Do you know that you can speed up Windows startup without using third-party tools? Today, we are going to share with you several tricks which will allow you to reduce the startup time and make your Windows boot faster. Some of them are quite simple, and some of them might be new for you.
Category: Articles
How to unlock the hidden display off timeout for the Lock screen in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1
The Lock screen, new to Windows 8, is a fancy feature which allows you to display an image while your PC/tablet is locked and displays other useful information.
However, when the PC is locked, the normal display off timeout value has no effect on it and you cannot specify the timeout value after which the screen will turn off while you are on the Lock screen. Turns out, there is a hidden registry setting for this and enabling it even turns it on in the Power Options control panel GUI - the same window where you specify other power related timeouts. Let me show you how.
Unlock the hidden Lock Screen Slideshow (Picture Frame) feature in Windows 8.1 aka ‘Blue’
There are lots of secrets in the recently leaked Windows Blue build (the upcoming Windows 8.1 update). We already discovered new shell commands and shell locations, covered the new Modern File Manager and the new Bing-powered Search pane. Today, we are going to share few registry tweaks which will allow you to customize the brand new Lock Screen feature - called Picture Frame. Windows Blue allows you to turn your PC/tablet into a picture frame. This feature will swap a set of images from the folder you specify via the "PC Settings" applet.
When Picture Frame is enabled, it looks as follows:
BetaArchive.com member Ultrawindows has discovered some hidden registry tweaks which will allow you to customize the "Picture Frame" feature behavior.
How to change a Windows theme from the command prompt
Many people, including my friends, often ask me how to change a Windows theme from the command prompt without opening the Explorer window. They want to apply the custom theme they have installed from the command line. Unfortunately, Windows does not provide any native or user-friendly way to change the current theme and apply *.theme file silently. Today, I would like to provide you with an easy-to-use solution - our brand new release: Winaero Theme Switcher.
How to prevent Windows 8 from auto pinning apps to the Start screen
If you have been using Windows 8, you would definitely have noticed that it automatically pins every application shortcut to the Start screen. This is highly unwanted behavior because your Start screen will become cluttered very quickly. Today I would like to share with you a simple and useful trick which will give you a clean and well organized Start screen. Continue if you are interested.
How to remove Documents, Pictures, Music, Videos and Downloads folders from the Computer folder in Windows 8.1
Update: This manual method is no longer needed if you are not comfortable fiddling with the Registry. Use our easy to use tool, This PC Tweaker to hide and show the folders you want.
In Windows 8.1, there are some additional folders that show in the Computer folder. In case you don't like them showing in Computer or don't need them, follow this simple tutorial to learn how to remove them.
- Open regedit.exe (See our Windows Registry Editor fundamentals)
- Navigate to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\
- Delete the following sub-keys:
{1CF1260C-4DD0-4ebb-811F-33C572699FDE} (Music) {3ADD1653-EB32-4cb0-BBD7-DFA0ABB5ACCA} (Pictures) {A0953C92-50DC-43bf-BE83-3742FED03C9C} (Videos) {A8CDFF1C-4878-43be-B5FD-F8091C1C60D0} (Documents) {374DE290-123F-4565-9164-39C4925E467B} (Downloads)
Before:
After:
How to enable the new Bing Search panel in Windows 8.1 (aka ‘Blue’)
Update: This trick is no longer needed for Windows 8.1 RTM where the Bing-powered search pane is already on by default.
Windows Blue comes with a new Bing-powered search pane for the Start screen. Although it is disabled by default, it is easy to enable it.
- Open registry editor and navigate to the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\SearchPane
Tip: See our Windows Registry Editor fundamentals
- Create here a new DWORD value, name it NewSearchPane and set it to 1.
- Sign out and sign in back, and you will get the following search pane:
Thanks to my friend Nick for pointing me to this.
New Shell Commands and Shell Locations in Windows 8.1 (aka ‘Blue’)
Just for note: Windows 8.1 (aka 'Blue') features new shell commands and shell locations:
shell:::{A8CDFF1C-4878-43be-B5FD-F8091C1C60D0} - Documents folder pinned in the Computer folder.
shell:::{1CF1260C-4DD0-4ebb-811F-33C572699FDE} - Music folder pinned in the Computer folder.
shell:::{3ADD1653-EB32-4cb0-BBD7-DFA0ABB5ACCA} - Pictures folder pinned in the Computer folder.
shell:::{A0953C92-50DC-43bf-BE83-3742FED03C9C} - Videos folder pinned in the Computer folder.
shell:Camera Roll - A new folder to store pictures taken by the Camera pp
shell:SkyDrive - The SkyDrive shell folder which is synchronized online with SkyDrive
shell:SkyDriveDocuments - The Documents folder inside the SkyDrive shell folder
shell:SkyDrivePictures - The Pictures folder inside the SkyDrive shell folder
Stay tuned for more tips.
How to start the new Modern File Manager in Windows 8.1 (aka ‘Blue’)
Update: This trick is no longer necessary for Windows 8.1 RTM where the bundled Modern File Manager in the SkyDrive app is fully functional.
If you downloaded the build of Windows 8.1 that leaked recently, you may have come across a new hidden Modern File Manager app designed for touch screens. It has no shortcut and is not visible in the application list. The Modern File Manager's files are located in the C:\Windows\FileManager folder.
If you have already installed Windows 8.1, you may want to explore Modern File Manager. Follow this simple tutorial to learn how it can be done.
Windows Blue version 6.3.9364 has leaked on the internet
It finally happened - today, on the 57th birthday of Steve Ballmer - the major update to Windows 8, "Windows Blue" has leaked on the internet. The leaked ISO is the installation image for 32-bit systems. The system includes numerous changes related primarily to Modern UI and Modern Apps in the OS.
The file name of the leaked image is 9364.0.FBL_PARTNER_OUT13.130315-2105_X86FRE_CLIENT. As is obvious from the build tag, it was compiled on March 15, 2013 and has been designed exclusively for Microsoft's partners. The size of the ISO image is 2.63 GB.
The main changes are as follows:
