A List of Stuff I Might Watch

 Chronicles of Revolution

WWIII Explained

Proxmox TrueNAS & Docker (Someday)

 I've decided to start with an old Dell, and a few old disks.

This is a place to keep track of what I did (if I ever get to it) and some info

This video might be useful.

Grabbed and old AM4 and threw in an SSD and 2 1TB hard disks and 4 GB of RAM

(I know - YOU ARE CRAZY) but I just want to get some test experience.

Dropped Proxmox ISO into Ventoy . . . "couldn't find install"

Etcher next . . . Wow > it worked

Ok - It's just a modified Debian.

With my pathetic hardware I just stuck  with ext4.

Set IP outside the dynamic assignment range

Remember login is "root" and the password you set up

Tried using the terminal in the GUI but couldn't get Nano to edit anything.

When SSH the port is standard 22 and not 8006

This seems a good "first things" instruction 

Sadly I got as far as Add Storage and may be gone till 6-2024 (Merry Christmas 2023)

Unless I build a server in Florida. I should use all those parts I have lying around for something.

MX Linux Accessing Windows Drive

I tried MX Linux on a Ventoy stick to access a Windows OS drive and I kept getting "needs authorization" It would not access. It kept saying I had the wrong password. I was using my sudo password.

Maybe I did not enter a root password on setup. I tried "demo" for password and it worked.

I guess "demo" is the default password for root in MX or something? Curious

Ok, the Ventoy stick is using MX live but I'm sure I have my own sudo password. Still curious.

Oh, well . . . need to try again.

Medicat USB Install

I decided to set up Medicate again just for fun. I did it awhile ago and, yes, Defender drove me crazy. Since then with Sordum Defender Control I thought I 'd try it again to see what's new.

You need to download Medicat and the installer separately. Don't even think about torrent, it took 24 hours.

I put the Medicat files in my Defender "excluded" folder

I installed Ventoy onto the destination drive.

This is not necessary, Medicat will prepare the drive with Ventoy.

Install has a "format or not" button for if Ventoy exists or not.

So you can have a Ventoy favorite and add Medicat to it.

I dropped a temporary link to the drive into Defender Exclusion just for kicks.

Now shut down Defender With Sordum Defender Control.

Run the installer.

It's an interesting process. Medicat verifies all the files after install (whatever that means).

While Defender is off, start the Portable Apps menu, options auto upgrade. Close and reopen to upgrade the apps.

It is a monster which can never be plugged into a Windows system with Defender running.

NVME Drive Blazing Hot

My NVME drive in my old Acer 17 always ran 50C and pushed 60s. I added a heat sink and it helped a little. Yesterday it went crazy. I pulled it, put it in an external without the case. Plugged in a USB on PC2 and tried to copy user files. It would heat up and fail. Now I can't even get it to finish populating file explorer. Blazing hot to touch.

Looking for an ice pack to move the files.

Probably going to need "take ownership" to access the user files.

Continuing . . .

Windows Install "First Things"

Windows Install "First Things"

During Install

Choose Location "World"

Work or School

Domain Join

No Password (set up later)

or

If available "I don't have internet"

or

If Win11 Shift + F10 OOBE\BYPASSNRO

Log In "no@thankyou.com" any password

Say no to everything

After Install

Set real location

Run Chris Titus Tool & do whatever.

Open PowerShell as admin

iwr -useb https://christitus.com/win | iex

It will install Chocolatey and I think winget. If not, it has a winget reinstall in config section.

This could replace the App Installer update below. I have not used reinstall option.

Open Windows store > App Installer > update

cmd as admin

winget install -e --id SomePythonThings.WingetUIStore

winget install -e --id Chocolatey.ChocolateyGUI

download Symenu

https://www.ugmfree.it/symenudownload

Open Symenu

[If v8 high def monitor has scaling problems, go to "Options>General>Do this for high def screens]

Install PatchMyPC

Open PatchMyPC & Install stuff. I like how it updates so use it if it has the programs I want.

7zip, ShareX, Everything Search, Winaero etc.

Install Wintoys, Powertoys & TranslucentTB from MS Store

If Chris Titus tweaks done Wintoys will have fewer tweaks to do. Get Wintoys from Windows store.

Windows 11 Fixer Looks like a good tweaker. Reboot between each section.

Probably need Snappy Driver Origin. Start as admin and download index.

If you want extreme bloat removal BloatyNosy (I haven't used it) It is in Symenu.

If running in VirtualBox install Guest Additions and reboot to change display resolution.

Be sure to disable "unattended setup" to avoid VBoxUser

16 GB total RAM is not enough 32 is better. The VM will be happy with 8 GB

Current steps for Win11 install

I don't have product key

Choose English World (for cleaner install)

Something went wrong will show up

Choose Skip

Keyboard Yes

Skip

Name your device

Set up for work or school

Sign-in options

Domain join instead

Name

blank password (set up later)

no to everything

Set region to US

Open Windows Store

App Installer > update (Just click around you'll hit it eventually)

Get Powertoys, Wintoys, TranslucentTB

Run Christ Titus WinUtil

    irm https://christitus.com/win | iex

Create Portable Programs directory

Get Symenu, PatchMyPC, Launchyqt

With PatchMyPC intall 7zip, Everything Search

Set up Excluded folder (I keep pre-done on Mega.nz password is "excluded")

Remember FrostRose password is 2016

It seems /Defender is now seeing inside 7zip and deleting the download so password is needed.

To get clean versions:

    Excluded

        Sordum Defender Control

            Defender will even try to stop you from downloading so set up folder, exclude it in traditional

            manner and download to that excluded folder. "sordum" is password

        Sordum Defender Exclusion

        Anything else needing exclusion

ExplorerPatcher for Windows 11 (I don't think compatible with Nilesoft shell) I like it for Win11 - At least I now have a small icon Taskbar. Nilesoft is a tad to cluttered anyway.

Setting hidden icons as visible works but you need to click and drag them to taskbar after setting.

Fixing Windows

Try an in place upgrade before trying reset. Open (mount) downloaded ISO and run setup.

Or move all the install files to a Win folder and run from there.

Lock Screen Overlay

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ContentDeliveryManager

Set the DWORD value SubscribedContent-338387Enabled to 0

Target for old Control Panel

C:\Windows\explorer.exe shell:::{26EE0668-A00A-44D7-9371-BEB064C98683}

* Or just use Windows search :)

 

Boot USB Inside Windows With Virtual Box or VMware

This is a good tutorial link.

* * * Honestly, Virtual Box will work on larger variety of PCs * * *

But don't kid yourself. It is painfully inconsistent from PC to PC and Drive to Drive.

If you are just checking the "boot" of the drive Sordum Qemu Simple Boot (Symenu)

The ISOs in the drive will sort of boot but not fully.

