When it comes to editing text-based files, everyone has used Windows built-in text editor Notepad. But it is pretty basic and has very few features. If you are looking for a program that can do more than edit text files, take a look at Notepad++.

Notepad++ (Notepad plus plus) is a text/code editor based on the open-source editing component Scintilla and can be customized to a user's needs. It has an impressive list of built-in features like syntax highlighting, code folding, and extensive find and replace functions.

It includes support for over seventy (70) programming languages like HTML, JavaScript, and Visual Basic. Notepad++ can also record macros so that it can speed those repetitive commands.

Now one of the great features of Notepad++ is its customizability. You can completely change the way it looks and feels, from the font used to the background color; you can make it just the way you like it.

Notepad++ with the black board theme

You can edit the shortcuts for the pull-down menus, macros, run commands, plugin commands, and Scintilla commands with the shortcut mapper. You can even edit the right-click context menu.

Notepad++ shortcut mapper

But the best feature is the extension capacity using third-party plugins. Over 90 (ninety) plugins are available for Notepad++, including all sorts of coding tools and a spell checker.

Notepad++ comes in both 32 and 64-bit versions, and there are two ways to install it; the automatic installer or the portable stand-alone version. You can even modify the registry and use Notepad++ instead of Notepad, but you will have to go through the user manual to find the code.

And the best thing about Notepad++ is that it is free, but you can donate to the author to help support future releases. For more information on Notepad++, follow the link below.

Notepad++

Are you running out of free space on the drive in your computer? Or are you thinking about getting a faster drive for it? If so, cloning the drive in your computer might be just the answer, and here is how to do it.

Note: Drive cloning is a procedure that computer technicians perform regularly. If you do not feel comfortable doing any of the following procedures, please contact a local computer service company like Geeks in Phoenix.

When installing a new drive in your computer, you have two (2) options; you can perform a fresh installation of the operating system and all the programs. Or you can clone the current drive to the new one and preserve the installed operating system and programs.

Since many people do not remember how they installed their programs or where the installation media/software keys may be, cloning their existing drive is the best option. The complexity of cloning a drive depends on the type of drive, the form factor, and the current and new drive interface.

There are several types of drives; the most popular are SSD (Solid State Drive), HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and SSHD (Solid State Hybrid Drive). There are also several different drive interfaces; the most popular are SATA (7 pin connection cable) and M.2 (keyed socket). HDDs and SSHDs use a SATA interface; SSDs can use either SATA or M.2.

There are several different form factors (physical size) of drives; HDDs and SSHDs come in 3.5" and 2.5" (width), SSDs come in 2.5" (width) when using a SATA interface, and 30 to 110 MM (length) when using an M.2 interface. Drives that come in 2.5" form factor can also have different heights (thicker); 9.5 MM is standard, and 7 MM is used in ultra-thin laptops.

If you are upgrading a laptop drive (2.5"), check with the manufacturer on what size is recommended. If you are upgrading an M.2 drive, check with the manufacturer (system/motherboard) on what interface (SATA 3, AHCI, or NVMe), key notch (B, M, or B & M) and length is supported.

Now the first thing you need to do is find out the model number of your current drive. Once you have the model number, you can search on Google and get all of its specifications. You can find the model number in Computer Management.

How to open Computer Management

1. Left-click on the Start menu
2. Scroll down the list of programs and left-click on Windows Administrative Tools
3. Left-click on Computer Management

or

1. Right-click on the Start menu to bring up the Power Users menu
2. Left-click on Computer Management

Once you have the Computer Management console open, left-click on Disk Management and locate the disk that has the partition with the drive letter C:. Right-click the disk number (usually Disk 0) select Properties from the context menu. On the General tab, you will find the drive model number.

Once you have your existing drive specifications, it is time to decide on a replacement drive. Are you going to replace it with one that has the same form factor and interface or not. Your decision will determine how you clone your drive, and there are two (2) ways to do it.

Now it is just a matter of getting another drive with the same data capacity as your existing drive. You can get one with a smaller capacity, but you would have to shrink the partition(s) on the drive before cloning it. You can get one with a larger capacity (recommended), but you may or may not have to manually expand the partition(s) after you are done. Some drive manufacturers (WD, Seagate, and Samsung) cloning software will automatically do that.

