If you want to disable all the USB ports so no USB devices can work with your system, use the Device Manager utility. Note that this method even turns off any USB-enabled mice or keyboards. Just keep in mind that this could be a problem if you don’t have an alternative way to control your PC set up in advance.

• To start, launch Windows Search (press Windows+S), type Device Manager, and open the utility. Expand the “Universal Serial Bus Controllers” section, right-click a USB port on the list, and choose “Disable Device”.
• Select “Yes” in the prompt. If you don’t find the “Disable Device” option for a USB port, you’ll have to disable that port using BIOS as explained below in this guide.
• Repeat the above step until you’ve disabled all the ports on the list.

From now on, when you connect a device to any USB port on your machine, your system won’t connect with that device. In the future, you can re-enable your USB ports by opening Device Manager, expanding “Universal Serials Bus Controllers,” right-clicking each port on the list, and choosing “Enable Device”.

Block USB Storage Devices from PowerShell

If you like command-line methods, you can use a cmdlet in PowerShell to block all USB storage devices on your PC. Note that other devices like keyboards and mice will still continue to work.

• To start, open Windows Search (press Windows+S), type PowerShell, and choose “Run as Administrator”. Select “Yes” in the User Account Control prompt.
• On the PowerShell window, type the following cmdlet and press Enter. This cmdlet changes a value in the Windows registry to prevent USB storage devices from working with your machine.

Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\USBSTOR" -Name "Start" -Value 4

• After executing the cmdlet, restart your Windows 11 PC to bring the changes into effect.
• In the future, you can re-enable USB storage devices on your PC by running the following command in PowerShell.

Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\USBSTOR" -Name "Start" -Value 3

Don’t forget to restart your computer after executing the command. If you’re running Windows 11’s Pro edition, you can use the Local Group Policy Editor tool to block USB storage devices. Note that this tool isn’t available in Windows 11’s Home edition.

• To use it, launch the Run dialog box by pressing Windows+R, Type the following in the box and select “OK” or press Enter:

gpedit.msc

• On the Local Group Policy Editor window, using the options on the left, navigate to the following path. On the right pane, double-click the item that says “All Removable Storage Classes: Deny All Access.”

Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Removable Storage Access

• On the open window, at the top, select the “Enabled” option. Then, at the bottom, choose “Apply” followed by “OK.”

Close Local Group Policy Editor and restart your PC.

In the future, to unblock USB storage devices, double-click the “All Removable Storage Classes: Deny All Access” entry, choose “Not Configured,” and select “Apply” followed by “OK”. Make sure to then reboot your computer.

You can tweak a value in the Windows registry to disable and enable USB storage devices. This method works on both Pro and Home editions of Windows 11. Making accidental changes in the Windows registry can cause your system to be unstable. Therefore, back up the registry before making any changes and follow the instructions carefully.

• To begin, launch Run by pressing Windows+R. Type the following in the box and select “OK” or press Enter:

regedit

• Select “Yes” in the User Account Control prompt.
• In Registry Editor, navigate to the following path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\USBSTOR

On the right pane, double-click the item that says “Start.” In the open window, click the “Value Data” field and type 4. Then, select “OK”. The value of 4 tells Windows not to acknowledge any USB storage devices.

• Close Registry Editor and restart your PC to bring the changes into effect.
• To reverse your change and unblock USB storage devices in the future, navigate to the above path in Registry Editor, double-click the “Start” entry, type 3 in the “Value Data” field, select “OK,” and restart your PC.
• If you don’t see the option to disable USB ports in Device Manager, use your PC’s BIOS settings menu to turn off those ports. To do that, launch Settings, select System > Recovery, click “Restart Now” next to Advanced Startup, and choose “Restart Now” in the prompt.
• On the Choose an Option page, select Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > UEFI Firmware Settings and click “Restart”. Each BIOS menu is different, but you’ll find an option labeled as USB or similar. On my Asus laptop, I’ll head into the “Advanced” tab, choose “USB Configuration” and then disable the ports.

When you want to re-use the ports, you’ll have to enable them from BIOS (since you disabled them from BIOS).

NTFS compression is a feature that compresses (reduces the size of) your files. It uses certain algorithms to make your files smaller without affecting their data. Unlike other methods, this method doesn’t make an archive or anything from your files; your files remain as they are.

This compression method only works on the drives formatted in the NTFS file system. It doesn’t work for the drives that use the FAT32 or exFAT file system. You can format your drive in the NTFS format to make it compatible with this feature. If you want to change your drive to use NTFS without deleting any data, open Windows Search (press Windows+S), type Command Prompt, select “Run as Administrator,” and choose “Yes” in the prompt. Then, run the following command replacing “X” with the letter of your drive.

convert X: /fs:ntfs

You should use NTFS compression for files that can be efficiently compressed, such as text files, documents, databases, and so on. You should also only use it for infrequently accessed files, as if you access a file often, the system needs to decompress it before you can view it.

You should not use this compression for media or system files, as this can affect your system performance. This is because the files need to be decompressed each time you view them.

Compress an Individual File or Folder

To enable NTFS compression for a single file or folder, you have both graphical and command-line options, as explained below.

Using File Explorer

File Explorer offers the easiest graphical way to turn on NTFS compression for your files and folders. To use it, launch a File Explorer window (press Windows+E) and find the file or folder you want to compress.

