Category Archives: 2020.01

How to Sync Any Folder Outside OneDrive Folder in Windows

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Having a simple trick, you can sync a folder that is not in OneDrive folder with OneDrive in Windows. Allow me to demonstrate.

OneDrive is among the most favored cloud storage services and is built into Windows 10. To sync a file or folder with OneDrive cloud, all you need to do is create, move or copy the contents into the OneDrive folder. This lets you sync your important files to be able to access them anywhere you would like as long as you have an internet connection.

However, if you wish to sync a folder that’s outside the OneDrive folder without moving or copying it, then you need to do some magic. So, without further ado, let me show you how you can sync any folder, regardless of its location, with OneDrive.

How Do We Do This?

Since we do not wish to copy or slowly move the target folder to the OneDrive folder, we are going to produce a symbolic link with directory junction. With this option, it makes a kind of outcomes of the origin directory and the destination directory. Though the junction directory looks like a normal folder for normal users, it is nothing but a kind of shortcut that allows you to access the source directly.

Now, I know all of this sounds complicated. However, used it is really easy. Just stick to the below steps and you’ll be good to go.

Steps to Sync Folder Outside OneDrive Without Moving or Copying

As I said, we have to produce a Symbolic Link. To achieve that we need to make use of the Command Prompt.

1. First, open the beginning menu, look for “Command Prompt” and then click the end result to open the Command Prompt.

2. Within the Command Prompt, execute the below command while replacing the dummy paths using the actual paths.

mklink /J “%UserProfile%\OneDrive\DestinationFolder” “D:\SourceFolder”

Here, the very first path is where you want to produce the new directory junction. Within our case, that’s within the OneDrive folder. You can name the folder anything you like by replacing “DestinationFolder”. Generally, it is useful to name the folder identical to the source.

The second path is the source folder path. i.e, the folder you’d like to sync with OneDrive.

Note: If you have moved the OneDrive folder from the default location, you need to customize the first path in the command to mirror that change.

3. Once you execute the command, you will see the “Junction Created” message.

That’s it. If you open the OneDrive folder, you will see a new folder with the name you’re considering within the command. To differentiate the junction directory from the other folders, you will see a little arrow overlay icon which suggests that it is only a shortcut and not a real folder.

Obviously, whenever you open the junction folder, you will see all your files from the source folder.

From this point forward, any modifications you make within the source folder is going to be instantly reflected in the junction folder and therefore are synced to OneDrive.

Items to Bear in mind

Any changes you make either in from the folders will reflect in the other folder. Remember, case a link/shortcut. You are not copying the files.

Since the junction directory is just a link, you can’t use the Files when needed feature on this specific folder. Other regular folders and files are not affected, though.

Should you ever want to remove the link, simply delete the junction directory inside the OneDrive folder. This action won’t delete the origin folder. If you’re unsure, backup the origin folder after which delete the junction directory.

That’s all.

May 2019 Update Dominates Windows 10 Ecosystem In front of Version 2004 Launch

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Windows 10 May 2019 Update (Windows 10 version 1903) remains the main version of the operating-system worldwide, based on new data, as it’s running on 53.4% of devices updated to Microsoft’s latest Windows.

While Windows 10 version 1903 keeps leading the Windows 10 ecosystem, the adoption of Windows 10 November 2019 Update (Windows 10 version 1909) keeps improving as well, so it’s now holding a 15.2 percent share.

On the other hand, Windows 10 October 2018 Update, or Windows 10 version 1809, still runs on 22% of all Windows 10 devices, according to AdDuplex data.

Windows 10 October 2018 Update was also known as Microsoft’s biggest Windows 10 flop, because this update was published in early October 2018 and pulled after only a couple of days as a result of critical bug resulting in the removal of user files stored in libraries.

Windows 10 version 2004 coming

Despite being republished with this particular bug resolved, many users chose to delay the update to prevent any potential issues, therefore the adoption from the October 2018 Update has always lagged behind the main one of older and newer releases. For example, a substantial quantity of users chose to stick with the April 2018 Update (version 1803), the predecessor towards the October update, until a newer version was released, simply to steer clear of the installation of the buggy update.

Microsoft happens to be giving the finishing touches to a new Windows 10 feature update due in the spring.

Based on people close to the matter, Windows 10 20H1, also known as version 2004, was already finalized in December, and now Microsoft is just polishing the update ahead of the release to production devices.

