Every time you turn on your Mac, various apps and services launch automatically in the background. These macOS startup apps, often called login items, can be very useful. For example, Backblaze, Busycal, and Dropbox install background-only startup apps to perform their essential tasks for those apps. But having too many login items can increase your Mac's boot time and decrease its performance. A startup app can also be malicious, so removing them can be critical for maintaining your Mac’s health. We’ll show you how to manage startup apps and catch the malicious ones on your Mac below. How to Add Startup Apps on Your Mac If you deal with specific apps on a daily basis, you can save yourself a click or two by making sure to run them automatically every time you log in. Open System Preferences > Users & Groups. Select your user account in the list on the left, and click Login Items. Click the Add (+) button and, from the Finder dialog box that appears, select the app from the Applications folder and click Add. Repeat the above steps to add more apps. If you want the app’s window to stay hidden when it launches, click the Hide checkbox next to that app. Note: If you have administrator privileges, you can manage startup items for a different user account as well. To learn more, read our complete guide on managing user accounts on Mac. Delete or Disable Startup Apps on Your Mac If your Mac boots up slowly, it’s an indicator that you should remove some Mac startup programs. Open System Preferences > Users & Groups. Select your account in the list on the left, and click Login Items. Scan the list of login items, select the app you want to remove, and click the Minus (-) button. Or, you can even disable an app from launching on startup using the Dock. Right-click on the app, hover your pointer over Options. Then, untick the checkmark next to Open at Login. Since developers occasionally set their apps to launch at login without your explicit permission, it makes sense to review startup apps regularly to optimize the performance of your Mac. Temporarily Disable Startup Apps on Your Mac You can prevent startup apps from running automatically on a temporary, per-login basis. This is useful when you need to log in quickly or troubleshoot your Mac to fix startup problems. To do this, when you see the login window, press and hold the Shift key while you log in. Release the Shift key when you see the Dock. If you don’t see a login window, restart your Mac, press and hold the Shift key while you see the progress bar. Then release the Shift key after the desktop appears. Delay the Launch of Mac Startup Apps Does your Mac have several indispensable startup items left even after you’ve cleaned up everything? You could disable them, but then it would be tiresome to launch each app manually. Instead, Delay Start is a simple utility app that lets you spread out the timing of your launch items to reduce the load on your Mac. To get started, remove the existing login items from the list, click the Add (+) button and add the Delay Start app instead. Launch Delay Start. Click the Add (+) button to add the apps you want to open automatically after a specific period. Enter the time (in seconds) in the Time Setting box. macOS will delay the launch of that particular app by the time set above. Catch Malicious Startup Items on Your Mac Whether it’s a malicious browser extension that injects ads into search results or malware that aims to steal you data, the primary goal of any malicious startup item is to run in the background for every macOS session. “Persistence” is a technique by which malware ensures that it’ll get executed by the OS on startup. If you believe that there’s malware on your system, you can check the login items and remove the unknown app. But attackers are smart. They don’t want you to see any app that makes you suspicious so they might hide it instead. Unfortunately, Apple doesn’t expose these hidden components in the macOS interface. Two such processes are: LaunchDaemons and LaunchAgents. They both come under launchd, which is the primary parent process responsible for managing every other processes. To learn more about them, read our guide on LaunchDaemons and Agents and their importance in macOS. The situation gets worse when a malicious app can launch itself by including a reverse-engineered helper application. Some of the most common malware, listed by MalwareBytes, that install themselves as launch items are OSX.CookieMiner, OSX.Siggen, OSX.Mokes, and more. Inspect Your Mac Each user on a Mac has the following LaunchAgents folders: /Library/LaunchAgents (for all user accounts) ~/Library/LaunchAgents (for a specific user account) /System/Library/LaunchAgents (managed by macOS since OS X 10.11) For LaunchDaemons folders: /System/Library/LaunchDaemons (for native macOS processes) /Library/LaunchDaemons (for installed third-party apps) Except for the System folders, you must pay close attention to these folders. The .PLIST files in these folders are the code that instructs macOS on how to execute them. Delete the .PLIST files for any apps you previously uninstalled or anything that sounds suspicious. Take Control of Your Mac’s Startup Programs Here are a few third-party tools that put you in control of monitoring the startup apps, offering suggestions to remove them if needed. App Cleaner & Uninstaller The Startup Programs section lists all login items, agents, and daemons installed on your Mac. Toggle the slider to disable each item. You can also remove the LaunchAgent entirely from the system. This app is available for only $20. Download: App Cleaner & Installer ($19.90) KnockKnock This app works on the principle of “Persistence.” It lists all the installed apps and their components in a neat interface. Click Scan and pay close attention to the Launch Items section, where it lists all the agents and daemons. Each row gives detailed information about the app. It includes signed or unsigned status and scan results from VirusTotal. Download: KnockKnock (Free) Lingon X This is a tool that allows you to start an app, a script, or run a command automatically on a schedule. It can monitor all the LaunchAgents and Daemons folders and show a notification if anything changes. It's available for only $15. Download: Lingon X ($14.99) BlockBlock It continuously monitors the persistence location. This app runs in the background and shows you an alert whenever an app adds a persistent component to macOS. Download: BlockBlock (Free) EtreCheck A useful diagnostic utility to help you find serious problems on your Mac. When you run this tool, it collects various information and presents it to you in an easily digestible format. Etrecheck can remove annoying adware, find suspicious agents or daemons, unsigned files, and more. The app is available for $18. Download: EtreCheck ($17.99) Mac Boot Options and Modes Login items allow you to manage startup apps with an easy-to-use interface. Unfortunately, malicious apps can take advantage of the hidden components in the Library folder to affect your Mac’s health.

Are you trying to run the camera app in Windows 10 but are unable to? Maybe you're encountering the 0xa00f4244 nocamerasareattached error, or you might be getting the "we can't find your camera" message. Sometimes, the error message "no cameras are attached" may display instead. Don’t worry. Follow these tested methods to fix the 0xa00f4244 nocamerasareattached error code, and start your Windows camera once again. 1. Check Your Antivirus Program Although a lifeline for all Windows computers, the antivirus program is known to cause trouble with the running of other programs occasionally. To make sure that it's not the case with your camera app, check your antivirus settings and see if it is blocking the camera. Even if everything is clear in the settings, to ensure that your antivirus does not cause the problem, temporarily disable it and then recheck your camera. RELATED:The Best Free Antivirus Software 2. Turn On the Camera App Often, the 0xa00f4244 nocamerasareattached error code is caused when the Windows Camera app is turned off. To ensure that this is not the case in your situation, press Windows Key + I to open the Settings, then select Privacy. Now, click on Camera, and toggle it On if it is set as Off. If this was indeed the cause of error code 0xa00f4244, it will be resolved by following the above steps. 3. Scan for Malware & Viruses Virus and malware attacks are harmful to the smooth working of a Windows computer. Incidentally, they are known to cause problems with device drivers too, and therefore, it might not be a bad idea to scan your PC for such vulnerabilities. To do that, scan your system through the Windows Defender, a free tool by Windows for removing malware & viruses. Go to Settings > Update & Security. From there, click on Windows Security > Virus & threat protection. Now, click on Scan options, choose Windows Defender Offline scan, and hit Scan now. Windows 10 will restart and undergo a scan. Open Windows Defender the same way to check the report. If there were any issues, you will see them there. RELATED: Understanding Malware: A Beginner's Guide 4. Check the Camera Driver If the above methods haven’t worked so far, you’ll now have to check your camera’s device driver. Remember, a device driver is what lets your computer hardware communicate with its software. So, if something is wrong with your camera driver, it could be the cause of the 0xa00f4244 nocamerasareattached error. Follow these steps to check your camera driver on Windows 10. Open the Device Manager App from the search bar. Find the Cameras icon. Right-click your device’s Camera and click on Update Driver. Then, select Search automatically for driver. The Device Manager will then search for the most updated driver available on your computer. 5. Reset the Camera App Try this if none of the solutions from above have worked so far. Sometimes, problems or changes in the Camera app over a period of time can eventually lead to the 0xa00f4244 nocamerasareattached error. By performing a simple reset of your camera settings, your camera will be taken back to its original pre-modified state. Follow the steps below to get started: 1. Click on Settings > Apps > Apps & Features. 2. Then, click on the Camera > Advanced Settings. 3. Now, click on the Reset button to reset your Camera app. This will result in a complete reset of all changes done to your camera settings. 6. Reinstall Camera Driver If the camera driver is the cause of 0xa00f4244 nocamerasareattached, then removing and reinstalling it should do the trick. To do this, hit the Windows Key + R, type devmgmt.msc, and hit Enter. In the Device Manager, expand the Cameras section and click on Uninstall device. After the driver is removed, reboot your PC. On the next start-up, open the Device Manager and click on Scan for hardware changes to install the driver once again. If the corruption of your camera driver was indeed the cause of the 0xa00f4244 nocamerasareattached error faced by your PC, then this method will do the trick. 7. Reset Your PC If you’ve tried all the above tricks to get around the 0xa00f4244 nocamerasareattached error, and all of them have failed, then you can throw the last ace in the hole for every Windows problem: a Windows reset. With the Windows 10 reset, you can either decide to keep all your files or delete them for a fresh start. To get started, go to the Windows search bar and type reset this PC. Then, click on the Reset this PC option. In the next window, click on Get Started. You’ll then get two options to choose from. You can either select Keep my files or go for Remove Everything if you are looking for a fresh start. In the next screen, you’ll have to choose how you want to reinstall your Windows: through the Cloud or by a Local Reinstall. The Cloud option downloads a new version of Windows 10, while the Local version uses a Windows 10 image already stored on your device. Please note that if you are using a laptop, make sure it's connected to a charger. Otherwise, you will be unable to go ahead with the reset. Choose one, and click on Next to go ahead with the reset. It may take a while to set up your PC for reset. After that, click on Reset to finally begin the process. Windows 10 0xa00f4244 nocamerasareattached Error Solved The Windows 10 Camera app is an essential utility for communication, especially in the post-Covid world, which has made working from home a norm instead of a once-in-a-while affair.

