How to Enable System Restore (and Repair System Problems) on Windows 10 | Dramel Notes

With Windows 10, Microsoft seems to have disabled System Restore by default — at least on some PCs. System Restore has been around since Windows ME, creating snapshots of system files you can restore if a problem occurs.

Windows 10 still does contain System Restore, so you can re-enable it if you feel more comfortable with System Restore as a safety net. Windows 10 also offers other system-recovery features, helping lessen the need for System Restore.

Why Did Microsoft Disable System Restore?

Microsoft hasn’t really explained why it’s not enabling System Restore by default. However, we do have some idea. System Restore can use quite a bit of disk space when it creates those snapshots, and Microsoft is trying to get Windows 10’s disk space requirements down. Microsoft wants Windows 10 to run on devices with as little as 16 GB of internal storage — all the better to compete with Chromebooks and cheap Android tablets.

System Restore is also less necessary thanks to other features in Windows 10 that can quickly get your Windows system back to a fresh state without a full reinstallation of Windows. Windows 10’s PC reset feature that will give you a fresh Windows system without necessarily wiping your files is one big help here.

How to Re-Enable System Restore

You can re-enable System Restore from the Control Panel. It will use some system storage space for its snapshots, so you probably won’t want to do this on inexpensive laptops and tablets with only a small amount of storage space. If you have a big hard drive in your PC, however, it won’t be a big deal.

Bear in mind that it’s disabled by default, so it hasn’t been creating snapshots. If you’re experiencing a system problem, re-enabling System Restore won’t help because you won’t have any old snapshots to restore. When you re-enable it, it will create a new snapshot — of your current system in its damaged state, if it’s damaged. If you want to enable and rely on System Restore, this must be done preemptively, before you have a problem.

This option is only available in the Control Panel, not the new Settings app. The quickest way to access System Restore settings will be to open the Start menu or Start screen, type “Restore” to search for it, and click the “Create a restore point” shortcut. You can also open the Control Panel, navigate to “System”, and click the “System Protection” link in the sidebar.

Open this window and you’ll see that system protection is “Off” for your Windows 10 system drive and the other drives in your computer. Select your system drive and click the “Configure” button if you want to enable it.

Click the “Turn on system protection” option and choose how much disk space you want to reserve for your restore points. The less space you provide, the fewer restore points System Restore will be able to kepe at once. Click “OK” and System Restore will be enabled.

To use System Restore in the future, just go back to the same “System Protection” panel you used above. Click the “System Restore” button — now no longer grayed out, assuming you enabled System Restore — and you can use System Restore to go back to a previous restore point.

If Windows isn’t normally bootable, you can also boot into Safe Mode and run System Restore, or launch System Restore from the “advanced startup options” recovery environment.

Other Ways to Fix System Problems

If you wanted to use System Restore to fix a problem but found out it’s been disabled all along, you’ll have to fix whatever system problem you’re encountering in another way.

If the problem was caused by a recent update, you can look at uninstalling that Windows Update or reverting to a previous “build” of Windows 10. This should fix problems that might occur due to Windows Update and issues with your specific hardware and software.

If your system files are corrupted, you can try using the SFC — system file check — command to scan your system files for problems and automatically repair them.

If you installed a program or hardware driver and the problem started after that, you can visit the Control Panel and uninstall that program or hardware driver.

If Windows isn’t booting properly so you can’t do any of this, you can boot into Safe Mode. You can also visit the “advanced startup options” screen — these will automatically appear if Windows 10 can’t boot normally — and use the options there.

There are many other ways to troubleshoot and fix a Windows 10 system. However, the one surefire solution will be to use the “Reset this PC” tool in the Settings app. This will wipe your Windows 10 system and restore it to factory-default settings. You’ll have to reinstall your software and reconfigure Windows afterwards. However, your personal files will be kept and won’t be erased. Whatever system problem you’re having, this will restore all your Windows 10 system files to their default state.

---

System Restore has always been a bit of a shotgun approach, just rolling back an entire system rather than fixing whatever that individual problem was. It used a bit of disk space, too.

Having it disabled by default is certainly a loss that makes tech support harder to perform. It used to be enabled by default and was a quick thing to try whenever a Windows PC isn’t working properly. Now, you just might have to use the “reset” feature instead.

[Read more]

How to Change the Default PDF Reader in Windows 10 | Dramel Notes

Microsoft Edge is not only the default web browser in Windows 10 but also the default PDF reader. This is definitely a good thing as we can finally view PDF files without having to install third-party apps, but it’s more of a basic PDF reader.

If you prefer to have a feature-rich application as the default PDF reader instead of Edge, then you have plenty of options to choose from. In this article, we’ll show you how to change the default PDF reader in Windows 10.

Change the Default by Using Open With in File Explorer

Open File Explorer and navigate to a folder containing your PDF file. Right-click on a file and choose “Open with > Choose another app.”

A pop-up will appear that will let you choose a program for just one time. Or you can also select the “Always use this app” link to make it permanent. From this window, choose the default PDF reader of your choice.

If the default app is not listed in this window, then you can select a different program located in your PC. Click “More apps,” select an app or scroll down to see “Look for another app in this PC” link. Click this link to browse to the program that you want to set as the default PDF reader, and choose “Open” button to set it as the default.

Change the Default by Using Default Programs in Control Panel

Open Control Panel (icon view) and select “Default Programs.” Click the link labelled “Associate a file type or protocol with a program,” and wait for a couple of seconds to load all file types.

Scroll down the list to see .PDF entry. Click on “.PDF” entry, and then click “Change program” button.

A pop-up will appear that will let you choose an app from the list.

If the default app is not listed in this window, then you can select a different program located in your PC. Click “More apps,” select an app or scroll down to see “Look for another app in this PC” link. Click this link to browse to the program that you want to set as the default PDF reader, and choose “Open” button to set it as the default.

Changing the default PDF reader app in Windows is a simple procedure, and that’s all there is to it.

[Read more]

Microsoft Blocks Adware, T-Mobile Throttles YouTube… [Tech News Digest] | Dramel Notes

Microsoft hates adware, T-Mobile hates YouTube, Google hates passwords, one Russian man hates Fallout 4, and Boston Dynamics hates you sleeping soundly in your bed at night.

Microsoft Tackles Insecure Adware

Microsoft has committed to tackling insecure adware, promising to detect and remove any programs that fail to comply with the company’s new guidelines. Enforcement will begin on March 31, 2016, with developers being given until then to play ball.

The way that @Microsoft sneakily includes @Windows 10 with regular monthly updates is not much different from adware inclusion tactics.

— Marc Zimmermann (@marczimmermann) November 28, 2015

The target here is the nasty adware programs such as Superfish, which Lenovo actually pre-installed on some machines sold through 2014 and 2015. This program, and other adware like it, uses a man-in-the-middle technique to hijack a user’s Internet connection, change various settings, and display ads across the Web.