According to the company’s typical release schedule, this update arrives in April or May, with insiders to get the final build in March.

The very best Windows 10 Antivirus for Home Users

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While many consider antivirus products useless software because they can perfectly stay away from cyber-threats on their own, others would rather install a security application and let it take care of everything related to security on their own devices.

Choosing the right antivirus, however, isn’t necessarily the simplest thing to do because of the plethora of choices, which is where antivirus tests come to the rescue, as they highlight the products using the best detection, performance, and usability.

The most recent antivirus tests performed in November and December through the experts at AV-TEST demonstrate that only three different products managed to obtain the maximum score after performing nearly flawlessly in all three tests.

BullGuard Internet security software, Kaspersky Internet security software, and NortonLifeLock Norton Security may be the trio that scored 18 points out from the more 18, with 6 points for every protection, performance, and usability test.

Windows Defender impresses (again)

Although it may appear just a little surprising that just three names got the top score, there are many other products whose performance was nearly flawless and was rewarded with 17.5 points. These include Avast Free Antivirus, Microsoft’s Windows Defender, VIPRE Security AdvancedSecurity and Avira Antivirus Pro.

Microsoft’s Windows Defender, which will come pre-loaded on Windows 8.1 and Windows 10, once more impressed throughout the tests, since it’s performance was comparable to as well as than the one provided by leading third-party security vendors. Windows Defender received 6 points for protection, 5.5 points for performance, and 6 points for usability.

The worst performer within this new round of tests remains safe and secure.net Total AV, whose score barely reached 14 points after getting 4 points for protection, another 4 points for performance, and 6 points for usability.

Check out the attached graphs for additional info on the performance of each antivirus product in the testing.

Windows 10’s Task Manager Needs a Dark Theme

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The Windows 10 Task Manager has received several welcome improvements in the last few feature updates, including more in depth information like disk enter in the Performance tab, only one thing still missing is really a dark theme.

As long-time Windows 10 users certainly know already, Microsoft continues to be gradually adding dark modes within the operating-system, either for built-in features or for the first-party apps that come pre-loaded.

However, given this is figure in progress, not everything in Windows 10 switched to dark, and Task Manager is one of the tools which are yet to get this visual treatment.

For many, this is quite surprising, especially because, as mentioned earlier, Task Manager has received a number of welcome updates lately.

A post within the Windows Feedback Hub also calls for the software giant to update Task Manager in Windows 10 having a dark theme. During the time of writing, this suggestion already has a lot more than 1,300 upvotes, and there’s a chance more would be added because this idea gains more exposure in the Feedback Hub.

“So many PURE WHITE elements (including this text box as I’m typing in it) appear in dark mode, for each app, and it is genuinely painful around the eyes,” one user explains inside a comment in the Feedback Hub.

“Would love this, providing there be an in-app setting for manually choosing Light, Dark, or System Theme – as is the case on well-made universal apps,” another one adds.

Worth knowing, however, is this fact feature request isn’t new, as it was posted at least a year ago. At that point, users hoped to determine the Task Manager obtaining a dark mode in Windows 10 20H1 – meanwhile, the feature lineup of this release, which is called version 2004, has already been finalized, and a dark way of the Task Manager is missing.

There are good news and not so good news regarding the likelihood of obtaining a dark way of the Windows 10 Task Manager.

The good thing is that Microsoft taken care of immediately the feature suggestion last week, more than a year after it had been posted in the Feedback Hub. Unhealthy news would be that the company hasn’t shared any specifics, other than the feedback was received also it could be looked into through the dev team.

“Thanks for that feedback, I’ve shared the eye in this using the team,” Microsoft engineer Jen Gentleman said.

So when could we get a dark mode in Task Manager?

Theoretically, with Windows 10 20H1 already feature complete, the following Windows 10 feature update arrives within the fall of the year as version 2009 or 20H2. However, rumor has it this selection update would follow within the footsteps of version 1909 (November 2019 Update) and be “a tiny bit more” than the usual service pack, meaning that the main focus wouldn’t necessarily be on new features but on smaller improvements under the hood.