MobaliveCD previously worked but something is screwy now.

Virtual Box

This is for me but you can look

1. plug in usb drive

2. win + x the k (opens Drive Manager)

3. note the # of the drive

4. open cmd as admin

cd %programfiles%\oracle\virtualbox

5. In cmd type this:

VBoxManage internalcommands createrawvmdk –filename C:\usb.vmdk -rawdisk \\.\PhysicalDrive1

-usb.vmdk is the name and location of the disk you are going to create.

Don't change name of .vmdk now. Use whatever name later when creating the VB machine.

-PhysicalDrive1 is the number of the disk you plugged in.

cmd will complain about createrawvmdk being deprecated but it will work fine

6. start Oracle VB as admin

7. create new machine

8. name usb boot (or whatever)

9. windows 64

10, adjust ram and cpus

11. hard drive choose "use existing > go to C:\ and click the created usb.vmdk

It will be added to your VB folder as a .vbox file

Do not move or delete the usb.vmdk before completing the above.

I don't think it's needed after you create the .vbox machine

Boots Ventoy fine and MX runs but I can't boot with persistence. No biggie but curious.

VMware

- start VM as admin

- create a Windows machine

- name it Boot USB or something

- choose install later

- HD size doesn't matter you are going to remove it

- go to settings

- adjust CPU quantity and RAM (default is probably fine)

- remove the HD

- add HD

- choose physical and pick the number of the drive

Boot that baby up !

* VMware does not work properly on all of my systems. Reasons vary.

* Unless you add a drive the USB number will not change over time.

If it does change just remove the drive and add another with the right number.

* Oh, and yes, MX persistence works fine with all the irritating prompts of course. 

Clear Windows Password - Local Account

Boot to Debian based Linux

sudo apt install chntpw

navigate to windows/system32/config folder

open command prompt

chntpw -l SAM (will list users - use small letter "L" not number "one")

chntpw -u USERNAME SAM

1 clear password

then do logical progression

Let me count the ways of doing this

. . . but if you have a flash drive with Debian on it, why bother looking for another way?

Just apt get to it :)

Boot USB Flash Drives

After too many years of tapping F keys to access the boot menu, I forget the new Windows 10+ way.

Hold the shift key while clicking restart. Keep holding the shift for (we never know how long so just hold it).

. . . Now choose device to use and pick your USB drive.

On my Dell XPS 13 (and if it's going to happen anywhere it's this dang XPS 13) It would not see the drive.

I found that "fast boot" was on. I always turn this off but this was a recent clean OS install.

After turning "fast boot" off it worked.

Native USB slots

* The BIOS may not activate the USB slot to the keyboard if your keyboard is not plugged into a native slot. Addon cards or hubs may not activate early enough.

* If USB drive is not listed as a boot option also try a native motherboard slot.

Boot Option F Keys

Acer F12

Asus F8

Dell         F12

HP         Esc

Lenovo F12

Toshiba F12

Trinity Android Emulator

 I'm no big fan of Android emulators but this one is interesting and open source.

On Win11 it worked fine but would not start on Win10

It was suggested to do this . . . yet to try

turn pn hyper v and also install intel xham

https://github.com/intel/haxm

Ad Blockers are Not Allowed on YouTube

Just turn off add blocker for the YouTube site.

I tried other tricks but they didn't work.

Office 2010 Activation

The last non-bloat version of Microsoft Office is 2010. 

Good luck finding one to download. And if you find one it will probably be a retail version.

Only Volume versions can be activated with KMS

KMS_VL_ALL-49 works on both Windows and Office but it will not convert a retail version of Office to volume.

FrostRose was a older activator seemed to convert the Office install from retail to volume. At least this is how it appears to me. 

So if you try to activate with KMS_VL_ALL-49 and it reports failure because Office is retail, run FrostRose first. FrostRose portable is fine and causes Defender less freaking out. You may not even want KMS_VL_ALL-49 for Office and just use FrostRose. But if FrostRose gets zapped, KMS will now replace easily.

Why bother? KMS_VL_ALL-49 is simpler and has only a single dll to exclude. Not sure it will last longer but FrostRose would lose activation from time to time.

As always it's a moving target.

Now I see KMS_VL_ALL-50 floating around but I haven't found it anywhere I trust.

I don't think you can even buy a key for Office 2010 anywhere.

Hosts File To Quiet Windows and Edge?

127.0.0.1       localhost

::1             localhost

127.0.0.1  data.microsoft.com

127.0.0.1  msftconnecttest.com

127.0.0.1  azureedge.net

127.0.0.1  activity.windows.com

127.0.0.1  bingapis.com

127.0.0.1  msedge.net

127.0.0.1  assets.msn.com

127.0.0.1  scorecardresearch.com

127.0.0.1  edge.microsoft.com

127.0.0.1  data.msn.com

Windows 10 Hibernation & Sleep Is A Little Wonkey

I always turn hibernation off.

Lately I've been fond of using a "sleep" shortcut.

%windir%System32\rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,SetSuspendState 0,1,0

But on one PC it quit working.

How do you even tell if Hibernation is working anymore? CMD doesn't tell me anymore?

Speccy seems to know

But no hiberfil.sys file. Oops, it showed up eventually.

But shortcut works so I'm happy.

So, this was a PC where the sleep shortcut works and hibernation is off.

On the not working PC I turned on hibernation on and the shortcut worked.

Windows Terminal Settings

It's not tough but unless you know how, it's not intuitive and I forget.

Text Color

I like green text on a black transparent background.

In settings find "color schemes"

    Color Schemes occurs in general settings and in "profile defaults" and I change them all.

The secret is you need to "add" a color scheme and set foreground to green. Save it.

Set transparency to desired level.

Set your new color scheme to "default".

On a small laptop the terminal window is huge. 

In settings under "startup" go to  "launch size" setting

Lenovo X1 Carbon Touchpad Two Finger Tap Right Click Context Menu

I love Lenovo X1 Carbons used and/or refurbs. But on one I could never get the two finger tap to bring up the right click context menu.

Yes, it drove me crazy.

The two finger tap settings existed in the Synaptic settings and I changed drivers a zillion times.

Then I found this hint . . . so i did it.

I rebooted and it didn't work

. . . and then I looked again.

Dang, there are 4 of them. So I changed them all and BINGO.

Sadly this did not work on my old Gateway laptop. It had only one entry so maybe if I changed drivers. The Synaptic driver hunt is cryptic at best.

MX Linux Printer Settings

MX Linux is great at finding printers but some might need some config.

If you don't use Linux regularly it's easy to forget this.

Open a web browser and go to "http://localhost:631/printers".

Click "Modify Printer" and set following parameters.

