As the end of support for Windows 10 approaches on October 14, 2025, you might be considering alternative operating systems to maintain security and functionality. One compelling option that you may be hearing more often is Linux Mint, a free, open-source operating system renowned for its user-friendly interface and stability. Although switching from Windows 10 to Linux Mint (in this case) may sound daunting, time has changed, and so has Linux, which has improved greatly over the years....

Playing background music on Xbox One is now a reality. After years of waiting (at least for me) Xbox One adds the ability to listen to your favorite music on the background while playing your favorite games with the Anniversary Update. Currently there is no many apps supporting with background music, you can only use Cast or Microsoft’s Groove Music to play music in the background. Pandora is another app available on Xbox One with support for background music — you can download the app now from the Windows Store ....

The Windows 10 Creators Update officially launched on April 11, but if your PC still didn’t get the new version, it’s possible to upgrade manually. Although Microsoft recommends to use Windows Update to install the Creators Update, there is a number of ways to get it , including using the Media Creation Tool to do an in-place upgrade of the OS. Using the Media Creation Tool to upgrade to the Windows 10 Creators Update is the same as using Windows Update or the Update Assistant....

On Windows 11 build 25992 , Microsoft is experimenting with positioning the Copilot button in the Taskbar’s System Tray instead of next to the Start button. However, the feature won’t enable an additional option in the Settings app or anywhere to change the position, suggesting that Microsoft is considering permanently relocating Copilot to the System Tray. If this is the case, it could also be possible that the company may be planning to change the button style to fit in the notification area....

To recover files after a Windows 11 (or 10) upgrade, open File Explorer > C > Windows.old > Users , open your profile folder, and copy the files to a new location. If you recently performed an in-place upgrade on your computer to a newer version of Windows 11 (or 10), and you didn’t erase the previous setup, you can still retrieve your files from the previous installation from the “Windows....

To remove the Home page on File Explorer, create the “HubMode” Registry key and set its value to “1,” and then delete the “{f874310e-b6b7-47dc-bc84-b9e6b38f5903}” key inside the “NameSpace” Registry key. Once you complete the steps, restart the file manager to apply the changes. On Windows 11 , you can remove the “Home” page from File Explorer, and in this guide, I’ll explain the steps to complete this configuration. The Home page is the default landing page when you open File Explorer, and it provides quick access to your frequently used files and folders, as well as recent files and pinned items....

Facebook has rolled out yet another Activity Log feature to help users to control their search activity data while in the social network, to the many of its set of hard to keep up settings. If you weren’t aware, the social network giant is now recording every search term you type in the search box atop of your profile, just identical to how Google keeps track of every web search you make, but now you’ll be able to review and delete any searches at your convenience....

On Windows 10, when setting up a new computer or creating a new user account, you must configure a PIN alongside a password. Although using a PIN has benefits like simplicity and better security since it’s only locally relevant, it’s not a feature everyone wants. If you sign in with a PIN but want to use a password or another mechanism for authentication (such as a fingerprint ), you can remove the PIN using the Settings app on Windows 10....

UPDATED 1/30: I’m not saying you have to get rid of your Xbox One by any means, but there is a chance that for whatever the reason at one point you’d want to sell it or give it away. If this is absolutely something you have or want to do, Xbox One provides an easy way to erase everything in the console and restore your Xbox to the original factory defaults....

On Windows 10, if you’re using the Microsoft Defender Firewall, the time will come when you may need to reset the settings to the default rules for a number of reasons, and this guide includes four ways to complete this task using Windows Security, Advanced Security (Control Panel), PowerShell, and Command Prompt. The built-in firewall on Windows 10 includes a set of predefined inbound and outbound rules to allow or deny incoming or outgoing traffic to protect your computer from unauthorized access....