There are two (2) different scenarios, upgrading your existing drive to the same form factor and interface or upgrading your existing drive from SATA to M.2. Doing an upgrade that involves just SATA drives is relatively simple; M.2 drives are a bit more complicated.

If you decide to upgrade to an M.2 drive, you will need to find out what type of M.2 drive your motherboard can support before purchasing it. You need to find out the local interface (SATA3, AHCI, or NVMe), width/length, and keying. You will also need the hardware (standoff and screw) to mount it to the motherboard.

SATA drives can be connected to your computer using internal SATA and power cables (desktop) or external USB docking stations / external drive enclosures (desktop or laptop). Since M.2 drives use sockets with PCI-e buses for power and transferring data, they have to be directly connected to the motherboard.

There are M.2 to USB adapters, but they can be expensive and only support specific key notches. For cloning SATA to M.2 or M.2 to M.2, I recommend using the drive-to-image method (see below).

• Drive-to-drive. This is the method you would want to use if you are cloning your existing drive to another drive with the same interface (SATA to SATA).
• Drive-to-image. This is the method you would want to use if you are cloning your existing drive to a different interface (SATA to M.2)

Drive cloning software

A few drive manufacturers have the software you can download to clone your drive, but at least one of the drives (source or destination) has to be one of theirs. And a few of the programs you can use to create bootable media. Here are a few of the drive cloning programs available.

Western Digital - Acronis True Image

Seagate - DiskWizard

Samsung - Data Migration

Ultimate Boot CD (bootable media)

R-Drive Image

Hardware required for drive cloning

• Docking station
• External hard drive
• Flash drive for creating bootable media

Drive-to-drive cloning

This is probably the easiest way to clone a drive. The first thing you have to do is install the cloning software on the computer with the source drive you want to clone. If you decide to use the UBCD, you will need to create the bootable media.

Then connect the destination drive by either attaching using a docking station / external case (laptop or desktop) or shutting down the computer and installing it (desktop).

Once you have both drives attached to the computer, you can boot the system normally or use bootable media and start the drive cloning program. Follow the software instructions and be ready to shut down your computer as soon as the software completes cloning the drive.

You will need to remove or detach the source drive from the computer, as both of the drives will have the same boot signature. If you cloned a SATA drive to another SATA drive, connect the destination drive to the connection that the source drive was on. You should be ready to boot your computer on the new drive.

Drive-to-image cloning

This procedure does require a few more steps to complete, but it does also have more options. One of the advantages of this type of drive cloning is changing your computer's primary drive interface. The disadvantage is you may have to expand/recreate partitions manually.

The first thing you need to do is install the cloning software on your computer and then create bootable media using it. You will need the bootable media to restore the disk image or disk backup to the new drive.

The next thing you will need to do is use that same cloning program to create a drive image / drive backup of your primary (boot) drive to an external hard drive. Once that is complete, safely remove the external hard drive from your computer and shut it down.

Now that your computer is turned off, uninstall the existing drive and install the new drive. Once the new drive is in place, boot your computer using the bootable media you created and proceed to restore the disk image / disk backup to the new drive.

If the new drive is larger than the old one, the cloning software may prompt you to expand the primary partition. If it does, let the software do it. If not, you may have to expand it manually using Disk Management inside of Windows.

Windows creates a hidden recovery partition right behind the primary partition. If the cloning software does not put that hidden partition at the end of the new drive and expand the primary partition, you will have to do it manually.

I use R-Drive Image for drive cloning, and it allows me to restore a complete drive image or individual partitions. When I run into the hidden recovery partition, I usually will restore all of the partitions except for the last one, the hidden recovery partition.

Since the system does not require the hidden recovery partition to operate, I boot it up on the new drive and expand the primary partition using Disk Management to fill up almost all of the remaining free space.

I leave a little more than enough free space to restore the hidden recovery partition. I then boot the computer back up on the R-Drive bootable media and restore the hidden recovery partition into the remaining free space.

For more information on upgrading computer drives. click on the following links.

How to upgrade the hard drive in your computer

How to upgrade your computers hard disk drive to a solid state drive

When it comes to using Windows 10, the Start menu app tiles are a popular way to open some of your favorite programs. But what happens if the app tiles stop functioning correctly? Here is how to repair the Start menu apps.

