Microsoft has announced that Windows 10 May 2020 Update ships with massive segment heap memory improvements, which allow for a substantial reduction in the amount of memory used by browsers, including here the kind of Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome.

And needless to say, Microsoft Edge is the first browser to profit from these changes, and also the company claims it's observed a 27 percent improvement in the May 2020 Update.

As I said just a few hours ago, it was only a matter of time until Google discovered the refinements in Windows 10 May 2020 Update and began focusing on similar updates for Google Chrome.

And today it looks like Google really wants to bring segment heap to Chrome too, and the company has started the work in connection with this.

"This is why we want segment heap"

In a commit spotted by WL, a Chromium engineer explains that going this route may help Chrome reduce memory usage by "hundreds of MB."

"Adding a SegmentHeap admission to the chrome.exe manifest will inform recent-enough versions of Windows (20-04 and beyond) to opt chrome.exe into while using segment heap instead of the legacy heap. Details are in the bug but it appears the default Windows heap is tuned for server workloads where throughput is what matters most, and Chromium (especially because of its multi-process architecture) also has of looking after about memory footprint," the commit reads.

"Experiments with per-machine opting-in towards the segment heap for chrome.exe shows that this could save countless MB in the browser and Network Service utility processes, amongst others, on some machines. Actual results will vary widely, with the greatest savings developing many-core machines."

Google engineers also discuss segment heap in Chrome, using Microsoft's 27% memory improvement as living evidence of "why we would like the segment heap."

"We could enable it now but that would cause build warnings. Therefore enabling it's blocked on a change to the Windows 10.0.19041.0 SDK that is currently blocked on some mysterious build failures," they say in a thread.

Each one of these improvements are only possible on Windows 10 May 2020 Update devices.

With a large amount of multitasking, your screen gets covered in various windows. But where do you turn when you really need to locate that icon or folder on the desktop or else you just want to hide the clutter?

You can go hit the minimize button on all of your keep the windows open, or you could minimize them all at the same time with a single click or keyboard combo. Here's how to get to the desktop in Windows 10 with only one short action.

Using your mouse: Click the small rectangle on the far right side of the taskbar.

Using your keyboard: Hit Windows + D.

Either way, performing the experience a second time (clicking or typing) brings all the windows back.

System Reserved partition or recovery partition is important to Windows 10. Follow these steps to cover system reserved partition in Windows.

When you install Windows 10, it automatically creates a new partition called System Reserved Partition. This partition is a system-specific partition that contains various system data such as the boot record. Being a system partition, it's required for Windows 10 to operate properly. As there is no user interaction needed with the System Reserved Partition, it's hidden automatically.

However, some third-party partition software or other applications might accidentally unhide the partition and make it look like every other drive or partition within the File Explorer.

If the System Reserved partition is appearing in the File Explorer, you are able to hide it pretty easily and quickly. Stick to the steps shown below to cover the machine Reserved partition in Windows 10.

Steps to cover System Reserved Partition

To cover the system reserved partition, these are the steps you should follow.

Press "Windows Key + R" to open the Run dialog box.
Type "diskmgmt.msc" in the blank field and click on "Ok".
In the Disk Management window, right-click around the "System Reserved" drive.
Select the "Change drive letter and paths" option.
In this window, select the drive letter and click on "Remove".
Click "Yes" within the warning window.
Click "Yes" within the "Do you need to continue" window.
Close Disk Management tool.

That's it. As soon as you click yes to verify your action, Windows will remove the drive letter for system reserved partition.

When the drive letter is taken away, the machine reserved partition is hidden with no longer appears within the file explorer.

Hide System Reserved using Command Prompt

You can also hide the partition using the Diskpart command. Listed here are the steps you should follow to hide the system reserved partition in the Command Prompt.

