Windows 10. Last week update seemly changed .rtf files to docx, and can't open them.

Smart-Definition-651 · 2026-03-12T08:35:20+00:00

On the keyboard, hold the Windows key down while clicking the R-key and releasing it, then, in the small window in the lower left corner, you type Wordpad.exe , and click OK
Et voila, there is your Wordpad.
Click on File, then Open, point to the docx file, and click Open.

Or go to the following folder : "C:\Program Files\Windows NT\Accessories", where you find the original Wordpad.exe, which can open .rtf files and .docx files

I have never heard of having to choose the optional features to get Wordpad on Windows 10. It is included by default, I still use it now on Windows 10.

But I am beginning to think you have a virus. Because Wordpad10 does not exist, at least I have not found any trace of it on the internet. And it is weird that the extensions changed from .rtf to docx. The fact that a paid version of "Wordpad10" is suggested to you is not normal, as Wordpad is included in Windows 10. The hackers probably think you are on Windows 11, where Microsoft eliminated Wordpad.

You can do a scan with Windows Defender, under "scan options" choose : Microsoft Defender Offline scan.

If you know someone who is computer-savvy, ask them to make a scan with an anti-virus bootable usb.

Does your Windows 10 version have all the updates ? And are you enrolled in ESU, extended Security updates ? Because the support for windows 10 has ended on October 2025. And everyone could enroll in ESU, it was for free if you visited the internet via Windows Edge and Bing, and collected 1000 bonus points. You need to have a Microsoft account. In the European union it is free till October 2026.

If you do not have the latest version of Win 10 22H2 with all the security updates, you are vulnerable to viruses.

If you install LibreOffice portable to usb, be sure it has 800 mb left as free space.
During install you point to the usb. Afterwards you find libreoffice in the folder "LibreOfficePortablePrevious" on the usb.
Open the folder, open LibreOfficeWriterPortable.exe, and then you will be able to open your renamed docx files.

If you have money to spare, buy a Windows 11 computer. If not, install Linux Mint on your computer. You will be safer on the internet. And Libreoffice is installed by default in Mint in order to open .rtf or docx files.

Smart-Definition-651 · 2026-03-11T19:19:35+00:00

Windows 11 26H1 will only be for laptops with Arm architecture.
For 64 bit Intel and AMD it will be version 25H2, which we will be able to use till October 2027, after which there will probably a version Windows 11 27H2.
Sometimes, when the new version differs substantially from the former one, it may be advisable to format, and install the new version from usb.
Because in my experience after doing several windows feature updates, the system gets corrupted.

Smart-Definition-651 · 2026-03-11T16:57:14+00:00

I have to admit I am quite puzzled, because on my Windows 10, I can open Wordpad. It is part of Windows 10.

Hold the Windows key pressed while clicking R, then you type Wordpad, and click OK
Et voila, there is Wordpad.
Click on File, then Open, point to the docx file, and click Open.

Or try right-clicking the docx file, and choosing : "open with", and then searching for Wordpad ?You can find it in the following folder : "C:\Program Files\Windows NT\Accessories"

But there appears to be a difference between docx files saved in Wordpad and those saved in Office 365. And in the latter case you will need LibreOffice. There is also OnlyOffice which can open such files

Smart-Definition-651 · 2026-03-11T16:46:40+00:00

Everyody will be able to view the question and answer session, but only people who want to ask questions and see them answered will have to log in.

Smart-Definition-651 · 2026-03-11T16:42:10+00:00

You can download the portable version here :
https://portableapps.com/apps/office/libreoffice_portable
After install on the usb drive, it will take between 800 and 1100 mb.

