How to reset the windows 8.x start screen to the default tiles
By Christopher Ramos
Lowell is the founder and CEO of How-To Geek. He’s been running the show since creating the site back in 2006. Over the last decade, Lowell has personally written more than 1000 articles which have been viewed by over 250 million people. Prior to starting How-To Geek, Lowell spent 15 years working in IT doing consulting, cybersecurity, database management, and programming work. Read more.
If you are using Windows 8.x for any amount of time, you will quickly get to the point where your Start Screen becomes a giant mess of nonsense tiles. Want to reset them to default? It’s easy!
Just open up the Desktop view, pull up an Explorer window, and then paste the following into the address bar:
You’ll see two files in the resulting folder, which you can delete — although you should probably back them up somewhere first just in case.
Once you’ve done this, restart your computer, or logout and back in.
You can also do this from the command prompt with one quick and easy command:
Just paste that into a command prompt (use the context menu for quick access to Paste), and then restart your computer or logout and back in.
Once you’ve done so, your Start Screen will magically be back to defaults, ready for you to mess it up all over again.
Of course, this also works really well if you just want to unpin a ton of new and random stuff that you put there, but it’s worth noting that if you’ve installed a lot of Metro apps, they will show up again.
Lowell is the founder and CEO of How-To Geek. He’s been running the show since creating the site back in 2006. Over the last decade, Lowell has personally written more than 1000 articles which have been viewed by over 250 million people. Prior to starting How-To Geek, Lowell spent 15 years working in IT doing consulting, cybersecurity, database management, and programming work. Read more.
If you are using Windows 8.x for any amount of time, you will quickly get to the point where your Start Screen becomes a giant mess of nonsense tiles. Want to reset them to default? It’s easy!
Just open up the Desktop view, pull up an Explorer window, and then paste the following into the address bar:
You’ll see two files in the resulting folder, which you can delete — although you should probably back them up somewhere first just in case.
Once you’ve done this, restart your computer, or logout and back in.
You can also do this from the command prompt with one quick and easy command:
Just paste that into a command prompt (use the context menu for quick access to Paste), and then restart your computer or logout and back in.
Once you’ve done so, your Start Screen will magically be back to defaults, ready for you to mess it up all over again.
Of course, this also works really well if you just want to unpin a ton of new and random stuff that you put there, but it’s worth noting that if you’ve installed a lot of Metro apps, they will show up again.
The Start screen, Start menu replacement introduced with Windows 8, has been enhanced in many ways in the recently released Windows 8.1 update. In addition to new tile sizes, Bing search, personalization options, the Start screen in Windows 8.1 doesn’t get cluttered, as Windows 8.1 doesn’t automatically pin all installed apps and desktop programs to the Start screen.
Instead, in Windows 8.1, all installed apps and programs appear in Apps view screen and one needs to manually right-click on an app shortcut in the Apps screen and then click Pin to Start option to pin a program to the Start screen.
If you have personalized the Start screen by pinning apps, adding new tiles with the help of third-party programs, arranging tiles, and creating new groups, and now feel that the default Start screen layout with original tiles was better, you can easily reset the Start screen to its default layout by executing three simple commands.
When you reset the Start screen layout, Windows 8.1 will unpin all pinned tiles and created groups, and will keep only tiles that were on the Start screen when Windows 8.1 was installed.
Note that it’s possible to backup Start screen layout and restore the layout by following our how to backup and restore Start screen layout in Windows 8.1 guide. We recommend you back up the personalized Start screen layout before resetting the layout so that you can quickly restore the personalized layout in a jiffy.
Complete the given below instructions to successfully reset the Start screen to its default:
Step 1: Open Command Prompt as administrator. To do that, type CMD in the Start screen and then simultaneously press Ctrl + Shift + Enter keys to launch elevated Command Prompt. You can follow our how to open Command Prompt as administrator in Windows 8/8.1 to know all ways to open Command Prompt with admin rights.
Step 2: In the elevated Command Prompt, execute following commands:
del %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows\appsFolder.itemdata-ms
Press enter key.
del %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows\appsFolder.itemdata-ms.bak
Press enter key.
Tskill explorer
Press enter key to restart Windows Explorer.
Step 3: That’s it! Click on the Start button on the taskbar or press Windows logo key on the keyboard to see the default Start screen.
When you install an application from the Windows Store it is automatically pinned to the Start screen. You will get a bloated menu with tons of apps if you decide to go on an install spree (a high possibility on a fresh Windows 8 install). Later on, unpinning each not-so-frequently-needed-app can be a pain, so here’s a quick way to unpin all Start screen tiles in one go and restore the menu to its default state.
Resetting Windows 8 Start screen
Windows 8 Start screen settings are saved in a file called appsFolder.itemdata-ms at this location C:\Users\[Username]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows. Whenever you pin an item or change tiles layout, this file gets updated. So, to delete existing data and restore the Start menu, you just have to delete appsFolder.itemdata-ms file. This can be done manually by going to the location and deleting the file, or simply run these commands in Command Prompt with elevated privileges:
The first two lines deletes the main settings file and its backup file. The third line kills and restarts the Explorer.exe process. If you choose the manual method, restart explorer from Task Manager for changes to take effect.
Do note that this command deletes only the Start screen setting, your application settings are still intact.
With a fresh menu, you can customize it to your liking by pinning only those applications which you want.
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Pro tip: Reset Windows 8.1’s Start Screen
Pro tip: Reset Windows 8.1’s Start Screen
If you’ve made changes to the Start Screen, you can return it to its previous state — and even its original appearance. Greg Shultz explains how.
In the article “How to reconfigure the Start Screen in Windows 8.1,” I showed you how to take advantage of several new enhancements to the Start Screen that you can use to make it look and feel more like the Start Menu. The main task in that technique involved resizing all the tiles to small, organizing them into groups, and then naming the groups. Doing so gave you an entirely differently looking and ultimately more usable Start Screen interface (Figure A).
Figure A
You can change the Start Screen to work more like the Start Menu.
Well, I recently got an email from a reader who had followed all the steps in that article and then later wished that he wouldn’t have done so, because he discovered that he really liked it the way that it was before. He asked me if there was an easy way to undo the changes he made to the Start Screen.
Of course, there are several things that immediately come to mind as a way to undo such a change. The first one is to use a restore point. If you don’t have a restore point, the second choice is to Refresh Windows 8 from a Recovery Drive.
While both of these offer a viable way to undo a change to the Start Screen, I kept digging and actually found a much easier way to return the Start Screen to its previous state. I even found a way to take the Start Screen all the way back to the way that it was when you first got Windows 8.1.
In this article, I’ll show you what I discovered.
The Start Screen files
I discovered that the details for the arrangement of the Start Screen are stored in a set of files that are in the C:\Users\
- appsFolderLayout.bin: This file contains the Start Screen layout
- appsFolder.itemdata-ms: This file contains the Start Screen customization settings
- appsFolder.itemdata-ms.bak: This is a backup file
Now, most folks might think that all you have to do is delete these files, and the Start Menu would return to its previous state — and to some extent, they would be correct. However, I found that rather than deleting the files, it’s better to move them to another folder. Moving the files rather than deleting them allow you to go back and forth between the different Start Screens should you want to be able to do so. I also discovered that moving different files has different results. Let’s take a closer look.
Prep work
Before we begin, it’s important to point out that the folder containing these files is hidden. So, the first thing that you need to do is enable the Show hidden files, folders, and drives option. To do so, launch File Explorer, select the View tab, and click the Options command on the far right.
When the Folder Options dialog box appears, select the View tab. Then, locate and select the Show hidden files, folders, and drives option, and click OK. Once you do, you can navigate to the C:\Users\
Now, you need to create a folder to move the files to. I created a folder called SSFiles on the Desktop. Keep in mind that the easiest way to move files in File Explorer is to use the MoveTo command on the Home tab.
Going back one step
If you move the appsFolder.itemdata-ms and the appsFolder.itemdata-ms.bak files to another folder, sign out of Windows, and then sign in again, the operating system will rebuild the customization file (along with the backup file) and use the settings in the existing appsFolderLayout.bin file. When you then access the Start Screen, you’ll see that it appears just like it did before you made the last change.
This is the technique that I recommended to the reader who wanted to undo the changes made in the aforementioned article.
Going back to day one
If you move all three files to another folder, sign out of Windows, and then sign in again, the operating system will rebuild the customization file, and you’ll find that the Start Screen appears just like it did the first time that you installed Windows 8.1.
Once you begin rearranging tiles, the operating system will create a new appsFolderLayout.bin file.
What’s your take?
Have you ever changed the Start Screen and then wanted to put it back the way that it was? What method(s) did try to fix it? Share your experience in the discussion thread below.
Microsoft has made the Start screen easier to manage with new resizable tiles, group naming, and more. A person can spend a lot of time moving tiles around to get things how you like. But sometimes you might want a fresh start and organize your tiles in a new way. But then if you want it to go back to how it was, you don’t want to waste time rearrange and labeling everything again. There’s no “reset” button, but here’s a couple of ways that you can back up your current Start screen configuration, then restore it later if you want.
Backup Windows 8.1 Start Screen
To back up your current Start screen configuration, hit Windows Key + R to bring up the Run dialog box and type: LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows and hit Enter.
Then copy both of these files:
- appsFolder.itemdata-ms
- appsFolder.itemdata-ms.bak
Store both files in a secure location. Then if you need to restore your Start screen tile layout, just copy both of these files to the same location and overwrite the existing files.
Easier Method with Batch Files
Rather than go through the steps manually, we created these two batch files you can run. Just download the following batch file and run them when needed. Each file is in a Zip folder. Just unzip the file and double-click to run it. Thanks to Microsoft’s Bruce Cowper on TechNet for the code.
