Free up Space in Windows 11

Open "System" and go to Storage -> Temporary Files or search for "storage" and click on Temporary Files. Customize and get some space back.

Manually Edit the TortoiseHg Registry

 Sometimes you have spurious entries that cannot be removed from the UI.

You can manually edit the Repository Registry by going to the local configuration directory--something like: C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\TortoiseHg--and editing the file:

thg-reporegistry.xml

If you have an empty group, there will be a line like:

    <allgroup name="default"/>

which you can just delete.

Thunderbird (115.x.y) Use Body Text Style by Default

Update of my post from a few years ago.

You can set Body Text as the default composition style from the Tools Menu ->  Settings -> Composition:

uncheck "Use Paragraph format instead of Body Text by default".

Still, if you reply to an email and find yourself using the Paragraph style, you might think the option has been disabled. It's not. You just moved inside a Paragraph block.

Can not extract resource from com.android.aaptcompiler.ParsedResource

 If you get this strange error while building an app with AndroidStudio:

"Can not extract resource from com.android.aaptcompiler.ParsedResource"

 

 check if you just introduced an unprotected apostrophe (') in strings.xml and replace it with (\').

Thanks to soulflavacrew.

Download Your Data from Instagam

 The tricky part is to find how to start. 

1. Log in.
2. Choose your account in the top right corner.
3. Click on the Options icon, right of "View Archive".
4. Choose "Settings and Privacy".
5. In the "Accounts Center", choose "Personal Details".
6. Now in the left side menu, choose "Your Information and Permissions".
7. Choose "Download your Information" and proceed with customizing your request.
8. Wait for Instagram to notify you when the data is ready to be downloaded.

The End

AndroidStudio Archive

 The archive of older versions is here.

Windows Explorer is Dead in Windows 11. How to Restart it.

Windows Explorer is dead. You cannot open the Taskbar, switch workspace or even summon an open application but the mouse is responsive.

This worked for me:

Press Ctrl + Shift + ESC to open the Task Manager.

You can now restart Windows Explorer clicking: Run new task (top left) and then typing: explorer.

That should do it!

Android FragmentStateManager.createView IllegalArgumentException: No view found for id

I had this exception when replacing a fragment inside another fragment in a transaction where getParentFragmentManager() was called.

The solution was calling getChildFragmentManager():

Return a private FragmentManager for placing and managing Fragments inside of this Fragment.

Thanks to flodaniel here and Malachiasz here.

Disable "Do you want to open this file?"

 It's really annoying that Windows 10/11? always asks this question when you try to open a file you created.

To disable for new files (old ones are not affected unfortunately):

Open the "Local Group Policy Editor" (search for it).

Go to "User Configuration" -> "Administrative Templates" -> "Windows Components" -> "Attachment Manager".

Double click on "Do not preserve zone information in file attachments" and set it to Enabled.

Trying to open all new files will not result in the dreaded pop up disturbing your work.

Thanks to this forum answer.

Show More Options by Default in Windows 11

 To enable:

Go to Search and type Run to add the following to the registry entry:

reg add HKCU\Software\Classes\CLSID\{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}\InprocServer32 /ve /d "" /f

Then restart the file explorer to see the change.

To disable:

reg delete “HKCU\Software\Classes\CLSID\{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}” /f

References: allthings.how

Windows 11: Edit the All Apps Start Menu

Right-click Windows and select Run.
Now execute the following:

# Open the Startup Folder of All Users

%ProgramData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp

That's it!

Thanks to appuals.com

Add Shortcuts to Create Files on the Windows 10 Context Menu

Use the Registry Editor. 

LibreOffice Writer (.odt)

Go to: Computer\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.odt\LibreOffice.WriterDocument.1\ShellNew

(Default) REG_SZ (value not set)

FileName RED_DZ C:\Program Files\LibreOffice\share\template\shellnew\soffice.odt

Win10: Frequent Folders and Recent Files Are Not Grouped Separately in Quick Access

 Open File Explorer so that you are in the Quick Access view.

Right-click on Quick Access and choose Options.

Go to View -> Reset Folders

That should fix it.

Reference

Resize Thunderbird Columns

If the double arrow icon to resize the width of the columns in the email list does not appear, try doing this, it worked for me.

Click on the "Select Icons to Display" in the top right corner of the column title row and choose "Restore Column Order".

 

Then try again to position the mouse on the border of two columns and the double arrow should appear.

Manage Entries from the "New" Context Menu in Windows 10

Sometimes when you install a program, you need to have it under the right-click menu New submenu. If it's not there you can easily add it using the Registry Editor.

