Archive for November, 2017

How to Disable Windows Mobility Center in Windows 10 / 8 / 7

November 29th, 2017 by Admin

Windows Mobility Center keeps popping up? Is there a registry hack that could prevent Windows Mobility Center from popping up? The Windows Mobility Center is very convenient for laptop / tablet users, but it could also be annoying if it pops up uninvited. This tutorial will show you 2 different ways to disable Windows Mobility Center in Windows 10, 8, 7.

Method 1: Disable Windows Mobility Center Using Group Policy

  1. Press the Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box. Type gpedit.msc and press Enter.

  2. Once the Local Group Policy Editor opens, expand to: Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Windows Mobility Center. In the right pane, double-click on the Turn off Windows Mobility Center policy to edit it.

  3. Select the Enabled option and click OK.

  4. Reboot your computer and you’ll be unable to open Windows Mobility Center using any methods described in this tutorial: 5 Ways to Open Mobility Center in Windows 10.

Method 2: Disable Windows Mobility Center Using Registry Editor

  1. Press the Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box. Type regedit and press Enter.

  2. Once in the Registry Editor, navigate to the following key:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\MobilityCenter

    If the MobilityCenter key doesn’t exist, right-click the Policies key in the left-hand pane and create a new key called MobilityCenter.

  3. Next, right-click blank area in the right-hand pane to create a DWORD (32-bit Value) entry called NoMobilityCenter and give it a value of 1.

  4. Close the Registry Editor window and restart your computer. The user can not invoke Windows Mobility Center any more. If you want to re-enable the Windows Mobility Center, just change the Value data of NoMobilityCenter to 0.

5 Ways to Open Mobility Center in Windows 10

November 28th, 2017 by Admin

Is there a quick way to access Windows Mobility Center in Windows 10? Windows Mobility Center is an extremely useful utility built in Windows 10, which offers a quick way for laptop/tablet users to change screen brightness, sound, power plans, screen orientation, sync and presentation settings.

This tutorial will show you all possible ways to open Windows Mobility Center in Windows 10.

Method 1: Open Windows Mobility Center via Cortana Search

Click the Cortana Search box on your taskbar, type Mobility Center and you can then access the Windows Mobility Center utility from the search result.

Method 2: Open Windows Mobility Center via Control Panel

Open the Control Panel and set View by option to Large icons. You can then click Windows Mobility Center.

Method 3: Open Windows Mobility Center via Power User Menu

Press the Windows logo key + X together, and you can then click Mobility Center from the Power User Menu.

Method 4: Open Windows Mobility Center via Run or Command Prompt

Press the Windows logo key + R to open the Run dialog box. Type mblctr and press Enter to launch Windows Mobility Center.

You can also access Windows Mobility Center by running the mblctr command at Command Prompt.

Method 5: Open Windows Mobility Center via System Tray

Right-click on the battery icon in the system tray and then click Windows Mobility Center from the pop-up menu.

That’s it!

How to Prompt User to Change Windows Password Before Expiration

November 27th, 2017 by Admin

Before your Windows password expires, you may receive password expiration notification every time you log on to local account or domain user.

In this tutorial we’ll show you how to set the number of days prior to password expiration, during which to begin displaying password expiry notice to prompt user to change Windows password.

Tips: If you want to disable password expiry notice, you can set Windows password to never expire by following these tutorials:

Part 1: Prompt Local Users to Change Password Before Expiration

Here’s how you can prompt local users to change password before expiration in Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista and XP:

  1. Open the Local Group Policy Editor and navigate to: Computer Configuration\Windows Settings\Local Policies\Security Options.

    Next, double-click the “Interactive Logon: Prompt user to change password before expiration” policy on the right pane.

  2. Enter the number of days prior to password expiration that you want to notify users, and click OK.

  3. Reboot your computer for the policy to take effect.

If you’re unable to access Local Group Policy Editor, use the following registry tweak to change password expiry notice period:

  1. Open Registry Editor and navigate to:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon.

    Double-click the PasswordExpiryWarning value on the right pane.