Does Chrome display the “Err Connection Reset” message when you attempt to open a website? If so, this is because Chrome is having an issue establishing a connection to your website. Luckily, there are some methods you can follow to potentially fix this issue in Chrome. Reboot Your Router Since this issue is related to your network, you should reboot your router and see if that fixes the problem. You can reboot most routers by pressing the power button on the router, letting the router turn off, and then pressing the power button again to turn the router back on. Use the power socket switch if your router doesn’t have a power button. If that doesn’t help and Chrome continues to have this issue, reset your router to the default settings and see if that helps. Keep in mind that resetting your router deletes all your settings and custom configurations on the router. Make Sure Your Internet Works When the “Site can’t be reached because the connection was reset” error message appears, check to see if your internet connection works. It might be that your router works just fine, but you aren't connected to the internet. RELATED: Got A Windows 10 Wi-Fi Problem? Here's How To Fix It You can verify your internet connection’s status by opening a site in a different browser on your computer. If the site loads, everything is okay with your connection. In case the site fails to load in the other browser, you might want to speak to your internet service provider (ISP) and seek its help. Disable the Proxy Server While a proxy server doesn’t normally cause any issues with your browsers, it’s a good idea to disable the proxy server, if any, on your computer and see if this fixes Chrome. Follow these steps to turn a proxy server off in Windows 10: Open the Start menu, search for "Control Panel," and click the first result. Select Large icons from the View by menu in the Control Panel. Click Internet Options. Head to the Connections tab in the box that opens. Click the LAN settings button at the bottom. Untick the option that says Use a proxy server for your LAN, and then click OK. Click Apply followed by OK to save your changes. Reset the Winsock Catalog The Winsock catalog holds the entries for the connections established on your computer. It’s worth resetting this catalog to see if your issue gets resolved. Resetting the Winsock catalog only requires running a command from the Command Prompt. Here’s how you do this: Open the Start menu, search for "Command Prompt." Click Run as administrator. Hit Yes in the prompt. Type the following command into the Command Prompt window and hit Enter. This resets the Winsock catalog. netsh winsock reset Reset the TCP/IP stack by entering the following command and pressing Enter. netsh int ip reset Release your current IP address using the following command: ipconfig /release Use the below command to renew your IP address: ipconfig /renew Lastly, run the following command to flush your DNS cache: ipconfig /flushdns Open Chrome and, hopefully, it should run just fine. Clear Your Browser Cache A possible reason Chrome keeps saying “Checking the connection” is that you have some faulty cache files in Chrome. Cache files are supposed to speed up your browser sessions, but sometimes, these files are the reason your browser runs slowly. Luckily, Chrome lets you easily clear your cache files, which can potentially fix your connection problem. Here’s how to reset the Chrome cache: Open Google Chrome on your computer. Click the three dots in the top-right corner, and select More Tools > Clear Browsing Data. Click the Basic tab at the top. Tick the Cached images and files option. Hit Clear data at the bottom. Disable Antivirus Programs An antivirus program is supposed to help you block malicious items on your computer. However, sometimes it ends up recognizing good items as bad ones. This can cause issues with Chrome making connection requests to your sites. In this case, your best bet is to turn the antivirus temporarily off and see if Chrome works. If it does, you either need to add Chrome to the exceptions list in your antivirus, or just get another antivirus program. You can turn off Microsoft Defender, the default antivirus in Windows 10, by following these steps: Open the Settings app on your PC. Click Update & Security on the resulting screen. Select Windows Security on the left. Click Virus & threat protection on the right pane. Select Manage settings from the Virus & threat protection settings section. Turn the toggle for Real-time protection to the Off position. Disable the Firewall Your firewall blocks suspicious network connections on your computer. It might be that your Chrome connections are considered suspicious by your firewall, and so Chrome is disabled from making any connection requests. This can cause Chrome to display errors like "Err connection reset." You can check if your firewall is indeed doing this by temporarily disabling the firewall on your Windows or Mac computer. Disable the Firewall on Windows 10 Launch the Control Panel. Assuming you’ve selected Large icons from the View by menu, click the Windows Defender Firewall option on your screen. Click Turn Windows Defender Firewall on or off on the left. Select Turn off Windows Defender Firewall in both sections, and click OK at the bottom. Disable the Firewall on macOS Click the Apple logo in the top-left corner and select System Preferences. Select Security & Privacy on the following screen. Click the Firewall tab. Click the Turn Off Firewall button. Resolving the "Err Connection Reset" Message in Google Chrome Chrome resets your connection for many reasons. If you ever come across a reset error in this browser, one of the methods above should help you rectify the problem. Chrome isn’t without issues, and you’ll likely encounter issues with it from time to time. The good thing is that you can fix most of these issues by yourself using quick and easy solutions.

Google's Public DNS is a free Domain Name System (DNS). It is an alternative to your ISP's default DNS settings which aren't always the fastest option and other public DNS services such as OpenDNS or the privacy-focused 1.1.1.1 DNS. Which of these options best optimize your internet speed? Is one DNS better than its competitors? And how can you tell if it is? Read on to find out how you find the fastest DNS and optimize your internet speed in the process. What Is DNS? The Domain Name System translates a human-readable website name to an IP address. When you enter the name of a website in your browser address bar, your browser sends that name to a DNS server. The DNS server helps route the request to the appropriate IP address of that website. Each website has an IP address. But the IP address for each site is a long string of numbers, and unless you are a mnemonist, you cannot remember the IP address for every site you want to and need to visit. When your ISP configures your internet connection, it is set to use the ISP's default DNS. The default ISP DNS settings aren't automatically bad, but some are known to have connection and frequent name address resolution issues. Furthermore, you are free to use one of the free DNS alternatives. You want a fast and stable DNS. For some, their DNS should provide extra security and privacy features, too. To find your fastest DNS option, try one of the following free DNS speed tests. Here's how you change your DNS settings in Windows and how to change your DNS settings on Mac. What Is a DNS Speed Test? Like most things on the internet, DNS is, in part, defined by its speed. You want your internet fast, and an efficient DNS provider is important. However, how do you figure out which DNS provider is best for your internet connection? There are several tools you can use for DNS speed test, helping you to optimize your internet. Better still, most DNS speed test tools are completely free and easy to use. 1. NameBench NameBench is an open-source portable application (no installation, you can run it from a USB flash drive) that works on Windows, macOS, and Linux distributions. It runs a DNS benchmark test on your computer using your internet browser history or a standardized test data set. The NameBench DNS test then returns the fastest DNS settings for your location and current connection. Head to the NameBench code repository and download the latest version of the tool for your operating system. Please note that NameBench ceased development in 2010, so the release dates are correct. Alternatively, use one of the following links. Download links for each operating system are available on the NameBench code archive. How to Use NameBench DNS Test to Test DNS Speed Before you run NameBench, close any applications using your internet connection. Closing programs using an active connection can distort your NameBench DNS test results. Open and extract NameBench. The Nameservers you see are the DNS servers you use currently. Keep the default NameBench settings, then hit Start Benchmark. The NameBench DNS test takes 10-20 minutes, so grab a cup of tea and wait for the results. After the NameBench DNS speed test completes, your browser launches to show your results. The box in the top left shows the fastest DNS server for your current connection. For example, I should switch my primary DNS server to privacy-focused 1.1.1.1. You can also scroll down your results page to see DNS speed test comparison charts. 2. GRC Domain Name Speed Benchmark The Gibson Research Corporation Domain Name Speed Benchmark tool provides a detailed analysis of your connection's optimum DNS settings. Like NameBench, you can run DNS Benchmark from a USB flash drive, requiring no installation. There is a Windows application but no support for macOS or Linux. Download: DNS Benchmark for Windows (Free) How to Use DNS Benchmark to Test DNS Speed DNS Benchmark is great because it constantly updates its DNS list. As the DNS speed test progresses, the servers with the fastest response move to the list's top. Download and open DNS Benchmark, then select the Nameservers tab. Let DNS Benchmark update the list, then select Run Benchmark. The first run-through only takes a few minutes. At the end of the first DNS speed test run, however, DNS Benchmark announces that you should create a custom DNS benchmarking list for DNS testing results that accurately reflect your system, connection, and locale. That's because the default DNS server list heavily favors US-based users. Building the custom list takes "around 37 minutes." But the result does provide a much clearer picture of the fastest DNS for your system. 3. DNS Jumper On first impressions, DNS Jumper appears to be a more basic DNS speed test tool. However, once you start using the DNS Jumper, you'll notice that it has many similar features to NameBench and DNS Benchmark. For instance, DNS Jumper completes a fastest DNS test and is a portable application, too. Regarding DNS speed, DNS Jumper has the option to scan for and select the "Fastest DNS." Once the DNS speed test finishes, you can select an option, then use the integrated "Apply DNS" button to use those settings. The DNS Jumper test list has some limitations and does favor US-based DNS providers. Download: DNS Jumper for Windows (Free) How to Use DNS Jumper First, select your network adapter from the dropdown list. Unsure which network adapter to select? In your Start Menu search bar, input view network status and select the Best Match. Select Change adapter settings from the left column. One of the network adapters will have the name of your current connection underneath the adapter type. Wi-Fi connections will also display a reception bar. Note the name and select the corresponding hardware on the DNS Jumper dropdown list. Once you have the correct hardware configuration, select Fastest DNS. A new window opens, listing the available DNS speed tests. Keep each selection checked, then hit Start DNS Test. The DNS Jumper test does not take long. When it completes, you can use DNS Jumper to update the DNS settings for your connection automatically. How to Find the Fastest DNS? Using one of the above DNS speed test tools will help you figure out the best DNS settings for your connection. NameBench and the GRC DNS Benchmark offer the most thorough tests and give you the most accurate answer regarding DNS speed.

Have you ever queued the wrong document for print and couldn't cancel it? Read on to find out how to easily clean up a print job that's stuck. Stuck print jobs are those annoying ones that won't print and won't cancel either. These print jobs can get frustrating to deal with, as they take a spot in the print queue and don't allow other print jobs after them to operate. Nevertheless, like most other Windows errors, this stuck print job problem has a solution. Canceling a Print Job Most printers nowadays have their own interfaces or a physical button on the printer which allows you to cancel prints. Yet, canceling a print job from Windows is more desirable because it works on all printers and more importantly, it doesn't require you to get up and walk all the way to the printer. In the Start Menu, search for Print Management. Click it to open the Print Management window. Click on All Printers. This will show a list of all the printers that you've drivers installed for. Right-click on your printer, then select Open Printer Queue. In the printer queue, select the print job or jobs you want to cancel. Right-click the highlighted print job and select Cancel. Normally, this should cancel the print job and remove it from the queue. If it still persists, wait a bit and try canceling it again. If this also doesn't work, it means the print job is stuck and it's time to take more aggressive measures. Removing Stuck Print Jobs In Windows, a built-in service called Print Spooler temporarily stores all print jobs until they're printed. These print jobs are stored by Windows as files in a folder associated with the Print Spooler service. Luckily, when a print job is stuck in the queue, you can manually remove it from the Print Spooler. In order to achieve that, you have to stop the spooler service, delete the print jobs, and then start the spooler again. Stopping the Print Spooler From the Services Window Print Spooler is a native Windows service, so it can be managed from the Services window. Log into Windows as an administrator. Press Win + R on your keyboard to bring up the Run window. (You can also search for Run from the Start Menu.) Type "services.msc" (without the quotes) and press Enter. This will bring up the Services window. In the Services window, scroll down to the service labeled Print Spooler. Right-click the Print Spooler service and select Stop. After a short while, the Print Spooler service will stop and the status should change from Running to blank. Now it's time to delete the stuck print jobs. In Windows Explorer, navigate to C:\Windows\System32\spool. This is the Print Spooler folder. You can also enter this line below in the Explorer address bar. %windir%\System32\spool\ Open the PRINTERS folder. The print jobs are all temporarily stored in this folder. Select all of the files and then delete them. This will take care of the stuck print jobs. Now, start the Print Spooler back up. Head back to the Services window. Find the Print Spooler from the list of services, Right-click, and select Start. With the print job removed and the Print Spooler back up, you can now start printing again. Stopping the Print Spooler With Command Prompt As an alternative method, you can also stop the print spooler service with code lines in Command Prompt. Read our article on getting started with Command Prompt if you want to get more familiar with the Command Prompt. Just like the previous method, you will have to stop the spooler, delete the print jobs and then start it back up. From the Start Menu, search for Command Prompt. Right-click it and then select Run as administrator. In Command Prompt, type the following line and then press enter to stop the spooler service: net stop spooler Once you enter this code, you'll get a response saying, "The Print Spooler service is stopping." and another one saying, "The Print Spooler service was stopped successfully." shortly after the first one.Delete the print job files from the print spooler directory. Enter the code below and press enter: del /F /S /Q "%windir%\System32\spool\PRINTERS\*.*" You should get a response from Command Prompt saying that some files were removed. You can also skip this step and remove the files manually from Windows Explorer.In Command Prompt, enter the code below and press enter: net start spooler That's it! You're Printer Spooler is nice and fresh now! You can go on ahead and queue prints again. Writing a Batch File to Stop and Clear the Print Spooler If your print jobs have a tendency to get stuck or if you just want to save time for the next time they might get stuck, you can write a batch file to clear the Print Spooler with a click. You can read our article on creating a simple batch file to make your first batch file. The batch file is going to include the three lines we used in the Command prompt windows so that once you run it, it'll run all three commands and clean up the Print Spooler. Open Notepad or any other text editor you prefer. In a new file, enter the code below: net stop spooler del /F /S /Q "%windir%\System32\spool\PRINTERS\*.*" net start spooler The net use command with parameters is used to connect and configure connections to shared resources, including printers. In the first line, you use this command with the "stop" parameter to stop the Print Spooler. The del command deletes files or directories. The parameters /F, /S and, /Q allow this command to force delete read-only files, delete the files from all subdirectories, and do so without asking for your confirmation, respectively. Lastly, you use the net use command once again to start up the Print Spooler. Next, head to File > Save As to save the file. Change the Save as type to All Files (*.*). Name your file and add .bat at the end so that it's recognized as a batch file by Windows. Click Save to save the file. Now, whenever your prints are stuck you can just run this file with a double-click to clear things up. Keep in mind that since you need admin privileges to manage services such as the Print Spooler, you have to run this batch as an administrator for it to function correctly. Don’t Let Anything Get in the Way of Your Print You can now get rid of the stuck print jobs and queue them again. Getting good prints, however, is another beast that you'll have to tackle.

