WINDOWS REGISTRY
Hack it to beat Microsoft’s restrictions
Free up more space with Disk Clean-up
The Disk Clean-up feature in Windows reclaims space by removing unwanted and leftover files, such as old Windows versions and temporary files. By default, the tool ignores items which are newer than seven days to avoid removing files that any running programs require. However, if you reboot regularly you can safely reduce this period to two or three days.
To do this, type regedit in the Start menu search box to open the Registry Editor, then press Enter and navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\windows\currentversion\ Explorer\volumecaches\temporary Files
In the right-hand pane, double-click the Lastaccess value. To have Disk Clean-up delete any files that are older than 3 days, change ‘Value data’ from ‘7’ to ‘3’ (see screenshot below).
Choose the Windows 10 system font
Windows 7 and 8 make it easy to choose which font to use across the operating system, but in Windows 10 you have to hack the registry to change from the default. To use something else, right-click the desktop, select Personalise, then click Fonts on the left-hand side. This displays all available fonts, letting you decide which one to use.
Next, copy all the text from our Pastebin account at www.snipca. com/28772, then paste it into a new Notepad text file.replace ‘Newfont’ (at the bottom) in the text file with the exact name of the font you want from the Fonts page. Click File, go to ‘Save as’ and, in the ‘Save as type’ box, select All Files. Give it any name, but make sure it ends with ‘. reg’, then save it to your desktop. Double-click the file and your changes will be made in the registry. Restart your PC to see your new font applied. To restore the default font, create a new Notepad file with the text from Pastebin at www.snipca.com/28773, then apply it as in the previous step.
Use the classic Windows Photo Viewer
Microsoft wants Windows 10 users to open their images in the Photos app, but you can switch to the classic Windows Photo Viewer if you prefer it.
Create a registry file in Notepad following the instructions in the previous tip. The text you need this time is fairly lengthy, so copy it from Pastebin www. snipca.com/28774. Run this new ‘.reg’ file. Next, right-click an image, select ‘Open with’, then ‘Choose another app’. Click ‘More apps’, then select Windows Photo Viewer.
Choose where special folders are located
Windows has dedicated library folders for storing documents, pictures, music and videos. If you want to change the location of one of these (maybe move it to a specific folder on a different drive), you can do so through File Explorer. Rightclick the folder in Quick Access, select Properties, then click the Location tab and change the file path there.
However, this doesn’t always work, because Windows – and most programs – try to find these “shell folders” in the default place. To adjust the locations, or restore the defaults,you need to change the values in the following registry keys: 1) HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\windows\currentversion\ Explorer\user Shell Folders 2) HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ Software\microsoft\windows\ Currentversion\explorer\user Shell Folders
Those keys contain values for folders such as My Music and My Video. To change a folder’s location, double-click the relevant value and change its ‘Value data’ to the new location (for example, D:\MY Videos, see screenshot below).
Pin any file to the Start menu
Windows 10 lets you pin programs, folders and shortcuts to the Start menu. If you want to pin other types of file, such as documents, open regedit (type regedit in the Start menu search box, then press Enter) and navigate to: HKEY_CLASSES_ Root\allfilesystemobjects\shellex (You need to scroll a long way down to find Allfilesystemobjects).
Right-click Contextmenuhandlers and select New, then Key. Name this {470C0EBD-5D73-4D58-9CEDE91E22E23282} (include the curly brackets or copy the entire text from Pastebin: www.snipca.com/28775). Double-click Default in the right-hand pane, change the value to Pin to Start, then close regedit. Create a desktop shortcut for the file you want to add to the Start menu, right-click this shortcut and select ‘Pin to Start’.
Disable live tiles in Windows 10
Certain tiles in the Start menu show live data (the Calendar tile shows upcoming appointments, for example), which can be distracting. You can disable individual live tiles by right-clicking them, but you can use a registry tweak to turn off all live data. Launch regedit and navigate to:
Right-click Pushnotifications, then go to New, ‘DWORD (32-bit) Value’ and name it Notileapplicationnotification. Double-click the new entry and set its Value to ‘1’. You’ll then need to clear the cache to stop showing live tiles.
To do this, navigate to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\windows\currentversion\ Pushnotifications
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\ Policies\microsoft\windows\explorer
If the ‘Explorer’ key is missing, right-click the Windows key, select New, Key, then name it Explorer. Next, create a new 32-bit DWORD value in the Explorer key called Cleartilesonexit. Set its value to ‘1’, then restart Windows.
Delete or move stubborn files
If Windows won’t let you do something with a file (such as delete or move it), you can get around the restriction by taking full ownership of the file. The process involves quite a few steps, so take care when following it through.
First, add a Take Ownership option to the right-click context menu by opening regedit and navigating to:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\SHELL
Right-click the shell key and select New, Key. Name this runas. Double-click Default, change the value to Take Ownership, then click OK. Next, right-click the new ‘runas’ key, then go to New, String Value and name this Noworkingdirectory.
Right-click the ‘runas’ key again, then select New, Key and name it command.
Now double-click the Default value for this new key and type cmd.exe /c takeown /f \”%1\” && icacls \”%1\” /grant administrators:f (or copy it from Pastebin: www.snipca.com/28776). Click OK, then right-click ‘command’ and select New, String Value. Name this Isolatedcommand. Double-click it, then in the ‘Value data’ box, type the same text as before ( www.snipca.com/28776), then restart Windows.
Get Skip Ahead Insider builds on Windows 10
Windows Insider members get to test early builds of upcoming Feature updates for Windows 10. If you’re a member, you can also sign up to the Skip Ahead ring, which lets you avoid the next Feature update and start testing the one due to follow it. There are limited openings for this ring, but provided you’re a Windows Insider (you’ll only see the registry keys and values below if you’re a member - sign up at https://insider.windows.com), you can cheat the system and gain access to these builds.
Launch regedit and navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\windowsselfhost\ui\selection
Locate Uicontenttype, double-click it, then change its value to Skip. Next, locate Uiring and change its value to WIF.
Now navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_ MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\ Windowsselfhost\applicability Change the value of Contenttype to Skip and do the same for Ring. Restart your PC, then go to Settings, ‘Update & Security’, and check for updates.