Archive for the ‘Windows 10’ category

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Enable or Disable “Set Time (Zone) Automatically” in Windows 10

May 29th, 2017 by Admin

Windows 10 doesn’t update date and time automatically? Windows 10 set time zone automatically not working? By default, Windows 10 determines your location based on your IP address, and this location will be used to set your time zone. But, if Windows has problem detecting your IP address accurately, it may set a wrong time zone and you have to turn off the “Set Time Zone Automatically” feature. In this tutorial we’ll show you 2 simple ways to enable or disable “Set Time (Zone) Automatically” in Windows 10.

Method 1: Enable or Disable “Set Time (Zone) Automatically” in Windows 10 Using Settings

  1. Right-click on the time display on bottom-right of the taskbar and then choose “Adjust date/time“.

    adjust-date-time

  2. This will open the Date & time page in the Settings window. In the right pane you can see these two settings: “Set time automatically” and “Set time zone automatically“.

    windows-10-set-time-automatically

  3. Just toggle slider button to the On or Off position.

Method 2: Enable or Disable “Set Time (Zone) Automatically” in Windows 10 Using Registry Editor

  1. Press the Windows logo key + R to open the Run box. Type regedit and hit Enter.

    regedit

  2. When the Registry Editor opens, navigate to the following key:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\Parameters
  3. In the right pane you can see a string value named Type. If you want Windows 10 to set time automatically, set its value data to NTP. To disable automatic time synchronization, change its value to NoSync.

    set-time-automatically

  4. In order to enable or disable “Set Time Zone Automatically” in Windows 10, navigate to the following key:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\tzautoupdate
  5. Double-click the 32-bit DWORD “Start” in the right pane. Set its value data to 3 if you want to make Windows 10 set time zone automatically. If you want to disable “Set Time Zone Automatically” in Windows 10, just set the value to 4.

    set-time-zone-automatically

  6. Reboot your computer for the registry changes to take effect.

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How to Change Mail Notification Sound in Windows 10

May 27th, 2017 by Admin

How to change the sound played when a new email arrives in Outlook or Windows 10 Mail app? If you don’t like the default mail notification sound, you change it to the sound you prefer in Windows 10.

How to Change Mail Notification Sound in Windows 10?

  1. Open the Control Panel and set the View by option to Large icons. Click on Sound.

    sound-control-panel

  2. When the Sound settings dialog opens, click the Sounds tab.
  3. Under the Program Events list, highlight New Mail Notification.
  4. Click the Sounds drop-down menu at the bottom and then select your desired sound, or select (None) to disable the new mail notification sound in Outlook and the Mail app in Windows 10.

    mail-notification-sound

    If you don’t like any of the built-in sounds, click Browse button to choose your custom sound file (.wav).

  5. Once done, click Apply and then OK to save the settings. Restart your mail application. Now, whenever you get a new mail message, it should alert you with you desired notification sound.

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Turn On / Off Notification Banner & Sound for Windows 10 Mail App

May 24th, 2017 by Admin

Not getting any alert (sound or notification banner) about receiving new email? You can configure Windows 10 Mail app to show a banner notification in the Notification & Action Center, and play a sound whenever a new email message arrives. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to turn on or off notification banner & sound for Windows 10 built-in Mail app.

How to Turn On / Off Notification Banner & Sound for Windows 10 Mail App

  1. First, make sure app notifications are enabled in Windows 10. To do this, press the Windows logo key + I shortcut to open the Settings app, and then click System.

    system

  2. Select the Notifications & actions tab in the left side. Scroll down to the Notification section and turn on “Get notifications from apps and other senders“.

    get-notifications-from-apps

  3. Now, open the built-in Mail app. Click the Settings icon at the bottom of the left-hand navigation panel, and then select Notifications from the pop-up menu.

    windows-10-mail-app-settings

  4. Check the box labeled “Show a notification banner” to enable new mail notification banner in the lower-right corner of the screen. If you wish to hear a sound when a new email is received, check “Play a sound” option.

    windows-mail-app-notification-settings

  5. If you don’t want to get any sound or banner notifications for every mail message you receive, just turn off the “Show notifications in the action center” option. You can apply the same notification settings for all your email accounts in the Mail app.

