Showing posts with label Windows. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Windows. Show all posts

28 February, 2025

Winhance - Debloat and Enhance Windows!

 Ever thought of ways to debloat and enhance Windows 11?


I have. 


Since I tried Windows 11 and found that it runs faster and better than Windows 10. I like the functions being put into icons where I can just click the task away. That is at least 1 mouse click less, compared to the old way of right mouse way of doing things.


Right out of the box, Windows 11 already rocks. That's at least how I find this latest Windows OS. But...


There's always room for improvement.


There is the File Explorer that remains the same in its performance - slow, clumsy way of copying files. That is why I have never let go of NiceCopier since Windows 7. Yes, since Windows 7. I got fed up with a very bad file management UI, and have tried many external file manager applications, where some actually are sold at a price. From here, you can understand that there is really something lacking about Windows' own set of applications, not to mention Windows itself. It's not perfect, we know, just like other OSes, but at least make it decently super even though imperfect (yet).


Then there is the issue with slowness when doing file search, or, even when it is fast, returns limited result, and more often not finding what you wanted to find. I used Everything for this. It's a free application that I find super-efficient, and very flexible in the options that you can apply when doing file search. It can even search file content.


And so on, and so forth.


Lately, I read about debloating Windows 11 so it runs even faster -- and better.


Winhance!


And of course, as in all new things, there's a caveat emptor attached to it. But don't lose heart. Exercise caution, and you still get a better Windows 11, or at least, less bloatware to deal with.


From BetaNews, this article about Winhance gave me some info that I understand could make Windows 11 lighter and faster, better.


I have a number of laptops. Different brands. Acer. HP. Lenovo. Asus. There is the eMachines, which was an old brand under Acer. And also, Compaq.


Why am I listing down my PC brands? Because part of what Winhance do is to uninstall applications, including Bing, Microsoft Edge and some of its variants, OneDrive, etc.


And if you do choose to remove Edge, then Lenovo PCs will be impacted. I found that Lenovo Vantage is using Edge (API), so it will try to install Edge before it is able to work. And since part of Winhance's logic is to prevent the re-installation of an uninstalled program, that's good as always having to install Edge, then Vantage, every time you boot up. So when that did happen to me, I reinstalled Edge. Yes, Winhance include the option of installing some applications, which, of course, include Edge.


Then there is the 'clean up' part. This is where you really must be very careful, or all of your icons, thumbnails, Taskbar, etc. - will be gone! I'd say it like that, gone. But not really. If you include clean up of Taskbar, it will be wiped clean. Well, this is just unpinning those icons, which is similar to wiping your Taskbar clean. Yes, it happened to me. I reverted that change and put back all those icons into the Taskbar one by one.


Okay, Nuff said. I leave some room for you to try Winhance and see how it works for you. Hope you like it. Really!


Let us know, will ya?


Till then!


02 November, 2014

F5 Plug-in for Safari in Windows (8.1)

Apple Safari icon
Apple Safari icon (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
02-Nov-2014


I wanted to see if Safari is able to run the F5 plug-in so that I can use this browser when I do a remote access to my office network from home. I mean, this is the browser that is so free, so why not use it, for working from home?

When I typed in the URL of the VPN provided by IT user support, I was able to log-in alright. but when I clicked on the Terminal Server link that supposedly uses F5 plug-in, since F5 is not currently installed (for Safari browser), it goes by default to the page that gives the two options for installation: auto and manual.

Manual, obviously, didn't work. For why would it give the two options, instead of going straight away to the installation process?

When I clicked on the manual install link, nothing happened. So both auto and manual don't work!

I searched. And I had to be so specific, for Safari is primarily and mostly utilized in Macbooks. So I have to search for "F5 plugin download for Safari in Windows", and that gave a lot of results.

Took some sifting through all the irrelevant pages, and even those that says F5 support, tells you what hotfix to download and apply, but doesn't tell you where to download. So yes, it took some time, but not very long.

Found one that I believe is from the Far East, and why not, the page is in Chinese. Anyway, I won't lose anything for clicking a button here and there. and the icons are quite straightforward, so I managed to download the so-called hot fix.

Here's the link, before it is lost in my daily computing life: Hotfix-BIGIP-11.2.0-2713.0-HF3

And by the way, the more exhaustive list is here: F5 Product Family

I am still downloading the 235MB file as I post this article, so I can't tell if it works or not. At least I have the patch to start with.

Till then!

