Archive for the ‘Tips & Tricks’ category

How to Reset Linx 7 / 8 / 10 Tablet Password with A Bootable USB Drive

January 12th, 2016 by Admin

Forgot Windows user password for your Linx 1010 tablet? Linx is one of the cheapest Windows tablet we’ve seen yet, and it can boot in UEFI mode only. You might have no luck getting the tablet to load some traditional password resetting Live CDs, because it doesn’t support legacy BIOS boot. In this article we’ll explain how to reset Linx 7 /8 / 10 tablet password by booting from a UEFI compatible USB drive.

Part 1: Create A UEFI Compatible USB Drive

Before resetting Linx password, you need to create a UEFI compatible bootdisk (a USB flash drive or USB memory stick) from another computer you have access to. Here’s how to make such a disk:

Download the 32-bit version of PCUnlocker Enterprise (trial version) and save it to your local hard drive. Extract the downloaded .zip file and you’ll see two files: pcunlocker.iso and ReadMe.txt.
Download and install the free LiveUSB creating tool ISO2Disc, which allows you to create a bootable USB drive directly from a CD image.
Launch ISO2Disc, and click on Browse to select the pcunlocker.iso you just extracted. Click “Burn to USB Flash Drive” and select the drive letter for your attached USB stick.
Set the partition scheme to “GPT (required for UEFI boot)” and click on Start Burn. The program will format / erase your USB drive with FAT32, create a GPT partition table and copy the contents of the ISO file to your USB drive.
When the burning process is complete, you can take the USB drive to reset your Linx tablet password.

Part 2: Boot Linx Tablet from USB

As the Linx tablet doesn’t come with a full-size USB port, you need to connect your created USB drive with a USB OTG adapter. You will have to access the BIOS (UEFI) Setup and modify the boot sequence. Here are 3 ways to access the BIOS Setup:

Press and hold the F7, DEL or ESC key while powering on the Linx tablet, if you have a physical keyboard.
Hold down the Power button and Volume+ at the same time. This will load up a screen with various options.
Access the BIOS from Windows 10/8 login screen: Hold down the SHIFT key and click on the Power icon on the screen, then choose Restart option. Next click Troubleshoot -> Advanced Options -> UEFI Firmware Settings -> Restart.

After getting into BIOS Configuration Utility, use the arrow keys on your keyboard to select the Boot tab. Under Boot options priority, set your USB drive as the first boot media. Save your changes and the next time your tablet will boot from USB drive instead of hard drive.

Part 3: Reset Windows User Password

After booting from USB, the touch screen might not work and you have to operate with a USB keyboard or mouse. Here’s how to reset your lost user password:

Once booted to the PCUnlocker program, you’ll see a list of local accounts for your Windows installation. If you use a Microsoft account login, there should be a local account that is linked to your Microsoft account, with your email address displayed under the “Description” column.
Select a local account and click on “Reset Password” button, it will remove your password in no time. If your selected account is associated with your Windows Live email, the program will also switch your Microsoft account to local account.
When it’s done, reboot your tablet and disconnect the USB drive. You can then log back into your Linx tablet without a password!

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

Tags: boot linx with usb linx tablet password linx windows password reset linx password reset windows tablet password

Make Windows 10/8 Show All User Accounts on Login Screen

January 8th, 2016 by Admin

How do I make Windows 10 always display all user accounts on the login screen when I turn on or restart the computer? By default, Windows 10 or 8 will display only the last logged-on user on the sign-in screen. If your user doesn’t have a password, the system will automatically log in to that user account even if you haven’t enabled the automatic logon feature.

show-windows-user-list

In this tutorial we’ll show you how to make Windows 10 / 8 show a list of all user accounts on the login screen, rather than just the last logged in user. The procedure requires you to use Task Scheduler to run a batch file.

How to Make Windows 10/8 Show All User Accounts on Login Screen?

