Category: Windows

I changed jobs last year which meant a new laptop to setup and configure as I need. I had most things configured as I wanted them when an update to Windows 11 came through and the quick access section in Explorer disappeared; this is a section to which you can pin folders to which you want quick access when using Windows Explorer.

It appears at the top of the left navigation pane, or used to appear there anyway. At first I thought Microsoft had removed it entirely, before realising that the options to add a folder to the quick access was still on the right click context menu, which was either a very sloppy change or evidence that the functionality was still present, albeit hidden:

Continue reading “Restoring the Quick Access in Windows 11 Explorer”

I do a fair amount of work in demo systems and sometimes require an on-premises set of servers. In this series of articles, I’m going to step through the basic installation and configuration I do for a domain controller and client machine, as I keep forgetting a step or two whenever I do this.

I am not claiming this is the “right”, or even the “best”, way of doing this configuration, but it is sufficient for an isolated demo environment which will only ever contain sample data and be used by only a small number of users.

The series index, below, will automatically update as articles go live over the next few weeks.

Create a Windows Demo Environment
Install Windows Server 2022
Replicate VM and Run sysprep
Configure Ethernet on Domain Controller Server
Rename Domain Controller Server
Promote Server to Domain Controller
Create Other Machines

In the past I used a lot of paper sticky notes to keep track of tasks or small notes on a temporary basis. Microsoft introduced the Sticky Notes application way back in 2002, but I only really started using it with Windows 8. I’m fairly sure in Windows 8 and 10, it started automatically with Windows, but since getting a Windows 11 laptop for work, it is no longer automatically starting.

Sticky Notes is now an app store app which means there isn’t a Program Files folder with an exe in to create a shortcut. However, there is an applications folder from which you can create shortcuts. To open the applications folder, you can use the following command in the Run window (Win+R):

shell:appsfolder

You can right click and create a shortcut for the icons into the Windows Startup folder, which you can access with this shell command in the Run window:

shell:startup

From now on, whenever you start Windows, Sticky Notes will automatically launch.

I’m sure that setting a default printer in Microsoft Windows used to be quite simple. However, I was having problems with Windows never defaulting to the same printer and the one it suggested was never the one I wanted. I did some poking around and it actually took me a few minutes to work it out.

This was on a Windows 11 machine, but it ay have been the same on Windows 10 without my having noticed. To set a default printer, open the Printers & scanners Control Panel applet.

You will need to set the Let Windows manage by default printer option to off, which then makes the default printer setting available:

Continue reading “How to Set a Default Printer in Windows 11”

The new work laptop is protected with a BitLocker PIN which needs to be entered each time the laptop is started. This is all well and good and I think protecting the laptop and any client data it may contain is a good idea; however, after several weeks of entering the PIN, I apparently forgot what it was and couldn;t start the laptop.

I spoke to the tech team and they gave me the recovery code so that I could use that to log in and was directed to reset the BitLocker PIN so I could log in normally.

To reset the BitLocker PIN, launch the Manage BitLocker Control Applet and find the drive in question; click the Change PIN link:

Continue reading “Reset BitLocker PIN”

I travel a lot for work and sometimes carry files with me on a SSD which has BitLocker enabled to ensure no-one else can access the files should I lose the device. In January 2020 I published an article on using PowerShell to unlock an encrypted drive using PowerShell.

I did it that way as I was working onsite and wanted to be able to plug a drive in when needed, but not manually type the password every time; I didn’t want to have the drive auto-unlock when plugged in as I was signed in under a generic admin account (I had the PowerShell script) tucked away in a location which would be difficult, if not impossible, for anyone else to find. I also deleted it at the end of the day so there wasn’t a copy left behind.

As mentioned above, you can configure windows to automatically unlock a drive when it is plugged in. I find this particular option useful when working on my own laptop or PC.

You can do this through the Manage BitLocker Control Panel applet.

Once you’ve launched this find the drive in the list and mark the Turn on auto-unlock option: