The Windows and Windows Software Megathread

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Worf: Sep 12, 2017; If only Seth would love me like I love him!

hambeet posted:

can we streamline that at all? alt+tab lets me cycle through the windows i want with tab. windows+tab annoyingly doesn't have that same functionality

Windows Key + Ctrl + Left Arrow and Windows Key + Ctrl + Right Arrow ?

# ? May 14, 2019 12:42

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# ? Jun 4, 2024 02:42

hambeet: Sep 13, 2002

Statutory Ape posted:

Windows Key + Ctrl + Left Arrow and Windows Key + Ctrl + Right Arrow ?

hmm yes, thank you.

i have no idea why they wouldn't use the same functionality as alt+tab, that'd be more user friendly

anyway, whinge over tyvm

# ? May 14, 2019 12:49

Klyith: Aug 3, 2007; GBS Pledge Week

win10 virtual desktops are extremely good

cool feature: right click on something in the win-tab spread, "show windows from this app on all desktops": this is fully persistent for that program. I use that on foobar2000 so I always have music visible.

hambeet posted:

i have no idea why they wouldn't use the same functionality as alt+tab, that'd be more user friendly

here's a snip of autohotkey that makes a single keypress into a toggle for switching desktops:

code:

^#\::
  SendMessage, 0x08 , 0, 0, , WinTitle, A, , , 200  ;0x08 WM_KILLFOCUS = tell active window to release key focus
                                                    ; prevents flashing taskbar (mostly)
  if (vdeskflip)
  {
    send ^#{Left}
    vdeskflip := false
  }
  else
  {
    send ^#{Right}
    vdeskflip := true
  }
Return

I bind ctrl+win+\ to an extra button on my mouse, and this makes it into a one-button desktop flipper.
#` instead of ^#\ on the first line would make win+tilde be the hotkey, which would be a good combo for keyboard.

# ? May 15, 2019 07:36

mystes: May 31, 2006

I wish you could have it switch single monitors to different virtual desktops when you have two monitors.

# ? May 15, 2019 12:54

Fleedar: Aug 29, 2002; RARRUGHH!!; Lipstick Apathy

Is there a way to permanently apply folder view options to every folder in Windows 10? There is never a moment that I don't want to see a folder in Details view with Name, Type, Size, and Date Modified columns. I know you can apply the current view settings to all folders "of this type", but it never wants to stick forever, and it seems I'm always stumbling across folders Windows thinks are a new "type" with different default view options that I don't want.

There are few things in technology that I feel like a luddite about, but if I could use the Windows 95/98 version of Windows Explorer unchanged in Windows 10, I totally would.

# ? May 15, 2019 23:50

Klyith: Aug 3, 2007; GBS Pledge Week

Fleedar posted:

Is there a way to permanently apply folder view options to every folder in Windows 10? There is never a moment that I don't want to see a folder in Details view with Name, Type, Size, and Date Modified columns. I know you can apply the current view settings to all folders "of this type", but it never wants to stick forever, and it seems I'm always stumbling across folders Windows thinks are a new "type" with different default view options that I don't want.

There are few things in technology that I feel like a luddite about, but if I could use the Windows 95/98 version of Windows Explorer unchanged in Windows 10, I totally would.

Here's what I would do:

1. close all explorer windows, delete these two keys in regedit
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam\BagMRU HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam\Bags
(this is where explorer stores all saved folder view settings)

2. logout/ login, open explorer, navigate to a folder, set the view details as you like.

3. change the folder to a different type in options and apply its view to all of this type. repeat for every available type. it should stick going forward because there are no old views saved to confuse things.

# ? May 16, 2019 02:48

Hipster_Doofus: Dec 20, 2003; Lovin' every minute of it.

quote:

There is never a moment that I don't want to see a folder in Details view with Name, Type, Size, and Date Modified columns.

I know right?!!

Klyith posted:

Here's what I would do:

1. close all explorer windows, delete these two keys in regedit
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam\BagMRU HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam\Bags
(this is where explorer stores all saved folder view settings)

2. logout/ login, open explorer, navigate to a folder, set the view details as you like.

