Archive for the ‘Tips & Tricks’ category

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

  1. Download and install the freeware TakeOwnershipPro on your computer. After installing, it will add the take ownership shortcut to right-click context menu.
  2. 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.

    take-ownership

  3. Now you can delete the $WINDOWS.~BT folder the normal way.

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

  1. To clean the $WINDOWS.~BT Folder folder, open This PC, right-click your local C: drive and then select Properties from the context menu.

    disk-properties

  2. Click on Disk Cleanup.

    disk-cleanup

  3. 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.

    clean-up-system-files

  4. 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)“.

    windows-install-temp-files

  5. 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.

2 Options to Change / Customize Date & Time Format in Windows 10

December 18th, 2015 by Admin

Have you inherited a computer with the date in the wrong format? How can I change the date & time format displayed in Windows 10 taskbar? Depending on your personal needs, you may wish that Windows displays the full date instead of the short date format. In this tutorial we’ll show you 2 methods to change date & time format in Windows 10, customize the format to match your specific needs.

Method 1: Change Date and Time Format Through PC Settings

  1. To get started, right-click the bottom-right corner of the screen where the time and date are displayed in the system tray. After that select Adjust date/time.
  2. adjust-date-time

  3. It will open the PC Settings charm that displays the pre-defined date/time formats.

    change-data-time-formats

    Click the drop-down button and select the date/time format you want. If your format is not included in the drop-down list, you have to use the method below to customize the date/time format through Control Panel.

Method 2: Change Date and Time Format Through Control Panel

  1. Press the Windows key + X and you’ll be presented within the Quick Access window. Click Control Panel.
  2. When the Control Panel opens, set the View by option to Large icon. Click Date and Time.

    control-panel

  3. The Date and Time box should open. Click on the “Change date and time…” button.

    date-and-time

  4. After the Date and Time settings window opens, click on the “Change calendar settings” link.

    date-and-time-settings

  5. Now you can see the pre-defined date formats. Click the drop-down button and check whether the format you wish to change is available or not. If it is not included in the drop down list, you can customize the format by entering required date format (for example, DD-MM-YYYY). Make sure that you are entering in a right format with proper notations. You can find the meaning of notations below the date format. Click on Apply and save your settings.

    customize-format

  6. Now you can see the date/time on your taskbar at the bottom-right corner in your own desired format.

How to Install / Uninstall OneDrive in Windows 10

December 15th, 2015 by Admin

In previous post we’ve already explained how you can disable OneDrive from File Explorer in Windows 10. But what if you don’t want the OneDrive service in your system at all? To save system resources, you might consider to uninstall OneDrive completely instead disabling it only.

Unfortunately there is no option in the graphical user interface to uninstall OneDrive in Windows 10. So here we’ll show you how to install / uninstall OneDrive from Command Prompt.

Part 1: Uninstall OneDrive in Windows 10

  1. Press the Windows + X key combinations to open the Quick Access menu. Select Command Prompt (Admin).
  2. At the Command Prompt, type the following command and hit Enter to terminate any process of OneDrive:
    taskkill /f /im OneDrive.exe
  3. To uninstall the OneDrive from Windows 10 64-bit, issue the following commands:
    %systemroot%\SysWOW64\OneDriveSetup.exe /uninstall

    If you’re running the 32-bit version of Windows 10, type this command instead:
    %systemroot%\System32\OneDriveSetup.exe /uninstall

    uninstall-onedrive

Part 2: Install OneDrive in Windows 10

If at any time later you want to use OneDrive again, you can install it from Command Prompt. Here’s how:

  1. Press the Windows + X key combinations to open the Quick Access menu. Select Command Prompt (Admin).
  2. To install the OneDrive in Windows 10 64-bit, issue the following commands:
    %systemroot%\SysWOW64\OneDriveSetup.exe

    If you’re running the 32-bit version of Windows 10, type this command instead:
    %systemroot%\System32\OneDriveSetup.exe

    install-onedrive

  3. Upon completing the installation, restart the computer and you can then use OneDrive again.

2 Options to Disable or Remove OneDrive in Windows 10

December 15th, 2015 by Admin

OneDrive (previously known as SkyDrive) is Microsoft’s cloud based storage service and it is tightly integrated into Windows 10. Once you launch File Explorer, you can access the OneDrive app from the left navigation pane. However, not everyone likes OneDrive. Some may prefer other similar cloud storage services such as Dropbox, Google Drive, Apple iCloud Drive. In this post we’ll show you how to disable / remove OneDrive in Windows 10, using either group policy or registry trick.

Method 1: Disable OneDrive Using Group Policy

  1. Press the Windows + R key combinations to open the Run box. Type gpedit.msc and press Enter.
  2. After the Local Group Policy Editor opens, browse to:
    Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> OneDrive
  3. In the right pane, double click on policy named Prevent the usage of OneDrive for file storage and set it to Enabled.

    prevent-usage-onedrive

    If you decide to re-enable OneDrive functionality in future, double-click on this policy and set it back to Not Configured.

