Computer Learning (HELP)

[Zorax]

Certainly you have followed that guy's advice ever since.

[Zorax]

A little late, but have you looked at any of the 3rd party excel free apps out there? A free data base/excel knockoff less than 5 years old usually allows exporting other/older excel programs to the free one.

Sometimes you don't even need to do that, you download the newer free program and drag your file into it and see if it opens. If it does, you then save to the new program.

You should see if you can upgrade the win7 to win10... millions of people aren't falling for the win 11 threats.

[Ranb2khz]

The Virtual OS Museum opens its doors

~ A massive compilation of historic OSes and the emulators to run them

~ by Liam Proven, 23 May 2026
____________

The Virtual OS Museum is an epic collection of historically significant operating systems, representing more than 600 OSes across upwards of 250 platforms. It’s all local, so you’ll need a good few gigs of space.

The Virtual OS Museum is a giant mixtape for enthusiasts of the history of OS evolution. As an indication of its breadth of coverage, it reaches all the way back to the Manchester Baby – from 1948, Multics, the Xerox Alto, NeXTstep, PowerPC Mac OS X, early versions of Windows NT and Android, and more.

It is one hefty layer-cake of code. The project offers two versions to download. The Full edition is a whopping 121 GB download, which unpacks to 174 GB, but includes everything ready for offline use. If that’s a little indigestible, there’s also a “Lite” edition which includes the various emulators, but not the all the disk and tape images of actual vintage OSes: those are downloaded and run on first use. This is a mere 14 GB download, which expands to 21 GB of space.

The download contains an x86 Linux VM, and inside that are the various emulators, which are listed on the Credits page. The VM should run on most things: the README has instructions for launching it on Linux, and on both macOS and Windows on both x86-64 and Arm64. On Linux and Windows it runs inside VirtualBox, and on macOS inside QEMU. Either way, the package will install and configure the hypervisor for you if needed – including adding itself to an existing copy, if you already have it installed.

There’s a lot in here: the homepage has a section with 45 screenshots and there’s a second page with over 100 more.

This means that its licensing is a little complicated. The launcher and its configuration is distributed under the https://www.mamedev.org/legal.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" >MAME license, which keeps source code available but prohibits commercial use. The metadata of the various OSes is distributed under the CC-BY-NC-SA license. As for the many OSes themselves, the license page merely says:

"Everything else retains its original license. Any commercial software in this collection is included for purposes of historical research and preservation only"

his is followed by a note that nothing in the compilation is still available for retail sale anywhere, and a request for copyright holders to contact the author if they want anything removed.

That author is Canadian developer Andrew Warkentin, who also has a blog called Andrew’s OS Lab, plus a Gitlab instance, holding the project’s scripts, config and website, and for his unfinished RTOS UX/RT.

It’s an impressive assembly. Although this vulture suspects that he’s already tried quite a few of the contents, this is a vastly larger collection than we’ve ever assembled. Part of the value here is that it contains snapshots of various important steps in the evolution of modern computers – including things outside of the main sequence. So many such emulators exist because somebody somewhere got curious and went looking for some relics of code gone by and built tools to run it – but to do that, you need to know that it existed.

If you don’t already know, then this browsable catalog of OSes running via emulation is your illustrated and interactive guide. It’s way more interesting to play with these old systems than just watch videos, and at least for us, it’s more interesting to run it on your own computer than inside an web page.

We’ve also personally failed fairly hard at getting some ancient mainframe OSes running, because the meager available documentation assumes that if you’re interested enough to want to try something, that means that you already know about it. When it comes to very early mainframes, for example, the Reg FOSS desk definitely doesn’t – even though our knowledge reaches back to the early 1980s. On that note, we also like Warkentin's mention that if you break the emulated system, then there is a button to restore to a working snapshot.

In his introductory video, he says that it’s a work-in-progress and he has enough additional candidates yet to add to push the collection to over 2,000 different entries. An updater is included, so you won’t have to re-download the whole thing. He also, slightly disarmingly, does admit that not every single one has been tested yet, and that he’s publishing it partly in the hopes of finding employment.

