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How to Extract Drivers or Files from .MSI without Installing

January 13th, 2025 by Admin

How could I extract drivers from a MSI file without installing them to a machine? Need to get files inside a .msi package? Yesterday I got a help request from a client who wanted to import Surface laptop drivers into PCUnlocker, and the driver packages from Microsoft are in .msi format. When opening a single .msi file using the freeware 7-Zip, we found the filenames are totally unreadable.

Eventually we found the solution. In this tutorial we’d like to share the correct method of extracting drivers or files from a .MSI package without installing them to your system.

How to Extract Drivers or Files from .MSI without Installing

  1. Right-click the Start button in the taskbar and select Terminal (Admin).

  2. To extract files from a .msi package, type the following command and press Enter. Make sure you replace path_to_msi_file with the path of your .msi file, and replace path_to_output_folder with your destination folder.
    MSIEXEC /a path_to_msi_file /qb TARGETDIR=path_to_output_folder

  3. The installer will display a simple progress UI while unpacking.

  4. When the unpacking is done, just open File Explorer and browse to your destination folder. You can then find the extracted drivers or files there.

That’s it!

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Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Vista, Windows XP

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3 Easy Ways to Delete Themes in Personalization on Windows 11

December 30th, 2024 by Admin

How can I uninstall or remove Windows 11 themes at once? A different theme can be applied to change your desktop appearance including wallpaper, colors, icons and so on. There are thousands of themes available in Microsoft Store, so it’s natural to try some out. After you find the right one, you may want to delete all of the other installed or even built-in themes. In this tutorial we’ll show you 3 easy ways to delete and remove either installed or default themes in Personalization on Windows 11.

Method 1: Delete A Theme in Personalization on Windows 11

  1. Press the Windows key + I at the same time to open Settings. Choose Personalization on the left side, and click Themes on the right pane.

  2. Right-click on each theme and you’ll see the “Delete” button, which allows you to delete a theme at one time. If the “Delete” button is greyed out, it indicates that theme is a default theme pre-installed on Windows 11 or it is the currently active theme.

  3. You can repeat the same steps to delete other themes you’ve installed.

Method 2: Delete All Installed Themes at Once on Windows 11

  1. Press the Windows key + R together to bring up the Run box, type the following and press Enter.
    %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Themes

  2. In the pop-up File Explorer window, you’ll see individual folders for each theme which you have ever downloaded and installed from Microsoft Store.

  3. To delete all installed themes, just select all of those folders, right-click on them and choose Delete. This method can also delete a theme that is currently active on your system.

Method 3: Delete Built-in Themes on Windows 11

  1. Open File Explorer and browse to: C:\Windows\Resources\Themes. Each theme is represented by a file with the extension “.theme. You can double-click one of them to apply the theme immediately.
    Windows (light): aero.theme
    Windows (dark): dark.theme
    Windows Spotlight: spotlight.theme
    Glow: themeA.theme
    Captured Motion: themeB.theme
    Sunrise: themeC.theme
    Flow: themeD.theme

  2. By default, those .theme files can’t be deleted directly. You need to grant full permissions to your current Windows account firstly. To simplify this process, you can take use of the freeware TakeOwnershipPro. After installing, just right-click on those .theme files and select “Show more options” -> “TakeOwnershipPro“.

  3. Then you can delete the .theme files as usual.

    Note that this method can also be used to delete your current active default theme. Whenever you need to delete the high contrast themes, just go to the location: C:\Windows\Resources\Ease of Access Themes and repeat the above steps.

That’s it!

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Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 11

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How to Join Windows 11 PC to Windows Server Domain

December 12th, 2024 by Admin

Looking for an easy way to add Windows 11 to an office network/domain? Joining a Windows 11 PC to AD domain is not straightforward for beginners. In the tutorial we’ll walk you through the steps to join Windows 11 PC to Windows Server domain.

How to Join Windows 11 PC to Windows Server Domain

Before getting started, make sure that your Windows Server has already been promoted to a domain controller and you know exactly the domain name. Then follow the steps outlined below to join your Windows 11 PC to that domain.

