Author Archives: Andrew

Tips & Tricks

Windows Problem Reporting high CPU

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Experienced this issue in May 2020 on an old Windows 10 Pro i5 and whilst troubleshooting rebooted into SAFE MODE after rebooting normally the problem had disappeared. Task Manager showed the service using 35%+ of CPU resources continuously through several re-starts and re-boots before this.

Business

Checking UK Freelance, Contractor Employment Status for Tax

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HMRC online check tool for work contracts to obtain a determination of taxable status: Self-Employed OR Employed. This produces a downloadable PDF you can keep for your records and show to the organization hiring you to show if they need to pay your earnings in full, without deducting Income Tax and National Insurance contributions.

Discussion on ContractorUK.com about factors affecting Employment Status relating to IR35

Tips & Tricks Workshop Tales

Insufficient SSD capacity for Windows 10 feature update

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A common problem with small notebooks and laptops with minimal capacity drives of 32Gb is that there is not enough spare drive space to carry out a Windows update to the next release with the current version installed. This was the issue with a Lenovo 120S 11IAP Model: 81A4. The sequence to take this machine from version 1709 to 20H2 in December 2020 was:

  • Added an external USB flash drive; used a 64Gb blank NTFS formatted. The update left a 4Gb file on this stick which could be ejected later.
  • Reset Windows 10 : Skip Network Connection add a Local User
  • Disable/Pause Update in settings
  • Connect to WiFi / Network
  • Download and run Windows Upgrade Assistant

Workshop Tales

TP-Link Powerline WiFi Extender Printer LAN Access Fix

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Range Extender kit

If you find that your printer is invisible on your network when connected to your TP-Link WiFi plug one quick fix that sometimes works is to swap the nearest Wifi Powerline Adapter with another. Obviously they both need to be paired on the same powerline link and have cloned the same WiFi credentials. This worked on two installations where multiple adapters were in use and might possibly be related to incompatible software versions in their firmware – as they had been purchased some time apart.