8 ways to prepare your PC for disaster

Plus: CrowdStrike strikes out  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [Windows Intelligence](#) [Windows Intelligence](#) Brought to you by: [Esper logo](=)​ Well, it certainly wasn't a great week for Windows PCs or many businesses that use them. You've almost certainly heard about the CrowdStrike outage at this point, and you may have been affected in some way. I choose to look on the positive side: The entire world has been reminded of just how much damage a buggy update can do. I hope we'll see organizations invest in making systems even more robust. And I hope we'll see Microsoft consider changes to Windows that make disasters like this less likely to occur, too — even though Microsoft itself didn't cause this problem. But tech will never be perfect. I've thought through some useful advice that will reduce the likelihood that computing disaster will ruin your day. Scroll down to this week's Things to Try section for the details. [Chris Hoffman, AUthor] Chris Today's read: ⌚ 3 Things to Know: 1 minute 30 seconds ⌚ 3 Things to Try: 1 minute ⌚ Top Thurrott Thoughts: 30 seconds ⌚ Just for Fun: 20 seconds ​ [] [3 Things to Know This Week] ​ 1. The CrowdStrike mess is still hurting businesses ➜ THE SHORT VERSION: Many businesses are still struggling to recover after cybersecurity company CrowdStrike took down millions of PCs last Friday. The chaos massively disrupted air travel, and IT departments around the world are still struggling to get all their PCs back up and running. 🔎 KNOW MORE: CrowdStrike Falcon is a third-party security tool many businesses use. A buggy and not-properly-tested update brought millions of business PCs to their knees. It may have been the biggest IT outage in history, but it didn't touch the average home PC — and it wasn't caused by Microsoft. 📌 READ MORE: Here's an [informative look at what happened to cause the CrowdStrike outage](. For advice on how to prepare your PC to weather a disaster, scroll down to this week's Things to Try section. Cast your vote... ​[Did the CrowdStrike outage affect you?]()​ --------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Microsoft blames antitrust rules for CrowdStrike's mess ➜ THE SHORT VERSION: Windows is uniquely vulnerable to problems like this CrowdStrike bug because tools like CrowdStrike Falcon can get deep access to the Windows kernel — the core of Windows — in ways they can't on a Mac. 🔎 KNOW MORE: Microsoft is blaming antitrust regulations for this, saying it was forced by the European Commission in 2009 to allow cybersecurity companies this deep access to Windows. But it's not so simple: Microsoft made its own decisions about how to comply. 📌 READ MORE: Paul Thurrott [outlines Microsoft's complaint here](. He also dives deep into the history — and how Microsoft could have made different decisions — in [this fascinating Premium article](). 💡 PRO TIP: You can sign up for a free Thurrott account and read up to three Thurrott Premium articles a month for free. --------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Chrome may warn you about resource-hungry tabs soon ➜ THE SHORT VERSION: Browser tabs often use lots of system resources, slowing down PCs and draining laptop batteries. You can go into your browser's "Task manager" to spot misbehaving tabs — but who wants to constantly micromanage that? 🔎 KNOW MORE: Google is working on a new resource-hungry-tab-warning feature for Chrome. Soon, Chrome may pop up and let you know when a tab is gobbling CPU, memory, and other system resources, letting you put a stop to it in a single click. 📌 READ MORE: Take a look at [how this experimental feature works](). SPONSORED MESSAGE The A-to-Z guide on Mobile Device Management 📕 Sports teams have their playbooks. Grandmas have their cookbooks. And IT managers who deal with devices have the [MDM Buyer’s Guide.](=)​ [Golden Girls cooking and dancing](=)​ Whether you’re buying your very first device, or optimizing your company’s current fleet, this FREE manual covers every stage of the process: - Finding gaps in your current fleet setup - Evaluating vendors and comparing solutions - How to advocate for your preferred MDM - Tips for post-deployment optimization (And Esper is giving away this critical information for free.) ➜ [Download the no-cost MDM Buyer’s Guide today and optimize your fleet.](=) [LEARN TODAY’S TOP DEVICE STRATEGIES​ ➜](=) ​ [] [3 Things to Try This Week] 1. Prepare your PC for almost-certain disaster The CrowdStrike outage is a good reminder that we all might turn on our PCs one day and find them not working properly. Yes, a software bug might take them out, the hardware might fail, or an electrical surge might just fry them. ➜ I recommend considering how you can make your PC experience more robust. The goal? To not be hugely inconvenienced if your computer just doesn't turn on one day — and to get back up and running as quickly as possible. ⌚ Each tip will take you 20 to 30 seconds to consider 💻 This works on both Windows 10 and Windows 11. 