• Right-click that file or folder and choose “Properties.” Access the “General” tab. In the Attributes section, click the “Advanced” button
• On the Advanced Attributes window, enable “Compress Contents to Save Disk Space.” Then, click “OK”
• On the Properties window, click “Apply” followed by “OK.” If you’re compressing a folder (not a file), you’ll see a prompt with two options:
• Apply Changes to This Folder Only: Choose this option to only compress the selected folder and not its subfolders and their files
• Apply Changes to This Folder, Subfolders and Files: Select this option to apply compression to all the subfolders and their files as well
• Then, choose “OK”.

Once your files and folders are compressed, you’ll see a blue icon on them. To disable compression in the future, right-click your file or folder and choose “Properties”. Open the “General” tab, click the “Advanced” button, turn off “Compress Contents to Save Disk Space,” choose “OK,” and select “Apply” followed by “OK”.

From Command Prompt

If you like running commands, use a command in Command Prompt to turn on NTFS compression for your files or folders. To do it, open Windows Search (press Windows+S), type Command Prompt, and select “Run as Administrator.” Choose “Yes” in the User Account Control prompt.

On the Command Prompt window, type the following command. Replace “PATH” with the full path to the file or the folder you want to compress. Then, press Enter. Whether your file or folder path has spaces or not, keep the path enclosed in double quotes to avoid running into any issues. The command below already uses double quotes for paths.

compact /c "PATH"

The “c” parameter in this command tells the command to compress the specified file or folder. In the future, you can decompress your file or folder using the following command. Replace “PATH” with the full path to the file or the folder you want to decompress.

compact /u "PATH"

You can compress an entire drive (including all its folders and files) using NTFS compression. You can use File Explorer or Command Prompt to do that, as shown below.

Using File Explorer

Open File Explorer (press Windows+E), right-click the drive you want to compress, and select “Properties.” Open the “General” tab and turn on “Compress This Drive to Save Disk Space.” Then, choose “Apply” followed by “OK”.

In the prompt that opens, choose “Apply Changes to Drive X:\, Subfolders and Files” to enable compression for all the subfolders and files on the drive. Or, choose the “Apply Changes to Drive X:\” option. (X is your drive’s letter)

Then, click “OK.”

To turn off compression in the future, right-click the compressed drive and choose “Properties.” Access the “General” tab and disable “Compress This Drive to Save Disk Space.” Then, choose “Apply” followed by “OK”.

From Command Prompt

• Launch Windows Search (press Windows+S), type Command Prompt, and select “Run as Administrator.” In the User Account Control prompt, select “Yes”.
• In Command Prompt, type the following command. Replace “X” with the letter of the drive you want to compress. Then, press Enter. This command compresses all the subfolders and files on the drive.

compact /c /s /a "X:\"

• The “c” parameter tells the command to compress the specified drive. The “s” parameter ensures that all the subdirectories are included. The “a” parameter makes sure the hidden and system files are included as well.
• In the future, you can decompress the drive by running the following command. Make sure to replace “X” with your drive’s letter.

compact /u /s "X:\"

The “u” parameter tells the command to decompress the specified drive. The “s” parameter ensures all the subdirectories are decompressed as well.

1. Add chart labels (also known as elements), like axis labels, gridlines, or a legend.
2. Choose a label layout if you don’t have time to add chart labels manually.
3. Change the chart’s style by making your bars have a thatched pattern, changing the colors, adding a shaded background, and more.
4. Select the data source for the chart or switch the x-axis and the y-axis.
5. Change the chart type altogether, such as switching from a bar chart to a column chart.
6. Move your chart to a different or new sheet.

The Format Tab

The Format tab—another specialized menu that appears when you click your chart—is where you can personalize your chart’s appearance.

Before you make any formatting changes, however, make sure you have either clicked the part of the chart you want to amend or selected it from the drop-down list in the Current Selection group. The rest of the Format tab then updates to display the formatting settings for the chart part you’ve selected.

The left half of this tab lets you format your chart in the following ways:

1. Reset the chart’s formatting to the style’s default design.
2. Add a shape to your chart or change an existing shape. The most useful option in this group is a text box for adding further labels.
3. Change the appearance of that part of the chart, like adding an outline, filling it with color, or adding an effect.

In the right half of this tab, you can:

1. Format the text with WordArt, either using a preset style or making your own text formatting tweaks.
2. Add alt text for people using screen readers.
3. Align or resize your chart or its parts.

The Format Chart Pane

While the tabs give you access to most of the tools needed for formatting a chart, I prefer using Excel’s Format Chart Pane, as it contains even more options for tailoring your chart to your needs. To launch it, either (1) right-click the edge of your chart and select “Format Chart Area,” or (2) select your chart and click “Format Selection” in the Format tab on the ribbon.

The first thing to look at is what part of the chart you’re about to format by looking at the pane’s top-left drop-down menu. The more chart elements you have on your chart, the more options you will see when you expand this drop-down menu.

For example, if you have gridlines on your chart, the option to format these will appear here. Once you’ve identified the part of your chart you want to format, Excel presents a range of icons for you to click.

Which icons you see depends on which part you’ve selected to format.

1. The paint pot icon is where you can format the color fill or border or, if you wish, use a picture background.
2. The pentagon icon lets you add effects, like shadows, glows, and soft edges.
3. You can adjust the item’s size, alignment, and other properties through the measurement icon.
4. The three-column chart icon is where you can change the chart’s parameters, like the minimum and maximum values or increments on an axis or the gap width between bars and columns.

