Archive for the ‘Tips & Tricks’ category

Convert Any Document to PDF Format with Windows 10 Print to PDF

August 2nd, 2016 by Admin

Do you want to convert Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, image, web page or any other document into a PDF file? Microsoft Print to PDF is a new feature comes pre-installed in Windows 10 as a virtual printer. Instead of printing on paper, it creates a PDF document from any document within any application, just as if it was printed.

Just open your document in any application that has printing capability, press Ctrl + P keyboard shortcut (or use the Print option from the menu). Now you should see Microsoft Print to PDF available in list of printers. Select it and click on Print. Choose where you want to save your PDF file and you’re done.

select-pdf-printer

If the Microsoft Print to PDF option is missing from the list of printers, or you’ve deleted it accidentally, you can restore it by following these steps:

Open the Control Panel in Large icons view. Click Programs and Features.
From the left panel, click on Turn Windows features on or off.
In the Windows Features dialog, uncheck Microsoft Print to PDF and click OK.
Reopen the Windows Features dialog, and this time check the Microsoft Print to PDF checkbox, and click OK. After reinstalling that feature, you should be able to see the Microsoft Print to PDF option on Windows 10.

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Posted in Tips & Tricks, Windows 10

Tags: microsoft print to pdf microsoft print to pdf missing print to pdf without software reinstall microsoft print to pdf

Hide User Name and Email Address on Windows 10 Login Screen

August 2nd, 2016 by Admin

When you turn on your Windows 10 machine it shows your account name or email address on the login screen. Many users might want to remove or hide the email address for privacy and security reasons. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to hide your user name and email address from Windows 10 login screen using Group Policy or Registry Editor.

display-user-at-login

Note: After making Windows 10 not show your name and email address on sign-in screen, you need to fill in both your username (or email address) and password in order to login.

Method 1: Hide User Name or Email Address on Windows 10 Sign-in Screen Using Group Policy

Press the Windows key + R keyboard shortcut to open the Run box, type gpedit.msc and click OK to open Local Group Policy Editor.
Navigate to:
Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Local Policies > Security Options

In the right pane, find the policy Interactive logon: Do not display last user name and double-click on it.
In the Settings window select the Enabled radio button, and save the changes by clicking OK.
Just restart your computer. You should no longer see the last used username or other details like the email address on the login / logon screen. One thing to keep in mind while using this is that it will also hide all your accounts from the login screen.

Method 2: Hide User Name or Email Address on Windows 10 Sign-in Screen Using Registry Editor

Press the Windows key + R keyboard shortcut to open the Run box, type regedit and click OK to open Registry Editor.
Navigate to the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System
Find the entry “dontdisplaylastusername” on the right pane and double-click on it. This action will open the Edit Value Data window. Change the value data from 0 to 1, and click OK.
Just restart your PC, and you will no longer see the user name or email address on the Windows 10 login screen. If you want to revert back, simply change the value data of dontdisplaylastusername to 0.

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Posted in Tips & Tricks, Windows 10

Tags: hide email address on windows 10 login hide user account on windows 10 logon Interactive logon: Do not display last user name remove email address from windows 10 login screen

2 Ways to Set Windows 10 PC as Microsoft Account’s Trusted Device

August 1st, 2016 by Admin

Every time you try to access or edit the sensitive info related to your Microsoft account, you might need to enter the security code Microsoft sent to you for verifying your identity. If you set your PC as a trusted device associated with your Microsoft account, Microsoft won’t ask you to enter a security code any longer. This tutorial shows you 2 ways to add your Windows 10 computer as trusted devices for your Microsoft account, and remove a trusted PC that’s lost or stolen.

Method 1: Set Windows 10 PC as Trusted Device from the Settings App

If you use a Microsoft account for signing into Windows 10, you can make your computer a trusted device from PC Settings. Here’s how:

Press the Windows key + I to open the Settings app. Click on the Accounts icon.
Click on Your account on the left side, and click the Verify link on the right side panel.
Enter the alternate email address for your Microsoft account to receive a security code. Click Next.
Type in the security code that Microsoft sends to your alternate email account. Click Next.
Your current PC has now been added a trusted device associated with your Microsoft account. Go to the Settings app, and then Accounts, you should find the Verify link disappeared.