Microsoft explained the change of policy in a TechNet blog post:

“All of these techniques intercept communications between the Internet and the PC to inject advertisements and promotions into webpages from outside, without the control of the browser. Our intent is to keep the user in control of their browsing experience and these methods reduce that control.”

To this end, Microsoft is insisting, “programs that create advertisements in browsers must only use the browsers’ supported extensibility model for installation, execution, disabling, and removal.” Which means they will have to be browser plugins which are visible to the user and, most importantly, can be easily removed.

T-Mobile Throttles YouTube Videos

YouTube isn’t too happy with T-Mobile, accusing the mobile operator of throttling its videos as part of the Binge On program. Binge On lets T-Mobile customers stream all of the video they want from selected partners without it counting towards data caps, but limits the resolution to 480p.

The problem as far as YouTube is concerned is that its videos are also being delivered at crappy resolutions, while still counting towards data caps. Unlike Netflix, Hulu, and others, YouTube isn’t part of the Binge On program. Which means T-Mobile users viewing YouTube videos are stuck watching low-quality videos without getting any benefits to counter that compromise.

YouTube also thinks it’s unfair that Binge On was turned on by default for all eligible users. However, it is possible to switch it off, as long as you know how to do so. Regardless, Binge On has caught the attention of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which is dedicated to ensuring net neutrality is maintained.

Google Tests Password-Free Logins

So, when you sign out of your Google account it still auto fills your passwords… Who thought that was a good idea!?

— Liam Maye (@i_is_liaaaam) November 14, 2015

Google is currently testing a method for killing passwords for good. The method being tested with a handful of Android users involves authorizing a mobile device, and then receiving a notification to log in when you input your account details on a computer.

It’s not a perfect system, which is why Google is currently testing it. However, it’s the first step down the road towards removing the need to memorize passwords for every website you use. Which is a good thing seeing as how many people use really dumb passwords.

Fallout 4 Can Ruin Your Life

A Russian man is suing Bethesda for ruining his life. The unnamed 28-year-old claims that he became addicted to playing Fallout 4, leading to him losing his job, splitting with his wife, and neglecting his friends. He also claims his health deteriorated due to not eating or sleeping properly.

According to RT (formerly Russia Today), the man is seeking 500,000 roubles (US$7,000) from Bethesda for the “emotional distress” the game has caused him. Meanwhile, millions of gamers are enjoying Fallout 4 to healthy levels; eating, sleeping, working, and spending time with their loved ones just as they did before buying the game.

Happy Holidays from Boston Dynamics

And finally, Boston Dynamics wants to wish you a happy holidays, and it has chosen to do so in its own unique way. Namely, by having three of its Spot robots pulling Santa’s sleigh. Spot is a big robot dog weighing in at around 160 lbs, and it’s terrifying at any time of the year.

For the uninitiated amongst you, Boston Dynamics is the robotics company acquired by Google in 2013. It produces robots that accurately mimic real-world animals such as dogs and horses. They’re just a lot more scary in lots of different ways. Still, Santa seems to be OK with it, so I guess we have to be OK with it too.

Your Views on Today’s Tech News

Is Microsoft right to start blocking adware like Superfish? Is T-Mobile right to throttle YouTube against its will? Do we need to move on from using passwords online? Has Fallout 4 ruined your life? What emotions do you feel when watching Boston Dynamics’ robots?

Let us know your thoughts on the Tech News of the day by posting to the comments section below. Because a healthy discussion is always welcome.

Tech News Digest is a daily column paring the technology news of the day down into bite-sized chunks that are easy to read and perfect for sharing.

Image Credits: Yuri Samoilov via Flickr

[Read more]

Free eBook Today Only: ‘Preserving Your Privacy in Windows 10′ | Dramel Notes

When Windows 10 first launched, it hit a lot of people that Microsoft had tucked some pretty odd settings away that seemed to be an invasion of user privacy. Most people just install the OS with the default option, not even realizing that they’re agreeing to let Microsoft find out a little bit too much about them.

Don’t worry, though, because we have a free eBook that will break down everything you need to know about Windows 10 privacy.

This free eBook is available today (12/23) only! Don’t miss out!

Download: “Preserving Your Privacy in Windows 10″

This is a third-party eBook. If you’re downloading an eBook for the first time, our distribution service, TradePub, will ask for some personal information in order to compile demographic statistics, and help us understand our audience. You will only have to do this once. For all future downloads, the system will recognize you.

What’s Covered In ‘Preserving Your Privacy in Windows 10’?

This is a nice quick read (around 20 pages), that covers everything you need to know about your privacy in Windows 10. There are some pretty big changes between this and the previous version of Windows, and they most certainly aren’t just cosmetic. If you quickly click “Next” through the installation process, you are letting Microsoft get some access that you might not want them to have.

Thankfully, if you take your time, you can choose to turn off these privacy-invading settings. There are a lot of them, which is why you’ll want to download this free eBook, as it will take you through every option you’ll face during your Windows 10 upgrade. From there, it will show you all of the things you’ll want to turn off after you’re actually in the OS.

It’s quite surprising how many things you might want to disable, and to be honest, it would be quite hard to find them all on your own. Your best bet is to download this eBook before you start the process, open it on another device, and follow the book as you go. This way, you can rest easy knowing that your Windows 10 installation is not giving away anything you don’t want to.

How to Get Your Copy

To redeem your copy and download the free eBook, just head over to this page and sign up for a free account. The process will take just a few seconds, and then you will be sent an email with a link to download a free copy.

It really is that simple. Just make sure to use a valid email address, as you won’t be able to get the link to download the book if you don’t.

If you’ve downloaded an eBook from us before, you don’t need to register your email address again! It will remember you in the system, so you simply need to click the link above and you’ll be sent an email to download this awesome eBook for free!

Want More? Check out all the other eBooks we have to offer right here! There’s a lot, so get ready to flex those brain muscles!

Image Credit: mtkang via ShutterStock

[Read more]

Use Windows 10’s Game Bar Feature to Record App Videos | Dramel Notes

We live in an age where people are willing to spend hours sitting around watching other people play videos. As such, Microsoft included a feature in Windows 10 that lets gamers record their gameplay with just a couple keyboard strokes.

But it can do more than that. In fact, with it, you can actually record videos of any app you’re running on Windows 10. If you want to record your screen while demoing something in Photoshop, for example, you can avoid downloading third-party screen recording software and just use Game DVR.

While the app you want to record is in focus, press Windows Key + G. A little box will open on the bottom of the screen saying “Do you want to open the Game Bar?” Click the check box acknowledging that you do.

Now, anytime you hit Windows + G in that app, the bar will open. You’ll see a big red button on the bar, and clicking that will record your screen. Hit Windows Key + G again when you’re done, and it’ll stop recording. It’s as easy as that!

Are you going to use Game DVR to record your screen, or do you prefer a third-party solution? Share your thoughts in the comments!

[Read more]

How to Rename Any Computer, Smartphone, or Tablet | Dramel Notes

It’s a good idea to give each of the devices you use a meaningful name. This is especially important on Windows 10, as Microsoft has removed the computer name option from the first-time setup process. Windows 10 PCs will just receive random, meaningless names by default.