To have Windows 10/8 display all user accounts on the sign-in screen, all you need to do is access the following registry key and set the value of Enabled to 1.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Authentication\LogonUI\UserSwitch

UserSwitch

However, the system will automatically restore the Enabled value back to 0 when a user logs on. To force Windows to always show all user accounts, we have to create a scheduled task that changes the Enabled value to 1 at logon. Here’s how:

Before getting started, we need to create a batch file. Just open Notepad, copy the following command line and paste it into the file, next save the file as UserSwitch.bat.
REG ADD HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Authentication\LogonUI\UserSwitch /v Enabled /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
Press the Windows key + R to bring up the Run box. Type taskschd.msc and hit Enter to launch Task Scheduler.
When the Task Scheduler window opens, click the Create Task link in the Actions panel.
On the next dialog, go to the General tab. Give your task a Name so that you can identify it among other if when you decide to make some changes later. Click the Change User or Group button.
On the Select User or Group window, type Administrators in the object name box and click OK.
Now you’re back at the General tab. Check the “Run with highest privileges” check box. Tick the Hidden checkbox and select your operating system from the “Configure for” drop-down box.
Next, switch to the Triggers tab. Click on the New button on the bottom left of the window to define trigger details.
The New Trigger dialog box should open. Select At log on from the Begin the task drop-down menu and select the Any user option. Leave all the other settings as they are and click OK.
Back on the Create Task window, switch to the Actions tab and click the New button.
When you see the New Action dialog box, select Start a program from the Action drop-down menu. Click the Browse button and locate the ShowAllUsers.bat file we have created previously. Click OK.
You don’t need to change anything on the Conditions or Settings tabs, so just click OK to close the Create Task dialog box and your task is ready to run.
Log off and then log back into your user account, this task will automatically run and change the Enabled registry value. The next time you reboot or start your computer, you will always see that all user accounts are displayed on Windows 10/8 login screen.

Note: If your task is created correctly but the login screen only displays “Other user” that requires you to type username and password, it’s likely that you’ve enabled the group policy “Interactive Logon: Do not display last username“, and you have to disable it.

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

Tags: show all users at windows logon windows 10 show all users at login windows 8 show all users at login windows show multiple users on login screen

How to Hide, Disable or Uninstall Cortana in Windows 10

January 4th, 2016 by Admin

Just like Apple’s Siri, Cortana is Microsoft’s digital assistant integrated in Windows 10. Cortana is capable of composing emails, setting reminders, finding apps & files on your computer and performing web searches. After installing or upgrading to Windows 10, you’ll find that Cortana appears as a search bar in the taskbar that says “Ask me anything”.

cortana

But not all Windows 10 users will take kindly to Cortana. In this article we’ll show you how to hide, disable Cortana or even completely uninstall it in Windows 10.

Update: If you’re running Windows 10 version 2004 or newer, Cortana could be uninstalled or reinstalled with the new method.

Part 1: Hide Cortana

In Windows 10, Cortana is shown as a search box in the taskbar, right beside the Start button. If you want to hide Cortana, right-click on search box/icon in the taskbar, select Cortana and then Hidden.

hide-cortana

Cortana will now remain inactive and immediately disappear from the taskbar.

Part 2: Disable Cortana

Here’s how to disable Cortana in Windows 10:

Click on the search box/icon on the taskbar to open Cortana.
Click on the Notebook button in the left-hand menu. From there, click Settings.
In Settings, the first option “Cortana can give you suggestions, ideas, reminders alerts and more” is a simple slide bar. Slide it to off to disable Cortana. Once disabled, Cortana will revert to the traditional Windows search feature.
To clear everything Cortana knows about you, click the link “Manage what Cortana knows about me in the cloud“.
Microsoft Edge should open and take you to the Bing Settings page. Click the Clear buttons in the “Clear personal info” and “Other Cortana data and personalized speech, inking and typing” sections.

This will clear your personal info from Microsoft’s cloud servers.

Part 3: Uninstall Cortana

In Windows 10, there is no option to uninstall Cortana. If you want to completely uninstall / remove Cortana from Windows 10, you can use the uninstall script provided by WinAero. Here’s how:

Download the Uninstall Cortana ZIP file (provided by WinAero).
Extract all files from the ZIP archive you downloaded to your desktop.
Right-click the Uninstall Cortana.cmd file and select Run as Administrator.
It will begin uninstalling Cortana.

When it’s done, restart your computer. Cortana will no longer work, respond, or collect information. After uninstalling, it’s good to hide the Cortana button/icon to reclaim wasted space on your taskbar.

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Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 10

Tags: disable cortana hide windows 10 cortana remove cortana uninstall cortana windows 10 cortana

Move the Entire User Profiles to Another Drive in Windows 10, 8 and 7

December 30th, 2015 by Admin

There are times when moving Windows user profiles off the default location is necessary, especially if there is no enough space on the system partition. In this tutorial we’ll walk you through the steps of moving the entire Users profile directory (for example, C:\Users) to another drive in Windows 10, 8 and 7. This method will also change the default profile location so any new users that’re created later will have their profiles located under your new location.

How to Move the Windows User Profiles to Another Drive?

