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Add Control Panel, Snipping Tool, Sticky Notes & More to the Windows 10 Start Menu
Windows 10

Did you know you can add Control Panel, Disk Cleanup, Sticky Notes, Snipping Tool, This PC (My Computer), and more to your Windows 10 Start Menu? You can. It's easy and we're going to show you how. But first we're going to tell you that things like Control Panel, Task Manager, and Run are already on the Windows right-click power menu (the menu that appears when you right-click the Windows 10 start button). So keep that in mind.

But if you're like me, you like having everything in one place, right in front of your weary eyeballs. And Windows 10's new start menu is nothing if not malleable  That's why we like it, and we think you'll like it if you just give it a chance.

So let's get started. We'll add Control Panel to the Windows 10 start menu and use that as an example.

Click the start button (if you're not yet using Windows 10 Anniversary Edition, you'll need to click on "All apps"), then scroll down to the "W" section and find Windows System.



You'll find Control Panel and more there:



Now, right-click on "Control Panel" and choose "Pin to Start":



And Control Panel will appear on your start menu.


You can drag items around on the Start menu to put them in any order you like. I like all my system functions together in one are of my Windows 10 Start menu. See?



You can add additional items such as the ones pictured above, and more, by exploring these other Start menu folders:

Windows Accessories

In Windows Accessories you'll find things like Internet Explorer, Snipping Tool, Sticky Notes and more. Anything here can be added to your Windows 10 Start menu by right-clicking the item and choosing "Pin to Start".



Windows Administrative Tools

Here you'll find features like Disk Cleanup, Performance Monitor, Resource Monitor, and other arcane stuff geeks really feast upon. Anything here can be added to your Windows 10 Start menu by right-clicking the item and choosing "Pin to Start".



We think the Windows 10 Start menu is the best ever, but like anything else you have to know how to make it the way you want it. By adding things you use to it, and removing things you don't want from it, and by dragging things them around to put them in the order that makes sense to you, you can make Windows 10 Start menu just the way you like it.

What's that EB? You want me to tell them how to remove things from the Start menu? OK. Just right-click on any tile and choose "Unpin from Start". And yes, most tiles an be resized by right-clicking them and choosing "Resize".



Navigate the Windows 10 Start Menu Quickly
Windows 10

If you're like EB and have 10,000 programs installed (most of which she uses to monitor my work habits!), rather than scrolling the entire menu to find a program, you might prefer this faster, alphabetical way to find what you're looking for.

Open your Start menu (if you're not yet using Windows 10 Anniversary edition click "All apps"). Now click on any letter and you'll see this:



So instead of EB scrolling through 10,000 programs looking for "TC Tracker", she can go right to the T's and find it without scrolling through everything. Likewise, if she were looking for the electric shocker she uses to make sure I don't fall asleep, she could just click on "S" and look for "Shocker" and give me a jolt.

And in case you're wondering what that clock-like thing is at the top, if you click it, it will show you any programs you've recently installed.

The Cloudeight Booster Store is open and there are always special prices for our boosters - and there are more specials on the way.

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Additionally, donations help us continue to provide support to thousands of people - Every week we help dozens of people via email at no charge. And our Cloudeight Direct Computer Care Service provides computer repair and other services for much less than others charge.

Right now, we really need your support. We hope you'll take a few minutes today and help us with a small donation. 

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Windows 10 shortcuts you should know
Windows 10 (some work on older versions of Windows too)

These are the Windows 10 Windows Key short cuts we use most of all.

Windows Key + A = Action Center
Windows Key + D = Show desktop
Windows Key + I = Settings
Windows Key + R = Run
Windows Key + S = Search
Windows Key + X = Opens the so-called Power Menu (this is the same as right-clicking the Windows 10 Start button)
Windows Key + Home = Minimizes all windows and displays desktop; press Windows Key + Home again to reopen all minimized windows
Windows Key + Tab = Task View
Windows Key + a comma = Peek at Desktop
Windows Key + Print Screen = screenshot current view of screen and auto-copies it to pictures, Screenshots folder
Windows Key + M = Minimizes all open windows
Windows Key + U = Opens Ease of Access Center
Windows Key + E = Opens File Explorer (Windows Explorer in older versions of Windows)

Of course, there are many more - but we think you'll find these the most useful.

How to Make a Windows 10 Recovery Drive
Windows 10

Windows 10 has all kinds of back up features, from system restore to File History to System Reset – and there’s even an image backup feature in Windows 10. But what happens when your computer won’t boot and you can’t get into your computer at all?

That’s where a Windows 10 recovery drive comes in handy. A recovery drive can help you troubleshoot and fix problems with your PC, even if it won’t start. To create one, all you need is a USB drive. If you’re using Windows 10 32-bit, you’ll need at least an 8 GB USB flash drive; for 64-bit Windows 10, you’ll need at least a 16 GB USB flash drive. Your flash drive will be formatted during the recovery drive creation so make sure the flash drive you use doesn’t contain anything you need; a new, never-used flash drive would be the best option.

OK with that out of the way, let’s get started.

