Archive for the ‘Windows 8’ category

Fix: Windows Couldn’t connect to the Group Policy Client Service

August 29th, 2017 by Admin

When you try to log into a standard user account, it may come up with a message saying: “Windows couldn’t connect to the Group Policy Client service. Please consult your administrator.”

If you’re facing this problem, you have come to the right place! In this tutorial we’ll show you effective ways to fix the error “Windows couldn’t connect to the Group Policy Client service” in Windows 10, 8 and 7.

Method 1: Perform a System Repair

Open the Command Prompt as Administrator.
Run the following commands one by one to scan for corrupt system files on your computer and repair them.
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth sfc /scannow
Execute this command to reset winsock catalog back to default setting or clean state.
netsh winsock reset
You will then be asked to restart your computer, after which the issue is hopefully resolved.

Method 2: Fix the Registry Settings

Press the Win + R keys to open the Run box. Type regedit and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor.
In the left pane of Registry Editor, navigate to following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\gpsvc

You should see a DWORD value named Start in the right pane. Make sure its value is set to 2. If you need to modify its value, you have to take ownership of the registry key gpsvc firstly.
Next, look for the ImagePath string which contains a service name we’ll use later. In my example, the service name is “netsvcs”. You may have a different name like “GPSvcGroup”.
Now, navigate to the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SvcHost

In the right pane, you should see a Multi-String named “netsvcs” (or “GPSvcGroup”). Double-click on it and make sure that ‘GPSvc’ is added into the list.
Expand the SvcHost key in the left pane, and then click the “netsvcs” (or “GPSvcGroup”) subkey. Right-click an empty area in the right pane to create a DWORD (32-bit) value named AuthenticationCapabilities, give it a value of 12320 in decimal. Next, create another DWORD value called CoInitializeSecurityParam and set its value to 1.
Once you complete all steps above, reboot the computer and the “Windows Couldn’t connect to the Group Policy Client Service” problem should be fixed.

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

Tags: windows could not connect to the group policy client service

How to Find Your Printer’s IP Address in Windows

August 27th, 2017 by Admin

How do I find the IP address of a printer on a network? Sometimes you may need to install the printer on a different computer, so you need to obtain your printer’s IP address. In this tutorial we’ll show you 2 simple ways to find out your printer’s IP address in Windows 11, 10, 8 and 7.

Method 1: Find Printer’s IP Address via Configuration Sheet

If you have physical access to the printer, you can usually print the configuration page by pressing and holding a button (Power or Go) on the printer for about 5 to 10 seconds. You must find out the button/or combination of button by reading printer manual.

Some printers have the option to view the IP address directly from the system menu. For example, if you’re using HP Office Jet Pro 8600 printer, just go to the Home Screen -> Setup, then touch Reports and then select Network Configuration to see all of the printer’s network details.

Method 2: Find Printer’s IP Address in Windows

If you’re running Windows 11, here’s how you can find the IP address of the printer installed on your computer.

Press the Windows and I keys together on the keyboard to open the Settings app, go to: Bluetooth & devices -> Printers & scanners.
Click on the printer you want to find the IP address of.
Click the “Printer properties” option.
Under the General tab, you will see the IP address of your printer in the Location textbox.

On Windows 10, 8 , 7, you can use the Control Panel to find the printer’s IP address. Follow these steps:

Open the Control Panel and set the View by option to Large icons. Click Devices and Printers.
Right-click on the printer installed on your PC, and then select Printer Properties from the menu that appears.
In the Properties window, go to Ports tab. Select the port that has the check mark and click Configure Port.
In the next screen, you should see the IP address in the “Printer Name or IP Address” text box. That’s it!

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

Tags: find printer ip address find printer ip address windows 10 find printer ip address windows 11

How to Disable Local Users and Groups (lusrmgr.msc) in Windows 10 / 8 / 7

August 16th, 2017 by Admin

How can I restrict access to Local Users and Groups MMC snap-in? In this tutorial we’ll show you 2 ways to disable Local Users and Groups (lusrmgr.msc) in Windows 10, 8 and 7. After disabling, you’ll find the Local Users and Groups is missing in Computer Management.

