Help for finding many of Windows’ less-used tools

Help for finding many of Windows' less-used tools

When things go south with Windows, we often rely on its extensive set of built-in tools.

But when you rarely use something, it can hard to remember where it is, what it’s called, and how to use it. Here’s help for the first two.

A quick refresher on Windows ‘run commands’

The classic Windows Run applet is somewhat like a mini command line. A simple WinKey + R launches it in all current versions of Windows, and once it’s open you can directly launch almost any application installed on your system — with some qualifications.

For an app to launch from Run, you have to know its correct name. Enter “Excel” into the Run box, for example, and the app immediately launches. Enter “Word” into the box and you get an error message. Why? Because the true name for Word is “winword.” The same goes for PowerPoint — to launch it from Run, you have to enter “powerpnt” into the box.

The Run applet has some important differences from a command prompt. You can’t for example, launch Excel by simply entering “excel” and hitting Enter. You can, however, launch it from a command prompt by entering “start excel.exe” at the prompt. Typically, no path to the EXE is needed.

You can also open a specific folder directly in Run, sometimes more quickly than navigating to in Explorer. For instance, entering “%programfiles%” immediately opens the C:Program Files folder.

All that said, the Run box was far more important in the XP era. With Windows 7, 8, and 10, the Windows search box is often the better option. For example, in Win7, you can quickly load a command window by entering “cmd” into the Run box. But that won’t give you an admin-level session. The better alternative is to enter “cmd” into the Start search box and then enter Ctrl + Shift + Enter. (You’ll know you have admin status because a User Account Control box will pop up.) Likewise, entering %programfiles% into search pops up both Program Files and Program Files (x86).

One advantage of Run over Search: It gives you a dropdown list of recently used entries.

In some cases, using Run or Search for a Windows command won’t get you far. Type in, for example, “ipconfig” into either and a command window opens then immediately closes. (That’s essentially the rule for any app that doesn’t have a graphical interface.) Run tools such as ipconfig in an already-open command window.

A quick list of useful, if rarely used, commands

You might consider copying this list and pasting it into something like OneNote or EverNote; you can then edit it to your liking.

• %AppData% – Opens the typically hidden AppData folder.
• charmap – Lets you select and copy special characters.
• chkdsk – Windows’ more powerful version of the graphical Check Disk utility, it must be run in a command window. Enter chkdsk /? for a list of optional switches.
• cleanmgr – Opens the standard Disk Cleanup tool.
• cmd – Opens a command window. In the search box, enter cmd and then Ctrl + Shift + Enter to launch a command window in administrator mode.
• diskmgmt – Launches Windows Disk Management tool — typically for managing partitions and drive letters.
• eventvwr – Opens Windows Event Viewer tool for diagnosing system issues.
• font controls – Let you manage installed fonts, when entered into the Run box. Alternatively, entering font into the search box opens the same font folder.
• ipconfig – Lists the current network configuration, including the local IP address. Alternatives include ipconfig /release and ipconfig /renew.
• gpedit – Launches the Group Policy Editor.
• mrt – Opens the Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool.
• msconfig – Opens the System Configuration tool for managing boot options.
• msinfo32 – Displays a detailed list of system information.
• netplwiz – Launches the advanced User Accounts tool.
• perfmon – Opens the Windows Performance Monitor tool.
• regedit – Opens the Registry editor.
• resmon – Opens Resource Monitor.
• sfc – System File Checker; numerous options such as the popular /scannow.
• systeminfo – Displays a detailed list of system information when run in a command window.
• taskmgr – Opens the Windows Task Manager tool.

The Eightfire site has a long list of other run commands. Not all work in all versions of Windows. Sadly, for example, “mshearts” (the Hearts card game) probably hasn’t worked since Vista.

The Windows GodMode lives on in Win10 1607

Given the extensive changes in Windows over the past year, it’s surprising when some old bit of code or classic function still exists. Most long-time Windows users will know of the classic GodMode option, which provides another easy way to find and access Windows’ many built-in utilities and management tools.

