Archive for the ‘Windows 10’ category

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How to Remove Windows 10 / 8 and Install Windows 7

March 16th, 2016 by Admin

“My laptop came with Windows 8 preinstalled. I really don’t like the new interface of Windows 8. I want to uninstall Windows 8 and install Windows 7. How to go about it?”

If you don’t like Windows 10 / 8, or the new OS doesn’t work as you expected, you might want to downgrade to Windows 7. In this tutorial we’ll walk you through the steps of removing Windows 10 / 8 and then install a fresh copy of Windows 7.

How to Remove Windows 10 / 8 and Install Windows 7?

Before get started, you need to prepare a Windows 7 installation disc. Make sure any important files already on your PC are backed up on a portable hard drive or an online backup solution.

Part 1: Disable UEFI and Enable Legacy Boot

New Windows 10/8 PCs come with UEFI firmware and Secure Boot enabled. Starting with Windows 8, Microsoft replaced BIOS with UEFI. Secure Boot will prevent Windows 7 installation disc from booting, so you need to disable the Secure Boot option and enable Legacy/CSM boot.

Here’s how to enable Legacy boot on a Windows 8 ASUS notebook:

  1. When powering on the computer, quickly and repeatedly press F2 to enter BIOS Setup.
  2. In the Security menu, use the arrow keys on your keyboard to select the Secure Boot Control option. Press Enter to set it Disabled.

    asus-secure-boot

  3. Go to the Boot menu, enable Launch CSM.

    asus-csm-mode

  4. Press F10 to save and exit.

Your BIOS may be different. If you don’t know how to access the UEFI/BIOS or couldn’t find the UEFI secure boot option, please check out the following articles:

Part 2: Convert Partition Scheme from GPT to MBR

Now we need to convert the hard drive from GPT to MBR, because Windows 7 couldn’t be installed on GPT partition. Follow these steps:

  1. Put the Windows 7 installation disc in your optical drive and restart to boot from it. You may have to change the boot sequence in your BIOS if it doesn’t boot to the CD. Watch for the “Press any key to boot from CD or DVD” message. Press a key as indicated.

    press-key-boot-cd

  2. When Windows 7 Setup appears, you’re asked to choose your preferred language and keyboard method. Just press Shift + F10 to launch the Command Prompt.

    language-to-install

  3. In the Command Prompt, type the following commands one by one, press Enter after each.
    diskpart
    list disk
    select disk 0
    clean
    convert mbr
    exit

    This will delete all partitions on your hard drive and convert it to a MBR disk.

    convert-mbr-parition

  4. Now close the Command Prompt. You’ll return back to Windows 7 Setup screen.

Part 3: Install Windows 7

  1. Once you come back to Windows 7 Setup Screen, select your language and click Next.

    language-to-install

  2. You will be now taken to the Install now menu. Click on Install Now to proceed.

    install-now

  3. Review the license agreement, and click “I accept the license terms“.

    accept-license-term

  4. On the Which type of installation do you want? window, click Custom (advanced).

    installation-type

  5. The next step is to choose where you want to install Windows 7. Inexperienced users can simply highlight the unallocated space and click Next.

    where-to-install-windows

    If you want to split the hard drive into two or more partitions, click on “Drive options (advanced)” which allows you to create new partitions, format or delete them. When it’s done, select the partition you want to install Windows 7 on and click Next.

    repartition

  6. Windows will begin installing. Now you can sit back and relax for a while, because this part is automatic. During this process, the PC will also restart on its own—don’t panic, that’s just part of the installation process.

    installing-windows

  7. When the installation is complete, you’ll go through the first-time setup process: type your computer name, set up a user account and password, enter product key, etc.

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3 Ways to Fix “Windows 10 Start Menu Not Working”

March 15th, 2016 by Admin

Start Menu not working or showing up? Many Windows 10 users faced the issue that Start Menu is not opening when clicking the Start button or pressing the Windows key on the keyboard. Luckily there are simple ways to solve this problem and in this tutorial we’ll show you 3 ways to get Start Menu back to work as expected.