  4. Restart your computer and now you’ve completely disabled OneDrive functionality in Windows 10/8.

Method 2: Disable OneDrive Using Registry Trick

However, Windows Home edition doesn’t contain Local Group Policy Editor. If you are using Home edition of Windows 10, you can take help of Registry Editor for the same task. Just follow these simple steps to disable OneDrive:

  1. Press the Windows + R key combinations to open the Run box. Type regedit and press Enter.
  2. In the left side of Registry Editor, navigate to the following key:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows
  3. Right-click the “Windows” Key and then select New -> Key, name it OneDrive.
  4. Now in right-side pane, create a new DWORD entry DisableFileSyncNGSC and set its value to 1.

    disable-onedrive

    To re-enable OneDrive functionality in future, just delete the DisableFileSyncNGSC entry.

  5. Close Registry Editor and restart your computer to take effect. That’s it!

2 Methods to Remove Password Reveal Button in Windows 10

December 15th, 2015 by Admin

Password Reveal Button is a new feature introduced since Windows 8. When you begin entering your password into the text box on Windows 10 logon screen, the system displays the Password Reveal Button at the end of the text box, as shown in screenshot below. As you can see, this button looks like a human eye.

When you click the Password Reveal Button, it will reveal your typed password. This feature is really useful for people who have a tendency to mistype passwords, but it also expose the chance for someone who might look over your shoulder to find out your password.

password-reveal-button

Security conscious users will worry about this feature and want to disable it for extra security. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to remove the Password Reveal Button in Windows 10, by using either Group Policy or registry trick.

Method 1: Remove Password Reveal Button Using Group Policy

  1. Press the Windows + R key combinations to open the Run box. Type gpedit.msc and press Enter.
  2. When Local Group Policy Editor opens, navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Credential User Interface.

    hide-password-reveal-button

    On the right side of the window, find the Do not display reveal password button option and double-click on it.

  3. To remove the Password Reveal Button, check the Enable option and click OK, else click on Disable or Not Configured if you want to see the Reveal Password Button again.

    not-display-password-reveal

However, Local Group Policy Editor is available only in the Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise editions. If you’re running Windows 10 Home, you have to use the registry trick below to disable the Password Reveal button.

Method 2: Remove Password Reveal Button Using Registry Trick

  1. Press the Windows + R key combinations to open the Run box. Type regedit and hit Enter.
  2. In the left side of Registry Editor, navigate to the following key:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows
  3. Right-click the “Windows” Key and then select New -> Key, name it CredUI.
  4. Now, right-click the CredUI Key and select the New -> DWORD, name it DisablePasswordReveal.
  5. In the right side, double-click the new DisablePasswordReveal value and set the Value data to 1.

    DisablePasswordReveal

    In future if you want to enable the Password Reveal Button again, either delete the key CredUI or change DisablePasswordReveal value to 0.

  6. Close the Registry Editor, and restart your system.

After disabling the feature, if you feel that the option to reveal was a comfortable option to rectify mistyped passwords, you can revert your changes and bring back the Password Reveal Button.

Fix “Password doesn’t work after upgrading to Windows 10”

December 14th, 2015 by Admin

I just recently upgraded from Windows 7 to Windows 10 today, everything was working fine until I restarted my Laptop. It kept coming up with “Incorrect Password”. I can remember the password but the system refuses to log me in. Please help!

Just upgrade to Windows 10 and the original password doesn’t work? Many users complain about this issue and there are various reasons why Windows 10 doesn’t accept their passwords. In this tutorial we’ll run through the 5 steps you should take to successfully troubleshoot the “password not working” issue.

Step 1: View the Actual Password You Typed

After typing your password in Windows 10 login screen, you’ll see a small eye icon on the right side of the password box. Press and hold the eye icon and it allows you to reveal the text you’ve just typed. If the password appears as expected and the system still says it’s incorrect, it’s likely that you’ve forgotten your password.

view-windows-password

If the revealed password is not the same as what want to type, or the eye icon is missing from the password box, go to the next steps for troubleshooting your password problem.

Step 2: Switch Keyboard Layout Input

A wrong keyboard layout can result in an inability to type the characters needed for your password. If you’ve set up multiple keyboard layouts with your system, then be sure to select the correct keyboard layout for typing the password. At the lower-right corner of Windows 10 logon screen, there is a language button (e.g., ENG). click there, and you will be allowed to change to the keyboard of your choice. Your password should now be accepted.

keyboard-layout-for-login

If there is just a single but incorrect keyboard layout for the login screen, there is no option to switch. In some cases, the layouts used will simply rearrange some characters so you will have to use alternative keys to type the password, by using the on-screen keyboard.

Step 3: Using On-Screen Keyboard

If you find yourself in a situation where your physical keyboard doesn’t work at all, or a wrong keyboard layout is used, then you can type the password using On-Screen Keyboard.

on-screen-keyboard

Click the Ease of Access icon in the lower-right corner of Windows 10 logon screen, and then select On-Screen Keyboard. It will display a virtual keyboard with all the standard keys. You can then type the password by clicking keys with your mouse.

Step 4: Reset Windows 10 Password

If Windows 10 still refuses you to login, you can try the PCUnlocker Live CD which can unlock, bypass and remove lost Windows 10 passwords for both local account and Microsoft account.

Just boot your problematic computer from PCUnlocker Live CD and it allows you to remove the password of any Windows users. After resetting the password, reboot your computer and you can log in to Windows 10 without typing a password!

Step 5: Reinstall or Revert Your System Back to What It Was

As a last resort, you can always just reinstall the OS and do the whole thing over again. Another option is refresh or reset your Windows 10 computer to factory default or revert back to former OS.