3. change the folder to a different type in options and apply its view to all of this type. repeat for every available type. it should stick going forward because there are no old views saved to confuse things.

I am going to try this and if it works I would like to marry you. What's your ring size?

# ? May 16, 2019 03:55

c0burn: Sep 2, 2003; The KKKing

Buy directory opus it will change your life.

# ? May 16, 2019 10:25

Hipster_Doofus: Dec 20, 2003; Lovin' every minute of it.

c0burn posted:

Buy directory opus it will change your life.

I've always thought it looked way too busy for me. They say it is eminently customizable. Does this include making it minimal? I don't mean to the point of defeating the purpose of an Explorer replacement, but rather paring its appearance down to only the features which I'm going to use most.

# ? May 16, 2019 10:44

c0burn: Sep 2, 2003; The KKKing

It's very customisable and can be very minimal. Also there's the light edition which is cheaper and probably what most people need. It's also came up in humble bundle before now!

# ? May 16, 2019 11:39

namlosh: Feb 11, 2014; I name this haircut "The Sad Rhino".

Fleedar posted:

Is there a way to permanently apply folder view options to every folder in Windows 10? There is never a moment that I don't want to see a folder in Details view with Name, Type, Size, and Date Modified columns. I know you can apply the current view settings to all folders "of this type", but it never wants to stick forever, and it seems I'm always stumbling across folders Windows thinks are a new "type" with different default view options that I don't want.

There are few things in technology that I feel like a luddite about, but if I could use the Windows 95/98 version of Windows Explorer unchanged in Windows 10, I totally would.

You were only missing one step to make this work perfectly... go to folder options, advanced tab and find the checkbox �remember each folder�s view settings� and uncheck it. Then go set the folder view how you want it, then click that �apply the current view to all folders of this type� button.

I�ve been doing this since I said the exact same thing in win2000...

�I never don�t want the details!�

I hope I got the steps right, I�m not in front of a machine

# ? May 16, 2019 12:35

hooah: Feb 6, 2006; WTF?

c0burn posted:

It's very customisable and can be very minimal. Also there's the light edition which is cheaper and probably what most people need. It's also came up in humble bundle before now!

How easy is it to set a replacement file browser to open on win+e? I remember using Xplorer² back in the XP days and it was kind of a pain to do that.

# ? May 16, 2019 12:38

mystes: May 31, 2006

c0burn posted:

Buy directory opus it will change your life.

This still exists?

# ? May 16, 2019 13:26

Tesseraction: Apr 5, 2009

Still exists, still getting updated with features you will absolutely never use, still way better than Explorer.

# ? May 16, 2019 14:05

c0burn: Sep 2, 2003; The KKKing

I use it on my Amiga and my PC :v:

# ? May 16, 2019 15:51

Tesseraction: Apr 5, 2009

Speaking of Directory Opus the latest update didn't require a restart afterwards, have they changed DO's behaviour or is this the new normal? Because restarting to update is such a pain in the arse for a program like this and if they've ended that requirement for (at least most) updates then even better.

# ? May 17, 2019 10:14

Lork: Oct 15, 2007; Sticks to clorf

I'm about to upgrade my CPU, motherboard and RAM. What's going to happen to my Windows 10 license?

# ? May 17, 2019 22:36

Dirt Road Junglist: Oct 8, 2010; We will be cruel
And through our cruelty
They will know who we are

Lork posted:

I'm about to upgrade my CPU, motherboard and RAM. What's going to happen to my Windows 10 license?

OEM or retail?

It shouldn't matter, but good luck either way. You might have to call MSFT after the installation and read them a bunch of digits, and you'll get a new activation.

# ? May 17, 2019 22:57

Lork: Oct 15, 2007; Sticks to clorf

Dirt Road Junglist posted:

OEM or retail?

It shouldn't matter, but good luck either way. You might have to call MSFT after the installation and read them a bunch of digits, and you'll get a new activation.

It was upgraded from a Windows 7 key I got so long ago I don't remember where it's from; almost surely OEM though. I don't think I have a key to read to them.

