Archive for the ‘Windows 7’ category

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

Press the Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box, then type compmgmt.msc and press Enter to open the Computer Management.
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.
You need to uncheck a box “User cannot change password“. Click Apply and then OK.

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

Tags: cannot change the password in windows 10 Windows cannot change the password

Fix: Sleep Option Missing in Windows 10 / 8 / 7 Power Menu

February 5th, 2017 by Admin

Missing sleep option in the power menu in Windows 10? When you click the Start button, then click the Power icon (or click the arrow next to shut down), you might find the Sleep option is missing or greyed out. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to fix the issue: Sleep option missing in Windows 10 / 8 / 7 Power menu.

Method 1: Enable Sleep Mode in Control Panel

Open the Control Panel in Large icons view. Click Power Options.
Click the “Choose what the power button does” link on the left side of the window.
Click the link that says “Change settings that are currently unavailable“.
Scroll down to the Shutdown settings section. Now check the Sleep checkbox and click Save changes button.

Method 2: Enable Sleep Mode Using Group Policy

Open the Local Group Policy Editor. Navigate to Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> File Explorer.
On the right side panel, double-click on Show sleep in the power options menu settings in the list as shown.
In the next window that opens up, select either Enabled or Not Configured and then click OK.

This would add the Sleep option in the Power Options menu in Windows.

Method 3: Turn on Connected Standby (InstantGo)

InstantGo (previously called Connected Standby) is a smart feature in Windows 10/8 that allows your PC to maintain network connectivity when your screen is off in sleep mode. However, Any attempt to disable InstantGo may likely disable the regular Standby/Sleep mode too, as most devices supporting Connected Standby does not support traditional sleep options.

If you’ve disabled InstantGo, you have to turn it on again. Follow these steps:

Open the Registry Editor. Navigate to the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power
On the right side pane, double-click CsEnabled and set its value to 1.
When it’s done, close the Registry Editor and reboot your computer.

Method 4: Install the Latest Display Driver

If your system is using the generic display driver, the Sleep option might also disappear from the Power Options menu. You need to download and install latest display driver from the manufacturers website.

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

Tags: enable sleep mode windows 10 sleep option missing in power options sleep option missing in windows 7 sleep option missing windows 10

Restore Missing “Extract All” Option to ZIP Right-Click Menu

January 17th, 2017 by Admin

Windows has built-in native support for ZIP files. When you right-click on a .zip file in Windows Explorer, the “Extract All” option from context menu allows you to extract all contents of the zip file to a folder of your choice.

If the “Extract All” option is missing or overridden by third-party zip/unzip software, you can restore it with a registry hack in Windows 10 / 8 / 7 / Vista.

How to Restore Missing “Extract All” Option to ZIP Right-Click Menu?

This registry hack requires you to log into Windows as administrator. Follow these steps:

Download this REG file (add_extract_all_context_menu.reg) and save it to a folder where you can find easily. Tips: the .reg file is actually a text file and you can view the content using NotePad.
After the download is complete, double-click on the .REG file. Click Run if prompted by Security Warning.
Registry Editor will confirm if you want to import the registry settings in your .reg file, click Yes.
Once it’s done, right-click on a .zip file and the “Extract All” option will show up in the Explorer’s right-click context menu.

If you want to remove the “Extract All” option from Explorer’s right-click menu, you can run this .reg file (remove_extract_all_context_menu.reg) instead. That’s all there is to it.

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

Tags: extract all missing from windows extract all missing windows 10 no extract all option windows

How to Show Previous Logon Activity on Windows Welcome Screen

January 5th, 2017 by Admin

How to view users logon activity in Windows? Do you need to know the time of the last login? In this tutorial we’ll show you how to deploy a GPO in Windows to display information about previous logons during user logon. This feature works on all computers running Windows 10/8/7, Windows Server2008 or later.

Method 1: Show Previous Logon Information with Group Policy Editor

Press the Windows key + R to open the Run command box. Type gpedit.msc and press Enter.
In the Local Group Policy Editor, drill down to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Logon Options.

