Windows 10 - Helpful Hints

After upgrading most of our machines to Windows 10, I've had to track down solutions to some bits n' bobbles below. You might find them as useful as I did.

Taskbar won't stay in Autohide mode

Try this: ctl-al-del > select Task Manager > scroll list of processes towards bottom of list to Windows Explorer > Right-click > select Restart. Autohide should work again and taskbar should hide.

Folder won't delete

Occasionally in Windows Explorer (not Internet Explorer), you might come across a folder that can't be removed or deleted in the normal fashion and it also says the file and/or folder doesn't exist when you can clearly see it (even if it has a "0" file size).

Try this:

Open CMD (right-click on Windows start button > select Command Prompt (admin)) and then type: rd /s "\\?\c:\bad\folder\path " replacing with your folder path
(instead of typing, open explorer window > select folder > click in folder path in window above and copy file path > paste path into CMD window).

Example: rd /s "\\?\c:\bad\folder\path " (make sure you include the quotes and note the space before the last quote - sometimes you need the space, sometimes not - try both ways).

It should return a "delete y/n?" > type in Y to delete > do happy dance. Hat tip - cleanest method!

Safely remove leftover temp/unneeded files

To safely remove unneeded files from OS upgrades and normal PC usage, try Disk Cleanup.

Open the run window (windows key + r or right-click-window start > select run) > type "cleanmgr" > ok.

You'll see a window with a few options to check - read the description for each one and decide if you need those files. Also select button > Clean up system files > similar selection process. You can save disk space this way, especially after an OS upgrade.*

*Please note that you should never remove any files you might need, so read carefully and double-check your work before removal. Downgrading your OS can be one feature lost to the above.

These are a just a few of the many solutions that have helped me in transitioning to Windows 10. Hopefully they'll help you. Ymmv, depending on OS and your specific setup and situation.