Windows 10

Synching Your County PC with Intune for Updated Policies

Posted on by Jeff Feiertag

Scenario: FRS IT has told you that your PC needs to be re-synched with the county for updated Intune policies.

  • Click the Windows start key/flag on your keyboard.
  • Type Settings and press the Enter key.
  • Choose Accounts.
  • Click Access Work or School on the left-side navigation.
  • Find and click Connected to MCGOV AD Domain near the top of the screen.
    Connected to MCGOV Settings Button
  • Click the Info button that appears.
  • Scroll to the Device Sync Status section of the screen and click the Sync button.
    Settings Sync Button

Using Software Center to Add Software to Your PC

Posted on by Jeff Feiertag

Did TEBS recently remove some software from your county PC, such as a browser? Software such as Chrome and Firefox must be loaded from a specific county location, instead of just a standard web download, so that it meets county specifications.

  • Ensure you are on the county network. If you are someone who teleworks, make sure you have logged into the network via VPN. If you are using a laptop in a county worksite, ensure that you are connected behind the firewall (as opposed to MCGuest).
  • Locate MCG Software Center on your desktop. If it is not a shortcut on your desktop, click the Windows start key on your keyboard and then type software. You will see search results for the Software Center app. Run it.
    Software Center App
  • Note the list of apps in Software Center. Here is an example:
    SW Center Menu
  • Find and click the app you would like to install.
  • Click the Install button. you will know that the installation has finished when the black button is labeled Reinstall.

Updating Software Center to Show Most Recent App Availability

Posted on by Jeff Feiertag

Are you trying to find something in the Windows Software Center, which you know should be there but is not? Here are directions to update Software Center to show the most current list of available apps.

  • Close Software Center, if you have it open.
  • Click the Windows start button (at the bottom-left of your taskbar) and type Control, but do not press the Enter key.
  • Find Control Panel in the resulting list and click it, in order to open it.
    Control Panel choice in Windows
  • Wait for the Control Panel window to open, and then find the search box at the top-right corner of the window. Click in the search box.
    Control Panel
  • Type Config and you’ll see Configuration Manager appear as an option. Click the Configuration manager link
    Configuration Manager Option
  • Wait for the Configuration Manager Dialog box to appear and then switch to the Actions tab.
    Configuration Manager Dialog Box
  • Find and click Application Deployment Evaluation Cycle in the list and then click the Run Now button, located at the bottom-right of the dialog box. Wait for that process to finish.
  • Find and click Machine Policy Retrieval & Evaluation Cycle in the list and then click the Run Now button.
  • Click the OK button and then close the Control Panel.
  • Re-launch Software Center as desired.

Troubleshooting MCtime’s “Failed to Validate Certificate” Error Message

Posted on by Jeff Feiertag

Are you an officer on a county computer and seeing a failed to validate certificate error message like the one below?

MCtime Failed Certificate Error Message

Try this fix:

  • Close your web browser (Internet Explorer or Edge).
  • Find the Windows flag at the bottom-left corner of the screen.
  • Type Java and press the Enter key on your keyboard.
  • Click Configure Java from the search results and the Java Control Panel options box will appear.
  • Change to the Advanced tab at the top of the window.
    Java Advanced Options Dialog Box
  • Scroll down until you see Perform signed code certificate revocation checks on in the list. It is halfway down the list, perhaps more.
  • Click to select Do not check (not recommended) and click the OK button at the bottom of the screen.
  • Open a folder on your Windows desktop (File Explorer or other folder) and click the View tab.Windows View Ribbon
  • Ensure that the Hidden Items checkbox is checked. If it is not, check it.
  • Navigate to the following location:
    C:\Users\[your username]\AppData\LocalLow\Sun\Java\Deployment
  • Find the file called deployment.properties.
  • Right-click it and choose Open (or Open With, if that is the option) from the list. You will likely be prompted as to which program should open the file. Choose Notepad and click the OK button. (If you do not see Notepad listed, click the MoreApps link to find Notepad.)
  • Find the line that reads deployment.security.mixcode=HIDE_RUN and place your cursor after the word RUN.
  • Press the Enter key to create a blank line.
  • type the following into the blank line:
    deployment.security.revocation.check=NO_CHECK
  • Do not make any other changes to the file!
  • Access the File menu and choose Save.
  • Close the deployment.properties file.
  • Start your browser and try to access MCtime.

