Archive for the ‘Windows 10’ category

2 Methods to Remove Password Reveal Button in Windows 10

December 15th, 2015 by Admin

Password Reveal Button is a new feature introduced since Windows 8. When you begin entering your password into the text box on Windows 10 logon screen, the system displays the Password Reveal Button at the end of the text box, as shown in screenshot below. As you can see, this button looks like a human eye.

When you click the Password Reveal Button, it will reveal your typed password. This feature is really useful for people who have a tendency to mistype passwords, but it also expose the chance for someone who might look over your shoulder to find out your password.

password-reveal-button

Security conscious users will worry about this feature and want to disable it for extra security. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to remove the Password Reveal Button in Windows 10, by using either Group Policy or registry trick.

Method 1: Remove Password Reveal Button Using Group Policy

  1. Press the Windows + R key combinations to open the Run box. Type gpedit.msc and press Enter.
  2. When Local Group Policy Editor opens, navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Credential User Interface.

    hide-password-reveal-button

    On the right side of the window, find the Do not display reveal password button option and double-click on it.

  3. To remove the Password Reveal Button, check the Enable option and click OK, else click on Disable or Not Configured if you want to see the Reveal Password Button again.

    not-display-password-reveal

However, Local Group Policy Editor is available only in the Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise editions. If you’re running Windows 10 Home, you have to use the registry trick below to disable the Password Reveal button.

Method 2: Remove Password Reveal Button Using Registry Trick

  1. Press the Windows + R key combinations to open the Run box. Type regedit and hit Enter.
  2. In the left side of Registry Editor, navigate to the following key:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows
  3. Right-click the “Windows” Key and then select New -> Key, name it CredUI.
  4. Now, right-click the CredUI Key and select the New -> DWORD, name it DisablePasswordReveal.
  5. In the right side, double-click the new DisablePasswordReveal value and set the Value data to 1.

    DisablePasswordReveal

    In future if you want to enable the Password Reveal Button again, either delete the key CredUI or change DisablePasswordReveal value to 0.

  6. Close the Registry Editor, and restart your system.

After disabling the feature, if you feel that the option to reveal was a comfortable option to rectify mistyped passwords, you can revert your changes and bring back the Password Reveal Button.

Fix “Password doesn’t work after upgrading to Windows 10”

December 14th, 2015 by Admin

I just recently upgraded from Windows 7 to Windows 10 today, everything was working fine until I restarted my Laptop. It kept coming up with “Incorrect Password”. I can remember the password but the system refuses to log me in. Please help!

Just upgrade to Windows 10 and the original password doesn’t work? Many users complain about this issue and there are various reasons why Windows 10 doesn’t accept their passwords. In this tutorial we’ll run through the 5 steps you should take to successfully troubleshoot the “password not working” issue.

Step 1: View the Actual Password You Typed

After typing your password in Windows 10 login screen, you’ll see a small eye icon on the right side of the password box. Press and hold the eye icon and it allows you to reveal the text you’ve just typed. If the password appears as expected and the system still says it’s incorrect, it’s likely that you’ve forgotten your password.

view-windows-password

If the revealed password is not the same as what want to type, or the eye icon is missing from the password box, go to the next steps for troubleshooting your password problem.

Step 2: Switch Keyboard Layout Input

A wrong keyboard layout can result in an inability to type the characters needed for your password. If you’ve set up multiple keyboard layouts with your system, then be sure to select the correct keyboard layout for typing the password. At the lower-right corner of Windows 10 logon screen, there is a language button (e.g., ENG). click there, and you will be allowed to change to the keyboard of your choice. Your password should now be accepted.

keyboard-layout-for-login

If there is just a single but incorrect keyboard layout for the login screen, there is no option to switch. In some cases, the layouts used will simply rearrange some characters so you will have to use alternative keys to type the password, by using the on-screen keyboard.

Step 3: Using On-Screen Keyboard

If you find yourself in a situation where your physical keyboard doesn’t work at all, or a wrong keyboard layout is used, then you can type the password using On-Screen Keyboard.

on-screen-keyboard

Click the Ease of Access icon in the lower-right corner of Windows 10 logon screen, and then select On-Screen Keyboard. It will display a virtual keyboard with all the standard keys. You can then type the password by clicking keys with your mouse.

Step 4: Reset Windows 10 Password

If Windows 10 still refuses you to login, you can try the PCUnlocker Live CD which can unlock, bypass and remove lost Windows 10 passwords for both local account and Microsoft account.

