If your Windows PC is throwing an error message at you before it even begins to load Windows, it’s possible that the boot sector on your system partition is damaged, corrupted, or has missing files. Here’s how to troubleshoot those problems.
How to Repair Windows Bootloader Problems (If Your Computer Won’t Start)
If your Windows PC is throwing an error message at you before it even begins to load Windows, it’s possible that the boot sector on your system partition is damaged, corrupted, or has missing files. Here’s how to troubleshoot those problems.
If you’ve got a pet or small child, you know that an unguarded keyboard can spell disaster—or more likely, spell “dhjkhskauhkwuahjsdkja,mnsd”. We’ve got a tool for locking and unlocking your keyboard with a quick keyboard shortcut.
Windows 10, 8, 7, and Vista all support symbolic links—also known as symlinks—that point to a file or folder on your system. You can create them using the Command Prompt or a third-party tool called Link Shell Extension.
Say you have a folder full of files, and you want to save or print a list of those files. With a couple of quick Registry edits, you can add a right-click command for copying a folder’s contents to the clipboard.
ClearType is font-smoothing technology built into Windows to help make text more readable on LCD monitors. If your text is looking a little blurry, tweaking your ClearType settings can definitely help.
If you use a company-owned PC, you may have seen a legal notice displayed before you sign in to Windows. Here’s how you can do the same thing on your own PC and display a message with any text you want.
Messing around in the Windows Registry can cause all kinds of problems if you’re not careful. If you share your PC with others, you can prevent less experienced users from accessing and editing the Registry.
Let’s face it: some apps have really ugly icons. Sure, you could always create a shortcut to your EXE file and then change the icon for the shortcut, but what fun would that be? Here’s how to change the icon for the EXE file itself.
If you’ve got multiple wireless networks or you’ve got one of those dual-band Wireless-N routers that have two separate networks, you might wonder how to tell Windows what network to try to connect to first. Here’s the explanation.
If you’re particular about how Windows displays the contents of your folders, you can cut your customization time down considerably by taking advantage of File Explorer’s five built-in folder templates.
Have you ever been doing something, like playing a game, and had that obnoxious Sticky Keys dialog pop up? You answer No and it goes away… and then shows up again the next day. Here’s how to make it go away for good.
Modern versions of Windows defragment drives during regular maintenance schedules. But if you defragment manually—maybe you keep your PC turned off when not in use—you might appreciate a faster way to access the command.
We’ve covered virtual private networks and when you might want to use them before. Connecting to a VPN is easy, as Windows and most other operating systems offer built-in VPN support.
On Windows 8 and 10, Windows finally offers a built-in way to mount ISO disc image files. If you’re using Windows 7, you’ll need a third-party tool.
If you use the Control Panel a lot, you may find it helpful to add it right to the “This PC” section of Windows’ File Explorer window. Here’s how to do it.
If you’ve ever wondered whether you can remove the “Send To” submenu from the Windows context menu, it turns out you can. You just have to make a quick Registry edit.
If you’re in and out of the Recycle Bin often, you might like to know that there is a way to add the Recycle Bin to the “This PC” view in File Explorer—and from there to your Quick Access section. Here’s how to get it done.
The search feature in Windows’ File Explorer saves recent searches by default to make it easier to search for the same terms again. However, if you don’t like this feature, you can turn it off.
Windows uses a page file to store data that can’t be held by your computer’s random-access memory when it fills up. While you can tweak the page file settings, Windows can manage the page file fine on its own.
When you make a new shortcut in Windows, it automatically adds “- Shortcut” to the end of the shortcut’s file name. This doesn’t seem like a big deal, but they can be bothersome. Sure, you can remove the text yourself when you create the shortcut, but why not stop it from happening in the first place?
Since Windows 7, apps with multiple open windows are combined into a single taskbar button. Hovering over the button gives you a live thumbnail of every window and you can then click the window you want to work with.
If you want to open a file type not registered with Notepad, you have to click through several options to make it happen. This can be a hassle, so why not add an “Open with Notepad” option right on your context menu?
Product keys are becoming less and less common these days, but if you have a piece of software on your computer—and can’t find its product key—this simple program can help you extract it.
If you have a bunch of user accounts on your Windows PC that you don’t need anymore, it may be time to clean them out. Today we’ll take a look at how to delete a user account in Windows.
By default, using the Windows+L key combination locks Windows, so you have to re-type your password to use the computer. If you find yourself occasionally hitting that combination by accident—and you don’t really have a need to lock Windows—here’s how to disable it.
