If you have a home or work network set up for your Windows PC, you may also be mapping network shares to drive letters. Mapped drives are very convenient as they allow accessing network files and folders just like a regular local drive. However, in modern versions of Windows, there is a problem that mapped drives do not always automatically and reliably reconnect at logon. So any program that tries to access resources on the mapped network drive fails. Let us see how to fix this issue.
Tag: Windows 8
Add Scan with Windows Defender to Explorer right click context menu in Windows 8.1
Windows 8.1 comes with a built-in antivirus protection software called Windows Defender. It provides basic protection and according to Microsoft, it is good enough for many users. If you need to check some file or folder, for example, files on a removable drive, you should launch the Windows Defender app using the Control Panel and customize the scan options. This is not handy and takes too many clicks. In this article we will see how to add it directly to the File Explorer right click context menu, so you will be able to scan for files with just a right click.
FIX: Windows plays no sound for tray balloon tips (notifications)
Windows has played sounds for various events for a long time now. Windows 8 also introduced some new sound events such as Metro toast notifications. But in Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows Vista, no sound is played for desktop notifications it shows in the system tray area. In Windows XP, it played a popup sound for balloon tips in the notification area so that even if you were away from the PC or the display was turned off, you would come to know that the system was notifying you about something via balloon tips. In modern versions of Windows, balloon tips are displayed silently. Well, luckily this can be fixed quite easily.
How to manage wireless networks in Windows 8.1 and Windows 8 using Classic Shell
Previously, we wrote about how to manage wireless networks in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 from the command prompt. However, the command prompt and netsh are a very cumbersome way to change their priority, delete network profiles or rename them. Instead, you can manage wireless networks from the GUI if you use the Classic Shell Start Menu. Let's see how.
Turn on Xmouse active window tracking (focus follows mouse pointer) feature in Windows 8.1, Windows 8 and Windows 7
Ever since Windows 95, the operating system has had a feature called Xmouse where the focus of windows can follow the mouse pointer, meaning, as you move the mouse pointer around, the window which is under the mouse pointer becomes the active window. This feature is disabled by default. Let us see how it can be turned on.
Change your user account picture quickly in Windows 8.1 and Windows 8
Unlike Windows 7, Windows 8's settings to change the User Account Picture aren't very usable. They are located inside the PC Settings app and browsing to the picture you want is very annoying because the Metro File Picker UI isn't at all intuitive. Let us see how to change the user account picture in Windows 8.1 and Windows 8 quickly.
How to change the default Shut down power action in Windows 8.1 and Windows 8
Windows 8 made it more cumbersome for PC users to shut down the PC by increasing the number of clicks it takes using the mouse and keyboard. There are actually a dozen ways to shut down so you can use any method you like. One of them is the classic Shutdown dialog which appears when you press Alt+F4 on the Desktop. It is a good way to shut down as it can do a hybrid shut down and it doesn't show the Metro UI. However the default action in that dialog is no longer changeable from the Taskbar Properties in Windows 8 because of Start Menu settings going away. Let us see how we can change this action.
Sync files in Windows Briefcase without any errors
Windows Briefcase remains an easy way to sync files locally between your PC hard drive or SSD drive and removable storage such as USB flash drive or microSD/MMC storage. It can also be used to manually sync a folder on the network. Even though it was removed in Windows 8, it can be restored using a registry tweak. Briefcase doesn't offer sophisticated sync options like advanced tools have such as Microsoft's SyncToy etc, nor does it have any integration with online storage services. But for the basic task of keeping two folders in sync, it's still a handy tool. Unfortunately, Windows Vista broke some Briefcase functionality. Luckily, Briefcase can be used without errors if you follow this trick.
How to check if a process is running as administrator (elevated) in Windows
Ever since Windows Vista introduced User Account Control, there has been a need to occasionally run some programs as administrator for doing some functions. If the UAC setting is set to the highest level in Windows, then you get a UAC prompt when you open an app as administrator. But when the UAC setting is at a lower level, signed Windows EXEs are elevated silently. Also, there are some scheduled tasks which run as administrator and you can even create your own shortcuts that run elevated but you don't get the UAC prompt for them. In this article, we will see how we can determine if a process is running as administrator.
Show numbers on taskbar buttons with 7+ Taskbar Numberer
Previously, we wrote about how you can use 7+ Taskbar Tweaker to improve your Taskbar usability and bring back many classic options. The developer of 7+ Taskbar Tweaker, has another tool called 7+ Taskbar Numberer. It shows numbers on your taskbar buttons so operating the taskbar using the keyboard becomes easier.