- Your device will probably be shown already as "discovered"

- lpd://(Your printer's IP address)/binary_p1       for Device URI

- Brother       for Make/Manufacturer Selection

- Your printer's name       for Model/Driver Selection

Be sure to scroll through the list and select your printer even though it looks like it knows the right model because it was shown as device.

Try a test print

You can always go to the Brothers site and download the deb cups driver and install but it should not be necessary.

My MFC=7840W was a pig to get going until I found the access to the cups admin page and did the above settings.

Previously MX always grabbed the printer and worked without accessing cups admin so I was spoiled.

Obviously, if running in a virtual environment the network can not run NAT or it will not be on the local network.

DISM From USB Windows Installer

If your windows pc wont boot, I will show you some command we can use from Windows Recovery to try and fix and repair Windows 11 or Windows 10

dism command using your windows image

dism /image:c:\ /cleanup-image /restorehealth /source:c:\windows

Add this command you yours and change path to your path

/scratchdir:{path}

This command uses the windows image on USB drive we created.

dism /image:c:\ /cleanup-image /restorehealth /source:{path to install.wim or install.esd}

sfc /scannow from windows recovery

sfc /scannow /offbootdir={drive}\ /offwindir={drive}\windows

Important: Make sure you change drive letters to your drive letters 

Dell XPS Clean Windows Install

*Dang - after a couple weeks the screen turning off problem returned. So reboot is the only answer.

Still love the clean install but what the heck is this screen issue? I did put f.lux on recently . . .

- I haven't had a screen issue since uninstalling f.lux. F.lux may have been the bugger all along.

Nope, f.lux was not the problem. It's still happening. Reboot is the only temporary fix.

Finally sick of my Dell XPS 13 screen turning off for no reason . . . I did a clean install.

Wow, easy and what a difference. Just do it.

1. Download a copy of the Windows 10 media creation tool.

2. Select ‘Create installation for another PC and create an ISO. Drop it on to your USB Ventoy.

I didn't need to select Home or 64 bit and don't know why. But if you get the options select them. Home is the key tied to my Dell. Obviously if you have Pro choose that. Maybe I didn't uncheck the "this Pc" option.

3. Download the appropriate Wi-Fi driver and unzip it onto the USB drive.

(this was not needed, Windows 22H2 had it)

4. Reboot your laptop and load into the BIOS F2. Make sure the SSD is set to AHCI mode or the Windows installer won’t detect it. Dell has it set to RAID and don't think Windows has the RAID drivers.

5. Reboot and press F12 as soon as you see the Dell logo. I just press repeatedly.

6. Select USB in the boot menu and hit Enter.

7. Let the Windows installer boot and click Install Now.

8. Select Custom Install Windows. I delete all the partitions.

9. Follow the Windows installation wizard making choices as you go.

10. Once installed and onto the desktop, press Win+x then m for Device Manager. Don't panic if some drivers are not installed. Give Windows some time. It installed everything except one.

Something called "Base System" was marked as uninstalled. I wanted to avoid Dell installing crap so I went to Intel. It has a utility to install everything for it's chipsets called setupchipsets.exe and it took care of "Base System", whatever that is. This does not work on my HP PCs.

But what about all those special Dell drivers? I'm not missing anything yet and if I need something, I will go get it one at a time. 

Tip:

Remember to have local account no@thankyou.com, any password.

Blank password on local account to avoid all the security questions. Set password later.

Upgrade Windows Home to Pro

One of the laptops I've been using for several years came with Windows Home. Did I care? No. I've never needed Group Policy Editor. There's always another way to change things. Honestly, I was just curious about the process. And yes, I could have activated Windows without a key but . . .

So - I bought a key for $15 with TechYesCity discount. (Which I also received by registering :)

I opened Activation > Change Key and got the "didn't work" message.

I turned off WiFi

I opened Activation > Change Key again and input a generic key that triggers a pro upgrade

VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T

Well dang, no WiFi and it upgraded. I guess all the "Pro" stuff is living on the system already.

Ok, it's there but not activated of course . . .

So I turned WiFi back on and entered my brand new $15 key . . .

Yikes, it might work - Wish me luck.

Hot dog. It worked. slmgr /xpr

Ok, it's OEM but I really didn't expect retail. I don't see a problem. slmgr.vbs /dlv

If I want to reuse the key, this may be the way.

Need to verify a key? You may need to choose different "software package" selections.

Here was my result . . . LoL Windows 7. I'm calling it an OMG key

Seriously, for $15 who really cares. It's activated. Get over it.

Or there is always this . . . :) KMS is a beautiful thing.

What happens if you need to reinstall?

I just had to when C drive failed. It worked fine. Fortunately I kept the code on D drive.

CMD Command Prompt & Powershell Terminal

 

CMD

sfc /scannow

dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth

Copy boot files to Windows boot directory

bcdboot c:\Windows /s G: /f ALL

(c: is good window source and g: is boot partition)

FixWin11 context menu delete

reg delete HKCR\DesktopBackground\Shell\UWTSettings

Master Boot Record Fix

cd to the windows drive

bootrec /fixmbr

bootsect /nt60 SYS

bootrec /fixboot

bootrec /scanos

bootrec /rebuildbcd

Print Directory Contents

Do this (works on folder and or file names)

dir /A:D /B > "filename.txt" (will create a txt file in the directory)

A activates switch mode

D restricts to display current path only

B restricts to name of folder only

or you can copy to clipboard

while in the directory type

dir /b | clip

Python Simpleserver

Python 2 — python -m SimpleHTTPServer 8000

Python 3 — python -m http.server 8000

Turn firewall off temporarily

(I would use HFS server) (maybe PairDrop.net)

Reboot to BIOS

shutdown /r /fw /t 0

Remove Files & Folders

rmdir /s /q path

If won't delete chkdsk /f on the drive.

Static IP Manually

Static IP Problems try this with your numbers. Maybe it will stick.

netsh interface ip set address “Ethernet” static 192.16.10.34 255.255.255.0 192.168.1.1

WiFi Connections Previously Connected

netsh wlan show profile (will give a list of previously connected WiFi networks)

netsh wlan show profile bobswifi key=clear (will give the passwords to bobswifi)

Windows Activation Check

slmgr /xpr

slmgr.vbs /dlv

Powershell

Chris Titus Windows Tools

Chris Titus powershell (irm christitus.com/win | iex)

Clipboard contents

Get-Clipboard

Remove files & folders

Remove-Item -Recurse -Force path

Reset Group Policy Settings to Default with Command Prompt

Open Command Prompt window as administrator and run following commands:

RD /S /Q "%WinDir%\System32\GroupPolicy"

RD /S /Q "%WinDir%\System32\GroupPolicyUsers" 

Linux

ip address or ip a

python3 -m http.server 8000

It may actually default to port 8000 without specification.