Method 2: Set Windows 10 PC as Trusted Device from Microsoft’s Online Website

Open your web browser on the computer you want to trust. Visit the Microsoft online website and sign in to your Microsoft account.
After successfully entering your email address and password, you’ll be taken to an account summary page. Click on the Security & Privacy tab, and click on the More security settings.
Enter the alternate email address to get a security code for verification. Click on Send code.
Enter the security code received, check the box “I sign in frequently on this device. Don’t ask me for a code” and click on Submit. You can now edit your sensitive info on this device whenever you want, without entering another security code.

How to Remove Trusted Devices from Your Microsoft Account

When your trusted device is lost or stolen, or you don’t use the device any longer, follow these steps to remove trusted devices from your Microsoft account:

Open your web browser on the trusted computer. Visit the Microsoft online website and sign in to your Microsoft account.
After successfully entering your email address and password, you’ll be taken to an account summary page. Click on the Security & Privacy tab, and click on the More security settings.
Scroll down to the Trusted devices section, and click on the Remove all the trusted devices associated with my account option.
Click on Remove all trusted devices to confirm.

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Posted in Tips & Tricks, Windows 10

Tags: add trusted device with microsoft account microsoft account trusted devices microsoft trusted devices remove trusted devices from microsoft account

Windows 10 Fix: “Compressed (zipped) Folder” missing from Send To Menu

July 31st, 2016 by Admin

Windows 10 comes with native support for zip files. In File Explorer, select and right-click on the folders or files you want to zip, select “Send To” -> “Compressed (zipped) folder” from the context menu. This will compress your selected folders/files into a single .zip file.

send-to-compressed-folder

However, the “Compressed (zipped) folder” might be missing from the right-click context menu. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to restore the missing “Compressed (zipped) folder” option from the Send To menu in Windows 10.

Part 1: Restore Compressed (zipped) folder shortcut

There is a copy of this shortcut in the default user profile in Windows 10. You can just copy it from the default user profile back to your personal profile and you are done. Here is how.

Open the Send To folder of the default user profile. To do so, press Win + R to open the Run dialog, and type the following command and press Enter:
%systemdrive%\Users\Default\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\SendTo
Right-click the Compressed (zipped) folder shortcut and select Copy from the context menu.
Now, type the following path in File Explorer’s address bar. This will open the Send To folder of your current user profile.
%userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\SendTo
Paste the shortcut you previously copied there.

Part 2: Fix the .ZFSendToTarget file association

If the above method is still not working, it’s possible that the .ZFSendToTarget file association is corrupt. Normally, the “Compressed (zipped) folder” shortcut is shown with a zip icon. If its association settings are corrupt, it might show with a generic icon and display ZFSendToTarget in the Type column.

zfsendtotarget

Here’s how to fix it:

Press Win + R and type regedit and press Enter.
When the Registry Editor opens, navigate to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.zfsendtotarget
Right-click on .zfsendtotarget key in the left pane and select Delete.
Next open an elevated Command Prompt. This can be done by pressing Win + X and select “Command Prompt (Admin)” from the Power User Menu.
Type the following command and press Enter.
assoc .zfsendtotarget=CLSID\{888DCA60-FC0A-11CF-8F0F-00C04FD7D062}
Reboot your computer and the “Compressed (zipped) folder” shortcut should now appear in the Send to menu.

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Tags: send to compressed folder missing send to compressed zipped folder missing in Windows 10

3 Ways to Stop Automatic Driver Updates in Windows 10

July 29th, 2016 by Admin

While plugging in a new device, Windows 10 automatically downloads and installs the device driver via Windows Update. Every time Windows 10 checks for OS updates, it will also update the device drivers. However, some drivers from Microsoft may not be fully compatible with the device driver you have installed and it might result in system instability.