25 October, 2014

Java SE 7 Programming Essentials - my 2nd Java book

English: The cover illustration for the Java P...
English: The cover illustration for the Java Programming book on Wikibooks (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
25-October-2014


About a week ago, I finished reading my 2nd book on Java programming - Java SE 7 Programming Essentials, authored by Michael Ernest. It was basically written for a beginner, but one who is aiming for an Oracle certification, the OCA Java SE 7 (Oracle Certified Associate, Java SE 7).

I have been doing software development since 1996, using PROMIS and VMS, and the very first Windows, and DOS, etc., and I have used .NET in all of my latest applications, but I would admit that I still picked up a lot of fundamental knowledge from this book.

I've come across much of the same topics in another book, C# in Depth, but in Java SE 7 Programming Essentials, they were presented for beginners. Thus, the detailed explanation, which is easy to grasp.

I had to admit that the modifiers was one of the things that became clearer to me, and I am now more aware as to why a class or method is declared public, and not private, or if no modifier is used, what the default behavior is, etc. Very basic, right?

Inheritance and composition is another thing that I was refreshed on, and the use of the 'this' keyword, especially when using inheritance, where properties are also passed down.

Constructors were also discussed, and I learned how you can create your own constructor.

Then there is also the topic on interface, and when it becomes a limitation. Followed by enumeration.

But the one thing I like very much, which I have been looking for so long, is how he presented the acquisition of a business, which needed the merging, or enhancing of the acquired company's business system. Very simple, but that is what I have been looking for - creating your own, and integrating into an existing simple that is built differently - without breaking each other.

Indeed, doing software development is one easy task, but creating a code that is optimized and compact, easy to maintain, and is in all aspect of the highest standards - that is one tough goal, a hard target. But then again, how can you score if you don't have a goal?

Aim high, and hit the mark!

That's what I'm doing now. Patience, and I will hit the mark.

Till then...

06 October, 2014

Windows Media Player can't save playlist - solved!

Windows Media Player simplified logo.
Windows Media Player simplified logo. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
06-Oct-2014


Okay, I admit I have to put the date. Whenever I browse for solutions to problems that I encounter now and then, and find an article that seems to be the answer, I am very, very disappointed when I find later on, after reading and studying and all, the information and suggestions and solutions presented therein, that the article is already outdated!

Anyway, this one, regarding the solution to Windows Media Player not able to save playlist, is not going to be outdated - perhaps not for a very long time!

As I have said in my reply to a Windows forum, that problem didn't bug me even though I observed it for some time already. And why not? Because I have other players, like Media Player Classic Home Cinema, and VLC. Two classics that is readily available (and able) to take over Windows Media Player!

Until recently, that I had to run over a series of video tutorials, that I had to make Windows Media Player be able to save playlists, as I had to run the videos in sequence.

Now, the articles I found was in a Windows forum, and surprisingly, to the disappointment of the users airing the same exasperation and frustration over and over again, the situation was even made worse - because the suggestions and solutions offered by MS folks were, well, not fixing the problem, and what's more, there were more than one from MS who gave solutions that didn't work!

For example, they suggested to:
1. Run Windows Media Player Settings - didn't work
2. Uninstall/Reinstall Windows Media Player - didn't work
3. Delete the folder 'Media Player'

I simply listed the suggestions and omitted the details. And mind you, item #2 isn't one simple task. That entails restarting your machine!

Now, one user gave one suggestion, which is to select the folder where you'd keep your playlists and all, well, that worked! I would deduce from that step that when installing Windows Media Player, some defaults are set, and if users log in and use the computer, then that default would clash or conflict with the other users' settings. I was wondering why MS guys don't know that. Too much advises 'by the book'?

How is that solution executed?
1. Open up Windows Media Player.
2. If menu isn't showing, click on 'Switch to Library'.
3. Click on 'Organize > Manage libraries > Music' (you can do 'Video' afterwards).
4. Delete/Add as you desire.

What I did was delete whatever was in there, then selected my own folder for Music. Then Videos. Curious still, I assigned the folder 'Media Player' for my user account, the one that didn't work, as mentioned in item #3 above. Interestingly, it worked, when done from the Windows Media Player 'Organize' menu.

So there, it was that simple, but took some time to get fixed. I now can save playlists. Hurray!

Till then.

25 August, 2014

Partitioning, GRUB and Boot-Repair

Tux, the Linux penguin
Tux, the Linux penguin (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Sunday afternoon, 24-Aug-2014


I was configuring the pagefile.sys partitions in my Windows 8.1 laptop, which is currently also having dual-boot feature – yes, I am running Ubuntu Linux and Windows 8.1 in the same machine, and I am always enamored by the simplicity and ease of use of Linux. But that time I was in Windows, and having read some useful article which tells of how to make pagefile.sys work better, I proceeded to execute the necessary changes.

