Questions tagged [windows]
For questions not specific to a single version of Microsoft Windows. Otherwise, use a more specific tag such as [windows-7], [windows-10] or [windows-11].
6,482
questions
53
votes
4
answers
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Using wildcards with the rmdir or rd command
Let's say there are some folder in the D: drive:
D:\Air
D:\Abonden
D:\All
D:\Whatever
I want to delete all folders starting with "A" (including all subfolders and files). I tried this command:
...
- 645
52
votes
8
answers
156k
views
Setting the default input method for the Windows 10 login screen
I use an english version of Windows 10, but I have set the keyboard layout to German (Switzerland). This works fine if I am logged in with my user. The only keyboard available is my German(Switzerland)...
- 575
51
votes
5
answers
93k
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Windows PowerShell equivalent to Unix/Linux `pwd`?
In follow-up to the cmd.exe question, what is the PowerShell equivalent to echo %cd%, or Linux/Unix pwd?
- 10.2k
51
votes
8
answers
139k
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Terminal emulator with split panes for Windows 7 (64 bit) [closed]
I'm looking for a terminal emulator on Windows 7 (64 bit) with a specific feature:
to be able to split the command prompt window into multiple panes.
It's a great feature of Terminator for gnome, I ...
- 832
51
votes
5
answers
151k
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Keyboard not working in Windows 10 Apps + Start Menu
I recently updated to Windows 10 anniversary update and recentlly noticed the PS/2 Keyboard has stopped working in Windows 10 apps such as the settings menu and the start menu. Desktop apps and ...
- 611
51
votes
7
answers
9k
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Is it possible to make the mouse in Windows click on the down press without the release?
My son is disabled. He plays this PC game called Tibia, just a simple point and click game.
I noticed when he played he would have to click 2 or 3 times before his character would move. This was ...
- 581
51
votes
4
answers
85k
views
Why are changes to my PATH not being recognised?
When I update my PATH using either the built-in Environment Variables dialog, or something like Path Editor, and then open up a command-prompt, the changes to my PATH will not register with the ...
- 10.8k
51
votes
5
answers
340k
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Windows - How to move all files in subfolders to a parent folder? [closed]
Can you show me how to move all files in sub-folder to the parent folder?
- 687
50
votes
4
answers
514k
views
How to connect to an smb share?
I have a smb share set up (the link smb://a.b.c.d/sharename) that I am attempting to connect to from Windows.
I'd like to either connect directly using a browser or mount the share to a virtual ...
- 4,211
50
votes
10
answers
100k
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Any good way to get the new Menlo font on Windows?
I like the new Menlo font on Snow Leopard a lot. I tried copying it over to my Windows machine, but Windows does not like the format. Does anyone know if there's any legitimate way of getting Menlo ...
- 725
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votes
5
answers
30k
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Windows 10 Notepad can't find text
When I paste this into Notepad on Windows 10:
"first_name"=>"M", "surname"=>"C", "country"=>"Australia"
and then try to find the string "name" with Ctrl+F, it comes up blank:
Is Notepad's ...
- 577
50
votes
4
answers
12k
views
Invisible PNG image layer that is only visible as a background
I have recently came across a very peculiar image, with strange properties. The image is in PNG format and just shows a simple bird with a transparent background. My friend sent me the image with ...
- 667
50
votes
16
answers
34k
views
Share RAM over network
My colleague is using an application that consumes a lot of memory which makes the system too slow. Is it possible to share memory with other PCs over the Internet?
The system has 8 GB of RAM, and ...
- 699
50
votes
11
answers
5k
views
Was Windows 95 an Operating System? [closed]
This question maybe a bit historical, but we didn't have Superuser at the time.
Around 2000 when I was starting my Computer science degree, a subject was Operating systems. The teacher asked us to ...
- 407
50
votes
7
answers
116k
views
7-Zip doesn't ask me for a password for a ZIP file I encrypted while double-clicking it
I just tried to encrypt a folder with 7-Zip by a command line, choosing a password, but when double-clicking on the ZIP file, it shows me the files list without asking any password.
Is there a way to ...
asksuperuser
49
votes
1
answer
38k
views
When is a Windows User's Temp directory cleaned out? [duplicate]
When does Windows clear this directory? The only time it seems to is when running disk cleanup tool one is given the option..
- 875
49
votes
4
answers
33k
views
A Windows clock to show both UTC and local time?
