There is a new update to Windows 11 it becomes version 22H2.
I updated my new laptop with it appears to be running slower than before on the network, a check on the net for any issues with 22H2 that one of bugs in it.
Tuesday night my son updated his 6mth old gaming laptop overnight In the morning he was greeted with the blue screen of death, nothing would allow him to roll back to an earlier setpoint to recover the laptop, a call to seller the option was to take it back to them or to ASUS directly. ASUS was closer so he took to them for the solution.
JeffRae said
11:25 AM Jan 5, 2023
Both Desktops and laptop updated to 22H2 - all OK
Laptop is an ASUS Gaming Laptop, your son was unlucky
Mike Harding said
12:18 PM Jan 5, 2023
What's the size of it, 1.5GB? Not much fun when you are on a pay by byte connection - even though I have it set as a "metered connection". Think I'll stay with Linux, I rarely use Windows these days, only for one of two specialist programmes.
Are We Lost said
01:12 PM Jan 5, 2023
1.5GB?
I have changed the Windows settings to stop the automatic updates, and do them every few months in one bulk session. That was done yesterday and it installed a major W10 update amongst others as well as Office and some development software updates. But the point is it consumed about 12GB of data, and I believe most of that was just Windows because that part alone took ages ... over an hour. And that is without going to Windows 11.
Still to have a closer look at the changes ... some probably good, some not so good.
Mike Harding said
01:25 PM Jan 5, 2023
12 giga bloody bytes!? Ridiculous. That's equivalent to 3000 Bibles, both old and new testaments! That's six weeks of data usage for me!
Now; where did I put my Sinclair ZX81 with an 8kB ROM and 1kB RAM in which some clever soul wrote a chess programme.
I don't think I'll be updating Windows any time soon.
Gundog said
06:49 PM Jan 5, 2023
Gee what a champion Asus is they rang this afternoon Sons laptop is fixed and ready for collection.
Are We Lost said
07:22 PM Jan 5, 2023
Just an update on my previous post on the data used by these Windows updates.
I just received a "new" PC this afternoon... a refurbished ex corporate Lenovo running Windows 10 Pro. It had been reimaged a few days ago onto a new SSD so was effectively as factory fresh without any software. As soon as I got it I running I applied all the latest updates.
It took a little over 3GB and a bit under an hour including several reboots. I have 25Mbps speed plan at home. So it appears the applications I had on my home PC must have taken the major slice of the 12GB that it consumed.
dorian said
04:25 AM Jan 6, 2023
Gundog wrote:
Gee what a champion Asus is they rang this afternoon Sons laptop is fixed and ready for collection.
Did they wipe his data, ie a full factory restore? Did they apply the new update?
Santa said
06:02 PM Jan 6, 2023
Just installed the 22H upgrade, no issues, as a matter of interest the download is about 5GB, fair lump of data.
Gundog said
07:55 PM Jun 8, 2023
Today I have modified my Windows 11 firstly I have bypassed the need to log om using the Microsoft account login, now I use the local user account, I have also deleted or switched off all data feeds back to microsoft, thus preventing them from targeting my browsing and computer use with advertising.
I have also debloated all the apps and crap that I have no need for including MS Cloud, One Drive, Bing and Edge, I used a app called Bloaty Nosy which enables you to remove all the bloatware with a few clicks.
Are We Lost said
09:28 PM Jun 8, 2023
Gundog wrote:
Today I have modified my Windows 11 firstly I have bypassed the need to log om using the Microsoft account login, now I use the local user account, I have also deleted or switched off all data feeds back to microsoft, thus preventing them from targeting my browsing and computer use with advertising.
I have also debloated all the apps and crap that I have no need for including MS Cloud, One Drive, Bing and Edge, I used a app called Bloaty Nosy which enables you to remove all the bloatware with a few clicks.
