Windows Help and Advice 158 (Sampler) by Future PLC

pages of windows step-by-step guides do more with your PC

TOP 100 WINDOWS TIPS Master your PC today with our expert guide

NEVER LOSE A FILE AGAIN! & secure Get complete peace of mind by keeping your DATA safe

ALSO INSIDE... Stay secure with a VPN Do more with Chrome Fast fixes for any photo Enjoy music on your PC Mirror your hard drive

REINSTALL

WINDOWS YOUR COMPLETE GUIDE TO THE PERFECT INSTALLATION

Master PC time zones PC problems solved

MAKE A MOVIE

edit and share home videos on your pc

The source for tech buying advice techradar.com 2

| March 2017

Welcome Backups – we all think we should do them and very rarely do, until that dreaded moment when our PC goes south and all our files vanish with it. Whoops! Luckily, we here to help you avert disaster with this month’s lead feature (page 11). It walks you through the whole back-up process: from finding what to back up, to where, how and when, then shows you how to schedule backups so you never lose a file again. On page 58, you’ll learn how to clone your PC, too.

Turn to page 44 and you’ll also discover 100 power tips to help making using Windows easier, faster and more fun. While in our Explore section (starting on page 23), you’ll also find out how to fix wonky photos, do more with Google Chrome and even take control of time itself. It’s truly amazing what your PC can do. One last thing: sign up for our newsletter at www. windowsmag.co.uk for more tips, tricks and PC news. Enjoy the issue!

Rob Mead-Green Editor

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SUBSCRIBE TO THE MAG TODAY AND SAVE – TURN TO PAGE 20! We pride ourselves in being the only magazine on the shelves to show you exactly how to get the very best from the Windows operating system, whether you’re using Windows 10 or Windows 8.1. Also, don’t forget to take a look at how you can read the magazine on your laptop, smartphone or tablet.

Don’t miss our Next issue, when we will show you how to…

Next issue On sale 1 March 2019

Protect your privacy and make your PC more secure Enhance any photo Master the new Clipboard app Easily fix your Windows Update woes

Features

11 Never lose a file again!

Keep your most precious memories and essential files safe with our back-up guide

44 100 Windows power tips

Make using your PC faster, easier and more fun – tricks & techniques revealed

58 Mirroring a PC drive

Why you should create a bit-perfect clone of your PC – and how to do it

Regulars

6 Discover How to keep your PC free of distractions; Windows Sandbox; and the surprising stats behind Windows 10 20 Subscriptions 35 Back issues Missed an issue? Don’t miss out – order now while stocks last!

68 Digital issues Get the world’s best Windows mag on your phone or tablet

90 Next month Find out what’s coming up in the March 2019 issue

Explore The best PC tutorials Your guide Rob Mead-Green says…

“If you’re looking for better ways to use your home computer, then this is the place to start. We’ll show you all the tips and tricks the experts use and more!” 24 Get started with the brilliant, and free, Photopea image editor 27 Listen to music on your PC 30 Power up Google Chrome with these essential extensions

Support

64 Get answers to your technical questions with help from our PC experts 4

| February 2019

32 Fast fixes for image distortion in Photos and Elements 2019

38 Protect your privacy and stay secure online with OpenVPN

36 Easily master different time zones in Windows 10

41 Easily edit and share your home videos with Shotcut

subscription bundle offer Digital and print together – and a free laptop bag!

Find out more on page 20

Get peace of mind by keeping your data safe and secure

100

power TIPS

77 Our expert reviews

Make using your PC easier, faster & more fun!

How to mirror your PC’s drive

78 Razer Blade Stealth 13 laptop 80 Logitech MX Vertical mouse 82 JBL Link View smart display 84 BenQ TK800 DLP projector 86 Wireless earbuds group test

February 2019 |

NEW things to do

amazing websites

fascinating facts

Juggling distractions Make sure you find theÂ right balance between work and play.

