RustDesk and Tailscale

I'm an Anydesk guy. I tried RustDesk and it was fine but I didn't feel that their servers were as fast as Anydesk. Rust encourages setting up your own server which is more work than I wanted. With Tailscale you can establish a direct link between the two PCs through an encrypted Wireguard tunnel. This should be the game changer.

The LoL part. I suppose Anydesk can be connected through Tailscale. I do like the thought of open-source RustDesk so I'm trying both.

winget install --id=Tailscale.Tailscale -e   

winget install --id=RustDesk.RustDesk -e   

Set up a Tailscale account.

Set up RustDesk on the Host PC - Go to security, unlock and enable ip connections.

It's so easy I'm not spending more time explaining now.

Caviot: Keep Anydesk active. I had to use it to stop and start the Tailscale service today. Don't know why so time will tell. The speed is worth it. an iperf test maxed out the upload from the office.

Can't wait to get to my Florida 1GB fiber and run the test from there.

Iperf windows version must be used and run from the command line to work.

Download the iperf for windows folder

Open CMD admin in that folder and run

On office

iperf3.exe -s -p 5202

On laptop

one stream

iperf3.exe -c <REMOTE_TS_IP> -p 5202 -t 10

multiple streams

iperf3.exe -c 100.113.117.66 -p 5202 -t 15 -P 4

Great Tutorial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27apZcZrwks

I was working with Copilot first and then Gemini with this iperf test. Its a little crazy with these guys. They give you Powershell, Windows Command Shell and WSL Bash commands to use. I've learned to appreciate Terminal. I can have all three tabs open in one program and jump back and forth. I now know why WSL Ubuntu is useful. I just had it enabled out of curiosity.

Ventoy Rescue Drive

 USB Rescue Flash Drive

1. Install Ventoy

2. Add ISO boot files

A. Hiren's Boot CD WinPE

1. Simple Password removal

B. Rescuzilla Linux 

1. Dead simple disk clone

C. Linux Mint (or whatever distro)

1. Handle Windows user files without permission hassle.

D. Medicat

1. I can't get it to work properly using vhd or img. I need to be on it's own stick.

Driver Hell MSI Raider GE75 17 GE75 Raider 10SFS-225

Bottom line first: If you are having lock-up and/or crashing issues, try the Nvidia Control Panel edits mentioned below. You may end up installing MSI drivers and more troubleshooting, but it might work.

I bought this on eBay for $650. It looks new, but I was getting system locks while doing almost nothing. I did a clean Windows install. I installed every driver and firmware from the MSI product page. It already had the latest BIOS. All the AI LLMs had tons of advice, and I followed most of it to the point of needing to clear the BIOS. Fortunately, I didn't need to remove the 13 screws and pry the base off. This one had a BIOS reset by holding the power button down for 1 minute (I did 2 minutes).

They all felt that one likely problem was the system having trouble switching the "integrated graphics processor" to and from the "high-performance Nvidia processor". All of them had ideas, but Claude was the only one to suggest using the Nvidia Control Panel.

For instance, I had browser freeze. Browsers do not need Nvidia graphics. Lock it (or them) into using Intel graphics.

If you have problems with other vanilla operations, you might try Global Settings to use Intel only.

Games or other demanding software can be added in Program Settings and restricted to Nvida only.

In Nvidia Control Panel examples:

Global Settings

Program Settings

Find the programs exe file and add

In a perfect world, we wouldn't need to do this. And this laptop is too good to not use. I may find a solution to the graphics transitions without personal manipulation. Until then, I'm happy.

Bonus observation: Not every AI suggestion needs to be applied, and some of them can break things. But even a novice will gain the insight to create a path and discover essential elements. Maybe the best part, instead of just throwing the darn thing out the window, working with AI can make all the work and frustration enjoyable. 

As I move forward:

Don't do this:

Brave Browser (or any Chrome-based) turn off the graphics acceleration suggestion.

  Don't do it. Something else would be the problem. Without it, the browser's speed is miserable.

May do this:

  BIOS has settings for C-states (or P-states). I disabled this. I don't need buggy drivers trying to save minimal watts of power. 

I haven't had a lock since I did the above. It don't know if it would have eliminated all my driver hunting from the start. I've had a bunch of laptops and never had trouble with generic driver upgrades before. This thing needed spoon feeding.

