Archive for the ‘Tips & Tricks’ category

How to Create a Printer Shortcut on Windows 11 / 10 Desktop

June 24th, 2022 by Admin

How can I create a desktop shortcut for my printer? If you need to use printer frequently, it’s advisable to put a printer shortcut on the desktop so you can see the pending jobs with ease. In this tutorial we’ll show you 2 methods to create a printer shortcut on Windows 11 / 10 desktop.

Method 1: Create a Printer Shortcut on Windows 11 / 10 from Control Panel

Open the Control Panel in Large icons view, and then click the “Devices and Printers” category.
Right-click on your desired printer in the list, and then choose Create shortcut from the pop-up menu.
A pop-up dialog will open and ask whether you want to place the printer shortcut on the desktop. Click Yes to confirm.
This will immediately add a printer shortcut to your desktop.

Method 2: Create a Printer Shortcut on Windows 11 / 10 from Desktop

Right-click the blank area on your desktop and then choose New -> Shortcut.
Enter the following in the shortcut location bar, and click Next. Make sure you replace printer_name with the actual name of your printer.
rundll32.exe printui.dll,PrintUIEntry /o /n "printer_name"
Give a meaningful name to the shortcut and click Finish.
Now, you have successfully created a printer shortcut on the desktop. If you want to change the shortcut icon and make it recognizable at a glance, right-click your printer shortcut and select Properties. Click the Change Icon button and choose a printer icon from the SHELL32.dll icon folder.

That’s it!

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Tags: create a printer shortcut on desktop windows 11 create printer shortcut windows 10 create printer shortcut windows 11

Configure Windows Terminal to Always Run as Administrator

June 23rd, 2022 by Admin

Starting with version 1.13, Windows Terminal comes with a new feature that can launch Command Prompt and PowerShell as administrator by default. If you use Windows Terminal regularly with admin privileges, just follow this tutorial to configure Windows Terminal to always run as administrator by default, and it will save you a lot of time and hassle.

How to Configure Windows Terminal to Always Run as Administrator

Right-click the Start button on the taskbar and then choose either “Windows Terminal” or “Windows Terminal (Admin)” from the list.
Click on the down-arrow icon from menu bar at the top, and then select Settings.
On the left sidebar, we can see different profiles for Windows PowerShell, Command Prompt, Azure Cloud Shell under the Profiles section.
Click each profile from the left sidebar, and then turn on the “Run this profile as Administrator” option on the right pane.

If you want to make Windows Terminal launch new profiles you’ll add later as administrator, just click “Defaults” under the Profiles section and turn on the “Run this profile as Administrator” option.
Click the Save button to make the changes take effect. From now on, no matter which method you use to launch Windows Terminal, it will automatically run Command Prompt, Windows PowerShell and other profiles as administrator by default.

Whenever you need to stop Windows Terminal from always running with elevated privileges, just undo the changes you have made in the above steps.

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Tags: always run windows terminal as administrator run windows terminal as admin by default run windows terminal as admin windows 11

4 Easy Ways to Find MAC Address on Windows 11 PC

June 22nd, 2022 by Admin

IP address can change periodically while MAC address never changes on their own and it’s hard-coded onto your network adapter. If your PC has both Ethernet adapter and wireless adapter, each adapter has its own MAC address. In this tutorial we’ll show you 4 easy methods to find the MAC address on Windows 11 computer.

Method 1: Find MAC Address Using Windows Terminal

Open Windows Terminal (Command Prompt or PowerShell) and execute the following command:
getmac /v
It will display MAC addresses for each adapters installed on your PC, including virtual network adapter.

Method 2: Find MAC Address Using System Information Tool

Press the WIN + R keys together to bring up the Run box, type msinfo32 and press Enter.
When the System Information tool launches, use the left sidebar to navigate to Components -> Network -> Adapter.
From the right side pane, you will see a list of adapters, along with detailed information for each. The Name field can help you quickly identify the adapter you’re looking for, and the MAC address is shown in the “MAC Address” field.

Method 3: Find MAC Address Using Settings App

Press the WIN + I keys to open the Settings app. Select Network & internet in the left pane. On the right pane, click either Wi-Fi or Ethernet depend on which adapter you’re connected to.
If you’ve clicked Ethernet, scroll down to the bottom of the next window and you can see the MAC address of your Ethernet adapter.

If you’ve clicked Wi-Fi instead, proceed to click the “Hardware properties” option in the next window and you can find the MAC address of your wireless adapter as well.

Method 4: Find MAC Address Using Network Connections

Press the WIN + R keys together to launch the Run box, type ncpa.cpl and press Enter to open the Network Connections window.
Right-click your currently active network adapter and choose Status from the pop-up menu.
Click the Details button.
In the “Network Connection Details” window, your MAC address is displayed beside the “Physical Address” field.

That’s it!

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Tags: find mac address windows 11 find mac address without command prompt how to find mac address on windows

Easy Ways to Remove Microsoft Account from Windows 11 PC

June 18th, 2022 by Admin

How can I delete a Microsoft account profile from Windows without closing the online account itself? If you would like to use a local account instead, here are 2 simple methods to remove Microsoft account and profile data from Windows 11 PC.

Before Getting Started

Windows doesn’t allow deleting an account while you’re signed into it. Before removing Microsoft account from Windows 11, you need to log in with a local administrator account.

