Table of contents for November 2015 in Windows Help & Advice

From all the emails we receive it’s clear most of you have upgraded to Windows 10 without a hitch, but that there are some common annoyances along the way… These could be something as easy as how to find a program you only run once in a blue moon, or something a bit more in depth, such as how to claim back all the space that your old version of Windows is still taking up on your hard drive. That’s why, this issue, we have a special feature on fixing your common Windows 10 upgrade problems. We also have a new section designed for anybody who is new to Windows 10 and just wants to find out how the latest system works. And don’t forget to check out the list…

Google OnHub Why is there a vase in this magazine? That’s no vase. It’s actually a wireless router for use in the home. Dubbed Google OnHub, it’s the latest product from the search engine giant. That can’t be a wireless router because it doesn’t look like a rejected piece of military hardware. OnHub’s slick looks are one of its big selling points. The antennae are usually on display, but here they’re concealed within its cylindrical housing. And rather than featuring more blinking lights than a town-centre Christmas tree, its status is reflected via a subtle glowing ring on top. Is setting it up needlessly complex, like most wireless routers? No, and this is another of its advantages. Connect it to your phone line and turn it on and the rest…

£14.42 The amount 10 septims from video game series The Elder Scrolls would be worth in the real world. Website Mobile Money worked out exchange rates for virtual coins. Pokemon dollars were best value, with 10 being equal to two pence, while 10 Orens from The Witcher would be £2.50. HOW HAPPY ARE TECH EMPLOYEES? The tech industry may have hip offices and high salaries, but its workers are miserable. According to a survey, only 19 per cent felt happy at work, only 17 per cent felt valued, and fewer than 50 per cent rated their relationship with coworkers as strongly positive. VIDEO GAMES HAVE BEEN BLAMED FOR...  People feeling like gro0wn-uos. 31 per cent of the 2,000 over-18s surveyed cited playing games as a reason for the delayed onset…

Packed with informative tutorials Every issue, we guarantee to pack the magazine with great tutorials teaching you all the best things you can do with your PC. Each article features step-by-step instructions to make learning new skills fast and enjoyable. Customise Windows to work your way We all know how to do the basics but getting the most from Windows isn’t always easy. Our dedication to the operating system means you get the very best tips and tricks for all versions of Windows. Get more from your favourite websites We all have our list of favourite sites but often we miss out on great features because they’re difficult to use or hidden from sight. We’ll show you how to do more online, for a more satisfying web life. Discover new…

Your guide Dan Grabham says… “ReadyBoost is a free way to speed up your system using a USB stick, and it’s great for extending the life of your PC. Here’s how to make the most of it!” At a glance… SKILL LEVEL Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts TIME TAKEN 30 minutes SUITABLE FOR Windows 8 Windows 7 There’s nothing more frustrating than realising your once-speedy computer, which served you well just a few months ago, is starting to feel slow and unresponsive. Don’t worry though – you don’t need to fork out for an upgrade just yet. Windows offers a quick and easy solution. ReadyBoost is a useful built-in tool that uses removable flash memory, such as USB sticks and SD cards, as extra RAM to speed…

Your guide Christian Hall says… “Locking folders from being accessed on your own user account is not part of Windows by default. Folder Password Expert helps keep your data safe” At a glance… SKILL LEVEL Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts TIME TAKEN 10 minutes SUITABLE FOR Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 Folder Password Expert is a program that allows you to protect folders against unwanted access. It can lock folders on an internal hard drive, flash drive, external USB drive and network drive. When folders are password protected and locked, their contents cannot be read, copied, modified or deleted. To access the locked folders, you must supply the correct password. Folder Password Expert guarantees your privacy by making it impossible for anyone to access your data…

DROPBOX Dropbox is a simple idea: a single folder on your PC that’s synced through the cloud and appears the same on every computer you sign into it on. There’s an app for most platforms – including mobile, where your files can be viewed and individually downloaded – but you only get 2GB of space for free. Upgrade options include 1TB of space for £7.99 a month. GOOGLE DRIVE Google’s cloud service offers 15GB of storage space for free, and is tied in to the Google Docs online office suite that works very much like Office Online. Your storage space is shared across Drive, your Gmail inbox and Google+ photos. Upgrade options span from 100GB for £1.25 a month all the way to 30TB for £190 a month. BT CLOUD…