MX Linux live root password is "demo"

Ventoy in Linux

Grab tar and extract to folder (most file managers today can do this)

open terminal in folder

sudo sh Ventoy2Disk -i /dev/sdc

i = install

/dev/sdc = USB drive for Ventoy

If disk is already mounted you may need to unmount.

Software

sudo apt install fsearch

sudo apt install neofetch

Disable Defender and Exclude Stuff

*Actually, this has become part of my "essential setup" for Windows.

*Also I use a folder called "Excluded" instead of "Sordum" and I place other things in there that Windows hates like WirelessKeyView from Nirsoft. Life is good.

Also comes in handy if you take a peak at Medicat :)

There are times in our digital life when we need to reject Microsoft controlling what we are doing. Running and enabling things disapproved of by Windows Defender was always irritating . . . but now it's painful. Toggling protection off in the interface no longer completely disables Defender.

With Windows Pro, Group Policy is the easiest and Winaero has a toggle. Just search "disable defender".

With Windows Home, Sordum has Defender Control v2.1. You still have to negotiate "allow" a few times when first starting it up but nothing ridiculous. Simple one click on/off to disable. It may be possible to use PolicyPlus but it runs independently and portable so the Winaero switch probably won't work. It may work manually but why bother when Sordum stuff works so easily.

Make a folder called "Excluded" and exclude it from Defender access. Dump the Sordum files there and extract them. (I've added a few things here so it's somewhat fragmented)

Now that we have our pesky program installed we may need to exclude a few files and folders from Defender monitoring before we turn Defender back on. And we do want to turn it back on. Sordum to the rescue again with Defender Exclusion Tool. Just drag and drop the files and folder into the GUI. It does standard exclusion but in quick and easy interface. Actually standard exclusion in the Windows Security module is easy also.

I just put the Sordum files on a PC and Defender was driving me crazy . . . so . . .

1. Make a folder where the Sordum files will live.

2. Go to manage virus & security settings and add that folder to exclusions or use Sordum Exclusions to exclude the folder. 

3. Extract the files. Defender Control is .rar and 7zip will extract. Password is "sordum"

4. Before you start Defender Control the first time be sure to exclude the .exe file.

This is a good procedure for the few programs that Windows hates but you know are harmless.

Downloads

Exclude (also in Symenu)

Control (It's a rar file so in 7zip first try you may have to "allow" then unzip again.) Password "sordum".

Handy link for Exclude folder https://mega.nz/file/svBFQaiD#RSkjy5cN3bHewTXp-5zM_vcR_fUkged1Eq4ua7rH_Zw

Find WiFi Passwords on Windows

 Open CMD

netsh wlan show profile

netsh wlan show profile name = "ENTER NETWORK NAME HERE" key=clear | find "Key Content"

"Simple" Http Server TheWaWar or HFS

**If you need to grab folders and files use Xlight FTP Server and WinSCP or Filezilla client or Windows File Explorer ftp://(ip of server & port).  Windows sharing works as well most of the time for two Windows PCs.

Use Windows share if it works but . . .

I can't remember how I found this WaWar thing and I like it but only for files not folders.

go here and download

https://github.com/TheWaWaR/simple-http-server

Choose this one x86_64-pc-windows-msvc-simple-http-server.exe

Copy the file and rename wawar.exe or something you like.

Drop the file in the folder you want to share.

Wawar.exe (or whatever name you use) also needs to be in the shared folder.

Open CMD in the folder you want to share that also has the Wawar.exe in it.

Remember in File Explorer just type cmd in the address box.

CMD to start and set IP and/or change port (default in port 8000)

x86_64-pc-windows-msvc-simple-http-server.exe --ip 192.168.1.15

(Use the IP of the PC on which you are running the server)

Or if you changed the name wawar.exe --ip 192.168.1.15

defaults to port 8000

if want to change port -p 1000 or whatever

Maybe make a .bat file to run it.

open

http://192.168.1.15:8000

(Don't forget to add the port!!!)

Right click on the file you want to download and "save link as" or just drag and drop.

If you need a video

HFS does the same thing and might be easier. Just drag and drop the shares into HFS.

Alfa WiFi Atheros AR9271 on Windows 10

 Use the TP-Link driver found here. Run setup in Win7 compatibility mode.

But don't expect it to be flawless. But if you are in a pinch it can get you through.

Dell XPS 13 Screen Sleeps When Laptop Is Moved

To sum it up. Nothing fixes this problem. Plan to do clean install.

Dang screen sleeps when I gently move or tip the laptop. It's like the movement triggers the lid closing sensor. If I tip it again it comes back on. After a restart it will be okay for awhile and then it starts again.

I've tried every setting known to man but nothing will cure it long term.

Shutting down and starting does nothing even with fast start turned off.

Restart will cure it for awhile.

Nothing works long term - planning to do clean install

Windows Phone Link App

 I like Phone Link on Samsung phones. I bought a new phone and could not get the app to set up the new device. I uninstalled the Windows app and redownloaded from the miserable Windows Store.

Open PowerShell as admin

Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.YourPhone -AllUsers | Remove-AppxPackage

Now go to store and download Phone Link app

If Store won't open try resetting time on Windows.

I just turned off automatic time and turn it on again and then sync.

It worked.

In an unrelated observation I noticed the automatic time zone was greyed out. I use recommended settings in O&O Shutup and it disables location tracking. If you do a search within O&O for "location" and reverse those settings you can turn on automatic time zone. This was not necessary to use Phone Link but might come in handy for traveling laptops.

Nilesoft Shell Context Menu

Hints

Shift + right click on taskbar includes shell options as top option.

After change to shell.nss, cntl + right click restarts fresh shell with alterations.

This site to download new shell.nss theme.

https://github.com/catppuccin/nilesoft-shell

* Choose raw then right click and save. Rename as shell.nss. Back up original as shell.nss.bak and move new shell.nss into folder.

* I grabbed  nilesoft-shell/macchiato/catppuccin-macchiato-green.nss and quite like it.

I found unaltered shell.ness hard to read on a dark background.

I couldn't come up with the right numbers to get the proper effect so replacing was easier. Just back up shell.ness to shell.bak and copy the code into shell.ness.

