I've wondered for some time if maybe a driver compatibility issue is keeping me from automatically updating. But wouldn't Windows let me know that, so I can update the incompatible driver(s)? I'm sort of afraid to manually update (Win10) to 1903 in case it destroys my installation.

Another 'software' issue, thankfully temporary. Attempted to launch Transport Fever right after breakfast / tooth brushing. Couldn't. Well over 10 mods missing! From a variety of creators. Remembering that Steam had a big update overnight, I visited its TpF Discussions forum. Sure enough, lots of folk with this issue. One fellow said that over time his 'missing' mods came back on their own. Bearing that in mind, I waited it out. Sure enough, they slowly reappeared. Reminded me to make an up-to-date backup of TpF's Workshop Mods folder, which I'm doing now. (I also need to delete some old TpF Mods folder backups. Those darn things take up a LOT of storage space.)

A status report rather than an issue. Leastwise no issues associated with it have yet materialized. I received Win10 v1903 update notification early afternoon. Had a choice to postpone. Decided to take the plunge and get it over with. Worst post-update experience encountered thus far is having to redo all SoundBlaster audio settings. (SoundBlaster is built into my motherboard rather than an add-on card.) I expected that would be the case. Checking SB control panel is the first thing I once the update finished. Nvidia control panel settings remain intact, except custom colors. That's nothing new. The settings themselves are retained. Their activation check-mark gets periodically switched off.

Launched TpF: All's well there.

Launched Daggerfall Unity, installed this morning. All's well there too. Heck, even if it wasn't, I'm too new at it to determine if the Win update is at fault. (For what it's worth, so far I prefer classic Daggerfall, though Unity is fun to putz around with. We'll see if my opinion changes once I become more comfortable with Unity.)

ADDENDUM: Spoke too soon. Issues arise. Returned to the computer yesterday following a break long enough for sleep mode to kick in. Woke the screen to see a message saying something to the effect that a problem had arisen requiring a restart. Did so. All was well the rest of the day. Then this morning, boot up was halted with a BIOS message stating it couldn't load ROM. Exited out, preparing to enter the BIOS and see if I could figure out what was up. Instead, it then booted into Windows just fine (so far as I can tell).

A general issue that seemingly causes no harm once in Windows: during boot or waking from sleep the monitor no longer displays those nice scenic images before reaching the desktop. I get a blurred screen instead. No idea what's up with that.

Status Update:
Win10 1903 issues mentioned above possibly fixed. <crosses fingers> Leastwise PC reached Windows Desktop upon waking after return from Dentist/Walmart.

Spoke too soon yet again. Greeted with another required reboot, and another stuck-at-BIOS coming out of SLEEP mode. Due to the BIOS message I get each time, I suspect Win10 1903 needs some BIOS setting set a certain way, which earlier versions ignored. But which? (Assuming I'm not totally off base.) Time will tell, I reckon.

*sends Windows 7 to Decrepit*

I work around the issue by telling the computer to never sleep. (The monitor still sleeps after 5min of inactivity.)

New problem, Transport Fever stutters terribly with riding trains. This started about the time I 'updated' to a newer Nvidia graphics driver, 436.15. I first pinned it on Win10 1903, since stuttering didn't disappear after reverting to an earlier graphics driver. I visited Nvidia's forums, to find lots of folk complaining about the 436.15 (and above) driver with issues similar to mine (in a number of games), including reverting to older drivers not fixing the problem. On the plus side, so far Trainz 2019 isn't noticeably afflicted, and Daggerfall Unity isn't bad enough to be a concern.

I installed an extra 16gb RAM in my primary PC early this afternoon. I've had the two extra sticks some time now. Installed them soon as they arrived. At that time the computer would no longer boot. This was while I felt like utter crap due to mowing the lawn in super hot weather. Didn't feel up to diagnosing the problem. Removed the new sticks and continued computing with my original 16gb. Totally forgot about the new RAM until today. For whatever reason all went well this time. I of course don't need 32gb RAM. But it certainly doesn't hurt, and prices are at last reasonable again.

My computer only manually sleeps.

My last one, i did not let sleep at all. It refused to wake up, forcing a hard reboot.

Sigh. This game, Plants vs Zombies, is beyond my comprehension.

When I stopped playing it in May or so it all worked fine. Now when I started it up all my progress is gone again. Haven't done anything. It still works on computer 2 so I did manage to copy it to that one. But now, even when I completely removed everything on computer 1 and installed the game from a flashdrive copied from computer 2, it still doesn't work. I don't even get the full game anymore, just the demo with max five levels on Adventure.