If you are still stuck at that point, please fill out a Technology Service Request and FRS Technology will help you as quickly as we can.

 

 

 

Customizing the Start Menu

Posted on by Jeff Feiertag

Windows 10 allows you to customize and make the Start menu your own.

Customizing tiles is easy:

  • Click and drag tiles to rearrange them on your Start menu
  • Right-click tile to unpin the tile from the Start menu altogether
  • Drag a tile all the way to the bottom of the menu, it’ll create a new category, which you can rename

You can change the size of the tile:

  • Right-click a tile to pick from four sizes—small, medium, wide, and large—each of which will show different amounts of information.

resize3

If you decide you don’t want a tile to show live info, but want to keep the shortcut, you can right-click it and choose “turn live tile off”.

To add a new tile:

  • Find the tile in the All Apps section
  • Choose Pin to Start

Personalizing Your Desktop

Posted on by Jeff Feiertag

Windows 10 allows for the user to personalize and customize their desktop.

To access the Personalization settings:

  • right-click anywhere on the desktop
  • select Personalize from the drop-down menu.
opening the Personalization settings
or
  • Click on Start menu
  • Choose Settings
  • Choose Personalization

personalize

In the Personalization menu, the user can change backgrounds, colors, themes, etc.

 

 

 

Utilizing Virtual Desktops

Posted on by Jeff Feiertag

With Windows 10, the user can create an unlimited amount of Virtual Desktops.  Virtual Desktops allows the user to:

  • Group or organize multiple programs or group related windows
  • Locate and switch to any window or group of windows
  • Re-organize groups and move windows as tasks evolve
  • Control of the degree of separation between your grouped windows

The virtual desktops feature in Windows 10 is called Task View and is located on the Taskbar.  To add a virtual desktop:

  • Open up the new Task View pane by clicking the Task View button (two overlapping rectangles) on the taskbar,  TASKBAR
  • Click New desktop to add a virtual desktop.

or

  • Pressing the Windows Key + Tab

Windows_10

or

  • Press the Windows Key + Ctrl + D

 

Clicking the Task View button brings up the Task View interface, where you can see your open windows on virtual desktops you’ve added.

 

You can move programs among the different desktops you’ve set up.

To do so:

  • Switch to the desktop containing the program you want to move.
  • Click the Task View button on the Taskbar.
  • Right-click on the large thumbnail for the program you want to move
  • Select “Move to,” and then select the desktop number to which you want to move the program.

07_moving_a_program_to_another_desktop

The program now displays on the other desktop.

 

 

Windows 10 Keyboard Shortcuts

Posted on by Jeff Feiertag

With Windows 10, Microsoft has added new keyboard shortcuts to give you easier access to the new Action Center, Cortana, Task View, and virtual desktops.

Listed below are a few of the most common Windows 10 keyboard shortcuts:

  • Press Windows key: Open/close the Start menu
  • Press Windows key + A: Open the Action Center
  • Press Windows key + C: Launch Cortana in listening mode (for voice commands)
  • Press Windows key + E (Windows 7 and up): Launch File Explorer
  • Press Windows key + I: Open the Settings app
  • Press Windows key + S: Launch Cortana
  • Press Windows key + Tab: Open Task View
  • Press Windows key + Ctrl + D: Create a new virtual desktop
  • Press Windows key + Ctrl + F4: Close the current desktop
  • Press Windows key + Ctrl + left or right arrow: switch between virtual desktops

 

 

Battery Saver Settings

Posted on by Jeff Feiertag

If you are utilizing a laptop and the battery is starting to run low, Windows 10 will begin to cut back on background services and other threads so you can squeeze more out of your battery life.

To enable Battery Saver:

  • Click on the Start menu
  • Click on Settings
  • Choose Systems
  • Choose Battery Saver

Battery Saver

 

The screen also shows how much battery life and estimated time you have remaining.