Oh, what the heck. Here is the code.

shell

{

var

{

isw11=sys.is11

}

set

{

theme

{

name = "modern"

background

{

color = #24273a

opacity = 100

// effect = 2

}

item

{

opacity = 100

prefix = 1

text

{

normal = #cad3f5

select = #cad3f5

normal-disabled = #a5adcb

select-disabled = #a5adcb

}

back

{

select = #494d64

select-disabled = #363a4f

}

}

border

{

enabled = true

size = 1

color = #a6da95

opacity = 100

radius = 2

}

shadow

{

enabled = true

size = 5

opacity = 5

color = #181926

}

separator

{

size = 1

color = #363a4f

}

symbol

{

normal = #a6da95

select = #a6da95

normal-disabled = #a5adcb

select-disabled = #a5adcb

}

image

{

enabled = true

color = [#cad3f5, #a6da95, #24273a]

}

}

exclude.where = !process.is_explorer

showdelay=200

}

images import 'imports/images.nss'

static

{

import 'imports/static.nss'

item(where=this.title.length > 25 menu=title.more_options)

}

dynamic

{

menu(mode="multiple" title="Pin/Unpin" image=icon.pin) { }

menu(mode="multiple" title=title.more_options image=icon.more_options) { }

import 'imports/file-manage.nss'

import 'imports/develop.nss'

import 'imports/goto.nss'

menu(type="taskbar" vis=key.shift() pos=0 title=app.name image=\uE249)

{

item(title="config" image=\uE10A cmd='"@app.cfg"')

item(title="manager" image=\uE0F3 admin cmd='"@app.exe"')

item(title="directory" image=\uE0E8 cmd='"@app.dir"')

item(title="version\t"+@app.ver vis=label col=1)

item(title="docs" image=\uE1C4 cmd='https://nilesoft.org/docs')

item(title="donate" image=\uE1A7 cmd='https://nilesoft.org/donate')

}

import if(isw11, 'imports/taskbar.nss')

}

}

Heatsink On Laptop NVME (Holy Smokeless)

Some time ago I installed an NVME OS drive in my laptop. The temps were alarming but I put up with it.

Finally I bought a heatsink.

Here were previous idle temps. Temps were in the red if I was doing anything.

Here are idle temps after:

Just browsing the temps hit 50 but still a big improvement.

Transfer Between PC and Android

Sharing should be easy but what the heck? 

So while you are searching for that perfect solution . . .  just do this:

Install Snapdrop on Android.

Choose the "pairdrop" server.

Then on the PC open pairdrop.net 

ShareDrop works with browser only. Simply send a link or scan the UPC.

Or just use Mega

Razor Mouse (What is all this crap?)

Just bought a Razer Basilisk V3 for the grandkids.

Wow - Get rid of Razor software ASAP

sysdm.cpl (turn off automatic driver installation)

Uninstall all things Razor (RevoUninstaller)

Razor leaves an installer folder so find it and delete it (EverythingSearch)

If you want to fool with RGB get this: https://openrgb.org/

Symenu

12-11-2023 Version 8 has a problem with scaling on high resolution screens. A setting has been added to Options>General for High Def screens. It worked for my XPS13. Updating to 8 on regular screens seems fine. If "check version" is unchecked, SyMenu will on offer upgrade at startup but will offer update when doing updates.

I always use Symenu. Here is a folder structure that works for me.

Analyze

Auto Start

Backup

Cleaners

Disk

File

Graphics

Network

PDF Epub

Repair

Update

USB ISO

A copy of Symenu with folders here.

Useful program list

Symenu:

AnyDesk

Any_Burn

Autoruns

BCUninstaller

CCleaner_Portable

CrystalDiskInfo_Portable

CrystalDiskMark_Portable

DNS_Jumper

DriverBackup

HFS

HWiNFO

IcoFX

LaunchyQT

MiniTool_Partition_Wizard_Free_(x64) (Only old v10 will clone)

NexusFont

PatchMyPC

PDFTK_Builder_Portable

PDF_Arranger

PeStudio

Process_Explorer

Process_Hacker

Q-Dir_(x64)

Rainmeter4_(x64)

Revo_Uninstaller

Safe_Mode_Launcher

ScreenToGif_(x64)

Speccy

Sumatra_PDF_(x64)

SUMo_Portable

Tor_Browser

Ventoy

VeraCrypt_Portable

Windows_Repair_Toolbox

WinSCP

Wireshark_portable_(x64)

Wise_Disk_Cleaner

Nirsoft:

QuickSetDNS

TaskSchedulerView_x64

Volumouse_x64

Wireless_Network_Watcher

Launchy

2023-09-21 I like LaunchyQT and always use it, but on one system it refused to recognize both monitors and opened on the "wrong" one. 

So I installed (portable) original Launchy and it works fine.

Original Launchy natively accepts path entries but you still want to check the .ini file for path accuracy.

Something like the following . . . note the backslash pattern. The \ patterns are different than on version QT.

I still like QT and will use it when it works.

Don't ignore the "utilities" folder and add your own favorite links and shortcuts.

[directories]

size=4

1\name=C:\\Users\\User\\Documents

1\types=@Invalid()

1\indexDirs=true

1\indexExes=false

1\depth=100

2\name=C:\\Portable Apps

2\types=@Invalid()

2\indexDirs=false

2\indexExes=true

2\depth=100

3\name=C:\\\\ProgramData\\\\Microsoft\\\\Windows\\\\Start Menu

3\types=@Invalid()

3\indexDirs=false

3\indexExes=true

3\depth=100

4\name=C:\\\\Users\\\\George\\\\AppData\\\\Roaming\\\\Microsoft\\\\Windows\\\\Start Menu

4\types=@Invalid()

4\indexDirs=false

4\indexExes=true

4\depth=100

Even though I use Symenu to download and upgrade portable apps, I prefer to launch them with Launchy.

For the first time on someone's PC I couldn't add a program path to the catalog.

LaunchyQT now can not add paths to catalog: to add paths go to launchy.ini

4\name=D:\\Portable Programs

4\types=@Invalid()

4\indexDirs=false

4\indexExes=true

4\depth=10

Since this is a Launchy post:

After years of using the default alt+space hotkey I'm changing to alt+z. I want to use the standard alt+space m to move windows with the arrow keys or mouse in a pinch.

Here is a directory portion for C: drive only.

Change the user and/or drive letter as needed.

[directories]

1\name=C:\\ProgramData\\Microsoft\\Windows\\Start Menu

1\types=*.lnk

1\indexDirs=false

1\indexExes=false

1\depth=10

2\name=C:\\Users\\George\\AppData\\Roaming\\Microsoft\\Windows\\Start Menu

2\types=*.lnk

2\indexDirs=false

2\indexExes=false

2\depth=10

3\name=utilities\\

3\types=*.lnk, *.cmd, *.vbs

3\indexDirs=false

3\indexExes=false

3\depth=10

4\name=C:\\ProgramData\\chocolatey\\lib

4\types=@Invalid()

4\indexDirs=false

4\indexExes=true

4\depth=10

5\name=C:\\Portable Programs

5\types=@Invalid()

5\indexDirs=false

5\indexExes=true

5\depth=10

6\name=C:\\Portable Apps

6\types=@Invalid()

6\indexDirs=false

6\indexExes=true

6\depth=10

size=6

Net Framework - Visual C Runtime Error

 AOMEI Partition Manager would not start because of a "side by side" error involving Microsoft.VC80.MFC" version="8.0.50727.762.