We wish him luck.
____________

Article Link:

https://www.theregister.com/oses/2026/05/23/the-virtual-os-museum-opens-its-doors/5243459






•

[ksquared]

Good morning and thanks, Zorax.
I'm not ignoring you. I need to explore all these 'wonderful' services more thoroughly. You have far more pc knowledge than I do. My background is that of a very simple COBOL mainframe batch programmer using an IMS database for online input. Programming was not my passion. I only learned on a need-to-know basis so I could pay my bills.

I do have questions but haven't properly formulated them yet. I appreciate your help and will probably call on you again... please.
Have a good one.

[cintrix]

Apple was for techies

lol I have one even better. I can remember a long time ago - I was thinking about buying my two kids 100 shares of AAPL each in their accounts at a little over 7 a share. I remember discussing it in a pm with some other trader who convinced me not to. He said that no one uses Apple except graphic designers and schools and that Microsoft would totally put them out of business. This was before the splits.

[Koog]

Good luck and best wishes.

[birdguy]

Looking at the links it seems a ways above our abilities. Our biggest problem is saving a 25 year plus excel file we continually add to. I do not like what Microsoft is doing with the newer windows operating systems but we may be stuck with one of them eventually.

[birdguy]

We have galaxy windows phones and have had that type since we switched from the early blackberrys in the early 90's. When we bought our first computer the salesman said Apple was for techies and somewhat difficult and windows was easier. Our second computer had windows 98 and on and on we went.

[Koog]

Denny,

I did not find the move to Apple OS difficult at all but have a lot of experience with personal computers. Also, I made the move many years ago. There is a lot of info online about migrating from Windows to Apple OS and I can try to help you if you need it. Here are some links:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/102565

https://www.tomsguide.com/computing/macos/9-things-windows-users-should-do-first-when-switching-to-macos

[cintrix]

If you have an Iphone and know how to navigate it you shouldn't have a problem changing from Windows to Mac.

[birdguy]

We have been thinking about moving to a mac also. We are currently using Win 7 but more and more things are not working correctly.
How hard was the change? We are completely dumb about technicals in computers. I do use 2 27 inch screens so am able to run several pages at once. We did upgrade our computer 3 years ago to add more memory, a bigger cooling fan, and a couple of other items. But now the person who helped us do it has disappeared so we are kind of flying blind.

Denny

[Zorax]

Great, whatever works.

[cintrix]

Was never able to get the third screen so I did a workaround. I wasn't aware that Schwab Think or Swim allows multiple sign ins - unlike the new Etrade Power Pro that doesn't. So what I did was buy a lap top with a big screen and I have two separate TOS sign ins and setups on each computer. This way I have three active screens running with data - the main computer with the two screens run both TOS and Power Etrade Pro and the laptop is exclusive fro TOS.

[Zorax]

Hi cintrix. Do you have an update of your issue?

[Zorax]

I'm going to look into linux because ms has crippled win 10 so much to force one to get win 11. Thing is, ms stopped all updates to any win10 except security updates they want you to pay for yet keep windows update running in the background with no way to stop it fully. Turn it off in 'services' and it reloads itself in three days. And supposedly, if you run a 3rd party firewall and virus program, it's supposed to turn off win defense, but it no longer can be turned off regardless if running a 3rd party. The services are still running in the background.

These are all telemetry programs which call home in the background like the ms account does.

[Koog]

I moved to Apple Macs after Windows 7. I'm glad I did and should have done it sooner.

[ksquared]

Thanks for this, Zorax.
I started it and will get back to it later.
This is a new laptop. I finally "upgraded" from Win7 to Winll.
The first thing I did was uninstall OneDrive.
It'll be interesting to hear what this man has to say.
Thanks again.

[Zorax]

This is not what I want to see from Microshit. If anyone thought apple was bad, this should really piss people off.

[Ranb2khz]

Microsoft patches actively exploited Office zero-day vulnerability

~ by Sergiu Gatlan, January 26, 2026

Microsoft has released emergency out-of-band security updates to patch a high-severity Microsoft Office zero-day vulnerability exploited in attacks.