Open the Start menu.
Search for "Command Prompt".
Right-click on Command Prompt and select "Run as administrator".
Type "diskpart" in the Command Prompt window and press "Enter".
Execute the "list volume" command to list all partitions in Windows.
The system partition is called "system partition".
Select the system reserved partition while using "select volume #number" command. Replace "#number" with the actual volume number.
After choosing the volume, execute the "remove letter #driveLetter" command. Replace "#driveLetter" using the actual drive letter.
Close the Command Prompt window.

That is it. Once you execute the remove letter command, the Diskpart tool will remove the drive letter and hides the system reserved partition. Should you open the File Explorer, system reserved partition is not visible.

If you are not using Narrator, you are able to completely switch off the narrator in Windows 10. You can also disable narrator shortcut too. Here's how.

The Narrator is a built-in Windows 10 accessibility feature. When enabled, the Windows Narrator can see aloud the on-screen content. As needed, additionally, it enables you to control and communicate with things like buttons and fields on screen. This enables you to make use of the computer without any active display or screen. As possible guess, the Narrator feature is principally directed at users with vision problems or who are blind.

The Narrator could be activated with a simple keyboard shortcut or from the Settings app or the control panel. If you're not actively using the Narrator feature, it is best to disable it. Otherwise, it is very simple to accidentally switch on Narrator.

Within this quick guide, let me show you the process to disable the Narrator in Windows 10.

Steps to Turn OFF Narrator in Windows 10

Stick to the steps below to show off the narrator from the Settings app.

Open the beginning menu.
Click on the "Settings" icon around the left panel.
Visit the "Ease of Access" page.
Select the "Narrator" tab on the left panel.
On the right panel, turn off the "Use Narrator" option.

Once you toggle the switch to the OFF position, the Windows 10 Narrator is switched off completely. To turn on the Narrator functionality back, follow the same steps but toggle the change to the "ON" position in step five.

Using User interface

You apply the User interface panel to disable the Narrator functionality in Windows 10. Here's how.

Open the beginning menu.
Search and open "Control Panel".
Set "View by" to "Large icons".
Click on the "Ease of Access Center" option.
Click "Use the pc with no display" link underneath the "Explore all settings" section.
Uncheck "Turn on Narrator" checkbox.
Click "Ok" in order to save changes.

After saving the changes, the Narrator feature is switched off in Windows 10. To turn it back on, follow the same steps but choose the checkbox in step 6.

Disable Narrator Keyboard Shortcut in Windows 10

After turning off the Narrator, you are able to turn it back on with the Ctrl + Windows Key + Enter keyboard shortcut. If you do not like that or maybe the Narrator keyboard shortcut is disturbing your typing experience, you are able to disable the shortcut too. That way, you do not accidentally let the Narrator functionality.

Follow the steps shown below to disable the Narrator keyboard shortcut.

Open the Settings app.
Go to "Ease of Access".
Go to the "Narrator" page.
On the right page, uncheck the "Allow the shortcut key activate Narrator" option.
Changes are saved automatically.
Close the Settings app.

That is it. You've disabled the Narrator keyboard shortcut key in Windows 10. To allow it back, follow the same steps but select the checkbox in steps 4.

In Windows, it is simple to create a heightened or administrator shortcut for just about any application to operate it with no UAC password prompt. Here's how.

When a program requires administrator permission or you run it using the "Run as administrator" option, you will see a UAC (User Access Control) prompt requesting administrator password or permission. If you provide permission, the application will run. Otherwise, Windows won't run the application with admin rights. Additionally, Standard users cannot add applications to Windows startup when they require administrative permission or UAC prompt to run.

To cope with that, you may create a heightened or administrator shortcut to run an application without the UAC password prompt. Because the shortcut doesn't require admin or UAC password, you can add it to the startup list or allow standard users to operate it with admin privileges.

In this quick guide, let me show you the entire process of creating an elevated shortcut to run applications without the UAC password prompt.

Steps to Create Administrator Shortcut without UAC Password Prompt

To produce a heightened shortcut that doesn't require a UAC prompt to operate applications being an administrator, we are going to use Task Scheduler. To really make it easy, I've divided the entire process into bite-sized steps. Allow me to demonstrate how.