Considering that a dark theme for that Task Manager isn’t necessarily this type of major improvement, there’s a chance it would make the cut for that Windows 10 2009 feature update. Whether it doesn’t, we should expect the Task Manager to receive this visual facelift by this time the coming year when Microsoft is projected to produce the first feature update of 2021 (according to the company’s schedule, this one could be finalized in the spring from the the coming year and shipped to production devices in April or May).

Meanwhile, the best thing you can do is head over to the Feedback Hub and upvote the feature request to allow Microsoft that you simply too want such an update in Windows 10.

How to Enable Internet Explorer Mode in Edge Chromium in Windows 10

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The new Edge browser has built-in Ie mode. Here are the steps to enable Ie mode in the Edge browser.

Though Internet Explorer is not that popular and long forgotten nowadays, there are still applications and web services that depend heavily onto it. This is especially true in office and work environments. That’s a primary reason why Windows 10 still has Ie preinstalled even if Microsoft shipping the brand new Chromium-based browser.

Though business and work environments cannot avoid Ie, if you’re a regular home user, you should never use the old Internet Explorer. It is not only buggy and slow but is a security risk in several ways. Actually, I suggest you uninstall Ie completely. If you’re a regular home user who needs occasional access to the Internet Explorer, you should use the web Explorer mode in the new Edge Chromium browser. The IE mode properly emulates Internet Explorer so that any legacy service or website designed for IE’s Trident engine will act as it should.

So, without further ado, allow me to the steps to enable Ie mode within the new Edge Chromium browser in Windows 10.

Enable Internet Explorer mode in Edge

To allow the web Explorer mode in the Edge browser, you need to perform two major steps. First, enable a flag after which add a flag towards the Edge shortcut. Allow me to show the steps.

1. Be sure you possess the Microsoft Edge desktop shortcut. If you don’t have the shortcut, copy it to your desktop from the below location. We need the shortcut to include the flag.

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs

2. After you have the shortcut, open the Edge browser by double-clicking on that shortcut. Once opened, copy the below path in the address bar and press Enter. Here, select “IE Mode” from the drop-down menu near the “Enable IE Integration” option.

edge://flags/#edge-internet-explorer-integration

3. Now, close the browser.

4. Next, right-click on the desktop shortcut and select the “Properties” option.

5. In the properties window, add –ie-mode-test after the road in the “target” field. Make sure that there’s a space between your existing path and also the flag you’re adding. Click on the “Ok” button to save changes.

6. After adding the flag, open the advantage browser by double-clicking on the shortcut. After opening the browser and visit the website you regularly open with Ie. Next, click the Menu icon (three horizontal dots) appearing on the top right corner and select “More tools → Open Sites in Internet Explorer mode” option.

7. That’s it. The web site(s) will open in Internet Explorer mode. The advantage browser can have the Internet Explorer icon when in IE mode. Click the IE icon and you can see the compatibility mode details.

Overall

As possible, the brand new Internet Explorer mode in the Edge browser is fairly handy if you are visiting old and IE-specific sites and services. If you’re managing multiple systems i quickly recommend you stick to the Group Policy method. Microsoft made a really quite simple document detailing all the necessary steps. Check out the official documentation.

If you want to revet the modification and disable Internet Explorer mode, stick to the same steps but select “Default” in step 2 and remove the flag in step 5.

Microsoft Working on Windows 10 Launcher Faster compared to Start Menu

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Microsoft is focusing on a new tool for PowerToys that would serve as an app launcher, using the company explaining the purpose is to allow it to be “faster compared to Start menu.”

Codenamed PowerLauncher, the brand new PowerToys app launcher are only available on Windows 10 and can work similarly to the built-in macOS Spotlight app. Microsoft says users can launch it by pressing the Windows key + Space – on macOS, users can turn on Spotlight by pressing Cmd + Space.

On load, PowerLauncher can have up on the screen with a simple search engine, but based on settings, it can also display history. Context menu options may also be provided to run a specific app as administrator, open file location, or open in console.

Replacing the Windows key + R hotkey

Autocompleting and text suggestions will also be offered for even faster searching, Jessica Yuwono, program manager at Microsoft explains.

Just like the other PowerToys modules, PowerLauncher will come with its own pack of settings, and users will be permitted to configure the most well-liked google listing, the most well-liked search time, the number of results shown, the default shell, and the default terminal.