Place the appropriate USB flash drive in a USB port.

Press the Windows Key + S and in search box type: “Create a recovery drive” (no quotes). When it appears in the search results, click it.

Click yes to the UAC prompt (above):

You’ll then see the “Create a recovery drive” dialog. Make sure “Back up system files to the recovery drive” is checked, then click “Next”.

Then  you’ll see…

After it scans for drives on your computer, it should find the USB flash drive you inserted earlier (see below). If the correct drive is selected, click “Next”. If not, manually select the USB flash drive you want to use to create the recovery drive, then click “Next”.

You will then see the warning (below) that all data on your USB flash drive will be deleted.

If you’re sure the USB flash drive contains no files or data you need, click create (below). When you click “Create” ) you’ll see that the recovery drive is being created and a progress bar is displayed (below):

It takes a few minutes to create the Windows 10 recovery drive. When it has been created you’ll see the dialog below.

Remove your new recovery drive from the USB port, label it “recovery drive” (or whatever) and keep it in a safe place. Hopefully, you’ll never need it. But if  a day comes when your computer won’t start, your Windows 10 recovery drive could make your computer life a lot easier. If your computer won't boot, you can use your recovery drive to boot your computer and access Windows troubleshooting tools or your backups. 

It takes only a few minutes to create a recovery drive. Hopefully, you will never need it. But it's better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it. Right, EB?

Search Results by Type
Windows 10

In Windows 10, you can search for files by type. For instance, in this case, I opened Start and typed files:pdf and Windows returned a list of PDF files on my computer:

Yes, yes! I blurred them. I don't want EB to see all my PDF files of the journals I've kept on how she mistreats me. Someday, I'll use them in court and that will be that. Mistreat me, will ya?

If you're looking for a list of all the PNG files on your computer, type: "Photos:PNG" (no quotes, of course). Or if you have a troop of music files, type Music:MP3 and you'll get a list of MP3 music files.

You can do the same thing for Apps, Settings, Folders and more. Just follow the same syntax of "file-type:specifier".

The only easier way to find what you're looking for is just ask EB!

Enable Dark Theme in Windows 10 Anniversary Edition
Windows 10 (Anniversary Update installed)

When you're on the computer as much as we are, sometimes we find it easier on the eyes to switch to the Windows 10 "dark theme". If you don't have the Windows 10 anniversary edition installed, it requires a registry hack to use the dark theme, but it Windows 10 with the anniversary update, it's just a matter of choosing it.

If you've updated your Windows 10 computer to the Anniversary Edition, here's how you enable the so-called "dark theme".

Click on the Start button

Choose Settings --> Personalization --> Colors

Under "Choose your app mode", tick the circle next to Dark and close Settings.

The Windows 10 "dark theme" will be enabled and you'll enjoy the nighttime look of Windows 10. If you decide the dark theme is not for you, just go back to:

Settings-->Personalization-->Colors and tick the circle next to "Light" under "app mode". It's easy to switch back & forth. 

Reg Organizer - A Swiss Army Knife of Windows Utilities and Tools

Reg Organizer works on Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10. The newest version of Reg Organizer has newly added special tweaks for Windows 10 - including a Windows 10 Start menu fix.

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Ketchup

They say that ketchup is the poor man’s sauce, whoever they are. They say a lot of things. They say what’s good for the goose is good for the gander too, but how many of you walk around calling male geese ganders? Not many, but THEY do. But I don’t want to talk about geese, ganders or what THEY say; I want to talk about ketchup.

My grandfather taught me a lot of things, most of the things he taught me have stuck with me my whole life — like my love of ketchup. I can remember going on vacation with my grandparents and watching grandpa smother fried eggs and hash brown potatoes in ketchup in restaurants from Michigan to Mississippi, from the Alleghenies of Pennsylvania to the agonies of driving through The Great Smoky Mountains in dense fog. At every meal we stopped to eat a long the way, no matter what food was served, you could bet it included ketchup.

So I come by my love of ketchup honestly. I was born and raised on the poor man’s sauce. But as I grew up, something changed, and it wasn’t my love of ketchup, it was the ketchup I loved. It seems in industry’s greed for higher profits, cheaper ingredients, the Holy Grail of ketchup, Heinz decided it could mess around with my beloved sauce and start making it from canned tomato sauce instead of fresh, red, ripe tomatoes. And to make matters worse, and in order to save money, the squirted it full of HFCS...

Read the rest of this essay here.

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• Check over Windows Update options, background apps, and Windows feedback settings for best performance & privacy
• Install a Windows 7-style start menu for you, if you choose that option.
• Service available for computers which were upgraded to Windows 10 or new computers with Windows 10 pre-installed.

Visit this page to order!





SnapFiles

It used to be that every week we were able to give you a freeware pick.. but then people got greedy. Freeware developers who lacked confidence that anyone would actually pay for their software, pretended to give it away as freeware. Those who downloaded it paid for it though. They paid for it by having their browser and home page hijacked, their computer slowed to a crawl, their every move monitored and advertising popping up out of nowhere all over their computer. The era of PUPs and malware began when freeware developers discovered they could become wealthy by giving their software away "free" while monetizing it with bundled malware & hijackers. Many freeware developers became rich, while others faded away.