It’s comforting that the process of setting up the GodMode folder is unchanged, even in Win10 1607. Right-click the Windows desktop and select New/Folder. Enter the following as the folder’s name and press Enter.

GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}

Once the folder is created, you can rename it to something you prefer. I renamed it to “All Utilities,” and because I like to keep a clean desktop, I moved the folder to a subdirectory, right-clicked it, and pinned it to the Start menu.

Feedback welcome: Have a question or comment about this story? Post your thoughts, praise, or constructive criticisms in the WS Columns forum. To rate this or other stories, click over to our polls page.

 

Is the Anniversary Update just a service pack?

Consider Win10 1607 a service pack and plan accordingly. That’s the lesson from upgrading my Lenovo laptop, especially after losing Bluetooth connectivity.

And at Microsoft’s Ignite developers’ conference, Microsoft announced future security upgrades to Win10.

Version 1607 rolled out slowly — until now

Many Win10 users were wondering when they’d see the Anniversary Update (AU). But, apparently like many others, it showed up on two of my local machines this past week. Also like others, the update didn’t fare well on one system — a Lenovo X1 Carbon laptop.

I was far from alone in having a problem with AU. In a quick and random survey of Windows Secrets authors and editors, Lincoln Spector had no issues but Tracey Capen reported that one of his PCs seemed to automatically roll back to Version 1511. And on another system, it took three tries before the upgrade stuck. Also, upgrade times ranged from under an hour to several hours. Bottom line: Expect widely varying results, if you’re updating multiple devices.

In my case, once Win10 AU installed, I could no longer use my Bluetooth mouse — the driver was missing. In fact, the Bluetooth section was missing in Device Manager (see Figure 1), and checking for updates did nothing.

I’d seen reports that others had lost Bluetooth after the upgrade, and they solved the problem by downloading drivers and BIOS updates from the appropriate hardware vendor. On my problematic notebook, installing a BIOS upgrade from Lenovo brought Bluetooth, and ultimately my mouse, back to life.

The upshot: Microsoft might consider the era of service packs over, but these major Win10 releases act like service packs. So when adding any of these big updates, be prepared to roll the OS back to the previous version, should you have issues you can’t easily fix. And note: You have only ten days to roll back from AU to Version 1511.

To access the roll-back option, click Start/Settings/Update and security; next, select Recovery and click the Get started button under “Go back to an earlier build.” But before you do that, I recommend ensuring that all manufacturer-supplied BIOS and driver updates are installed. And, if you need additional help, don’t forget to post in the Windows Secrets Lounge.

What to do: Backup your system before Win10 1607 installs, and check for missing drivers after.

Browser-security enhancements coming to MS Edge

As announced at the annual Microsoft Ignite Conference (site), future versions of Win10’s Edge browser will include an additional protection called Windows Defender Application Guard (more info). It’ll rely on hardware virtualization for better security, and it’ll first show up in a future Insider Preview build.

Individual Win10 users might see Application Guard sometime next year. At this time, we don’t know whether it’ll be included only in the Win10 Enterprise edition or whether it’ll require specific hardware. But it’s good that Microsoft seems serious about browser security.

During the conference keynote address, Microsoft stated that it now patches a billion computers a month and processes 200 million emails. The company also noted that we now spend about 50 percent of our computing time working within a browser. That makes keeping our browsers free from attacks especially important.

Another interesting concept to come out of Ignite: authentication is the new computer boundary. Once upon a time our PCs represented the limits of our computer systems. If you got into my system, you were within my computing boundary, and you could go no further. Now, if you steal my credentials, you have access to the local system — and possibly everything I connect to in the cloud.

So, keeping our credentials secure is also more important than ever. I hope everyone is using password-management tools; we all need to use robust and multiple passwords.

What to do: Be sure to keep all your browsers fully up to date.

3184143

Microsoft finally cleans up its GWX app

In what seems like an afterthought, Microsoft released KB 3184143, which removes the code that attempted to update PCs to Windows 10. If you installed the GWX Control Panel tool to block the upgrade, you can now remove it.

