Archive for the ‘Others’ category

Change Mouse Pointer Size and Color in Windows 10 / 8 / 7

January 18th, 2018 by Admin

Mouse cursor is too small? How can I change the color of mouse pointer to make it easier to see? When you’re playing a game, you may find the mouse cursor is way too small for your screen. Here are 3 simple ways to change mouse pointer size and color in Windows 10 / 8 / 7.

Method 1: Change Mouse Pointer Size and Color from Settings (Windows 10 Only)

Press the Windows + I key combination to open the Settings app, and then click Ease of Access.

Select the Mouse tab. On the right side of the window, there are three different sizes and colors you can choose from for your mouse pointer. Click on one to select it.

Method 2: Change Mouse Pointer Size and Color from Ease of Access Center

Open the Control Panel in Category view, and then click Ease of Access.

On the next screen, click on the link that says “Change how your mouse works“.

Under the Mouse pointers section, you can check the option for the size and color of the mouse pointer that you want to use. Click OK to apply your changes.

Method 3: Change Mouse Pointer Size and Color from Mouse Properties

Open the Control Panel and switch to Large icons view. Click Mouse.

When the Mouse Properties window opens, select the Pointers tab. Select a mouse pointer scheme from the drop-down box. Click Apply and then OK.

If you want to restore the original mouse pointer scheme, click the Use Default button at the bottom.
That’s it!

Find If Your Drive is SSD or HDD in Windows 10 / 8 / 7

January 17th, 2018 by Admin

How can I know whether a disk is a solid-state drive (SSD) or hard disk? Is there a way to check if I have a SSD or HDD without having to open the laptop itself to see what’s inside it? Here are 2 easy methods to find if your drive is SSD or HDD in Windows 10/8/7, without using third-party software.

Method 1: Find If Your Drive is SSD or HDD Using Disk Defragmenter

Simply press the Windows key + R keyboard shortcut to open the Run box, type dfrgui and press Enter.

When the Disk Defragmenter window is shown, look for the Media type column and you can find out which drive is solid state drive (SSD), and which one is hard disk drive (HDD).

Method 2: Find If Your Drive is SSD or HDD Using PowerShell

Open the PowerShell as administrator, and type the following command and press Enter:

Get-PhysicalDisk

The command will list all physical disks connected to your computer. The MediaType parameter can help you identify what type is your disk drive, HDD or SSD.

That’s it!

5 Ways to Open Disk Defragmenter in Windows 10

January 16th, 2018 by Admin

Over time, files on your hard drive get scattered and they are spread to discontinuous clusters. This can increase the time required to read / write files. To have your computer run more efficiently, you can defragment the hard drive that will rearrange the files so that they occupy contiguous clusters. In this tutorial we’ll show you 5 ways to open Disk Defragmenter in Windows 10.

Method 1: Open Open Disk Defragmenter via Cortana

Simply type defragment in the Cortana’s search box. You can then click the “Defragment and Optimize Drives” search result to open Disk Defragmenter.

Method 2: Open Open Disk Defragmenter via Run or Command Prompt

Press the Windows key + R shortcut to bring up the Run box, type dfrgui and press Enter to launch Disk Defragmenter.

You can also access Disk Defragmenter by running the dfrgui command at Command Prompt.

Method 3: Open Open Disk Defragmenter via Start Menu

Click the Start button, then select All apps -> Windows Administrative Tools. Now choose Defragment and Optimize Drives.

Method 4: Open Open Disk Defragmenter via File Explorer

Open File Explorer. Right-click the drive you want to defragment, and then select Properties. When the Properties dialog opens, select the Tools tab and then click the Optimize button.

Method 5: Open Open Disk Defragmenter via Control Panel

Open the Control Panel in Large icons view. Click Administrative Tools.

You can now click the Defragment and Optimize Drives shortcut to start the Disk Defragmenter utility.

Set up Assigned Access to Restrict Local User to One App in Windows 10

January 15th, 2018 by Admin

Assigned Access is a useful feature in Windows 10 that allows you to restrict a local standard user to use only a single app that you choose. This makes it easy to create an Assigned Access app for use in a kiosk computer scenario. In this tutorial we’ll walk you through the steps of setting up Assigned Access in Windows 10.

