Betcha gonna be glad you learned these Five Windows Tips Worth Remembering! I try to make a point to learn something new every day – especially when it comes to Windows Tips and Tricks.
We use our computers every day and yet most of us don’t bother to look for ways to make using this tool easier and more productive.
I thought I’d share a few of my favorites with you. You’ll be glad to know them! Make sure you practice using them and bookmark this page so you don’t forget them.
1 – Find Out What Is on Your Computer
In order to find out what’s on your computer, all you have to do is run a simple command. The two steps below detail how to get this information.
Windows Vista/7/8/8.1/10
1. Use the keyboard shortcut Winkey+R to open the Run box (On the Microsoft Windows operating system, the Run command is used to directly open an application or document whose path is known. It functions more or less like a single-line command line interface.
2. Enter “msinfo32” (without quotes) in the Run box
The System Summary window below will provide a summary of all of your hardware resources, components, and software environment and will be displayed on the right side of the screen in a two-paned view.
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2 – The Easy Way to Check If Your Computer Is Connected to the Internet
So, you sit down your computer and fire up a website and – nothing. Now, you are asking yourself, is it the router? Is it a hardware issue? Software issue? Well, there’s an easy and surefire way to tell for sure.
It’s called the “ping” command. Luckily, Windows comes with command-line tools to helps us manage our networks. This “ping” command has been around for a very long time and I don’t think enough people use it or even know about it. It is a simple command that is essential for checking network and Internet connections.
So what does the “Ping” command do? It sends out a signal (called a packet) to a designated address and measures its response time. It does this four times. The target will return a signal and if it does, then you know you are connected to the internet. For example, you can “ping” Yahoo by entering (without quotes) “ping yahoo.com” into the command line.
Note: Not everybody will accept pings. For example, don’t expect any response from pinging microsoft.com – also never use “http” or “www” in pings, just the domain name.
If Yahoo responds, you know you are connected to the Internet. If you get no response, you can check if you are connected to your local network by pinging the local IP address assigned to the router or “gateway”.
If you have a router, the local gateway IP address will be something like 192.168.1.1 or a similar group of numbers. So you would enter “ping 192.168.1.1” in the command line. If that doesn’t work, then your problem is that you are not connected to the local network (or your router isn’t working).
So, how do you run a “ping” command-line test? You use the “ipconfig” in the command line to find local addresses.
- Use the keyboard shortcut Winkey+R to open the Run box.
- Type, “ipconfig” (without the quotes)
- Type “ping yahoo.com” (without the quotes) into the command line.
There you have it! It should look like this.
3 – How to Change the Name of the Registered Owner in Windows
With lots of folks getting new or used computers for the holidays, one of the first things you will want to do is change the registered owner. This is easily done in the Windows Registry with the Registry Editor.
Administrative privileges are required and don’t mess around with anything you are not sure of in the registry. It’s best to have step-by-step instructions before you make any edits and always make sure you backup your registry before making changes.
Here’s what you need to do – it’s pretty straightforward.
- Open Regedit
- Using Regedit, navigate to the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion - In the right pane, double-click “RegisteredOwner”
- A window “Edit string” will open. Under Value data, type the name that you want
- Click “OK”
- Close Regedit
Don’t forget to double-click on the “registered owner” field – a window will open and from there you can make the edits. Be sure to save your work when done.
4 – Right-Click Options
A lot of us tend to forget about the power of the right-click menu options. There are so many things you can do when you use the right-click menu options in most Windows applications.
There’s one I like in particular – it’s the basic Send to tool that appears as an option when you right-click on a file or folder is handy enough allowing you to move the item quickly to a handful of locations on your PC, add it to a .zip archive, or send it off in an email or fax.
But that’s just the beginning! Holding down the Shift key as you right-click a file or folder will add an absolute ton of new folder locations to the basic Send to menu.
5 – Erasing the past and mistakes with it
When you’re shuffling files around or even when you erase some text you need using easy Windows shortcut commands are the perfect solution.
I was surprised to see how many folks were not using these basic commands in their daily use. If I had a penny for each time I used them…well..you know how it goes.
There will be times when you’re bound to accidentally drop one in the wrong folder or wish there were a way to easily undo your last action. Well, there is! Ctrl + Z…the brilliant little lifesaver. Just hold down those two keys together to easily undo whatever last action you did in haste.
Ctrl + Z. The keyboard shortcut undoes your last action, restoring order when chaos suddenly appears.
Let’s not forget the beloved Ctrl +A to highlight, Ctrl + C for copying, and Ctrl + V for pasting – which all work perfectly within Windows and are probably the best shortcuts out there!
I hope you’ve enjoyed these Windows Tips and Tricks! I know I always look forward to learning new tips and tricks to make my computing experience easier and more productive. Please let me know in the comments below if you enjoy learning about them too!
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Thanks so much for posting this helpful guide. I’m a bit of a techno-phobe even though I have used a computer professionally for over 30 years. I’m going to print and save your tips to find out what’s going on under the “hood.”
Thank you Stacia. I’ve been using them for 25 years or so too and there is always something I can still learn or things I forget about. Glad you enjoyed the post and have a great week!
Wow. My brain is on overload, I cannot even process all of that. I know the last two!
Hi Tamara, I hear on the overload. I like to take one at a time and practice that tip so I remember it. Thanks much and have a great rest of the week.
The shortcut with the Z will come in handy for me. I did not know about that one or the Shift, right-click either that I just tried and is cool. I love the tip to ping to see if you are connected to the internet too. Love this post Carolann.
So glad you enjoyed the tips and tricks Sue. I always love learning new shortcuts for Windows. Thanks much!
Wow – great tips! Thanks. So many of these will come in very very handy :)
Hi Sheryl, thanks much! Glad you enjoyed the tips and tricks. Have a great rest of the week!
Okay. I’m watching too many Hallmark movies. I thought you were talking about actual department store windows when I read your heading!
LOL Janie…that’s so funny. I hope you get to enjoy the tips and tricks anyways. Have a great rest of the week.
Mac girl here . . . I need to learn something new everyday. You have inspired me!
Kimberly XO
Hi Kim, glad I could provide some inspiration for you. Plus, these tips translate to MAC’s as well. All you have to do is google the translation so you can still use them. Thanks much and have a great night!
Great tips as always and very useful – especially during this busy time of year!
Thanks much Cathy! I always appreciate shortcuts and good tips when it comes to computing. I hope you enjoy them! Have a great one!
I’m a Mac girl, but hubby has a PC. I shared with him so he can take advantage of it!
Thanks for the share Carol. They are always appreciated!
Wow cool Windows tips… I like keeping up with new shortcuts!!! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Patti. I knew you would love them!
A big thanks for the easy and helpful tips .You have done your home work well and give us a shareable article .I found this article much helpful and easy to understand.
Hi Jerry, thanks so much for your comment. You made my day. So glad you enjoyed the post. If you share it can I please get the link? thanks so much and hope you stop back again soon!
Carolann
Oh…my brain…. it’s about to explode. Pinning to my Tech board for later… :-) Great post BTW.
Thanks so much Susie! It’s much fun learning new tips and tricks. Have a wonderful upcoming weekend XOXO
Carolann