Windows Installation & Setup
C:\Users\usernameC:\Windows\WinSxS - 11.2GB, 85314 files, 162289 folders !!!
- Windows
- Slow
- Your PC Feels Slow? Microsoft Says These Two Windows 11 Settings Are to Blame - HowToGeek
- Pause OneDrive's Automatic Syncronization (optional)
- Limiting the download and upload speed of OneDrive (optional)
- Turn Down or Disable Visual Effects: Start menu > "Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows" > Performance Options > "Adjust for Best Performance" > "Apply" > "OK"
- 5 default Windows settings that are secretly slowing down your PC - HowToGeek
- Select the right power mode, unlock a higher refresh rate, tone down unnecessary animations, and keep background apps in check.
- See also: Slow Disk Access ...
- Turning off one Windows setting made my 5-year-old PC feel new - MakeUseOf - (only if you have limited RAM and a HDD; not if you have >4GB RAM and a SSD)
- There's a Windows Task Manager tab that shows exactly why your PC is slow
- Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc) > Processes (tab) > is SysMain taking up a lot of resources?
- Windows Start > services.msc > (double-click on) SysMain > Startup type: Disabled
- Freezing
- Tired of Windows freezing? Try these fixes to stop it for good - HowToGeek
- Start > Settings > System > Display > Graphics settings > (Advanced Graphics Settings >) Hardware-accelerated GPU Scheduling > On > Reboot
- How to Enable Hardware-Accelerated GPU Scheduling in Windows
- Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling can boost performance and improve FPS by allowing your GPU to manage its own memory. However, on low-end systems or if there’s a compatibility issue, enabling it may cause stuttering or freezing in some apps. If you’ve recently turned it on and started noticing freezes, it’s best to disable it.
- Bloat = Crapware
- I stopped letting these 6 "bloatware" apps slow down my Windows PC (Win11)
- MS News, MS Feedback Hub, MS Clipchamp (MS video editor), deprecated MS Maps, MS Sound Recorder (phone voice recording), MS Camera (phone)
- How to disable ads in Windows 11
- Hibernation (hiberfil.sys) - If you don't use Hibernation, you can turn it off.
- Windows features secretly eating up your storage: How to reclaim GBs now
- Windows File Explorer > View (tab) > Options > "Change folder and search options" > View (tab) > Check "Show hidden files, folders, and drives" and then Uncheck "Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)" > Say "Yes" to the warning pop-up window > OK >
- Right-click on the file c:\hiberfil.sys > Properties > [you can now see the disk storage space occupied by the file] >
- Right-click on the Start menu > Windows PowerShell (Admin) > .\powercfg /hibernate off > Restart the computer (and the hiberfil.sys file will be removed, freeing up valuable storage space - roughly equal to your installed RAM)
- Windows File Explorer > View (tab) > Options > "Change folder and search options" > View (tab) > Uncheck "Show hidden files, folders, and drives" and then Check "Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)" > OK
- When you use Windows's hibernation feature to start up faster, the OS puts everything in RAM in a single hidden file named 'hiberfil.sys' on your hard disk. The file is roughly the same size as your RAM.
Choose Start, Run, type powercfg.cpl, and press <Enter>. Click the Hibernate tab, and uncheck Enable hibernation. Click OK.- Storage tool | How to use Windows 10's Storage tool to find out the size of the hibernation file--and much more - TechRepublic
- Hardware
- BitLocker
- Recommend that BitLocker be turned off on most consumer PCs.
Applications
- Browsers ...
- RAM Drive ...
- GitHub & Git
- Not to be confused with Git or GitLab.
- See also: Programming > GitHub ...
- --------------------
- WinGet = Windows Package Manager - Wikipedia - since 2021-05-27
- WinGet does not require you to use a Microsoft account.
- PowerShell WinGet
- Windows Package Manager (WinGet), a powerful command-line tool that enables users to discover, install, upgrade, and configure applications on Windows 10 and Windows 11 devices.
- App Installer - Microsoft Apps
- WinGet Alternatives
- GitHub - microsoft/winget-cli: WinGet is the Windows Package Manager. This project includes a CLI (Command Line Interface), PowerShell modules, and a COM (Component Object Model) API (Application Programming Interface). - GitHub
- Windows Package Manager - Wikipedia
- The winget client source code and the community manifest repository are licensed under MIT License and hosted on GitHub.