  2. Click the Decimal radio button and enter the number of days before password expires that you want to notify users, and click OK.

  3. Close Registry Editor and reboot your computer.

Part 2: Prompt Domain Users to Change Password Before Expiration

If you’re running Windows Server 2016 / 2014 / 2012 / 2008 domain controller, use this method to prompt domain users to change password before expiration:

  1. Click the Start button, select Administrative Tools and then click Group Policy Management.
  2. In the console tree, expand the Forest -> Domains -> your domain. Right-click the domain policy you want to work with, and then select Edit.
  3. When the Group Policy Management Editor window appears, navigate to Computer Configuration\Policies\Windows Settings\Security Settings\Local Policies\Security Options.

    Then double-click the “Interactive Logon: Prompt user to change password before expiration” setting in the right pane.

  4. In the Security Policy Setting tab, check the “Define this policy setting” option, and enter the number of days in advance users are warned that their passwords are about to expire.

  5. Click Apply and then OK. Reboot your server.

Fix: Windows 10 / 8 Lose Wi-Fi Connection After Sleep

November 22nd, 2017 by Admin

Have you ever noticed that your Wi-Fi gets disconnected when your PC goes to sleep or standby? After waking up your PC, you may notice that the Wi-Fi icon in the system tray appears as disconnected, and you have to click it to reconnect. So if you’re experiencing the same issue on your Window 10/8 PC, here is a simple way to fix it.

How to fix the issue of Windows 10/8 losing Wi-Fi connection after sleep?

  1. Press the Windows Key + R and type devmgmt.msc in the Run dialog box to open Device Manager.

  2. In Device Manager, expand Network adapters, right-click on your wireless network adapter (e.g. Dell Wireless 1506 adapter), and then select Properties.

  3. In the Properties window, switch to Power Management tab and uncheck the option Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power. Click OK.

  4. Close Device Manager and reboot your computer to apply the change. Your Windows 10 / 8 PC should not lose Internet connection after sleep or standby.

How to Delete Wireless Network Profiles in Windows 11 / 10 / 8 / 7

November 21st, 2017 by Admin

How can I clear out all old Wi-Fi profiles on Windows 7? Look for a way to remove wireless networks that no longer worked because their passwords have been changed? In this tutorial we’ll show you different ways to delete wireless network profiles in Windows 11 / 10 / 8 / 7, using System Tray, Command Prompt or Registry Editor.

Method 1: Delete Wireless Network Profile Using System Tray

Click the wireless network icon in the system tray from the bottom-right corner, and you’ll see a list of wireless networks. Right-click on the network you want to delete, and then select Forget from the pop-up menu.

Now the system will forget the selected network, and it not be able to connect to that Wi-Fi network.

Method 2: Delete Wireless Network Profile Using Command Prompt

Open the Command Prompt as administrator and run the following command to get the list of all wireless network profiles stored on your local PC:
netsh wlan show profiles

Find the name of the wireless network profile you want to delete, then type the following command to remove it:
netsh wlan delete profile name="profile name"

If you want to remove all the wireless network profiles, simply type:
netsh wlan delete profile name=*

Method 3: Delete Wireless Network Profile Using Registry Editor

  1. Open the Registry Editor and navigate to the following key:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\NetworkList\Profiles
  2. Click each subkey under Profiles, and check the ProfileName value on the right to see if that is the wireless network connection you want to remove. Once you find the subkey, right-click on it and select Delete.

  3. Now, your selected network profile is deleted successfully.

Fix: Windows Computer Won’t Wake Up from Sleep Mode

November 16th, 2017 by Admin

Computer won’t wake up from sleep mode? When your computer goes sleep, you’re supposed to wake it up by pressing a key or moving your mouse. However, there are many reasons that can cause Windows stuck in sleep mode, including improper BIOS / device / power settings. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you troubleshoot the issue of computer not waking up from sleep mode in Windows 10, 8 and 7.

