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A screenshot depicting most of the methods to disable Hyper-V in Windows 11 1
How to disable Hyper-V in Windows 11

You might want to disable Hyper-V if you encounter performance issues in other hypervisors. Here's how to do so on a Windows 11 machine.

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Hyper-V ranks among the top three hypervisors besides VMWare and VirtualBox, and its spot is well earned. In addition to its easy-to-use interface, Hyper-V comes bundled with almost all versions of Windows 11, making it quite accessible as you don’t have to jump through multiple hoops when setting up virtual machines on your system.

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How to repair Windows 11

The operating system is the most important software on your PC, so you want to fix any OS-related errors as soon as you detect them.

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Windows 11 may have been released almost two years ago, but that doesn’t mean it's free from bugs. Corruption of Windows system files is more common than you may realize and is the leading cause of stability issues like slowdowns, freezes, and crashes.

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How to download and install Windows 11

Curious to check out Microsoft's new operating system? Here's how you can download Windows 11 right now to try it for yourself.

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Windows 11 has been out for nearly two years, and for many of us, it's already old news, but it's still a great operating system. The initial release of Windows 11 brought a brand-new design language, a new Start menu, and other changes, and newer updates have come out to add even more. With releases like version 22H2 and the upcoming version 23H2, Windows 11 keeps getting better. But even though it's getting more popular, many of us are still installing Windows 11 for the first time.

An image showing a laptop displaying the Python Package Index website on a web browser. 1
How to install Pip on Windows

Pip and Python go hand-in-hand to help you execute both simple and complex programs.

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Pip is one of the most important tools to have at your disposal when you're getting started with a Python project. It allows you to install and manage millions of Python packages and libraries to help you set up the right software environment for a project, be it a simple automation task or a complex artificial intelligence or machine learning project. But how do you install Pip on Windows to ensure you have no issues working on Python projects? Thankfully, installing Pip on Windows is a fairly simple task, and you can do it following a few simple steps. There's also a chance that you may already have Pip installed on your system, so read on to learn more about it.

Lenovo Legion Tower 5i in use for games 1
How to optimize Windows 11 for gaming

If you're a PC gamer, casual, or serious, there are a few settings you can change in Windows 11 to ensure your PC is optimized for gaming.

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Windows 11 is a great operating system for productivity, thanks to features like Snap Layouts, Android apps, and WSL. The best laptops and desktop computers out there let you do all kinds of work with Windows 11. But if it's gaming that you're planning on doing, then we have some suggestions for how you can make your PC even better. You can turn on Windows 11's dedicated Game Mode to optimize performance for digital gaming, tweak Windows 11's security measures to free up your CPU and RAM for gaming, and so much more.

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How to hide the taskbar in Windows 11

The taskbar can be a useful tool in Windows 11, but at times, it just gets in the way. Here's how to hide it.

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Microsoft gave its famous operating system a facelift when it redesigned Windows 11, so you might find the feel to be both familiar and different. One area where Microsoft made a few changes was the taskbar, where the design and positioning of items are slightly different from what you'd find on Windows 10.

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How to use Threads on desktop in Windows, Mac, Linux, and ChromeOS

No need to wait for the official Threads desktop client!

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Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard of Threads by now. Meta’s latest social media app is unapologetically a Twitter (or X) competitor, and it's deeply interconnected with Instagram to create an amalgamation of the two. However, access to Threads was only possible through its official iOS and Android apps when it launched. There was no proper web interface at the beginning, although you could directly go to a user's profile.

A man using a Windows 11 laptop. 1
How to hide files on Windows 11

Need to keep some files from prying eyes? We'll show you the ropes

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Our Windows computers are great at locating files and folders in an instant, but that’s not always to our benefit. Sometimes, there’s content on our PC that we want to keep tucked away from prying eyes. Search tools like File Explorer can make any file visible with just a few typed characters, but thankfully, there are a few system customizations you can make to hide certain files and folders. Here are a few of our go-to methods for hiding those treasured bytes in Windows 11.

Windows logo with light shining through and text reading Windows 11 Features in Preview 1
Windows 11 features in preview: Everything you can try right now

Windows 11 is on the way, but you can try some of its features right now. These are all the Windows 11 features currently in preview.

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Windows 11 first showed its face on June 24, 2021, and became officially available on Oct. 5 of that same year. Today, most laptops sold come with Windows 11 installed out of the box, but the Windows development cycle never stops, and there's always something to look forward to. That's where the Windows Insider Program comes into play, as it lets fans try out new Windows 11 features in preview before anybody else.

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Windows 11 update tracker: Download and install the latest update

Now that Microsoft has released Windows 11 via stable channel, we're tracking all the updates

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Keeping Windows up to date will ensure that you’ve got the least buggy version of the OS. When it comes to Windows 11, Microsoft has opted for the one update per year strategy, although it continues to make available regular patches and fixes throughout the year to address known issues. New feature sets, such as the Moment 3 release, are also being seeded through the Windows Update framework. This article will serve as the central repository of knowledge base (KB) articles and download links for all updates related to Windows 11.

Jupyter Notebook on Windows 1
How to install Jupyter Notebook on Windows

Are you using Jupyter Notebook for part of your coding? You can install it on Windows, and access it via the web in a few steps.

