Archive for November, 2019

4 Ways to Check Your Computer Uptime in Windows 10 / 8 / 7

November 26th, 2019 by Admin

Have you ever wondered how long your PC has been up and running? How can I find out when Windows was last restarted? In this tutorial we’ll show you 4 simple ways to check your computer uptime in Windows 10 / 8 / 7. This is useful when troubleshooting problems or checking the last boot time due to a power outage.

Method 1: Check Windows Uptime Using Task Manager

Press the Ctrl + Shift + Esc keyboard shortcut to start Task Manager. Go to the Performance tab and select your CPU device. You can see system uptime located toward the bottom of the window.

In the example above, my computer has been running for over three days.

Method 2: Check Windows Uptime Using PowerShell

Open Windows PowerShell and type the following command:
(get-date) – (gcim Win32_OperatingSystem).LastBootUpTime

Once pressing Enter, you’ll get the uptime information on a list format with the days, hours, minutes, seconds and milliseconds.

Method 3: Check Windows Uptime Using Network Settings

Press the Windows key + R together to launch the Run box. Type ncpa.cpl and hit Enter to open the Network Connections window.

Right-click on an active network adapter and then select Status from the popup menu.

Look for the “Duration” field which indicates how long the network has been connected for, and that’s equivalent to your computer uptime.

Method 4: Check Windows Uptime Using Command Prompt

Open Command Prompt and run this command to check your system’s last boot time.
systeminfo | find "System Boot Time"

You can subtract the last boot time with the current time to determine the number of days, hours, and minutes the computer has been running.

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Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 10, Windows 7, Windows 8

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How to Turn off Windows Installer to Block MSI Package

November 20th, 2019 by Admin

Is there a way to prevent users from installing .msi package? Windows Installer is a background service that manages installing and uninstalling MSI-based programs. To block MSI installer, you can turn off Windows Installer using group policy or registry tweak.

Method 1: Disable Windows Installer Using GPO

  1. Open Local Group Policy Editor and expand Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Windows Installer. Double-click the policy named “Turn off Windows Installer” in the right pane.

  2. Select Enabled. Click the “Disable Windows Installer” drop-down list and select Always.

  3. Click OK and restart your system to apply the changes. The next time you try to run any .msi package, you’ll get the error message “The system administrator has set policies to prevent this installation.”

Method 2: Disable Windows Installer Using Registry Tweak

  1. Open Registry Editor and browse to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Installer. If the Installer subkey doesn’t exist, you have to create it first.
  2. Double-click the 32-bit DWORD DisableMSI in the right pane, and set the value to 2.

  3. Close Registry Editor and reboot Windows to make the changes take effect. If you need to enable Windows installer again, just set the value of DisableMSI to 0 and you’re done.

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Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 10, Windows 7, Windows 8

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How to Check GPU Usage in Windows 10 Using Task Manager

November 18th, 2019 by Admin

The feature of GPU real-time monitoring is not available in Windows 8 / 7 / Vista and you have to use third-party software (like Process Explorer) to do the job. Since Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, Task Manager introduces the ability to track GPU usage and performance. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to check GPU usage in Windows 10 using Task Manager.

Part 1: View Overall GPU Usage

Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc on your keyboard to open up Task Manager. Click on the Performance tab.

In the left pane, select one of your GPU devices and you’ll see the overall GPU resource usage.

Part 2: Check GPU Usage for An App

If you want to view GPU usage for any specific app, go to the Details tab of Task Manager. Right-click any column header, and then choose the Select Columns option.

In the pop-up window, select the checkbox against GPU, GPU Engine, Dedicated GPU Memory and Shared GPU Memory. Click OK.

Now, Task Manager will display real-time GPU usage for each application. You can run a GPU password cracking software (like iTunesKey) or try playing a game to check GPU usage and performance.

That’s it!

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Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 10

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Easy Ways to Disable Touchpad on Windows 10 Laptop

November 13th, 2019 by Admin

A laptop touchpad works like a built-in mouse which lets you scroll, select and click without plugging anything in. We think it’s very useful, but if you feel more productive with an external mouse, you can disable touchpad completely on your Windows 10 laptop to avoid accidental taps with your thumbs or palm.

Method 1: Disable Touchpad in Windows 10 Using the Settings App

  1. Press the Windows + I key combination to open the Settings app, and then click on Devices.

  2. Select the Touchpad tab. On the right side, toggle the Touchpad option to Off to disable touchpad immediately.

Method 2: Disable Touchpad in Windows 10 Using Device Manager

  1. Press the Windows + X key combination to access the Power User menu, then select Device Manager.

  2. In the Device Manager window, expand Human Interface Devices category to find your touchpad device. Right-click on it and select Disable device from the popup list.

