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How to Remove Frequently Used Folders from Quick Access in Windows 11

September 26th, 2023 by Admin

Is there any way to hide frequently used folders from the left navigation pane of File Explorer? By default, Windows 11 will automatically add the frequently used folders to Quick Access.

When you right-click the File Explorer icon on the taskbar, the frequently used folders will also appear under the “Frequent” section.

To protect your privacy, you can prevent frequently used folders from being added to Quick Access. In this tutorial we’ll show you two methods to remove frequently used folders from the Quick Access section of File Explorer in Windows 11.

Method 1: Manually Remove Frequently Used Folders in Windows 11

  1. Open File Explorer. Right-click one of the frequently used folders shown in the left navigation pane, and then choose “Remove from Quick access” from the pop-up menu.

  2. This operation will remove your selected folder from the Quick Access section of File Explorer, and it does NOT delete the folder itself.

Method 2: Permanently Turn off Frequently Used Folders in Windows 11

  1. When File Explorer opens, click the “See more” button (three dots icon) on the toolbar and then choose Options.

  2. Uncheck the “Show frequently used folders” option and click OK.

  3. It will remove the existing frequent folders history and permanently stop Quick Access from automatically adding any frequently used folders.

That’s it!

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4 Ways to Open the Recovery Drive app in Windows 11

September 12th, 2023 by Admin

The Recovery Drive app is also called Recovery Media Creator, which allows users to create a USB recovery drive for reinstalling Windows or resetting the computer to factory defaults. In this tutorial we’ll show you 4 common ways to open the Recovery Drive app in Windows 11.

Method 1: Open the Recovery Drive app via Search

  1. Click the Search box in the taskbar and type in recovery drive.

  2. When the search results pop up, click the Recovery Drive App icon under the Best match section. The tool for creating a recovery drive will launch.

Method 2: Open the Recovery Drive app via Run Command

  1. Press the Windows key + R together to bring up the Run command box.

  2. Enter RecoveryDrive and click OK, it will run the Recovery Drive app immediately.

Method 3: Open the Recovery Drive app via Control Panel

  1. Open the Control Panel in Large icons view, and then click Recovery.

  2. Under the “Advanced recovery tools” section, click the “Create a recovery drive” option.

Method 4: Open the Recovery Drive app via Windows Terminal

  1. Right-click the Start button and choose Terminal (Admin) from the pop-up menu.

  2. When the Terminal opens to Windows PowerShell or Command Prompt, execute the “RecoveryDrive” command.

That’s it!

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How to Delete Recovery Partition in Windows 11 / 10

September 11th, 2023 by Admin

Is it safe to remove the Recovery partition from Windows 11? How can I delete the Recovery partition without affecting the running OS? Recovery partition does the same thing as a USB recovery drive which could be used to refresh or reset your PC, so you can delete all the Recovery partitions without affecting your current operating system, especially useful when two partitions are separated by a Recovery partition. In this tutorial we’ll walk you through the steps to delete a Recovery partition in Windows 11 / 10.

How to Delete Recovery Partition in Windows 11 / 10

  1. Before getting started, open the Disk Management and find all the Recovery partitions available in your hard drive. The Recovery partition is hidden from File Explorer and it has no drive letter.

    You need to note down the disk number, partition number and capacity of each Recovery partition. In my example, both partition 1 and partition 6 associated with disk 0 are Recovery partitions.

  2. Next, open Windows Terminal as admin and run the diskpart command.

  3. Type select disk n and press Enter, replacing n with the disk number of the disk where your Recovery partitions are located. Next, run the list partition command to show all partitions on the selected disk.

    You need to check if the partition number and size of each Recovery partition are the same as what are shown in the Disk Management utility. Make sure you’re deleting the correct partitions.

  4. To delete a partition, run the following commands one by one. Replace # with the partition number of your Recovery partition.
    select partition #
    delete partition override

  5. When it’s done, close the Terminal window. Open Disk Management and you can take use of the unallocated space previously occupied by the Recovery partition. For example, expand the existing partition or merge two partitions.

Conclusion

Recovery partition is a special partition which is used to restore the system to factory settings in the event of system issues. You can delete one or two Recovery partitions using the above method or third-party software such as DiskGenius Free, without affecting your current Windows OS.

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Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 10, Windows 11

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How to Remove Home from File Explorer in Windows 11

August 31st, 2023 by Admin

How can I unpin or remove “Home” from the top of navigation pane in File Explorer? Home is the default startup location of File Explorer, where you can access your recent files, frequent pins and Quick Access. If you rarely access the Home tab, you can remove the Home icon in the left navigation pane of File Explorer in Windows 11.

