Windows 10 includes really useful tools and utilities that can help us when administering the operating system. We’ll mention some of them here
Windows Accessories
In Windows 10 we still have well-known Windows Accessories folder. It is available in Start Menu > All Apps > Windows Accessories.
Here we see classics like Notepad, Paint, Math Input Panel, XPS viewer, etc. Note that Internet Explorer is now also located here. We also have a Remote Desktop Connection which is useful when we want to connect to other machines. Snipping Tool is a great way to get screenshots.
We can create a freeform, rectangular, window or full screen snip. All we have to do then is click on the New button and highlight what to capture.
Also, we have a Steps Recorder App is great if someone is having a problem with a PC. We can this to record everything we do on a PC.
When we click on the Start Record, we can go on and do anything on the PC. The app will make a report on what we have been doing, so we can save and send that report to someone who can help us with the problem.
Windows Administrative Tools
In the All Apps menu we also have Windows administrative tools.
Here we have Computer Manager Console which includes features like hard disk management, users and groups management, event viewer and others. In administrative tools we also have We also have the Defragmenter and hard disk Optimizer, Disk Cleanup (can also be used if you’ve upgraded a copy of Windows 10 to remove the old Windows version). We also have Event Viewer, Local Security Policy editor, Performance Monitor, Resource monitor, Services, System Configuration, Memory diagnostics, and more.
System information gives us a great deal of information about the PC, hardware and software.
Information here can all be exported, saved and sent to a support person if needed.
Performance monitor gives us live information on what is happening on the PC.
By clicking on the green plus sign, we can add different counters and metrics to measure.
Reliability Monitor
Another useful feature is Reliability Monitor. To open it we have to search for it.
It is hidden under “View reliability history”. This will display a reliability report for the PC that can give us information on technical details on the specific actions including crashes, hardware and software failures and more.
If there were any errors they would turn up as a yellow warning triangle or a red cross.
System Tools
In the Start > All Apps menu we will also find Windows System tools.
These include the Command Prompt, Control Panel, Windows Defender, Default Programs, and more. Note that we have two Default Programs options. One will take us to the Control Panel, and another will take us to the Settings app.
The first option in Default Programs allows us to set a default program for various file types and protocols.
We see all of the apps on the PC. If we click on one we we told how many off its defaults it has saved Internet Explorer here has 11 of his 15 defaults we can see how many defaults it has. We have options to manually choose individual defaults for the selected program by clicking the “Choose defaults for this program”, or we can choose the “Set this program as default” to set all of the defaults for that program with a single click.
The next option in Default Programs is to associate a file type or a protocol with a program.
This allows us to find file extension in the list and then select the appropriate program for it.
Getting Help
Get Started app contains tutorials on how to use many different aspects off Windows 10. We can get a lot of useful information from this app. It is available in the Start Menu > All Apps > Get Started on any Windows 10 installation.
Another useful app is called Contact Support and is available in the Start Menu > All Programs. It provides a easy way of getting help and support for a Windows 10 PC. We have to be connected to the Internet in order for it to work.
