The Windows and Windows Software Megathread

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Annath: Jan 11, 2009; Batatouille is a great and funny play on words for a video game creature and I love silly words like these; Clever Betty

DerekSmartymans posted:

I did StartAllBack, then got a wonderful deal on ObjectDesktop, of which I’d already used several components from for over a decade. I just re-upped it for another year back in April. It’s paid, and I wouldn’t get the whole thing at “official” prices, but they run deals a LOT and it’s component pieces change/customize almost every single part of Windows 11’s UI/UX.

I'm glad that's working for you, but there's no way in hell I'm paying a subscription just to maintain the functionality and ease of use I already have.

I guess I'm sticking with 10 until 12 reverts the dumb decisions. (That's what I did with 7 when 8 launched)

# ? May 30, 2023 23:00

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# ? Jun 4, 2024 09:39

Super No Vacancy: Jul 26, 2012

somebody said they were bringing back separating same program taskbar items whens that happening

# ? May 30, 2023 23:40

Computer viking: May 30, 2011; Now with less breakage.

Annath posted:

I've been putting off moving from 10 to 11.

I had to switch on my work laptop, and I can't stand the changes to the UI (Mac Taskbar ).

Are there compelling reasons to make the jump?

Are there ways to get rid of the UI changes?

It's mostly fine. WSL is a little bit nicer (e.g. you can run graphical linux apps and they just work)?

Beyond that it's not a hugely noticeable difference. At least not to me, but I don't spend that much time interacting with Windows, in a way - I can move windows and start apps and I use alt-tab and win-tab to switch windows anyway. The only windows 11 change that actually annoys me a bit is the newer right-click menu, though I think there's some registry value you can set to disable it.

# ? May 30, 2023 23:56

Ynglaur: Oct 9, 2013; The Malta Conference, anyone?

Honestly, Power Toys have provided a larger set of new Windows features I use daily than any core OS updates in a long time. FancyZones in particular is awesome, though most of the other utilities are also great.

# ? May 31, 2023 01:19

doctorfrog: Mar 14, 2007; Great.

Annath posted:

I'm glad that's working for you, but there's no way in hell I'm paying a subscription just to maintain the functionality and ease of use I already have.

I guess I'm sticking with 10 until 12 reverts the dumb decisions. (That's what I did with 7 when 8 launched)

Explorer Patcher is free and open source and gave me my W10 taskbar back in 11.

# ? May 31, 2023 01:33

Canine Blues Arooo: Jan 7, 2008; when you think about it...i'm the first girl you ever spent the night with; Grimey Drawer

If you just install this random pile of 3rd party software - some that costs money and some that's free - Windows 11 kinda doesn't suck!

# ? May 31, 2023 04:15

Tornhelm: Jul 26, 2008

Canine Blues Arooo posted:

If you just install this random pile of 3rd party software - some that costs money and some that's free - Windows 11 kinda doesn't suck!

I'm sorry, have you not used Windows in the last 20 years?

# ? May 31, 2023 06:24

Saukkis: May 16, 2003; Unless I'm on the inside curve pointing straight at oncoming traffic the high beams stay on and I laugh at your puny protest flashes.
I am Most Important Man. Most Important Man in the World.

Tornhelm posted:

I'm sorry, have you not used Windows in the last 20 years?

I have, and that's why I know that Windows peaked at Windows 2000 Pro. Every new version since have needed bunch of new and different stuff, and because they can't improve on it MS has had to make things worse. But there has always been some tinkering available to make things tolerable without 3rd party stuff that I'm loathe to install.

I've also used a vertical taskbar for two decades and there's to way in hell I'll go back to horizontal. I won't upgrade my main desktop to 11 until I get enough testing on some secondary system, I need to get Win11 compatible laptop first.

# ? May 31, 2023 07:02

Canine Blues Arooo: Jan 7, 2008; when you think about it...i'm the first girl you ever spent the night with; Grimey Drawer

Tornhelm posted:

I'm sorry, have you not used Windows in the last 20 years?

I have and it makes me sad. I have a lot of complaints about W10 too. I just have a lot more about W11

# ? May 31, 2023 07:20

hooah: Feb 6, 2006; WTF?