Whether you’ve just installed Windows 10, or you’re still wondering if it’s worth the upgrade, then you’ve come to the right place. Windows 10 can be a leap into the unknown for some people, and we’re here to give you the confidence to take the initial steps. In this section, you’ll find advice on how to upgrade to Windows 10, as well as a short tutorial showing how it works and what you need to do first. And don’t forget to let us know how you’re getting on! Email us on windowsmagazine@futurenet.com. Matt Hanson Associate Editor www.facebook.com/windowsmag…

Livestreaming is one of the hottest buzzwords on the internet at the moment. YouTube has launched its own livestreaming channel, while apps such as Meerkat and Periscope turn smartphones into broadcast systems. But what actually is livestreaming? Simply put, a livestream is an as-it-happens feed of video and audio, much like television. However, unlike television it’s broadcast over the internet rather than the airwaves, and there are billions of streams to choose from. If you’ve ever watched a show live on BBC iPlayer you’ve seen a livestream, and if you’ve taken part in a Skype conversation with video then you’ve created your own. Thanks to advances in broadband and mobile internet speeds, as well as improving hardware, livestreams have become more interesting over the last couple of years. Meerkat and…

Windows 7 Master Device Manager Device Manager is Windows’ one-stop shop to check all your computer’s components and peripherals. To access it click the Start button, then type device manager and click the first result. You’ll now see a complete list of your computer’s hardware, organised by category. Anything that’s playing up will sport a yellow exclamation mark. Right-click on these dodgy devices and choose ‘Update Driver Software’, and Windows will try to find the correct drivers. If this doesn’t fix the issue, try the device manufacturer’s website. You can find out who made the device by right-clicking and choosing ‘Properties’. Free speech-to-text via YouTube Speech-to-text has become the holy grail of computing, but you have to invest in software such as Dragon’s NaturallySpeaking to transcribe large chunks of speech.…

1 Google’s logo was recently updated – but what colour is the first G? A. Blue B. Red C. Yellow 2 Apple’s first logo, from 1976, depicted which famous scientist? A. Albert Einstein B. Isaac Newton C. Alexander Graham Bell 3 What is Sony’s current slogan? A. “Just do it” B. “Be moved” C. “I’m lovin’ it” 4 Why did Airbnb’s new logo spark controversy this year? A. It looks rude B. It looks like another company’s logo C. It suggests Airbnb is an airline 5 Which other-worldly being forms Snapchat’s logo? A. A ghost B. An alien C. A vampire 6 What was the Windows icon called in Windows Vista and 7? A. The Windows Prong B. The Windows Brick C. The Windows Orb…

Your guide Andrew Westbrook says… “Connecting your devices and using powerful apps will make finding what you want a breeze” At a glance… SKILL LEVEL Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts TIME TAKEN 60 minutes SUITABLE FOR Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 These days most people have multiple devices, with multiple ways to take photos, play music and record videos, so it’s more important than ever to stay well organised. Otherwise, before you know it, you’ll have gathered a huge library of media, and no way to easily find what you want without trawling through endless folders. Fortunately, Windows 10 is making it easier to stay on top of things. The basis of the new system remains the same with folders – now called Pictures, Music and…

Your guide Cat Ellis says… “Make your snaps shine with the Adobe Photoshop Express app” At a glance… SKILL LEVEL Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts TIME TAKEN 30 minutes SUITABLE FOR Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 Adobe Photoshop is the tool of choice for professional photographers the world over. Its toolset gives experts total control over their pictures, enabling them to tweak and edit their shots to perfection. That kind of power doesn’t come cheap though, plus the app takes a long time to master. That’s where Photoshop Express comes in. This fantastic Windows app is like a cross between Photoshop and Instagram, with simple but effective tools to help you correct common flaws, plus it has an array of fun filters for a touch of…

Your guide Dan Grabham says… “Let’s take a look around some of the exciting features of Edge Microsoft’s latest browser” At a glance… SKILL LEVEL Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts TIME TAKEN 30 minutes SUITABLE FOR Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 Edge has a significant number of new features, so it makes perfect sense to take you through them. While it’s designed differently from other browsers, such as Internet Explorer and Google Chrome, the basic user interface doesn’t stray hugely from accepted browser wisdom in terms of the placement of key controls. Seasoned Internet Explorer users will also notice that the Favourites/History and Download sidebar is very familiar, though now with the addition of the Reading List. We can only assume that Microsoft thinks the formula…