Method 1: Using System Configuration Utility (MSConfig)

  1. Press the Windows key + R to open the Run box. Type msconfig and press Enter to launch System Configuration.

    msconfig

  2. Click on the Boot tab at the top. Check the Safe boot option and select Network. Leave all the other settings to default. Click Apply and then OK.

    check-safe-mode

  3. You’ll prompted to restart your computer. Click Restart.

    restart

  4. The computer will automatically reboot into Safe Mode. After logging in, you need to open the System Configuration utility again, by pressing the Windows key + R and then type msconfig in the Run box.
  5. Uncheck the Safe mode option. Click Apply and then OK. Restart again and hopefully the Start Menu will work now.

    uncheck-safe-mode

Method 2: Using PowerShell

  1. Press the Windows key + X to open the WinX menu. Click on “Command Prompt (Admin)“.

    command-prompt-admin

  2. When the elevated Command Prompt opens, type powershell and press Enter.

    powershell

  3. Copy the following PowerShell command and paste it into the Command Prompt, press Enter.
    Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}

    reinstall-windows-apps

  4. Wait for PowerShell to execute and complete the command. Ignore the few errors (in red color) that may pop up.
  5. When it finishes, try hitting the Start button and hopefully it’ll start working.

Method 3: Using System File Checker Tool

  1. Press the Windows key + X to open the WinX menu. Click on “Command Prompt (Admin)“.

    command-prompt-admin

  2. In the Command Prompt, type sfc /scannow and press Enter.

    sfc

  3. It will scan all protected system files, and replace corrupted files with a cached copy. This process may take a while.

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4 Ways to Turn Off Windows 10 Automatic Update

March 14th, 2016 by Admin

By default, Windows 10 will automatically download all updates and install them without notifying the user. Users who use slow Internet connection, can face slowdown problem in Internet speed when Windows is downloading updates in background. In this tutorial we’ll show you 4 ways to turn off automatic update in Windows 10, or set Windows to notify you before downloading or updating.

Method 1: Turn Off Automatic Update from Settings Charm

  1. Click on Start button. Select Settings when the Start Menu appears.

    start-menu

  2. The Settings charm should open. Click Update & security.

    settings-charm

  3. Click Advanced options at the bottom of the Windows Update pane.

    update-and-security

  4. Select “Notify to schedule restart” instead of “Automatic (recommended)“. It’ll stop Windows from automatically restart your computer after downloading and installing updates.

    advanced-options

  5. Now enable “Defer upgrades” option. New Windows updates will not be downloaded and installed for several days or months. But security updates will be downloaded immediately.

Method 2: Turn Off Automatic Update By Disabling the Service

  1. Press the Windows Key + R, type services.msc into the Run dialog, and press Enter.

    services

  2. When the Services Manager opens, scroll down and search for the service “Windows Update” in the list.

    windows-update-service

  3. Double-click on the Windows Update service and open its Properties window. Stop the service and choose Disabled from the Startup Type drop-down menu. This will disable Windows Update entirely.

    disable-update-service

To re-enable Windows Update simply repeat these four steps, but change the Startup Type to Automatic and restart your computer.

Method 3: Turn Off Automatic Update Using Group Policy

  1. Press the Windows Key + R, type gpedit.msc into the Run dialog, and press Enter.

    gpedit

  2. When the Group Policy Editor opens, navigate to:
    Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows Update
  3. Now in the right pane, double-click on Configure Automatic Updates.

    group-policy-editor

  4. From here you can set the updates to Disabled or set the following options:
    • Notify for download and notify for install
    • Auto download and notify for install
    • Auto download and schedule the install
    • Allow local admin to choose setting

    configure-auto-update

  5. Click Apply and then OK. Reboot your computer for the changes to take effect.

Method 4: Turn Off Automatic Update Using Registry Editor

  1. Press the Windows Key + R, type regedit into the Run dialog, and press Enter.

    regedit

  2. When the Registry Editor opens, navigate to:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows
  3. In left-side pane, right-click on the Windows key and create a new subkey and set its name as WindowsUpdate.
  4. Right-click on the WindowsUpdate key and create another subkey named AU.
  5. Now select AU key and in right-side pane create a new 32-bit DWORD value NoAutoUpdate and set its value data to 1.

    noautoupdate

  6. Restart your computer and Windows won’t automatically download and install any update any longer.

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How to Disable Caps Lock Pop-up Notification in Windows 10 / 8 / 7

March 11th, 2016 by Admin

Every time you press the Caps Lock key, you might see a popup notification near the bottom-right corner of your screen. This can be a big problem since it takes focus off of the window/app you’re typing in. If you’re playing a game and accidentally press Caps Lock, clicking the popup will minimize the game.

caps-lock-notification

In this tutorial we’ll show you all possible ways to disable Caps Lock notification that pops up at the bottom right of your screen. The methods differ depending on the manufacturer of your computer.

