W I N D O W S 1 0 I T P R O E S S E N T I A L S Top 10 Tools Ed Bott PUBLISHED BY Microsoft Press A division of Microsoft Corporation One Microsoft Way Redmond, Washington 98052-6399 Copyright © 2016 by Microsoft Corporation All rights reserved. No part of the contents of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of the publisher. ISBN: 978-1-5093-0278-9 First Printing Microsoft Press books are available through booksellers and distributors worldwide. If you need support related to this book, email Microsoft Press Support at [email protected]. Please tell us what you think of this book at http://aka.ms/tellpress. This book is provided “as-is” and expresses the author’s views and opinions. The views, opinions and information expressed in this book, including URL and other Internet website references, may change without notice. Some examples depicted herein are provided for illustration only and are fictitious. No real association or connection is intended or should be inferred. Microsoft and the trademarks listed at http://www.microsoft.com on the “Trademarks” webpage are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. All other marks are property of their respective owners. Acquisitions Editor: Rosemary Caperton Developmental Editor Rosemary Caperton Editorial Production: Dianne Russell, Octal Publishing, Inc. Copyeditor: Bob Russell, Octal Publishing, Inc. Cover: Twist Creative • Seattle Visit us today at microsoftpressstore.com • Hundreds of titles available – Books, eBooks, and online resources from industry experts • Free U.S. shipping • eBooks in multiple formats – Read on your computer, tablet, mobile device, or e-reader • Print & eBook Best Value Packs • eBook Deal of the Week – Save up to 60% on featured titles • Newsletter and special offers – Be the first to hear about new releases, specials, and more • Register your book – Get additional benefits Contents Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. v Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................................................................... v Free ebooks from Microsoft Press ................................................................................................................................... vi Errata, updates, & book support ...................................................................................................................................... vi We want to hear from you .................................................................................................................................................. vi Stay in touch ............................................................................................................................................................................. vi Chapter 1: Power tools for IT pros ......................................................................................................... 1 Finding the right tool for the job ...................................................................................................................................... 1 Everyday tasks and information ......................................................................................................................................... 4 Tweaking Windows 10 ........................................................................................................................................................... 5 Performance and troubleshooting tools ........................................................................................................................ 7 The versatile Microsoft Management Console ......................................................................................................... 10 Management and deployment tools ............................................................................................................................ 12 Powered by the cloud ......................................................................................................................................................... 14 Chapter 2: File Explorer ......................................................................................................................... 15 File Explorer essentials ........................................................................................................................................................ 15 Using Quick Access to organize files ............................................................................................................................ 19 Using libraries and known folders ................................................................................................................................. 20 Adding folders to a library ........................................................................................................................................... 20 Moving your data folders to a new location ......................................................................................................... 22 Search ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 24 Building a search by using the ribbon ..................................................................................................................... 25 Using filters to find groups of files ............................................................................................................................ 26 Creating complex searches .......................................................................................................................................... 29 Saving a search ................................................................................................................................................................. 29 Syncing with OneDrive ....................................................................................................................................................... 31 File History and other backup options ......................................................................................................................... 37 ii Contents Chapter 3: Registry Editor ..................................................................................................................... 40 How the registry works ....................................................................................................................................................... 40 Editing the registry like a pro ........................................................................................................................................... 42 Backup and restoring registry values ....................................................................................................................... 43 Finding keys, values, and data .................................................................................................................................... 45 Using the command line ............................................................................................................................................... 47 Editing the registry by using Local Group Policy Editor ........................................................................................ 47 Editing the registry on a remote PC .............................................................................................................................. 49 Chapter 4: Event Viewer ........................................................................................................................ 51 An overview of Event Viewer ............................................................................................................................................ 51 Changing the view ................................................................................................................................................................ 56 Filtering event logs ............................................................................................................................................................... 