Furthermore, PowerLauncher includes options to select a different hotkey for launching the search, as well as additional keyboard shortcuts for opening the right-click context menu and running as administrator options. PowerLauncher may also override the Windows key + R and Windows key + S hotkeys currently used by the Windows run and search features, respectively.

PowerLauncher continues to be in the works during the time of writing, however it might be released for PowerToys on Windows 10 in the coming weeks. Because of the project continues to be in planning phase, a few of the details here could change by the time the go-ahead for Windows 10 users is given.

How to Find If Drive File Product is FAT32 or NTFS in Windows

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Windows mainly uses two different file systems called FAT32 and NTFS. If you ever need, stick to the below steps to find out your drive’s file system.

There is a number of file systems and Windows supports all nearly all major file systems like FAT, exFAT, FAT32, NTFS, and ReFS. Each file system features its own rules, advantages, and downsides. For example, the NTFS file system, designed by Microsoft for Windows, supports file encryption, file compression, file permissions, and even supports for ridiculous file sizes. As opposed to that, the FAT32 file system can only support files as much as 4GB in dimensions and there is no support for file permissions, encryption, or compression.

If you don’t have to be worried about this, for the most part, based on your use case you should make use of the correct file system. For instance, if you want to control who can access files on a particular drive then you need to make use of the NTFS file system.

So, if you’re ever in doubt, here are some approaches to discover the file system of any drive or partition in Windows.

Note: Windows installation drive will always be an NTFS file system. That is because Windows automatically formats the drive within the NTFS file system for that installation drive. You can’t install Windows on other file systems.

There are several new ways to discover the drive file system. I’ll show the 3 most popular and simple to ways. Follow the one you are comfortable with.

1] Drive Properties

The simplest way to look for the drive file product is to use take a look at the drive properties window. It shows the file system name front and center.

1. First, open the File Explorer by pressing the Win + E keyboard shortcut.

2. After opening the File Explorer, click the “This PC” option appearing on the left panel. This course of action will take to the drive listing screen.

3. Within this window, you will notice your drives or partitions underneath the “Devices and Drives” section. Right-click around the drive of your liking and choose the “Properties” option.

4. In the properties window, you will see the drive file system right next to the “File System” heading. In my case, the drive is NTFS.

2] Disk Management Tool

Another strategy is to make use of the built-in disk management tool. The benefit of it is it shows the file systems of all the drives at the same time.

1. First, open the start menu, look for “Create and format hard disk partitions” within the start menu and click on the end result. Alternatively, press Win + X and choose the “Disk Management” option.

2. The above mentioned action will open the Disk Management tool. Once opened, you can observe the file systems of all of the drives underneath the “File System” column.

3] Command to Find Drive File System

If you like or don’t mind the Command Prompt, you can use the command-line utility called Diskpart to see the drive file system. All you have to do is list the volumes and just like the Disk Management tool, it will show the file systems of all the drives.

1. Open the beginning menu, search for “diskpart” and click on the end result. This course of action will open the Diskpart command-line tool. If you see a UAC (User Access Control) prompt, click “Yes”.

2. Within the command-line tool, execute the below command. You can observe the File System right under the “Fs” column.

list volume

3. When you are done, type exit and the diskpart tool will be closed.

That is all. It’s that simple to obtain the drive file system in Windows 10.

Microsoft to Show Ads in Windows 10 WordPad App

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Microsoft happens to be tinkering with another ad banner in Windows 10, only a few months after the company started advertising the mobile version of Outlook within the Mail app.

This time, the software giant will begin promoting Office Online apps in WordPad, once again using a banner that shows up right underneath the ribbon.

The experiment is discovered by Rafael Rivera, who said that the software giant was evaluating six different messages that could make their method to WordPad:

• Try Word online with free streaming.

• Try Word for free online.

• Use Word free of charge online.

• Use Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for free online.

• Try Office free of charge online.

• Try Word, Excel, and PowerPoint free of charge online.

These ad banners likewise incorporate an “Open Word” or “Open Office” button (depending on the displayed message) that presumably loads the browser and points users to the official website of Word online or Office Online, respectively.

More ads

A close button can also be included, albeit it’s unclear at this time if clicking it prevents the banner from showing up again in the future or the ad relaunches on every app load.