Run this one to back up your current Start screen configuration:
Download Start_Screen_Backup.bat
Then use this one to restore your Start screen to the layout you saved previously:
Download Restore_Start_Screen.bat
It would be nice if there was a “Reset” button for the Start screen built into Windows 8.1, but for now we can get around it by using these workarounds. Hopefully the company will include an easier reset feature in future updates to Windows 8.1 or in the upcoming Windows 9 which is codenamed Threshold and projected to be available in April of 2015 – According to an article by Paul Thurrott on WinSuperSite.
This post shows students and new users steps to reset or repair the Start Menu button when using Windows 11 to resolve issues where it won’t open, stops working or hangs. The Start button is one of the most clicked areas in Windows 11. It is a pathway to get to other areas and open other apps in Windows.
The Start menu is where you’ll also find your Pinned apps , All apps , and Recommended apps (frequently accessed apps and settings in Windows 11).
The Start menu is actually a modern or Universal Windows Platform (UWP) menu app. UWP apps can be used across all compatible Microsoft Windows devices, including PCs, tablets, Xbox One, Microsoft HoloLens, and more.
When the Start menu stops working, there’s not many thing you can do in Windows. However, in cases where the Start menu stops working or not responding, the fix is pretty straightforward and easy, and the steps below will show you how to do that.
Windows 11 has many new features and sleek design, but UWP apps and settings are not new. They were first introduced with Windows 8.
To get started with resetting the Start menu in Windows 11, follow the steps below:
How to reset or repair the Start menu in Windows 11
Again, one can reset or repair individual UWP menu apps and settings in Windows. If the Start Menu isn’t working or opening correctly, you can reset or re-register the Start menu button.
First, open PowerShell as administrator. You can do that by using the keyboard shortcut and pressing the Windows key + R to launch the Run command windows.
Then type the commands below to open PowerShell as administrator.
When the PowerShell terminal screen opens, run the commands below to reset the Start menu for your profile only.
Or run the commands below to reset the Start menu for all users on the PC.
If you run the command above as administrator in PowerShell a get an error, please kill the Windows Shell Experience Host process in Task Manager , then rerun the commands above.
After that, the Start menu should work again as expected. Click different sections and see if your issues are resolved.
That should do it!
Conclusion:
This post showed you how to reset the Start menu in Windows 11. If you find any error above or have something to add, please use the comment form below to report.
Published by Richard
In my spare time, I research topics that are interesting and worthwhile for users and students who want to try something new. I, too, am a student and my focus here is to help other students and new users get started with managing Ubuntu Linux, Windows, Content Management Systems (CMS) and others.
I try to do my best explaining the topics and detailing the instructions so that anyone can understand. These tutorials may not work in all situations and for all users. However, if you run into trouble, please ask your questions below and I or someone from the community may help you resolve. Thanks for reading and hope you come back.
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If you’ve taken the time to carefully customize your Windows 8 Start screen layout, backing it up might be a good idea.
Ed Rhee, a freelance writer based in the San Francisco Bay Area, is an IT veteran turned stay-at-home-dad of two girls. He focuses on Android devices and applications while maintaining a review blog at techdadreview.com.
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The Windows 8 Start screen is the gateway to your PC and usually the first thing you see when you log in, unless you’ve chosen to go directly to the desktop . The update to Windows 8.1 also introduced many more customization options to the Start screen.
Whether you use the Start screen only on occasion or rely on it heavily, you’ve probably spent some time setting it up just the way you like it. To save you from having to go through it again when you reinstall Windows or if your Start screen gets rearranged accidentally, you can back up your layout and restore it later. Here’s how:
Step 1: Open the Run dialog box by hitting Windows key + R.
Step 2: Type, “%LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows” and hit Enter to open Windows Explorer to the location of the Start screen layout files.
Screenshot by Ed Rhee/CNET
Step 3: Copy the files, “appsFolder.itemdata-ms” and “appsfolder.itemdata-ms.bak” to your backup folder.
If something happens to your Start screen layout and you want to restore it, just copy the backup files back to the original location and overwrite the files already in the folder.
That’s it. Now if your nephew or a friend comes over and they rearrange your Windows 8 Start screen, you can relax and restore it in just a few minutes.
Lori Kaufman is a technology expert with 25 years of experience. She’s been a senior technical writer, worked as a programmer, and has even run her own multi-location business. Read more.
There’s been a lot of friction about the Start screen in Windows 8. The default setup in Windows 10 is to show the Start menu instead of the Start screen. However, you can easily choose to use the Start screen instead of the Start menu.
By default, the Start button brings up the Start menu with application tiles added, as shown below.
To show the Start screen instead of the Start menu, right-click the Taskbar and select “Properties” from the popup menu.
On the “Taskbar and Start Menu Properties” dialog box, click the “Start Menu” tab. The “Use the Start menu instead of the Start screen” option is selected by default. To turn off this option, and enable the Start screen, select the check box for the option so there’s no check mark in the box. Click “OK” to accept the change and close the dialog box.
The “Change Start settings” dialog box displays, telling you to make sure you save your work because you must log out and then back in to change the setting. If you are ready, click “Sign out and change settings.”
If you still need to save some work, click “Cancel,” do what you need to do, and then log out and log back in.
Now, the Start screen displays when you click the Start button.
When you enable the Start screen, additional Navigation options become available in the “Start screen” section of the “Navigation” tab. By default, the desktop still displays when you log in. To have the Start screen display when you log in, de-select the “When I sign in or close all apps on a screen, go to the desktop instead of Start” check box (so there’s no check mark in the box). Click “OK” to save the setting and close the dialog box.
There are various other options available to customize the Start screen on the “Navigation” tab.
To go back to having the Start menu display by default, simply turn the “Use the Start menu instead of the Start screen” option back on (there should be a check mark in the box).
Both are available in Microsoft’s new version of Windows, but you can choose which one to work with.
Lance Whitney is a freelance technology writer and trainer and a former IT professional. He’s written for Time, CNET, PCMag, and several other publications. He’s the author of two tech books–one on Windows and another on LinkedIn.
Microsoft finally revived the Start menu, as seen in Windows 10 . But those of you keen on the Start screen can use that instead. How do you switch between the two? Let’s take a look.
Your device will determine whether the Start menu or Start screen is the default option in the new version of Windows. On a PC, the Start menu will be turned on by default when you log into Windows 10. On a pure touch-screen device, such as a tablet, the Start screen will be the default.
After killing the Start menu in Windows 8, Microsoft received complaints from PC users, who yearned for the traditional menu. That move opened up a large market for third-party Start menu replacements. But tablet users can find the touch-screened based Start screen easier to navigate. With Windows 10, you can have both worlds. Whether you use a PC, a tablet or a hybrid, you can easily switch between the new Start menu and the Start screen.
Here’s how it works in Windows 10:
Let’s say, the Start menu is the default option on your device.
- To make the Start screen the default instead, click the Start button and then click the Settings command.
- At the Settings window, click the setting for Personalization.
- At the Personalization window, click the option for Start.
- In the right pane of the screen, you’ll see a setting that says “Use Start full screen” that’s currently turned off. Turn that setting on so the button turns blue and the setting says “On.
- Now click the Start button, and you should see the full Start screen.
Let’s say the Start screen is the default option on your Windows device and you want to change that to the Start menu. Just do the opposite.
- Click the Start button and then click the Settings command.
- At the Settings window, click the setting for Personalization.
- At the Personalization window, click the option for Start.
- In the right pane of the screen, the setting for “Use Start full screen” will be turned on. Just turn it off.
- Now click the Start button, and you should see the Start menu.
Your switch to the Start menu or Start screen as the default will stay permanent unless you change it back.
Editors’ note: This article was first published October 3, 2014. It has been updated with newer details about Windows 10.
Despite there being plenty to like on the new Start Page that was introduced in Windows 8, and enhanced in Windows 8.1, it is far from perfect. The latest iteration allows for the resizing of tiles, Bing search and personalization options like a custom background image. The Start screen in Windows 8.1 also doesn’t get cluttered, as the latest operating system doesn’t automatically pin all installed apps and desktop programs to the page. Instead, there is a new Apps view included – click the down arrow at the bottom left.
While it provides a great way to get a lot of information at a glance – weather, email, social updates and more, as well as many customization options – there are reasons you may wish to simply revert back to the default and start over from scratch. That sounds like something which should be easy, but Microsoft didn’t build in a “reset” button for you to reset Windows 8.1 Start Screen. Instead, you’ll need to go old school and use the Command Prompt to get this done, but it isn’t as hard as it sounds.
Start by heading to the Charms menu, which can be accessed from the top and bottom corners of the right side of the screen – either Start screen or desktop. When the menu pops up, click the Search option at the top. This opens a column that will allow you to enter whatever app or utility you are looking for.
Type “CMD” to reveal the Command Prompt and then click to launch it. At the same time, also hit “Ctrl + Shift + Enter” keys (all at one) to launch the elevated Command Prompt, providing you with control over things.
It will start with a prompt that should read C:\users\NAME\> . From this prompt, you can type in a lot of different commands to do all sorts of things. The ones we’re going to use, however, are as follows. Be careful to type each exactly as it appears.
Chris Hoffman is Editor-in-Chief of How-To Geek. He’s written about technology for over a decade and was a PCWorld columnist for two years. Chris has written for The New York Times and Reader’s Digest, been interviewed as a technology expert on TV stations like Miami’s NBC 6, and had his work covered by news outlets like the BBC. Since 2011, Chris has written over 2,000 articles that have been read nearly one billion times—and that’s just here at How-To Geek. Read more.
Both the Start button and classic Start menu are gone in Windows 8. If you don’t like the full-screen, Metro-style “Start screen,” there are a few ways to get a classic-style Start menu back.
In the Developer Preview of Windows 8, you could remove Metro by deleting the shsxs.dll file, but you can’t do this in the Consumer Preview. Metro is now baked into Explorer.exe itself.
Create a Start Menu Toolbar
It’s not a well-known feature, but Windows can create toolbars that show the contents of a folder on its taskbar. This means that you can create a pseudo-Start menu without installing any other software on Windows 8. Just create a new toolbar that points at the Start menu’s Programs folder.