The Start menu apps are not standard desktop Windows programs; they are Universal Apps, UWP (Universal Windows Platform), to be exact. They are designed to run on all Microsoft devices, including Xbox, Surface Hub, and HoloLens. Microsoft has set quite a few of them as default apps in Windows 10 for opening photos, videos, music, etc.. So when they stop working, it can be a significant problem.

The steps outlined in this article should be taken in the order listed. Remember to restart your computer between each step so that changes have a chance to take effect. The links to the blogs referenced in each stage are highly detailed and will open in new browser tabs. That way, you don't have to worry about trying to get back to this article.

Reinstall the Start menu apps

This step is one of the most straightforward procedures and should fix the Start menu apps most of the time. All you have to do is copy a string of text and paste it into an Administrative PowerShell console.

There are several ways to open an Administrative PowerShell. Here are a few of the most popular

1. Open an Administrative PowerShell using one of the following procedures.
• Bring up the Start menu by left-clicking on the Start button.
• Scroll down to the Windows PowerShell folder and left-click on it.
• Right-click on Windows PowerShell and select Run as Administrator on the context menu that appears.
or
• Bring up the Power User menu by right-clicking on the Start button.
• Left-click on the Windows PowerShell (Admin) link.
or
• In the search box to the right of the Start button type PowerShell.
• In the right-hand column of the search results, left-click on Run as Administrator directly below Windows PowerShell.
2. You will get a prompt stating Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device? Left-click on Yes.
3. Copy and paste the following text into the PowerShell window.
   Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}
4. When the script is done running, close the PowerShell window by typing exit and press enter.
5. Restart your computer.

Don't worry if a couple of errors are generated while running the PowerShell command. It happens even on a clean Windows 10 installation. If numerous errors are generated, then you may need to proceed with the following steps.

I once had a system that the Start menu apps would not reinstall because the Windows Security Service would not start. I had to repair it before I could get the Start menu apps working again. Remember that once you complete any of the following procedures, restart your computer and rerun the PowerShell command.

Check the drive for errors

There is a possibility that the Start menu apps are not functioning correctly because there are errors on your C:\ drive. Running a quick standard disk check may be just the thing your computer needs to get the Start menu apps running again.

And even if it doesn't fix the problem with the apps, it is always an excellent procedure to do before the next step. Here's how to run a standard drive check in Windows 10.

1. Open File Explorer using one of the following:
• Left-click on the File Explorer icon (manilla folder) on the Taskbar.
• Press the Windows logo key + E at the same time.
• Use the Power User menu by right-clicking on the Start button and selecting File Explorer.
2. In the left-side column left-click on This PC.
3. In the right-side column right-click on the drive you want to check and select Properties.
4. Left-click on the Tools tab.
5. Under Error checking left-click on Check.
6. Left-click on Scan drive.

If you get an error when trying to run a standard drive check, you may have to perform an advanced check. Here are all of the details on how to do it.

How to check your drive for errors in Windows 10

Check system files for corrupt or missing files

Now some of the files the Start menu apps require to operate correctly may be missing or gotten corrupted. Windows 10 has a utility called System File Checker (SFC) that can detect and repair problems with files required by Windows 10 for properly operation.

Let me forewarn you that you may have to run SFC more than once to fix some of Windows 10 files. You may even have to start your computer in safe mode to get SFC to repair Windows 10. Here's how to run a basic SFC scan:

1. Open an Administrator Command Prompt using one of the following.
1. Left-click on the Start button.
2. Scroll down the program list and then left-click on the Windows System folder to expand.
3. Right-click on Command Prompt.
4. On the context menu that appears, hover your cursor over More and then left-click on Run as administrator. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
or
1. In the search box next to the Start button, type Command Prompt.
2. In the list of results, the Command Prompt should be highlighted.
3. In the right-hand column under Command Prompt, there is an options menu. Left-click on Run as administrator. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
2. Type sfc /scannow into the Admin Command Prompt and press enter.

And in the worst-case scenario, you may have to replace a corrupt file or two manually. Luckily there is a way to determine what files SFC repairs and what ones it cannot. The following article has all of the details on how to go about using SFC to its fullest potential.

Check Windows 10 system files with System File Checker

Perform an in-place upgrade of Windows 10

The next step to getting the Start menu apps to working again involves doing an in-place upgrade of Windows 10. Even though it sounds kind of scary, it is relatively simple.

