Archive for the ‘Tips & Tricks’ category

Remove Logoff or Sign out Option from Start Menu in Windows

May 22nd, 2018 by Admin

How can I remove “Sign out” from the Start Menu in Windows 10? Is there a way to prevent users from logging off a public computer? In this tutorial we’ll show you how to remove Logoff or Sign out option from the Start Menu in Windows 10 / 8 / 7.

Method 1: Remove Logoff or Sign out Option from Start Menu Using GPO

Open the Local Group Policy Editor and navigate to the following setting:
User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar

Then double-click on the “Remove Logoff on the Start Menu” policy in the right side panel.
Select Enabled and click Apply.
Restart your computer and the “Log off” or “Sign out” option should have been removed from the Start Menu.

Method 2: Remove Logoff or Sign out Option from Start Menu Using Registry Editor

Start the Registry Editor window, and then navigate to the following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion \Policies\Explorer

If the Explorer subkey doesn’t exist, create it (from the Edit menu, select New -> Key and type “Explorer” without the quotes) and navigate to that subkey.
Right-click the blank area in the right pane, and then select New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value.
Name the created value StartMenuLogoff, and then set it to 1 to disable Logoff or Sign out option in the Start Menu.
Restart you computer and Logoff or Sign out option is no longer available in the Start Menu.

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

Tags: remove logoff from windows 7 start menu remove sign out windows 10 start menu

4 Tips to Avoid Being Locked out of Windows 10 Local Account

May 21st, 2018 by Admin

How to prevent a forgotten Windows password and the subsequent locked user account after three failed attempts? Forgetting Windows password is truly frustrating, especially if you’re in a hurry and do not have time to find password recovery software. To avoid being locked out of local account in Windows 10, here are a couple of precautions that you can take now just in case you forget your password.

Tip 1: Note Down Your Password

To avoid forgetting Windows password, it’s wise to physically write your password down on a piece of paper, or store the password in a USB key for safe keeping.

Tip 2: Set Up Password Hint

The password hint can be a word, phrase or anything that can help you remember your Windows password. After logging into Windows 10, it’s easy to set up or change password hint for a local account.

When you forgot your password, just type any password on the login screen and hit Enter. When the system tells you the password is incorrect, click OK. You’ll see the password hint below the password box. As the password hint is automatically shown on the screen after a failed password attempt, make sure your hint will not make it easy for someone else to guess your password.

Tip 3: Create a Password Reset Disk

A password reset disk can help you regain access to your locked account in case you forget your Windows password and can’t retrieve it with the help of the first two tips. To get started, open the Control Panel and click on User Accounts. You should see an option on the left pane that lets you create a password reset disk. Be sure to save this disk in a secure location.

When the Windows login screen can’t accept your password, you can use the password reset disk to set a new password for your local account, without providing the old password.

Tip 4: Add Security Questions to Local Account

Since the April 2018 Update (version 1803), Windows 10 allows you to add security questions to your local user account. Just open the Settings app, navigate to Accounts -> Sign-in options and Click the “Update your security questions” link. Select the desired questions and enter your answers.

If you enter a wrong password at the login screen, you’ll get a link labelled “Reset password” right under the password box. Clicking it will take you to a screen where you have to answer each of the security questions correctly before the password can be reset.

Still Locked out of Windows 10 Local Account?

Lost your password reset disk or misplace the piece of paper with your Windows password on it? Can’t recall your password and the hint doesn’t help? Forgot the answers to the security questions added to your local account? When these tips don’t help, you may have to use a bootable disk (like PCUnlocker) to reset your forgotten local admin password, or restore your Windows 10 computer to factory defaults.

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Tags: locked out of windows 10 account

How to Prevent Windows Users from Changing Date and Time

May 21st, 2018 by Admin

How to block access to changing the time for Windows 10? Is there a way to lock the system date and time on a public or shared computer? Here’s how to use group policy to prevent users from changing date and time in Windows 10 / 8 / 7 / Vista / XP.

How to Prevent Windows Users from Changing Date and Time?

By default, only administrative accounts are able to change the system time. Follow these steps to prevent specific user or even administrators from changing date and time in Windows 10 / 8 / 7 / Vista / XP.

Press the Windows key + R together to open the Run command. Type secpol.msc and hit Enter to open the Local Security Policy window.
On the left-hand side, drill down to Local Policies -> User Rights Assignment. On the right, double-click the “Change the system time” setting to modify.
In the Properties window, select any specific user or group that you want to block from changing the system date / time, and click on Remove.
Click Apply and then OK. Restart your computer for this policy to take effect. The next time you try to change the date and time from Control Panel, you’ll get the error message “Unable to continue. You do not have permission to perform this task.”

This setting will also prevent you from changing the system date/time using the Settings app in Windows 10. If you’re running Windows 10 Home, you have to add Local Group Policy Editor to Windows 10 Home before running the secpol.msc command.