If the area you have selected contains text, you’ll see a second drop-down menu in the Format Chart Pane that lets you format that text.

The Buttons Next to the Chart

The buttons that appear just outside your chart’s border whenever your chart is selected are a condensed version of the Chart Design tab I discussed earlier.

1. The “+” icon is where you can show, hide, or adjust the chart’s labels (or elements), much like through the Add Chart Element icon in the Chart Design tab.
2. The paintbrush icon lets you change your chart’s style or colors, which you can also do in the Chart Styles group in the Chart Design tab.
3. The filter button, which lets you choose which data your chart is displaying, has the same options as the Select Data icon in the Chart Design tab.

The Chart Right-Click Menu

You can also make formatting changes to your chart through the right-click menu. What you see in this menu depends on where you right-click. Right-clicking the edge of the chart gives you the most options, as this encompasses everything within the chart. For example, clicking “Font” and choosing a different typeface will affect all the text in your chart.

Right-clicking the internal parts of your chart will give you the option to delete and reset individual elements, as well as change the chart type and relaunch the Format Chart Pane for more options.

Although you can format text through the Format tab and the Format Chart Pane, I find the easiest way to do this is through the Home tab on the ribbon. Simply select the text you want to format, and use the Font group in the Home tab to change the typeface, font color, and font size, as well as the bold, italics, and underline.

Installing Visual Studio Code

On Ubuntu, installing VS Code is a breeze. It is available directly from the App Center. Just open the App Center and type code in the search field and it should be the first result you see. Click on “Install,” and it will be ready for use in a few moments. When the installation completes, we’ll need to install some extensions for working with containers, so go ahead and launch Code.

When VS Code opens, go to the extension marketplace by clicking on the icon on the left side panel that looks like 4 small blocks. It should be the fifth from the top. This will open a list of extensions with a search field at the top. In the search field, type containers. On top, or close to the top, of the list you’ll see an extension pack called “Remote Development”. Click on that selection and then click the blue “Install” button.

This will install four extensions that enable Code to work with remote and containerized development environments. It should only take a few moments for the extensions to install. We’re done with VS Code for now, but we’ll come back to it in a few minutes.

Installing Docker Desktop

Docker Desktop is a combination of the Docker container engine and a desktop app to help you manage containers manually when needed. This one is not available in the App Center, but installation isn’t very difficult. First we’re going to enable the Docker APT repository so that Docker will update itself along with the rest of your software. Then, we’ll download and install Docker Desktop. It might look like a lot of commands, but the whole process only takes a minute or two. You’ll need to open a terminal and enter the commands below.

We’ll start by installing the Docker GPG key to make sure all future downloads are secure. Enter the following commands at a terminal prompt, one at a time, in order:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install ca-certificates curl
sudo install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings
sudo curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc
sudo chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc

With the GPG key installed, we’ll now enable the repository. The following is a single command on multiple lines. You should copy and paste the entire command into your terminal and then press enter.

echo \
  "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu \
  $(. /etc/os-release && echo "$VERSION_CODENAME") stable" | \
  sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null

Now enter the following command to update apt with the information for the Docker repository.

sudo apt-get update

You should see a few lines of output as your package manager updates. If everything above worked correctly, you will see two lines in the output with the docker.com domain name.

With the repository enabled, we can now install Docker Desktop. To do so, first download the Docker Desktop either using this DEB package direct download link or, if it doesn’t work, by visiting the official download page. Next, back at your terminal, switch to the directory where you saved the package file and enter the following commands to install it (assuming you saved to your “Downloads” directory):

cd ~/Downloads
sudo apt-get install ./docker-desktop-amd64.deb4

The Ubuntu package manager will present you with a list of packages that need to be downloaded and installed and ask you if you want to continue. You should, of course, say yes.

You’ll see quite a bit of output as your system downloads and installs all the necessary packages. Depending on the speed of your connection and computer, the installation can take anywhere from a few moments to a few minutes. The installation process will finish with a warning message. This is normal and you can safely ignore it.

Now you should see Docker Desktop in the app launcher. We won’t need to actually do anything with the Docker Desktop app right now, but you will need to launch it to start the Docker container engine. So, go ahead and launch it and just let it run in the background.

Building your first Container in VSCode

Now back to VSCode! With Docker up and running, the extensions we previously installed in VSCode will allow us to build any number of containers with whatever tools we need for different development projects. For this example, we’ll create an Ubuntu-based container with some common development tools and the Java Development Kit (JDK).

To get started, open VSCode and move to a directory where you’d like to set up your code and create your environment. Then, press Ctrl+Shift+P to open the command palette. In the search box at the top, type in the word container. You should see several options starting with the words “Dev Containers.” Select “Add Dev Container Configuration Files“ (you may have to scroll down to find it).

You’ll then be asked if you want to add the configuration to your workspace or to your user data directory. In most cases, adding it to your workspace will be the right choice. If you share your work with others through systems like GitHub, the container configuration will be saved along with your code, making it possible for others to easily replicate your development configuration. Selecting the user data folder option will separate the configuration from your code so that it doesn’t get pushed out to any shared repositories.

