Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7, Windows 8 and more How Tos
What is S Mode in Windows 10? Windows 10 “S” is a locked down version of Windows that was designed for public kiosk use, like schools and library’s. Because it is locked down, your device will be faster, have more battery life (if you have a tablet or laptop) and be much more secure. When it came out in 2017, Windows 10 S was an entirely separate version of Windows 10 that also cheaper than…
If you see a NETWORK SIGN-IN option at the bottom right of your Windows 10 login screen, it is giving you the option to sign in to your corporate network by connecting to the VPN first. If you click NETWORK SIGN-IN you will see a gold lock icon with an IVE LOGIN prompt. The idea here is that you have some VPN software installed on the PC and so you can launch the VPN right…
If you look at the disk partitions on your PC (right click START button and select DISK MANAGER), you are very likely to see a number of HEALTHY (OEM PARTITION) entries. This leads to a number of questions: 1: What is HEALTHY (OEM PARTITION) aka Recover Partition? That partition is used by Windows as a “Recovery Partition” which is accessed automatically on bootup if your PC has a serious problem. Fortunately, you can get to the…
If you are new to databases or open source software it is easy to get lost trying to get software running on your systems. In this short video we explain and demonstrate how to download Install & Configure MySQL 8 on Windows 10 or Server 2016. We also briefly show how to create a database using the command line and see the databases and tables in MySQL Workspace GUI. This demonstration shows the free version…
Dell Endpoint Security Suite (ESSE and ESS) looks like a fantastic product I was very excited to play with it. ESSE should not be confused with your ordinary security tools, or perhaps it should, because it includes most of them. Dell ESSE provides: An awesome encryption suite that includes everything from Full Disk Encryption to Bit Locker management and ‘removable media’ encryption. As a differentiator, ESS offers Policy Based Encryption so you can apply encryption only…
If your Windows 10 computer does not have the NETWORK icon in the system tray and you see nothing but a line in TURN SYSTEM ICONS ON OR OFF (see screen shots below) there are several fixes we will detail. However, to get to the point, we have found that usually the problem is the NETWORK LIST service, see details below. 4 FIXES FOR MISSING NETWORK ICON: Right click on the START button, select…
If you are trying to manage Windows Updates on a Windows 10 or Server 2016 / 2019 computer you have no doubt already figuredout that WUAUCLT no longer functions. We are not sure why Microsoft has done this because the only replacement we can find is a new undocumented tool named USOCLIENT that is built into Windows 10 and Server 2016/19 at C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\USOClient.exe. We say undocumented and mean it. Microsoft has made no information available…
Microsoft certainly has been making patching Windows 10 PC’s difficult these days but after some significant effort, I have found a simple combination of commands and one free tool does the trick. The command in question is an undocumented program inside Windows 10 named C:\Windows\System32\USOClient.exe This program manages Windows Updates much like the old wuauclt used to: Launch a CMD prompt or PowerShell AS AN ADMINISTRATOR Type USOClient.exe ScanInstallWait You would expect that command to download and install…
PIN’s used to work in Windows 10 with no changes to GPO’s but at some point in recent Win 10 ADMX templates, Microsoft added an odd setting. They turned off PIN’s by default and you have to turn them on in via GPO if you want to use them on a domain connected user account. This means that there is not a GPO that is blocking your use of PINs and the message “THIS SETTING…
If your Outlook returns a yellow box saying “Something went wrong and your search couldn’t be completed” the most likely issue is your Windows Search Service is damaged. You can verify this in two ways: Click the START button and type something. If it shows SEARCH INDEXING WAS TURNED OFF. TURN INDEXING BACK ON, this is likely your issue Click the START button and type SERVICES.MSC to start the Services management console and see if…
We recently told you that there was no way to block the public Microsoft Store but allowing your private corporate Store and while true at the time, is now false. At the recent Microsoft Ignite conference, I tracked down a Store program manager and dug into the problem. He told me this has now been changed so I tested and confirmed the GPO setting works as promised. You can set the Microsoft Windows 10 Store…
There are many programs that will run as both an administrator and as a restricted user. However, when some security programs like Active Directory Sites and Services and Group Policy Management Tool, are run as a standard restricted user they have very little functionality. As a result admins must right click on the relevant shortcut and select RUN AS ADMINISTRATOR to force an elevation. This is a pain. To have programs automatically prompt for elevation:…
It is difficult to understand what Microsoft if offering these days. It was hard enough when there was just Office 365 with the E1 E3 and E5 packages but today Microsoft is offering 3 different bundles (Office, Windows & Microsoft) each with their own E1 E3 and E5 sub-bundles. What is Office 365? In simple terms, Office365 is a bundle of software that (for most packages) provides Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and more on the…
At the recent Microsoft Ignite conference in Florida, Microsoft pitched using OneDrive For Business instead of the User State Migration Tool (USMT). This suggestion was largely based on the new ONEDRIVE > MANAGE PROTECTION OF IMPORTANT FOLDERS wizard. Previously you had to manually move your DESKTOP, DOCUMENTS and PICTURES folders to folders under your C:\USERS\<YourName>\ONEDRIVE – <BUSINESS NAME> or come up with an even more creative solution like building Junction Points. This was just not…