Meanwhile I've been on Windows 11 since shortly after launch and it's been fine. The only "tinkering" I did was move the start button (which I don't use anyway) to the left side of the taskbar.

# ? May 31, 2023 11:27

BrainDance: May 8, 2007; Disco all night long!

Saukkis posted:

I have, and that's why I know that Windows peaked at Windows 2000 Pro. Every new version since have needed bunch of new and different stuff, and because they can't improve on it MS has had to make things worse. But there has always been some tinkering available to make things tolerable without 3rd party stuff that I'm loathe to install.

I'm with you but the peak was right in the middle of beta 1 for XP.

Watercolor/Professional was infinitely better than Luna. Modern, a distinct style, yet still professional as the name implies. Ever since Luna it's just been downhill.

I'm the one nerd left in the world still mad about that.

Just look at it, it's so perfect

# ? May 31, 2023 11:52

HalloKitty: Sep 30, 2005; Adjust the bass and let the Alpine blast

BrainDance posted:

I'm with you but the peak was right in the middle of beta 1 for XP.

Watercolor/Professional was infinitely better than Luna. Modern, a distinct style, yet still professional as the name implies. Ever since Luna it's just been downhill.

I'm the one nerd left in the world still mad about that.

Just look at it, it's so perfect

I'm partial to the longhorn 4074 logon screen

# ? May 31, 2023 12:11

BrainDance: May 8, 2007; Disco all night long!

HalloKitty posted:

I'm partial to the longhorn 4074 logon screen

Oh for real that was good, I miss that "everything is made of crystals" design era, which I guess people are calling"frutiger aero" now that it's old enough for people to be nostalgic for it?

Betas used to be fun, but it seems so boring now even though they're completely accessible to everyone. There's no more "hack this dll get some wildly new half broken thing that's gonna be around for 10 builds then disappear when we realized we were way too ambitious" or anything.

There's an alternate timeline out there somewhere where XP used watercolor and they never reset Longhorn and just decided XP will do fine for a couple more years while they finished it. Would have worked better that way too since computers would have gotten fast enough to mostly run it well.

I used to use a uxtheme thing of watercolor for years, I still would if someone made watercolor-dark or something. But is there even an equivalent to patching uxtheme on Windows 10/11? For some reason I figured it just doesn't work that way anymore.

# ? May 31, 2023 12:24

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

Windows has been down hill since the first version I used, 3.1.1.

I use my computers so much less these days that I don't really have an opinion.

# ? May 31, 2023 13:06

oh no computer: May 27, 2003

Is this the thread for PowerShell questions? I've never used Powershell before and it's such a simple task someone should be able to answer it easily.

I have a folder full of folders that are named like "The Dark Night (2008)" and I'd like to batch rename them so that they're like "Dark Night, The (2008)". I've written the following Powershell script:

code:

foreach ($folder in Get-ChildItem *) {
  $segments = $folder.BaseName.Split(' ')
  for ($i = 1 ; $i -lt $segments.Length ; $i++) {
    $segments[$i-1] = $segments[$i]
  }
  $segments[$segments.Length-2] = ", The"
  Rename-Item -path "$folder" -NewName "$segments"
}

which kind of does what I want it to, except that I'm picking up an extra trailing space before the ", The" is inserted, so the result is "Dark Night , The (2008)". How do I get rid of it?

# ? May 31, 2023 13:35

Annath: Jan 11, 2009; Batatouille is a great and funny play on words for a video game creature and I love silly words like these; Clever Betty

Not PowerShell, but I use Bulk Rename Utility all the time fir similar purposes.

# ? May 31, 2023 13:37

oh no computer: May 27, 2003

Oh I forgot PowerToys has an inbuilt renamer, I'll use that.

# ? May 31, 2023 13:58

Ynglaur: Oct 9, 2013; The Malta Conference, anyone?

PowerToys now includes Mouse Without Borders, too, as of the most recent release.

# ? May 31, 2023 14:46

slidebite: Nov 6, 2005; Good egg

Wondering if someone can give some assistance on an odd issue I've been having with my circa 2017 Surface Pro (SKU 1796, i5-7300u)

Running stock Win 10 pro, updated to 19045 according to sys info.

