Archive for the ‘Windows 10’ category

Easy Way to Disable Incognito Mode in Chrome on Windows 11 / 10

July 26th, 2022 by Admin

How can I stop my son from using Chrome’s Incognito mode? Incognito mode allows users to browse web privately without leaving a trace on the local disk of a computer. If you want to keep an eye on your child’s online activities and browsing history, you can turn off Incognito mode. In this tutorial we’ll walk you through the steps to disable Incognito mode in Chrome on Windows 11 / 10.

How to Disable Incognito Mode in Chrome on Windows 11 / 10

  1. Open Registry Editor and browse to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies. Right-click the Policies key on the left pane, and choose New -> Key.

  2. Rename the newly-created key to Google.

  3. Right-click Google and select New -> Key, then rename it to Chrome.

  4. While the Chrome key is selected, right-click the blank area on the right pane and choose New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value.

  5. Rename this DWORD as IncognitoModeAvailability, and then double-click it and change its value data to 1.

  6. Close Registry Editor. When you relaunch Chrome, you will notice that the option “New Incognito window” is greyed out and unclickable. You’re also unable to start Chrome in Incognito mode by default.

Whenever you need to enable Incognito mode again, just open Registry Editor and navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome, right-click the IncognitoModeAvailability value on the right pane and choose Delete.

That’s it!

2 Ways to Start Google Chrome in Incognito Mode on Windows 11 / 10

July 24th, 2022 by Admin

If you want to browse web without leaving history, cookies, site data, or any information you type in forms, you can start Chrome in Incognito mode. In this tutorial we’ll show you 2 methods to open Google Chrome in Incognito mode on Windows 11 / 10.

Method 1: Start Google Chrome in Incognito Mode via Three-dot Menu

  1. When using Google Chrome, click the three-dot menu icon in the browser’s upper-right corner and then select “New Incognito window“.

  2. It will immediately open a new Incognito window. You’ll see the Incognito icon at the right of the address bar, which indicates you’re browsing privately.

Another way of opening a Incognito window is to press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + N.

Method 2: Make Google Chrome Always Start in Incognito Mode

  1. Right-click the “Google Chrome” shortcut on your desktop and then select Properties.

  2. It will open the Properties window. In the Shortcut tab, append -incognito to the end of the Target text box.

  3. Click Apply and then OK.
  4. Every time you double-click the Google Chrome shortcut and it will open in Incognito mode by default.

That’s it!

2 Methods to Change Device Installation Settings in Windows 11 / 10

July 21st, 2022 by Admin

Windows Update keeps installing the same driver every day? How can I stop Windows from automatically overwriting drivers? If you want to prevent Windows Update from downloading and installing driver updates for devices installed on the computer, you need to change device installation settings.

Method 1: Change Device Installation Settings from System Properties

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

  2. Switch to the Hardware tab, and then click the “Device Installation Settings” button.

  3. The pop-up dialog will ask whether you want to automatically download manufacturers’ apps and custom icons available for your devices. Choose the “No (your device might not work as expected)” option and click Save Changes.

  4. This will disable automatic driver installation on your Windows 11 / 10 PC.

Method 2: Change Device Installation Settings from Registry Editor

  1. Open Registry Editor and navigate to the location: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Device Metadata. Double-click the DWORD PreventDeviceMetadataFromNetwork on the right pane.

  2. Change its value data from 0 to 1. Click OK.

  3. Windows will no longer automatically download and install the latest drivers for devices on your computer.

That’s it!

2 Methods to Prevent Users from Changing Proxy Settings in Windows 11 / 10

June 27th, 2022 by Admin

How can I disable changing of proxy settings in Windows 11? Proxy settings are used when your PC needs to access internet anonymously and the proxy server can retrieve web data for you. In this tutorial we’ll show you 2 methods to prevent users from changing proxy settings in Windows 11 / 10.

Method 1: Prevent Changing Proxy Settings by Group Policy

  1. Open Local Group Policy Editor and navigate to: User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Internet Explorer. On the right side, double-click the “Prevent changing proxy settings” policy.

  2. Changes its setting from Not Configured to Enabled.

  3. Click Apply and then OK. If you open Settings app and browse to: Network & internet -> Proxy, you’ll find all proxy settings are locked down and we’re unable to change it.

Method 2: Prevent Changing Proxy Settings by Registry Editor

  1. Open Registry Editor and navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft. Right-click the “Microsoft” key in the left sidebar and add a subkey named “Internet Explorer“. Next, right-click the “Internet Explorer” key and create a subkey named “Control Panel

  2. When the “Control Panel” key is selected, right-click the blank area in the right pane and create a new DWORD Proxy, and set its value data to 1.

  3. Close Registry Editor and reboot your computer. It will prevent users from changing the proxy settings using the Settings app or through the Internet Options.

That’s it!

3 Ways to Open Credential Manager in Windows 11 / 10

June 14th, 2022 by Admin

Credential Manager is the built-in password manager utility in Windows which lets you store usernames and passwords for accessing websites, network resources and apps. You can also use it to view, delete or backup your saved credentials. In this tutorial we’ll show you 3 easy methods to open Credential Manager in Windows 11 / 10.