Before getting started, you need to create a temporary administrator account, which can be deleted after moving the user profiles.
Log in to Windows with the temporary administrator account. Open Windows Explorer and browse to the root path of your system drive. Right-click on the Users folder and copy the entire folder to the new location (e.g. from C:\Users to E:\Users).

During the copying process, there are some temporary files that are locked and would not copy. Just skip those files.
Press the Windows key + R to open the Run box. Type regedit and hit Enter to launch the Registry Editor.
In the left side of Registry Editor, locate and then click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList
In the right pane, we need to modify the value for these entries: Default, ProfilesDirectory and Public. Replace %SystemDrive%\Users with your new profile directory, such as E:\Users. After modifying the values, it should look like as the following screenshot.
Expand the ProfileList node at the left side, you’ll see several subkeys (starting with ‘S-1-5-‘) that are named with the SID of your user accounts. Open each subkey and check the ProfileImagePath entry. If it’s pointed to your old profile folder, change the value to the new user profile location (e.g. C:\Users\Tom to E:\Users\Tom).
Now close the Registry Editor. Restart your computer and log in as your usual user. Everything should be working correctly except for programs that use a hardcoded user profile location.
Now you can then rename or delete the original user profile and remove the temporary administrator account. From now on, any new user that logs to this computer will also have his/her profile stored in the newly specified location.

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

Tags: change windows profile path change windows user profile directory move windows user profile

How to Rename User Profile Directory in Windows 11, 10, 8 and 7

December 27th, 2015 by Admin

In previous post we’ve explained how to rename Windows administrator or guest account. However, just rename a user account and Windows won’t automatically rename the associated user profile folder. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to manually rename user profile directory in Windows 11, 10, 8 and 7, if the name of your user account folder is not what you want.

How to Rename User Profile Directory in Windows 11, 10, 8 and 7?

To make sure your renaming of user profile folder is consistent across the entire installation of your Windows and does not break anything, follow these steps:

Log on to another Administrator account that is not the account being renamed.
Open the Windows Explorer and browse to the C:\Users folder. Right-click on your user account folder and rename it to whatever you like.
Press the Windows key + R to open the Run box. Type regedit and hit Enter.
When the Registry Editor opens, navigate to the following registry location:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList\
Under the ProfileList subkey you will find a few subfolders (starting with ‘S-1-5-‘) that are named with the SID of Windows user accounts. Find the SID for your user account whose profile folder you just renamed. You can simply open each subfolder and check the ProfileImagePath path for the correct one.
In the right-pane, double-click the ProfileImagePath value and change the user profile path to your desired name. In my example, I renamed the account folder from C:\Users\Tom to C:\Users\Tom_New.
Close the Registry Editor window. Logout of the Administrator account and log in with your user account. Everything should work fine – all your apps and files should be intact and your user folder should have been renamed.

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

Tags: change windows account folder name change windows user profile name rename user account folder rename windows profile folder rename windows user folder name

3 Ways to Create New Administrator Account in Windows 10

December 26th, 2015 by Admin

The best practice for fixing Windows account issues is to create another account with administrative rights. When the account you used everyday is corrupt or you forgot the password, you can then log in to the alternate admin account for troubleshooting the issues. In this article we’ll show you 3 ways to create a new administrator account in Windows 10.

Method 1: Create Administrator Account from Command Prompt

To get started, you need to open an elevated Command Prompt in Windows 10. Press the Windows key + X to open the Quick Access menu and click Command Prompt (Admin).
Type the following commands to create a new local account and then join it to the Administrators group. Replace Jack with the name of your new local admin account.
net user jack /add net localgroup Administrators jack /add
Now you’ve successfully added a new local administrator account in Windows 10.

Method 2: Create Administrator Account from PC Settings

Click on the Start button to open the Start menu. Select Settings.
The PC Settings window should open. Click on Accounts.
From the left pane, click on the Family & others tab. Next click on Add someone else to this PC.
Enter the name for your new local account, password and password hint. Click Next.
Once you’ve clicked Next, you’ll be taken back to the Accounts screen and but now you can see the new account. By default, the newly-created account is a standard/limited account. From there click on the new user account you just created and then Change account type.
When the pop-up window appears, change the account type from Standard User to Administrator and click OK.
So, this was about how to add a new administrator user account in Windows 10 computer.

