Table of contents for January 2017 in Windows Help & Advice

Windows has come a long way. You might look at our cover and think we’re going over the top; can you really get started with Windows 10 in half an hour? Admittedly, you might have to concentrate – dawdling is not going to help your speed – but it really is possible to get your head around a Windows 10 system in just 30 minutes. See page 14 to find out how. That half an hour includes the time it takes to get it customised, and even protect yourself with proper backups. Of course, just as you think you’re settled, you’ll hit a wall. We all do. Something always goes wrong. But our commitment to you having an easy computing life goes even further with the likes of our regular…

What is it? Have a look at the picture above – what does it look like? A soft VR headset? Bang on. It’s a squishy VR headset. It’s Google’s textured new take on the hardware flavour of the moment. But this one’s a bit different, because – beyond lenses – it doesn’t actually have any internal guts of its own. That sounds silly. Don’t worry, you’re not expected to just imagine your VR experience. Instead, you slot a phone into the Daydream – à la Samsung’s Gear VR headset or even Google’s own super-cheap Cardboard DIY VR setup – and that deals with the business of filling your eyes with three dimensions of fun. What can I do with it? Pop in a compatible phone, slip on the super-light foam-and-fabric…

1 Google Chrome is installed on how many devices worldwide? A 100 million B 500 million C 2 billion 2 Which of these was the world’s first graphical web browser? A NCSA Mosaic B Internet Explorer C Netscape 3 Who is credited as having invented the world wide web? A Al Gore B Tim Berners-Lee C Bill Gates 4 What did the world’s first webcam display? A Puppies playing B A coffee pot C A teenager’s bedroom 5 How much new content is uploaded to YouTube per minute? A 3 hours B 30 hours C 300 hours 6 How many searches does Google process per year? A 700 million B 5 billion C 1.2 trillion…

There’s nothing worse than feeling like technology has run away from you when you weren’t looking. If you were to take a glance at Windows 10, having spent any amount of time away from a computer, you might think we were living in the future! But nothing could be further from the truth: it’s a comfortable, easy-to use operating system, which belies its generally dark exterior. You could probably, truth be told, teach yourself how to use Windows 10 with nothing more than a little time and a willingness to explore. But even if you go into it head-first, there may be something you’ll miss, something that’s moved, or something that just doesn’t seem to be right. And if you’re still overwhelmed, you could need a touch more assistance. That’s…

Backing up your data is a good thing to do. Electronics aren’t infallible, and you never know when your PC might die, all your work and photos trapped on its unresponsive hard drive. Luckily, Microsoft bundles a backup tool, File History, with Windows 10, and while it’s not as fully featured as third-party alternatives, it’s good enough to save your data. 1 Open Settings In WIndows 10, open Settings from the Start menu, then choose ‘Update and Security > Backup’. If this is your first backup, click on ‘Add a Drive’ to turn on File History and follow the walkthrough. When asked to choose an external drive to receive the backup, make sure it’s not the one with the files already on it. 2 Auto back up An option named…

Your guide Mayank Sharma says… “There’s no need to lose sleep over accidentally deleted files – we have the solution right here” At a glance Skill level… Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts Suitable for… Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 RECOVERED FILES The list of recovered files will usually have a different name to their original ones. FILE STATE Not all files are recoverable. This column will help you determine whether a file is recoverable or not. MEDIA TYPE Use this pull-down menu to narrow down the search results based on the file type. OPTIONS Click on this button to tweak the default behaviour of the application. FILE INFORMATION Various metadata about a selected file to help you identify it. MAYANK’S BEST TIP! To increase the chances…

Your guide Cat Ellis says… “Bring your ordinary static photos to life using free image-editing software” At a glance Skill level… Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts Suitable for… Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 FILTERS A menu full of special effects to give your photo a new look, including Instagram-style colour effects and the iWarp tool, which you can use to create animations. PREVIEW Click and drag on this image to distort it. The changes will be applied to your picture when you click ‘OK’. DEFORM MODE These options change what happens when you click on the preview image. Experiment with them to see what effect they have. ANIMATE Once you’ve finished distorting your photo, click this tab to turn it into an animation. DEFORM SETTINGS These…