On a network, this “hostname” identifies the device on your router’s status pages and when browsing shared files. Such names are also used in “find my device” interfaces and anywhere else the device needs to be identified.

Windows 10

Microsoft simplified the setup process in Windows 10. Windows will no longer ask you to enter a name for your PC when you set it up, which means that your Windows 10 PC probably has a meaningless, confusing name.

To provide a name, open the “Settings” app from the Start menu or Start screen, select the “System” category, and select “About” at the bottom of the list. Click or tap the “Rename PC” button and provide a new name for your PC. Your change will take effect after a reboot.

Windows 7, 8, and 8.1

On previous versions of Windows — or even Windows 10 — you can open the Control Panel, click “System and Security”, and click “System”. Click the “Advanced system settings” link in the sidebar, click the “Computer Name” tab at the top of the System Properties window, and click the “Change” button to the right of “To rename this computer, click Change”. Type a new name into the “Computer name” box and click “OK” to rename your computer.

Mac

On a Mac, this option is in the System Preferences window. To access it, click the Apple menu on the menu bar at the top of your screen and select “System Preferences”. Click the “Sharing” icon in the system preferences window, and enter a new name for your Mac in the “Computer Name” field at the top of the window.

iPhone and iPad

This option is available on the “About” screen on Apple’s iOS, used on iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touches. To find it, open the “Settings” app from your home screen, tap the “General” category, and tap “About”.

Tap the “Name” field at the top of the About screen and you’ll be able to enter a new name.

Android

For whatever reason, Google doesn’t offer this option on an Android device. If you’re setting up a Wi-Fi hotspot from your Android phone or tablet, you can change the name of that Wi-Fi hotspot in the hotspot settings — but that’s it.

There’s no way to change the device’s name so it’s identified by that particular name on your network. The only way you can do this is to root your Android device and search for an app that can change the “hostname”. You can still use the device’s MAC address to uniquely identify it, at least.

You can rename your Android device in Google Play to make it more distinct when installing apps via Google Play and tracking your lost device, however. Head to play.google.com/settings, or visit the Google Play Store website, click the gear icon, and select “Settings” to access this page. Click the “Edit” button and enter a new name for your device.

Chromebooks

Like Android, Chrome OS is also made by Google. So it should be no surprise that Google hasn’t provided a way to change your Chromebook’s name, either. As with Android devices, you can use the MAC address to uniquely identify a Chromebook on your router’s settings page, if you need to.

Chrome OS is just Linux underneath it all, however. If you put your Chromebook into developer mode — for example, you have to do this to install a Linux desktop alongside Chrome OS — you’ll then have write access to the system configuration files and can change your Chromebook’s name.

Linux

Different Linux distributions handle this in different ways. You can generally change your hostname just by running the “hostname” command as root, but it’ll be reset when you restart your PC. Different Linux distributions define the hostname in different configuration files. For example, on Ubuntu and other Debian-based Linux distributions, you’ll need to edit the /etc/hostname file.

If you’re using another Linux distribution, perform a web search for something like “change hostname on [name of Linux distribution]”.

---

Other devices will have hostnames, too. They may or may not provide a way to change their names, but you’ll often find this option on an “About” screen or somewhere else in their settings if they do.

Image Credit: miniyo73 on Flickr

[Read more]

7 Ways Windows 10 is More Secure than Windows XP | Dramel Notes

Despite the endless warnings from Microsoft, the security-related horror stories from users on Internet forums, and countless technology articles that advise people about the folly of continuing to use Windows XP, some individuals (and companies) simply will not listen.

Believe it or not, there is an odd breed of computer owners out there who maintain that a 15-year-old operating system is both better and more user-friendly that the recently-released and much-praised Windows 10.

Bottom line – it’s not. You can check out our Windows section for a collection of articles that will walk you through all the cool new features that XP users are missing out on – but in this piece we will focus on some of the security aspects.

XP diehards, take note…

Internet Explorer vs Microsoft Edge

Understandably, Microsoft Edge has its critics (just look at the hundreds of comments in our article which espoused its virtues). One area where it absolutely blows its predecessor out of the water, however, is security.

The chequered security history of Internet Explorer will need no introduction to most users. It’s single-handedly responsible for making most of the spyware, adware, and computer viruses possible, it was seemingly stuck in an endless cycle of updates, patches, and fixes, and Microsoft was notoriously slow to respond to new threats.

Edge is supposedly a clean slate, designed to make a complete break with its tarnished ancestor. Toolbars, ActiveX, VBScript, and Java are out, HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS), sandboxes, and SmartScreen are in. All-in-all, it adds up to a much more robust product.

Microsoft Support

All software relies heavily on being updated frequently, and the Windows operating system is no different.

It’s an endless game of cat and mouse between the developers and the hackers; as soon as Microsoft finds and plugs a security vulnerability, the would-be cyber-criminals move on to a different, theoretically weaker piece of code and start chipping away there instead.

Unfortunately, Windows XP is now open season for hackers. Microsoft officially ended support on April 8th 2014, and since then the operating system has become increasingly vulnerable to security risks and viruses with every day that passes. Remember – XP is the most attacked OS in history.

Microsoft has taken a lot of flak for their enforced updates in Windows 10, but the upside means that users will be permanently running the latest security fixes and hackers will likely look elsewhere.

Windows Hello

Windows Hello has been touted as a password-killer by Microsoft. Whether or not that fanciful notion comes to fruition remains to be seen, but what is certain is that the new biometric authentication service is significantly more secure than mere password-based protection.

Obviously, given the age of the XP system, it offers no such feature.

Hello works by scanning your face, iris, or fingerprint to unlock devices. Sadly, your machine will need special hardware for it to work – but supported laptops and PCs are now starting to ship. If you’re replacing an old XP machine, you should consider investing in a device that can make use of it.

Device Guard

Device Guard is Microsoft’s answer to zero-day attacks. It works by vetting all applications that attempt to access a Windows 10 machines, and if it recognizes an app as being unsigned, the operating system will make a decision about whether to trust the app. If it doesn’t trust it, the user will receive a notification, thus allowing them to decide for themselves.

It works in conjunction with an antivirus program; Microsoft claim “AV will continue to cover areas that Device Guard doesn’t such as JIT based apps (e.g. Java) and macros within documents”, while Device Guard will “help block executable and script based malware”.

XP was poor at preventing zero-day attacks. Service Pack 2 included limited protection against generic memory corruption vulnerabilities, but that was the extent of its coverage.

The End of Patch Tuesday

“Patch Tuesday” was a colloquial name for the policy introduced by Microsoft in 2003 which saw systems accumulate security patches before dispatching them on the second Tuesday of each month. The idea behind the approach was that it would allow businesses to plan for the updates in advance of their release.

