Archive for the ‘Windows 11’ category

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Show Language Bar on Taskbar or Desktop in Windows 11

March 14th, 2022 by Admin

How can I remove floating language switch bar? Can I dock the language bar in the taskbar? If you have installed more than one language, you can switch languages using the language bar. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to configure Windows 11 to show language bar on the taskbar or desktop.

How to Show Language Bar on Taskbar or Desktop in Windows 11

  1. Press the WIN + I keyboard shortcut to launch Windows Settings app. Click Time & language on the left side, and click Typing on the right pane.

  2. Click the “Advanced keyboard settings” option.

  3. If you would like to configure the language bar to be docked in the taskbar, just uncheck the “Use the desktop language bar when it’s available” option and you’re done.

    When you need to show floating language bar on the desktop, check the “Use the desktop language bar when it’s available” option. Next, click the “Language bar options“.

    Make sure that at least the “Floating On Desktop” option is selected. You can optionally configure desktop language bar to show text labels or show as transparent when inactive.

That’s it!

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4 Methods to Disable / Remove Widgets on Windows 11 Taskbar

March 8th, 2022 by Admin

How can I remove the Widgets icon from the taskbar in Windows 11? If you accidentally hover over the Widgets icon on the taskbar, the Widgets panel will pop out from the left side of the screen. This could be quite annoying if you are not interested in news, weather or stocks.

In this tutorial we’ll show you 4 methods to disable, remove or uninstall the Widgets button from the taskbar on Windows 11.

Method 1: Remove Widgets from Taskbar Using Settings App

  1. Right-click the blank area in the taskbar and choose “Taskbar settings“.

  2. The Settings app will open and take you to the page: Personalization -> Taskbar. On the right, turn off the toggle next to Widgets.

  3. The weather widget will no longer be present in your taskbar.

Method 2: Remove Widgets from Taskbar Using Registry Editor

  1. Open Registry Editor and navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced. On the right-hand pane, look for the DWORD TaskbarDa and double-click on it.

  2. When a small pop-up window appears, change its value data from 1 to 0. Click OK.

  3. Close Registry Editor. The weather widget will disappear from the Windows 11 taskbar. Whenever you need to restore the Widgets icon, simply change the value data of TaskbarDa to 0.

Method 3: Disable Widgets in the Taskbar Using Group Policy

  1. Open Local Group Policy Editor and browse to: Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Widgets. Double-click the “Allow widgets” policy on the right pane.

  2. Choose the Disabled option. Click Apply and then OK.

  3. Restart your computer to apply the changes. The widgets icon will be removed from the taskbar and you will also find the “Widgets” option in the Settings app is greyed out.

Method 4: Uninstall Widgets Using PowerShell or Command Prompt

  1. Open Windows Terminal as administrator and run the following command to uninstall the Widgets feature.
    winget uninstall "windows web experience pack"

  2. When you’re asked if you agree to all the source agreements terms, type Y and press Enter.

  3. After a while, the Windows Web Experience Pack will be uninstalled successfully. Restart your computer and the widgets icon will no longer show up in the taskbar. If you launch the Settings app and go to: Personalization -> Taskbar, you’ll see that the Widgets option is also removed.

Whenever you need to enable the Widgets feature, use your Web browser to visit the Windows Web Experience Store link and click the Get button. It will launch Microsoft Store and let you download and install the Windows Web Experience Pack with ease.

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Add File Explorer to Different Areas of Start Menu in Windows 11

March 7th, 2022 by Admin

Is File Explorer shortcut missing from the Start menu? In this tutorial we’ll show you how to add File Explorer to different areas of the Start menu in Windows 11.

Method 1: Add File Explorer to the Pinned Section of Start Menu

  1. Click the Search button (a magnifying glass) on the taskbar, and then type “file explorer” in the search field at the top. When you see the File Explorer app, right-click it and select “Pin to Start“.

  2. The File Explorer icon will appear in the Pinned section of the Start menu. You can drag your pinned apps on the Start menu to change their order.

Method 2: Add File Explorer to the Bottom of Start Menu

  1. Press the WIN + I keyboard shortcut to launch the Settings app. Select Personalization in the left sidebar, and then click Start on the right pane.

  2. Click the “Folders – These folders appear on Start next to the Power button” option.

  3. Turn on the switch next to the “File Explorer” folder.

  4. The File Explorer shortcut will immediately appear on your Start menu next to the Power button.

That’s it!

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How to Enable Dark Mode for Notepad in Windows 11

March 2nd, 2022 by Admin

Since Windows 11 February 2022 update, the Notepad app is redesigned and it adds new highly requested features like multi-level undo, dark mode and a modern search interface. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to enable dark mode for Notepad in Windows 11.

How to Enable Dark Mode for Notepad in Windows 11

After launching the Notepad app, click the Settings button (the gear icon) on the top right corner.

Click the App theme button to expand its settings.

Simply select the Dark option to turn on the dark mode for Notepad only.