When using your Windows 10 PC, certain desktop applications may appear blurry and display fuzzy fonts, text, and menus. You might experience this if you’ve just installed a fresh copy of Windows, have multiple monitors connected to your computer, or recently configured your display settings. In most cases, when Windows detects blurry apps, it’ll pop up a window that’ll prompt you to fix those apps automatically. However, this might not always solve your problem. This article will take you through the best methods you’ll need to fix blurry apps. 1. Configure Advanced Scaling Settings Windows 10 comes with a built-in feature that automatically fixes blurry apps. This option isn’t enabled by default, but you can turn it on so that your PC can always fix blurry apps automatically. Here’s how you can enable this feature: Navigate to Windows Start Menu > PC Settings > System > Display > Advanced scaling settings. Turn the button On under the option for Let Windows try to fix apps so they’re not blurry. To find out if Windows has fixed the problem, try opening an app that you know is problematic and appears blurry. If the app isn’t fixed, try rebooting your computer to save the changes. Otherwise, you can try the other methods in this article. 2. Change the Size of Texts and Apps Navigate to Windows Start Menu > PC Settings > System > Display. In the Display Settings window, click on the drop-down arrow under Change the size of the text, apps, and other items, and choose the Recommended option. Reboot your computer to save the changes. In case this method doesn’t work out, try the next one. 3. Configure DPI Settings for a Certain Problematic App If you’re experiencing display issues for only one specific app and not every other app on your PC, you should configure the app’s DPI (Dots Per Inch) settings. DPI settings control the sizes of text, apps, and icons on your PC. To configure your DPI settings, here’s what you need to do: Right-click on the icon of the problematic app and click on Properties. In the Properties window, go to the Compatibility tab and then click Change high DPI settings. In the window that pops up, check the Use this setting to fix the scaling problems for this program instead of the one in Settings option. In the same window, under the High DPI scaling override settings, check the Override high DPI scaling behavior option and select Application in the drop-down menu. Finally, click OK to save the changes on your computer. Close and reopen the problematic app to check if the issue persists. In case the issue isn’t yet resolved, reboot your computer and try opening the app again. Otherwise, try the next solution. 4. Adjust ClearType Text for Blurry Fonts Another way to fix blurry apps and fonts on your PC is by adjusting ClearType text in the Control Panel. Here’s how you can do this: Type "ClearType" in your Start menu search bar and select the Best Match. In the ClearType Text Tuner window, check the Turn on ClearType box and click Next. A window will pop up indicating that your display monitor is set to its native resolution; click Next when you’re on this screen. In the next window, you’ll see some text samples, and you’ll have to choose the one that looks best to you. When you’ve made a choice, click Next to continue. You’ll have to do this for 5 trials. Continue clicking the best text sample on each screen and click Next to continue. When you finish clicking the best text samples, ClearType Text Tuner will indicate that you have finished tuning the text on your monitor. From here, click on Finish to complete the process. Close the ClearType Text Tuner window and reboot your computer to save the changes. Check if the issue persists and try other methods in case this method doesn’t help. 5. Update Your PC’s Display Drivers Apps can appear blurry on your PC due to display driver bugs. Updating your display drivers can help solve this issue. Here’s how you can do this: Press Windows Key + X and select Device Manager in the pop-up menu. In the Device Manager window, double-click Display adapters. In the drop-down menu, right-click on the Graphics driver and click Update driver. A window will pop-up where you’ll be asked, “How do you want to search for the drivers?” Click the Search automatically for updated driver software option. Windows will search for a compatible graphics driver for your PC and will download it. In case a window pops up stating that “The best driver for your device is already installed,” click the option to Search for updated drivers on Windows Update. This option will install your graphics driver together with a Windows Update. When you finish updating your graphics driver, close the Device Manager window and reboot your PC. Your apps shouldn’t be blurry anymore. 6. Lower Your PC’s Resolution Lowering the resolution on your computer can help fix apps that appear blurry. This is mainly because some apps appear blurry on high-resolution displays. For example, this can happen if you connect remotely to another PC with a high-resolution display compared to yours. To lower your screen’s resolution, here’s what you need to do: Navigate to Windows Start Menu > PC Settings > System > Display. In the right-hand side pane under Scale and layout, click the drop-down arrow on Resolution and select a lower resolution for your PC. Reboot your computer to save these changes. Your apps should appear perfectly clear by now. No More Blurry Apps on Your PC If you’ve had an issue with blurry apps on your PC for quite a while, this shouldn’t be the case anymore. If you apply any of the methods we provide in this article, you’ll easily take care of blurry texts and apps. If you normally experience blurry apps when you use multiple display screens, it’s always best to know how to set up those multiple monitors correctly.

How to See and Delete the Data Windows 10 Collects First, enable data viewing. Head to Settings > Privacy > Diagnostics & feedback. and enable the Diagnostic data viewer. Note that this will take up about 1GB of space. Click the Diagnostic Data Viewer button and you'll jump to the Microsoft Store to download the Diagnostic Data Viewer app. Install it, then click that button again or launch the app from your Start Menu. Inside the app, you'll see a lot of diagnostic information. The left side collects "events," and clicking one shows you exactly what was sent to Microsoft. Use the search box to look for information about certain apps if you like. You may want to try this after spending some time in your favorite programs. To export a copy of the data for your own use, click the Export button on the left to download it as a CSV file. Finally, if you'd like to delete this diagnostic data from Microsoft's servers, click the Delete button back on the Settings page.

Windows has always allowed you to customize the volume of individual programs, but you couldn't change what output device they used without relying on third-party software. But in the April 2018 Update (which you can download now), Microsoft added the ability to change output devices per program in Windows 10. This allows you to, for example, play music from Spotify through your speakers while Skype calls always go through your headphones. How to Set Sound Output Devices per App Open Settings > System > Sound. Scroll down to the bottom of this page, and click the App volume and device preferences option. You'll see a new page with various toggles. Master volume is like the classic Windows volume options. Set a value between 1 and 100 for all sounds, and choose your default input and output device. Below, you'll find an App list with volume sliders and output/input devices for each one. System sounds controls Windows sounds like dialog boxes and notifications. You may also see multiple entries for one program for some reason. Adjust the volume for each app as a percentage of the master volume. For example, if your master volume is at 50 and you set an app to 50, that app will play at 25% volume. If you'd like to select an input or output device for an app other than the default, change it here as needed. Note that only apps you have open (and devices you have connected) will appear in the list. So if you'd like to adjust the volume for an app that doesn't appear, make sure you open it. And don't forget that you don't need to open this menu for quick volume changes. Click the Speaker icon in the System Tray to quickly adjust the master volume, or right-click and choose Open Volume Mixer to adjust sounds on a per-app basis.

File extensions are vital because they tell your computer what programs can open a file. Normally, you don't have to do much with them in Windows aside from setting your default programs. However, sometimes you'll find that a file extension doesn't open in the right program. Or maybe you want to double-check what app is set as default for a certain type of file. Here's a quick guide to managing and resetting file associations in Windows 10. How to Check/Reset File Associations in Windows 10 Open the Settings panel, using Win + I as a keyboard shortcut if you like. Select the Apps entry, and choose Default apps on the left sidebar. Here, you'll see the apps you have set as default for common tasks like emailing, listening to music, and more. Click one to change it. To look over the complete list of file associations, scroll down a bit and click Choose default apps by file type. This will let open a huge list of file extensions, many of which you've probably never heard of. You can select any entry to change its associated program. The Choose default apps by protocol menu lets you select apps to handle certain URL protocols, like Mailto and FTP. In most cases, these change when you adjust default apps, so you shouldn't have to make many changes. If you choose Set defaults by app, you'll see all the types of files a certain app can open. This lets you easily change defaults when you notice a program opens when it shouldn't, or vice-versa. Should you find that your file associations are completely messed up, you can click the Reset button to change everything back to the defaults. This includes Microsoft's "recommendations", so you'll need to change your default browser back from Edge, as well as the other categories like photos, videos, and email.

Sharing files between computers can be a pain. It's easy to send small files via email or cloud storage, but what if you want to share something with a computer right next to you? Emailing is slow, and copying the file to a flash drive feels like something out of the stone age. With HomeGroup gone, you need a better solution. In the April 2018 Update, Windows 10 added a feature called Nearby Share. It's a lot like Apple's AirDrop in that it lets you quickly send files to nearby devices. Here's how to use it. How to Share Windows Files to Nearby Devices First, you'll need to enable Nearby sharing on both machines (this only works for Windows 10 computers). To do so, head to Settings > System > Shared experiences. Make sure you've enabled Nearby sharing. You can also decide whether to receive content from Everyone nearby or My devices only. The latter option restricts transfers to devices using your Microsoft account. Since you need to approve every share anyway, leave this set to Everyone. Also on this menu, you can set a default folder for saving transferred files. Before proceeding, you may want to change your PC's name so it's easy to identify. Most computers have generic names by default, making it hard to tell them apart. Once you've enabled it, you can use Nearby Sharing in any app that supports it. The feature uses both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Simply click the Share icon in any app, like Edge or File Explorer, to bring up the sharing dialog. Along with the usual list of apps for sharing, you'll see a list of nearby devices. Once you click one, the other computer will see a notification that they must accept to receive it. Nearby Sharing is nice, but it's not your only option. Dropbox and other cloud storage providers let you quickly generate links for files you've stored with them. Plus, Nearby Sharing isn't super fast. But for quickly sharing URLs or small files, it gets the job done.

We'll show you how to fix a double-clicking mouse so you can figure out what's causing the problem and resolve it. 1. If a Single Click Is Double-Clicking A common reason for a double-clicking mouse is a simple setting in Windows. You may have enabled this by mistake, so it's worth checking first. To do so, open a File Explorer window. On the View tab, click Options. Then in the resulting window, on the General tab, you'll see a Click items as follows header. The default behavior is Double-click to open an item (single-click to select). If you have Single-click to open an item (point to select) chosen, you only need to click a folder once to open it. Just mousing over a folder or other file is enough to select it. While this can help you reduce the number of clicks you make in a day, it's confusing if you're used to the default behavior. And with this option flipped, you might think your mouse is physically double-clicking when it's really a software option. 2. Change the Mouse Double-Click Speed The click speed is another Windows option that you can change to fix a double-click problem. For most people, the default double-click threshold is manageable, but you might have changed it by mistake or have it set to a level where Windows won't properly recognize your clicks. To change your double-click speed, go to Settings > Devices > Mouse and click Additional mouse options in the right sidebar. If you don't see this, drag the Settings window to make it wider. When you click that link, a new Mouse Properties Control Panel window will appear. On the Buttons tab, you'll find a Double-click speed option. Move the slider per your preference; you can double-click on the folder icon to the right to test it. The closer to Fast you place the slider, the less time Windows allows between clicks to register a double-click. If it's too close to Slow, Windows might be registering two single clicks as a double-click. 3. Clean Your Mouse If you ruled out the above two options, your issue likely lies with hardware. You should next take a look at your mouse, especially around the top buttons where you click, and see if there's dirt or other grime there. The excessive build-up may interfere with your mouse's internals and cause it to keep double-clicking or click incorrectly. Give it a clean using cotton swabs, compressed air, and similar tools to remove any grime present. You can even make some DIY cleaning putty and use that if you'd like. Once it's clean, see if your double-clicking issue subsides. 4. Check the Battery Life and Interference Another cause of a double-clicking mouse is poor communication between your mouse and computer. This usually happens for one of two reasons: low battery life or interference. These are both problems unique to wireless mice, so you can skip this step if you use a wired mouse. If your mouse uses batteries, try replacing them, as it can misbehave when the power runs low. Similarly, you should plug in a rechargeable mouse and give it some time to regain battery power. If the batteries aren't the problem, your mouse might have trouble communicating with your computer wirelessly. Try bringing your mouse closer to the computer if it's far away. Also, if your mouse uses a USB receiver, make sure it's placed away from metal and other materials that block wireless signals. 5. Try Another Mouse If you've walked through all of the above and your mouse is still double-clicking all the time, it may be faulty. To test this, try either plugging your current mouse into another computer or connect a different mouse to your current computer. Should your mouse continue to misbehave on a different computer, it's very likely defective. If you try another mouse on your PC and don't have any issues, that's another sign your original mouse is defective. However, if the original mouse works fine on the second computer, or a second mouse has the same problem on your original computer, you may have a piece of software or something else interfering with your mouse's normal operation. There's one more step you can take... 6. Reinstall Mouse Drivers As a last troubleshooting step, it's worth a try to remove your current mouse driver and let Windows reinstall it. To do this, right-click the Start button (or press Win + X) and choose Device Manager. Expand the Mice and other pointing devices category and right-click your mouse. Choose Uninstall device, confirm, then restart your PC. Note that you'll have to navigate your computer without a mouse to reach to the restart command after you do so. Tap the Windows Key, then press Tab until it focuses on the left group of icons. Use your arrow keys to get down to the power button and hit Enter, then use the arrows and enter again to choose Restart. If you have trouble with this, you can also press Win + R to open the Run dialog and enter shutdown /r to restart. Fixes When Your Mouse Double-Clicks Hopefully, one or more of the above strategies fixed your double-clicking mouse. If nothing worked, it's likely that your mouse is not working properly. You may be able to fix it by opening it up and repairing the mechanics, but this probably isn't worth your time unless you have an expensive mouse.

