Tag Archives: Windows 11

Windows 11: Hiding the annoying “ENG xx” language button on the taskbar

Step 1 – Settings

Open Windows system settings, either going to the start menu and typing “settings” which should be the first option on your search results, or pressing Windows key + I keyboard shortcut.

Step 2 – Settings > Time & Language

On the left, go to ‘Time & Language‘. If you don’t, maybe this instruction is out of date. You could try searching for the next steps as the location may have been changed.

Step 3 – Settings > Time & Language > Typing

Within Time & Language, go to Typing on the list.

Step 4 – Settings > Time & Language > Typing > Advanced keyboard settings

Within Typing, on the list go to Advanced keyboard settings

Step 5 – Settings > Time & Language > Typing > Advanced keyboard settings

Within Advanced keyboard settings, tick the box ‘Use the desktop language bar when it is available‘.

In addition, click on the Language bar options, and make sure the language bar is hidden.

Doing the above should have instantly removed the button the moment you toggled it. If not I would recommend a normal restart and trying these settings again.

Using netsh to show saved wireless passwords (Windows)

If you have forgotten the wireless password of a network you have previously connected to you can view this by going into the wireless networks properties, but a simple command line utility also do this for older connected networks.

View wireless network profiles

netsh wlan show profiles

Show passwords in clear text

netsh wlan show profiles name=[profile name] key=clear

For more

Using Netsh Commands for Wi-Fi Management in Windows 10 | ServerWatch
https://www.serverwatch.com/guides/using-netsh-commands-for-wi-fi-management-in-windows-8/

Bypass Windows 10/11 “Let’s Connect You to a Network” installation step

This is a just in case, if you find yourself with no internet and the latest installation packages seem to force you to connect to the internet. Here’s your options.

Using the SFC (System File Checker) and DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management) Tools to repair Windows

SFC ( System File Checker)

One way to ensure you Windows files are not missing or corrupted is using a Microsoft tool called SFC ( System File Checker).

Simply open Command Prompt (run as administrator) then type the following command:

sfc /scannow

DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management)

DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management) is used for creating Windows images for deployment. Next you can use DISM to essentially check and repair Windows using Windows Update. It can also fix update failures. Simply run the this command next:

dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth

Links & References

Windows Audit Mode, Out-Of-Box Experience (OOBE)

So you have a system that you would like to reformat and install a fresh version of Windows 10/11, but it’s for someone else and you would like them to create the first user. That’s where Windows Audit Mode comes in handy.

Basically you are able to pause the personalization of the installation and get right to the desktop to do whatever you want, such as updating, activating and installing specific programs, say for example an office suite.

How?

Using your usual method of freshly installing Windows, just as it asks you to setup the system (exactly on region selection step) press CTRL+SHIFT+F3 and it should boot directly to desktop. It should also add a dialog box to allow you to select to shutdown once you’re all done.

This method is also part of the way of creating a Windows image that can be used to install on multiple machines, but that warrants a different post.

References:

Boot Windows to Audit Mode or OOBE | Microsoft Docs
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/boot-windows-to-audit-mode-or-oobe?view=windows-11

Customize Windows in Audit Mode | Microsoft Docs
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/it-pro/windows-7/dd799305(v=ws.10)?redirectedfrom=MSDN

Disable Microsoft Defender Antivirus real-time protection permanently

First disable Tamper Protection in the Microsoft Defender settings itself. Then using Windows Powershell (admin) disable the real-time protection with the below cmdlet.

Set-MpPreference -DisableRealtimeMonitoring $true

Alternative method is using the Group Policy Editor.

Turning off real-time protection permanently even after restarting.

OPTION FIVE – Turn On or Off Real-time Protection for Microsoft Defender Antivirus | Tutorials
https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/3569-turn-off-real-time-protection-microsoft-defender-antivirus.html

This link should also provide you with other useful things to switch off/on. Like disabling telemetry.

Microsoft has slightly changed some things so they may be worded differently. Such as Windows Defender is now called Microsoft Defender so older guides may not reflect that. Tamper protection needs to be also disabled.

Links & References

How to download the latest Windows 11 (any version) directly from Microsoft

It’s always best to make sure you’re downloading a legit and untampered version of your operating system you want to use. Here’s a simple three step guide to download a copy of Windows 11 directly from the Microsoft website.

Step 1) Go to: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows11

Step 2) Scroll down till you Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO), select your language, it should then simply generate you a download link that lasts for 24 hours.

Now, you could just load that onto a USB and be on your way (using rufus to create a bootable USB drive), but maybe you want to actually verify what you’ve downloaded? Here’s how:

Download IgorWare Hasher, which basically verifies the files SHA-1, MD5 and CRC32 hashes. Using that you compare it to a known list of verified ISO’s. This time Microsoft provides these hashes right after selecting your preferred language.

Oh and for your information, “English International” is the British English version, supposedly.

See also

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-11-specifications

How to create a bootable USB drive with Rufus (2021)

I previously wrote a guide to download Windows 10 directly from Microsoft and also check the hashes to confirm they are original/legit copies of Windows. With Rufus you are able to do pretty much the same step, but quicker so I’ve always been thinking of writing it up. Having issues with legacy and UEFI systems not reading the bootable USB drive, I thought I can combine the two.

There are other guides out there so I think I do not need to go into deep detail, you can always go check them out if you get stuck (links down below), however I simply wanted to point out the key things that may cause issues.

Once you start Rufus rather than selecting an ISO file (windows you’ve already got downloaded) instead use the drop down menu and click “DOWNLOAD” then literally click the “DOWNLOAD” button again so it pops up the menu to download your preferred version. Do this with the latest version of Rufus or make sure to update Rufus using the cog settings at the very bottom of the program.

After that I prefer to download via the link and save the ISO for another time. I then repeat usual process of selecting an ISO and the important parts here are now loading up the Partition scheme as “MBR” pressing ALT+E to ensure the target system is BIOS or UEFI.

I have seen people select the file system as FAT32, but if you do that with the latest windows with file sizes larger than 4gb you will have issues, because I can confirm for example in Windows 11 and also Windows 10 21H1 you will have files larger than 4 GB’s within the installation so stick to NTFS.

Other guides

https://rufus.ie/en/
https://www.windowscentral.com/how-create-windows-10-usb-bootable-media-uefi-support

Update 2021/11/21: Typo corrected.