If you choose the “Use system settings” option, Notepad will automatically switch between dark mode and light mode depending on the system-wide setting in the Settings app.

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Windows 11 Fix: No power options available in Start Menu

March 1st, 2022 by Admin

When you click the Power button in the Start Menu, you may get this message saying “There are currently no power options available” and can no longer use the restart and shut down options. In this tutorial we’ll show you exactly how to fix such issue in Windows 11.

Method 1: Grant Permissions to Shut down PC

  1. Press the WIN + R keyboard shortcut to bring up the Run box, type secpol.msc and hit Enter.

  2. When the Local Security Policy window opens, navigate to: Security Settings -> Local Policies –> User Rights Assignment. On the right pane, double-click the policy called “Shut down the system“.

  3. Click on the “Add User or Group” button.

  4. Type the name of the user account that you want to grant shutdown permissions to, and click OK.

  5. Log out of your account and log in to see if the power options are available.

If you’re on Windows 11 Home, the Local Security Policy snap-in (secpol.msc) is missing and the above steps don’t help. In that case, you can choose to reset your local security policy settings to default. Just open the elevated Command Prompt and execute this command:
secedit /configure /cfg %windir%\inf\defltbase.inf /db defltbase.sdb /verbose

Method 2: Disable the Group Policy which Causes No Power Options Available

  1. Open Local Group Policy Editor and browse to: User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Start Menu and Taskbar. On the right pane, double-click the “Remove and prevent access to the Shut Down, Restart, Sleep, and Hibernate commands” policy.

  2. If this policy is enabled, just change it to “Not Configured” or “Disabled“. Click Apply and then OK.

  3. Restart your computer to make the changes take effect.

Since the Local Group Policy Editor is missing in Windows 11 Home edition, you may need to disable the above group policy using Registry Editor. Just navigate to the registry location: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer, and then delete the NoClose value on the right pane.

Method 3: Run the Power Troubleshooter

  1. Press the WIN + I keyboard shortcut to launch the Settings app. While the System category is selected in the left sidebar, click Troubleshoot on the right pane.

  2. Click on “Other troubleshooters“.

  3. Scroll down to find the Power troubleshooter and click on the Run button.

  4. The Power troubleshooter will automatically fix any power related problems.

Conclusion

That are the most common methods to fix the issue “There are currently no power options available”. If you’re still encountering the issue, try to reset power plan settings to default or perform a system restore.

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How to Turn off AutoRun / AutoPlay for USB Drive in Windows 11

February 26th, 2022 by Admin

When the AutoPlay feature is enabled, the system automatically runs media files without requiring user intervention as soon as a USB external device is attached to your PC. Because malware can exploit the AutoPlay feature to spread viruses from infected USB drive, you can disable this feature because of security concerns. In this tutorial we’ll show you 2 simple methods to turn off AutoRun / AutoPlay for USB drive in Windows 11.

Method 1: Turn off AutoRun / AutoPlay for USB Using Settings App

  1. Press the WIN + I keyboard shortcut to open the Settings app. Click “Bluetooth & devices” on the left side, then click “AutoPlay” on the right pane.

  2. Under Choose AutoPlay defaults, click the drop-down list to select “Take no action” for removable drive. This will disable AutoPlay for USB drive.

    If you want to turn off AutoPlay for all types of media or device, just slide the “Use AutoPlay for all media and devices” toggle off.

Method 2: Turn off AutoRun / AutoPlay for USB Using Control Panel

  1. Open the Control Panel in Large icons view, click AutoPlay.

  2. If you just want to turn off AutoPlay for USB drive only, uncheck the “Choose what to do with each type of media” option, and click the “Removable drive” drop down list to select “Take no action“.

    or untick the “Use AutoPlay for all media and devices” box to disable AutoPlay for all media and drives.

That’s it!

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How to Make Taskbar Icons Smaller or Larger in Windows 11

February 21st, 2022 by Admin

How can I change the size of the taskbar icons in Windows 11? There is no option available in the Windows Settings app which lets you resize the taskbar icons. Thankfully, you can make the taskbar and its icons smaller or larger using a registry tweak.

How to Make Windows 11 Taskbar Icons Smaller or Larger

  1. Press the WIN + R keyboard shortcut to open the Run command box, type regedit and hit Enter to launch Registry Editor.

  2. On the left side of Registry Editor, navigate to the key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced. Right-click the Advanced key and select New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value.

  3. Name the new value as TaskbarSi. Next, double-click on TaskbarSi and enter 2 in the Value data field to make the taskbar icons bigger, or enter 0 to make them smaller.

    Whenever you need to restore the taskbar icons to the original default size, just change the value data of TaskbarSi to 1.

  4. Close Registry Editor. Log off your user account and then log in, you’ll find that the taskbar icons are shown with a different size.

That’s it!