Step 1: Find Which Device can Wake up Your Computer

Can’t get your computer come out of sleep mode? To fix this problem, you have to find out which device can wake up your computer. Open the Command Prompt and run the following command:

powercfg -devicequery wake_armed

It will show you the list of devices that are configured to wake your computer up. If your keyboard or mouse is not listed, you need to enable the “Allow this device to wake the computer” setting in your computer. Follow these steps:

  1. Open the Device Manager. Expand the Keyboards category, then right-click on your keyboard device and choose Properties.

  2. Click the Power Management tab and check the Allow this device to wake the computer box. Click OK to save your change.

  3. Repeat the same steps above for your mouse, which can be found under the “Mice and Other Pointing Devices” category in the device list.

Step 2: Stop Windows from Powering Off USB Devices

Windows is set to shut down your USB devices in sleep mode to save power by default, sometimes it won’t be able to power it back up. So you should follow this tutorial to stop Windows from disabling power to USB ports when your computer is in sleep mode.

Step 3: Enable USB Wakeup in Your Computer’s BIOS

While turning on your computer, press a certain key (F2, DEL, F12, ESC, etc.) to access the BIOS Setup. Look around the BIOS settings and find the option like “USB Wake Up”, “Wake up by USB KB/Mouse”, “USB Wake Support”. Make sure it is enabled.

Conclusion

Once you complete the steps above, you should be able to bring your computer out of sleep mode using keyboard or mouse. If those still don’t help, try to restore the power plan to default settings in Windows, or update the BIOS of your computer.

Set Windows to Power On / Off USB Devices in Sleep Mode

November 16th, 2017 by Admin

Keyboard or mouse not working after your PC wake up from sleep? When you’re charging your phone through an USB port, putting your PC into sleep mode will turn off the power to USB ports, and your phone will stop charging. In this tutorial we’ll show you 2 methods to set Windows to power on or off USB devices in sleep mode.

Method 1: Enable / Disable Power Saving on USB Ports

  1. Press the Windows key + R to open the Run box. Type devmgmt.msc and press Enter.
  2. When the Device Manager window opens, expand the Universal Serial Bus controllers branch, then right-click the USB Root Hub device and select Properties.

  3. Click the Power Management tab. If you want USB ports to keep supplying power in sleep mode, just uncheck “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power“. Or check it to let Windows turn off USB ports to save power.

  4. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for all of the USB Root Hubs on the computer.

Note: Windows will clear the check box “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power” when the device is unplugged from the USB port or the PC is restarted. To keep this from happening, use the method below to disable USB selective suspend setting.

Method 2: Enable / Disable USB Selective Suspend Setting

  1. Press the Windows key + R to open the Run box. Type powercfg.cpl and press Enter.
  2. When the Power Options window opens, click the Change plan settings link to the right of your current power plan.

  3. Click the “Change advanced power settings” link.

  4. Expand the “USB settings” and then expand “USB Selective suspend setting“. Set it to Disabled if you want to stop Windows from powering down any connected USB devices.

  5. Click Apply to save your changes.

How to Restore Power Plan Settings to Default in Windows 10

November 15th, 2017 by Admin

How do I restore default power settings in Windows 10? Windows lets you change the power plan settings to reduce the amount of power your computer uses or maximize performance. If you’ve messed up the power plan settings, here are 2 simple ways to restore power plan settings to default in Windows 10.