If the Microsoft account is the only account on your PC, you need to create a new local administrator account or activate the hidden built-in Administrator account by following these steps:

Right-click the Start button in the taskbar and choose “Windows Terminal (Admin)”.
Execute the following commands to activate the built-in local Administrator account and set up a new password:
net user Administrator /active:yes net user Administrator *

After preparing a local administrator account and logging into it, you can then use the below methods to remove Microsoft account.

Method 1: Remove Microsoft Account from Windows 11 Using Settings App

Press the Windows key + I to open the Settings app. Choose Account in the left sidebar and click “Other users” on the right.
Under the Other users section, you’ll see a list of user accounts available on your computer. Click the Microsoft account which you want to delete.
Click the Remove button next to “Account and data”.
In the pop-up dialog, click the “Delete account and data” button to confirm.
It will immediately unlink your Microsoft account from current PC and delete its profile folder.

Method 2: Remove Microsoft Account from Windows 11 Using Control Panel

Open the Control Panel in the Category view, and click User Accounts.
Click “Remove user accounts” option under the “User Accounts” section.
It will display all the user accounts on the system. Choose the Microsoft account that you want to remove.
Click the “Delete the account” link from the actions on the left.
The next window will ask whether you want to keep the profile folder for your Microsoft account. If you don’t want to keep anything stored in the profile folder, just click the “Delete Files” button.

Conclusion

There are many other methods of deleting a local & Microsoft account in Windows 11, but only the above methods can help you delete the profile data associated with your Microsoft account.

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Tags: delete microsoft account windows 11 remove microsoft account from windows 11

How to Convert Microsoft Account to Local Account in Windows 11

June 16th, 2022 by Admin

No longer want to use Microsoft account to log in to Windows 11? Need to switch from Microsoft account to local account before selling or giving away your PC? In this tutorial we’ll walk you through the steps to convert Microsoft account to local account in Windows 11.

How to Convert Microsoft Account to Local Account in Windows 11

Press the Windows key + I to bring up the Settings app. Choose Accounts from the left pane, and then click Your info on the right pane.
Under the “Account settings” section, it shows that you’re using Microsoft account. In order to switch to local account, click the “Sign in with a local account instead” link.
The pop-up screen will ask you whether you’re sure you want to switch to a local account. Click Next to continue.
Enter your Microsoft account password (or your PIN if you’ve enabled passwordless login for Microsoft account) and click OK.
In the following screen, fill in the details of user name, password, and password hint that you want to use for the converted local account. Click Next.
Click the “Sign out and finish” button. The system will unlink your Microsoft account from Windows 11 and sign you out. You can then log in using the unlinked local account.
After logging back in, open the Settings app and go to: Accounts -> Your info, you should see “Local account” displayed under the “Account settings” section, along with an option called “Sign in with a Microsoft account instead” which allows you convert back to Microsoft account.

That’s it!

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Tags: convert microsoft account to local account windows 11 switch microsoft account to local account windows 11 windows 11 switch to local account

How to Set Default GPU for Desktop Apps in Windows 11

June 15th, 2022 by Admin

Is there any way to set Nvidia GPU as default for a specific program? By default, Windows 11 will use the integrated graphics card as the default GPU for power saving. For GPU intensive applications, it’s better to use dedicated graphic card as the default GPU to accelerate computing. In this tutorial we’ll walk you through the steps to set default GPU for desktop apps in Windows 11.

How to Set Default GPU for Desktop Apps in Windows 11

Press the Windows + I on your keyboard to open the Settings app. Choose System from the left pane, and then click Display on the right pane.
Scroll down to the “Related settings” section, click Graphics.
You’ll see a list of installed Microsoft Store apps which you can change graphics card settings for. To add your desired desktop app, click the drop-down list under “Add an app” and select “Desktop app“, then click the Browse button.
Select the executable file of your desired program, and click Add.
Your selected program should now appear on the app list. Just click the app and then click Options.
Select the “High performance” option, then click Save.
Now you’ve successfully changed the default GPU for your desired program. Restart your computer and open your program to enjoy high performance.

That’s it!

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Tags: change default gpu windows 11 change default graphics card windows 11 set default gpu windows 11

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.

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Tags: windows 11 bypass security questions windows 11 disable security questions windows 11 skip security questions

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

Press the Windows key + R together to bring up the Run box, type sysdm.cpl and press Enter to open System Properties dialog.
Choose the Advanced tab at the top, and then click the Settings button under the Performance section.
In the Visual Effects tab, uncheck the “Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop” option and click OK.
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

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.
In order to disable drop shadows for desktop icon labels, change its value data from 1 to 0, and click OK.
Close Registry Editor and restart your PC to apply the changes.

That’s it!

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Tags: remove shadows on desktop icon label remove shadows on desktop icon text use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop

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

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.
Click the down arrow next to the Touchpad toggle switch.
Uncheck the “Leave touchpad on when a mouse is connected” option.
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!

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Tags: disable touchpad when mouse is connected leave touchpad on when a mouse is connected turn off touchpad when mouse is plugged in windows 11

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

Right-click on the blank space of the desktop, and choose Personalize from the context menu.
When the Settings app opens to the Personalize page, click Themes on the right pane.
Under the Related settings section, click “Desktop icon settings“.
In the pop-up window, check the “Control Panel” option and click OK.
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

Right-click on the blank space of the desktop, and choose New -> Shortcut from the pop-up menu.
Copy the below command and paste it in the location field. Click Next.
%windir%\System32\control.exe
Enter a meaningful name for this shortcut, and click Finish.
The “Control Panel” shortcut will appear on your desktop, and you can move it to any location you want.

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Tags: control panel shortcut windows 11 open control panel windows 11 windows 11 pin control panel to start