If you upgraded to Windows 11 24H2 but are experiencing issues, you can revert to version 23H2 using the system’s recovery feature or a clean installation process. If it has been less than ten days since the upgrade, you can use the “Recovery” settings to uninstall version 24H2 and restore version 23H2. However, after ten days, the system automatically deletes the previous installation files, making the recovery option unavailable. In that case, you must perform a clean installation using the Windows 11 23H2 ISO file....

Microsoft To Do is a handy task management tool that allows you to create and organize your tasks for work and for your personal life. Although the app is available for Windows 10 , Android, iOS, and on the web, there’s not an extension to save pages (events, research, etc.) from the web, and this is when the “Add to Microsoft To Do” extension comes in handy. Add to Microsoft To Do isn’t an extension created by Microsoft, but it’s an useful tool that allows you to create tasks with due date, reminder, note, and some other attributes making it easier to save anything from the web to your lists....

With Firefox Sync you can be seamlessly connected with all your Firefox bookmarks and settings whether they are in different computers or in a mobile device. Sync gives you the ability to save all your Bookmarks, Passwords, Preferences, History, and open Tabs to stay completely in sync using Firefox’s servers or any other custom server you prefer — no add-on required! –. Now it becomes really simple to fill up a form in your mobile device with the information saved from your computer, and all in a snap....

Microsoft Authenticator is an app available for Android as well as iOS devices that allows you to store apps and sites credentials to make two-factor authentication (2FA) easy and secure using your phone, not complex passwords, and now, the app has a password manager built in ( as preview ). The password manager built into the Authenticator app connects with your Microsoft account to sync and let you manage your passwords on your phone, and when you set the app as the default autofill provider, it can offer to save and automatically fill credentials as you sign into apps or websites....

To show seconds in the clock for Windows 11, open Settings > Time & language > Date & time , click the “Show time and date in the System tray” setting, and check the “Show seconds in system tray clock (use more power)” option. Alternatively, you can also have a full system clock with seconds in the Notification Center using the “Show time in Notification Center” option in the “Date & time” page....

If you are testing Windows 8 , you might have noticed that a lot of file formats (music, images and videos) by default open in Metro style apps, which by the way these apps are in beta as well, and if you are still a desktop user and you aren’t ready to fully embrace Metro, you may want to stop files from opening in Metro. To prevent this from happening just follow these easy steps:...

Using Microsoft Azure services is a convenient solution to backup your files on a Windows 10 machine or server running Windows Server securely in the cloud. However, if you must create multiple recovery points throughout the day, backup operations can significantly slow down your internet connection. Thankfully, the Azure backup console includes an option to throttle internet bandwidth usage for backups during certain times to prevent slowdowns. In this guide , you’ll learn the steps to throttle bandwidth usage for backup operations to Azure on Windows 10 ....

Microsoft will finally end the support of Windows XP on April 8th, 2014. This means that after more than a decade Windows XP will stop receiving security patches, hotfixes, and support (paid or free). The beloved operating system won’t magically stop working on April 9th, but starting that day Windows XP will become vulnerable to viruses, spyware, malware, and other attacks; performance will be affected over time, new programs will not run, and new hardware such as printers and accessories won’t support the old OS....

Microsoft ends support for Internet Explorer on June 15. The browse will progressively redirect from IE to Edge. The company plans to release an update to disable the legacy browser in the future. Microsoft is finally ending support of Internet Explorer (IE) on June 15, 2022. Although the web browser has been obsolete for years, many organizations and regular users still use it. However, now, the company is ending support and slowly removing Internet Explorer for most versions of Windows 10 starting June 15....

In addition, this update brings fixes for how apps are displayed in the Start menu and Taskbar. Also, this update comes with some known issues for the Start menu, Widgets, and Windows Narrator. It’s important not to confuse the update KB5053654 for Windows 11 23H2 with the update KB5053658 (build 26120.3653) , which is another release in the Beta Channel, but it belongs to version 24H2. Windows 11 build 22635.5160 (Beta) These are the new features and improvements currently being tested for devices enrolled in the Beta Channel....