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How to Change System Cooling Policy in Windows 10 / 8 / 7

February 17th, 2017 by Admin

System Cooling Policy allows you to specify the cooling mode you want to use for your Windows-based computer, for which you have two options: Active and Passive.

  • The Active setting increases fan speed before slowing the processor to main cooling. You’ll get the best performance by leaving the System Cooling Policy set to Active.
  • The Passive setting slows the processor before increasing fan speed. If the fan is always running and you would like to make it quieter, you can choose to opt for the passive mode.

In this tutorial we’ll show you how to change the system cooling policy in Windows 10, 8 and 7.

How to Change System Cooling Policy in Windows 10 / 8 / 7?

  1. Open the Control Panel in Large icons view. Click Power Options.

  2. In the right pane, for the power plan that you have selected to use, click Change plan settings.

    change-power-plan-settings

  3. Click Change advanced power settings.

    advanced-power-settings

  4. Click the link labeled Change settings that are currently unavailable.

    change-power-settings-unavailable

  5. In the Power Options dialog box, expand Processor power management and you’ll see the System cooling policy setting. Set the System cooling policy to Active or Passive, then click OK.

    system-cooling-policy

If the System Cooling Policy setting is not showing in the Power Options dialog box, you can restore it using a registry hack: Fix: System Cooling Policy Missing in Power Options.

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Fix: System Cooling Policy Missing in Power Options

February 17th, 2017 by Admin

System Cooling Policy is missing in Windows? System Cooling Policy lets you change the cooling mode of your system. If you couldn’t see the System Cooling Policy option under the Power Options of Control Panel, you need to tweak the registry settings. In this article we’ll show you how to restore the missing System Cooling Policy option in Windows 10, 8 and 7.

Fix: System Cooling Policy Missing in Power Options

  1. Open Notepad. Copy and paste the code below into Notepad, then save it as a .reg file.

    Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power\PowerSettings\54533251-82be-4824-96c1-47b60b740d00\94D3A615-A899-4AC5-AE2B-E4D8F634367F]
    "Attributes"=dword:00000002

  2. Double-click on the .reg file to import the settings into the registry. Click Yes when asked to confirm.

    import-reg-file

  3. Open the Control Panel and access the Power Options, you’ll see that the System Cooling Policy is shown under the.Processor power management node.

    system-cooling-policy

If you want to remove the System Cooling Policy option again, repeat the steps above to import the following registry settings.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power\PowerSettings\54533251-82be-4824-96c1-47b60b740d00\94D3A615-A899-4AC5-AE2B-E4D8F634367F]
"Attributes"=dword:00000001

That’s it!

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

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2 Ways to Change System Locale in Windows 10

February 16th, 2017 by Admin

The system locale allows you to use the specified language for non-Unicode programs. If your Windows system uses a default en-US locale, the Japanese text in a game won’t display correctly. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to change system locale in Windows 10, using Control Panel or Command Prompt.

Note: You must log into Windows 10 as administrator to set a different system locale. Changing system locale doesn’t affect the language in menus & dialog boxes for Windows or other programs that do use Unicode.

Method 1: Change System Locale in Windows 10 Using Control Panel

  1. Open the Control Panel in Large icons view, click Region.

    region

  2. In the Region dialog that opens, select the Administrative tab and then click Change system locale.

    change-system-locale

  3. Select the desired language from the Current system locale drop-down list, and click OK.

    current-system-locale

  4. Restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

    restart-for-new-locale

Method 2: Change System Locale in Windows 10 Using Command Prompt

  1. Open Notepad (or any other text editor), then copy and paste the following text into it. Replace en-US with the language tag for your desired system locale. To see all supported language tags in Windows, please refer to this article.

    <gs:GlobalizationServices xmlns:gs="urn:longhornGlobalizationUnattend">
    <gs:UserList>
    <gs:User UserID="Current" CopySettingsToDefaultUserAcct="true" CopySettingsToSystemAcct="true"/>
    </gs:UserList>
    <!-- system locale --><gs:SystemLocale Name="en-US" />
    </gs:GlobalizationServices>

    system-locale-settings

  2. After editing, save the file as a .xml file. Let’s say D:\locale.xml.
  3. Open the Command Prompt in administrator mode. Copy and paste the following command line and press Enter.

    control.exe intl.cpl,, /f:"D:\locale.xml"

    change-system-locale-cmd

  4. Reboot your computer to apply the new system locale settings.

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Fix Error: “Windows cannot Change the Password” in Windows 10 / 8 / 7

February 15th, 2017 by Admin

Unable to change Windows password? When you try to change or set a Windows password from Control Panel, you might get a popup message saying “Windows cannot change the password“.

windows-cannot-change-password

If you’re using Windows 10, open the Settings app and you might also find the option to change/reset password is greyed out.

unable-change-windows-password

In this tutorial we’ll show you a simple way to fix the issue “Windows cannot change the password” in Windows 10, 8 and 7.

