The standard icon place in the Taskbar inside Windows 11 is in the center. Some users welcomed this change, some not so much. If you are part of the user base that is not so much thrilled with this Microsoft’s idea of innovation, do not worry, there is an easy way to move all icons and start button on the left inside Taskbar.
Moving icons in Taskbar
Open Windows settings by using ⊞ WINDOWS + I key combination
Click on Personalization
Select Taskbar
Click on Taskbar Behaviors
Click on the drop-down menu beside Taskbar Alignment
Select your desired option of icon alignment
Close settings
Your options will be active right away and you will see icons switching to the position of your choosing.
Recently, several Windows 10 users have reported an issue with the Windows folder sizes in their PCs. If you are one of these affected users, read on as this post will walk you through fixing this issue.
For instance, if you have a folder with 100 GB worth of data and when checking its size using its properties, you see the wrong size instead of 100GB. The size displayed will most likely be a random number which can either be bigger or smaller than the real size of the folder. This incorrect folder size issue does not happen to any specific drive or certain kinds of folders as any folder can be affected by this incorrect folder size issue. When you try to rename the affected folder, the size will change but its size still remains to be incorrect.
The root cause of this particular issue is in Windows 10 itself. It is a known bug that came along with one of the latest Windows Updates which prevents the File Explorer to accurately read the metadata of a certain folder or file and leads to displaying incorrect and unexpected file sizes and the reason why you might also notice that your drive is also not correct. Since this is brought upon by one of the recent or latest Windows Updates the good thing is that Microsoft will most likely release a fix on its next upcoming updates but until then, you will be left with no choice but to deal with an incorrect folder or file size. To remedy that, here are some suggestions you can try that might fix the problem.
Option 1 – Try using the System File Checker
The System File Checker or SFC is a built-in command utility that helps in restoring corrupted files as well as missing files. It replaces bad and corrupted system files to good system files that might be causing the incorrect folder or file size in Windows 10. To run the SFC command, follow the steps given below.
Tap Win + R to launch Run.
Type in cmd in the field and tap Enter.
After opening Command Prompt, type in sfc /scannow
The command will start a system scan which will take a few whiles before it finishes. Once it’s done, you could get the following results:
Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.
Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them.
Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them.
Option 2 – Try resetting Windows 10
To fix the folder and file size issue, you can try resetting Windows 10. Doing so won’t get rid of any file in your system – instead of erasing all your media files and documents, this reset option resets all the system settings and files. That way, you won’t have to deal with inaccurate folders or file sizes as you browse and use your files.
Option 3 – Wait for the Windows Update
As mentioned, this is already a known issue and a lot of Windows 10 users have already complained about it to Microsoft so a bug fix will be soon released in the latest Windows Updates.
In today's IT world, if you want a computer for typical day-to-day actions and gaming, there are 3 primary ways you can go. An Apple computer with its proprietary hardware and operating system or a typical machine with Windows or Linux operating system.
Each system has both advantages and disadvantages and picking the right one might be difficult for some users. From hardware differences to specific software and operating system, each system is aimed at a different type of work, and in this article, we will explore each one and help you in choosing the right one for you.
Apple ecosystem
Apple has managed to create a unique ecosystem of its own devices, from its iMac desktop computers to more professional MAC studio and power MAC and all the way to tablet iPad and iPhone are powered by Apple's own operating system that connects all of these devices into one large system. So if you really need one singular ecosystem this is a huge advantage.
The ecosystem on the side, MAC computer systems are great, some would argue best for coding, design, video work, and sound editing. MAC M2 chip is optimized for all of these tasks and a specially tailored operating system is just the icing on the cake. Specific Apple-made software like a logic pro or final cut also helps a lot to position MAC systems on top of the line.
Reading all of this you might think hey this is the computer for me, it does everything! Sadly the truth is not like that. The first thing that is difficult on MAC systems and a maybe big reason that it is not so adopted outside professional working environment is lack of games. If you are a gamer or plan on using MAC for gaming, well I have some bad news. The second big turn-off is that MAC systems tend to be more expensive than PC systems, yes components are of higher quality but rest assured that you will pay for also for branding.
Get MAC as your workstation for serious work and for good tech support, if you need a plain home computer keep reading.
Windows PC machine
There is no better feeling than assembling your own computer, tweaking hardware to make a monster and despite haters hating, Windows is the best all-around operating system on the market. It is supporting the largest variety of hardware and the largest variety of software.
