Archive for the ‘Windows 7’ category

How to Enable Quick Launch Toolbar in Windows 10, 8 or 7

June 20th, 2018 by Admin

Quick Launch is a small toolbar that resides in your Windows taskbar that allows you to quickly launch programs that you place in it. Since Windows 7, Quick Launch toolbar was removed from the taskbar but you can get it back. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to enable Quick Launch toolbar in Windows 10/8/7, add your favorite programs to it, and move the Quick Launch toolbar to the left of taskbar.

Enable Quick Launch Toolbar

Simply right-click an empty space on the Windows taskbar, and then select Toolbars -> New toolbar.

When the “New Toolbar – Choose a folder” window appears, paste the following path into the Folder field and press Enter. Then click Select Folder.
%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch

Now, Quick Launch toolbar will appear on the far right of the taskbar.

Add Programs to Quick Launch Toolbar

If you want to add the applications you use the most to the Quick Launch toolbar, do the following:

Press the Windows key + R to bring up the Run dialog box. Type the following path and press Enter.
%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch

Windows Explorer will open the Quick Launch folder. Now you can drag your favorite applications or shortcuts and drop them here.

When you’re done, your application icons will appear in the Quick Launch toolbar for quick access.

Move Quick Launch Toolbar to Left

If you want to move the Quick Launch toolbar to the left, right-click the taskbar and uncheck “Lock the Taskbar” from the popup menu. Click on the left edge (two vertical dotted lines) of the Quick Launch toolbar, and drag it over to the left as far as it will go.

Remove the Quick Launch Toolbar

If you don’t want to use the Quick Launch toolbar any more, right-click an empty space on the taskbar, select Toolbars and click on Quick Launch to uncheck it.

Now you’ve successfully removed Quick Launch toolbar from Windows taskbar.

How to Copy and Paste in Command Prompt on Windows 10 / 8 / 7

June 14th, 2018 by Admin

How can I paste the text from the clipboard into Command Prompt? To avoid type a lengthy command, you may prefer to use copy and paste to put it into Command Prompt. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to copy and paste in Command Prompt on Windows 10 / 8 / 7.

Quick Edit Mode:

Quick Edit Mode lets you use the cursor to directly select the text in the Command Prompt.

To turn on Quick Edit mode, follow these steps:

  1. Right-click on the title bar of Command Prompt and select Properties.

  2. Then go to the Options tab and check “Quick Edit Mode” and click OK.

How to copy the text out of Command Prompt when Quick Edit Mode is turned off? Each time you need to select or copy the text from the Command Prompt, an additional step is required: Right-click the title bar, select Edit on the menu, and then click Mark.

Part 1: Copy and Paste in the Windows 8 / 7 Command Prompt

In Windows 8 or Windows 7, there is not a direct keyboard shortcut (Ctrl + C / V) to copy and paste the text in the Command Prompt. If you’ve enabled Quick Edit Mode, here’s how you can copy and paste text in the Command Prompt:

  1. Use the left mouse button to highlight the text you want to copy from the Command Prompt.
  2. Now, you can copy the selected text by pressing the right mouse button.
  3. To paste it anywhere in the Command Prompt, find the line where you want to paste it, and press the right mouse button again. Of course, you can also paste the text by right-clicking on the title bar and then select Edit -> Paste.

Part 2: Copy and Paste in the Windows 10 Command Prompt

  1. Right-click on the Command Prompt’s title bar, choose Properties.
  2. Check “Enable Ctrl key shortcuts“. You’ll probably have to check the “Use legacy console (requires relaunch)” checkbox first though.

  3. Click OK to save the changes and relaunch the Command Prompt.
  4. Now, you can use the cursor to select the text, press the right mouse button or press Ctrl + C to copy the text. Afterwards, press the right mouse button or press Ctrl + V to paste it.

How to Check and Repair Bad Sectors for USB Drive

June 12th, 2018 by Admin

There are two types of bad sectors – hard and soft. Hard bad sector is a cluster of storage on the hard drive that’s physically damaged, while soft bad sector is the result of software or data error. When copying files, it might stop at bad sectors saying “can’t read from the source file or disk“, “Location is not available” or “A disk read error occurred“.

In this tutorial we’ll show you 2 simple ways to check and repair bad sectors for USB drive in Windows 10 / 8 / 7, without using third-party software.

Method 1: Check and Repair Bad Sectors Using Windows Error Checking Tool

  1. Open Windows Explorer. Right-click on the USB drive you want to repair, and then select Properties from the context menu that appears.
  2. In the Properties dialog box, go to the Tools tab and then click on Check now.

