Table of contents for January 2019 in Windows Help & Advice

The Action Centre should really be called the Notifications Centre, since it’s here you can catch up with all the reminders and notifications pinged your way by various applications and parts of your system. Once opened, you can quickly get an overview of the most recent updates and act accordingly. At the bottom of the Action Centre you’ll find a series of clickable buttons giving you access to several useful features – these are designed more for Windows tablets and 2-in-1 devices with touchscreens, but they can still be useful in day-to-day life – for example, switching the Night Light feature on or off at night depending on whether you need to rest your eyes or view accurate colours on-screen. 1 At-a-glance notifications The Action Centre’s Notifications icon can be…

1 View current theme Right-click any free space on the Windows 10 desktop and select Personalise. In the window that opens, select Themes from the left-hand pane. You’ll see the current theme that Windows 10 is using. A picture at the top shows you the background image and what the Start menu looks like. You’ll also see the name of the image, the colours, mouse cursor and system sounds. 2 Browse and apply installed themes You’ll also see pre-installed themes that come with Windows 10 (or ones that your PC manufacturer has created). These are listed under the ‘Apply a theme’ section. Each theme has a name, and will show one of the theme’s desktop wallpapers and beneath the image will be a colour, which is the colour certain elements…

1 Sign up for free account Open your web browser and go to https://bitwarden.com.Click the Create Account link to set up your free account: you need to provide your email address, name and a Master Password to unlock everything else (see Nick’s best tip – for example, ‘1Penzance4Harrison8Westerly’). If you use the password hint field, make sure it’s a clue that only you can guess. Click ‘Submit’. 2 Install BitWarden Next, log in through BitWarden’s web interface at https://vault.bitwarden.com and click Send Email to verify your email address and unlock all its features. Once done, click the icon in the top-right corner and choose ‘Get the Apps’. Install the Windows app to manage sites outside your browser (see the annotation on page 30), plus the appropriate plugin for your web…

1 Make sure Storage Sense is turned on First, make sure that Storage Sense is enabled. To do that, open the Start menu and go to Settings. Once there, click System, then select Storage. This will give you an overview of all the drives that you have installed in your PC, along with how much storage space is available. Underneath that you’ll see a section called ‘Storage sense’. Make sure this is set to On. 2 Change Storage Sense settings To change how Storage Sense works, click ‘Change how we free up space automatically’. A new window appears, giving you various options. The first lets you set when Storage Sense runs. By default, it will run when drive space is low. Click the drop-down menu underneath where it says ‘Runs…

1 Classic mode Windows’ old battery options are still around, so make sure they’re set correctly. Right-click the battery icon next to the clock on your Taskbar, and select Power Options. On this screen, you’ll be able to select from a number of different plans, at least if they’re displayed; if you can only see one – as is the case here – expand your options by clicking ‘Create a power plan’ on the left. 2 Pick the type You’ll be able to intricately alter the minutiae of your power plan a little later, but for now pick the broad category of ‘Power saver’ and give it a clever name. Click ‘Next’, and set time limits for the computer and its screen to switch off as well as the default…

A decent screen has traditionally been one of the best, if not the very best, investments you can make for your PC. In the past, that’s reflected the fact that screen technology has ambled along at a leisurely pace. Back in 2006, for instance, Dell rolled out its 30-inch 3007WFP. It wasn’t cheap at around £1,000, but it took the better part of a decade for monitors to appear that made it truly redundant. Divide that upfront cost by seven or eight years of use, and the price of having a fantastic display doesn’t look bad. More recently, the monitor market has gone more or less mental. Over the last four or five years, the innovations have come thick and fast. Most obviously, the range of form factors has exploded.…

Worthy of its own section is the VideoLAN Client ( www.videolan . org ), AKA VLC. It’s famous for its ability to play anything you throw at it, even if the file is corrupt or partially recovered. The reasons for its amazing abilities are many: Firstly, it’s open source, so it has been openly developed, and is available for free to all; secondly, it uses its own built-in codec systems, and it supports pretty much everything. VLC is based in France, which enables it to ignore most USA-based software patents that prevent other video player programs from including certain codecs. Version 3.0, released at the start of 2018, introduced a host of innovations that brought VLC right up to date. These included default hardware decoding to…

£2,000 | $2,000 www.nikon.com Nikon hasn’t held back with the Z6, and any worries it would miss the mark are dispelled as soon as you pick it up. Until now we’d have had little hesitation in recommending Sony’s Alpha A7 III if you were in the market for a full-frame camera at around £2,000 ($2,000), but the Nikon Z6 is the more compelling option. Features The Nikon Z6 features a back-illuminated 24.5MP full-frame sensor, with an ISO range running from ISO100 to 51,200; though this can be expanded to 50-204,800. The Z6 features Nikon’s new ‘Z’ lens mount. The mount opening is 11mm wider than Nikon’s F-mount at 55mm, while the flange focal distance is a very short 16mm. Nikon believes the new design will enable it to design optics…

