As much as most of here do not like the direction Microsoft has taken with Windows 10, sooner or later we are all going to need to deal with it. I thought I would start a thread containing useful tips and tricks, programs and utilities, things in general that would help to make windows just a little bit more palatable.
If you are run older programs such as I do, from time to time, you may come across a situation where you will run into this error message about this not being installed onto your computer. Microsoft discontinued supporting this older help file system with the introduction of Windows Vista. Since then, they have been offering a patches to get it back onto most, but not all windows versions since then. Each patch has been specific to the version of windows you are running which can be found at this link: Error opening Help in Windows-based programs: "Feature not included" or "Help not supported"
A more universal approach has since been found and works well even with Windows 10. (Original posting can be found HERE).
I needed a solution in order to get help working for Delphi Studio Architect on Windows 10. Komeil's install.cmd file didn't work as is (its pre Win10) so I simply modified it. Unpack the download (Install.cmd, winhlp32.exe, winhlp32.exe.mui) to a new directory. Edit the install.cmd and add the following two lines to the 'settings' section:
set WindowsVersion=7 goto :BypassVersionError
(yes, 'WindowsVersion=7' is correct.) Save the file and execute as administrator. All should go without error. Delphi help, and every other help file I've tried, now works exactly as it should!
Edit: If the website indicated above comes up as not being available, here is an alternate source for the files. The install.cmd file that is included in this zip-file package has already been modified so no further editing is needed, but it still needs to be ran as administrator.
The following examples has been excerpted from elsewhere:
To open the startup folder in windows 10 in order to have shortcuts launched upon windows startup: 1.press the windows key 2.type run 3.press enter key
4.type shell:startup 5.press enter key
Alternatively, you can navigate to it using this address:
[[drive that windows is on]]:\Users\[[your username]]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
A program I find indispensable is 7+ Taskbar Tweaker, which was thankfully ported to Windows 10 recently. 7+ Taskbar Tweaker gives me the following features:
Rapid, easy control of the volume by simply rolling the mousewheel up or down over the taskbar. If you listen to music/audio on your computer and find yourself frequently wanting to adjust the volume, this feature alone will quickly become worth the the hassle all by itself.
Seconds on the taskbar clock. Very helpful when you want to quickly time something. Also helps me keep better track of time.
Better multitasking. I detest the default Taskbar setting of "Always combine", and use "Combine when taskbar is full" (right-click the Taskbar -> Properties). However, there are times when I have so many windows open that they start combining again. 7+TT's "decombine" feature for the Active group and On mouse hover greatly improves the ease of switching tasks when the taskbar is full.
If I need extra screen space or want to hide my other open tasks, all I have to do is center-click the blank spot to the left of the notification area to toggle Taskbar Auto hide on and off.
If I'm using the mouse and want to quickly open Task Manager, all I have to do is double-click the blank spot to the left of the notification area and Task Manager will open.
Best of all, it has an option to hide its own tray icon so as not to clutter up the notification area.
Here are the 7+ Taskbar Tweaker settings I use:
Last Edit: Oct 26, 2015 11:31:02 GMT -6 by Techie007
Microsoft, is Windows 10 the best you could do? Really? After promising to listen to our feedback, what a letdown!
Good thread, good idea. I really like the idea of accumulating useful info for "dealing with" Windows 10.
One of my favorite tweaks to Windows 10 is to take control back of Windows Updates.
Here's what I do:
1. Deconfigure automatic updates through the Group Policy Editor. Specifically:
Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components
Set the Configure Automatic Updates entry to Disabled.
2. Optionally, you can Stop and Disable the Windows Update service (via Services.msc). This will ensure not even a secret update will be applied when you're not ready to install updates and have your system be de-stabilized. Of course you'll have to temporarily Enable it in order to do a Windows Update successfully. It turns out that Windows Defender will try to use Windows Update, and failing that will go ahead and do a direct update of its malware databases.
I dont know about dealing with 10. Im pretty sure 7 will never stop working and even if it did i would just go to linux. 10 will never be anything more than A LOT OF WORK. Just from my testing i have to pay for and install more than 5 3rd party programs and only get a small portion of the functionality back. At best its a house of cards that on any given tuesday cold be toppled. I followed Noels Aero method and of course it works. I would like to have different themes and maybe a few changes in metrics but the average user will in no way ever be able to do what we have done.
Maybe (and this could be already i do not know) you should post free alternatives for 3rd party programs. At least then all you have is the work and not the expense. Good thread BTW
Post by Bayer A.User on Oct 31, 2015 5:21:22 GMT -6
Malwarebytes antimalware for windows is well known. Not so well known is their Anti-Exploit browser protection software. It works on 10 with most any browser(except Edge?) and runs quietly in the background. Free version is worth a look. https://www.malwarebytes.org
These instructions will illustrate how to install Windows 10 Technical Preview (or any later version of Windows) to a VHDX as so to have a dual-boot configuration without having to adjust or modify any partitions. These instructions assume the host system is natively installed to a physical disk--can be a virtual machine also--the system only has a single HDD installed, and that Windows 7 Enterprise or Ultimate is installed and running. If your system's configurations differs, then it will be incumbent on the reader to adjust the procedures (mostly the ones dealing with DISKPART) accordingly.
