Simple and Easy Way To Backup Photos, Movies and Documents from handphones

 2 December 2023

In the past,  we used iTunes when we wanted to transfer or backup our photos,  movies, and documents from iPhones or Android phones to computers.  This is tedious, especially in iPhones.  Today,  we can use thumb drives quickly and easily. 

How?

We use Y-Disk Apps and a thumb drive

What needed?

a)  A special thumb drive that can use Y-Disk Apps and has the right connectors for your phones and PCs;  for example,  this thumb drive has the connectors for new and old iPhones and also the connectors for PCs

b)  Free Y-Disk Apps that can be downloaded from app stores.

How to Install?  

It is plug-and-play.  No installation is required except for the installation of the Y-Disk apps.

How to use it?

It is simple.  Just plug in the thumb drive and the phones will detect it if one has the Y-Disk apps already installed in the phones.    The app allows one to transfer photos such as jpg and png,  movies, and documents such as Excel files, etc depending on the design of the thumb drives

How Safe to use?

The software Y-Disk was developed by a Chinese company in Shenzhen.  Some users have expressed concerns about the security and privacy of using this app.   The AppleStore's App Privacy claims that the developer does not collect any data from this app.   However, it has been found that this app did store uploaded documents in its cache and the cache can only be erased when one uninstalls the app. 

Windows 10 & 11 : Missing Microsoft Store in Apps and Feature

 4 December 2023

When this will happen?

When one upgrades the Windows, one might find the Microsoft Store missing, or when one resets, deletes, or terminates the Microsoft Store in Apps and Features when one is finding solutions to resolve an app downloading problems

Why?

The Microsoft Store apps might be corrupted.

How to Fix?

One might spend hours or days trying to work on many suggestions on the net about how to go around restoring the missing Microsoft Store but to no avail.     If that is the case,  the following simple solution might just work.

How?

This simple solution makes use of app restoring feature available in Xbox Apps.  The steps to restore the Microsoft Store are listed below:

Step 1:  Do a Windows Update by clicking this website after choosing either Windows 10 or Windows 11 to update

Click here for the Windows update

Step 2:  Do an Xbox installation 

Click here to do an Xbos installation

Step 3: Download and Startup the Installation

Step 4: Click "Sign-in" on the top

A sign-in window will pop up.   Click setting

Step 5: Click Settings

If one has already signed into Microsoft when using Windows,  this screen will appear;  if not,  a sign-in would be required.  

Step 6:  Click General

In the following screen that popped up,  click to install Microsoft Apps

Step 7:  Go and check if the Microsoft Store is installed in Apps and Features.   

Step 8:  If everything is in order,  set a restore point to restore Windows in the future.

Automation Error when running Selenium VBA on Excel

2 December 2023

Chromedriver for SeleniumBasic was running fine before and returned "Automate Error" when Excel was upgraded.  

This error always happened when Excel started to run this macro statement

              driver.start "chrome", ""

Why?

This error will happen when the .NET Framework 3.5 is missing.   One would need to download and install framework 3.5 which is required by Selenium Chrome Driver.    

What could happen when installing .Net Framework 3.5?

 As .Net Framework 3.5 is pretty old software, it might be possible that Windows 10 might refuse to install .Net Framework 3.5.    When this happened,    one could install .Net Framework using the installation scripts that come together with  "SeleniumBasic-2.0.9.0".

After having run and install "SeleniumBasic-2.0.9.0",   go to  "C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\SeleniumBasic\Scripts\"  and run " StartChrome.vbs".  The scripts will the automatically download and install .Net Framework 3.5.

What if the above Won't Work?

The .NET Framework is an integral part of many applications running on Windows and provides common functionality for those applications to run. Normally, before running/installing such applications, 

It might be possible that .NET Frame could have already been installed but deactivated. This is especially true when one upgrades or reinstalls Windows 10 while keeping the personal files.   If this is the case,  one needs only to enable .NET Framework from the Control Panel on the compute as follows:

a) Press “Windows Logo” + “R” keys on the keyboard.

b) Type “appwiz.cpl” in the “Run” command box and press “ENTER”.

c) In the “Programs and Features” window, click on the link “Turn Windows features on or off”.

d) Check if the “.NET Framework 3.5 (includes .NET 2.0 and 3.0)” option is available in it.

e) If yes, then enable it and then click on “OK”.

f) Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation and restart the computer, if prompted.