I use a local account as well. And I have many tweaks and setting changes I do to make Windows more usable. With my new build I was peeved that I had to sign in to my Microsoft account so I could download Wikicamps (already have the licence). Unless someone knows a way around it that means (temporarily) using Microsoft account as the login. Once Wikicamps is installed it's OK to revert to local account. But Microsoft makes settings changes in the meantime. Really invasive.
One of those changes resulted in a popup message that there was a problem with my Microsoft account. Repeated at random times every day or two. There was no problem with my account. They just want to force me to give up and let them control things too much.
I have heard that the major updates like 22H2 result in this change if you use a local account to log in. The change that causes it is Shared Experiences gets activated. That is a feature that is supposed to let you resume what you were working on when you log into another PC. But it has been a dismal failure with very poor acceptance and practically no software supports it. Turn that feature off via Settings, System and the annoying popup goes away.
As for these updates, I turn them off via Group Policy Editor and then apply them in one go every few months.
Gundog said
10:05 PM Jun 8, 2023
Check out this Vid
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ReoMuCUdKE
It shows ThisIsWin11 which is now Bloaty Nosy, Which can give you the ways to Microsoft harvesting your data,
Bicyclecamper said
03:19 PM Jun 9, 2023
I have cancelled all and I mean all updates on my Window 10 Asus comp. Had no updates for 3 years, it still works.
Gundog said
03:48 PM Jun 9, 2023
Bicyclecamper wrote:
I have cancelled all and I mean all updates on my Window 10 Asus comp. Had no updates for 3 years, it still works.
And so it should because microsoft is in the game of so called fear to con you into downloading updates, my previous Toshiba laptop ran on Win 7 with no updates, for around 10 years before it expired of old age in a few months back.
Last night I compleated the task of debloating uneeded apps and blocking of Microsoft data harvesting of my HP laptop, likewise I'm a long way down the road of doing the same to my Lenovo laptop, but this time I used a clean install with the latest ISO and bypassed the need to login to the Microsoft Account, only booting to a Local Account and all future updates are locked out.
Things like Teams, One Drive etc all drag resources away from the system.
Bicyclecamper said
03:00 PM Jun 10, 2023
I had to do it as I only have a 60gb hard drive, and like the last smaller hard drive in the old computer, I nearly had no memory left, to use the thing, so, on this computer, went thru over a 2 week period, and deleted updates from the system, and banned anymore. Never again.
Ozzie_Traveller said
01:13 PM Jun 11, 2023
Bicyclecamper wrote:
I have cancelled all and I mean all updates on my Window 10 Asus comp. Had no updates for 3 years, it still works.
G'day mate
Could you assist those of us who don't know how to do this with some of the basic steps involved -please-
Thanks, Phil
Are We Lost said
02:35 PM Jun 11, 2023
To cancel automatic updates requires Windows Professional. There is a way to do it with Home but I would have to search.
The easiest way is to use Windows Group Policy Editor.
1. Click Start 2. Search for GPedit.msc. It should appear in the list at the top of the results panel 3. Right click and choose "Run as Administrator" 4. In the panel that pops up, using the left pane, navigate to:
5. Click on the Windows Update in the left pane. A list of "policies" should appear in the right pane 6. Double click the Configure Automatic Updates policy on the right side 7. On the left side, select Disabled. 8. Apply and OK.
Updates will no longer be offered but you can still do them if you wish by Settings, Update and Security.
While there, you may like this next one. The steps are pretty much the same.
To allow updates but stop offering Windows 11
With this setting, you can still get updates (manually or automatically), but they will only be minor updates. No major updates later than the release you specify will be offered. The current release for Windows 10 is 22H2.
In the same Windows Update section click on the Windows Update for Business in the left panel
Double-click the Select the target feature update version on the right side.
In the panel enter Windows 10 and 22H2 for the target version. Or enter an earlier version as you like.
Make sure it is Enabled, then Apply.