The policy had two widely-criticized problems; firstly, updates could be held back for up to a month, which naturally had security implications. Secondly, it led to the creation of “Exploit Wednesday” – the new patches were instantly analyzed by hackers, previously unknown vulnerabilities were discovered, and these would then (often) remain unfixed until the next Patch Tuesday. It was a vicious circle.

Thankfully, as of the release of Windows 10, Microsoft have abandoned the approach. Updates are now delivered continuously, and they even go so far as to offer companies a ring-based model for distribution so they can decide which specific machines get updated first.

Secure Boot

Secure Boot was present in Windows 8 but was frequently not used – most device manufacturers shipped the operating system with the feature disabled. In Windows 10 it is enabled by default (though worried Linux users can still disable manually if they want to run a dual-boot machine).

The feature is designed to prevent hackers from using a USB flash drive or a microSD port on a computer to boot to a malicious program image. It practice, it means only apps that are signed and trusted by admins can run.

XP had no such protection, and as the prevalence of plug-in storage became more widespread, it became increasingly vulnerable.

Improvements to Windows Defender

Admittedly, Windows Defender still lags a little behind some of the most well-known anti-virus suites when tested independently – but its lack of nag screens, ease-of-use (no set-up required!), and baked-in nature make it an quick and easy choice.

Make no mistake, Mircosoft’s security offering used to be awful. In fact, when Windows XP first hit our shelves they offered nothing at all; it took until 2005 for the company to develop “Windows Live OneCare” – a subscription-based commercial anti-virus service. The software was widely criticised upon its release.

In 2009 Microsoft Security Essentials was released (Windows Defender was a sub-section of the product which only offered protection against adware and spyware). It was cumbersome to use and incompatible with Windows XP beyond version 4.5.

Windows 8 saw Windows Defender become a standalone anti-virus, and finally Windows 10 has seen it start to fulfil its potential.

It’s lightweight and unobtrusive – two of the most important features for any security suite. If malware is found you’ll get a pop-up in your notifications box, but you won’t need to decide what to do with it – it will automatically be quarantined. Virus definition updates are delivered automatically through Windows Update, and it supports real-time protection and cloud-based protection.

Best of all, if you decide you want to run an alternative anti-virus, Windows will automatically disable Windows Defender – there’s no need for you to do anything!

What Did We Miss?

What Windows 10 vs Windows XP security features did we miss? We’re sure there are lots more differences that you can think of.

You can let us know about your favorite differences in the comments section below.

[Read more]

How to Block the Aggressive Windows 10 Upgrade on Windows 7 and 8.1 | Dramel Notes

As the Windows 10 adoption rate is slowing down, Microsoft ramps up its efforts to make users upgrade. Come 2016, many people will wake up to a new operating system, despite never having consciously consented to the upgrade. Even those of you who have previously removed updates and installed tools to block the Get Windows 10 app (GWX) could be affected.

We show you what’s going on and how to push back and hold on to Windows 7 or 8.

What’s Happening in Windows Land?

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, users of GWX Control Panel, a tool designed to remove the Get Windows 10 app, reported that the “AllowOSUpgrade” setting was being switched on automatically. “It keeps re-setting iself at least once a day if [users] switch it back off,” developer Josh Mayfield told Computerworld.

Apparently, Microsoft has been re-issuing the update that installs GWX with different binary files, which makes it look like a new update. Moreover, Microsoft has applied changes to Windows Update in Windows 7 and 8.1.

This update enables support for additional upgrade scenarios from Windows 7 to Windows 10, and provides a smoother experience when you have to retry an operating system upgrade because of certain failure conditions. This update also improves the ability of Microsoft to monitor the quality of the upgrade experience. –Microsoft Support

Mayfield suspects that Microsoft is laying the groundwork for its next move. And all the evidence suggests he’s right. Microsoft is pushing the Windows 10 upgrade through Windows Update and it’s not being coy about it. In late October, Terry Myerson wrote:

We will soon be publishing Windows 10 as an “Optional Update” in Windows Update for all Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 customers. (…) Early next year, we expect to be re-categorizing Windows 10 as a “Recommended Update”. Depending upon your Windows Update settings, this may cause the upgrade process to automatically initiate on your device.

Such an update was erroneously published as a default update earlier this year. In September, reports surfaced that computers had been upgraded to Windows 10 over night.

Meanwhile, the Get Windows 10 notification has lost a decline option. Instead, users can choose between “Upgrade now” or “Start download, upgrade later”. Reddit user EchoRadius reports that the “upgrade later” option caused his system to upgrade quicker than expected and automatically; other users confirm similar experiences.

On a Windows 8.1 PC. Mostly full screen pop-up. No clear "No thanks" button, just download Windows 10 now or later. pic.twitter.com/RRoaFMST9r

— Brad Chacos (@BradChacos) December 11, 2015

The trick, of course, is to simply close the app without making a choice. It’s a clever way of fooling naive users into upgrading.

Why Is Microsoft Pushing So Hard?

The Windows 10 adoption rate is slowing down, as the latest numbers from NetMarketShare demonstrate. Windows 7 (56.11%) lost around 4% of its market share since the release of Windows 10, Windows 8.1 (11.15%) dropped by 2%. From October to November, however, both Windows versions gained back market share. Meanwhile, Windows 10 (9%) is struggling to overtake Windows XP (10.59%) as the third most common Windows version. This is a disaster that Christmas sales alone are unlikely to fix.

At the current rate, Microsoft is unlikely to make its 1 Billion Windows 10 devices goal anytime soon. But that’s not its biggest problem. Windows 10 was designed to reduce costs by streamlinging updates and bring in extra money through new services. The more existing users upgrade, the more profitable Microsoft will be; it’s all about business.

5 Ways to Block the Windows 10 Upgrade

We have previously shown you how to get rid of the Windows 10 upgrade notification and how to stop the automatic Windows 10 download and installation. In the meantime, additional strategies have emerged. Here we’ll briefly summarize all of them.

1. Install Third Party Software

The previously mentioned GWX Control Panel (fka GWX Stopper) can permanently remove the Get Windows 10 icon and disable the respective app. Frequent updates and a newly added “Monitor Mode” ensure that the tool will quickly catch any changes made to Windows upgrade settings and alert users. You can download GWX Control Panel here (direct download).

Likewise, I Don’t Want Windows 10 blocks GWX, however, this tool hasn’t been updated in a while.

2. Take Control Over GWX Folder in System 32

This sounds more intimidating than it is. You could rename the GWX folder to remove the irritating system tray icon. At least this would prevent anyone from accidentally upgrading now or later — until an update restores the folder. Instead, change write permissions.

Briefly, open File Explorer, head to C:WindowsSystem32, find the GWX folder, take ownership, delete everything in it, and Deny any users all of the security settings. Restart your computer and be done.

3. Set a Registry Key to Disable GWX

Open the registry and head to the following string:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREPoliciesMicrosoftWindows

Right-click Windows to create a new Key and call it GWX. Now right-click GWX and create a new DWORD Value called DisableGWX. Set its value to 1, close the registry editor, and reboot to activate the changes.

