Windows is better than ever, but many users are still annoyed by missing or non-locatable functions. We’ll show you how to solve some of the most commonly mentioned problems. Although Microsoft has constantly improved over the years, working with Windows 10 does not always run smoothly. Anyone who is a little familiar with PCs and Windows has probably heard these questions from acquaintances, friends, and family dozens of times: I forgot my WLAN password.
Where can I find it? How do I backup my data? How do I find a specific file? Do I need a Microsoft account to sign in to Windows? And many more. We have compiled these questions on the following pages and present you with straightforward answers and instructions. So a kind of reference works for frequently occurring user problems.
Why Has The Control Panel Disappeared From The Start Menu?
The control panel in the newer Windows 10 no longer appears in the start menu. The fastest way to reach it is to enter control in the search field on the taskbar and click on the “Control Panel” hit. To permanently place it in the Start menu or desktop, link to the control.exe executable file in the C:\Windows\System32 folder.
Why Is System Restore Not Working?
System Restore is disabled by default in Windows 10. To turn it on, open the Control Panel as just described, click on “System and Security -› Security and Maintenance” in the following window on “Recovery.” Under “Configure System Restore,” select the drive on which Windows is installed, click on “Configure,” and in the next window on “Turn on system protection” and “OK.”
How To Back Up Personal Data On Windows 10?
Microsoft has now reintegrated the old data backup from Windows 7 into Windows 10, which had disappeared in the meantime. Open the “Settings” in the start menu and go to “Update and Security.” Go to “Backup” on the left side and click “Switch to Backup and Restore (Windows 7)”. Click Set Up Backup and select a drive. You can ignore the message “This drive does not have enough space to save a system image” because you do not want to back up an image. Click on Continue”.
Select “User Choices’ ‘ and “Next,” and click on the small arrow in front of the drive you want to back up data. Place check marks in front of all folders that you want to back up. If a backup of your documents is sufficient for you, clear the check mark in front of “Include a system image of drives” and click on “Next.” After clicking on “Change schedule,” set the desired time and repetition period for your backup, close the window with “OK,” and click on “Save settings and run backup.” A slightly more feature-rich alternative to Backup and Restore is the AOMEI Backupper tool.
How To Get Back The Misplaced WiFi Password?
In this case, owners of a Fritzbox have it easy: They read the password from the sticker on the bottom of their device. AVM delivers each box with a one-time, pre-configured password. However, if you have changed the password or have a different router, you can also check in Windows. To do this, open the command prompt by typing cmd in the search field on the taskbar and clicking on the hit “Command Prompt.”
Give the command netsh WLAN show profile [WLAN-Name] key=clear . Enter the name of your wireless network without the brackets for [WLAN name]. A longer list of properties for your WLAN will appear. In the “Security settings” section, you will find your password next to “Key content.” Alternatively, use the freeware Wireless Key View. Immediately after installation, the tool displays the passwords of all wireless networks to which the computer has ever been connected.
Why Doesn’t The Desktop Search Find All Saved Files?
In principle, the search function of Windows is excellent, as it also searches for file contents. For example, it can also find a keyword you enter in your DOCX or PDF documents. However, the so-called desktop search does not index all folders on the hard disk by default, only a small selection of standard directories. However, you can customize the piece. Open the Control Panel and click Indexing Options.
Click on “Change” and add the folders you want Windows to include in its search index in the upper window after clicking on the small arrows in front of them. Resist the temptation to enter entire drives here. Indexing will take much longer as a result. Restrict yourself to the folders where you save your documents and confirm the selection with “OK.” Once the computer has been idle for some time, Windows rebuilds the search index. Therefore, leave the computer switched on for a few hours without actively using it.
Necessary: Although Microsoft Outlook also appears in the “Indexing Options,” Windows does not include the emails in the index. To search Outlook messages, you’ll have to use the program’s built-in search function instead.
Why Does Windows Always Open PDFs In The Edge Browser?
Windows 10 automatically associates documents in PDF format with its internal browser. You must change this assignment if you prefer a different program, such as Acrobat Reader, for viewing PDFs. Find any PDF file on your hard drive, click on it with the right mouse, and go to “Open with –› Choose another app.” Select the PDF viewer you want, tick “Always use this app to open .pdf files,” and confirm with “OK.”
This procedure works not only with PDFs but with all file formats. If you don’t have a PDF file at hand, go to “Settings” in the start menu and go to “Apps.” Highlight “Default apps,” scroll down on the right side, and click “Select default apps by file type.” Scroll down to the “.pdf” entry, click on the program displayed to the right and specify the desired alternative.
Where Can We Find The Privacy Settings?
When installing Windows 10, the operating system offers “Express settings” for data protection. You grant Microsoft extensive access rights to your contacts and calendar data, the browser history, the position, and data about the use of your programs. This only applies to the in-house tools such as the Contacts and Calendar apps integrated into Windows or the Edge browser, but that doesn’t improve things. Therefore, in the “Quick Start” window, click on “Customize settings” at the bottom left and ideally switch off all options. Only the intelligent screen filter, which scans websites for threats in Edge, should remain enabled.
To adjust the settings later, click on “Privacy” in “Settings,” then go through the individual entries under “Windows Permissions” and “App Permissions” on the left in the next window and make the desired settings on the right side. You can turn off all of the options without worrying that doing so will significantly limit the functionality of Windows. You can also restrict the activities of Microsoft’s assistant in the “Settings” under “Cortana -> Permissions -> Manage information that Cortana can access from this device.” If you also switch from Microsoft to a local user account and use the open-source browser Firefox instead of Edge.
Why Can’t We Get The Latest Windows Version?
Microsoft calls a new version of Windows 10 a feature update. Windows has stopped downloading these updates for a little over a year. Instead, you manually trigger the update process via “Settings -› Update and Security -› Check for updates.” The same applies to cumulative, non-security-critical updates. Only the monthly quality updates, which mainly include patches and security updates, continue to be automatically installed by Windows.
Although a new version is already available, Windows often does not offer you a download after clicking on “Check for updates.” This is usually because Microsoft makes the updates available over a more extended period. Newer PCs with the latest hardware get the software earlier than older devices, so it must first be ensured that suitable drivers are available for all components.
How Can We Prevent The Restart After An Update?
If Windows has installed an update, it displays a message that the computer will now be restarted. If you don’t react to this for around 15 minutes, the operating system will reboot the PC without backing up any open files. It would help if you changed that: Under “Update and Security -› Windows Update,” click in the “Settings” on the item “Change usage time” and go to the “Change” link in the next window to set your regular working hours. This time window can be up to 18 hours. This prohibits Windows from performing an automatic restart during this period.
Do We Need A Microsoft Account For Windows 10?
No, You can prevent creating a Microsoft account during installation and later switch from logging in with a Microsoft to a local account. The easiest way to install without a Microsoft account is to disconnect from the internet once the installation data has finished downloading. To do this, unplug the network cable or disable your WiFi connection.
Windows then automatically creates a local user account. You can quickly switch to a local account if you’ve already signed in with a Microsoft account. To do this, click on “Accounts” in “Settings” and then on the “Your info” page on the link “Stop automatic sign-in to all Microsoft apps” or “Sign in with a local account instead.”
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