Your guide Nick Peers says… “HomeGroups simplify the sharing of files, printers, music, video and other media – find out how to use them to link up all your networked PCs” At a glance Skill level… Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts Suitable for… Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 NICK’S BEST TIP If you log onto multiple PCs as the same user, each PC’s contents are listed under your HomeGroup name. HomeGroups are Microsoft’s solution to the tricky task of sharing files, printers and devices over networks. Once set up, they make it easy to choose what to share with others, plus access shared content from across your network, all without having to log onto shared folders or get bogged down in tricky network settings. Once set…

Losing files after a disaster hits because you didn’t back them up is a hugely frustrating experience, but fortunately it’s one that can be avoided easily. To create a backup, purchase an external hard drive (which obviously has to be larger in size than the data you want to store on it). You can simply copy your files across to this disk manually, of course, or you can set up File History in Windows. To do the latter, ensure the drive is connected to your PC, and left click on the Start menu, then click ‘Settings’. From there, click ‘Update and Security’ and navigate to ‘Backup’ on the left. See the ‘Add a Drive’ button next to the big plus sign? Click this.Windows will scan for available drives on which…

Just starting your Windows journey? Stumbling over the changes made in the recent Anniversary update? Or maybe you just want to learn something new about Windows 10. This is the section for you! There’s not enough space to tell you absolutely everything you need to know here, but Windows Help & Advice always has your back. In this month’s Explore section we teach you how to network your PC with homegroups, bring your deleted files back from the dead, and even stream your console games onto your PC desktop. Here’s how… www.facebook.com/windowsmag…

TIME TAKEN 20 minutes Windows 10 is Microsoft’s most user-friendly operating system to date, and packs an impressive suite of tools to make using your PC as easy as possible. In Windows 7, certain features were only available as part of the Aero display scheme, which put heavy demands on low-powered PCs. Other features, including the screen reader and audio descriptions were hidden away. Not ideal if you’re already having difficulty with your PC! Thankfully, with its new focus on accessibility, Microsoft has addressed these concerns – and done much more besides. Make Windows work for you 1 Read it aloud Click ‘Start > Settings > Ease of Access’. The first option is ‘Narrator’, which is ideal if you have difficulty reading text on screen. When activated, it reads text…

This is news that we hinted at it last issue, and it’s now official: Microsoft held a huge New York press event to announce that the next major version of Windows 10 will be unleashed next spring, and it will be called the Creators Update. As the name suggests, the next revision is all about the desktop OS getting creative, pushing forward with 3D content creation, making progress with augmented reality and virtual reality, plus enhancing ‘connected mixed reality experiences’, as Microsoft put it. Microsoft’s own ‘experience design’ expert Taj Reid showed off a demo with the company’s HoloLens headset, showing him browsing in Edge, and taking an object – in this case, a humble stool – and pulling it out from the online shop, to place it in the…

$ 5.07 MILLION The total prize of the League Of Legends World Championship, held in October. But it pales in comparison to the pool of the Dota International, which this year topped $20mn, with over $9mn going to the winning team. Proof, if it was needed, that eSports are on the rise… £84M was lost by Twitter in three months this year, leading to internal job losses and fears the company may never reach its target of becoming profitable by 2017. $1,399.99 The price of the most expensive mobile app in the world, iVIP Black. But you’ll need a bit more cash to enjoy its discovery and lifestyle management tools: you’ll need to verify a net worth of over $1mn. There’s a free version, iVIP Red, if you’re still waiting…

Restoring a system back to a point at which it worked, or reinstalling the operating system altogether, can soon have your machine back to its old self. Windows 10 offers you a few options for how you can reinstall your OS. If you suspect it’s a newly installed device or application that is causing the problems, you can use System Restore to roll your computer back to a point before you installed the pesky peripheral or program. If, that is, you’ve enabled it, because Microsoft turns this useful feature off by default. Head to the Control Panel rather than ‘Settings’, then ‘System and System Protection’. A window will open, and if you have system protection turned on, click ‘System Restore’. If it’s off, turn it on for each of the…

