====== Window$ Stuff ======

Things I thought I would never have to look at again but is somehow, quite consistently, forced to tinker with from time to time m( 

**Disclaimer**: The stuffs I have here are only for my personal note (I got most of them from online resources - kudos to the original resource). If you want to try the same thing based on this, I cannot be held responsible if something goes wrong 8-).

===== Get 'Open Command Prompt Here' Option in Windows Explorer =====

  * Windows 7: Hold 'Shift' key while right-clicking on a folder in Windows explorer


===== Turn On or Off Guest Account in Command Prompt =====

In Administrator's command prompt only...
  * To Turn On the Guest Account <code>net user Guest /active:yes</code>
  * To Turn Off the Guest Account <code>net user Guest /active:no</code>

===== Create Linux Boot Entry on Windows using BCDEdit =====

  * install Linux boot loader to partition boot block
    * save image (e.g. if partition is /dev/sda3):<code>dd if=/dev/sda3 of=linux.bin bs=512 count=1</code>
    * copy this file to Windows partition (root of C: drive is best option)
  * boot into Windows (I tried this on 7)
    * we will be modifying the boot configuration data
      * to backup:<code>bcdedit /export backup.bcd</code>
      * to restore (later?):<code>bcdedit /import backup.bcd</code>
    * create an entry<code>bcdedit /create /d "Linux" /application bootsector</code>
      * note the returned identifier (ID) 
    * point to partition where the image file is copied (e.g. if drive C)<code>bcdedit /set [ID] device partition=c:</code>
    * point to file with full path (e.g. if \linux.bin)<code>bcdedit /set [ID] path \linux.bin</code>
    * position entry at the end?<code>bcdedit /displayorder [ID] /addlast</code>
    * set 30s timeout, in case not set previously<code>bcdedit /timeout 30</code>
  * to delete this entry (later?)<code>bcdedit /delete [ID]</code>

===== More BCDEdit stuffs =====

On Windows 8.1 (and above?), the Windows Recovery Environment is disabled by default on UEFI systems (helps to boot faster). To get access, enable using BCDEdit: <code>bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy legacy</code>
To revert to original settings: <code>bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy standard</code>
Do note that we need to run command prompt as Administrator when doing this.

===== Remove Services =====

  * Check list of services, type <code>Win+R and run 'services.msc'</code>
  * Open a command prompt as administrator
  * To remove, type (insert double quotes if the name has any whitespace character) <code>sc delete ServiceName</code>
  * Refresh the list (F5) and it should be gone

===== System Event Error =====

I got this error: <code>Windows could not connect to the System Event Notification Service service...</code>

  * open a command prompt as administrator
  * type <code>netsh winsock reset</code>
    * //note: can also run this to try and fix failing to get ip address//
  * restart

===== Using diskpart =====

Disk partitioning utility on Windows is //diskpart// (other than using GUI-based disk manager). It create MBR partition table.

e.g. To create single FAT32 partition in SD card, open command prompt as administrator and run //diskpart//.
  - list all disk <code>> list disk</code>
    * identify sd card id //<n>//
  - select sd card <code>> select disk <n></code>
  - list all available partitions <code>> list part</code>
  - select partition id //{n}// <code>> select part {n}</code>
  - remove selected partition <code>> delete part</code>
  - repeat last two steps for each partition found
  - create single partition <code>> create part primary offset=1024</code>
    * **note** offset value is in kilobytes
  - exit and format as FAT32