Ozzie_Traveller said
08:26 AM Jun 12, 2023
G'day Guru
Many thanks
Phil
Dick0 said
05:43 PM Jun 12, 2023
Windows 11 installation.
This is what I recommend...
Make sure your device meets the specs of the new operating system. Better to be above specs.
Last 3 years i5 0r i7 core8 (equivalent) 8gb or above required ram and min ssd 250gb hdd.
Never upgrade from one operating system to a later one.
Always do a fresh install to a later operating system.
Backup the current data from all your apps and programs.
Reinstall your programs and restore the program data.
Yes, it is a pain and time consuming but it will pay dividends later.
Anything less, forget about it!
-- Edited by Dick0 on Monday 12th of June 2023 05:44:29 PM
Gundog said
07:00 PM Jun 12, 2023
Dick0 wrote:
Windows 11 installation.
This is what I recommend...
Make sure your device meets the specs of the new operating system. Better to be above specs.
Last 3 years i5 0r i7 core8 (equivalent) 8gb or above required ram and min ssd 250gb hdd.
Never upgrade from one operating system to a later one.
Always do a fresh install to a later operating system.
Backup the current data from all your apps and programs.
Reinstall your programs and restore the program data.
Yes, it is a pain and time consuming but it will pay dividends later.
Anything less, forget about it!
-- Edited by Dick0 on Monday 12th of June 2023 05:44:29 PM
When you put win 11 on a diet, removing all the bloatware and microsofts data harvesting, a 128gb ssd will leave you with 95gb of free space.
Dick0 said
08:03 PM Jun 12, 2023
Windows 11 installation.
This is what I recommend...
Make sure your device meets the specs of the new operating system. Better to be above specs.
Last 3 years i5 0r i7 core8 (equivalent) 8gb or above required ram and min ssd 250gb hdd.
Never upgrade from one operating system to a later one.
Always do a fresh install to a later operating system.
Backup the current data from all your apps and programs.
Reinstall your programs and restore the program data.
Yes, it is a pain and time consuming but it will pay dividends later.
Anything less, forget about it!
Dick0 said
08:04 PM Jun 12, 2023
Dick0 wrote:
Windows 11 installation.
This is what I recommend...
Make sure your device meets the specs of the new operating system. Better to be above specs.
Last 3 years i5 0r i7 core8 (equivalent) 8gb or above required ram and min ssd 250gb hdd.
Never upgrade from one operating system to a later one.
Always do a fresh install to a later operating system.
Backup the current data from all your apps and programs.
Reinstall your programs and restore the program data.
Yes, it is a pain and time consuming but it will pay dividends later.
Anything less, forget about it!
Some posts here are referring to Windows 10.
The OP refers to Windows 11.
Gundog said
01:41 PM Jun 16, 2023
Hi again more Win11 stuff
I hate Microsoft Edge and Bing so I have totally removed it from my PC before you go down the path of deleating Edge you will need to download another browser. In my case it's Google Chrome, why you might ask well because it links all my devices laptops, phones and tablets, but if you want to save space then Firefox or Opera are both small and good.
The prrocess to remove Edge can be quite involved, so I suggest you go to YouTube and watch a few of the "How to Permentaly uninstall Microsoft Edge in Windows 10 or 11" watch them a couple of times before attempting the event.
I made it easy for myself by having my tablet running the YouTube Vid beside the laptop whilst went through the process, I was able to stop and start the instructions at each setep.
Before you give it a crack, Set a Restore Point name it "Edge Delete" if do make a mistake or you want to go back to Edge its easy.
There is a couple of YouTube videos about Registry Tweaks by CyberCPU Tech I was happy choosing a couple of them.
dorian said
06:54 AM Jun 17, 2023
Gundog wrote:
I hate Microsoft Edge and Bing so I have totally removed it from my PC before you go down the path of deleating Edge you will need to download another browser. In my case it's Google Chrome, why you might ask well because it links all my devices laptops, phones and tablets, but if you want to save space then Firefox or Opera are both small and good.
