How to Show Hidden Files in Windows 10 and 11
Reveal hidden files and folders in File Explorer on Windows 7, 10 and 11 — including the protected system files the ordinary checkbox will not show.
Files and foldersUpdated
All Windows guides
37 guides covering Windows 7, 10 and 11. Each one gives the mechanism behind the problem, the exact steps, and an honest note where a method no longer works. Newest first.
Prefer to narrow it down? Browse files and folders, desktop and display, accounts and security, network and devices, performance and storage, updates and recovery, command line or versions and licensing.
How to Stop Automatic Updates in Windows 10
Pause, defer or block Windows 10 updates, which methods still work in 2026, which Microsoft has closed off, and what each one costs you in security.
Updates and recoveryUpdated
Minimize, Maximize and Close Windows: Shortcuts
Every keyboard shortcut for minimizing, maximizing, snapping, switching and closing windows on Windows 10 and 11, and what each one does to a snapped window.
Desktop and displayUpdated
How to Reduce Screen Brightness in Windows
Lower screen brightness on Windows 7, 10 and 11 — plus why the brightness slider is missing on desktop PCs and how to fix it when it vanishes on a laptop.
Desktop and displayUpdated
How to Force Quit an App on Windows
Close a frozen program on Windows using Alt + F4, Task Manager or taskkill — in escalation order, plus what to do when a process refuses to end at all.
Performance and storageUpdated
What Is Windows Explorer? File Explorer Explained
Windows Explorer is both the file manager and the Windows shell: the taskbar, Start menu and desktop. That is why restarting it fixes a frozen taskbar.
Files and foldersUpdated
How to Find Your MAC Address on Windows
Find the MAC address of any Windows adapter with ipconfig /all, getmac or Settings, and why every adapter has its own, and randomised Wi-Fi MACs break allowlists.
Network and devicesUpdated
How to Connect to Wi-Fi on a Windows Laptop
Connect to Wi-Fi on Windows 7, 10 and 11, and fix the wireless-capability-is-turned-off message — hardware switch, Fn key, airplane mode, service and driver.
Network and devicesUpdated
How to Open the Terminal in Windows
Open Command Prompt, PowerShell, Windows Terminal or WSL on Windows 10 and 11 — including as administrator and directly inside a chosen folder.
Command lineUpdated
How to Kill a Process Using a Port in Windows
Find what is holding port 3000, 8080 or any other port on Windows with netstat -ano, then end it with taskkill — plus the PowerShell one-liner equivalent.
Command lineUpdated
How to Hide Folders in Windows 10 and 11
Hide a folder in Windows using the Hidden attribute or attrib +h +s, and an honest account of what hiding protects against, which is very little.
Files and foldersUpdated
How to Password-Protect a Folder in Windows
The honest options for encrypting a folder on Windows Home and Pro — 7-Zip AES-256, BitLocker and EFS compared, and why the batch-file locker scripts do nothing.
Accounts and securityUpdated
How to Clear Recent Files in Windows 10 and 11
Clear Quick Access recent files and jump lists in Windows, and switch the history off permanently so you are not clearing the same list every week.
Files and foldersUpdated
How to Select Multiple Files in Windows
Select several files at once in File Explorer with Ctrl, Shift, marquee dragging, checkboxes and Invert selection — plus selecting by file type using search.
Files and foldersUpdated
How to Delete Temp Files and Windows.old Safely
Free space in Windows with Disk Cleanup, Storage Sense and the %temp% folder, which files are safe to delete, and the real deadline on removing Windows.old.
Performance and storageUpdated
How to Extend Your C Drive in Windows 10
Extend the C partition using Disk Management, and understand exactly why Extend Volume is greyed out — adjacency, unallocated space and the recovery partition.
Performance and storageUpdated
How to Uninstall Python, Node and Java on Windows
Remove Python, Node.js, Java and Eclipse from Windows completely, including the PATH entries, caches and config folders their uninstallers leave behind.
Performance and storageUpdated
How to Run a Shell Script (.sh) on Windows
Run .sh files on Windows using WSL, Git Bash or Cygwin — how they differ, and how to fix the CRLF line-ending error that breaks scripts edited on Windows.