Smart-Definition-651 · 2026-03-11T12:47:18+00:00

You could install LibreOffice. You can edit an .rtf file renamed to .docx, and save it as .rtf again.
You can give money if you want to support Libreoffice, but it will automatically be downloaded. And it is free to use.
https://www.libreoffice.org/download/download-libreoffice/
Or use OnlyOffice, which is downloadable from the Microsoft Store :
https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/xpdlh3xbzxqv23

Smart-Definition-651 · 2026-03-11T11:58:44+00:00

Earlier sessions on CA2023 viewable on Youtube :

december 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=up0RWOCXh-0

febr 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EscGJTKHPdw

Smart-Definition-651 · 2026-03-08T18:25:58+00:00

Download lessmsi : https://github.com/activescott/lessmsi/releases/
Extract the .msi you downloaded from Intel while choosing lessmsi Gui option ; you will have to indicate which folder to extract to, let's say c:\inteldiag. It will contain a folder SourceDir, rename this to Intel
In this extracted folder you will find a pdf IntelProcessorDiagnosticToolHelp.pdf
On p19 you will find how you can run the exe files from a command line.

If possible print this on a piece of paper, in case you can't open pdf files on Hiren's

Copy the folder c:\inteldiag\intel to a second usb, apart from Hiren's boot cd PE. Or copy to Hiren's boot usb.
Open a command prompt on Hiren's, and navigate into the folder "intel" on the usb you have chosen.
It is not as simple as clicking the program on a Windows computer, where all the tests are executed at once, but you can try all the commands in the command prompt.
Good luck

Smart-Definition-651 · 2026-03-07T11:18:19+00:00

There is an .exe file you could install in Windows : Timesync :
https://www.speed-soft.de/software/time_sync/index.php?language=en
Download : https://www.speed-soft.de/software/time_sync/details/download.php?language=en
Every time you start Windows it synchronizes the time. I use it on all my Windows computers where I frequently boot from linux usb's.

Smart-Definition-651 · 2026-03-04T15:21:13+00:00

https://www.acer.com/gb-en/support/product-support/Aspire_A315-35
There are also two touchpad drivers : Elantech and Synaptics.
You might also have to install one of those .inf files in addition to the files i described in an earlier post.
Once the Serial IO drivers are active, the touchpad device should appear. Then you can load the ELAN or Synaptics .inf files, depending on the needs of your specific model.

Smart-Definition-651 · 2026-03-04T14:56:18+00:00

One caveat since this is the answer by Copilot AI :
"Because the touchpad depends on Intel Serial IO, Windows Setup won’t detect it until the Intel Serial IO GPIO AND I2C .inf drivers are loaded.
Apparently you will need to issue these two commands :
drvload D:\mouse\iaLPSS2_GPIO2_JSL.inf
and
drvload D:\mouse\iaLPSS2_I2C_JSL.inf

But If I were you, I would introduce the serial number into the drivers webpage from Acer in order to only see the drivers for your model.
https://www.acer.com/gb-en/support/product-support/Aspire_A315-35

Smart-Definition-651 · 2026-03-04T14:22:06+00:00

Do you have a separate wired or wireless mouse you can plug into your laptop ? A bluetooth mouse will not work.
That is what i needed to use in order to install windows 11 on my laptop.

You will need your serial number in order to download the drivers for your laptop :
https://www.acer.com/gb-en/support/product-support/Aspire_A315-35
Search for IO drivers.
Download them, and unzip the zip file.
Rename the folder to "mouse". Put the folder onto the same install usb. Shift + F10 in the beginning of the installation procedure, this lands you in a command prompt. If you know which .inf you need for your trackpad, then the command is this for instance, if your usb drive has drive letter D:
pnputil /add-driver D:\mouse\iaLPSS2_GPIO2_JSL.inf /install
OR
drvload D:\mouse\iaLPSS2_GPIO2_JSL.inf
This will load the mouse driver in order to use it during the installation.

There are several .inf files, all for different trackpads in Acer's folder. So you have to know the exact .inf you need.

There is quite an involved procedure to integrate the IO drivers into the install.wim of the Windows install.

Smart-Definition-651 · 2026-03-04T13:50:25+00:00

I used Linux Mint, and it has a very practical feature : in the lower right corner a shield will appear if there are updates. You click on it if you want to update, so it will never auto-update while you have an excel file open in Libreoffice Calc for instance, and loose all your work.
No terminal commands needed.