Bing is a search engine, so there's nothing to remove. Simply choose a different search engine as your default.
Likewise, you don't need to remove Edge. Just install your preferred browser and select it as your default. BTW, Edge and Opera both use Chrome's engine, so their basic functionality is the same.
Until recently, I was using Opera, but after the most recent update it became unbearably slow on my old desktop. Firefox is nippy by comparison.
Chrome/Edge/Opera and Firefox all enable you to define custom search engines. In fact I have two dozen or more of them. For example, if I want to search with Bing, I type "b search_items". For Google, I type "g search_items".
Similarly, I type "e search_items" for Ebay and "a search_items" for Amazon.
Gundog said
10:20 AM Jun 17, 2023
It's about how invasive Bing/Edge on win 11, for example if you go windows start, and in the search box you type Regedit, it brings up the regedit App if you type GPedit unlike Win 10, Win 11 GPedit is not used, because it cannot find it, Bing take over and searchs brings up the results in MS Edge. If I want to search for a solution for a Group Policy editor I will ask my web browser.
Hence I have now gone to the registry editor and limited the displayed and search ability, Secondly the removal of Edge is space reclamation, if you don't use it get rid of it. it's bloatware like any other unused or unwanted app/program.
When it comes to web browsers, I agree with you, there are smaller and better browsers available. I only choose Chrome because it integrates all my data between my used devices. If it was a standalone device more than likely I would use Firefox.
Before I moved to windows 11, I used Samsung Internet Browser on my Phone and Tablet, my win 7 laptop was IE/Chrome, and GMail as my postbox, I moved my phone Motorola after that I transisioned everything to Chrome, and because my old laptop died and moved to a new one it came with win 11, I'm now finding little nugget that make it bearable. I have found a hack that turns the start menu into win 7 look a like.
As I said previously before making any changes set a restore point, that way if you dont like it or something goes wrong, its easy to fix.
-- Edited by Gundog on Saturday 17th of June 2023 10:33:35 AM
dorian said
10:43 AM Jun 17, 2023
I see what you mean. The main reason I dislike Bing is that it encodes its search results with Microsoft's tracking garbage, and it does it in a way that hides the destination URL.
Are We Lost said
12:52 PM Jun 17, 2023
dorian wrote:Chrome/Edge/Opera and Firefox all enable you to define custom search engines. In fact I have two dozen or more of them. For example, if I want to search with Bing, I type "b search_items". For Google, I type "g search_items".
Similarly, I type "e search_items" for Ebay and "a search_items" for Amazon.
A great tip, thanks Dorian. I have been using DuckDuckGo for searching for a long time, but never realised how the shortcuts could be used to invoke the different searches.
For those not sure how to implement it, here is the relevant config from my freshly modified settings in Firefox. I assume other browsers can do similar. Settings, Search and scroll down to here:
Double click the right hand side and in the popup cell, enter the shortcut you want to use (e.g. I entered "az" for Amazon). Then when searching type "az air fryers" and it will list those on Amazon.
It's also worthwhile doing some test searches to show the results from different search engines. Having used DuckDuckGo for so long I had forgotten how much I like it more than Google. Easier to filter the date range and country on demand, and less monetised links.
Dorian, I could not see how to add more shortcuts in Firefox. Any tips? As well as why and when you would choose one of your 20 search engines.
Now select "Manage Bookmarks" or whatever is appropriate for Firefox (I'm at a different machine at the moment). Add a new bookmark, call it "Jaycar search", input the above URL, and add a keyword, say "jay".
Now you can type "jay stuff" in the URL bar to search for "stuff" at Jaycar.
-- Edited by dorian on Saturday 17th of June 2023 01:59:15 PM
dorian said
03:18 PM Jun 17, 2023
To add a custom search engine to Edge, just go to a web site and search for something.
There is a new update to Windows 11 it becomes version 22H2.