In this tutorial we’ll show you 3 different ways to stop automatic driver updates in Windows 10. Note that the Local Group Policy Editor is not available to Windows 10 Home users.

Method 1: Stop Automatic Driver Updates Using Windows Settings

Open a File Explorer window. Right-click This PC from the navigation pane and choose Properties.
Click the Advanced system settings link located on the left hand side of the screen.
When the System Properties window opens, select the Hardware tab, and click the Device Installation Settings button.
You will be asked whether you want to automatically download manufacturers’ apps and custom icons available for your devices. Select No and click Save Changes.

This should stop Windows from automatically downloading and installing device drivers from Windows Update.

Method 2: Stop Automatic Driver Updates Using Group Policy

Press Windows key + R, enter gpedit.msc, and hit Enter to open Local Group Policy Editor.
Navigate to Computer Configuration –> Administrative Templates –> System –> Device Installation –> Device Installation Restrictions. In the right hand pane, find the “Prevent installation of devices not described by other policy settings” policy and double-click on it to modify.
To turn off automatic driver updates, select Enabled and click OK. This will disable all driver updates.

Method 3: Stop Automatic Driver Updates Using Registry Editor

Press Windows key + R to launch the Run dialog, enter regedit, and hit Enter to open Registry Editor.
Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\DriverSearching. Double-click on the SearchOrderConfig entry on the right pane.
Set the value data to 0 and it will turn off automatic driver updates. A value of 1 allows downloads of driver updates. Click OK and reboot your computer for the changes to take effect.

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Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 10

Tags: disable automatic driver updates in windows 10 stop windows 10 driver update turn off automatic driver updates in windows 10

3 Ways to Disable Windows Key Shortcuts (Hotkeys) in Windows 10

July 28th, 2016 by Admin

Did you ever play a game in full-screen mode and accidentally press the Windows key? This might cause your game to minimize or exit full-screen mode. What to do if the Windows keyboard shortcuts conflict with some software shortcuts? In this tutorial we’ll show you 3 simple ways to disable Windows key shortcuts (hotkeys) in Windows 10.

After testing, the first two methods seem to disable only these keyboard shortcuts: Windows + D, Windows + R, Windows + S, Windows + A. It won’t disable the shortcuts like Windows + X, Windows + L, Windows + PrntScr or Windows + Tab in Windows 10. If you want to disable the single Windows key on your keyboard, the 3th method is your choice.

Method 1: Disable WIN+ Keyboard Shortcuts in Using Group Policy

Type edit group policy in the Search or Run box and press Enter. It will open Local Group Policy Editor.
Navigate to User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> File Explorer. In the right-side pane, double-click on the Turn off Windows Key hotkeys policy to edit it.
Select the Enabled option and click Apply and then OK.
Reboot the computer to apply the changes.

Method 2: Disable WIN+ Keyboard Shortcuts in Using Registry Editor

If you’re unable to access the Local Group Policy Editor, you can take help of Registry Editor for the same task. Just follow these steps:

Type regedit in the Search or Run box and press Enter. It will open Registry Editor.
Navigate to the following key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer. In right-side pane, right-click on the empty space and select New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value.
Rename the newly created entry as NoWinKeys and set its value to 1.
Close Registry Editor and restart your system. After reboot the WIN+ hotkeys will be turned off in your system. If you want to re-enable the WIN+ keyboard shortcuts, just delete NoWinKeys entry.

Method 3: Disable Windows Key Completely

This method allows you to completely disable the Windows logo key for all users in Windows 10, 8, 8.1 and Windows 7. Follow these steps to disable Windows key virtually:

Type regedit in the Search or Run box and press Enter. It will open Registry Editor.
Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_ MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Keyboard Layout. In the right-side pane, right-click on the empty space and select New -> Binary Value.
Rename the newly created entry as Scancode Map. Right-click on Scancode Map and click Modify. Type in the following value as the value data manually (copying and pasting will not work), then click OK.
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
03 00 00 00 00 00 5B E0
00 00 5C E0 00 00 00 00
Close Registry Editor and restart the computer. When you boot back into Windows 10, press the Windows key and nothing will happen. If you want to re-enable the Windows logo key, open the Registry Editor again and delete the Scancode Map entry.