Follow the steps below to create webmaster shortcut to run applications with no UAC password prompt.

Open the Start menu.
Search and open "Task Scheduler".
In Task Scheduler, click on the "Create Task" option.
Visit the "General" tab.
Type a name in the "Name" field.
Check "Run with highest privileges" option.
Select "Windows 10" from the "Configure for" dropdown.
Go to the "Actions" tab.
Click the "New" button.
Select "Start a program" in the Action dropdown menu.
Type "cmd.exe" in the "Program/Script" field.
Enter the below command within the Arguments field. Replace "Task Name" using the name you chose in step 5 and "Program path" using the full program path of the application you want to launch.
/c start "Task Name" "Program path"
Go to the "Conditions" tab.
Uncheck the "Start the job only if the computer is on AC power" checkbox.
Click "Ok" in order to save changes.
You can now begin to see the task you created in Task Scheduler.
Close the task scheduler.
Go to the desktop.
Right-click around the desktop.
Select "New → Shortcut".
Within the blank field, type the below command. Replace "Task Name" using the name you set in step five.
schtasks /run /tn "Task Name"
Click "Next".
Type a name for that shortcut within the blank field and click "Finish".

That's it. You've created an elevated shortcut. Just double-click on the shortcut and also the program will be launch with administrator privileges with no UAC password prompt.

Optional - Customize the Shortcut Icon

If you don't such as the default shortcut icon, fundamental essentials steps you should follow to change it.

Right-click around the shortcut.
Select "Properties".
Click on the "Change icon" button.
If you see a warning or information window, click "Ok".
Select the icon of your liking and click "Ok".
Click "Apply" and "Ok" buttons in the main window.

Once you save the alterations, the new icon will be applied.

If you do not like every from the built-in icons, you are able to set your personal custom icon. To do that, download the icon of your liking in .ICO format from the internet. Click on the "Browse" button in step five, select the ICO file and click "Open". Choose the icon and "Ok" within the icon selection window.

That is all.

FAQ: Elevated Shortcut without UAC Prompt

Can elevated shortcut bypass administrator?
When configured properly, the administrator or elevated shortcut can bypass the UAC prompt and requires no administrator password.

How do I create the elevated shortcut?
To produce an elevated shortcut, you should utilize the Command Prompt and Task Scheduler. Stick to the steps in the above list to produce the administrator shortcut.

Does the elevated shortcut interfer along with other programs?
No it doesn't. When you use the administrator or elevated shortcut, it simply launches the application with admin privileges.

That's all.

If the default Windows text size is not big enough or too large, adopt these measures to alter the machine font size in Windows.

As part of the easy access, Windows 10 lets you decrease or boost the system font size with just a few clicks. When you change the font size, it will be applied system-wide. As long as the applications are utilizing the default system font settings, the font size changes is going to be put on all built-in and third-party programs.

Unlike in the older versions, there is no need to create any registry changes. Rather, we can make use of the new Windows 10 Settings app to alter the font size. All you have to do is drag a slider after which font size will be changed instantly.

In the quick guide, allow me to show the simple steps to quickly reduce or increase the system font size in Windows 10.

Change System Font Size in Windows 10

You can either decrease or increase the machine font size. I will show you both. Follow the one based on your requirement.

Increase System Font Size in Windows 10

To increase the machine font size, adopt these measures.

Open the Settings app.
Go to "Ease of Access".
Visit the "Display" page.
Underneath the "Make text bigger" section, drag the slider to the right side to increase the machine font size.
Click around the "Apply" button to save changes.

Once you click on the apply button, the brand new font size will be applied system-wide. All applications should now show bigger fonts.

When the changes aren't applied instantly, restart the machine. Sometimes, the font size can't be adjusted as the applications are actively running in the foreground or background. Rebooting the system will fix that issue.

