 GB, and updated the system to Windows 11. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was once I figured out what was causing an error message I kept getting. Since that update went so well, a few days ago I decided to update my everyday laptop to Windows 11. With my fingers crossed, I had the system download the Windows 11 files (about 5.4 GB) and once downloaded, I asked to install it.

To my great surprise, everything went so smoothly that I could not believe it. It took quite a while to download the files, but the installation process itself took about 30 minutes and I now have a laptop running Windows 11. I am in the process of learning the new system and I haven’t discovered any problems…I like what I see. So, if you are debating whether you should update, by all means do so, you will be glad you did.

I recently came across a small backup utility that has quite a few options. What is appealing to me is that it is easier to manage than many of the more complex backup software that is available for purchase or download. It is called Toucan and it can be found on GitHub or on the PortableApps site. I downloaded it as a standalone installation from the PortableApps site and installed it as I would any other piece of software.

Rather than trying to list the features of the software here, it will be just as easy for you to navigate to the site and read all about them while the software is being downloaded. It is a small download of 6MB and will take up 21MB of space once it is installed. I think it is well worth the download and will allow you to back up your important data. Here is the link for it. Toucan Backup Utility

I will be interested to hear your thoughts about it…use the comments module attached to this article.

I have been involved with computers for almost 40 years now and have progressed from coding simple HTML pages where a blinking text header was the “thing” to do. Back then, any progress made in enhancing your web site was a big deal.

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