Steve Galloway | Comstat | Ruthin, North Wales

Index of articles

by Steve Galloway | May 6, 2026

Click open the Index headers below to browse FAQ

Our support articles address the most common issues we deal with “in the field” about Windows, Microsoft 365 Business, web server support, and web design. Click open the accordion sections below to look for self-serve help. Often, issues rely on a knowledge of IT concepts and language. Also, Microsoft, cPanel, and other software houses featured in these articles often update practice notes and procedures without notice. We review our pages regulalry, however you are advised to contact us for further help about these articles especially concerning issues around sovereign account identity and Multifactor Authentication (MFA).

Microsoft Windows 11

Microsoft 365 setup, licensing and user management

Microsoft 365, Exchange Online and Outlook

Microsoft 365 configuration and user tips and tricks

The following articles can be found using <Search> or scrolling through our list of articles. Procedures may have changed since and therefore this content is either being eidted or deprecated. So, although we are editing this content, you might still find useful information to help with issues.

– Exchange Online – room and equipment resources
– Reset Office 365 password expiration policy
– Exchange Email – EOP antivirus/spam
– Exchange Online Protection – EOP
– Microsoft 365 Exchange Email – data leakage & loss protection
– Microsoft ActiveSync

cPanel - web server | email |DNS

cPanel - Sitejet web design software

cPanel WordPress Backup: A Practical Guide for Virtual Host Owners

by Steve Galloway | May 5, 2026

Introduction

If you manage your own virtual host, you need a cPanel WordPress backup strategy. While you can configure cPanel a ferw ways to automated backups, eventually the truth is that using Secure Shell (SSH) is more direct. It also affords maximum flexibility when restoring content.

For instance, Softaculous and other third party backup utilities impose attributes during backup/export that can obstruct access to files during restoration.

Instead, cPanel’s CLI (Command Line Interface) provides means to rename directory/file ownership and avoid WordPress ID codes that can render backups unusable. This guide shows you how to back up and restore your WordPress site, database, and (optionally) email quickly and reliably.

Important: this article gives an overview of a backup procedure assuming conventional configurations. You may need to tailor this workflow according to your virtual host’s LAMP, PHP, WordPress (or nested WordPress), and MySQL versions. If in doubt, you should contact us especially for production web sites for professional help.

Click open the headers below to learn more about using simple command line instructions to secure maximum flexibility for data restoration. Support options are available for professional assistance. You can return to our Index of Articles by clicking here.

What You Need Before You Start

To follow this cPanel WordPress backup workflow, you will need:

SSH access to your server
Your cPanel username and password credentials
Basic command-line familiarity
Permission to run backup commands

You may need to contact us for SSH access. SSH is usually restricted for improved security, and we are happy to enable it should you want SSH on an ongoing basis.

Step 1: Back Up WordPress Files

Your WordPress site lives in the public_html directory in your server’s home directory. Use this command to create a compressed archive:

tar -czf /home/username/public_html.tar.gz -C /home/username public_html

This creates a clean file backup that includes:

Themes
Plugins
Media uploads
Configuration files

This is the first part of your cPanel WordPress backup process.

Step 2: Back Up your WordPress Database

WordPress stores your web site’s content in a MySQL database. Credentials for your database are stored “server side” in a WordPress file called wp-config.php. You can open this file with a text editor to make a note of these credentials:

DB name
DB user
DB password

Next, using your SSH command line, run this command:

mysqldump -u dbuser -p dbname > /home/username/database.sql

This database dump contains:

Posts and pages
Users
Site settings

You can alternately export the database using phpMyAdmin. This is another efficient option, and it is secure because the database “dump” is downloaded to your local workstation.

Step 3 (OPTIONAL) Back Up Email

Email is stored separately from your website. Usually, email is handled via Microsoft 365, Gmail, or another email service. If you manage email via your web server, though, you need to back up your email. To capture this content use:

tar -czf /home/username/email.tar.gz -C /home/username mail etc

This captures:

Mailboxes and messages
Email account configuration

You can back up all accounts at once or target individual mailboxes if needed.

Step 4: Store Your Backups Safely

Once created, download your backups or move them to a safe location. For example:

scp username@server:/home/username/*.tar.gz ./

This command copies files from the server to your local machine. You can use cPanel File Explorer to do the same thing. Sometimes, using a mouse is a more familiar way to deal with files. Either way, keeping copies off the server ensures you can recover even if the original host fails.

Restoring your WordPress site

There are a few reasons backups are useful:

you want to restore a last known working condition
you want to migrate your web site to a new web server
you may need to re-house your web site using a different domain name

Using Linux commands using cPanel’s SSH access is the only way to allow these eventualities to happen.

