Windows 10 Tweaks and Fixes (Index post #1)

Did you notice how they said on technet that they "hide" m$ signed do you can zone in on third parties software... I just think they don't want you to see under the hood of their spying services...

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

 

I installed this windows on my mac, because there is no support of windows 7 unfortunately. I followed this guide to disable things, which I thank! But still I found this OS terrible. Windows 3.1 looked better 25 years ago. I rather deleted the whole windows 10 partition from MacOS. Now I'll try to look a hack to install 7 or I just try to leave without Windows...

 

There is a way to install windows 7 on macbooks 2015 models, but it's not easy.
http://forums.macrumors.com/threads/guide-install-windows-7-on-air-2015.1961618/

 

Run w7 as a VM, just make sure you enable vitualisation extensions to keep things lag free.

Navigate to Settings->System>Battery. Just unplug your laptop and let it run on battery so that you get the precise battery usage on per app basis.

 

After anniversary update this tweak is not working anymore .

 

Ill look into it

 

Thats what I meant: there is no "Windows Search" directory after
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\

 

Here you go: http://winaero.com/blog/disable-cortana-in-windows-10-anniversary-update-version-1607/

 

Hi there. Can I ask a question?

When I installed w10 on my p150SM-A, I came to this thread, and followed most (if not all) of the steps listed in the front of the thread.

Now Microsoft has released Windows 10 anniversary update, should I update it? (let it be known that apart from the first windows 10 installation i have done zero updates due to privacy concerns which were properly addressed in this thread, hence I did not update my w10 at all)

 

Anybody get message saying their usb flash drive has errors on it and they need repairing when they plug it in, but after scanning no errors are found, I get this message quite often, Windows is stupid.

John.

 

I usually get that when the USB drive was not removed (ejected) properly (ie., just yanked out instead of doing a proper removal). I have seen this also after using a USB flash drive on a Mac then Windows 10. It's not necessarily saying there ARE errors, just that it needs to be checked. You're right...most of the time there are no errors.

 

If you change the usb drive policy from quick removal to Better performance then the disk needs to checked if you unplugged the drive in a hurry. Or sometimes a file isn't properly deleted using Shift+Delete than simply pressing Delete button.

 

How to Get the “All Recent Files” List Back in Windows 10

 

How to Disable Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool

Create a text file via notepad then copy/paste the following text:

Code:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\MRT]
"DontOfferThroughWUAU"=dword:00000001

Now save the file but with a *.reg extension (give it any meaningful name you want)

Alternatively, you can just download the REG File here: Download Disable Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool

Finally, simply double click on the REG file to merge it with the registry.

You will not be offered to download/install the Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool anymore.

If you later on change your mind, simply delete that reg entry from this location: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\MRT

=======================================================================================================
Not only is the Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool useless as there are much better ways to remove viruses/spyware/trojans with tools like AdwCleaner , but I just read this and it's not very pleasing:

Disable Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool Heartbeat Telemetry

 

I had a question regarding HPET. To force HPET in Windows, useplatformclock is set to true. I wanted to know if useplatformtick should also be set to yes using the below command to make Windows completely reliant on HPET?

bcdedit /set useplatformtick yes

 

Pleasant Windows 10 Tweaking Batch Files

Note: Create a restore point before tinkering with these as they are for advanced users

 

@Phoenix are the tweaks mentioned on @ the 3rd bullet point under the it or is the 3rd bullet point a link?

There is a section not covered in the above o&o screen shot called " windows defender and microsoft spynet" it has 4 items. How should those be handled?

Diagnostics Tracking Service
dmwappushsvc

I found the second item above but not the diagnostics tracking service

Even the firewall batch file, I looked for the telemetry rules to see if they were blocked. I didnt find anything in the firewall outbound with telemetry in it. Seems they changed some things since release of the batch file.

 

Control How Long Windows Waits Before Killing Apps at Shutdown

 

I was trying to play Metal Gear 4 (since I have a free license). But man... I had to get the "store" working again, enable a bunch of "stuff" and disable these firewall rules to get it to work. In otherwords MG4 won't run without the nasty M$ telemetry. Yeeesh....