It goes without saying that this approach won’t sit well with Windows 10 users, especially as Microsoft seems to be going through the advertising side of Windows 10 more aggressively later. In addition to the Outlook banner that’s now put into the Windows 10 Mail app (no matter if you installed Outlook on your mobile phone or not), Microsoft also displays similar ads in other Windows 10 apps, like Microsoft News – where users should download the Microsoft News app for Android and iOS.

Obviously, it’s important to bear in mind case a test for the time being, so the company can perfectly change its mind before bringing the banner to production devices running Windows 10.

Get GeForce 442.01 Hotfix for Cod Modern Warfare and The Witcher 3

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NVIDIA has announced the supply of the new GeForce graphics driver, namely version 442.01 Hotfix, which resolves The Witcher 3 game crashes when users reach a particular cut scene, and much more.

The current update also ensures streaming Call of Duty Modern Warfare gameplay using StreamLabs OBS won’t randomly stop and fixes the minor stuttering seen when utilizing NVIDIA SLI in combination with G-SYNC.

Regarding compatibility, the current release is suitable for both desktop and notebook configurations, but only those running within 64-bit variant of Microsoft Windows 10 operating system. Also, there’s two files available for download: one Standard and one DCH version.

Be aware that trying to install NVIDIA’s 442.01 Hotfix release on OSes apart from those above isn’t recommended and can cause various malfunctions, even when it might appear to work.

Therefore, for those who have encountered these problems, save the right apply for your computer’s operating-system, run it, wait for all data required for cellular phone to be extracted, and follow all instructions displayed on the screen for an entire and successful upgrade.

Once finished, be sure to execute a system reboot to allow all changes to take effect properly. If this task isn’t requested automatically through the wizard, it would be a good idea to carry on with it manually so that any possible problems are avoided.

Having said that, download NVIDIA GeForce Graphics Driver 442.01 Hotfix for Windows 10 64-bit, put it on on your device, and try to check our website to stay “updated about a minute ago.”

How to AutoEndTasks in At Shutdown in Windows 10 (force close apps)

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If open programs are blocking shutdown or restart, you are able to configure AutoEndTasks to automatically close applications during shut down.

Whenever you turn off or restart Windows, it sends an indication to all the opened or running applications and asks these to close or be closed automatically. More often than not, the applications will close themselves. However, when there is any unsaved operate in the application, that application can block the shutdown or restart process so as to prompt you to definitely save the work before shutting down the system. When that happens, Windows can have a fast listing of applications that are blocking turn off or restart process. From there, you can either cancel the shut down to have a look at the blocking applications or force shutdown by clicking on the “Shutdown anyway” button.

As possible guess, this can be a great feature that can help you not lose any of your work. However, there’ll instances when you want to ensure the system shutdowns regardless of what. This is especially true if some application is misusing the feature to bar shutdown or restart. In those cases, use a simple Registry edit to automatically close applications during turn off in Windows 10.

So, without further ado, allow me to show how you can do it.

Automatically Close Applications During Shutdown – AutoEndTasks

Like I said before, we need to make a small registry switch to automatically close applications at shutdown and reboot. Just stick to the steps because it and you’ll good.

1. First, open the start menu, look for “Registry Editor” and then click the top result to open the Registry Editor. Once opened, copy the below path in the address bar and press Enter. This action will give you towards the Desktop folder.

For All Users (if you would like the setting to become applicable to all user accounts on your system)

HKEY_USERS.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop

For Current User (if you want the setting to be applicable to your user account only)

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop

Note: If you are unclear about which road to go to, just go using the Current User path. The AutoEndTasks setting is going to be applicable to your user account only.

2. When you are in the target folder, right-click on the “Desktop” folder and select the “New ?¨² String Value” option. This course of action can create an empty string value on the right page. Name the brand new string value as “AutoEndTasks” and press Enter in order to save changes.

3. After creating the value, double-click onto it. Enter “1” in the Value Data field and then click the “Ok” button in order to save changes.

4. Finally, close the Registry Editor and reboot Windows. After rebooting, the changes you just made is going to be applied.

That is all. From now onwards, Windows won’t notify the use of the imminent shutdown but when there is an app that’s stoping the shutdown or restart process, it will automatically close said application and continues using the shutdown or reboot process.

Keep in mind that Windows will require a few seconds to automatically close the applications. This really is to provide you with an opportunity to check out the offending application and save and unsaved work.

I hope that helps. If you’re stuck or need some help, comment below and that i will try to assist as much as possible.