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

Tags: disable keyboard shortcuts windows 10 disable windows hotkeys group policy disable windows key disable windows key shortcuts turn off keyboard shortcuts windows 10

How to Fix “Task Manager is Disabled or Greyed out” in Windows 10

July 27th, 2016 by Admin

Unable to access Task Manager by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Esc? When you right-click on the taskbar, you might find that “Task Manager” option has been grayed out:

task-manager-greyed-out

Also when you press the Windows key + R and type taskmgr, you’ll receive the following error message:

“Task Manager has been disabled by your administrator.”

task-manager-disabled

Task Manager is probably disabled by an administrator or a virus or spyware. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to fix “Task Manager is disabled or greyed out” in Windows 10, by using Group Policy, Registry Editor or Command Prompt. Either way, you need to log in as administrator before following the steps.

Method 1: Fix ‘Unable To Access Task Manager’ Using Group Policy

Press Win+R to open Run box, and type gpedit.msc command to start the Local Group Policy Editor.
Navigate down to the following:
User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> System -> Ctrl+Alt+Delete Options
Since you’re facing the issue that Task Manager has been disabled by administrator, you’ll see that the “Remove Task Manager” policy in the right pane is enabled. Double-click on it to modify.
To enable Task Manager, you should set this policy to Not Configured or Disabled.

Click Apply followed by OK. Reboot and your problem should be fixed now!

Method 2: Fix ‘Unable To Access Task Manager’ Using Registry Editor

Press Win+R to open Run box, and type regedit command to start the Registry Editor.
Navigate to the following keys:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System
In the right side panel, you’ll see a 32-bit DWORD value named DisableTaskMgr. In order to re-enable Task Manager, double-click and change the value to 0. (If you want to disable Task Manager, just change its value data back to 1.)
Go ahead and reboot your computer for the changes to take effect.

Method 3: Fix ‘Unable To Access Task Manager’ Using Command Prompt

Press Win+X shortcut keys on the keyboard and select “Command Prompt (Admin)” from the Power User Menu.
At the Command Prompt, type the following command and press Enter. This will enable the Task Manager.
REG add HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System /v DisableTaskMgr /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

If you want to disable Task Manager again, just run this command instead:
REG add HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System /v DisableTaskMgr /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

Note: If you receive the “access denied” error, it’s likely that you’re running Command Prompt in non-Administrator mode.

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

Tags: task manager greyed out task manager has been disabled by your administrator windows 10 unable access task manager

3 Ways to Boot Windows Server 2012 into Safe Mode

July 24th, 2016 by Admin

How can I get into Safe Mode on the new Windows operating systems such as Windows 8, Windows 10 and Server 2012? Starting from Windows 8, the system boots very quickly and the time to press F8 key to access Safe Mode is smaller than 200 milliseconds, so it’s almost impossible to enter into the Safe Mode by pressing F8 during boot time.

In this tutorial we’ll show you 3 workable ways to boot Windows Server 2012 into Safe Mode. The methods should also work with Windows 10 and Windows 8/8.1.

Method 1: Boot Windows Server 2012 into Safe Mode Using Command Prompt

Press the Windows key + X to open the WinX menu, select “Command Prompt (Admin)” from the list.
In order to make Windows display the Windows Boot Manager, type the following command at the Command Prompt and press Enter. You will get a confirmation stating that The operation completed successfully.
bcdedit /set {bootmgr} displaybootmenu yes

If you want to stop displaying the Windows Boot Manager later, run this command instead:
bcdedit /set {bootmgr} displaybootmenu no
Now restart your computer and you’ll see the Windows Boot Manager screen. Just press F8 to bring up the Advanced Boot Options.
Select Safe Mode and press Enter. This will open Windows Server 2012 in Safe Mode.