From the desktop, right-click the taskbar, point to Toolbars and select “New toolbar.”
Type or copy and paste the following path into the Choose a folder window:
Click the “Select Folder” button and you’ll get a Programs menu on your taskbar.
Right-click the taskbar and uncheck “Lock the taskbar” if you want to move the new Programs menu around.
Drag and drop the grip at the left side of the toolbar to place it somewhere else on the taskbar, like at its left side — the Start menu’s traditional location.
Right-click the “Programs” text if you want to change or hide its name. After you’re finished, right-click the taskbar again and select “Lock the taskbar.”
There’s one catch with this method — it won’t actually show all your programs. The Start menu actually grabs shortcuts from two different places. In addition to the system-wide ProgramData location, there’s a per-user Programs folder at the following location:
As you can see from the screenshots, the Windows Defender shortcut — and other shortcuts — don’t appear in our toolbar menu.
You could create a second toolbar to list programs from this folder, or perhaps move shortcuts from the %AppData% location to the %ProgramData% location.
Another option is creating a custom folder full of program shortcuts and using a toolbar that points at that folder instead.
Install ViStart, a Third-Party Start Button
ViStart is making the rounds as a third-party Start button replacement. It was originally designed to add a Windows 7-style Start button to Windows XP, so it’s basically a re-implementation of the Windows 7 Start button. And it works on Windows 8.
ViStart wants to install other software when you install it – click the Decline button.
After it’s installed, you’ll see the Windows 7-style Start orb back at the left side of your taskbar.
Click it and you’ll see the familiar Start menu. Almost everything works as you’d expect, although I couldn’t find a way to pin apps to the Start menu. It still shows your most frequently used apps.
Right-click the ViStart system tray icon and select Options if you want to configure it.
You’ll find options for changing the default Web browser, email client and other program settings.
One bonus is that ViStart takes over your Windows key. Pressing the Windows key opens the ViStart Start menu, not the Metro-style Start screen.
You can still open the Start screen by moving your cursor to the very bottom-left corner of the screen, or from the Charms menu that appears when you hover your cursor over either the upper or lower-right corners of your screen.
If you prefer a different Start menu replacement, leave a comment and let us know about it.
Windows 8 has been introduced by Microsoft with various changes in the platform of their operating system to provide better user experience on different devices including tablets. There are many reasons as to why Windows 8 tablets need to be reset. When you’re beenВ usingВ your Windows 8 tablet for years, you may feel that the performance started going down, and many things begin breaking down. The Windows 8 system ceaselessly generated a lot of junk files like cached items, offline files, temporary data, which can impact your PC’s performance,
A factory reset will erase all of the data stored in the device including its changed settings and existing applications that have been added to it. This reset is done to resolve any software issue that is causing the device to malfunction such as freezing and performance problems, or just to revert to the tablet’s original settings in case the user prefers it over the changes he has done to the device. With the effect of a factory reset, which is the erasure of all the data in the device such as a tablet, it is likened to reformatting a hard drive.
Before performing the factory reset, don’t forget to back up your Win 8 Tablet data. If you forgot your Windows 8 admin password, this tutorial would be helpful to you. Don’t Miss it: What to do if I forogt Windows 8 password.
Part 1: Factory Reset Your Windows 8 Tablet when Access
Step 1: Assume that you’ve logged in your Win 8 tablet, move to the right side context menu and select “Settings”.
Step 2: In the ‘Settings’ menu select “Change PC settings”, then select ‘General’.
Step 3: In right panel scroll down to the options, then select “Remove everything and reinstall Windows”
WARNING: All your documents, pictures, settings, accounts and any other data on your Tablet disk will be erased completely while performing reset Win 8.
Part 2: How to Reset Win8 Tablet without Logon Windows
When you forogt your Win 8 password and couldn’t login into Windows 8 tablet, you need to choose the second option to reset from your Windows 8 tablet’s logon screen. See how to reset Windows 8 password before performing following steps:
Step 1: Start and go to the login screen, look for the power icon on the lower right hand corner of your tablet’s screen. Tap on it.
Step 2: Press and hold the Shift key.
Step 3: As the Shift key is clicked or pressed, simultaneously tap on Restart, the tablet will then restart. Now, you will see a screen where you will be asked to choose an option. Tap on Troubleshoot.
Step 4: Finally, choose Reset option, this will begin the factory reset. When using this method, it is best to have a keyboard connected with your Windows 8 tablet for the easy following of the steps. In case you do not have a keyboard you can connect to, start the On-Screen keyboard, which can be found on the options at the lower left hand corner of your tablet. You can find an icon there that represents the Ease of Access. Tap on it then choose the on-screen keyboard.
The Bottom Line:
Whether your Windows 8 tablet is always freezing or has been infected by a virus, or if you simply want to restore the original settings of your device, a factory reset is the quickest solution. If you have any queries or concerns about this guide, please feel free to communicate with us through the support section or via email.
Vicky is a professional Windows technology author with many experience, focusing on computer technology. She’s very much enjoy helping people find solutions to their problems. Her knowledge and passion always drive her to discover everything about technology.
If you get a new computer this holiday season, it will come with Windows 8, and you’re wondering where to begin. Don’t worry, this guide has you covered.
During this holiday season, a lot of you will be getting new desktop and laptop computers, and chances are, it will come with Windows 8 pre-installed on it. If you’re coming from the Windows 7 environment, you’re probably wondering where to begin. We have you covered! Here’s a complete list of all articles we’ve written about Windows 8 that will help you master basic and advanced tasks and features.
When we originally posted this guide (November 2012), a lot of the articles were written using Windows 8, but since then, there are three big updates — Windows 8.1 and 8.1 Update 1. We’ve updated some of the articles to reflect the changes in Windows 8.1 and the concept of a lot of these articles is the same, the UI just looks a bit different.
If you find an article that could use an update, definitely let us know and we’ll fix it asap.
Installing Windows 8
- Create a Bootable Windows 8 Flash Drive
- Dual Boot Windows 8 and Windows 7
- Upgrade Install XP to Windows 8
- Install Windows 8 on VirtualBox
- Make Your System a Trusted PC
- How To Reset Windows 8
- How to Refresh Windows 8
Using the New Modern “metro” Interface
The biggest new feature to get used to is its new touch-based Start screen with Live Tiles and metro-style apps. Here’s how to get around and start customizing the new interface.
Using Metro Style Apps
With the new Start screen comes the new metro-style apps. These are touch-friendly apps that are perfect for a tablet or other touch-enabled monitor but can be used on a regular desktop PC too.
Managing the Metro UI
The lack of a Start button has a lot of people upset, but there are third-party alternatives and ways to work around the familiar Start menu.
Shutdown Windows 8
Another confusing thing about the new Windows 8 interface is finding how to shut it down. These articles will show you the different ways you can do it.
Music, Video, and Photos
Windows 8 handles media files differently than previous versions. It comes with new apps called Xbox Music and Xbox Video. It also has new Camera and Photos apps. Another thing to remember is it doesn’t have built-in support for DVD or Blu-ray playback. Here are some great articles on learning how to use the new features, and using the programs you’re already familiar with like Windows Media Player, Media Center, and awesome third-party apps like VLC.
Using the Desktop and Advanced Features
Here’s a list of tips, tricks, and how-to articles for advanced power users who like to go deeper than the tiled touch UI and really get things done. These articles also include several new features available out of the box from the traditional desktop.
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How to clean up your Windows 10 Start menu
How to clean up your Windows 10 Start menu
The Windows 10 Start menu can easily become cluttered and disorganized. Here are some tips on how to clean it up.
Image: Wachiwit/Shutterstock
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The Windows 10 Start menu tries to pack in a lot of content, including a list of all installed apps, a tiled screen for your favorite apps and a section for key Windows locations. But all that information can result in a crowded and messy Start environment, especially as you install more and more applications. With just a bit of effort, you can clean up your Windows Start menu so it’s more manageable and easier to navigate. Let’s check out how.
First, you can control what details are displayed in the Start menu. Go to Settings, select Personalization and then choose the setting for Start. Here, you can adjust several options (Figure A).
Figure A
Show App List in Start Menu displays the column with all your installed apps. Turning this off certainly helps reduce the clutter, though it’s harder to find certain apps with just the tile screen visible. However, you can easily access the app list by clicking its icon. You can then switch back and forth between the app list and tiled screen, a handy option if you don’t need to see both at the same time.
Show Recently Added Apps displays any apps you’ve recently installed at the top of the apps list. Turning this off reduces some of the clutter in the Start menu.
Show Most Used Apps shows the apps you use most frequently. You can turn this off to cut down on the number of apps listed in the menu.
Show Suggestions Occasionally in Start is another option you can turn off to cut down on the number of apps listed.
Next, click the link for Choose Which Folders Appear in Start. This option controls which Windows folders and locations appear all the way at the left of the Start menu. Turn off any folders you don’t access on a regular basis to reduce the number of icons in this area of the menu (Figure B).
Figure B
Next, you might want to reduce the number of apps that appear in the app list. One obvious task is to uninstall the ones you no longer need. After clicking the Start button, right-click on an app you want to remove and click Uninstall (Figure C).
Figure C
All those moves are fine so far, but maybe your Start menu’s apps list still seems cluttered. Unfortunately, Microsoft offers no way to organize the list directly through the menu. But you can do this by turning to File Explorer.
Open two instances of File Explorer. To do this, click the File Explorer icon on the taskbar to open the first window. Then right-click on the icon and select File Explorer from the jump list to open the second window. Position the two windows side by side.
In the first window, go to the following location: C:Users[your username]AppDataRoamingMicrosoftWindowsStart Menu. This folder stores the shortcuts for apps installed just for your account. In the second window, go to the following location: C:ProgramDataMicrosoftWindowsStart Menu. This folder stores the shortcuts for apps installed for all users (Figure D).