On the right panel, find the “Display information about previous logons during user logon” policy and double-click it.
Select the Enabled option. Click OK and restart your computer.
The next time you log into Windows, after entering your password, you will see the following screen that shows you the time of last successful logon and unsuccessful logon attempts. Click OK and it takes you to the desktop.

Method 2: Show Previous Logon Information with Registry Hack

If you have a Windows Home edition, you need to use the following registry hack to enable the “Display information about previous logons during user logon” policy on your computer.

Press the Windows key + R to open the Run box. Type regedit and press Enter.
When the Registry Editor opens, navigate to the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System
Look for the REG_DWORD value DisplayLastLogonInfo in the right panel. If it doesn’t exist, right-click the empty space and choose New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name the new value DisplayLastLogonInfo.
Double-click DisplayLastLogonInfo and then change the value from 0 to 1. Click OK. (If you don’t want Windows to show previous logon information after sign-in, just change the DisplayLastLogonInfo value back to 0)
Close Registry Editor and restart your computer. The next time you log into your Windows account it will display last interactive logon information on the welcome screen.

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

Tags: Display information about previous logons during user logon display information about the last interactive logon

Fix: “User must change password at next logon” option greyed out in Windows

December 29th, 2016 by Admin

When you try to change or reset the password of a user account, you might find the checkbox “User must change password at next logon” is greyed out, so you can’t choose this option.

user-must-change-password-next-logon

In this tutorial we’ll show you how to enable the “User must change password at next logon” option that is greyed out for Windows local or domain user account.

For Windows Local Accounts:

Open the Computer Management. Expand System Tools, then Local Users and Groups, then Users. Right-click on your local account and select Properties from the context menu.

local-account-properties

This will open the Properties dialog box. Uncheck the “Password never expires” box and you’ll then find the “User must change password at next logon” option is enabled. Click Apply and then OK.

windows-password-never-expires

For Active Directory User Accounts:

In Windows Server with Active Directory installed, open the Active Directory Users and Computers MMC snap-in (start->run->dsa.msc). Right-click on your domain user and select Properties.

domain-account-properties

Click the Account tab. Under the Account options section, uncheck the “Password never expires” checkbox and click OK.

domain-password-never-expires

Now you should be able to reset the password and force the domain user to change it at next login.

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

Tags: User must change password at next logon user must change password at next logon greyed out

SysKey: Lock & Unlock Windows PC with USB Drive

December 6th, 2016 by Admin

Is it possible to set up a USB Drive to log into Windows without installing any software on the PC? SysKey is a built-in Windows utility that allows you to set up a Startup Key/Password to protect the SAM (Security Accounts Management) database. You can store the Startup Key to USB drive. Whenever the computer boots up, you will have to insert the USB drive to login.

In this tutorial we’ll walk you through how to enable SysKey in Windows 10/8/7/Vista/XP, and use a USB drive as a key to lock & unlock your computer.

How to Lock & Unlock Windows PC Using SysKey?

Syskey (also known as SAM Lock Tool) was introduced since Windows NT. It’s so old that it only stores the Startup Key on the A: drive. So you need to assign the drive letter A: to your USB flash drive before following the steps below.

Press the Windows key + R to open the Run box. Type syskey and press Enter.
Click the Update button.
Choose the System Generated Password option, and then select Store Startup Key on Floppy Disk and click OK.
You will be asked to insert a disk into drive A: to save the Startup Key. Make sure you change the drive letter of your USB drive to A: and click OK.
After Windows writes the Startup Key into your USB drive, you’ll receive the message that the disk is now required to start up the system. Open your USB drive and you can see a single file named StartKey.Key, which is 16 bytes big.
Every time you computer boots up, you’ll be presented with the Startup Key Disk dialog which requires you to insert your USB drive. Without the USB drive, you’re unable to get past to access Windows login screen.