The best platform for serious gaming and streaming Windows machine has cemented itself as a multimedia powerhouse. But, this kind of computer is not alien to being also a professional machine, you can practically do everything that you can do on Apple or Linux machine inside Windows, yes some things might require extra steps or will be slightly slower but in the end, being able to do anything is the greatest strength of Windows machine.
Of course, every system has its flaws and Windows is not immune to that. One of the biggest is being the operating system for every hardware ever made and every software as well while keeping legacy support for old software and hardware, basically, its biggest strength is in the same time its biggest weakness leading to sometimes stability issues. Also being able to place any kind of hardware can also lead to the same stability issues. Executing something a little slower than other systems and having some extra steps can also be looked upon as weaknesses.
Linux system
First and perhaps for some people, the biggest advantage of the Linux operating system is its price, it is completely free! Other advantages include the great server and networking included in the OS itself, the large amount of customization, and unmatched stability. The ability to write scripts inside the OS terminal is also a great thing and coding is much more streamlined and friendlier than on other machines.
The power of Linux is the ability to change anything, even on the system layer, no other operating system will let you change the basic functionality of the OS itself while Linux will let you do this. It is also the only operating system you can fully use by booting it up from a USB stick and having the same experience as it was installed on a local hard drive. Among other OS mentioned earlier, Linux is by far the lightest one, taking the smallest amount of memory among the three.
The bad side of the Linux machine is the steep learning curve, among the three mentioned operating systems rest assured Linux is the most difficult to learn and be comfortable in it. The operating system will require you to know the hardware and how computers work in order to fully use its potential. Other things that place it behind are not so wide hardware support compared to Windows and the somewhat confusing distro model.
Linux versions come in form of different distro packages and first-time users will face many of them being left in awe of which one to choose. Also installing drivers and software via a package system can also be a tedious task as well, often being that some version of the driver will not work on the newer version of the Linux distro.
Get a Linux machine if you are well versed in computer technology, if you want great customization of the OS itself or if you do not want to spend money on OS and software since almost entire Linux software is open source.
Each time you open an application inside your Windows 11 operating system, it is opened with standard privileges. Now, please note that your account privileges and application privileges are two different things, you might be the administrator of the system but when you open the app, it still opens with standard privilege.
Most of the time running applications with typical settings is fine but from time to time we might have some applications that will require running with administrator privilege in order to work properly. In this case, it is very easy to do it, you just right-click and choose run as administrator.
Although a very easy solution, it can be quite annoying if running the app is on a daily basis or even more times per day. If this is the case then right-clicking and choosing to run as administrator can be a daunting task, sometimes you can even forget to run it like this in heat of work and some unforeseen consequences might occur.
Luckily there is an easy hack so you can open the chosen application each time as an administrator with a simple double click each time.
Setting application to run as administrator always
Locate application executable file
Right-click on in and choose properties
Click on the Compatibility tab
Check the box next to Run this Program as an Administrator
Click on Apply
Click on OK
From now on each time you open an application normally with a double click, it will be opened as administrator privileges.
Hello and welcome to another great tutorial from errortools.com. Today we will be making Windows START menu full screen.
First introduced in Windows 8.1, the start menu has been shifted from full screen to gadget like in Windows 10 but if you prefer to have it over the entire screen with all of its glory and large icons you can do so and we will be happy to show you how.
Press ⊞ WINDOWS and choose settings.
From the settings screen, choose Personalization.
Under personalization options click on START.
And then on the right part click on the button under Use Start full screen to turn it ON
That's it, your start menu is now full screen.
Error 2032 is essentially the hexadecimal format of the error caused.
This error code is actually a code format used by the Windows operating system. Manufacturers use this code to determine the cause behind the problem. This error is usually the result of the issues that arise with different applications.
When this error occurs, individuals are not able to view multimedia content on their PC. They may also experience system crashes and this makes it crucial to resolve it.
Solution
Error Causes
Error 2032 is caused by problems in Windows system files.
Improper registry entries may also cause this problem. Some of the common causes that trigger Error 2032 are improper deletion of hardware or applications. Similarly, incomplete hardware or application installations or uninstallations may also cause issues.
These file errors are actually caused when a computer has recently been attacked by a virus, spyware, or malware or if the system is trying to recover from an unanticipated shutdown.