  3. A new dialog box will appear, check both options: “Automatically fix file system errors” and “Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors“, and then click on Start.

  4. It will scan the disk for errors, fix logical errors, detect and mark bad sectors. The process could take a significant amount of time to complete, and lots of system resources are required for the task.

Method 2: Check and Repair Bad Sectors Using Chkdsk Command Line

  1. Press the Windows + R keys to open the Run dialog box. Type cmd and press Enter.
  2. At the Command Prompt, run the following command to check and repair bad sectors found on your drive. Replace F: with the drive letter of the USB drive you want to repair.

    chkdsk /f /R F:

  3. It will locate bad sectors and recover readable information from your USB drive. When chkdsk can’t obtain exclusive access to your drive, it will prompt you to schedule this task to run just on the next reboot.

Disable Right-Click Context Menu on Taskbar in Windows 11 / 10 / 8 / 7

May 28th, 2018 by Admin

Is there a way to disable the right-click context menu on the Windows 10 taskbar using group policy? In this tutorial we’ll show you 2 simple ways to disable right-click context menu on the taskbar in Windows 11 / 10 / 8 / 7. This is really useful if you want to prevent inexperienced users to delete or add any apps in your taskbar.

Method 1: Disable Right-Click Context Menu on Taskbar Using Group Policy

  1. Press Windows + R hotkey to open Run Command. Type gpedit.msc and press Enter key.

  2. In the left side of Local Group Policy Editor, navigate to User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar, then double-click the “Remove access to the context menus for the taskbar” policy in the right side.

  3. Select the Enable radio button. Click Apply and then OK.

    Now you have successfully disabled taskbar right-click context menu in Windows 10 / 8 / 7.

Method 2: Disable Right-Click Context Menu on Taskbar Using Registry Editor

  1. Press Windows + R hotkey to open Run Command. Type regedit and press Enter key.

  2. Navigate to the following key in the Registry Editor window:
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

    If the Explorer subkey is not available, right-click on Policies key and select New -> Key, then name the new key as “Explorer”.

  3. Now right-click on blank area in the right pane, and select New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value.

  4. Give it the name NoTrayContextMenu and click OK. Then double-click the name and set the value data as 1.

  5. Log off or reboot for these changes to take effect. The next time you right-click on the taskbar, it won’t show up the context menu any longer.

Remove Logoff or Sign out Option from Start Menu in Windows

May 22nd, 2018 by Admin

How can I remove “Sign out” from the Start Menu in Windows 10? Is there a way to prevent users from logging off a public computer? In this tutorial we’ll show you how to remove Logoff or Sign out option from the Start Menu in Windows 10 / 8 / 7.

Method 1: Remove Logoff or Sign out Option from Start Menu Using GPO

  1. Open the Local Group Policy Editor and navigate to the following setting:
    User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar

    Then double-click on the “Remove Logoff on the Start Menu” policy in the right side panel.

  2. Select Enabled and click Apply.

  3. Restart your computer and the “Log off” or “Sign out” option should have been removed from the Start Menu.

Method 2: Remove Logoff or Sign out Option from Start Menu Using Registry Editor

  1. Start the Registry Editor window, and then navigate to the following key:
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion \Policies\Explorer

    If the Explorer subkey doesn’t exist, create it (from the Edit menu, select New -> Key and type “Explorer” without the quotes) and navigate to that subkey.

  2. Right-click the blank area in the right pane, and then select New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value.

  3. Name the created value StartMenuLogoff, and then set it to 1 to disable Logoff or Sign out option in the Start Menu.

  4. Restart you computer and Logoff or Sign out option is no longer available in the Start Menu.

How to Prevent Windows Users from Changing Date and Time

May 21st, 2018 by Admin

How to block access to changing the time for Windows 10? Is there a way to lock the system date and time on a public or shared computer? Here’s how to use group policy to prevent users from changing date and time in Windows 10 / 8 / 7 / Vista / XP.

How to Prevent Windows Users from Changing Date and Time?

By default, only administrative accounts are able to change the system time. Follow these steps to prevent specific user or even administrators from changing date and time in Windows 10 / 8 / 7 / Vista / XP.

  1. Press the Windows key + R together to open the Run command. Type secpol.msc and hit Enter to open the Local Security Policy window.

  2. On the left-hand side, drill down to Local Policies -> User Rights Assignment. On the right, double-click the “Change the system time” setting to modify.

  3. In the Properties window, select any specific user or group that you want to block from changing the system date / time, and click on Remove.

  4. Click Apply and then OK. Restart your computer for this policy to take effect. The next time you try to change the date and time from Control Panel, you’ll get the error message “Unable to continue. You do not have permission to perform this task.