First point is to use a space in a drive other than where your OS is installed, and better yet, create a partition all for the page file’s use. However, you can’t ever get away from creating a page file in the OS’s same drive – this has its own use. So now, you need to have 2 partitions for the page file, one in the drive where your OS is installed, and another in a separate drive. How big is the size? This is a big question, and the standard answer is 1.5x your installed RAM size. Not exactly correct, the guy said. Primary use of page file is to move from RAM whatever memory of inactive programs into the page file. So how big is that? Not really big. Minimum? 1GB. Maximum, twice of that. So simple math would yield 2GB. That is all you need. Quite small, eh? Just enough. That is why you need to have the page file in the (usual) installation drive for the OS, which is C: drive, because of error and crashes, when there is no time to reach the other paging file in the other drive. To be convenient, just set aside 4GB to 8GB. How you divide between the 2 partitions, that is entirely up to you.

I thought that I was all set, and proceeded to go and create the partition, so I downloaded and installed EaseUS Partition Master, and get it to work on my requirements. Easily I identified where I would be slicing off the 8GB, and that was divided into 3.5GB from C: drive, and 5GB from P: drive. With the ease of use provided by EaseUS Partition Manager, that was a breeze. Just right-click on the drive, and drag either the bar on the left or on the right, to create a space before or after it. Really, it is all that easy. I clicked on OK, then on Apply, which asked for a restart.

I yielded. And that’s when the problem started.

GRUB failed, and it stopped on a prompt that I have never seen before. And it is indicating something like ‘unrecognized drive’ or ‘unknown drive’. I immediately guessed that it was the newly-partitioned space that is still pending processing. I remembered that it was after P: partition that the \sda14 formatted as EXT4 is located, and that might have impacted GRUB.

I almost panicked. Hey, it is only about 5 months since the last disaster happened – Ubuntu Linux installation was done by mistake, overriding Windows, and fortunately, I was able to recover much of my documents, especially the important ones.

I composed myself for some time, trying to figure out, what happened, and what can be done to do recovery. At least I reasoned to myself that Windows and Linux are still intact, since nothing was done, except that the additional partition may have affected GRUB – I still don’t know why.

And to verify my guess, I turned on my other laptop, thought hard on what I should be searching for, until I typed, ‘how to fix GRUB’. One guide told of doing some manual recovery using a Live Linux stick, which I could say works to a certain degree, but no completely. I got to see GRUB, but not the usual menu, which is supposed to show Windows and Linux. Only Linux shows, and when I selected it, it still didn’t boot up to Ubuntu Linux.

I continued to search for other possible recovery methods, and that is when I saw Boot-Repair – one that you install, and it will do the recovery for you.

I installed it, and run it. First time, I didn’t get it to work; I still wasn’t able to get GRUB boot into Linux.

I did another Linux Live stick session, and this time, using the data from the manual recovery article, which identifies the Linux installation partition, and the GRUB partition (which indicates ‘boot’). I went to the Advanced settings, and assigned the MBR to the partition carrying ‘boot’ ID, run the recovery as provided by Boot Repair apps, and that fixed the problem.

When I did a restart, I see the Windows and Ubuntu choices, and yes, there is another, I guess, from the previous run, where I didn’t specifically indicate the MBR partition. I guess I will look for ways to remove that, so it doesn’t cause any other problem, but point is, my GRUB was repaired, and that only took some time, about one hour or so.

14 July, 2014

Code 13EC - error installing VS2010 SP1 Update

Visual Studio
Visual Studio (Photo credit: Jonathan Caves)
14-July-2014


For a time and a season, I struggled with this error code, Code 13EC, which is related to the installation of Visual Studio 2010 SP1 Update.

Not that it happens to all computers that carries Visual Studio 2010, but to one, or two.

So it beats me to some confusion, what's wrong?

Try as I will, whenever I have time, the result is the same: Code 13EC, error installing Visual Studio 2010 SP1 Update.

The Best System Optimize Software

If I am not mistaken, whenever there is some update for Windows, this KB is included, and every time, it would fail. What's wrong?

I searched, and found some articles, but none helped. It helped others, but not me.

Then while doing some other updates, which was not coursed through Windows Update, I just thought of 'hitching' this particular update to the batch, which is using MS Web Platform Installer. My guess and trial was backed by my finding the same update when I searched for updates using that particular application.

And... voila!

It worked!

And did I try it on the other computers? You betcha! And it worked also!

So if you are getting Code 13EC, error installing Visual Studio 2010 SP1 Update, try MS Web Platform Installer. It just might be the answer to your problem.

Who knows?

Till then!