Archive for June, 2022

How to Skip 3 Security Questions When Creating Local Account in Windows 11

June 13th, 2022 by Admin

When you create a local account during Windows setup or from the Settings app, it requires you to choose 3 security questions and answer them. If you’re not going to use security questions to reset forgotten Windows password, you can skip them. In this tutorial we’ll show you 2 simple methods to skip 3 security questions when creating a local account in Windows 11.

Method 1: Skip Security Questions by Leaving the Password Blank

When you come to the step of adding an offline local account, just leave the password fields empty and the boxes for 3 security questions will disappear automatically, you can proceed to finish creating your local account.

After signing in to Windows 11 with your newly-created local account, just open the Settings app and navigate to: Accounts -> Sign-in options. Under Ways to sign in, select the Password option and you can then see the Add button.

Click the Add button. The pop-up window will let you create a password without needing to choose security questions to answer.

Method 2: Turn off Security Questions Using Group Policy

Just open Local Group Policy Editor and browse to: Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Credential User Interface. In the right pane, look for the policy “Prevent the use of security questions for local accounts” and double-click it.

In the pop-up dialog box, select the Enabled option. Click Apply and then OK.

Restart your computer to make that policy take effect immediately. The next time you try to add a new local account using the Settings app, it will no longer prompt you to select 3 security questions to answer.

Conclusion

The above methods should be the easiest ways to skip 3 security questions when creating local account in Windows 11. Actually, you can also skip the security questions by creating local account using Command Prompt, PowerShell, Netplwiz, lusrmgr.msc, or set up a Microsoft account first and then switch to local user.

2 Methods to Remove Shadow from Desktop Icon Text in Windows 11

June 10th, 2022 by Admin

How can I remove text shadows on Windows 11 desktop icons? By default, all desktop icons have a drop shadow under the text label. Sometimes, the shadow can make the icon label blurry and difficult to read against the desktop background. In this tutorial we’ll show you 2 simple methods to remove shadow from desktop icon text in Windows 11.

Method 1: Remove Shadow from Desktop Icon Label via System Properties

  1. Press the Windows key + R together to bring up the Run box, type sysdm.cpl and press Enter to open System Properties dialog.

  2. Choose the Advanced tab at the top, and then click the Settings button under the Performance section.

  3. In the Visual Effects tab, uncheck the “Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop” option and click OK.

  4. You must reboot your computer for the changes to take effect. The next time you sign into Windows, the drop shadow of each desktop icon label should be gone.

Method 2: Remove Shadow from Desktop Icon Label via Registry Editor

  1. Open Registry Editor and navigate to the location: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced. Double-click the DWORD ListviewShadow on the right side pane.

  2. In order to disable drop shadows for desktop icon labels, change its value data from 1 to 0, and click OK.

  3. Close Registry Editor and restart your PC to apply the changes.

That’s it!

Turn off Touchpad When Mouse Plugged in to Your Windows 11 Laptop

June 9th, 2022 by Admin

If you prefer to use a mouse instead of touchpad, you can configure Windows 11 to automatically disable touchpad when an external mouse is plugged in. In this tutorial we’ll walk you through the easy steps to turn off touchpad when a mouse is connected on your Windows 11 laptop.

How to Turn off Touchpad When Mouse Plugged in

  1. Press the Windows key + I to launch the Settings app. Choose Bluetooth & devices from the left navigation pane, and then click Touchpad on the right side.

  2. Click the down arrow next to the Touchpad toggle switch.

  3. Uncheck the “Leave touchpad on when a mouse is connected” option.

  4. Once you completed the above steps, Windows 11 will automatically disable your touchpad when a mouse is plugged in, and automatically enable your touchpad when a mouse is unplugged.

That’s it!

The Most Common Ways to Open Control Panel in Windows 11

June 8th, 2022 by Admin

Anyway to get the old Control Panel back to the desktop? How can I pin Control Panel to the Start Menu or taskbar? In this tutorial we’ll show you the most common ways to open Control Panel in Windows 11.

Method 1: Put “Control Panel” Icon on the Desktop

  1. Right-click on the blank space of the desktop, and choose Personalize from the context menu.

  2. When the Settings app opens to the Personalize page, click Themes on the right pane.

  3. Under the Related settings section, click “Desktop icon settings“.

  4. In the pop-up window, check the “Control Panel” option and click OK.

  5. The Control Panel icon will show up on your desktop, and you can double-click it to launch Control Panel.

Method 2: Open Control Panel with Command Prompt or PowerShell

Press the WIN + R keys to open the Run dialog box, type control and hit Enter to access Control Panel.

Or open a command-line tool (Windows Terminal, Command Prompt or PowerShell), type control and press Enter. It will bring up the classic Control Panel immediately.

Method 3: Pin Control Panel to Start Menu or Taskbar

Click the Search icon (or the Start icon) on the taskbar, type control in the search field at the top.

From the search results, you can click on the “Control Panel” app to open the Control Panel, pin it to Start Menu or taskbar for quick access.

Method 4: Add a Control Panel Shortcut

  1. Right-click on the blank space of the desktop, and choose New -> Shortcut from the pop-up menu.

  2. Copy the below command and paste it in the location field. Click Next.
    %windir%\System32\control.exe

  3. Enter a meaningful name for this shortcut, and click Finish.

  4. The “Control Panel” shortcut will appear on your desktop, and you can move it to any location you want.

How to Set Up a Kiosk on Windows 11 Computer

June 7th, 2022 by Admin

Kiosk mode allows you to convert a Windows PC into a kiosk that runs only a single app in full screen, so customers can focus on product catalog or placing orders, without distraction. In kiosk mode, users can’t access the desktop, Start Menu or anything outside of the kiosk app. In this tutorial we’ll walk you through the steps of setting up a kiosk on Windows 11 computer to have a basic kiosk experience.

