This minHour teaches you how to find and delete “Thumbs.db” files on your computer, using a Windows PC. Thumbs.db files are database files to store image thumbnails on Windows systems. These files are saved in the same folder as your original image files, but they’re usually hidden files, and you have to change your folder … Read more
While the default mouse cursor on Windows does the job, it’s fairly plain, ordinary and maybe not so cool. By customizing your cursor, you can choose something a lot more fun and personalized. You can use any photo you like to form this fun new cursor; you just need to edit it first. Editing your … Read more
This minHour teaches you how to open and use the System Configuration program on a Windows computer. You can use System Configuration to disable hidden programs or services, which can speed up your computer. Opening System Configuration Open Start. Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen, or press the ⊞ Win … Read more
The Windows taskbar can be made larger and smaller without any real technical knowledge! Perhaps you wish to make it bigger or smaller, stop it from hiding or vice versa and even put it at the top or sides of the screen. This guide will show you how to do all these things. Steps Unlock … Read more
Microsoft DirectX is a bundled set of Application Programming Interfaces (API) required for running many of the multimedia features in the Windows Operating System. Users of Windows Vista and Windows 7 can quickly and easily update their system to the most recent DirectX release available from the Microsoft Website. However this latest version is not … Read more
The PATH environment variable specifies in which directories the Windows command line looks for executable binaries. The process for changing it is not obvious, but it’s not too hard. Read on to learn how to change PATH. Windows 7–11 Open the “settings” application. This can be done by pressing the Windows key and clicking the … Read more
This minHour teaches you how to look up the Security Identifier (SID) of another user on a Windows PC. Steps Press ⊞ Win+X. This opens the Windows “power user” menu at the bottom-left corner of the screen. Click Command Prompt (Admin). A confirmation message will appear. Click Yes. Now you’ll see a terminal window displaying … Read more
We all know how frustrating it can get when our PC runs slowly and takes infinitely long to perform the simplest of tasks. A slow computer ends up wasting time, effort and money in the long run. While you can always approach a technician to repair your Windows PC and get it up to speed, … Read more
Is the volume on Zoom too loud compared to the other programs on your computer? Fortunately, you can lower just the sound of Zoom so you can hear the rest of the programs on your computer. This minHour article teaches you how to lower the Zoom volume only on Mac and Windows computers. Lowering Volume … Read more
If you don’t like that the Windows 11 Start button moved to the center of the taskbar, you’re in luck—you can move the Start menu and other app icons back to the left corner in a few quick steps. And while it’s no longer possible to have a vertical taskbar, you can customize the taskbar … Read more
Your computer’s clock may be as many as a few seconds to a few minutes off the correct time. Therefore, Windows includes a time synchronization scheduler to synchronize your clock automatically, located on the Internet Time tab in the Date & Time Settings. The default interval for this process is one week (which is 604,800 … Read more
Tired of the same old font on Windows Notepad? Want to infuse a little more personality into your text files? Change the font in Windows Notepad for a more personalized feel. Steps Open Notepad. There will be different ways to find and launch Notepad depending on which Windows version you have. Windows Vista and XP: … Read more
WordPad is a free word processor that comes installed with Windows. It has more functions than Notepad, but still lacks a lot of features found in full word processors like Word. If you need to add a table to our WordPad document, your options are limited. You can use “+” and “-” keys to automatically … Read more
This minHour teaches you how to switch from a French keyboard layout to your preferred language on your PC or Mac. Whether you’re using Windows or macOS, you can opt to keep the French keyboard for occasional use or delete the French keyboard completely. Windows 10 Switch between keyboard languages (optional). First, if you don’t … Read more
This minHour article teaches you how to start your Windows computer in Safe Mode, which is a boot option that prevents start-up programs from running and loads only the bare minimum programs needed to operate the PC. Safe Mode is a good way to access a computer that would otherwise run too slow to function. … Read more
Lots of people have multiple audio devices plugged into their computers, like headphones, speakers, and external monitors. This minHour article will teach you how to change the audio output in Windows so you can quickly and easily switch between your speakers and headphones. You can change the audio output through the volume control icon in … Read more
Need to install Windows 7 on a computer with no drive? Do you want to create a backup installer in case your install cd becomes damaged? Follow these steps to get the Windows install files onto a bootable USB thumb drive. Creating or Obtaining A Windows Vista/7 ISO Install a free burning program. There are … Read more
This minHour teaches you how to display the files and folders that are hidden by Windows. You’ll also learn how to easily search for any files, including those which were previously hidden, using the Windows File Explorer. Steps Open the File Explorer. You can do this by clicking the folder icon on your taskbar or … Read more
This minHour teaches you how to open the Explorer app on a Windows computer. On Windows 10 and 8, this app is called “File Explorer”, while it is called “Windows Explorer” on Windows 7 and Vista. Windows 10 and 8 Open the Start menu. Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen, … Read more
While it’s technically possible to change your user folder name, this change can render many of your applications and possibly your entire user profile unusable. If you need to change your user folder’s name, follow our guide to learn how to create a new local account and link it to your current Microsoft account. Creating … Read more