£179 | $199 www.audio-technica.com/ Audio-Technica has a reputation for producing high-quality headphones, microphones, and turntable accessories, and with the release of the ATH-M50xBT wireless headphones, it promises studio quality audio without the cord. Price and availability The ATH-M50xBTs are available for £179 ($199), which is a decent price to pay for quality wireless over-ears – you’re generally looking at spending anything from £60 ($80) to up to £699 ($700) for high-end models like the Beyerdynamic Amiron Wireless. Design The new headphones look pretty much identical to their wired ATH-M50x predecessor, in that they are a hybrid between professional studio headphones and ones for casual listening. This means the ATH-M50xBTs look suitably industrial, with a chunky padded headband and a thick hinge where the cups connect to it. If you’re after…

The bulk of your computing life is spent within the confines of the Windows desktop. Even when you have applications open, you’re using the Taskbar to switch between them, while the Start menu sits ready to pop up when you need it. The desktop continues to reside underneath it all too, just a click away and revealing either a bare backdrop or a pile of shortcuts, files and folders that you’ve found no other home for. It’s easy to develop bad habits over time, so in this opening section we’re going to step you through best-practice advice for making better use of the desktop – even if that means making less use of it thanks to the presence of other, improved tools – the Start menu and the Taskbar. 1…

One of computing’s most frustrating aspects is finding lost or forgotten files, never mind apps and settings. Thankfully, each version of Windows improves its search tools to the point where you can now find almost anything from anywhere: the desktop, File Explorer and even Settings. Just type all or part of the thing you’re looking for and watch as Windows steers you in the right direction. That said, there’s a price to pay for putting yourself in the hands of Microsoft’s virtual assistant, Cortana. Don’t worry, after we’ve shown you how to set up Cortana to provide you with more relevant information, we’ll also reveal how to switch it off completely if you value your privacy over the convenience it offers. 1 Cortana shortcuts Click inside the ‘Type here to…

1 Shoot your image You’ll need a camera capable of shooting raw images for this. It’s a feature of all DSLRs, most high-end compacts, and some phones. Raw captures the entire readout of the sensor without compression, so we can use a raw image processing app to extract shadow, midtone and highlight data from a single image, before merging the three back together to create the final result. 2 Open in Affinity Photo Affinity Photo is split into task-specific Personas, and one of these is for raw image development. Right-click your raw file in File Explorer, select Open With > Affinity Photo, and Affinity will recognise the file and open in the Develop persona. From here, you can crop and straighten the image using the Crop tool, one up from…

1 Check that Bluetooth is active The first thing to do is to switch on Bluetooth on your PC. Go to the Action Centre by clicking on the icon on the far right-hand side of the Taskbar next to the clock. Then click the Bluetooth icon. If it’s already highlighted (as some of the other tiles are here) then it’s already on. On some PCs switching on Wi-Fi will also switch on Bluetooth, and it’s also often on by default. 2 Use Bluetooth’s settings You can enter the Bluetooth settings window in one of two ways – either via the Settings app or by right-clicking the Bluetooth button in the Action Centre. You can also search for Bluetooth Settings direct from the Taskbar, press [Win] and type Bluetooth. Note the…

Why is playing video so complicated? Why does it play smoothly in one program, but not another? Why can you play it on this system, but not that one? Why does it stream OK, but not play locally? How can the video play, but not sound? How do you get subtitles to display? Why is the audio only in stereo, not surround? How come the colours are drab? All those questions have come from the mouths of people who had the audacity to try to play video. Before you throw your PC out the window, we’re offering you a masterclass in video playback. We’ll explain the complexities of the Windows video pipeline (you’ll see why things can become so difficult to diagnose), and discuss what software you need to get…

We love home cinema setups. A quiet media centre PC, powering a projector, and connected to a surround sound amp makes for a formidable entertainment solution. For people from a PC background, though, the audio side of things can get neglected, but if you’re entertaining the idea of a big screen, you’re going to need a big soundscape to match. We don’t have space to explore all the options here, but a good place to start is a suitable home cinema amp or receiver with matching satellite surround speakers, plus a low-frequency subwoofer. The next big thing is Dolby Atmos, which adds vertical speakers to the mix,  but even a 5/6/7.1-channel surround sound option is going to be music to your ears. One issue for PC audio is the distinction…