Syncthing Tray Install

Syncthing Trayzor has not been updated for a while. Syncthing Tray is the one to use now.

How to install:

Open CMD and enter these commands

winget install -e --id Martchus.syncthingtray

winget install -e --id Syncthing.Syncthing

The install is in %localappdata%.

Better to locate the Syncthingtray.exe with EverythingSearch to make the shortcut.

Here is the whole path:

"C:\Users\George\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WinGet\Packages\Martchus.syncthingtray_Microsoft.Winget.Source_8wekyb3d8bbwe"

Syncthingtray.exe will not be in the Start Menu.

Copy it and paste as a shortcut into

Winkey + r

%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs

Start Syncthing. Tray's icon will be in the Taskbar's group on the right.

Start it and set up Syncthing.

Do "Guided Setup"

Choose "Keep settings as they are"

Choose "Start at startup." It can be turned off in Task Manager.

Find "Add Remote Device" in the lower left and set it up.

Open "Folder" and edit

If you already have your folder set up, ignore offers to set up folders.

Clear Start Menu Pinned Items

I haven't used this yet but plan to on the next Win 11 implementation.

The .bat file to run the .ps1

Paste the following into a notepad and save as Run-Clear-StartMenu.bat

@echo off

:: ============================================================================

:: Self-Elevation Section: Check for Admin rights and relaunch if needed.

:: ============================================================================

fsutil dirty query %systemdrive% >nul

if %errorlevel% neq 0 (

    echo Requesting administrative privileges...

    powershell.exe -Command "Start-Process '%~f0' -Verb RunAs"

    exit /b

)

:: ============================================================================

:: Main script execution (only runs if we have Admin rights).

:: ============================================================================

TITLE Running PowerShell Script (As Administrator)

REM The core command:

powershell.exe -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "%~dp0Clear-StartMenu.ps1"

echo.

echo Script has finished.

pause

@echo off

REM This batch file will execute a PowerShell script without permanently changing the Execution Policy.

REM Set the title of the command window for clarity.

TITLE Running PowerShell Script...

REM The core command:

powershell.eXE -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "%~dp0Clear-StartMenu.ps1"

REM Pause to see the output. Remove this line if you want the window to close automatically.

echo.

pause

The .ps1 script to clean the pinned items

Paste the following into a notepad and save as Clear-StartMenu.ps1

<#

.SYNOPSIS

    Unpins the default "bloatware" and common apps from the Windows 11 Start Menu.

    This script is safe to run multiple times. It only acts on items that are currently pinned.

.DESCRIPTION

    The script gets a list of all items pinned to the Start Menu. It then compares that list

    against a customizable array of app names ($appsToUnpin). If a match is found, it

    programmatically invokes the "Unpin from Start" verb, effectively right-clicking and

    unpinning it for you.

.NOTES

    Author: Community-Sourced (refined for clarity)

    Run this in a PowerShell 7 Terminal (Admin) for best results.

#>

# --- EDIT THIS LIST ---

# Add or remove app names to control what gets unpinned.

# You don't need the exact name, a unique part of it is usually enough (e.g., "Xbox" instead of "Xbox Game Bar").

$appsToUnpin = @(

    "Microsoft Edge",

    "Mail",

    "Calendar",

    "Microsoft Store",

    "Photos",

    "Your Phone",

    "Xbox",

    "Get Help",

    "Tips",

    "Solitaire",

    "Spotify",

    "Netflix",

    "Prime Video",

    "TikTok",

    "Instagram",

    "Facebook",

    "Messenger",

    "Movies & TV",

    "Weather",

    "Clock",

    "To Do",

    "Whiteboard",

    "Clipchamp",

    "Family",

    "Cortana"

)

# You can also unpin useful tools if you want a completely blank slate.

# To do this, uncomment the line below by removing the '#' at the beginning.

# $appsToUnpin += @("File Explorer", "Settings", "Calculator", "Notepad", "Paint")

# --- SCRIPT LOGIC (No need to edit below here) ---

Write-Host "Attempting to unpin default Start Menu apps..." -ForegroundColor Cyan

try {

    # This is the magic command to access the Start Menu's pinned items folder.

    $startMenuPins = (New-Object -ComObject Shell.Application).NameSpace('shell:::{4234d49b-0245-4df3-b780-3893943456e1}').Items()

    if (!$startMenuPins) {

        throw "Could not access the Start Menu pinned items."

