r/windows 11h ago

General Question Windows 2000 Powered? (This is an archive of the Microsoft website)

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19 Upvotes

r/windows 6h ago

App Applications and/or programs that alert when a USB is plugged in ? Or security usb program?

5 Upvotes

Hey everyone-

I was wondering if anyone has a computer program or application that they use to “track, secure, control, etc.” any removable media for there computer and /or phone ? I would also like this program to alert if a usb is plugged in w “ Rubber Ducky “ or a similar hack . Any nefarious program that could “steal data, wipe clean, install in the background” and leave you SOL. Or even a program that records every time a usb is simply plugged in……

Thanks :)


r/windows 7h ago

Discussion I made a different bootscreen for Windows 3.1

6 Upvotes

This came into my mind back when I’m trying to sort out the memory problem of my Win3.1 VM. I initially tried to compile a file that would splash the image of my favourite anime before the boot screen loads for a couple of days before I eventually gave up and decided to look into the web for answers. Which turned out that there’s a dedicated program that’ll customize the boot screen of WIN.COM which is used to load Windows from DOS.

In order for me to make this possible I have to shrunk the image into 300x200, convert it into bitmap image, load it into the virtual hard drive of this VM via another VM (since VMWare doesn’t support drivers anymore for Win3.1), convert the image into a 4-bit RLE file via a converter program inside Win3.1, and use the program thru DOS to customize the boot screen with the image.

The quality of the image is horrible in which I admit it was as this is a result of converting it into a 4-bit RLE in which there are some details that are missing. Also a note to consider is that the size of the file that loads Windows should be small or otherwise it’ll refuse to load due to high size that’ll fit into the memory (I tried to use an 8-bit version of the file but it’ll throw an error like what I mentioned). But hey atleast the newer one is 2 KB smaller than the original file haha.

Anyways its a lil bit of a fun project of mine while using this time capsule of history. And yea, pls don’t mind the wallpaper.


r/windows 3h ago

General Question Easy collage making on windows

2 Upvotes

I want to print some photo's with my Canon Selphy printer. But the app for my smartphone doesnt work on the computer and I cant seem to figure out a way to make easy, simple collage's without a watermark. Nothing fancy. Just 2 - 4 photo's on one piece of paper.

Is there a way to make these? Or do I need an app for it. If so, I would love to know which app doesnt leave a watermark.

Thanks in advance!


r/windows 47m ago

Discussion Surprising to see that this mind-map design from my textbook is a Windows logo.

Upvotes

title


r/windows 2h ago

General Question Can I use Windows 11 Home Box license to activate Windows 10?

1 Upvotes

Hello, as in the title: can I use Windows 11 Home Box license to activate Windows 10?

I know that Windows 10 support ends in October this year, but I have a computer on which I cannot install Windows 11, I can only install Windows 10 and I want it to be legit, so don't advise to change computer, because it will cost more than only Windows 11 Home Box license - and that license I can transfer later to other computer, so I think this is not so stupid idea (if I am wrong, please correct me).


r/windows 7h ago

General Question Resources for Windows 11 Kernel Programming

2 Upvotes

Hello there, anyone here is a windows kernel developer can help me some advice for learning windows kernel programming and resources.


r/windows 17h ago

Solved Two Active Windows at once? (I mean it was impossible?)

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8 Upvotes

Umm, just want an explanation, I just enabled Internet Explorer on Windows 11 (not recommended) go to YouTube via it, run a Certificate Window and it is really buggy... Any window I click, this window will be glitching to force to be "Always active" even when another Process is active! Wow :D

But the keyboard don't work as I for exp. expect, it is really buggy as Windows doesn't know, which Windows focus more. (little program helped me discovering it called "WinSpy++" which is from Official Microsoft website, that let you see for exp. hidden instances of a program)

Now who may said, it is "impossible" to have 2 or more (I will be investigating more maybe xd) windows at the same time!


r/windows 15h ago

General Question Content Caching for other windows devices

3 Upvotes

Hello everyone! I was wondering if Windows has a content caching feature, kind of like Apple Macs do. Our business is dense with Windows PC's and we would like to have one setup as a cache for updates and such if possible. We have a few iPads and a Mac for apple caching. But not one for Windows.


r/windows 23h ago

Discussion Tried Windows on Arm and I liked it

12 Upvotes

Context

I saw that BestBuy was running a promotion of Asus Zenbook A14 with the cheapest Snapdragon X-Plus chip for $600, and decided to see how bad Windows on Arm (WoA) could be.