Personally, I try to keep around 70 centimeters to 80 centimeters distance between me and the computer screen. For that distance, 105% to 110% text size looks just perfect. But your mileage can vary depending on the screen size, resolution, and also the distance. So, I encourage you to try different font sizes to find the perfect fit for you.

If you have vision problems or configuring the machine for elderlies, I recommend setting the font size to 125%. This makes the text content simpler to read and reduces the strain on your vision.

Reduce System Font Size in Windows 10

To lessen the Windows system font size, follow these steps.

Open the Settings app.
Go to "Ease of Access".
Go to the "Display" page.
Under the "Make text bigger" section, drag the slider left side to decrease the system font size.
Click "Apply" to save changes.

As you can see, to lower the system font size all you have to do is drag the slider left side. You cannot reduce the system font size by more than 100%.

Troubleshooting

If you fail to find the Make Text Bigger option within the Easy Access page, make sure that you are running Windows 10 v1809 or more.

The simplest way to be aware of Windows 10 version is by using a Run command.

Press Win + R, type winver and press Enter. In the About Windows window, begin to see the second line. It ought to say "Version 1809" or higher. You are able to safely ignore the OS Build number. Unlike the version, the OS Build number will change any time you install a Windows update.

How is it Different from DPI Scaling?

The font size change is completely different from DPI scaling. In the event you have no idea, DPI scaling scales all UI elements like fonts, images, and icons. DPI scaling is usually utilized in high-resolution monitors.

Windows Firewall enables you to block all outgoing connections to restrict applications from connecting to the internet. Here's how.

Windows has a default firewall application that gives you granular control over the web access as well as allows you to configure all of the incoming and outgoing connections. By default, the Windows firewall is configured to allow all outgoing connections unless they're blacklisted and block all incoming connections unless they're whitelisted.

Most Windows programs have almost unrestricted access to outgoing connections. Which means that the applications can phone home and perform other pursuits with no restrictions.

If you do not like this behavior then you can use the Windows Firewall choices to block all outgoing connections. Blocking oubound connections is useful when you want granular control over which applications can send data on the internet.

The method shown below is verified to work with Windows 10, 8, & 7. Before making any changes, I strongly recommend you to definitely backup Windows Firewall settings.

Steps to bar All Outgoing Connections with Windows Firewall

These are the steps you need to follow to bar outgoing connections in Windows Firewall.

Open the Start menu.

Search for "Windows Defender Firewall" and open it.

Click the "Advanced Settings" link within the Firewall application.

Here, choose the "Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security on Local Computer" option on the left panel.

Click on the "Windows Defender Firewall Properties" link in the middle panel.

Within the Firewall properties window, go to the profile tab of your choice.

Domain profile tab: When the product is joined inside a domain.
Private profile tab: If the product is connected to a private network (like home or office network).
Public profile tab: When the product is linked to a public network (like a coffee shop WiFi)

With my case, I'm selecting the Private profile tab because I'm connected to a private network. For any vast majority of users, this is actually the choice to select.

Here, select "Block" in the drop-down menu alongside "Outbound connections".

Click around the "Apply" and "Ok" buttons in order to save changes.

Close Windows Firewall application.

The changes are instant. In the future, all outbound connections are blocked and applications cannot send any data over the network.

Whitelist Applications to permit Outbound Connections

To permit outgoing connections for specific applications, you need to manually whitelist them. Whitelisted application takes priority within the general block rule for outbound connections. For instance, you may want the Chrome browser to work even if you blocked the outbound connections.

Adopt these measures to whitelist applications for outbound connections.

Open Windows Firewall.
Click around the "Advanced Settings" link.
Select "Outbound rules" around the left panel.
Click the "New rule" option within the right panel.
Select "Program" and click on "Next".
Select "This program path" and click on "Browse".
Discover the application's exe file, select it, and click on the "Open" button.
Click "Next".
Select "Allow this connection" and click "Next".
Select Domain, Private, and Public checkboxes and click "Next".
Name the rule and click on "Finish".