4. Disable Recommended Updates

Microsoft announced that Windows 10 will become a recommended update in 2016. Time to disable these updates, they are not essential anyway. Briefly, head to Windows Update, select Change Settings from the menu on the left, under Important updates, select Install updates automatically, and then remove the check mark under Recommended updates.

If you’re on a metered connection, you might want to disable automatic updates altogether. Note that this could make your system vulnerable to malware and malicious attacks.

5. Give Up and Install Linux

We don’t know how far Microsoft will go to make Windows 7 and 8.1 users adopt Windows 10 before the free upgrade offer expires. And while Windows 10 has many benefits and this writer enjoys working with it very much, the aggressiveness with which Microsoft is pushing the upgrade is disconcerting. If you can’t see yourself using Windows 10, maybe it’s time to move on.

Linux is a great alternative to Windows not only because it’s free. It also comes in many different flavors, some of which are very similar to Windows. Last but not least, it’s less of a target for hackers and malware. First time users upgrading from Windows might want to try Ubuntu Linux.

When Will You Give Into Windows 10?

Maybe, if Microsoft nags users long enough, they will eventually give in. The numbers indicate that this hasn’t worked so well, yet. What if Microsoft focused on making Windows 10 really great and let it speak for itself. A free upgrade alone isn’t enough.

What is making you stick with Windows 7 or 8? And which feature would make you upgrade to Windows 10?

[Read more]

How to Make Your PlayStation 4 or Xbox One Faster (By Adding an SSD) | Dramel Notes

Sony and Microsoft chose not to ship the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles with solid-state drives. They went with slower mechanical drives to keep costs down, but you can speed up load times for your console games by adding a solid-state drive to your PS4 or Xbox One.

Modern console games are generally installed to and loaded from the hard drive, not just from discs. Using a faster solid-state drive will decrease load times in games. This is the one upgrade you can perform on a game console.

You could also use this trick to add a larger mechanical hard drive and get more storage than the 500 GB drive that came with your console, if you prefer.

PlayStation 4

PlayStation 4 consoles don’t support external hard drives, so you can’t just plug an external SSD into your console. However, the PlayStation 4 allows you to access to a drive bay, where you can remove the internal drive and then replace it. You could take out the mechanical hard drive that came with your PS4, and install a faster solid-state drive — or an even larger mechanical hard drive, if you prefer.

Sony provides official instructions for replacing your PS4’s hard drive. Your new drive must be a 2.5-inch internal drive, 9.5mm or slimmer in size, and use the SATA specification. As long as you choose a drive that matches those specifications, it should work just fine in your PS4. Do some research and buy a solid internal SSD — it’d be the same kind of SSD you’d purchase if you were upgrading a computer with an SSD.

You can only have one hard drive installed at a time in your PS4, so you might want to purchase a fairly large SSD.

Sony’s guide will walk you through backing up the data currently on your console to a removable drive, accessing the PlayStation 4’s hard drive bay, installing the drive, and then reinstalling the PS4 system software on your new drive and restoring the backup.

Xbox One

Microsoft’s Xbox One doesn’t allow you to open it and replace its internal drive. However, the Xbox One does support external hard drives you can connect over USB. Buy a speedy external SSD that uses the USB 3.0 specification, plug it into your Xbox One, and you can install games on that drive. Games will load faster from a sufficiently fast external drive than they would from the internal mechanical drive.

You’ll need a drive that supports USB 3.0 and is at least 256 GB in size, or the Xbox One won’t allow you to install games to it. You should also seek out a solid-state drive that uses USB 3.0 for the fastest performance — you might want to look up benchmarks of external drives before you buy them. Cheap USB 3.0 external drives might actually be quite slow, despite being labelled with “USB 3.0”. The Xbox One offers three USB 3.0 ports, so you could have up to three external drives connected.

Plug an external drive into your Xbox One and you’ll be prompted to format it and use it for games and apps. You can also access this option from Settings > All settings > System > Storage > Format for games & apps.

You can move games between drives without reinstalling them. Highlight a game in My games & apps, press the Menu button, and select Manage game. You can then move it between your connected storage devices – for example, between an internal drive and an external drive. Microsoft’s website provides information on using an external drive with your Xbox One.

---

Games on Nintendo’s Wii U typically aren’t installed to the internal storage, unless you download them digitally and don’t play them from discs. However, you can also connect external drives to your Wii U to increase the storage capacity and potentially speed up load times if the game is loading data from the drive. Nintendo’s website explains what you need to know about adding external drives to your Wii U.

Image Credit: BagoGames on Flickr, Jon Fingas on Flickr, Marco Verch on Wikimedia Commons

[Read more]

How to Find Out Which Build and Version of Windows 10 You Have | Dramel Notes

“Windows 10” is apparently here to stay, and Microsoft won’t be bumping things up to Windows 11 any time soon. Here’s how to find out what “build” of Windows 10 you have — you can think of it like a service pack level — as well as which edition and version of the operating system you have.

Microsoft has hidden the build number in an attempt to make Windows 10 look always-up-to-date, and there are still different editions of Windows 10 with different features. Microsoft is also still offering both 64-bit and 32-bit versions of Windows 10, too.

Use the Settings App

The new Settings application also offers this information in a user-friendly form. To launch it, click or tap the Start button and select Settings.

Navigate to System > About and scroll down. You’ll see the “Version” and “Build” numbers here.

• Edition: The “Edition” line tells you which edition of Windows 10 you’re using — Windows 10 Home, Professional, Enterprise, or Education. If you’d like to upgrade to Windows 10 Professional, you can upgrade to the Professional edition from within Windows 10. Switching to Windows 10 Enterprise or Education editions will require a complete reinstall and a special key that isn’t made available to normal home Windows users.
• Build Number: Look at the “Version” and “OS Build” lines. If you have the original version of Windows 10, you’ll just see “OS Build 10240”. This was the initial release of Windows 10. If you have the “November Update” version of Windows 10 — Windows 10’s first big update — you’ll see a new version number scheme here. It’ll say “Version 1511 (OS Build 10576.29)”.
  The “1511” is the key. This number identifies that you’re using the build of Windows 10 released in November (the 11th month) of 2015. If Microsoft were to release a build of Windows 10 in April (the 4th month) of 2016, its version number would be “Version 1604”.
• 64-bit or 32-bit: The “System type” line tells you whether you’re using the 32-bit version of Windows 10 or the 64-bit version. It also tells you whether your PC is compatible with the 64-bit version or not.
  For example, “64-bit operating system, x64-based processor” indicates you’re using a 64-bit version of Windows 10 on a 64-bit processor. “32-bit operating system, x64-based processor” indicates you’re using a 32-bit version of Windows 10, but you could install the 64-bit version on your hardware if you preferred.

Use the Winver Dialog and Control Panel

You can use the old standby “winver” tool to find the build number of your Windows 10 system. To launch it, you can tap the Windows key, type “winver” into the Start menu, and press Enter. You could also press Windows Key + R, type “winver” into the Run dialog, and press Enter.