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

Tags: how to use syskey lock windows with usb syskey unlock computer with usb windows startup key

Fix: Right-Click Context Menu Not Showing / Responding in Windows

November 16th, 2016 by Admin

Mouse right-click not working on your desktop or Windows Explorer? Whenever you try to right-click anything on the desktop or in Windows Explorer / Start Menu, you might see no response at all and the context menu won’t open. In this tutorial we’ll show you several methods to fix the problem of right-click context menu not showing / responding in Windows 10, 8 and 7.

Method 1: Enable Windows Explorer’s Context Menu Using Group Policy

There is a chance that your Windows Explorer’s context menu is disabled by group policy setting. Here’s how to tweak it:

Press the Windows key + R to open the Run box. Type gpedit.msc and press Enter.
In the Local Group Policy Editor window, navigate to: User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components, and then click on File Explorer (or Windows Explorer).
On the right side of the window, scroll down until you see the setting “Remove Windows Explorer’s Default Context Menu“. Double-click on it to modify.
Select either Not Configured or Disabled, and click OK. Reboot your computer and see if the right-click context menu now works.

If you have no access to Local Group Policy Editor, please use this registry hack instead to enable Windows Explorer’s context menu:

Press the Windows key + R to open the Run box. Type regedit and press Enter.
In the left pane of Registry Editor, browse down to the following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
Double-click the 32-bit DWORD value NoViewContextMenu on the right hand side, and set it to 0. (it will disable Windows Explorer’s context menu if you set NoViewContextMenu to 1)

Method 2: Remove Third-Party Shell Extensions from Context Menu

The right-click menu not showing issue might be caused by Shell Extensions. To fix it, try to disable all third-party shell extensions from the right-click context menu. This can be done using the software CCleaner.

ccleaner

Head over to the Piriform website and download the free version of CCleaner. After running CCleaner, click the Tools section in the left hand side. On the right hand side, click Startup and then click Context Menu. From there you can disable or delete any third-party shell extensions.

Method 3: System Restore

If you still couldn’t get the right-click context menu to work, restoring your system back to a previous working condition will be your good choice. To learn how to perform a system restore, please check out this article: Recover Unbootable Windows 10 or 8 with Restore Point.

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

Tags: right click not responding windows 10 right click not working on windows

2 Ways to Mount and Unmount VHD / VHDX from Command Line

November 2nd, 2016 by Admin

Virtual hard disk (VHD / VHDX) is a disk image file format for storing the complete contents of a hard drive. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to mount and unmount VHD / VHDX file from Command Prompt and PowerShell.

Method 1: Mount and Unmount VHD/VHDX from Command Prompt

This method allows you to mount and unmount VHD/VHDX file in all versions of Windows, including Windows 10 / 8 / 7 and Windows Server.

Open the Command Prompt in Administrator mode.
At the Command Prompt, type diskpart and press Enter to access the command-line disk partitioning utility.
Before mounting or unmounting virtual disk, you need to specify the location of your vhd/vhdx file. Type the following command and hit Enter.
select vdisk file="[location of vhd]"
You can now mount or mount your VHD/VHDX file using the below commands:
- To mount VHD/VHDX file, type attach vdisk and press Enter. You can see a new virtual hard drive in your Disk Management and Windows Explorer.
- To unmount a virtual hard disk, type detach vdisk and press Enter.

Method 2: Mount and Unmount VHD/VHDX from PowerShell

In Windows Server 2016 / 2012 / 2008, you can also mount and unmount VHD/VHDX file using the PowerShell cmdlet. Here’s how:

Open the PowerShell as Administrator.
When the command-line window opens, you can run the Mount-VHD cmdlet to mount your vhd/vhdx file.
Mount-VHD –Path "[location of vhd]"
To unmount your virtual hard disk, just run the Dismount-VHD cmdlet instead.
Dismount-VHD –Path "[location of vhd]"

If you get the error message like “Mount-VHD is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet“, you need to add a feature named “Hyper-V Module for Windows PowerShell” to your server.