Windows 10 automatically updates the drivers for your hardware. While these forced updates are convenient, they also come with some drawbacks. On the one hand, you don't have to manually update your drivers all the time. On the other hand, a buggy or poorly-timed driver update can cause your system to crash or devices to malfunction. If you start having issues with a device, Windows 10's automatic driver updates could be at fault. Here's how to review them. How to View All Recently Updated Drivers in Windows Open the Settings app, using the keyboard shortcut Win + I. Select the Update & Security entry. On the Windows Update tab, you'll see an Update status header at the top. Click the View installed update history link below it. Here, you'll see a list of all updated Windows has installed. Use the arrows to collapse all categories except for Driver Updates. You'll see your most recently installed drivers, including their date and version number. Clicking on an update's information should bring you to an informational page on Microsoft's website. However, it seems the company has not properly implemented this feature yet. If you see a driver that failed to install repeatedly, or notice that a device you're having trouble with recently had a driver update, that's a good sign that you need to troubleshoot it. To disable automatic updates, open the Control Panel and click the System entry. Select Advanced system settings on the left side, and choose the Hardware tab in the resulting window. Click the Device Installation Settings button, and select No.

Windows gives its users pretty robust controls over how laptop or computer handles its power options. But by default, the Windows Hibernate option is one that is not readily accessible. Hibernation vs. Sleep Mode There's only a small difference between Hibernate and Sleep modes. In Sleep mode, the computer is in what is called a low-energy state, and power is cut from the display, hard drive, and ports. The only component that is still powered during sleep mode is RAM. In Hibernate mode, power is cut from all of the above, as well as the RAM. This means that if you have a power outage in your home or office, you're ensuring no data loss. It's essentially the same as turning off your computer or laptop without having to close all your files and program. Turning your computer back on from Sleep mode is also a little faster than turning it back on from Hibernate mode. How to Add Hibernate to the Windows 10 Start Menu By default, Hibernate mode is not included in the power options in the Windows 10 start menu: Here's what you need to do to add it: Open Power Options. There are two ways you can do this: either right click the battery icon in your system tray and click Power Options, or open the Control Panel and click Power Options. Click Choose what closing the lid does or Choose what the power buttons do. If you don't see Hibernate under Shutdown settings, click the link Change settings that aren't currently available. Under Shutdown settings, you should know see Hibernate as an option. Toggle the feature on with the checkbox so that Hibernate appears in the Power menu. Once you've done that, you should now see Hibernate among the options when you click the Power button in the Start menu. Now if you'd rather put your computer in Hibernate rather than Sleep mode, it's just a few clicks away. If hibernation mode isn't for you and your computer is running low on storage space, you may want to consider completely getting rid of the hibernation option altogether.

Have you ever wanted to refer back to an old Windows upgrade you installed? It's easier said than done. You can see the most recent handful of updates in the Settings app (go to Update and Security > Windows Update > View Installed Update History), but it doesn't show system-wide upgrades (such as moving from Windows 7 to Windows 10 or installing the Fall Creators Update). So what options do you have? Well, there are actually two ways you can see all the upgrades that you have installed on your system. They're just very well hidden and not so well known. In this quick article, we're going to show you both methods. Keep reading to find out more. Method 1: Use the Windows Registry To see you update history using the Windows Registry, follow the step-by-step guide below. Press Windows + R. Type regedit. Press Enter. Navigate to Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup. Check the SourceOS keys. As you can see from the image above, my last upgrade was on 21st October 2017, I installed build number 15063, and installed it in the C:\Windows path. Warning: The Registry Editor is a powerful tool. Making incorrect changes could have serious consequences for your system. Proceed with caution and always make sure you back up your Windows registry before making any changes. Method 2: Use PowerShell You can also use PowerShell to find similar information. To begin, launch PowerShell by pressing the Windows key and running a search. When you're looking at the PowerShell screen, enter the following code and press Enter: $AllBuilds = $(gci "HKLM:\System\Setup" | ? {$_.Name -match "\\Source "}) | % { $_ | Select @{n="UpdateTime";e={if ($_.Name -match "Updated on (\d{1,2}\/\d{1,2}\/\d{4} \d{2}:\d{2}:\d{2})\)$") {[dateTime]::Parse($Matches[1],([Globalization.CultureInfo]::CreateSpecificCulture('en-US')))}}}, @{n="ReleaseID";e={$_.GetValue("ReleaseID")}},@{n="Branch";e={$_.GetValue("BuildBranch")}},@{n="Build";e={$_.GetValue("CurrentBuild")}},@{n="ProductName";e={$_.GetValue("ProductName")}},@{n="InstallTime";e={[datetime]::FromFileTime($_.GetValue("InstallTime"))}} }; Now enter the following code and once again press Enter: $AllBuilds | Sort UpdateTime | ft UpdateTime, ReleaseID, Branch, Build, ProductName The results will show you all the previous Windows versions that were installed on your machine in a table. You'll see both Windows 10 upgrades and upgrades from Windows 7 or 8 to the current release.

For many, a cluttered desktop and downloads folder is just a way of life---no matter how hard you try, they somehow always ends up disorganized. Need to do a bit of digital spring cleaning? Fortunately, there are lots of ways you can keep your Windows 10 computer decluttered! You can get rid of Windows 10 bloatware. You can declutter your right click menu. You can even declutter your search results. And of course, you can clean up your desktop. If you're looking for a more passive approach, there's at least one Windows 10 setting you should turn on to get rid of temporary files and to declutter your downloads folder. How to Auto-Delete Old Files in the Downloads Folder Go to Settings > System > Storage. Toggle on the Storage Sense feature. Click Change how we free up space. Check Delete files in my Downloads folder that haven't changed for over 30 days and Delete temporary files that my apps aren't using. You can also check Delete files that have been in the recycle bin for over 30 days. One important point to note: not all files in the downloads folder will be deleted after 30 days, just those that haven't changed in the past 30 days. This means if you download a file and open it daily without making any changes to it, it will still be deleted after the 30 day mark. If you turn this setting on, you should move anything out of the downloads folder that you intend to keep.

A fresh installation of Windows 10 produces different user folders that are meant to house things like downloads and documents, as well as organize content like music and photographs. However, you might want to customize things to your own liking. Whether you're looking to move these folders to an external drive, or just place them in a different location on your PC, it's not difficult to change things up. That said, it's worth taking stock of how to move user folders to another drive in Windows 10, as certain methods can have some seriously undesirable effects. Why You Shouldn't Move Your Entire User Folder Before we get started, here's a warning: don't move your entire user folder. While there is a way to move your whole user folder in Windows 10, it requires users to implement a deployment tool known as Sysprep. Microsoft states with no room for misunderstanding that this process should only be carried out in a test environment. Do it on your primary PC, and you're liable to lose data, if not access to your system. Fortunately, there are a few alternatives. It's relatively easy to move individual user folders, like Downloads and Documents, without running the risks associated with transferring the entire user folder itself. This way, you can move user folders to another drive, all while avoiding the potential for disaster. Before you start moving things around, it's a good idea to look over our Windows 10 data backup guide. This way, you don't accidentally lose an important file. Method 1: Relocating User Folders Relocating your Documents, Pictures, or Downloads folders is a good way to get around moving your entire user folder. It's a simple process that should only take a couple of minutes. Better yet, you can be sure that you won't lose any of your important files! To get started, open up File Explorer and navigate to the user folder that you want to move. Right-click it and select Properties. Head to the Location tab. Click Move and choose the new location for your folder. From here, click OK to make the change take effect. You can repeat this same process for all of the individual folders that you want to move. It's important to realize that if you choose an existing folder, you'll simply reassign that as the folder you're making changes to. It's better to create a new folder entirely if you want to start afresh. This method makes the transition quick and easy. You'll even see the updated location of your user folders automatically in the Quick Access bar. Method 2: Replacing User Folders Moving user folders using the above Microsoft-approved method shouldn't cause any problems. However, if you're really feeling cautious, you might want to consider replacing your user folders instead. This technique doesn't actually change the location of your existing user folders. Instead, you'll simply use new ones. Since you're not tinkering with the folders that Windows 10 expects to find in a certain place, there's no way it can interfere with the operating system. By default, your photos, documents, apps, pictures, maps, videos, and music all save to the corresponding folders in your user folder. When you want your files saved to a location outside of your user folder and into a separate drive, you'll have to adjust a few settings. Ready to learn how to change the default location of user folders in Windows 10? First, hit the Start menu and navigate to Settings in the left menu bar. Click System > Storage, and then select Change where new content is saved under the "More storage settings" heading. In the next window, you can change where your apps, documents, music, photos, videos, movies, and offline maps will save. Select the dropdown menu under each file to choose an alternative drive. Unfortunately, you can't save new files to a specific folder of your choice. When you select a new drive to save your files on, Windows will automatically create a corresponding folder in the new drive. For example, if you want your document files to save on a different drive, Windows will automatically create a new Documents folder on that drive. Method 3: Changing Your Downloads' Save Location The process of replacing your Downloads folder is a bit different when compared to your other user folders. To begin, go to File Explorer, select a new location for your downloads, and then create a new folder at that location. After that, you'll have to move the default save location of all the content you download from the internet. This means you'll need to open your web browser and select a new Downloads destination. Here, we'll go over how to change your Downloads save location for Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, and Firefox. Microsoft Edge In Microsoft Edge, click the three dots in the right corner of the browser, and select Settings from the dropdown menu. Navigate to Downloads in the left menu, click the Change box under the "Location" heading, and select the folder of your choice. Google Chrome Google Chrome has a very similar process to Edge. Simply click the three vertical dots at the top right corner of the browser, and then click Settings. Click the Advanced dropdown menu in the left menu bar, and hit Downloads. From here, click Change next to the default folder location, and then select your new Downloads home. Firefox For Firefox, click the three horizontal lines in the top right corner of the browser, and select Options. Scroll down the page until you see the "Downloads" heading. Next to the selection that reads Save files to, hit Browse. You can then locate and redirect downloads to your newly-created folder. Don't Forget to Optimize Your New User Folders If you really want a sense of organization on your computer, you'll want to specify the type of content that's going to be in your new folders. Right-click the folder of your choice in File Explorer, select Properties, and open the Customize tab. Depending on whether you're storing documents, images, music files, or videos, making this tweak will ensure that the folder is properly optimized. Lastly, you'll want to customize your Quick Access menu and add your new user folders to it. This is as simple as right-clicking the folder and hitting Pin to Quick access. Just don't forget to right-click any out-of-commission user folders, and select Unpin from Quick access as well. Move User Folders in Windows 10 and Save Storage Space Moving your Windows user folder to optimize space may seem like a relatively innocuous change, but it can easily cause some major problems. Whenever you tinker with settings related to the foundations of your operating system, there's a possibility that you might cause some real damage. Microsoft makes tools like Sysprep for enterprise use in very specific situations. While expert users can employ them to great effect, there's a thin line between getting the results that you want and breaking something important, especially if you're trying to make space for storage in a hurry. Sometimes, it's best to be a little cautious. This is especially true when it comes to the Windows install process or manipulating system files.

