How to Install CAB and MSU Updates from Windows Update Catalog

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Installing updates via Windows Update can be problematic sometimes. For example, downloads may stall at a specific stage due to problems with the Windows Update server or the Content Delivery Network (CDN) that hosts the update in your region. It could also be possible that the Windows Update or BITS Services configuration on the local computer is at fault.Read more

Make Action Center Always Remain Open on the Screen in Windows 10

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The Windows 10 Action Center displays app & system notifications and provides quick actions buttons so that users can get to the commonly used settings pages easily.

By default, the Windows 10 Action Center panel closes automatically once it loses the active window focus — when the user clicks a program window or anywhere else. Here is a registry hack which makes the Action Center panel always remain on the screen until you close it manually.Read more

How to Find Which Process has Locked a File in Windows

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Find Which Process Has Locked a File

When you attempt to delete a file or folder which is in use by a process, the File In Use dialog appears showing the name of the program that has locked the file.

However, there are cases where the “File In Use” dialog doesn’t show the name of the process that has a lock on the file you’re trying to delete. In some cases, the dialog will show “the action can’t be completed because the file is open in another process“.

For investigating processes and locked files, Windows Sysinternals Process Explorer is probably the first option that comes to mind for most users. However, there are two built-in solutions to display the current open files list along with corresponding process names.Read more

Set Custom icon for PDF Files with Chrome or Firefox as the Default PDF Viewer

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If you’ve associated PDF files with Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox to make use of browser’s built-in PDF viewing capability, the PDF and HTML files would show up with the same Chrome or Firefox icon in File Explorer. This post tells you how to set a custom different icon for PDF files, with Chrome or Firefox as the default PDF viewer.Read more

How to Copy Command Prompt Output Text to Clipboard or File

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Windows Command-line tools are great for troubleshooting, as well as automation. But, if you’re stumped when a tech support guy on the phone asks you to run a built-in console command and copy the output displayed for diagnosing a problem, these Command Prompt basics will come in handy.

This post explains how to copy or redirect Command Prompt output to a file or the clipboard.Read more