For the past couple weeks, I've noticed when I try to shut down I always (or if not always, almost always) get one of the messages on shutdown saying "Closing 1 app and shutting down" with the option to force shut down or cancel.

The app is always "Task Host Windows"

Coincidentally I have noticed that if I try to do a manual windows update, it goes to the update screen and "Checking for updates" ... and it never pulls an update or stops with updates found, just a never ending "checking for updates." I suspect it has something to do with windows auto-updates, but that's just a guess.

Any idea what gives? System seems to be running fine otherwise.

More of an annoyance. I was thinking of doing a windows refresh which has never been done on it.

# ? May 31, 2023 17:34

Klyith: Aug 3, 2007; GBS Pledge Week

slidebite posted:

Wondering if someone can give some assistance on an odd issue I've been having with my circa 2017 Surface Pro (SKU 1796, i5-7300u)

Running stock Win 10 pro, updated to 19045 according to sys info.

For the past couple weeks, I've noticed when I try to shut down I always (or if not always, almost always) get one of the messages on shutdown saying "Closing 1 app and shutting down" with the option to force shut down or cancel.

The app is always "Task Host Windows"

Coincidentally I have noticed that if I try to do a manual windows update, it goes to the update screen and "Checking for updates" ... and it never pulls an update or stops with updates found, just a never ending "checking for updates." I suspect it has something to do with windows auto-updates, but that's just a guess.

Any idea what gives? System seems to be running fine otherwise.

More of an annoyance. I was thinking of doing a windows refresh which has never been done on it.

This is classic symptom of an update that's bunged up or stuck partway through.

1. The auto Troubleshooter for windows update is actually pretty good in 10 above. I've had it work several times with this type of problem (the windows store one is still worthless). Settings -> Update & Security -> Troubleshoot

2. If that doesn't work, this long series of instructions probably will.

IMO fixing it is preferable to a Reset, which will be at least a little bit of annoyance. So I'd do that unless you have other issues with the OS.

# ? May 31, 2023 18:26

Toshimo: Aug 23, 2012; He's outta line...

But he's right!

oh no computer posted:

Is this the thread for PowerShell questions? I've never used Powershell before and it's such a simple task someone should be able to answer it easily.

I have a folder full of folders that are named like "The Dark Night (2008)" and I'd like to batch rename them so that they're like "Dark Night, The (2008)". I've written the following Powershell script:
code:
foreach ($folder in Get-ChildItem *) {
  $segments = $folder.BaseName.Split(' ')
  for ($i = 1 ; $i -lt $segments.Length ; $i++) {
    $segments[$i-1] = $segments[$i]
  }
  $segments[$segments.Length-2] = ", The"
  Rename-Item -path "$folder" -NewName "$segments"
}
which kind of does what I want it to, except that I'm picking up an extra trailing space before the ", The" is inserted, so the result is "Dark Night , The (2008)". How do I get rid of it?

We have a dedicated PowerShell thread if you are interested: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3286440

Also, PowerShell is supported as a language in Code tags on SA (as shown below).

As to your question I routinely use a combination of PowerShell and Bulk Rename Utility to do mass file cleanups. My proposed PowerShell solution is:

PowerShell code:


foreach ($folder in Get-ChildItem -Directory .) {

    if($folder.BaseName -match "^The ") {

        $clean_name = ($folder.BaseName -replace '^The ', '') -replace '(.*) (.*)','$1, The $2'

        Rename-Item $folder -NewName "$clean_name"

    }

}

# ? May 31, 2023 18:56

slidebite: Nov 6, 2005; Good egg

Klyith posted:

This is classic symptom of an update that's bunged up or stuck partway through.

1. The auto Troubleshooter for windows update is actually pretty good in 10 above. I've had it work several times with this type of problem (the windows store one is still worthless). Settings -> Update & Security -> Troubleshoot

2. If that doesn't work, this long series of instructions probably will.

IMO fixing it is preferable to a Reset, which will be at least a little bit of annoyance. So I'd do that unless you have other issues with the OS.

Thanks for this!

So running the troubleshooter (it said no problems found) but going into additional troubleshooters I had the option of running it which I am doing right now.