 

I'd give up any game just to not use anything from Microsoft other than the OS no matter how much I liked a game. that's just me but glad you got it sorted now

 

Well, not quite sorted. I want to turn off all the M$ crap again. I am glad the game was free - I will say that much for it =P

If someone came up with hacks to play MG4 disconnected I would be okay with that - otherwise I will just uninstall it.

 

Aero Glass for Windows 10

I temporarily have the full-cancer digi-herpes version of Windoze OS X Pro on El Cazador so I can re-play Gears of War 4 (love the game). My Windows 10 Ent on Alienkiller II has the STD-free iteration with literally everything nasty removed. Other than "Setings" and "Personalization" and those core OS utilities, it is totally stripped of all the filth. No Cortana, no Windows Updates, no worthless crApps, no Store, local account only... actually tolerable like that.

Anyhow, @Phoenix there is an update to AeroGlass out now that adds transparency ( FINALLY) to UWA filth. It looks SO MUCH better now. Thanks to @j95 for the heads up on this. I might even be able to throw away my barf bucket now.

 

Yeah, I hated UW Apps windows for that tasteless look of non-transparent header. So you say this game is free on Windows 10? Any Windows 10 or just Pro? I tried to google that but didn't find anything trustworthy.
P.S. Oooh, you take it for free if you have an X-Box One copy? Don't use X-Box anyways.

 

What is latest AeroGlass version for (winCrap X) and where to download? Thanks
Edit: And what WinCrap X build works with latest version AeroGlass?

Edit: @Vasudev If your post is intended for me. I think you miss understood. I meant AeroGlass.

 

Doesn't your notebook manufacturer ship with w10? The latest one is v1607.576 and you can download from MS directly.

 

I think a bunch of us got it for free with our notebook purchase. I also got Watch Dogs 2 for free with mine as well. It's just like the free games you get when purchasing a new graphics card sometimes.

 

See what @Porter said. Free with 1080 GPU/notebook purchase.

I will send more info later today. Not at my computer right now.

I do not allow others to decide what OS will be used or what updates will be applied. It is none of their business and will handle things my own way. If I do not like what they give me I just get rid of their stuff, which is usually how it turns out in the end. Most do a great job of screwing things up.

I bought my last two new notebooks with no OS, but most of the mainsteeam OEMs do not offer much in terms of choices and try to play God by pretending they know what is best for the world.

 

please edit your poast and copy/paste this at the top with a 5 size font as it is now in the index: Aero Glass for Windows 10

 

Done! @Papusan - see link

 

not liking the watermark though, how do you get rid of that?

 

Easy... make a donation and then you can generate keys. The registration key removes the watermark. You use the hardware hash "Machine ID" that pops up as the code you use to create a key online in the account you set up. Log into your account using the link provided in the blue bar at the bottom of the web page. That will take you to the page like the one shown below. Copy the "Machine ID" and paste it into the field shown, then click on the "Generate" button. You then download the "donation.key" to the C:\AeroGlass folder, logoff/logon, then the watermark is gone.

 

This is what @Mr. Fox made my Winblows 10 look like:





Using Aero Glass + OldNewExplorer + Classic Shell

 

@Phoenix - Credit goes to the author (Big Muscle) and the tweaks @j95 has shared with me.

You don't really have the full transparency. Put the files from the two zip archives attached in root of the C:\AeroGlass installation directory. Merge the .reg files. Use the AeroGlassUI.exe to tweak more until it looks like the title bar below (or closer to it, to your own preference). As you can see, I have true "glass" transparency.

End the AeroGlass task and then run this from an admin command prompt:

Code:

regsvr32 C:\AeroGlass\DWMGlass.dll

Then restart the AeroGlass task.



AeroGlassUI tool...

 

That's the old AeroGlassGUI, it lacks Accent option http://www.glass8.eu/files/AeroGlassGUI.7z

 

Omg you guys this application is revolutionary, I love it! The beauty...

So this might be good.

This website: www.sordum.org has some cool some tweak applications.

One stands out in particular, which disables services you dont need in W10: http://www.sordum.org/8637/easy-service-optimizer-v1-2/ - I think it uses the same (but smaller) list as from BlackViper. I disabled all the services before hand, but is nice to have. You can remove it afterwards.