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

Tags: mount vhd powershell mount vhd windows 10 mount vhd windows 7 mount vhdx command line

Bypass Windows Admin Password on Panasonic Toughbook

November 2nd, 2016 by Admin

Haven’t used your Toughbook for a long time and forgot the admin password? Not being able to log into your own computer is annoying. Luckily there is a bootable CD that can help you get back into your Panasonic Tougbook – PCUnlocker. Here we’ll walk you through the steps of bypassing Windows 10/7 admin password on Panasonic Toughbook.

Note: This method requires you to change the boot priority order in the Panasonic Toughbook. If you’ve forgotten the BIOS password, please try the backdoor password Biostar, or contact Panasonic customer support for help.

Part 1: Create A Bootable USB Drive

To get started, download the PCUnlocker Enterprise and save the .zip file to the local hard drive of your current PC. Double-click the zip file and drag the pcunlocker.iso file and drop it to your desktop.

Download the free USB/CD creator software ISO2Disc. Launch ISO2Disc, then click the Browse button to select the pcunlocker.iso file on your desktop. Choose your USB drive from the device list. If your Panasonic Toughbook is running Windows 10, select the “GPT (required for UEFI boot)” option. Otherwise choose the default option “MBR (required for legacy/CSM boot)“.

Click Start Burn. It begins creating a bootable USB drive and installing PCUnlocker onto it.

Part 2: Reset Panasonic Toughbook Password

Plug the USB drive into the USB port of Panasonic Toughbook. While turning on the machine, hold down the F2 key (or DEL key) until you see the UEFI/BIOS Setup screen. Under the UEFI/BIOS Setup, select the Boot tab and move your USB drive to the top of boot priority order. Save your changes and exit.

After booting from USB, it will load the WinPE OS temporarily. When you get to the PCUnlocker program, select the administrator account and click on Reset Password button. This will remove your lost Windows password and restore your account’s properties to default: unlocked, enabled and never expire.

Reboot your machine and unplug the USB drive. Boot into the UEFI/BIOS again and change the boot priority order back to hard drive first. You can then boot Panasonic Toughbook into Windows desktop without entering a password.

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Posted in Tips & Tricks, Windows 10, Windows 7

Tags: bypass windows admin password Panasonic password reset Panasonic Toughbook password reset Panasonic Toughbook windows password

How to Disable Any Shortcut Keys in Windows 10 / 8 /7

October 31st, 2016 by Admin

Is there a way to disable certain keyboard shortcuts in Windows? Sometimes or even frequently you might press a hotkey accidentally that can disrupt your productivity. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to use the freeware AutoHotkey to disable any certain global hotkeys (keyboard shortcuts) in Windows 10 / 8 / 7.

How to Disable Any Shortcut Keys in Windows 10 / 8 /7?

In this example, we’ll demonstrate how to disable the [Windows] + [+] hotkey in Windows 10. Just make a few changes with the AutoHotkey script and you can disable other keyboard shortcuts as well.

AutoHotkey is a free, open-source automation and scripting tool for Windows platform. Go to AutoHotkey’s website and download the installer.
After the download is complete, double-click the installer. When you’re asked to choose the installation type, select Express Installation.
When the installation is complete, click Exit. Now it’s time to create your first script.
Right-click any empty space on your desktop (or any directory), and then select New -> AutoHotkey Script from the context menu.
Name the script file whatever you like, then open it up with your favorite text editor or NotePad.
Place your cursor at the end of the last sentence and press Enter. Copy and paste the following line which tells AutoHotkey to disable the [Windows] + [=] / [+] shortcut key.
#=::Return

In this case, the # symbol represents the Windows key. Here’s an example script to disable Alt + Tab, Windows + Tab, Left/Right Windows key:

; Disable Alt+Tab !Tab::Return
; Disable Windows Key + Tab #Tab::Return
; Disable Left Windows Key LWin::Return
; Disable Right Windows Key RWin::Return
Save the script file. Right-click on it and select Run Script. Now press the [Windows] + [+] keyboard shortcut and you’ll find nothing happen. This way allows you to temporarily disable your desire shortcut keys by running the script manually.