3 Methods to Check If Windows 10 Is Activated Properly and Fully

If you just purchased a Windows 10 PC or perhaps a license key, it is important that you check Windows 10 activation status after installing Windows 10 in your system. Though Windows makes it easy to understand if your product is fully activated or otherwise, it can be quite confusing at times. So, here are a few sure-fire ways to check if Windows 10 is activated properly or otherwise.

Check If Windows 10 Is Activated

As you can tell from the post title itself, you will find multiple ways to see if your Windows 10 is correctly activated or otherwise. All the methods shown below will give you the same result. Stick to the one you like or feel easy. For convenient navigation, make use of the jump links below.

1. Check Windows Activation Status from System App

This really is one of the easiest and fastest methods to see if Windows is activated or not. This method works in Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10.

Open the start menu.

Search for “Control Panel” and open it up.

In the user interface, find “System” option and click on it.

Under the “Windows Activation” section, you should see “Windows is Activated” if Windows 10 is activated properly.

If Windows is not activated, you will see the Windows activation status as “Windows isn’t activated”.

2. See if Windows 10 Is Activated Using the Settings App

The new settings app can display if Windows 10 is activated or not. Additionally, the settings app also lets you know the activation method. i.e digital license or product key.

Digital License: Digital license is offered if you have upgraded from Windows 7 to Windows 10 in the free upgrade period or if you bought or upgraded Windows 10 from Microsoft store.

Product Key: Product key license type is seen whenever you bought a physical or digital copy of Windows 10 from a certified seller or purchased a pre-installed Windows 10 system. This license type is also applicable to volume licensing and MSDN subscription.

Press Win + I to open the settings app.

Go to “Update and Security -> Activation”.

On the best panel, you will notice the activation status under the “Windows” section.

You can also see the activation method. i.e, digital license or product key right next to the “Activation”.

In my case, Windows is activated via digital license.

If Windows is not activated, you will notice “Windows 10 isn’t activated” message alongside “Activation”.

Related: How to locate Windows 10 version number

3. Check Windows Activation Status using Command Prompt or PowerShell

You may also make use of the command prompt and/or PowerShell to see if Windows is activated or otherwise. When you use this process, additionally, you will see what edition of Windows you are using. i.e, Home or Professional.

Note: I’m showing within the command prompt however the same command will work in PowerShell too.

Open the beginning menu.

Search for Command Prompt or PowerShell.

Enter the next command and free Enter.

slmgr /xpr

If Windows is activated properly, you will see “The machine is permanently activated” dialog box.

ou may also call at your Windows editor directly on the surface of the activation status line. In my case, I’m using Windows 10 Pro edition.

If Windows isn’t activated, you will notice “Error: product key not found” message in the dialog box.

That is all. It’s that simple to check if Windows 10 is activated or otherwise.

 

How to Disable Touchpad When External Mouse Is Connected

Whenever using a laptop, it’s very common to plugin external mouse for ease of use and accessibility. Most laptops have dedicated shortcuts or buttons to disable touchpad when you connect another mouse. However, if needed, you are able to configure Windows to automatically disable touchpad when external mouse is connected. This eliminates the necessity to manually disable the touchpad each and everytime you connect external mouse.

It is pretty easy to do. So, without ado, allow me to show you how you can get it done.

Disable Touchpad When External Mouse Is Connected

You will find multiple methods for you to go about it. I’ll show all three ways you can automatically disable touchpad when another mouse is connected. Select the approach to your decision and follow the steps. You should be good.

1. Disable Touchpad on External Mouse via Settings App

Note: In case your laptop doesn’t support precision touchpad then this method will not work. Stick to the other two methods.

The settings app has proper options to configure Windows 10 to disable touchpad if external mouse is plugged in. All you have to do is select a single checkbox and Windows 10 will switch off the touchpad on external mouse connection.

Press Win + I to open the Settings app.

Go to “Devices -> Touchpad” page.

On the right panel, uncheck the option “Leave touchpad on when a mouse is connected”.

That is it. The changes are saved instantly. In the future, if you connect another mouse, Windows automatically disables the touchpad. Of course, whenever you disconnect the external mouse, the touchpad will be enabled automatically.