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If you're a programmer, data scientist, or anyone who codes you're probably familiar with Jupyter Notebook. This is a web-based interactive development environment. It's pretty flexible, so you might want to know how you can use it on the latest version of Windows 11. Even though it is a web-based interface, Jupyter Notebook works best when paired with Anaconda, which will assist in downloading Jupyter Notebook and getting you right into the right dependencies.

Screenshot of the Dynamic Lighting page in Windows 11 with the desktop background visible 1
How to use Dynamic Lighting on Windows 11

Windows 11 has a new feature called Dynamic Lighting to change RGB effects on compatible devices. Here's how to use it.

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For the longest time, the only way to change the RGB lighting effects for the peripherals on your Windows 11 PC has been to use the dedicated software from the brand that makes those peripherals. Each of the companies making some of the best gaming keyboards — whether that's Razer, SteelSeries, Corsair, and so on — has its own app, and if you end up buying equipment from different companies, it means you'll also need multiple pieces of software bloating up your device. Thankfully, Windows 11 is finally introducing Dynamic Lighting, a feature that brings together RGB lighting controls to a native Windows 11 interface, so you no longer need all of these apps.

Screenshot of DirectX Diagnostic Tool, System Information, and the Settings app showing specs information 1
How to find the specs on your Windows 11 PC

Knowing the specs of your Windows 11 PC can help with troubleshooting, or let you know if you can run certain apps — here's how to find them.

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At one point or another, you might need to find the specifications — or specs — of your Windows 11 PC. It can be useful for troubleshooting if you're having issues, or maybe you just want to know if your laptop is compatible with a certain app or able to run a specific game. If you're more tech-savvy, of course, you probably already purchased your PC based on the specs, but that's not the case for everyone.

Windows desktop showing Command Prompt and PuTTYgen windows 1
How to generate SSH keys on Windows

SSH keys allow enhanced security and convenience for authentication. Here's how you can easily generate SSH keys on Windows

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If you find yourself logging into a remote server on your Windows machine repeatedly, you probably know you need SSH keys. Besides being a more secure way of authentication, SSH keys are more convenient than conventional passwords, and offer a variety of additional benefits. Generating SSH keys on Windows 11 is fairly simple and you can do it in a number of ways, based on your preferences and what system you're used to. So, let's get into the various methods you can use to generate SSH keys on Windows.

Screenshot of a Windows 11 desktop with the Xbox Game Bar overlay open over the Settings app showing the button to terminate the Xbox Game Bar app 1
How to disable Xbox Game Bar on Windows

Don't care about Microsoft's Xbox overlay in games? Here's how you can disable the Xbox Game Bar UI in Windows.

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Out of the box, Windows 11 and 10 give you a way to record and share your games, as well as chat with your Xbox friends, manage system resources, and do all kinds of things thanks to plug-ins. All of this is available through the Xbox Game Bar, but what if you don't care about any of these features and they're just using up resources on your laptop? Thankfully, you can disable the Xbox Game Bar so it doesn't bother you. Here's how.

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How to install a VPN on Windows

Protect yourself against prying eyes with a VPN.

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Virtual private network (VPN) providers usually supply an application to be downloaded, installed, and run to set up and configure the secure connection automatically. Even with an available app from the best VPNs, there may be a time when you need to configure the connection manually within Windows. This is precisely what our guide will aid you with, and it should work for most (if not all) VPNs out there.

Surface Pro 8 with SSD for backup 1
How to back up your Windows 11 PC

Want to keep a full copy of your PC in case something goes wrong? Or just back up your files? It's made easy with Windows 11's system tools.

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The more you use your Windows 11 PC, the more important files and memories you gather. Whether you have photos, documents, videos, or even favorite apps, it's natural to want to back things up in the event something goes wrong with your PC. Thankfully, Windows 11 offers three different ways to back up your system. You can back up individual files with File History, copy folders to the cloud with OneDrive PC folder backup, or create a system image of your PC. We have a look at all three for you right here.

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How to create a guest account on Windows 11

If you need to share a Windows 11 PC with someone, you can add a guest account under their name through the Windows 11 settings app

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There might come a time when you have to share your laptop, or your Windows 11 PC with someone. In the old days of Windows, there was a dedicated guest mode for these situations, but Windows 11 and Windows 10 have since removed this. It doesn't mean you can't manually add a guest account, though.

Screenshot of a Windows 11 desktop with the Settings app open to the Notifications page. The notification center is also open. 1
How to customize notification settings on Windows 11

Notifications can be useful, but also overwhelming at times. Here's how you can customize notification settings in Windows 11 to your liking.

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Notifications can be a hugely important feature on our laptops, just like they are on our smartphones. They let us know when something needs our attention, or remind us if we need to get something done. However, as we install more and more apps, things get a bit noisy, and you may want to turn some notifications off. If you want to regain some peace, here's how to customize notification settings in Windows 11.

Screenshot of Windows 11 with various apps and a custom Start menu and theme 1
How to customize your Windows 11 PC

Windows 11 is a great operating system, but not everyone has to like how it looks out of the box. Here's how you can change

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Windows 11 is a great iteration of Microsoft's operating system, with many streamlined design elements and new features that make it a big upgrade. As much as we like the fresh, default look of Windows 11, though, it may not be to everyone's tastes. Thankfully, Windows has always been easy to customize, and Windows 11 is no different. It keeps many of the same personalization options from Windows 10, with some new ones, too. In this article, we'll show you how to customize Windows 11 to your liking to make your great Windows laptop or Windows desktop more distinct, both by using the built-in settings and third-party apps.

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