In message , Mayayana
writes:
"J. P. Gilliver (John)" wrote

| That's not hot. Recently it was in the 34-37 range here.
|
| Yes, but don't you have aircon? Most British homes don't.

I don't use AC. We have fans. And we have a small
[]
Actually I rather like the heat. It's sensual and relaxing,
after months of cold Winter, feeling chilled most of the time.
But it can make one lethargic.

Agreed on all points! (Where in the US _are_ you?)

It's true, though, that more people now use AC than
used to. Central AC has become very popular in recent
years. I guess it depends on what you're used to. When
I once visited Britain in December it seemed like I could
never get warm, even though I'm used to a much colder
Winter. I wasn't used to the deep, damp chill of December
in London.

You should try January or February in Northumberland, especially this
year! (See https://rootsonwheels.com/2018/04/01...from-the-east/ for
my visiting genealogical cousin's account.) Or, I'm sure, Scotland - but
they're probably more prepared than we are. (Her preceding and following
blogs are IMO good too, though skip the genealogy chapters.)
[]
| One down (assuming I even _know_ whether I need Windows search or not),
| fifty-odd (guess) to go - and by the time I've researched one, at
| blackviper or elsewhere, including actually _understanding_ what I'm
| told there, how many others will have appeared ... (-:

It is a pain to go through them all. And each Windows
version increases the number. Personally I think it's
worth it. They only have to be sorted out once.

True, but it's a LONG haul.

Partly it's for orderliness and efficiency. Partly
to corral the unrequested nonsense like printer software
or iTunes crap that takes the liberty of setting up shop.

Exactly my feeling. But I'm getting tired of doing it (-:!

I think Skype might run a service, too. Some things are
very intrusive.
But there's also a big security factor. Microsoft regard
corporate customers as their customer base. SOHo
users are a sideline. To that end, Windows is set up
by default to be a corporate workstation. There are
numerous services enabled by default that shouldn't be
running on a standalone machine. It's an entirely
different security model. With the standalone machine,
the security approach is that the user is trusted while
the network is not. A corporate workstation is the opposite:
The network is trusted while the user is not. So Windows

Yes, I've experienced that side as well: a third of a century with a
large multinational mainly-defence contractor, and six months with an
automotive electronics refurbisher.

comes set up with extensive file access restrictions but
with "the barn door open". Some of it is downright
nuts. Remote Registry allows your Registry to be edited
from another computer. COM+ allows executable components
to be loaded remotely. Remote Desktop is commonly
exploited by malware and phone scammers. All of the things
that enable functionalty between computers are security
risks on a SOHo computer that's not on a firewalled network.

Trouble is, if I asked you for a list of what I can turn off, you'd be
reluctant - as I would - to give one, as all our situations are
different. And also, if one goes around turning off low-level things
like services, Windows itself isn't as helpful in telling you what needs
turning back on when something doesn't work as it is when you turn of
something basic. (The ultimate is I think blocking things in the hosts
file: you can spend _ages_ when something doesn't work and that's the
cause.)

I have a package I made for XP that might be of some
help. It doesn't include an update for services added in Win7,
but it does provide a 1-stop way to check out running
services and groups them by functionality, giving you some
idea of whether you might need a particular service.

https://www.jsware.net/jsware/xpfix.php5#who1

I seem to have downloaded it on 2015-9-26 (I'm presuming it hasn't
changed since then). Is it _safe_ to try under 7? And will I get much
benefit - you know by now my approximate level of competence, and how
much (or little) research I'm willing to do (has declined quite a bit in
recent months)?

Black Viper also provides guidelines for setting up a computer
based on your priorities: security, gaming, etc.

It's up to you. If you just don't want to deal with it

I'm certainly _heading_ that way; touch (US: knock on, I think) wood,
7-32 (with Classic Shell) seems to just _work_ well enough for me, on
this apparent four-core machine, for me most of the time. I _would_ like
to get more control of it (as I had with 98SElite!), but the RoE (return
on effort) seems to be declining.

you might be able to solve your mystery with a process
monitor of some kind.


Or just ignore it - these peaks of fan activity _usually_ only last a
few seconds.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

At the age of 7, Julia Elizabeth Wells could sing notes only dogs could hear.