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

Tags: lock system date and time in windows 10 prevent users from changing time group policy

How to Change the Size Limit for Outlook PST Files

May 19th, 2018 by Admin

All versions of Microsoft Outlook use a single PST file to store emails, contacts, calendar and other data. As time goes by and your PST file grows larger and larger. Whenever a PST file reaches its maximum size limit, Outlook will slow down or you’ll get the following error message:

“The Outlook data file has reached its maximum size. To reduce the amount of data in this file, select some items that you no longer need, and then permanently delete them by pressing SHIFT+DELETE.”

In Outlook 2003 and 2007 the maximum size of Unicode PST files are 20 GB. Since Outlook 2010, the size has been raised to 50 GB. If your PST file gets oversized, you can follow this tutorial to increase the PST size limit in Outlook 2016 / 2013 / 2010 / 2007 / 2003.

How to Change the Size Limit for Outlook PST Files?

Press the Windows key + R to open the Run command. Type regedit and hit Enter.
When you see the Registry Editor window, browse to the following key. If the PST key doesn’t exist, you have to create it manually.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\xxx\Outlook\PST

Note: Replace xxx with your Outlook version number. Outlook 2003 – 11.0, Outlook 2007 – 12.0, Outlook 2010 – 14.0, Outlook 2013 – 15.0 and Outlook 2016 – 16.0.
Next, right-click the blank space in the right pane and choose New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
Name the new DWORD entry as MaxLargeFileSize, and then double-click it to modify.
In the “Edit DWORD Value” pop-up, select Decimal and then specify the PST size limit in MB. For example, if you want to raise the size limit of PST file to 100 GB, just enter 102400 and click OK.
Use the same method to create another DWORD entry named WarnLargeFileSize. The recommended size is at 95% of the MaxLargeFileSize value. In our example: 102400 X 95% = 97280.
Close Registry Editor and restart Outlook for your changes to take effect.

So here is how you can change the size limit for Unicode PST files created by Outlook 2003 and newer versions. For the PST files in old ANSI format, you can change the maximum size limit by follow the above steps to creating two similar DWORD entries “MaxFileSize” and “WarnFileSize“.

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Tags: increase pst file size outlook 2016 outlook data file has reached the maximum size outlook pst size limit

How to Show Day of Week in Windows 10 Taskbar Clock

May 18th, 2018 by Admin

By default, Windows doesn’t add the day of the week (for example, Monday, Tuesday, etc) to the system tray clock. Here are 2 simple ways to make Windows 10 show day of week in the taskbar notification area.

Method 1: Set Taskbar Clock to Show Day of Week Using Control Panel

Open the Control Panel in Large icons view, and click Region.
In the Region window, click the Additional settings button in the bottom right corner.
Switch to the Date tab, and then add the “ddd, ” string at the beginning of the Short date field. Click OK and you’re done!
You will now see the day of the week to displayed in the taskbar clock.

Method 2: Set Taskbar Clock to Show Day of Week Using Registry Editor

Open the Registry Editor and then navigate to the following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\International
Double-click the sShortDate entry in the right side of the Registry Editor window.
In the Edit String window, Add the “ddd, ” string at the beginning of the Value data field and click OK.
Close Registry Editor and log off or restart Windows to take effect. The system tray clock will display the day of week.

This tip also works on Windows 8, 7, Vista and XP. Hope you find this small tip useful!

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Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 10

Tags: add week day to windows 10 clock show day of week in windows 10 taskbar

How to Switch Left and Right Mouse Button Functions in Windows 10

May 17th, 2018 by Admin

Left mouse clicking acts like right click? How to change mouse to left handed in Windows 10? By default, Windows sets your left mouse button as the primary button which is used for selecting and dragging. If your system brings up the right-click context menu when left clicking an items on the desktop, it’s likely that the primary button is changed to the right mouse button. In this tutorial we’ll show you 3 easy ways to switch left and right mouse button functions in Windows 10.

Method 1: Switch Left and Right Mouse Button Functions from Settings App

Press the Windows + I key combination to open the Settings app, and click Devices.
Choose the Mouse tab on the left side. On the right side, you can select Left or Right from the “Select your primary button” drop-down list.
When finished, close the Settings app. This change will take effect immediately.

Method 2: Switch Left and Right Mouse Button Functions from Control Panel

Open the Control Panel in Large icons view, and click Mouse.
By default, the “Switch primary and secondary buttons” option is unchecked. In case you’re left handed and want to change the mouse primary button to be the right button, just check that option and click OK.
Now you can check if the left or right mouse clicking works as you expect.

Method 3: Switch Left and Right Mouse Button Functions from Registry Editor

Open the Registry Editor, and then navigate to the following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Mouse
On the right side panel, double-click the SwapMouseButtons entry and set its value data depend on which button you would use as the primary button.
- 0 = Set left mouse button as primary
- 1 = Set right mouse button as primary
When finished, close Registry Editor. You have to log off or restart Windows before the changes take effect.

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Tags: change mouse to left handed windows 10 left and right mouse buttons switched switch left and right mouse buttons

Using CMD to Create Undeletable Folder in Windows 10

May 16th, 2018 by Admin

How can I prevent a folder from being inadvertently deleted by myself? Worry about that your kids may accidentally delete your important documents? To avoid this situation, you can use a simple CMD trick to create undeletable and unrenamable folder in Windows 10.