Method 3: Create Administrator Account from the Local Users and Groups Console

Press the Windows key + R to open the Run box. Type lusrmgr.msc and press Enter.
When the Local Users and Groups console opens, right-click on Users on the left pane and select New User….
Type the name for your new local account, password. Uncheck the “User must change password at next logon” option. Click on Create and then Close.
Now you can see the newly-create account on the right pane. It’s a limited account and we need to add it to the Administrators group. Double-click on the new account.
When the Properties window opens, click on the Add… button.
In the Select Groups window, type Administrators into the object names box. Click OK.
Now you’ll see your new account is also a member of the Administrators group. Click Apply for the changes to take effect.
Reboot or log off. You can then sign into your new administrator account and perform admin tasks.

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Tags: add administrator account in windows 10 add windows administrator account create administrator account in windows 10 create windows 10 administrator account create windows administrator account

2 Options to Delete $WINDOWS.~BT Folder After Windows 10 Update

December 25th, 2015 by Admin

There is a folder named $WINDOWS.~BT on the root of my C:\ drive. It is a hidden folder and is 2 GB in size. What is its purpose? Is it safe to delete it?

The $WINDOWS.~BT folder is a temporary folder created by Windows Update, which contains update logs and files downloaded by the Windows update process. By default, the $WINDOWS.~BT folder is hidden. It exists at the root of your system drive. To see it, enable viewing hidden folders in Windows 10.

$windows-bt

The $WINDOWS.~BT folder can be safely deleted. However, you can’t delete that folder the normal way. In this article we’ll show you 2 ways to delete the $WINDOWS.~BT folder to reclaim your hard disk space.

Option 1: Delete $WINDOWS.~BT Folder Using TakeOwnershipPro

Download and install the freeware TakeOwnershipPro on your computer. After installing, it will add the take ownership shortcut to right-click context menu.
Browse to the root path of your system drive. Right-click on the $WINDOWS.~BT folder and select TakeOwnershipPro. This will grant you full permissions to access the $WINDOWS.~BT folder.
Now you can delete the $WINDOWS.~BT folder the normal way.

Option 2: Delete $WINDOWS.~BT Folder Using Disk Cleanup

To clean the $WINDOWS.~BT Folder folder, open This PC, right-click your local C: drive and then select Properties from the context menu.
Click on Disk Cleanup.
Next click on Clean up system files. It will perform a scan of your computer’s hard drives to determine what files can be cleaned up and how much storage space they use.
When it is finished scanning the Disk Cleanup program will open again, but this time with some extra options that you can select as shown in the image below. To delete the $WINDOWS.~BT folder you have to check the option labeled “Temporary Windows installation files” or “Previous Windows installation(s)“.
Click OK and the Disk Cleanup wizard will clean out everything in the $Windows.~BT folder. If there is a lot of data to delete, please be patient while they are removed from your hard drive.

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Tags: $WINDOWS.~BT $WINDOWS.~BT windows 10 delete $windows. bt windows 10 delete $WINDOWS.~BT

How to Change or Remove User Account Picture in Windows 10 / 8

December 22nd, 2015 by Admin

At Windows login screen you can see a list of user accounts with a small picture next to each one. Actually, the same account picture is also shown at the top of the Start menu (or Start screen), and you can click it to log off and switch user accounts.

windows-10-account-picture

In this article we’ll show you how to change the user account picture in Windows 10/8, restore the default user picture (avatar) or delete your old or current account picture.

Part 1: Change Account Picture for Windows 10/8 Account
Part 2: Reset/Restore Account Picture to Default
Part 3: Delete Your Old Account Picture
Part 4: Hide or Remove Current Account Picture

Part 1: Change Account Picture for Windows 10/8 Account

Unlike previous versions of Windows, Windows 10 and Windows 8 don’t include an option to change the account picture from the User Accounts applet in Control Panel. Now, you have to change it from PC Settings. Here’s how:

Click the Start button or press the Windows logo key on your keyboard. This will open the Start Menu (or Start Screen).
Right-click on the account picture at the top-left corner of the Start menu, and then select “Change account settings“. If a Start screen is shown, right-click on the account picture at the top-right corner of the Start screen and select the “Change account picture” option.
Windows presents the PC Settings screen shown below. From there you can see your current account picture. Click on Browse button and select your favorite picture to set as new account picture.

Part 2: Reset/Restore Account Picture to Default

After changing the account picture, you might later find that there is no option to restore the profile picture to default. In Windows 10/8/7, the default account picture images are stored in the hidden system folder: C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\User Account Pictures. Here’s how to reset account picture to default in Windows 10/8:

Click the Start button or press the Windows logo key on your keyboard. This will open the Start Menu (or Start Screen).
Right-click on the account picture at the top-left corner of the Start menu, and then select “Change account settings“. If a Start screen is shown, right-click on the account picture at the top-right corner of the Start screen and select the “Change account picture” option.
Click on Browse button under your current user avatar. When the Open dialog appears, type the following path in the address bar and hit Enter.
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\User Account Pictures
There, you will be able to pick the default user image.

