Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7, Windows 8 and more How Tos
If you need to add a registry entry to a Windows PC most often techs will simply export the key and entries they want and then use the REGEDIT /S command to push that entry onto another PC. For example if you want to disable the Cortana bar (but not Windows Search), you save the following into a file named DISABLE-CORTANA.REG Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search] “AllowCortana”=dword:00000000 Then you simply put that file…
In recent years it has become common for home PC users to use large laptops, considering them more like “small PC’s”. This trend led computer manufacturers to build the laptop computer into the back of a screen and then provide and external keyboard and mouse. This innovation is the “All In One” Computer. All in Ones eliminate many of the cables and mess you get with traditional desktop PC’s. Acer was the first company we…
If you are a Google Chrome user, and 75% of the internet usage is, you have likely found that Google Chrome is shown potentially dozens of times in Windows Task Managers PROCESSES tab. This is quite unexpected for many. Often people think they have a virus or some other malware at work in the background. While this is possible, it is unlikely because Google Chrome naturally opens many Windows background processes for each tab you…
We often talk about editing or creating new registry entries in Windows but we seldom talk about removal. If you want to delete an existing registry entry you simply set the entry value to a hyphen ( – ). For example, we recently needed to delete: HKLM > SOFTWARE > Microsoft > Windows > CurrentVersion > Run > InstallWindowsUpdates = DWORD AA To do this we simply set “InstallWindowsUpdates”=- Specifically, the DELUPDATES.REG file looked like: Windows…
Over the years we have produced many instructions on how to add files or add drivers to a .WIM image file, but they are all outdated because they are command line. There is now a free GUI front end for DISM made by Mike Celone. To get DISM GUI to work you need two things: .NET 4.0 which can get from Microsoft HERE in unlikely event you don’t have it already Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) that…
If you are trying to SysPrep a Windows 10 PC and see: Sysprep Failure Unable to Validate Windows Installation and then see in the log: [0x0f0070] SYSPRP RunExternalDlls:An error occurred while running registry sysprep DLLs, halting sysprep execution. dwRet = 0x3cf2 You likely have some Win10 apps that are installed per person. Things like the calculator and paint may be installed by default but they are installed per person and not allowed to be sysprepped. …
If you want to set your modern Windows (Win 10, Server 2016, Server 2019…) to not download and install updates automatically, there is a simple Group Policy Object you can create: GPO To Stop Windows From Automatically Updating: Expand COMPUTER > POLICIES > ADMINISTRATIVE TOOLS > WINDOWS COMPONENTS > WINDOWS UPDATE Set CONFIGURE AUTOMATIC UPDATES to ENABLED and select a CONFIGURE AUTOMATIC UPDATING option from the drop down We like #3 AUTO DOWNLOAD AND NOTIFY FOR…
As you likely already know, because you have found this page, the GPO to disable the MICROSOFT STORE app was set to be ineffective on Windows 10 Pro after build 1511. This annoying change meant that you could only block the store using a GPO if you were running Windows 10 ENTERPRISE or EDUCATION and that made admins cranky. The solution was to block the store app through a SOFTWARE RESTRICTION GPO as we explained…
If you have problems with Internet Explorer like: IE will not launch IE crashes frequently IE will not refresh IE will not connect IE will only run when using RIGHT CLICK, RUN AS ADMINISTRATOR … We will go through the fixes from easiest and fastest to more technical solutions: Clear Temp Files: CONTROL PANEL > INTERNET OPTIONS > BROWSING HISTORY button > check all of the options that you would like, but ensure you have…
When you see error 0x80244022 in Windows update or in the Windows Update log, it relates to a networking error. If you are using WSUS, it could be an indication that the IIS AppPool running your WSUS has stopped and needs to be started: Start IIS Manager Expand APPLICATION POOLS If WSUSPOOL is stopped, right click on it and select START Share This With Your Friends Now:
If you have enabled MEMORY INTEGRITY in Windows 10 you will likely see that the ON/OFF slider is grayed out there will be red text stating THIS SETTING IS MANAGED BY YOUR ADMINISTRATOR. This can be frustrating as you can not easily turn if off. Fortunately, you can simply disable MEMORY INTEGRITY via the registry: Click START and type REGEDT.EXE then press ENTER Expand HKLM > SYSTEM > CurrentControlSet > Control > DeviceGuard > Scenarios >…
This video demonstrates how to install Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) on Windows Server 2016. We also quickly show the Group Policies required to have your office PC’s use the WSUS server as their source for updates. How To Install & Configure Windows Server Update Services: Minimum Server Hardware Specification For WSUS: Hardware Low-end 500 or fewer clients Typical 500–3,000 clients High-end 3,000–20,000 clients, or rollup of 30,000 clients Super high-end 10,000 clients, or rollup…
If you have a PC that is very slow and you notice that Task Manager shows near 100% disk is being used but the individual items do not sum to anything approaching 100%, you may have an issue with SuperFetch. Fortunately it is easy to correct. We recently dealt with a frustrating case on a Dell Latitude 5480 Laptop with a Caching SSD (see our video). Put simply, Intel Rapid Storage Technology software utility makes…
Normally when you have a problem with Windows Update there are two processes you should go through: Download and install the Update manually (rather than relying on the Windows Update GUI) Reset your Windows Update: Launch SERVICES.MSC, and STOP both “WINDOWS UPDATE” and “BACKGROUND INTELLIGENT TRANSFER SERVICE” then set them to DISABLED Delete all files and folders in C:\windows\softwaredistribution Launch SERVICES.MSC, and set the following to AUTOMATIC startup “WINDOWS UPDATE” and “BACKGROUND INTELLIGENT TRANSFER SERVICE”…