Method 1: Disable Local Users and Groups (lusrmgr.msc) Using Group Policy

Press the Windows logo key + R to open the Run box. Type gpedit.msc and hit Enter.
Navigate to the following path on the left side pane of Local Group Policy Editor:
User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Microsoft Management Console -> Restricted/Permitted snap-ins
Now, on the right side window, double-click on the “Local Users and Groups” setting to modify.
Select the Disabled option. Click Apply and then OK.
The policy setting will take effect immediately. You’ll find Local Users and Groups not showing in computer management. If you try to open Local Users and Groups by using the lusrmgr.msc command, you’ll get this error message: “The snap-in below, referenced in this document, has been restricted by policy. Contact your administrator for details“.

Method 2: Disable Local Users and Groups (lusrmgr.msc) Using Registry Editor

Press Windows Key + R on your keyboard to launch Run prompt. Enter regedit and hit Enter to open Registry Editor.
Navigate to the following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\MMC\{5D6179C8-17EC-11D1-9AA9-00C04FD8FE93}

If the last two keys (MMC, {5D6179C8-17EC-11D1-9AA9-00C04FD8FE93}) don’t exist, you’ll need to create them manually.
On the right side pane, right-click in the blank area and select New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name it Restrict_Run, and give it a value of 1.
Close Registry Editor and reboot your computer for the policy to take effect. If you want to enable Local Users and Groups snap-in again, just change the registry value of Restrict_Run to 0 and you’re done!

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Tags: disable local users and groups local users and groups missing windows 10 local users and groups not showing in computer management

5 Ways to Set Password to Never Expire for Windows Local Account

August 10th, 2017 by Admin

My password has expired and now I am completely locked out of my computer? When you log into Windows, you might receive a message that says “Your password has expired and must be changed“. What to do if you forgot your old password or you get the access denied error when you try to change the password? In this tutorial we’ll show you 5 ways to set password to never expired for Windows local account.

Method 1: Set Windows Password to Never Expire Using Computer Management

Right-click the My Computer (This PC) icon on your desktop and then select Management from the pop-up menu.

When the Computer Management console launches, go to System Tools -> Local Users and Groups -> Users. Right-click on the user with an expired password in the middle pane and select Properties.

Check the “Password never expires” box and click OK.

When done, close the Computer Management and you can determine when the password of your Windows account will expire. Open a Command Prompt and type:

net user account_name

The output of this command will give you a lot of information about account. Just look for the line beginning with “Password expires” and you can see the password expiration date. In our example, it showed that the password of my account “pcunlocker” will never expire.

Method 2: Set Windows Password to Never Expire from Command Line

Open the Command Prompt as Administrator. Type the following command and press Enter. Replace “pcunlocker” with the name of your local account:

wmic useraccount where "Name='pcunlocker'" set PasswordExpires=false

Method 3: Set Windows Password to Never Expire Using PowerShell

Open the PowerShell as Administrator. You can use the Set-LocalUser cmdlet to modify a local user account and set its password to never expire:

Set-LocalUser -Name "pcunlocker" -PasswordNeverExpires 1

Method 4: Set Password to Never Expire for All Accounts Using Group Policy

Press the WIN + R keys to open the Run command box. Type secpol.msc and press Enter to open the Local Security Policy Editor. Go to Account Policies -> Password Policy, ensure the Maximum password age is set to 0, meaning that passwords never expire.

You can also apply the password expiration policy using command line. Follow these steps:
Open the Command Prompt as Administrator. Type the following command and hit Enter.

net accounts /maxpwage:unlimited

This will set password to never expire for all your Windows local accounts.

Method 5: Set Windows Password to Never Expire Using a Boot CD

If your Windows password is expired and unable to change password on the login screen, you’re completely locked out of your computer and all of the methods above won’t work for your case. Then you have to use a password utility called PCUnlocker, which can reset your forgotten Windows password, as well as setting your password to never expire.

To start, you need to make a PCUnlocker Live CD (or USB drive) from an accessible PC. Next boot your locked computer from the CD. Select the account with an expired password and click on “Reset Password” button. The program will remove your Windows password and disable password expiration for your account.

Reboot and eject the CD, you can then log into your Windows account with no warning of user password’s about to expire. That’s it!

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

Tags: disable Windows password expiration set windows password to never expire windows password expired

How to Crack Windows 10, 8 and 7 Password with John the Ripper

August 7th, 2017 by Admin

Forgot the password to your Windows admin account? There are a lot of different reasons why one would want to hack a Windows password. This tutorial will show you how to use John the Ripper to crack Windows 10, 8 and 7 password on your own PC.