Win10, on the right hardware, is a wonderful system. But I’m not convinced that the OS is appropriate for older Win7 systems — especially laptops, which have more specific drivers. Note that, as of October, Microsoft will no longer allow original-equipment manufacturers to sell Win7. After that date, the only way to get the older OS is via a volume license with software downgrade rights, and it’s limited to the Enterprise edition.

What to do: Install KB 3184143 if offered.

MS16-111, MS16-114

September proves a good updating month

I’m pleasantly surprised that there appear to be no major side effects caused by this month’s updates. Let’s hope that next month is equally smooth for Win7 users, as we move to the new bundled-update model.

One upgrade process that’s still a bit fuzzy: whether Internet Explorer fixes will be included in the future roll-up model. On the Patch Management.org (more info) listserve I moderate, a Microsoft customer reported that, according to an MS technical-account manager, IE updates would be included in Win8.1 rollups but not in Win7 rollups.

I hope that’s the case; I prefer that IE updates are kept unbundled from those for Win7. That will let us install IE fixes as soon as possible and still have the time to test other updates.

What to do: Install the two updates I’d previously put on hold: KB 3175024 (MS16-111) and KB 3177186 (MS16-114).

3179930, 3179949

.NET Framework rollups for Vista/Win7

Microsoft just released two .NET rollups that don’t add new features but should make the platform more reliable. On Vista, Win7, and Server 2008 systems, you might see KB 3179930 for .NET 4.5.2 and KB 3179949 for 4.6 and 4.6.1.

These are bundled updates that ensure the affected versions of .NET have the latest fixes. Neither is critical — they’ll appear in Windows Updates as optional — but I’ve not seen any reports of problems with them. On the other hand, if you don’t have the above versions of .NET on your Win7 systems, you can forego these updates until you do. (Windows Programs and Feature tool will show you the versions of .NET installed.)

The two bundles include the following patches:

• https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3120239
• https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3139550
• https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3146715
• https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3154528
• https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3166741

What to do: KB 3179930 and KB 3179949 are safe to install — and optional.

Summary of other September nonsecurity updates

A reminder that Microsoft has already moved nonsecurity updates to the roll-up model. That’s more of a worry for server admins. Here’s the list.

Windows

• 3150513 – Windows compatibility (ver. 7, 8.1, 10; a telemetry update)
• 3181403 – Servicing stack for Win10 1511

Office 2010

• 3115249 – Project; freeze on XML save

Office 2013

• 3115428 – Visio; translations, VBA shapes failure
• 3114948 – Access; errors with use of Web Browser control
• 3115257 – Office; enables DialogAPI 1.1 and Mailbox 1.4
• 3115485 – Office; decimal-point errors on chart import
• 3115490 – SharePoint Server Client Components; no description given
• 3115492 – OneDrive for Business; improved synching, crashes
• 3115493 – Project; enables DialogAPI 1.1 and Mailbox 1.4, other fixes
• 3118276 – Word; various fixes

Office 2016

• 3115276 – Office; no description given
• 3115418 – Office; no description given
• 3115420 – Office; no description given
• 3115422 – Office; no description given
• 3115494 – Visio; translations, crashes, display issues
• 3115495 – Office; performance issues, Excel crashes
• 3115498 – PowerPoint; various fixes
• 3118259 – Office; no description given
• 3118260 – Office; OneDrive for Business crashes
• 3118261 – Office Language Interface Pack; translation fixes
• 3118265 – OneDrive for Business; enhanced synching, sync crashes
• 3118266 – Project; various fixes
• 3118291 – Word; various fixes

Other

• 3118281 – Skype for Business; no description given
• 3118288 – Skype for Business; no description given

For the full list of September’s nonsecurity Office updates, including SharePoint fixes, see the MS TechNet article posted by the MS Office Sustained Engineering Team.

What to do: Until I receive a better description of all September nonsecurity Office updates and I can report back on them in the next Patch Watch column, place the above patches on hold.

Regularly updated problem-patch chart

This table provides the status of recent Windows and Microsoft application security updates. Patches listed below as safe to install will typically be removed from the table about two months after they appear. Status changes are highlighted in bold.

