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Thu, Feb 26, 2026 10:31 pm

Restarting the Windows audio service

If you are experiencing problems with sound on a Microsoft Windows system, such as being unable to hear audio even when the sound hasn't been muted and any external speakers are turned on and set to an audible volume level, one possible way to resolve the problem is to restart the Windows Audio service. To do so, you can can take the following steps:
  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

Mon, Feb 23, 2026 10:05 pm

Determining if a drive is encrypted with Bitlocker on a Windows system

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

Sat, Feb 14, 2026 7:02 pm

Changing the time zone on a Microsoft Windows system from the command line

The timezone on a Microsoft Windows system can be changed from the command line by opening a command prompt window with administrator privileges and then typing timedate.cpl and hitting Enter, which opens a window where you can alter the timezone or you can use the tzutil utility to change the time zone using a command of the form tzutil /s "TimeZone" where TimeZone is the appropriate time zone identifier, e.g., tzutil /s "Eastern Standard Time".

[ More Info ]

[/os/windows/commands] permanent link

Fri, Feb 13, 2026 9:45 pm

Installing OpenSSH Server software on a Windows 10 system with PowerShell

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

Mon, Nov 24, 2025 7:46 pm

Determining the location of a user's "My Documents" folder with PowerShell

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

Sat, Nov 22, 2025 10:12 pm

PowerShell cmdlets to check remote connectivity and firewall rules

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.

McAfee and Windows Defender

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

Sun, Jun 01, 2025 8:13 pm

Installing the Microsoft-provided SSH server software on a Windows 11 system

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

Sun, Mar 09, 2025 9:53 pm

Creating a bootable USB flash drive from an ISO file using Rufus

If you have an ISO file that could be written to a CD or DVD to boot a system, but wish to use it to create a bootable USB flash drive and wish to do so using software on a Microsoft Windows system, you can use Rufus. The developer is Pete Batard and his blog can be found at Pete's Blog; the GitHub page for the software is at rufus.

[ More Info ]

[/os/windows/utilities] permanent link

Fri, Feb 28, 2025 7:55 pm

Burning an ISO file to a CD or DVD on a Windows 11 System

If you wish to burn a .iso file to a CD or a DVD on a Microsoft Windows 11 system, you can do so by taking the following steps.
  1. In the Windows File Explorer, Right-click on the .iso file, then click on Burn, which appears above the file list.

    Windows 11 - ISO - Click on Burn

  2. If the appropriate CD/DVD drive does not appear in the "Disc Burner" field, select it then click on Burn (check the box first for "Verify disc after burning", if you wish to have the program verify that the disc can be read successfully after the iso file is burned to the disc).

    Windows Disc Image Burner

  3. When the iso file has successfully been written to disc, you should see "The disc image has been successfully burned to disc." You can then click on the Close button.

    Disc image successfully burned

    The disc will then be ejected.

[/os/windows/win11] permanent link

Mon, Jan 27, 2025 10:06 pm

Transferring files over an RDP connection

If you are connected to a remote Microsoft Windows system from another Windows system via the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) using the Microsoft terminal services client provided by Microsoft with its Windows operating systems, mstsc.exe, you can copy and paste files from one system to the other as you would from one directory to another on one of the systems. E.g., if I want to copy a file from a remote Windows 11 system to my local Windows 11 system, I can select it in the Windows File Explorer on the remote system and then switch back to my local system and go to the directory where I want to place it using the File Explorer on that system and then hit Ctrl-V, i.e, the Ctrl and V keys, to paste the file into that directory. You can use the same technique to copy a directory, i.e., you can right click on the directory and choose "copy" and then switch to the other system and navigate in the File Explorer to where you wish to copy the directory and then and use the paste function, e.g. Ctrl-V to copy

I don't know how well the technique may work on very large files or directories, e.g., ones that are multiple gigabytes, but I've found it works well at least for those several megabytes in size. I also have not tested what happens if you try another copy and paste operation before the first one has completed.

Related:

  1. Transferring Files Via the Remote Desktop
    Date: March 13, 2010

[/os/windows/software/remote-control/rdp] permanent link

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