Well, friends, it wasn't long before download sites figured out that giving away freeware was a great way to make money, so companies like Softonics and Download.com (C|Net) started wrapping even the good freeware up in software bundles to make money.

Over time almost every decent download site started trying to monetize giving stuff away free - whether it be playing whack-a-mole with download links, wrapping decent software up in malware bundles or other devious ploys.

There's still a lot of decent freeware out there, but there are not a lot of decent sites from which you can download it. But there are a few left, and one of them is today's Cloudeight Site Pick: SnapFiles.

Way back when we were new (and that was about 2 decades ago) hardly anyone sold anything on the Internet - people laughed at Amazon then. Almost everything was free. It was like the universe's biggest free candy store. You could download freeware from almost anywhere and it would be really free - free from malware, spyware, tricky download buttons, etc. One of our favorite places to download freeware was from WebAttack.com - yes we know - it sounds bad. That's why the owner decided to change its name to "SnapFiles" which, if not a great name, at least sounds less ominous.

While other sites have decided to try and deceive users with trickery and malware in order to make money, SnapFiles never changed. They're still a good site from which to download software - it's a site we trust.

SnapFiles is not all freeware - they have a lot of shareware and trialware too - but it's clearly marked. The developer has also divided the freeware section from the trialware/shareware section.

And another thing we like about SnapFiles is when the freeware program you're about to download is bundled with 3rd-party software, you'll see a notation that the freeware offers to install other software, and you should play close attention when you install it. It's always clearly shown right above the download link. You can make an informed decision on whether you want to risk downloading the bundled software. There is plenty of freeware available on SnapFiles that is not bundled.

SnapFiles developers include their own review of most software, and also include reviews from users too.

Finally, SnapFiles doesn't play games with download buttons - so it's easy to download software without playing whack-a-mole trying to find the right download button.


Above: SnapFiles' home page.


Above: SnapFiles warns users if the freeware they're about to download contains promo or 3rd-party software. And note the single, plainly marked download button.

If you're looking for a download site you can trust, we recommend you give SnapFiles a try. We think you'll find it easy-to-navigate and free from trickery and questionable practices.

Next time you're looking for a great download site, try SnapFiles. We think you'll like it.

Hey EB, he started SnapFiles about the same time we started. How come we're not rich like him?

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What is a DLL?

I like pickles - all kinds of pickles: Sweet, Sour, Bread & Butter, but my favorite pickles are dill pickles. I like dill sauce on my salmon too.

But unfortunately a DLL is not an herb or a type of pickle. A DLL is a Dynamic Link Library. A Dynamic Link Library is a collection of small programs, which can be called upon when needed by the executable program (exe) that is running. The DLL lets the executable communicate with a specific device such as a printer or may contain source code to do particular functions. DLLs are not executable (that is they do not "run") in and of themselves though.

How does a DLL work? An example would be if the program (exe) needs to get the free space of your hard drive it can call the DLL file that contains the function with parameters and a call function. The DLL will then tell the executable the free space. This allows the executable to be small in size and not need to rewrite the function that has already written. This allows any program needing to obtain the free space the information without having to write all the source code and it saves space on your hard drive as well. DLLs in this fashion are also known as shared files.

Why use DLLs? The advantage of DLL files is that, because they do not get loaded into random access memory (RAM) together with the main program, space is saved in RAM. When and if a DLL file is called, then it is loaded. For example, you are editing a Microsoft Word document, the printer DLL file does not need to be loaded into RAM. If you decide to print the document, then the printer DLL file is loaded and run.

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These products and services are recommended and endorsed by Cloudeight:

Emsisoft Anti-Malware- The best anti-malware you'll find anywhere. Great protection -- both proactive and reactive. Learn more here.

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Reg Organizer-- A Swiss Army knife of PC tools. Easy for beginners to use -- with advanced features for experienced users too. Learn more here.

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Cloudeight InfoAve Premium - Issue #671
Volume 13 Number 44
August 19, 2016

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IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER ABOUT SOFTWARE RECOMMENDED IN THIS NEWSLETTER and OTHER IMPORTANT INFOO

All software recommendations we make in this newsletter are based on our own experience and testing of the programs that we recommend. This does NOT guarantee they will work on YOUR computer. We assume you will read the program documentation and use the program according to the instructions. We make no guarantees about any program recommended in this newsletter or its suitability for any particular purpose. We will not be responsible for any problems you may have. We do not and cannot provide support for any products other than our own Cloudeight products and we will not answer email concerning any product which is not a Cloudeight product. We urge you to use good judgment when downloading and installing software and to use a program only after reading the program's documentation. And, all Tips & Tricks in this newsletter have been tested by us on several different computers and were found to work as indicated. They may not work on yours. We make no guarantees. Anything we recommend you try and use at your own risk. We will not be responsible for any problems caused by any software programs recommended in this newsletter or any of the tips and tricks in this newsletter..

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