I don't like to pin too many things to the top of a forum because then it becomes hard to see activity in the other threads, but I think a thread like this that seeks to help everyone make the best of Windows 10, such as it is, deserves to be up top where people can see it.
Pinned!
-Noel
Author of the "How to Configure the 'To Work' Options" series of Windows books. Not feeling enough love to do one for Windows 10.
Setting Up Device Drivers by Using Compatibility Mode
This procedure is useful for when the installation software for your device fails to run or cannot complete it's installation on a system.
I actually had to use this procedure for 2 devices on my system running Windows 10. I have a legacy ATI video card* and a fairly new HP Scanner/Printer.
The procedure itself is quite simple.
1: Once you have located your driver setup file on your system, just right click on the file to bring up Properties and select it.
2: Select the Compatibility tab.
3: Inside, you will find Compatibility Mode about half way down with a check box to "Run this program in compatibility mode for:"
4: Once you have checked the box, you can then use the dropdown box and select which version of windows to run the program as.
5: Click on Apply.
6: Now you can run your device driver installation program by normal means.
* A note about legacy ATI Drivers. These need to have the older versions of .NET (dot Net) Framework installed onto your system before you can run the driver setup file. In Windows 10, go to the Control Panel by right clicking the Start Button, then go to Program and Features. On the left side, you will see Turn Windows Features On or Off. A list will pop up, you should see .NET Framework 3.5 (includes .NET 2.0 and 3.0) in there with a check box beside it. Check it on and click on okay. Windows 10 will then proceed to install this for you.
At best its a house of cards that on any given tuesday cold be toppled.
Indeed that's true. Any given Tuesday and EVERY 4 months, that's been promised.
The potential instability is the prime reason I'm staying on Win 8.1 for now.
Somehow I think Microsoft got the idea that a lot of folks are reinstalling their OS every few months anyway, since they screw it up so often, so they should just make in-place upgrades a normal practice for everyone. Some do install quite often but others of us just do a CLEAN install once and expect to use it for years. On any of my systems I only ever installed all the versions just once as clean installs and used them until the next version came out. Every 2 or 3 years it's not bad to have to go through a whole new, fresh setup. You discover changes to your needs, or different tech available. But every 4 months is just ludicrous, as is running an "upgrade" installation - if you want stability.
-Noel
Author of the "How to Configure the 'To Work' Options" series of Windows books. Not feeling enough love to do one for Windows 10.
i NEVER upgrade EVER. fresh install only its been that way since i was on win95. excluding of course windows 10 where upgrade == new install anyway since theres really no difference aside from having the windows.old folder. otherwise everything is the same. it still resets everything to default values and reinstall shit apps that you have removed so you still have to "re-setup" the OS anyway.
While windows does have a pretty good toolset already built for system diagnostics called the Resource Monitor, the tools offered by Windows Sysinternals Suite would be like having the same toolset put on steroids plus a whole lot more. One of my personal favourites is the Process Explorer, but there are many other Tools and Utilities available on this site that can give you very detailed information on just about any aspect of your computer you may wish to monitor.
SysInternals - thumbs up. Everyone should use Autoruns to see what's being started and to manage the things you don't want running. There are some things you can only discover with ProcMon. The list goes on.
Here's a good tool I've come to like: Process Hacker 2
Another good set of tools I like to use comes from Gibson Research Corporation: www.grc.com
They have TOOLS for testing your on-line security as well as doing data recovery and securing your system. I've used Shields Up! many times as a quick test in checking your on-line security status on any given system.
This is a very interesting article I found on the net on how to rework the DS1287 / DS1387 RTC chip if you have an older computer system that won't keep it's CMOS Settings anymore.
Taking Ownership of Files and Folders from Win10 Trusted Installer - The Cheat Sheet:
Wow, does THAT ever look familiar ! UnTrusted Installer
heres a useful bit that works on win10. Revo Uninstaller- same ol' reliable utility,unfortunately in 10 it will only uninstall software that you have added. Still great at removing all the junk temp files . Free 1.9.5.0 version is all you need.
My apologies for borrowing it and not giving you proper credit for this tip. It's now corrected. I thought having it here would be a more suitable home for it rather than having it get and lost and buried someplace on the MS forums.
My apologies for borrowing it and not giving you proper credit for this tip. It's now corrected. I thought having it here would be a more suitable home for it rather than having it get and lost and buried someplace on the MS forums.
Haha, no problemo Rickym. Hope everybody else uses it as much as i have !
Ever get irritated that Microsoft dumbs down times/dates?