The security feature bypass vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2026-21509, affects multiple Office versions, including Microsoft Office 2016, Microsoft Office 2019, Microsoft Office LTSC 2021, Microsoft Office LTSC 2024, and Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise (the company's cloud-based subscription service).

However, as noted in today's advisory, security updates for Microsoft Office 2016 and 2019 are not yet available and will be released as soon as possible.

While the preview pane is not an attack vector, unauthenticated local attackers can still successfully exploit the vulnerability through low-complexity attacks that require user interaction.

"Reliance on untrusted inputs in a security decision in Microsoft Office allows an unauthorized attacker to bypass a security feature locally. An attacker must send a user a malicious Office file and convince them to open it," Microsoft explained.

"This update addresses a vulnerability that bypasses OLE mitigations in Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Office which protect users from vulnerable COM/OLE controls."

"Customers on Office 2021 and later will be automatically protected via a service-side change, but will be required to restart their Office applications for this to take effect," it added.

Although Office 2016 and 2019 aren't immediately patched against attacks, Microsoft has provided confusing mitigation measures that could "reduce the severity of exploitation."

We have attempted to clear this up with our instructions below:

1. Close all Microsoft Office applications.

2. Create a backup of the Windows Registry, as incorrectly editing it can cause issues with the operating system.

3. Open the Windows Registry Editor (regedit.exe) by clicking on the Start menu and typing regedit, and then pressing Enter when it appears in the search results.

4. When open, use the address bar at the top to see if one of the following Registry keys exists:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\COM Compatibility\ (for 64-bit Office, or 32-bit Office on 32-bit Windows)

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\COM Compatibility\ (for 32-bit Office on 64-bit Windows)

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\ClickToRun\REGISTRY\MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\COM Compatibility\

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\ClickToRun\REGISTRY\MACHINE\Software\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\COM Compatibility\

If one of the above keys does not exist, create a new "COM Compatibility" key under this Registry path by right-clicking on Common and selecting New -> Key.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\

5. Now right-click on the existing or newly created COM Compatibility key and select New -> Key and name it {EAB22AC3-30C1-11CF-A7EB-0000C05BAE0B}.

6. When the new {EAB22AC3-30C1-11CF-A7EB-0000C05BAE0B} is created, right-click on it, select New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name the new value Compatibility Flags.

7. When the Compatibility Flags value is created, double-click on it, make sure the Base option is set to Hexadecimal, and enter 400 in the Value data field.

After performing these steps, the flaw will be mitigated when you next launch an Office application.

Microsoft has not shared who discovered the vulnerability or any details on how it is exploited, and a spokesperson was not immediately available for comment when contacted by BleepingComputer earlier today.

Earlier this month, as part of the January 2026 Patch Tuesday, Microsoft issued security updates for 114 flaws, including one actively exploited and two publicly disclosed zero-day bugs.

The other actively exploited zero-day patched this month is an information disclosure flaw in the Desktop Window Manager, tagged by Microsoft as "important severity," that can let attackers to read memory addresses associated with the remote ALPC port.

Last week, Microsoft also released multiple out-of-band Windows updates to fix shutdown and Cloud PC bugs triggered by the January Patch Tuesday updates, as well as another set of emergency updates to address an issue causing the classic Outlook email client to freeze or hang.
_______________

Article Link:

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/microsoft-patches-actively-exploited-office-zero-day-vulnerability/

For more articles like this, please visit the Malware, Virus & Cybersecurity Articles iHub board: https://investorshub.advfn.com/Malware-Virus-and-Cybersecurity-Articles-46614






•

[Ranb2khz]

Does anyone have experience with the Wine Windows app? Just ran across this article, and curious to know how effective it is at running Windows programs on a MacOS.

https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/15/wine_11_arrives_faster_and/






•

[cintrix]

He said a splitter would cause the mirror effect, but a hub would give it independent properties! I will try and see if this product exists.

[Newly2b]

With my setup there is no direct connection between the monitors and the computer, but they all plug into the docking station so the connection between the computer and the monitors apparently takes place within the docking station itself. The purpose of using a docking station is to provide more connections (ports) than one's computer offers.

