It’s official: Windows is the most used operating system in the world. That perhaps shouldn’t come as a surprise; the vast majority of devices come with Windows preinstalled, and other operating systems for those devices are fairly niche. As a result of its market dominance, many may think that Windows is a fairly straightforward operating system with no cool tricks up its sleeve, but those people would be wrong. Here are our 9 favorite neat little tips and tricks you can try out with your Windows laptop, whatever model you may happen to have. Also in case you lose your password someday there are some exclusive tools which can help you bypass windows password easily.
1. Save web collections in Edge
Okay, this first one is more of a trick for Microsoft’s new, revamped Edge browser than for Windows as a whole. However, Edge comes with Windows, so we’re counting it as part of the software. You can save collections of web content – be they pages, images, or anything – on Edge. All you need to do is head to Settings and hit Start new collection. Let’s say you wanted to start a collection of your favourite casino gaming content. All you need to do is click here to visit the best casino site around, then once you’re done gaming, add it to your collection along with a guide on how to create an unbeatable casino strategy. Not bad, eh?
2. Speed the startup process up
If your Windows laptop is starting to ail a little bit, then you might want to streamline the startup process. Doing so really couldn’t be easier. Head over to Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc will do it quicker), then navigate to the Startup tab. Here, you’ll see a list of all the programs your laptop opens up when it boots. You’ll also see the amount of time it adds to the startup process. Find programs that are taking up a lot of time and hit the Disable button on them. If you need them, you can open them as you go.
3. Customise your Start bar
In Windows 10, you can make the Start bar – the menu that appears when you click the Windows button in the bottom left – look however you want it to. Clicking and dragging the edge of the menu will resize it, for example, so you can have as many or as few programs on the sidebar as you like. In addition, you can right-click almost any Windows 10 program and hit Pin to Start in order to create an icon for that app in the Start menu. For even more options, head over to Settings, then Personalisation, then Start.
4. Learn keyboard shortcuts
As a productivity suite, Windows 10 is unmatched. It comes complete with a whole host of keyboard shortcuts to make what you’re doing speedier and easier. For example, did you know that you can open and switch between apps pinned to your taskbar by holding the Windows key and pressing a number key? How about pressing Ctrl+Alt+Tab to view all currently open apps? There’s a wealth of keyboard shortcut goodness in Windows 10, so experiment to find the shortcuts that matter most to you.
5. Stream Xbox games
This one really only applies to gamers who play on Xbox, but if you do, there’s a way to play Xbox games on your Windows 10 desktop. First, head over to the Settings menu in your Xbox console and check the Allow game streaming option in Preferences. Then, download and launch the Xbox app on your laptop and hit Connect. You should see your Xbox console in the list of available devices. Connect your Xbox controller to your device and voila – you can stream Xbox games on Windows!
6. Try the Windows Power User menu
The regular Start menu is useful for pretty much every user, but there’s also a second Start menu that grants access to more powerful and fundamental system functions. To access this menu, simply hit the Windows key and X. You’ll be greeted with a whole host of options including Device Manager, Task Manager, and Disk Management. Most of these options can’t be found in the conventional Windows start menu, so you’ll need this one if you’re planning to root around in your laptop’s system.
7. Take a screenshot
There are lots of reasons you might want to take a screenshot. You may, for example, want to demonstrate to someone a problem your system is having, or capture something you might want to edit later. Without programs like Greenshot, taking a screenshot might seem difficult, but it couldn’t be easier. All you need to do is hit Windows and Print Screen. If you want to capture a certain part of the screen, then hitting Windows+Shift+S brings up the Snip and Sketch interface to allow you to do just that.
8. Remove Start bar ads
One of the most annoying things about new Windows laptops is the ads you’re shown on the Start bar. You can remove these ads if you want to. All you need to do is head over to Settings, then Personalisation, then Start. Here, you’ll see an option marked Show suggestions occasionally in Start. You need to uncheck this option, because it’s what’s making your Start bar display ads for Windows Store apps. Once you’ve unchecked it, you won’t see those pesky ads anymore.
9. Display file extensions in Explorer
If you’re old enough to remember when Windows displayed file extensions by default, you might be annoyed that Windows 10 doesn’t do this. You can enable this feature, though. Just find the File Explorer Options menu, then head over to View, then uncheck the Hide extensions box. You’ll suddenly see files displaying their file types, which can be helpful if you’re looking for a certain file type and can’t find it. It’s helpful to have this unchecked even if you don’t feel like you’ll need it; there may come a time when seeing file extensions is vital for something you’re trying to do.
I’m a 20-something stay-at-home mother and wife. I have an amazing husband, a beautiful daughter, two loving dogs, and a lazy cat. I wouldn’t change my life for anything! I love to read, listen to music, cook and blog!
Hey Courtney! Your cool tips and tricks that one can try out with their Windows laptop are nice. A useful piece of information for Windows laptop users.