Step 1: Extract Hashes from Windows

Security Account Manager (SAM) is a database file in Windows 10/8/7/XP that stores user passwords in encrypted form, which could be located in the following directory:
C:\Windows\system32\config

The first thing we need to do is grab the password hashes from the SAM file. Just download the freeware PwDump7 and unzip it on your local PC.

Open a Command Prompt. Navigate to the folder where you extract the PwDump7 app, and then type the following command:
PwDump7.exe > d:\hash.txt

extract-windows-password-hashes

Once you press Enter, PwDump7 will grab the password hashes from your current system and save it into the file d:\hash.txt.

Step 2: Cracking Passwords with John the Ripper

As you can see the password hashes are still unreadable, and we need to crack them using John the Ripper. John the Ripper is one of the most popular password cracking tools available that can run on Windows, Linux and Mac OS X.

Just download the Windows binaries of John the Ripper, and unzip it.

Open a Command Prompt and change into the directory where John the Ripper is located, then type:
john --format=LM d:\hash.txt

crack-password-with-john-the-ripper

It will start cracking your Windows password. In my example, you can clearly see that John the Ripper has cracked the password within matter of seconds.

Final Words

John the Ripper is probably the world’s best known password cracking tool. But its lack of a GUI interface makes a bit more challenging to use. Don’t use it for illegal purposes.

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

Tags: crack windows 10 password crack windows password extract hashes from sam file how to use john the ripper

2 Ways to Hide / Show Navigation Pane in Windows Explorer

July 28th, 2017 by Admin

Navigation pane missing from File Explorer in Windows 10? By default, Windows Explorer will display the navigation pane in the left-hand column, which gives you quick access to the most frequently used items like This PC, Network, Quick access and so on. If you don’t like the navigation pane, it’s very easy to get rid of it. In this tutorial we’ll show you 2 ways to hide / show navigation pane in Windows Explorer (or File Explorer).

navigation-pane-in-windows-explorer

Method 1: Hide / Show Navigation Pane in Windows Explorer Using Ribbon

Press the Windows key + E hotkey to open Windows Explorer.
Click the View tab, and then click the Navigation pane button in the ribbon. In the drop-down menu, you can click to check or uncheck the “Navigation pane” option. When it’s unchecked, the navigation pane will disappear from Windows Explorer.

Method 2: Hide / Show Navigation Pane in Windows Explorer with Registry Tweak

Download one of the following registry files and save it on your desktop.
hide-navigation-pane-in-explorer.reg

show-navigation-pane-in-explorer.reg
Next, right-click on the .reg file and select Merge. If prompted by UAC, click on Yes.
Click on Yes to confirm that you want to add the registry keys.
Close all Explorer windows that are currently open, and re-launch Windows Explorer. You’ll see that the navigation pane is shown or hidden in File Explorer as you expected.

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

Tags: hide navigation pane in file explorer show navigation pane in file explorer windows 10 navigation pane missing

How to Check If Your Disk Uses MBR or GPT Partition Style

July 24th, 2017 by Admin

How can I determine if my disk is formatted as GPT or MBR? Since the release of Windows 8, GPT partition style is becoming a popular alternative as newer computers are shipping with UEFI firmware, and Windows 10/8 can only boot from GPT disk on UEFI-based computers. In this tutorial you’ll learn how to find out where your disk uses MBR or GPT partition style in Windows.

Method 1: Check If Your Disk Is MBR or GPT Using Disk Management Tool

Press Windows key + X on your keyboard, and then select Computer Management from the pop-up menu.
Click on Disk Management, which appears in the left-hand side under the heading Storage. Right-click on the hard drive available in the center of the window, then select Properties.
This will bring up the Device Properties window. Click the Volumes tab and you’ll see if the partition style of your disk is GUID Partition Table (GPT) or Master Boot Record (MBR).

Method 2: Check If Your Disk Is MBR or GPT Using Command Prompt

Open the Command Prompt with administrative rights.
At the Command Prompt, type following commands one by one, pressing Enter after each.
diskpart list disk
It will list all disks that are connected to your PC. If a disk uses GPT, you’ll see an asterisk character (*) under the Gpt column. As you can see in the screenshot above, disk 0 is a GPT disk while disk 1 is a MBR disk.

