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Reset Windows, Text Chats,

and Disk Space Utility

By Bob DeLaurentis

Q. A pro tech friend tells me that reset is no longer beyond the scope of this article. For more, see the link in
needed because of the way Microsoft does updates. Why Wander the Web 6eiow.
do you feel it is beneficial, given the downsides? Q. How can I find the files on my computer that take up
A. If there is one universal truth in technology, it is the too much space?
idea that people often disagree. I prefer to believe that A. What you are looking for is commonly called a disk
this is a feature, not a bug. Compared to the centuries space utility or disk space analyzer.
that people have been building tools, personal technolo- These apps scan your device's storage and present ei-
gy tools are incredibly young. Tech changes faster than ther a list or visual map to depict what is consuming your
just about any other aspect of our lives. As a result, storage.
different people will have vastly different experiences. A caution first: Never remove a file unless you are clear
There was an era in the PC's lifetime when it was rou- on what it does. Otherwise, you could render an app un-
tine advice to reset a computer about once a year. As PC usable or lose treasured data. Most disk space apps have
designs improved, resets were needed less often. I agree safety features to keep you out of trouble, but if you are
that today's PCs are so refined that routine reset are not diligent you can still wreak havoc. Always back up
overkill. That said, sometimes a PC is so broken only a full your data first and be careful!
reset will bring it back to normal. As I have written previ- On Windows, I like TreeSize Free, from Jam Software. If
ously, it is not for every PC owner or every situation, but you have a really big collection of files, it might be worth
it remains a useful troubleshooting technique. upgrading to the paid Personal Edition but try the free
I generally side with the advice that "if it Ain’t broke, edition first.
don't fix it." I hope this answer clears up any confusion I On the Mac, check out Daisy Disk, from dai-
might have raised in earlier columns. sydiskapp.com or the Mac App Store. It is not free, but it
Q. Why does the recipient's name sometimes appear in works great. A free Mac app I also like is OmniDiskSweep-
red when I try to text chat on my Mac? Chatting with the er.com
same person works fine on my iPhone. I should also mention that both Windows and Mac have
A. The Apple Messages app offers up the silent treat- built-in scanners that will map your drive. To access it in
ment when something goes wrong. Names highlighted in Windows, open PC Settings > PC and Devices > Disk
red in the address field mean that the message cannot be Space. On the Mac, choose About this Mac from the Ap-
sent. There are a few reasons for this, usually involving ple menu, and click on the Storage tab. Then click on the
typos. But there is also a problem when the person on Manage button.
the ' other end does not use an Apple product.
You should be able to switch the same chat session
back and forth between your Mac and an iPhone. But it
does not work if all you have is the other person's cell
number. The iPhone can handle that simply fine. The
Mac is a different story.
Most Macs cannot send text messages to phone num-
bers. There is a solution in the works, but it only works
with the newest Macs.
Macs built in the last year fully support Apple's Continui-
ty technology. Using Continuity, your Mac can use your
iPhone to send text messages to telephone numbers.
(For incoming telephone calls, it will also display the call-
er's name on your Mac's screen.)
Continuity' has been around for a few years, and some
older Macs support it. But exploring all the possible com-
binations of hardware and software it works with goes

July/August 2021 14