Photo by Icons8 team on Unsplash

| February 2019

Discover Focus with help from your PC

Bloc k it a ll ou t

Use your PC to help you work smart, focus more

The Knowledge…

The world is distracting and your PC is probably the most distracting thing about it. It’s time to fix that

free extension for Google Chrome ou may remember the way available from Google’s store. It won’t computers used to be, before stop you from visiting those problem they were connected to the websites, but it will give you a gentle sum of the world’s knowledge reminder before you go there that you and a million bleeping social networks could be putting your time to better vying for your attention. It was a use. Reminder not enough? Leechblock simpler time. It was also an objectively (www.proginosko.com) enables you worse time – but at least it was easy to specify time limits for flippant to concentrate on what you were browsing; you’re free to spend your supposed to be doing. These days, you allotted time as you please, but once have to use a little willpower and a few it’s all used up creative tools to get that focus back. If Often the tool is not the you’re blocked you’re trying to get problem. Sometimes from visiting. If you really want something written, to go the whole head over to www. it’s the user hog, put on some calmlywriter.com. focus-friendly music (one of the Press the [F11] key to expand the site to channels on https://brain.fm, perhaps) the size of your screen. No buttons, no and create an little angel for your controls, just a well-presented page on shoulder with RescueTime (www. which you can type your text. rescuetime.com), which keeps track of Often the tool is not the problem. the amount of time you spend on your Sometimes it’s the user. If you’d rather computer – and just what you’re up to. browse your Facebook feed than get Having the evidence of your on with the important stuff, you can procrastination in front of you is a get your head in the right gear with surprisingly effective motivator. something like Mindful Browsing, a

Razer sharp Ludicrous power, little space If money is no object, but being forced to sit at a desk to access your high-powered PC absolutely is an object, Razer has the solution. The latest iterations of the company’s ultra-high-end Blade 15 laptops brings the hardware well and truly up to speed, squashing the latest Nvidia RTX graphics cards into a portable package. It’s not pocket money priced – the Blade 15 is likely to start at £2,199 – but for power and speed on the move it’s unbeatable.

Safe & sound There’s an integrated fingerprint reader, and Windows Hello support on the camera.

Microsoft Sandbox What is this, playtime? It’s not exactly built for play, but that’s not far off being accurate – Microsoft’s forthcoming Sandbox mode is one built for your safety. The idea is that you’ll be able to test out new applications without putting your PC at any risk. Even if you’ve downloaded something spurious, nothing will break. How does that work, then? In computing terms, a sandbox is (as you might expect from the description above) a completely separate environment. Fire up Microsoft’s Sandbox, and you’ll see a clean Windows desktop – essentially a virtual PC – with its own storage, its own pretend hardware, and no direct connection to your main machine. Everything you install, and everything you save, is wiped the instant you close the sandbox. When you open another sandbox, it’s a completely clean, new version of Windows. Great. Can I use it? File this one under the usual ‘Windows features which are coming, but who knows when’. Windows Sandbox will be a feature of Windows 10 Pro and Windows 10 Enterprise; it was formerly known as Windows InPrivate Desktop, and it’s part of the advanced Insider preview builds of Windows for those signed up to Microsoft’s testing program. Well that’s not much help… Don’t shoot the messenger. And don’t blame us if the cheekiest malware creators find a way to weasel their way through the supposedly impenetrable wall between Windows Sandbox and the main operating system; we’re sure it’ll be very secure, but if Microsoft sends out a sandbox to every Windows user, it’s likely to be something of a red rag to a bull for hackers. Can I use a sandbox now? Certainly – apps like Sandboxie (www. sandboxie.com) can insulate individual apps, and if you want an expendable desktop it’s worth trying something like VirtualBox (www.virtualbox.org).

Screen time Display upgrades include the option of a touchscreen or an ultra-sharp 4K panel.

Driving force Each Razer Blade 15 features a huge solid-state drive (SSD) for maximum speed.

February 2019 |

Ev eryon e’s tal king about...

Windows 10 takes over

Windows 7’s time at the top of the operating system charts is over after almost ten years

n just under a year’s time, Microsoft plans to drop support for Windows 7. That’s entirely understandable – the ageing operating system was first released in mid-2009, and the venerable old girl has been succeeded twice since then. But will that actually happen? Windows 10, some three years and change since its own release, has only just exceeded its elder in terms of market share. In December 2018 statistics from netmarketshare.com, Windows 10 was shown with 39.22 percent of desktop OS market share, while Windows 7 held a stillrespectable 36.9 percent. Somewhat amusingly, the same statistics showed Windows XP (first released back in 2001) maintains over four percent of the market, more than Windows 8.1.