Figure D
Now create new folders to store specific apps in either or both locations. For example, you might want to create a folder called Microsoft Office to store the shortcuts for all your Office apps, a folder called Browsers to install the shortcuts for your web browsers, and a folder called Communications to store shortcuts for apps like Microsoft Teams and Zoom. Then cut and paste or drag and drop the appropriate shortcuts into the new folders (Figure E).
Figure E
Click the Start button and scroll down the apps list. You’ll now see the new folders you created. Open any folder to access the shortcuts stored inside. By organizing your Start menu this way, you not only reduce the clutter but you arrange your apps so they’re easier to find (Figure F).
Figure F
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We all have experienced those times when the computer started becoming laggy, the performance started going down, and a lot of things begun breaking down. At times, you’d start facing unexpected system crashes, applications not working, the resource usage going up and a lot of other similar issues. While sometimes, this can be caused due to malware present in your machine, but what if that’s not the case? What if you’re using a top of the line antivirus and malware defense solution, but still face PC slowness and abrupt behavior?
Operating systems have a tendency of building up a lot of background information over time, like cached items, offline files, temporary data, registry keys that are no longer valid, and various other things that might cause your machine to become slower than you’d consider acceptable. This is particularly true for Windows-based machines. There’s a reason Microsoft chose to include system utilities like Disk Defragmenter, Disk Cleanup etc. in the OS, because they realized that sooner or later, people will need those. And unless you’re actively using them, you’re going to find yourself in need real soon.
Windows 8 is pretty stable when it comes to system performance, but even then, it’s software, and hence, susceptible to the same woes that the previous iterations faced. However, we do have to acknowledge that this operating system was also meant for portable devices, and hence, the Redmond company decided to make it easier to revert your machine/tablet to its original/factory state. Within Windows 8, there are two settings hidden that will either make it easy to refresh your PC (without affecting personal data) to its original state, or completely reinstall Windows 8, depending on what you choose.
Both of these settings are available under the Modern UI PC Settings, and not through the conventional Control Panel. To access them, you’ll need to invoke the Charms bar, either by moving the mouse to the upper right corner of the screen, or by using the Win key + C combination. From the Charms bar, click Settings.
Under the Settings panel that slides in, click the Change PC Settings button.
In PC Settings, go to the General tab from the menu on the left, and scroll all the way down. There, you’ll find two options, one saying Refresh your PC, and the other one for Reset your PC.
The Refresh Your PC option will allow you to revert the system back to its default configuration, the way it was when it came from the factory. However, here, you will not lose your personal pictures, videos, music, files, and any personalization that you’d have done. To use it, simply click the button, hit Next on the following screen, and proceed according to the on-screen instructions.
It should be noted that this will only work if there’s an active Windows 8 recovery partition on your PC. Otherwise, you’ll need the Windows 8 installation media to proceed.
The second option, Reset your PC, is more like a complete Windows 8 reinstallation, removing everything that you might have had – apps, personalization, files and all – and bringing your machine to a completely fresh state. This is more usable in scenarios where you either want to start anew, or when you’re selling your PC or laptop, for instance.
Prior to Windows 8, refreshing a PC or notebook was a hassle that most people chose to avoid, just because of the complexities involved. With this version of Windows, Microsoft has definitely taken a step in the right direction in putting more control in users’ hands with relative ease. How useful this turns out to be for a lot of people, is something that we will find out only with time.
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When you install Windows 8.1/8, you’ll observe that there are some default Modern UI apps pinned by default to Start Screen. Now if you install any new software or apps they get pinned automatically to the taskbar. Also, you pin any file or folder by right-clicking and then selecting ‘Pin to Start‘. If your Start Screen becomes too much messy after installing a considerable number of apps, you may desire to reset it.
Reset Start Screen in Windows 8.1
In this article, we’re going to show you the way to reset Start Screen to default. Your current Start Screen with many pinned items may look like this:
And after resetting Start Screen, you will get the following screen:
This is how you can reset your Star Screen using the command prompt.
Now we have seen that TechNet mentioned that the Windows Start Screen Tile database files that contain the tile locations, layout and states are stored in the following files:
- %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows\appsFolder.itemdata-ms
- %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows\appsFolder.itemdata-ms.bak
So if we delete these items or move them to another location or simply rename them, Windows will be unable to associate the data stored in these items. In that case, Windows will apply its default policy for Start Screen tiles and thus reset the Start Screen leaving only the tiles of the built-in or predefined apps.
You will not be able to easily rename them. To rename the above-mentioned locations, open an administrative Command Prompt and type the following commands, and hit the Enter key after each is typed:
Close the Command Prompt and reboot to get results.
In this way, the Start Screen can be reset.
If you again want to get those old tiles of yours back, for some reason – which got removed after reset, then you can use the following commands one by one and hit Enter after typing each command:
Running these commands will give you the pinned items again. Also, these commands will only work if you have done reset using the commands mentioned for reset.
Hope you find the article useful.
Date: August 9, 2013 Tags: Start Screen, Tips
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Tip / Trick
It’s easy for things to get cluttered, and sometimes you just want to set everything back the way it was to start over. The Windows 8 Start screen is not exempt from getting messy. With this quick guide, you’ll learn how to set the Windows 8 start screen back to its default state. Let’s get started!
Before We Begin
This guide will work on ALL versions of Windows 8/8.1
Restore The Default Start Screen Layout In Windows 8
Press the Windows button on your keyboard along with the r button, type cmd and press the enter key. A window (much like the one pictured below) will pop up.
Enter the command below into the command window and press the enter key.
del %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows\appsFolder.itemdata-ms
After entering the command above in the command prompt window, another command needs to be entered. This command will delete the backup of the start screen which will force Windows to make a new one.
del %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows\appsFolder.itemdata-ms.bak
Once both commands have been executed in the cmd window, log out of your username in Windows and then re-login. After logging back in your start screen will be reset to it’s default state. Enjoy!
Iconic component to reappear at some point in unnamed update to Windows 8.1
Senior Reporter, Computerworld |
Microsoft this week gave customers a bare-bones peek at the future of Windows, saying that the next iteration after Windows 8.1 Update will restore a Start menu and let users run “Metro” apps on the classic desktop.
The sneak peek was part of the opening day keynote of Build, Microsoft’s developer conference, which ran April 2-4 in San Francisco.
“I’m not here to announce the next version of Windows,” Terry Myerson, the head of Microsoft’s operating systems engineering group, said at Build. “But I am going to share that we are going all in with this desktop experience to make sure your applications can be accessed and loved by people that love the Windows desktop.”
Myerson showed off two features of the unnamed update to Windows 8.1: A Start menu and windowed “Modern,” née “Metro,” apps on the desktop.
Both had been rumored to be coming to a future version of Windows; those claims first surfaced in December 2013.
As developers saw on the big screen behind Myerson, the new Start menu will be a blend of the traditional tool familiar to Windows 7 users and dynamic tiles that evoke the Windows 8.1 Start screen. The windowed Metro apps will be just that: resizable, draggable traditional windows on the desktop that will feature a title bar and the X-marks-the-spot close button to shut down the app.
“We will be making this available to all Windows 8.1 users as an update,” Myerson said. He did not offer up a date or even a broad release target, or say what the update would be named.
The implication was that the update would be free to customers running Windows 8.1. Microsoft has been very careful to label free enhancements to Windows as “updates,” a term it’s decided does not require it to defer revenue from sales of the operating system.
The company first spelled out the difference between “upgrade” and “update” in an August 2013 filing with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC). Because of that nomenclature, it’s likely that Microsoft will not name this refresh as “Windows 9,” which is what some observers have assumed.
Unless Microsoft decides to call Windows 9 an “update” rather than the more typical “upgrade,” and give away Windows 9 to Windows 8.1 customers. That’s possible. Actually, it’s a move that some analysts have suggested Microsoft make to answer Apple’s decision last year to give away OS X upgrades.
Microsoft’s decision to restore a traditional Start menu — an iconic user interface (UI) element in Windows that harks back to Windows 95 almost 19 years ago — was in some ways not surprising. The absence of the menu, and the associated Start button, in the original Windows 8 of 2012 was widely criticized by customers and many reviewers. They saw the replacements, a “hot” corner and the radically different Start screen, as forced upon them and as productivity sinks that required relearning basic Windows navigation.
Although Microsoft vigorously defended its Windows 8 design decisions, it also softened its stance when it shipped Windows 8.1 last October. Windows 8.1 included a pseudo-Start button and gave users the option of circumventing the tile-style Start screen by booting directly to the conventional desktop.
Windows 8.1 Update, which will begin reaching customers Tuesday, will expand the reemphasis of the desktop with the boot-to-desktop setting enabled by default on non-touch personal computers.
Myerson’s mention of the post-Windows 8.1 Update refresh was a return of sorts to a younger Microsoft that was more willing to discuss future plans, and a repudiation, perhaps a minor one, of the closed-mouth approach the Redmond, Wash. company has taken in the last several years. That approach was attributed to Steven Sinofsky, the former head of Windows development who was ousted in November 2012, but called counter-productive by many customers, partners and other outside observers.
Myerson acknowledged the change.
“It’s always tricky to find the right balance when sharing future plans, as some parts of the plan may change,” Myerson said in a blog he authored last week. “But as our industry, our company, and Windows are in the midst of a pretty massive transformation in the way we build and deliver innovation to customers, partners and developers, we are taking some steps to be more transparent in signaling what’s ahead.”
Microsoft’s as-yet-unnamed next update to Windows will restore a Start menu (left) and let users run Metro apps on the conventional desktop (right foreground). (Image: Microsoft.)
Gregg Keizer covers Microsoft, security issues, Apple, Web browsers and general technology breaking news for Computerworld. Follow Gregg on Twitter at @gkeizer, on Google+ or subscribe to Gregg’s RSS feed . His email address is [email protected]
Senior Reporter Gregg Keizer covers Windows, Office, Apple/enterprise, web browsers and web apps for Computerworld.