When performing an in-place upgrade, your documents, pictures, and videos stay perfectly safe. And you can keep all of the installed programs too. The only downside is the default programs for specific file types revert to Windows 10 defaults. To me, that is no biggie. The following article gives all of the details on how to do an in-place upgrade.

How to repair Windows 10 by doing an in-place upgrade

Reset Windows 10

This step is the completely last resort to fixing the Windows 10 Start menu apps. I defiantly don't recommend it, but I do have to suggest it (reluctantly) as an option. With resetting Windows 10, you can keep all of your documents, pictures, and videos. But all of the programs that did not come with Windows 10 will be gone. The following article gives all the details on how to reset Windows 10.

How to reset Windows 10

Do you have a family member or friend who is always calling for help with their Windows 10 or Windows 11 computer? Do you wish you could easily connect to their system and take care of their problems fast? You can do just that with the Quick Assist program inside Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Now there is nothing new about being able to establish a remote connection from one Windows computer to another. The Remote Assistance program has been in Windows since Windows Vista, but it does require some detailed setup before you can use it.

On the other hand, Quick Assist is installed in Windows 10 and Windows 11 and is pretty much ready to go when you needed. Its requirements are pretty minimal: both computers have to be running Windows 10 or Windows 11, and the person assisting needs to have a Microsoft account.

Quick Assist does have a few great features. The first one has to be how easy and straightforward it is to use. It comes already installed, and all you have to do is start it up and follow the prompts.

The second feature that stands out is the ability to restart the remote computer you are giving assistance to and have the connection restart automatically. This feature is handy when installing and uninstalling software on the remote computer.

A couple of the other great features are the ability to view a single monitor or all of the monitors on the remote computer. You can annotate (draw) on the remote computer screen (great for illustrating how to do something). And there is even a button to start the Task Manager.

There are two (2) features that are not included that most remote connection software you pay for include. The first one is being able to transfer files between the two computers directly.

You can get around this by using cloud-based file storage like Dropbox or Google Drive. All you have to do is use a browser on the remote computer to log into your cloud storage and download files you uploaded from your computer.

The second feature that is missing is a shared clipboard. Quick Assist does include a chat window (instruction channel) that you can transfer links and text between the computers.

The downside is that the chat window gets cleared with every message that is sent. You can get around this problem by enabling the Clipboard history on the remote computer.

Then in the chat window on the remote computer, you can click on the Copy button, and have all of the pieces of text you send to the remote computer saved to the Clipboard. For more on Windows 10 Clipboard features, follow the link below.

How to use all of the Clipboard features in Windows 10

How to start a Quick Assist session

How to open Quick Assist inside of Windows 11

1. Left-click on the Start button to bring up the Start menu.
2. In the upper right-hand corner of the Start menu, left-click on All apps.
3. Scroll down the list of programs and left-click on Windows Tools.
4. Left-click on Quick Assist.

or

1. Left-click on the magnifying glass to the right of the Start button to bring up the Search dialog box.
2. In the Search dialog box, type Quick Assist.
3. In the list of results, the Quick Assist should be highlighted.
4. Left-click on Quick Assist.

How to open Quick Assist program inside of Windows 10

1. Left-click on the Start button and scroll down to Windows Accessories.
2. Left-click on it to expand the contents.
3. Left-click on Quick Assist.

or

1. Using the search box on the right side of the Start button, type in Quick Assist,
2. Left-click on it in the search results.

Once Quick Assist is up on your screen,

there are two choices: Get assistance and Give assistance.

If you are getting assistance

1. Enter the 6-digit security code from the person assisting you and left-click on the Share screen button.
2. You will be prompted to allow access to your computer.
   
   Left-click on the Allow button to share your screen.

If you are giving assistance

1. Left-click on the Assist another person button. You will be prompted for the email address and password associated with your Microsoft account.
2. Once you are logged in, a security code will appear.
   
   There are some options on how to deliver the security code at the bottom of this dialog box. But the majority of the time, you will have the person you are assisting on the phone. Give them the 6-digit security code.
3. The next screen will ask you what sharing option you want.
   
   You can choose between Take full control or View screen. Make your selection and left-click on Continue.