keep on keeping on

Dropping support for an operating system isn’t easy to do, particularly one as widespread as Windows 7. Businesses around the world continue to be bought in to the old OS and, given the cost of upgrading the almost 700 million

devices still reliant on it, that statistic isn’t likely to change soon. Microsoft isn’t completely abandoning Windows 7 – security updates will continue, for a fee, as part of the company’s Extended Security Updates program – but it’s also still supporting Windows XP to a certain extent, with the US Navy one notable client still paying to keep it secure. If you have a Windows 7 PC, it won’t just keel over in January 2020, though it’s now time to consider that vital upgrade. Another stat, this time from statcounter.com’s yearly round-up, shows Windows as a whole may not hold the global operating system crown for long. In terms of active devices, it’s being quickly caught by Android. At one point in 2018, the mobile OS even topped Microsoft’s desktop OS in terms of overall installs. This doesn’t signal Windows’ doom, by any means. Android isn’t likely to make a dent in the proper computer market for some time. It does highlight, however, that the devices we use are changing all the time – what will the statistics look like when Windows 10 hits a decade old?

Download this… 1Password 1password.com Usually we’d recommend a free app here, but 1Password requires a subscription once you’re past its trial period. What price would you put on your security, though? If you’re using 1Passwords’s vault, you can manage your entire list of passwords, generate unique and difficult-to-break passwords when you’re signing up for new accounts, and even use it to look after other sensitive info so it’s all in one place when you need it. Your 1Password account, and everything in it, is protected by a master password, so there’s only one thing to remember – and you can even link it to Windows Hello, and log in with a fingerprint reader or a compatible camera if you have one. Don’t take risks with your personal information. Whether it’s with 1Password, KeePass, LastPass or any other manager, make sure you’re secure.

Super complex Let 1Password create absurdly secure passwords for you.

uiz The 60-SecondmQ e sta rts no w! Pe ns at th e rea d y, yo u r ti

Which operating system is said to have inspired MS-DOS?

With which OS was that version of DOS released?

In what year was Windows Vista released to the public?

A CP/M B HI/J C AB/C

A Windows 3.11 B Windows 98 C Windows ME

A 2005 B 2007 C 2009

A 5.0 B 6.22 C 8.0

A Windows NT 3.1 B Windows XP C Microsoft Bob

A macOS B Android C OS/X

What version marked the final release of MS DOS?

Which was the first fully 32-bit version of Windows?

On which operating system did Microsoft and IBM collaborate?

Answers 1A, 2C, 3C, 4A, 5B, 6C

| February 2019

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01 March

Discover Facts & figures

10nm

Transistor density of Intel’s new Ice Lake processors, finally unveiled at CES 2019 after a three-year wait. Ice Lake is based on Intel’s new Sunny Cove architecture, with the first chips expected to appear in laptops and desktops towards the end of the year.

Rob Mead-Green reveals a host of fascinating digital facts

50,000

Number of times LG’s new ‘rollable’ Signature Series R9 TV can be furled/unfurled before it breaks. Based around a flexible 65-inch OLED screen, the TV magically appears from its base every time you switch it on, then retracts back into it when it’s turned off.

1 billion Number of devices that will soon include Google Assistant – that’s 500 million more than in Spring 2018 and 900 million more than Alexa, which is found on just 100 million devices according to Amazon’s own stats.

£5,500 Estimated cost of Kohler’s Numi 2.0 Intelligent Toilet, which comes with a heated seat, ‘personal dryer’, built-in surround sound and gaming PC-style RGB lighting. It also has Google Assistant, Alexa and Siri integration. Mind-bog-ling.

Mid-2020s Possible launch date for, yes, the world’s first flying electric car – the Bell Nexus. The Nexus has six swivellable fans that enable it to take off vertically and is likely to first go into service as a flying taxi with Uber. We are truly living in the future.

4TB

Storage capacity of SanDisk’s prototype USB flash drive unveiled at CES 2019. No further details have been revealed about the drive, apart from the fact that it comes with a USB-C cable to connect it to your PC. February 2019 |

Incoming

The hottest new Windows hardware on the horizon

Alienware Area-51m From $2,549 www.alienware.com Everyone knows that laptops can’t be as easily upgraded as desktops – cramming all those PC components into a slim, portable shell means you’re stuck with the processor or graphics card it shipped with. Or at least that was the case until Dell unveiled the 17.3-inch Alienware Area-51m. New for 2019, the Area-51m is not only the most powerful gaming laptop ever made, it’s also been designed to be userupgradeable – so much so that it comes with easily removed screws and parts, plus a complete guide to disassembly. You name it, you can change it, including the CPU and graphics card – the only caveat being that to do so you’ll need a GPU that’s compatible with the included Dell Graphics Form Factor (DGFF) board. Or pair it with an external GPU via its Graphics Amplifier Port. Still, with the latest tech from Intel, Nvidia and others onboard, the Area-51m won’t need upgrading for a while yet.

