Kajper's Info Corner

Justin Rogers59 said:Sorry for crashing the party here, but I wanted to ask Robert Rodriguez2 how to clone macOS from one Western Digital drive to another. My current drive is basically on life support.

http://www.maximumpc.com/how_clone_h...ve_or_ssd_2014

Michael Jackson10 said:What's up? Did they seriously start the upgrade already?
Did someone just go big? Or what?
It all started out pretty innocently: "hey, let me patch up this old rig for a few bucks." Now? I'm deep in it—buying cables, surge protectors, an SSD... you know how it goes.
Just kidding...

Honestly, you can pick whatever you want, but there’s really no point in going anything smaller than 128GB given how prices are right now. As for the brand? It’s kind of a "to each their own" situation. Let's be real—about 70% of what you see on the market uses the exact same controller and memory anyway.

Just wanted to flex a little... finally upgraded to 2x4 DDR3 and an SSD. Feeling good. 😁

Michael Jackson10 said:Once you finally swap in that new SSD, you're basically doing a fresh install of macOS anyway, regardless of which version you pick. Honestly, it might be smart to just unplug your old Western Digital drive during the process? That way you don't end up with some annoying dual boot menu since you aren't planning on touching those old files ever again, right?
You’re gonna need to reinstall all those programs on that SSD—anything you're currently using or just want back on there for later. Simple enough, right? There’s also a disk cloning option out there, but it'd probably just try to push a different version of Windows anyway, so that’s a non-starter.
Once you finally get that SSD set up, you could just boot the whole system from there. That way, you can wipe everything related to those old Windows installs and programs off the old drive completely. Wouldn't that be much cleaner? So, I've decided to turn my hard drive into nothing but a data warehouse. Why bother with anything else?

It’s the same story... I honestly thought all my programs would be sitting on that old Western Digital drive. I figured if anything ever went sideways with my macOS, my apps would still be safe and sound on the Western Digital, you know?
Makes sense... I guess you wouldn't even really feel the speed of that SSD if things weren't set up right. But hey, quick question: does everything have to live on the SSD, or can I just keep some stuff on my old Western Digital?
I honestly expected it... don't even ask me why. 😁 So, my photos and docs stay on the old drive... right? And I can just set everything up so stuff saves automatically to my Western Digital while keeping my OS strictly on the SSD. It’s not quite that simple, though. But hey, I can always just manually move whatever I want over to the Western Digital. Not exactly a huge deal, is it?
Quick question... if I want to install a new program, does it have to go straight to the SSD, or can I move it over to my Western Digital? I don't want to touch anything currently on the SSD, obviously. I'm just thinking it might be smarter not to clog up the SSD with stuff—like certain apps or games—that I barely even use. What do you guys think?

Think about it this way: running an SSD alongside a standard Western Digital drive means you're dealing with two totally separate physical units. If one bites the dust, it doesn't drag the other one down with it. Say your SSD fails—your Western Digital stays perfectly fine. Makes sense, right?

That's why I figured I'd just keep all my programs on the Western Digital and leave the macOS for the SSD. Just in case... you know, if I ever actually need to reinstall the OS.

Timothy Kim60 said:Not really. You could clone your macOS and all your apps from the Western Digital over to the SSD, or just do a fresh install on it—takes no time at all. But once you go that route...

I thought I wouldn't pull the trigger until next fall, but here we are... now I've got dual storage, 64-bit macOS, and an SSD. 🙂

Thanks again to everyone who hung out in this little corner and helped me out with their advice. 🙏

Most apps—unless they're portable—dump a ton of data into the registry. If your macOS ever crashes and you have to wipe everything, about 90% of those programs won't even work properly; the system won't recognize them as installed, and it just becomes a total mess. I guess it’s best to just put all your software on an SSD C, maybe skipping the massive ones if they're going to eat up half your drive.

You can totally leave your photos, docs, videos, and the downloads folder on a Western Digital... here's how to set that up:
http://www.techsupportalert.com/cont...ther-drive.htm

So, once you install macOS on the SSD, that'll be your C: drive, and you can use the Western Digital as D:. Just make some folders for whatever you want there and change the file locations.

As for games and other junk, you should probably install those on the Western Digital too. If your SSD C is the main drive, just deselect C during installation and pick D instead, and it'll go straight to the Western Digital.

Since I'm not doing this solo, I'll just leave things as they are for now... I'll manually move my photos or whatever else matters into a folder on my Western Digital, and once my buddy gets his PC back up and running, maybe I'll show him this if it seems worth it. (I'll take a look myself, but honestly, I'm too scared of breaking something)
Ideally, everything I download and save—like photos and stuff—would just automatically land on my Western Digital, but that requires some effort, so I'll just keep moving files wherever I want manually.
I'm trying to install Need for Speed onto my Western Digital, but it's just not working. 😢

Edit: I checked out the instructions from that link, and it actually looks pretty straightforward (even though I'm not even at my computer right now, and my English isn't great), but I see people in the comments having issues where it doesn't work right after. So, I'm not touching a thing. Maybe I'll tackle it another time when I actually feel like setting it up.