When you install and set up Windows 10, you're asked to choose a system language. If you accidentally chose the wrong option or would like to switch to a new language, you can change your computer language without much trouble. Let's look at how to change the system language in Windows 10 for the current user, for all new users, on the Welcome screen, and how to make the added language the system default. If the system currently displays a language you don't know, refer to the screenshots to know what options to select. The icons and button locations are the same in all languages. When to Change the Windows 10 System Language Most people won't ever need to change their language after the initial Windows setup. But there may be some situations where you want to do this. Maybe a relative or friend from another country is visiting and wants to use your computer. We recommend creating a new standard user account for them and changing the account language based on their preference. This also comes in handy if you're learning a new language and want to practice by having your computer elements appear in the new language. If you bought a secondhand computer that's set up with a language you don't understand, you can use these tips to change the system language. However, if the previous user didn't remove their data, it's probably better to factory reset Windows 10 to start fresh. How to Change the System Language in Windows 10 Changing the system language in Windows 10 is straightforward. We'll walk you through the steps with screenshots in case you can't read the current language. We'll cover further tweaks later, such as adding a keyboard for a particular language or applying the new language to all user accounts. Access Settings and Add a Language Press Win + I on your keyboard to open Settings. From the list of categories, click Time & Language; the icon is a clock with a few other characters under it. Next, select Language on the left sidebar, which has the same two characters from the earlier icon. Under Preferred Languages on the right side, click Add a language, which will appear above any installed languages. A long list of available languages will pop up. These all appear both in their native language and in the current system language. This way, even if the system is in a language you don't know, you can still find your preferred language on the list. Next to each, you'll see icons to show the features that it supports, such as speech recognition. Scroll through the list and click on the language you want, followed by Next. You can also search for a language using the box at the top of the window. If the language you choose is spoken in multiple regions, make sure you select the right one. Download the Language Pack and Use the New Language On the next screen, Windows will ask you to select Optional language features. Make sure you have Install language pack checked, which allows you to set it as your display language. Check Set as my Windows display language if you want to immediately apply it. Click Install and Windows will download the required files for your new language. After a few moments, the language is ready to use. If you didn't set the new language as the display language earlier, select it in the dropdown box under Windows display language to make it the default. You'll have to log out and back in for the change to take effect. To set your preferred language for apps and websites, use the arrows next to each option under Preferred languages to rearrange them. Doing both of these effectively sets the default language in Windows 10 to whatever you've chosen. Finally, to customize the options for a language, select it from the Preferred languages list, choose Options, and you can change spell-checking options and install optional features you skipped earlier. How to Add a New Keyboard in Windows 10 When you add a new language to Windows 10 using the above steps, it adds a standard keyboard for that language too. If you want to add another keyboard, go back to Settings > Time & Language > Language. Select the language you want to add a new keyboard for, followed by Options. On the resulting screen, click Add a keyboard under Keyboards. Choose a keyboard from the list to add it as an input method for that language. This comes in handy if, for example, you've moved countries and want to use the language for your new location while sticking with a keyboard layout you're familiar with. When you have more than one input method for your computer, you'll see the current keyboard displayed on the right side of the Taskbar next to the date and time. Click this or press Win + Space to change between your input methods easily. Change Regional Settings in Windows 10 If you're changing your system language, you might also prefer to change regional options, such as the first day of the week and the date/time format. Head to Settings > Time & Language > Region to adjust those. If you've moved, you can change the Country or region box to your new location. This may change local content that you see across Windows and apps. To change to the recommended formatting to a particular region's standards, change the Regional format box. To instead tweak individual types of data, click Change data formats at the bottom of the page. How to Change the Windows 10 Language for the Entire System Changing the language as described above only applies to the current user account. If you like, you can force the welcome screen, as well as new user accounts you make in the future, to also display in that language. You'll need to use the Control Panel to make this change. The easiest way to get to the appropriate menu is heading to Settings > Time & Language > Language and clicking Administrative language settings on the right sidebar. If you don't see the links on the right bar, expand the window to make it wider. This will launch the Region Control Panel option to the Administrative tab. Click the Copy settings button under Welcome screen and new user accounts. This will show the language settings for the Current user, Welcome screen, and New user accounts. You can't change these options, but you can check the Welcome screen and system accounts and New user accounts at the bottom to copy your current settings to those profiles. Check the boxes, then click OK and restart your computer. Once you reboot, the language you chose will become the default for the entire system. How to Remove a Language From Windows 10 If you added another language for someone who was visiting, or no longer need a language you used before, you can remove it. Of course, you need to keep at least one language on your system. You can quickly get back to Settings > Time & Language > Language by clicking the language option in the bottom-right of your Taskbar and clicking Language preferences. Before removing a language, you must choose a different language as the default. Change the Windows display language dropdown to something else. After that, click the language you want to remove in the list under Preferred languages and choose Remove. When you only have one language on your machine, you won't see the language indicator on the Taskbar. How to Manually Uninstall Language Packs If you want to, you can manually uninstall language packs. This isn't necessary, as they only take up a small amount of space. But if you know you won't use the language again, it's easy enough to do. Press Win + R to open the Run dialog, then enter the following command: Lpksetup /u This will launch the Install or uninstall display languages box displays. Check the box for the language you want to uninstall and click Next. The progress bar will show you how far along the process is. Reboot when it's done and the language pack will be gone. Windows 10 Speaks Your Language Now you know how to change your computer's language. Whether you need to change the Windows system language to English on an unfamiliar computer or add a second language, it's easy to tweak the settings.

Windows separates user accounts into Administrator and Standard levels. Standard accounts can make changes that don't affect others on the computer, such as personalization options or installing software for themselves. However, you need an Administrator account to change the clock, access protected system files, add users, and take similar actions. Perhaps you've just tried to access something and were told you don't have administrator rights. We'll show you how to get administrator privileges on Windows 10. First: Make Sure You're Allowed Admin Rights It sounds obvious, but perhaps you don't have administrative privileges on a computer because the owner doesn't want you to. On a corporate computer or one owned by your parents, friends, etc. you've probably been restricted to a Standard account so you can't make major changes. If you need admin access on someone else's computer, ask them to make the change or to update your account with admin rights. Unfortunately, we can't show you how to bypass admin restrictions in Windows 10 for a school computer or similar. You should respect controls that the computer manager put in place. User Account Control: Know Your Rights Windows uses the blue and yellow User Account Control (UAC) shield icon to designate computer functions that require admin privileges. If you try to take action, you'll see two different prompts depending on whether you're an administrator or not. Admins simply have to click Yes when asked if they want to allow a program to make changes. Standard accounts must type an admin's password to proceed. This lets you perform administrative functions without staying logged into an admin account all the time. As long as you know an admin password, you can get through UAC prompts. See our overview of User Account Control for more information on how it works. If you want to elevate your standard account to an admin account, another admin will need to visit Settings > Accounts > Family & other users. Select your account under Other People (or Your Family) if you manage one) and click the Change account type button. Change it from Standard User to Administrator and you'll have full privileges. It's also wise to make sure you haven't disabled UAC. Doing so will prevent standard accounts from even seeing UAC prompts, so trying to take admin actions will fail with no notification. To check this, type UAC into the Start menu and click Change User Account Control settings. Make sure the slider is not set to the bottom option of Never Notify. The second option from the top is the default and should work fine in most cases. If You've Forgotten the Admin Account Password One common situation where you can't log into an admin account occurs when you lose your password. Thankfully, you're not locked out even if the password slipped your mind. We've covered how to reset your Windows password. If you use a Microsoft login for the admin account, it's easy to reset your password via Microsoft's portal. Local accounts have several other methods for resetting a password, but they take some work. Once you recover your account password, you'll have full admin rights again. Temporarily Access the Windows Administrator Account Since Windows Vista and the advent of UAC, Windows ships with the built-in Administrator account disabled. This is to protect your PC, as the default Administrator account can take any action on your computer without boundaries. Obviously, if malware got hold of this account, it would be a huge problem. Windows has a few utilities to provide admin rights back to your own account, but none of them will work if you're not an administrator yourself. Depending on what your exact problem is with admin rights (maybe you can accept UAC prompts but not access other users' files), you might still be able to enable the built-in admin account. To enable the default Administrator account, right-click on the Start button or press Win + X. Choose Command Prompt (Admin) or Windows PowerShell (Admin) to open an elevated command line. If you're able to do this, enter this command to enable the built-in Admin account: net user administrator /active:yes Now, just log out of your account and you'll see Administrator as an option. It has no password, so you're free to log in and perform any function you like. Once you're done working, you should run the above command again and change the yes to no to disable it for safety. The Built-In Administrator Account Workaround If you try to open an elevated Command Prompt above and can't do it because you lack admin rights, you'll have to enable the Administrator account using a workaround. To do this, refer to our in-depth guide on resetting your Windows password, as it contains instructions for a workaround to enable that account. How to Fix Admin Rights on Your Own Account Once you've logged in with the Administrator account, you can use Windows tools to fix the problems on your own admin account. Start by visiting the same accounts page as before to make sure your account is indeed an admin: Settings > Accounts > Family & other users. Click your account name under Other users (or Your family, if applicable) and then hit the Change account type button. Change the dropdown box from Standard User to Administrator if it's not already. Another way of doing this is through the User Accounts page. Type netplwiz into the Start Menu (or the Win + R Run menu) to access it. Here, you'll see a list of every user on your machine. Click one and hit the Properties button, then select the Group Membership tab. You can change an account from Standard users to Administrator. The Other option contains lots of other account types that aren't common outside of business use. There's one other place you should check to make sure you aren't missing any rights. Open a File Explorer window to This PC. Under Devices and drives, right-click on your primary storage drive (likely the one labeled C:) and choose Properties. In the resulting window, switch to the Security tab. Next, click the Advanced button near the bottom. You'll see the full list of permissions for each group of users on your PC. This will vary if you've made changes, but here's an idea of what a normal permissions list should look like: Make sure that the Administrators group has Full Control listed for Access. If it doesn't, you've found the reason you can't view all files. Click the Change permissions button first to make changes, then double-click on a group to modify it. Make sure to tick the Full control box for the Administrators group. Remember, you shouldn't change anything else here you're not sure about. If you're still having problems, try creating a new admin account at Settings > Accounts > Family & others users > Add someone else to this PC. Gaining Admin Rights: Success We've covered the most common solutions for getting administrative rights in Windows 10. Whether you've disabled UAC, forgotten your password, or are suffering from strange file settings, these methods let you recover admin rights and control your PC again. Now that you're an admin, make sure you know how to run programs as admin in Windows. You can also lock down your Windows PC to prevent other users from accessing sensitive features. Last but not least, as a power user, you also need to check out the Windows 10 PowerToys.