 We’ve all accidentally deleted files we shouldn’t have – it’s a gut-wrenching feeling! Your guide Cat Ellis says… “Try Vivaldi – it’s a truly beautiful browser!” If you’ve cleaned out your Recycle Bin only to discover it contained something that you didn’t mean to recycle, all is not lost. The data is there, it’s just the reference to it that’s gone. If something else has not already taken its space on your hard drive, Recuva might be able to get it back for you. This month, we also take you through networking, creative pursuits, and a lot more. See you next time!…

Your guide Alex Cox says… “Take your gaming anywhere in the house by combining your console and your Windows 10 PC” At a glance Skill level… Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts Suitable for… Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 OPTIONS, OPTIONS Click the three-lined button at the top of this bar to expand the options menu from icons to text. STREAM AWAY Even if your console is switched off, you can click here to boot it up and get playing at any time. ACTIVITY FEED Find out what the people on your Xbox Live friends list have been up to, and give them encouragement for earning achievements. FEATURE CREEP Honestly, this section is a bit of an advert. But if you’re looking for a new game to…

Your guide Ian Evenden says… “Creating the perfect panoramic image is easier than you think with Microsoft’s ICE software” At a glance Skill level… Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts Suitable for… Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 IMPORT The Import screen is where you import your images or video into the app. Ours are in a folder on the desktop, which makes things easier. STITCH Stitch is where the images are combined, and will give you your first look at your combined masterpiece. CROP Crop lets you change the framing of your final image, along with the way it’s projected, and fill in any gaps automatically. EXPORT Export is full of options for saving your composition onto your hard drive, or putting it online. AUTO-DETECT The Auto-detect…

Your guide Rob Mead-Green says… “Discover the easy way to capture any part of your PC’s screen – even video – with our guide to this easy-to-use app” At a glance Skill level… Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts Suitable for… Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 ROB’S BEST TIP Upgrade to the Pro version to schedule screen recordings, add watermarks and change the export codecs used. While you can easily capture a still image of your entire Windows 10 desktop by using the Print Screen command on your PC, Icecream Recorder (www.icecreamapps.com) gives you a whole lot more control. You can use it to capture specific parts of a screen and even record video-streams from the web. It’s also useful for when you want to show someone…

Annoyingly, Windows 10 ships without DVD playing software as a standard option. However, Microsoft offers an app as a download from the Windows Store – called Windows DVD Player – but it costs £11.59. The best bet for those who want to watch DVDs is VLC Media Player, which is a free download and was recently updated to support Windows 10. It also supports a host of other file formats – even the weird ones – making it a very useful tool to have around. Of course, many of us have moved on from DVDs to the wild world of media streaming. Netflix and Amazon Prime both work on Windows 10’s default browser, Edge, but may need an update to Silverlight, an application framework that Microsoft created and maintains. If…

You’re working away, using a familiar piece of software, then all of a sudden it gets a bit confusing and you’re stuck. What now? If you’re not prepared to wait for the next issue of Windows Help & Advice for the answer, we understand! Thankfully, most Windows applications have built-in assistance, which can help you out if you’re in a jam: just hit [F1]. Or perhaps [Fn]+[F1], depending on your laptop keyboard.…

It might be getting cold outside, but thankfully it’s toasty inside, because the Hive smart thermostat from British Gas is doing a fine job of keeping my home warm. Find out more over on page 88. Also this month, we check out the latest revision of the HP Spectre x360, a neat convertible laptop/tablet that’s making both work and play a lot easier. We also enjoy Google’s brilliant (and huge) new phone, and get down to some serious gaming with the best controllers around. Enjoy, and I’ll see you next issue! windowsmagazine@futurenet.com…

My Summer Car (Steam, £10.99) is possibly the oddest and most amusing indie game we’ve seen for a long time. It sees you building a Datsun from scratch, all while dealing with bodily functions, working menial jobs to earn money for new mail order parts, and quaffing a vast amount of beer. Oh, and trying not to injure yourself while driving to the shop. It’s not a traditional game, it’s adult-flavoured, it’s not easy, and it’s very Finnish. Not to be missed.…