How to Set Up a Kiosk on Windows 11 Computer

  1. Press the WIN + I keys together to launch the Settings app. Select the Accounts category on the left side, and click Family & other users on the right pane.

  2. Under the “Set up a kiosk” section, click the Get started button.

  3. In the pop-up window, enter a name for your kiosk account and click Next. The system will create a new local account with limited privileges and assign it as the kiosk account.

  4. Select a single app you want to run in kiosk mode, and click Next.

  5. If you’ve selected other apps except Microsoft Edge, the setup procedure is almost done and you can reboot the computer to access kiosk mode.

    If you’ve chosen to use Microsoft Edge as the kiosk app, select one of the following options for how Microsoft Edge displays, and click Next.

    • As a digital sign or interactive display – Displays your website in full-screen mode.
    • As a public browser – Runs a limited multi-tab version of Microsoft Edge.

  6. Enter a website’s URL for home page, and specify the minutes of inactivity before restarting Microsoft Edge. Click Next.

  7. Click on Close.

    Log out of your primary account and then sign in with this Kiosk account, it will automatically launch your specified kiosk app in full screen. To exist from the kiosk account, you need to press the Ctrl + Alt + Del keyboard shortcut.

That’s it!

4 Ways to Force Close an Unresponsive Program in Windows 11 / 10

June 6th, 2022 by Admin

How to force quit an unresponsive program or window when it freezes? When a program stops responding, you’ll see the words “not responding” appear on its title bar. You can then choose to wait for the program to respond or force close it. In this tutorial we’ll show you 4 fast and easy methods to force close an unresponsive program in Windows 11 / 10.

Method 1: Force an Unresponsive Program to Quit Using ALT + F4

Use Alt + Tab keyboard shortcut to bring your unresponsive program to the front, and then press Alt + F4 keys at the same time to force the program to quit.

Method 2: Force an Unresponsive Program to Quit Using Task Manager

Use the Ctrl + Shift + Esc keyboard shortcut to open Task Manager. Go to the Processes or Details tab, right-click on the unresponsive program you want to quit and select End task.

Method 3: Force an Unresponsive Program to Quit Using Windows Terminal

Open Windows Terminal as administrator, and then run the tasklist command to view a list of programs and services running on your system. You need to write down the name of the application which isn’t responding.

Next, execute the below command to force the unresponsive program to close. Make sure you replace “yourprogram.exe” with the actual name of the program you want to force quit.
taskkill/im yourprogram.exe /f

After a while, you’ll get a message saying that the process has been terminated successfully.

Method 4: Create Desktop Shortcut to Force Close Unresponsive programs

To force close a program without Task Manager or Command Prompt, you can create a desktop shortcut which can accurately detect unresponsive programs and quit them with ease. Follow these steps:

  1. Right-click any blank area in your desktop, and then choose New -> Shortcut.

  2. Type the following command in the text box, and click Next.
    taskkill /f /fi "status eq not responding"

  3. Give a name to your shortcut and click Finish.

  4. Whenever you have an application that doesn’t respond or becomes stuck, just double-click this desktop shortcut and it will automatically find and quit your unresponsive programs.

That’s it!

3 Fast Methods to Open Folder in New window on Windows 11

June 3rd, 2022 by Admin

Is there a keyboard shortcut to open folders up in a new window? When you double-click a folder in File Explorer, the default option is to open each folder in the same Window. If you prefer opening folders in a new window, here are 3 fast methods available on Windows 11.

Method 1: Always Open Folders in New Window

Press the Windows key + R keyboard combination to invoke the Run command box, type control.exe folders and hit Enter to open Folder Options.

In the General tab, select “Open each folder in its own window“. Click OK.

From now on, Windows will always open each folders in a new window by default.

Method 2: Temporarily Open a Folder in New Window via Context Menu

Just right-click your desired folder in File Explorer, and then choose “Open in new window” from the pop-up context menu.

It will temporarily open your folder in a new window.

Method 3: Temporarily Open a Folder in New Window via Keyboard Shortcut

Use your cursor to select the desired folder, then press the Ctrl + Enter (or Ctrl + N) keyboard shortcut. Your selected folder will be opened in a new window.

Another method is to press and hold the Ctrl key, then double-click your target folder to open it in a new window.

That’s it!

How to Stop Folders from Opening in New Window on Windows 11 / 10 / 8 / 7

June 1st, 2022 by Admin

Folders always open in new window? File Explorer opens every folder in its own folder window? This can be quite annoying because you may get too many new windows after navigating through some folders. In this tutorial we’ll walk you through the steps to stop folders from opening in new window on Windows 11 / 10 / 8 / 7.

Part 1: Use Folder Options to Set Folders to Open in New Window

  1. Press the Windows key + R together to bring up the Run dialog box, enter the below command and press Enter to launch File Explorer Options.
    control.exe folders

  2. Under the “Browse folders” section, select the “Open each folder in the same window” option.

  3. Click Apply and then OK. You can now double-click a folder in Windows Explorer and see if it opens in the same window.

Part 2: Reset the Default Double-click Action

  1. Open Registry Editor and navigate to: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell. Look for the “(Default)” entry in the right pane. If its value data is not empty, double-click it.

  2. In the Edit String dialog box, remove anything from the Value data field and click OK.

  3. Next, browse to: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell\open. If the LaunchExplorerFlags entry appears in the right pane, just right-click it and select Delete.

  4. Close Registry Editor. Every time you double-click on a folder, it should no longer open in a new window.

That’s it!