Hi Gerry.

Some comments and a possible solution below.

On Friday 26th April my Win10 laptop was updated automatically. When the system re-started my NVDA voice had been replaced by Hazel.  On investigation I had lost all voices except Hazel, listed  under Microsoft API version 5 and George, listed under Windows one core voices. The voice I had lost was male,

I probably have the same Windows update, but no such problem. I have access to David, Mark, and Zira (Zira not Zero) across the two MS APIs.

   At the time I was running nvda Feb 19, so I updated to March 19. This made

Just something you may want to know: The NVDA versions are not Feb and March. The NVDA version number is a four digit number representing the year, like 2019 or 2020. Then it has a period, and a single digit number usually between 1 and 4. These do not represent months. It may also have another period, followed by a single digit number. These do not represent days.
In short, 2019.2.1 is not a date, but a version number with three parts, which some voices read as a date because they aren't smart enough to know not to.

That will not hurt you in this situation, but it may be useful to know in other situations. Also, NVDA is now up to 2020.1 (Which, again, is not January, but just means the first version released in year series 2020).
You may want to try upgrading to that.

2    What synthesizers and voices come as standard with nvda?

Espeak, and all of its voices and variants. All the rest come standard with Windows, and NVDA just utilizes them.

3    Would an un-install and re-install fix my problem? I have not tried this as I would need sighted help.

You wouldn't need sighted help. The solution there, is to use Narrator.
In windows, with NVDA shut down, press control+windows+enter, and Narrator will start.
You could get everything ready in NVDA (pre-open relevant windows, download files, etc.), then switch to Narrator for the minimum time necessary to remove NVDA and start the new installation.

That said, it seems very unlikely that you need to reinstall.

Most probably, Windows removed the voices for some reason. To try to get them back, press your windows key and type "speech".
Move down to "speech settings", and press enter.
Then tab over to the "Manage voices" group, and you should be on the "add voices" button.
Press enter on that, and you will be able to enter and choose your language, and then install the appropriate voice pack(s).
In this case, you'll want to install the English (US) voice pack.
Once you select and install the voice, close everything and restart NVDA.

That should solve your problem. If not, post back with exactly what you did and what happened, and someone will probably have further ideas.

5 How can I download the latest User Manual?

The NVDA user manual is always available on the menu.
Press NVDA+n, h, u, and you will be looking at the user guide.
If you want the actual file, while your browser has that open, go to the address bar (for example with control+l), and from there you can copy the path to the actual manual file, which is on your system already.
On mine it is in c:\Program Files (x86)\NVDA\documentation\en\userGuide.html

Regards,

Luke

Hi,
S mode (formerly Windows 10 S) is a Windows 10 configuration option that
restricts app sources to Microsoft Store (that's the most visible difference
between regular and S mode).
Cheers,
Jsoeph

-----Original Message-----
From: nvda@nvda.groups.io <nvda@nvda.groups.io> On Behalf Of Angelo Sonnesso
Sent: Friday, May 8, 2020 11:59 PM
To: nvda@nvda.groups.io
Subject: Re: [nvda] NVDA won't install on win10

What is S mode?

73 N2DYN Angelo


-----Original Message-----
From: nvda@nvda.groups.io [mailto:nvda@nvda.groups.io] On Behalf Of Joseph
Lee
Sent: Saturday, May 9, 2020 2:48 AM
To: nvda@nvda.groups.io
Subject: Re: [nvda] NVDA won't install on win10

Hi,
Yes - both safe mode and S mode.
Cheers,
Joseph

-----Original Message-----
From: nvda@nvda.groups.io <nvda@nvda.groups.io> On Behalf Of Angelo Sonnesso
Sent: Friday, May 8, 2020 11:35 PM
To: nvda@nvda.groups.io
Subject: Re: [nvda] NVDA won't install on win10

Does Narrator work in safe mode?


73 N2DYN Angelo

-----Original Message-----
From: nvda@nvda.groups.io [mailto:nvda@nvda.groups.io] On Behalf Of Joseph
Lee
Sent: Saturday, May 9, 2020 1:33 AM
To: nvda@nvda.groups.io
Subject: Re: [nvda] NVDA won't install on win10

Hi,
One huge clarification: S mode is not the same thing as safe mode.
Cheers,
Joseph

-----Original Message-----
From: nvda@nvda.groups.io <nvda@nvda.groups.io> On Behalf Of Luke Davis
Sent: Friday, May 8, 2020 10:12 PM
To: nvda@nvda.groups.io
Subject: Re: [nvda] NVDA won't install on win10

On Fri, 8 May 2020, Arlene wrote:

Good you got it fixed. What a pain in the but you had to get a
sighted person to help you get it out of safe mode. I wished Microsoft
created some sort of talking softwear to get us out. That's if you
can't get a sighted person to help. If you live with one or have
access to someone who can help. Great. Some of us blind folk may not
be as fortunate to have a sighted person near.