The marvellous collection of tonal trinkets on Musiclab can make musicians of us all, whatever your age. The site is exclusive to the Google Chrome web browser, and was created as part of Music In Our Schools month. It comprises twelve individual tone generators, sound visualisers and beat makers, each of which is simple enough to help anyone start creating pleasing sounds or musical art in just a few seconds. Brilliantly designed and, in many places, incredibly cute, Musiclab’s playthings range from a monster-fronted rhythm generator to a 3D stereoscope that shows you exactly what music – or whatever you happen to croon into your computers microphone – looks like. OK, you’re unlikely to end up impressing the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with your efforts, but you might impress yourself.…

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 Cat Ellis says… “Vivaldi is a free browser that’s hugely customisable, so you can tailor it to suit the way you use the internet” At a glance Skill level… Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts PANELS Click the plus icon to add a website in a sidebar beside the main website you’re visiting. The switch at the very bottom left of the browser frame toggles panels off and on. NOTES This button opens a tiny text editor for jotting down ideas. You can attach images and files to your notes before saving them, and there’s a search tool to help you find them again in future. SETTINGS This cog icon opens Vivaldi’s huge settings menu, where you can set your privacy options, make your own colour…

Your guide Nick Peers says… “It’s easy to get confused with installing a wireless printer – our guide will show you how to avoid the pitfalls and get it up and running” At a glance Skill level… Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts Suitable for… Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 NICK’S BEST TIP You only need to connect your printer to the network once – then install the drivers on each PC in your home. Once upon a time, installing a printer involved plugging it into your PC, installing the drivers, printing a test page and riding off into the sunset, printouts in hand. If you wanted to give other computers in your household access to the printer, you shared it through your main PC. However, the…

Your guide Nick Peers says… “My Family Tree is a great tool for building and managing your family tree. Find out how” At a glance Skill level… Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts Suitable for… Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 ANCESTOR AGE The age displayed next to a person is either their age at death or the age they were at the year set with the time slider. MARRIAGE DATE Husbands and wives are linked with a green line, and the marriage year is displayed above this. TIME SLIDER The time slider lets you view your tree as it stood in a specific year, greying out events and people born after this date. EDIT CONTROLS The currently selected person is displayed in this pane. Use the various…

The easiest way to fix a PC booting sluggishly is by reducing the number of apps that launch on startup, as having too many programs firing up when the computer starts makes the whole process much slower, especially when it comes to older hardware. To trim those apps, press [Ctrl]+[Shift]+[Esc] to bring up Task Manager, then click the link that says ‘More Details’. From here, select the ‘Startup’ tab. Look through the list of enabled apps and find any that you don’t need – you can turn an app off by right-clicking on it and selecting ‘Disable’. Disabled apps won’t automatically load on boot up. Be careful not to turn Microsoft services off, mind you, or important apps such as antivirus. If you’re unsure whether it’s wise to disable a…

TIME TAKEN 20 minutes The internet is an amazing information resource that brings convenience to our everyday lives. But with such freedom come drawbacks, particularly when it comes to child safety. Happily, Windows 10 offers a solution in the form of child user accounts. If you’re sharing your PC with your kids, giving them their own account allows them to go online safely by letting you set up age restrictions. That way, you can ensure they aren’t visiting websites that aren’t right for them, and prevent them from downloading and/or launching apps or games they shouldn’t be. Let’s go! How to set up child accounts 1 Add a family member With a child account, your kids will get their own desktop layout, their own set of user folders and their…

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From £599 | $649 store.google.com The Google Pixel XL, along with the Google Pixel, is the first phone made (almost entirely) by Google, and it’s the best way to experience the latest and greatest that Android software has to offer. It puts the immense power of Google search behind everything you do, with its all-new Google Assistant, a context-understanding AI that’s often smarter than Siri. Sorry, Apple fans… The Pixel XL also launches with the Android 7.1 Nougat update, which gives the phone virtual-reality powers when paired with the newly released Google Daydream View headset. The phone debuts the Snapdragon 821 processor, with 4GB of RAM inside of a glass-and-metal body. The camera is touted as ‘best in class’, and the 5.5-inch 2K-resolution screen looks superb. There’s strengthened Gorilla Glass…