I updated my new laptop with it appears to be running slower than before on the network, a check on the net for any issues with 22H2 that one of bugs in it.
Tuesday night my son updated his 6mth old gaming laptop overnight In the morning he was greeted with the blue screen of death, nothing would allow him to roll back to an earlier setpoint to recover the laptop, a call to seller the option was to take it back to them or to ASUS directly. ASUS was closer so he took to them for the solution.
Laptop is an ASUS Gaming Laptop, your son was unlucky
What's the size of it, 1.5GB? Not much fun when you are on a pay by byte connection - even though I have it set as a "metered connection". Think I'll stay with Linux, I rarely use Windows these days, only for one of two specialist programmes.
I have changed the Windows settings to stop the automatic updates, and do them every few months in one bulk session. That was done yesterday and it installed a major W10 update amongst others as well as Office and some development software updates. But the point is it consumed about 12GB of data, and I believe most of that was just Windows because that part alone took ages ... over an hour. And that is without going to Windows 11.
Still to have a closer look at the changes ... some probably good, some not so good.
12 giga bloody bytes!? Ridiculous. That's equivalent to 3000 Bibles, both old and new testaments! That's six weeks of data usage for me!
Now; where did I put my Sinclair ZX81 with an 8kB ROM and 1kB RAM in which some clever soul wrote a chess programme.
I don't think I'll be updating Windows any time soon.
Gee what a champion Asus is they rang this afternoon Sons laptop is fixed and ready for collection.
I just received a "new" PC this afternoon... a refurbished ex corporate Lenovo running Windows 10 Pro. It had been reimaged a few days ago onto a new SSD so was effectively as factory fresh without any software. As soon as I got it I running I applied all the latest updates.
It took a little over 3GB and a bit under an hour including several reboots. I have 25Mbps speed plan at home. So it appears the applications I had on my home PC must have taken the major slice of the 12GB that it consumed.
Did they wipe his data, ie a full factory restore? Did they apply the new update?
Just installed the 22H upgrade, no issues, as a matter of interest the download is about 5GB, fair lump of data.
Today I have modified my Windows 11 firstly I have bypassed the need to log om using the Microsoft account login, now I use the local user account, I have also deleted or switched off all data feeds back to microsoft, thus preventing them from targeting my browsing and computer use with advertising.
I have also debloated all the apps and crap that I have no need for including MS Cloud, One Drive, Bing and Edge, I used a app called Bloaty Nosy which enables you to remove all the bloatware with a few clicks.
I use a local account as well. And I have many tweaks and setting changes I do to make Windows more usable. With my new build I was peeved that I had to sign in to my Microsoft account so I could download Wikicamps (already have the licence). Unless someone knows a way around it that means (temporarily) using Microsoft account as the login. Once Wikicamps is installed it's OK to revert to local account. But Microsoft makes settings changes in the meantime. Really invasive.
One of those changes resulted in a popup message that there was a problem with my Microsoft account. Repeated at random times every day or two. There was no problem with my account. They just want to force me to give up and let them control things too much.
I have heard that the major updates like 22H2 result in this change if you use a local account to log in. The change that causes it is Shared Experiences gets activated. That is a feature that is supposed to let you resume what you were working on when you log into another PC. But it has been a dismal failure with very poor acceptance and practically no software supports it. Turn that feature off via Settings, System and the annoying popup goes away.
As for these updates, I turn them off via Group Policy Editor and then apply them in one go every few months.
Check out this Vid
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ReoMuCUdKE
It shows ThisIsWin11 which is now Bloaty Nosy, Which can give you the ways to Microsoft harvesting your data,
And so it should because microsoft is in the game of so called fear to con you into downloading updates, my previous Toshiba laptop ran on Win 7 with no updates, for around 10 years before it expired of old age in a few months back.
Last night I compleated the task of debloating uneeded apps and blocking of Microsoft data harvesting of my HP laptop, likewise I'm a long way down the road of doing the same to my Lenovo laptop, but this time I used a clean install with the latest ISO and bypassed the need to login to the Microsoft Account, only booting to a Local Account and all future updates are locked out.