- cmd > winget list
- Display installed applications = all programs installed on your computer
- winget search [the app name] - gives you a list of matching apps with their id next to them.
- winget install [the id you want to install]
- PowerShell - WinGet - PowerShell is Fun.com
- Use WinGet to install and manage applications | Microsoft Learn
- Getting started with winget @ AskWoody -|- AskWoody subscription
- How Windows is quietly shifting away from EXE software installers -|- AskWoody subscription
- Software installation has traditionally used *.exe, *.msi, etc.
- WinGet is simiilar to the Linux package-manager experience — centralized, trusted software downloads and updates.
- WinGet is the closest thing to a Linux package manager (like apt-get) for Windows. It’s built right into the operating system, created by Microsoft
- The easiest way to install and update apps on Windows is already built in - HowToGeek
- Alternatives to winget: Scoop, Chocolatey
- If winget returns an error, you might need to reconfigure an environment variable. - HowToGeek
- Start > type "environment" > "Edit the system environment variables" > Environment Variables (button) > Path > Path (under "System Variables")>Edit > Edit > C:\Users\YourUsernameGoesHere\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps
- PowerShell > winget search -q ""
- PowerShell > winget install Mozilla.Firefox
- PowerShell > winget install Mozilla.Firefox -- silent
- PowerShell > winget update Mozilla.Firefox
- PowerShell > winget update -- all
- PowerShell > winget uninstall Mozilla.Firefox
- PowerShell > winget uninstall Mozilla.Firefox -- force
- Stop downloading software from websites: Windows has a built-in package manager - HowToGeek
- How to unlock Windows hidden app store - HowToGeek
- Examples:
- PowerShell > winget
- PowerShell > winget list
- PowerShell > winget list --upgrade-available
- PowerShell > winget upgrade
- PowerShell > winget upgrade --all --include-unknown
- Tthe Windows Package Manager looks for all applications that have updates available and attempts to install the updates.
- If package(s) have version numbers that cannot be determined, use --include-unknown to see all results.
- PowerShell > winget upgrade Id.AppName
- PowerShell > winget update --alll
- PowerShell > winget upgrade --all
- PowerShell > winget uninstall Id.AppName
- PowerShell > winget search AppName - to install AppName
- PowerShell > winget export -o drive_letter:\winget.json
Username
Should you use a local account? (or your Microsoft account?) - By Ed Bott (TechRepublic Microsoft Weekly 2019-10-11)
When you set up a new PC for your personal use, one of the most important choices you have to make is what kind of account to set up. Many longtime Windows users instinctively prefer a traditional local account over a Microsoft account, on the theory that anything stored in the cloud must be less secure.
I understand that instinct, but I also strongly recommend that you use a Microsoft account, which is, paradoxically, more secure.
For starters, you can easily recover from a forgotten password using a Microsoft account. You can also retrieve a BitLocker recovery key (just sign in at microsoft.com/recoverykey), which can prevent your encrypted data from being irretrievably lost to hardware or software glitches. A Microsoft account (or an Azure AD account) is also a requirement to use Windows Hello biometric authentication.
If you're concerned about privacy, one easy solution is to create a new email address for a Microsoft account when you set up a new PC, and then use that address only for signing on. Don't link it to your real email address, and don't use it for online services. In that configuration, you get all the advantages of online backup without having to worry about your personal data.Rename user - C:\Users\UserName
- Recommendation: Don't rename it unless it is on a new clean Windows installation. Too many problems.
- Searching with Google will find many ways to rename the user's folder name. Not easy. Not necessarily safe. It could screw up that user's account.
- If you are using a MS account, it may automatically create a username folder which is not what you want. Windows will automatically take the first five characters of the user's email address. WTF was MS thinking?
- Don't just simply rename the folder.
- If you are setting up a new system, without any important info in the folder:
- Settings > Accounts > Family & other users > Add someone else to this PC > Use a MS account login (instead of a local account)
- Search for Computer Management > Local Users and Groups > Users > Right-click on the account's Name
- Reboot
- Log into the new user account
- Confirm (using MS File Explorer) that the username's folder is correct (C:\Users\UserName),
- Summary - Rename a User Profile
- Remind yourself that this is a risky operation.
