Category: Windows (Page 2 of 5)

Live Captions on Windows 11

April 18, 2023 / Jesse Mueller / 0 Comments

Windows 11 now has a built-in ability to display Live Captions for any audio you are playing. Whether it’s a YouTube video or Facebook Reel or Skype meeting, Win11 can show you captions for whatever speech is coming onto your computer. This can be extremely helpful for those who are hard of hearing, and also useful when you cannot use your computer’s audio.

Setting Up Captions for the First Time

Click the Start Button and open Settings. Go to Accessibility, then click Captions.

Across from Live captions, turn it On and then click the Download button to add this feature into Windows.

After the download completes, your computer will always be ready to offer you Captions.

How to Turn On Captions

You can always retrace your steps as above to turn on the Captions, but there are other, easier ways:

Press Control + Win + L on your keyboard
Go to Start -> All Apps -> Accessibility -> Live captions

ProTip: Right-click Live captions on your Start menu to be able to Pin it to the Start menu or Taskbar!

Using Live Captions

Windows 11’s captions are pretty straightforward, but notice the cogwheel icon to the right after you turn them on. You can click that cogwheel to customize the look and placement of the captions. There’s also an option in there to include the audio that your microphone captures, if you want the captions to include what you are saying (on a video call, for example).

Microsoft’s Live Captions are only available on the latest version of Windows 11. If you cannot find them on your Win11 machine, make sure to run Windows Updates until your system installs Version 22H2.

Updating Apps using WINGET

April 12, 2023 / Jesse Mueller / 0 Comments

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.

Create an (Nearly) Invisible Folder

March 29, 2023 / Jesse Mueller / 0 Comments

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.

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.

Windows Master Control Panel

January 1, 2023 / Jesse Mueller / 0 Comments

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.

God Mode? Goddess Mode. Flying Spaghetti Monster Mode!

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.

Microsoft Power Toys

December 6, 2022 / Jesse Mueller / 0 Comments

Microsoft offers a batch of extra tools and utilities for anyone to add to their Windows computers. These “Power Toys” come bundled together as a single free download, and you can get them here or from the Microsoft Store.

Some of these tools are basic while others are for advanced users, so breeze through the list to see if any of them appeal to you. I especially like remapping keys on my keyboard with the Keyboard Manager toy…

BitLocker Has Locked My Computer!

November 1, 2022 / Jesse Mueller / 0 Comments

A small number of people are encountering this message on their Windows 11 computers right now, following some overnight Windows Updates:

And for those who discover this, it’s about as fun as having a dead battery in your car or no dial tone when you pick up the phone. The computer is stuck like Chuck and won’t go anywhere!

What To Do

This is solvable but the solution is not necessarily intuitive to all. I’ll describe the process, but please reach out to me if you want help along the way.

First, you must know the Microsoft Account credentials you’ve used on your PC. This is usually your email address, and the Microsoft account password that goes with it. Your PIN will not help and your Microsoft password is different from your PIN! If you’ve forgotten your Microsoft password, you’ll need to reset it.

You’ll need to go to a different computer or device, and visit this site to log in with your Microsoft credentials: Microsoft Account.

Once you’ve logged in successfully, click “Devices” along the top toolbar selections. Then down lower, click on BitLocker recovery keys and you’ll arrive at a screen like this:

Using the Device Names, try to find the corresponding row for your locked device. Then take the longest string of numbers to the right, and type it in to the BlueScreen message. If done precisely, your computer should unlock and boot into Windows as normal.

Follow-Up Info

BitLocker is a drive encryption tool, and Microsoft only includes it on the Professional, Education and Enterprise editions of Windows. If you have Windows 11 Home edition, this issue won’t happen to you, and you won’t find Bitlocker if you go scrounging around in the Settings panel for it.

But if your computer does offer BitLocker, please know that you do have the option of turning it off. BitLocker is a powerful tool for protecting the data on a computer, in case of theft, but not all may want to use that tool, especially if it caused this problem or some other stoppage. Here’s how to track it down on your computer:

Go to Start -> Settings -> Privacy & Security -> Device Encryption.