That’s it!

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Tags: how to check gpt or mbr windows 10

2 Options to Create a Hidden Administrator Account in Windows

July 24th, 2017 by Admin

Is it possible to create a hidden account in our home computer? If you share a computer, you might not want everyone who uses your PC to see your username at the login screen. In this tutorial we’ll show you 2 options to create a hidden administrator account in Windows 10 / 8 / 7 from the Command Prompt.

Option 1: Create a Hidden & Disabled Administrator Account

Every Windows installation has a set of predefined accounts, including the built-in Administrator account. By default, the built-in Administrator account is disabled so it does not appear on the login screen at startup. Here’s how you can create a similar hidden administrator account from Command Prompt:

Open the Command Prompt with administrative rights.
Copy and paste the code below in the Command Prompt. Replace 123 with your own password and pcunlocker with your administrator name.
net user pcunlocker 123 /add net localgroup Administrators pcunlocker /add net user pcunlocker /active:no
Once you press Enter, a new administrator account will be created but it is set to be disabled. A disabled user will not show up at Windows login screen until you enable it.

If you want to unhide a disabled account, run the following command at Command Prompt:

net user pcunlocker /active:yes

Option 2: Create a Hidden & Enabled Administrator Account

Open the Command Prompt with administrative rights.
Copy and paste the following code in the Command Prompt. Replace 123 with your own password and pcunlocker with your administrator name.
net user pcunlocker 123 /add net localgroup Administrators pcunlocker /add reg add "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\SpecialAccounts\Userlist" /v pcunlocker /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
This will create a hidden administrator account which is invisible in both your Windows login screen and Fast User Switch menu, though you’ll still be able to manually login via remote desktop.

This method is useful if you want to create a hidden account for remote access, but don’t let it show up on the login screen. If you want to unhide such a hidden account, just run this command at Command Prompt:

reg add "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\SpecialAccounts\Userlist" /v pcunlocker /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

That’s it!

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

Tags: create hidden administrator account in windows create hidden user windows 10 hidden user account windows 10

How to Hide Specific Control Panel Items in Windows 10 / 8 / 7

July 21st, 2017 by Admin

Control Panel is the centralized configuration area in Windows. It contains a collection of applets (System Properties, Administrative Tools, Add/Remove Programs, Date/Time, etc) that let you make changes to various settings of your system. If you share a computer with others, you may not want users to access certain applets in Control Panel.

hide-control-panel-items

In this tutorial we’ll walk you through the steps to hide specific Control Panel items (applets) and stop others from changing certain settings in Windows 10, 8 and 7.

How to Hide Specific Control Panel Items in Windows 10 / 8 / 7?

After logging on, open the Local Group Policy Editor by pressing Windows + R keys and then typing gpedit.msc in the Run box.
In the Local Group Policy Editor, navigate to User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Control Panel. Double-click Hide specified Control Panel items in the right pane.
Select Enable and then click the Show button.
Enter the canonical name of the Control Panel item you want to hide, and click OK. For instance, if you want to restrict users from accessing Administrative Tools, enter Microsoft.AdministrativeTools in the Show Contents dialog.

How to find out the canonical name of a Control Panel applet? Please check the list below.
Close the Local Group Policy Editor and reboot your computer. Your specified item /applet will not show up in the Control Panel any longer.