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3 Methods to Disable Background Apps on Windows 11

February 18th, 2022 by Admin

How can I turn off background apps in Windows 11? By default, most apps are set to run in the background. This might cause your computer to run slower or use more power and bandwidth. In this tutorial we’ll show you simple ways to disable specific apps or all apps from running in the background on Windows 11.

Method 1: Disable Specific Background Apps Using Settings App

  1. Press the Windows key + I to launch the Windows Settings app. Click Apps on the left sidebar, then click “Apps & features” on the right pane.

  2. Scroll through the list of apps and find the app which you want to prevent from running in the background. Click on the three dots next to the app and select “Advanced options” from the pop-up menu.

  3. Under the “Background apps permissions” section, select “Never” from the drop-down list. This app will never run in the background.

Method 2: Disable All Background Apps Using Group Policy

  1. Open Local Group Policy Editor and browse to: Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> App Privacy. On the right side, double-click the “Let Windows apps run in the background” policy.

  2. Select the Enabled option. Click the “Default for all apps” drop-down menu, select “Force Deny“.

  3. Click Apply and then OK. After restarting your system, Windows 11 will disable all background apps for all user accounts. If you open the Settings app and go to: Apps -> Apps & features, you’ll find that the “Background apps permissions” setting for all apps disappears.

Method 3: Disable All Background Apps Using Registry Editor

  1. Open Registry Editor and navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\AppPrivacy. On the right pane, right-click the blank area and select New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value.

    If the “AppPrivacy” key is missing, right-click on “Windows” key and select New -> Key, name it as AppPrivacy.

  2. Name the newly-created DWORD as LetAppsRunInBackground, and then double-click it and set its value data to 2. Click OK.

  3. Restart Windows 11 to apply your changes. This will prevent all apps from running in the background for all users. Whenever you need to revert the changes, just delete the AppPrivacy key and you’re done.

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How to Open the New or Old Volume Mixer in Windows 11

February 15th, 2022 by Admin

How to get back the old Volume Mixer in Windows 11? Windows 11 comes with a new, redesigned Volume Mixer which is now part of the Settings app, while the old Volume Mixer is still available. In this tutorial we’ll show you different ways to open the new or old Volume Mixer in Windows 11.

Method 1: Open the New Volume Mixer in the Settings App

Right-click the sound icon in the system tray and then choose “Open volume mixer” from the pop-up menu.

The Settings app will launch and get you to the page: System/Sound/Volume mixer. The new Volume Mixer lets you adjust the overall sound level or change the volume for individual apps.

Method 2: Open the Old Volume Mixer via Control Panel

Open the Control Panel in Category view, and click on Hardware and Sound.

Under the Sound section, click the “Adjust system volume” option.

The old Volume Mixer utility will launch immediately.

Method 3: Open the Old Volume Mixer via Run Command

Press the WIN + R keyboard shortcut to launch the Run box, type sndvol and hit Enter to open the old Volume Mixer app.

If you need to access the classic Volume Mixer frequently, just create a desktop shortcut and point to the executable file C:\Windows\System32\SndVol.exe. Next, right-click the shortcut and pin it to the taskbar or the Start Menu for quick access.

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How to Fix: Windows 11 Desktop Icons not Showing

February 12th, 2022 by Admin

Desktop icons disappeared after Windows 11 update? Cannot right-click anywhere on the desktop to restore the missing icons? Here are a couple of troubleshooting tips to fix the problem of Windows 11 desktop icons not showing.

Method 1: Enable Show Desktop Icons

Right-click any empty space on your desktop and navigate to the View tab at the top, then check the “Show desktop icons” option.

Make sure there is a check-mark next to the “Show desktop icons” option.

Method 2: Configure Your Desktop Icons’ Settings

Press the WIN + I keyboard shortcut to open the Settings app, then navigate to: Personalization -> Themes. On the right-hand side pane, click the “Desktop icon settings” option.

Select the icons that you want to display on the desktop, For example, Computer, Recycle Bin, User’s Files, Network, or Control Panel.

Click Apply and then OK to see if the missing desktop icons appear.

Method 3: Check Group Policy Setting

If all desktop icons disappear and you cannot right-click on the desktop, then check if this issue is caused by a improper group policy.

  1. Open Local Group Policy Editor and browse to: User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Desktop. On the right-side, double-click the “Hide and disable all items on the desktop” policy.

  2. If this policy is enabled, select “Not Configured” and click OK.

  3. Restart your computer to make the changes take effect. The missing desktop icons should come back and the right-click problem should also be fixed.

Method 4: Rebuild the Icon Cache

If your desktop icons are missing or appear blank or broken, you can fix the issue by rebuilding the desktop icon cache. Just open the elevated Command Prompt and execute the following command:
DEL %userprofile%\AppData\Local\IconCache.db /a

Log off your account and log in to see if the problem is fixed.

Conclusion

Desktop icons still don’t show up after trying the above methods? It’s possible that you’ve been logged in with a temporary profile, or you need to fix corrupted values for icon spacing in Registry Editor. As a last resort, you can perform a clean boot or restore your PC to an earlier restore point.

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