Sounds like your talk with Acer was helpful. I hope he is right about there being docking stations that connect to HDMI, but you still need to be sure it will allow extended displays, not just mirroring.

Well, I am out of ideas here so again, good luck, Citrix.

[cintrix]

lmao so you have wire salad behind your computer! Ok, so you were right from the get go! Called Acer - I almost called Asus by mistake since I wasn't done with my coffee! lol Anyhow, I got through right away! The guy looked up my model and confirmed that the USB-C port does NOT support video. That port would be useful to maybe plug in a cell phone. But no video capabilities.
He said that he believes that they DO sell a docking station that connects via HDMI. I will check out your link and try and see if I can find one.

[Newly2b]

I think I may have been mistaken about the docking station going into a wall socket. I just checked it out. The difficulty is that I set that docking station up years ago and am running two separate computer systems on this desk with lots of tangled wires many of which are plugged into a power strip and I no longer remember which plugs go to which accessories/computers. In searching with a flashlight behind the monitors it does appear that the docking station is NOT plugged into the power strip so it must be using power from the computer plugged into it which IS plugged into a power strip that is plugged into the wall. It's such a mess of wires I cannot be 100% sure, but as near as I can determine.

That makes me wonder if there are docking stations available for sale that aren't USB-C. This might help:

https://dockuniverse.com/how-to-use-a-docking-station-without-usb-c/

Read it and see if anything there is applicable to your situation. Good luck!

[cintrix]

I am on my first cup of coffee and not understanding that one. Yes the docking station would be powered by the house power but I still need the connection between the main computer to the screen. The reason I never had this problem before is because Etrade use to allow me multiple sign ins. So I would use the main computer signed into my etrade account, and then I would use my laptop to sign in to Etrade a second time and have that one connected to another screen. Main computer was screen one, laptop was screen two, and the screen connected to laptop was three.

I also did not find any HDMI hub that could plug into the HDMI port and provide additional HDMI ports That would be the only way to do this imo. They do have hdmi splitters but that would only allow me to connect two screens and have a mirror image which I don't want.

I am going to call acer right now.

[Newly2b]

A docking station that plugs into the wall is powered by house power, and your computer and all your accessories/peripherals plug into the docking station. I have an older computer I run with such a docking station that has the computer, 2 monitors, speakers, printer, keyboard, mouse, etc. all plugged into it as well as an accessory that adds 4 USB ports.

In other words, the docking station isn't plugged into the computer, the computer is plugged into the docking station, as are your monitors, etc. Anyway, it is kind of a moot point since these no longer seem to be available for sale. . .

I also did not find any HDMI hub that could plug into the HDMI port and provide additional HDMI ports. Sorry I couldn't be of more assistance.

[cintrix]

The other solution would be a docking station with HDMI ports that either plugs into the wall (or into your one and only HDMI port, but again I don't know whether such a thing exists). I did find
on Amazon, an Anker that plugs into the wall but at $270 you'd likely be better off just buying a cheap computer for the third monitor

Plugs into the wall? I don't think that would work for what I need. I need to be able to drag things from my two trading platforms that I have on my main computer to other screens. If it isn't plugged into this main computer I can't see how I would be able to do that.
And I would have no problem buying another monitor but where would it be plugged into if I'm using the one and only hdmi port on the computer?

I'm going to try and see if I can get acer on the phone which is probably near impossible. I'll let you know if I get anywhere.

[Newly2b]

I'm sorry to hear that Cintrix. The only other thing I can think of is if you found a hub that plugged into the HDMI port on your computer and that hub had two or more HDMI ports but I have no idea if such a thing exists. The other solution would be a docking station with HDMI ports that either plugs into the wall (or into your one and only HDMI port, but again I don't know whether such a thing exists). I did find
on Amazon, an Anker that plugs into the wall but at $270 you'd likely be better off just buying a cheap computer for the third monitor LOL.

Perhaps the best solution is for you to take the problem to the computer geek sites on the Net and see if anyone can offer a solution or stop by a computer store and pick the brain of the clerk. Best of luck. Let me know if you find a solution that works. . .