BOX Box has been around since 2005 and currently offers 10GB with a free personal account. The size of each file, however, is limited to 250MB. This makes it less useful for archiving movie files, which can be very large. In comparison, OneDrive and Dropbox allow files up to 10GB each. You can expand Box to unlimited storage with a paid-for enterprise account. iCLOUD Apple recently expanded its online storage offering, with 5GB available for free and 20GB for 79p a month. If you’re an iPhone user you’ll already have an iCloud account attached to your Apple ID, but iCloud doesn’t work like other cloud storage offerings. There’s no simple folder syncing here, even through the Windows app. AMAZON CLOUD DRIVE Amazon offers 5GB for free and paid plans ranging…

SELECTIVE SYNC Windows 10 drops the file placeholders seen in Windows 8, as many users found them confusing. Instead, there’s now a Dropbox-like selective sync system that lets you choose exactly what data ends up in the cloud. Right-click the OneDrive icon in the system tray and choose ‘Settings, then click the ‘Choose Folders’ button on the ‘Choose Folders’ tab. Tick the folders you want to back up. VERSIONING Shared documents are vulnerable to being overwritten, but OneDrive allows you to roll a file back to an earlier version, potentially saving hours of work. Head to www.onedrive.com and log in. Find the document in question, right-click it and select ‘Version history . The document will open in a new browser tab, with a sidebar that lets you see earlier saved…

Here at Windows Help & Advice we have several offices – our main headquarters in the beautiful city of Bath, as well as our home offices, too. Therefore, it’s essential we have the right hardware to get the job done. The Epson Workforce with its refillable ink cartridges is shaping up to be a promising addition at home, while Samsung’s latest 4TB portable hard drive is ideal for keeping back-ups and magazine archives safe. But it’s not all work, we’ve been having plenty of fun with the GoPro HERO4 Session, too – turn to page 90 to find out why. Until next time! Nick Odantzis deputy editor nick.odantzis@futurenet.com…

You can view notifications from various apps by adding them to your PC’s lock screen, which is the screen that appears when your computer is waiting for you to log in. Navigate to ‘Start > Settings > Personalisation > Lock screen’ and scroll down to the ‘Choose apps to show quick status’ section. Click on any of the grey boxes and pick an app from the list to view their status on the lock screen.…

To start an internet stream you’ll need a computer with a webcam and microphone, as well as a fairly decent internet connection. Most modern laptops and even phones and tablets are up to the task. Google’s Hangouts On Air is an easy to way to create a stream. A prerequisite for this is a Google account, but if you don’t already have one you can sign up at accounts.google.com/signup. Next, visit plus.google.com/hangouts/onair.…

CopyPasteCharacter copypastecharacter.com Your computer’s keyboard may have 104 keys, but there’s an astonishing amount of extra hidden characters available to spruce up your communications. Windows has a built-in character map for weird and wonderful symbols, but it’s tricky to use and it includes a lot of useless characters. This is where CopyPasteCharacter.com comes in handy. Click on a symbol on this site and it’ll be added to your clipboard so you can paste it ([Ctrl]+[V]) into any text-based file. There’s an amazing array of special characters on offer, including snowmen, smiley faces and playing cards, and you can use the dropdown menu to switch to different categories such as currency and shapes. It also includes emojis, the more up-to-date smiley symbols which include different foodstuffs, activities and animals.…

Whether you’re stuck for inspiration or want to become a master of your Windows computer, our Explore section is the place to come. Each month we pack it with tutorials covering a range of subjects suitable for all levels of expertise. This month, Andrew shows how to keep your media organised in Windows 10, while Nick explains how to recover lost or deleted data, and Dan takes a look at Microsoft Edge. There’s never been a better time to see how your PC can make your life easier than ever! Your guide Andrew Westbrook says… “With multiple ways to take photos, play music and record video, it’s essential to stay organised” graham.barlow@futurenet.com…