Such activities often result in the corruption or deletion of registry entries in Windows system files. The corrupt files will obviously cause problems and the application will fail to perform correctly.
Further Information and Manual Repair
While there are several ways to solve this problem, some of the most useful and practical solutions are listed below as follows.
If you are an advanced user, this workaround is for you. First and foremost, restart your computer and log on to it as the administrator. Now click on the ‘Start’ button. Now follow this path: All programs ->Accessories-> System Tools->System Restore. Once you choose to perform System Restore, you will come across options where you can select to ‘Restore your computer to an earlier time’. This option will appear in a new window. Click on it and then click Next. Click on the Next button again that appears in the confirmation window. Restart your computer after the restoration is finished. You have just resolved the error.
Another easier alternative to fix Error 2032 is for novice users. Download an Error 2032 repair utility. Install this program as you are most likely to come across a Scan button. If there is an option to fix and repair an error, select it after the scan is complete. You can then restart your computer again. Look for the error and you will realize that it has disappeared and that your system is now ready to use.
Hello everyone, last time we were talking about disk cleanup and its benefits, but as you need to keep your System clean you should also clean and keep your hardware clean as well. Many system issues could be traced and could happen due to dirty PC. In this article, we will give you tips on how to perform safely cleaning on your computer and hopefully point good sides to it so you can develop a healthy habit of regularly cleaning it and keeping it tidy.
Keeping your PC clean is not rocket science and you can do it with things you already and probably have in your house. One thing that I would recommend tho to purchase is antistatic gloves since they could prevent any kind of electrostatic discharges thus protecting your electric components.
If you have the option to disconnect your PC and get it outdoors, I would highly recommend this approach since all the dust will be dusted outside and not in the room where your computer is. If you can not it is still ok, but since some portion of dust will be set in the room, you might need to dust your room after cleaning your computer.
Cleaning outside case & redusting inside
The first thing after disconnecting your computer is to dust it from outside, here you will need a vacuum cleaner and a brush, gently brush outside dust from your casing and vacuum it with your vacuum cleaner. You can use dustcloth for larger parts but use the brush for fans and connectors.
After you have done cleaning the outside part, open the side of your computer casing, put on your antistatic gloves, and get a fine and soft brush, repeat dusting and vacuuming of the inner parts of your computer. If your computer is not regularly been cleaned this part will take a little longer since there would be excess dust inside and it will take a longer time to vacuum it all but keep going until you are left with no dirt.
Cleaning it inside
Fans are troublesome to clean since they will rotate when brushed and that could make you miss certain sports, in order to battle this get a tape and stick the fan into one position, brush areas that you can reach, then unstick it, rotate the head, stick it again in another position and dust off remaining areas which you could not reach before.
If your computer is very dirty and some hard dirt is at bottom of the connectors, disconnect desired component and clean the connection properly. plug it back in immediately after cleaning to avoid connecting it somewhere else.
Harder stains that could not be dusted could be cleaned with little alcohol. Get your dustcloth just a little wet with alcohol, just a corner, and gently wipe out sticky dust or spills if they are present. Leave it 10 minutes for alcohol to evaporate before plugging it back into an electric socket.
Thermal paste and cable management
If you have money and expertise, every 2 years would be a good idea to change the thermal paste on your processor, all you need to do is buy it from your local computer store online, remove the CPU fan clean the CPU and bottom of the fan and apply new thermal paste, place fan back and lock it. If you do not have expertise in this area, call someone who has to show you how it is done.
When cleaning it would be a good idea if you do not have any cable management to do it now, nice and tidy cables not only look good, they also improve your air circulation inside your casing making your computer cooling better.
once you are done with it, close back the casing side and plug it back in the wall.
Peripherals
When you are cleaning your computer, do yourself a favor and clean your keyboard, mouse, and screen as well. the keyboard can be quickly cleaned with compressed air in the can and screen and mouse with dustcloth.
That's it, remember, keep your PC clean and tidy and enjoy the benefits of non-hardware malfunctions caused by dirt and dust.
A lot of programs in Windows utilize the helper processes to ensure that they can get the job done as early as possible. And one of the programs that use these processes is Microsoft Edge. This built-in browser uses a process called the Edge Content process. The moment you start your computer, these system processes are loaded which makes the Edge browser load faster.