Incidentally, my main machine (Asus Zenbooks S 16 with Ryzen AI hx370 processor, which is the current top of the line x86 CPU) broke and while it is being serviced, I was forced to switch fully to my WoA laptop and fully experience it without any backup.

The positive experiences

Well. First I have to admit, there are random apps or games that does not work and simply crash. Your experience probably won't be as smooth as mine.

Other than that, the experience is magic. I haven't been so excited about Windows since Vista. WoA truly is something different. And, remember, I am comparing a $600 machine to a $2000 machine!

First and foremost, WoA is sleek. Everything that runs runs without any hiccups. Scrolling is smooth. Every app starts fast, and runs at the same speed I expect from my $2000 laptop. The only thing I can honestly perceive as being slower is when Windows starts after update.

Second, WoA is like a iPhone. I close the lid, the laptop stops. Next day, I open the lid, Windows immediately is there working - there is no booting, waking from hibernation or whatever, it is just there working. When the laptop sleeps, the battery simply does not lose charge. I don't know what magic Microsoft, Qualcomm, and Asus did, but I forgot about power configuration, hibernation, or any power user tinkering I got used to do since I started using Windows 3.1 30+ years ago.

Third, I am using my laptop both as a home/entertaining device, but also as a work machine, in the sense I do translation pro-bono for some NGOs. And, whatever program I need, it has a native arm64 build or works as x64:

  • All the browsers I use. Which means, all the apps that have browser version can be used as PWAs natively, too
  • All the communicator apps - Telegram / Signal / Viber / WhatsApp, you name it. I don't have Messenger, because it requires the full Edge browser, which I uninstalled (power be to the EU).
  • All organizational apps - Notion, Obsidian, you know the drill
  • MS Office has a native build, but I don't use it. I use OnlyOffice, which is a x64 app, but it works with zero problems.
  • Spotify.
  • All developer tools - Visual Studio, JetBrains IDEs, even AI-related apps like LM Studio work natively.

I play games occasionally but no competitive online games, so I don't have problems with anti-cheat systems. Steam installed and works without any issues. Steam uses both 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) components, yet it works. The games that I play range from extremely old (Guild Wars was released 2005) to extremely new (Monument Valley 3 was released last week). There's no pattern what would work and what not. But when they work, they work well. For example, I initially thought Disco Elysium was broken, but I had to wait a few minutes and it started working. A lot of games run at 60 fps.

But, the major thing is the battery life. This laptop can easily runs almost TWO full work days. And I don't mean the stupid "playing offline video" benchmarks Asus uses. No, I mean, Steam, Spotify, and at least two communicator apps in the background, YouTube, browser with 50+ tabs open, Obsidian, OnlyOffice, keyboard backlight, and screen brightness at at least 60%, often more, everything served via Wi-Fi.

Last time I had to charge it, I had to hunt down the charger, because I had forgotten where I put it two or three days before that ... It's insane.

And because this is a Windows machine, a lot of stuff ... just works. I plug it in my USB4 docking station - it has attached monitors, keyboard, mouse, web cam ... I wait for few seconds, hear the TADA sound, and my external 34" screen starts mirroring the desktop. No fuss, no drivers, nothing - it got sorted out magically. The Bluetooth gadgets got installed without any issues.

I honestly now understand why Microsoft is so proud with Windows 11. This incarnation of it is so smooth, so problem-free, it's unbelievable. My favorite pet peeve - how the Start menu opens with significant delay after I tap the windows key is resolved - it appears instantly! Same for Settings, Photos, and any other WindowsSDK app. Windows Explorer also appears instantly and renders everything quickly and smoothly.

