Archive for the ‘Windows 10’ category

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PXE-Boot: Reset Forgotten Windows Password without CD or USB Drive

December 23rd, 2014 by Admin

Many Windows password tools require creating a bootable CD or USB drive, and then booting it to recover / reset lost admin password. However, what if you encounter an old computer that doesn’t support USB booting, neither have a CD drive? Thankfully, you can reset forgotten Windows password via PXE network boot.

PCUnlocker is a bootable utility that can reset lost Windows password from a bootable CD, USB device or network over PXE. Just set up a PXE server on your LAN to store the PCUnlocker CD image, and you can then boot any other PC on the same LAN to reset a lost password. Here’s how.

Part 1: Set Up A PXE Server

A PXE server can be any accessible Windows PC on your LAN network. Before get started, you need to disable DHCP in your router and use a static IP address for your PXE server. Follow the steps below to set up a PXE server which is required for PXE booting.

  1. After you’ve purchased PCUnlocker Enterprise, download the pxe-boot version (pxeboot_x64.zip) via this link included in your order confirmation email. Extract all files from pxeboot_x86.zip to a folder of your choice. Here, I extracted the ZIP file to the folder C:\pxeboot_x64.

  2. Download and install the freeware Serva from this link (Use the Serva_Non-Supporter_64 version if you are running 64-bit Windows). Run the program and click on the Settings button at the bottom.
  3. If the Windows firewall displays a prompt named Windows Security Alert, asking you to allow Serva to access the network, click Allow Access.

  4. In the Serva Settings window, click on TFTP tab. Tick TFTP Server and set the root directory to the folder where you extracted the pxeboot_x64.zip file (in my case D:\pxeboot_x64). Check the Allow ‘\’ As virtual root option.

  5. Click on DHCP tab. Setup the IP pool starting address and Size of pool for your network. Type Boot\pxeboot.n12 in the Boot File box.

  6. Click OK to save your settings and restart Serva.

Part 2: PXE-Booting Your Locked PC on LAN

  1. Power on your locked PC and press a proper key to access the Boot Menu. Select Realtek PXE or your network device and press Enter.

    If your PXE NIC device is not listed in the boot order, you need to enable an option labeled “PXE”, “PXE ROM”, “Network ROM” or “Realtek PXE OPROM” in the BIOS.

  2. Once you’ve chosen to boot from PXE Network, your computer will broadcast a DHCP request over the network. After receiving a IP address from the PXE server, it begins to download the PCUnlocker CD image that is stored on the PXE server.

Part 3: Reset Forgotten Windows Password

  1. After loading the PCUnlocker CD image into RAM, Windows 8 PE will start and boot directly to the PCUnlocker program itself. The program automatically searches Windows SAM file on the local hard drive and lists all your user accounts.

  2. Select a user account whose password you forgot, and click on Reset Password button. It will unlock / reset your Windows login password in no time.
  3. Reboot your computer and boot it from local hard drive. You can then login without a password!

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Posted in Tips & Tricks, Windows 10, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Vista, Windows XP

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How to Change Default Web Browser in Windows 8 / 7

December 11th, 2014 by Admin

Is there a way to set Chrome as the default browser for all my applications? By default, Windows will launch the built-in Internet Explorer for you to access the Internet, when you click a link in an email or external application. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to change the default web browser in Windows 8.1, 8 and 7. Set Firefox, Chrome, Safari or whatever web browsers you like as the default.

How to Change Default Web Browser in Windows 8 / 7?

First you need to open the Control Panel. In Windows 8.1/8 you can press the Windows key + R to bring up the Power User menu and then select “Control Panel”, while navigate to Start -> Control Panel in Windows 7.

Under Control Panel, set the View by option to Small icons. Click on the Default Programs icon.

control-panel

Under Default Programs, click on the Set your default programs link.

set-default-programs

You’ll see all web browsers that you’ve installed in the left-hand pane. Just select the one you want to use as default browser, and then click on the Set this program as default link. Click OK and you’re done!

set-default-web-browser

Now you’ve successfully change the default web browser that Windows will use. If you click on a link included in a Word document, email or external programs, Windows will now open the link with your favorite web browser.