WHY??

Pirated copy? That could explain it. I've had my share of pirated games do stupid things, to the point where I just don't bother and buy the damn things.

Your guess is as valid as any. I cannot fathom why it stopped working. I have one more thing I can try in the morning but I'm keeping my hopes very low.

Aaaaaaaand just like last time I figured it out. Had the wrong files in the ProgramData/Popcap Games folder. But I still don't know why it changed. Like I said, haven't done any changes to it, not even visited the folder in many months. If it just sits there, how could it change?

But ne'er mind. It works.

For now

Doomsday approaching, this morning I began updating the secondary PC from Win7 to Win10. Did so without purchasing a Win10 license. So far as I can tell, the update automatically recognizes the Win7 license as valid with Win10, without me haven't to do anything whatsoever. (Your mileage may vary.)

Took a heck of a long time, thanks to super slow internet and no-longer-high-end computer. Gave myself what I assumed was plenty of time to complete the task well before lunch. Nope. Install didn't complete until a bit after lunch. First thing I did was update to the latest Nvidia graphics driver. Am pleasantly surprised my old GTX670 is still included in all driver releases. As of now its driver is newer than my GTX1070's driver.

Used the 'preserve files and apps' option. No major snafus with that, except one. Firefox didn't appear among DEFAULT browser options. FF otherwise survived intact. Bookmarks, passwords, and so on. But I wanted FF as DEFAULT. Researched it. Was directed to uninstall Firefox, which won't remove bookmarks, custom settings, add-ons, and so on. Then reinstall. All should be well.

Did so. FF then appeared among DEFAULT choices. BUT...a message popped up saying bookmarks, add-ons, etc. would not transfer by design. Grrrrrrrrr. Was told to log into my Firefox account to transfer those things. I have no Firefox account. Spent much time manually restoring everything except passwords. I don't use FF on that PC often enough to worry about those. My bro does, so bookmarks, settings and add-ons remain important. Hope I haven't missed anything important.

A strange yet pleasant surprise. MS Money 2003 doesn't officially work with Win10. I expected to manually update it to Money Sunset, the version on my primary PC. However, the old version launches in Win10 without issue! Maybe it's gimped in some other ways. Didn't take time to check. It's another program I don't use on that machine. It's maintained there in case of emergency.

I'm gonna stay with Win 7 for as long as I can

That is really scary! Is the Malwarebytes you use the paid version or the free version? Does it work with another antivirus active? (because Comcast runs "Norton Antivirus" on all their customer's PC's).

I don't know if this is the issue or not; but I tried copying the Oblivion Creation Set to a flash drive to put on my new PC and the same thing happened to me; so I went through both files to see if there was something that the working copy had that the non-working copy didn't = that was exactly what had happened. To keep their copyright safe they have a file in the folder that won't copy; and without it the new install won't work. So I ended up having to go to Bethesda to get the actual download all over again.

Well, thankfully I got my game to work again. But I'm still puzzled why they changed on the computer; they were there in May but gone in October and nothing had been done to the computer. No updates or anything.

Ditto. I like my Win 7 Pro, and don't want to fix something that isn't broke. If I had any doubts that this was the best path to follow, hearing all Decrepit's Windows 10 woes has scared me straight!

Did a littler research. Best I can tell, Comcast claims its Norton Security Online (and I assume Norton Security Suite, which it replaces, though Suite continues to be updated, again according to Comcast) does protect against Malware. I assume it updates itself automatically so you always have current protections? Wouldn't hurt to launch its control panel and see what 'check for updates' (or however they term it) says. That said, if you've been having no issues all's likely well. As for me, yes, I use paid-for Malwarbytes. That's a great rarity for me. Worth it, in my case, for peace of mind.

When I click on the "Check for Updates" feature, it just brings me to their website page that sells different versions of their software.

I hope it updates itself regularly; but have never actually seen it running in the background to do that. (and as a matter of fact; I've never seen it run its scheduled scans either; though I've been awake at the time I have them scheduled for.

So = really not sure if it is working or not; except every now and then its "Smart Firewall" says some "Google Reporting Tool" is "safe;" meaning I have to hunt it down; remove it; and then reset the Firewall for another month that it takes before the Norton Smart Firewall decides it is okay again. I've had to do this monthly since getting Comcast (maybe not HAVE to; but I think I should because I have no clue what the "Google Reporting Tool" is; but don't think it belongs on my computer).

