Reader Support
Your tech problems fixed ed
How do I unlock my Start menu?
Q some time last year you published a tip showing how to lock the tiles on the Start menu. I promptly followed your advice. Unfortunately, I did not keep a copy of how to achieve this and I now want to temporarily unlock the screen in order to add more tiles. Can you help me get out of this problem? George Metcalfe
A WE managed to track down the tip you mention – a feature called ‘Lock your PC settings’ back in Issue 484 (page 60). Our advice at the time was to lock Windows 10’s Start menu using the registry, and it’s this setting you’ll need to switch off. To do so, click Start, type regedit, then press Enter to open the registry. Next, navigate to HKEY_ Local_machine>software>policies> Microsoft>windows>explorer, rightclick the Lockedstartlayout entry, click Modify, change the ‘1’ to a ‘0’ (under ‘Value data’ – see screenshot below), then click OK. All that’s left is to reboot your PC and you’ll find your Start menu is editable once again. To lock your Start menu in the future, return to the registry, change the ‘0’ to ‘1’, then reboot your PC.
Anyone looking to lock their Start menu using the original tip from Issue 484 will probably find the Explorer entry doesn’t exist. To create it, right-click on Windows, click New, Key, then rename it Explorer. To lock the Start menu, right-click Explorer, click New, ‘DWORD (32- bit )’, rename it Locked start layout, change its ‘Value data’ to 1, click OK, then reboot your PC.
Why does Google tell me Thunderbird is unsafe?
QI
used Thunderbird for years, but then stopped having read that it was no longer to be supported by Mozilla and so might become unsafe. That is until I decided to go back to it having seen your reply to Roger French (Issue 509, page 19), recommending he use it as a replacement for Windows Live Mail. My problem is that Google flagged Thunderbird as unsafe when I came to add my Gmail account to it – what’s going on? Simon Ellis Ayou’ve
fallen foul of Google’s overzealous attempts to convince users to stick with Gmail rather than manage their email account through a non-google email client – such as Thunderbird. Google classes Thunderbird (and other clients like it) as ‘Less secure apps’. It claims these clients use ‘less secure sign-in technology’ that supposedly makes your Gmail account vulnerable. We don’t buy it. It’s fine to use Thunderbird, emclient, Windows 10’s Mail app or whatever email client you wish – just make sure your password is strong. To allow Thunderbird to access your Gmail emails, go to www.snipca. com/25496 (sign in using your Google account if prompted), then move the ‘Allow less secure apps’ slider to On (see screenshot above). Can I download Avery Labels? Qyour Avery Labels advice (Issue 507, page 48) left me confused. You note there’s an online version and a Windowsbased program. I would prefer to install the program, but can’t work out how to download it. Can you explain how? Jim Mitchell Athere
are indeed two versions of Avery Labels. To get the version that you can install in Windows, go to www. snipca.com/24918, then click the green button that says ‘Free PC Download’. A pop-up window will appear prompting you to ‘Sign in to Myavery’, or ‘Create a free Myavery account’. Choose the latter if you haven’t signed in before. Once you’ve created an account, or signed in with an existing one, the Designprint program will download and you’ll be able to install it like any other PC program.
Can I make desktop icons smaller?
Qyour Secret Tips on desktop icons (Issue 509, page 48) had plenty of good advice but lacked any mention of decreasing the size of icons. Any ideas? Stan Plumtree Athere’s
a straightforward way to decrease the size of your desktop icons. Press the Windows key+d to minimise all open windows and return to your desktop, then press and hold Ctrl and move the scroll wheel on your mouse. Scrolling the wheel upwards will enlarge the icons, while scrolling downwards should let you reduce the icons to a size that suits you.