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Manually Lock / Unlock BitLocker Encrypted Drive in Windows

December 13th, 2017 by Admin

Hot to lock the BitLocker encrypted drive without restarting system? By default, Windows will automatically unlock your BitLocker drive when you sign in to your account. If you’ve turned off auto-lock for BitLocker drive, you have to manually unlock it when your computer starts up. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to manually lock or unlock BitLocker encrypted drive in Windows 10 / 8 / 7.

Part 1: Manually Lock a BitLocker Drive

Before you can manually lock a BitLocker drive, make sure you’ve set up a BitLocker password for your hard drive and turn off the auto-lock feature. When your system is shut down, the drive will lock itself automatically.

If you want to manually lock a BitLocker drive, you have to do this through Command Prompt:

  1. Open the Command Prompt as administrator.
  2. Type the following command and hit Enter. Note: substitute d: in the command below with the drive letter of BitLocker drive you want to lock.
    manage-bde -lock d: -forcedismount

  3. Close Command Prompt. Your BitLocker drive is now locked and you’re unable to access it without providing your BitLocker password.

Part 2: Manually Unlock a BitLocker Drive

Unlocking a BitLocker drive is much easier than locking it. Follow these steps:

  1. Open Windows Explorer and right-click on the BitLocker encrypted drive, and then choose Unlock Drive from the context menu.

  2. You’ll get a popup in the upper right corner that asking for BitLocker password. Enter your password and click Unlock.

  3. The drive is now unlocked and you can access the files on it.

Of course, you can also unlock a BitLocker drive from an elevated Command Prompt. Just type this command and press Enter.
manage-bde -unlock d: -password

When prompted, type the BitLocker password for this drive and hit Enter. It will unlock your drive immediately.

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How to Find if My Windows 10 PC Supports Miracast

December 11th, 2017 by Admin

How can I tell if my Windows 10 computer supports Miracast? Miracast is a wireless technology that lets you mirror your computer’s screen wirelessly on your TV or projector. Here is a simple way to check if the Miracast wireless streaming is available on your Windows 10 PC.

How to Find if My Windows 10 PC Supports Miracast?

Press the Windows key + R to bring up the Run box. Type dxdiag and hit Enter.

This will open the DirectX Diagnostic Tool. After this tool collects your PC’s information, click the Save All Information button.

Choose where you want to save the DxDiag.txt file on your computer.

Open the DxDiag.txt file with NotePad or your text editor, and find the line that begins with Miracast. If it says supported or available, then it means your PC supports the Miracast wireless streaming feature.

That’s it!

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How to Hide Folders / Files from Search Results in Windows 10

December 7th, 2017 by Admin

How do I stop certain files from showing up in Windows search? By default, Windows automatically indexes everything stored in the most common locations (like Downloads, Documents and Desktop), so you can quickly find your files or applications through Windows Search box or Cortana box.

If you want to hide some folders/files from appearing in the search result, you need to change the indexing options in Windows 10.

How to Hide Folders / Files from Search Results in Windows 10?

  1. Open the Control Panel in Large icons view and then click Indexing Options.

  2. The Indexing Options window lists all folders that are included or excluded from indexation. To hide certain files and folders from Windows Search, click the Modify button at the bottom.

  3. In the folder tree, navigate to the folder you want to hide and uncheck the box for that folder. Click OK.

  4. When you’re back to the Indexing Options window, you can click the Advanced button if you want to hide certain file types from being indexed.

  5. Click the File Types tab. Navigate through the list of all file types and uncheck the file type that you wish to hide from search results, and click OK.

  6. Switch to the Index Settings tab and click Rebuild.

    Now, you should see the folders/files you chose to hide will never show up in the search results in File Explorer or in the Cortana box on the taskbar.

However, if you disable Search indexing completely, your folders/files will become searchable again but it may take longer to run search. The most secure ways of hiding folders/files from Windows Search is to use the professional utility like Protect My Folders.