Next, you’ll be shown a series of templates you can choose from to create your base container. At the end of the list you should see an option for a basic Ubuntu container. After selecting Ubuntu, you’ll be presented with a short list of the latest versions to pick from. At the time of writing, the latest LTS version of Ubuntu is Noble Numbat, so we’ll pick “noble” from the list.

You’ll then be given the opportunity to select additional tools or programs that you might require for your dev environment. For our demonstration, type java into the search bar and select the check box for “Java (Via SDKMan)“. Then, click the blue “Ok” button.

Next you’ll be asked if you want to use the default configuration or customize it. For the sake of simplicity, keep the default configuration, and just click on “Ok” to go through the next few options that will ask if you want to install any special Java tools.

When you’ve made all of your configuration choices, VSCode will ask you if you want to reopen your project in the container that you just configured. Click the blue button and VSCode will begin building the container for you.

This process will take several minutes. Don’t worry, though. Once the container is built, you’ll be able to start it up and get to work in just a few seconds. The “Reopen in Container” dialog will disappear after a few seconds if you don’t click on anything. If you miss the dialog, press Ctrl+Shift+P to open the command palette, type container in the search bar, and select any of the options that say open in or build container.

A window will open in the lower right of your screen saying “Connecting to Dev Container” as the container is built. If you click on “Show Log,” you can watch the build process in the terminal.

And that’s it! When the build process is complete, you will have your first development container. Your code will be saved in the directory where you opened VSCode and your environment will exist inside the container. When you want to work with your container(s), just launch Docker Desktop to start the Docker Engine, then open your project in VSCode. Once you’ve created a container, Code will automatically start it when it’s needed and shut it down when it’s not.

You can open the command palette and explore more options by typing container in the search bar. You can create new containers, modify existing ones and delete any that are unused. You can now create the exact development environment you need for any and all of your programming projects without fear of creating dangerous conflicts on your Ubuntu system. And, perhaps even better, you can update Ubuntu with confidence, knowing that your development environment won’t break down.

Future-proofing your CPU is possible as long as you keep your expectations in check. While a 5+ year-old CPU can deliver competitive performance in games and productivity tasks, it won’t match the latest and greatest models.

Glance over the Gamers Nexus review of the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, and you’ll see the 5800X3D achieving great results in games such as Starfield, Dragon’s Dogma 2, and Baldur’s Gate 3; all CPU-heavy titles. Its successors, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D and the recently released Ryzen 7 9800X3D, are the best CPUs for gaming at the moment. Period.

I’m trying to say that if you’re a gamer and want to future-proof your CPU for the next half a decade or longer, just get an X3D chip and start thinking about which GPU to pair it with.

Just keep your expectations in check. A mid-range CPU that’s great for gaming right now will most likely be able to deliver more than 60 frames per second on average in most games five years from now. However, you shouldn’t expect it to deliver the same level of performance with all visual effects, including ray tracing, maxed out, and in future games that will be considered CPU hogs in the late 2020s. It will most likely struggle in some games, unable to deliver a constant 60 FPS or higher, and that’s okay.

For example, I got a Ryzen 5 5600X in late 2020, and four years later, the CPU is still pretty solid in most games, very rarely bottlenecking my RTX 3070. Its biggest weakness is ray tracing, since it can fail to deliver 60 frames per second on average when you enable RT in certain games. In Marvel’s Spider-Man and Spider-Man Miles Morales, I had 100+ FPS on average without ray tracing, but turning it on and increasing the quality to 8/10 or higher led to sub-60FPS drops and low GPU utilization when web-slinging near the street level, filled with cars and pedestrians. The lack of full GPU usage is the smoking gun that shows us the CPU is holding things back.

The 5600X can bottleneck my RTX 3070 in some CPU-demanding games that don’t include ray-tracing effects, too. In Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, I get subpar GPU utilization in many levels filled with massive enemy hordes, as you can see below, that leads to noticeable frame rate drops. The same happens in Dragon’s Dogma 2 when I’m in towns with lots of NPCs. That said, the performance usually stays above 60 frames per second, which is still a great result for a four-year-old mid-ranger.

In most other games, though, the 5600X can deliver way over 60 FPS on average, and I’m positive it will stay that way at least until we get PlayStation 6 and the next Xbox, which will most likely up the ante of CPU requirements in games.

In other words, the Ryzen 5600X will stay competitive for gaming for at least six years. If you get a modern mid-range CPU that excels at gaming, such as the Ryzen 7 7700X, Ryzen 7 7700, or the newer Ryzen 7 9700X, you should also be fine for half a decade or longer.

For Office Work and Lightweight Tasks, A Quality Quad-core CPU Will do the Trick

Building a PC for office and “everyday” tasks? Just get a modern Quad-core CPU, such as the Intel Core i3-12100F, and you can forget about replacing it for at least half a decade.

Even a more-than-decade-old part such as the legendary Intel Core i5-2500K that came out in early 2011 can tackle any office and lightweight computing task you throw at it without issues even today. So, it’s safe to say that any modern budget CPU that packs at least four cores will stay up to snuff for office and other work that doesn’t strain the CPU too much for the next decade.

If you’ve got the cash, you can even get something like the Ryzen 5 7500F (as long as you can find it for $180 or less) or the Ryzen 5 7600 (both six-core designs) and ride that PC until it can no longer handle running a text editor alongside multiple browser tabs or large spreadsheets—which probably won’t happen until, like, 2044, assuming PCs as we know them are still in use by then.