To be specific, these are the three processes that are related to Microsoft Edge:
MicrosoftEdge.exe
MicrosoftEdgeCP.exe
MicrosoftEdgeSH.exe
The process that ends with the “CP.exe” is the content process in Edge. However, when this process stopped working, this can affect the Edge browser. In such cases, when you check the Reliability Monitor, you will see that the state of the “Microsoft Edge Content Process” is “Stopped working” which keeps on appearing. To resolve this issue, you can try to clear the browsing data of Microsoft Edge or repair or reset it. You can also try re-registering Edge via Windows PowerShell as well as check your security programs that might be causing interference with the process.
Option 1 – Clear the browsing data of Microsoft Edge
Open Microsoft Edge.
Then click on the three horizontal dots to open the menu.
From there, click on Settings. And under Settings, click the “Choose what to clear” button under the Clear browsing data section.
Next, check all the checkboxes and then click the Clear button to clear the browsing data in the Edge browser.
Restart Edge.
Option 2 – Try to reset, repair or reinstall Edge via Settings
You can reset, repair or reinstall the Edge browser through Settings.
If none of it helped, you can try the following:
Open File Explorer and then go to this path – C:/Users/YourUsername/AppData/Local/Packages
Note: Before you type in the path in the Address bar, make sure that you put your user account name in place with the “YourUsername”.
Tap Enter to proceed.
Next, look for the folder named “MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe” then right-click on it.
Click on Properties and uncheck the option “Read-only” under the General tab in the Properties window.
Click on Apply and then OK to save the changes made.
After that, look for the MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe folder again and delete it. And if a prompt stating “Folder Access Denied” appears on your screen, just click on the Continue button to proceed – doing so will delete most of the content inside the folder except for the folder named “AC”.
Restart your computer
Option 3 – Re-register Edge via Windows PowerShell
In the Start Menu, search “Windows PowerShell”.
Right-click on Windows PowerShell from the search results and select the “Run as administrator” option.
Type in this command in the PowerShell windows and tap Enter – Cd C:/Users/YourUsername
After that, type in this command and tap Enter – Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers -Name Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)AppXManifest.xml" -Verbose}
It is possible that a security program installed in your computer is the one that’s causing the problem which is why you have to check it. According to security experts, there are some security programs that could be detecting the Edge’s content process as suspicious, blocking or terminating it as a result. Thus, you need to modify your security program’s settings to fix the problem.
As you know, a Virtual Private Network or VPN is used to access a particular network from another network which is why it is also referred to as a mini-internet. Moreover, you can use it in two ways. One, you can use it to get you access to a closed server which means that you would not be getting access to the internet. Second, you can also use it to access a set of resources while at the same time get access to the internet. However, what if you want to access your resources at home even when you’re away? And what if you want to use the private server at home or at your office even when you’re away? This is where the callout for a VPN server for yourself comes in. And so in this post, you will be guided in how you can create a public VPN server on your Windows 10 computer. Follow each one of the given steps below to get started.
Step 1: Find your IP address.
This step is rather simple since all you have to do is open Control Panel > Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center. From there, click on “Local Area Connection” and then click on Details where you’ll see your IP address next to “Autoconfiguration IPv4 Address”.
Step 2: Next, set up port forwarding on your router.
In this step, you will have to configure port forwarding in your router so that you would be able to connect to the VPN server through a public network like the internet.
Log in to the Admin Panel of your router. You have to do this since your router will be the gateway for your access to the network.
After you’re logged in, look for the “Port Forwarding” or “Applications and Gaming” or “NAT/QoS” menu tab and other similar names.
Now you need to set the port number to 1723 for connections based on Point to Point Tunneling Protocol.
Then save the configuration and reboot your router.
Step 3: Set up a VPN server on Windows 10.
In the Cortana search box, type “ncpa.cpl” and click on the related entry from the search results.
After that, tap the Alt + F keys to bring down the File Menu and then select New Incoming Connection which will open a mini window where you can allow the user accounts on the particular machine to access the VPN connection.
On the other hand, you can also click the “Add someone” button so that you can add someone else to the whitelist that can access the connection.
Now click on Next and you’ll see an option to select how people will connect to the network. Check the checkbox for the “Through the Internet” option.
After that, you will see a page where you have to configure the network. Just select IPv4 and then click on Properties.
From there, you will be asked to continue some additional settings like letting users access your Local Area Network or how IP addresses will be allocated to these users. Click on OK to save the changes you’ve made.