    This setting will also prevent you from changing the system date/time using the Settings app in Windows 10. If you’re running Windows 10 Home, you have to add Local Group Policy Editor to Windows 10 Home before running the secpol.msc command.

How to Clear Saved Credentials for Network Share or Remote Desktop Connection

May 9th, 2018 by Admin

When you try to access protected file shares on the network or launch RDP sessions, you’ll be prompted to save the passwords. If you checked the option to remember your credentials, Windows will store your passwords for the next connection.

In this tutorial we’ll show you 2 simple ways to clear saved credentials for network share, remote desktop connection or mapped drive in Windows 10 / 8 / 7.

Method 1: Clear Network Saved Credentials Using Control Panel

  1. Open the Control Panel and select Large icons in the View by menu. Click User Accounts.

  2. Click the “Manage your credentials” option at the top left.

  3. Select the Windows Credentials type and you’ll see the list of credentials you have saved for network share, remote desktop connection or mapped drive.

  4. Click one of the entries in the list and expand it, you can then click the Remove option to clear it.

Method 2: Clear Network Saved Credentials Using the Run Command

  1. Press the Windows key + R together to open the Run box. Type the following command and hit Enter.
    rundll32.exe keymgr.dll, KRShowKeyMgr

  2. You’ll see the Stored Usernames and Passwords window. To remove a saved network credential you can select one of the entries and click Remove.

That’s it!

How to Find Your Computer Name in Windows and Mac OS X

May 8th, 2018 by Admin

Do you need help locating your computer name? PCs on the same network need unique names so they can identify and communicate with each other. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to easily find your computer name in Windows 10 / 8 / 7 and Mac OS X.

Part 1: Find Computer Name in Windows 10 / 8 / 7

Simply right-click on the My Computer (or This PC) shortcut on the desktop, and then select Properties.

Under the “Computer name, domain, and workgroup settings” section, you will find the computer name listed. If your PC is connected to a domain, the full computer name will include the domain name.

Another way of finding computer name is using the Command Prompt. Just type hostname into the Command Prompt and hit Enter, you’ll see your computer name immediately.

Part 2: Find Computer Name in Mac OS X

Click the Apple logo in the top left corner, and then select System Preferences from the Apple Menu.

Click on the Sharing icon.

Your computer name will be listed at the top of the window that opens in the Computer Name field.

That’s it!

How to Check if I Have Windows Administrator Rights?

May 7th, 2018 by Admin

Do I have local admin rights? Before you can make system-wide changes to the system, such as install software or run elevated command prompt, you’ll need to log into Windows as a user with administrative rights. Here’s how to quickly check if a user account is an administrator or not in Windows 10 / 8 / 7 / Vista / XP.

Method 1: Check for Administrator Rights Using Control Panel

  1. Open the Control Panel in Large icons view, and then click User Accounts.

  2. Click the Manage another account link.

  3. You should see all the accounts on your computer. If your account has admin rights, you can see the word “Administrator” under your account name.

    As you can see from the screenshot above, pcunlocker is an administrator while david is a standard/limited user.

Method 2: Check for Administrator Rights Using Command Prompt

  1. Press the Windows key + R keys on the keyboard to open the Run box. Type cmd and press Enter.

  2. In the Command Prompt, type the following command and hit Enter.
    net user account_name

  3. You’ll get a list of attributes of your account. Look for the “Local Group Memberships” entry. If your account belongs to the “Administrators” group, it should have admin rights.

That’s it!

Quick Ways to Open Internet Options in Windows 10 / 8 / 7

May 3rd, 2018 by Admin

Where do I find Internet Options in Windows 10? Internet Options is a Control Panel applet which lets you manage browser security level, control your privacy, block or allow specific websites and so on. In this tutorial we’ll show you 4 quick ways to open Internet Options in Windows 10 / 8 / 7.

Method 1: Open Internet Options from Internet Explorer

Open up the Internet Explorer. Click the Settings icon in the upper-right corner, or click the Tools menu.

Select Internet options from the drop down menu, you can then access Internet Options immediately.

Method 2: Open Internet Options via Run Command Box

Press the Windows key + R to open the Run command box. Type inetcpl.cpl and press Enter.

You can now get to Internet Options.

Method 3: Open Internet Options from Control Panel

Open the Control Panel, and change it to the Large icons view.

Click Internet Options.

Method 4: Open Internet Options via Search

In Windows 10, type “internet options” in the Cortana Search box and you can then access Internet Options from the search result.

If you’re running Windows 7, click the Start button and type “internet options” in the Search box. Click its shortcut and it will open Internet Options quickly.