    }

    # Loop through each app name in our list.

    foreach ($appName in $appsToUnpin) {

        # Find the corresponding pinned item. The wildcard '*' helps match partial names.

        $itemToUnpin = $startMenuPins | Where-Object { $_.Name -like "*$appName*" }

        if ($itemToUnpin) {

            # Find the "Unpin from Start" action for that item.

            $unpinVerb = $itemToUnpin.Verbs() | Where-Object { $_.Name -eq "Unpin from Start" }

            if ($unpinVerb) {

                # Execute the action.

                $unpinVerb.DoIt()

                Write-Host "  [SUCCESS] Unpinned '$($itemToUnpin.Name)'" -ForegroundColor Green

            }

        }

        else {

            # This part is just for information, it will show which apps were not found (likely already unpinned).

            # Write-Host "  [INFO] '$appName' was not found or already unpinned." -ForegroundColor Gray

        }

    }

    Write-Host "Script finished." -ForegroundColor Cyan

}

catch {

    Write-Host "An error occurred: $($_.Exception.Message)" -ForegroundColor Red

}

Browser Shortcuts

 

And while you are at it:

Run these in CMD

Chrome Asking Default Disable

reg add "HKLM\Software\Policies\Google\Chrome" /v DefaultBrowserSettingEnabled /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

Edge Asking Default Disable

reg add "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge" /v DefaultBrowserSettingEnabled /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

Brave Asking Default Disable

reg add "HKLM\Software\Policies\BraveSoftware\Brave" /v DefaultBrowserSettingEnabled /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

My Passmark Benchmarks

 (Be sure to save as "baseline" for future access")

My Office

CPU:           AMD Ryzen 5 2600 (Pinnacle Ridge, PiR-B2)

               3400 MHz (34.00x100.0) @ 3802 MHz (38.50x98.8)

Motherboard:   ASUS ROG STRIX B450-F GAMING

BIOS:          5302, 10/20/2023

Chipset:       AMD CZ FCH

Memory:        32768 MBytes @ 921 MHz, 13-13-13-31

               - 8192 MB PC25600 DDR4 SDRAM - G Skill F4-3200C16-8GTZR

               - 8192 MB PC25600 DDR4 SDRAM - G Skill F4-3200C16-8GTZR

               - 8192 MB PC25600 DDR4 SDRAM - G Skill F4-3200C16-8GTZR

               - 8192 MB PC25600 DDR4 SDRAM - G Skill F4-3200C16-8GTZR

Graphics:      EVGA GTX 1050 ACX 2.0

               NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050, 2048 MB GDDR5 SDRAM

Drive:         ST1000DM010-2EP102, 976.8 GB, Serial ATA 6Gb/s @ 6Gb/s

Drive:         WDC WD4002FFWX-68TZ4N0, 3907.0 GB, Serial ATA 6Gb/s @ 6Gb/s

Drive:         WDC WD60EFAX-68SHWN0, 5860.5 GB, Serial ATA 6Gb/s @ 6Gb/s

Drive:         Samsung SSD 970 EVO 500GB, 488.4 GB, NVMe

Sound:         NVIDIA GP107 - High Definition Audio Controller

Sound:         AMD Zen - HD Audio Controller

Network:       Intel I211AT Copper (Pearsonville) Network Adapter

OS:            Microsoft Windows 11 Professional (x64) Version 25H2 (0S Build 26200.7019)

SER Benchmark

Computer:      AZW SER

CPU:           AMD Ryzen 7 6800H (Rembrandt, RMB-B1)

               3200 MHz (32.00x100.0) @ 3169 MHz (31.75x99.8)

Motherboard:   AZW SER

BIOS:          SER32003, 08/30/2025

Chipset:       AMD Promontory/Bixby FCH

Memory:        32768 MBytes @ 482 MHz, 18-15-17-34

Graphics:      AMD Rembrandt - Internal GPU [AMD]

               AMD Radeon 600M series, 4096 MB GDDR6 SDRAM

Drive:         512GB SSD, 500.1 GB, NVMe

Sound:         ATI/AMD Zen APU - Display HD Audio Controller

Sound:         AMD Zen - Audio Processor - HD Audio Controller

Network:       RealTek Semiconductor RTL8125 Gaming 2.5GbE Family Ethernet Controller