Method 1: For HP computers

Here’s how to turn off Caps Lock notification on HP computers:

  1. Press the Windows logo key + R to bring up the Run box. Type regedit and hit Enter.
  2. After the Registry Editor opens, navigate to:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Hewlett-Packard\HP HotKey Support
  3. In right pane, double-click on the CapsLockOSD entry and set its value to 0.

Method 2: For Dell computers

Dell Quickset is supposedly a helpful little program that helps you keep track of your power management and other system settings. To disable Caps Lock notification on Dell computer, you can uninstall Quickset, or make a registry change by following the steps below:

  1. Press the Windows logo key + R to bring up the Run box. Type regedit and hit Enter.
  2. After the Registry Editor opens, navigate to:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Dell Computer Corporation\QuickSet
  3. In right pane, double-click on the QuickSetControl entry and set its value to 1.

Method 3: For Lenovo computers

  1. Open the Control Panel. Set the View by option to Large icons.
  2. Click on Display icon, then click on Change display settings on left panel.
  3. Click on the Advanced settings, then click on On-Screen Display tab.
  4. Check Enable on-screen display.
  5. Under “Indicator settings for NumLock and CapsLock” section, look for “While the numeric lock or caps lock is ON” section, choose the “Show the indicator for a few seconds” option.

    disable-caps-lock-indicator

  6. Click Apply, then click OK.

Method 4:

The Caps Lock notification might be handled by BlueTooth (BTTray.exe) process. You must edit the following registry entries to ged rid of this ugly alert:

  1. Press the Windows logo key + R to bring up the Run box. Type regedit and hit Enter.
  2. When the Registry Editor opens, navigate to:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Widcomm\BTConfig\General
  3. Change the value of KeyIndication from 1 to 0.
  4. Reboot your computer and the Caps Lock pop-up notification is gone!

Method 5:

This is a common method to decrease the display time for Caps Lock notification:

  1. Open Control Panel. Set the View by option to Large icons.
  2. Click Ease of Access Center.
  3. Select “Make it easier to focus on tasks“.
  4. Scroll down to the “Adjust time limits and flashing visuals” section, Check the checkbox to “Turn off all unnecessary animations (when possible)“. Under the option “How long should Windows Notification dialogue boxes stay open“, select 5 seconds.

    turn-off-notication

  5. Click Apply/OK.

The end result is that you will still see the notification that Caps Lock has been turned on or off, but it will not cause a pause in your typing.

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

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4 Ways to Take Screenshot in Windows 10 Without Third-Party Software

March 10th, 2016 by Admin

A screenshot is an image that captures what appears on your screen. In this tutorial we’ll show you 4 simple ways to take quick screenshots in Windows 10, without using any third-party software.

Method 1: Take screenshot of whole screen with [PrtScn] key (copy to clipboard)

This method is the easiest and most popular way to capture your whole screen. It works in all versions of Windows, including Windows 10/8/7/Vista/XP.

Just press the PrntScr key on your keyboard, which creates a screenshot of the whole screen and saves it to the clipboard. Want to save it in file? It will take some extra clicks. Open an image editing program like Paint and hit Ctrl + V to paste the image from the clipboard, you can then save it as a file.

mspaint

Method 2: Take screenshot of whole screen with [Win] + [PrtScn] (as a File)

Simultaneously press the Windows logo Key + PrtScrn on your keyboard. This will take a screenshot of the whole screen and save the image directly into the User’s Pictures folder (e.g. C:\Users\Tom\Pictures\Screenshots), in .png format. No need to open Paint and paste. A real time saver for computer novices!

windows-prntscr

Method 3: Take screenshot of active window with [Alt] + [PrntScr] (copy to clipboard)

Instead of capturing the whole desktop and all opened apps, this method captures only the currently active window.

