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70 16 - 29 October 2019
GENERAL PC
GiveWindows10 a retro
makeover
Does anyone remember when,years ago,
Windows usedto have desktop iconsfor
the Recycle Bin,Computer,ControlPanel
and Network? Ifyou want to give your
Windows 10 PC aretro, nostalgic
appearance, you can bring them back.
Open Settings,Personalisation and
selectThemes in the sidebar. Find
‘Rela ted settings’ and click the ‘Desktop
icon settings’ link. Select the iconsyou
want to see. Right-click the desktop and
hover over theView menu. Select
‘Medium icons’ and ‘Show desktop icons’.
Now search Googlefor ‘Windows 95
wallpaper’ and download oneyou lik e. I
found a goodcollectionat Getwallpapers
(getwallpapers.com). Right-click the
image in the Downloadsfolder and select
‘Set as desktop background’.Windows
10 now has a greatretro look.
Dan Watson, via emailGENERAL PC
Quickly back updata using
a File History shortcut
Many users may notrealise it, but
Windows 10 has a specialtool that letsyou back up files fromyour Desktop,
Documents, Music, Pictures andVideos
folders. It’s called File History, and I find
it especially useful when moving files
after upgradingmy computer. It usually
sits inControlPanel butyou can create
a shortcutfor quicker backups.
OpenControlPanel and select ‘System
and Security’, then File History. You
should see a small File History iconto
the left of the address bar.Left-click this
and, holding it down, drag itto the
desktop. You can now access File History
any timeyou needto copy your
important files.
Matt Farthingwell, via emailONLINESTORAGE
Encryptmore OneDrive files
I got a notification about a new OneDrive
(onedrive.com) feature – an encrypted
folder, calledPersonalVault. The setup
required either the Microsoft or Google
Authenticator appto get a securitycode,
whichwas fine, but I then discovered
that using free OneDrivestorage only
lets you add three filesto the encrypted
storage. Itwas full within about two
minutes of enabling thefeature!
Then I discovered it would accept zip
files and each zip cancontain any
number of files. Just right-click a bunch
of files in Explorer and select ‘Sendto,
Compressed (zipped)folder’, then put it
in thePersonalVault to get around the
three-file limit.
K Johnson, via emailTOP TIPHere are several tweaksyou can make
to Windows tohelp speed upyour
computer a little.The effects aren’t
huge but they areworth doing on low-
spec PCs.
Open theWindows 10 Settings app
and goto ‘Ease ofAccess’, then
Display. In the ‘Simplify and personalise
Windows’ section, turn off the ‘Show
animations inWindows’ and ‘Show
transparency inWindows’ switches.
They may look nice but they slow
downyour PC.
I’m usingWindows 10, but I think the
following tweaks alsowork in Windows- Open theControlPanel, and click
‘Ease ofAccess Centre’, then ‘Make the
computer easierto see’. Down near the
bottom, in the ‘Make things on the
screen easierto see’ section, tick the
box for ‘Turn off all unnecessary
animations (when possible)’.
ClickSystem inControlPanel, then
‘Advancedsystem settings’ on the left.
In the new window that opens, select
the Advanced tab and, in the
Tweaks that speed up WindowsGENERAL PCPerformance section, click Settings.
Select‘Adjustfor best performance’.
The only setting Ireally need is
‘Smooth edges of screenfonts’,
otherwisetext looks poor.
Seth Davis, via emailOptional Visual Effects slow down your
PC so untick any you don’t needBack
Issues
disc
winnerCreate a File History shortcut for a quick
way to backup essential filesTurn Windows 10 into Windows 95 with
retro wallpaper and icons