If you have an iPhone or iPad, you can use the Be My Eyes app to video call
Microsoft tech support, who can usually help you with such situations. If
not them, you can try a friend on Facetime. There are a lot of options these
days if you have the right equipment.

Luke

Hi, is there anyway to make this happen?  If so where would I do this?

Hi Brian,

As some one who has done this on numerous times, it can be done.  Making backup accessible is great but, you only have the option to use a talking WINPE to do the restore.  As indicated in a previous message, I have created a flash drive with various additional software.

All I do is boot of the flash drive which loads the win PE and run the restore from there.  I have software on the disk which allows me to even run various other tools to check hardware etc.  Most of these programs are portable and do not need to be installed.

I even used GRML which is a talking Linux to do a restore when my hard drive got corrupted. Like most things, there are times when you need a pair of eyes and that’s when services such as “be my eyes” can come to the rescue… I generally stay away from the so-called rescue disks because these do not have speech.

So, This can be done, it does need lots of additional knowledge to make work.

Thanks.

On Thu, May 7, 2020 at 08:13 PM, Bob Jutzi wrote:

I'm not sure what's being referred to as I'm using the most recent Insider preview 19624 and there still is the accessible option of creating a recovery drive.  Quickest way to find it is entering Recovery in the search box and the Create a Recovery drive option is displayed.

The Recovery drive is nothing more than a tool for restoring a backup, and unless you have a version (not created directly by Windows) that uses Windows PE with a screen reader built-in, it's not accessible either.

For those that are also members of the JAWS for Windows Support Group there is a huge ongoing conversation occurring there about this.

I feel, in certain ways, like I'm talking to walls over there.  There exist several "very geeky" options, which require using talking Windows PE, that are accessible, but are not simple to implement, if you wish to be able to do both ends of the process - system image backup and restore from a system image - with full accessibility.  And when I say "restore from a system image" I'm not talking about doing this from within Windows, as it is the rare case where one does a restore from within Windows.  I care about folks being able to do a recovery from a catastrophic failure, most typically the failure of your main system drive, and I have yet to see any reasonably easy utility that supports this.  Some are recommending Image For Windows, which I have never used.

I have written tutorials on taking backups using Macrium Reflect Free, which is an excellent utility, and which is 100% accessible for taking system image backups.  But it is not accessible for a system restore from a catastrophic failure (like virtually every thing else) because the bootable recovery environment is not Windows and does not include a screen reader.

My main concern is that people actually take full system image backups whether or not they can personally do a restore in the event of catastrophic failure or not.  Most of my sighted clients have no idea how to do a recovery (even if you teach them, unless you have the opportunity to practice - and heaven forbid you do - you forget) and have to call in assistance.

No matter what you may end up doing, it's far more critical to take system image backups so they are available for someone to recover using them, than it is to be able to actually do said recovery independently.  

Here's the tutorial on Macrium Reflect to create full system image backups:  Using Macrium Reflect Free with a Screen Reader

 
--

Brian - Windows 10 Pro, 64-Bit, Version 1909, Build 18363  

Science has become just another voice in the room; it has lost its platform.  Now, you simply declare your own truth.

      ~ Dr. Paul A. Offit, in New York Times article, How Anti-Vaccine Sentiment Took Hold in the United States, September 23, 2019

Hi Dan,

Well, I had to do the same thing on Thursday.

You are correct that NVDA reads the beginning of the recovery wizard.

You can accessibly get to the recovery wizard and go through the steps to point where you start the recovery process thereafter, NVDA only reads the Cancel button.  Using Objective Nav or any other methods does not read anything on the screen.  Even when dialogs come up, they are not read.

When doing my recovery disk, I was asked to insert a 16GB memory stick which I did but, this was insufficient.  I got an error and had to get sighted assistance to realise that a dialog was on the screen.

Once I ran through the process once more, I inserted a 32 GB memory stick, the process completed but, NVDA did not read the success message and I had to use object nav to eventually find the “finish” button to dismiss the dialog. This is not accessible.

Thanks.

I decided I needed to create a fresh recovery drive.  I discovered that NVDA speaks the buttons but nothing else.  Has anyone else seen this?  Is this an NVDA issue or a windows system issue?

Thanks.

-- 

Dan Beaver (KA4DAN)

Good you got it fixed. What a pain in the but you had to get a
sighted person to help you get it out of safe mode. I wished Microsoft
created some sort of talking softwear to get us out. That's if you
can't get a sighted person to help. If you live with one or have
access to someone who can help. Great. Some of us blind folk may not
be as fortunate to have a sighted person near.

Good you got it fixed. What a pain in the but you had to get a
sighted person to help you get it out of safe mode. I wished Microsoft
created some sort of talking softwear to get us out. That's if you
can't get a sighted person to help. If you live with one or have
access to someone who can help. Great. Some of us blind folk may not
be as fortunate to have a sighted person near.