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Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 10, Windows 7, Windows 8

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Windows 10: Associate a File Type with a Specific App

December 6th, 2014 by Admin

A default program is the program that Windows uses automatically when you open a particular type of file. For example, when you double-click a file with .wmv, Windows Media Player opens up and that’s because the extension name .wmv is associated with Windows Media Player by default.

But sometimes you might want to change file association from the default program to your favorite app. Here are two ways to re-associate the file back to the program of your choice in Windows 10. The methods below apply to Windows 8.1/8/7 too.

Method 1: Change File Associations in Control Panel

  1. Open the Control Panel. At top right of the Control Panel, set the View by option to Small icons. Click on the Default Programs icon.

    control-panel

  2. Under the Default Programs window, click on the “Associate a file type or protocol with a program” link.

    default-programs

  3. In the Set Associations window, scroll down the list until you see the file extension that you want to change the default program for. Select your desired file extension and click on Change Program.

    set-associations

  4. The Open With dialog box should appear. Choose a program from the list or recommended or other programs or else click Browse to select one.
  5. Click OK when you’re done. Windows 10 will refresh the list of file associations to show the new default program to open this type of file.

Method 2: Change File Associations from Context Menu

  1. In Windows Explorer, navigate to the file you want to change the file association with. Right-click on that file and select Open with -> Choose default program from the pop-up menu.

    choose-default-program

  2. Click the program you want to use to open the file. If you want all files of that type to open in the same software program, select the Always use the selected program to open this kind of file check box, and then click OK.
  3. From this point forward, when you double-click on any file with this particular file extension, the new program you associated it with will launch and open the particular file.

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Windows 8.1 Displays Context Menu on the Left Instead of Right Side

December 5th, 2014 by Admin

If you’ve upgraded to Windows 8.1 or Windows 10, you may notice that the context menu is displayed at left side of where you click at, but in Windows 8, 7 or Vista the menu expands to right side by default. For example, when you right-click a file, the context menu may appear on the left hand side, rather than on the right-hand side. This misbehavior also happens with the drop-down menus in other applications.

right-handed-menu

This has to do with a Tablet PC Setting which controls how the menu items are displayed. This tutorial will show you how to set the context menu to open to the right side of where you click at in Windows 8.1 and Windows 10.

How to Set Context Menu to Open to the Left Instead of Right Side?

  1. Press the Windows key + R to bring up the Run box.
  2. Copy and paste shell:::{80F3F1D5-FECA-45F3-BC32-752C152E456E} into the Run box, and then press Enter.
  3. You should see Tablet PC Settings dialog box, regardless of your PC type. Go to the Other tab and check the box Left-handed.

    handedness

  4. Click OK. You should now see the context menu expand to right side.

    left-handed-menu

    This trick also works for Windows 8, 7 and Vista.

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Posted in Tips & Tricks, Windows 10, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Vista

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Enable Hardware Virtualization VT-x/AMD-v in BIOS

December 3rd, 2014 by Admin

When you try to install Windows 8, you might receive an error message that says “This PC can’t run Windows 8 – Your PC’s CPU isn’t compatible with Windows 8“. To fix this problem you have to enable hardware virtualization VT-x/AMD-v for your CPU in BIOS.

cpu-not-compatible-with-win

On Intel platforms, you can normally turn VT-x on and off in the BIOS, whereas on AMD platforms, AMD-V is on all the time (at least I have not come across a BIOS which contains an option to enable/disable AMD-V).

How to Enable Hardware Virtualization in BIOS?

Usually, the VT-x feature is disabled by default in the BIOS for some reason. To enable it on your model, you have to find the option in your BIOS, it’s usually called “Hardware virtualization support”, ” Intel(R) Virtualization Technology” or something similar.