2. Disable Touchpad on External Mouse via Control Panel

You may also configure Windows to automatically switch off touchpad when you connect external mouse for your computer through the traditional mouse settings in the Control Panel. This is method creates Windows 10, Windows 8 and Windows 7.

Open the start menu.

Search for “Control Panel” and open it.

Find and select “Mouse” option.

Find ELAN or Device Settings tab.

Now, find “Disable when external USB pointing device plugin” or “Disable internal pointing device when external USB pointing system is attached” and select the checkbox.

Click on the “Ok” button in order to save changes.

That’s it. From now on, if you plug in an external mouse, the touchpad is going to be disabled automatically.

3. Make Registry Edit to Disable Touchpad When You Plug-in External Mouse

You can also make registry edits to automatically disable the touchpad whenever you plugin external mouse. Although it is simple to do, I recommend you backup registry prior to making any changes.

Press Win + R to spread out Run dialog box.

Type regedit and press Enter.

Go towards the following location.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Synaptics\SynTPEnh

On the right panel, select “New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value”.

Name the worth as “DisableIntPDFeature”.

Double-click around the newly created value.

Type 33 in the value data field.

Click on the “Ok” button in order to save changes.

That’s all. Restart the body and you’re simply all set.

 

How to Disable or Switch off Automatic Sleep on Windows 10

Windows 10 automatically puts the body into sleep mode if you didn’t apply it a lot more than 30 minutes. When a PC is in sleep mode, Windows saves your machine state like opened files and programs to memory after which cuts the power to unnecessary hardware like processor, hard drives, case fans, etc. This really is great because it saves power consumption and might prevent unauthorized usage should you forgot to lock your computer.

Whenever you awaken the computer again from sleep utilizing a mouse or keyboard or by pressing the ability button, it will resume from the last session.

However, if you would like your PC to behave while you are away, like downloading a sizable file or processing a relevant video overnight, the automated sleep on Windows 10 can be a hindrance. In the end, nobody likes to see their PC sleeping when you intend results long and hard.

In those situations, you can easily switch off automatic sleep on Windows 10.

Turn Off Automatic Sleep from Settings App

The settings app has relevant choices to turn off automatic sleep. Stick to the steps below to disable automatic sleep.

Press Win + I to open the Settings app.

Go to “System -> Power and Sleep” page in Settings.

On the best panel, select “Never” from the drop-down menu under the “Sleep” section.

The changes are saved automatically. From now on, Windows 10 won’t fall asleep automatically.

Disable Automatic Sleep from Control Panel

As an alternative, you can also switch off automatic sleep from control panel too. Together with Windows 10, this process will work on Windows 7 and Windows 8 too.

Open the beginning menu.

Search for “Control Panel” and open it up.

Select “View” as “Small icons” or “Large icons”, find “Power Options” option and then click it.

Click on the link “Change once the computer sleeps” appearing on the left panel.

Select “Never” in the drop-down menu alongside “Put the computer to sleep”.

Finally, click on the “Save changes” button.

That’s all. You’ve successfully stopped Windows from sleeping automatically.

Does Windows 10 Use Hybrid Sleep?

Yes, Windows 10 uses hybrid sleep rather than the regular sleep mode. In the event you have no idea, as the regular sleep mode saves your machine state to RAM, the hybrid sleep saves your machine state to both RAM and hard disk.

The benefit of using hybrid sleep mode within the regular sleep mode is the fact that even if you fully turn off your computer. i.e, unplug it, you can still resume the previous state because the machine state is saved for your hard disk. This is not possible using the regular sleep mode because when soon as you fully switch off your system, the items in RAM are lost due to power loss. As the majority of you realize, RAM is a volatile memory which simply implies that it must have constant capacity to retain stored information.

 

How to Use Attrib Command to cover Folder in Windows 10

Recently, I’ve shown you how to lock folder having a password utilizing a simple trick and built-in tools. Within this quick tutorial, let me demonstrate how you can super hide a folder using attrib command. When i state super hide things i actually imply that even though you attempt to unhide the folder using the usual means, it will not appear in the File Explorer. You can achieve this while using Windows attrib command. Allow me to demonstrate how.