📌 Check out [eight PC disaster-prepping tips](=) in my latest Computerworld column. --------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Open a web page in Reader mode in a snap Modern web browsers have a "Reader mode" or "Reader view" that gives you a stripped-down, easy to read view of a web article — no ads or other clutter getting in the way. ➜ It's easy to open a web page in Reader mode — and even easier if you use Firefox or Edge instead of Chrome! ⌚ You can open a web page in Reader mode in about 2 seconds. 💻 This works on both Windows 10 and Windows 11. To open a web page in Reader mode in Google Chrome, right-click the page and select "Open in reading mode." (Unfortunately, Chrome's reading mode opens in a sidebar, not a full-page view.) In Mozilla Firefox or Microsoft Edge, you can just click the article or book-shaped icon that appears at the right side of the address bar while viewing an article. Or, to open it even faster, just press F9 to toggle between reading view and the normal web page. (This shortcut works in Firefox and Edge — but not in Chrome.) [Reading Mode in Mozilla Firefox on Windows.] --------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Customize your photo gallery in File Explorer Windows 11's modern File Explorer has a "Gallery" view that lets you browse your photos and other images as a photo gallery with a timeline — right in File Explorer. ➜ While the Gallery view normally shows everything in your Photos folder in one sprawling view, you can use it to get a gallery view of any photo you like. ⌚ You can select another folder in 5 seconds. 💻 This particular Gallery view is only available on Windows 11. To do this, open File Explorer on your PC, select "Gallery" in the sidebar, and click the "Collection" button on the toolbar. From here, you can add other folders — just click "Manage Collection" and point it at another folder containing images. Once you've added another folder, you can quickly select it from the Collection menu. It's a quick little way to toggle between different collections of images rather than seeing everything in one big sprawling photo library. [The "Collection" menu in File Explorer's photo gallery view.] ​ [] [Top Thurrott Thoughts] Some standout links and expert analysis from our friends at Thurrott, who have been covering Windows since 1994: - ​[Intel Admits to Core Processor Problems, Will Issue Patch](=)​ - Intel says it pinned down the problem with recent CPUs. - ​[Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Generation 15-Inch Review](​ - A great in-depth review. - ​[Microsoft: CrowdStrike Mishap Impacted Less Than 1 Percent of Windows PCs]() - Desktop PCs aside, lots of servers got hit. - ​[Netflix Sucks and So Does Spotify and All the Rest (Premium)]() - More talk about "enshittification." - ​[Bowing to Regulatory Pressure, Google Abandons Plans to Kill Third-Party Cookies](​ - Bad news for online privacy. ​ SPONSORED MESSAGE [AI generated person](=) Learn AI in 5 minutes a day ​[AI Tool Report](=) is teaching people how to save time and earn more with AI. Subscribe for F-R-E-E to learn how to automate tasks and save hours every week! [Subscribe with one click!]() [And Just for Funsies...] This week's most laughable PC-related story is related to CrowdStrike. Now, the CrowdStrike outage isn't funny. CrowdStrike's update failure likely did billions of dollars to damage to the global economy. Affected PCs had to be restored in person. That's why many IT people have been working long hours going from PC to PC — potentially in far-flung locations. CrowdStrike wanted to help. As a "heartfelt thanks and apologies for the inconvenience," CrowdStrike sent out [$10 Uber Eats gift cards](=) to its partners. People have been laughing about that this week. The only thing funnier than CrowdStrike's Uber Eats gift card offer was that the gift card link stopped working when Uber flagged it as fraud. Woops! Until next week... That's it for this week. I hope your weekend is a good one, and that you aren't being affected by the CrowdStrike outage in any way. --------------------------------------------------------------- 📊 Last week's poll results: Readers preferred the Windows 7 Start menu by far, with 46% of the vote. Windows 10 was next up with 28% of the vote, followed by Windows XP with 11% of the vote. Windows 11's Start menu got 9% of the vote. 🗳️ Don't forget to vote in this week's poll: [Did the CrowdStrike outage affect you?]()​ 🤚 Wait! Before you go: What'd you think of this issue? [Thumbs Up]( [Thumbs Down]() Hit the thumbs-up or thumbs-down to cast your vote and let me know. Want less email? [Update your reading preferences](=) to opt out of any individual publications or unsubscribe entirely. New here and not yet subscribed? Take two seconds to [sign up for our newsletters](): Windows Intelligence, Android Intelligence, or Cool Tools (or all three!). Hungry for even more? 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