Professionals Ought to Look for High-end and Flagship CPUs

If you earn a living with your PC and want a CPU that will stay competitive for over five years, you should splurge on a high-end or flagship CPU that eats heavy multithreaded CPU loads for breakfast.

Now, I wouldn’t recommend Intel’s 13th and 14th-gen CPUs here since they suffer from overvolting issues. Intel claims it fixed the problems, but I’d still err on the side of caution if planning to get a long-term CPU upgrade.

So, you’re left with AMD’s Zen 4 and Zen 5 and Intel’s 15th-gen CPU lineups, all offering great productivity performance. Here, I’d look at reviews and focus on use cases important for your workflow. For example, if you need the best CPU for video editing in Premiere Pro, just look at those benchmarks and ignore the rest.

In general, the Ryzen 9 9950X, Ryzen 9 7950X, Intel Core Ultra 7 265K, and Intel Core Ultra 9 285K are the best consumer-grade productivity CPUs on the market. You ought to pick one of those for your next PC build if you want it to stay competitive for at least half a decade.

If you’re ready to pay much more, consider getting an AMD Threadripper CPU. Here, the situation’s very clear: the more you pay, the better performance you’ll get. In other words, settle on your CPU budget and then get the best CPU that fits into said budget.

Modern CPUs are incredibly powerful, and many of them will keep delivering solid gaming and productivity performance in the late 2020s and early 2030s. All you’ve got to do in order to future-proof your CPU is read and watch reviews, cull the CPUs that perform the best relative to your budget, and make your pick.

Valve’s SteamOS is streamlined and designed with the Steam Deck in mind, but it’s hard to ignore the unending array of Windows native applications and PC-exclusive games. Thanks to some recently-released drivers, you can now give in and install Windows 11 right on your Steam Deck.

The easiest way to install and run Windows on your Steam Deck OLED is by way of a bootable microSD card. You could wipe the drive and install Windows directly on your Steam Deck’s internal SSD but going for the “fresh start” approach effectively forces you to start from scratch. This complicates the ability to reinstall SteamOS at a later date.

Using an SD card for Windows gives you the freedom to change your mind and switch back to SteamOS to overcome performance issues that are impeding your game of choice. As with any major changes to an operating system, make sure to back up your files and games before proceeding.

To kick off the installation, enable the SteamOS Beta and update your BIOS to version 3.6.9 or later. To do this, press the “Steam” button then navigate to Settings > System > Beta Participation and select “Beta” from the System Update Channel list. You’ll be invited to restart your device, after which a new update will be ready for you. Install it and you’re good to go.

Once your hardware is up-to-date, you will need an ultra-high speed microSD card (UHS-I or faster) with a minimum storage capacity of 64GB. You’ll also need a computer running Windows on which to prepare the medium.

• The first step to creating a bootable microSD card is acquiring the Windows 11 ISO. On your PC, download the Windows 11 or Windows 10 installation media and ISO straight from Microsoft’s website. Both versions of Windows are supported on the Steam Deck, and the installation process is essentially identical.
• Now that you have the ISO, you’ll use the free, open-source wonder Rufus to actually prepare your card. Visit the official Rufus website on your PC and download the latest version of the executable file. Once downloaded, open the executable to run Rufus.

Insert your microSD Card

Insert your microSD card into your PC’s card reader. It should be recognized by your computer, but make sure to format it if prompted.

Launch Rufus, and you should see the application’s main window open. Rufus automatically detects connected USB devices or memory cards. In the “Device” drop-down, ensure your microSD card is selected as the target device. Be careful to select the correct device, as the process will format the selected card.

Boot Selection

In the “Boot Selection” section, click on the dropdown and select “Disk or ISO image (Please select)”. After this, click the “Select” button next to the menu and locate your downloaded Windows ISO file from your system. Once found, click “Open” to load the ISO file into Rufus.

• Now select “Windows To Go” from the “Image Option” menu.
• Rufus Creating Boot Disc Windows 11 Iso
• Partition Scheme and File System
• Rufus will automatically set the “Partition Scheme” to GPT and “Target System” to UEFI (non-CSM), which is necessary for compatibility with modern systems like the Steam Deck. The “File System” should be left as NTFS (default for Windows installations).
• Now is also the time to rename your microSD card by using the “Volume Label” field if you wish.

Windows User Experience Settings

• Once you click the Start button, Rufus will prompt you with Windows User Experience settings. If you prefer to manually configure regional settings or use an online Microsoft account, you can leave the relevant options unchecked. However, for privacy and convenience, enabling these options is recommended.
• Finalize Install
• After confirming your settings, you will be met with a final warning message that all data on your microSD card will be deleted. You’ve already gone this far, click “OK” to proceed. Rufus will now install Windows on your microSD card.

Copy Windows Drivers to Your SD Card

• With your new operating system resting calmly on your SD card, you’re ready to acquire the drivers needed to make software run smoothly on your Steam Deck. Valve’s Steam Deck: Windows Resources page has all the required files. Download the required drivers to your Windows 11 desktop and unzip the files.
• Open up the root folder on your microSD and create a new folder. Now you can just select the folders containing the drivers and drag them into the folder you just generated for later use.

Giving SteamOS the Boot

Your freshly prepared boot disc is ready to bring the Windows 11 PC experience to your Steam Deck.