Not all reinstalls require a complete wipe of your hard drive. A repair or refresh installation leaves your programs, settings and files in place, and restricts itself to installing a fresh copy of your Windows files over the top of your existing copy. If your problem is linked to a corrupt file or Windows setting, the repair installation can usually fix it. All repair installs share one common characteristic: you must launch them from Windows itself. You can’t boot from your install media and repair Windows through that; you need to boot into Windows, then start the repair process from there. If you’re unable to boot into Windows, therefore, you’ll need to skip to page 72 and perform a full destructive recovery instead. Start the repair Starting a repair install…

Reinstalling Windows from scratch – namely, wiping your system drive to install a fresh version of Windows on to it – is the ultimate choice for anyone looking to revive a slow PC or resolve a major, non-hardware issue. Here we’ll step you through the entire process – if you’re simply looking to repair an existing Windows install, turn to our guide on page 70. Before you begin, make sure your PC is fully backed up by following the ‘Back up Windows 10’ tutorial on page 43 of issue 148. A full reinstall really is destructive – nothing left on your C drive will exist once you’ve finished. If you’d like to transfer selected program settings from old installation to new, download the portable CloneApp tool (www.mirinsoft.com) to your backup…

£139 | $149 www.google.com Google, Amazon and (to a lesser extent) Apple are all vying to take control of the next big thing in tech – the smart home and the associated products and services that come with it, with the second-generation Amazon Echo Show and the new Google Home Hub being just two of the latest devices to tempt you into joining their particular ecosystems. The similarities between the Amazon Echo Show and the Google Home Hub are certainly uncanny, from form factor to features – even some commands sound the same once you change the word “Alexa” for “Hey, Google”. The result is a device you feel like you’ve used before, yet Google’s version has some distinguishing features, like the auto-updating Google Photos gallery and a Home View…

NvidiaTitan RTX $2,499 www.nvidia.com Do you believe in love at first sight? We didn’t. Well, until now. The object of our affection is the stunning gold-coloured Titan RTX from Nvidia. Just look at it. While you’re taking in its sensuous form, its three DisplayPort connectors and those gorgeous twin fans, let’s explain what’s so special about it. For one, it’s the most powerful prosumer graphics card you can buy today, packing in almost all the power of its Quadro RTX 6000 workstation cousin for less than half the price – stick it in your PC and watch it fly. Second, it’s kitted out with Nvidia’s Turing architecture, a 1,350MHz processor (boostable to 1,770MHz) and 24GB of ulra-fast GDDR6 memory, delivering 130 teraflops of performance. That makes it ideal for everything…

It’s easy to overlook File Explorer, the tool that’s used to browse your PC for files and folders. But in Windows 10, the program formerly known as Windows Explorer has truly come of age. Its Ribbon-based interface puts all of its controls at your fingertips, a search box makes tracking down lost files easy and the Quick Access toolbar (located on the left) ensures that you are never more than a click away from your favourite folders. Better still, file transfers have been improved – now you can easily pause as well as cancel transfers. Look out, too, for options to move and copy files directly to favourite or recently accessed folders from the Ribbon’s Home tab. 1 Speed up navigation When you open File Explorer, you’ll see a ‘Quick…

The Settings tool is where you go to tweak various Windows preferences and options. It first emerged in Windows 8, but after a few years of remaining the poor cousin to the old-school Control Panel (which still exists today), Settings has finally come to the forefront. That said, there are times where you’ll need access to the older Control Panel – typically for more granular settings not yet transferred to Settings. Windows hasn’t completely abandoned it yet and will divert you to the appropriate Control Panel item when it’s needed, but if you want to bypass the Settings tool, right-click the Start button to reveal the hidden Quick Access menu and choose ‘All Control Panel items’ to browse or search for the setting you need. 1 How to access Settings…

1 Clipboard history Windows 10’s new clipboard features need to be switched on before they’ll work. Go to Settings > System > Clipboard, or type Clipboard settings from the Start menu. The upper switch controls whether you’re using the new Clipboard History, and the lower one is for syncing your clipboard history across your devices, so what you copy on one you can paste on another. 2 A different shortcut If you’re used to pressing [Ctrl] before pasting with [V], you’re in for a shock. This shortcut will still paste, but to use Clipboard History you need to use [Win] + [V]. This brings up the Cloud Clipboard window, which contains everything you’ve copied. Pressing [Ctrl] + [C] copies to the clipboard as usual, copying new information doesn’t overwrite anything.…

1 Download the app Set up Chromecast using the Google Home app on your iOS or Android device. Google produces plenty of apps, but the Home app is one of the key ones – it enables you to set up other Google devices as well, such as Google Home. Once you’ve installed it, tap ‘Add a device’ to set up your Chromecast. The app will guide you through the entire setup process in just a few minutes. 2 Set up Chromecast This is pretty simple and involves two main steps: plugging a Chromecast into an HDMI port on your TV; and then connecting it to your Wi-Fi network. Updates may be downloaded during this process. You can connect to Chromecast from any phone or PC on your Wi-Fi network. This…

