Technology

Windows 10 – Tips & Tricks You Should Be Using – Part 3 – 2020

There’s a reason why almost 1 billion people use Windows 10: It’s made for getting things done. Check out these 10 Tips & Tricks to get most of Windows 10. Read more tips and tricks here – Part 1 & Part 2.

Graphics Performance Preference

If you want more control of your graphics hardware for specific programs or games, to improve the performance or extend your battery life. Head over to the graphics performance preference settings. In the Windows 10 settings app go to system. In the display tab scroll all the way down and select graphic settings. Select a game from the list and go to options. You can set the graphics preference choices. You will have 3 options 1. system default, 2. power saving and 3. high performance.

Storage Sense

To automate the process of getting rid of the worthless junk on your PC. Go to settings app, then go to system and select storage from the left pane. Storage sense having turned on will automatically delete temporary files, thousand recycle bin and files in your downloads folder. You can also configure how it works by selecting the link “configure storage sense or run it now”. You can choose how often it runs. If you want temporary files and files in your downloads folder included when it
runs, also if you use onedrive cloud storage storage sense can also remove unused content from your computer that is already backed up to onedrive.

Cursor Color & Size

If you want to change the size or color of your mouse cursor due to a visual impairment issue or just for fun. In the settings app go to ease of access. On the left select cursor and pointer you can change the pointer size all the way up to 15. Your choices for pointer colors are white, black, inverted and you can choose your own color. There are suggested pointer colors listed below or you could pick a custom color.

Change Audio Output

It used to be that if you wanted to change the audio output on your computer you would have had to have gone to the control panel or the Settings app to make the change. They’ve made the process faster. To make the switch, go to the system tray in the taskbar and left-click the speaker icon, above the volume control select the audio device name and you’ll see a full list of your audio output devices making it quicker and easier to make the switch.

Switch To “This PC” View

When you launch the file explorer in Windows 10 the default view is quick access which shows frequently used folders and your most recent files. If you prefer the more familiar This PC interface, click the View tab at the top. Then on the ribbon click on options. In the general tab “Open File Explorer to” select This PC from the drop-down menu then click on OK. Now when you open File Explorer you’ll get the this PC layout.

Reliability Monitor

A lesser-known tool that’s been around since Windows Vista is the reliability monitor. It assesses your system’s overall stability and can help with troubleshooting issues. To open it, go to the search bar and type reliability. Select view reliability history. When it opens you’ll see a graph of errors that occurred for each day. When you select a day below it lists the critical events and warnings. Below those are the informational events in blue which you don’t have to worry about. For any issue when you click view technical details you’ll see a description that might help you to resolve your problem.

Jump Lists

If you haven’t used jump lists yet, you should when you’ve pinned programs to your taskbar. Right-clicking those icons will bring up a pop-up list of common shortcuts and your most recent activity letting you get back to a previous location quicker.

Disable Startup Programs

This tip is a quick reminder to manage those pesky programs.Go to the task manager. There are several ways to get there for this example right-click the taskbar and select task manager. At the top click on startup, the more programs you have enabled, the more it will impact your boot time for each program. If you don’t need enable that startup right-click on the name and select disable when in doubt leave it enabled.

Command Prompt – CTRL Key Shortcuts

For those of you that use the command prompt, Windows 10 has added the ability to use control-c and control-v to copy and paste in the command prompt window. But you have to enable it first. In the search bar type CMD and select command prompt right click on the title bar and go to properties in edit options. Check the box next to enable control key shortcuts then click OK. Now you can easily copy using ctrl C and paste using control V in the command prompt window.

Enable God Mode

If you’re a power user that has recently made the switch from an older Windows operating system you might be happy to know that the easter-egg known as god mode is still available in Windows 10. It’s great for those people that want a massive amount of settings all within a single user interface. To enable it right-click on your desktop go down to new and select folder. Rename the folder with GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C} then hit enter. If done correctly the folder will get a new icon. And when you open it, you’ll now have the ultimate control with more settings and you would probably ever need.