Network:       MediaTek, Device ID: 7920

OS:            Microsoft Windows 11 Professional (x64) Build 26200.7019

Predator 17 (It's an old girl)

Computer:      Acer Predator G9-791

CPU:           Intel Core i7-6700HQ (Skylake-H, R0)

               2600 MHz (26.00x100.0) @ 3174 MHz (31.00x102.4)

Motherboard:   Acer Challenger_SLS

BIOS:          V1.11, 10/16/2017

Chipset:       Intel HM170 (Skylake PCH-H)

Memory:        32768 MBytes @ 1092 MHz, 15-15-15-36

               - 8192 MB PC17100 DDR4 SDRAM - SK Hynix HMA41GS6AFR8N-TF

               - 8192 MB PC17100 DDR4 SDRAM - Kingston KHX2133C13S4/8G

               - 8192 MB PC17100 DDR4 SDRAM - SK Hynix HMA41GS6AFR8N-TF

               - 8192 MB PC17100 DDR4 SDRAM - Kingston KHX2133C13S4/8G

Graphics:      Intel HD Graphics 530 (Skylake-H GT2) [S0/R0] [ACER]

               Intel HD Graphics 530, 13373348 KB SDRAM

Graphics:      NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M [Acer]

               NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M, 3072 MB GDDR5 SDRAM

Drive:         CT1000MX500SSD1, 976.8 GB, Serial ATA 6Gb/s @ 6Gb/s

Drive:         CT500P2SSD8, 488.4 GB, NVMe

Drive:         Slimtype DVD A  DA8A6SH, DVD+R DL

Sound:         Intel Skylake PCH-H - High Definition Audio Controller

Network:       Killer Wireless-n/a/ac 1535 Wireless Network Adapter

Network:       Qualcomm/Atheros e2400 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller

OS:            Microsoft Windows 11 Professional (x64) Build 26200.6901

Dell XPS13

Computer:      DELL XPS 13 7390

CPU:           Intel Core i7-10710U (Comet Lake-U v1 LP3, A0)

               1600 MHz (16.00x100.0) @ 892 MHz (9.00x99.1)

Motherboard:   DELL 0377MH

BIOS:          1.29.0, 12/17/2024

Chipset:       Intel Comet Lake-U PCH-LP Premium

Memory:        16384 MBytes @ 528 MHz, 10-10-10-28

Graphics:      Intel UHD Graphics (Comet Lake-U GT2) [A0] [DELL]

               Intel UHD Graphics, 8407750 KB SDRAM

Drive:         PM981a NVMe Samsung 1024GB, 1000.2 GB, NVMe

Sound:         Intel Comet Lake PCH-LP - cAVS (Audio, Voice, Speech) [A0]

Network:       Killer Wi-Fi 6 AX1650w 160MHz Wireless Network Adapter (200D2W)

OS:            Microsoft Windows 11 Professional (x64) Build 26200.6901

New Script Install Winget In Sandbox (works today)

If you get winget working but it complains about finding source, do this in PowerShell

"winget source remove msstore"

I assume you have constructed your Sandbox.wsb file to set up a share folder.

If not, this works. Note the location of the location and name of the folder. Your choice.

Copy/Paste into Notepad and name Sandbox.wsb

<Configuration>

    <MappedFolders>

        <MappedFolder>

            <HostFolder>C:\Sandbox</HostFolder>

            <ReadOnly>false</ReadOnly>

        </MappedFolder>

    </MappedFolders>

</Configuration>

 Now run both the Winget and the MSstore script. Install Winget and the MSstore with Thiojoe's scripts found here:

https://github.com/ThioJoe/Windows-Sandbox-Tools/blob/main/Installer%20Scripts/Install-Microsoft-Store.ps1

I put the script in a "script.ps1" and run it with an "install.bat" file. Names your choice.

Let's say your ps1 file is ThioScript.ps1. Then your bat would be this:

"powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File ThioScript.ps1"

Right click and run as admin.

My Portable script creates folders, downloads portable apps and extracts them into the proper folders.

