Laptop listening again

I wrote in mid-June how my Dragon speech recognition software started acting up on my laptop after a Windows 10 update. Then, after another Windows 10 update in July, it got worse. By the end of August, Dragon speech recognition shut off my headset's microphone, and I could only get it to stay on sporadically.

I switched to my desktop computer and spent several weeks searching for solutions. I found suggestions of setting changes, which I tried. But I could still only get Dragon to work for short periods. I had a technician check my laptop's hardware, which was fine. He thought Dragon was incompatible with Windows 10. I had read many forum entries about Windows 10 and audio problems.

I ended up abandoning my laptop even though I knew the hardware was fine. I was forced to work on my desktop to have usable Dragon. I spent innumerable hours checking out speech recognition forums and other sites. Each afternoon, the aides asked me if my laptop was working. Each afternoon, they set me up at the desktop. Dragon is so helpful to navigate up and down (by voice) when I read a page. I have been using Dragon to write ever since 1999. It increases my productivity for anything from an e-mail to my blog postings to my journal.

After communicating with Dragon's manufacturer, I was advised I could upgrade to the newest version for a lower price than advertised. I was frustrated because the not quite three-year-old version would not last be at least five years it usually does.

When I ordered Dragon Professional, there was a three week wait for shipment. My sister got me a new headset since Dragon no longer includes one with the boxed software.

When the new program finally arrived, I installed it. It glitched until I downloaded and installed the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, which required me staring at a green screen for 90 minutes. After the update, Dragon speech recognition worked just fine. The Dragon Professional version is better than the more reasonably priced Dragon I purchased online in 2013. I am very impressed with its accuracy.

For seven weeks, I was without Dragon on my laptop. My laptop's previous version of Dragon had always been a buggy piece of software for me, and other users agreed. It never worked well with Windows 8.1, a sort of beta version of Windows 10.

It is unfortunate that Dragon became incompatible with Windows and required me to upgrade to Dragon Professional. But I am pleased I have workable Dragon back on my laptop.

Kathleen Mears

Kathleen Mears is a long-time blogger who has been a nursing home resident for 21 years. She is an incomplete quadriplegic and uses a power wheelchair to get around. Her computer is her “window on the world.” This blog shares her thoughts and view of life as a nursing home resident as well as ideas of how it might be improved in the future.