Windows tips

Whether you’re using an older or new Windows operating system, you may encounter some issues along the way or will want the latest software. In this category, we’ll show you some Windows tips for how to install and use apps, and also fix some issues.

windows 10 upgrade

How to block Windows 10 Upgrade notifications in earlier versions of Windows

Windows 7 and 8.1 users who have started their system today may have noticed a new update notification in the operating system's system tray area that allows them to reserve an upgrade […]

settings

How to move Windows 10 apps to another drive to save space

While most apps for Windows 10 are considerable small in size, there are some games and larger apps available for the system that occupy hundreds of Megabytes or even more than that. […]

microsoft 3037581 update problem

How to remove Windows 10 upgrade updates in Windows 7 and 8

Microsoft will ship Windows 10 later this year and with it comes an offer to upgrade existing versions of Windows to the operating system for free. Since the majority of Windows users […]

wisptis.exe

How to block wisptis.exe from running on Windows PCs

Wisptis.exe, the Microsoft Pen and Touch input component, is a process that may be running on your system even if it is not connected to a touch screen or has no pen […]

sigverif file signature verification

How to verify that system drivers are digitally signed

Device drivers are important files as they allow you and the operating system to interact with hardware connected to the system. Drivers, just like executable files, can be digitally signed to improve […]

task manager startup impact

Display a program's startup impact on Windows 8 or 10

It is common sense that any program that autostarts with the Windows operating system extends the startup process. Depending on the program, its impact may be small and barely noticeable or high […]

windows 10 transformation

Turn older versions of Windows into Windows 10 with a transformation pack

Whenever a preview of a new operating system is shown chance is good that someone will create a transformation pack that turns older versions of an operating system into the new one. […]

start menu customize

Customize the Windows 10 Start Menu

It takes some getting used to time to get accustomed to the new start menu that Microsoft ships with its Windows 10 operating system.  While there is still enough time for changes, […]

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vlc for windows 8

VLC for Windows 8 is now also compatible with Windows 8.1 and 10

When Microsoft launched Windows 8 several companies, Google, Mozilla and VLC for example, decided to create app-versions of their desktop programs. While that did not turn out to well for most who […]

DOWNLOAD-APPS

How to download core Windows 8 apps manually

Microsoft ships the Windows 8 operating system with a set of apps that provide core functionality such as reading news, opening emails or managing photos. The company has added more apps with […]

windows 8.1 update 1

Find out which version of Windows 8 you are running

Back when I worked in tech support I encountered many customers who did not know a thing about the computer they were using. It took a while usually to find out which […]

registry

Disable "you have new apps that can open this type of file" in Windows 8

Whenever you install a new application on Windows 8 that can be used as the default handler for file types or protocols, and you open a file of that type afterwards or […]

advanced-sharing

How to share an optical drive in a local network

Most desktop PCs ship with an optical drive, usually either a DVD drive or a Blu-Ray drive while mobile PCs may not always ship with one. Especially tablets, netbooks and other low […]

loudness equalization

How to enable Windows sound loudness equalization

When you play different types of audio in Windows, you may have noticed that some are louder than others, while others may be quieter. This can be an extremely frustrating experience that […]

type-keybord-to-jump-to-first-match

How to open files and folders in Windows Explorer faster

Most Windows users that I know use the mouse to navigate in the operating system's default file manager Windows Explorer (called File Explorer in Windows 8). While that is comfortable, it is […]

select the driver to be installed error

Fix Select the driver to be installed when installing Windows

After I replaced the hard drive of my laptop with a faster Solid State Drive two days ago, I had to install an operating system on the device as the disk was […]

thumbs remover

All you need to know about thumbnail cache files in Windows

The Windows operating system creates thumbnail cache files for images and other file types to speed up the loading of folders on the system. Under Windows XP, thumbs.db files were being used […]

create-library

How to create a Windows library folder on your desktop

The Library feature that Microsoft introduced in the Windows 7 operating system is not an entirely new concept. It creates virtual folders that can contain files and folders of multiple sources on […]

internet test windows custom server

Disable or customize Windows' Internet Connection test to improve privacy

Whenever you start a PC running Windows, an Internet connection test is run automatically to test the Internet availability. The test tries to connect to a Microsoft website -- http://www.msftncsi.com/ -- to […]