Just boot your problematic computer from PCUnlocker Live CD and it allows you to remove the password of any Windows users. After resetting the password, reboot your computer and you can log in to Windows 10 without typing a password!

Step 5: Reinstall or Revert Your System Back to What It Was

As a last resort, you can always just reinstall the OS and do the whole thing over again. Another option is refresh or reset your Windows 10 computer to factory default or revert back to former OS.

How to Restore Local Security Policy to Default in Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista and XP

December 14th, 2015 by Admin

Did you mess with the local security policy? Or a certain program changed the security policy that caused some strange issues? Luckily there is a simple way to reset / restore your local security policy settings to default in Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista and XP, if you mess up.

How to Restore Local Security Policy to Default in Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista and XP?

This method uses the default security configuration templates to reset the local policies (including account lockout and password complexity requirements policy). Here’s how to reset local security policy settings to their default values:

  1. Open an elevated Command Prompt. In Windows 10 and 8, press the Windows + X key combinations to open the Quick Access menu and choose Command Prompt (Admin). In Windows 7 or Vista, click the Start menu, then select All Programs -> Accessories, right-click on Command Prompt and select “Run as administrator”.
  2. Now copy and paste the following command into the Command Prompt. Hit Enter.
    secedit /configure /cfg %windir%\inf\defltbase.inf /db defltbase.sdb /verbose

    If you are running Windows XP and need to reset the security settings to their default values, use this command instead:
    secedit /configure /cfg %windir%\repair\secsetup.inf /db secsetup.sdb /verbose

    reset-local-security-policy

  3. This will take a few minutes to reset all the policies back to the Windows defaults. you’ll have to restart the computer to see the changes.

How to Turn on / off Adaptive Brightness in Windows 10 / 8

December 8th, 2015 by Admin

Adaptive brightness is a new feature in Windows 8 / 10 that uses an ambient light sensor to automatically adjust your screen’s brightness to your surroundings. When you have mostly dark stuff on screen (like a text editor with dark background), the screen will dim automatically. While on a white background it will brighten. These changes happen automatically after a few seconds, and they can also sometimes manifest as noticeable flickering.

If the brightness switching is driving you crazy, you can disable this feature so your screen will stay at the brightness level you want. In this post we’ll show you how to turn on / off adaptive brightness in Windows 10 and 8.

Updated: For the latest build of Windows 10, open the Settings app and navigate to System -> Display, you can check or uncheck the “Change brightness automatically when lighting changes” option to enable or disable adaptive brightness.

How to Turn on / off Adaptive Brightness in Windows 10 / 8?

  1. Press the Windows logo key + X to open the Quick Access menu. Click Control Panel.
  2. When Control Panel is open, set the View by option to Large icons. Click Power Options.

    control-panel

  3. Find your currently selected power plan and click on the associated “Change plan settings” link.

    power-options

  4. Now click on “Change advanced power settings“.

    edit-power-plan

  5. Scroll down to Display –> Enable adaptive brightness, and change the settings there to Off or On.

    adaptive-brightness

    If you set it to off, your screen will maintain a constant brightness level. If you don’t see this setting, it means that your computer doesn’t come with light sensors.

How to Clear or Hide Recent Files in Windows 10 Explorer

December 6th, 2015 by Admin

When you open the File Explorer in Windows 10, you’ll see a list of recently used folders/files. This feature is useful for you to quickly access your frequently opened folders/files, but it also exposes your recent activities to others when you are on a shared computer or a public computer.

quick-access

In this tutorial we’ll show you how to clear or hide the recent files in Windows 10 File Explorer.

Option 1: Remove/Clear Recent Files from Windows 10 Explorer

By default, Windows 10 keeps track of recently opened documents and files generally. Here is a simple way to permanently remove / clear recent folders/files from Windows 10 Explorer:

  1. Open File Explorer. It includes two sections: Frequent folders and Recent files.
  2. Right-click on the recent folder or file you want to delete, and select Remove from Quick access.

    remove-from-quick-access

Option 2: Hide Recent Files from Windows 10 Explorer

This method allows you to hide all recent folders/files from appearing in Quick Access of Windows 10 File Explorer. Here’s how:

  1. In File Explorer, go to the View ribbon section and click the Options button.

    file-explorer

  2. Once you’re in the Folder Options window, click General tab.
  3. Under Privacy at the bottom of the window, uncheck “Show recently used files in Quick access” and “Show recently used folders in Quick access“.

    folder-options

  4. Click Apply and OK. The recent files and frequent folders will immediately disappear from File Explorer.

Note that re-check the option “Show recently used files in Quick access” and it will also make your recent files appear in File Explorer again.