Part 3: Delete Your Old Account Picture

If you changed your Windows user account picture several times, the previous account pictures will also be shown on the right side of your current account picture.

show-old-account-pictures

If you don’t plan to use them again, there is no reason to keep them there. But Windows 10/8 provide no way to remove old user pictures. Here is very simple way to delete the old user account pictures:

Open the File Explorer.
Type the following path at the address bar, replacing username with the name of your Windows account.
C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\AccountPictures
Here you will get all those images what was ever used as your profile picture. Delete all the old images that you do not want to keep. That’s it! Your user picture cache is clean now.

Part 4: Hide or Remove Current Account Picture

Is there a way to hide or remove the user picture at the login screen? How to disable the user account picture from the Start menu? Follow these steps and you can hide/remove current account picture completely in Windows 10/8:

Open the File Explorer.
Copy and paste the following path in the address bar of File Explorer. Press Enter and you can see all built-in default account pictures. Delete all images.
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\User Account Pictures
Now you have to clean the cached account images. Copy and paste the following path in the address bar of File Explorer. Press Enter and you’ll see a folder with the name of your account’s SID.
C:\Users\Public\AccountPictures

Just rename the folder or delete it. If you want to delete that folder, you need to firstly take ownership of the folder using the freeware TakeOwnershipPro.
Log off or restart your computer. You’ll see the account picture disappeared from Windows login screen.

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Posted in Tips & Tricks, Windows 10, Windows 8

Tags: change account picture in windows 10 change windows account picture delete windows account picture disable windows account picture hide windows account picture remove windows account picture reset account picture to default reset windows default account picture windows account picture

4 Ways to Rename Windows Local Administrator or Guest Account

December 21st, 2015 by Admin

How to change Windows administrator account name? The built-in administrator account is one of the most Windows accounts targeted by attackers. To improve security on your computer, you should rename the administrator account to less common name because this lowers the risk of brute force attacks.

In this tutorial we’ll show you 4 ways to rename Windows 10/8/7 user account, including the local administrator and guest accounts.

Method 1: Change Windows Account Name from Command Prompt

How to rename a Windows account from Command Prompt? Well, you can use the net user command to either reset a user password or activate a disabled/locked account, but it doesn’t support renaming user account. To rename a Windows account, we need to use the WIMC command. Here’s how:

Open an elevated Command Prompt. In Windows 10 or 8, press the Windows key + X and select “Command Prompt (Admin)” from the power user menu.

If you’re using Windows 7 or Vista, click Start, then All Programs -> Accessories, right-click Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.
At the Command Prompt, run the following command for renaming the administrator account, replacing Admin with your desired name.
wmic useraccount where name='Administrator' rename 'Admin'
You’ve successfully changed the built-in administrator account name.

Method 2: Change Windows Account Name in Computer Management

Press the Windows key + R to bring up the Run box. Type compmgmt.msc and hit Enter.
The Computer Management console should open. Expand System Tools -> Local Users and Groups -> Users and you’ll see a list of local user accounts in the right pane.
Right-click on the local account you wish to rename, and then select Rename from the drop-down context menu.
Once you click on the Rename option, you will be able to edit the account name. Type in the new name you want to give the account and press Enter.

Method 3: Change Windows Account Name from Control Panel

First of all, you need to open the Control Panel applet. Set the View by option to Large icons and then click User Accounts.
On the User Accounts window, click the “Change your account name” link.
Now you can change the account name to something of your choice. When done, click on the Change Name button.

Method 4: Rename Windows Administrator/Guest Using Local Security Policy

This method only allows you to rename the built-in local administrator and guest accounts in Windows.

Press the Windows key + R to open the Run box. Type secpol.msc and press Enter.
The Local Security Policy Editor should open. Navigate to Security Settings -> Local Policies -> Security Options.
In the right pane, find the policy “Accounts: Rename administrator account“, and double-click on it to open the respective policy setting.
Simply enter the new administrator account name and click OK. Your Administrator account has now been renamed to the one you entered.

Note that you can also change the name of the built-in Guest account because there is also a local policy “Accounts: Rename guest account” for guest account.

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

Tags: change windows account name change windows administrator name rename windows account rename windows administrator account rename windows guest account