Restore your WordPress site

This cPanel WordPress backup workflow makes recovery simple. If you are restoring files to your existing server, skip to step 2.

Recreate the cPanel Account
1. Set up a new account with the same username if possible.
Restore WordPress Themes/Plugins/Admin files
1. tar -xzf public_html.tar.gz -C /home/username
Restore Database
1. mysql -u dbuser -p dbname < database.sql
Fix Permissions
1. chown -R username:username /home/username/public_html
Check configuration
1. Ensure wp-config.php matches the database details.

Restore email (optional)

If you included email in your cPanel backup WordPress process:

Recreate email accounts in cPanel
Restore files:
1. tar -xzf email.tar.gz -C /home/username
Reset permissions:
1. chown -R username:mail /home/username/mail

Mail clients should then resynchronise automatically.

Why This Method Works Well

There are a few ways to backup a WordPress installation. Most methods become problematic because of limitations that backup utilities offer. Sometimes, this is to suit a limited purpose in the first place. This cPanel WordPress backup approach gives you:

Independence from cPanel restore tools
Fast, lightweight backups
Full control over restoration
- including file naming
- ignoring WordPress ID codes that might prohibit import
- renaming and credentialling WordPress databases
Clean rebuilds without legacy issues

Summary

A manual cPanel WordPress backup workflow using SSH is simple, reliable, and efficient. It suits users who want clarity and control during migrations or recovery.

Used alongside standard cPanel tools, our cPanel WordPress backup workflow gives you both flexibility and peace of mind.

If you need help adopting this workflow, or you need disaster recovery planning or assistance, please get in touch, or use our contact page to organize an appointment which suits your timetable. You can return to our Index of Articles by clicking here .

Business PC Recovery Tools Explained: Windows Recovery Drive vs Manufacturer Tools

by Steve Galloway | Apr 12, 2026

Plan for recovery

Managing your IT at workstation or even network level is about preparing for failure, rather than waiting for a problem. PC recovery tools play an important part in ongoing hardware management.

When business owners and professionals choose a laptop, the conversation usually starts and ends with price. A £250 generic Windows laptop appears to do the same job as an £800 business‑grade device. Both run Windows. Both open email. Both connect to the cloud. However, although the price looks great, the reality does not hit until the computer develops a problem. Suddenly, PC recovery tools that could remedy a problem are note available to cinch an issue.

The difference only becomes Windows or hardware problems happen. In conventional offices, ‘work” computers tend to work with finite core applications only. Home office computers do not enjoy this discipline: a user often uses a computer for recreational and social functions that would not be tolerated in an office network. This makes home office computers more difficult to diagnose and remedy. So, recovery tools SHOULD be a prime consideration when buying a computer for home/small office use.

While Windowes provides recovery tools to look after itself, inexpensive generic computers do not usually provide manufacturer hardware diagnostics and recovery available to business class hardware.

Business PC recovery tools exist for:

failed updates
storage errors
firmware problems
full operating system corruption.

Understanding how these tools work—and why higher‑quality systems manage failure better—can significantly reduce downtime, data loss, and support costs.

Click open the headers below to learn more about how Manufacturer hardware recovery tools work with Windows Recovery to provide the best capability for restoring PC faults. Support options are available for professional assistance. You can return to our Index of Articles by clicking here.

How the Windows Recovery Drive Helps Recover Windows

The Windows Recovery Drive is a Microsoft‑provided safety net. Created using a USB stick, it contains the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE), which can be used when Windows will not start.

At a basic level, Windows recovery tools allow you to:

Repair startup issues
Roll back recent updates
Reset Windows while keeping or removing user files
Access advanced tools such as Command Prompt for manual repair

For many home users, this is sufficient. Windows recovery is generic by design. It is meant to work on almost any compatible PC regardless of manufacturer.

However, that strength is also its limitation. Windows recovery focuses solely on the operating system. It does not deeply understand the hardware it runs on, nor does it diagnose whether Windows failed because the hardware itself is deteriorating.

The Limits of Windows‑Only Recovery

When a system will not boot, Windows Recovery (see our article here) assumes that:

The storage device is healthy
Firmware is intact
Drivers can be reapplied later
Hardware faults are unlikely

In a business environment, or in circumstances where users provide consultative or professional/advisory work, these assumptions are optimistic. Instead, in keeping with professionally managed network, it should be anticipated that IT will fail and plan for the eventuality.

If a failing SSD (hard disk drive), memory error, or firmware issue is the cause of the failure, Windows recovery may repeatedly reinstall an operating system that cannot remain stable. This leads to extended downtime and escalating support effort.