Out of the box, Windows File Explorer dialogs show your file times in a format that’s too casual for serious work. If you’ve recently modified a file and would like to know when - to the exact second - the nomenclature “3 minutes ago” just isn’t sufficient. It's all part of the dumbing down of Windows.
Take heart, there is still a way to have Windows always display the date and time to the second:
Note: Microsoft has seen fit to remove the direct configurability of the date/time format string from their newly implemented PC Settings replacement for the old Control Panel, so you can no longer do this from the Control Panel. You have to change this directly in the registry now.
• Click Start, and type regedit into the search box.
• Navigate into the key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ International
• Add the following new String Value sLongDate as a REG_SZ exactly as shown here:
ddd, MMMM d, yyyy
• Now your times will always be shown in HH:MM:SS format, NOT "3 minutes ago".
on 10tanic Enterprise x86 LTSB 90 day eval. (10240) I get the same dialog window as in winders ape at the bottom of the Formats tab is Additional Settings (button) opens the dialog for customizing the formats
in the customize format dialog you can type anything you want in the short and long date formats
is this missing in the later versions?
it's one of the first places I visit on every installation because I need to change MM/DD/YYYY to DD/MM/YYYY Can't stand that annoying month first crap.
I find the lack of configuration options disturbing !
I felt a great disturbance in the force.. as if millions of win 7 systems suddenly cried out in terror.
I didn't realize that particular control panel applet was still available. It's clear it's being replaced, so if it doesn't go away with the very next release you can be sure it will one day. For whatever reason Microsoft doesn't seem to want to maintain a reasonable control panel layout for desktop systems separate from the XAML travesty for tablets.
The day first vs. month first is all a matter of what you're used to. If you want reasonable sorting, maybe YYYY/MM/DD would be even better?
-Noel
Author of the "How to Configure the 'To Work' Options" series of Windows books. Not feeling enough love to do one for Windows 10.
<Rick> Good video. It's almost hard to believe that at one time Windows 98 was the resource hog, but even then, it still ran circles around what Windows 10 can do on today's modern hardware and look a heck of alot better doing it.
May 25, 2021 22:55:12 GMT -6
<Rick> As stated elsewhere, So much for the launch of Windows 11, "The Great Crash." Myself, I had a hard time getting into the site listed above, when I did get in, the video was partly done and then it crashed. There has been many other reports of crashing.
Jun 24, 2021 9:52:33 GMT -6
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<Rick> I see Microsoft has been very quick to pull down reports of site crashing regarding the Launch of Windows 11 on the Microsoft Insiders forum.
Jun 24, 2021 9:57:31 GMT -6
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<Rick> The rebroadcast is working okay.
Jun 24, 2021 11:00:25 GMT -6
<Rick> With reports of people being able to install the dev-edition of Windows 11 on machines not meeting spec, I thought I would give it a what-the-heck try. Lucky me, I'm caught in the downloading, doesn't meet spec, clearing, re-downloading loop on my machine!
Jul 2, 2021 7:08:46 GMT -6
<Rick> I've recently purchased a license for ArcaOS from www.arcanoae.com/ to play with. First impressions, it's still OS/2, but it now has a Linux twist to it.
Jul 2, 2021 7:32:53 GMT -6
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<dozrguy> laptop shit out and am stuck buying a new one. os win11 as fucked as win10 was?
Oct 2, 2021 12:56:10 GMT -6
<Rick> Let's see ..., my impression of Windows 11 is that it is a spruced up version of Windows 10 requiring a 64-bit processor plus a piece of security hardware that is less than 4 years old in order for it to run.
Oct 4, 2021 18:25:49 GMT -6
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<Rick> On the plus side, Microsoft is supposed to be supporting Windows 10 for some time to come for those of us still using systems with I7 or older processors.
Oct 4, 2021 18:44:35 GMT -6
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<dozrguy> i tried installing win10 om the 'shitout' pc this morning usung media creation. EPIC FAIL! went into an endless bootloop. win7 reinstalled just fine
Oct 21, 2021 11:23:38 GMT -6
<dozrguy> STILL so much bullshit and so little time for the kiddie ideas from the hill. My new laptop (MSI GE 11-UH461) would be an awesome "10" machine but because of Winblows I can only give it a "2"......wasted $3500
Oct 27, 2021 9:36:47 GMT -6
<Rick> Hello. Just checking in.
Mar 17, 2022 10:46:54 GMT -6
<isidroco> Each new w10 update adds >100000 useless files to \Windows\Servicing\LCU\Package_for_RollupFix... folders. Even in a SSD takes time to delete that stuff. In each version they manage to worsen stuff.
Mar 27, 2022 16:14:51 GMT -6
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<dozerguy> still traffic here?
Oct 9, 2022 17:32:44 GMT -6
<Rick> No, there does not seem to be very much traffic these days. I still check in from time to time.
Oct 9, 2022 20:08:58 GMT -6