Fix Error: “Windows cannot Change the Password” in Windows 10 / 8 / 7

  1. Press the Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box, then type compmgmt.msc and press Enter to open the Computer Management.
  2. Now, you can expand Local Users and Groups -> Users. In the right side, right-click on the user account which is not allowing you to change its password, then select Properties from the context menu.

    windows-account-properties

  3. You need to uncheck a box “User cannot change password“. Click Apply and then OK.

    user-cannot-change-password

    Now you should be able to change or set a Windows password in Control Panel.

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

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How to Remove ‘Settings’ from Windows 10 Start Menu

February 14th, 2017 by Admin

How can I disable the Settings button in Windows 10 Start Menu? Windows 10 allows you to customize the left section of Start Menu, by adding or removing the folders such as Settings, File Explorer, Documents, Download, Music, Picture, Video etc.

remove-settings-from-start-menu

By default, File Explorer and Settings are the only folders listed there. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to remove the ‘Settings’ from Windows 10 Start Menu.

How to Remove ‘Settings’ from Windows 10 Start Menu?

  1. Open the Start Menu and then select Settings. If the Settings icon is missing from the Start Menu, you can press the Windows logo + I keys simultaneously to open the Settings app.
  2. Once the Setting app is launched, click Personalization.

    Personalization

  3. Click Start on the left side. On the right side, scroll down to the bottom and click Choose which folders appear on Start.

    choose-folders-appear-on-start

  4. Choose whatever folders you want to appear on the Start Menu. To remove Settings from Windows 10 Start Menu, toggle the “Settings” option to Off and you’re done.

    disable-settings-in-start-menu

Now click the Start button, you’ll see the Settings icon disappeared from Windows 10 Start Menu. But you can still access the Settings app by pressing the Windows logo + I shortcut keys. If you want to bring the Settings icon back to the Start Menu, just repeat the steps above and toggle the “Settings” option to On.

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How to Enable / Turn On Microphone in Windows 10

February 13th, 2017 by Admin

Microphone doesn’t work after Windows 10 upgrade? How can I re-enable the built-in microphone? In this tutorial we’ll show you 3 ways to enable / turn on microphone in Windows 10.

Method 1: Turn On Windows 10 Microphone Using Device Manager

  1. Press the Windows key + X shortcut to open the WinX menu, and then select Device Manager.

    winx

  2. Double-click on Sound, video and game controllers to expand that section. Locate your audio driver (for example, Realtek High Definition Audio) and right-click on it. Click on Enable. Restart your computer.

    enable-audio-device

Note: If there is a yellow mark (most probably an exclamation mark or a question mark) next to your microphone device, there is problem with the driver. Then you need to reinstall or update the audio driver.

Method 2: Turn On Windows 10 Microphone from Sound Settings

  1. Right-click on the Volume icon in the system tray and click on Recording devices.

    recording-devices

  2. Click on the Recording tab, and then right-click in the space under the last recording device and click “Show Disabled Devices“.

    show-disabled-devices

  3. Select your Microphone from the list, and then click on Properties.

    microphone-properties

  4. Choose the “Use this device (enable)” option under the Device usage drop-down list, click Apply and then OK.

    use-this-microphone

  5. You may also check if the microphone that you are using is set as default. Note: Current default device is indicated by a green check mark.

    set-default-microphone

Method 3: Turn On Windows 10 Microphone from PC Settings

  1. Press the Windows key + I shortcut to open the Settings app. Click Privacy.

  2. Choose Microphone in the left pane. You’ll see an option that says “Let apps use my microphone“. Slide the toggle to On and select which of the apps underneath can use your microphone.

    let-apps-use-microphone

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How to Set Ethernet / Wi-Fi Connection as Metered in Windows 10

February 9th, 2017 by Admin

Windows 10 allows you to set the network connection as metered. This is a useful feature especially if your Internet service provider limits the data you can use. Turning on metered connection will prevent Windows from using your bandwidth except you choose.

  • Stop Windows 10 from automatically downloading updates in the background.
  • Windows Store won’t automatically download updates for your installed apps.
  • Start Menu tiles will stop updating live data from the Internet.
  • Offline files will not sync with other devices.