  1. First of all, open Windows Terminal and ping the domain name of your remote Windows Server DC. If it can’t be resolved, then you need to open network adapter settings and specify the IP address of Windows Server DC as the preferred DNS server.

  2. Press the Windows key + I together to open the Settings app. Choose the System menu at the left navigation column and then click About on the right side.

  3. Look for the “Related links” section, and then click the “Domain or workgroup” link.

  4. The System Properties dialog will open up. Just click the Change button.

  5. Under the “Member of” section, click Domain, type the domain name of your Windows Server DC that you wish this computer to join, and then click OK.

  6. Type in the username and password of your domain account which has been set up in your Windows Server DC, and click OK.

  7. You’ll receive the welcome information for joining the domain, and a reboot is required for applying the changes.

That’s how you can easily join a Windows 11 computer to Windows Server domain. Whenever you need to remove that computer from domain, the steps are also quite easy.

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Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 11

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How to Create a Hidden Shared Folder in Windows 11

December 4th, 2024 by Admin

Is there a way to share a folder on a network without giving out your username and password? You can create a hidden shared folder and make it only visible to guests who know the exact name of your shared folder, and public users will be unaware of your shared folder. In this tutorial we’ll walk you through the steps of creating a hidden shared folder in Windows 11.

How to Create a Hidden Shared Folder in Windows 11

  1. Open File Explorer and navigate to the folder which you want to share. Right-click on that folder and select Properties from the pop-up menu.

  2. Go to the Sharing tab and then click the Advanced Sharing button.

  3. Check the “Share this folder” box, set the share name as appropriate. To make this share hidden, add a $ to the end of the share name.

    If you’d like to share this folder to your friends without giving out the login credentials of your Windows account, click the Permissions button below to grant its access rights to the “Guests” group.

  4. When it’s done, go back to the Properties dialog and you can see the full network path for accessing your hidden shared folder.

  5. When a curious visitor on the same network tries to see what is shared on your PC, your hidden shared folders won’t show up at all.

    Only your friend who knows exactly the name of your hidden shared folder can access it, by entering the full network path. Whenever you don’t want to share it any longer, you can stop sharing the folder using different methods.

Conclusion

Creating a hidden share is an convenient way to share folders and files on the same network, while preventing unwanted public users from accessing it. The authorized users don’t need to log on to your Windows account on their own PCs in order to be eligible for your hidden share. If you want to hide a shared folder from your local computer, the Protect My Folders utility could be of help.

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Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 11

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The Easy Way to Upgrade to Windows 11 24H2 on Unsupported PC

November 5th, 2024 by Admin

Every time I try to run the “Windows 11 Installation Assistant” for a major update, it presents me with the error “This PC doesn’t meet the minimum requirements to install Windows 11“, and afterwards the “PC Health Check” app gives the similar message but lists out the unsupported hardwares. Previously I had no other choice but to perform a clean OS install by following this trick. Today I found an easy way to upgrade to Windows 11 24H2 directly on unsupported PC that is currently running an earlier build of Windows 11, like 23H2 or 22H2.

How to Upgrade to Windows 11 24H2 on Unsupported PC

  1. Before getting started, we need to download the Windows 11 disk ISO image from Microsoft’s website. Once it’s downloaded, open File Explorer and right-click on the Windows 11 ISO image, then choose “Open with” -> “Windows Explorer“.

  2. It will mount that ISO image to a virtual DVD drive. You need to take a note of the drive letter as we need to run the setup.exe file later.

  3. Right-click the Start button in the taskbar and choose “Terminal (Admin)“.

  4. From the terminal window, execute the following command, replacing E with the drive letter of your DVD drive found in the above step.
    E:\setup.exe /product server

  5. The “Windows Server Setup” dialog will come up. Don’t worry about this as it will just launch the in-place upgrade rather than installing Windows Server. In my case, I just plan to upgrade my current Windows 11 Pro 23H2 to the latest release 24H2. Make sure you click the “Change how Setup downloads updates” option.