No piece of software can last forever. Sooner or later, every program has to go; this often thanks to an outdated core or changed priorities from the developers. The Windows operating system itself is no exception to this. So, when does Windows 10 support end? What happens when Windows reaches the end of its support? We'll answer these questions and more as we look at how the Windows lifecycle works. What Is the Windows Lifecycle? When Microsoft releases a new version of Windows, it already has a set end of support date. You can find these dates on Microsoft's Windows lifecycle fact sheet page. There is no final Windows 10 end of life, as there was with previous versions. Since Microsoft regularly updates Windows 10, it supports each major version (called a feature update) for 18 months after its release. That page features a chart of versions with their release date and end of service dates so you know what to expect. We'll cover more on specific Windows 10 versions in a bit. For Windows 8.1, Windows 7, and older, you'll notice two end-of-life dates: mainstream support and extended support. These are pretty straightforward: During mainstream support, a version of Windows receives security updates as well as possible feature updates. This lasts for at least five years after a version launches. Afterward, Windows enters extended support. During this period, Microsoft continues to issue security patches, but you won't see new features. This begins at the end of mainstream support and lasts until at least 10 years after the OS's initial release---meaning that extended support usually lasts for five years after mainstream support ends. What Will Happen When Windows 10 Support Ends? Once extended support ends (or support ends for a particular version of Windows 10), that version of Windows is effectively dead. Microsoft won't offer any updates---even for security issues---except in rare circumstances. While your computer will continue to work fine, as it gets older, it becomes increasingly insecure. If attackers find a vulnerability in the OS, Microsoft won't patch it. And over time, popular software will stop supporting legacy versions of Windows. Which Windows Versions Are No Longer Supported? As of 2020, Microsoft only supports Windows 8.1 and Windows 10. Windows 7 left extended support in January of 2020, with Vista and XP expiring years prior. If you're still using any of those versions, you need to upgrade, which we cover below. Windows 8.1 left mainstream support in January 2018; it's in extended support until January 2023. Note that the original version of Windows 8 is no longer supported, so you should update to Windows 8.1 to stay safe. When Will Windows 10 Support End? As mentioned, Microsoft uses a different approach with Windows 10 support. Before Windows 10, the end of life for your Windows version meant that you had to upgrade your computer or pay for a new copy of Windows. Since Microsoft offers Windows 10 as a service, the company regularly updates Windows 10 to make it even better. These updates are free for home users. This means instead of releasing a brand-new Windows version every few years, Microsoft launches feature updates roughly twice a year. They're targeted for March and November, but the actual launch date can vary. If you're on Windows 10, it's a good idea to know the Windows 10 end of support date for your current version. That way, you can make sure you don't use it past its expiration date. Check Your Current Windows 10 Version It's easy to see what version of Windows 10 you have. Press Win + R to open the Run dialog, then enter winver and press Enter. You'll see a simple dialog box with Version XXYY near the top. These numbers show the (intended) release year and date. For example, Windows 10 version 2004 corresponds to April 2020, even though the update didn't launch exactly in that month. You can use this to get an idea of how close to the end of the 18-month support period your version is. Aside from the number, each version also has a "friendly name" that Microsoft uses to identify them. These once used unique names like the Creators Update or Anniversary Update, but now follow a simple month/year scheme, such as May 2020 Update (which is version 2004). On the Windows lifecycle page mentioned earlier, you'll see a list of every Windows 10 version and its end of service date. If the end of support date is close for your version, it's a good time to update. How to Upgrade Windows 10 Before End of Support Because Windows 10 updates automatically, you don't usually need to worry about manually updating your copy of Windows before support ends. Unless you've delayed Windows 10 updates, Windows will install the latest version soon after it launches. A few months before the end of support for your version, you'll see a message on the Windows Update page with a message like "You're currently running a version of Windows 10 that's nearing the end of support." As it gets closer, you might also see a popup warning you about this. At that time, you should walk through the steps to get the latest update. If you see a "Your version of Windows has reached end of service" message, then it's time to update right away. Head to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update and click Check for updates to get the latest version. Depending on your version of Windows 10, you might see a separate section for the feature update. If you can't download the update using this method, head to the Windows 10 download page and click Update now to use the update assistant instead. Upgrading Windows 8.1 and Older at End of Service If you're not on Windows 10 yet, you should still plan for the end of service date of your OS. Those running Windows 8.1 don't have to worry yet but should make a plan to upgrade to Windows 10 before 2023. As of this writing, as long as you have a genuine copy of Windows 8.1, you can upgrade to Windows 10 for free using the same installer mentioned above. This may not be around in 2022, though, so it's smart to do it sooner. While many PCs that can run Windows 8.1 will work with Windows 10, you may want to make sure your computer can run Windows 10 anyway. If you can't, you'll need to buy a new system or install Linux on your computer when support ends. Windows 7 is now out of support; see our guide to your Windows 7 upgrade options for more info. And if you're still using Windows Vista or XP, it's time to buy a new computer with Windows 10. Fixing Windows 10 Upgrade Problems If you have problems installing the latest feature update for Windows 10, try using the Windows 10 download page instead of Windows Update. If that doesn't work, you can try installing Windows 10 via USB. Another common issue is not having enough space to run the update. Follow our guide to cleaning up your Windows PC to make some space, then try again. Finally, make sure your computer meets the requirements for Windows 10, as discussed above. There's a chance that your computer was compatible with an earlier version of Windows 10 but doesn't make the cut for the latest offering. What Happens When Windows 10 Support Ends? Now You Know Keeping track of Windows lifecycles can be a little frustrating, but Windows 10 makes this a lot easier. Simply check your version every once in a while to make sure updates are installing automatically, and you shouldn't have to do much else. If you're on an older version, it's wise to upgrade as soon as you can.

Opening the command prompt and typing in a command manually can get tiresome, but what if you could create a desktop shortcut to run commands whenever you please? Fortunately, while it's not immediately obvious how to do this, it is possible in Windows 10 to create a command prompt shortcut. Let's explore how to make a Windows shortcut that runs a command prompt. How to Open Command Prompt via Windows 10 Shortcut To start, let's explore how to open the command prompt using a Windows 10 shortcut. It won't do anything right away; you'll still have to manually type in the command you want to do. However, what we'll cover here will act as the basis for the other commands we'll cover in this article. First, we need to create a CMD shortcut. To do this, right-click in an empty space in File Explorer or the desktop. Then, go to New > Shortcut. When you click this, Windows 10 will immediately show a pop-up window asking for a location. In this window, type "C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe" then click Next. This is telling Windows to go into the system files and run the Command Prompt executable. If your Windows 10 installation is on another drive, replace the "C:\" with the drive you use for your OS. Once you click Next, you can name the shortcut something memorable. Give it a name like "Open Command Prompt" and click Finish. Now when you double-click your new shortcut, the command prompt appears. How to Run a Command via Windows 10 Shortcut Now that we've got the basics down, let's learn how to make a CMD shortcut with a command built into it. If you want to make a new shortcut, repeat the steps above; however, if you want to edit the command you created previously, simply right-click it, click Properties, then add your new command under Target. Now, let's run a command via our shortcut. To do this, type "C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe" /k followed by your command. For example, "C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe" /k echo hello world will tell the command prompt to print "hello world." You may notice the odd "/k" in the middle of the command. This tells the command prompt to run what we type after it, then stay open so that you can see the result. If you prefer the command prompt to close as soon as it's done, replace this /k with /c instead. How to Run Multiple Commands via Windows 10 Shortcut You can also chain multiple commands together. Just add an ampersand (&) between each command to chain them. For example, "C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe" /k echo hello & echo world will print "hello," then "world." You don't need to repeat the /k or /c for each command; one at the start will do. Examples of Useful Commands to Have As Shortcuts Now you have everything you need to run commands from a shortcut, whether you want to manually type the command or automatically run a pre-set one. As such, let's take some time to explore some useful ways you can use this tool to make specific tasks easier. Ping or Trace the Route of a Specific Website or IP If a website you visit goes down often, or you want to check the health of a remote server, the ping and tracert commands come in great use. Ping lets you see how fast your connection between you and the target is, while tracert lets you see each step in the connection. To set up an automatic ping command, enter "C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe" /k ping followed by your target. For example, "C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe" /k ping www.google.com will let you know how fast you can contact Google in milliseconds. Likewise, using "C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe" /k tracert followed by your target will show you every step taken between you and the server. Using this on Google will show you all the servers your connection visits before it reaches the website. If you'd like to know more about these commands, be sure to read up on the wireless network commands in Windows. Flush the DNS Cache to Resolve Connection Issues If you keep having DNS connection issues, why not set up an automatic shortcut that flushes your DNS cache? Just create a shortcut with "C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe" /k ipconfig /flushdns and double-click it every time a DNS connection problem appears. You may even want to use /c for this command to close it once it's finished. Are you unsure as to what flushing the DNS cache actually does? Then be sure to read about what DNS is, and why it can become unavailable. Check Your File System's Health With Chkdsk and SFC If you want to quickly check how your file system is doing, you can do so using Checkdisk (chkdsk) and the System File Checker (SFC). Chkdsk scans your entire computer for errors, while SFC does the same for just your important system files. If you want easy access to these tools, you can create a checkdisk shortcut with "C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe" CHKDSK /f , and an SFC command with "C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe" /k sfc /scannow . We covered both chkdsk and SFC in our guide on how to fix an unmountable boot drive, so be sure to check it out if you want to learn more about these commands. Log Off, Restart, or Shut Down Your Computer Finally, did you know that you can log off, restart, and turn off your PC from the command prompt? They all use the same "shutdown" command, but the variables you give the command defines which action you wish to perform. All of the following commands are activated with "C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe" /k shutdown , so enter that regardless of what you want to do. Then, add one of the following arguments to the end: /l will log off the current user. /r will restart the computer. /r /o will restart the computer then boot back into the advanced startup options. /s will turn off the computer. /s /hybrid shuts down the PC, then prepares it for a fast startup. /h will put the computer into hibernation mode. /a cancels a current shutdown sequence, as long as it's done during the time out period. /t, when placed after a shutdown (/s) or restart (/r) command, defines how many seconds the PC will wait before performing that activity. Add a number after the /t to define the time; for example, /r /t 100 will restart the PC after 100 seconds pass. Using the Command Prompt in a Smarter Way Constantly re-typing commands can get tiresome, so why not create a shortcut that does the hard work for you? Now you know how to make a shortcut that, when double-clicked, will either open the command prompt or automatically execute a command of your choosing.

Remember when you used to fall asleep while watching TV in the living room? If so, you probably used the Sleep Timer feature on your TV to automatically shut it off after an hour or so (to prevent it from playing all through the night). Well, what if you don't use a TV anymore? More and more of us access entertainment on laptops or desktops. Wouldn't it be cool if there was a sleep timer option for the PC? Well, there is! Here's how you use Windows built-in shutdown feature to set a sleep timer. How to Set a Sleep Timer Shutdown in Windows You can set a Windows sleep timer to shut down your computer after a certain period. The easiest way to set your computer to shut down on a timer is through the Command Prompt, using Windows shutdown command. First up, launch the Command Prompt. Type command into your Start Menu search box and select the Best Match. Now, type in the following command: Shutdown -s -t 3600 The -s parameter indicates that this should shut down your computer, and the -t 3600 parameter indicates that there should be a delay of 3600 seconds, which equals one hour. Just by typing this command, you can quickly schedule a one-time shutdown---the perfect sleep timer. The sleep timer operates in seconds. If you want to set the timer for two hours, input 7200, and so on. Create a Sleep Timer Desktop Shortcut Now, if you want to use the sleep timer regularly, you can save yourself a few clicks with a sleep timer shortcut. You can create a shortcut that starts the sleep timer without having to open the Command Prompt. Better still, you can also create a shortcut that cancels the sleep timer for those moments you realize you weren't quite done. First up, create a new shortcut. Right-click your desktop and select New > Shortcut. Copy and paste the following: Shutdown -s -t 3600 Give the shortcut a name and click Finish. There you have it: a custom shutdown sleep timer. For the final touch, right-click your sleep timer shortcut, select Properties, then Change Icon. Click through the warning, and you can select a custom icon for your sleep timer. One other option is to assign a keyboard shortcut for your sleep command---just make sure not to press it unexpectedly or without realizing it! Create a Sleep Timer Cancellation Shortcut What about if you start your sleep timer countdown, then realize that you need to keep using your computer for longer than one hour? Thankfully, you can also create a shortcut that cancels the sleep timer. Right-click your desktop and select New > Shortcut. Copy and paste the following: Shutdown -a Give the shortcut and name and click Finish. You can add a custom icon for the sleep timer cancellation shortcut---make it a different icon so you can spot the difference. Dedicated Sleep Timer Shutdown App for Windows 10 If you don't want to use a shortcut or simply prefer a graphical user interface, you have several sleep timer shutdown app options. 1. SleepTimer Ultimate SleepTimer Ultimate is a free sleep timer program with heaps of functionality. You can use SleepTimer Ultimate to set a wide range of sleep timers, each with different resulting actions. For example, you could set a specific time and date in the future for your computer to shut down or to log out of the Windows account if the CPU load reaches a certain level. Another cool SleepTimer Ultimate feature is the timed program launcher. You can set a program to launch after a specific amount of time elapses. Also, you can add customizable sleep timer overlays to your desktop to track the timer, making sure you know when your time is up. Download: SleepTimer Ultimate for Windows (Free) 2. Sleep Timer From the extensive functionality of SleepTimer Ultimate, to the basic approach of Sleep Timer. Nonetheless, Sleep Timer does what you want: you set the timer, leave your computer, and it will shut down at the appropriate time. The app developer originally envisaged Sleep Timer as the perfect tool for those wishing to listen to music as they fall asleep, but not leave their computer running all night, which it does. There are also options for a timed restart or hibernate, and you can set the shutdown sequence to begin after a timed duration or a period of inactivity. Download: Sleep Timer for Windows (Free) 3. Adios The aptly named Adios is a free sleep timer for Windows with a handy and easy to use UI. There are options for timed shutdown, restarts, user logoff, and to switch a monitor off. You use the up and down arrows to set the time, which can run into days if you require. You'll also find an option to enable a voice notification for your shutdown timer, which is an interesting option. Like SleepTimer Ultimate, you can use Adios to run a program on a timer. Furthermore---and this is really cool---you can use Adios to set a download to begin at a specific time. Download: Adios for Windows (Free) Changing the Sleep Timer on Your Laptop Windows 10 has a sleep timer, and you probably already use it. When you leave your computer, laptop, or tablet unattended, it will enter sleep mode automatically after a certain amount of time. To edit the amount of time before sleep, type sleep in your Start Menu search bar and select the Best Match. You can edit the sleep timers from this menu. There are two things to know about these options: Screen: Configure when the screen goes to sleep Sleep: Configure when the computer hibernates The first option, then, doesn't put your entire computer into sleep mode. Instead, just the screen switches off. You can use the second "Sleep" option to configure a specific amount of time before the system powers down into hibernation mode. If you are using a portable device, you'll find extra options for your device on battery or connected to a mains outlet. There are other options, too, like using the laptop power button as a sleep control. You Can Set Windows Sleep Timers Easily You now have multiple options to set a sleep timer on Windows 10. The shortcut option gives you a basic shutdown timer, while the dedicated Windows 10 sleep timer apps give you extensive shutdown timer functionality.