Method 2: Boot Windows Server 2012 into Safe Mode Using System Configuration

Press the Windows key + R to open the Run box. Type msconfig and press Enter.
Now the System Configuration dialog box will be opened. Under the Boot tab, check the Safe boot option and click OK.
Reboot your computer and it will boot directly into Safe Mode automatically. If you wan to stop Windows from booting into Safe Mode next time, you need to open the System Configuration utility (msconfig) again and uncheck the Safe boot option.

Method 3: Boot Windows Server 2012 into Safe Mode Using Settings App

To get started, you need to open the Settings panel. This can be done by hovering your mouse to the top right-hand corner of the screen, or press the Windows key + I on your keyboard.
Hold down the SHIFT key on your keyboard, and then click on Power icon and select Restart.
You will need to click on the Troubleshoot option.
Click Startup Settings.
Click Restart.
The computer will boot automatically to the Advanced Boot Options screen. From there you can select Safe Mode to start Windows Server 2012 in Safe Mode.

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

Tags: boot windows 10 into safe mode boot windows 8 into safe mode enter windows server 2012 safe mode open windows server 2012 in safe boot start windows server 2012 in safe mode windows server 2012 safe mode

How to Change Windows 10 Login Background to Solid Color

July 21st, 2016 by Admin

Rather than seeing a background image at the login screen, you can choose to disable the login screen background and see a single, flat-color background — just as Windows 8 used. Here is a simple registry tweak to turn off background image and change Windows 10 login screen to a custom solid color background.

flat-logon-background

How to Change Windows 10 Login Background to Solid Color?

Press the Windows key + R to open the Run box. Type regedit and press Enter.
When the Registry Editor opens, navigate to following key on the left pane:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System
Right-click anywhere in the right pane and select New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value.
Name the newly create value DisableLogonBackgroundImage. Double-click on it and set its value to 1.
Now you’ve successfully disabled the login screen background image. To set a flat color as your login screen background, press the Windows key + I to open the Settings app.
Next go to Personalization -> Colors. Disable the “Automatically pick an accent color from my background” option and pick a new accent color that will be used as your login screen background color.

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Posted in Tips & Tricks, Windows 10

Tags: change login screen background to solid color change windows 10 login screen color disable windows 10 login screen background turn off windows 10 login screen background use solid color as windows 10 login screen

How to Change Background Image for Windows 10 Login Screen

July 21st, 2016 by Admin

Every time you start Windows 10, you’ll be greeted with a lock screen. Once you click or swipe away the lock screen, you’ll get to the login screen where you have to select a user and enter password before accessing the desktop. It’s very easy to change the lock screen background, but Microsoft doesn’t provide an official setting to change the login screen background with a custom image in Windows 10.

logon-background-image

To change the background image for Windows 10 login screen, we need to use some sort of third-party script or utility. The best tool we found is Windows 10 Login Screen Background Changer, which is an open source freeware you can download via GitHub.

How to Change Background Image for Windows 10 Login Screen?

Download the latest version of Windows 10 Login Screen Background Changer from GitHub website. The downloaded file is a self-extracting zip archive. Extract the contents to an easily accessible location, such as the desktop.
Locate the GUI folder from the extracted archive and double-click on W10 Logon BG Changer.exe file to launch the tool. Click Yes button when you see the ELUA prompt to use the tool at your own risk.
Under Edit Background, click on the image icon to browse and select a custom picture that you want to set as login screen background.
After choosing your desired picture, click Apply Changes button. (If you want to restore the login screen background to the default image, just click Restore Defaults.)
Log out and log in, or press the Windows key + L, you’ll see that your custom image is displayed as your Windows 10 login screen background.

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Tags: change logon background in windows 10 change windows 10 login background windows 10 login background image