[cintrix]

You were right! Got the hub and plugged it into the usb-C port and same exact thing happened. It obviously doesn't support video. I even tried unplugging the screen I have plugged into the hdmi port (screen 2) and tried plugging that into an hdmi port from the hub and of course that didn't work either because the hub is connected via the usb-C. Well, it was worth a try. Happy New Year.

[cintrix]

I will let you know. thanks

[Newly2b]

I'll Be curious to see if the VGA port works if its plugged into the USB-C that doesn't support video. I have my doubts. That said I wonder if the HDMI ports on it would work? Let me know what you find out. Good luck!

[cintrix]

You were beyond helpful. And I did see that all the connectors were usb C . What I did was I bought one that has a vga port. I will try seeing if the usb C works with the dock. If it doesn't I won't fret because I could always use those extra ports. What I don't like about these all-in-one screen/pc's is that you don't have easy access to the ports without having to turn your screen around so if it doesn't work it will still be helpful for me.
Thank you again!!!!

[Newly2b]

I just checked AI for your exact computer and here is what it said:

"Not all USB-C ports support DisplayPort Alternate Mode (DP Alt Mode), so it's important to check the specifications of your specific Acer Aspire C27 model to confirm if its USB-C port has this capability. If it does not support DP Alt Mode, it won't be able to output video to an external monitor."

I'm sure there is a solution to this problem but the docking stations I'm seeing on Amazon now are all USB-C plug ins and I don't think that would work with a USB-C that is not DP Alt Mode, but I don't know for sure. I suggest you go to a computer store or a geeky friend (LOL) or even a computer site on the Net and see what they suggest to solve this problem. Perhaps something that plugs into your one HDMI port and outputs 2 or 3 HDMI ports would work, but be sure to check if that would work for both mirroring and extended displays.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help. Let me know how you solve this problem -- hopefully not by having to buy a new computer, LOL.

[cintrix]

Ok this sounds like a plan. I bought both adapters from amazon - the vga to HDMI adapter for screen number two that is working fine! But just like you, I have only one hdmi port. BTW, this is a fairly new computer:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CRC2HYMY?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_7&th=1

So I will probably need to buy a docking station that plugs into hdmi and then another vga-to-hdmi adapter so that i can plug two vga screens into the hub. Does that sound right?

[Newly2b]

Thank you for noticing my absence, Cintrix, and I do confess, I have become a lurker, LOL. Anyway, if you are using an older computer, the USB-C port is likely not DP Alt Mode, and that is probably your problem. Try asking AI if the USB-C port on your specific computer is DP Alt Mode. That may get you a definitive answer. I can't remember how I found out mine was not, whether the answer was in the manual or from AI, but as soon as I bought an HDMI to VGA adaptor and plugged into the one and only HDMI port on my older computer the monitor came right up and looked fine. So, I bought a docking station and now have more HDMI (and other) ports than I need right now, but who knows what the future may hold, LOL. I expect a docking station would work for you as well if you are certain the problem is not in the monitor. I believe Amazon also has adaptors that plug into your one and only HDMI port and give you 2 or 3 or more HDMI ports, but not sure. A docking station can offer additional other ports as well, and is, obviously, a better, longer-term solution. Some even have a direct VGA port on them so you wouldn't even need an adaptor. Let me know how it all works out. Good luck.

P.S. I bought the UBS-C to VGA adaptor at Amazon, and they accepted my return of that item in exchange for an HDMI to VGA adaptor, no problem.

[cintrix]

Would that work where I could use the screens separately and not mirrored? If so, can you link me to this device?

[cintrix]

Hello Newly, so nice to see you around. Yes I thought maybe that might be it but I can't for the life of me figure out what type of port it is other than in the description of the computer which says 10Gbps Type C port. I can't see anything on the back of the computer. This is probably why it won't work.

[Newly2b]

Since HDMI ports can (with an adapter) support VGA monitors an easy solution would be to get a docking station with the number of HDMI ports you need. That solved my problem.