Command lineUpdated
How to Turn Windows Defender On or Off
Turn Microsoft Defender real-time protection on or off, add folder exclusions, and understand why it switches itself back on after a restart.
Accounts and securityUpdated
How to Turn Off the Windows Firewall
Turn the Windows Defender Firewall off per network profile or with netsh, and why allowing a single app through is nearly always the better answer.
Accounts and securityUpdated
How to Create a New User Account in Windows 10
Add a local or Microsoft account in Windows 10 and 11, including the offline-account workaround, and choose correctly between standard and administrator.
Accounts and securityUpdated
How to Delete a User Account in Windows 10
Remove a user account in Windows without losing their files, why you cannot delete the last administrator, and how to clean up the leftover profile folder.
Accounts and securityUpdated
How to Change the Administrator Name in Windows 10
Rename a Windows account properly — display name, account name and the user profile folder are three different things, and only two of them are easy to change.
Accounts and securityUpdated
How to Change Your Windows Password or PIN
Change or remove a Windows 10 and 11 password or PIN, understand why a PIN is usually safer than a password, and what removing sign-in actually costs you.
Accounts and securityUpdated
How to Take a Screenshot in Windows 7, 10 and 11
Every way to take a screenshot on Windows — PrtScn, Alt + PrtScn, Win + Shift + S, Snipping Tool and Game Bar — with what each captures and where the file goes.
Desktop and displayUpdated
How to Set Up Dual Monitors in Windows 10 and 11
Connect and arrange two monitors in Windows, set per-monitor scaling and refresh rate, and work through the second-monitor-not-detected checklist.
Desktop and displayUpdated
How to Change Desktop Icon Size in Windows 10
Resize desktop icons with Ctrl and the scroll wheel, and work out whether the real problem is icon size, display scaling or the wrong screen resolution.
Desktop and displayUpdated
How to Change Your Desktop Wallpaper in Windows
Change the desktop background in Windows 7, 10 and 11, set a different wallpaper per monitor, run a slideshow, and set one when Personalization is locked.
Desktop and displayUpdated
How to Connect Bluetooth Devices in Windows
Pair Bluetooth devices on Windows 7, 10 and 11, and fix pairing failures — support service, adapter state, stale pairings, drivers and the A2DP audio split.
Network and devicesUpdated
How to Connect an iPhone to a Windows Laptop
Connect an iPhone to Windows for photos, files, backups and notifications — what genuinely works through cable, Phone Link and iCloud, and what does not.
Network and devicesUpdated
Which Windows Version Is Best? 7 vs 10 vs 11
Choosing between Windows 7, 10 and 11 on support dates and hardware requirements rather than preference, plus what actually differs between Home and Pro.
Versions and licensingUpdated
How to Find Your Windows Product Key
Read your Windows product key with PowerShell or wmic, and understand why most modern PCs return a generic OEM string instead of a unique key.
Versions and licensingUpdated
How to Repair Windows Without Reinstalling
Repair a damaged Windows installation in escalation order: Startup Repair, sfc, DISM, chkdsk, System Restore and bootrec, least destructive first.
Updates and recoveryUpdated
How to Factory Reset a Windows 7 or 8 Laptop
Reset Windows 8's Refresh and Reset options, use an OEM recovery partition on Windows 7, and understand why a reset is not a secure wipe before selling.
Updates and recoveryUpdated
How to Type ñ, Accents and Emoji on Windows
Type ñ, é, ü and emoji on Windows without a numpad, using the emoji panel, the US-International keyboard layout, and Character Map.
Desktop and displayUpdated
How to Change DNS Settings in Windows 10 and 11
Set a custom DNS server in Windows through Settings or netsh, flush the resolver cache, and tell a DNS problem apart from a real connection problem.
Network and devicesUpdated
How to Open .aae, .msg and .json Files on Windows
What .aae, .msg and .json files actually are, which ones are safe to delete, and how to open each one on Windows without installing anything.
Files and foldersUpdated