1 Zen: Coloring Book for Adults Free • JH Digital Solutions Colouring books aren’t just for kids, as this app proves. Zen: Coloring Book for Adults is designed to help the older folks relax and unwind in a creative and stress-free way. The 40 designs included in the book are more intricate and involved than you’d find in a children’s colouring collection, and the tools include pencil shading, brush size and a darkness meter. You can also undo strokes, share images, and zoom with ease. 2 Netflix Free • Netflix Netflix has become a staple of the TV series binge-watching generation, and for good reason – it’s the Internet’s top digital TV and film service by a mile. With the Netflix app you can instantly watch as many TV episodes…

Security MULTIPLE ANTI-VIRUS PROGRAM ALERT Q I Premium use both and Malwarebytes McAfee Virus Protect with Windows 10 Home 1803. I believe this combination is encouraged, but a yellow triangle alert in Windows Defender’s Security Centre has emerged warning me about using multiple anti-virus apps. Please advise. Colin Forster Ian’s solution Yes, Colin, this combination is acceptable – we have happily run Malwarebytes Premium alongside Norton in the past and currently run it with Bitdefender with no issues, as the screenshot shows. Hopefully the erroneous message will disappear when you finally get upgraded to version 1809, which also makes it possible to perform periodic manual scans using Windows Defender as a backup to your main programs – switch this on via ‘Virus & threat protection’ under ‘Windows Defender Antivirus options’.…

Start by stress-testing your desktop to verify that everything works as it should – sometimes the repair can introduce more problems than it solves, in which case if you’re running Windows 8.1 or 10 you can undo the changes. Go to Start > Settings > ‘Update & recovery’ > Recovery and look for an option to go back to your previous version – click ‘Get started’ and then follow the prompts. If the repair doesn’t appear to fix your underlying problem, Windows 8.1 and 10 users can take one more intermediate step – the reset or repair. It will see you waving goodbye to all those desktop programs you’ve installed (including MS Office and your third-party security software), but it will preserve your Microsoft Store apps, files and Windows settings.…

Once Windows is reinstalled, open Windows Update to bring Windows fully up to date – don’t be surprised if there are hundreds of updates still to apply in the case of Windows 7 and 8.1. Once it’s fully up to date, consider reinstalling Macrium Reflect Free and taking your first drive image – a vanilla backup you can restore in future instead of reinstalling Windows itself. Next, it’s a case of reinstalling your core apps. Once in place, open CloneApp from your data drive. If you click the Restore button, every single program setting you backed up will be restored – if there are any backup settings you don’t want to restore, select Options to locate the backup folder, then open it and move any program folders you want to…

1 Partition hard drive You’ll need to partition your drive to free up space on which to store your copy of Windows. The best tool for the job is AOMEI Partition Assistant (www.aomeitech.com/aomei-partitionassistant.html). Start by clicking Make Bootable Media under Wizards to create rescue media. 2 Shrink main partition Select your Windows drive (typically C:) and click Resize/ Move Partition under Partition Operations. Use the slider to free up at least 30GB space to the right of the Windows partition. If your drive is an SSD, click ‘Advanced>>’ and tick ‘Allow partition alignment…’ Click ‘OK’. 3 Add new Windows partition Now select the newly created Unallocated space to the right of drive C and click ‘Create Partition’ under Partition Operations. Verify NTFS is the file system and click ‘Advanced<<’ to…

£750 | $750 www.synology.com While there are loads of affordable Network Attached Storage (NAS) options out there, the number of higher-end devices is much more limited – and that’s a problem if you work with photos or video where having large amounts of fast storage is very important. And that’s where the Synology DS1618+ fits in. It’s affordable enough for home users, but also has grunty hardware and upgrade options that will appeal to businesses. Price & availability The DS1618+ is generally sold without any hard drives for £750 ($750), although some retailers offer bundles. You typically get the best deals, though, by buying drives separately and installing them yourself. The single configuration also comes with just 4GB of RAM, although you can add up to 32GB. We recommend that…

1 Any Video Converter Free  www.any-video-converter.com/products/for_video_free/ When it comes to supported file formats, Any Video Converter Free certainly doesn’t disappoint. It handles online as well as offline files, meaning that if you like the look of some videos on YouTube, you can quickly and easily convert them into a format suitable for offline viewing on your mobile. More than just YouTube, you can also download and convert videos from Facebook, Vimeo, Metacafe and more, and Any Video Converter Free also gives you the option to rip audio from CDs and DVDs. You’ll find support for all of the video formats you can shake a stick at, including ready-made profiles for different devices, and editing options such as trimming, cropping and rotating allow for basic cleanup tasks. If you want to…