- Backup everything (cloud)
- Create a system image (Macrium Reflect)
- Create a system restore point
- Win > restore
- Win > cmd (Run as administrator) > net user Administrator /active:yes
- log out of the user profile you want to change
- log into an Administrator account
- Settings > Accounts > Family & other users > Other users > Add someone else to this PC
- Create account
- Change account type > Administrator
- Reboot
- Log into the new user account
- Win > cmd > lusrmgr.msc > Local Users and Groups > Users > Rename the folder
- Windows File Explorer > C:\Users > select the username folder > Rename the folder
- Win > cmd > regedit > HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList
- select the SID in the ProfileList and double-click on the ProfileImagePath value > enter the new profile folder name
- Reboot
- Win > cmd (Run as administrator) > net user Administrator /active:no
- How to Rename User Profile Folder in Windows 10
- Rename a User Profile
- Create a system restore point
- Win > restore
- log out of the user profile you want to change
- log into an administrator account
- Settings > Accounts > Family & other users > Other users > Add someone else to this PC
- Create account
- Change account type > Administrator
- Reboot
- Log into the new user account
- Win > cmd > lusrmgr.msc > Local Users and Groups > Users > Rename the folder
- Windows File Explorer > C:\Users > select the username folder > Rename the folder
- Win > cmd > regedit > HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList
- select the SID in the ProfileList and double-click on the ProfileImagePath value > enter the new profile folder name
- Reboot
- How to Rename a Windows 10 User Folder | How to Change User Folder Name in Windows 10 - YouTube
- Rename a User Profile
- Warning! Danger. Read the comments. However, it did work for some people.
- Win > cmd (Run as administrator) > net user Administrator /active:yes
- Sign out
- Log into the Administrator account
- Win > compmgmt.msc > Computer Management > Local Users and Groups > Users > R-click on the username > Rename it
- Windows File Explorer > C:\Users > select the username folder > Rename the folder
- Win > regedit > Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList
- select the SID in the ProfileList and double-click on the ProfileImagePath value > enter the new profile folder name
- Sign out
- Log into the new user account
- Win > cmd (Run as administrator) > net user Administrator /active:no
- How to rename the User folder in Windows 10? - Super User
- Rename a User Profile
- Win > cmd > WMIC useraccount get name,SID > make a note of the user SID
The WMIC command has been deprecated from Windows 11 with the release of 25H2.- Win > cmd > regedit > HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList
- select the SID in the ProfileList and double-click on the ProfileImagePath value > enter the new profile folder name
- Windows File Explorer > C:\Users > select the username folder > Rename the folder
- Change Name of User Profile Folder in Windows 10 | Tutorials
- Rename a User Profile
- It is highly recommended to create a system image before doing the steps in this tutorial to be able to quickly restore the image to undo the steps if needed since renaming a user profile folder name may have unknown side effects. For example, some programs not referencing the new profile folder name. (Macrium Reflect or Windows 10)
- Sign out
- Sign in with an administrator account
- Win > cmd > WMIC useraccount get name,SID > make a note of the user SID
The WMIC command has been deprecated from Windows 11 with the release of 25H2.- Win > regedit > Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList
- select the SID in the ProfileList and double-click on the ProfileImagePath value > enter the new profile folder name
- Windows File Explorer > C:\Users > select the username folder > Rename the folder
- Create a symbolic link using the command below in an elevated command prompt. This is so anything that still references the old user profile folder name will be automatically redirected to the new user profile folder name.
- mklink /d "Full path of old profile folder name" "full path of new profile folder name"
- See also: mlink ...
- Verify the OneDrive folder location for your account is correctly using the new profile folder name. If it's not, then change the OneDrive folder location to correct it.
- Rename user folder windows 10 - Search
- Change User Name of Account in Windows 10 | Tutorials
- Rename Windows user account and profile folder
- How to Rename User Folder in Windows 10 - Microsoft Community
- How to Change User Folder Name in Windows 10 - 2 Ways
- How to Change the User Folder Name in Windows 10
- Change Name of User Profile Folder in Windows 10 | Tutorials
- Change User Name of Account in Windows 10 | Tutorials
- How to Rename User Profile Folder in Windows 10/11 - Winhelponline
- How to Rename User Profile Folder in Windows 10