This is where manufacturer PC recovery tools from the become important. This kind of utility wraps around Windows Recovery, and apart from providing early warnings for hardware failure, these kinds of utilities are often capable of reinstalling the manufacturer’s OEM version of Windows. This is useful in situations where Windows might have been optimized for the computer’s hardware performance.

Manufacturer Recovery Tools: Beyond Windows Recovery

Major PC manufacturers add their own recovery layers on top of Windows. Manufacturer tools are tightly integrated with firmware, drivers, and hardware diagnostics.

Suppliers like Acer, Asus, Dell, Lenovo, and other mature brands supply spohisticated diagnostics, early warning, and recovery tools for computers which start in intermedate price ranges and above. Availability varies on specifications so do check before buying,

For the purposes of this article we will refer to Dell’s SupportAssist OS Recovery. Dell’s bundle operates similarly to other major manufacturer solutions.

What Manufacturer Recovery Tools Typically Provide

Manufacturer or PC recovery tools like Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery typically feature:

Pre‑boot hardware diagnostics to test storage, memory, CPU, and motherboard
OEM‑aware Windows repair that understands the exact device model
Data backup tools before reinstallation
Factory image restore matched to the device
Firmware‑level recovery when disks or partitions are damaged

These utilities are beyond Windows Recovery capability. Manufacturer PC recovery tools operate outside Windows and, in some cases, partially inside the computer’s own system firmware. This allows recovery to begin even when Windows is completely unusable. In the right hands, this software can recover computers that might be otherwise determined to be unviable to repair.

Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery dashboard

Manufacturers provide utilities like Dell’s SupportAssist OS Recovery which practively monitor performance and provide recovery tools not available in Microsoft Recovery Drive.

Why This Matters for Professional Users

From a cost perspective, the difference rarely shows up on day one. It appears later, when a device fails during a critical work period.

Without strong business PC recovery tools:

Diagnosis takes longer
Data recovery is riskier
Rebuilds become manual and error‑prone
Support costs rise quickly

With manufacturer PC recovery tools in place:

Hardware faults are identified early
Recovery paths are clearer
Downtime is measured in hours, not days
Devices can often be restored remotely or with minimal intervention

What looks like a £550 saving at purchase can easily become a £1,000 loss during a single serious failure.

The Strategic Difference Between Generic and Business‑Grade PCs

The real difference between a £250 laptop and an £800 business‑grade device is not performance. It is survivability.
Business‑grade systems are designed with the expectation that:

Failures should be expected
Mission critical devices must be recovered quickly
Data must be protected
Support needs to scale

These expectations are embodied in better business PC recovery tools for professional-level equipment, not just stronger materials or better keyboards.

Summary

Microsoft Windows’ Recovery Drive remains useful and should still be part of a basic disaster‑recovery plan. However, it is only one part of a comprehensive disaster recovery approach.

Manufacturer PC recovery tools—such as Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery—wrap around Windows recovery to provide diagnostics, data protection, and device‑specific restoration that Windows alone cannot offer.

For businesses, or users who rely on their computer for time-constrained productivity, choosing devices with strong recovery ecosystems is not a luxury. It is a practical investment in continuity, resilience, and predictable support costs.

If you are managing systems for the long term, recovery capability matters just as much as processor speed or storage size.

Comstat provides independent advice on business IT choices that reduce risk, protect continuity, and support long‑term growth. If you need help configuring email, please get in touch, or use our contact page to organize an appointment which suits your timetable. You can return to our Index of Articles by clicking here .

Why Professional IT Support Still Matters in the Age of AI

by Steve Galloway | Mar 18, 2026

AI Helps — But It Does Not Replace Professional IT Support

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a useful tool in homes and small offices. It can answer questions, suggest fixes, and help diagnose problems. But AI does replace professional IT support, because small‑business systems are complex. They involve networks, security, backups, mobile devices, shared data, cloud services, and more. These parts work together, and a wrong change in one area often creates new problems somewhere else.

AI is excellent at offering general guidance. It gives ideas and helps people learn. However it answers only the question it is asked. IT problems are often nuanced and an evident problem may be grounded in an unexpected cause. So, most DIY attempts fail because the real problem was not the one AI was asked to fix. When the wrong question is asked, the answer—no matter how clever—cannot solve the issue. That is where professional IT support makes the difference.

Click open the headers below to learn more about how expert guidance still matters in IT management..

You can return to our Index of Articles by clicking here.