Here is how to enable Hardware Virtualization in BIOS:

  1. Power on your computer. Enter the BIOS setup by pressing F2, F12, Del or other key (The key may vary depending on your system model).
  2. Look for an option labeled by ‘Virtualization Technology’ or ‘Intel(R) Virtualization Technology’ under ‘CPU Configurations’, ‘System Configurations’, ‘Advanced’ or ‘Security’ tab and check if the option is enabled or disabled.
  3. Enable Intel Virtualization Technology (VT) or AMD-V depending on the brand of the processor.

    enable-hardware-virtualizat

  4. Save the BIOS settings. However, a warm reboot is insufficient for the change to take effect. You need to power off the machine and disconnect the power supply.

If you can’t find the hardware virtualization settings in BIOS, I highly recommend to check the manual or online guide of your motherboard vendor, and some old computers might don’t support virtualization technology (vt-x/amd-v) at all.

How to Confirm Hardware Virtualization is Enabled?

There is a tool available from Microsoft which can help you check if virtualization technology (vt-x/amd-v) is enabled on your Intel and AMD processor.

Download the Microsoft hardware-assisted virtualization detection tool

Installation is not required here, execute the EXE file and following result will appear.

virtualization-detection

However, this tool doesn’t work on Windows 8. To work around this problem, you can run this tool in compatibility mode by following these steps:

  1. Right-click on the EXE file (havdetectiontool.exe) and then click Properties.
  2. Click on the Compatibility tab.
  3. Compatibility mode lets you choose how to run the EXE file. You can choose anything from Windows 7 to Windows XP, as the virtualization detection tool works with Windows 7/Vista/XP.

    compatibility-mode

  4. click Apply then click OK to save the changes. You can then run virtualization detection tool on Windows 8 to check if virtualization technology (vt-x/amd-v) is enabled on your computer.

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Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 10, Windows 8

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How to Burn ISO to Disc in Windows 10/8/7 without Any Software

December 2nd, 2014 by Admin

ISO files are frequently used to distribute CD or DVD images. For example, if you download a Linux distribution or WinPE image, what you’ll most likely download is actually a .iso file that needs to be burned to a disc. Since Windows 7, Microsoft has added native support for burning ISO image directly to disc without using any third-party tools. Here’s how you can burn ISO to CD/DVD from Windows Explorer or Command Prompt in Windows 10, 8.1, 8 and 7.

Option 1: Burn ISO to Disc in Windows 10/8/7 from Windows Explorer

In Windows Explorer, navigate to the ISO image file you want to burn. Right-click on it and select Burn disc image.

burn-disc-image

Windows Disc Image Burner will now open. You can choose which disk burner to use, if you have more than one, in the Disc burner drop-down list. Insert a blank disc in your DVD or CD burner, wait for a few seconds and click on Burn. If you check the “Verify disc after burning” option, it will verify the content of burned CD and ISO file which will require additional time.

disc-image-burner

After the burning process finishes, the DVD/CD tray will automatically open and you will see a confirmation message if the burning process was successful.

Option 2: Burn ISO to Disc in Windows 10/8/7 from Command Prompt

If the “Burn disc image” option is missing from the right-click context menu, you can also launch the built-in Windows Disc Image Burner from Command Prompt. Here’s how to burn ISO file to CD / DVD at the Command Prompt:

Open an elevated Command Prompt. In Windows 10 or 8, just press the Windows key + X to open the Quick Access menu and then click “Command Prompt (Admin)“.

At the Command Prompt, type the following command and press Enter.
isoburn.exe /Q [path to ISO file]

isoburn

Disc Image Burner will launch. Insert an empty CD and click the Burn button to begin burning the selected ISO image file. If you want to verify the disc for any errors after burning, check the option labelled “Verify disc after burning” option before clicking Burn button.

Conclusion

Disc Image Burner (isoburn.exe) is available in Windows 7 or later version of Windows. For Windows Vista or XP, you’ll need to install the third-party application to burn ISO files, such as ISO2Disc, ImgBurn, etc.