Note: The below trick works with older systems like Windows 7 and Windows 8 too.

Method #1 – Hide Folders with Attrib CMD in Command Prompt

To cover a folder using the attrib command, we are going to use the Command Prompt. Prior to doing that, you need to know the particular folder path.

1. The easiest way to copy folder path is via the File Explorer. So, open the File Explorer and visit the folder you need to hide and open it up. Next, click on the address bar and you will see the folder path. To copy the path, right-click and select “Copy” option.

2. Once you have the folder path, open the command prompt window by looking it up in the start menu.

3. Now, execute the below command to cover the folder. Don’t forget to replace the dummy folder path with the actual folder you copied earlier. To paste the copied folder path, simply right-click in the command prompt. Alternatively, you can also right-click around the title bar and select “Edit -> Paste” option.

attrib +s + h “C:\folder\path\”

4. Once you execute the command, the folder is going to be hidden in the plain sight.

5. Even if you try to unhide the folder by selecting “Hidden files” checkbox within the View tab, you can’t see the folder hidden using the attrib command.

6. To unhide the folder, you should use exactly the same attrib command with a slight modification. All you need to do is replace “+” within the above command with “-“. To put it simply, make use of the below attrib command to unhide folder.

attrib -s -h “C:\folder\path\”

7. Upon successful execution, the folder will reappear in the file explorer.

As you can see, it’s nothing hard and also the attrib command is very useful to quickly hide any folder you want.

Method #2 – Attrib CMD to Hide Folders With PowerShell

Since Windows 10 is furiously promoting PowerShell over the command prompt and considering how PowerShell supports the majority of the command prompt commands, you may also make use of the same exact technique to hide folders in Windows 10. Allow me to demonstrate how.

1. First, open the file explorer and visit the place where you’ve stored the folder you need to hide. For instance, my folder “WindowsLoop” is located in the main from the D drive. So, I opened the D drive so that as you can see, I’ve got a folder named “WindowsLoop” in the root.

2. Now, Shift + Right-click in the file explorer and choose “Open PowerShell here” option. This course of action will open the PowerShell in the same folder. This will make it so that you can use only the folder name rather than the full folder path in the PowerShell command.

3. In the PowerShell window, execute the below command. Don’t forget to replace Folder_Name using the actual folder name. If the folder name has space(s) inside it, wrap it in quotes just like the below command.

attrib +s +h “Folder_Name”

4. To unhide the folder, this can be used command.

attrib -s -h “Folder_Name”

So, So how exactly does the Attrib Command Hides the Folder?

There isn’t any magic here. All we are doing is changing the folder attributes in such a way that Windows thinks about it as being a protected system folder. Protect system folder are hidden by default. The thing is, if you use the unhide option in the View tab, Windows won’t show the protected system folder. To see a protected system folder, you need to specifically tell Windows to exhibit it. If you are curious, follow the below steps after hiding the folder while using above approach to see the hidden protected system folder.

1. First, unhide the folder by selecting the checkbox “Hidden items” under the View tab. Without having done this task first, you won’t see the hidden protected system folder even though you follow the other two steps below.

2. Next, click on the “Options” button in the same View tab.

3. This action will open the Folder Options window. Here, go to the “View” tab and uncheck the “Hide protected operating-system files (Recommended)” option and save changes by click the “Ok” button.

That’s it. You need to instantly begin to see the hidden folder along with some other protected system folders like $Recycke.BIN, System Volume Information, etc. To turn back change, select the “Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)” checkbox in step 3.

Attrib Command to cover Folder – Conclusion

As you can see attrib is a nice nifty command to quickly super hide folders from plain sight in order that it won’t appear even when someone selects the “Hidden Items” option the View tab. Unless a user knows how to see the protected system files or knows the exact folder path, you may be confident that no one is ever going to see your hidden folder. That said, this is a poor and unsafe way to store/protect personal and sensitive information. You should be using proper tools like BitLocker or VeraCrypt to protect your sensitive information.