The second line here will tell you which build of Windows 10 you have. Again, the version number is in the form YYMM, where 1511 means the 11th month of 2015.

You’ll also see the edition of Windows 10 you’re using displayed in the winver dialog. It states “Windows 10 Home” in the screen above.

The winver dialog doesn’t display whether you’re using a 64-bit or 32-bit version of Windows 10, but the Control Panel does. To open this screen, right-click “This PC” in a File Explorer window and select “Properties”. You can also open the Control Panel window, click “System and Security,” and then click “System”.

The “Windows edition” section at the top of the window displays which edition of Windows 10 you’re using, while the “System type” line here displays whether you’re using a 64-bit or 32-bit edition of Windows 10, and whether your computer’s hardware is 64-bit compatible or not.

---

This information is important if you want to know whether your Windows 10 machine has received an update yet, figure out if you have a feature available only in certain editions of Windows, or find out whether you should download the 64-bit version of a program or not.

[Read more]

How to Close the Windows Feedback Notification for Good | Dramel Notes

Microsoft asks you for feedback on your Windows experience via popups every now and then. If you want to get rid of those popups, it’s easy to do that with a one-time tweak.

Head to Settings > Privacy > Feedback & Diagnostics and in the dropdown under Feedback frequency, select Never. That’s it! You won’t see those popups again. Note that you can still open the Windows Feedback app — which comes installed by default since the Fall update —  via Start > All Apps.

If the above tweak does not have the desired effect and you continue to see notifications asking for you feedback, you could try disabling the notifications. To do so, visit System > Notifications & actions and turn off the slider for the Windows Feedback application under Show notifications from these apps.

Windows has plenty of notifications to keep you annoyed. The good news is that you can also find easy hacks to get rid of them.

Which Windows popups do you find the most annoying? Were you able to turn them off? Tell us in the comments!

Image Credit: Dislike concept with hand by Gonzalo Aragon via Shutterstock

[Read more]

How Windows 10’s “Builds” Are Different From Service Packs | Dramel Notes

If you’re a long-time Windows user, you’re probably familiar with service packs. But Microsoft seems done with service packs. Windows 10’s first big update — the “November update” — is a “build” rather than a service pack. Windows 10’s future big updates will be builds, too.

Microsoft actually gave up on service packs years ago. The last service pack released for a consumer version of Windows was Windows 7 Service Pack 1 back in 2011. Windows 8 never received service packs — instead, Microsoft release. (Who comes up with these names?)

How Service Packs Worked

Previously, Windows “service packs” were basically big Windows patches delivered via Windows Update, or downloadable separately. You installed these in the same way you installed typical patches from Windows Update.

Service Packs performed two roles. One, they bundled together all the security and stability patches that had been released for Windows previously, giving you a single big update you could install rather than installing hundreds of individual Windows updates. They also sometimes contained new features or tweaks. For example, Windows XP Service Pack 2 dramatically improved Windows XP’s security and added a “Security Center.”

Microsoft tended to release new service packs regularly. For example, it released three service packs for Windows XP, two for Windows Vista, and one for Windows 7. But then the service packs stopped, and none were released for Windows 8 or 8.1.

Windows Updates Still Work Like They Used To

Typical Windows updates still work like they previously did. When Windows Update automatically downloads and installs updates on your system, it’s generally downloading small patches. You can view a list of these patches and even uninstall individual ones from the Control Panel.

The average, day-to-day updates work similarly. But, rather than regularly releasing new service packs, Microsoft is releasing new “builds” of Windows 10.

Builds Are Like Entirely New Versions of Windows

Conceptually, it’s easiest to think of these “builds” as entirely new versions of Windows. Going from Windows 10’s initial release to the “November Update” version of Windows 10 is similar to going from Windows 8 to Windows 8.1.

When a build is released, Windows 10 automatically downloads and installs it. Windows will then reboot and “upgrade” your existing version  of Windows to the new build.

Rather than saying you now have a “service Pack” installed, Microsoft changes the build number of the operating system. So, to see which build of Windows 10 you have installed, you can press the Windows key, type “winver” into the Start menu or Start screen, and press Enter.

The initial version of Windows 10 was “Build 10240”. The November update marks the introduction of a new version number scheme — it’s “Version 1511” because it was released in the 11th month of 2015. The November Update is also “Build 10586”.

You can’t “uninstall” a build from the Control Panel like you could a service pack, or like you can a more typical Windows Update. Instead, after Windows upgrades itself to a new build, you can go to the Settings > Update & security > Recovery screen and have Windows “go back” to a previous build. This option is only available for 30 days, after which Windows 10 will remove the old files and you won’t be able to downgrade.

This is the exact same process for uninstalling Windows 10 and reverting to Windows 7 or 8.1. In fact, going through the Disk Cleanup wizard after upgrading to a new build and you’ll see gigabytes of files are used by “Previous Windows installation(s)”. These are the files that allow you to downgrade, and are deleted after 30 days. It works exactly like upgrading to a new version of Windows because that’s what it is. After that, you can’t uninstall the build without completely reinstalling the original version of Windows 10.

This also ensures system restore works properly. When you “reset” your PC to its factory default state using Windows 10’s integrated reset feature, it’ll give you a fresh version of your current build of Windows 10 rather than downgrading you to the original version of Windows 10 your computer came with.

Microsoft doesn’t actually provide a downloadable file that allows you to install the new build on multiple PCs. However, Microsoft is providing downloads of the Windows 10 installation media with the new builds — currently, the November update — preinstalled. Previously, it was a bit more work for the average Windows user to manually “slipstream” a service pack into Windows installation media.

---

While only one new “build” of Windows 10 has been released to everyone, Microsoft regularly distributes new builds to “Windows insiders” so they can test the new software. Microsoft is attempting to keep every Windows 10 installation up-to-date, and they’re doing it with this new update system. While Windows 10 will be getting many more big updates, they’ll be in the form of builds, not classic service packs.

[Read more]

Microsoft Continues Open Source Move with Live Writer | Dramel Notes

Many users regarded the original Windows Live Writer as one of the best programs Microsoft ever built. Sadly, it hasn’t been updated since August 2012. Turns out this wasn’t its death knell after all.

Microsoft recently announced that they turned over control of the Windows Live Writer application to the .NET Foundation, where it has become Open Live Writer. The new application will be open source, based upon a fork of Windows Live Writer, and will enable users to author, edit, and publish their work.

A Brief History of Windows Live Writer

At the time, circa-2005, Onfolio Writer was one of the most popular WYSIWYG blogging platforms around. In 2006, Microsoft purchased Onfolio, acquiring Onfolio Writer in the process, keeping most of the original developers on-board, and ultimately oversaw the transition of Onfolio Writer into Windows Live Writer. Microsoft initially envisioned a multi-purpose content creation tool, linking between major web services and allowing its users to upload their written work around the world.

Despite the lack of continued development, and the absence of all but occasional security updates, Windows Live Writer continues to feature highly in blog authoring application lists.