By Penny Warren Published on April 21,2021
For a variety of reasons, you need to restore your ASUS laptop to its factory settings. For instance, you may want to format hard drive and reinstall the Windows system to fix some issues. You like to improve the computer performance or remove all personal data. Do you know how to reset ASUS laptop?
How to Reset ASUS Laptop
ASUS laptop has a Recovery Partition that includes software to restore itself to the original condition. You can rely on the recovery partition to factory reset ASUS laptop. What’s more, you can use the default reset option and professional tool to restore ASUS laptop back to factory settings. This post shares 3 effective ways to reset ASUS laptop, even when you forgot computer password and couldn’t access your ASUS account.
Part 1. How to Reset ASUS Laptop with Recovery Partition
First, we will show you the regular way to factory reset ASUS laptop, with its recovery partition. When you are no longer able to access your ASUS account, you should first give this method a try.
Step 1Restart ASUS laptop and keep pressing F9 key as soon as the ASUS logo appears on the screen. By doing so, you can access the hidden partition and enter the boot screen. Step 2When the Windows Boot Manager appears, you can choose a suitable language from the options and then click Next . Step 3Now you will be guided to the ASUS Preload Wizard screen. There are 3 recovering options offered there, Recover Windows to first partition only , Recover Windows to entire HD , and Recover Windows to entire HD with 2 partitions . Step 4Select your preferred option and click on the Next button. Then follow the instructions to restore your ASUS laptop back to the factory settings.
Part 2. How to Reset ASUS Laptop with Default Reset Option
If you have the ASUS password and can sign in your account normally, you can rely on the default resetting option to factory reset your ASUS laptop.
Step 1Log into your ASUS account and go to Settings . If you are using a Windows 10 laptop, you can click on the Windows icon in the bottom left corner and then click on the Settings icon. When you get there, click on the Update & Security option and then select Recovery . Step 2Click the Get Started button under the Reset this PC section. Select the Restore factory settings option in the next Choose an option window.
Step 3Now you are given 2 options to factory reset ASUS laptop, Only the drive where Windows is installed and All drives . Pick one based on your need.
Step 4Click the Restore button to confirm your operation of resetting the ASUS laptop.
Follow the similar steps, and you can easily reset HP, Lenovo, and more computer models.
Part 3. How to Reset ASUS Laptop When Forgot Computer Password
Are you face the situation that you forgot computer password and could not unlock your ASUS laptop? Or you are required to input the password for the factory resetting? Here we introduce you with a professional way to reset your ASUS computer without password. To do that, you can rely on the powerful imyPass Windows Password Reset .
Factory reset ASUS laptop with 7/8/10 when forgot computer password.
Create Windows password reset USB drive or disk without the current one.
Recover, remove or bypass Windows account and administrator passwords.
Support any popular Windows systems, file systems, hard disks and laptop brands.
Part 4. FAQs of How to Reset ASUS Laptop
Question 1. Is ASUS is a Chinese company?
Yes, ASUS is a Chinese company. ASUS is Taiwanese multi-national tech brand which is officially known as AsusTek Computer Inc. or ASUSTeK.
Question 2. Where is the reset button on ASUS laptop?
ASUS laptops are not designed with a specific reset button to directly perform a factory resetting on your computer. When you want to reset ASUS laptop, you can rely on the methods above. Or you can choose to press and hold the Power button to force a shutdown.
Question 3. What is ASUS system recovery partition?
ASUS system recovery partition is a hidden partition that mainly used to restore your laptop back to its original brand-new condition. It contains a recovery image file. Also, you can create ASUS system recovery CD/DVD disc and USB drive for saving the system image file.
Conclusion
After reading this post, you can learn 3 methods to reset ASUS laptop with Windows 10, Windows 8/7 or an earlier version. You can unlock ASUS laptop even when forgot computer password. Note that, a factory resetting will erase all existing data on your ASUS laptop. So you’d better backup all necessary and important files before the resetting.
Infopackets Reader ‘Brad’ writes:
I just upgraded to Windows 10 and the File Explorer (previously Windows Explorer) looks much different than it did previously. I would like to know how to change the default settings in File Explorer so that my icon view is set for Large Icons. Before I upgraded to Windows 10, my folder settings all looked the same (using Large Icons). I want this setting so that when I view a folder full of images, I can see their thumbnails. Can you help? “
Generally speaking you can set 1 folder to view with the ‘Large Icons’ setting, and then tell File Explorer that you want all folders to look the same.
- Click Start and then click This PC; this will open a File Explorer window.
- Navigate to any folder on your C drive. If you have your picture files stored in a Pictures library, you can click that.
- Once you are viewing a folder, right click an empty space within the File Explorer window and select View from the dialogue menu, then choose Large Icons. Alternatively you can use the following shortcut keys on the keyboard to change your view:
CTRL + SHIFT + 1 Extra Large
CTRL + SHIFT + 2 Large Icons
CTRL + SHIFT + 3 Medium Icons
CTRL + SHIFT + 4 Small Icons
CTRL + SHIFT + 5 List
CTRL + SHIFT + 6 Details
CTRL + SHIFT + 7 Tiles
CTRL + SHIFT + 8 Content
You can test your changes by viewing other folders on the C drive to see if they all look the same.
If you’ve followed the steps above but would then like at least one or two folders to look different than your main view, then simply follow the same steps above, omitting Steps #4 through #6. For example, I might want all my folders to view with Large Icons, but I don’t want “This PC” to have Large Icons; instead I want “This PC” to view with “Details”. In this case, I would simply go to This PC and set the view as Details and leave the rest the same.
Viewing Thumbnails instead of Icons
If you are setting the view as Large Icons and you intend to view thumbnails (instead of icon placeholders which won’t show you a picture preview), then you will also want to ensure that your PC Performance Settings allows for thumbnail views.
- Click Start and then right click This PC, and choose Properties.
- The System window will appear; click the Advanced system settings link at the top left of the window.
- The System Properties window will appear; look for the Performance heading and click the Settings button.
- The Performance Options window will appear; under the Visual Effects tab, ensure that “Show thumbnails instead of icons” has a check mark beside it, then click Apply and OK to close the window.
I hope that helps.
Got a Computer Question or Problem? Ask Dennis!
I need more computer questions. If you have a computer question — or even a computer problem that needs fixing — please email me with your question so that I can write more articles like this one. I can’t promise I’ll respond to all the messages I receive (depending on the volume), but I’ll do my best.
By Tina | Follow | Last Updated September 24, 2021
Summary :
How do I get my desktop back to normal on Windows 10? How to change Windows 10 view? This post from MiniTool will show you how to return to normal desktop in Windows 10. In addition, you can visit MiniTool to find more Windows tips and solutions.
Windows 10 improved upon its predecessor in several aspects, but it also changed a lot of things that some users have grown to rely upon. In addition, the desktop may switch from the normal to a title home screen and users asked ‘how do I get my desktop back to normal on Windows 10?’
So, in the following section, we will show you how to return to normal desktop in Windows 10.
How Do I Get My Desktop Back to Normal on Windows 10
In this section, we will show you how to get my desktop back to normal on Windows 10. In this situation, you can choose to disable Tablet Mode to continue.
- Press Windows key and I key together to open Settings.
- In the pop-up window, choose System to continue.
- On the left panel, choose Tablet Mode.
- Check Don’t ask me and don’t switch.
Then ensure the toggle is set to off for your preference.
After that, check whether you have successfully gotten desktop back to normal on Windows 10.
Besides changing Windows 10 view, to return to normal desktop in Windows 10, you may need to restore some old icons such as My computer to the desktop.
Windows 10 desktop icons missing/disappeared? Try the 8 ways to restore desktop icons and show desktop Windows 10, and recover lost data on Windows 10.
How to Restore Old Windows Desktop Icons?
In order to return to normal desktop in Windows 10, you also need to restore old Windows desktop icons.
Now, here is the tutorial.
- Right-click on the desktop and choose Personalize.
- On the left panel, choose Theme.
- On the right-panel, go to the Desktop icon settings.
- Check the desktop icons you want to add.
- Then click Apply and OK to save the changes.
After that, you have returned to normal desktop in Windows 10.
How to Get Rid of Tiles in Windows 10?
To return to normal desktop in Windows 10, you can also choose to get rid of tiles in Windows 10.
Now, here is the tutorial.
- Press Windows key and R key together to open Run dialog.
- Type gpedit.msc in the box and click OK to continue.
- Then navigate to the Local Computer Policy >User Configuration >Administrative Templates >Start Menu and Taskbar >Notifications.
- On the right pane, double-click Turn off tile notifications entry.
- Then choose Enabled and click Apply and OK to save the changes.
When it is finished, reboot your computer and check whether the desktop of your computer has been returned to normal.
Is Windows 10 stuck in Tablet Mode? How to get Windows 10 out of Tablet Mode? This post will show you methods to return PC to the normal view.
Final Words
To sum up, as for how to return to normal desktop in Windows 10, this post has shown 3 different cases. If you want to change Windows 10 view, you can try the above solutions.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Position: Columnist
Tina is a technology enthusiast and joined MiniTool in 2018. As an editor of MiniTool, she is keeping on sharing computer tips and providing reliable solutions, especially specializing in Windows and files backup and restore. Besides, she is expanding her knowledge and skills in data recovery, disk space optimizations, etc.
On her spare time, Tina likes to watch movies, go shopping or chat with friends and enjoy her life.
The Windows lock screen may seem like an obstacle, but whether you’re on Windows 10 or Windows 11, it offers helpful information and customization options.
You can do a lot of cool things within Windows, but you first have to get through the lock screen. Clicking or tapping on this screen brings you to the sign-in screen where you log into Windows. The lock screen may seem like an unnecessary obstacle, but it carries with it some tidbits that can be useful before you even dive into the operating system.
The default lock screen that greets you may only show the date and time with a generic background image. But you can spice this up by customizing it with your favorite background photo or slideshow; viewing your calendar, email, alarms, and local weather; or setting it to time out or kick off your screen saver after a certain amount of time.