[Newly2b]

Hi, Cintrix. I recently had the same problem when trying to connect an older VGA monitor to my older (Win10) Lenovo. Turns out not all USB-C ports will support VGA. Only USB-C ports marked DP Alt Mode (Display Port Alternate Mode) on newer computers will. Check the owner's manual for your computer and that will usually tell you whether the USB-C port on your computer will support a VGA monitor or try calling the manufacturer if the owner's manual does not specify. I think part of the problem may be that USB-C ports are digital while VGA monitors are analog, but not sure. Good Luck.

[cintrix]

If anyone is still out there on this board...Help! I am trying to add a third screen.

I have two old VGA monitors. 2nd screen I have doing fine. I attached it using a HDMI to VGA adapter. Connected it to my one and only hdmi jack in the back of pc. Works fine.

Now I need to add third screen and it needs to be separate screen, not a mirror screen so I can't splice two to one jack on the hdmi. So I bought another adapter but this time for the USB-C jack to VGA. Plugged it in but the computer will not recognize it at all.
Have tried everything including:
-Unplugging and re plugging connections.
-Making sure "extend" was enabled
-Going into display and trying to use the "detect other display" option to no avail.
-Disconnecting the monitor and trying a different one to make sure it wasn't that particular monitor - happened on both.
-Disabling the driver to see if another driver would install for the new connection
-Rebooted computer and screens multiple times.

Either the USB-C jack isn't compatible with the adapter, or, could it possibly be that the adapter I bought is faulty?
I'm using Windows 11 so I have a feeling this has something to do with the problem. New tech - old equipment.
Not sure if I should chance getting another adapter or maybe a regular usb to vga adapter - not sure if that would work.

[cintrix]

Has anyone downloaded Windows 11 2025 Update Version 25H2:

The latest Windows 11 2025 Update builds on the innovations introduced in the 2024 release, delivering a more polished, secure, and intelligent Windows experience. While this update doesn’t introduce major new features, it activates enhancements that have been gradually rolled out over the past year ensuring your device is up to date with the latest refinements.

Built by listening to your feedback, this update also increases security to ensure a safer and more reliable experience.

[rbtree]

Hope this helps. https://www.flickrhelp.com/hc/en-us/requests/new Edit, I see you were provided a better link. Provide flickr with any email address that you could have used. That said, it is under new ownership, so who knows if old info is searchable.

While you're there, you might enjoy some pics https://www.flickr.com/photos/rbtree/

[Zorax]

YW 👌

[Wayne R]

Thanks 👍️

[Zorax]

Sorry, I don't know anything about flicker.

But I was wondering why they're asking for your image? Or is that something that looks like what you're trying to recover?
Oh yeah, nothing is safe on the cloud, or anyone else server except your own offline storage.

Clone your entire hard drives or ssd to another drive and ssd and you'll have that backup.
Start backing up to your external media that does not connect to the internet at all.

Always make sure you are using the most recent viable file system for the OS as well. Most windows still support NTFS for now. We have to think about archiving stuff now. I've got crap on old floppies yet stored somewhere in the dark recesses of my basement. There may be pics I can still access though. Programs working, not so much.

https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/fat32-vs-exfat-vs-ntfs-which-format-is-best-for-your-storage-drive

[Wayne R]

Thanks, I think the photos are lost, what I remember as username, password, etc are lost. It suggests uploading a photo that might look like me, however I have to give information already lost.

I'll have to scour Ihub and SI to find a flikr image I may have posted.

That could send me down the right road, or not..........

[Koog]

Try this series of help pages by answering the questions and moving through them:
https://www.flickrhelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/4437851573396-Flickr-Account-Recovery-Process

[Wayne R]

OK, am going to leave a puzzle here that I can't figure out.

Maybe 20 years ago I had a flickr account that was tied to my Yahoo account. Both of which I haven't used for ages.

Now, I want to check a photo that I know is there, but in 20 years I have pretty much lost the user name and password, email changed and I don't even know if those pictures are still there.

Any ideas how I can back get there? It seems hopeless.

[ksquared]

It's money that matters...

[Zorax]

That's probably because most browser incognito modes likely just turn off the 'acceptable ads' default. I suspect soon no browser will give you any control of ads in any way. Money speaks louder than public privacy.