Method 1: Open Credential Manager from Run or Command Prompt

Press the Windows key + R to bring up the Run box, type one of the following commands and press Enter. It will launch Credential Manager immediately.

control.exe keymgr.dll
control.exe /name Microsoft.CredentialManager
rundll32.exe keymgr.dll, KRShowKeyMgr

You can also execute the above commands from Command Prompt to access Credential Manager, or create a desktop shortcut for quick access.

Method 2: Open Credential Manager from Control Panel

Open the Control Panel and set the View by option to Large icons. You can then click the “Credential Manager” icon to start the Credential Manager utility.

Method 3: Open Credential Manager Using Windows Search

Click the Search button on your taskbar and type in “credential manager“. From the search results, you can click the “Credential Manager” shortcut to open the Credential Manager in the Control Panel window.

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!

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!

3 Methods to Restart Start Menu in Windows 11 / 10

May 30th, 2022 by Admin

What to do if Start Menu stops working all of a sudden? Starting with Windows 10, Start Menu has been moved out of File Explorer, and it appears as a standalone process (StartMenuExperienceHost.exe). If the Start Menu freezes up or becomes unresponsive, here are 3 simple methods to restart Start Menu in Windows 11 / 10.

Method 1: Restart Start Menu Using Task Manager

Press the Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys together to bring up Task Manager. Select the Users tab, and then click the small arrow next to your account.

Choose the “Start” process from the list, and click End task.

The Start Menu process will stop and then start automatically.

Method 2: Restart Start Menu Using Windows PowerShell

Open Windows PowerShell as administrator, and then execute the below command:
Stop-Process -Name "StartMenuExperienceHost" -Force

The Start Menu process will exit and restart automatically.

Method 3: Restart Start Menu Using Command Prompt

Launch Command Prompt as administrator, and run the following command:
taskkill /f /im StartMenuExperienceHost.exe

You’ll get the message that says the StartMenuExperienceHost.exe process has been terminated. After a very short time, the Start Menu process will start on its own.

How to Show Drive Letter Before Drive Name in Windows 11 / 10

May 26th, 2022 by Admin

How can I make the drive letter appear before drive label in File Explorer? By default, File Explorer puts drive letters after drive names when listing the drives on the computer.

If you want to reverse the order and make File Explorer show drive letter first, here is a simple method to show drive letter before drive name in Windows 11 / 10.

How to Show Drive Letter Before Drive Name in Windows 11 / 10

  1. Open Registry Editor and navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer. Right-click the Explorer key in the left pane, then choose New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.

  2. Name the new DWORD ShowDriveLettersFirst, and then double-click it to modify.

  3. A small window will pop up. Enter 4 in the Value data box to make Windows show all drive letters before drive labels, and click OK.

    • 0 = (Default) Show all drive letters after drive labels
    • 1 = Show only network drive letters before drive labels
    • 2 = Hide all drive letters
    • 4 = Show all drive letters before drive labels
  4. Close Registry Editor. Restart File Explorer and you’ll see it show drive letters first.

That’s it!

4 Methods to Disable File Compression in Windows 11 / 10

May 24th, 2022 by Admin

Windows 11 keeps compressing files in the C: drive? How do I stop Windows from automatically compressing files? This problem usually happens when your PC is running out of disk space. In this tutorial we’ll show you 4 methods to disable file compression in Windows 11 / 10.

Method 1: Disable File Compression Using Group Policy

Open Local Group Policy Editor and browse to: Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\System\Filesystem\NTFS. On the right pane, double-click the policy “Do not allow compression on all NTFS volumes“.

Select the Enabled option. Click Apply and then OK.

Reboot your computer to make the changes take effect. The next time you try to enable file compression, you’ll get the error message “Compression is disabled for this volume“.

Method 2: Disable File Compression Using Registry Editor

Open Registry Editor and navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Policies. In the right pane, right-click the blank area and select New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value.

Name the newly-created DWORD NtfsDisableCompression, and then change its value data to 1 for turning off automatic file compression.

Close Registry Editor and restart your computer to apply the changes.

Method 3: Disable File Compression Using Command Prompt

Open the Command Prompt as administrator and then run this command to disable file compression:
fsutil behavior set disablecompression 1

A reboot is required for this change to take effect. Whenever you need to enable file compression again, execute the following command:
fsutil behavior set disablecompression 0

Method 4: Uncompress Your Files in File Explorer

Right-click a compressed folder or file in File Explorer, and then select Properties from the context menu.

Under the General tab, click the Advanced button.

In the Advanced Attributes dialog, uncheck the box which says “Compress content to save disk space“. Click OK.

When you’re back to the Properties dialog, click Apply. A pop-up will appear, and you can choose “Apply changes to this folder, subfolders and files” and click OK.

After uncompressing, two blue arrows will no longer show up in the icons of your folders or files.