System Configuration

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Opening msconfig to troubleshoot software issues in Windows 10 and 8 In Windows, type msconfig into Search, and then select System Configuration from the search results in Windows 10, or msconfig in Windows 8. The System Configuration window opens. General tab of the msconfig window For troubleshooting purposes, in the general tab you can either prevent all nonessential software and services from loading or you can prevent individual programs from loading. Preventing all nonessential software and services from loading For troubleshooting purposes, use the following steps to prevent all software programs from automatically opening when Windows starts. This will increase usable memory and processor time. CAUTION: Use the following steps to prevent all startup items from opening, including antivirus software and other software that provides important functions. Follow these steps for troubleshooting purposes only. If preventing all startup items from loading resolves the problem, you can use the Startup tab (see following section) to prevent an individual software item from loading. 1. Click the General tab. 2. Select Selective Startup, and remove the checkmark next to Load startup items. Figure : General Tab

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3. Click the Services tab. Select Hide all Microsoft services, so they will not be disabled, and then click Disable all to disable the remaining items on the services tab.

Figure : Services tab

4. Restart the computer for the changes to take effect.

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If you find the problem no longer occurs after you prevent all software from loading, you can use the startup tab to try to find the exact software title that is causing the problem. Select all but one title from the startup tab and restart. Continue doing this, deselecting software and restarting each time, until the problem no longer occurs. When you determine which software is causing the issue, uninstall it or prevent it from loading when Windows opens . 5. When you have finished using the System Configuration tool, open it again and select Normal Startup and click OK . Preventing individual programs from loading Use the General tab to prevent specific software applications from opening with Windows. The following selections are on the General tab:

• Normal startup - instructs Windows to open all software applications that are normally scheduled to start with Windows. • Diagnostic startup - starts Windows with basic services and drivers only. With this mode, you can determine if a basic Window file is the problem. • Selective startup - allows you to choose which programs and services you want to open, and which you want to keep from opening at startup tab. Figure : General tab

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Boot tab of the msconfig window The Boot tab is used to change the way Windows starts. The option in the boot tab show configuration options listed inside the system information file. Some options in the Boot tab are: Safe boot: Minimal - Disables networking. Boots to the Windows user interface (Explorer) in safe mode, running critical system services only. Safe boot: Alternate shell - Disables networking. Boots to the command prompt in safe mode, running critical system services only. Safe boot: Active Directory repair - Similar to minimal safe boot, except the Active Directory is enabled. Safe boot: Network - Similar to a minimal safe boot, except the network is enabled. No GUI boot - The Windows splash screen is disabled when booting Boot log - Stores all information from the boot process in a file. Base video - Boots to Windows user interface in minimal VGA mode. OS boot information - Shows each driver name as each driver is loaded during the boot process. Make all boot settings permanent - Changes made in System Configuration are not tracked. If you want to make changes later, you will have to do so manually. Selecting Normal startup in the General tab will not work if this feature is selected. Timeout field - Using Msconfig can cause the operating system selection screen to display for thirty seconds; as a result, thirty seconds is added to the overall startup time. To prevent the operating selection screen from appearing for thirty seconds on startup, change the timeout line in the Timeout field to zero. Figure : Boot tab

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Services tab of the msconfig window The Services tab lists integrated Windows services and programs that start when Windows 8 starts, or are run periodically by Windows. Be careful when disabling services as many are critical to the computer's operation. Enable or disable programs or services from starting by checking or disabling the checkbox next to the program name. Figure : Services tab

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Startup tab of the msconfig window On the Startup tab click Open Task Manager. The startup table lists software that opens automatically when Windows loads. Use this tab to prevent individual software from opening when Windows starts. This can be very useful when trying to find a software program that might be causing performance problems. Figure : Startup tab

The following is a list of some of the types of software applications that open from the Task Manager:

• Anti-virus software - Disable Anti-virus software only when troubleshooting. Make sure to enable the Anti-virus software when finished troubleshooting. • Keyboard managers - Disable to prevent the extended multimedia keys and volume control knob from working. • Systems tray icons - Disable to prevent a software application tray icon from displaying on the systems tray (next to the time). The Startup tab of the Task Manager shows a list of current software applications that open automatically after Windows opens and shows the status of each program. Disable individual software applications by highlighting the application and clicking Disable.