58 Creating custom views ........................................................................................................................................................ 60 Saving an event log ............................................................................................................................................................. 61 Chapter 5: Task Manager ...................................................................................................................... 63 Mastering Task Manager ................................................................................................................................................... 63 Digging into the Details tab ............................................................................................................................................. 66 Investigating services .......................................................................................................................................................... 69 Managing startup apps and monitoring resource usage ..................................................................................... 69 Monitoring performance in real time ........................................................................................................................... 71 Digging deeper by using Resource Monitor ............................................................................................................. 77 Chapter 6: Disk Management .................................................................................................................. 81 How Windows 10 manages storage ............................................................................................................................. 81 Disk Management ............................................................................................................................................................ 82 Diskpart ................................................................................................................................................................................ 85 Other useful storage-related tools ............................................................................................................................ 86 Common Disk Management tasks ................................................................................................................................. 87 Change a drive letter ...................................................................................................................................................... 87 Map a new disk to a folder .......................................................................................................................................... 88 Shrink a volume ................................................................................................................................................................ 89 Create a virtual hard disk and attach it as a drive ............................................................................................... 90 BitLocker Drive Encryption ................................................................................................................................................ 91 Chapter 7: Sysinternals Suite ................................................................................................................ 93 An overview of the Sysinternals utilities ...................................................................................................................... 93 Autoruns ................................................................................................................................................................................... 95 Process Explorer .................................................................................................................................................................... 98 Process Monitor .................................................................................................................................................................. 102 More Sysinternals tools .................................................................................................................................................... 104 iii Contents PSTools ............................................................................................................................................................................... 104 BgInfo ................................................................................................................................................................................. 105 Active Directory Explorer............................................................................................................................................. 106 TCPView ............................................................................................................................................................................. 107 Disk2vhd ............................................................................................................................................................................ 108 And more........................................................................................................................................................................... 108 Chapter 8: Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset .................................................................................. 109 What DaRT does ................................................................................................................................................................. 109 Finding and recovering files ...................................................................................................................................... 111 Working with disks ........................................................................................................................................................ 113 Advanced recovery tools ............................................................................................................................................. 114 Getting started with DaRT ............................................................................................................................................... 115 Creating a recovery image .............................................................................................................................................. 117 Using Crash Analyzer......................................................................................................................................................... 121 Chapter 9: Windows PowerShell and the Command Prompt ......................................................... 125 The good ol’ Command Prompt ................................................................................................................................... 126 Introducing Windows PowerShell ................................................................................................................................ 128 Chapter 10: Hyper-V ............................................................................................................................ 131 Getting started with Hyper-V ......................................................................................................................................... 131 Creating a virtual machine .............................................................................................................................................. 135 Working with virtual machines ...................................................................................................................................... 139 Managing virtual machines ............................................................................................................................................ 