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The longer a Windows machine is up and running being years into its lifetime the more frequent inconsistencies can occur. For such a reason modern deployments try to work with an image-based approach - pets vs cattle. If one has to stick on a legacy machine with the pet that is continuously updated the following might help resolve Windows Update issues: If Windows update repeatedly fails to update (e.g. hangs after Downloading 100% or gets stuck in the installation procedure) one can try to install that update "by hand": https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=<KB#> , e.g. https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=kb4589210 If that does not resolve the issue, one quick first step is to use the System File Checker tool: sfc /scannnow It might be necessary to wait a couple of minutes after system bootup, because in the beginning Windows might report a conflict with another process. That usually resolves itself af...

"While most consumers are likely using Chrome, Firefox, or Edge, a number of businesses still rely on Internet Explorer for older web apps that haven’t been modernized." "“Internet Explorer is a compatibility solution,” [..], rather than a browser that businesses should be using day to day for all web browsing activity. “We’re not supporting new web standards for it" Sources: Microsoft really doesn’t want you to use Internet Explorer anymore, The Verge The perils of using Internet Explorer as your default browser, Chris Jackson, Microsoft

Once in a while one has to troubleshoot regarding the platform an EXE was compiled for: 32-bit or 64-bit (x86 or x64 respectively). Sure, there are dedicated tools for this, but also common Windows applications like Task Manager and Notepad can help, as well as the also rather common 7-Zip. Sources: 10 Ways to Determine if Application is Compiled for 32-bit or 64-bit

If your Recycle Bin is missing from the Desktop there are two simple ways to get it back: It might have disappeared for whatever reason from the visible desktop space, but is still in the desktop folder. Open File Explorer Go to "Desktop" Look for "Recycle Bin" (or the respective term in your language There is also a setting to hide/show the recycle bin: Go to Settings Search for "Show or hide common icons on the desktop" Select Recycle Bin If you already did this and still it is missing, you will have to create a shortcut manually. Recycle Bin is a folder on the C:-drive. Manually create a Shortcut to C:\$Recycle.Bin to your desktop Note: Hide protected operating system files must be disabled. To do this In the search box next to Start, type folder options > top left, click File explorer options > click View tab at the top > check "Show hidden files, folders and drives " > UN-check " Hide protected operat...

When working with multiple machines I found it rather stupid that the Windows explorer always shows "My computer". I have 10 mstscs open and then wonder why I copied that file. But this can also be renamed: just name it like the Hostname and you will never work or copy on/to/from the wrong machine. Keywords: Windows, Disk Management

Why do disk letters start with C:? When my nephew asked me this he was 20 years old and I knew I was getting old. In the late days of floppy disks the first 2 drives were always the (removable) disk drives A & B. Only later computers started to get hard disk drives that were built into the machines and as such they got the next letter: C. A long time ago on Windows it could even generate issues if you would assign custom drives to the letters A: and B: because Windows still expected floppy drives there. Often you would end up partitioning a hard disk having the Windows operating system partition on C:, the optical drive on D: and then multiple partitions more on letters later in the alphabet. These days are gone. At least I got accustomed to put the optical drive on A: and an external hard disk on B:. The hard disk partitions start at C: and go throughout the letters in a more logical fashion. (and today you usually anyways just have one optical drive, not a dedicated CD-...

NetBIOS and WINS can be seen as an old system for what is now DNS. Actually DNS existed back in the 90s, but Microsoft had the idea to build their own competitor system. NetBIOS is the naming scheme. WINS does NetBIOS name to IP address resolution. The LMHOSTS file is then for WINS like the plain hosts file . So, just like DNS does hostname to IP resolution nowadays. In any modern network there should be no WINS server any more. It might only be on extremely old legacy systems (running since mid of the 90s) that a WINS server is still there. Sources: Networking Fundamentals: Part 6 at minute 51. Keywords: Windows, Networking