# ? May 17, 2019 23:06

Dirt Road Junglist: Oct 8, 2010; We will be cruel
And through our cruelty
They will know who we are

Lork posted:

It was upgraded from a Windows 7 key I got so long ago I don't remember where it's from; almost surely OEM though. I don't think I have a key to read to them.

Oh, I mean, there's usually an automated process once you boot up. A key gets generated, you read it back to MSFT, they send a response key, and you enter that on your system to make it all official.

# ? May 17, 2019 23:10

Flipperwaldt: Nov 11, 2011; Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?

Lork posted:

It was upgraded from a Windows 7 key I got so long ago I don't remember where it's from; almost surely OEM though. I don't think I have a key to read to them.

In that case the Windows 10 license is neither retail nor OEM, but is called a digital license. There are special rules for those. Procedure for a transfer to new hardware is described here.

Though the easier way would definitely be to dig up the Windows 7 key (or any Windows 7 key really) and to enter it when asked during a clean Windows 10 install.

# ? May 17, 2019 23:15

Hipster_Doofus: Dec 20, 2003; Lovin' every minute of it.

In any case it will be a cakewalk. Remember, microsoft really, really wants you using windows 10. Honestly licensing is practically just a formality at this point.

# ? May 18, 2019 02:12

Lork: Oct 15, 2007; Sticks to clorf

I finished the upgrade and tried to activate, but it it just keeps saying the activation servers are unavailable.

Even if I could get through, according to this I'm hosed anyway:

quote:

What happens if I change my motherboard?

As it pertains to the OEM license this will invalidate the Windows 10 upgrade license because it will no longer have a previous base qualifying license which is required for the free upgrade. You will then have to purchase a full retail Windows 10 license. If the base qualifying license (Windows 7 or Windows 8.1) was a full retail version, then yes, you can transfer it.

Edit: I managed to get it activated via phone support.

Lork fucked around with this message at 05:09 on May 18, 2019

# ? May 18, 2019 04:11

doctorfrog: Mar 14, 2007; Great.

I need a program to run through directories of thousands of mp3 files, report which ones have a pathname that exceeds 64 characters, and automatically truncate them, and be smart enough to handle or not poo poo the bed if it runs into a renaming collision.

Use case: loading a bunch of mp3s onto a flash drive for a car mp3 player that's picky about filenames.

# ? May 18, 2019 06:20

Uthor: Jul 9, 2006; Gummy Bear Heaven ... It's where I go when the world is too mean.

I'd have to check when I get home, but I suspect MediaMonkey would be able to handle that.

# ? May 18, 2019 06:33

Hipster_Doofus: Dec 20, 2003; Lovin' every minute of it.

At first I read that as filename and was all :stare:

# ? May 18, 2019 07:05

doctorfrog: Mar 14, 2007; Great.

Yeah, I'm sure it's more than 64 characters in the path, since I have files with pathnames over 100 characters that play, and some that don't show on the head unit. But sometimes you have to be specific to get specific help, even if you're not sure what the limit is.

The head unit is dumb, and I'm dumb too for working this hard to load a bunch of music on a stock Honda player:

a text file i wrote posted:

Here's the stuff you have to do for quality of life on a Honda MP3 player, because it was designed by a very silly person.

Before messing with mp3s:
1. Remove anything that isn't an mp3, such as folder.jpg, once you've copied a directory over.
2. There's a limit of 700 folders, it'll crash or simply stop playing at 701. Practically speaking, this limits drive size to two 32GB drives.
3. Wallaper can be put in jpg format (probably bmp too) in the root directory, resolution is 800x480.

messing with mp3s, which have been copied over:
1. Fix tag issues, if any. Include a proper Genre tag if you want to sort by genre.
2. Rename files using MP3Tag, including
2a. creating genre/album/artist folders for sorting, as the file search reads directories, not tags (keep under 700 folders). (example "/Alternative/Green Day - Dookie/01 - xxx - Green Day.mp3")
2b. naming the files in a way that they'll sort properly (having every file start with track number).
3. Note that previous step may lengthen filenames by quite a bit, so truncate those filenames via tag or mass renaming.
3. Embed cover art if wanted, and resize the images to 700x700 (untested?) at the most, or less to save space, using Sanse MP3 Art Sizer (kinda hard to find, so don't lose it).
4. Use Nirsoft's BulkFileChanger to set all file creation/modify/access dates to the same, or sequential. This is because Honda will stupidly sort by stamp rather than name.
5. Run Mp3Gain as wanted for normalization, which can be good if you shuffle a lot and don't want to change volume.

