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By goretsky · Posted
Hello, Given the reports of Chinese Mini PCs shipping with malware, I would recommend wiping the machine and performing a clean install of Windows on it before use. From what I can infer from the reports, the Mini PCs that shipped with malware were not the result of targeted purposeful action on the part of the device manufacturers (which is something that has happened with low-cost Android smartphones and TV boxes from China) but rather due to lax security in the manufacturing process. Getting back to the subject at hand, there are a few steps you will want to go through before wiping the Mini PC: The first things you can do begin before the Mini PC has even arrived. Once you have ordered it, and know the brand and model, go to that manufacturer's website and download all of the latest device drivers, BIOS (UEFI) firmware updates, machine-specific software (if any), and manuals. Many Mini PC manufacturers do not do a lot of customization of their device drivers, just shipping whatever device drivers the the silicon vendors provide. I still recommend downloading them, though, just in case there are some customizations or for initial install since those are the drivers you know the manufacturer validated for the Mini PC. Store these in a safe place, so you have them ready when the Mini PC arrives. Use Microsoft's Windows Media Creation Tool to create an installation USB. You can also create a directory on installation USB--like C:\DRIVERS\ or whatnot--and store the extracted device drivers there in case you need them while or after installing Windows. Once the Mini PC arrives, and you have your Windows installation USB available, you can proceed with wiping the PC and doing the clean install. Here's how you do that, step-by-step: Check the computer and make sure you know how to boot it from a USB flash drive (may be a specific key you have to press when the computer is powered on, or a change to the BIOS (UEFI) firmware settings. The PC may tell you what key combination you need to press to boot from another drive, or the manual for the PC may it. Plug the USB flash drive into the computer and power it up using the means to have it boot from the Windows install USB. Once the computer finishes booting, it should be at a Windows installation screen. Do not agree to any prompts, copyright licenses, or click on any buttons. Press the Shift + F10 keys together to open a Command Prompt. Run DISKPART to start the command-line disk partitioning utility. The command line prompt will change to DISKPART>. At the DISKPART> prompt, type LIST DISK to get the numbers of all drives installed in the system. Make a note of what number is assigned to what drive (if the Mini PC has more than one drive). At the DISKPART> prompt, type SEL DISK n where n is the number of the drive containing Windows. At the DISKPART> prompt, type CLEAN and this will erase the GPT/MBR code from the beginning of the drive. *WARNING:* After performing the clean operation, the drive now be blank/erased, and everything on it will be gone (all files, etc.). At this point, you can exit DiskPart and just continue with the Windows installation as you normally would. If you need to, install the device drivers you put on the Windows install media to get your network connection up and running, and from there run Windows Update to get the operating system and device drivers up to date. Regards, Aryeh Goretsky -
By pmrd · Posted
Why? Amazon has some great shows and Fallout was near perfect. -
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By Son_Of_Dad · Posted
Both a game adaptation and it's on Amazon I'll set my hopes low -
By Gerowen · Posted
You shut your mouth you young fart, that was just a few years ago, lol.
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