It’s not even that complicated, honestly. Just a few clicks and you're basically done. Hard to mess this up, I guess.

Yeah, I saw that... it’s pretty straightforward, but people still find ways to mess it up... so they end up stuck. Whatever. If it works for now, I'm happy enough with it. 🙂
It’s always better to take my time than to rush in, break something, and have to call for backup.

Back again... something weird happened (honestly, I have no clue how or why, I didn't even touch anything) where my sleep option just vanished. Like, the setting I had where the computer sleeps after half an hour suddenly stopped working, and the fan just kept spinning. A friend stepped in and installed some drivers, so it's sleeping again, but now every single time it wakes up from sleep, my internet is dead until I unplug and replug the USB adapter.
With this thing, there were issues even after a clean install of macOS, saying the device was outdated or missing drivers, though he did manage to get it running... but now it's acting up again.
The adapter is a Motorola USB. Unfortunately, I didn't ask for advice back then, so I didn't request they install a network card when the PC was being upgraded recently, and since it's a private setup, I'm not allowed to open it up myself.
So now I'm wondering if this USB adapter would be a solid solution—better than what I've got—until the warranty runs out, at which point I can just install a PCI card if I really need to.
Would things be smoother with this, so I don't have to constantly plug and unplug stuff every time it wakes up?
I'm using an Sx763 router, and I'm about 15 feet away in a straight line. If it matters, my speeds are roughly 5–10 Mbit/s download and 320–640 kbit/s upload.
And... is it really just plug-and-play, or is there extra setup involved that might cause it to glitch out?

I read this and that too, but nothing worked.
If getting a new USB drive would fix it, that might be worth it, but what do you guys think? My current one is like 10 years old anyway, so I'm not exactly itching to drop cash $33on a new one.

Rachel Jones8 said:I already tried this and that... nothing worked.
If getting a new USB device actually fixed things, I'd be down, but if anyone has thoughts... my current one is like 10 years old anyway, so I'm not exactly itching to drop cash $33 on a new one.

Look, I can't help you with the silent sleep mode or those specific glitches you're seeing in Windows 8 since I don't run that OS. My BIOS is set to S3 or whatever—point is, when I hit sleep, any key or mouse movement wakes it right up.

A newer adapter should work fine on Windows 8 because it's modern enough; there's a good chance Windows just handles the driver itself. Most of these are plug and play, so you just plug it in, the OS does its thing, and you're good to go.

As for how it handles waking from sleep? No clue. Couldn't find anything online and I don't use it that way, so I have zero experience there.

Maybe someone else here can weigh in on that part.

Grab one of those with an antenna http://www.amazon.com/network-adapter/dp/B00EXAMPLE

It comes with a CD containing all the drivers you need.

I went with the one mentioned above because my previous setup was a total disaster—it was basically a paperweight. It was impossible to track down any drivers, and the performance was garbage; it would overheat constantly and the range was so pathetic I actually had to resort to using an Ethernet cable for a while.

Robert Rodriguez2 said:As for sleep mode, I can't really help with the issues you're having on Windows 8 since I don't even use it. Personally, I have S3 set up in my BIOS—don't remember the specifics right now—but whenever I hit sleep, I can wake the PC back up with any key or just by moving the mouse.

I'm actually on 7, not 8.
Mine wakes up the second I tap the spacebar or touch the mouse... anything, really.
But my Wi-Fi keeps cutting out, so I have to unplug the USB and plug it back in. It’s not a huge deal, but it’s annoying, and I’d love a simple fix if one exists.
I have zero clue what my BIOS settings are... but it used to work fine before it started acting up. This all started after a buddy of mine fixed my sleep settings (they had disappeared). He didn't mess with the BIOS or anything, he just found some drivers on Twitter... then sleep started working again.

Since this newer adapter is more recent, it should work on Windows 8. Most of them are plug and play, so the OS likely has the driver ready. You just plug it in, let the system do its thing, and you're good to go.

Gotcha, thanks. Hopefully it works on 7 too.

Regarding how it handles waking from sleep, I honestly don't know. I couldn't find anything online, and since I don't use it, I haven't dealt with it.

Maybe someone else here knows.