Things like Teams, One Drive etc all drag resources away from the system.
G'day mate
Could you assist those of us who don't know how to do this with some of the basic steps involved -please-
Thanks, Phil
To cancel automatic updates requires Windows Professional. There is a way to do it with Home but I would have to search.
The easiest way is to use Windows Group Policy Editor.
1. Click Start
2. Search for GPedit.msc. It should appear in the list at the top of the results panel
3. Right click and choose "Run as Administrator"
4. In the panel that pops up, using the left pane, navigate to:
Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows Update
5. Click on the Windows Update in the left pane. A list of "policies" should appear in the right pane
6. Double click the Configure Automatic Updates policy on the right side
7. On the left side, select Disabled.
8. Apply and OK.
Updates will no longer be offered but you can still do them if you wish by Settings, Update and Security.
While there, you may like this next one. The steps are pretty much the same.
To allow updates but stop offering Windows 11
With this setting, you can still get updates (manually or automatically), but they will only be minor updates. No major updates later than the release you specify will be offered. The current release for Windows 10 is 22H2.
In the same Windows Update section click on the Windows Update for Business in the left panel
Double-click the Select the target feature update version on the right side.
In the panel enter Windows 10 and 22H2 for the target version. Or enter an earlier version as you like.
Make sure it is Enabled, then Apply.
G'day Guru
Many thanks
Phil
Windows 11 installation.
This is what I recommend...
Make sure your device meets the specs of the new operating system. Better to be above specs.
Last 3 years i5 0r i7 core8 (equivalent) 8gb or above required ram and min ssd 250gb hdd.
Never upgrade from one operating system to a later one.
Always do a fresh install to a later operating system.
Backup the current data from all your apps and programs.
Reinstall your programs and restore the program data.
Yes, it is a pain and time consuming but it will pay dividends later.
Anything less, forget about it!
-- Edited by Dick0 on Monday 12th of June 2023 05:44:29 PM
When you put win 11 on a diet, removing all the bloatware and microsofts data harvesting, a 128gb ssd will leave you with 95gb of free space.
Windows 11 installation.
This is what I recommend...
Make sure your device meets the specs of the new operating system. Better to be above specs.
Last 3 years i5 0r i7 core8 (equivalent) 8gb or above required ram and min ssd 250gb hdd.
Never upgrade from one operating system to a later one.
Always do a fresh install to a later operating system.
Backup the current data from all your apps and programs.
Reinstall your programs and restore the program data.
Yes, it is a pain and time consuming but it will pay dividends later.
Anything less, forget about it!
Some posts here are referring to Windows 10.
The OP refers to Windows 11.
Hi again more Win11 stuff
I hate Microsoft Edge and Bing so I have totally removed it from my PC before you go down the path of deleating Edge you will need to download another browser. In my case it's Google Chrome, why you might ask well because it links all my devices laptops, phones and tablets, but if you want to save space then Firefox or Opera are both small and good.
The prrocess to remove Edge can be quite involved, so I suggest you go to YouTube and watch a few of the "How to Permentaly uninstall Microsoft Edge in Windows 10 or 11" watch them a couple of times before attempting the event.
I made it easy for myself by having my tablet running the YouTube Vid beside the laptop whilst went through the process, I was able to stop and start the instructions at each setep.
Before you give it a crack, Set a Restore Point name it "Edge Delete" if do make a mistake or you want to go back to Edge its easy.
There is a couple of YouTube videos about Registry Tweaks by CyberCPU Tech I was happy choosing a couple of them.
Bing is a search engine, so there's nothing to remove. Simply choose a different search engine as your default.
Likewise, you don't need to remove Edge. Just install your preferred browser and select it as your default. BTW, Edge and Opera both use Chrome's engine, so their basic functionality is the same.