Once you click on the Finish button, the outbound rule will be created and put on the firewall. From now, the whitelisted application will be able to send data within the network whether or not the outbound connections are blocked.

FIXED: Some Applications can Still Connect with the Internet After Blocking Outgoing Connections

Despite block all outbound connections, some applications can continue to send data within the network. For instance, most built-in Windows applications and services can send data within the network. It is because those applications are whitelisted by the system.

If you don't want those applications accessing the outgoing connections, you need to manually disable the outbound rule for those applications within the Firewall settings. Allow me to demonstrate how.

Open the Windows Firewall application.
Around the left panel, click on the "Advanced Settings" link.
Here, choose the "Outbound Rules" option around the left panel.
In the centre panel, find the rule related to the application you want to block.
For instance, I want to block the Windows 10 Email app. So, I decided it.
Right-click on the rule and choose the "Disable Rule" option.

That is it. The changes are instant. For demonstration purposes, I additionally blocked the outbound rule for the legacy Edge browser. As you can see in the image below, it can't connect with the web because of the restriction of the outgoing rule. Do this to any or all the applications you wouldn't want connecting to the internet.

After a lot of months of development, Windows 10 May 2020 Update is finally readily available for production devices.

But simply like before, Microsoft is applying a very cautious approach, so the new update is being rolled out in phases, which means that not everybody gets it on day one.

However, for the time being, version 2004 isn't pushed as an automatic update and users need to manually trigger the check for updates in Windows Update. If no blocks they fit in position, the unit should then be provided Windows 10 May 2020 Update, having a "Download and Install" button then allowing users to start the update process itself.

"To ensure you keep having a dependable, productive knowledge about your Windows 10 devices, we are taking a measured and phased method of how we provide the May Update, initially limiting availability to people devices running Windows 10, versions 1903 and 1909 who seek the update via Windows Update," Microsoft explains.

Quite simply, some are getting the update today plus some are not, which makes total sense given that Microsoft thus buys more time to ensure a smoother transition to version 2004 for everyone.

But at the same time, Microsoft is also offering the Media Creation Tool, a dedicated app that accompany two very important features:

Update your Windows 10 PC to version 2004
Create installation media and updated another Windows 10 PC to version 2004

How a Media Creation Tool was developed causes it to be the perfect tool for almost everybody, because it uses a wizard-based method of guide users through the entire process.

First of all, you have to download the most recent Media Creation Tool for Windows 10 May 2020 Update - this is an essential step, as an older form of the app would provide you with a previous feature update for Windows 10.

Following the download is finished, launch the Media Creation Tool to access the wizard I've said.

The first step is selecting between the two options mentioned previously. If you wish to improve your own PC to version 2004, select the first option and hit the next button.

The Media Creation Tool will proceed using the download of Windows 10 version 2004, after which the app will be able to begin the update process itself. What this means is your device will be rebooted to accomplish the procedure, and the time required to fully update the device comes down to various details, like the hardware on the computer.

On the other hand, if you want to create bootable media to update another computer to Windows 10 version, select the second item striking next. The Media Creation Tool will then guide you through the entire process and will prompt for additional input to decide on the media you want to use and the Windows 10 version (Home or Pro) that you would like to configure.

Once all of the necessary configuration is made (language, edition, architecture), the Media Creation Tool proceeds with the download from the appropriate system image, and starts building the bootable media according to your settings.

Once the process comes to an end, you can take away the bootable media after which use it on the other device to install the May 2020 Update.

What's very important to know is the fact that creating bootable media and then using it to update another computer could allow you to bypass upgrade blocks that Microsoft has set up to prevent certain issues from striking the device. This isn't recommended, as the knowledge about the May 2020 Update could be substantially impacted.

To help customize Windows 10 desktop you are able to replace or change the default trash can icon to a custom icon. Here's how.

Windows 10 uses the generic trash icon because the default trash can icon. As they are, the icon look pretty good using its minimal design. The default icon has two states. i.e, when you will find files in the Recycle Bin, the icon appears full and when it's empty, the icon appears empty.