• First, power off your Steam Deck completely. Now Insert the SD card into the Steam Deck’s microSD card slot. Hold the “Volume Down” button and press the “Power” button, then release both buttons once you hear a sound.
• You’ll be taken to the boot selection menu. Select your SD card and press “A” to set up Windows.
• Once inside Windows, you can return your screen to its rightful horizontal position. Right-click and head to Desktop > Display Settings > Scale & Layout > Display Orientation > Switch to Landscape to fix the screen layout.
• With Windows installed and booting on your OLED Steam Deck, it’s time to set up those essential drivers we left snug in the root directory of your SD card. Navigate to the folder and proceed to install each driver.

Install the APU Driver

• Find the “setup.exe” file in the folder for the APU driver and run it to install.
• Install the SD Card Reader Driver
• Go to the “BayHub_SD_STOR_install” folder and run the “setup.exe” executable.
• Install the Wi-Fi Driver
• Navigate to the Wi-Fi driver folder, right-click the “qcwlan64.inf “file, and choose “Install.”
• Bluetooth Driver
• For Bluetooth, right-click “qcbtuart.inf” in the Bluetooth driver folder and select “Install”. Keep in mind, if this doesn’t work, you may not have remembered to update the BIOS for your OLED Steam Deck.

Audio Drivers

• You will need to install three different drivers for full audio functionality: “cs35l41.inf”, “NAU88L21.inf”, “amdi2scodec.inf”. For each driver, right-click, then select “Install.”
• Once all drivers are installed, Windows will function on your OLED Steam like the desktop you dragged to your buddy’s basement to get in some matches of Counter Strike in 2001.
• Reverting to SteamOS
• Since you made the wise decision to install Windows 11 on a bootable SD, it’s a breeze to return to SteamOS if you so choose.
• First, power off your Steam Deck completely. Hold the “Volume Down button and press the “Power” button. Release both buttons once you hear a sound. You’ll be taken to the boot selection menu.
• Select your Steam Deck’s SSD and press “A” to boot back into the intended OS.

Alternatively: Installing Windows Directly (Not Recommended)

• If you are still hellbent on nuking the Steam Deck’s SSD in order to go “full Windows” on your handheld, it’s a similar process with just a few tweaks. Grab a USB drive that can hold at least 32GB of data and connect it to your Windows PC. Download the ISO from Microsoft’s website in the same fashion as previously mentioned, run Rufus, and choose your memory stick of choice in the “Device” window.
• You will still choose “Disk or ISO Image (Please select)” from the “Boot Selection” menu, click the “Select” button next to it, and open the Windows ISO file. Since you are installing the operating system directly onto the hard drive, select “Standard Windows Installation” from the “Image Option” drop-down.

• When greeted by the “Windows User Experience” window, make sure the box next to “Remove requirement for “4GB+ RAM, Secure Boot, and TPM 2.0” is checked and proceed to finalize the installation.
  Optimal Rufus Settings for Windows 11 Install
• Once you have finished setting up your USB, create a folder in the root and download the drivers, and you are ready for installation.
• Power off your Steam Deck completely and insert your flash drive into the Steam Deck’s USB port. Hold the “Volume Down” button and press the “Power” button. Release both buttons once you hear a sound. You’ll be taken to the boot selection menu.
• Select your USB drive and press “A” to start the Windows 11 installation process. Go through the setup and select “Custom: Install Windows Only” when prompted. When asked where to install Windows 11, delete all partitions and create a new one.

There’s no turning back now—this will delete all the information stored on your OLED Steam Deck. Choose the new partition as the installation location. You are good to go. Now fix the screen, install the drivers, and enjoy your odd-shaped Windows 11 laptop.

• Windows on a Steam Deck is nice, but not essential. There are lots of options for playing games from the Epic Game Store on your Valve handheld that don’t involve a Windows installation.

Scenario 1: Install a Printer You’ve Never Connected to Your Wi-Fi Network

If you’re trying to set up a printer that you’ve never connected to your Wi-Fi network, you’ll have to use your printer’s utility to connect it to your wireless network first. How you do this depends on your printer’s manufacturer and the specific printer model. I’ll show you how to do that for a Canon MG3670 Wi-Fi printer as an example.

To start, launch a web browser on your PC and head to your printer’s manufacturer website. In my case, I’m heading to the MG3670 page on the Canon site. Click “Download” to download the utility that lets you connect your printer to your Wi-Fi network.

Then, launch the downloaded utility and choose “Yes” in the User Account Control prompt. Select “Start Setup” on the wizard’s first page.

Choose your country from the drop-down menu and select “Next.” Agree to the terms and conditions and keep following the on-screen instructions. When asked to choose the connection method, select “Wireless LAN Connection” and choose “Next.”

Select “Connect via Wireless Router (Recommended)” and select “Next.” Turn on your printer if it isn’t already and wait for the wizard to find the printer. Then, select your printer on the list and choose “Next.”

Follow the on-screen instructions to finish connecting and installing the printer on your PC.

Scenario 2: Install a Printer That’s Already Connected to Your Wi-Fi Network

If the printer you want to add to your PC is already connected to your Wi-Fi network, install the printer automatically or manually using the following methods.

Method 1: Automatically add the Printer from Settings

Launch Windows 11’s Settings app by pressing Windows+i. From the left sidebar, select “Bluetooth & Devices.” On the right pane, choose “Printers & Scanners”.