Oddly, the first thing it is doing is running "checking for pending restart" and it's literally been stuck there for about 50 minutes now, so I can only imagine that is also reflective of the issue. I'll go through the longer option #2 now.

I really appreciate the advice.

# ? May 31, 2023 19:28

Fruits of the sea: Dec 1, 2010

It's been years since I shelved my last Surface Pro but I recall having to roll back some of the display drivers that caused some odd issues specifically to Surface Pros. 90% chance that's not the case but worth looking into if the problem persists after Klyith's suggestion and a reset.

# ? May 31, 2023 19:34

slidebite: Nov 6, 2005; Good egg

Manually stopping and restarting the service seemed to do it. It sure didn't like stopping though.... lots of progress "........" and eventually saying the service could not be stopped, but I tried it again and seemed to work. Restarted it and doing some updates now.

Appreciate the help.

# ? May 31, 2023 20:14

LegoMan: Mar 17, 2002; ting ting ting; College Slice

I know I can create a custom access page for a Sharepoint site, but is there a way to customize the text to it's large and red so the people actually stop and read it (sometimes) instead of just clicking on "I'd like Access Please".

Like, does the field accept html or something so that I can just paste formatted text in?

# ? Jun 1, 2023 00:17

AlexDeGruven: Jun 29, 2007; Watch me pull my dongle out of this tiny box

LegoMan posted:

I know I can create a custom access page for a Sharepoint site, but is there a way to customize the text to it's large and red so the people actually stop and read it (sometimes) instead of just clicking on "I'd like Access Please".

Like, does the field accept html or something so that I can just paste formatted text in?

The short answer is "they're still going to do it".

I haven't admined any SharePoint in far too long to remember or it to be relevant anymore, but I would hope you could do some sort of customized banner or something similar.

# ? Jun 1, 2023 00:48

~Coxy: Dec 9, 2003; R.I.P. Inter-OS Sass - b.2000AD d.2003AD

Is there such a thing as a third party dictionary for Word?
I write technical/business documents (proposals, specifications, impact assessments) and am getting more and more annoyed at the lovely synonyms that it offers.

# ? Jun 1, 2023 04:30

Arivia: Mar 17, 2011

~Coxy posted:

Is there such a thing as a third party dictionary for Word?
I write technical/business documents (proposals, specifications, impact assessments) and am getting more and more annoyed at the lovely synonyms that it offers.

yes: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us...&rs=en-us&ad=us

finding one is obviously field-dependent

# ? Jun 1, 2023 08:38

RC and Moon Pie: May 5, 2011

What's a good free program for Windows 10 for DVD burning? All I want to do is create a simple menu and maybe divide titles into chapters.

I'm in the process of converting VHS home movies for someone.

# ? Jun 8, 2023 01:20

Rakeris: Jul 20, 2014

Back in the day I used to use convertxtodvd, no idea how it compares to anything current however.

# ? Jun 8, 2023 03:18

Neo Rasa: Mar 8, 2007; Everyone should play DUKE games.

This is an idiot question I think but is there is a program that lets you create a tagged database, but of words/terms instead of files? Like if you wanted to have a local text list of products that could be searched by tags of various attributes assigned to each one. I feel like this was something I vaguely knew about a very long time ago but am a dumbass now.

# ? Jun 8, 2023 03:36

isndl: May 2, 2012; I WON A CONTEST IN TG AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS CUSTOM TITLE

Neo Rasa posted:

This is an idiot question I think but is there is a program that lets you create a tagged database, but of words/terms instead of files? Like if you wanted to have a local text list of products that could be searched by tags of various attributes assigned to each one. I feel like this was something I vaguely knew about a very long time ago but am a dumbass now.

Maybe try Notion? It's a notes app that has database features.

# ? Jun 8, 2023 05:26

doctorfrog: Mar 14, 2007; Great.

RC and Moon Pie posted:

What's a good free program for Windows 10 for DVD burning? All I want to do is create a simple menu and maybe divide titles into chapters.

I'm in the process of converting VHS home movies for someone.

Back in the day I used Nero for this, we're talkin' almost 20 years ago. Don't know about today, but here is one starting point: https://alternativeto.net/feature/dvd-menu-creation/

Of these, DVDStyler is where I'd first try, it's free, open source, and the screenshots clearly show a DVD menu editor.