# ? May 18, 2019 08:09

Klyith: Aug 3, 2007; GBS Pledge Week

doctorfrog posted:

Yeah, I'm sure it's more than 64 characters in the path, since I have files with pathnames over 100 characters that play, and some that don't show on the head unit. But sometimes you have to be specific to get specific help, even if you're not sure what the limit is.

The head unit is dumb, and I'm dumb too for working this hard to load a bunch of music on a stock Honda player:

Foobar2k has a very good function-based formatting script that is usable in the move/rename feature. The real problem you have though is that fitting genre\artist - album\01 - title into 64 characters is pretty difficult. You gotta be pretty ruthless about cutting down characters so that it fits without everything just being cut from the end. (Like, if you have any album by Godspeed You Black Emperor that's all your characters gone just on the directory name.)

In your green day example you're duplicating the artist at the end, is that because you can't see the artist otherwise? I think this would do what you want:

$cut($trim($cut(%genre%,12))\$cut($trim($cut(%artist%,16))-$trim($cut(%album%,16)),24)\$trim($cut(%tracknumber% - %title% - %artist%,32)),61)

Possibly also wrap the whole thing in a $ansi(X) or $ascii(X) if the dumb head unit can't deal with unusual characters.

But it's kinda unsatisfying when I look at a bunch of music I have through that filter. Lot of super-truncated results. Honestly, with only 700 tracks I don't know if I'd bother organizing by genre.

# ? May 18, 2019 15:46

Dirt Road Junglist: Oct 8, 2010; We will be cruel
And through our cruelty
They will know who we are

Uthor posted:

I'd have to check when I get home, but I suspect MediaMonkey would be able to handle that.

Seconding MediaMonkey.

Foobar2k also works, but MM is easier to set up initially.

# ? May 18, 2019 18:44

Incessant Excess: Aug 15, 2005; Cause of glitch:
Pretentiousness

I've recently switched to Bitwarden for password organization, migrating from Keepass. I'm really liking it so far but have a lot duplicate entries since my database is pretty old. The premium features mentions something about password hygiene, is that something that helps with cleaning up duplicate entries? I'm wondering if signing up for premium would help me clean up my database.

# ? May 18, 2019 20:20

doctorfrog: Mar 14, 2007; Great.

Klyith posted:

Foobar2k has a very good function-based formatting script that is usable in the move/rename feature. The real problem you have though is that fitting genre\artist - album\01 - title into 64 characters is pretty difficult. You gotta be pretty ruthless about cutting down characters so that it fits without everything just being cut from the end. (Like, if you have any album by Godspeed You Black Emperor that's all your characters gone just on the directory name.)

In your green day example you're duplicating the artist at the end, is that because you can't see the artist otherwise? I think this would do what you want:

$cut($trim($cut(%genre%,12))\$cut($trim($cut(%artist%,16))-$trim($cut(%album%,16)),24)\$trim($cut(%tracknumber% - %title% - %artist%,32)),61)

Possibly also wrap the whole thing in a $ansi(X) or $ascii(X) if the dumb head unit can't deal with unusual characters.

But it's kinda unsatisfying when I look at a bunch of music I have through that filter. Lot of super-truncated results. Honestly, with only 700 tracks I don't know if I'd bother organizing by genre.

