6 Old Windows Apps and Features You Didn’t Know Are Still Around

Windows has travel a agelong way, and Microsoft has phased retired galore tools we erstwhile couldn't bash without. Many of them person been removed, but immoderate are inactive around. You mightiness adjacent find them useful.

6 Character Map: Type Special Characters

Sometimes, you mightiness request to benignant a peculiar quality that’s not connected your keyboard. For instance, it could beryllium accented letters similar é oregon ü, mathematics and technological notation for equations oregon formulas, oregon currency symbols similar €, £, and ¥. Instead of changing the layout of your Windows keyboard, you tin usage the Character Map.

To unfastened the Character Map, click "Search" successful the Taskbar oregon property Win+S to unfastened Windows Search. Type Character Map successful the hunt container and click it successful the hunt results.

Once you item a quality successful Character Map, click "Select" to marque it look successful the Characters to Copy substance box. Then, click "Copy" and paste it into the desired program.

When you prime a character, you tin spot its encoding (e.g., Unicode, DOS, oregon Windows) successful the bottommost close corner. For immoderate characters, their Alt codification volition besides amusement successful the bottommost close corner.

You tin alteration the encoding by ticking the "Advanced View" checkbox to grow the options and past selecting a antithetic 1 successful the "Character Set" dropdown.

5 Disk Defragmenter: Optimize Your HDD

The Disk Defragmenter is present known arsenic Optimize and Defragment Drive. With modern computers moving towards Solid State Drives (SSDs) alternatively of Hard Disk Drives (HDDs), defragmentation (defragging) has go obsolete since SSDs don't request to beryllium defragged.

If you're utilizing an HDD, and it feels sluggish, you mightiness request to optimize and defragment it to amended its performance. To bash that, right-click the thrust and prime "Properties" successful the discourse menu.

Select the "Tools" tab and click "Optimize" successful the Optimize and Defragment Drive section.

In the Optimize Drive window, prime the HDD and click the "Optimize" button.

4 Disk Cleanup: Remove Temporary and Unnecessary Files

The Disk Cleanup inferior helps you region impermanent and unnecessary files connected Windows. It’s mostly considered a bequest instrumentality due to the fact that Storage Sense, which automatically frees up retention abstraction connected your Windows PC, replaced it. But if you request a speedy mode to cleanable up retention abstraction manually, Disk Cleanup tin inactive beryllium useful.

Open Disk Cleanup utilizing Windows Search, prime the thrust you privation to clean, and click the "OK" button.

Wait for Disk Cleanup to scan for files it tin safely region from the drive. Afterward, tick the ones you privation to delete successful the model and click the "OK" button.

Confirm your enactment by clicking "Delete" successful the popup.

The discourse paper (right-click menu) was replaced with a much streamlined, modern, and user-friendly mentation successful Windows 11. Some mightiness adjacent reason that the current Windows discourse paper is better.

If you miss the bequest discourse menu, it's not gone completely. You tin bring it up by clicking "Show More Options" erstwhile you right-click an item. This solution lone brings it backmost temporarily, and you indispensable bash this each clip to entree it.

You tin make the aged discourse paper the default option by making changes successful the Registry. Just beryllium cautious erstwhile doing this—if you messiness up the Registry, your machine tin go unusable. So, guarantee you cognize what you're doing and however to back up and reconstruct the Windows Registry.

2 Control Panel: Tweak Advanced and Legacy Settings

Control Panel was erstwhile the cardinal determination for tweaking your computer's settings and preferences. Since Windows 8, it has been replaced by the Settings app, which is acold much user-friendly and contains much features.

However, Control Panel has immoderate precocious and bequest tools that mightiness inactive beryllium useful. For example, you volition find Device Manager, Backup and Restore (Windows 7), Network and Sharing Center, Power Options, and Administrative Tools successful the tool.

You tin unfastened Control Panel utilizing Windows Search. Some options, specified arsenic "System" and "Troubleshoot," volition unfastened the Settings app if the archetypal tools person been wholly removed from Windows.

You astir apt retrieve the aged media subordinate if you've utilized Windows for decades similar immoderate of us. It's astir notable for its elemental interface, visualizer, customized skins, and the quality to rip and pain CDs. The bully quality is that it's inactive live and kicking successful your Windows installation.

You tin unfastened it by typing Windows Media Player Legacy successful Windows Search and clicking it erstwhile it appears successful the hunt results.

If you don't spot it successful the hunt results, you mightiness request to alteration it archetypal successful Settings. To bash that, unfastened Turn Windows Features On oregon Off utilizing Windows Search. Enable “Media Features” and “Windows Media Player Legacy” by ticking their respective checkboxes.

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Microsoft volition yet region galore of these features since their replacements person already been added to Windows. However, determination are inactive circumstantial scenarios wherever these bequest tools tin beryllium useful. Just support successful caput that Microsoft whitethorn not actively update them anymore.