Maybe.
Or maybe not. If I end up buying it, I'll let you guys know how it goes.😁

Timothy Kim60 said:just grab one with an antenna http://www.bestbuy.com/network-adapter

you'll get a disc with the drivers included

The one I picked out has a cord, so I can move it to a better spot, which seemed like a smart move.
I'm planning on getting a PCI card once I can finally open up my PC. Does the antenna actually matter that much... or is it more about where you plug the USB in? It's only about 5m of line-of-sight distance.
My old connection is sitting at 3 out of 5 bars (that little icon in the bottom right corner... when I click it, it shows 4 green ones).

so hibernation isn't working for you?

I don't even have that option.
I've always just used sleep mode, so I'm used to that (I really need the fan to stop spinning when I'm away). When the option suddenly vanished, I asked a friend to help me fix it, but now hibernation is just gone. Honestly, since I've never used it anyway, I don't really miss it.
And yeah, it works... pretty sure it'd be the same thing, I won't have internet until I plug it back in.

Rachel Jones8 said:I already read this and that
and gave them a shot... but nothing worked. If getting a brand new USB$33 drive might actually fix things, I'd be down, but since my current one is like, a decade old, I'm feeling a bit lazy about dropping cash
on a new one.

Personally, I’d also try diving into Control Panel -> Power Options -> Change plan Settings on whatever profile you're running right now -> Change advanced power settings

Then, under Wireless Adapter Settings -> Power Saving mode, just set it to Maximum performance.

You could also try hitting the USB Settings and switching the USB selective suspend setting to Disabled.

That should basically tell your computer, "Hey, don't you dare shut down the Wi-Fi or any of my USB gear!" 🤷

graniteeagle25 said:I'd also suggest checking out Control Panel -> Power Options -> Change plan Settings for whatever you're currently using -> Change advanced power settings

then under wireless adapter Settings -> Power Saving mode, just pick Maximum performance.

It's already on max.

Maybe try setting USB selective suspend setting to Disabled under USB Settings.

That should basically tell the computer not to cut power to the Wi-Fi adapter or any USB gear. 🤷

Just changed those... I'll let you know.

Nope, didn't help, still the same issue. Whatever, if the new one works fine, I'm happy. 🙂

Honestly, if you're paying the same price, it’s a no-brainer to get the one with the antenna. You just screw the antenna directly onto the unit, so there isn't any issue regarding where you place it.

Let me fix it myself
To disable hibernation, just follow these steps:

Click Start, then type cmd into the Start Search box.
From the search results, right-click Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.
When User Account Control pops up, click Continue.
In the command prompt, type powercfg.exe /hibernate off and hit Enter.
Type EXIT and then press Enter to close the Command Prompt window.

To re-enable hibernation, follow this process:

Click Start, then type cmd into the Start Search box.
Right-click Command Prompt in the results and select Run as administrator.
Once User Account Control asks for permission, click Continue.
At the command prompt, type powercfg.exe /hibernate on and press Enter.
Type EXIT and then press Enter to close the Command Prompt window.

Timothy Kim60 said:Honestly, if you're paying the same price, why wouldn't you want an antenna? It just screws right onto the unit, so location isn't really an issue. "

Duh, obviously it doesn't. That's exactly why I figured the wired version might be more practical—you know, being able to move it further away or mount it higher up. Thanks for the tip on hibernation; I'll give it a shot. Though, honestly, the hibernation thing isn't my main headache—it's more about how my WiFi keeps cutting out whenever I hit sleep mode. "

Whatever... I tried following those steps above to turn on hibernation just to see if it would work, but the option didn't even show up.

Since you mentioned getting a USB adapter with an antenna is the way to go, now I'm torn between these two:

TP-LINK TL-WN722NC $32
(not sure if the antenna actually detaches)
and
D-Link DWA-140 $32

The first one comes with an antenna and a cable (so I could move it around), while the second one doesn't have an antenna. But the shop selling the second one is right around the corner, so I could grab it tomorrow... so I'll ask one more time (my bad), is that first one really a much better bet for being about 15 feet from the router? If there isn't a huge difference, I might just go with whatever is closer... and black. 🙂
(plus, if I didn't even need the cable and could just plug it straight into the PC, that'd be ideal... fewer wires to deal with)

Looks like macOS is your actual issue then, since something clearly felt off there. It’s not the Western Digital you're running.

You think there's a chance the new USB Wi-Fi adapter might still cut out after sleep mode, forcing me to unplug and replug it every single time?
I don't really care about hibernation, but this... I'd love to avoid having to do that constantly every time my laptop goes to sleep.

Rachel Jones8 said:Do you think there's a chance the new USB Wi-Fi adapter just won't wake up after sleep mode unless I unplug it and plug it back in?
I don't care about hibernation, but this... I shouldn't have to do that every single time the laptop sleeps.

It’s totally possible. When basic functions start glitching like this, something's definitely broken under the hood.😳