Open Live Writer

From those beginnings comes latest iteration Open Live Writer, a new open source version. Microsoft Principle Program and Community Manager, Scott Hanselman, wrote on his personal blog:

“If you’re willing to put up with some bugs, then join us in this brave new world, you can download Open Live Writer…We’re calling today’s release version 0.5.”

“There was a lot involved both legally and technically as we were breaking new ground for Microsoft. Consider this. We’ve successfully open sourced a previously completely proprietary piece of Windows software that shipped as part of Windows Live Essentials. This software was used by millions and contained code as old as a decade or more. Persistence pays off.”

Open Live Writer has made a number of changes to the original code. The updated open source version has:

• Removed: Spell Checking. The iteration included with Windows Live Writer was completely outdated, and used a third-party spell checker that doesn’t have an open source license.
• Removed: The “Blog This” API. As an older plugin, designed for older versions of Internet Explorer and Firefox, the code was considered a “mess of old COM stuff.”
• Removed: Albums. This feature uploaded photos to OneDrive, but used a library packaged with Windows Live Mail and Live Messenger. Unfortunately, this library isn’t open source, and the Open Live Writer team haven’t yet managed to coax permission to distribute it in an open source project.
• COMING SOON: Windows Live Writer was chugging away on the widely-used Blogger blog service, though this service is coming to an end. The Google-ran service was kept alive until Open Live Writer could ship, and as that time has arrived, Google and Blogger will soon shut down the older authentication system. Both the Blogger service and Open Live Writer will switch to the more modern OAuth 2 to offer you more security.
• COMING SOON: The Open Live Writer team is working on bringing a full spectrum of plugins over from Windows Live Writer, though it could take some time to update your personal favorite. If this of interest to you, please add you opinions to this form, and you can shape the future of Windows Live Writer plugins for your fellow bloggers.

What Is It Like?

If you’ve never used it, I suggest you download the open source application and have a good poke around. It is not a difficult application to learn how to use, and you can be signed into your blog, up and writing within minutes. The UI remains roughly the same, which gives the application a distinctly old-ish feel – think Office 2010 – but the ease of use, one of the most important features of Windows Live Writer, has successfully made the transition to open source.

The appeal of Windows Live Writer lay in its range of blogging support: WordPress, Blogger, TypePad, and plenty more services can all be happily connected too, worked upon, and uploaded to. This hasn’t changed, and we would expect more services to arrive on Open Live Writer as time drips by.

One slight downside comes amongst talk of ongoing support for older systems. While the Open Live Writer Team can happily support their application on Window 10, the group said “We hope to support Windows 7 and Windows 8 for a while at least,” which, while far from a definitive ending, doesn’t sound entirely fantastic for users on those operating systems.

Microsoft Embraces Open Source

Many authors will be excited by the re-release of Windows Live Writer as an open source application. Live Writer has always supported a wide range of blogging services and the new iteration is set to be no different. The arrival of plugins will certainly increase the mass appeal, and as the project is now open source there is sure to be a growing community of ideas, guides, help, and activity.

What’s more though, is that Microsoft continues transferring once proprietary code to open source. This is remarkable, given their history of antagonizing the open source movement under former CEO Steve Ballmer. In the case of Live Writer, rather than trashing an unprofitable software, Microsoft has gone out of its way to make it open source and please its users. What’s next?

Are you excited about Open Live Writer? Which other Microsoft application should be open sourced? If you had to predict what they will open source next, what would be your best guess?

[Read more]

The Quickest and Easiest Way to Make a Table in Word | Dramel Notes

It seems that the useful features in Microsoft Word never end. From hidden features for power users to important keyboard shortcuts anyone can use to their advantage, Word is a treasure trove of productivity.

For example, the next time you need a table, instead of going to the Insert tab on the Ribbon, place your cursor on a new line and type four plus signs with a space between each one. You can also use the vertical line (|) if you like. After this, just press Enter to make the table.

+ + + + 

This makes a table with one row and three columns, corresponding to the four plus signs you typed (one for each line on the table, and a space for each cell). If you need more columns, add more plus signs before pressing Enter.

To make the columns wider, add dashes between the plus signs:

+----------+----------+----------+

Don’t forget you can also use Word’s format tools to get it right after you create the table.

If this doesn’t work for you, enable the setting by going to File > Options. Click the Proofing tab on the left, then click the AutoCorrect Options… button at the top. At the top, change the tab to AutoFormat as You Type. Under the Apply as You Type header, make sure Tables is checked. Then you’re ready to go!

Now that you’ve got a table, make sure to format it perfectly with our tips.

Have you made any tables with this trick? Do you like using keyboard shortcuts for small tasks like this, or would you prefer the Ribbon? Let us know by commenting!

Image Credit: vinnstock via Shutterstock.com

[Read more]

What is Actually Happening When a Windows Computer is Shutting Down? | Dramel Notes

The system registry is (maybe?) written to the disk. Back when I used Windows XP, I noticed that if you made any changes to the registry then pulled the power, the changes would not be saved. I am not quite sure about this one, just pointing it out.

Here is an excerpt from a document that Microsoft released:

• System session shutdown. This phase includes the pre-shutdown notification and shutdown notification sub-phases.
• Pre-shutdown notification. Windows serially shuts down all services that registered to receive pre-shutdown notifications. Ordered services—services that have set up the shutdown order of dependent services—are shut down before non-ordered services.
• Shutdown notification. All services that registered to receive shutdown notifications are shut down in parallel. If all services have not exited after 20 seconds (in Windows Vista) or 12 seconds (in Windows 7 client operating systems), the system continues the shutdown. Processes and services that do not shut down in a timely manner are left running as the system shuts down.
• Kernel shutdown. The remainder of the system, such as all devices and drivers, are shut down during the kernel shutdown phase.

Basically, what you are waiting on is each individual service to clean up and exit. Each service is given 12 seconds to exit before it is killed.

Half of the shutdown time is dedicated to shutting down system services. If you are really interesting in seeing what time is dedicated to whatever during a shutdown, Windows includes a tool for tracing shutdown time.

• xbootmgr -trace shutdown -numRuns 3 -resultPath %systemdrive% races -postBootDelay 180 -traceFlags base

And to make sense of the generated file (be sure to run in %systemdrive% races)

• xperf -i trace.etl -o summary.xml -a shutdown

Sources

Windows On/Off Transition Performance Analysis Document [Microsoft]

Windows On/Off Transitions Solutions Guide Document [Microsoft]

[Read more]

How to Get Mac or Linux-Like Font Rendering on Windows | Dramel Notes

Without a doubt, fonts look much better on Mac (and even Linux) than on Windows. For some reason, Microsoft is adamant about clinging to their failed ClearType rendering system, but it’s users like you and me who have to suffer for it.

What’s wrong with the fonts on Windows? They’re too skinny, too frail, and frankly hard on the eyes for long periods of time. Obviously this is a subjective judgment. If you like Windows fonts, then keep at it!

