Microsoft Windows Archives - Page 7 of 32

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

Posted on September 21, 2023

Rick’s Tech Tips Newsletter

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…]

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

Posted on September 7, 2023

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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…]

How to enable ‘Secure Sign-In’ on your Windows PC

Posted on August 5, 2023

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

I’ve received several emails recently asking me how to enable Secure Sign-In on a Windows PC, so I thought I’d write those instructions up as a tip.

If you’re unfamiliar with how it works, the Secure Sign-In feature forces the user to press the Ctrl+Alt+Delete key combination before they are allowed to sign in to Windows. [Read more…]

Q&A: How do I remove a virus when my antivirus app won’t open?

Posted on July 28, 2023

Question from Bailey: Hi, Rick. I have a bad problem and I need help ASAP.

I was browsing Facebook last night and clicked on a link that caught my attention. As soon as I clicked it my screen went solid blue and the computer froze up completely.

I finally just unplugged it and it booted back up into Windows, but now none of my programs will open. It’s running real slow too.

I’m sure the link I clicked probably put a virus on my system but my Norton antivirus software won’t open so I can’t run a scan.

Is there anything I can do to fix this problem besides just buying a new computer? [Read more…]

Heads-Up: Microsoft is planning to remove Cortana from Windows

Posted on June 4, 2023

If you’re a Windows user you’re probably familiar with Cortana, the personal assistant that Microsoft added to Windows beginning with the initial 2015 release of Windows 10.

Personally, I’ve never been a fan of Cortana and removing it has always been one of the first things I did any time I got a new PC or reinstalled Windows for some reason. [Read more…]

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