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Windows 10 - Collection of Hacks, Tweaks, Improvements

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IainB:
After searching the DC Forum for a Win10 tweak today (2016-11-09), I reckoned that a simple collection/index of pointers to such tweaks would have been useful for me and would have saved me some time and might similarly be useful for other forum members too, so here goes: (We may need a Wiki...)
It's a bit of a tedious manual exercise, but if forum members find that it is likely to be of use, then I shall try to maintain/update the index with any pointers - if members could kindly post the links in comments to this thread.
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Index: (Last updated 2018-12-21.)
General:

* GodMode (Win10) - create a folder named GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}
* Windows 10 Announced - thread started  on 2014-10-01, full of useful stuff and still going strong on 2016-11-09.
* Pleasant Windows 10 via ghacks Improve Windows 10 with one-click batch files.
* Winaero Tweaker.
* Personalization Panel for Windows 10
* Win10 security/sanitizing tool - Blackbird - refer Re: Windows 10 Announced and other DCF posts. (May need to go to http://www.getblackbird.net/download/ rather than to MajorGeek to get the latest version.)
* How To Enable Paths Longer Than 260 Characters In Windows 10 - mentions that Win10 Home won't permit this fix via access to the GPE (Group Policy Editor), but it does allow access to Regedit (the Registry Editor).
* 99 Ways to Make Your [Windows] Computer Blazingly Fast - a very comprehensive list, and potentially useful to various Windows OS versions.
Administrator status:

* Run any app, the command prompt, powershell, etc. as Administrator, from a shortcut - Re: Windows 10 Tips
* Set Administrator status for execution via Win+X Menu - Re: Windows 10 Tips
Default Apps.:

* Stop Windows 10 from resetting default apps with Stop Resetting My Apps (Brilliant little tool)
Device Drivers:

* Try temporarily disabling the driver signing verification to enable old (unsigned) device drivers for older devices/peripherals not supported by Win10 - Re: Windows 10 Tips.
Ergonomics/perception/readability:

* Adjust System font settings. How to improve ergonomics/perception/readability of text across all applications in Windows 10. This apparently only worked in an early version of Windows 10 Pro and was subsequently withdrawn for later versions. However, see the next item for a fix to that!
* Adjust System Font Size: SystemFontSizeChanger does the job very nicely. An ergonomic boon for people (like me) with eyesight problems.
* Classic Shell (shell alternative for Windows 10, 8, 7) - Mini-Review
* Windows Magnifier: FIX if Windows Magnifier has black lens/window.
GUI and Controls:

* How to make Win10 look like...[another Win OS version]:
* How to make Windows 10 look like Windows 7
* How to Make Windows 10 Look and Act More Like Windows 7
* 17 Windows 10 problems, and how to fix them
* Blackbird tweaks.
* Restore old Win7-style Volume/Mixer functionality (replaces Win10 basic slider) by Registry hack - Re: Windows 10 Tips.
* Classic Shell (shell alternative for Windows 10, 8, 7) - Mini-Review
* Click-and-drag icons in the Systray to rearrange them Re: Windows 10 Tips
Multimedia - DVD, CD-ROM, Video/Audio:

* Use the $FREE Windows Media Center WinDVD Player app. - Re: Windows 10 Tips or, see here re $PAID app.
* Download the last stable version of Winamp 5.6.6.3516 plus skins and plugins
* Download VLC media player
Network:

* Set network type to public or private by Registry hack) - Windows 10 Tips.
* Get Windows to detect/set network type public or private - Re: Windows 10 Tips
* Run the appropriate shortcut to set the current connection to Public or Private - see  here.
Privacy:

* Disable Windows Customer Experience Improvement Program using GPEDIT or Registry
Settings:

* Quickly find and launch Settings in Windows 10 with the LeeluSoft Settings Quick Launcher (or Quick Settings Launcher).
* Also from leelusoft: Windows Quick Boost - improves response/performance via a safe collection of registry changes.
Start Menu and Shell:

* Fix for problem with Start Menu, or Action Center, or Metro apps refusing to open/display: Re: Windows 10 Tips
* Classic Shell (shell alternative for Windows 10, 8, 7) - Mini-Review
System + RAM:

* Enable/Disable Superfetch when investigating System and Compressed Memory spiking in RAM and CPU usage - Re: Windows 10 Tips
* Performance measurement using third-party replacement for Windows Experience Index - Winaero WEI Tool
* RAMdisk - ImDisk Toolkit to boost performance and optimise the use of your extra RAM (RAMdisk uses dynamic allocation of RAM, up to a preset max limit).
* Might not work in Win10. A handy 3-in-1 tool replicating some existing Windows settings functionality - Starter - a Startup Manager + Task Manager + Services Manager for Windows. Not tested on Win10 - website at http://codestuff.obninsk.ru/products_starter.html  says: "Microsoft Windows 9x, Me, NT, 2000, XP, 2003, Vista."

Virtual Machine:

* Fix for Windows 10 Pro constraint (blocks VirtualBox's ability to run 64-bit VMs) - Re: Windows 10 Tips
Windows Update Control:

* Windows Update MiniTool - Alternative To Windows Update In Windows 10
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This summary collection has been drawn from DC Forum and other sources, as a quick central reference point.
Relevance: Though the context is Windows 10, some/most of these points could probably variously relate to Win8/8.1, and Win7, and some also to earlier versions of Windows.

Deozaan:
See also this thread: Windows 10 Tips

IainB:
@Deozaan:
Thanks! Is exactly what I am talking about.
(I don't want to duplicate that.)

IainB:
Having become sick and tired of Win10 repeatedly overriding my preferred default apps, I have just added a fix - a very handy tool: Stop Windows 10 from resetting default apps with Stop Resetting My Apps
Seems to work a treat.

Curt:
Thank you for a thorough work, IainB  :up:



* Win10 security/sanitizing tool - Blackbird - refer Re: Windows 10 Announced and other DCF posts.-IainB (November 08, 2016, 01:36 PM)
--- End quote ---

I was so pleased just an hour ago to find Blackbird finally has been updated. At the moment one still has to go to http://www.getblackbird.net/download/ (rather than to major Geek) to get the brand new 0.9.97 Last updated: Nov. 8, 2016 (Nov. 1, 2019  |  Version: 1.0.79.3)

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