AI Does Not Replace Human Oversight

You would not fly a plane without a pilot

If you tried to fly a commercial airliner by yourself with AI to guide you, it wouldn’t end well. Nobody would feel safe flying a commercial aircraft without a trained captain. Any one system can be easily understood. However all systems work in tandem. This needs nuanced understanding because managing the integrated whole is complex, and the consequences of mistakes are too serious. So, even with autopilot and advanced onboard computers, airlines still rely on skilled pilots for oversight.

Business networks are similarly complex. While livers might not be at stake, the income that a business owner derives from a computer network might be the means with a livelihood depends. A network with 35 connected devices – not unusual in today’s world – may include laptops, phones, IoT devices, printers, routers, switches, cloud services, and security tools. One wrong “fix” can disable access, expose data, or break something else that worked perfectly before. This is why professional IT support remains essential.

Would you repair your own car engine using AI?

Most drivers today cannot repair a modern car. The engine uses an array of sensors, electronics, and software. AI can help diagnose a possible fault. You might use AI to find pointers that might save an engineer diagnosis time on the workshop floor, but you would still take the car to your trained mechanic to fix it. Changing a brake pad yourself when the actual problem was a faulty ABS sensor might cause a fatal accident.

The same is true for IT. AI might suggest a setting to check, but it cannot look at logs or understand your computer setup (even something as simple as the difference between Windows Personal or Windows Professional). Nor can it anticipate your broader context within a network, or foresee the side‑effects of a change. Only someone who already knows your systems, your history, and your business can do that.

Root Cause: A Cached Notebook Structure on Android

OneNote Mobile caches each notebook’s structure when it is first opened. It continues to use that cached structure until the app is forced to refresh it. Even when new sections are added on desktop or web, Android may not notice new sections unless the OneNote cache on the Android handset is fully cleared.

In this case, the “Charlie’s Notebook” entry was an old OneDrive notebook created years earlier when the user first setup OneNote. Android had continued treating it as the default notebook. The result was:

Quick Notes were sent to the wrong notebook
New sections like 2026 never appeared
Notebook colours stayed out of date
Recent Notes showed pages from two different notebooks

All of this pointed toward a stale cached notebook that needed a proper reset.

The Hidden Cost of DIY Fixes

Small businesses often try to fix their own IT problems to save money. Unfortunately, DIY fixes tend to compound issues with unforeseen problems. One change leads to another, and by the time professional help is called, the recovery work is more difficult—and more expensive—than the original issue ever was.

Example – “my email does not work”.

We often deal with email problems. Often, we are asked to fix a computer because email does not work. The client has spent time trying to diagnose ApplMail or Outlook. However, in the example most recently dealt with, the client had note renewed a domain name. For whatever reason, AI did not detect this. The problem had nothing to do with the owner’s computer, and some days of email were lost (and time) because the problem was elsewhere.

AI does not always help

This is why many small businesses end up needing professional IT support more than ever, not less. AI has encouraged people to try more fixes, but these attempts are often made without understanding the underlying cause of the problem.

Solution – IT professionals solve problems

We do not offer ad-hoc support. Instead, we audit your network and needs firstg to establish benchmarks the benchmarks we rely on to plan ongoing support and deal with issues as they inevitably develop. IT constantly develops, and unfortunately this brings problems that nobody can anticipate. Disciplined planning and management helps to build a reliable network.

Our experience with field work since the beginning of 2025 underscores this. We have been asked to remedy more problems than ever before, and usually problems are exacerbated by unfortunate fixes that addressed the wrong issue.

What Professional IT Support Delivers That AI Cannot

Considered and contextual diagnosis, not guesswork
- AI answers your question. An IT professional identifies the actual problem
Preventative care
- Professionals maintain systems proactively, reducing faults before they appear
Security with accountability
- Incorrect settings can expose data. AI does not take responsibility for outcomes
System‑wide insight
- Fixing one device can affect every other device. Only human oversight can manage these relationships safely
Business continuity
- Downtime costs money. Professional IT support reduces the risk of outages and speeds recovery when issues arise

Professional IT support ensures that your network runs smoothly, safely, and with confidence. If you would like help exploring support options, feel free to get in touch, or use out contact page to organize an appointment which suits your timetable. You can return to our Index of Articles by clicking here.

Summary

The important point here is that when a notebook has changed significantly on OneNote desktop or Web, Android and Apple may need a full cache reset to see the updated structure.

This problem is not uncommon. Unfortunately, users often shrug their shoulders when this kind of sync fails and OneNote loses its utility as. Not unreasonably, users are not sure where to look for the problem or even what the problem is. Happily, functionality is easily fixed and this article should help you understand that OneNote caches on mobile devices can be easily remedied.

