How-To Guides

Disable startup programs in Windows using Task Manager, the Startup folder, Task Scheduler and Services — and stop apps that re-enable themselves.

Find out why your Windows PC is slow using Task Manager, then apply the fix that matches the real bottleneck — memory, disk, startup or one bad process.

Change screen resolution on Windows, use scaling instead when text is too small, and fix a resolution option that will not appear in the list.

Run Disk Cleanup on Windows and click Clean up system files to reveal 20GB or more of previous installations, update caches and superseded files.

Factory reset a Windows laptop, keep or wipe your files, and turn on Clean data so your files cannot be recovered before you sell or give it away.

Uninstall programs properly on Windows 10 and 11, find apps missing from the list, and remove stubborn software whose uninstaller fails or refuses to run.

Change your Windows password for a local or Microsoft account, set up recovery before you need it, and reset one you have already forgotten.

Update Windows 10 and 11, understand the four update types, get feature updates early, and fix the updates that keep failing or getting stuck at 0%.

Find your private IP with ipconfig and your public IP in a browser, read what each number means, and fix a 169.254 address that means no connection.