Method 1: Restore Power Plan Settings to Default from Power Options

  1. Open the Control Panel and switch the View by mode to Large icons, and then click on Power Options.

  2. Click on the Change plan settings link to the right of your current power plan.

  3. Click on Restore default settings for this plan.

  4. A new window will pop up, and ask you if you are sure about the choice. Click Yes.

  5. Now you’ve restored the current power plan to default settings.

Method 2: Restore Power Plan Settings to Default from Command Prompt

  1. Open the Command Prompt. Type the following command and press Enter.

    powercfg –restoredefaultschemes

  2. Now you have successfully reset the power plan settings on your computer.

2 Ways to Change MAC Address on Windows 11 / 10 / 8 / 7

November 11th, 2017 by Admin

MAC address is used to identify a computer on a network, and every network card has a unique MAC address assigned during manufacturing. However, most network cards also allow you to set a custom MAC address from their device properties on Windows. This is useful when you want to test or bypass the MAC filtering settings on firewall or router. Here are 2 simple ways to change MAC address on Windows 11 / 10 / 8 / 7.

Method 1: Change MAC Address on Windows 11 / 10 / 8 / 7 from Device Manager

  1. To get started, you need to open Device Manager. Just press Windows key + R on your keyboard and then type devmgmt.msc in the Run dialog box. Hit Enter.

  2. Expand Network adapters, right-click your Ethernet or Wireless adapter and then select Properties.

  3. Click the Advanced tab. Within the Property list, scroll down until you find the “Network Address” or “Locally Administered Address” property. Select the Value radio box and enter your new MAC address.

  4. Click OK to apply. To confirm your change, open the Command Prompt and type ipconfig /all and hit Enter. You should see the new MAC address show up in the line starting with “Physical Address“.

Method 2: Change MAC Address on Windows 11 / 10 / 8 / 7 from Registry Editor

  1. Open the Registry Editor and navigate to the following key:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E972-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
  2. You should see several subkeys with names such as 0000, 0001, etc. You have to click each subkey to check the DriverDesc value that matches with your network card. In my example, I got the key in 002.
  3. Look for the registry entry NetworkAddress in the right pane, and change the value as your new MAC Address. If that entry doesn’t exist, right-click blank area to create a String value with the name NetworkAddress.

  4. Close Registry Editor. Disable your network adapter and enable it again. The new Mac address will apply immediately.

That’s it!

How to Open ODBC Data Source Administrator in Windows 10

November 10th, 2017 by Admin

How can I open the 32-bit ODBC Data Source Administrator in Windows 10 64-bit? ODBC Data Source Administrator is a Windows component that lets you create and manage ODBC data sources. In this tutorial we’ll show you 5 ways to open ODBC Data Source Administrator in Windows 10.

Note: The 32 -bit version of the ODBC Data Source Administrator must be used to configure data sources for 32- bit applications.

Method 1: Open ODBC Data Source Administrator from Control Panel

Open the Control Panel and set the View by option to Large icons, and click Administrative Tools.

You can then access both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of ODBC Data Source applet.

Method 2: Open ODBC Data Source Administrator from Start Menu

Click the Start button. When the Start Menu comes up, scroll down until you see the “Administrative Tools” folder. Expand that folder and you can then open either ODBC Data Source (32-bit) or ODBC Data Source (64-bit).

Method 3: Open ODBC Data Source Administrator via Search

Simply type odbc into the Cortana Search box on your Windows 10 taskbar, the ODBC Data Source tool will show up in the search result and you can click to launch.

Method 4: Open ODBC Data Source Administrator via Run or Command Prompt

Open the Command Prompt, or press the WIN + R keys to open the Run dialog box. Type odbcad32 and press Enter.

If you’re running Windows 10 64-bit, this should launch ODBC Data Source (64-bit). Otherwise, it will open ODBC Data Source (32-bit) instead.

Method 5: Create ODBC Data Source Administrator Shortcut

A 32-bit version of Windows includes only ODBC Data Source (32-bit), which is located in C:\WINDOWS\System32\odbcad32.exe

If you’re running Windows 64-bit operating system, you can access both 32-bit and 64-bit ODBC Data Source from the following locations:

  • ODBC Data Source (64-bit) – C:\WINDOWS\System32\odbcad32.exe
  • ODBC Data Source (32-bit) – C:\WINDOWS\SysWOW64\odbcad32.exe

When you need to access ODBC Data Source frequently, you can create a desktop shortcut that points to odbcad32.exe.