Category: Microsoft (Page 2 of 6)

Your PC should update the Windows OS automatically. Same goes for your Microsoft Office software and browsers. But there’s a whole bunch of other programs on your system that may not update without deliberate action on your part.

It’s often not strictly necessary to chase down these updates. But if you’re a stickler for updating everything under the sun, Microsoft has a tool for you, using the WINGET command. This is available under Windows 10 & 11. It’s not a very pretty process, but if you’re comfy typing a line of code, it can save you a lot of time and clicks.

Updating through WINGET

First, open a Command Prompt or Powershell window. There’s a variety of ways to do this:

• Press Win+R and type cmd or powershell and press Enter.
• Click Start and scroll through All Apps, looking for “Windows Powershell”.
• Use the Search function on your Start menu or taskbar to look for command or powershell.

Next, you’ll type in the following:

winget upgrade –all

Note: after the word ‘upgrade’, there is a space and two dashes. On some screens, these punctuations may be hard to see.

At this point, Windows will identify and attempt to update a variety of programs on your system, ranging from lesser known Microsoft components, to things you do recognize, like GIMP and Thunderbird and Epic Games. Be prepared for many popups, asking for permission to run and make changes to your computer. Click Yes to each update that you want to allow onto your system.

Other Notes

If you aren’t intimidated by code, check out the other abilities of this WINGET function at this Microsoft page. There’s a lot more you can do with this one function.

Sometimes, WINGET cannot update everything on your system. Please don’t be concerned if this happens. If a particular update refuses to complete through WINGET, you may have to deliberately chase it down on the manufacturer’s website. As this tool is developed further, we can expect it to become more polished and reliable.

In any case, this is far better than using any of those “freeware” software updaters that are out there. I generally recommend against those, as they can slow down your system or turn out not to be free.

This tip is just clever enough to amuse me, and I hope some of you can appreciate it. On Windows computers, you can make a folder that is nearly invisible. The folder is still locatable, highlightable and clickable, but if you make it on the Desktop, it’s very well camouflaged.

First, you would:

• Right-click your Desktop, click New, then click Folder.
• Name the folder by holding down the Alt key while you type 255 .
• Press Enter, and you should see a yellow folder with no name.

Next:

• Right-click that folder and click Properties.
• Go to the Customize tab and click Change Icon….
• Scroll through the icon choices until you find a blank space. Click to select that “blank” and click OK.
• Click OK to the Properties screen and see your finished product:

You are welcome to try this in other locations (Documents, Pictures, etc.), but the camouflage effect seems most effective on the Desktop wallpaper.

Remember the Control Panel? It was the best thing that Microsoft made to adjust and tweak the way their Windows OS worked. But then, starting with Windows 8, we were forced to deal more with their Settings Panels, as they hid away all those classic controls.

But it’s still there. To this day, you can find the Control Panel and use it on any modern Windows computer. Right-click your Start button and select Run. Type the word “control” and click OK. Look familiar? You can also press Win + R on your keyboard and then type “control” to go there, too.

But Control Panel fanatics swear by the “God Mode” panel. I’m not sure we should call it that, seeing as people can be sensitive to throwing around the G-word. The real name of this thing is the Windows Master Control Panel, and it’s a single icon that gets you to a collection of all the essential Control Panel shortcuts you’ll ever need. If this sounds like your jam, here’s how to create this on your computer:

• Highlight, right-click and copy the below string of characters:

GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}

• Go to your desktop wallpaper and right-click a blank area. Hover over “New” and then click “Folder.”
• Press CTRL + V to paste in that string of text as the folder’s name. and then press Enter.

You’re done! You’ll have a new nameless icon on your desktop, and when you double-click it, you’ll feel like a computer deity with all these useful Control Panel functions at your disposal.