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Fix: OneNote Screen Clipping Shortcut Not Working in Windows 10

May 18th, 2017 by Admin

After upgrading your PC to Windows 10 Creators Update, you might find that OneNote’s popular screen clipping shortcut (Win + Shift + S) doesn’t work any longer. Press the Win + Shift + S hotkey will open the built-in Snipping tool while pressing Win + S will start Cortana Search, so you’re unable to use a keyboard shortcut to insert a screen clipping into your OneNote pages.

send-screen-clipping-to-onenote

To fix these hotkey conflicts, you have to change OneNote Screen Clipping shortcut key, or disable the global Win + S hotkey in Windows 10.

Method 1: Change OneNote Screen Clipping Shortcut Key

  1. Press the Windows key + R hotkey to open the Run box. Type regedit and press Enter.

    regedit

  2. When the Registry Editor window appears, navigate to the following key:
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\OneNote\Options\Other

    Note: The 16.0 designates Office 2016, Use 15.0 for Office 2013, 14.0 for Office 2010.

  3. Right-click on any empty space in the right pane, and then select New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value.

    new-dword-value

  4. Name the newly created DWORD value as ScreenClippingShortcutKey, and then double-click it to modify.

    ScreenClippingShortcutKey

  5. Change the value to 5A (Hexadecimal) and OneNote’s new screen clip shortcut key will be Win + Shift + Z. The ASCII value of the ‘Z’ key is 5A (hex).

    edit-dword-value

    If you want to set a different shortcut key, set the hex value accordingly. You can find the ASCII value for your desired key in this table:

    anscii-table

  6. Reboot your computer and check if your new OneNote screen clipping shortcut key will work.

Method 2: Disable the Global Windows + S Shortcut Key

Another workaround is to disable the global shortcut key Windows + S. Follow this how-to article or make the registry changes using command line:

  1. Press the Windows key + X to open the WinX menu, and then click “Command Prompt” or “Windows PowerShell“.
  2. Copy the following command and then paste it into the command line. Press Enter.
    reg.exe add HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced /v DisabledHotkeys /t REG_SZ /d S /f
  3. Reboot your computer and OneNote screen clipping shortcut key should resume to work.

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How to Disable Specific Windows Key Shortcut in Windows

May 18th, 2017 by Admin

How to disable a certain global shortcut key that conflicts with an application-specific hotkey? Sometimes or even frequently though, you may activate a hotkey accidentally? In this tutorial we’ll show you a simple way to disable specific Windows key shortcut in Windows 10, 8 and 7.

How to Disable Specific Windows Key Shortcut in Windows?

  1. Press the Windows logo key + R combination to open the Run box. Type regedit and hit Enter.

    regedit

  2. When the Registry Editor opens, navigate to the following key:
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
  3. Right-click on the Advanced key in the left pane, and then select New -> String Value from the context menu.

    new-string-value

  4. Name it DisabledHotkeys, and set its value data to the characters of hotkeys you want to disable.

    DisabledHotkeys

    For example, set it to S. This will disable Win + S, Win + Shift + S, and other shortcuts that using Windows key and the disabled characters you specified.
    Set it to SA to disable both Win + S and Win + A hotkeys.
    And so on.

  5. Reboot your computer and the hotkeys you specified will become disabled. If you want to restore the original hotkeys to work, just delete the DisabledHotkeys value and you’re done.

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2 Ways to Disable Snipping Tool in Windows 10

May 18th, 2017 by Admin

How do you disable the snipping tool and don’t allow it to run? This tutorial will show you how to disable Snipping Tool in Windows 10 using Group Policy or Registry Editor.

Method 1: Disable Snipping Tool in Windows 10 Using Group Policy

  1. Open the Local Group Policy Editor and navigate to:
    Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Tablet PC -> Accessories
  2. In the right pane, double-click on the policy named Do not allow Snipping Tool to run.

    dont-allow-snipping-tool-to-run

  3. Select Enabled, click OK.

    disable-snipping-tool

    Restart your computer for this policy setting to take effect.

  4. When you try to run the snipping tool or press the Windows logo key+Shift+S hotkey, you’ll receive the following error message:

    “Windows cannot open this program because it has been prevented by a software restriction policy. For more information, open Event Viewer or contact your system administrator.”

    prevented-by-software-restriction-policy

Method 2: Disable Snipping Tool in Windows 10 Using Registry Editor

  1. Press the Windows logo key + R hotkey to open the Run box. Type regedit and press Enter.

    regedit

  2. In the Registry Editor window that opens, navigate to the following key:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\TabletPC

    If the TabletPC key doesn’t exist, you need to create it.