Control Panel Item	Canonical Name
Action Center	Microsoft.ActionCenter
Administrative Tools	Microsoft.AdministrativeTools
AutoPlay	Microsoft.AutoPlay
Backup and Restore	Microsoft.BackupAndRestore
Biometric Devices	Microsoft.BiometricDevices
BitLocker Drive Encryption	Microsoft.BitLockerDriveEncryption
Color Management	Microsoft.ColorManagement
Credential Manager	Microsoft.CredentialManager
Date and Time	Microsoft.DateAndTime
Default Location	Microsoft.DefaultLocation
Default Programs	Microsoft.DefaultPrograms
Desktop Gadgets	Microsoft.DesktopGadgets
Device Manager	Microsoft.DeviceManager
Devices and Printers	Microsoft.DevicesAndPrinters
Display	Microsoft.Display
Ease of Access Center	Microsoft.EaseOfAccessCenter
Folder Options	Microsoft.FolderOptions
Fonts	Microsoft.Fonts
Game Controllers	Microsoft.GameControllers
Get Programs	Microsoft.GetPrograms
Getting Started	Microsoft.GettingStarted
HomeGroup	Microsoft.HomeGroup
Indexing Options	Microsoft.IndexingOptions
Infrared	Microsoft.Infrared
Internet Options	Microsoft.InternetOptions
iSCSI Initiator	Microsoft.iSCSIInitiator
Keyboard	Microsoft.Keyboard
Location and Other Sensors	Microsoft.LocationAndOtherSensors
Mouse	Microsoft.Mouse
Network and Sharing Center	Microsoft.NetworkAndSharingCenter
Notification Area Icons	Microsoft.NotificationAreaIcons
Offline Files	Microsoft.OfflineFiles
Parental Controls	Microsoft.ParentalControls
Pen and Touch	Microsoft.PenAndTouch
People Near Me	Microsoft.PeopleNearMe
Performance Information and Tools	Microsoft.PerformanceInformationAndTools
Personalization	Microsoft.Personalization
Phone and Modem	Microsoft.PhoneAndModem
Power Options	Microsoft.PowerOptions
Programs and Features	Microsoft.ProgramsAndFeatures
Recovery	Microsoft.Recovery
Region and Language	Microsoft.RegionAndLanguage
RemoteApp and Desktop Connections	Microsoft.RemoteAppAndDesktopConnections
Scanners and Cameras	Microsoft.ScannersAndCameras
Sound	Microsoft.Sound
Speech Recognition	Microsoft.SpeechRecognition
Sync Center	Microsoft.SyncCenter
System	Microsoft.System
Tablet PC Settings	Microsoft.TabletPCSettings
Taskbar and Start Menu	Microsoft.TaskbarAndStartMenu
Text to Speech	Microsoft.TextToSpeech
Troubleshooting	Microsoft.Troubleshooting
User Accounts	Microsoft.UserAccounts
Windows Anytime Upgrade	Microsoft.WindowsAnytimeUpgrade
Windows CardSpace	Microsoft.CardSpace
Windows Defender	Microsoft.WindowsDefender
Windows Firewall	Microsoft.WindowsFirewall
Windows Mobility Center	Microsoft.MobilityCenter
Windows SideShow	Microsoft.WindowsSideShow
Windows Update	Microsoft.WindowsUpdate

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Tags: hide control panel items gpo hide specified Control Panel items

How to Backup / Restore Sticky Notes in Windows 10 / 8 / 7

July 5th, 2017 by Admin

How can I transfer old sticky notes to a new computer? Looking for a way to import the legacy sticky notes into the new Sticky Notes application? This tutorial will show you how to backup and restore Sticky Notes on any computer running Windows 10, 8 or 7.

Part 1: Backup Sticky Notes

Before get started, you need to close the Sticky Notes application if it’s running.
Press the Windows key + R to open the Run box. Copy and paste one of the following path and press Enter.
- In Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10 version 1511 and earlier:
  %AppData%\Microsoft\Sticky Notes
- In Windows 10 Anniversary Update (Build 1607) or later:
  %LocalAppData%\Packages\Microsoft.MicrosoftStickyNotes_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState
Now, Windows Explorer will open the location where your sticky notes are stored. Just copy StickyNotes.snt or plum.sqlite to a backup location of your choice.

Part 2: Restore Sticky Notes

If you need to restore your notes to another computer for whatever reason, you can easily copy the same file you backed up earlier to the same directory on that computer. Before you copy the file, make sure the Stick Notes app isn’t running.

Part 3: Import Old Sticky Notes (StickyNotes.snt) into Windows 10 Anniversary Update or Later

First of all, close Sticky Notes application. Press the Windows key + R to open the Run box. Copy and paste the following path and press Enter.
%LocalAppData%\Packages\Microsoft.MicrosoftStickyNotes_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState
This will open the LocalState folder in File Explorer.
From there create a new folder named Legacy. Copy and paste the backed up StickyNotes.snt file into the Legacy folder, and rename it to ThresholdNotes.snt.
Start the Sticky Notes app. It will read the legacy .snt file and transfer the notes to the database file plum.sqlite automatically. That’s it!

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Tags: backup sticky notes windows 10 restore sticky notes windows 10 sticky notes location windows 10