 

@Mr. Fox: How did you display system voltages and other parameters on your desktop? Did you use Rainmeter?

 

It's the Aida64 sensor panel. Download and pay for this nice tool and put up the info you want + other nice snacks.

 

Thanks I like AIDA64 very much.

 

I recall Mr.FOX used RTSS + HWInfo in the past.

 

It seems Aero glass is back after a lot of feedback from users http://news.softpedia.com/news/micr...part-of-aero-glass-in-windows-10-511646.shtml

 

Winaero Tweaker - the ultimate tweaker for Windows 10


Winaero Tweaker is essential software for every Windows 10, Windows 8 and Windows 7 user. It allows you to customize the appearance and behavior of the operating system in a flexible way.
It will include most options available in my free Winaero apps and extend it as much as possible.

Highlights:

• 
  
  
  • The ability to disable Cortana
  • The ability to disable telemetry
  • The ability to disable web search in taskbar
  • The ability to create a shortcut to run an app elevated without UAC requests.
  • The ability to disable lock screen in Windows 10 Anniversary Update.

... and many more. See the full list of features:

Spoiler

• 
  
  
  • Information - View information about your PC hardware and OS.
  • Aero Colors - Change all Windows Aero settings including those which can't be changed with Control Panel.
  • Aero Lite - Activate the hidden Aero Lite theme.
  • Alt+Tab Appearance - Change hidden secret options of the Alt+Tab dialog.
  • Colored Title Bars - Enable colors for window title bars in Windows 10.
  • Custom Accents - Define up to 8 custom colors for Settings -> Personalization -> Color in Windows 10.
  • Dark Color Scheme - Here you can enable the dark color scheme for Windows 10 system settings and apps.
  • Inactive Title Bars Color - Change the color of inactive title bars in Windows 10.
  • Slow Down Animations - Slow down animations while you hold the Shift key.
  • Startup Sound - Enable, disable or replace the startup sound.
  • Sync Metro/Aero Color - Allows you to apply the color of the Start Screen to window borders and vice versa.
  • Icons - Change the appearance of icons in Explorer and on Desktop.
  • Menus - Adjust the menu bar height and change its font.
  • Message Font - Change the font of message dialog.
  • Reset Advanced Appearance - Reset all Advanced Appearance options at once.
  • Scrollbars - Change scrollbars width and appearance.
  • Statusbar Font - Change the font of statusbars, e.g. the Notepad statusbar font.
  • System Font - Replace the default Segoe UI font with any installed font.
  • Window Borders - Adjust window borders size.
  • Window Title Bars - Adjust window title bar height and change its font.
  • Chkdsk Timeout at Boot - Change the Chkdsk timeout at Windows boot.
  • Disable Aero Shake - Disable or enable the Aero Shake feature.
  • Disable Aero Snap - Disable or enable the Aero Snap feature.
  • Disable App Lookup in Store - Disable or enable "Look for an app in the Store" when unknown file type is opened.
  • Disable Automatic Maintenance - Disable the Automatic Maintenance feature.
  • Disable Downloads Blocking - Disable downloaded files from being blocked in in File Epxlorer.
  • Disable Driver Updates - Turn off driver updates in Windows Update.
  • Disable Reboot After Updates - Permanently stop Windows 10 reboots after installing updates.
  • Disable Web Search - Disable Web Search in taskbar and Cortana in Windows 10.
  • Menu Show Delay - Here you can speed up or slow down menus by adjusting the menu show delay parameter.
  • New Apps Notification - Enable or disable the New Apps Notification feature
  • Speed up Startup of Desktop Apps - Reduce the startup delay for desktop apps.
  • Windows Update Settings - Change Windows Update settings which are locked.
  • XMouse Options - Allows you to control the hidden options of XMouse behavior.
  • Boot Options - Allows you to customize the visual boot experience and the boot manager behaviour.
  • Default Lock Screen Background - Change the default Lock Screen background image.
  • Disable Lock Screen - Allows you to enable or disable Lock Screen.
  • Enable CTRL + ALT + DEL - Enable or disable CTRL + ALT + DEL logon requirement.
  • Hide Last User Name - Hide or show the last login user name.
  • Login Screen Image - Disable or enable the Login Screen background image.
  • Show Last Logon Info - Every time you sign in, you will see an information screen with the date and time of the last successful logon.
  • Verbose Logon Messages - Allows you to enable or disable verbose sign in messages.
  • Balloon Tooltips - Enable balloon tooltips from apps instead of notification toasts
  • Battery Flyout - Enable or disable the new Battery flyout.