2 Options to Get out of Safe Mode in Windows 10 / 8 / 7 / Vista

November 20th, 2015 by Admin

Are you stuck in Windows Safe Mode? Every time you turn on or restart your computer and you still keep ending back in Safe Mode? In this article we’ll show you 2 ways to get out of Safe Mode in Windows 10, 8, 7 and Vista, so your system will go back to normal mode.

Note: The following methods require you to log on your computer as administrator. If you’ve forgotten your password, try to reset lost Windows password with PCUnlocker.

Option 1: Get out of Windows Safe Mode Using MSConfig Utility

MSConfig is a built-in tool available in all versions of Windows, which is designed to help identify problems that might prevent Windows from starting correctly. From within the MSConfig utility, you can set Windows to start in normal node instead of Safe Mode.

  1. Press the Windows key + R to bring up the Run box. Type msconfig and press Enter.

    msconfig

  2. When the System Configuration window opens, you’ll see the Safe boot option under the Boot options section.

    safe-boot-settings

  3. If Safe boot is checked, your computer will keep booting in Safe Mode. To get out of Safe Mode, you have to uncheck Safe boot and click Apply.
  4. Restart your computer and it will start in normal mode.

Option 2: Get out of Windows Safe Mode Using Command Prompt

  1. Before get started, you need to open a Command Prompt with administrator privileges. If your computer is current running in Safe Mode – Alternate Shell, you should be now at an administrator Command Prompt.
  2. Type the following command directly at the Command Prompt. Press Enter and it will turn off Safe Mode.
    bcdedit /deletevalue {current} safeboot

    get-out-of-safe-mode

  3. Reboot your computer with the command:
    shutdown /r
  4. Now your computer will boot back into normal mode. That’s it!

How to Upgrade to Windows 10 without Using Windows Update

November 18th, 2015 by Admin

Windows 10 is available to public as a free upgrade to every qualified computers running a genuine copy of Windows 8.1, 8 or 7. (Enterprise editions do not qualify.) Just download the official Media Creation Tool from Microsoft and it allows you to upgrade to Windows 10 as well as create installation media such as bootable USB or DVD drive. This tutorial will show you how to upgrade your current or another computer to Windows 10 directly without using Windows Update.

How to Upgrade Your Computer to Windows 10?

Head over to Microsoft’s website to download the 32-bit or 64-bit version of Media Creation Tool. Pick the 64-bit version if you want to run Media Creation Tool on Windows 8 or 7 64-bit OS. Otherwise opt for the 32-bit version.

If you don’t know whether you’re running Windows 32-bit or 64-bit, right-click on “My Computer” or “This PC” icon on your desktop and select Properties, the field labeled System Type will indicate if you are using a 32-bit or 64-bit OS.

system-type

Run the Media Creation Tool and follow the steps below to upgrade your current computer or another PC to Windows 10.

Option 1: Upgrade Current Computer to Windows 10

  1. Run the Media Creation Tool and then select the Upgrade this PC now option.

    upgrade-this-pc

  2. The Media Creation Tool will download Windows 10. When it’s done, accept the EULA, you’ll be presented with three options:
    • Keep personal files and apps
    • Keep personal files only
    • Nothing
  3. Select the first option to ensure your PC upgrades and you keep your files and applications. Windows 10 will start installing and after a few reboots and customization you’ll be upgraded.

Option 2: Upgrade Another Computer to Windows 10

  1. Run the Media Creation Tool and then select the Create installation media for another PC option.

    create-installation-media

  2. Select the language, edition and architecture (32 or 64 bits) of Windows. Make sure your selections match those of the computer(s) you wish to upgrade. So, if you currently have Windows 8 Pro (32-bit), choose Windows 10 Pro 32-bit.

    select-os-edition

  3. Select USB flash drive. If you plan to burn this to DVD instead, select ISO file and, after the process is over, you’ll have to use a DVD burning program to write the ISO to disc.
  4. Click Finish when the process is complete. If you don’t plan to upgrade to Windows 10 right away, you can remove the drive and stop here.
  5. Insert the created CD or USB flash drive into the computer you want to upgrade, and then run setup.exe. Follow the on-screen instruction to complete the upgrade process. If the software asks you for a product key, you are using the wrong edition of Windows 10 to upgrade.