142 Chapter 11: Microsoft Azure ............................................................................................................... 145 Getting started with Microsoft Azure ......................................................................................................................... 145 Running a virtual machine in the cloud ..................................................................................................................... 147 Azure Active Directory ...................................................................................................................................................... 150 About the author ................................................................................................................................. 154 iv Contents [Type text] Introduction This book is about unsung heroes. Over a quarter-century of talking to people about Microsoft Windows, I’ve learned that the greatest gains in productivity come from mastering the fundamentals. In many cases, that means learning about the capabilities of tools that you might have taken for granted. After all those years, I’m still discovering new things about these unsung heroes, including tools and apps I use every day. Some of these tools have been part of Windows for decades, and yet most of us IT pros and expert Windows users tap only a fraction of their power. As I’ve learned from watching Windows evolve over the past few years (and from digging into countless Windows 10 Insider Preview builds and sharing discoveries with colleagues and readers), many of those old, familiar programs are still evolving. With each new major release, I’ve found tiny but meaningful improvements in unexpected places. Sharing that hard-won knowledge with you is one of two fundamental goals I set out to achieve in this book. My other goal is convincing you to take a closer look at how you use Windows. That means digging a little deeper into programs you probably use every day—File Explorer and Task Manager, for example. If I can help you replace old habits with faster and smarter ways to get things done, I’ve done my job. I’m especially grateful to the developers and designers at Microsoft who are building Windows 10, for giving me a mountain of interesting material to work with. And I’d like to thank Microsoft Press, which gave me complete editorial independence for this project. Every word in this book comes from my personal experience. I am confident you’ll find a few surprises here. I encourage you to share your feedback about this book directly with me. Email your comments to me at [email protected]. Ed Bott April 19, 2016 Acknowledgments I’d like to thank the good folks at Microsoft Press—Anne Hamilton, Rob Linsky, and Rosemary Caperton—for their efforts at making this project happen. And a special thanks to Bob and Dianne Russell at Octal Publishing, Inc., who helped turn around this project and create the great-looking ebook you’re reading right now. v Introduction Free ebooks from Microsoft Press From technical overviews to in-depth information on special topics, the free ebooks from Microsoft Press cover a wide range of topics. These ebooks are available in PDF, EPUB, and Mobi for Kindle formats, ready for you to download at: http://aka.ms/mspressfree Check back often to see what is new! Errata, updates, & book support We’ve made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this book and its companion content. You can access updates to this book—in the form of a list of submitted errata and their related corrections—at: http://aka.ms/Win10Tools/errata If you discover an error that is not already listed, please submit it to us at the same page. If you need additional support, email Microsoft Press Book Support at [email protected]. Please note that product support for Microsoft software and hardware is not offered through the previous addresses. For help with Microsoft software or hardware, go to http://support.microsoft.com. We want to hear from you At Microsoft Press, your satisfaction is our top priority, and your feedback our most valuable asset. Please tell us what you think of this book at: http://aka.ms/tellpress The survey is short, and we read every one of your comments and ideas. Thanks in advance for your input! Stay in touch Let’s keep the conversation going! We’re on Twitter: http://twitter.com/MicrosoftPress. vi Introduction 1 CHAPTER Power tools for IT pros I have a confession to make. The title of this book isn’t, strictly speaking, accurate. It actually contains descriptions and hands-on advice for more than 10 apps, accessories, and utilities—many more, in fact. I began with a list of several hundred software tools and accessories, all built by Microsoft and compatible with Microsoft Windows 10. Eventually, I narrowed the list to my top 10, giving each of the finalists its own turn in the spotlight in the remaining chapters of this book. But that winnowing process wasn’t easy. The sheer volume of Windows programs and accessories, including utilities such as Sysinternals Suite, says a lot about the power and complexity of Windows—a fact that every IT pro knows from firsthand experience. There’s a tool for nearly every task, and a large part of the process of becoming a Windows expert is knowing how to find the appropriate one when you need it. This chapter provides an overview of many of the apps and accessories that are included in the box with Windows 10, along with a brief explanation of how and why I picked the top 10. It’s also an opportunity to highlight a few of my favorites that I couldn’t include elsewhere. And, of course, it’s an opportunity for me to share some hard-won knowledge with my fellow IT pros, helping you to figure out the best way to make Windows 10 work for you. There’s rarely a right or wrong way to accomplish a particular goal, but there’s often a faster, smarter way, which is what I look for. Some of these tools are for everybody—end users and experts alike—whereas some are strictly for professionals. A few are so specialized that you’ll only need them once in a blue moon. Collectively, though, they make up a toolbox that can save you (and your company) time and money. Finding the right tool for the job Sometimes, accomplishing a task requires nothing more than adjusting a Windows setting by selecting a check box or moving a slider to the right position. Other times, you might need a stand- alone program. 1 CHAPTER 1 | Power tools for IT pros Occasionally, those two options are related. The Settings app and classic Control Panel are filled with buttons and links that do nothing more than launch executable files, typically from the Windows\System32 folder on the system drive. You could, for example, run the Color Management Control Panel tool (Colorcpl.exe) directly from that location, but experienced Windows users are more accustomed to opening Control Panel and navigating through Hardware And Sound to Display. In Windows 10, it’s even easier to just search for the setting or program you need. You can find nearly anything you want by using the search box on the Windows 10 taskbar, located to the right of the Start button. Because settings and built-in tools are indexed by keyword, you don’t need to know the exact name to find what you're looking for. Figure 1-1, for example, shows the results when I searched for the term “task,” all neatly categorized. Figure 1-1: Most of the time, just searching for a related term is enough to find what you’re looking for. With the help of a few subtle controls on those raw search results, you can filter your search to refine the list, eliminate the noise, and show more of the type of results you’re looking for. The controls on the search results list are so subtle that you might not even notice them. Click the arrow to the right of a heading (Apps or Settings, in Figure 1-1, for example) to show only results from that category. Or, click one of the icons at the top of the results list to show a group of categories that you can use to refine your search, as I’ve done in Figure 1-2. 2 CHAPTER 1 | Power tools for IT pros