At this panel, you are free to enable or disable this feature. If you cannot see the Device Encryption option, then it is simply not offered on your Windows computer.

The End of the Line for Windows 8

November 1, 2022 / Jesse Mueller / 0 Comments

For those of you still using Windows 8 computers, you’ll soon meet with legitimate popup messages, as shown below:

This is not a scam, and Microsoft is telling you the truth. Windows 8 reaches the end of its lifecycle on 1/10/2023. But Don’t Panic! Here are more details to help you navigate what’s next.

You May Keep Using Windows 8

You don’t have to do anything. Your Win8 PC will keep working fine, even past 1/10/2023. But after that date, there is an unknown amount of security risk. I’m not too worried about it, but I also cannot tell you there is no risk. If you stick with Windows 8 after 1/10/2023, you must check your antivirus to make sure it is still running and updating!

Still, after that deadline, other issues may develop. Other programs, like Google Chrome, may also stop updating. And over time, with many things getting so deprecated, that could lead to unexpected security problems. You might see security errors as you load your email. You might one day be blocked from logging into your bank accounts. Zoom or Quicken or other apps may fail to load.

So while you can probably Windows 8 past its deadline, you’ll want to take action at some point before a software malfunction crops up to frustrate you. You’ve got two ways to proceed:

Option #1: Buy a New Computer

Microsoft would love for you to buy a new computer. If it’s in your budget to do so, you’ll be moving to a system with Windows 11 on it, and its lifecycle has no declared end date as of this writing. Reach out to me if you need a recommendation on what to buy from Costco or some other store you prefer.

Option #2: Upgrade Your PC to Windows 10

PCs running Windows 7 or 8 can still receive a free upgrade to Windows 10. Yes, I promise you it is a free download, it never stopped being free, despite rumors and erroneous news reports. If you want to try this:

Go to this Microsoft download site.
Under “Create Windows 10 Installation Media”, click the Download Now button.
Save and then Open/Run the MediaCreationTool.exe file.
Agree to the Licensing Agreements and choose the option to Keep Your Apps and Files, when prompted.

Please know that this undertaking could take hours to complete, especially if you are still on a slow DSL connection. The download involved are several gigabytes in size! But with enough patience, your computer will adopt Windows 10, which has a lifecycle lasting until October 14, 2025.

no@thankyou.com

September 1, 2022 / Jesse Mueller / 2 Comments

May 2024 Update: Microsoft is updating Windows 11 to disregard “no@thankyou.com”. If you attempt this trick on a new Win11 PC, it will no longer work! But it should still work on Windows 10, if you should have to reinstall or reset an older system.

If you want to use your Windows 11 computer without a Microsoft account, your easiest way forward is to sign in with a Microsoft account, and then later switch to a local account with these steps. I will update this post if the situation develops further.

When first turning on a new PC, you’ll field a few basic questions before meeting the demand that you use a Microsoft account. And while there are some benefits to doing so, not everyone wants to do that. Some people just want to keep their email and other info to themselves. If this is your preference, then you need to know about “no@thankyou.com“.

Microsoft, holding the computer hostage until you fork over an email address

Windows 11 is very forceful about getting everyone to use a Microsoft account. If you are sitting at a Sign In screen on your new PC, you probably will see no way around it. Here’s how to bypass this requirement:

In the field asking for an email, phone or Skype, type in no@thankyou.com

Click Next and the next screen will ask for password entry. Type anything you want (it doesn’t matter) in the field and click the Sign In button.

You will get an error because the sign-in attempt failed. And on the next screen, you’ll be asked “Who’s going to use this device?” Simply type in any name you wish, and you won’t be asked again for a Microsoft account!

Type your name in this field. Or a nickname. Or “Batman”. Whatever you want the computer to call you.

After entering your name, you will be asked to supply a password. This can be anything you want, short or long. Or you can even leave it blank (if you don’t want a password on your computer).