How to Remove Home from File Explorer in Windows 11

  1. Open Registry Editor. Copy and paste the following registry path into the address bar for quick navigation. Right-click the {f874310e-b6b7-47dc-bc84-b9e6b38f5903} key and select Rename.
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace_36354489\{f874310e-b6b7-47dc-bc84-b9e6b38f5903}

  2. Rename it to anything you want, or simply append a few characters to the beginning of the key so you can restore it back in future.

  3. Close Registry Editor. The Home icon will immediately disappear from the left navigation pane of File Explorer.

That’s it!

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2 Methods to Lock the Find My Device Option in Windows 11

August 14th, 2023 by Admin

How can I prevent others from changing the “Find My Device” settings in Windows 11? Looking for a way to disable the Find My Device permanently? In this tutorial we’ll show you 2 methods to lock the Find My Device option in Windows 11, so others are unable to change it from the Settings app.

Method 1: Lock the Find My Device Option in Windows 11 via Group Policy

  1. Open the Local Group Policy Editor and browse to: Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Find My Device. On the right pane, double-click the “Turn On/Off Find My Device” policy.

  2. You can select the Disabled option to permanently turn off the Find My Device feature, or choose the Enabled option to prevent others from turning off Find My Device.

  3. Close the Local Group Policy Editor. Open the Settings app and you’ll find the “Find My Device” setting is greyed out and locked down.

Method 2: Lock the Find My Device Option in Windows 11 via Registry Editor

  1. Open Registry Editor and navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft. Right-click the Microsoft key and select New -> Key.

  2. Name the new key FindMyDevice and select it. Next, right-click the empty space in the right pane and choose New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value.

  3. Name the DWORD AllowFindMyDevice. Leave its value data as 0 if you want to disable the Find My Device feature permanently, or set it to 1 for turning on Find My Device and lock the setting.

  4. Close Registry Editor.

That’s it!

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How to Use the Find My Device Feature in Windows 11

July 31st, 2023 by Admin

Any way to find a lost Windows device? How can I remotely lock a stolen laptop? Luckily, there is a feature called Find My Device available in Windows 11, which can help you remotely track and lock a lost or stolen computer. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to enable the Find My Device feature in Windows 11 and then use it to locate or lock your device in case it’s lost or stolen.

Part 1: Enable Find My Device in Windows 11

Before getting started, make sure you’re signed in to Windows 11 using your Microsoft account. Follow these steps to turn on the Find My Device feature.

  1. Press the Windows key + I to launch Settings. Select Privacy & security from the left-hand side, then click Find my device on the right pane.

  2. Toggle the “Find my device” switch to On. If the Location services is turned off, you need to turn it on beforehand by navigating to Settings -> Privacy & security -> Location.

Part 2: Locate and Lock your Windows 11 Computer

Now you can use another device (computer or mobile phone) to track and lock your missing or stolen Windows 11 computer. Here’s how:

  1. Open the web browser and visit the Microsoft Devices page, sign in with the same Microsoft account that you are using on the Windows 11 computer. Next, click the “Find my device” option at the top.

  2. You will see a map showing the device’s last known location. The Find button allows you to retrieve the current location. If you want to remotely lock down your Windows 11 PC, simply click the Lock button.

  3. Type in a message which will appear on the lock screen of your Windows 11 computer, and click the Lock button at the bottom.

  4. Wait a minute and Microsoft will lock down the device if it’s online.

  5. When your Windows 11 PC is locked remotely, your message will be displayed on the lock screen and all Windows accounts are blocked.

    If a guy tries to log in with a local account, he will get the error message “An administrator has restricted sign in. To sign in, make sure your device is connected to the internet, and have your administrator sign in first“.

Once you found your lost Windows 11 computer, you may need to perform a factory reset or remove the login restrictions by using the PCUnlocker utility.

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3 Ways to View All Shared Folders in Windows 11

July 24th, 2023 by Admin

How can I see a list of the folders I have shared? Looking for a way to find all hidden or suspicious network shares on your computer? It’s a good security strategy to remove network shares when you no longer need to share files over a network. In this tutorial we’ll show you 3 ways to view all shared folders in Windows 11.

