Quick Tip: Removing Favorites, Frequent Folders and Recent Files from the Home folder in Windows 10

In the Windows 10 Technical Preview File Explorer defaults to the Home folder which shows Favorites, Frequent Folders and Recent Files.

To remove these folders we need to edit the registry. Click the Start button and then type regedit.exe and press Enter.

Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HomeFolder. To make a backup of this folder right click it and then select Export and save it.

Expand the folders beneath HomeFolder and you will see the NameSpace and DelegateFolders. The latter contains three GUIDs for the Frequent Places Folder, Recent Items Instance Folder and the Favorites Folder respectively.

Right click on each GUID that you wish to remove and then select Delete and they will no longer appear in your Home Folder in File Explorer.

Source: http://www.wpcentral.com/new-windows-10-home-folder-convenient-or-bad-privacy

 

Windows 8.1 x64 – Removing the Folders from File Explorer

In Windows 8.1 the File Explorer now has a panel called “Folders” that contains shortcuts to six of the most common user folders:

To remove these folders we need to edit the registry.

From the desktop press the Windows + R keys together to open the Run dialogue box. Type regedit and then press the Enter key. Navigate to the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\

As we can see the NameSpace subkey contains six GUIDs which are mapped to the user folders as follows:

{1CF1260C-4DD0-4ebb-811F-33C572699FDE} - Music Folder

{374DE290-123F-4565-9164-39C4925E467B} - Downloads Folder

{3ADD1653-EB32-4cb0-BBD7-DFA0ABB5ACCA} - Pictures Folder

{A0953C92-50DC-43bf-BE83-3742FED03C9C} - Videos Folder

{A8CDFF1C-4878-43be-B5FD-F8091C1C60D0} - Documents Folder

{B4BFCC3A-DB2C-424C-B029-7FE99A87C641} - Desktop Folder

Deleting all of these GUIDs from the NameSpace folder will remove these folders from Windows File Explorer:

On Windows 8.1 x64 this will still leave the user folders visible in the save  / open dialogue boxes:

To remove the user folders from the save / open dialogue box we need to delete the same GUIDs from the following subkey:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\

This process is easily automated by exporting the required keys and saving them as .reg files.

Remove Folders From File Explorer in Windows 8.1 x64:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

; ####################################################
; Remove Folders from File Explorer in Windows 8.1 x64
; ####################################################

[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{1CF1260C-4DD0-4ebb-811F-33C572699FDE}]
[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{1CF1260C-4DD0-4ebb-811F-33C572699FDE}]
; Music Folder

[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{374DE290-123F-4565-9164-39C4925E467B}]
[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{374DE290-123F-4565-9164-39C4925E467B}]
; Downloads Folder

[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{3ADD1653-EB32-4cb0-BBD7-DFA0ABB5ACCA}]
[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{3ADD1653-EB32-4cb0-BBD7-DFA0ABB5ACCA}]
; Pictures Folder

[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{A0953C92-50DC-43bf-BE83-3742FED03C9C}]
[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{A0953C92-50DC-43bf-BE83-3742FED03C9C}]
; Videos Folder

[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{A8CDFF1C-4878-43be-B5FD-F8091C1C60D0}]
[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{A8CDFF1C-4878-43be-B5FD-F8091C1C60D0}]
; Documents Folder

[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{B4BFCC3A-DB2C-424C-B029-7FE99A87C641}]
[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{B4BFCC3A-DB2C-424C-B029-7FE99A87C641}]
; Desktop Folder

Restore Folders From File Explorer in Windows 8.1 x64:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

; ####################################################
; Restore Folders from File Explorer in Windows 8.1 x64
; ####################################################

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{1CF1260C-4DD0-4ebb-811F-33C572699FDE}]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{1CF1260C-4DD0-4ebb-811F-33C572699FDE}]
; Music Folder

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{374DE290-123F-4565-9164-39C4925E467B}]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{374DE290-123F-4565-9164-39C4925E467B}]
; Downloads Folder

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{3ADD1653-EB32-4cb0-BBD7-DFA0ABB5ACCA}]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{3ADD1653-EB32-4cb0-BBD7-DFA0ABB5ACCA}]
; Pictures Folder

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{A0953C92-50DC-43bf-BE83-3742FED03C9C}]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{A0953C92-50DC-43bf-BE83-3742FED03C9C}]
; Videos Folder

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{A8CDFF1C-4878-43be-B5FD-F8091C1C60D0}]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{A8CDFF1C-4878-43be-B5FD-F8091C1C60D0}]
; Documents Folder

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{B4BFCC3A-DB2C-424C-B029-7FE99A87C641}]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{B4BFCC3A-DB2C-424C-B029-7FE99A87C641}]
; Desktop Folder

Sources: http://www.howtogeek.com/168081/how-to-remove-the-folders-from-my-computer-in-windows-8.1/

Windows 8 – Disable or Enable the Lock Screen (Without Group Policy)

While Windows 8 Pro and Enterprise users can use the local Group Policy editor to enable or disable the Lock Screen, everyone else will need to use the Registry Editor.

From the Start Screen type regedit and then click on the regedit icon displayed.

In the User Account Control window click the Yes button to continue.

Browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows and create a new key called Personalization (if it does not already exist).

In the Personalization key create a new DWORD called NoLockScreen and change its value to 1 to disable the Lock Screen. Conversely changing the DWORD to 0 will enable the Lock Screen again.

Uninstall Symantec Norton Antivirus Enterprise Without Entering Password

If you are faced with Symantec / Norton Antivirus (SAV) Enterprise asking you for an uninstall password you can try the default password “symantec“ or edit the Windows registry so that a password is no longer needed, as follows:

• Click Start and then click Run. Type regedit and then click OK.

• In Regedit navigate to the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\INTEL\LANDesk\VirusPro tect6\CurrentVersion\
Administrator Only\Security\

• Change the value for the useVPuninstallpassword key from 1 to 0.

• Close Regedit.

You can now uninstall SAV without needing to enter a password.

This should work on most versions of Symantec or Norton AntiVirus clients from version 7 through 10.

Source: Zeropaid

Windows 7 Media Center – How to Take Screenshots

If you try to take a screenshot in Windows 7 Media center by pressing the Print Screen key you will just end up with a black image.

Fortunately the fix is just a quick registry tweak away.

First close the Media Center application and then click the Start Orb, type Regedit and then press Enter and navigate to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\
Service\Video

Then just add a DWORD called EnablePrintScreen and change its value to 1.

Close Regedit and then restart the Media Center application.

I tested this on Windows 7 x64 Media Center.

Source: Tech Hail