  3. Set the value DisableSnippingTool to 1. If DisableSnippingTool doesn’t exist, right-click on a blank area in the right pane, and select New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value, name it as DisableSnippingTool.

    DisableSnippingTool

  4. Reboot your computer and check the result.

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How to Prevent Windows 10 Apps from Running in the Background

May 15th, 2017 by Admin

How to stop Windows 10 from automatically starting apps in the background? Windows 10 comes with many built-in apps that run in the background by default. Those apps can automatically update live tiles , send notification and stay up-to-date, even if you never use them. This will drain some battery power and consume system resources. In this tutorial we’ll show you 2 ways to prevent Windows 10 apps from running in the background.

Method 1: Disable Background Apps in Windows 10 from Settings

  1. Open the Setting app by pressing the Windows logo key + I shortcut.
  2. Click the Privacy icon in the Settings window.

    privacy-settings

  3. Select Background apps on the left side. On the right pane, you can simply flip the switch to off next to the apps you no longer want running in the background, or prevent all apps from running in the background by switching off “Let apps run in the background“.

    let-apps-run-in-the-background

  4. The changes take effect immediately. Using this method you can also prevent third-party apps from running in the background.

If you change your mind then you can turn on certain background apps any time you want. For example, if you start to use the Mail app to send/receive mails, you need to allow the Mail app to run in the background. Otherwise you won’t get notification of new mails.

Method 2: Disable Background Apps in Windows 10 Using Registry Editor

  1. Press the Windows logo key + R to open the Run dialog box. Type regedit and press Enter.

    regedit

  2. When the Registry Editor appears, navigate to the following key:
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\BackgroundAccessApplications
  3. Right-click on the BackgroundAccessApplications key in the left pane, and select New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name it GlobalUserDisabled and set its value to 1. (1: Turn off all background apps, 0: Turn on background apps)

    turn-off-background-apps

  4. Close Registry Editor. Restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

If you want to use Registry Editor to turn off a certain background app only, just set GlobalUserDisabled to 0 and then expand the BackgroundAccessApplications key in the left side of Registry Editor. Locate the subkey for the app that you disallow to run in the background, create two new DWORD values named “Disabled” and “DisalbedByUser” and set the values to 1.

diable-background-app-in-windows-10

That’s it. Now you have disabled background apps in Windows 10.

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3 Different Ways to Turn Off Windows 10 / 8 / 7 Password

May 12th, 2017 by Admin

Could I log in to Windows without a password? How can I disable password at login screen? Looking for a way to turn off Windows password because you’ve forgotten it? In this tutorial we’ll show you 3 different ways to turn off Windows 10 / 8 / 7 password.

Option 1: Turn Off Windows Password by Deleting the Password

Right-click on My Computer shortcut on your desktop. If you’re running Windows 10, right-click This PC shortcut in the left navigation pane of File Explorer. Next choose Manage from the context menu.

manage-this-pc

When the Computer Management window appears, navigate to Local Users and Groups -> Users. Right-click your local account and select Set Password. When get the warning prompt, click on Proceed to continue.

set-windows-password

Type the new password and confirm. Click OK to remove the existing password for your Windows account.

set-password-for-windows-user

Option 2: Turn Off Windows Password by Enabling Automatic Logon

This method allows you to disable Windows login screen without changing or deleting your password. After enabling automatic logon, Windows will automatically sign into your account every time you turn on or restart your computer. Here’s how:

Press the Windows logo key + R to open the Run dialog box. Type netplwiz and press Enter.

netplwiz

Uncheck the box “Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer“, and then select your Windows account from the list. Click OK.

enable-automatic-logon

Type your current password twice and click OK.

automatically-sign-in-to-windows

From now on, Windows will automatically log into your selected account with the password you provided.

Option 3: Turn Off Windows Password When You’re Locked Out of Computer

If you have physical access to a machine then there is nothing to prevent you from gaining administrative access. When you forgot your Windows administrator password or need to access a locked or disabled account, you can take use of PCUnlocker to log back in to your computer without reinstalling Windows.