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4 Ways to Open Indexing Options in Windows 10

December 5th, 2017 by Admin

Windows 10 uses the index to make searching your files faster. If you want to customize which file types are indexed or change what locations you want indexed, you have to access the Indexing Options. In this tutorial we’ll show you 4 ways to open Indexing Options in Windows 10.

Method 1: Open Indexing Options via Cortana Search

Type indexing options in the Cortana Search box on Windows 10 taskbar. When the results appear, click the Indexing Options item and you’ll see the Indexing Options dialog box.

Method 2: Open Indexing Options via Control Panel

Open the Control Panel and change it to Large icons view, and then click Indexing Options to launch it.

Method 3: Open Indexing Options via Run or Command Prompt

Open the Command Prompt, or press the Win + R keys to open the Run box. Type one of the following commands and press Enter.

control.exe srchadmin.dll
rundll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL srchadmin.dll
control /name Microsoft.IndexingOptions

This will bring up the Indexing Options dialog box immediately.

Method 4: Create Indexing Options Shortcut

If you need to change the Windows index settings frequently, you can create a desktop shortcut to open Indexing Options in Windows 10. Here’s how:

  1. Right-click any empty space on your Windows 10 desktop and then select New -> Shortcut.

  2. When the Create Shortcut wizard opens, type control.exe srchadmin.dll in the location box and click Next.

  3. On the next screen give the new shortcut a name, and click Finish.
  4. By default, the Indexing Options shortcut uses the same icon as Control Panel, and you can give it a proper icon.

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The Easy Way to Install OpenSSH in Windows 10

December 4th, 2017 by Admin

Since the release of Fall Creators Update (officially version 1709), Windows 10 comes with a number of optional features including OpenSSH Client / OpenSSH Server. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to install / uninstall OpenSSH from the Settings app in Windows 10.

Part 1: Install OpenSSH as an Optional Feature in Windows 10

Press the Windows key + I shortcut to open the Settings app, and then click the Apps category.

When the Apps & features page appears, click the “Manage optional features” option in the right pane.

This will launch Manage optional features page displaying a list of various installed features. Now we want to install OpenSSH, so click the “Add a feature” button.

Browse through the list of features and look for the OpenSSH Client or OpenSSH Server feature. After selecting OpenSSH Client or OpenSSH Server, you can click the Install button.

Now, head back to the Manage optional features page and you can see the progress of installing OpenSSH.

Once OpenSSH was installed, you can use the SSH command from PowerShell or the Command Prompt

Part 2: Uninstall OpenSSH from Windows 10

If you want to uninstall OpenSSH later, just follow the above steps and head over to the Manage optional features page. Click the OpenSSH Client or OpenSSH Server feature you wish to remove, an Uninstall button will appear and you can click on it.

That’s it!

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How to Enable Windows Mobility Center on Desktop PC

December 1st, 2017 by Admin

Windows Mobility Center is a Control Panel item that lets you change laptop-related settings all in one place, from volume, screen brightness, power options to Wi‐Fi and Bluetooth settings. However, Windows Mobility Center is available only on laptops/tablets, and it is disabled on desktop computers by default.

In this tutorial we’ll show you how to enable Windows Mobility Center on Windows 10 / 8 / 7 desktop computers.

How to Enable Windows Mobility Center on Desktop PC?

Open the Command Prompt as administrator. Type the following two commands and press Enter.
reg add HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\MobilePC\AdaptableSettings /v SkipBatteryCheck /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
reg add HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\MobilePC\MobilityCenter /v RunOnDesktop /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

Now, you can access the Windows Mobility Center on your desktop computer. To do this, press the Windows + R hotkey on your keyboard and type mblctr in the Run dialog box.

If you want to disable Windows Mobility Center on your desktop PC again, just open the elevated Command Prompt and run the following commands to restore your registry changes.

reg delete HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\MobilePC\AdaptableSettings /v SkipBatteryCheck /f
reg delete HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\MobilePC\MobilityCenter /v RunOnDesktop /f

That’s it!

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

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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