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NOTE: Figure : Task Manager

Tools tab of the msconfig window The Tools tab lists diagnostic tools and other advanced tools you can run to improve computer performance. Before opening a tool, read the description next to the name of the tool to better understand the function it provides. To open a tool, select the name of the tool from the list and click the Launch button. Figure : Tools tab

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Device Manager

Device Manager is Windows utility where you can manage the drivers. In Device Manager, you can check for the driver status, update drivers, uninstall drivers, etc. So it’s very important to know how to access Device Manager. There are several ways to open Device Manager. And the ways are different depending on wha t Windows Operating System your computer is running. To open Device Manager in all Windows system including Windows 10, you just need to know one common and easy way.

Following are the detailed simple steps how to access Device Manager in all Windows versions:

1. Press Win+R (Windows logo key and R key) at the same time. A Run dialog will appear. 2. Type devmgmt.msc in the run box and click OK button.

Then Device Manager will open. Take Device Manager in Windows 10 for example.

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After opening Device Manager, if you see problem devices in the list, it is recommended to update their drivers, as problem drivers may slow your PC performance and updated drivers can boot your PC performance.

For devices with problem drivers, there will be a yellow mark (yellow triangle or yellow question mark) next to on it. Like below screenshot shows.

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To update the drivers, you can use Driver Easy to help you. After downloading and installing Driver Easy on your computer, run it to scan your computer. Then it will detect all problem drivers in your computer and download the new appropriate drivers for your devices. With Driver Easy, you don’t need to access Device Manager to check for driver status, and you can update drivers with just several clicks.

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Folder Options

There’s a lot here that’s recognizable from Window OS variants running all the way back to 95, but as with many of the other standard Windows features, 10 has taken an old horse and coded an array of new tricks stashed in its toolkit.

Folder options may not have received the sexiest facelift out of everything we’ve seen in 10, but there are still enough new tweaks to talk about that a new user to the OS may not immediately recognize r ight off the bat.

General

To configure your Folder Options in Windows 10, you’ll need to begin by opening up a window in File Explorer. This can be done by clicking on your computer, or just pulling open the Documents tab from the Start menu. Once here, click in the top left hand “File” menu, and select “Change folder and search options”.

You can also get to the same window by going through the Control Panel via the Appearance and Personalization section.

Once open, you’ll see the “General” tab as the f irst section you can make changes to. Here is where you can set features like whether each folder opens in a new window or stays in the same one, or how many clicks are required to launch a file (this can be especially helpful for people with arthritis or carpal tunnel and need to take it easy on their hands).

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Users can also control how much privacy they have on their account, opting to either display their recent folders in the sidebar or keep them hidden after File Explorer is closed each time.

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View

1. This is the section where you’re going to find the real meat and potatoes of the options you can shift around in your folders.

2. All the old standards are here like the option to either show or hide vital system files, change how icons are displayed, or whether or not folder windows themselves launch individually as their own independent system processes.

3. Unless you know you’re specifically looking for a system file that has been bugged or needs to be scanned by an antivirus program, it’s not recommended to keep this unchecked as many viruses will attempt to do a surface-level search for them when attempting to exploit an unprotected machine.

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4. Some new features fresh with the introduction of Windows 10 include the option to use the included Sharing Wizard, a nd configuring which folders or libraries will appear in the File Explorer’s sidebar.

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5. Be aware that whichever folder you opened the Options panel from is the only folder that will have these rules applied to it. unless you click the “Apply to Folders” bu tton in the View panel. Check out our guide to customizing Windows’ folder view settings for lots more.

All the settings contained in the “Search” tab control (as you might have already guessed by the name) how the File Explorer handles search inquiries, both in the File Explorer itself as well as any queries entered into the search bar found in the bottom corner of the stock

From here you can change thi ngs like how the search function responds to requests when a user is looking for non -indexed system files, to whether or not the contents of zipped or compressed folders are included as a part of non-indexed searches.

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Another box you might want to check if you’re tired of seeing Windows go digging and come up empty handed is to “Always search file names and contents” with every search. This can add a considerable amount of time it takes to find a given file each time you punch in a new scavenger hunt for it to go on, but if you bury things in unknown places or just prefer to keep them as organized as possible, this should be kept on at all times.

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Fonts

Windows comes preloaded with a lot of stylish fonts, but they might not be what you are looking for. Thankfully Windows 10 makes it easy to install any font you desire. Here’s a look at how to install them.

How to Install Fonts in Windows 10 Once you have your font downloaded (these are often .ttf files) and available, just right-click it and click Install. That’s it! I know, uneventful.

To check if the font is installed, press Windows key+Q then type: fonts then hit Enter on your keyboard.

q Save You should see your fonts listed in the Font Control Panel .

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Save If you don’t see it and have a ton of them installed, just type in its name in the search box to find it.

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Save That’s all there is to it. Now you can create stylish and unique documents with some of your favorite fonts not included in Windows 10 by default.

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