Thorough reply, thanks. Like I said, I'm just throwing 64 characters out there, I'm sure it's more. You're right in that the artist name is totally not necessary in this context. A genuinely non-annoying filename only matters so far, as the head unit on this car stereo only shows about the first 32 characters of a track anyway when browsing, or displaying metadata. It's more important that the music is identifiable enough for browsing (which is also a pain in the rear end), and sorts properly. (And shows the cover art, dammit)

What I ended up doing is using a program called Renamer to truncate the filenames, but it would be nice to use a swiss army app like Foobar or MM to make this more automated.

# ? May 18, 2019 21:21

Empress Brosephine: Mar 31, 2012; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

What�s the safest and best android emulator for pc?

# ? May 19, 2019 14:44

Hipster_Doofus: Dec 20, 2003; Lovin' every minute of it.

Safest? Like not malware-ridden? Is that a thing?

# ? May 19, 2019 15:34

Tesseraction: Apr 5, 2009

I used BlueStacks when I tried to find an Android emulator for gaming and while it didn't suck it does slightly reek of freemium.

# ? May 19, 2019 21:22

Fixit: Mar 27, 2010

Hello all, I am at a loss and trying to get an understanding of my option. I am building a new computer from scratch. I will taking over my hard drives but that is all. I thought that by doing so I could keep my Windows 10. I spoke with a Microsoft rep and he informed me that is a no-go.

I originally purchased my OS as 8.1 and have my emailed receipt, linking it to my windows account. I did the free Windows 10 upgrade back when it was available.

In my thinking, I paid for a Windows 8.1 and should at least retain that version. I am currently searching for the disc I received when I originally bought it. If I get them to agree to give me a new 8.1 key, could I then upgrade it to Windows 10? Or do I have to shell out more money for a new Windows 10 OS and key? If I do the second option, will I retain the rights to the Windows 10 down in the future? In other words, I don't want an OEM version.

Thank you!

# ? May 19, 2019 22:56

Lambert: Apr 15, 2018; by Fluffdaddy; Fallen Rib

Link your Microsoft account and Windows license now and reactivate using your account after installation (go to Settings -> Update & Security -> Activation). You can also enter your Windows 8.1 key during installation, if you have one.

Lambert fucked around with this message at 23:08 on May 19, 2019

# ? May 19, 2019 23:06

Fixit: Mar 27, 2010

Lambert posted:

Link your Microsoft account and Windows license now and reactivate using your account after installation (go to Settings -> Update & Security -> Activation). You can also enter your Windows 8.1 key during installation, if you have one.

Linked my windows live account to my computer. May check back when I get all my computer parts in and start building it/loading Windows on it.

Thank you for your help

. I really appreciate it.

# ? May 20, 2019 04:05

Dylan16807: May 12, 2010

Empress Brosephine posted:

What�s the safest and best android emulator for pc?

Genymotion seemed to be okay for my purposes.

In theory someone could take the android app support that chromebooks now have and port it to a desktop OS. Anbox is a similar thing, currently just for Linux, but it might gain Windows 10 support in a few months.

# ? May 20, 2019 10:51

Worf: Sep 12, 2017; If only Seth would love me like I love him!

Fixit posted:

Hello all, I am at a loss and trying to get an understanding of my option. I am building a new computer from scratch. I will taking over my hard drives but that is all. I thought that by doing so I could keep my Windows 10. I spoke with a Microsoft rep and he informed me that is a no-go.

I originally purchased my OS as 8.1 and have my emailed receipt, linking it to my windows account. I did the free Windows 10 upgrade back when it was available.

In my thinking, I paid for a Windows 8.1 and should at least retain that version. I am currently searching for the disc I received when I originally bought it. If I get them to agree to give me a new 8.1 key, could I then upgrade it to Windows 10? Or do I have to shell out more money for a new Windows 10 OS and key? If I do the second option, will I retain the rights to the Windows 10 down in the future? In other words, I don't want an OEM version.

Thank you!

next time ask the MS rep if they get free copies as employees or if they buy them on Ebay for $10 like other people

# ? May 20, 2019 11:55

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# ? Jun 4, 2024 02:42

Empress Brosephine: Mar 31, 2012; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS

Thanks for the suggestions on the android emulators. I�ll check em out

# ? May 20, 2019 12:28

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