How to Create Undeletable Folder in Windows 10 Using CMD?

The following keywords are reserved by Windows to name the internal devices, and you’re unable to create, delete or rename a folder that has its name from one of these words (case insensitive):

CON, PRN, AUX, CLOCK$, NUL, COM1, COM2, COM3, COM4, COM5, COM6, COM7, COM8, COM9, LPT1, LPT2, LPT3, LPT4, LPT5, LPT6, LPT7, LPT8, and LPT9

Fortunately, you can use the Command Prompt in Windows 10 to create folders with reserved names. Follow these steps:

Open the Command Prompt as administrator.
At the Command Prompt, enter the drive name like D: or E: where you wish to create the undeletable folder and press Enter.
Next, type “md con\” command to create a folder with a reserved name “con” and press Enter.

Now, open File Explorer and try to delete or rename the “con” folder, you’ll get the error message like “Could not find this item” or “invalid file handle“.
As of the Fall Creators Update, Windows 10 can’t let you even browse the files inside the “con” folder.

In order to move any important files into or outside of this undeletable folder, you may also have to do it by running the “move” command at the Command Prompt.

Deleting the Undeletable Folder:

Now you might be wondering – how to delete undeletable folder using CMD? Although, it is impossible to manually delete the folder using File Explorer, you can delete that folder by typing “rd /s /q con\” at the elevated Command Prompt.

This trick works also on Windows 8.1, Windows 8/7/Vista/XP. Try it yourself to create one such folder which can neither be deleted nor be renamed.

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4 Ways to Take a Screenshot on Surface Pro 4 Tablet

May 14th, 2018 by Admin

Do you want to take a screenshot of your Surface Pro screen and share it with friends? In this tutorial we’ll show you 4 simple ways to take a screenshot on Surface Pro 4 tablet, without using third-party software.

Method 1: Take Screenshot Using Surface Hardware Buttons

Press both the Power button and the Volume-up button simultaneously, and then release them. You’ll notice the screen briefly dim then brighten again to let you know a screenshot is taken.

All screenshots you took with this method, will be saved in your C:\Users\user_name\Pictures\Screenshots folder.

Method 2: Take Screenshot Using Keyboard Shortcut

First of all, check the FN key on your Type Cover to make sure that its light is off. Hold down the Windows key and then press the PrtSn key. This will capture your Surface screen and place the resulting screenshot in the same Screenshots folder under the Pictures library.

Method 3: Take Screenshot with Surface Pen

Double-clicking the eraser button on the top of your Surface Pen will take a screenshot that you can crop immediately, then save to the Screenshots folder under Pictures in OneDrive.

Method 4: Take Screenshot Using Snipping Tool

Windows comes with a built-in utility called Snipping Tool that makes taking screenshot easier than above methods. Once launching the Snipping Tool, you can take a screenshot of the full screen, specific program windows, or any area you want to capture. This tool lets you to save the screenshot as a JPEG, PNG, GIF, or HTML file as your desire.

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How to Clear Saved Credentials for Network Share or Remote Desktop Connection

May 9th, 2018 by Admin

When you try to access protected file shares on the network or launch RDP sessions, you’ll be prompted to save the passwords. If you checked the option to remember your credentials, Windows will store your passwords for the next connection.

In this tutorial we’ll show you 2 simple ways to clear saved credentials for network share, remote desktop connection or mapped drive in Windows 10 / 8 / 7.

Method 1: Clear Network Saved Credentials Using Control Panel

Open the Control Panel and select Large icons in the View by menu. Click User Accounts.
Click the “Manage your credentials” option at the top left.
Select the Windows Credentials type and you’ll see the list of credentials you have saved for network share, remote desktop connection or mapped drive.
Click one of the entries in the list and expand it, you can then click the Remove option to clear it.

Method 2: Clear Network Saved Credentials Using the Run Command

Press the Windows key + R together to open the Run box. Type the following command and hit Enter.
rundll32.exe keymgr.dll, KRShowKeyMgr
You’ll see the Stored Usernames and Passwords window. To remove a saved network credential you can select one of the entries and click Remove.

That’s it!

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

Tags: clear cached credentials windows 10 clear credentials for network share remove saved credentials for remote desktop connection

How to Find Your Computer Name in Windows and Mac OS X

May 8th, 2018 by Admin

Do you need help locating your computer name? PCs on the same network need unique names so they can identify and communicate with each other. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to easily find your computer name in Windows 10 / 8 / 7 and Mac OS X.

Part 1: Find Computer Name in Windows 10 / 8 / 7

Simply right-click on the My Computer (or This PC) shortcut on the desktop, and then select Properties.

Under the “Computer name, domain, and workgroup settings” section, you will find the computer name listed. If your PC is connected to a domain, the full computer name will include the domain name.

Another way of finding computer name is using the Command Prompt. Just type hostname into the Command Prompt and hit Enter, you’ll see your computer name immediately.