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But the downside is that portable apps are only for Windows computers. To date, I have never seen any for MacOS or Linux (or maybe I am just looking in the wrong places). Here are some of the portable apps specifically for maintaining the Windows operating system which have proven invaluable to me. In all cases, download the portable app from the links provided below and then unzip the folder making sure to leave the folder structure and file locations in place....

However, if you must open the Control Panel in Windows 10 for some reason, you can still do it as it hasn’t fully been removed, yet. There are actually a number of ways to launch this traditional utility on Windows 10. Use Start Menu To Open Control Panel In Windows 10 You’re familiar with this method to launch the built-in tools in the Windows operating system. You can use the Start Menu to find and launch Control Panel as well as it’s located in one of the folders there....

You can usually view the speed of the internet plan you’re paying for by viewing your internet bill. The speed for your plan is typically listed alongside the plan name. If you’re paying for a plan that promises up to 60 Mbps, for example, then accurate speed tests from devices on your network should report a speed at least close to that rate. It’s also worth figuring out whether your download and upload speeds are symmetrical or not....

Late-night internet browsing with Google Chrome is bound to give you mind-numbing headaches—or even worse, a sleeping disorder. Sure—Windows allows you to reduce eye strain with Night Light. But an even better way to improve your nighttime Chrome sessions is to activate Dark Mode. How Google Chrome’s Dark Mode Works on Windows Before you begin, it’s best to know how Google Chrome’s Dark Mode works on Windows. For starters, the feature is tied to the system-wide color scheme, meaning you must switch the Windows theme from Light to Dark to enable it....

Exit Code 0 only means Minecraft has successfully exited, but not why. It can be due to various reasons, from running out of memory to incompatible game files. Let’s see how to fix these possible issues and get Minecraft working again. Fix 1: Close Conflicting Programs The most common reason for Minecraft to close with an exit code 0 is low memory. If your computer meets the system requirements of the game, conflicting programs might be the reason for getting this error code....

Use the Synaptic Package Manager To view software packages installed recently using the Synaptic Package Manager, select Administration | Synaptic Package Manager from the System menu. On the Synaptic Package Manager dialog box, select History from the File menu. The History dialog box displays. All packages installed and removed using the Synaptic Package Manager are listed by month and date. Click the arrow to the left of a month in the left pane to display dates within that month on which software packages were installed or removed....

Despite the multi-faceted responsibilities of Google Play Services, it doesn’t drain your device’s battery faster than usual. However, there are several factors that could trigger the service to consume excessive battery. In this article, we highlight major causes of the Google Play Services battery drain issue and their respective solutions. Quick Tip: To check Google Play Services battery usage in Android, go to Settings, select Battery, tap the menu icon in the top-right corner, select Battery usage, and locate Google Play services in the “Battery Usage Since Full Charge” section....

A few months later, Bob Wallace, a Microsoft software developer, developed the PC-Write word processor and called it shareware because it wasn’t distributed freely. Ideally, freeware – or free software – is fully available for free, without any feature or time limits. Shareware, on the other hand, is a preview version of commercial software with limits on features, time and usage, plus other hobbling to nudge you to purchase the full version....

The dark mode is mostly used at night times and the light mode is for daytime. If you this is also how you use it on your computer, you may have to toggle the mode manually each day. You can actually make the process a bit easier for yourself by creating a task that automatically toggles dark mode on Windows 10 on or off for you. It’s pretty easy to set it up and you only need to do it once....

Just like radio, Wi-Fi broadcasts use channels. Imagine two local radio stations, being on the same channel. How would that work? It doesn’t and that’s a good reason to check, and possibly change your Wi-Fi channel. It’s not just other Wi-Fi routers to consider. Anything that emits a radio frequency can cause interference. Microwave ovens, cordless phones, even Bluetooth devices could be using the same channel. Changing your Wi-Fi channel can mean better download speeds, less lag when gaming, and greater range....

One of the trickier BSODs is the wdf_violation error in Windows 10. Its cause is somewhat challenging to track, but fixing it is pretty easy. In this article, we’re going to guide you on how to fix a wdf_violation BSOD in Windows by following a series of simple troubleshooting steps. What Causes a wdf_violation BSOD in Windows WDF stands for Windows Driver Frameworks. It’s a collection of tools and libraries from Microsoft used to create drivers....

Which makes it easy to forget that the average PC user is not an obsessive tech geek. When things go wrong with a computer, the average user is likely to pack it up and take it to a business like Geeksquad for help. While there is nothing wrong with this, more often than not you are paying a professional hundreds of dollars to fix something you could probably have done yourself....

It’s entirely possible to try the Chromebook experience as a virtual machine in VMWare. Technically, you’ll need to use Chromium OS, the open-source alternative to Chrome OS. It lacks a few features, but it’s otherwise identical and should give you a flavor of the Chromebook experience. What Is Chromium OS? Open-source fans may already know that the Google Chrome browser is based upon a project called Chromium. While the code for Chrome itself isn’t shared, large parts of it are based on Chromium, allowing Google to “lock down” other, Chrome-only sections of code....

In this article, we’re going to explore the best free app-to-phone services. Read on to learn how you can make a free phone call from your computer using one of the apps on our list. Also, make sure to check out our article on how to do a conference call from your PC. How Can You Ring Someone From Your PC? Making phone calls from your computer is possible due to VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) technology....

For example, you might be annoyed that the Start Menu looks bigger but displays fewer items. Maybe you don’t like having to click “Show more options” to get the full context menu. The good news is that you can change all this to what you remember from Windows 10. The bad news? Microsoft might disable a few registry hacks discussed in this guide with future Windows updates because it really wants you to use the newly designed interface....

You would think Microsoft would have included some merge documents feature into the program considering how many other more complicated tasks it can complete. Anyway, in this article, I’ll show you a quick and simple way to combine several Word documents into one document. It’s worth noting that the procedure pretty much works on all versions of Office from 2007 to 2016. Also, in my own tests, it seems that all the formatting was retained when the documents were combined....

However, that’s not always the case. Let’s say you get a computer that has Windows already installed, but you don’t have the original CD or product key that came with the computer. So, you might not want to reformat the computer, which could risk Windows not activating properly. So, what’s the problem with just leaving it the way it is? Well, sometimes when you get a computer, it may have been part of an Active Directory environment, which means it was subject to Group Policies....

In this article, we’ll show you how to use SSH and SFTP into your Pi, execute commands, and transfer files. We’ll assume that your Raspberry Pi is on the same network as the computer you’re using to connect to it. What Is SSH? SSH stands for Secure Shell. It’s a standard network protocol that gives you a secure way to send text back and forth between your Pi and the computer you’re using to remotely connect to your Pi....

Google does not provide a non-browser-based file client for Linux users. But there are several free and low-cost tools to help you. Below are three methods you can choose to follow. ODrive (Open Drive) ODrive is an open-source graphic user interface client to sync or backup Ubuntu to your Google Drive. There is no need to open a web browser or use terminal tools. It’s simple, as there are no options, settings, or integrations to understand and master....

There are multiple methods (and tools) to test RAM, ranging from built-in Windows utilities to third-party software. We’ll go over each option in this in-depth guide to help you choose the best method. Should You Test Memory With or Without Pre-Booting? For many years it was held that computer memory had to be tested with a pre-booting tool. This is because in old systems memory was quite limited. It wasn’t unusual to see the operating system corner a lion’s share of the system resources, leaving very little memory to be actually tested....