In this tutorial we’ll show you how to set Ethernet / Wi-Fi connection as metered in Windows 10. This can effectively reduce the internet data usage so you don’t have to pay for extra bandwidth.

Part 1: Set Wi-Fi Connection as Metered in Windows 10

  1. Open the Settings app by pressing the Windows key + I shortcut, or launch it by clicking the Settings icon from your Start Menu.

    open-settings-via-start-menu

  2. Click Network & Internet.

    network-security

  3. Select Wi-Fi from the left hand menu. You will get a list of network connections on the right hand pane. Click the Wi-Fi network you want to change to metered.

    wifi-settings

  4. Move toggle for Set as metered connection to On.

    set-metered-connection

This method only allows you to set mobile and Wi-Fi connections as metered. There is no GUI option to do this with wired Ethernet connections.

Part 2: Set Ethernet Connection as Metered in Windows 10

To set your Ethernet connection to metered, you’ll have to dive into the Windows Registry to tweak the settings. Here’s how:

  1. Press Windows key + R to open the Run command box, type regedit and hit Enter to open Registry Editor. Navigate to the following key:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\NetworkList\DefaultMediaCost
  2. By default, the DefaultMediaCost key is protected and you don’t have the permissions necessary to edit it. Right-click the DefaultMediaCost key and select Permissions, follow this article to take ownership of that registry key.

    DefaultMediaCost-Permissions

  3. While the DefaultMediaCost key is selected in the left pane, double-click Ethernet value in the right pane, and change its value from 1 to 2.

    Ethernet-metered-connection

  4. Close Registry Editor and reboot your computer.

If you want to verify your Ethernet connection is set to metered, you can open Office Outlook 2016 application, which will detect and alert you that you are using a metered connection.

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How to Enable / Disable Camera (or Webcam) in Windows 10

February 7th, 2017 by Admin

How can I turn off camera on my laptop? Look for a way to prevent a specific app from accessing your camera? Nowadays many laptops and tablets have integrated cameras that could be used as a webcam to video chat. But some users might want to turn them off because of security concerns. In this tutorial we’ll show you 2 methods to enable / disable Camera (or Webcam) in Windows 10.

Method 1: Enable / Disable Camera Using Windows 10 Settings

  1. Open the Settings app by pressing the Windows + I shortcut key, or clicking the Settings icon from the Start Menu in Windows 10.

    open-settings-via-start-menu

  2. From the Settings window, click Privacy.

    privacy-settings

  3. Choose Camera in the left pane. You’ll see an option that says “Let apps use my camera“. Slide the toggle to On and select which of the apps underneath can use your camera, or toggle Off to prevent all apps from accessing your camera.

    let-apps-use-camera

Method 2: Enable / Disable Camera Using Device Manager

If you want to completely disable your camera in Windows 10, just follow these steps:

  1. Press the Windows + R keys together to open the Run box. Type devmgmt.msc and press Enter.

    devmgmt

  2. Once the Device Manager window opens, expand Imaging devices (or Integrated Camera) to display your camera. Just right click on it and select Disable. You may be asked for confirmation. Select Yes.

    disable-camera-in-device-manager

  3. Your camera will now be turned off. If you ever need to use the webcam, repeat the above process, but select Enable when right-clicking on your camera.

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How to Disable Automatic Maintenance in Windows 10

February 6th, 2017 by Admin

Automatic Maintenance is a built-in feature in Windows 10/8 that is turned on by default. When your computer is idle, the system will automatically run its maintenance tasks (windows updates, security scanning, disk checking, etc) at the background.

Just open the Control Panel in Large icons view, click Security and Maintenance.

security-and-maintenance

You can then see if automatic maintenance is in progress. From there you can see a link for stopping the automatic maintenance.

windows-automatic-maintenance

If you want to prevent Windows 10 from automatically running the maintenance next time, you can disable it using the following registry hack.

How to Disable Automatic Maintenance in Windows 10?

  1. Press the Windows Key + R keys simultaneously, then type regedit in Run dialog box and press Enter.
  2. When the Registry Editor window appears, navigate to the following key:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Schedule\Maintenance
  3. In the left pane, right-click on the Maintenance key, and then select New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value.

    new-dword-value

  4. Name the new value MaintenanceDisabled.

    MaintenanceDisabled

  5. Next, double-click on the new value to modify. In the Value data field, type 1 if you want to disable automatic maintenance (If you want to enable automatic maintenance again, just set its value to 0.) and click OK.

    disable-automatic-maintenance

  6. Close Registry Editor and reboot your computer. Now you’ve successfully disabled automatic maintenance in Windows 10. That’s it!

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