Click on Allow Access after you configure the network. And if you want to, you have the option to print this information for future reference or for the client machine.
Now click on Close to exit the configuration process.
Step 4:Allow the VPN Connections through the firewall
In this step, you will have to allow the VPN connections through the firewall.
In the Cortana search box, type “Allow an app through Windows Firewall” and click on the related search result to open the intended Windows Firewall settings.
Next, click on Change Settings.
Then scroll down to check if Routing and Remote Access is Enabled for both the Public and Private networks and click on OK.
Step 5: Set up a VPN connection on Windows 10
Now all that’s left for you to do is to set up a VPN connection on Windows 10.
Go to Settings > Network and Internet.
From the list of options given, click on VPN located on the left pane to see the related settings.
After that, click on the “+” icon to add a VPN connection.
Next, select Windows Default under VPN Provider and under the Connection Name, input your VPN’s name, and then enter the IP address you got from the VPN service provider under the Server name or address section.
Now select PPTP under VPN type since it is the most commonly used protocol for VPNs.
As you know, Bluetooth headphones allow users to connect to their mobile devices wirelessly. This allows you to talk on your mobile device or listen to music without having to connect any cords or wires. Additionally, it even allows you to adjust the volume of a left or right speaker. However, Bluetooth headphones in Windows 10 are another story as their scope is limited. For instance, the left and right pieces can’t have different volume levels. But if you still want to change the dual control of the volume of headphones separately in Windows 10. And in this post, you will be guided on how exactly you can do that.
In addition, in this post, you will also be guided on what you can do if the Windows Update messed with the Bluetooth volume control and what you can do to disable the absolute volume in Windows 10. In case you don’t know, the Absolute Volume feature is actually incompatible with a number of Bluetooth devices which can result in the inability of the Bluetooth device to adjust its volume.
Thus, if you experience this kind of issue, you’ll notice that the volume slider in the taskbar and the device volume control neither have any effect in adjusting the volume. And each time you try to adjust the volume level for one speaker, the volume of another speaker also automatically changes. In such a case, it would be difficult for you to separately change the dual volume control headphones. Worry not for there is an easy registry tweak you can try to make this possible to do. But before you proceed with the instructions provided below, make sure that you create a System Restore first. Once you have that covered, follow the steps below carefully.
Step_1: Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box and type “Regedit” in the field and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor.
Step_2: Next, navigate to this registry path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMControlSet001ControlBluetoothAudioAVRCPCT
Step_3: After that, look for the entry named “DisableAbsoluteVolume” which should be located in the right pane. But if you’re unable to find this entry, you can just create it by right-clicking on the CT key and selecting New > DWORD (32-bit) value, and then assign “DisableAbsoluteVolume” as its name.
Step_4: Once done, double click on the “DisableAbsoluteVolume” DWORD and set its value from 0 to 1.
Step_5: Now exit the Registry Editor and restart your computer.
On the other hand, you can also disable or enable the Absolute Volume feature by executing a command in the Command Prompt.
If you want to disable the Absolute Volume feature, just execute this command: reg add HKLMSYSTEMControlSet001ControlBluetoothAudioAVRCPCT /v DisableAbsoluteVolume /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
If you want to enable the Absolute Volume feature, just execute this command: reg add HKLMSYSTEMControlSet001ControlBluetoothAudioAVRCPCT /v DisableAbsoluteVolume /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
After you execute the command, just restart your computer.
After your computer restarts.
Once you’re done executing the given instructions above, you have to right-click on the speaker icon located in the system tray and select Open Sound Settings and click on Manage device settings – the same controls will be visible to you like earlier. Now when you change the volume level for one speaker, the other speaker should now remain as it is and won’t change alongside the speaker.
Among other things and innovations, Windows 11 brings to the table is the game mode. The game mode is a system designed to release some resources and optimize your system when Windows 11 detects that you are playing games. It also turns off automatic updates while the game is active.
The game mode is active at all times and usually, everything works great but in some instances, it can sadly cause some performance issues. If you are one of these unlucky people where game mode is not working as supposed to do, don’t panic, we have a quick guide for you on how to turn it off.
Press ⊞ WINDOWS + I to open settings
Inside click on Gaming
Select Game mode
Click switch beside Game mode to turn it off
Close settings
Everything will be automatically saved and applied and you should not have any issues from now on. If for any reason you wish to turn game mode back ON, just follow the same steps and turn the switch to ON.