Couple of observances during recent secondary PC Win7 - Win10 'upgrade.'

The image seen on that PC's IPS monitor's now seems dull and lifeless in comparison to my primary PC monitor's TN panel. I disliked the TN at first. Washed out image. Super bright whites. So bright my eyes became sore in no time at all. Adjusting settings via Nvidia Control Panel didn't help enough to matter. Took the monitor several months to 'break in.' Now that it has, its image is rich and not over-bright. White's are still eye-popping, but no longer eye damaging. It's got the worst off-angle viewing degradation I've encountered. Just slightly to the side and the image craps out. (The IPS looks good no matter where you view it from.) Doesn't really matter, as I almost always view the TN monitor off-angle. But still...

This was my first lengthy use of the secondary PC's keyboard in ages. I long considered it my ideal keyboard. No more. Couldn't find my way around its keys to save my life. Doesn't help that its "F" and "J" finger-placement ridges wore away long ago. (A prime reason I replaced it.) Speaking of which, I need to get off my duff and install lighting above my primary PC's sliding keyboard tray, so I can see the bloody thing. Problem is, the tray is 4' long, with draw on one side, made of heavy particle board. I no longer possess the physical strength to remover and set it back on its slider rails. Can't install the light-strip where I want with the tray in-place. Growing decrepit ain't always all it's cracked up to be.

I need to set aside time to launch the secondary PC's many installed program to insure they now behave as expected.

As threatened, I shrugged off my apathy and installed lighting along the back-panel of my PC keyboard's sliding tray. Placing it there is a compromise, a compromise that allowed me to install it unaided. Works like a charm. Can at last see my keys in low-light situations.

You never cease to amaze me! Turning an unlit keyboard into a lit one? AWESOME !!!! I need this. I've been spoiled by self-lit keyboards; and the one I bought a couple months ago is not lit. It is very user-unfriendly for me; I HAVE to have a light directly overhead to see the darn board,

I just type at random until I get it right

That's what I was doing. It's amazing how many times a person can can press keys before chancing on the correct one!

As for what I bought, it's this simple light strip. There are lots of variants, many with gaudy multi-color strips. No thanks. My keyboard shelf is 'only' two feet across. Luckily the strip is easily cut to size. Since the shelf sits below desktop the strip itself is well hidden. Anything more than its lowest setting is over-bright, for my purpose.

No expertise is needed. The strip comes with adhesive on its backside. Peel off the protective covering, place the strip where you want it. Attach the off-on / intensity knob and power cord via simple insertion plugs, plug it to wall socket, turn on and adjust. Voilà, lit keyboard. Takes no time at all, unless the area you plan to install the strip in is hard to reach.

WOW! This is Awesome! I don't know how you even think of something like that! That is so innovative!!!

He may be Decrepit, but that doesn't stop his brainpower!


As for me, I'm looking into buying a second Win 7 64-bit computer just to have as a backup. I REFUSE to get Win10.

Brainpower is right!!! He is a genius!!!

Windows 10 = I don't plan to make the change either.

Decrepit, a nice creative solution - glad it worked out well.

For what it's worth, I've been running W10 for several years and am perfectly happy with it.

Notice something odd now that I can see my keys easily. Letter designations on two of them have partially worn off. Worse of the two is "C." Looks more like "=," as the connecting "|" is missing. Why "C?" It's not a key I use much in any game I currently play. Oddly, the keys I use most while gaming look good as new.

As to Win10, it's a very good OS except in the ways it isn't. I like it better than expected. In any case, Win7 users 'need' to seriously consider updating if they plan to continue using their PCs online once MS security updates cease mid Jan 2020. Unless something changed within the past few weeks, updating from Win7 remains free, so long as yours is a verified copy of Win7. My Win7 PC survived the update unscathed.

Here's a video describing the process of updating for free, along with helpful advice. The commentator recommends Google Search to find the needed update download. Pretty much any search engine will find it, though it might not be at the top of the results page. (It was a bit further down using DuckDuckGo.)

There can of course legit reasons to not update, such as officially being to old/slow for Win10. Or essential programs that aren't compatible. But if your Win7 PC can be updated, at least consider it while it's free.

Looking into buying another Win 7 computer as a backup to my current one.

Does anyone know how Oblivion and Fallout 3 works with Radeon cards? Specifically HD 6320. It's also 32-bits rather than my 64 but I reckon it'll work just as fine or even better than 64.