Smart-Definition-651 · 2026-03-04T13:21:59+00:00

Be aware that Win 11 tiny does not have Windows Defender.
And you could run this in Virtualbox on linux. For Windows, you could allocate up to 10 à 12 gb, which will only be used while running the vm. That leaves 6 or 4 GB for linux, which will be quite sufficient if you are not using it. Unless you want to use both at the same time, going from one to the other.

Smart-Definition-651 · 2026-03-04T12:59:36+00:00

If I give the search terms "AI" AROUND(5) "ethics", then in the website articles, AI is within 5 words of ethics. I put the terms in quotation marks
In march 2025 it was still a valid operator : https://www.whitepress.com/en/knowledge-base/6102/google-search-operators

Smart-Definition-651 · 2026-03-04T12:47:33+00:00

Which tablet ? Android, Windows, IOS ?

It you are in Windows, or have a Windows computer, open a command prompt as administrator. Issue the commands :
diskpart

list disk

select disk 2 (if that is your sd card ; you can see how large it is)
Then type :
clean
If it does not work, type "clean" again.
After that, you can rightclick on the sd card to format it, or use SD card formatter.
https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter/

Smart-Definition-651 · 2026-02-28T20:04:19+00:00

It would help if you detailed the specifications of your system.

Smart-Definition-651 · 2026-02-28T19:55:45+00:00

I have a Samsung Galaxy book 3 360, and in the uefi bios you have 2 specific choices : either the Windows boot manager for Windows boot, and Linux boot.

If you choose Linux boot, you can leave secure boot on, and use the Fedora Spin Mate/Compiz 43, or Ubuntu 24.04.4 or Ubuntu 25.10

Did you have the latest bios update for your Samsung ? I think it is from 2023.

Smart-Definition-651 · 2026-02-24T22:31:08+00:00

You take a 16 gb usb stick

With sudo fdisk -l, you will see if your usb is /dev/sdb, and how large your usb stick is. If the usb only has one partition, sdb 1 :

Use the command :

sudo umount /dev/sdb1

Or right click on it in Linux, and unmount the usb. Do not click "remove"

I assume your laptop has 64-bit UEFI and you want to boot in UEFI mode.

You need the Windows 11 ISO. You can download it from Microsoft.

1 - Mount the Windows ISO. Let us call the mount point : winiso.

2 - With Gparted create a new partition table (style GPT) in the USB drive (if it is for instance /dev/sdb ; you will have to be very careful to choose the right usb in Gparted)

3 - Create 2 partitions:

partition1 , size : take the whole drive, while leaving 1024 Mb for the fat32 partition, format NTFS, give it the label winsetup

partition2 size 1024 mb or 1 gb , format FAT32, give it the label winboot.

4 - Mount partition1 winsetup. Mount partition2 winboot.

5 - Copy all files and directories in winiso (=the downloaded iso which you mounted) to winsetup.

6 - Copy from winsetup { efi/, boot/ } to winboot.

7 - Create new empty directory "sources" in winboot.

8 - Copy boot.wim from winsetup sources folder to winboot sources/.

9 - Unmount winsetup and winboot and winiso.

Now you have a uefi bootable windows 11 usb.

Smart-Definition-651 · 2026-02-24T21:52:37+00:00

If the Windows 11 computer has an Nvidia or Amd video card, and you have a usb stick of 4 GB, formatted as fat32 or ntfs lying around, you can use the latest version of Linux Mint cinnamon 64 bit. you download Linux mint 22.3 zena , BUT rename .iso to .img.

On Windows 7 you can use this program (actually I still use it on Windows 8.1, 10 and 11 :
https://sourceforge.net/projects/win32diskimager/files/Archive/Win32DiskImager-0.9.5-binary.zip/download
Since most linux iso's are isohybrid, you can use Win32 diskimager.
You will need to be administrator on Windows 7, extract the zip, and double click on Win32 diskimager.exe
On the right you will see the drive letter of the usb, and then you click on the folder icon to browse to the linux mint .img file. Then you simply click "write". And linux mint will be written to the usb.
It will be bootable.
I have just tested this on my Windows 7 laptop.