 

How to Show Download and Upload Speed on Taskbar in Windows 10

If you are at all like me, you’d like to call at your internet speed in real-time. This really is helpful in many different ways. For instance, you will instantly know if the internet connection is slow or if another app is using it without anyone’s knowledge. Thankfully, using the toolbars feature in the taskbar, you can add a bandwidth monitoring widget to the taskbar in Windows 10. This widget can show real-time download and upload speed in the bitrate of your liking. So, without further ado, let me demonstrate how you can show internet speed on the taskbar in Windows 10.

The below method work in older form of Windows like Windows 7 and Windows 8 too.

See Upload and download Speeds on Taskbar

Windows 10 has no built-in options or official app to show the upload and download speeds around the taskbar. However, we can use a free and light-weight application called NetSpeedMonitor to determine bandwidth usage around the taskbar. I’ve been using the NetSpeedMonitor for a long time and it just works perfectly with no hiccups, intrusions, or any other problems.

1. First, download NetSpeedMonitor.

2. Since the application is not updated in a long while, we need to run it in compatibility mode. If you try to run the application as is, you will see “Operating system not supported error”. It isn’t a big deal as running the app in compatibility mode does the magic. So, right-click around the downloaded exe file and choose “Properties”.

3. Within the properties window, go to the “Compatibility” tab. Here, choose the checkbox “Run the program in compatibility mode for” and then select the “Previous form of Windows” option. Click on the “Apply” and “Ok” buttons to save the alterations.

4. Now, install the NetSpeedMonitor like every other Windows application.

5. After installing, NetSpeedMonitor will prompt whether you want to add the bandwidth monitoring toolbar to the taskbar. Click on the “Yes” button.

6. You will be come to the configuration window. Here, select your preferred language, your active network adapter striking the “Save” button.

7. As soon as you hit the save button, you’ll a brand new upload and download speed toolbar seems to the right-hand side of the taskbar.

8. Automatically, NetSpeedMonitor uses Kbit (Kilobits) to measure the incoming and outgoing traffic speed. If you want to, you are able to change it out to Mbit (Megabits). This is pretty helpful because just about all ISPs report their speed in Megabits/second. To achieve that, right-click around the bandwidth toolbar and select “Configuration”.

9. In the General tab, select “Mbit/s” from the drop-down menu alongside “Bitrate” striking the “Apply” button. If you wish to, you can also alter the decimal level by changing the “Precision” level.

10. As soon as you save the changes, you will see that the bandwidth monitor toolbar is applying megabits per second to determine upload and data transfer speed in real-time.

11. Under the layout tab, you can alter the font family, font size, and toolbar alignment.

12. When you hover over the toolbar, it’ll show a quick glance of your previous day’s total bandwidth consumption. This is useful, however, if you think this feature a distraction, simply uncheck the “Enable toolbar tooltip” underneath the Tooltip tab.

13. If you wish to reset the configuration, just click around the “Reset” button under the “Advanced” tab and you’re simply all set.

14. Finally, if you do not want the toolbar in your taskbar, right-click around the taskbar, visit “Toolbars” and uncheck “NetSpeedMonitor”. This course of action will remove the toolbar in the taskbar. Of course, you may also uninstall NetSpeedMonitor from the Settings app or Control Panel.

As you can tell, it is rather simple to exhibit upload and download speeds on the taskbar in Windows 10.

 

How to Check Which Ports Are in Use within Windows 10

At any point over time, Windows have a lot of applications connected or attempting to connect to the web. With all of those applications, it is common that they are using a lot of ports. From time to time, two applications may require the same port to work. When that specific port is being used by another application, it cannot use that port and also the application may show an alert message or crash entirely. In those situations, it is better to know which ports have been in use and which application is using that exact port. That way, you may either change the port or terminate the problem causing application so that the other one works because it should. Without further ado, allow me to demonstrate how to locate which ports are in use within Windows 10.

Below show methods operate in Windows 7 and Windows 8 too.

Method #1: Use Command Prompt to Check Ports in Use

Using a single command, you can aquire a listing of all of the ports that are being used by various programs. This method is very useful if you wish to take a quick glance at the ports being used.

1. Search for “cmd” within the start menu, right-click around the Command Prompt and choose “Run as Administrator”. This option lets you open the command prompt with admin rights.