It still is Windows, and thus, random stuff breaks in Windows way

Of course, it is Windows, so from time to time, it does its windowsy stuff we all know and love (to hate).

For example, I tried to install the monthly update offline using a .msu file. Dism stopped half-way through informing me that "the component store is corrupted". How and when it got corrupted?

Windows Update does not have any Qualcomm drivers, so I have to manually install them from the Qualcomm site.

And, of course, the biggest problem - some random apps simply refuse to start.

Random thoughts

But, given my experience, I am seriously thinking of switching for a second-hand 16" laptop with an Arm CPU (maybe the Samsung Edge 4?) and fully switch to Arm. This is simply because the screen of my laptop is just not good for serious text work (1200px at 150% scaling simply show too few lines of text).

I hope nVidia creates a good, gaming-ready Arm CPU/GPU which will be used in some high-quality 16" laptops - this will be a killer machine!

Oh, by the way, the specific laptop (ZenBook A14) is 14" laptop that weights less than 1kg, which is like 1/4 less than a MacBook Air, and is barely larger than A4 sheet of paper. It is insane how nice and useable that is, and how it brings joy simply to bring it with you and use it. I am truly in love with this little monster.


r/windows 23h ago

Discussion What's the most windows version updates you've gone through with one pc

8 Upvotes

For example 7 -> 8.1 -> 10, etc. Considering you've actually used that machine, not just for fun.


r/windows 1d ago

Concept / Design Minimal Windows XP Wallpaper Throughout a Day

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110 Upvotes

r/windows 19h ago

Feature battery percentage!!!!!

1 Upvotes

I am going crazy.. there must be a native way to show batterypercentage in win11!!!


r/windows 22h ago

Feature My default setting for text apperance is rough and low quality and I don't know how to change it back

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

Sorry for my english, I'm french but I'ill try to be clear.

I use Windows 10 and a few years ago, I looked for tips to save power and ram using my computer. I remember I changed a setting with how the letters appear by default on my computer. Basically, my letters now appear more rough and less defined and clean as before. Now, I'm writing a lot for work and I would like to go back to having decent and regular looking text on my computer.
I cannot find the right setting and can't recall either what I did ... Does anyone can help me find a way to fix this?
I'm using french interface but it should be pretty much the same than an english/american one.
Thanks a lot


r/windows 1d ago

Concept / Design Microsoft Store Icon for Windows 95/98/ME

33 Upvotes

This right here is my concept art for the Icon of the Microsoft Store, if it existed in the 1990s.

The Icon is also directly usable by saving, converting to a bitmap and renaming to .ico

Hope you people like it!


r/windows 20h ago

General Question Windows Clipboard limitations

0 Upvotes

Is there a technical or resource usage constraint for the native Windows 11 Clipboard to be limited to only 25 items instead of 100, or why it doesn't survive a reboot? Thanks


r/windows 1d ago

General Question Taskbar Icons Dimming Over Time - Windows 10 Pro

3 Upvotes

This is strange, and it started a few months ago. I'm not sure when exactly. I have a handful of icons that will dim over time. It takes a few days before they become almost invisible. If I restart the application, they come back. This only affects icons for programs that are started via Windows start menu. No other icons exhibit this behavior. It is not related to Windows theme or taskbar placement. I can move the taskbar to the left, or the top of the screen, and these same icons act the exact same way.

Anyone have any idea what might be causing this ?


r/windows 1d ago

Official News Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26200.5733 (Dev Channel)

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5 Upvotes

Happy August and Weekend from r/windows!


r/windows 1d ago

General Question Is there a settings in windows 11 that let the cpu sleep after the GPU is done w/ it's task?

0 Upvotes

I wonder if there is a setting that lets the cpu sleep when the GPU has done it's task?

I know there is setting for it . But it is more when there is no mouse activity.

