System Restore isn't a new feature of Windows 10. This technology was introduced in 2000 with Windows Millenium Edition. It allows you to roll back the installed operating system to the previous state. System Restore creates restore points which keep a complete state of Registry settings, drivers and various system files. The user can roll back the operating system to one of the restore points if Windows 10 becomes unstable or unbootable.
Three impressive alternatives to Photo Viewer in Windows 10
Every Windows 10 user knows that in this OS, Microsoft ditched the Windows Photo Viewer app and replaced it a less functional Universal app called Photos. In this article, I would like to draw your attention to three impressive alternative applications which can replace Windows Photo Viewer so you get back functionality, usability and speed.
Get Windows 7 theme for Windows 10
With Windows 7, Microsoft introduced a really unique and beautiful appearance for the operating system. Windows Vista already had some features like transparent window frames with glass (blur effect) but Windows 7 introduced a glass taskbar and a glass Start Menu which follows the Aero color. They were very well received by most users. With Windows 8, Microsoft removed the glass effect from window frames and the blur effect from the taskbar. In Windows 10, the appearance has become even less 3D, minimalistic and uses completely flat colors without any gradients. Many users are missing the good old look of Windows 7. Let's see how to get the Windows 7 theme in Windows 10.
Aero Glass and transparency for Windows 10
Windows Vista introduced the Desktop Window Manager and the Aero theme for window borders, title bars and the Start menu. This theme is very beautiful. Windows 7 and Windows Vista came with a blur effect for the transparency used in the Aero theme. This glass effect got removed in Windows 8. Due to user feedback, it was restored in Windows 10 but title bars and window borders continue to use only flat colors. Today, we will see how to get Aero Glass and transparency for these in Windows 10.
How to tell if Windows 10 runs in UEFI mode or in the Legacy BIOS mode
Many modern PCs run the installed OS in UEFI mode. But almost all of them have a fallback mode which allows the hardware to be configured in the legacy mode called BIOS mode. Here is how you can tell which mode exactly is used on your Windows 10 PC.
Show BSOD details instead of the sad smiley in Windows 11 and 10
Microsoft changed the design of the stop screen (also called the BSOD or Blue Screen Of Death). Instead of showing technical info with white letters on a blue background, Windows 10 shows a sad smiley and just the error code. But if you want to turn on the old style BSOD, need to edit the Registry and change two parameters. The methods works in Windows 11 and Windows 11.
How to switch users faster in Windows 10
Although the concept of multiple users sharing one device or one PC is getting rarer by the day, there are still cases when you have to share PCs and switch users fast. In earlier versions of Windows before Windows 10, we had a Switch Users command in the Shutdown menu inside the Start Menu to quickly switch users. But in Windows 10, the Start menu does not come include such command in the Power options. Let us see how we can switch users faster in Windows 10.
Add Scan with Windows Defender to Explorer right click context menu in Windows 10
As you may already know, Microsoft bundled antivirus protection software with Windows 10. It is called Windows Defender and provides basic protection. According to Microsoft, it is good enough for most users. However, by default it does not scan removable drives. When you need to scan a removable drive or a specific file or folder with Defender, it is useful to have a context menu item to do it quickly.
It’s official – Microsoft is killing Control Panel
We wondered some time ago and concluded that Microsoft might kill the Control Panel completely with future updates to Windows. Today, it became official. Microsoft wants you to learn the new Settings app and forget about other PC management tools.
How to find the Windows 10 build number you are running
Since Microsoft changed the release model in Windows 10, users are interested in finding out which build of Windows 10 they have installed on their PCs. As you may already know, Microsoft is not going to release major versions of Windows any more but will ship updates constantly. This is reminiscent of the rolling release model of many Linux distros. If you are part of the Insider program, you need to be even more aware of which build you are using. Our readers regularly ask me how to find the Windows 10 build they are running. Today I will show how.