When you type on a mobile keyboard, it corrects minor typing mistakes as you go. You don't get the same benefit on a physical keyboard on a PC. Your computer detects a misspelled word and leaves you with a red underline. But you can get autocorrect on your PC! Let's look at how to use autocorrect on Windows 10 through two different methods. Enable Windows 10's Built-In Autocorrect Since the April 2018 Update, Windows 10 has featured its own autocorrect functionality, even for hardware keyboards. This is a simple toggle that you can use to catch basic mistakes and is a good first option to try. To enable it, open Settings by using Win + I, then browse to Devices > Typing. In the list, scroll down to the Hardware keyboard section. Here, enable the Autocorrect misspelled words as I type slider. After you do this, Windows will fix common typos as you enter text anywhere on the system. In our testing, this includes changing "teh" to "the" and "mispell" to "misspell", for example. Unlike your mobile phone keyboard, it won't figure out what word you were trying to type based on the keys you hit; it only resolves specific typos to their correct word. It also doesn't fix errors like having two letters in a row "CApitalized" or adding extra letters, such as "sooon". If you don't want an intensive autocorrect function, start by enabling this and see if it helps you enough. Move onto the second option if you're looking for something more. Use an Autocorrect Script With AutoHotkey AutoHotkey is a powerful Windows scripting tool that you can use for all sorts of purposes. For instance, you can assign system commands to a keyboard shortcut, expand text to type large snippets with a few characters, reassign keyboard keys, and much more. See our introduction to AutoHotkey if you're interested in learning more. We'll walk you through how to use autocorrect with AutoHotkey, even if you're not familiar with the tool. Download AutoHotkey and the AutoCorrect Script To start, download AutoHotkey and install it on your system. Once that's done, you're ready to start using scripts with the software. Thankfully, you don't have to set up autocorrect yourself. This AutoCorrect script by Jim Biancolo has been around since 2006, but still works fine since typos don't really change with time. On that page, press Ctrl + S to save it to your computer. By default, Windows will prompt you to save this as a TXT file. However, you need to save it as an AHK file, which is what AutoHotkey uses for scripts. In the Save As dialog, make sure to remove the .txt at the end of File name so the file ends with .ahk. If you do it correctly, when you view the icon in File Explorer, it will show as a white page with an H on it. You can save the script anywhere on your computer and simply double-click to run it. When you do, the script will start running with no alert, aside from placing an AutoHotkey icon in your System tray at the bottom-right of the screen. However, for a set-and-forget autocorrect app, you should move the file into your startup folder. That way, it will run every time you boot your computer so you don't have to launch it manually. To do so, type shell:startup into the address bar of File Explorer and place the AHK script inside. See our guide to the Windows 10 startup folder for more help with this. Viewing the AutoCorrect Script Once you have the script running (and placed into the startup folder if you want it to run all the time), it will start auto-correcting text everywhere you type on your computer. That's all you need to take advantage of it, but you can view the script if you're interested in what it does, or even tweak it to your liking for better results. The script contains hundreds of common typos. Like the built-in Windows 10 autocorrect, it only changes specific errors to the correct word. To take a look at its contents, visit the AutoCorrect script page again. You can also right-click on the AutoHotkey icon in your System tray and choose Edit This Script, though this will open it in Notepad, which isn't particularly user-friendly for making edits. If you use another text editor, right-click the script file and choose Open with, or drag and drop it into your chosen text editor, to view and edit it there. Editing the Script Inside, you'll see the script split up into a few sections. By default, the script doesn't fix "TWo CApitals", but the code is there. Simply remove the comment lines (/* and */ at the beginning and end) in the "AUto-COrrect TWo COnsecutive CApitals" section to activate that code. If you don't like any of the primary autocorrect entries for some reason, simply add a semicolon (;) before the line to comment it out. For example, you might not want it to correct "wanna" to "want to", which it does by default. It's better to comment out than delete, in case you want to restore a line in the future. At the bottom, you'll find a section with the title Anything below this point was added to the script by the user via the Win+H hotkey. This is where you can add your own autocorrect entries. The format is simple, as you can just copy how other entries on the list look. Use the following: ::typo::correction For example, to correct "winodws" to "windows", you would enter: ::winodws::windows While you can add these manually, the AutoCorrect script makes it even more convenient. Simply highlight an error anywhere on your computer and press Win + H. When you do, a popup will appear allowing you to specify the error and correction using the above format. Click OK to add it to the section at the bottom. Above this area, you'll find the Ambiguous entries section. Here, the author gathered some fixes that are potentially useful but not always clear; thus they're commented out. For example, the typo "aparent" could correct to either "apparent" or "a parent". If you have a preference, move the line to the user section at the bottom and put the correct entry on the right side. So if you wanted "aparent" to correct to "apparent", you would move the following line and delete the, a parent: :aparent::apparent, a parent Finally, be sure you save the file after making changes! If you don't, they won't take effect. Pausing and Closing the Script If you want to prevent the AutoCorrect script from running for a bit, find its icon in the System tray and right-click it. Choose Pause Script to prevent it from running until you resume it again. Suspend Hotkeys will keep the script running, but will disable Win + H (and any other hotkeys you may have set up). Reload This Script can help if something gets stuck (which shouldn't usually happen). Finally, click Exit to kill AutoCorrect until you reboot or run it again. Autocorrect Everywhere on Your Computer Now you have two great options for using autocorrect on your Windows PC. Neither option is perfect, but they allow you to easily catch and fix common typos without any extra effort. And since the AutoHotkey option is customizable, you can set it up to fix the typos you most commonly make.

It can be hard to keep track of all the data on your computer, which is why the built-in Windows search function can come in so handy. But have you ever found it doesn't always turn up the result you want? This might be because you're trying to search text inside a file. By default, Windows won't look at the internals of every single file when performing your search. However, there is a way to enable this. Not only can the Windows search be improved, but there are third-party programs that might offer you better search experiences and we'll cover these too. Search File Contents Using Windows Search Windows 10 is better at searching for files and folders than it's older versions. It's usually great at finding the file you need. However, there might be an occasion where the file you seek doesn't come up. This is because, by default, Windows search doesn't look at the contents of every file type, nor does it scan files that haven't been indexed. Here's how to change both of those things. About the Windows File Index The Windows index catalogs information about your files, like the metadata and the words within them. This allows your computer to find things quicker---it doesn't have to scan each file individually, but can instead look in the index. Many apps on your system use the index. File Explorer is the obvious place, but Photos, Groove, Outlook, and Cortana all use the index too. The index updates automatically as the files on your computer change. It will take up roughly less than 10 percent of the size of the indexed files (so 100 MB of files will have an index of less than 10 MB). While these methods will make your file search more useful, it's worth noting that they can slow down the speed at which you'll get your results. The more file types that have their contents indexed and the more folders searched, the longer it'll take. If you notice a significant slowdown then it might be worth cutting back on your indexing and only enabling the more obscure searches when necessary. 1. Change General Search Options There are a couple of general options that you can change to enhance the file index and search. Indexing Options First, we'll look at how to change some system-wide indexing options. Open the Start menu, search for Indexing Options, and select the result. In the window that opens, click Advanced and remain on the Index Settings tab. Beneath the File Settings heading, you can enable two options: Index encrypted files Treat similar words with diacritics as different words The first will add encrypted files to the index. Encryption can help protect your files, so you may not want these indexed. The second refers to diacritics, which are also known as accents. Those are the little symbols or glyphs that appear on some words like café. Once you enable this, "cafe" and "café" would be treated as different words. This option is useful if you have many files in different languages. Once done, click OK to save your changes. File Explorer Options Next, we'll change how search operates within File Explorer. Open the Start menu, search for Change search options for files and folders, and select the result. Here you can enable options for when searching non-indexed locations. These are: Include system directories (enabled by default) Include compressed files (ZIP, CAB, etc.) Always search file names and contents (this might take several minutes) Choose what you want to enable, but the third is crucial if you want a thorough search of files and their contents. Once done, click OK to save your changes. 2. Search For and Inside More Locations Windows indexes locations like your Documents, Music, Pictures, and Videos by default. If you like, you can add more locations to the index. To do this, open the Start menu, search for Indexing Options, and select the result. This will open a window that shows you all the current indexed locations. To add something to this list, click Modify > Show all locations. Use the Change selected locations section at the top---click the arrow to expand a drive or folder, then place a tick in the box to index it. Once done, click OK. 3. Search Inside More File Types By default, Windows only adds the file contents of certain file types to the index. To change this, we again need to use the Indexing Options section. Click Advanced and switch to the File Types tab. Here you will find a list of most file types on your system, right down to the really obscure ones. If a file type isn't listed, input it in the Add new extension to list text field and click Add. If you click a common file extension from the list, like doc, look beneath the How should this file be indexed? section. You'll notice that the file is indexed with the Index Properties and File Contents option. This means that Windows search will look inside DOC files, and other file types marked like this, when you make a search. Select a more obscure file type and it'll likely just be set to Index Properties Only, which refers to metadata like the file name rather than anything inside it. If you know what the file type is that you're after, find it on the list and switch it so that it's set to Index Properties and File Contents. Once done, click OK. Search File Contents Using Third-Party Programs We've rounded up a list of Windows search alternatives in the past, but these don't specifically search file contents. If the Windows search isn't for you then you can use a third-party tool called Agent Ransack. This isn't the only program available, but it's potentially the best due to its system compatibility, list of features, and lack of a price tag. Agent Ransack comes from Mythicsoft and is a free alternative to their FileLocator Pro program. You can search your entire system for content text and you can also specify parameters like file size and date modified. It has an incredibly simple and easy to use interface, which is quite possibly easier to navigate than the actual Windows search. The tool will tell you exactly which line your search keyword appears within a file (along with how many times it's contained within) and it'll give you the file search results super quickly. Of course, if you're searching your entire system then it might take a while, but you can narrow down to folder searches if you need to cut out some excess. Shortcuts and Tips for Windows Search These methods will help you search your system thoroughly, allowing you to dig deep through masses of data and scout out that specific file that you need. Whether you prefer the built-in Windows search or a third-party alternative, both will get the job done well.

Did you hear that fixing your registry would speed up your computer? Or did you read somewhere that 'fixing' your registry will remedy any Windows malaise on your machine, that a quick registry clean-up will solve your computing problems for good? Many of these articles are not only wrong, but some can be downright harmful to your machine in the long run. Here's how to identify, isolate, and fix registry problems---and when to just not bother at all. What Is the Windows Registry? The Windows Registry is essentially a massive internal database containing important, machine-specific information regarding almost everything in your machine: System Hardware Installed Software and Drivers System Settings Profile Information Opening a program, installing new software, and altering your hardware all require Windows to refer to the information contained in the registry. It's no wonder that when things start to go wrong, 'experts' decide to meddle with the registry without understanding the implications. In reality, fragments of deleted software registries or orphaned registries are minuscule in size and shouldn't cause your machine any problems at all. However, when the time comes to fix a real problem with your registry, it is important to know what you are doing, and the best way is often the easiest. What Causes a Registry Error? There are several common causes of registry errors, some worth worrying about, others not: Orphaned Entries: Not an issue. Orphaned entries occur when you uninstall programs, and small fragments of registry entries are left behind. Many registry fix software will proclaim these are an immediate issue, but in reality, they amount to nothing more than a few kilobytes of data in your machine. Duplicate Keys: Not an issue. Duplicate keys are made when you reinstall, upgrade, or update software on your machine, including the operating system. Registry fix software will advise that your software will be 'confused' by the duplicate entries, slowing your machine, but in reality, this is unlikely. Fragmented Registry: Not an issue. Similar to duplicate keys, the registry fragments when software is uninstalled, upgraded, or updated. System Shutdown Errors: Unlikely to cause issues. Each time your computer shuts down, a copy of the registry is saved to the system memory. If your computer is suddenly turned off, or crashes, or dies for another reason, it could cause an issue in the future---but this is unlikely. Malware and Viruses: Massive issue. Malware and viruses of all types regularly attack and modify the registry and will require immediate attention. Registry cleaner software will commonly identify issues 1-4 as seriously important, device destroying issues. Realistically, only issue 5 should cause you to take immediate action. If you suspect you have a malware issue, check out our complete malware removal guide. How to Create a Windows Registry Backup You should only fix and repair the Windows Registry when necessary. If you have ever encountered a particularly irksome piece of malware or virus, you will know the extreme lengths some of these infections go to disguising their activity on your machine. First of all, before attempting to alter, fix, or delete registry fields, you should always back up the Windows Registry to a secure location. Input regedit in the Start Menu search box, and select the Best Match Head to File > Export In the dialogue box, enter a useful name such as regbackup, select a useful location---Documents is the default---and click Save You should also note that the time to back up the Windows Registry is when you have a clean computer. If you try to create a backup when you suspect there is malware on your system, you'll back up the malicious entries, too. How to Restore a Windows Registry Backup Once you have a Windows Registry backup, you need to know how to restore it. There are several ways you can restore a Windows Registry backup, depending on the status of the machine. 1. Basic Windows Registry Restore The basic method works when your computer is healthy or in a low-level state of repair. Input regedit in the Start Menu search box, and select the Best Match Head to File > Import Browse to the location of your Windows Registry backup and select Open Barring any outrageous, unaccountable errors to your system, you should now be able to back up and restore the Windows Registry. Another, slightly quicker method for registry restoration is to simply browse to the backup location, right-click the registry file and select merge. The .REG file will be automatically imported to your registry. 2. Restore the Registry from Safe Mode If the Windows Registry does not restore from your standard Windows account, you can boot into Windows Safe Mode and try again. Type advanced start-up in your Start Menu search bar and select the Best Match. Now, under Advanced start-up, select Restart Now. Clicking Restart Now will restart your system in recovery mode where you will encounter three options: Continue, Troubleshoot, or Turn Off Your PC. Select Troubleshoot > Advanced Options. You now have a new range of options to choose from. Select Start-up Settings > Restart. Your system will restart. The Start-up Settings screen will load after you reboot. From here, choose the requisite option for Safe Mode. From here, you can follow the steps in the first section to restore your Windows Registry. Use System Restore to Fix the Windows Registry Before using more advanced Windows Registry restore options, such as via the Command Prompt, you can attempt to use a system restore point. Microsoft advocates using a system restore point rather than a manual Windows Registry restoration, simply because using a system restore point is much easier. Windows will set automatic system restore points, so long as the feature is switched on---or something else hasn't switched it off. Press Windows + S and search for restore. Select the create a restore point result. This will open System Properties > System Protection where you can check whether protection is on, configure settings, and create a restore point right now. If you want to use a system restore point, select System Restore, and then the restore point you want to use. Then follow the instructions. One nice Windows System Restore feature is the ability to Scan for affected programs. If you select your system restore point, then scan to see a list of the programs the system restore point will affect or delete. Malware and viruses can disable System Restore and delete restore points. Moreover, your own anti-virus may resist any attempts to copy or modify core Windows settings, negating the effects of System Restore. However, as shown above, at each critical Windows Update, your system should automatically set a system restore point. Nonetheless, check that you have this feature turned on and create a fresh restore point for your peace of mind. Manually Restore the Windows Registry You can manually restore the Windows Registry using the Command Prompt. On some occasions, Windows will not boot into Safe Mode, or other issues stop the restoration of the Windows Registry. In those cases, you can use the manual restore option. This process is a little more complex than the previous sections. Unfortunately, it also requires a little prior planning, too. Since Windows 10 version 1803, there is no automatic Windows Registry backup. Prior to 1803, Windows would take a Registry backup every 10-days via the RegIdleBackup service. Microsoft stopped the automatic backup to reduce the size of Windows 10 footprint with devices lacking removable storage options in mind. Also, Microsoft recommends using a system restore point to repair a corrupt registry. Learning how to use system restore is invaluable. Here's how to use a factory reset or a system restore point to fix your Windows 10 machine. Switch Automatic Registry Backups On Reinstating automatic Windows Registry backups is a simple process involving a registry tweak. First, Input regedit in the Start Menu search box, and select the Best Match. Then, press CTRL + F, then copy and paste the following: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Configuration Manager Right-click in the right panel and select New > DWORD (32-Bit) Value. Change the name to EnablePeriodicBackup. Then double-click the DWORD and change the value to 1. Press OK. You'll have to restart your system for the change to take place. 1. Enter Advanced Startup Options If you do have an automatic backup, you can attempt to restore the registry manually. First, you need to boot into the advanced start-up options. Head to Settings > Update & Security > Recovery Select Restart Now Alternatively, open your Start Menu, then hold the Shift key and press Restart. Once the menu options, press Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Command Prompt 2. Change the Directory When the Command Prompt opens, it will default to X:\Windows\System32. This isn't the actual location of your Windows installation, so we need to move to the correct drive letter before proceeding. By and large, your Windows installation is found on the C:\ drive, unless you move it somewhere else. However, recovery mode tends to boot your Windows installation under a different drive letter, usually D:\. To find the correct drive, input the following: dir D:\Win* The Command Prompt will list the directory contents, so you'll know it is the correct drive. Now, enter the following commands, in order: cd d:\windows\system32\config xcopy *.* C:\RegBack\ cd RegBack dir Check the dates of the files in the RegBack directory. If they are from before your issue began, you can enter the following commands: copy /y software .. copy /y system .. copy /y sam .. And yes, the two periods are part of the command. Following this, reboot your computer normally. Use a Windows PE Recovery Disc If you cannot enter the Windows recovery mode, Safe Mode, or otherwise, there is a final option. You can use a Windows PE recovery drive to attempt to fix or restore your Windows Registry. A Windows PE recovery CD or USB is a Windows environment that you boot from the disc or USB, before your operating system loads. Booting from a USB allows you to fix issues with the host machine, especially handy if the host has malware or other issues. There are several bootable Windows PE-based recovery discs available. Once you boot into the Windows PE environment, you can attempt to restore the Windows Registry using one of the previous methods. When Not to Bother Fixing Windows Registry Errors So, when should you not bother fixing the Windows Registry? The answer is that most of the time, you should steer clear of the registry unless you know what you're doing, or a technician advises you to make specific edits. Some malware removal guides will advise you to remove specific registry entries. In some cases, they are right. But in many cases purported quick registry fixes to speed your computer are almost always snake oil solutions. Not every person who advises registry fixes is a charlatan, and those that know what they are doing can eek a little more performance out of your device. Plus, several nice little tweaks can alter Windows appearance: removing the irritating shortcut symbol for is one example. But as we said, as soon as you dive into the registry, make a backup! What Happens If I Delete the Entire Registry? Thankfully, Windows is full of fail-safes. Unless you really try and also understand how to execute advanced commands, you cannot just CTRL+A, DELETE your entire registry. That would cause your system to implode, bringing the very fabric of the universe down with it. Seriously though, Windows doesn't want you to delete the entire registry, because your computer will not work. Only Repair the Windows 10 Registry When You Have To Errors, corruption, issues, viruses, ransomware, scamware, and malware do happen. Protect yourself and the Windows Registry by: Making a system restore point Taking a system image Making a registry backup And save them all to external drives for extra protection! As you have read, you should only fix the Windows Registry if you have a specific issue with it. If you do delve into the registry, make sure to take a backup before editing or deleting any values.

Windows Aero has added a few nice effects to desktop windows over the years, but even to this day, there's no official way to make a window transparent. Fortunately, there are third-party tools that can help us achieve this goal. Let's explore how to make transparent windows and where each tool shines. 1. Glass2k We're not going to lie to you; Glass2k is an ancient piece of software. The moment you load the page, you're assaulted with broken Flash panels and a huge red banner declaring that development stopped a long time ago. The system requirements demand that your computer has a 400 Mhz CPU, 64 MB of RAM, and an 8MB graphics card. In the FAQ, you can read the saddening news that this project won't, in fact, be developed for Windows 95 or 98. And yet, despite its age, it still works perfectly on a Windows 10 machine. If you're not a fan of installing old software on your PC, don't worry. Glass2K doesn't require installation; simply download the 55 kb executable and open it to start it up. You can set it to automatically run on Windows start-up if you find it particularly useful. When Glass2k loads up, you'll find a few options available to you. "Transparency Popup" lets you set a shortcut to make the settings window appear. The first button has to be a right-click, but you can select what other buttons to press down when bringing the window up. If you'd rather now right-click everything, you can instead use numbers to customize your transparency. "Keyboard shortcuts" lets you set a hotkey for instant activation of transparency. Once you've set a hotkey, just hold it down and press a number key from zero to nine. Depending on the number you pressed, the window will turn transparent to a certain degree. The 1 key makes it the most transparent, while the 9 key applies the smallest amount of transparency. Pressing the 0 key makes the window opaque. You can also customize the taskbar transparency here. Just slide the blue bar left and right to customize how clear the bar becomes. If you like this feature, Glass2k is but one of a few pieces of software that can make the taskbar transparent in Windows 10. 2. Peek Through Peek Through is another entry that has stood the test of time, albeit more recent than Glass2k. It came out as version 1.1.0.0 back in 2010, then received zero updates since then. Again, despite this, Peek Through still works very well with Windows 10. Once it boots up, set a hotkey that uses the Windows key on your keyboard. Peek Through will let you know if your chosen hotkey conflicts with another, so prod around until you find something that's free and works for you. Then, press the hotkey on a window to make it transparent or opaque. You can toggle how transparent a window becomes on the slider in the app. At first, it feels like a lesser version of Glass2k; however, it has an excellent feature up its sleeve. If you enable the option for it, you can click on windows underneath a transparent one. For example, if you only have the one monitor, you can type away on your report in one window, turn it transparent, then click a link on a browser behind it to research what to write about next. 3. WindowTop Coming to the end of our history tour through transparency programs, we have WindowTop. WindowTop is still receiving updates at the time of writing, and it's developed with modern-day versions of Windows 10 in mind. Older versions of Windows and Windows 10 can still download a less feature-packed version. Once booted up, WindowTop lives at the top of your windows, appearing only when you mouse over it. WindowTop doesn't focus on window transparency alone; it has a few nice tricks up its sleeve, such as the ability to pin a window to the top, shrink windows to an incredibly small size, and invert its colors. You can activate window transparency in one of two ways. You can press the shortcut (ALT+A, which is changeable by clicking the toolbar icon) or you can hover your mouse over the top of a window and click the down arrow that appears, then select "Opacity." WindowTop also has the click-through feature that Peek Through has. 4. Actual Transparent Window For the ultimate in transparency management, you can't go wrong with Actual Transparent Window. This software has a lot of options to play around with, so you can set up the perfect workspace for your PC. When you boot up the software, you'll find the automatic transparency options first and foremost. These allow you to tweak how windows act under certain conditions. Do you want windows to start up transparent? Do you want all inactive windows to be see-through? How about when you hover your mouse over them? You can toggle these options on and off, as well as setting individual transparency levels for each action. If you don't like windows adjusting by themselves, you can always do it manually. Compatible windows will have two buttons at the top that toggle transparency, but if they tend to get in the way, you can remove them via the "Title Buttons" option in the settings. You can also enable transparency options to appear on right-click, or apply when you double-click the title bar. The app also features a "Ghost Mode." When activated, you can click on items behind the window as if it weren't there, but you can still interact with it via the keyboard. This lets you click on windows underneath a transparent word processor while still typing away in your document. Actual Transparent Window is a fantastic tool; unfortunately, it's the only entry on this list that requires payment to use forever. You can try it for a week, after which it's $19.95 for the full version. If you buy it and don't like it, you have 30 days to get a refund; as such, you have a month and one week to decide if it's for you without risk. Making Windows 10 Work for You Better If you like the sound of transparent windows, you'll be disappointed in what Windows 10 has to offer by default. Fortunately, there are plenty of third-party tools that can help you achieve that goal, even if they're quite dated!