Go to event viewer and check the problem.

Looked to me like a 2005 Visual C problem even though it was installed.

So, I went to:
https://www.techpowerup.com/download/visual-c-redistributable-runtime-package-all-in-one/

which has a zip of all versions. I reinstalled 2005 and bingo. Thank you TechPowerUp.

In 42 years of PC usage this is the first "side by side" error I've seen.

DISM Horror Show

 The dreaded "can't find source" error. Good Luck. Downloading the windows.iso and using the sources switch did not work for me. Using Media Creation Tool to "upgrade" did work.

*It's wise to have stuff backed up.

First I tried this . . .

Download win install ISO

To read index of versions in Windows.iso

Mount the ISO then cmd as admin:

dism /Get-WimInfo /WimFile:[drive_letter]:\sources\install.esd

To read more info about each version:

dism /Get-WimInfo /WimFile:[drive_letter]:\sources\install.esd /index:1 (or whatever)

If you want to export the wim version to match (change "IndexNumber")

dism /export-image /SourceImageFile:install.esd /SourceIndex:IndexNumber /DestinationImageFile:install.wim /Compress:max /CheckIntegrity

*This saves some room but not worth the trouble

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /AnalyzeComponentStore

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:WIM:c:\install.wim:1 /LimitAccess

or

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:e:\sources\install.esd /LimitAccess

Yes, I tried without /LimitAccess.

This is what I kept getting . . . And sfc /scannow would find errors it could not fix

(On one PC I get this error and can't get any fix to work.

Error: 0x800f081f

The source files could not be found.

Use the "Source" option to specify the location of the files that are required to restore the feature. For more information on specifying a source location, see https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=243077.)

So I did an "upgrade" with the Media Creation Tool which didn't really upgrade anything but did seem to reinstall the system and kept my installed programs with few alterations to the basic system. This is not a "reset" which will remove your installed programs. It seems Windows always has a way to install repair over the current version. Yes, sfc /scannow now gave a clean report.

(C:\WINDOWS\system32>DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool

Version: 10.0.19041.844

Image Version: 10.0.19045.2846

[==========================100.0%==========================] The restore operation completed successfully.

The operation completed successfully.)

CMD To Reboot To BIOS Settings or Safe Mode

CMD To Reboot To BIOS Settings

Instead of guessing which F key will magically boot to the BIOS settings.

Open an admin command prompt (be sure you are in system32 directory).

shutdown /r /fw

shutdown /r /fw /f /t 0

/r reboot

/fw boot to firmware interface

/f force shutdown

/t 0 no wait time

CMD To Reboot To Safe Mode

bcdedit /set {current} safeboot minimal

bcdedit /set {current} safeboot network

(Win10+ is hopeless at WiFi in safe mode so have a cable handy)

When leaving Safe Mode

bcdedit /deletevalue {current} safeboot

Bonus:

Safe Mode Launcher by Sordum is available in Symenu if interested.

Sticky Key Hell

 I bought my Acer Predator G9-791 in 2017

My first post about sticky keys was in 2021. I assume that is when it started.

11-APR-2023 I finally found the answer for this case.

All the suggestions did not help.

Turn off sticky keys in Ease of Access

Change the registry

Rename sethc.exe (this one disabled booting)

I finally said ENOUGH. I'm going to kill this thing.

Every time I booted Windows, sticky keys started. Sure, when I pressed two keys simultaneously it shut off but what the heck. The boot disable made me sure something was requiring sticky keys at boot.

Then I looked at something I never use. Acer's PredatorSense.

Oh, look what I found. This crazy thing was unchecked.

Remove MS Office Right Click Context Menu Entries

 Are you irritated by the MS Office or Libre Office right click context entries in the "new" option?

Open Regedit to

Computer\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT

Do a search for shellnew

F3 to cycle through and manually delete the entries in appropriate shellnew folders.

Winaero has downloadable .reg files to delete MS Office entries. It says office 2019 but it worked on 2010 except for the Publish entry which I had to delete manually.

I had Libre Office installed for some reason and removed those manually. (They may reinstall with updates?) If I installed Libre often I would make .reg files to delete.

https://winaero.com/download-remove-office-2019-entries-from-new-context-menu-in-windows-10/

I don't know why I hated those entries because I seldom if ever access the new item on the menu. And now that I know how to blast them, I probably wouldn't bother.

Bonus: While you are at it, might as well grab Nilesoft.shell and get rid of that miserable Win11 context menu. You can easily turn it off and on while you are deciding which is better. It won't take long to decide.

Sticky Notes Classic

Before Windows 10 I used Sticky Notes occasionally, especially on remote desktops informing people what I did or what to do. With Win10 I found Sticky Notes so irritating I quit using it.

I finally added Sticky Notes Classic (through Winaero) and uninstalled the "new" Sticky Notes through Apps & Features. Just do it. Better late than never.

If the new Sticky Notes had any benefits, I didn't see it.

Classic can be downloaded on MajorGeeks also.

Symenu has a couple other sticky note alternatives as well.

I use Launchy or Super to launch most things. When I start typing "sticky" I don't want two versions requiring arrow keys to chose the right one.

Windows Network Can't See Computers

 I've given up on some Windows network things like seeing other PCs in the network window. Sometimes it works and sometimes not.

Just find the IP of the PC you want to see by using Nirsoft's Wireless Network Watcher.

Then in the Network portion of File Explorer type in the address eg. \\192.168.1.24.

If folders are shared on that PC you should now see them. If you want long term access, map the drive.

Boot USB in Windows

Testing a bootable USB within Windows is easy with QEMU, but it lacks resources to test anything except basic boot. A little program called Virtual Machine USB Boot worked great with VBox until recently. I can't get it to work lately, so I tried VMware and found it to be easy. The Virtual Box method below also works great. I had one USB drive that only booted Ventoy to grub but booted E2B just fine but booting an E2B ISO didn't work. I tested 3 drives and 2 of the 3 worked fine. The "bad" drive boots and works on the PC. It's an old 32 Gig Corsair so don't know why VMs are choking on it.

To set up VMware 17

1. Start VMware as administrator

2. Make new blank Win10 or 11 no OS install

3.Right click machine and go to settings

4.Add HD scsi, choose physical drive # and start machine.

   (Flash drive needs to be inserted to get the number)

As usual things change but this worked with a Ventoy drive I just made.

To set up Virtual Box

1.If VB is installed on C:

Open CMD as admin and type

"%programfiles%\Oracle\VirtualBox\VBoxManage" internalcommands createrawvmdk -filename "C:\Disk2.vmdk" -rawdisk \\.\PhysicalDrive2

(Change drive # to match actual drive #)

(VB will complain about createrawvmdk is deprecated but it works anyway)

2. Open VB as admin

3. Creat new Win10 virtual machine

When creating hard disk "use an existing" and grab

the Disk2.vmdk you just made on C:

NET Framwork "what version is installed?"