For Microsoft’s list of recently released patches, go to the MS Security TechCenter page.

Patch	Released	Description	Status
3167679	08-09	Windows Authentication	Install
3172729	08-09	Secure Boot	Install
3175443	08-09	Internet Explorer cumulative update	Install
3175887	08-09	Windows PDF library	Install
3176492	08-09	Cumulative update for Win10 RTM/Edge	Install
3176493	08-09	Cumulative update for Win10 1511/Edge	Install
3176495	08-09	Cumulative update for Win10 1607/Edge	Install
3177451	08-09	Office; see MS16-099 for complete list	Install
3177725	08-09	Kernel-mode drivers	Install
3178034	08-09	Windows Graphic Component	Install
3182332	08-09	Universal Outlook; Win10 RTM and Win10 1511	Install
3175024	09-13	Windows Kernel	Install
3177186	09-13	Windows SMBv1 Server	Install
3178539	09-13	Windows Lock Screen	Install
3182373	09-13	Silverlight	Install
3183043	09-13	MS Edge	Install
3184122	09-13	VBScript engine	Install
3184471	09-13	Windows; also KB 3187754	Install
3184711	09-13	MS Exchange Server; also 3184728, 3184736	Install
3184943	09-13	Windows PDF Library	Install
3185319	09-13	Internet Explorer cumulative update	Install
3185611	09-13	Win10 RTM cumulative update	Install
3185614	09-13	Win10 1511 cumulative update	Install
3185852	09-13	MS Office; see MS16-107 for full KB list	Install
3185876	09-13	Windows Secure Kernel Mode	Install
3185911	09-13	MS Graphics Components	Install
3188128	09-13	Adobe Flash Player	Install
3189866	09-13	Win10 1607 cumulative update	Install

Status recommendations: Skip — patch not needed; Hold — do not install until its problems are resolved; Wait — hold off temporarily while the patch is tested; Optional — not critical, use if wanted; Install — OK to apply.

Feedback welcome: Have a question or comment about this story? Post your thoughts, praise, or constructive criticisms in the WS Columns forum.

 

Why you should always test your recovery plan

A hard system crash can really ruin your day — or days, or even weeks.

Often, getting the PC back up and running on a basic level is the easy part; then comes restoring your applications, data, and settings.

A new Lounge member gets lots of advice for restoring a notebook with a failed System Restore. But success might hinge on reinstalling the backup/recovery application.

The following links are this week’s most interesting Lounge threads, including several other new questions for which you might have answers:

Office Applications
Word Processing	FrameMaker template from Word?
Spreadsheets	Overview in Word with tables and Excel source
	Ongoing: Print PDFs from worksheet
	Excel mail-merge query-string problem
Databases	Parsing text files
	Getting run-time error ‘3061’ …
Visual Basic for Apps	Shell command for text file
Microsoft Outlook	Outlook Calendars issues with Win10 1607
	Rule to automatically move selected messages
Non-Outlook E-mail	Thunderbird vs. Win10 Mail
Windows
General Windows	Need help restoring dead laptop
Windows 10	No input after Win10 has been idle
	Lost network connections
	Ongoing: Win10 1607 fails, Error 0x800700c1
Windows 8	Change dual monitors’ “number”
Windows 7	Installing solid-state drive
Windows XP	Upgrade path from XP to Win7
Windows Servers	Access files without dedicated VPN server?
Internet/Connectivity
Third-Party Browsers	Flash not working in Firefox
	Chrome crashing
	Ongoing: Certain sites reject connections
Networking	Workgroup network problem
Software Development
Web Design & Development	Need advice on Web hosting
Other Technologies
Security & Scams	How to deal with Ransomware?
Maintenance	Which folder to download updates to?
Hardware	Home cellphone signal booster?
	Using a US computer in the UK
	HDD suddenly write protected
Other Applications	Music and podcast app for Windows

Starred posts are particularly useful

If you’re not already a Lounge member, use the quick registration form to sign up for free. The ability to post comments and take advantage of other Lounge features is available only to registered members.

If you’re already registered, you can jump right into today’s discussions in the Lounge.