The lock screen looks and acts the same in Windows 10 and Windows 11, but the way you tweak and personalize it differs somewhat between the two versions. Here’s how to set everything up.
Windows 10 Lock Screen
To access the settings for your lock screen in Windows 10, navigate to Settings > Personalization > Lock screen. The first thing you can change is the lock-screen image. Open the Background drop-down menu to choose between Windows spotlight, Picture, or Slideshow.
If you select Windows spotlight, the lock screen will periodically display different images sent over from Microsoft. Pick Picture to choose from a selection of static images packaged with the OS. You can also upload your own images to use as a background.
The Slideshow option will let you choose multiple images to become part of a collection of rotating pictures. If there are any albums you don’t wish to use, click the folder and select Remove. Then click Add a folder and select the folder you do wish to use for the slideshow.
Click the Advanced slideshow settings link to further customize your slideshow. Here, you can enable Include the Camera Roll folders from your PC and from OneDrive to add photos synced from your smartphone. To avoid images that don’t look right, turn on the switch for Only use pictures that fit my screen.
You can display the lock screen when your PC is inactive, if you flip the switch for When my PC is inactive, show lock screen instead of turning off the screen. Click the drop-down box for Turn off screen after slideshow has played for to determine if the slideshow should stop at a certain point. This can be set to 30 minutes, 1 hour, or 3 hours.
Windows 10 allows you to add certain pieces of information to your lock screen. Turn on the switch for Get fun facts, tips, and more from Windows and Cortana on your lock screen if you don’t mind seeing suggestions from Microsoft on the lock screen. Click the icon under Choose one app to show detailed status on the lock screen.
Select the app for which you want to see details, choosing among 3D Viewer, Weather, Mail, Calendar, and more. For example, picking Calendar might show you the day’s appointments, picking Weather will display the current temperature, and picking Mail will show you the subject of your latest incoming email.
You can also pick several other apps to display a simpler quick status. Click each icon under the phrase Choose which apps show quick status on the lock screen. Again, you can select such apps as Weather, Messaging, and Calendar, Alarms & Clock, Mail, and Windows Store.
The next time the lock screen pops up, you should see information from the apps you chose, assuming any new information is available.
If you’re happy with your lock-screen image, you can keep the same one for your sign-in screen. Just turn on the option for Show lock screen background picture on the sign-in screen.
If you walk away from your computer for a while, the lock screen will eventually turn on (and stay on) until you come back and click. But you don’t want the lock screen activity chewing up energy, especially if your laptop is on battery mode, so Windows allows you to control this function.
Click the Screen timeout settings link (or open Settings > System > Power & sleep) to change screen and sleep settings. Use the drop-down menus to determine if and when your PC should turn off the screen and go to sleep. On a laptop, you can set these options for both battery power and AC. Windows lets you choose any interval from one minute to five hours, or Never.
From the Lock screen settings page, click Screen saver settings to control your screen saver options. A small window opens where you can change your screen saver and set how long before it turns on.
Check the box next to On resume, display logon screen so you can return to the logon screen when you stop the screen saver. Timeout and screen saver settings apply to all screens, not just the lock screen.
After you’ve configured everything, it’s time to check out your lock screen. Rather than wait for your PC to go into lock mode or reboot your system, click the Start menu, select your profile icon, and click Lock. Click the lock screen to get back into Windows.
Windows 11 Lock Screen
You access the settings for your Windows 11 lock screen under Settings > Personalization > Lock screen. Click the drop-down box for Personalize your lock screen and choose Windows spotlight, Picture, or Slideshow.
If you opt for a picture, you can select one of the built-in images or choose your own. If you go the slideshow route, remove any folders you don’t want and then add a folder with images you want to appear in the show.
Turn on the switch for Get fun facts, tips, and more from Windows and Cortana if you want to see tips and tricks from Microsoft on the lock screen.
SkyDrive is now called OneDrive instead.
When you sign in to Windows 8.1 with a Microsoft account, the PC settings and app data you choose to sync are also saved on OneDrive. These synced settings are synced to any Windows 8.1 PC that you sign in to with the same Microsoft account.
When you turn on sync settings on your PC, you will also be able to turn on or off the individual settings to sync between your PCs.
- Start screen – Start screen tiles and tile layout
- Appearance – Colors, background, lock screen, and account picture
- Desktop personalization – Themes, taskbar, high contrast, and more
- Installed Apps – Apps installed on your PCs
- App settings – Your settings and purchases with apps. (This setting can only be synced and not backed up.)
- Web Browser – Your favorites, open tabs, home pages, history, and settings
- Passwords – Your sign-in info for some apps, websites, networks, and HomeGroup
- Language preferences – Keyboards, input methods, display language, personal dictionary, and more
- Ease of Access – Settings for Narrator, Magnifier, and more
- Other Windows settings – File Explorer mouse, printers, and more
- Back up settings – Allows you to set whether you want Windows 8.1 to back up your settings even if you don’t choose to sync them between PCs and devices.
This tutorial will show you how to delete your synced personal settings from the cloud (OneDrive) backed up from your Windows 8.1 PCs and devices.
If you wanted to stop having your personal settings for a specific Windows 8.1 PC or device backed up to OneDrive, then you will need to turn off sync settings on that specific Windows 8.1 PC or device before doing the steps in this tutorial below.
When you are setting up Windows 8.1 with a Microsoft account (see step 17E at link), you will be able to select to copy one of your synced settings from any Windows 8.1 PC that is still available in “Backed up device settings” on your OneDrive.
1. Sign in to your OneDrive online for the Device Settings page.
2. Click/tap on the Delete button for the Windows 8.1 PC or device that you want to delete your backed up personal settings for. (see screenshot below)
When icons of different applications and file types are displayed in File Explorer, Windows instead of accessing the original files with icons gets copies of the icon images from special files containing icon cache. Due to the fact that the operating system doesn’t need to load original icon files, the performance and rendering of icon objects in Windows Explorer are improved.
In some cases, if the cache file is corrupted, white blank icons of shortcuts and files may be displayed in Explorer (and on the Desktop), or default Windows icons are displayed instead of application icons. In this case, it is recommended to reset the Windows 10 icon cache.
The screenshot below shows that the Windows 10 Start Menu layout displays default folder icons instead of some application icons.
The icon cache in different versions of Windows is one or more db files stored in the user profile folders.
- In Windows 7, it is IconCache.db in %userprofile%\AppData\Local
- In Windows 10 and Windows 8.1, these are several files, which names start from iconcache_ (iconcache_16.db, iconcache_32.db, iconcache_48.db, etc. according to the size of the icons in pixels), stored in %userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer
Refreshing the Icon Cache on Windows Using IE4uinit
In Windows there is a built-in tool ie4uinit (IE Per-User Initialization Utility) that can be used to quickly reset the icon cache database.
- On Windows 10: ie4uinit.exe -show
- On Windows 7: ie4uinit.exe -ClearIconCache
This command must be executed through the Win + R -> command -> Enter.
The commands are absolutely safe, but they don’t help to restore the normal state of the icon cache in all cases.
Script to Rebuild the Icon Cache on Windows
In order to reset the icon cache, it’s enough to delete db cache files. But first you need to end the Explorer.exe process in order to ulock access to the iconcache files. Let’s look at how to reset the icon cache database without rebooting Windows.
- Close all running apps;
- Open a command prompt window ( cmd.exe or powershell.exe ) as an administrator;
- Start Task Manager: taskmgr.exe
- In the Task Manager window, go to the Details tab, find the explorer.exe process and kill it (End Task);
- You can also kill the process from the command line: taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
- Then sequentially execute the following commands to delete the icon cache in the user profile (depending on the OS version):
Note: For information about this topic in Windows 10, see Recovery options in Windows 10.
If you’re having problems with your PC, you can:
Refresh your PC to reinstall Windows and keep your personal files and settings. Refresh also keeps the apps that came with your PC and the apps you installed from the Microsoft Store.
Reset your PC to reinstall Windows but delete your files, settings, and apps—except for the apps that came with your PC.
Restore your PC to undo recent system changes you’ve made.
If you’re having trouble starting (booting) your PC, see Windows Startup Settings (including safe mode), and go to the “Get to Windows Startup Settings in the Windows Recovery Environment” section. You can refresh, reset, or restore your PC from the Windows Recovery Environment.
If you want to back up and restore your personal files using File History, see Set up a drive for File History.
Before you start to refresh or reset your PC
In most cases, once you start to refresh or reset your PC, it’ll finish on its own. However, if Windows needs missing files, you’ll be asked to insert recovery media, which is typically on a DVD disc or thumb drive. If that happens, what you’ll need depends on your PC.
If your PC came with Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1, you’ll need the discs or thumb drive that came with your PC. Check the info that came with your PC to see if your PC manufacturer provided these discs or media. In some cases, you might have created them when you first set up your PC.
If you don’t have either of those, you can make them if you have a USB thumb drive of 16 GB or larger. Having a recovery drive can help you troubleshoot and fix problems with your PC, even if it won’t start. For more info, see Create a USB recovery drive.
If you upgraded your PC to Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1 with a DVD, use that disc. If you don’t have Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1 media, contact Microsoft Support.
Refresh, reset, or restore
Select any of the following for more detailed info.
If your PC isn’t performing as well as it once did, and you don’t know why, you can refresh your PC without deleting any of your personal files or changing your settings.
Note: If you upgraded your PC from Windows 8 to Windows 8.1 and your PC has a Windows 8 recovery partition, refreshing your PC will restore Windows 8. You’ll need to upgrade to Windows 8.1 after the refresh has finished.
Warning: Apps you installed from websites and DVDs will be removed. Apps that came with your PC and apps you installed from Microsoft Store will be reinstalled. Windows puts a list of removed apps on your desktop after refreshing your PC.
To refresh your PC
Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, tap Settings, and then tap Change PC settings.
(If you’re using a mouse, point to the upper-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer down, click Settings, and then click Change PC settings.)
Tap or click Update and recovery, and then tap or click Recovery.
