Windows can rotate your screen without any extra software. This is especially useful if you have a desktop monitor that rotates. Many PCs have hotkeys that can rotate your screen, too, and these are easy to accidentally press.
How to Rotate Your PC’s Screen (or Fix a Sideways Screen)
Windows can rotate your screen without any extra software. This is especially useful if you have a desktop monitor that rotates. Many PCs have hotkeys that can rotate your screen, too, and these are easy to accidentally press.
The “Getting Windows ready, Don’t turn off your computer” message appears while Windows is installing updates. Windows will normally finish the installation process if you give it time—but, if it’s been hours, you may just need to restart your PC.
Microsoft added “Windows Sonic” spatial sound to Windows 10 back in the Creators Update. Windows Sonic for Headphones is disabled by default, but you can enable it for virtual surround sound. This option is available on the Xbox One, too.
Windows 10 starts as a very annoying operating system. The Start menu is full of games like Candy Crush, advertisements are all over the place, and useless icons like People litter the taskbar. Here’s how to eliminate all those annoyances.
On some Windows 10 PCs, the “Service Host: Local System (Network Restricted)” process group in the Task Manager can use a high amount of CPU, disk, and memory resources. Here’s how to fix it.
Windows 10’s dark app mode is easier on the eyes at night, but there’s no easy option to automatically enable it at night—unlike macOS Mojave’s dark theme. Instead, you can automatically turn it on and off with scheduled tasks.
Why is search in Windows Explorer so slow after all these years? We don’t know, but Everything is a free Windows search app that’s pretty much instant.
Apple’s macOS 10.14 Mojave offers “Dynamic Desktop” wallpapers that change based on the time of day. You can get something similar on Windows, either by using the standard background settings or by digging into the Task Scheduler.
Searching for a file in Windows Explorer takes forever, but there’s a faster way if you’re willing to use the command prompt.
Stuck at your desk during the 2018 World Cup? That sucks, but you can quickly check the scores anytime by using Cortana on Windows or Spotlight on macOS.
Windows 10: Quickly adjust the volume for all of your applications, separately, and send audio from different applications to different playback devices.
A Cortana bug meant hackers could change the password on locked PCs, but they had to ask really really politely…by which I mean execute a bizarre series of steps.
Windows 10 has a hidden video editor that works a bit like Windows Movie Maker or Apple iMovie. You can use it to trim videos or create your own home movies and slideshows. You can even have it create videos automatically.
Most image viewing programs have a built-in feature to help you change the size of images. Here are our favorite image resizing tools for Windows. We’ve picked out a built-in option, a couple of third party apps, and even a browser-based tool.
The desktop is a convenient place to save files, but can quickly become messy. macOS Mojave solves this with the “Desktop Stacks” feature, which automatically organizes your files into stacks. You can get something similar on Windows, too.
Windows 10 now offers an optional case-sensitive file system, just like Linux and other UNIX-like operating systems. All Windows processes will handle case-sensitive files and folders properly if you enable this feature. In other words, they’ll see “file” and “File” as two separate files.
Apple has historically blocked people from watching their events unless they are using the Safari browser, but now you can watch them on any operating system.
Bluetooth audio is good now, right? That’s what I’ve been hearing, so I purchased a $300 Bluetooth headset for my Windows PC, expecting to have a good experience. It was terrible. I blame Bluetooth—and Windows.
On a Mac you can press space to preview any file. QuickLook is an open source Windows program that does the same thing.
Search for Ubuntu in the Microsoft Store and you’ll see three versions: “Ubuntu 16.04”, “Ubuntu 18.04”, and “Ubuntu”. This means you can install a specific LTS version, or always have the latest LTS version.
Windows 10’s Redstone 5 update adds tabs to nearly every application on your system. You can remove these tabs from any application you like, giving those applications a traditional windows title bar once again.
Some Windows 10 PCs, including Microsoft’s Surface Laptop, come with “Windows 10 in S Mode.” PCs in S Mode can only install applications from the Microsoft Store. But you’re free to leave S Mode, if you like.
The “Sets” feature in Windows 10’s Redstone 5 update makes tabs appear alongside windows in the Alt+Tab switcher. Even Microsoft Edge browser tabs appear in Alt+Tab. But you can hide these tabs and restore the classic Alt+Tab behavior, instead.
Windows 10 includes a new way to install and manage fonts right from the Settings app. You can even download fonts from the Store. The old Fonts tool in Control Panel is still available, but it isn’t your only option anymore.
Game performance is measured in “frames per second,” or FPS. High FPS gives you smooth gameplay, while low FPS looks more like a slideshow. Here’s how to see any PC game’s FPS—and increase your FPS in your favorite games.
