How to restore Registry from its secret backup on Windows 10

On Windows 10, it’s never a good idea to edit the Registry, because the database contains low-level settings necessary for the operating system and certain apps to work correctly.

However, sometimes, you may need to modify the Registry to change specific system settings, and if you forget to create a backup, or during an installation of faulty update the Registry gets corrupted, you can still recover Windows 10 using the secret Registry backup. You probably didn’t know, but Windows 10 keeps a backup of a working Registry for recovery purposes, which you can use to manually restore your computer to a working condition when you don’t have a backup.

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How to upgrade to WSL2 from WSL1 on Windows 10

On Windows 10, you can upgrade the Windows Subsystem for Linux platform to version 2, including existing distros, and in this guide, you’ll learn how. The Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL2) is the new version of the implementation that uses a lightweight virtual machine instead of a direct translation between both operating systems, providing significant improvements on performance and complete call compatibility support.

If you’ve been running the first version of the implementation on Windows 10, you can update to Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 and convert the existing Linux installations with a package download to update the kernel and a few PowerShell commands.

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How to install Windows 10 20H2 manually with enablement package KB4562830

The October 2020 Update for Windows 10 (version 20H2) is now slowly rolling out to compatible devices, and while the recommended way to install the feature update is using the Windows Update service, you can also download and install the enablement package (KB4562830) manually using the standalone installer.

This option is only available for devices running version 2004. If you’re using version 1909 or an older release, you can’t use the enablement package to upgrade. The reason is that Windows 10 version 2004 and 20H2 have a common core system with the same system files. As a result the new set of features have already been deployed in a dormant state to computers running version 2004 using quality updates throughout the year. These new features will remain inactive until the KB4562830 update is installed, which is what Microsoft is rolling out to users starting October 20.

Using this approach significantly reduces the time to upgrade from version 2004 to version 20H2, and lowers the restart times to only one. In this guide, you’ll learn the steps to download and install the enablement package manually to upgrade your device to Windows 10 20H2

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How to enable startup boost on Microsoft Edge

Microsoft Edge “startup boost” speeds up the browser start time, and this is how you enable or disable the feature. Microsoft is updating its Chromium version of Edge with a new feature known as startup boost, which launches the browser processes in the background as soon as you sign in to Windows 10. Using this technique significantly reduces the time it takes to open Microsoft Edge when opening the browser to get online or clicking a link from an email or any other app.

Once the core set of processes are loaded into memory, they will continue running at low priority when the browser is not in use to prevent impacting the overall system performance. The new feature boost the startup time of Microsoft Edge appears starting with version 88 available in the Canary Channel, and you can enable or disable it from the System settings page.

In this guide, you’ll learn the steps to enable or disable the startup boost feature to get online faster using Microsoft Edge on Windows 10.

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How to enable random MAC address for Wi-Fi on Windows 10

The problem is that the signal includes the unique media access control (MAC) address (also referred as the physical hardware address) of your computer, and sending out the hardware address can allow some places, such as stores, public areas, and shopping malls to track your location in the specific area.

If you want to make it more difficult for people to track your movements as the device scans and connects to a Wi-Fi network, Windows 10 includes an option to send random hardware addresses. However, this option is only available for hardware that supports the feature. If the network adapter doesn’t support the randomize feature, you won’t see the option in the Settings app.

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How to block unwanted app downloads on Microsoft Edge

Although the Chromium version of Microsoft Edge already ships with the “Microsoft Defender SmartScreen” feature to prevent malicious websites and downloads from hijacking your device, the browser also includes a feature to block potentially unwanted apps from downloading using the browser.

The security feature has been designed to block unwanted apps that are not necessarily malware, such as toolbars, adware, crypto miner apps, and notification spammers. In this guide, you’ll learn the steps to enable the feature to block potentially unwanted apps (PUA) from downloading with the Chromium version of Microsoft Edge on Windows 10.

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Set target version of Windows 10 using Group Policy

Although Windows 10 no longer includes an option to defer feature updates in the Settings app, it’s now possible to configure a new option to set the target version to stay on a specific version until it reaches the end of service, or you can specify the next version you want to upgrade.

The option is known as “Select the target Feature Update version,” and it can be configured through Group Policy or Registry. While the new policy will make sure to keep the device on a specific version, you can still configure the policy to select when feature updates are received through Group Policy.

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Change location and regional formats settings on Windows 10

On Windows 10, the region settings allow the operating system and apps (for example, Microsoft Store) to personalize the experience showing you content based on your location. In addition, based on your location Windows 10 can also show the correct format for dates, times, and currency automatically.

In the past, you needed to use Control Panel to change region settings, such as the first day of the week, currency, and date and time formats. However, you can now adjust these options using the “Region” settings page using the Settings app. In this guide, you’ll learn the steps to change the location on Windows 10, and set the correct regional formats.

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How to export folder content info to CSV file using PowerShell on Windows 10

On Windows 10, sometimes, you may need to generate a csv file containing the information about a particular folder location for inventory purposes, to determine a specific information, or compare the data against another version of the folder to ensure its integrity.

You could perform this task manually, but it could take a long time. However, you can also use a PowerShell command to speed the process to a few seconds. In this guide, you’ll learn the steps to use a PowerShell command to create an inventory of the content of a folder on Windows 10.

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