Good you got it fixed. What a pain in the but you had to get a
sighted person to help you get it out of safe mode. I wished Microsoft
created some sort of talking softwear to get us out. That's if you
can't get a sighted person to help. If you live with one or have
access to someone who can help. Great. Some of us blind folk may not
be as fortunate to have a sighted person near.

Good you got it fixed. What a pain in the but you had to get a
sighted person to help you get it out of safe mode. I wished Microsoft
created some sort of talking softwear to get us out. That's if you
can't get a sighted person to help. If you live with one or have
access to someone who can help. Great. Some of us blind folk may not
be as fortunate to have a sighted person near.

Good you got it fixed. What a pain in the but you had to get a
sighted person to help you get it out of safe mode. I wished Microsoft
created some sort of talking softwear to get us out. That's if you
can't get a sighted person to help. If you live with one or have
access to someone who can help. Great. Some of us blind folk may not
be as fortunate to have a sighted person near.

Good you got it fixed. What a pain in the but you had to get a
sighted person to help you get it out of safe mode. I wished Microsoft
created some sort of talking softwear to get us out. That's if you can't
get a sighted person to help. If you live with one or have access to someone
who can help. Great. Some of us blind folk may not be as fortunate to have a
sighted person near.

Good you got it fixed. What a pain in the but you had to get a
sighted person to help you get it out of safe mode. I wished Microsoft
created some sort of talking softwear to get us out. That’s if you can’t get a sighted person to help. If you live with one or have access to someone who can help. Great. Some of us blind folk may not be as fortunate to have a sighted person near.

Hi,


I'm dealing with the same thing. I've had to deal with some stuff and
haven't talked to the folks at Microsoft about it yet. However, they may
be able to help things out.


Tony

On 5/8/2020 5:24 AM, Gerry wrote:

Hi, this is my first post and it is a great list

On Friday 26th April my Win10 laptop was updated automatically. When
the system re-started my NVDA voice had been replaced by Hazel.  On
investigation I had lost all voices except Hazel, listed  under
Microsoft API version 5 and George, listed under Windows one core
voices. The voice I had lost was male, possibly David, but I had not
needed to look at this for years. I much prefer the voice I lost.

   At the time I was running nvda Feb 19, so I updated to March 19.
This made no difference. Next I reverted to original configuration.
This did make a difference. I now had the following settings.

Synthesisors, E speak ng, Microsoft API version 5, Windows one core

In Microsoft API 5 I have only Microsoft zero Desk top United States
and Microsoft Hazel English UK.

In Windows one core voices I have, George, Susan and Hazel.

As I don't like any of these voices, I need to find a way to obtain a
voice I like.


My questions

1 Was the MS update unusual this time as I have never experienced this
situation before?

2    What synthesisers and voices come as standard with nvda?

3    Would an un-install and re-install fix my problem? I have not
tried this as I would need sighted help.

4    I followed the recent  thread on Code factory and Tiflow and
wonder if I should go to one of these ?

5 How can I download the latest User Manual?

Any advice on these issues would be gratefully received.

with thanks

Gerry

Hi, this is my first post and it is a great list

On Friday 26th April my Win10 laptop was updated automatically. When the system re-started my NVDA voice had been replaced by Hazel.  On investigation I had lost all voices except Hazel, listed  under Microsoft API version 5 and George, listed under Windows one core voices. The voice I had lost was male, possibly David, but I had not needed to look at this for years. I much prefer the voice I lost.

   At the time I was running nvda Feb 19, so I updated to March 19. This made no difference. Next I reverted to original configuration. This did make a difference. I now had the following settings.

Synthesisors, E speak ng, Microsoft API version 5, Windows one core

In Microsoft API 5 I have only Microsoft zero Desk top United States and Microsoft Hazel English UK.

In Windows one core voices I have, George, Susan and Hazel.

As I don't like any of these voices, I need to find a way to obtain a voice I like.


My questions

1 Was the MS update unusual this time as I have never experienced this situation before?

2    What synthesisers and voices come as standard with nvda?

3    Would an un-install and re-install fix my problem? I have not tried this as I would need sighted help.

4    I followed the recent  thread on Code factory and Tiflow and wonder if I should go to one of these ?

5 How can I download the latest User Manual?

Any advice on these issues would be gratefully received.

with thanks

Gerry

Good morning everyone,

 

I hope I’m wrong, but it seems to me that NVDA doesn’t like Torrent clients, or rather, Torrent clients don’t like NVDA. I’m in desperate need of an accessible, configurable Torrent client. In my experience so far, BitTorrent and UTorrent have inaccessible installers so I can’t even try them. I also played with qBittorrent, Tixati, PicoTorrent, BiglyBT, Halite And Transmission. Some are totally inaccessible, others don’t allow me to change any default settings. I admit I’m running out of ideas. If anybody had better experiences, would he/she kindly share them with me. I’d be very grateful and happy to receive a bit of help/advice. It would be so much better to use torrents instead of direct downloads, especially for Linux distributions or on sites like archive.org.

 

Many thanks in advance, and warm regards.

 

Vlad.