Microsoft Windows Archives - Page 13 of 32

Make your PC boot up faster with Startup Delayer

Posted on March 27, 2018

Does it seem like it takes forever for your PC to boot up or Restart? If so, chances are you have several applications that load automatically every time Windows boots up, and the boot process gets bogged down when several apps try to load at once.

You can (and probably should) prevent some of those applications from loading automatically, and the best way to do that is with a free download that I wrote about a while back called Autoruns. That being said, some programs are indeed worthy of automatic startup, but they don’t have to all start up at once.

Startup Delayer is a free Windows utility that allows you to delay the automatic startup of any or all of your auto-loading applications. Here’s how to download and install Startup Delayer: [Read more…]

How to adjust the volume for individual programs and apps on your PC

Posted on October 5, 2017

Sometimes it can seem like your PC’s volume control has a mind of its own.

For example, have you ever turned the volume up to a comfortable level while listening to music only to have your ears blasted to oblivion the next time an ad started playing in your web browser?

That’s happened to me more than once, and I almost jumped out of my skin of every time!

But it doesn’t have to be that way. You can take control of the sounds emanating from your computer’s speakers and avoid unpleasant surprises. [Read more…]

How to hide and password protect folders in Windows

Posted on July 10, 2017

Important update: Chrome and Firefox have both started flagging the tool I recommend in this post as malware. I believe this to be a clear case of a false positive but I have removed the links just to be safe.

Original post continues below… [Read more…]

How to adjust the brightness of your screen with just two mouse clicks

Posted on January 9, 2017

Do you wish there was a faster and easier way to adjust the brightness of your computer screen?

Well, there is, and it’s a real time-saver!

A nifty free utility called ClickMonitorDDC lets you adjust your screen brightness by simply clicking an icon in the Windows notification area and selecting a new value.

Alternatively, you can save even more time by hovering your mouse over the icon and rolling the mouse wheel to change the brightness level. Either way is fine – whatever works best for you.

ClickMonitor DDC is a tiny portable utility that doesn’t have to be installed, and it couldn’t be easier to use. Here’s how: [Read more…]

Q&A: Why did Windows install over 160 updates after I re-installed it?

Posted on December 24, 2016

Question from Marisol F.: My laptop got a virus and I had to re-install Windows 7 on it. After it finished over 160 Windows Updates were installed.

Is this normal? I’ve never seen anywhere near that many updates installed at one time before. Do you think I need to re-install Windows again?

This is the first time I’ve ever had to do this so I’m a little confused.

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]