How to Set up Assigned Access to Restrict Local User to One App in Windows 10?

This feature is available only in Windows 10 Pro, Education, and Enterprise. To set up Assigned Access, you must be logged into Windows 10 using an administrator account.

  1. Press the Windows key + I to open the Settings app. Navigate to Accounts > Family & other people. Click the Set up assigned access link at the bottom of the right pane.

  2. When you see the Set Up Assigned Access screen, you’ll be prompted to choose an account and an app. To begin, click Choose an account.

  3. Select the standard account for which you want to set up Assigned Access.

  4. After the user account is selected, click the Choose an app option.

  5. You’ll see a list of built-in apps or third-party apps installed from Windows Store. Just pick a single app for Assigned Access.

  6. When you’re done, restart your computer. After you log in with the Assigned Access account, the app you assigned to that account will start automatically in full-screen mode. You’re unable to switch or close the app. To exit the account, simply press Ctrl + Alt + Del and you’re out.

That’s it! When you no longer need Assigned Access on Widows 10, just bring up the Set Up Assigned Access screen again and click the “Turn off assigned access and sign out the selected account” link.

How would you use Assigned Access? Let us know in the comments section below.

3 Steps to Change DVD Region in Windows 10 / 8 / 7

January 13th, 2018 by Admin

“I just bought a DVD movie. When I tried to play it on Windows 10, I received a warning that the DVD was purchased in region 2, my computer DVD player was set for region 1, and I needed to change the region. I’ve never come across this before. Please help!”

Most commercial DVDs have a region code that ties the DVD to specific regions of the world, as a measure of copy protection. If a DVD’s region code doesn’t match the current region code of your DVD player, you’ll receive a warning that you need to change regions in order to play the DVD. The following tutorial will show you how to change the region code of your DVD player in Windows 10 / 8 / 7.

Note: The region code for a DVD player can only be changed five times. The fifth time you change the region, your DVD player is permanently locked to the last region you set.

How to Change DVD Region in Windows 10 / 8 / 7?

  1. Press the Windows key + R to open the Run box. Type in devmgmt.msc and press Enter.

  2. When the Device Manager window opens, expand DVD/CD-ROM drives. Right-click on your DVD player and then select Properties.

  3. Click on the DVD Region tab. Select the region in which you want to change to and click OK.

How to Remove “Give access to” Context Menu in Windows 10

January 8th, 2018 by Admin

Since Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, the old “Share with” option in Windows Explorer’s context menu was renamed to “Give access to”. This option lets you quickly share folders with other users on a network. However, if you never use this feature, you can remove “Give access to” option from the right-click context menu in Windows 10 File Explorer.

How to Remove “Give access to” Context Menu in Windows 10?

  1. Press the Windows key + R key combination to launch Run dialog box, then type regedit and press Enter.

  2. In the Registry Editor, browse to the following key:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Shell Extensions

    Right-click the Shell Extensions key in the left pane, select New -> Key. Name it Blocked.

  3. Select the new key Blocked, and then right-click blank area on the right side, select New -> String Value.

  4. Name the new String {f81e9010-6ea4-11ce-a7ff-00aa003ca9f6} and leave its data value empty as shown below.

  5. Restart File Explorer or log out and then log in to see the change. Now the “Give access to” option is removed from the right-click context menu in the File Explorer. If you want to restore that option back, just open Registry Editor and delete the Blocked key you created.

How to Change Monitor Refresh Rate in Windows 10 / 8 / 7

January 3rd, 2018 by Admin

Do you have any trouble with flickering on the monitor when playing games? Most of screen flickering issues can be solved by adjusting the monitor’s refresh rate. The refresh rate refers to how many times per second the screen refreshes the image on it. Increasing the monitor’s refresh rate should reduce screen flicker, which results in less strain on their eyes. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to change monitor refresh rate in Windows 10 / 8 / 7.

Note: The refresh rates that you can set for your monitor are determined by the capabilities of the Graphic card and monitor.

Part 1: Change Monitor Refresh Rate in Windows 10

  1. Right-click an empty area on the desktop and select Display settings.

  2. This should open the Settings app and go to the Display tab. Click Advanced display settings at the bottom of the right pane.