The Clipboard is one of the most widely used features inside Windows. It used to be just for copying a small amount of text, but not anymore. Let's look at all the Clipboard features inside Windows.

In the early days of computing, users could store small amounts of data in the computer's RAM (Random Access Memory), which was called the Paste Buffer. You could only save one piece of data at a time, and every time you copied a new piece of data, the last piece was erased.

But over the decades, the Paste Buffer, now known as the Clipboard, has evolved into a valuable and essential tool for productivity. The Clipboard in Windows 10 and Windows 11 can hold multiple pieces of text and images. And how you access the Clipboard has changed over the years.

Before you can take advantage of the full capability of the Windows Clipboard, you have to do a couple of things. The first thing you need to do is to make sure that the Clipboard history feature is turned on.

With Clipboard history turned on, you can view and paste all of the different items you have copied to the Clipboard. You will need to go to Windows Settings to make sure that this feature is activated.

How to get to the Clipboard section of the Windows 11 Settings app

1. Open the Windows Settings app by either:
• Left-click on the Start button to bring up the Start menu. In the upper right-hand corner of the Start menu, left-click on All apps. Scroll down the list of programs and left-click on Settings.
• Right-click on the Start button to bring up the Power User menu. On the Power User menu, left-click on Settings.
• Press the Windows logo key + I.
2. Left-click on the System category in the left-hand column.
3. Scroll down the right-hand column and left-click on the Clipboard category.

How to get to the Clipboard section of the Windows 10 Settings app

1. Open the Windows Settings app by either:
• Left-click on the Start button, which will bring up the Start menu. On the Start menu left-click on the gear icon (Settings).
• Right-click on the Start button, which will bring up the Power User menu. On the Power User menu, left-click on Settings.
• Press the Windows logo key + I.
2. Left-click on the System category.
3. Scroll down the left-hand column and left-click on the Clipboard category.

Once you are in the Clipboard section, make sure that the Clipboard history is turned on.

You can also clear all of the items on the Clipboard from here.

Now copying text to the Clipboard has always been pretty straightforward, but there may be times you want to copy images to it. The second thing to do is to make sure you have all the programs you can use to capture images.

The first screen capture program built into Windows is the Snipping Tool, and it has been in Windows since Windows 7, and it works well for capturing anything on-screen (if you can see it, you can capture it).

And it automatically copies whatever you snip to the Clipboard. But it does prompt you to save your snip to a file when you close it.

And the second built-in app for capturing screen snips is the Snipping Bar.

Microsoft included it in Windows 10 Version 1809, and few people know about it. That's because you have to use a combination of three (3) keys on the keyboard to bring it up (Windows logo key + Shift + S).

The downside of the Snipping Bar is that it only captures one snip at a time. Every time you want to capture a screen snip, you have to press the Windows logo key + Shift + S keys. The Snipping Tool will capture as many snips as you like until you close it.

We are now all set to start copying items to the Clipboard. Remember that you can paste text from the Clipboard into almost any program, but you can only paste images into programs that can display images.

For example, you can paste text from the Clipboard into Notepad but not images. But can paste both text and images from the Clipboard into Paint or Wordpad.

There are several different ways to copy and paste from the Clipboard. Here are a few of the most common ways to do it.

Ways to copy text to the Clipboard

Highlight the text you want to copy and then:

• Press Ctrl + C on the keyboard
  
• Right-click on the highlighted text and select Copy from the context menu

Ways to copy graphics to the Clipboard

Highlight the image you want to copy and then:

• Press Ctrl + C on the keyboard

If you can not highlight the image then:

• Right-click on it and select Copy.
• Use the Snipping Tool or the Snipping Bar to capture a snip of it.

Ways to paste from the Clipboard

Select where you want to place the graphic or text in the program of your choice then:

• To paste the last item copied to the Clipboard, press Ctrl + V on the keyboard.
• To select an item on the Clipboard, press the Windows logo key + V to display the Clipboard history.
  
  Then use your mouse or keyboard arrows to scroll through the clips. When you find the one you want to use, left-click on it (mouse) or press enter (keyboard).

For more information on the keyboard shortcuts discussed in this article, follow the links below.

Windows logo key shortcuts for Windows 11

Windows logo key shortcuts for Windows 10

General keyboard shortcuts

Check out the following video for examples of copying to and pasting from the Clipboard inside Windows 10.