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Posted in Tips & Tricks, Windows 10, Windows 7, Windows 8

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Display My Computer Icon on Desktop in Windows 10

December 2nd, 2014 by Admin

Starting from Windows 7, the system only puts the Recycle Bin icon on the desktop after performing a clean install. For many users, one of the first things you’ll want to do is add back some of the desktop icons that are missing by default. Follow the steps below you can display the My Computer, Network, My Documents or Control Panel icons on the desktop in Windows 10. But this procedure applies to Windows 8.1, Windows 8 and 7 too.

How to Display My Computer Icon on Desktop in Windows 10?

Right-click on the desktop background and choose Personalize from the shortcut menu that appears.

personalize

In the Personalization window, click the Themes in the left navigation pane. Next click on the “Desktop icon settings” link.

personalization

Here, under Desktop icons section, tick Computer checkbox and then click Apply button to show the Computer icon on the desktop. You can also show/hide Recycle Bin, Network, and Control Panel icons on the desktop from here.

desktop-icon-settings

So this is how can you display the My Computer icon on the desktop in Windows 10. Having the My Computer icon on your desktop can be one of the quickest ways to access your local disk, removable drives, libraries and more.

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How to Lock the Start Menu Layout from Being Changed in Windows 10

November 22nd, 2014 by Admin

With Windows 10, the Start button and the traditional Start Menu are back, and it’s much more customizable than it ever has been before. In our previous post we’ve covered how to customize the Start Menu in Windows 10. After personalizing and organizing the Start Menu, you might want to lock the Start Menu layout to prevent any accidental changes. Here are 2 simple ways to lock the Start Menu layout.

Method 1: Using GPO to Lock the Start Menu Layout from Being Changed

  1. Open the Local Group Policy Editor and go to: User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Start Menu and Taskbar. On the right-pane, double-click on the “Prevent users from customizing their Start Screen” policy to edit it.

  2. Select the Enabled radio button and click on Apply.

  3. That’s it! Restart the system and now you will be unable to Pin / unpin items to the Start Menu.

Method 2: Using Registry Hack to Lock the Start Menu Layout from Being Changed

  1. Press the Windows key + R to bring up the Run box. Type regedit and press Enter to open the Registry Editor.
  2. Navigate to the following registry key:
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies
    In left-side pane, right-click on Policies and select “New -> Key” and give it name Explorer.
  3. Now right-click on the right-side pane, and then create a new 32-bit DWORD and name it NoChangeStartMenu, and set the value to 1.

  4. That’s it. You will need to restart your system for the changes to come into effect. Your current user should be unable to rearrange the Start Menu layout, pin or unpin items to or from Start Menu. This trick also works with Windows 8.1 and Windows 8.

This method will lock the Start Menu layout only for your current user. If you want to lock the layout for all users, just navigate to the registry location: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies, then repeat the same steps above to create a NoChangeStartMenu entry and it will work.

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Posted in Tips & Tricks, Windows 10, Windows 7, Windows 8

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Windows 10 Tip: Remove the Search Button from the Taskbar

November 21st, 2014 by Admin

If you’ve installed Windows 10 Technical Preview, you should have noticed that there is a new Search button added to the taskbar, placed right after the Start menu button.

windows-10-search-button

The Search button takes up valuable space on the taskbar, and it’s mostly useful for touchscreen devices. Here is a registry hack to get rid of the Search button from the taskbar.

How to Hide / Remove the Search Button from the Taskbar?

  1. Press the Windows key + R to bring up the Run box. Type regedit and press Enter to open the Registry Editor.
  2. Browse to the following registry key:
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion

    In left-side pane, right-click on CurrentVersion and select “New -> Key” and give it name Search.

  3. Now right-click on the right-side pane, and then create a new 32-bit DWORD and name it SearchboxTaskbarMode, and set the value to 0.

    disable-search-box

  4. Once this is done, restart Windows 10 and the Search button should be gone. To bring the button back, delete the value that you just added.

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