Click on the title bar of the window that you want to capture. Press Alt + PrtScn keys together. A screenshot of your currently active window will be copied to the clipboard. Next paste it into your favorite image editing program for saving or editing.

alt-prntscr

Method 4: Take screenshot with built-in Snipping Tool

Snipping Tool was introduced in Windows 7, and available in Widows 10 as well. It is very handy for capturing specific areas of your screen. Follow these steps and you can take all kinds of screenshots like a pro:

Press the Windows logo key + R to open the Run box. Type snippingtool and hit Enter. If you’re running Windows 7/Vista, you can go to the Start Menu, choose Accessories and then click Snipping Tool.

run

When the Snipping Tool window opens, click on New button and you can choose from one of four types of snip:

  • Free-form Snip – let you draw and captures any irregular part of the screen
  • Rectangular Snip – allow you to drag the cursor around an object to form a rectangle
  • Window Snip – let you select an open window, such as a browser window or dialog box and let you capture it
  • Full-screen snip – enable you to capture the entire screen, like the old-fashioned PrntScr key.

rectangular-snip

Once you’ve captured your screenshot, it opens in the Snipping Tool editing window. The Snipping Tool editor allows you to edit and annotate the screenshot.

snipping-tool

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3 Ways to Turn On / Off ClearType Text in Windows 10

March 9th, 2016 by Admin

ClearType is a font technology that makes the text on your screen almost as sharp and clear as text that’s printed on paper. ClearType is designed for LCD screens, so if you’re still using an old CRT monitor you will likely get best results from turning ClearType off. In this tutorial we’ll show you 3 ways to turn on or off ClearType Text in Windows 10.

Method 1: Turn On / Off ClearType Using Search

  1. Click the Cortana search box on the taskbar, type cleartype.

    cleartype

  2. Click Adjust ClearType text from the search results.
  3. The ClearType Text Tuner should open. Select the “Turn on ClearType” check box to enable ClearType, or deselect it if you want to turn off ClearType. Click Next.

    turn-on-cleartype

  4. Select the text that looks better to you and click Next, The ClearType Text Tuner will ask you to repeat this step four times with different blocks of text.

    cleartype-text-tuner

  5. On the appearance of last window click Finish after completing the tuning of the text for your monitor.

    finish-tuning-text

Method 2: Turn On / Off ClearType from Settings Charm

  1. Click the Start button and select Settings from the Start Menu.
  2. When the Settings app opens, click System.

    settings-charm

  3. From the Display settings, select Advanced display settings.

    display-settings

  4. Choose ClearType text below Related Settings. The ClearType Text Tuner window will appear. It lets you to turn on / off ClearType, and fine tune how the text on your computer looks.

    cleartype-text

Method 3: Turn On / Off ClearType from Control Panel

  1. To get started, you need to access the Control Panel. In Windows 10, just press the Windows key + X to open the WinX menu and click Control Panel.
  2. When you see the Control Panel, set the View by option to Large icons. Click on Display.

    control-panel

  3. On the right pane of the Display window click on Adjust ClearType Text link.

    adjust-cleartype

  4. A ClearType Text Tuner window will appear on your screen. Check or uncheck the checkbox Turn on ClearType and click Next button to begin tuning the text on your monitor.

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How to Stream Video / Audio from PC to Sony TV Wirelessly

March 8th, 2016 by Admin

Like many people, you probably have lots of music, video and photo files stored on your computer. There might be times when you want to play them on your TV. In this tutorial we’ll walk you through the steps of streaming video / audio from a Windows PC to Sony TV wirelessly. No need to install any third-party software.

You’ll need:

  • A computer running with Windows 10, 8 or 7
  • Sony TV with built-in WiFi and DLNA support
  • Wireless network with DHCP enabled (WiFi)

How to Stream Video / Audio from PC to Sony TV Wirelessly

There’s actually an open standard for sharing media files across a home network. It’s called the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA), and you probably already have everything you need to use it. Here we’ll set up your PC as a DLNA media server, and the TV will work as a DLNA renderer to receive stream over the LAN.

Part 1: Connect Your TV to A Network Using Wireless Connection

It’s pretty easy to configure your Sony TV to connect to wireless LAN. Follow these steps:

tv-settings

Press the HOME button, then select [Settings] > [Network] > [Network setup] > [Easy].
Choose Wi-Fi and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the set-up.

Note: When entering Wi-Fi passwords, press OK to bring up the virtual keyboard. Click NEXT key on the virtual keyboard when it’s done.

