After years of Windows, now those who use the computer, for work or for pleasure, know well (or should know) how to move between folders, move files and customize the various functions offered by the Microsoft operating system. Speaking specifically of Windows 7 and Windows 10, let's see how to add some convenient functions, making very small changes to the system, without downloading programs.
These are small tweaks, which perhaps have never been thought of, but which are capable of making the working experience with a Windows PC better, which, due to its structure, always remains highly customizable and modifiable according to requirements.
1) Who is tired of writing the password every time you turn on the computer, can configure Windows to log on automatically, without giving up password protection.
The Windows password is a small basic security measure for the computer so it remains important (never leave it empty), however, if that PC is definitely always on by the same person, they could activate automatic access, so that you don't have to
Access the Start menu, type the command " netplwiz " in the search bar or in " Run " and press Enter.
If this does not work, in the " Run " box, type the command " control userpasswords2 " which leads to the same window.
From the user account management screen, clear the " To use this computer, the user must enter the name and password " checkbox and click Ok.
In the guide on " How to skip the login and password request when starting the Windows PC ", the discussion is discussed in detail, also indicating a program to make the autologon after a state of hibernation or suspension.
In any case, when you lock the PC (by pressing the Windows-L key combination), you are asked for the password to re-enter.
2) Create quick links to lock, shut down, hibernate, suspend or put the computer on standby .
Whenever you have to shut down your pc, you have to go to Start and then Shut Down to shut it down. On the other hand, it is more complicated to put it into hibernation or suspension which requires going to the additional options by moving the mouse on the arrow next to " Shut down ".
To do it first, you can create a box of icons on the desktop that perform the chosen operation with a double click. Then right click on an empty part of the desktop and select New -> Shortcut . As a connection, write the command shutdown.exe -s -t 00, go ahead, write a name of your choice and then give it a name by completing the wizard. After creating the button, you can change the button icon by right clicking on it and accessing the properties of the link.
For other operations, the quick link is:
Restart = shutdown.exe -r -t 00
Computer lock = Rundll32.exe User32.dll, LockWorkStation
Hibernation = rrundll32.exe PowrProf.dll, SetSuspendState
Suspension = rundll32.exe powrprof.dll, SetSuspendState 0, 1, 0
After setting the shortcuts, you can move the various buttons to an area of the desktop or move them in the taskbar at the bottom.
Another article lists other quick links to add as desktop buttons .
3) Browse all folders on your computer from the system tray .
On Windows 7, XP and Vista, you can easily create a new exploration menu similar to the Start menu, to navigate along all paths and file folders.
Taking the " Computer " folder, the starting one where the disks are listed, you can right-click on the taskbar, select the " Toolbars " item and then create a new toolbar . From the left side, select the Computer folder, and then press the " Select folder " button at the bottom. At this point, the word " Computer " will appear on the taskbar. By clicking with the mouse on the double arrows, the folder structure expands for access to all folders and, therefore, to all files.
4) Take ownership of files and folders
In WIndows 7, the user is not an administrator of the computer and does not own all the folders and files.
It may therefore happen that you receive access denied messages to some system files that you would like to modify.
For this, you can easily add a " Take Ownership " or " take possession " option to the context menu that opens when you right-click on a file or folder on your computer.
The guide to install this new menu item is in the article: Full access and ownership (Ownership) of files and folders in Windows 10 and 7 .
5) Add the "Copy to folder" and "Move" buttons to the contextual menu that appears when you press the right button on a file .
Until now, the only two ways to move or copy files to another folder have been:
By opening both folders and dragging the files from one to the other;
Open a folder, select the file and do the " Copy " (with CTRL-C), open the second folder and do " Paste " (CTRL-V).
To do this first, you can install the Move button (which would be the cut and paste) or Copy and paste to the contextual menu which eliminates the need to open both folders, the source one and the destination one.
This change is explained in point 9 of the Windows 7 Cheat article.
6) Change function or disable Caps Lock or Caps Lock key .
The Caps Lock or Caps Lock key is the one that blocks capitalization on the left of the keyboard. If, as I think, you hardly ever use Caps Lock, then you can change it by giving it a different function or disable it. For this purpose you can use a simple program mentioned in the guide on how to change the keys (remap) or disable them on the computer keyboard
7) Disable the request to restart the computer after each Windows update .
A real black beast for people working on the computer is the request to restart Windows after an automatic update. Sometimes then, when rebooting, it takes a long time to wait for updates to install. Also for this purpose, follow the guide to disable the automatic restart or shutdown of the PC after an update.
These are just some of the most convenient changes to make to Windows to improve efficiency.
In other articles I had written about:
- How to add options to the context menu of the right mouse button
- 10 tricks to navigate folders and browse files on Windows
- Best registry tricks to edit on Windows.
Let me know what you think of these changes in the comments section below and if there are any problems.
