1. Open the program and then click on the gear icon near the top, right side of the window.

   

2. Choose Tools and Options.

   

3. Uncheck the option for "Automatically start the app when I log on to Windows" under the Personal options to prevent the program from restarting automatically upon a login to the system, then click on OK to apply the change after unchecking that option.

   

[/os/windows/software] permanent link

Microsoft Windows 8 introduced a feature called Fast Startup. The feature was a variation of hibernate mode, but when enabled would close all running programs and log the user out before hibernating. This feature would result in a user being able to log in more quickly when a system is powered back on after a shutdown. There may be cases where use of this feature is not desirable, however. E.g., if the user wants to boot the system into Linux, but still access data on the Windows boot drive. To turn fast startup off, you can take the following steps:

1. Type Control Panel in the Windows Search field at the bottom of the screen.
2. Click on System and Security.
3. Click on Change what the power buttons do under Power Options.
4. Click on Change settings that are currently unavailable. If prompted for administrator credentials, provide those for an administrator account.
5. Uncheck the check box next to "Turn on fast startup (recommended)".
6. Click on Save changes. You can then close the window.

[ More Info ]

[/os/windows] permanent link

1. Type services in the Windows Search field. You should see it returned by the search utility. Click on "Run as administrator" and provide the login credentials for an account that has adminisrator privileges.
2. When the Services window opens, scroll down until you see Windows Audio.
3. Right-click on the entry and choose "Restart".
4. When the status for the service returns to "Running", you can close the Services window.

[ More Info ]

[/os/windows] permanent link

If you need to determine if a drive in a Microsoft Windows system or connected to it via USB is BitLocker encrypted, you can use the manage-bde utility. To use the program, open a command prompt window with administrator privileges and then issue the command manage-bde -status to see the status of all drives. To see just the status of one drive, e.g., C:, you could use manage-bde -status C:.

C:\Windows\System32>manage-bde -status c:
BitLocker Drive Encryption: Configuration Tool version 10.0.26100
Copyright (C) 2013 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Volume C: [Windows]
[OS Volume]

    Size:                 14826.87 GB
    BitLocker Version:    None
    Conversion Status:    Fully Decrypted
    Percentage Encrypted: 0.0%
    Encryption Method:    None
    Protection Status:    Protection Off
    Lock Status:          Unlocked
    Identification Field: None
    Key Protectors:       None Found


C:\Windows\System32>

[ More Info ]

[/os/windows/commands] permanent link

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[/os/windows/commands] permanent link

OpenSSH Server for Windows 10 requires at least Windows 10 (build 1809). You can determine the build number for Windows 10 by typing winver in the Windows "Type here to search" field at the bottom of the screen or at a PowerShell prompt. Or you can use the systeminfo utility and pipe it's output into the findstr command, filtering on the line that has "OS" at the beginning of the line and also "Version" in the line.

PS C:\> systeminfo | findstr -B "OS" | findstr "Version"
OS Version:                10.0.19045 N/A Build 19045
PS C:\>

The SSH Client software may already be installed. You can determine if it is already installed by opening a PowerShell prompt and typing ssh. If it is installed, as it was on the Windows 10 Professional Version 22H2 (OS Build 19045.6466) system on which I wanted to set up the OpenSSH Server software, you will see a response like the following one:

PS C:\> ssh
usage: ssh [-46AaCfGgKkMNnqsTtVvXxYy] [-B bind_interface] [-b bind_address]
           [-c cipher_spec] [-D [bind_address:]port] [-E log_file]
           [-e escape_char] [-F configfile] [-I pkcs11] [-i identity_file]
           [-J destination] [-L address] [-l login_name] [-m mac_spec]
           [-O ctl_cmd] [-o option] [-P tag] [-p port] [-Q query_option]
           [-R address] [-S ctl_path] [-W host:port] [-w local_tun[:remote_tun]]
           destination [command [argument ...]]
PS C:\>

[ More Info ]

[/os/windows/network/ssh/OpenSSH] permanent link

I needed to move some files from one Windows 11 system that is no longer being used, as the user is no longer working for the company, to another Windows 11 system where the user of that system, Pam, is now handling a task formerly handled by the prior employee, but while logged onto the account for the user now handling the task on her system, I noticed that her Documents folder was empty. The Windows domain name changed at that business a few years ago, so I thought that perhaps she might be using a Documents directory associated with her account under the prior domain name rather than the new one created for her new domain login. You can determine the location of a user's "My Documents" directory, which can be redirected to another location, including a network share or another drive, by issuing the PowerShell command [Environment]::GetFolderPath("MyDocuments"). E.g.:

Windows PowerShell
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Try the new cross-platform PowerShell https://aka.ms/pscore6

PS C:\Users\Pam> [Environment]::GetFolderPath("MyDocuments")
C:\Users\Pam\Documents
PS C:\Users\Pam>

The command utilizes the GetFolderPath method from the System.Environment class to retrieve the path of special folders, including "MyDocuments," for the user under whose context the script or command is executed. This method correctly identifies the mapped location even if the Documents folder has been redirected or moved from the default location.

In this case, I found that her "My Documents" directory was pointing to the directory associated with the old domain name. Her "home" folder was also pointing to the home folder that was in use for her account in the old domain. You can type $home in a PowerShell window to see that value. Or you can use $env:USERPROFILE to see the same information.

PS C:\Users\Pam> $Home
C:\Users\Pam
PS C:\Users\Pam >$env:userprofile
C:\Users\Pam
PS C:\Users\Pam>

[/os/windows/PowerShell] permanent link

When I tried to establish a Secure Shell (SSH) connection to a Windows 11 PC at a remote location today, I was unable to do so. I usually connect to the Windows domain controller at the location and establish the SSH connection to the user's Windows 11 system through it, but that was not working. I thought the problem was likely due to McAfee stopping providing firewall protection for incoming connections to ports on PCs as part of their antivirus software, since the antivirus software on PCs at that location was McAfee Antivirus Plus. When McAfee stopped providing that firewall service as part of McAfee AntiVirus Plus, the software reverted firewall protection for incoming connections to Microsoft's default firewall software, Microsoft Defender Firewall, aka Windows Firewall. When I check firewall protection on a Windows system running McAfee AntiVirus Plus, I now see the following message:

McAfee and Windows Defender are now working side by side

Our Advanced Firewall provides enhanced protection by blocking risky outgoing connections. Windows Defender Firewall provides protection for incoming connections.

Keep both firewalls on for complete protection.

So I thought I likely needed to create similar firewall rules for incoming connections in the Windows Firewall software as had existed previously in the McAfee firewall software.

[ More Info ]

[/os/windows/PowerShell] permanent link

Microsoft provides Secure Shell (SSH) server software with Windows 11 that you can use to listen for connections from remote SSH clients, but the server service is not installed by default. To install the Microsoft-provided SSH server software on a Windows 11 system, take the following steps:

1. Type optional features in the Windows Search field at the bottom of the screen and hit Enter, then click on "Open" when it is found.
2. Click on the View features button.
3. Scroll down the list of optional features until you see Open SSH Server and then click on the check box for it and click on the Next button.
4. Click on the Add button to add the OpenSSH Server capability to the system.
5. When the Optional features window shows that the OpenSSH Server software has been added, you can close the window. If you scroll down the list of added features before closing the window, you should see OpenSSH Server below OpenSSH Client.

After installing the software, you will need to start the OpenSSH server service.

[ More Info ]

[/os/windows/network/ssh/OpenSSH] permanent link

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[/os/windows/utilities] permanent link