Anybody here ever have an issue where you would be playing a game and the monitor would go to a black screen but you can still hear things going on in the game? I’m so afraid my gpu is dying on me D:

Had something weird happening awhile ago but the screen didn't go black and I wasn't playing a game. A restart fixed it and haven't been experiencing it again. But I got that computer I talked about above, because of that thing happening. I need a backup.

The things I’ve been reading aren’t encouraging.
I’m currently playing BATTLETECH (which is fairly graphics intensive) with the pc’s side panel off just to see if it’s maybe a heat issue. We just got through an entire mission with no issue so perhaps it was just getting too hot? It’s definitely overdue for a cleaning so that might be the whole issue.

That's a good theory; heat. Maybe that is indeed what it can be if the game is graphic intensive.

Edit: That's the problem I had with my excavator. The hydraulics would suddenly stop working because it got over-heated. As soon as I started working with the hud open I never had that problem again, even in the midst of summer.

Update: well, I got a short way into another mission and it cut out on me again, with the side panel off. So I think I’ll get a couple cans of compressed air and try cleaning it really good and see if that helps. I’m not optimistic though

Can we assume you checked to make sure the GPU fans still spin when appropriate?

I... made a casual glance to see and I think the fans were turning. I’ll make sure when I get home tonight, though I will still be getting the canned air and giving the internals a good spray down.

Ok, so update on my recent video troubles with my PC. I gave everything a good air dusting and gave the PC a spin this morning. I got a good 2.5 hours or so of gaming in before the same video crash happened. So, maybe that’s progress? I’ll probably try removing the gpu tonight and spraying it down really good just to see if that helps.

Well, fingers and claws crossed!

May want to check the minimum stats required for that game and make sure your PC meets them if it is overheating on just that game. Would it be throwing an error message when it does this that would indicate what is failing when it happens?

It’s ESO and BATTLETECH, two games I’ve been playing fine for over at least a year. And yes, it does pop up an error message, I can hear the notification, but I can’t see what it says because no video. I tried switching to the integrated graphics just to try and read what it said, but the screen never came back up. Hmmm... is it possible the monitor is over heating?

Going back to my days as doing tech support, have you checked the cable? It might just be loose.

Well, when my old PC started overheating I did a few things to prolong it's life:

1. Clear off any obstructions to it breathing: It should sit with a good gap between it and the table = no papers underneath it; never sitting on carpet or cloth surface; etc.

2. Like Decrepit mentioned; make sure your fan is working properly.

3. If you are using heat for the winter; make sure your PC isn't anywhere near any heat vents.

What I did was set my PC up on two milk crates for air flow; took off the outer shell and put a box floor fan next to it; but facing away from it so it sucked the air off the PC rather than blowing air onto it. On the other side I cracked a window so the outside cold winter air was being sucked through by that fan on the other side.

(make sure pets like cats and dogs can't stick their noses into the PC at any time whether you are on it or not; though = no electrocuted pets or animal dust in PC).

If it is just doing this while doing graphics intensive gaming then it is probably an overheating issue. Doing the above quick fixes won't stop the issue; especially if it is your fan that is faulty - and pushing your PC to overheating repeatedly can't be good for it. (so might need to back off any long play sessions on power hungry games till the issues is fixed).

** If you buy a new fan for it; make sure your PC has the power to handle whatever fan you get. (and if you get a new graphics card = make sure the fan can handle the new graphics).

1. It currently is sitting on carpet, so thanks for that advice, lol
2. I’ve got multiple fans in my case and on the cpu and gpu and all are functioning as they always have.
3. It’s not near a heat vent.
4. I like the milk crate and fan idea. I may look into that.
5. The dog doesn’t go in my room so there’s no issue there.
6. Yeah it’s only started doing this *this* week. I’m afraid the gpu needs replacing ($$$, which I don’t have)

Also I feel I must clarify that I’ve changed nothing about what I’m running on my PC. No new games, launchers, anything. It’s like it just decided this week to start being ornery, after running perfectly since it was first switched on in 2016.

Yeah; most def get it off the carpet. And if it just started this week; it could very well be being aggravated by heating your house for the winter. (it wouldn't be the cure; just eliminate the extra burden of the heated house)

But is there a way to make sure if it is the GPU (and not the fan) that is failing?

I assume Windows 10 didn't 'update' itself (one of the major updates, like 1803 to 1903/09) around the time this started? Could your graphics driver have automatically updated?