Under Refresh your PC without affecting your files, tap or click Get started.
Follow the instructions on the screen.
If you want to recycle your PC, give it away, or start over with it, you can reset it completely. This removes everything and reinstalls Windows.
Note: If you upgraded your PC from Windows 8 to Windows 8.1 and your PC has a Windows 8 recovery partition, resetting your PC will restore Windows 8. You’ll need to upgrade to Windows 8.1 after the reset has finished.
Warning: All of your personal files will be deleted and your settings will be reset. All apps that you installed will be removed. Only apps that came with your PC will be reinstalled.
To reset your PC
Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, tap Settings, and then tap Change PC settings.
(If you’re using a mouse, point to the upper-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer down, click Settings, and then click Change PC settings.)
Tap or click Update and recovery, and then tap or click Recovery.
Under Remove everything and reinstall Windows, tap or click Get started.
Follow the instructions on the screen.
Note: You’ll be asked to choose whether you want to erase data quickly or thoroughly. If you choose to erase data quickly, some data might be recoverable using special software. If you choose to erase data thoroughly, this will take longer but it makes recovering data less likely.
If you think an app or driver that you recently installed caused problems with your PC, you can restore Windows back to an earlier point in time, called a restore point. System Restore doesn’t change your personal files, but it might remove recently installed apps and drivers.
System Restore isn’t available for Windows RT 8.1.
Windows automatically creates a restore point when you install desktop apps and new Windows updates, if the last restore point is older than 7 days. You can also create a restore point manually at any time.
To restore your PC to an earlier point in time
Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, and then tap Search.
(If you’re using a mouse, point to the upper-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer down, and then click Search.)
Enter Control Panel in the search box, and tap or click Control Panel.
Enter Recovery in the Control Panel search box, and then tap or click Recovery.
Tap or click Open System Restore, and then follow the instructions.
If you need additional help refreshing, resetting, or restoring your PC, check out the Repair and Recovery community pages in the Windows forum for solutions that other people have found for problems they’ve experienced.
TaylorSwift
New Member
- Apr 27, 2013
Hello folks, I seem to have a problem and I don’t quite know how to fix it. You see after I play a game, no matter what game it is when I quit it my start screen looks like this.
As you can see I’m in quite a pickle, I want to start editing my start screen but I can’t and it has nothing to do with the Start Screen wallpaper change because it was doing this before I even used the start screen customizer.
My Computer
System One
Well-Known Member
- Apr 27, 2013
Can you make it smaller, say about a third of the size it is now?
My Computer
System One
TaylorSwift
New Member
- Apr 27, 2013
My Computer
System One
Closed as requested
- Apr 27, 2013
Hello TaylorSwift. Welcome to EightForums.
One option would be to (if not already done),
go to the desktop, and check your screen resolution and refresh rates.
Win + X > Control Panel > Appearance and Personalization > Adjust screen resolution.
Also, you could sign out (log off), then go back in.
I think he was making a
Let us know how you are doing.
My Computer
System One
TaylorSwift
New Member
- Apr 27, 2013
My Computer
System One
Closed as requested
- Apr 27, 2013
What does your start screen look like after booting before any games?
Are you referring to a metro game or a desktop game?
Can you name one, so that we could help you find the problem.
You said all, (“no matter what game”) when you return from any game, the start screen shrinks?
Is it restored after turning on your computer in the morning?
Could you post a screenshot of the problem without the start screen customizer?
Does it help to sign out then back in? Is your start screen always shrunken?
Has your start screen ever worked? There are no tiles pinned yet.
You say “I want to start editing my start screen.”
Did you unpin all the tiles from your start screen?
It’s quite common to add a password on your computer in order to prevent unauthorized access. No matter the computer it’s a Windows 8, 8.1 or Windows 7. However, if the password is not a simple one and you don’t access the computer for a while, then it’s highly possible to forget the password or just typed the wrong ones. And this gets you locked out of the computer. The first solution we could think up is to re-install the system with Windows installation disk. But this will completely wipe all the files and settings on your system disk. This would be a disaster if you had important data on the drive.
As we all know that Microsoft provides two login options including local account or Microsoft account. So, it’s depend on what account type you’re using when it comes to resetting Windows 8/8.1 password. So now let’s talk about it separately.
- Method 1: Reinstall Windows 8 (Not Recommend)
- Method 2: How to Reset Forgotten Microsoft Account on Windows 8/8.1
- Method 3: How to Reset Lost Windows 8/8.1 Local Password with iSeePassword
Method 1: Reinstall Windows 8 If there was No Important Data On C:\
If you have a Windows 8/8.1 installation disk and there is no important data stored on the system disk, then a reinstall is a considerable way to do that. A reinstall will rewrite the C drive on the computer and all the existing data will be deleted permanently. If the third-party programs were installed on the disk, then all the app data will be removed too.
Another disadvantage of reinstall is that more time will be consumed when comparing to Method 2. The average time is 1.5 hours for a reinstall, not to mention the drive updates. However, it’s more a personal choice and this is a way that can help you regain the Windows 8 local password.
Method 2: Forgot Windows 8/8.1 Password for Microsoft Account, How to Reset?
As a Windows 8 users, you В should beВ familiar withВ the Microsoft account function. In fact, the local account on Windows 8/8.1 is created and managed locally. Instead, Microsoft account is what called Windows Live ID which can be used to login all Microsoft products including email, Windows Store, Outlook, Skype, Office and others partner websites. If you forgot the Microsoft account password, you will be unable to log in to Windows 8.
But don’t worry, Microsoft leaves us a В lastВ chance to recover lone account password, you can reset your password online. Let’s look at how it works. In the whole process, please make sure you’re connected to the Internet at the Windows sign-in screen, if not, you will not create a new password.
Step 1) Just go to Microsoft Live: В Procedure simplyВ and directly
Step 2) Then choose “I forgot my password” option. Click next. Then type your Microsoft account name and characters.
Step 3) Select the verification options you want, mail or mobile, you will be received verification code to your mail or mobile. Enter code.
Step 4) Now enter new password, confirm new password. Click next.
Method 3: Reset Lost Windows 8/8.1 Local Password with iSeePassword
The good news is that there are a few powerful password recovery tools that can restore the Windows 8 admin password in an easy way and there is no damage made to your computer by using the method. iSeePassword Windows Password Recovery is the right program to to do it in right and fast manner. It only takes a few minutes to reset the forgotten password from Windows 8/8.1 computer. Besides, the steps are quite simple and straightforward. Even as an user who don’t have much knowledge about computer staff can do it successfully. The following article is a step-by-step tutorial on how to reset Windows 8/8.1 administrator password with the Windows 8/8.1 password recovery tool.
What You Need to Prepare:
1) A blank CD/DVD disk or USB stick.
2) A Windows or Mac computer with normal access.
3) iSeePassword Windows Password Recovery
1 Download and Install Windows Password Recovery
The first step is to make sure that you have the Windows Password Recovery installed on your computer. There are three versions of this program: personal, professional or advanced. Choose the right version to download according to your own needs. After download, install the program on your computer. Do remember that run the program as administrator.
2 Make a Password Reset Disk with DVD or USB Drive (Take USB as Example)
When the installation process is done, and the main user interface opens, you will be provided with two options to make a password reset disk: CD/DVD or USB device. In the following example, we use USB drive as an example. The steps are the same if you chose to use CD or DVD disk instead. Click on USD device and install USB drive on your computer. Then select the drive from the drop-down list. Finally click “Burn USB”to let the program burn the iSO files to the USB drive.
3 Reboot the Password-Protected Computer
Change the boot order of your computer and select USB as the first bootable device. This varies in different computers. This is done usually by F10 or F12 during the startup. If not, then look carefully when the computer starts(the information is displayed on the screen) and remember the right key to enter into the boot settings.
The next step is to insert the USB disk into the locked computer and reboot the computer again. In this time, Windows Password Recovery will start up and a user friendly window shows up.
4 Start Resetting Windows 8 Admin Password
Select a Windows system from the list and choose the user name you want to reset the password. At this time, click on Reset Password and a small window pops up asking whether you want to reset the user password to blank, select Yes to reset the password. Now the password was removed and show it’s blank.
Finally, click Reboot and eject the password Windows Password Reset disk from the computer. Now you can enter into the system without password. And you can add password after login.
Note: If you just want to access the computer only, then use the add user function. You can log into the computer with the new user name and password. And this has no effect on other user accounts.
iSeepassword provides a solid way to help you reset lost or forgotten Windows 8/8.1 password without much effort. You don’t need to re-install the OS and there is no file deleted during the whole process. For me, this is a must-have apps in my toolset. I have used this program to help my friends and family members when their computer got locked by a password. No matter how complex the password, you can use this tool to reset it. With it, there is no need to worry about password issues on your Windows computer.
Vicky is a professional Windows technology author with many experience, focusing on computer technology. She’s very much enjoy helping people find solutions to their problems. Her knowledge and passion always drive her to discover everything about technology.
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How to reset your Android home screen back to the default
How to reset your Android home screen back to the default
Find out how to reset your Android smartphone to the default home screen.
Editor’s note on March 18, 2019: This Android tip was first published in November 2013. Since then, we have included a video tutorial, added steps for Android Oreo and later, and updated the related resources.
This will work regardless of what Android device you have*, although I’m going to assume that you’re using Android 4.x. (* For Android Oreo and later, follow the steps at the end of the article.) The primary difference you might find is the home screen default used by your device. For example, the Samsung Galaxy line uses the TouchWiz home screen, whereas the Motorola Moto X uses Launcher. You’ll also need to know the name of the launcher that you’re currently running (such as Nova or 3D Home). Here’s how to reset to the default.
- Open the Settings app.
- Locate Apps or Application Manager (depending upon which device you use).
- Swipe the screen to the left to get to the All tab.
- Scroll down until you locate the currently running home screen.
- Scroll down until you see the Clear Defaults button (Figure A).
- Tap Clear Defaults.