I'm working on windows 7 x64 and searching for a way for a setting, or replacement app of, the tray clock (on the taskbar corner) to display both UTC (or GMT) and my local time.
Cause: I read log ...
- 6,406
49
votes
3
answers
16k
views
How can I get Chrome to stop killing my tabs in the background?
I have a chat page open at https://app.purechat.com/quick-links and after a few hours, I come back to the page and Chrome reloads it because it has killed it in the background. The app thinks that I ...
- 5,976
49
votes
7
answers
70k
views
Tool to annotate pictures (screenshots) for documentation purposes? [closed]
Long time ago, I saw someone use a software (on Windows) that was specifically created to annotate pictures. It made it simple to add arrows, boxes, circles in "outstanding" colors to the image. ...
- 2,364
48
votes
7
answers
6k
views
Could I save printer's ink/toner by changing the font?
I'm developing a Microsoft Word document that reached more than 200 pages and I want to print it using my Laserjet or my father's Inkjet printer.
I can save paper using both sides of each sheet, ...
- 30.5k
47
votes
1
answer
88k
views
How do I restore the start menu after killing explorer.exe?
In Windows 7 64 bit, I killed explorer.exe, and then via the task manager do file->run "."
This method has always caused the start menu to reappear, but right now it doesn't.
After killing a rogue ...
- 11.5k
47
votes
3
answers
15k
views
Why does Windows not show an "eject" option for some USB storage devices?
In Windows, you can normally "eject" a USB storage device before physically unplugging it to avoid data corruption.
However, for some devices Windows does not provide an "eject" option. I've seen ...
- 1,261
46
votes
4
answers
101k
views
Is there a Windows equivalent of the Unix "strings" command?
strings in Unix and Linux extracts printable strings from a binary file. Is there a version of this for Windows? I couldn't find one.
- 2,003
46
votes
4
answers
4k
views
Should I install Internet Explorer updates although I disabled it?
I have disabled Internet Explorer in the "Windows Features" dialog. Nonetheless Windows Update alerts me that there are security updates for IE.
I am aware that I cannot uninstall IE and it remains ...
- 591
46
votes
7
answers
67k
views
tmux/screen alternative for powershell
Is there an alternative to tmux/screen that would work on Windows with Powershell? I'm aware of Powerscreen, but it seems dead for a long time. Cygwin wouldn't work with Powershell, would it? Console2 ...
- 697
45
votes
4
answers
24k
views
How to make windows explorer preview scripts and other text files
When you click a file with the preview window open, windows will show you a preview if windows knows how to do it. But files like .json and .py will not preview.
It would be sometimes useful in the ...
- 1,298
45
votes
7
answers
412k
views
How to change default program to open magnet link in windows?
Recently I installed BitComet. Now when I click a torrent magnet link from chrome it opens with BitComet though I changed the settings of BitComet to not to be the default program to open magnet links....
- 733
45
votes
2
answers
41k
views
What is the Visual Studio Standard Collector process, and why does it use 10GB of RAM?
Hopefully this is the right stack exchange site to post on... Didn't feel like it was a programming question for SO. Anyway, I'm running Visual Studio 2015 and got a notification to from Windows to ...
- 682
45
votes
2
answers
208k
views
ROBOCOPY command to do an incremental backup
I am overwhelmed by the ROBOCOPY documentation.
I want to do an incremental backup of my local files to the network drive (M). I want it to run as quickly as possible, with no log file and with as ...
- 591
45
votes
2
answers
116k
views
Disable Error Reporting In Windows 10 Home
Is there any way to disable Error Reporting in Windows 10 Home? From Windows 7 to 8.1, this was possible under "Action Center"; however, the Action Center is no longer in Windows 10 in the same form ...
user72945
44
votes
1
answer
83k
views
How do you set environment variables for a single command on Windows? [duplicate]
Is there a way to set environment variables for a single command on Windows like ENVVAR=abc command on Unix?
Variables set by set command on Windows seem to remain for the following commands, but ...
- 543
43
votes
7
answers
56k
views
How do I search for files and exclude subfolders in Windows 7?
The Windows 7 search dropdown always searches within sub folders, but I only want to search the current folder. How can I do this?
user1611961
43
votes
3
answers
82k
views
How to show full command line of all processes in Windows
On Windows, in the Task Manager it is possible to see the command line of each processes but it is truncated.
How can I see the complete command line of each running process?