Your guide Peers says… “Take regular backups of your entire hard drive with Macrium Reflect Free to avoid disaster” At a glance… SKILL LEVEL Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts TIME TAKEN 30 minutes SUITABLE FOR Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 Drive images are an essential part of your backup plan because they take an exact copy of your entire hard drive – the problem with the Windows Backup tool is that each drive image it takes is a completely new copy of your drive, taking time to complete and eating up precious hard-drive space in the process. Macrium Reflect Free offers a number of advantages over Windows Backup, most notably support for differential backups. These only record the changes made since the last full backup was…

Your guide Nick Peers says… “If you’ve lost access to a drive or accidentally deleted files, then DMDE could save the day” At a glance… SKILL LEVEL Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts TIME TAKEN 30 minutes SUITABLE FOR Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 Data recovery is a tricky business. There can be no going back for accidentally deleted data or a lost hard drive, and there’s no guarantee your files are in a state to be successfully recovered. However, there are some free tools available that can give you a chance of recovering documents, photos and other irreplaceable files. And one of the best is DMDE – Free Edition. This is a powerful tool that does more than simply recover deleted files – it can also…

Your guide Nick Peers says… “Find, stream and play music from your own collection with the new Groove Music app” At a glance… SKILL LEVEL Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts TIME TAKEN 1 hour SUITABLE FOR Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 Music fans will be interested to hear that you don’t need a Spotify account to enjoy music streams in Windows. The Groove Music app pairs with your OneDrive account to offer you the option of streaming music from your collection across all the devices you own. It also lets you browse and play any music you have physically stored on your PC too. Search for any artist, song or full album and instantly play what you want. You can even create and save playlists for…

Your guide Nick Peers says… “Tap on the Store tile on the taskbar to browse, install and update apps on your Windows 10 PC or tablet” Browse apps The front of the Store is designed to bring more relevant and popular apps and games front and centre. The first screen you see shows you various picks and suggestions for great apps, along with category shortcuts, but you can scroll down to reveal the top apps in various categories, including free (always a winner), new and rising apps. Keep scrolling to access games. The power of search It’s easy to find an app you’ve heard about. Just tap or click, in the search bar in the top right-hand corner of the Store, type in the name of the app you’re looking…

Microsoft hasn’t forgotten about the legions of users Windows 7 still commands. While the venerable operating system doesn’t have the full OneDrive functionality of Windows 10, there’s still an app you can download to gain at least some of the cloud backup features. To get started with OneDrive, point your Windows 7 PC’s web browser to www.onedrive.com , where you can either sign in with an existing account or create a new one. You don’t have to do that yet though – just click ‘Get OneDrive on your devices’, then ‘Download OneDrive for Windows’ on the left-hand side. A setup file will download, which you can double-click to run, and the app will install. You’ll need to provide the app with account details and choose a location…

OneNote is an app first released by Microsoft 10 years ago, but recently made available for free on many different platforms. In essence it’s a notebook, and indeed its saved files – placed in OneDrive – are referred to as such. It may look like a word processor, but OneNote allows you to save pictures, drawings and text anywhere you like on its pages. Just tap or click somewhere and start typing – or write with a stylus or finger. OneNote comes into its own on tablet computers. Its functionality is built into the Surface Pro 3, where clicking the Surface Pen will allow you to take a note even if the device has its screen locked. You can have it on your iPad and make a shopping list as…

1 CHOOSE TO SHARE You can share documents and folders directly from OneDrive in Windows 10, and allow recipients to either read or edit them. From the desktop, locate the document you want to share and right-click it, then select ‘More OneDrive Sharing Options. Your web browser will open and load the OneDrive website, so you might need to log in. 2 ADD RECIPIENT Once logged in, you’ll get a screen like this one. If using an operating system older than Windows 8.1, you can share the file from the website and get to the same stage. Enter the email address of the recipient, and type a message in the box if you want. An email with the message and a link to the document will be sent to the…

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Your guide Zak Storey says… Now you’ve got Windows 10 installed, up and running, it’s time to see how the new system works. There’s a new Start menu for you to explore and some exciting new features. For example, when it comes to aiding productivity Windows 10 has plenty on offer. Whether it’s aero snapping your apps to corners or asking Cortana to help you out by setting reminders, it’s all there to streamline your daily computing. The best approach is to dive right into as many of the settings as you can – personalising your operating system, desktop and programs for the tasks you perform the most. For instance, if Cortana isn’t your thing, or you prefer not to search on the desktop through Bing then you can remove…