Figure A
Resetting the defaults on a Verizon-branded Motorola Moto X.
Check out these additional smartphone home screen resources:
Now that you’ve cleared the defaults, you have to set a new default home screen. To do this, follow these steps:
- Tap the home button.
- Select the home screen you want to use.
- Tap Always (Figure B).
Figure B
Setting the default home screen on the Android platform.
The good thing about this tip is that it applies to any type of app that sets a default application–just alter what application’s defaults you clear from the application manager.
For Android Oreo and later, follow these steps:
- Open the Settings app.
- Search for Home.
- Tap Home app from the results (Figure C).
- Select the home screen launcher you wish to use from the popup (Figure D).
Figure C
Figure D
Do you have other pro tips for the Android platform that you’d like to share? Please post them in the discussion thread below.
The Classic Start menu was part of many versions of the Windows operating system, including Windows 2000, Windows 2003, Windows XP, and Vista. However, Microsoft dropped the same from Windows 7 and later versions.
Now, the all-new Start menu in Windows 10 is better than the Classic Start menu in most ways. It’s faster, looks way better, includes superior search functionality, and offers much more than the classic Start menu. However, some users still like the classic Start menu and want to enable the same in Windows 10 as well.
Like everything else, it is possible to get the classic Start menu in Windows 10 as well. There are multiple programs out there to enable the classic Start menu in Windows 10. In fact, there is a workaround to make the built-in Windows 10 Start menu look remarkably similar to the classic Start menu.
Method 1 of 2
Remove and resize the Start menu to make it look Classic Start menu
Step 1: Open the current Start menu by either pressing the Windows logo key or clicking on the Start button.
Step 2: App tiles show up on the right side of the Start menu. We can make the Start menu look more like the Classic Start by removing the tiles and resizing the Start menu. Doing so will make the Windows 10 Start menu look more like the classic one.
To remove a tile, right-click on it and then click Unpin from Start option. Repeat this for all tiles on the Start to unpin all tiles.
Step 3: Once all tiles are removed, the Start menu should automatically make itself smaller. If not, once the right side of the Start menu is empty, hover the mouse cursor at the edge of the Start menu (to see the double-headed arrow), click & hold, and then move it to the left to make the Start menu smaller.
Step 4: The Start menu should now look like the Classic Start menu.
The best part of this Start menu is that you are not using third-party software. Additionally, you can continue using the built-in search which is far more superior when compared to the original Classic Start menu offered by the Classic Shell program.
And if you are not happy and want the original Classic Start menu, please continue reading.
Method 2 of 2
Use Classic Shell to enable the Classic Start menu in Windows 10
As said before, there are a bunch of programs out there to enable the Classic Start menu in Windows 10. One of them is the very popular Classic Shell. It’s free and brings the original Classic Start menu to Windows 10.
The only downside to this program is that it has not been updated in over three years and will not receive any update in the future as well. The development of the program has been stopped way back in 2017. That said, it continues to work great on the current version of Windows 10, which is 2004 (May 2020 Update). Here is how to use the Classic Shell to get the Classic Start menu in Windows 10.
Step 1: Get the Classic Shell from this official page. Run the setup file to begin installing it.
Step 2: Classic Shell installs other classic features such as the Explorer, Internet Explorer along with the Start menu. If you don’t want them and interested only in the Start menu, when you get the following screen, click on the drive icon next to Classic Explorer and Classic IE entries and then select Entire feature will be unavailable option.
Click the Next button, click Install, and then complete the installation.
Step 3: Once the program is installed, you will see the following window. Select the Classic Style option and click the OK button. As you can see in the picture below, if you are interested, the Classic Shell also offers the Windows 7-style Start menu.
That is it! You will now get the Classic Start menu whenever you hit the Windows logo key or click the Start button.
To uninstall Classic Shell from Windows 10
Step 1: Open Programs and Features window by typing appwiz.cpl in the Start/taskbar search box and pressing Enter key.
Step 2: Look for the Classic Shell entry. Right-click on the entry and click the Uninstall option.
If you’re running a Windows 10 on your ASUS laptop or desktop, then you probably take a strong password to protect the computer from unwelcome users. Chances are that sooner or later it will possibly happen to you that you forgot the password on your Windows 10 computer. The good news is that there are many of methods and utilities that can reset or recover the lost password so you don’t have to perform a clean install of the Windows 10 on your ASUS computer.
Part 1: Reset lost Windows 10 local account user password
Microsoft provides users with both Local account and Microsoft account (aka “Windows Live ID”) to sign in Windows 10. If you are using local account in Windows 10 and want to crack the lost password, the most efficient and fast way to deal with that is use a Windows 10 password reset disk. Add that to the fact that you will have the disc in hand before forgetting the Windows 10 password on the ASUS laptop & desktop.
What if you don’t have any password reset disk prepared previously? Don’t worry still you can reset your lost Windows 10 password to get access to the ASUS computer again. In today’s discussion, our favorite is Spower Windows Password Reset.
It is a incredibly easy-to-use software that’s designed to do exactly what the name implies: support on any version of Windows with 32-bit or 64-bit: Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, XP. The software will detect the Windows installation and the account names automatically, and to reset the admin and user password in minutes. It can even support additional new account creation easily. Please note the software don’t support recovering Windows 10 password.
There are 3 editions available for satisfying you needs. Compare the Editions to select a suitable edition for resetting Windows 10 admin/ user password in ASUS machine.
The following guide will show you how to reset password of windows 10 or any earlier version of windows you’re running on ASUS laptop & desktop computer.
Step 1: Use the program to create a Windows 10 password reset disc
Download the copy of program and install on an accessible computer. After you launch the program, the instructions for using it are written on the right portion of the screen.
The first thing we need to is select a media device to make a password reset disc that will be used later in step 3 to reset forgot password for ASUS computer windows 10. Almost all type of storage media devices on the market are supported: CD, DVD, USB drive, flash drive, floppy drive, memory stick, etc. In this guide, we’re going to use a USB drive.
Put a blank USB drive into the USB plot on the computer, press USB device on the program screen, and then click Begin burning to burn the program into USB drive to create Windows 10 admin/ user password reset disk. The burning process will be finished in a few seconds.
Next, pull the USB drive out of the machine and insert into your locked ASUS computer and start it.
Step 2: Change boot order in BIOS to boot from the USB drive
Normally, your Asus laptop & desktop boots from the Windows every time you turn on it, so you will have to change the boot order option on BIOS Setup to boot from the password reset disk you just made instead.
ASUS provides a support document with more details.
We also have universal instructions ready for boot order configuration.
Step 3: Reset password in window 10 on ASUS desktop & laptop
After change the boot order option on BIOS, restart your machine, you have to wait until the ASUS computer boots from the usb drive and displays the program window as shown below.
In this example, you will see four account names: one Administrator account, two user accounts and a guest account.
To reset Administrator password or any other user password, just select a Windows 10 operating system (if you have more than one OS installed on your ASUS machine), and highlight the account name, and then click on the Reset button.
The Windows 10 admin/ user password resetting process will take only a few seconds, no matter how complex the original password is.
That is all there is to it! After the process completes, go to the bottom of the screen and press Reboot button to restart the computer. Remember to remove the USB drive from the computer (important!).
Now you’re ready to get back into your ASUS computer again with a blank (empty password) password. If you’re the only user, Windows 10 will boot all the way to the desktop without a logon screen.
Part 2: Reset Forgotten Windows 10 Password for Microsoft Account
If you are using Microsoft account to log into Windows 10 on ASUS computer but lost password, things are simple. Navigate to the using any of your accessible devices (PC, laptop, smartphone, tablet) with Internet connection. Afterward, click the “I forgot my password” option at the top of the resulting list, then follow the on-screen instructions to finish the Windows 10 password recovery procedure and to re-enable the account on your ASUS computer.
Part 3: Factory reset ASUS Windows 10 computer (last resort)
If all methods above don’t work for you, factory resetting your ASUS computer is almost always a fix-it tool of last resort. Here’s how to.
- At the Windows 7 Welcome screen, click the Power button and then Restart while pressing and holding the Shift key on your keyboard.
- When the “Choose an option” screen appears, select Troubleshoot > Reset this PC > Remove everything.
- Choose a cleaning method: Remove My Files or Fully Clean The Drive.
- Click the Reset button and the reset operation will commence immediately.
When it is complete, you’ll have a new installation of Windows 10.
List of ASUS Notebooks & 2-in-1 PCs, Desktops & All-in-ones Supported
Notebooks & Ultrabooks & 2-in-1 PCs: Zenbook Pro UX 501VW, N550JX, N551JQ, N550JK, ZenBook UX305CA, UX305UA, UX303LA, UX303UB, UX 305FA, ROG GL552VW, GL752VW, G752VL, G771JM, GL551JW, G752VY, G752VT, N550JX, N551JQ, N550JK, K501LX, K501UX, X552WA, X751LX, X550JX, X550ZA, X551MAV, X555LA, X751MA, E402SA, Vivobook E200HA, E403SA, Eee PC T101MT, E402MA, EeeBook X205TA, F555LA, F555UA, Transformer Book Flip TP200SA, TP500LA, TP550LA, TP300LA, Q553, Q303, Q503, Q551, Q552, Q302, T100HA, T300chi, T200TA, T100TAM, T100TAF, T100TA, T100chi, etc.
Desktops & All-in-ones: M52BC, K30BD, M32BF, M32AD, K30AM-J, VivoPC M32CD, M32BC, ROG G20BM, G20AJ, G20CB Oculus Ready, G20CB, G11CD, G10AJ, G11CD OCulus Ready, G11CB, G10AC, VivoPC VM42, VC62B, VM60, VM62N, VM62, ROG GR6, VivoMini UN62, UN42, UN65, VM65N, VC65R, VC65, UN65H, UN45, VivoStick PC (TS10), Zen AiO Pro Z240IC, Vivo AiO V230IC, ET2221IUTH, ET2311INKH, A420, etc.
How to Reset windows 7 Password on Acer Computer