 PowerShell

reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Net Framework Setup\NDP\v4" /s

Group Policies Reset

CMD Admin

RD /S /Q "%WinDir%\System32\GroupPolicy"

RD /S /Q "%WinDir%\System32\GroupPolicyUsers"

gpupdate /force

reg delete "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies" /f

reg delete "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\WindowsSelfHost" /f

reg delete "HKCU\Software\Policies" /f

reg delete "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Policies" /f

reg delete "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies" /f

reg delete "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsStore\WindowsUpdate" /f

reg delete "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\WindowsSelfHost" /f

reg delete "HKLM\Software\Policies" /f

reg delete "HKLM\Software\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Policies" /f

reg delete "HKLM\Software\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies" /f

reg delete "HKLM\Software\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsStore\WindowsUpdate" /f

Now reboot pc and the policies should be removed

Install - Update Windows Software (the moving target)

In my quest to set up the "perfect" program install worksheet for Windows. Priorities are easy update, easy install besides useful.

Chris Titus Script (Will install Chocolatey on first run) Powershell Admin

irm christitus.com/win | iex

In case you want to install Windows through CMD

https://christitus.com/install-windows-the-arch-linux-way/

The first things I install are:

Symenu

    Defender Exclusion Tool

    PatchMyPC

        Windows Update MiniTool portable

In Win10 must first update Windows App Installer in Windows Store

    It doesn't work install from github Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_8wekyb3d8bbwe.msixbundle

WingetUI (winget install SomePythonThings.WingetUIStore)

Wintoys (MS Store) (Excellent way to check and stop the Windows snooping and irritations)

Chris Titus Tool powershell (irm christitus.com/win | iex) (in the app make shortcut button)

Chris's Tool is a quick  (maybe best) way to install:

NET Desktop Runtime 3.1

NET Desktop Runtime 5

NET Desktop Runtime 6

Visual C++ 2015-2022 64-bit

Visual C++ 2015-2022 32-bit

Maybe use the Desktop or Laptop Tweak

Set Windows Update to security only.

Exclude Folder

Create a "Portable Programs" folder on C:

In that folder create an "Excluded" folder.

Get Defender Exclusion from Sordum and place in the Excluded folder. (Also in Symenu)

Use Defender Exclusion to exclude the folder from Windows Defender.

Get Defender Control from Sordum and place it into the Exclude folder.

Now unzip with password "sordum". You may need to "allow" and unzip twice.

The first time Control is run Defender will ask to allow. I add Control exe file to exclusion.

These simple steps will now work for running stuff Defender hates but you know are safe.

Looking for a specific Windows version?

UUPdump 

Visual C Runtimes

https://www.techpowerup.com/download/visual-c-redistributable-runtime-package-all-in-one/

(If you need an old one or a reinstall) Chris Titus has them also.

The Mother Load of tweeks

https://github.com/xemulat/XToolbox

Symenu: Updates are easy & source is usually original provider. Unfortunately you have to pick them one by one so after PatchMyPC and LaunchyQT, I grab them when I need them.

AnyDesk (can install from the portable version if needed)

Any_Burn

Autoruns

BCUninstaller (I still like Revo)

CCleaner_Portable

CrystalDiskInfo_Portable

CrystalDiskMark_Portable

DriverBackup

HFS

HWiNFO

IcoFX

LaunchyQT (on one dual monitor setup I use original launchy - qt would not behave)

MiniTool_Partition_Wizard_Free_(x64) (No clone disk is in v10)

NexusFont

O&O Shutup

PatchMyPC

PDF_Arranger

PeStudio (File analysis crazy detail)

Process_Explorer (I like the Virustotal column)

Process_Hacker

Q-Dir_(x64)

Rainmeter4_(x64) (skins Enigma mod the network.inc for IP) (SilverAzide Gadgets)

Revo_Uninstaller

ScreenToGif_(x64)

Speccy

Sumatra_PDF_(x64)

SUMo_Portable

Tor_Browser

Ventoy

VeraCrypt_Portable

Windows_Repair_Toolbox

WinSCP

Wise_Disk_Cleaner

Nirsoft

QuickSetDNS

TaskSchedulerView_x64

Volumouse_x64

Wireless_Network_Watcher

PatchMyPC.ini file: Will find updates for programs not installed with PatchMyPC.

WinaeroTweaker

PortableWindowsRepair

PortableWindowsUpdateMiniTool

Choco: 

WingetUI makes this almost obsolete because it handles Choco sources.

Chirs Titus Tool also checks that Choco is installed. I think it installs if not already.

Open CMD Admin (If you need to do it manually)

@"%SystemRoot%\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe" -NoProfile -InputFormat None -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command "[System.Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = 3072; iex ((New-Object System.Net.WebClient).DownloadString('https://chocolatey.org/install.ps1'))" && SET "PATH=%PATH%;%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\chocolatey\bin"

taskbarx (Win 10 only)

irfanviewplugins

sciteautohotkey (this is screwed up lately 16-APR-2023)

Winget:

*Just had a machine not launch winget. Had to github winget and reinstall. Worked fine. Download the Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_8wekyb3d8bbwe.msixbundle. Right click and install.

Win10 install App Installer from Microsoft Store (probably just update)

- If the store gives you grief go to https://winget.run upper left.

Win11 update App Installer from Microsoft Store

To export

winget export -o D:\Users\George\Desktop\appslist --accept-source-agreements

To import

winget import -i D:\Users\George\Desktop\appslist --ignore-versions --accept-package-agreements --accept-source-agreements

I usually install . . .

7zip.7zip

2BrightSparks.SyncBackFree

AOMEI.Backupper

AutoHotkey.AutoHotkey

Brave.Brave

Chocolatey.ChocolateyGUI

voidtools.Everything

FileConverter winget install -e --id AdrienAllard.FileConverter

Google.Chrome

  chrome://flags

    parallel downloading

HexChat.HexChat

IrfanSkiljan.IrfanView

JavadMotallebi.NeatDownloadManager

Microsoft.PowerToys (I use text and file locked)

NirSoft.Volumouse

Notepad++.Notepad++

PrivateInternetAccess

qBittorrent.qBittorrent (Uncheck Behavior, Use Magnet) It's a bug ignore warning.