2. Within the elevated command prompt window, execute the below command. You are able to copy the command and paste it in the command prompt window by right-clicking within it.

netstat -ab

3. Within the resulting output, you will see the port number right next to the Ip (ex: 192.168.42.198:50943). You can observe the highlighted portion in the below image for better representation.

Keep in mind that their email list will not be refreshed automatically. You need to execute the command again when you need an updated list. If you want the used port list to become updated automatically, use the below two methods.

Method #2: Use CurrPorts Utility to Find Ports being used

Nirsoft Utilities includes a pretty neat and light-weight tool called CurrPorts which lists all the ports that are being used by Windows and other programs. In case you don’t, Nirsoft provides extensive small and portable apps which are quite beneficial in day to day life. If you have never used Nirsoft Utilities, go see the developer site and you’ll find interesting little tools.

1. First, download CurrPorts from the official website. As being a portable application, you don’t have to install it. After downloading, extract the exe file in the zip file and double-click on it to spread out.

2. As soon as you open your window, the application will list all of the connections and their ports. You can find the port number underneath the Local Port section.

3. Being a dedicated port monitoring application, it offers a number of choices to manage the applications and ports. Just right-click on any option and you will see relevant options such as the ability to close the TCP connection, copying properties, application properties, etc.

4. If you want finer control, you may create your own filters to narrow down looking. To do that, select “Options -> Advanced Filters” option.

Method #3: Use Sysinternals TCPView to See Which Ports Have been in Use

Sysinternals TCPView is a Microsoft tool that makes it easy to view all the TCP connections and ports being used in Windows 10. The tool is very similar to CurrPorts.

1. Download TCPView from the Sysinternals website, extract the exe file to your desktop and double-click onto it.

2. Once you open the applying, you’ll be shown a user agreement. Accept the agreement and you’ll instantly see all of the TCP connections. There is a port numbers from our Port section.

3. If you wish to, you are able to end the connection and free the port. To achieve that, right click the connection deciding on “End Process”. This can terminates the process.

That’s all. It’s that easy to locate which ports are in use within Windows 10.

 

Where Is My Computer on Windows 10 Start Menu? Here you go

If you’re a Windows XP or Windows 7 user, you may be accustomed to the My Computer option in the start menu. Generally, the My Computer option within the start menu is widely used not just to access the File Explorer but additionally to open the machine Properties window and Computer Management window. In that case and you’ve recently transitioned to Windows 10, you might be wondering where’s My Computer in the Windows 10 start menu. Let’s talk about that.

Think about keep in mind is the fact that from Windows 8 onwards, My Computer is called This PC. So, do not get confused when you see “This PC” in Windows 10. Also, if you are searching to just open the File Explorer, you can either click on the File Explorer icon within the taskbar or press the keyboard shortcut Win + E. If you are interested, listed here are 50 useful Windows 10 keyboard shortcuts.

Where’s My Computer on Windows 10 Start Menu?

In Windows 10, Microsoft has done away using the My Computer option within the start menu. Fortunately, you can include your own My Computer shortcut to the start menu.

To include My Computer to the start menu, stick to the below steps. Basically, you need to add My Computer to desktop and then pin that My Computer shortcut to the start menu. Though a roundabout way, it really works perfectly and can be achieved in just a few easy steps.

Open the Settings app by pressing the keyboard shortcut Win + I.

In the settings app, visit “Personalisation -> Themes”.

On the right-hand side, click on the “Display Icon Settings” link underneath the Related Settings section.

The above mentioned action will open a brand new window. Here, choose the “Computer” checkbox.

Click on the “Apply” and “Ok” buttons in order to save changes.

You will now visit a new “This PC” shortcut on your hard drive.

Right-click on the This PC shortcut and select “Pin to Start” option.

Once you select the option, My Computer is going to be pinned to your start menu as a tile. You are able to drag the tile to anywhere you would like.

Should you right-click on the This PC shortcut, and to go “More” section, you will familiar options like Manage, Properties, etc.

As you can see, though Microsoft has removed My Computer from the start menu, it is simple to add it. Once you add and put where you want, it’s nothing hard to find My Computer within the start menu.