To get started, you need to prepare a PCUnlocker Live CD (or USB) on another PC you have access to. Download the ISO image of PCUnlocker and burn it to a blank CD (or USB thumb drive) using ISO2Disc.

Boot your locked computer from PCUnlocker Live CD (or USB). Once you’re at the PCUnlocker screen, select one of your local accounts and click on Reset Password button.

When the Change Password dialog box opens, just leave the password field empty and click OK. This will turn off Windows password completely.

Reboot your computer and you can then sign into Windows account without being prompted for a password.

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Restore Control Panel Missing from Win+X Menu in Windows 10

May 8th, 2017 by Admin

Control Panel disappeared from Windows 10’s Win+X menu? In recent release of Windows 10 Creators Update (build 1703), the Control Panel shortcut in the Win+X menu was replaced with the Settings app. Luckily there is a simple way to restore the missing Control Panel shortcut to Win+X menu in Windows 10.

How to Restore Control Panel Missing from Win+X Menu in Windows 10?

  1. Press the Windows logo key + R to open the Run command box. Copy & paste the following path and press Enter.
    %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\WinX\Group2

    run-to-winx-folder

  2. This will open the Group2 folder in File Explorer, which contains a “Control Panel” item, but this appears in the Win+X menu as “Settings“. In order to restore Control Panel back to Win+X menu, you have to rename the existing “Control Panel” item.

    rename-control-panel-shortcut

  3. Download the old style Control Panel shortcut from this link: Win10-Control-Panel. After the file downloads, right-click on it and select Extract All.

    extract-shortcut-file

    Note: If you want to use the Control Panel shortcut created by yourself, you have to use the hashlnk program to “patch” the shortcut. Otherwise, your shortcut will not appear on the Win+X menu.

  4. Copy the extracting file and then paste it into the Group2 folder.

    copy-control-panel-shortcut

  5. Restart your computer and Control Panel will appear again in the Win+X menu!

    restore-control-panel-to-winx-menu

    You might notice that the Settings option is still there even if we’ve renamed it. If you want to remove “Settings” from Win+X menu, just delete the original “Control Panel” item from the Group2 folder.

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2 Ways to Turn On or Off PIN Expiration in Windows 10

May 4th, 2017 by Admin

Just like the local account, Windows 10 also allows you to set up expiration date for PIN login. A PIN usually contains only numbers, and this makes it easier for anyone with physical access to break into your computer. It’s good practice to enable PIN expiration policy to prompt users to change PIN regularly.

In this tutorial we’ll show you 2 simple ways to turn on or off PIN expiration in Windows 10. When your PIN is expired, you’ll receive the message “Your organization requires that you change your PIN” during login.

windows-10-pin-expired

Method 1: Turn On / Off PIN Expiration in Windows 10 Using Group Policy

  1. Open the Local Group Policy Editor by pressing the Windows key + R keyboard shortcut and then typing gpedit.msc.

    gpedit

  2. Navigate to the following location in the left pane of Local Group Policy Editor:
    Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\System\PIN Complexity

    Next, double-click the Expiration policy in the right pane.

    windows-pin-complexity

  3. This will open the Expiration window. To enable PIN expiration, select the Enabled option and enter a number between 1 and 730 days for when to expire after. If you use default 0 the PIN will never expire.

    enable-pin-expiration-in-windows-10

    If you want to disable PIN expiration, just select either Disable or Not Configured, and click OK.

  4. Close local Group Policy Editor and restart your computer to apply your changes.

Method 2: Turn On / Off PIN Expiration in Windows 10 Using Registry Editor

  1. Open the Registry Editor by pressing the Windows key + R keyboard shortcut and then typing regedit.

    regedit

  2. Navigate to the following registry key:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\PassportForWork\PINComplexity

    The last two keys (PassportForWork, PINComplexity) may not exist on your machine, so you will have to create them (right-click on the previous key and select New->Key in the context menu that appears).

  3. Right-click on the PINComplexity key in the left pane, and then select New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value.

    new-dword-value

  4. Name the new DWORD value as Expiration, and then double-click on it to modify.

    pin-expiration-registry

  5. Select the Decimal option, you can enter a number between 1 to 730 days before requiring users to change PIN. Click OK.

    turn-on-pin-expiration-windows-10

    If you want to disable PIN expiration later, just delete the Expiration value itself.

  6. Close Registry Editor and reboot your PC for your changes to take effect.

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