Windows 10 support can come in many flavors.  We narrowed it down to ten very helpful topics.   Beginning with the most pressing one…

Why so dark?  Do the programmers like The Cure?

• Launch the ‘Settings’ app.
  • VERY IMPORTANT!   From the menu, select the ‘Personalization’ tile and chose ‘Colors‘ option. Then, scroll and click the the check box “start, taskbar, and action center”
    
• In “settings” go to “start and turn on popular items under “choose which folders to appear on start”
  • Also, create shortcut to “documents” on desktop and pin to start.  People struggle to find their documents in Windows 10.  Avoid them adding clutter to the desktop by having them add their documents in “documents” folder.
• Go to themes.
  • Apply a theme that isn’t black.
• Show “Cortana Icon” not search bar.
• Remove unnecessary Start button tiles once complete and add the following tiles as displayed in the picture.
  • Word
  • Excel
  • Outlook
  • PDF Reader

What new laptop do I choose?

What laptop do I choose for Windows 10?

• We tested and reviewed a bunch of laptops.  We also provide out of the box new computer setup instructions.

 

Add Browser Shortcuts

Add shortcuts to the folder path below so they are searchable from the App list under start.  Search for each app or in your case, it’s the shortcuts you created under START (the copied or the shortcuts you created and inserted into the path below) and pin them to the start menu.  Then organize what you pinned.

C:\Users\User_Name\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs

Default Programs

• Change Edge to Firefox or Chrome
• Change to Foxit Reader or Adobe Readr

Remove Programs

• OneDrive.  There’s a newer version to install if you need OneDrive Business for Office365.  Otherwise, keep it removed.  It just confuses end users.
• Microsoft Office.  The default office does not work well with the Office 365 version nor should you have it installed if you already have a retail version of Office.  We have many Windows 10 support issues with the default office.  Please uninstall the default Office that comes with the new computer setup.

Mail Program – Windows 10 Support

• Unpin the default mail program if they have Outlook
• I use Mail for my junk email account and some other less used business related mailboxes.  It definitely comes in handy

Additional Windows 10 Support Resources:

• New Computer Setup
• A guide to File Server Network Shares
• Windows 10 Upgrade and Joining the Domain
• New Server Setup
• Windows Data Transfer Tutorial
• How to Install Windows from a USB stick
• Backup Image of Windows and Recovery Guide
• What Computer to Buy
• I can’t connect to WiFi..  Ugh!!
• I need data off of the computer.
• New Printer Setup

 

 

 

Delayed 10 Upgrade

I held off on upgrading to Windows 10.   What should I expect if I proceed?  We definitely had our issues with the early builds of Windows 10 and still do have some trouble.

 

Windows 10 Support for Joining a Domain

Business computers are pretty autonomous in that the end user has full control over what goes on with that computer until they join domain.  Then they have rights and accessibility to certain things on their computer and the network domain.

 

The Settings Button – Control Panel

The settings button is set to replace the “control panel” at some point during the Windows 10 development.  As of right now, most critical IT features can be found in “control panel”  not in “settings”.  The “control panel” has been removed from the right click option of “start” on the latest Windows 10 update.  Below are a list of shortcuts to all your configuration needs.  The most important is Windows key + R and type “Control”  for accessing the control panel.  I’ve added a pic of some very nice customizing features in “settings” on right hand side pick.  Settings is great for the look and feel of Windows 10 but still lags way behind with what control panel is capable of doing for all other configuration settings.  I’ve spelled out all shortcuts to control panel and highlighted the most popular ones used by IT.

 

Windows 10 Support for Transferring of data

We help you with domain transferring of data between user profiles and computer disaster/recovery.

 

New Computer Setup

I got a new computer.  How do I setup for first time use or remote Windows 10 Support?  We created a blog post for that.

Cortana

What is it?  I actually find it useful once it is no longer ignored and actually setup.  Hopefully, you have a Microsoft email account to get you going.  The hot keys “windows, C”  provide a great experience from the Siri like assistant.

Windows 10 Support for Backup

What’s a reasonably priced backup software?

• Mozy Free Home Backup.
• Carbonite
• Synology Cloud Station Backup
  • Use this option if you want backup to a local NAS called a Synology Diskstation.

Windows 10 Support for Disaster/Recovery

I want to avoid four hours recovery time from a disaster.   A complete reinstall of applications and data is usually required.  Is there a faster disaster/recovery software out there for a reasonable price?

• Backup imaging software comes in several forms. These disaster recovery software typically provide incremental snapshot imaging of the entire Windows Operation System.  File explore can be used to recover critical files.
  • Use Veeam Endpoint backup, since it is free (even for business use), easy to install and use, it has required backup/ schedule, and works very well, at least for file level restore.
  • Alternatively, Storagecraft Shadows Protect SPX is the competitor to Veeam. $100 MSRP for a perpetual license, maintenance and support the following year will be $20

 

Protection

How do I protect my computer from malware and viruses and optimize it for fast performance?

• Uninstall 30 day trials of McAfee and Norton software. They are guaranteed to slow down your Windows experience
• Select these products to protect and optimize your experience:
  • Hitman Pro
  • Malware Malbytes
  • JRT

How do I increase the “Jump List” for right clicking recent items?

Here’s a blog post on that.  Here’s a more up to date blog post on that.

Where is Recent Files?

Restore “recent places” feature to Windows 10.

1. Open Explorer.

2. In the location bar, copy/paste the following location:

How do I make sense of Office 365 and other email hosting plus productivity software options?

• Order volume license for over 25 user office.  Buy the local desktop office software suite if you are not concerned with every Microsoft Office upgrade.  Otherwise, subscribing is the SaaS way to go.  Follow our spreadsheet for the best value and the confusing branding of services offered below.
  

Quick access to Control panel tool Commands. Used at Run Command Line (Windows +R)
—————————————————————–

Control Printers

Accessibility Options control access.cpl
Add New Hardware control sysdm.cpl add new hardware
Add/Remove Programs control appwiz.cpl
Date/Time Properties control timedate.cpl
Display Properties control desk.cpl
FindFast control findfast.cpl
Fonts Folder control fonts
Internet Properties control inetcpl.cpl
Joystick Properties control joy.cpl
Keyboard Properties control main.cpl keyboard
Microsoft Exchange control mlcfg32.cpl
(or Windows Messaging)
Microsoft Mail Post Office control wgpocpl.cpl
Modem Properties control modem.cpl
Mouse Properties control main.cpl
Multimedia Properties control mmsys.cpl
Network Properties control netcpl.cpl
NOTE: In Windows NT 4.0, Network
properties is Ncpa.cpl, not Netcpl.cpl
Password Properties control password.cpl
PC Card control main.cpl pc card (PCMCIA)
Power Management (Windows 95) control main.cpl power
Power Management (Windows 98) control powercfg.cpl
Printers Folder control printers
Regional Settings control intl.cpl
Scanners and Cameras control sticpl.cpl
Sound Properties control mmsys.cpl sounds
System Properties control sysdm.cpl

 

Windows 10 Support

Hopefully, we have improved your experience using Microsoft’s latest OS with our basic guide for Windows 10 support.  Call us for local support in San Diego or remote support nationally.  The OS is far from perfect, these pointers should lessen the bumps along the road to this latest upgrade.  With that said, it’s improved dramatically over the last two years.  Try it out!