Note to self: There is an easy way to disable Bing search in the Windows 11 Start menu: Add the following Registry entry: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search [DWORD] BingSearchEnabled=0 To activate the setting you need to either reboot or run the following command: gpupdate /force Source: makeuseof.com
Category: Windows
Copilot annoyance
Today I turned on a laptop computer with Windows 10 Home, which I had not used for a long time. Of course it had to install quite a few Windows Updates, so I let it do this and came back later to restart it (rinse and repeat). After the second restart it showed a login … Continue reading Copilot annoyance
Windows 11 compatibility of Mini PCs that come preinstalled with Windows 11
You would think that if you buy a computer that comes preinstalled with Windows 11 it would satisfy the minimum system requirements for Windows 11. Well, think again. We recently bought two BMAX B6 Power Mini PCs from Geekbuying that came with Windows 11 pro preinstalled. Being a bit on the paranoid side, I did … Continue reading Windows 11 compatibility of Mini PCs that come preinstalled with Windows 11
Exporting Windows drivers with pnputil
I recently came across an entry in c't Magazin's FAQ about backing up Windows drivers for a fresh Windows installation. Their suggestion was to utilise the pnputil tool that is included with Windows. Further research on the topic brought up numerous other articles. Strangely, the c't article recommended the use of a PowerShell command prompt … Continue reading Exporting Windows drivers with pnputil
A few things I recently learned about PuTTY (the ssh client)
I have been playing around with PuTTY (Yes, I know, a grown man playing with putty evokes some rather odd pictures. I'm talking about the ssh client tool here though). recently and discovered a few things I didn't know. You can specify the user name to connect with I already knew that there is a … Continue reading A few things I recently learned about PuTTY (the ssh client)
Warning: Windows Update KB5028166 breaks NT Domains
Just in case we are not the only ones still using Samba with an NT domain: Windows Update KB5028166 which will automatically be installed on Windows 10 today, breaks compatibility with that domain type. After the installation, a login with a domain account no longer works. Removing that update fixes the issue, but of course … Continue reading Warning: Windows Update KB5028166 breaks NT Domains
Where did Microsoft move the underline menu shortcut option?
So I don't forget: Microsoft seems to love changing the place where they hide useful configuration options. One that I always turn on is "Underline access keys when available" and in Windows 10 it is now in "Keyboard" -> "Change how keyboard shortcuts work" which is about half way down the page just where it … Continue reading Where did Microsoft move the underline menu shortcut option?
libjpeg-turbo and Windows XP
Note to self: The last 32 bit version of the libjpeg-turbo DLL compiled with MS Visual Studio (libjpeg-turbo-x.y.z-vc.exe) that supports Windows XP is version 2.0.6. Later versions apparently need a newer Visual C++ runtime that does not work on Windows XP. A colleague of mine just learned that the hard way. We haven't tested the … Continue reading libjpeg-turbo and Windows XP
User cannot change his Samba AD password from Windows
Note to self: If a user cannot change his password on a Samba AD Domain from a Windows (10) computer getting the following error message: Check that the user didn't already change the password on the same day because the default setting for minimum password age is 1 (day). To change that setting, use samba-tool: … Continue reading User cannot change his Samba AD password from Windows
Remember: Windows 10 will automatically restart for updates
Note to self: If you have anything important running on your Windows 10 computer for a longer time (e.g. over night), make sure to prevent Windows Update to become active. It will force a restart of your computer if it fancies so, regardless of the programs that might still be active. Guess what happened last … Continue reading Remember: Windows 10 will automatically restart for updates