Microsoft Windows Archives - Page 4 of 32

How (and when) to boot Windows into ‘Safe Mode’

Posted on September 21, 2023

If you use a Windows PC there will likely come a time when you need to start up Windows in Safe Mode for trouble-shooting purposes.

Which brings up a question you might be asking…

What is Safe Mode?

When you boot up Windows into Safe Mode only the bare essentials of the operating system are loaded.

Only the system’s basic hardware drivers are loaded, and no programs listed in the Startup folder are allowed to load and run.

In a nutshell, Safe Mode makes it much easier to troubleshoot and fix software problems such as bad drivers, corrupted Windows files, really viruses and a lot more.

How to boot Windows into Safe Mode [Read more…]

Q&A: How can I get my ‘Recycle Bin’ icon back?

Posted on September 17, 2023

Question from Uneva: I have somehow deleted the icon for the Recycle Bin from my desktop. How can I get it back?

My computer is an HP All-In-One with Windows on it.

Thanks for your help in advance. I really appreciate it. [Read more…]

How to take complete control over your PC’s startup process

Posted on September 7, 2023

Microsoft provides a utility called MSCONFIG that allows us to determine and control which programs Windows loads at Startup, but unfortunately it is woefully lacking.

MSCONFIG does list the major applications that start up automatically, but it doesn’t provide anywhere near a full list of all the independent processes that load into memory with every boot-up and consume precious CPU clock cycles.

Luckily, there is a better much better Windows Startup manager, and it is available as a free download. [Read more…]

Why you need to install software security updates ASAP

Posted on September 6, 2023

It seems like every time we turn on our computers and mobile devices these days there are updates waiting to be installed.

This seemingly endless stream of updates can be annoying when you’re needing to get something done in a hurry, but I strongly recommend installing security updates right away, before you do anything else.

[Read more…]

How to quickly display the System Information screen in Windows

Posted on August 18, 2023

If your computer runs Microsoft Windows, chances are you have viewed the System Information screen more than once.

This screen contains lots of need-to-know information about your PC’s hardware and Operating System as well as links to some of the most critical Windows system tools. [Read more…]