  3. Click Display adapter properties.

  4. This will open the Monitor and graphics card properties. Go to the Monitor tab and you can select a higher or lower refresh rate and click Apply.

Part 2: Change Monitor Refresh Rate in Windows 8 / 7

  1. Right-click an empty area on the desktop and select Screen resolution.

  2. Click on Advanced Settings in the bottom right.

  3. When the Display adapter properties window opens, click the Monitor tab, and then select a Screen Refresh Rate from the drop down menu.
  4. Click Apply. That’s it!

2 Ways to Change or Add Language in Windows 10

December 28th, 2017 by Admin

Non-English text not displaying correctly? How can I change the display language for Windows 10? A language pack needs to be installed on your computer. In this tutorial we’ll show you 2 ways to change or add additional language in Windows 10.

Method 1: Change or Add Language from the Settings App

  1. Press Windows + I keys to open the Settings app and then click Time & Language.

  2. Select the Region & language tab on the left, and then click Add a language on the right.

  3. It will show languages that are available to be installed on your PC. Choose the language you want to add.

  4. Click on the particular language based on your region. When this is done, you can then type or read text in the new language.

  5. If you want to display all system text in the new language, go back to the Region & language tab. Select the newly added language and click the Options button.

  6. Click the Download button beneath “Download language pack”.

  7. When the language pack is installed, select the new language and click Set as default.

    Reboot your computer and the new language will be used as the display language for Windows 10.

Method 2: Change or Add Language from Control Panel

  1. Open the Control Panel, switch it to Large icons view. Click Language.

  2. In the Language window, click the Add a language button.

  3. Select a language you would like to install, and click Open.

  4. Click the language specific to your region, and click Add.

  5. The language that you selected is now added to the list of input languages for your keyboard. If you want to use the new language to display the user interface of Windows 10, click the Options link.

  6. Click Download and install language pack.

    The system will display all text in the new language the next time you sign into Windows 10.

2 Ways to Disable Online Tips for Settings App in Windows 10

December 25th, 2017 by Admin

Since Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, the Settings app will display online tips on the right side of the currently opened page. The online tips could be general advice, links to online help or video tutorials.

If the tips annoy you, you can easily turn them off using group policy or registry editor.

Method 1: Use Group Policy to Disable Online Tips for Settings App in Windows 10

  1. Press the Windows key + R together, type in gpedit.msc and hit Enter to access Local Group Policy Editor.

  2. Navigate to: Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Control Panel, and then double-click on the Allow Online Tips policy to edit it.

  3. Select Disabled, click Apply and then OK.

  4. Re-open the Settings app and the online tips should have gone.

Method 2: Use Registry Editor to Disable Online Tips for Settings App in Windows 10

  1. Press the Windows key + R together, type in regedit and hit Enter to access Registry Editor.

  2. Navigate to the following key:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

    Then right-click the empty space in the right pane, select New -> DWORD (32-bit Value).

  3. Name the newly created value as AllowOnlineTips and keep its value at 0.

  4. Close Registry Editor and reboot your computer to see the changes.

How to Remove Shadow Under Icon Text on Windows 10 Desktop

December 25th, 2017 by Admin

Is there any way to turn off or hide the shadows for desktop icon labels? On Windows 10 desktop, the text under icon text has a drop shadows effect by default, which can make the text illegible. Here’s how to remove shadow under icon text on Windows 10 desktop.

Disabling shadow will make your desktop icons’ text labels easier to read against your background:

How to Remove Shadow Under Icon Text on Windows 10 Desktop?

  1. Right-click the This PC shortcut on your desktop, and select the Properties from the drop-down menu.

  2. In the System window, click Advanced system settings on the left side.

  3. The System Properties window will open the Advanced tab. Click the Settings button under Performance.

  4. Under Visual Effects tab, uncheck the box marked “Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop“. Click Apply and then OK. If you can’t see the change, restart your PC.

    That’s it!

If you’re a fan of hacking the Windows registry, you can simply remove drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop using Registry Editor. Navigate to the following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

Double-click the ListViewShadow entry in the right pane, change its value from 1 to 0. Reboot your computer and you should no longer have the drop shadow under icon text on Windows 10 desktop.