  • Date & Time Pane - Enable or disable new Date & Time pane.
  • Disable Action Center - Disable or enable the Action Center feature in Windows 10.
  • Disable Live Tiles - Disable Live Tiles all at once for Universal(Metro) apps.
  • Disable Quick Action Buttons - Disable Quick Action buttons in Action Center of Windows 10.
  • Increase Taskbar Transparency Level - Increase the taskbar transparency level Windows 10.
  • Make Taskbar Opaque - Make Windows taskbar opaque/disable its transparency.
  • Network Flyout - Change the appearance of the Network flyout.
  • Old Volume Control - Enable the old volume control in Windows 10.
  • Open Last Active Window - Make the taskbar switch to the last active program window in the group with a single click.
  • Taskbar Button Flash Count - Set how many times taskbar button flashes to seek your attention.
  • Taskbar Thumbnails - Tweak or disable completely taskbar thumbnails for running apps.
  • Wallpaper Quality - Improve the quality of the desktop background image.
  • Windows Version on Desktop - Show Windows version on Desktop.
  • "Install" Command for CAB Files - Add the "Install this update" command to the context menu of CAB files.
  • "New" Menu in File Explorer - Add more file types to the "New" menu in File Explorer.
  • Encryption Context Menu - Add encrypt and decrypt commands to the context menu.
  • Personalization Menu - Add an "Appearance" submenu to the Desktop context menu which includes classic personalization options.
  • Pin To Start screen - Enable the "Pin To Start" context menu command for all files and folders
  • Power Plan Menu - Add an "Power Plan" submenu to the Desktop context menu to switch the power plan quickly.
  • Run as Administrator - Add "Run as Administrator" context menu item to various file types.
  • Wide Context Menus - Disable or enable wide context menus in File Explorer and on Desktop in Windows 10.
  • Add Windows Update - Restore the "Windows Update" link inside the Control Panel\System and Security category.
  • "Do this for all current items" Checkbox - Set the default state of the "Do this for all current items" checkbox in the Copy/Move conflict dialog.
  • Compressed Overlay Icon - Disable the compressed overlay icon(blue arrows).
  • Customize This PC Folders - Add or remove folders visible in This PC and navigation pane.
  • Default Drag-n-Drop Action - Change the default behavior of the drag-n-drop feature in Explorer.
  • Disable " – Shortcut" Text - Disable the " – Shortcut" text for new shortcuts.
  • Drive Letters - Set how to show drive letters relative to drive labels.
  • Enable Briefcase - Restore the missing Briefcase feature in File Explorer.
  • Navigation Pane - Custom Items - Add system locations, Control Panel applets or user folders to Navigation Pane.
  • Navigation Pane - Default Items - Hide or restore items which are visible by default in the Navigation Pane.
  • Shortcut Arrow - Customize or remove the shortcut overlay in Explorer.
  • Administrative Shares - Disable or enable administrative shares like C$, ADMIN$ and so on.
  • Network Drives over UAC - Enable access to mapped Network Drives from elevated apps.
  • Set Ethernet as Metered Connection - Set your wired Ethernet as metered connection.
  • TCP/IP Router - Enable TCP/IP forwarding to use apps like OpenVPN
  • Built-in Administrator - Enable or Disable the built-in Administrator account
  • Disable UAC - Enable or disable User Account Control (UAC)
  • Enable UAC for Built-in Administrator - Enable User Account Control (UAC) for the built-in Administrator account.
  • Activate Windows Photo Viewer - Activate Windows Photo Viewer in Windows 10.
  • Auto-update Store apps - Disable or enable auto-update of Store apps in Windows 10.
  • Disable Cortana - Disable Cortana in Windows 10.
  • Disable Windows Defender - Disable Windows Defender in Windows 10.
  • Microsoft Edge Download Folder - Change the default download folder in Microsoft Edge.
  • Stop Unwanted Apps - Stop unwanted apps Windows installs automatically.
  • Windows Defender Tray Icon - Show or hide Windows Defender tray icon.
  • App Switcher Hover Timeout - Change the App Switcher hover timeout delay.
  • Charms Bar Hover Timeout - Change the Charms Bar hover timeout delay.
  • Modern App Closing Options - Speed up closing time of Metro apps for mouse and touch.
  • Start Screen Power Button - Show or hide the Power button on the Start screen.
  • Disable Telemetry - Prevent Windows 10 from spying on you.
  • Elevated Shortcut - Create a shortcut to run an app elevated without UAC requests.
  • Reset Icon Cache - Fix broken icons (reset icon cache) in File Explorer and on Desktop without reboot.