net-version-detector

Find out which Microsoft .Net Framework version a software requires

The Microsoft .Net Framework is a highly controversial software framework that makes available a large library of classes to developers which they can make use of when they code applications. The framework […]

microsoft recent activity

Check the Recent Activity of your Microsoft Account

One of the things that you check up on regularly is the recent activity of your online accounts. While that works only on services that provide you with the information, it may […]

the-following-feature-couldnot-be-installed

Fix "The following feature couldn't be installed" errors on Windows 8

When you try to install programs on Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 that depend on an older version of the Microsoft .Net Framework, for example .Net Framework 3.5, you will get a […]

windows event email tasks

How to create email notifications for Windows Events

Sometimes, you may want to know what is happening on your PC when you are not using it. Maybe you want to be informed when someone else is logging in on it, […]

environment-variables

How to add program shortcuts to the Windows Run box

While I do not use the Run box regularly on my system, I do use it occasionally, for instance to launch the Windows Registry Editor, MS Config, or the Command Prompt. Most […]

copy files windows 8

Always display full details when copying or moving files in Windows 8

Microsoft has modified the dialog that is displayed when you copy or move files in the Windows 8 operating system. Some say it is an improvement over the dialog that gets displayed […]

windows search tip

Improve the start screen search on Windows 8.1 with this handy tip

When it comes to features of the Windows 8.1 operating system, one that I really like is the new and improved Windows Search. You can still start to type directly on the […]

display hidden files folders windows 8

How to display hidden files in Windows 8

Select files and folders of the Windows 8 operating system are hidden by default so that users of the system can't see them in File Explorer and most other programs that they […]

windows 8.1 sync settings skydrive

How to remove synced data from the cloud in Windows 8

When it comes to cloud storage -- that is data hosted on your behalf on remote servers -- you are more or less at the mercy of the company that is making […]

windows update cleanup

Save lots of disk space with Microsoft's new Windows Update Cleanup tool

The space a Windows operating system requires grows over time thanks to service packs and updates mostly, but also thanks to other system files and programs that users install on their PC. […]

uninstall metro apps windows 8

How to remove (all) Windows 8 apps using PowerShell

Apps are clearly a focus on Windows 8, not only because the operating system boots into the "apps-interface" on startup by default, but because most of the marketing for the operating system […]

file history share

Windows 8: use File History without a second drive

Microsoft introduced the File History feature in Windows 8 to provide users of the operating system with an auto-backup feature for important files and data. The backup service has several shortcomings: you […]

paint save as jpeg

How to change Microsoft Paint's default save type

I'm using the Paint app on my Windows 8 system to save screenshots as I did not bother yet to install a different application - both screenshot tool and image editor - […]

windows 8 speed up startup programs screenshot

Speed up the loading of Windows 8 start up programs

While Microsoft changed the way users boot into the company's Windows 8 operating system which is a couple of seconds faster on average than in previous systems, it did sacrifice a couple […]

How to change your account password in Windows 8

If you are logging in to Windows 8 with a Microsoft Account to benefit from a couple of features such as data synchronization between accounts and options to recover passwords online, you […]

windows libraries

How to restore the default Windows libraries

I'm experiencing quite a few issues on the system running Windows 8 which I find puzzling to say the least. I fixed the video playback issues recently on the system and discovered […]

Create quick screenshots in Windows 8

You probably know that you can create screenshots in any version of Windows by tapping on the print key, opening an image editor, pasting the contents of the Clipboard in it, and […]

the video failed to play

Fix The Video Failed To Play errors in Windows 8

For the past couple of days I have experienced a strange error whenever I tried to play videos in an application on Windows 8. I always received the "The video failed to […]

ati catalyst custom installation

What the ATI Catalyst Custom Installation options mean

I published a guide about the NVIDIA driver installation process yesterday which looked at all the optional modules that get installed with the express installation option. Most of these features may not […]

easy bcd change boot drive

How to change the boot drive in Windows

I have two Solid State Drives and one platter-based drive connected to my PC. One of the SSDs contains the Windows 7 operating system, the other nothing of importance anymore but the […]

nvidia graphics driver installer

Make sure you only install Nvidia drivers you need

If your computer is powered by a Nvidia graphics card you have probably also installed the driver package that Nvidia makes available for various operating systems. The package has currently a size […]


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