  3. Click Yes to confirm and your touchpad will stop functioning in no time.

Conclusion

Using the above methods you should be able to disable touchpad on all Windows 10 laptops. Some laptops might also let you disable the touchpad from the BIOS/UEFI firmware or using a keyboard shortcut like Fn + F3, but those methods vary for different laptops.

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Enable or Disable Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) in Windows 10

November 11th, 2019 by Admin

How do I prevent Windows Recovery Environment from being used by unauthorized users? Get the error message “Could not find the recovery environment” when you try to perform a factory reset? Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) can be used to diagnose and repair an unbootable Windows system. In this tutorial we’ll show you an easy way to enable or disable Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) in Windows 10.

Part 1: View WinRE Status On Your PC

Before getting started, you can confirm that Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) is enabled or disabled on your Windows 10 system. Just open an elevated Command Prompt and run the following command:
reagentc /info

Part 2: Disable WinRE

To disable Windows Recovery Environment, just type the following command at an elevated Command Prompt and hit Enter.
reagentc /disable

Now you’ve successfully disabled WinRE in Windows 10. Reboot your computer into Advanced Options and you’ll find that most of system troubleshooting tools are missing. The only option left is Startup Settings.

When you try to perform a factory reset, you’ll get the error message “Could not find the recovery environment, Insert your Windows installation or recovery media, and restart your PC with the media“.

Part 3: Enable WinRE

Whenever you need to enable Windows Recovery Environment, just launch Command Prompt as administrator. Execute the below command and you’re all set.
reagentc /enable

That’s it!

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How to Disable Taskbar Thumbnail & Live Preview in Windows 10

November 8th, 2019 by Admin

When you hover over an opened app in the taskbar, you will get a small thumbnail preview of the app’s window. Just like the below screenshot:

If you then hover over the thumbnail preview of that app, Windows 10 will show you a full-screen live preview (peek) of that app on your desktop.

But sometimes the taskbar preview feature just gets in the way. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to disable taskbar thumbnail preview and full-screen preview in Windows 10.

Part 1: Disable Taskbar Thumbnail Preview

Use the Windows key + R keyboard shortcut to open the Run dialog box, type regedit and hit Enter.

In the Registry Editor window, navigate to the following path. Right-click on the Advanced key, and then select New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

Name the new DWORD ExtendedUIHoverTime. Next, double-click it and change its value data to 9000 in decimals. Windows 10 will show the thumbnail preview after 9000 milliseconds (or 9 seconds) of hovering over any opened-app in the taskbar. This should be more than enough to effectively disable the taskbar thumbnail preview feature.

Restart your computer to make the changes take effect.

Part 2: Disable Taskbar Full-Screen / Live Preview

You can use a similar method to disable taskbar full-screen or live preview in Windows 10. Just open Registry Editor and browse to the same location:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

Create a 32-bit DWORD value named ThumbnailLivePreviewHoverTime, and change the value to 9000 milliseconds or a higher delay time. You will no longer see the taskbar full-screen preview when hovering over the thumbnail preview for less than 9 seconds.

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Reduce Hibernation (Hiberfil.sys) File Size in Windows 10

November 1st, 2019 by Admin

Hibernate mode uses the hiberfil.sys file to store the current state of all opened apps, files and drivers, and when the PC is turned back on, you’re back to where you left off. The default size of hiberfil.sys is approximately 40% of physical memory on the system. If you want to disable hibernate mode without turning off Fast Startup, you can reduce the size of the hibernation file (hiberfil.sys) to about 20% of your RAM in Windows 10.

Tip: hiberfil.sys is a hidden system file. You could see it in the File Explorer only if you checked “Show hidden files and folders” in Folder Options.

How to Reduce Hibernation File Size in Windows 10

Open Windows PowerShell (or Command Prompt) as administrator and run the following command:
powercfg /h /type reduced

This command will reduce the hibernation file size for storing only the OS kernel and drivers for Fast Startup. If you’ve received an error “The parameter is incorrect“, try to uncompress the hibernation file first with the command powercfg /h /size 0, then run the above command again.

Now, open the Start Menu and click on the Power icon, you’ll find that the Hibernate option is removed.

Only Fast Startup can use a reduced hibernation file. If you open the Power Options and click on the “Choose what the power button does” link, the “Turn on fast startup” option is still there.

Whenever you need to enable hibernate mode again, just execute the following command to configure Windows to use a full-sized hibernation file.
powercfg /h /type full

That’s all!

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