- 2,574
42
votes
3
answers
67k
views
How do I use 7-Zip CLI for Windows to create .tar.gz archives?
How can I use the 7-Zip CLI (7za.exe) on Windows to create .tgz archives, as I use tar zcvf archive.tgz source_files on Linux?
- 867
41
votes
2
answers
44k
views
How to tell which windows firewall rule is blocking traffic
I'm trying to set up a computer to accept all incoming traffic but only allow outgoing traffic to a specific IP. I have set an allow all rule for Incoming and an Allow rule that specifies an IP ...
- 513
41
votes
1
answer
6k
views
What is the switch for second monitor only [duplicate]
When you press Winkey + P in Windows 10 you will get this menu on the right side of the monitor:
The program and switches behind these options are as follows:
PC screen only :: displayswitch.exe /...
- 695
41
votes
4
answers
9k
views
How to add the Alt+Backspace macOS typing functionality to Windows
I use a Mac and if I press Alt+Backspace it deletes the entire word. This way it is simple for me to delete many words one after the other very quickly. May I use the same functionality on Windows 10? ...
- 497
41
votes
2
answers
240k
views
How to open a big file in Notepad++?
I tried opening a file of 800MB size in Notepad++. But i don't why Notepad++ showed only 269117242 chars 271450112 bytes . Neither it showed any alert message that it is unable to open such a big file....
- 2,061
40
votes
4
answers
45k
views
Find out what program is using a hotkey
I can't register a hotkey with a program because "other programs are using it" In this case "Print Screen" and "Ctrl + Print Screen" and every other combination of Shift, Alt, Ctrl, + print-screen.
...
- 543
40
votes
1
answer
16k
views
Is there a way to convert a non-Chocolatey installed program into a Chocolatey installed one?
I have a few programs that have been installed using non-Chocolatey methods (.msi packages, setup.exe, etc.). I have recently started using Chocolatey and would like to use it to update these programs....
- 1,130
40
votes
4
answers
76k
views
How do I disable the F1 "Help" key on Windows 10?
I have a non-UEFI HP laptop running Windows 10.
My F keys have a variety of functions on them, and I have to press and hold Fn to access the actual F1-12 functions.
My F1 key has a little question ...
- 536
39
votes
7
answers
291k
views
Unable to Make Bootable USB Stick From ISO
I'm trying to use the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool from the Microsoft Store to make my new 16 GB USB Flash drive bootable to install Windows. It worked the first time that I did this (for Windows ...
- 5,906
39
votes
7
answers
154k
views
Which drive is \Device\Harddisk1\DR1?
While I was trying to find out why the main disk is performing a form of unexpained "thrashing"(while there was no RAM issue), freezing up apps temporarily, I found a relevant error in the logs:
"...
- 2,566
39
votes
5
answers
76k
views
How do I change target of symlink in windows
Is it possible to change the target of a symlink or junction in Windows? In Linux it can be modified with:
ln -f
- 575
39
votes
3
answers
221k
views
Built-in disc burning software in Windows 10
I upgraded from Windows 7 to Windows 10 recently, and am looking to burn some .iso files. In Windows 7, there was a default program that I could use. I have dug around a bit, but cannot find one in ...
user403574
38
votes
19
answers
8k
views
How to reduce the pain of the command prompt
I want to learn to use the command prompt better on Windows to have more control over what I do and just for the learning experience. The main annoyance I have right now is all of the typing. If I ...
38
votes
5
answers
93k
views
Setting $HOME in PowerShell
How do I change my default home directory to "C:\Users\khornsby" for every time I open powershell?
I am running Windows 7. Below is info about the state of my environment.
Windows PowerShell
...
- 4,353
38
votes
6
answers
32k
views
Windows remote desktop - how to untrap keyboard?
I have two monitors, will a full-screen remote desktop session running on one of them, and regular windows programs running on the other.
When one of the other programs have focus, I can Alt+Tab ...
- 761
38
votes
3
answers
475k
views
The script is installed in directory, which is not PATH
During the installation process of Jupiter Notebook using pip, it said that scripts were installed in a folder that is not on PATH. Can it cause any problems? How can I fix it?
Here is full log:
...
- 729
37
votes
3
answers
106k
views
On Windows, how to determine route for IP destination?
How can I determine the IP route taken for a specific IP destination (without looking at "route print" and figuring it out manually)?
In OS X there's route get 1.2.34 and in Linux there's /sbin/ip ...
- 1,814