Little basic hacks

Earlier we talked about Wake-on-LAN.  Let us now see how to use your Android device to remotely power on your PC. Following day, you can get to your desk with Windows already booted. Before You Start For this setup to work, your computer must support Wake-on-LAN  (WoL). WoL is a feature of the motherboard.  We've already talked about WoL- how to set it up and use it so we'll directly jump to what we really want to do here. Note: If you cannot find an option for Wake on LAN, the following setup likely won’t work. However, you can still  set Windows up to launch selected programs at boot . The Quick & Easy Setup If your computer system supports WoL, your first step is to install  Wake On Lan , a free Android app. Download:  Wake On Lan (Free) Next, you need to connect your Android device to your Windows computer using the app. When you first open the app, it will look pretty bleak. Tap the  +  icon in...

How convenient would it be if you could power up or turn on your computer remotely from miles away and that too in a low power mode. Well that's what Wake-on-LAN is all about. Let's check out what exactly is this Wake-on-LAN and how can you enable it. So What is Wake-on-LAN? Wake-on-LAN (sometimes abbreviated WoL) is an industry standard protocol for waking computers up from a very low power mode remotely. The definition of low power mode  has changed a bit over time, but we assume that it means that the computer is OFF  and still has access to a power source. The protocol also allows for a supplementary Wake-on-Wireless-LAN ability as well. This is useful if you plan to access your computer remotely for any reason: it allows you to retain access to your files and programs, while keeping the PC in a low-power state to save electricity. Anyone who uses a program like TeamViewer, or keeps a file server or game server program available, should probably have the op...

Windows offers a few built-in tools for performing remote assistance over the Internet. These tools allow you to take remote control of another person’s computer so you can help them troubleshoot it while you’re on the phone with them. They work similarly to  Remote Desktop , but are available on all editions of Windows and are easy to set up. If you’re both using Windows 10, you can use the built-in Quick Assist  app to do this. If one of you is using Windows 7 or 8, you can use the older Windows Remote Assistance . Windows Remote Assistance is still included in Windows 10, just in case you need it. Note:  Both features require the other person help initiate the connection. You can’t just remotely connect whenever you want—your family member or friend must be sitting at the PC to grant you access when you connect.  Use Quick Assist if you both are Windows 10 Users Windows 10’s new Quick Assist feature is suppo...

In less than twenty years, Wi-Fi has grown from being an amazing and quite expensive luxury to a common inclusion in every device you own. After all this, there’s still plenty of room for improvement…which is why you should consider disabling the old 2.4GHz band on your home’s Wi-Fi network and using the newer, faster, less crowded 5GHz band exclusively. The Standard is now 5 GHz Most modern routers are dual band , which means that they contain the ability to broadcast on both of these bands. It's quite possible that if you purchased your Wi-Fi router or compatible device in the last five years, it will support 5GHz networks—and in fact, if it’s an  802.11ac router , the 5GHz band is a must for that super-fast connection. Only super-cheap gadgets released in the last few years, like some of the e-ink Amazon Kindles or budget Android tablets, lack support for N or AC 5GHz connections. Not only are 5GHz and 802.11ac devices easy to come by, they’re getti...

Usually, you boot your computer from its main hard drive, which contains your operating system (like Windows). But occasionally, let's say while running a recovery program or testing an operting system you are new to(like LINUX), you may need to boot from a CD, DVD, or USB drive. In order to do this, you need to ask your computer’s BIOS  to load the operating system from some other place. You can do this in two ways:  By changing the boot order in the BIOS or UEFI firmware (so it attempts to boot from CD or USB every time) By accessing a boot menu on startup (so it’ll only boot from CD or USB that one time).  Here you will see both methods. The first is permanent until you change it again, but should exist on every computer. The latter method is faster, but may not exist on every machine. NOTE : This pr ocess will look different on each computer. The instructions here will guide you through the process, but the actual scenario might...