  6. Choose “Not right now” and click Next.

  7. Click Accept for the license terms.

  8. Select “Keep files, settings, and apps” and click Next.

  9. Wait for one or two minutes.
  10. When the “Ready to install” window appears, click Install to perform the actual in-place upgrade process. Just be patient as it is the most time-consuming part.

  11. After you complete all the steps and log back into Windows 11, open the Settings app and navigate to System -> About and you should see you’ve successfully upgraded to Windows 11 24H2.

That’s it!

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Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 11

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2 Ways to Enable Auto Adjust Video Brightness based on Lighting in Windows 11

September 27th, 2024 by Admin

It is well known that Windows can automatically adjust the monitor/screen brightness based on the intensity of the ambient light. If you’ve upgraded to Windows 11, you can configure the light sensor to automatically adjust the brightness of the video you’re watching, not changing the brightness of the whole screen. In this tutorial we’ll show you 2 ways to enable auto adjust video brightness based on the surrounding lighting in Windows 11.

Method 1: Enable Auto Adjust Video Brightness based on Lighting via Settings App

  1. Open the Settings App (Win+I). Select Apps on the left side and then click Video playback on the right pane.

  2. If you can see the option called “Adjust video based on lighting around me“, you most likely have a light sensor. You can turn on this setting to enable auto brightness adjustment for video playback only.

    The last but not the least, make sure you uncheck the “Don’t adjust video based on lighting when on battery” option.

  3. Close the Settings app.

Method 2: Enable Auto Adjust Video Brightness based on Lighting via Registry Editor

  1. Open Registry Editor and navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\VideoSettings. In the right pane, right-click the empty area and choose New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value.

    If the subkey VideoSettings doesn’t exist, you need to create it first.

  2. Name the newly-created DWORD EnableOutsideModeFeature, then double-click it and set its value data to 1. This will turn on the “Adjust video based on lighting around me” feature in Windows 11.

  3. Next, create another DWORD DisableAutoLightingOnBattery and leave its value as 0. This will turn off the “Don’t adjust video based on lighting when on battery” option.

  4. Close Registry Editor. Log out of your account or restart Windows to see the changes.

That’s it!

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Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 11

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2 Ways to Turn On Text Cursor Indicator in Windows 11

September 3rd, 2024 by Admin

When you’re typing in your text editor, the text cursor appears as a vertical thin line which may make it hard for you to see it in a pile of text. If you experience the difficulty of finding where your text insertion point is located, the most effective method is to enable the text cursor indicator. In this tutorial we’ll show you 2 ways to turn on the text cursor indicator in Windows 11, making your cursor more visible and easier to be seen.

Method 1: Turn On Text Cursor Indicator in Windows 11 via Settings App

  1. Press the Windows key + I together to start the Settings app. Choose Accessibility on the left side, then click on “Text cursor” on the right pane.

  2. Toggle the “Text cursor indicator” option to the ON position. From there you can also customize the color or size of the cursor indicator to make it stand out more in the sea of text.

  3. Close the Settings app and it will immediately activate text cursor indicator feature on your Windows 11 computer.

Method 2: Turn On Text Cursor Indicator in Windows 11 via Registry Editor

  1. Open Registry Editor and navigate to the location: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Accessibility, then double-click the Configuration entry on the right pane.

  2. Enter cursorindicator in the value data box and click OK to enable the text cursor indicator.

    Whenever you need to turn off text cursor indicator later, just set the value data to be empty.

  3. Close Registry Editor. You need to log off or restart Windows to make the changes take effect.

That’s it!

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Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 11

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Fix: Recycle Bin missing from File Explorer navigation pane

July 12th, 2024 by Admin

How can I get the Recycle Bin item back to the left navigation pane of File Explorer? If you need to access Recycle Bin regularly, you have to minimize all open windows and access Recycle Bin from the desktop, but this is not convenient. In this tutorial we’ll show you a simple registry fix to add Recycle Bin to the navigation pane of File Explorer in Windows 11, so you can access it more conveniently.

How to Add Recycle Bin to Navigation Pane of File Explorer

  1. Open Registry Editor and browse to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID. Right-click the CLSID key in the left pane and choose New -> Key.