If you would like help exploring OneNote features implementing OneNote across devices, feel free to get in touch, or use out contact page to organize an appointment which suits your timetable. You can return to our Index of Articles by clicking here.

How to Search by Category in Outlook (Using Favourites & Search Folders)

by Steve Galloway | Mar 16, 2026

Using Categories to search for emails

Searching your email by category is a fast way to stay organised, especially for volume email users and if you rely on colour‑coded workflows. Outlook now offers two reliable ways to do this. The simplest method uses categories which you have saved as favourites in your Outlook folder pane.

For more complex needs, Search Folders still offer the most control. This guide shows Microsoft’s recommended approaches and explains what currently works on Windows, web, and Mac.

Hot Tip!! This guidance is written for “New” Outlook. Outlook Classic is scheduled for deprecation in the medium term.

Click open the headers below to learn more about how you can use categories to simplify your searches in Outlook. You can jump to associated articles about Outlook Categories here:

You can return to our Index of Articles by clicking here.

1. The fastest method: using favourited categories in New Outlook

If your goal is simply to search by category in Outlook, the quickest method is to favourite the categories you use most.

How it works

When you favourite a category, it appears in the left‑hand folder pane. Selecting a favourited category instantly filters your mailbox to show every message tagged with that category. It behaves like a dynamic “saved search” without requiring any setup.

Why use this method?

Instant filtering without typing a query
Always up to date as new mail arrives
No Search Folder required
Works in:
- New Outlook for Windows
- Outlook on the web
- New Outlook for Mac

Find out how to create Outlook Categories in this article.

2. When you need more: use Search Folders for complex searches

Favourited categories handle single‑category scenarios well. But if you need multi‑criteria filtering—for example:

Category + specific sender
Category + unread items
Category + timeframe
OR combinations (e.g., Category A or Category B)

…then a Search Folder is still the best solution.

What is a Search Folder?

A Search Folder is a virtual folder that stores criteria and updates in real time. It works like a reusable saved search. Although the new Outlook does not let users “save a search,” it does support Search Folders.

Outlook provides a saved searchesd folder in your folder pane to which you can add search folders.

Creating a Search Folder (New/Classic Outlook for DESKTOP)

Right click on Saved Searches Folder → select New (or Add) Search Folder
Choose a preset, or select Create a custom Search Folder
Select Criteria to define filters such as:
1. Category
2. From:
3. Subject
4. Keywords
5. Date
Name the folder clearly (e.g., Finance, Categorised, 2026 invoices) and Save.

in this example, a category caslled “Outstanding” has been selected. More attributes can be added to filter your search further.

Add your saved search to Favourites

For extra convenience you can make your saved search a Favourite. This puts a shortcut towards the top of your folder pane near Inbox, Sent, etc. The folder still resides in your Saved Searches folder.

Outlook on the Web: mixed support

Outlook on the web supports Search Folders at the mailbox level, but it does not allow you to pin them to Favourites in the same way the Windows desktop app does.

Practical notes:

Search Folders still work and remain visible
You cannot favourite saved search folders
For quick access, Microsoft recommends using favourited categories instead

If you need to reliably search by category in Outlook on the web, favouriting categories remains the simpler option.

New Outlook for Mac: saved searches exist, but pinning does not

At time of writing, Outlook for Mac allows users to create search queries and save them. However, adding saved searches or Search Folders to the Favourites pane is not supported. Drag‑and‑drop behaviour sometimes appears to work, but it is inconsistent and not officially documented.

Mac users who need fast access to tagged mail should rely on favourited categories until Microsoft expands this feature.

Practical tips for smoother workflows

Use meaningful names
- For Search Folders, name them for purpose: e.g., Client Work – Categorised or Finance – Outstanding.
Combine categories with other filters
- Ideal when you need more than a simple category filter.
Keep the list clean
- Remove old Search Folders to reduce clutter.
Use categories as your backbone
- Especially if your primary aim is to search by category in New Outlook
Plan a taxonomy that can be managed over time
- planning a structure helps to reduce bloat and redundant categories. Also, a documented taxonomy helps colleagues who may need to duplicate categories – remember. categories operate at a user level, not an organisational level.

Summary

If you want to search by category in Outlook, the fastest and most widely supported method is simply to favourite your categories and use the dynamic filter. This works across Windows, web, and Mac.

For advanced filtering, Windows users can rely on Search Folders, which remain the best way to create a complex, reusable saved search. On the web and Mac, Search Folder support is more limited, so categories offer the most consistent experience.

If you need help or want advice about planning a category taxonomy, please get in touch, or use our contact page to organize an appointment which suits your timetable. You can return to our Index of Articles by clicking here.

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