# ? Jun 8, 2023 06:11

Boris Galerkin: Dec 17, 2011; I don't understand why I can't harass people online. Seriously, somebody please explain why I shouldn't be allowed to stalk others on social media!

I have Windows 10 Home set up via Boot Camp on my MacBook and I guess I enabled PIN logins and only PIN logins because it doesn�t give me a choice to try a different login method. When I boot into Windows it just automatically wants me to login, with PIN, to an account connected with my Microsoft account. There is no option other than �I forgot my PIN.�

Anyway I think I broke something because I changed the primary email address on my Microsoft account earlier this week and now my PC won�t let me login. It tells me my credentials cannot be verified. When I press the button to setup my PIN again it pops up a Microsoft login window but it has my old Microsoft email filled in by default. If I press the back button to try to put in my new email address it just closes the login window. If I put in my password and login, it just tells me that I can�t setup my PIN.

How do I login to my drat computer?

E:

I found this post https://superuser.com/a/1607370 and the first picture shows what I see. I can only click on �I forgot my pin� but then it doesn�t let me reset it. There�s no other option to login via my Microsoft password.

Boris Galerkin fucked around with this message at 12:54 on Jun 8, 2023

# ? Jun 8, 2023 12:44

Neo Rasa: Mar 8, 2007; Everyone should play DUKE games.

isndl posted:

Maybe try Notion? It's a notes app that has database features.

This is perfect, thanks! :hfive:

# ? Jun 8, 2023 13:39

RC and Moon Pie: May 5, 2011

doctorfrog posted:

Back in the day I used Nero for this, we're talkin' almost 20 years ago. Don't know about today, but here is one starting point: https://alternativeto.net/feature/dvd-menu-creation/

Of these, DVDStyler is where I'd first try, it's free, open source, and the screenshots clearly show a DVD menu editor.

DVDStyler is just what I needed, thanks.

# ? Jun 9, 2023 03:25

Gromit: Aug 15, 2000; I am an oppressed White Male, Asian women wont serve me! Save me Campbell Newman!!!!!!!

Anyone here a whip when it comes to port forwarding? I used to have no problem setting it up years ago, but with a new internet/OS/modem I've been banging my head against it for many hours with no joy.
Windows 11, qBittorrent, Windows Firewall, Netcomm NF18MESH.

I've setup a NAT rule in the Netcomm for port number 54000 both external and internal for TCP/UDP, and the "server IP" is for my PC.
Windows firewall has inbound rules that list that same port and TCP/UDP for all/private/public profiles.
qBittorrent has port 54000 selected.

Is there anything else I should be doing, as that still doesn't work. No sites report that port being accessible.

# ? Jun 13, 2023 11:40

GigaFuzz: Aug 10, 2009

Gromit posted:

Anyone here a whip when it comes to port forwarding? I used to have no problem setting it up years ago, but with a new internet/OS/modem I've been banging my head against it for many hours with no joy.
Windows 11, qBittorrent, Windows Firewall, Netcomm NF18MESH.

I've setup a NAT rule in the Netcomm for port number 54000 both external and internal for TCP/UDP, and the "server IP" is for my PC.
Windows firewall has inbound rules that list that same port and TCP/UDP for all/private/public profiles.
qBittorrent has port 54000 selected.

Is there anything else I should be doing, as that still doesn't work. No sites report that port being accessible.

Are you using a VPN by any chance? Only some providers do port forwarding and your router's settings won't matter.

If not, can you post a screenshot showing the details of the rule you made on the router? What you posted sounds like it's correct but there might be something not quite right.

# ? Jun 13, 2023 12:20

codo27: Apr 21, 2008

I'm looking for a program that will allow me to lock input on a machine so it cannot be hosed with, while still showing the display. I want to also password protect this functionality. Not finding much on google. Any suggestions?

# ? Jun 13, 2023 13:16

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# ? Jun 4, 2024 09:39

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

I think that's called or related to kiosk mode, if that helps the search.

# ? Jun 13, 2023 13:30

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Serious Hardware/Software Crap > The Windows and Windows Software Megathread

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