Forum Discussion
huali1405
Jul 03, 2021Bronze Contributor
How to let windows 11 "never combine taskbar buttons"?
How to let windows 11 "never combine taskbar buttons"?
- Jul 30, 2024The November 2023 update added “never combined” mode on the taskbar for Windows 11. To find this feature, go to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviors. Set Combine taskbar buttons and hide labels to Never. It also added a separate setting for turning this feature on for other taskbars when you use multiple monitors.
drdoug
Jun 05, 2023Iron Contributor
Well done and I hope you installed an SSD not a HDD.
It does seem odd that the disc crashed in such a short time, but I am presuming that crashed means the sectors on the disc are stuffed. It could of course be a non mechanical issue, like the table is stuffed and a re format would fix that, the disc would then be blank so windows still needed re-installing. It could have been a malware issue, without more info re what you called a crash leaves it unknown.
Before you throw the old drive away you can try it as a slave via a USB-Sata bridge (HDD case or such) and if if becomes visible in windows explore you can right click the drive icon in explorer and re format it. Do a simple format first (this is the default setting and is very quick) and you may have a storage drive you can use. If it is working I would then do a full format (same right click on drive icon - format - just in the window that opens you deselect the quick format box) this will take hours and hours to complete depending on the size of the drive, but this will check for dead sectors etc and will not allow them to be used. Do the full format before bed and it will be completed sometime the next day unless the drive is foobar.
Next get another drive and clone your new "C" on to it, that way if the "C" drive goes belly up you can just put the clone in, do a windows update and away you go. You will have lost your documents etc added since the clone, but if you back up often so that won't be a problem.
If you replaced the old "C" drive with an hdd, I would buy a SSD to be the clone and swap it over as soon as the clone is done, keeping the hdd as the back up. Cloning is easy and software to do basic cloning is available for free.
The only issue in all this is I have forgotten that you may be using a M2 type drive and instructions are a little different. The problem is I assumed a lot, lol 🙂
All the best and welcome to the world of doing your own mods.
It does seem odd that the disc crashed in such a short time, but I am presuming that crashed means the sectors on the disc are stuffed. It could of course be a non mechanical issue, like the table is stuffed and a re format would fix that, the disc would then be blank so windows still needed re-installing. It could have been a malware issue, without more info re what you called a crash leaves it unknown.
Before you throw the old drive away you can try it as a slave via a USB-Sata bridge (HDD case or such) and if if becomes visible in windows explore you can right click the drive icon in explorer and re format it. Do a simple format first (this is the default setting and is very quick) and you may have a storage drive you can use. If it is working I would then do a full format (same right click on drive icon - format - just in the window that opens you deselect the quick format box) this will take hours and hours to complete depending on the size of the drive, but this will check for dead sectors etc and will not allow them to be used. Do the full format before bed and it will be completed sometime the next day unless the drive is foobar.
Next get another drive and clone your new "C" on to it, that way if the "C" drive goes belly up you can just put the clone in, do a windows update and away you go. You will have lost your documents etc added since the clone, but if you back up often so that won't be a problem.
If you replaced the old "C" drive with an hdd, I would buy a SSD to be the clone and swap it over as soon as the clone is done, keeping the hdd as the back up. Cloning is easy and software to do basic cloning is available for free.
The only issue in all this is I have forgotten that you may be using a M2 type drive and instructions are a little different. The problem is I assumed a lot, lol 🙂
All the best and welcome to the world of doing your own mods.
CassRT
Jun 05, 2023Iron Contributor
Thank you for your reponse! Yes, I did install a SSD. Interesting that you suggested reformatting the old drive. Yesterday, I was trying to figure out how to dispose of the old drive and stumbled across the idea of an external enclosure for the old SSD. They are not very expensive, so I ordered one from Amazon. I should receive it today. I'm anxious to see what went wrong with the old SSD. It is a Western Digital which is a name I would ordinarily trust. The fact that it failed after 3 months, I found very disturbing. Now, I'm looking at other old laptops I have in the house. There was one that I loved, an Acer E1-111. It was small, light and could be carried easily. It has an HDD. My nephew had installled the 8 gb of RAM I purchased when I got the machine. I found a YouTube video of someone who had swapped a HDD to a SDD in the very same machine and I'm curious about my own ability to do so. I have always loved gadgets and the computer is certainly the king of gadgets. Thank you again for your support.
- NickP2020Jun 05, 2023Iron Contributor8gb and an SSD should make that machine very usable! It's amazing what a huge difference an SSD drive can make over magnetic. Go for it, and don't look back!
Also, MS, please don't chicken out, and release the "Never Combine" feature for Windows 11, and make all these nice people happy!! 🙂- CassRTJun 05, 2023Iron ContributorAlso, I'll let you know if I decide to upgrade the old Acer. I am an old woman, soon to be 75, loved computers from the beginning of office use and now considering how much of my retirement I should spend on computer upgrades. My husband is NOT excited about the idea!
- drdougJun 05, 2023Iron ContributorThe hardest part of the SSD install on notebooks is the opening up the case. but older computers had a door you could open by removing a few screws. Clone the old drive to the new one before removing the old one, to reduce the work of reinstalling windows.
Make sure power is not connected and Notebook is turned off and if the battery is the old removable type, take it out.
BTW: by the sound of what you say the old drive you just replaced may be still under warranty if it is faulty. Contact the person who installed it for you
- CassRTJun 05, 2023Iron ContributorFunny to think about the flood of new computer purchases if the "Never Combine" feature was actually put into Windows 11!