Here are few screenshots:

Spoiler

-------
Download link and more details: Winaero Tweaker.

Source: MDL Forums




Old Classic Sticky Notes for Windows 10

 

Should be sticky in the software guide also. Maybe you have it there.

 

Better to kill than disable Cortana the digi-slut.

 

Just tried this and followed you instructions to the dot

when trying to remove all metro apps, it says not found for every app

see:



Edit: another user facing the same issue with the new updated ISO with the Jan refresh: https://forums.mydigitallife.info/threads/50572-MSMG-ToolKit?p=1311240&viewfull=1#post1311240

I am also trying to delete the entire ToolKit-v6.3 folder now after this failed removal of components process, it says I don't have permissions even though I took ownership of the folder and set it to every one!

what the heck

Edit: Ran the tool again, then pressed X to have it cleanup then I was able to delete everything

 

Maybe their digital cancer is becoming resistant to chemo and radiation therapy. Can't expect anything good, right or honest from the Redmond Mafia. Is there any evidence that there is actually anything desirable about the latest release? I've learned to never expect anything nice from these digi-Nazis. Perhaps we need to give it a little time for a new tool version with extra muscle to jailbreak the consumer version. I would not install a demon-possessed version of the new OS.

 

That's why I decided to not bother wasting my time learning to bypass those gimmicks in win10 and stay on Seven. Because the only effort you can see them spending for is for "securing" OS from modifying it's look and feel to user's taste.
I give same message in return to ms. They can take their product and shovel it.

 

Right on!!! They can bite my butt. I only use W10 with heavy mods as an act of defiance. No way I am going to give up W7 if this POS is the best they've got to show for their half-assed efforts, LOL.

 

The thing is you can run Win 7. My computer won't boot at all with 7, issues with (UEFI, Maxwell, $hitty dellanware bios/FW), and all Alienware computers for that matter (up to AW17 R1) Therefore, I'm stuck between 8 & 10.

 

I simply refuse to go back to w8.1 or w7. I kinda like UWP apps. Telemetry is a problem on every release though. I really like cumulative update which keeps your PC upto date even after re-install.

 

I run windows 10 only for gaming and non important stuff, while using Linux for the important stuff, however, if you're doing anything important on windows 10, then it's imperative to lock it down as much as you can. These M$ nazi's make it so pretty and convenient to blind the masses in looking past the intrusive cancer of a product. Linux is very easy to set up and I'd recommend using that for your important computing tasks as all your keystrokes on Windows 10 are going right to M$.

As for updates, does anyone have a list of the 'safe' updates? (oxymoron I know...) As oppose to doing this shot gun effect of blasting the system with cancer only to remove it afterwards? It would be much more practical to only install the 'approved,' updates and yes I'm willing to do it one by one...

Excellent video. It absolutely baffles me how the herd of sheep just go right through the grinder in not caring about their privacy and security.

Unfortunately, M$ nazi's will continue to eat the herd for lunch, because the majority of them will continue to slut their info's away to M$....truth....SMH...

Thanks for the video and it's always refreshing to see a group of folks who can look beyond the fluff and take matters into their own hands.