Method 1: View All Shared Folders in Windows 11 Using File Explorer

  1. Open File Explorer. Type \\localhost in the address bar and press Enter.

  2. It will list all the folders you have shared with anybody on the network.

Method 2: View All Shared Folders in Windows 11 Using Computer Management

  1. Right-click the This PC icon on your desktop, and then choose “Show more options“.

  2. Proceed to choose Manage from the pop-up menu.

  3. Once Computer Management opens, expand System Tools -> Shared Folders, and then click Shares.

  4. You’ll see all network shares in the right pane, including the hidden administrative shares for each drive on your system ( C$ for the C drive). Additionally, you can click the “Open Files” (or “Session“) node from left navigation pane to see who is accessing which shared folders on your computer.

Method 3: View All Shared Folders in Windows 11 Using Terminal

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

  2. Type the net share command and press Enter. You will see a list of shared folders on your computer.

That’s it!

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How to Export and Import a Power Plan in Windows 11 / 10

July 5th, 2023 by Admin

Is there any way to backup power plans before reinstalling Windows 10? How can I apply a custom power plan on multiple PCs at once? In this tutorial we’ll show you an easy way to export a power plan to a .pow file, and then import the .pow file to restore the power plan on Windows 11 / 10.

How to Export and Import a Power Plan in Windows 11 / 10

  1. Before getting started, you need to open an elevated Command Prompt, Windows PowerShell or Windows Terminal. Run the powercfg -list command to display all the power plans available in your system. Each power plan has its own unique GUID.

  2. Execute the following command to export a power plan to the file d:\demo\Balanced.pow. The Your_GUID needs to be replaced with the actual GUID of the power plan you want to export.

    powercfg -export d:\demo\Balanced.pow Your_GUID

  3. Open File Explorer and browse to the location where your .pow file is stored. It’s actually a binary registry file which saves all your power scheme settings such as display, sleep, etc. You can transfer this file to other Windows PCs for restoring your power plan.

  4. To import a power plan, simple type the following command and hit Enter. Replace d:\demo\Balanced.pow with the location where your .pow file is saved.

    powercfg -import d:\demo\Balanced.pow

  5. Once you complete the above step, open Control Panel and go to Power Options, your imported power plan should appear and you can set it as active.

That’s it!

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Posted in Tips & Tricks, Windows 10, Windows 11

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Fix: Your power plan information isn’t available in Windows 11

July 4th, 2023 by Admin

When you try to edit or create a power plan from the Control Panel, you may receive the error message “Your power plan information isn’t available. Why can’t Windows retrieve this information?”

In this tutorial we’ll show you a simple method to quickly fix the error “Your power plan information isn’t available” in Windows 11.

How to Fix: Your power plan information isn’t available in Windows 11

  1. Right-click the Start button on the taskbar, and then select Terminal (Admin) from the WinX menu. Next, click Yes when the User Account Control dialog box opens.

  2. Execute the following command to restore the default power plans in Windows 11.
    powercfg –restoredefaultschemes

  3. Close the Terminal window. Now you can open the Control Panel to create a new power plan or edit the existing ones without experiencing the error “Your power plan information isn’t available“.

That’s it!

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5 Quick Ways to Open the Services Applet in Windows 11

June 27th, 2023 by Admin

How do I access the Service Manager in Windows 11? The Services applet is a centralized place to start, stop, enable or disable any services installed on your Windows system. In this tutorial we’ll show you 5 quick ways to open the Services applet in Windows 11.

Method 1: Open the Services Applet via the Run Dialog

  1. Press the Windows key + R together to launch the Run dialog box, type services.msc in the text field and press Enter.

  2. This should be the most common and fastest way to access the Services tool in Windows.

Method 2: Open the Services Applet via Windows Terminal

  1. Once you’ve launched Windows Terminal, enter the services.msc command and hit Enter.

  2. It will quickly open the Services tool.

Method 3: Open the Services Applet via Search

  1. Type services in the Search box on the taskbar. Next, click the Services app which appears under the “Best match” section.

  2. The Services Manager tool will launch immediately.

Method 4: Open the Services Applet via Computer Management

  1. Right-click the Start button on the taskbar, and then choose Computer Management from the pop-up menu.

  2. In the left pane, expand the “Services and Applications” folder and then click on Services.

  3. You’ll see a list of services installed on your computer.

Method 5: Create a Desktop Shortcut to Open the Services Applet

  1. Right-click the blank space on your desktop and then choose New -> Shortcut.

  2. Type services.msc in the shortcut location box and click Next.

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

  4. Whenever you want to open Windows Services, you can double-click the desktop shortcut to quickly access it.

That’s it!

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