Copy and Paste the script below into Notepad and save as "portable_install.bat".

cd /d %userprofile%\Desktop

@echo off

echo Installing 7-Zip...

winget install --id 7zip.7zip --source winget --silent --accept-package-agreements --accept-source-agreements

echo Installing Notepad++...

winget install --id Notepad++.Notepad++ --source winget --silent --accept-package-agreements --accept-source-agreements

echo Installing UniGetUI...

winget install --id UniGet.UniGetUI --source winget --silent --accept-package-agreements --accept-source-agreements

echo All installations completed.

pause   

  

mkdir C:\Portable\Excluded

mkdir C:\Drivers\Benchmarks

mkdir C:\Desk

mkdir C:\Pictures\Wallpaper

mkdir C:\"Program Archives"

curl.exe -L https://www.ugmfree.it/Download/SyMenu/SyMenu.zip -o C:\Portable\symenu.zip

curl.exe -L https://www.carifred.com/uvk/UVKPortable.exe -o C:\Portable\UVK.exe

curl.exe -L https://www.sordum.org/files/download/defender-exclusion-tool/ExcTool.zip -o C:\Portable\Excluded\ExcTool.zip

curl.exe -L https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/wnetwatcher.zip -o C:\Portable\Excluded\wnetwatcher.zip

curl.exe -L https://downloads.wisecleaner.com/soft/WDCFree_11.1.6.832.zip -o C:\Portable\WDCFree.zip

curl.exe -L https://windows-repair-toolbox.com/files/Windows_Repair_Toolbox.zip -o C:\Portable\Windows_Repair_Toolbox.zip

curl https://homeupdater.patchmypc.com/public/PatchMyPC-HomeUpdater-Portable.exe -o C:\Portable\PatchMyPC.exe

curl.exe -L https://www.revouninstaller.com/download-free-portable.php -o C:\Portable\revo.zip

curl -L "https://sourceforge.net/projects/hwinfo/files/Windows_Portable/hwi_822.zip/download" -o C:\Portable\hwi_822.zip

pause

::Separate Extract_Delete.cmd

::    No big deal. I just wanted to do it. Manual extract is fast and easy.

::   Answer "A" to the requests.

"C:\Program Files\7-Zip\7z.exe" e "C:\Portable\Excluded\ExcTool.zip" -o"C:\Portable\Excluded\ExcTool" && del C:\Portable\Excluded\ExcTool.zip"

"C:\Program Files\7-Zip\7z.exe" e "C:\Portable\Excluded\wnetwatcher.zip" -o"C:\Portable\Excluded\wnetwatcher.zip" && del C:\Portable\Excluded\wnetwatcher.zip"

"C:\Program Files\7-Zip\7z.exe" e "C:\Portable\Windows_Repair_Toolbox.zip" -o"C:\Portable\Windows_Repair_Toolbox" && del "C:\Portable\Windows_Repair_Toolbox.zip"

"C:\Program Files\7-Zip\7z.exe" e "C:\Portable\symenu.zip" -o"C:\Portable\Symenu" && del "C:\Portable\symenu.zip"

"C:\Program Files\7-Zip\7z.exe" e "C:\Portable\WDCFree.zip" -o"C:\Portable\WDCFree" && del "C:\Portable\WDCFree.zip"

"C:\Program Files\7-Zip\7z.exe" e "C:\Portable\revo.zip" -o"C:\Portable\RevoUninstaller_Portable.zip" && del "C:\Portable\revo.zip"

"C:\Program Files\7-Zip\7z.exe" e "C:\Portable\hwi_822.zip" o"C:\Portable\C:\Portable\hwi_822.zip" && del "C:\Portable\hwi_822.zip"

pause

New PC Build Possibility

Thinking of building a moderate gaming platform.

CPU      Ryzen 5 7600 $183

Mobo    MSI MSI B650M Gaming Plus WiFi 6E $183

Cooler  Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE $35

RAM    32GB Corsair Vengeance DDR5-6000 CL30 $183

NVME 1GB TEAMGROUP T-Force CARDEA A440 $90

GTX 1080    I already have

183

183

35

183

90

674

Maybe pick one of these instead.

Solidigm P44 Pro (fastest 4.0, single-sided)

WD Black SN850X (widely stocked, PS5-safe if that matters)

Crucial P5 Plus (cheapest of the three when on sale)

Rufus and Windows 11 Upgrade

Once the Rufus drive is created, there is no need to boot from the drive to upgrade.

Navigate to the Rufus drive and run setup.exe

For a clean install, booting to the Rufus drive is required.