Part 2: Set Up Your Computer as a Media Server

Windows Media Player is the built-in software available in Windows 10/8/7 that you can use to share your media over the network to DLNA-compliant devices. Before getting started, you need to turn on media streaming options in Windows.

media-sharing-options

You will then be prompted with a list of DLNA-compliant devices that Windows has found on your wireless network. Select the Sony TV you want to share with and then OK. In my example, my Sony TV is shown with its model KD-55X8000C.

Now open Windows Media Player. Drag your favorite movies, musics or photos stored on your computer, then drop them into Windows Media Player’s library.

Right-click on the videos or audios you want to watch on TV, select “Cast to Device” and choose your TV from the menu.

cast-to-device

Once the “Cast to Device” remote control window is launched, you can reorder or delete items, add to the queue, or toggle repeat. It’s even possible to add new media items from Windows Media Player or Windows Explorer by dragging them into this window.

play-video-on-TV

So this is how you can stream a video or audio fro a Windows PC to TV over a wireless network. Enjoy it!

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How to Turn On Media Streaming in Windows 10, 8 and 7

March 8th, 2016 by Admin

Is it possible to stream your favorite movies from a Windows PC to TV or Xbox 360? Nowadays most of new TVs support the DLNA feature, just turn on the Media Streaming in Windows, and you can then watch your videos on TV connected to LAN, without having to transfer the videos over a USB drive. In this tutorial we’ll show you 2 ways to turn on media streaming in Windows 10, 8 and 7.

Method 1: Turn On Media Streaming from Windows Media Player

  1. Launch Windows Media Player.
  2. From the Player Library view, click on Stream and choose “Turn on media streaming“.

    turn-on-media-stream

    If “More streaming options” is shown in the drop-down menu, it indicates media streaming is already turned on.

  3. Click on Turn on media streaming.

    turn-on-media-sharing

  4. Here you can give your media library a name. You’ll also see a list of detected media devices and players on your network. You can allow or block each player from accessing your media. Simply select “Local network” and click on “Allow All“, it will allow all devices on the LAN access to your media library.

    media-sharing-options

    If you want to turn off media streaming later, just click on “Block All“.

However, the “Turn on media streaming” option is not available in all versions of Windows Media Player, and you might have to turn on media streaming using the Control Panel.

Method 2: Turn on Media Streaming from Control Panel

  1. Open the Control Panel. If you’re running Windows 10 or 8, just press the Windows key + X to open the WinX menu and then select “Control Panel“.
  2. By default, the Control Panel should open in Category view. Click Network and Internet.

    network-and-internet

  3. Click Network and Sharing Center.

    network-sharing-center

  4. In the left pane, click Change advanced sharing settings.

    advanced-sharing-settings

  5. To enable media streaming and other options, select “All Networks” type and click on “Choose media streaming options” as shown below.

    choose-media-sharing-option

  6. Click on Turn on media streaming. If you don’t see that button, media streaming is already turned on. You’re done.

    turn-on-media-sharing

  7. On this screen, you’ll see all of the DLNA-compatible devices that Windows Media Player recognized on your local network. Click on Allow All and this will allow all networked machines access to your media library. (If you want to turn off media streaming later, just click on “Block All“.)

    media-sharing-options

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3 Simple Ways to Open Windows Media Player in Windows 10

March 8th, 2016 by Admin

Windows Media Player 12 is still available as part of Windows 10 that can play more music and video than ever. In this article we’ll show you 3 ways to open Windows Media Player in Windows 10.

windows-media-player

Option 1: Open Windows Media Player from Start Menu

Click the Windows icon from the bottom-left corner of the screen, this will open the Start Menu. Next click on All apps to view all apps in alphabetical order.

start-menu

Scroll down to the letter “W” in the list. Expand the “Windows Accessories” folder and you can find the shortcut named “Windows Media Player“. Click on it to launch Windows Media Player.

browse-all-apps

Option 2: Open Windows Media Player by Search

Click on the Cortana Search Box in the taskbar and type in media player. If the Cortana Search Box is hidden, you can access it by pressing the Windows key + S.

search-for-media-player

Click on Windows Media Player that is shown in the search results.

Option 3: Open Windows Media Player from the Run box

Just press the Windows key + R to open the Run box.

wmplayer

Type wmplayer and hit Enter. This will also open the Windows Media Player quickly.

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