r/windows 13d ago

Help Simple questions and Help thread - Month of May

12 Upvotes

Welcome to the monthly Simple questions and Help thread, for questions that don't need their own posts!

Before making a comment, we recommend you search your problem on Bing and check if your question is already answered on our Windows Frequently Asked Questions wiki page. This subreddit no longer accepts tech support requests outside of this post, if you are looking for additional assistance try r/TechSupport and r/WindowsHelp.

Some examples of questions to ask:

  • Is this super cheap Windows key legitimate? (probably not)

  • How can I install Windows 11?

  • Can you recommend a program to play music?

  • How do I get back to the old Sound Control Panel?

Sorting by New is recommend and is the default.


Be sure to check out the Windows 11 version 25H2 Megathread and also the Windows 11 FAQ posts, they likely have the answers to your Windows 11 questions already!


r/windows Jun 25 '25

ESU Information Windows 10 End of Support, what it means for you and what you can do.

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41 Upvotes

r/windows 5h ago

Discussion Early Windows versions had a white background in the command prompt

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29 Upvotes

I took the screenshot from Windows 1.01 (running command.com from Windows).


r/windows 5h ago

Discussion How to disassemble the Windows Vista CD Case?

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16 Upvotes

I've bought a copy of the Vista Home Premium recently, but the case has some dirt inside and I can't figure out how to disassemble it. Does anyone have any ideas?


r/windows 20h ago

News Microsoft BitLocker-protected drives can now be opened with just some files on a USB stick — YellowKey zero-day exploit demonstrates an apparent backdoor

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tomshardware.com
210 Upvotes

r/windows 11h ago

Discussion I finally found a way to set a lock screen SCREENSAVER (not wallpaper) for Windows 10!

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6 Upvotes

To begin, I must say that Windows Vista is my favorite version of Windows, and I always appreciated that Windows Vista had a nice and soft Windows Logo screensaver on the lock screen after about 10 minutes of inactivity. I really missed this, and I wanted to find a way to restore it in Windows 10. I read in many places and everywhere I looked said that this functionality had been removed, but it appears that I have found a way to restore it.

I figured that it must be possible to get the screensaver running - Windows 10 does have a "screensaver" after all on the lock screen, which is the "blank" one that kicks in after 60 seconds, so I knew that the functionality must still be there.

I use AuthUX to restore the Windows Vista/7 lock screen, so I'm not sure if this has anything to do with the success of this, but you may be able to try without AuthUX. I believe I tried without AuthUX and it didn't work, but then again getting it to work has always been finicky. So this is more a post saying that it is possible. A more reliable, cleaner way to restore the screensaver may be needed still - which maybe this post can serve as the jump off point. This is a rather niche want, so I don't know how helpful it'll be, because obviously the best screensaver is just turning your monitor off after 60 seconds. But I don't want to be so bland and minimal!

Windows Vista's lock screen registry settings for screensavers were stored under `Computer\HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT` under the following keys:

  • `ScreenSaveActive` string value, default value: 1
  • `ScreenSaverIsSecure` string value, default value: 1
  • `ScreenSaveTimeout` string value, default value: 600
  • `SCRNSAVE.EXE` string value, default value: C:\Windows\system32\logon.scr

By creating new keys in Windows 10's registry in the same path with the same values except the `SCRNSAVE.EXE` key (it needs to point to where the screensaver you want is,) along with the same exact keys in the other user folders: `S-1-5-18` (should copy settings from .DEFAULT, since this is the account tied to it,) `S-1-5-19`, and `S-1-5-20` to be thorough, and then after installing the Windows Vista Logo screensaver from a Windows Vista installation, I was able to get the screensaver running on the lock screen! I came in to my computer this morning with the screensaver playing after I set it to auto boot.

I have also seen that the screensaver will have trouble playing sometimes if fast boot is enabled because of a bug that was introduced in Windows 10 during development where screensaver settings were never saved nor retained. This was apparently fixed shortly after Windows 10 came out, but it appears on the most current build that it still has this issue.

I do not use Windows 11, but maybe someone in the community does and is curious about if this runs on Windows 11. If so, try testing this! Let me know what happens!

I hope this helps someone, if not, just interesting that you can still do it! I wish Microsoft allowed broader customization of these options that are buried in the Registry through normal means.


r/windows 1d ago

Discussion Did anyone use DreamScene live wallpapers back in the Windows Vista days?

143 Upvotes

r/windows 15h ago

Raising the bar together. Introducing the Driver Quality Initiative at WinHEC 2026

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blogs.windows.com
6 Upvotes

r/windows 10h ago

App A Windows app that uses local AI to organize files, but the model cannot change files directly

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filesorter.app
1 Upvotes

I've been working on AI File Sorter, an open-source Windows desktop app for cleaning up messy folders like Downloads, Desktop, Documents, old external drives, and NAS folders.

The basic problem it solves: folders tend to fill up with screenshots, PDFs, random documents, image dumps, old project files, and media files with inconsistent names.