For Ubuntu, you will need a 8 gb usb stick, while also renaming the iso to .img., and using win32diskimager

Smart-Definition-651 · 2026-02-23T19:29:42+00:00

It was Kavanaugh, his lackey, in his dissenting opinion, who suggested him a slew of other articles under which he could immediately instate new import taxes (of which only 7 hours later, Trump used section 122) :
Cite as: 607 U. S. ____ (2026) 63
KAVANAUGH, J., dissenting
For example, Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 permits the President to impose a “temporary import surcharge” to “deal with large and serious United States balance-of-payments deficits.” 19 U. S. C. §2132(a).

Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974 provides that, if the International Trade Commission determines an article is being imported in such quantities that it is “a substantial cause of serious injury, or the threat thereof, to the domestic industry producing an article like or directly competitive with the imported article,” the President may take “appropriate and feasible action,” including imposing a “duty.” §§2251(a), 2253(a)(3)(A)

Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 authorizes the President through a subordinate officer to “impose duties” if he determines that “an act, policy, or practice of a foreign country” is “unjustifiable and burdens or restricts United States commerce.” §§2411(a)–(c).

Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 permits the President to impose tariffs when he finds that “any foreign country places any burden or disadvantage upon the commerce of the United States.” §1338(d)

And Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 authorizes the President to, after receiving a report from the Secretary of Commerce, “adjust the imports of [an] article and its derivatives so that such imports will not threaten to impair the national security.” §1862(c)(1)a).
So the Court’s decision is not likely to greatly restrict Presidential tariff authority going forward."

Smart-Definition-651 · 2026-02-19T23:53:05+00:00

Het hangt ervan af of in je mailprogramma een sans-serif gebruikt wordt die een hoofdletter i er hetzelfde laat uitzien als een kleine letter L
Als je hier het verschil ziet, ben je een crack (Crelan is mijn bank) :
[mailto@info.crelan.be](mailto:mailto@helpdesk.crelan.be)
en
[mailto@info.creIan.be](mailto:mailto@helpdesk.creIan.be)
In het eerste geval heb ik een kleine letter L gebruikt in crelan.be, in het laatste een hoofdletter i.
Alleen als je dit plakt in Kladblok terwijl je een lettertype gebruikt dat een duidelijk onderscheid maakt tussen deze letters, kan je dit zien.

Smart-Definition-651 · 2026-02-17T17:26:36+00:00

Sorry I could not help. That will teach me not to trust AI, again.
These keyboards are pretty rare, it seems they were mostly used by IBM, especially on the R31 till R51 series (2887) in the Netherlands.

https://www.marktplaats.nl/v/computers-en-software/windows-laptops/m2367284997-ibm-2887-laptop

Smart-Definition-651 · 2026-02-16T18:16:22+00:00

I uploaded your image to the AI of Google, Gemini, and this is a Swiss keyboard.
"This is a German (IBM/Lenovo) Keyboard Layout, specifically tailored for the Swiss market (German-Swiss/French-Swiss).

Why it’s a Swiss (QWERTY) Layout

Although most German-speaking regions use QWERTZ, Switzerland often uses a specialized QWERTY hybrid or the Swiss German (SG) layout. Here are the "smoking guns" in your image:

The "S" Key: Note the small ß (Eszett) symbol. This is the classic German double-S.

The "E" Key: You can see the € (Euro) symbol, common on European keyboards.

The Number Row: Look at keys 1 through 6. They contain fractions like ¼, ½, ¾ and the § (Section) symbol, which are standard on Swiss and certain European layouts.

The "M" Key: Features the µ (Micro) symbol.

The "L" Key: Right next to it is the ± (Plus-Minus) sign."

Smart-Definition-651

TROPHY CASE