Should you got bored with the default recycle bin icon, you are able to change it out to anything you want. Actually, you can set two different icons for 2 recycle bin states. i.e, when it's empty so when it has files inside it. Allow me to show you the process of changing the recycle bin icon in Windows 10.

Steps to Change Trash can Icon in Windows 10

Right-click on the desktop.
Select "Personalize" option.
Choose the "Themes" tab within the Settings app.
Scroll down and click on the "Desktop icon settings" under "Related settings".
Select the "Recycle Bin (Full)" icon and click on the "Change icon" button.
Click the "Browse" button.
Go to the folder where you saved the icon, select it, and click "Open".
Click "Ok" in the icon selection window.
Select the "Recycle Bin (Empty)" icon and click on the "Change icon" button.
Click the "Browse" button.
Choose the icon in the Browse window and click on "Open".
Click on the "Ok" button.
In order to save changes, click "Apply" and "Ok" buttons to save changes.
Close the Settings app.

Note: The custom icons should be in .ico format. You should use free websites like IconArchive or DeviantArt to locate and download custom icons.

That's it. You've changed both Trash can Full and Recycle Bin Empty icons in Windows 10. You should instantly begin to see the changes on the desktop.

Once the Recycle Bin is full or has files in it, it ought to show the full icon.

When the Recycle Bin is empty, it ought to show the empty icon.

Be sure to keep your custom icons inside a rut. If the icons are deleted, the Trash can might revert to using the default Windows 10 trash icon.

If you are not able to open HEIC files in Windows 10, follow these steps to force the Windows 10 Photos app to spread out HEIC photos natively.

Most modern smartphones are now saving photos in the HEIF (High-Efficiency Image Data format) format with HEIC file extension. For instance, my Samsung smartphone saves photos as HEIC files. Compared to the age-old JPEG format, HEIF offers, better image quality at lower overall file size. If you're interested, take a look at Wikipedia page. It goes into great detail concerning the HEIF file format.

Just like the HEIF file format is, Windows 10 doesn't natively support files with HEIC file extension. Due to that, you cannot open the HEIC files with the default Photos app. Actually, you'll just begin to see the blank file icon for HEIC files instead of its preview in the File Explorer.

Follow the steps shown below to set up the HEIF extension and enable HEIC file compatibility in Windows 10.

How do you Open HEIC Photos in Windows 10

You have to install the HEIF codec to spread out the HEIC files and photos in the Windows 10 Photos app. Microsoft provides an official extension called HEIF Images Extension to spread out the HEIC files. Stick to the steps shown below to install it.

Gto the HEIF Images Extension page.
Click on the "Get" button.
In the shop app, click on the "Get" or "Install" button. This will install the extension.
Close the shop app.
Reboot Windows.

After rebooting, you ought to be able to open HEIC format photos within the Photos app. The File Explorer will also show the thumbnail preview of all HEIC format photos and images.

Using CopyTrans - Alternative Method

CopyTrans is really a free lightweight application that lets you preview, open and view HEIC files in Windows 10. If you are facing problems with the state Microsoft HEIF extension, do this method. It will focus on all systems including Windows 10, Windows 7, and Windows 8.

To use CopyTrans to open HEIC files, follow the steps listed below.

Download CopyTrans.
Install the downloaded application in Windows 10.
After installing, reboot Windows 10.
Find the HEIC photo or image and double-click on it.

Once you double-click the image should be opened in the Windows Photo Viewer. Actually, it's also wise to have the ability to see the HEIC file preview in File Explorer and on the desktop.

If the file did not open on double-click, right-click on the HEIC file and choose the "Open with ?¨² Windows Photo Viewer" option.

If you're wondering, yes the HEIC file will be opened in the old Windows Photo Viewer as opposed to the new Windows 10 Photos app. That is due to the fact from the limitations and compatibility issues with the brand new Photos app.