| February 2019

Windows 10 Never lose a file again

NEVER LOSE A

FILE AGAIN Immunise yourself against disaster with our guide to backing up (and restoring) your critical data

xcuse us for being that bore who bangs on about backups, but how do you protect yourself against data loss and possible disaster? If the answer is not at all, you need to stop what you’re doing right now and take critical steps to protect yourself from future disaster. Everyone has a story about data loss – ours dates to 1999 when we spent 24 hours painstakingly recovering files one at a time from an accidentally wiped hard drive using primitive data recovery software. We got lucky that time, but the lesson was learned – now we take backing up deadly seriously and who cares if we’re not the life

and soul of the PC party? At least we’re not sobbing in the corner having lost a lifetime of memories and irreplaceable documents. In this guide we’ll point you in the direction of the backup devices you need. We’ll introduce you to one free program that can cover all your backup needs – and, of course, critically we’ll show you how to set it up. You’ll learn how to back up all your important files, plus take a failsafe drive image of your entire Windows installation so future calamities are rendered little more than minor inconveniences. Speaking of which, if – or more likely when – disaster strikes, we’ll show you how to get your data back again. Enough chit-chat, it’s time to back up.

February 2019 |

9000

Choose your backup devices Step one is working out where to store the critical copies of your data – both offline and over the Internet

he first thing you need to do when setting up your backup regimen is to ensure you have at least two suitable backup destinations in place. One should be ‘local’, as in the same room (or network) as your PC, so typically an external drive of some kind, connected via USB or network cable. The other should be ‘remote’, so housed in a separate location in case you’re subject to fire, theft or damage.

The best-value cloud backup solution is currently OneDrive: 1TB free with an Office 365 subscription.

Network versus USB

When it comes to your local backup location, you’ve a straight choice between a drive directly attached to your PC, or a network hard drive (also known as a NAS – Network Attached Storage). The latter is accessible to other PCs in your network, so if you’re looking to set up a backup regimen for your entire household, this could be more cost-effective. That said, you need to ensure that everyone has sufficient backup space – you can get a rough guesstimate by asking everyone to open File Explorer, browse to C:\Users, right-click their personal user folder and choose Properties. Add that figure to the current size of drive C, then double it to ensure they have enough space in the medium term for backing up to. You then need to add these figures together to arrive at the size of NAS

drive you’ll need for everyone in your household. Then investigate the cost of a single NAS drive versus individual USB drives to see which is more costeffective – a 4TB NAS drive might turn out more expensive than four 1TB drives, for example. Network drives have other advantages above and beyond mere centralised backup devices, though – the more you pay, the more flexible they can be. There’s another reason why a NAS might be better than simple USB drive – it can also serve as an alternative to a cloudbased backup (see the box below).

Back up to the cloud

Your second backup should be housed in a remote location. The expensive-butsecure option would be to invest in two identical network drives: one for your own home; another in a trusted remote location (say a friend or family member). You’d then back up to your own network drive as part of your primary backup and then mirror it to the remote drive, typically using a technology known as Remote Replication, which works over the Internet. This involves a hefty up-front investment and requires a willing friend

Your personal cloud If you want the convenience of cloud storage – the ability to keep data synced between multiple computers and accessible via mobile devices, for example – but don’t want to store it on the web, look to invest in a hardware solution in the form of a network hard drive, also known as a NAS (Network Attached Storage). More powerful solutions offer a built-in personal cloud solution where the central copy is stored on the drive itself. If you’re particularly concerned about security, you can restrict access so only devices directly connected to your local network have access. Most NAS manufacturers offer their own proprietary solutions – My Cloud for Western Digital, for example. This is adequate for most people, but if you want want a nonproprietary solution, you should look to invest in a more expensive NAS drive from companies like Synology and QNAP. These offer support for open-source alternatives, such as NextCloud and OwnCloud, as well as their own proprietary cloud apps. You might also want to explore setting up a VPN server on your NAS to give you access your files on the go without directly exposing them to the Internet.

| February 2019

Don’t trust third-party cloud providers? Then turn your own NAS into a cloud backup server instead.