At the top of the screen, select “Add Device”. You’ll see your printer listed on the list. Next to the printer, click “Add Device.” Windows 11 will add the selected printer to the system. You can now start using this printer with your PC.

Method 2: Add the Printer Manually

If Settings can’t automatically find your printer, manually find the printer’s IP address and add it to your system.

Step 1: Find Your Printer’s IP Address

To install a wireless printer manually, first, find the printer’s IP address. This is how your PC will locate your printer on the network. To do that, use a free IP scanner app like Advanced IP Scanner or Angry IP Scanner. I’ll use the former one.

Download and run Advanced IP Scanner on your PC. When asked to install the app, choose “Run,” which lets you use the app without installing it. When you see the app’s main interface, at the top, click the large “Scan” button. This initiates the scan process for your Wi-Fi network. You’ll see the discovered devices on the list. The “Manufacturer” column will help you find your printer. Once you find your specific printer on the list, note its IP address.

Step 2: Add the Printer to Your PC

• Open Settings by pressing Windows+i. From the left sidebar, choose “Bluetooth & Devices.” On the right pane, select “Printers & Scanners.”
• Choose “Add Device” and select “Add Manually.”
• On the Add Printer window, select “Add a Printer Using an IP Address or Hostname” and choose “Next.”
• Click the “Device Type” drop-down menu and choose “Autodetect.” Select the “Hostname or IP Address” field and type the printer’s IP address you noted earlier. Then, click “Next.”

• Select the “Printer Name” field and type a name for your printer, then choose “Next.”
• Select “Do Not Share This Printer” and choose “Next.”

Finish installing the printer, and it’ll be ready for use.

Print a Test Page With the Newly-Added Wireless Printer

To check if the printer is working correctly, print a test page with it. Do that by opening Windows Search, typing Printers & Scanners, and selecting the item with that name.

• On the open window, select the printer. Then, choose “Print Test Page.”
• Your printer will begin printing the test page.

Troubleshoot Issues With the Wireless Printer

If you run into issues installing or using your Wi-Fi printer with your PC, here are a few troubleshooting tips to use.

Restart your Windows 11 PC

If your printer doesn’t appear on the printer list even after adding it, give your Windows 11 PC a reboot. The reboot will refresh the system, making the installed printer available to use. To do that, press the Windows key, select the Power icon, and choose “Restart”

To use a wireless printer with your Windows 11 PC, your printer must be connected to the same Wi-Fi network as your PC. If that’s not the case, connect your printer to your network first.

Windows 11 may not always install all the drivers for your printer. If you can’t use certain printer functions, download the additional drivers for your Canon, HP, Epson, Brother, or another printer and install those drivers. Make sure to restart your PC to bring the changes into effect.

LocalSend is a completely free and open-source wireless file-sharing solution that’s available for almost everything. You can send and receive files as long as you have the LocalSend client installed on two devices that share the same Wi-Fi network. The app is built on the REST API and HTTPS, which means it uses the same level of encryption as much of the web.

When you send a file using LocalSend, it is not uploaded to the internet first but rather transferred directly between LocalSend applications. The file is then saved locally on your device. It allows you to send files wirelessly between operating systems and devices that are not normally associated with this kind of seamless interoperability.

First Install LocalSend

To get started, head to the LocalSend website or download the LocalSend client from your store of choice. Apple users can download iOS, iPadOS, and Mac versions from the App Store, while Android users can use Google Play, F-Droid, and the Amazon Appstore (or grab the APK and sideload).

Windows users can download an EXE or a portable version of the app in a ZIP archive. For Linux there are pre-built DEB and AppImage files, plus Flatub, Nix, Snap, and AUR packages. Alternatively, anyone can build LocalSend for themselves by grabbing the source code from the GitHub page.

With LocalSend open on both the sending and receiving device, all that’s left to do is queue some files to transfer. Use the “Send” button to add files, folders, text, or the contents of your clipboard. On a desktop, you can drag files here to queue them up.

With your files ready to go, make sure the receiving device is on the “Receive” page and make a note of the (randomly generated) name you see on the screen. Now initiate the transfer by selecting the target device on the origin device and accepting the transfer on the receiving device

LocalSend should immediately spring into action. How fast your transfer goes depends on how close you are, how fast your Wi-Fi is, and what interference is nearby. In our tests, a 30MB video file sent from an iPhone to a Mac (both with Wi-Fi 6E) took a few seconds.

Set Up LocalSend for Better Results

On the “Settings” page of the LocalSend client, you change a few settings to make your life a bit easier. The first is to change the name of your device to something less random, that’s easily recognizable. Remember to use a random name if you want to hide your true identity.

On desktop you can specify a save location, whereas on iPhone there’s just a toggle for saving media to your “gallery” (Photos library). Turning this off will let you save with Files instead.

You can also turn on “Quick Save” to automatically accept all new incoming transfers (handy if you use LocalSend purely for your own personal devices), add a PIN for better security, and turn on “Auto Finish” to automatically dismiss the transfer summary screen that appears.

LocalSend can replace AirDrop for Apple Users

Perhaps the most surprising thing I noticed when testing LocalSend was that the service appears to be more reliable than Apple’s own AirDrop protocol. This might not be the case for all users, but as someone who uses a VPN on both their Mac and iPhone, AirDrop frequently doesn’t work for me.