  2. Name the new key {645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E} and then right-click it and select New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value.

  3. Name the new DWORD System.IsPinnedToNameSpaceTree, and then double-click it, set the value data to 1 and click OK.

  4. Close Registry Editor and restart File Explorer. The Recycle Bin item will be pinned to the left navigation pane of File Explorer.

    If you plan to remove it later, just change the value data of System.IsPinnedToNameSpaceTree to 0.

That’s it!

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Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 11

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2 Ways to Change Max Recording Length for Game Bar in Windows 11

June 27th, 2024 by Admin

Is there a way to record more than 2 hours with the Game Bar? Game Bar is a built-in system component which allows you to capture videos while playing games. You can press the Windows logo key + Alt + R together to start (or stop) recording of your game. By default, you can record up to 2 hours and recordings will automatically turn off after 2 hours. In this tutorial we’ll show you 2 ways to change the max recording length for Game Bar in Windows 11.

Method 1: Change Max Recording Length for Game Bar via Settings App

  1. Press the Windows logo key + I together to bring up the Settings app. Choose Gaming on the left-navigation menu and then click Captures on the right pane.

  2. Under the “Recording preferences” section, click the drop-down list next to “Max recording length” and you can select 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours or 4 hours for your own purpose.

    Notes: The built-in Game Bar has a maximum recording length of 4 hours. If you need to record for longer duration, try using third-party screen recording software without time limit.

Method 2: Change Max Recording Length for Game Bar via Registry Editor

  1. Open Registry Editor and browse to the location: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\GameDVR, and then double-click the QWORD MaximumRecordLength on the right pane. If it doesn’t exist, you need to create it manually.

  2. In the “Edit QWORD (64-bit) Value” box, select the Decimal option firstly, and then type one of the following values in the Value data field, and click OK. For instance, if you desired maximum recording length is 4 hours, then input 144000000000 instead.

    • 4 hours: 144000000000
    • 2 hours: 72000000000
    • 1 hours: 36000000000
    • 30 minutes: 18000000000
  3. Close Registry Editor.

That’s it.

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Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 11

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Fix: BitLocker activates automatically on fresh installation of Windows 11

June 6th, 2024 by Admin

Nowadays, more and more computers come with Trusted Platform Module (TPM), which is a tiny chip required for turning on BitLocker disk encryption. No matter if you prefer to enable BitLocker or not, Windows 11 may automatically activate it during the fresh installation. In this tutorial we’ll show you 2 methods to prevent Windows 11 from automatically activating BitLocker during a clean install.

Method 1: Prevent BitLocker Automatic Activation During Installation

If you just got a brand new Windows 11 PC or you’re performing a clean install, it’s easy to prevent BitLocker automatic activation before the out-of-box experience (OOBE).

  1. On the first page of the out-of-the-box experience (OOBE), Windows 11 setup will ask you to choose a language. Just press the SHIFT + F10 keyboard shortcut to launch Command Prompt.

  2. Type regedit and press Enter.

  3. Use the left pane of Registry Editor to navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\BitLocker. In the right pane, right-click the blank area and choose New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value.

  4. Name the newly-created DWORD PreventDeviceEncryption, and then double-click it and set its value data to 1. Click OK.

  5. Close Registry Editor and then quit Command Prompt, proceed to select your language, keyboard layout and go through the setup process. BitLocker device encryption will not start automatically.

Method 2: Prevent BitLocker Automatic Activation Before Installation

If you plan to do a clean install of Windows 11, you can create a Windows 11 installation USB which contains a predefined setting (unattend.xml) to explicitly disable BitLocker automatic device encryption. Follow these steps:

  1. Before getting started, download the free USB bootable creator utility Rufus. When Rufus is opened, select your USB device and choose your Windows 11 installation ISO image, and then click START.

  2. When the the Windows User Experience window opens, check the “Disable BitLocker automatic device encryption” option and click OK. The program will format your USB drive and prepare the files.

  3. When done, you can use the USB drive to perform a clean install of Windows 11 without automatically activating BitLocker device encryption.

That’s it!

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Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 11

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