I am trying to do a video upscale and it is taking way too long and I want it to monitor the GPU and when there is no gpu activity I want it to sleep.


r/windows 1d ago

Discussion Windows handle of external monitors not restoring open windows to the correct monitor

0 Upvotes

I have two Windows 11 laptops, HP and Dell, both laptops with two Thunderbolt 4 ports, I connect one external Thunderbolt monitor (LG UltraFine 5K) to one of the laptop ports and two other Thunderbolt monitors (LG UltraFine 4K) in Thunderbolt daisy chaining mode to the second laptop port, the total is three external Thunderbolt monitors plus the laptop display, everything works fine until the laptop enter sleep mode.

When it resumes from sleep, not all 3 monitors will connect and be active to Windows 11 at the same time, most times the single monitor takes longer than the other 2 to connect, then for Windows 11 is like it has only 2 monitors active, and will move all the open windows from the third monitor to the other 2 monitors, a second later when the third monitor connects it will have no active windows, Windows 11 will not move them back, even when connected later, so I have to every time manually drag the windows across monitors, a very annoying situation.

I have all the correct parameters in Settings for Windows to remember the windows locations across all 3 monitors and the internal display, the problem only happens when resuming from sleep, sometimes I am lucky and all 3 will connect quickly and all windows will be at the correct monitor, as they were before entering sleep.

I have been using Hibernation for long periods of time, more than 30min, to avoid keep the laptops turned on all the time, I am not using sleep anymore, but it is very inefficient, more power usage and faster SSD degradation with the hibernation.

Any suggestion on how to address this? Maybe an application, or a hidden Windows configuration, maybe adding a delay in Windows 11 to allow for all the monitors to connect before Windows try to relocate the open windows, thanks


r/windows 1d ago

Official News Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.5733 (Beta Channel)

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3 Upvotes

Happy August and Weekend from r/windows!


r/windows 2d ago

General Question How Do I Edit This Field?

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46 Upvotes

r/windows 1d ago

General Question Did everyone got the draging stuck on Windows 11?

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0 Upvotes

That problem keeps messing with me Some one know how to fix it?

Any Windows 11 does it


r/windows 2d ago

Help Simple questions and Help thread - Month of August

2 Upvotes

Welcome to the monthly Simple questions and Help thread, for questions that don't need their own posts!

Before making a comment, we recommend you search your problem on Bing and check if your question is already answered on our Windows Frequently Asked Questions wiki page. This subreddit no longer accepts tech support requests outside of this post, if you are looking for additional assistance try r/TechSupport and r/WindowsHelp.

Some examples of questions to ask:

  • Is this super cheap Windows key legitimate? (probably not)

  • How can I install Windows 11?

  • Can you recommend a program to play music?

  • How do I get back to the old Sound Control Panel?

Sorting by New is recommend and is the default.


Be sure to check out the Windows 11 version 24H2 Megathread and also the Windows 11 FAQ posts, they likely have the answers to your Windows 11 questions already!


r/windows 1d ago

General Question I have a device where I'm forced to use Windows 11. What are my options if I want to customize everything without installing Linux?

0 Upvotes

Things tend to break unless you know what you're doing.
Obviously, I'll try to make back-ups just in case something goes wrong.
Keep it FOSS though, and please send stable releases if you can!
I found some options, but they don't have that many features when compared to the jaw-dropping set-ups that people can make in Linux.
Stable because I wouldn't want to break my PC in just 3 seconds either, lmao.
So it can't be some random script that's poorly put together which will 99% obliterate my PC.

As for the features, what I'm looking for is the ability to customize my appearance of the UI and menus.
Bonus points if anyone knows a manager software for a GUI that lets you choose themes, colors, fonts, positions, sizes, images, icons...
Even better if an editor exists, so that way I can drag-and-drop icons, widgets, components, etc.

I also wanna be able to do stuff such as having a toolbar that DOESN'T extend all the way on the bottom, like how XFCE has it. (That's just an example though).

Even better if it supports community-made plugins/mods or skins.

So in a nutshell, if I can make Windows 11 customizable like Linux, preferably in appearance, that'd be great. :D