ShareX.ShareX

SomePythonThings.WingetUIStore

TechPowerUp.NVCleanstall

Microsoft.VCRedist.2015+.x86 (Done in Chris Titus)

Microsoft.VCRedist.2015+.x64 (Done in Chris Titus)

Microsoft.WindowsTerminal

VirtualBox Oracle.VirtualBox

VideoLAN.VLC

VMware.WorkstationPlayer

Alternatives:

SMPlayer (Much slicker that VLC & I'm considering changing)

winget install --id SMPlayer.SMPlayer also in Symenu

Find It Somewhere:

Trinity Android Emulator (I'm not big on these but this is open source and fast)

Classic Sticky Notes

https://win7games.com/download/ClassicStickyNotes2.zip

Defender Antivirus (Is more aggressive lately and does not turn off)

Sordum has a couple solutions when needed (I do always on my personal) (Work in excluded folder)

Defender Control (will need to be excluded in Defender)

Defender Exclusion Tool (Speaking of exclusions)

ClearDisk Info (SSD Health)

Free PC Audit (great little PC inventory portable)

Display Driver Uninstaller (advised to disable internet before running)

Ginger Writer (I like this. Select text ctl + c + c) Still evaluating

https://www.gingersoftware.com/

G'mic for Gimp (I use Parth's portable now so included) Latest Gimp install breaks some things I like.

https://gmic.eu/

HFS (also in Symenu) May need Defender exclusion.

Xlight FTP is a better choice. 

NvUpdate (Nvidia updater)

TaskbarX

- Win11 (I use TranslucentTB instead)

- Win10

Stenanos LockNote

https://sourceforge.net/projects/locknote/

Wintoys

in Microsoft Store easy access to Windows settings. Great for initial setup.

Xlight FTP

https://www.xlightftpd.com/

And it grabs your IP address :) Edit paths in user settings. Use WinSCP on the other end.

Try "pairdrop.net" if on the same network. Snapdrop on Android phone. Can stall out.

Windows sharing is great unless you have problems.

Tweaks

Trash bin shortcut C:\Windows\explorer.exe shell:RecycleBinFolder

Websites

Spelling & Grammar

Reverso 

Windows Repair

FixWin11 

FixWin leaves an irritating context menu entry. Remove it with this .reg file

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\DesktopBackground\Shell\UWTSettings]

Tron Script  (run prep and disinfect sections only) (results in the log file)

UltraVirusKiller 

This list will not run in CMD being on lines like this instead of continuous string.

winget install -e --id=7zip.7zip &&

winget install -e --id=2BrightSparks.SyncBackFree &&

winget install -e --id=AOMEI.Backupper.Standard &&

winget install -e --id=AutoHotkey.AutoHotkey &&

winget install -e --id=Brave.Brave &&

winget install -e --id=Chocolatey.ChocolateyGUI &&

winget install -e --id=voidtools.Everything &&

winget install -e --id AdrienAllard.FileConverter &&

winget install -e --id=Google.Chrome &&

winget install -e --id=HexChat.HexChat &&

winget install -e --id= IrfanSkiljan.IrfanView &&

winget install -e --id=JavadMotallebi.NeatDownloadManager &&

winget install -e --id=Microsoft.PowerToys &&

winget install -e --id=NirSoft.Volumouse &&

winget install -e --id=Notepad++.Notepad++ &&

winget install -e --id=PrivateInternetAccess &&

winget install -e --id=qBittorrent.qBittorrent &&

winget install -e --id=ShareX.ShareX &&

winget install -e --id=SomePythonThings.WingetUIStore &&

winget install -e --id=TechPowerUp.NVCleanstall &&

winget install -e --id=Microsoft.VCRedist.2015+.x86 &&

winget install -e --id=Microsoft.VCRedist.2015+.x64 &&

winget install -e --id=Microsoft.WindowsTerminal &&

winget install -e --id=Oracle.VirtualBox &&

winget install -e --id=VideoLAN.VLC &&

winget install -e --id=VMware.WorkstationPlayer

Win11

winget install -e --id=Nilesoft.shell

(May need to alter shell on dark background link.)

Or import this into winget (winget import -i <Path>\<EXPORT.TXT or JASON>
)

Save everything below in a file named appslist with no extension or .json.

{

"$schema" : "https://aka.ms/winget-packages.schema.2.0.json",

"CreationDate" : "2023-01-11T20:40:30.859-00:00",

"Sources" : 

[

{

"Packages" : 

[

{

"PackageIdentifier" : "7zip.7zip"

},

{

"PackageIdentifier" : "ShareX.ShareX"

},

{

"PackageIdentifier" : "AutoHotkey.AutoHotkey"

},

{

"PackageIdentifier" : "Brave.Brave"

},

{

"PackageIdentifier" : "voidtools.Everything"

},

{

"PackageIdentifier" : "Google.Chrome"

},

{

"PackageIdentifier" : "IrfanSkiljan.IrfanView"

},

{

"PackageIdentifier" : "Microsoft.WindowsTerminal"

},

                                {

"PackageIdentifier" : "NirSoft.Volumouse"

},

{

"PackageIdentifier" : "Notepad++.Notepad++"

},

{

"PackageIdentifier" : "2BrightSparks.SyncBackFree"

},

{

"PackageIdentifier" : "VideoLAN.VLC"

},

{

"PackageIdentifier" : "qBittorrent.qBittorrent"

},

{

"PackageIdentifier" : "JavadMotallebi.NeatDownloadManager"

},

{

"PackageIdentifier" : "Chocolatey.ChocolateyGUI"

},

{

"PackageIdentifier" : "Microsoft.PowerToys"

},

{

"PackageIdentifier" : "Microsoft.VCRedist.2015+.x86"

},

{

"PackageIdentifier" : "Microsoft.VisualStudioCode"

},

{

"PackageIdentifier" : "SomePythonThings.WingetUIStore"

},

{

"PackageIdentifier" : "AOMEI.Backupper.Standard"

},

{

"PackageIdentifier" : "Oracle.VirtualBox"

},

{

"PackageIdentifier" : "TechPowerUp.NVCleanstall"

},

{

"PackageIdentifier" : "VMware.WorkstationPlayer"

},

{

"PackageIdentifier" : "Microsoft.VCRedist.2012.x64"

},

{

"PackageIdentifier" : "Microsoft.VCRedist.2015+.x64"

}

],

"SourceDetails" : 

{

"Argument" : "https://cdn.winget.microsoft.com/cache",

"Identifier" : "Microsoft.Winget.Source_8wekyb3d8bbwe",

"Name" : "winget",

"Type" : "Microsoft.PreIndexed.Package"

}

},

{

"Packages" : 

[

{

"PackageIdentifier" : "XPFFTQ037JWMHS"

}

],

"SourceDetails" : 

{

"Argument" : "https://storeedgefd.dsx.mp.microsoft.com/v9.0",

"Identifier" : "StoreEdgeFD",

"Name" : "msstore",

"Type" : "Microsoft.Rest"

}

}

],

"WinGetVersion" : "1.3.2691"

}