Until recently, I was using Opera, but after the most recent update it became unbearably slow on my old desktop. Firefox is nippy by comparison.
Chrome/Edge/Opera and Firefox all enable you to define custom search engines. In fact I have two dozen or more of them. For example, if I want to search with Bing, I type "b search_items". For Google, I type "g search_items".
Similarly, I type "e search_items" for Ebay and "a search_items" for Amazon.
It's about how invasive Bing/Edge on win 11, for example if you go windows start, and in the search box you type Regedit, it brings up the regedit App if you type GPedit unlike Win 10, Win 11 GPedit is not used, because it cannot find it, Bing take over and searchs brings up the results in MS Edge. If I want to search for a solution for a Group Policy editor I will ask my web browser.
Hence I have now gone to the registry editor and limited the displayed and search ability, Secondly the removal of Edge is space reclamation, if you don't use it get rid of it. it's bloatware like any other unused or unwanted app/program.
When it comes to web browsers, I agree with you, there are smaller and better browsers available. I only choose Chrome because it integrates all my data between my used devices. If it was a standalone device more than likely I would use Firefox.
Before I moved to windows 11, I used Samsung Internet Browser on my Phone and Tablet, my win 7 laptop was IE/Chrome, and GMail as my postbox, I moved my phone Motorola after that I transisioned everything to Chrome, and because my old laptop died and moved to a new one it came with win 11, I'm now finding little nugget that make it bearable. I have found a hack that turns the start menu into win 7 look a like.
As I said previously before making any changes set a restore point, that way if you dont like it or something goes wrong, its easy to fix.
-- Edited by Gundog on Saturday 17th of June 2023 10:33:35 AM
A great tip, thanks Dorian. I have been using DuckDuckGo for searching for a long time, but never realised how the shortcuts could be used to invoke the different searches.
For those not sure how to implement it, here is the relevant config from my freshly modified settings in Firefox. I assume other browsers can do similar. Settings, Search and scroll down to here:
Double click the right hand side and in the popup cell, enter the shortcut you want to use (e.g. I entered "az" for Amazon). Then when searching type "az air fryers" and it will list those on Amazon.
It's also worthwhile doing some test searches to show the results from different search engines. Having used DuckDuckGo for so long I had forgotten how much I like it more than Google. Easier to filter the date range and country on demand, and less monetised links.
Dorian, I could not see how to add more shortcuts in Firefox. Any tips? As well as why and when you would choose one of your 20 search engines.
These instructions apply to Firefox. Chrome based browsers are a lot easier to set up.
I create a new folder in my Bookmarks. I call it "Custom Search Engines". You don't need to do this, but I like to keep them all in one place.
Now search for something at a particular site. For example, let's say you frequently search for stuff at Jaycar.
Go to the home page:
https://www.jaycar.com.au
Search for "BC548" (a transistor) by typing "BC548" into the search box.
You now see the following in the URL bar:
https://www.jaycar.com.au/search?text=bc548&CSRFToken=603076cb-1903-4d45-81fb-595a69196ed1
It looks as if the relevant search URL is ...
https://www.jaycar.com.au/search?text=%s
... where "%s" is the placeholder for your search term(s).
If we try this ...
https://www.jaycar.com.au/search?text=741
... it works as expected.
Now select "Manage Bookmarks" or whatever is appropriate for Firefox (I'm at a different machine at the moment). Add a new bookmark, call it "Jaycar search", input the above URL, and add a keyword, say "jay".
Now you can type "jay stuff" in the URL bar to search for "stuff" at Jaycar.
-- Edited by dorian on Saturday 17th of June 2023 01:59:15 PM
To add a custom search engine to Edge, just go to a web site and search for something.
Then paste the following URL into your browser:
edge://settings/searchEngines
You should see a new Jaycar search engine. Now edit it as previously discussed. You could use "jay" or "j" as your shortcut.
I expect that Chrome should allow you to do similar things.