Normally I have to turn off my VPN, make an AirDrop transfer, and then remember to turn on my VPN again. This wasn’t necessary with LocalSend. Sending a file from my iPhone to my Mac was effortless, with both devices appearing immediately and the transfer initiating without the usual “will they, won’t they” dance I’ve become accustomed to.

On top of this, LocalSend appears in the “Share” menu on macOS alongside other locations like Messages, Mail, and so on. This makes it easy to select media from your Photos library, hit Share, and then tap “LocalSend” to transfer files wirelessly.

With LocalSend always running in the background on my Mac, I can now easily transfer screenshots (like the one above) with a few taps on my iPhone by automatically accepting all new transfers on my Mac. The biggest roadblock you’re likely to run into is convincing other people to download the app, which of course isn’t the case with AirDrop.

Android User? Try Quick share for Windows or NearDrop for Mac

If LocalSend isn’t doing it for you and you have the very specific combination of Android and macOS or Android and Windows, there are two other apps you can resort to. Quick Share is Google’s own app for transferring between Android and Windows, which was revamped in early 2024.

Install the app on Windows and then log in with your Google Account. You can then set up device visibility preferences, and send wirelessly between the two using Google’s own nearby sharing technology. NearDrop is a free Mac app that works in much the same way, except it’s not at all affiliated with Google. Install it using Homebrew on your Mac, then make sure your devices are sharing the same local network before trying to send.

Also consider SMB for Network Sharing

If you’re mostly concerned with transferring files between computers that are normally on the same network, you can always use the old SMB file-sharing protocol as a fallback. There’s native support for SMB built into Windows and Mac, which makes sharing between Windows and Mac using SMB fairly easy.

On Windows, set up a shared folder as you normally would by right-clicking a file and choosing Properties > Sharing then selecting “Share.” You can further refine these settings under “Network and Sharing Center” in Control Panel. Windows uses SMB by default.

On a Mac, head to Settings > General > Sharing and turn on “File Sharing” then click the “i” button next to the setting to add folders and set permissions. Hit “Options” and enable “Windows File Sharing” for your username. Remember that anyone accessing your shares will need to authenticate with your macOS username and password.

On Linux, instructions will differ depending on which distribution you are using. To create a Windows share in Ubuntu, right-click on the folder you want to share and then click Properties > Local Network Share > Share this folder. You’ll be invited to install the required services and set up your share. You can also install samba and set all of this up using the Terminal.

To make use of SMB, you’ll need to place the files you want to share within the folder you have shared.

When nothing Works, use Cloud sharing

Uploading a file to the cloud to send it to a device that’s within spitting distance is a bit like mailing a letter to your next-door neighbor rather than just dropping it in their mailbox. Sure, it works, but it’s arguably the least efficient method of sharing.

It’s not so bad when the file is small, or you’re trying to collaborate on something (like a text document created in Google Docs), but for larger files like videos or archives that reach into the hundreds of megabytes, there’s almost always a better way.

You’ll have to wait for the upload to complete, have the other party download the file, and then remember to delete it to get your cloud storage back. If everything else is failing you, go for it (but consider using a free cloud storage platform).

How you go about this depends on which service you pick. Most platforms like Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive have native clients. This makes uploading easy, and can even add an element of redundancy so that interrupted uploads can easily be resumed.

Failing this, you can always log in using a standard web browser and upload your file this way. Once you’re done use the built-in tools to share the folder with whoever you want.

Snap Layouts, also known as Snap Windows, is a helpful feature that lets you divide your screen into different sections and place each open application in its designated area. This makes multitasking more efficient, as you can view and interact with multiple apps simultaneously without constantly minimizing and resizing windows.

My favorite layout divides the screen into two halves, each displaying a different application. If you have more than two apps open, you can choose a layout with four sections, each occupying a quarter of the screen.

How to Enable and Customize Snap Layouts

Snap Layouts is enabled by default, so unless you’ve previously disabled it, it should already be active. However, it’s a good idea to double-check. To do this, right-click the Start button and open the Settings app. Select the “System” tab from the left sidebar, then click “Multi-Tasking” on the right. Make sure the toggle next to Snap Windows is turned on.

Next, expand the “Snap Windows” menu to see various options for customizing your Snap Layouts experience. Here, you can turn off any specific functions that you don’t find helpful.

How to use Snap Layouts on Windows

First, open the apps you want to use simultaneously. Then, press Win+Z to bring up the Snap Layouts box. Alternatively, you can access the layout box by hovering over the maximize/restore button in the upper-right corner of any open window or by dragging a window to the top center of your screen.

When the Snap Layouts box appears, choose the configuration that best suits the number of windows you have open. If you’re working with two apps, select the option to split the screen into two halves. For more than two apps, you can choose from layouts that divide the screen into three or four sections.

Once you select a position, Windows will automatically resize the active window and position it in the chosen section of the screen. Then, select the remaining open windows to position them in the available sections. If you attempt to place a window where one is already positioned, Windows will prompt you to select a new spot for the previously placed window.

How to remove an App from the Snap Group

The windows in a Snap layout form a Snap group, and closing one app within the group doesn’t affect the others. To remove an app from the snapped layout, click the close or maximize/restore buttons. If you minimize an app, it will return to the snapped view the next time you open it.

After maximizing a window, if you click the restore button, it won’t return to its snapped position. You’ll need to place it back in the Snap Layout by following the same process.