But for those of you who prefer the softer, fuller, and more mature look of Mac or Linux font rendering, then there’s a way to get it: install MacType. (The website is a bit outdated, so install the latest version using the Chocolatey package manager if you can.)

As far as I can tell, it works just fine on Windows 10 with the exception of a several Microsoft products, like the Office Suite and Visual Studio. Make sure to launch MacType — preferably in service mode — and choose whichever preset looks best to you.

In order to get MacType working with Chrome, navigate to chrome://flags in the address bar and search for these settings:

• Enable #disable-direct-write
• Enable #disable-one-copy
• Disable #enable-gpu-rasterization

Reboot your computer and your fonts should look much better. Note that MacType assumes that ClearType is enabled on your system.

What do you think of MacType? Have you had much success with it? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!

Image Credit: C Source Code by MaIII Themd via Shutterstock

[Read more]

The Easiest Way to Scan Files for Viruses in Windows 10 | Dramel Notes

Love it or hate it, Windows 10 is here, and it’s not going anywhere anytime soon. If you’ve taken the plunge and upgraded to Microsoft’s latest iteration, it’s time to start learning how to make the most of it!

When you download a file off the Internet, you probably want to make sure it’s secure. Thankfully, Microsoft has made this easier to do with the November Update! In fact, you can quickly scan any file from Explorer with Windows Defender with just a couple of clicks of your mouse.

First thing’s first: you’ll need to open Windows Explorer and go to the file or folder you want to scan. From there, just right-click it to launch the context menu, and then click the Scan with Windows Defender option that pops open. Windows Defender will launch right away and scan the file to make sure it’s not malicious.

Of course, you should make sure your virus definitions are up to date, else it might miss some of the latest viruses when you run a scan.

Do you use Windows Defender to keep your computer secure, or do you have another antivirus solution you prefer? Let us know in the comments!

Image Credit: JMiks via Shutterstock

[Read more]

Bring Back the Classic Volume Slider in Windows 10 | Dramel Notes

Microsoft has ditched the classic vertical volume slider for a basic horizontal version. But you can still get the old one back!

Click on Start > All Apps > Windows System > Run to open the Run dialog. There, type in regedit and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor. Navigate to the registry key located at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SOFTWARE Microsoft Windows NT CurrentVersion and look for the key named MTCUVC.

Can’t find the MTCUVC entry? No problem! You can create it yourself. Right-click on CurrentVersion in the sidebar, click on New > Key, and name the new key MTCUVC.

Next, right-click on MTCUVC and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name this new entry EnableMtcUvc and leave its value at the default 0.

Now all you have to do is log out, log back in, and click on the volume icon in the system tray. You’ll see the old vertical volume slider back in action, complete with a link to Volume Mixer for advanced sound settings.

If you don’t want to fiddle with the registry — we appreciate your caution — install Winaero Tweaker. Once you do, you can enable the old volume control feature under Appearance > Old Volume Control.

Of all the changes in Windows 10, I find the volume slider being horizontal the hardest to adjust to

— ??? Blakeyrat ??? (@Blakeyrat) August 15, 2015

Are you happy with the latest changes to Windows? Or are looking for ways to put things back the way they were in your favorite Windows version? Share your Windows 10 pet peeves with us.

Image Credit: one mixer slider by lucadp via Shutterstock

[Read more]

For Only $39 You Can Get 1TB Of Cold Cloud Storage For Life | Dramel Notes

There has been a lot in the news in terms of Cloud storage lately, as Microsoft just announced that it’s reducing the amount of space offered with OneDrive.

Don’t let anyone take your storage from you! Just snag a lifetime subscription to Zoolz Cold Storage. It comes with 1TB of Cold space in the Cloud for life for just $39! That’s a lot of space for not a lot of money.

Buy: Zoolz Cold Storage: Lifetime Subscription

Zoolz Cold Storage Features

This is Cloud storage that’s meant for backing up incredibly large amounts of files. With 1TB, you’re essentially getting a standard HDD worth of storage that doesn’t have to sit on your drive.

What’s important to note about this service is that, unlike Dropbox and some other Cloud storage solutions, you can’t get access to the files stored here instantly. Instead, it will take between three and five hours to get the files. Basically, you’re meant to use this storage for backing up files that you want to keep forever, but that you don’t need to dig into every single day at a moment’s notice. The tradeoff is that you get far more space than with other services.

There are tons of useful features offered as part of this deal. You can set up backup schedules, so you can make sure your files are regularly uploaded and stored. You don’t want to lose anything by forgetting to upload, it and having them scheduled will prevent you from making a big mistake!

If data usage and stealing all of your Internet speed while a backup is in progress, don’t worry, because Zoolz offers a convenient bandwidth throttling feature. This is controller by you, so there’s no built-in limit, but you can slow it down as needed.

Of course, if you’re going to send 1TB of data into the Cloud, you want to make sure it’s not going to get lost. Thankfully, Zoolz stores data across multiple locations, so if something catastrophic happens, you won’t have to worry about your data disappearing.

Unlike a lot of other cold Cloud storage solutions, Zoolz is very easy to use. You don’t need to learn to code or deal with an API. You just install the program, setup your backups, and then relax knowing your stuff is safe and secure. It doesn’t get much easier than that!

Hurry, Only Available For A Limited Time

You can only sign up for this deal for a little while, so if you need to store a large amount of data in the Cloud, this is a deal you can’t miss. We’re talking about a lot of storage for a very low price, so don’t let this one slip away!

Buy: Zoolz Cold Storage: Lifetime Subscription

[Read more]

Microsoft Word’s Math AutoCorrect Makes Equations Easier to Type | Dramel Notes

You probably already know that Microsoft Word has an AutoCorrect feature, but did you know it can also correct hundreds of math symbols too?

First, you need to enable Math AutoCorrect in Word. Head to the File menu, followed by Options, and under the Proofing tab, select the AutoCorrect Options… button right at the top of the list. Then, switch to the Math AutoCorrect tab and you’re golden.

Once here, you’ll need to check Use Math AutoCorrect rules outside of math regions to enable these shortcuts everywhere. With Replace text as you type enabled, you can now use any of the shortcuts below to insert mathematical symbols as you type in Word.

You can read through the huge list to see all of them.

There are a ton of symbols with easy-to-remember shortcuts, and this is way faster than using the Insert menu every time you need to type a symbol. It’s even faster than using ALT codes or copy/pasting them from the Internet.

If there’s a symbol you don’t see on the list, you can add it yourself: just type some text in the Replace box and a symbol in the With field.

@stuartcantrill if you enable math autocorrect in Word, you can also type "degree"–helpful if no number pad for alt codes

— Barney Grubbs (@barneygrubbs) October 23, 2014

Need even more keyboard shortcuts? Check out the most essential shortcuts for any Office user.

What math symbols do you insert often? Do you find this method efficient? Let us know if you use Word for math in a comment!

Image Credit: Andrey_Popov via Shutterstock.com

[Read more]