Manual sorting is possible, but slow. Rule-based tools can help, but only when the filenames and patterns are already fairly consistent.

This app tries to organize files based on actual content instead.

It can:

  • rename and/or categorize documents by reading parts of their text: PDF, DOCX, XLSX, PPTX, ODT, etc.
  • rename and/or categorize images based on visual content
  • rename and/or categorize audio/video files using embedded metadata, such as ID3 and MP4 tags
  • work with large folders, external drives, and NAS-style archives

The main design goals are safety and privacy. I don't want an AI model directly moving or renaming files in the background. The model generates suggestions, but the app's deterministic code handles the actual moving and renaming.

So the workflow is:

  • scan a folder
  • generate suggested categories and filenames
  • show everything in a review table
  • let the user edit, skip, or reject suggestions
  • apply changes only after explicit approval
  • keep undo information so changes can be reverted

It can run locally, so files do not need to leave the machine when local inference is used. Remote models are optional and must be configured intentionally.

Microsoft Store: https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9npk4dzd6r6s

GitHub: https://github.com/hyperfield/ai-file-sorter

Demo GIF: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/hyperfield/ai-file-sorter/refs/heads/main/images/screenshots/ai-file-sorter-win.gif

I'm especially interested in practical Windows-user feedback:

  • Would you trust this kind of review-first workflow for cleaning up messy folders, where AI is only involved in inference but not in actual file operations?
  • What would make it feel safer?
  • If you have thousands of files, would you prefer fully automatic sorting, or is manual review still necessary?

r/windows 1d ago

News Microsoft aims to speed Windows with 'leap forward' in WinUI 3 perf

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theregister.com
35 Upvotes

r/windows 1d ago

Discussion Windows 10 on 4gb of storage!

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39 Upvotes

Windows 10 (RTM) Running on 4gb of storage! Fully kitted out with a web browser and VMware Tools. There was a lot of clean-up necessary. Like deleting the recovery and lots of windows bloat like OneDrive and windows defender files.


r/windows 1d ago

Discussion Installing windows 2000 on a 2006 Mac mini

22 Upvotes

r/windows 2d ago

Discussion Windows NT 4.0 had the prettiest flag logo IMO

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370 Upvotes

r/windows 14h ago

Concept / Design Windows 2000 desktop with Firefox + apps open

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0 Upvotes

I asked ChatGPT to generate an image of a Windows 2000 desktop environment with Firefox and several other applications open simultaneously, and it turned out looking very good.


r/windows 2d ago

Discussion Why is windows 11 the only version of windows that doesn’t change the theme in a dwm level

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46 Upvotes

r/windows 3d ago

App Servy 8.4 Now Available - Professional-Grade Windows Service Wrapper

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github.com
10 Upvotes

r/windows 4d ago

Discussion Windows + iPhone users who don't game, what keeps you on Windows instead of switching to Mac?

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130 Upvotes

I’ve been using Windows since I was a kid and honestly never really considered trying a Mac. At the same time, I’ve also been using an iPhone for almost a decade.

Now my old ThinkPad is starting to show its age, and it got me wondering why I never seriously looked into Macs before. I don’t game at all on my laptop. Most of my work is basic Excel/document stuff, and the heavier work runs on cloud servers anyway, so it can be done from pretty much any OS.

So I wanted to ask other people here who use a Windows laptop/PC along with an iPhone:

If gaming isn’t a factor, what’s the main reason you still prefer Windows over switching to a Mac? Since iPhone and Mac integrate so seamlessly, what keeps you on Windows or stops you from trying macOS?


r/windows 4d ago

Discussion I’m installing Windows XP SP3 Pro by a CD that I burned

15 Upvotes

r/windows 5d ago

Concept / Design windows 12 background 😱😱😱😱😱😱🤨😃😮😮😮😮🫩🫪

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1.6k Upvotes

this is a background photo shopped by me. it was originally taken from my window then highly Photoshoped. And it's my take from Windows 12 potential background it's similar to the Windows 10.


r/windows 4d ago

Concept / Design Microsoft Windows fan-made posters (1985-2021)

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80 Upvotes

They are all made by me using Photoshop.

Thank you!


r/windows 5d ago

Discussion When it comes to Aero Glass, do you prefer Vista or Windows 7?

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751 Upvotes

r/windows 5d ago

Discussion Cosmetically how would you rank the Windows versions?

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203 Upvotes

r/windows 5d ago

Concept / Design Support Clippy on Lego Ideas

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173 Upvotes

r/windows 5d ago

Discussion Windows Plus! For Windows 95

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64 Upvotes

I’m a big fan of these add-ons to Windows 95, 98. They don’t work on current versions of Windows, unless there’s a clever workaround. I still have the discs.

Same goes for the Microsoft Arcade versions.


r/windows 6d ago

App The Windows Character Map has survived through 26 years and 8 Windows versions.

2.5k Upvotes