1. Open the Registry Editor: run regedit
2. Under Computer\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT, find the file extension you want to add.
3. Select it, right-click and select New -> Key
4. Name it ShellNew
5. On the left panel, select New -> String Value
6. Name it NullFile and change the value to 1 if you want to enable it. Actually setting the value is not necessary. The mere existence of the key makes it appear in the menu.
7. If you want to disable an existing one, just remove the ShellNew entry. Setting the key to zero seems not to work for me.
   

That's all folks! 

References

1. https://www.thewindowsclub.com/remove-items-from-new-context-menu
   

Enable/Disable Hibernation on Windows 10

 

 Enable editing the power settings.

Safely Remove Device Icon Not Showing in Windows 10

No matter what I do, it does not show up.

To remove a device:

1. Go to Start Menu -> Settings
2. Devices -> Other Devices.
3. Select and click: Remove device.

How to make the icon reappear? Work in progress...

Record Sound from Internal Source (Windows 10)

Recording software: Audacity

WASAPI loopback has an advantage over stereo mix or similar inputs provided by the soundcard that the capture is entirely digital (rather than converting to analog for playback, then back to digital when Audacity receives it). System sounds playing through the device selected for WASAPI loopback are still captured, however.

1st Method: Stereo Mix

If it's included in the drivers' list, it's usually disabled. Enable it and select it in Audacity as the Recording Device.
Open the Sound Settings -> Sound Control Panel. Right-click and enable Show Disabled Devices. Enable the Stereo Mix.

2nd Method: WASAPI Loopback

In Audacity, choose the Windows WASAPI audio host, and then choose an appropriate loopback device, such as Speakers (loopback) or Headphones (loopback).

Note! If this doesn’t work, you may also need to select the correct number of recording channels to match your device using the dropdown box to the right of device selection box. For example, If you have a 7.1 channel headset, select 8.

References

1. Audacity Tutorial: Recording Computer Playback on Windows, https://manual.audacityteam.org/man/tutorial_recording_computer_playback_on_windows.html
2. https://www.howtogeek.com/217348/how-to-record-the-sound-coming-from-your-pc-even-without-stereo-mix/

Windows 10 Network Subsystem

# Show network interfaces
> netsh interface ipv4 show subinterfaces

# Restart an interface
> Restart-NetAdapter -Name "WLAN"

Slow Wireless Connection on Windows 10

Those below are all nice tips but the problem on my Lenovo ThinkPad T490 with the SonicWall VPN software was that the DNE LightWeight filter was enabled (by the SonicWall VPN client).
This was limiting the wireless speed to 2Mb instead of 50Mb.

When I disabled it, the speed went back to 50Mb.
This prevents the SonicWall VPN client from working and you need to use an alternative one like a SSLVPN connection with the SonicWall NetExtender.

References

• https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/ThinkPad-P-and-W-Series-Mobile-Workstations/P51-Very-slow-wifi/m-p/4374392 

The other tips...

Drivers

Update the Wi-Fi drivers.

Updates

Windows Update -> Advance Options -> Delivery Optimization:
Disable: Allow downloads from other PCs.

Reserved Bandwidth

By default, Windows reserves 20% of your bandwidth for Windows Update, system apps and other purposes, leaving you with 80% bandwidth of Internet connection. If you don’t use Windows Update on a daily basis and the reservation limit slows your Internet down, then you can remove the limit by setting the value to 0.

Task Manager -> File -> Run new task: gpedit.msc (ad Administrator)
Under Computer Configuration, double-click on Administrative Templates > Network > QoS Packet Scheduler. Then double-click on Limit reservable bandwidth.
Click the Enabled option and set Bandwidth limit (%) value to 0. Then click Apply > OK.

Window Auto-Tuning

It's a feature in our Windows 10 to allow for more efficient data transfers. But it can also interfere with the network and cause loss of connectivity.
 
From the Power Shell (Admin):
> netsh interface tcp show global
> netsh int tcp set global autotuninglevel=disabled

Disable Large Send Offload

Large Send Offload(LSO) is another feature in Windows designated for better network performance. Well-intended, but then the whole thing of allowing background apps to consume large amounts of network bandwidth is the reason why our Internet speed takes a hit. To disable LSO:

Double-click on Network adapters > your_network_adapter.

Click the Advanced tab, then click Large Send Offload V2 (IPv4) and set the value to Disabled.

Specific to Lenovo ThinkPad T490:

Device Manager -> Network Adapters:
Uninstall Intel Proset Driver.