This is a local password, and not a Microsoft Account (online) password. It can be anything or nothing.

Password Caveats

If you choose to setup your computer with no password, please understand that this makes your computer usable by anyone who touches it. This may be perfectly fine, in a secure household with trusted family members. You would not want to do this if you have naughty children or devious roommates.

If you set any kind of password on this final screen, you have got to be extra-careful. Be accurate with your typing and never lose this password! This is a local password, which means you cannot reset it on the Microsoft website. It is stored only on the hard drive. If you forget this password, then your computer will be completely unusable until you erase it and reinstall Windows!

Antivirus for Very Old Computers

July 27, 2022 / Jesse Mueller / 0 Comments

Many people continue to use vintage computers, running operating systems that are past their end-of-support date. While I recommend that these users upgrade to something modern and more secure, I understand when they stick with their classic machines. I don’t judge.

But if those computers are going to hit the internet, they do need antivirus. And as they age, it becomes more difficult to find an antivirus software that is willing to run on a much older OS. Below are some links to free antiviruses that are compatible with bygone OSes, like Vista and El Capitan.

Windows Computers

My favorite free antivirus for older PCs is Microsoft Security Essentials. But Microsoft pulled this from their sites, so use these links to get the 32-bit version or the 64-bit version . It will run on any XP, Vista or Win7 computer.

AVG still offers a free antivirus that works on XP and Vista and Windows 7.

You can also consider Avast Free Antivirus, which is equally compatible.

Apple Computers

There’s some debate on whether Macs need additional antivirus protection. For now, I’ll say: You are at greater risk if you’re using an out-of-date computer, so antivirus becomes more relevant if you’re not running the latest MacOS. If your MacOS is so old to be completely out of service, please get some antivirus ASAP.

AVG offers free antivirus for Macs here, and can install on MacOS 10.13 High Sierra or newer.

Avast offers free antivirus for Macs here, and can install on MacOS 10.11 El Capitan or newer.

Windows 11 in S Mode

June 14, 2022 / Jesse Mueller / 0 Comments

note to readers: this is a reboot/rewrite of the Windows 10 S Mode post from last year

Windows 11 comes in various editions: Home, Pro, Education, Enterprise and S mode. And that last one gives many people pause. Just what is S mode? What does the S stand for? Simple, Secure, Strict, Stunted? Microsoft is mum on that question.

S Mode Defined

S mode is a locked down version of Windows. This “flavor” of Windows won’t alow you to install any software on the computer, unless it comes from the Microsoft Store. This means that you are protected from many types of malware and other nasties, but also cannot load Google Chrome, Adobe Reader, Quickbooks Desktop or any other software from a download or disc.

This may be acceptable, if you can live with only ever using Microsoft Edge and Microsoft Office. This may be an instant No for other computer users.

But Should You Avoid S Mode Computers?

In short, No! Many computers at Costco, Best Buy, Microcenter and other retailers boast Windows S mode, but don’t be deterred! S mode can be removed right after you boot the computer. Microsoft allows you to remove S mode and convert your license to Windows 11 Home, for free.

But it is a one-way trip. Once you switch from S mode to Home, there’s no going back. So be sure you want to make the change, and then:

Switch Out of S Mode

Once your new S mode computer is booted and connected to the internet, go to:

Start -> Settings -> Activation.

Here you should find a wodge of text about Switching to Windows 11 Home. Under it, click the link that says “Go to the Store”. The Microsoft Store will appear and you’ll want to use the “Get” button to remove S mode.

Microsoft may demand that you sign in to your Microsoft account a couple of times, but if you jump through their hoops, Windows will tell you that you have removed S mode for good! You are then free to install any programs you desire.

One Last Thing…

Sometimes, people complain: “Hey, I removed S mode and Microsoft still won’t let me install XYZ Program!” If this happens to you, go to:

Start -> Settings -> Apps -> Apps & Features.

Under the heading “Choose Where to Get Apps”, change the drop-down menu to one of the “Anywhere” options. Close this window and then go try your installation again!