 

How to Map a WebDAV Drive in Windows 10 and Combine it with File Explorer

WebDAV is a fairly popular way to collaborate with others. This is also true when the said files are located on remote servers. Generally, the primary use of WebDAV is remote editing and manipulation. However, if you want, you may also transfer files using WebDAV. If you wish to, discover more about WebDAV from this page. Generally, to use WebDAV, you have to manually log in to the remote server. However, you may also map a WebDAV drive in Windows 10 and combine it with the file explorer like every other drive on your system. All you need to do is add WebDAV as a network location in Windows. Allow me to show you how.

To map WebDAV drive in Windows, you need first need to know the Link to the WebDAV company. Generally, the WebDAV URL should be indexed by your WebDAV dashboard. If it’s not, you are able to take a look at the WebDAV service docs or ask the service provider. After you have the WebDAV URL, make sure that you also have the password ready.

Note: The below method works in Windows 7 and Windows 8 too.

Map WebDAV Drive in Windows File Explorer

1. First, open the file explorer while using Win + I keyboard shortcut.

2. In the file explorer, click the Computer tab and then click the Map Network Drive.

3. The above action will open the Network Drive Mapper window. Since you want to map a WebDAV drive, click the link “Connect to some website which you can use to store your documents and pictures” appearing at the end.

4. This action will open another wizard that permits you to map WebDAV drive in Windows. Click on the Next button to continue.

5. Here, select Select a custom network location and then click the Next button.

6. Now, go into the WebDAV URL in the blank field and click on the following button. As I said before, you can find the WebDAV URL from your service provider. With my case, since I want to add my Box cloud storage, I’m entering this area WebDAV URL.

7. Windows will now prompt for the WebDAV user credentials. Type in the username, password, choose the Remember my credentials check box and click on the Ok button.

8. Now, name the network drive. This is the name that appears within the File Explorer. With my case, I’m naming the network drive as “Box (WindowsLoop)”.

9. Finally, click the Finish button to shut the network location wizard.

10. As soon as you close the wizard, the mapped WebDAV drive should open automatically in the file explorer. If not, you can find the WebDAV drive underneath the Network Locations section in the file explorer.

11. Because you mapped the WebDAV drive in file explorer, you can use it like any other drive or folder in Windows. For example, you can create new folders or files, modify existing ones, transfer files to and from, delete files and folders, etc. Simply put, any changes you are making within the file explorer will reflect inside your actual WebDAV drive.

12. If you ever want to, you can delete the mapped WebDAV drive from file explorer. To achieve that, right-click on the WebDAV drive and choose the Delete option. This course of action will delete the mapped drive. Remember that this course of action will not affect data inside your actual WebDAV drive. It simply deletes the network mapping.

That’s all. It’s that simple to add WebDAV drive as a network drive in Windows 10.

 

Maybe This Windows 10 Settings App Makes Killing Off User interface Easier

One of Microsoft’s long-terms plans in Windows 10 is replacing the classic Control Panel using the modern Settings app, so every new Windows 10 feature update continues the migration with the change in more options.

But on the other hand, it’s also a well known fact that the Settings app is not everyone’s bag, especially because the User interface is considered the more familiar experience for those switching from Windows 7 – given the truth that Microsoft ended support for Windows 7 in January this year, the amount of users upgrading to Windows 10 and therefore expecting a well-recognized desktop is a lot higher these days.

One of the ways Microsoft could make the transition easier is with refinements delivered to the Settings app in Windows 10, but to date, the company hasn’t been very interested in doing this.

Hello, concept

A concept that went live a few hours ago, however, proposes a more eye-candy design for that Settings app with a look inspired from the Microsoft To-Do app and taking advantage of colorful icons.

To tell the truth, regardless of this concept not proposing any substantial improvements, still it aligns with Microsoft’s strategy going forward and makes the UI overall easier to use, as finding a specific option in there might be a lot more straightforward.

In terms of when Microsoft is supposed to pull the User interface completely, no specifics are for sale to the time being, albeit this really is likely to take place in the long run and not overnight. But one thing is for certain though: the User interface would go away sooner or later, obviously in the end options result in the transition to settings, so sooner or later everyone would just need to get used to the brand new UI in Windows 10.

 

How to Record Screen with VLC in Windows 10

Are you aware that you are able to record computer screen with VLC?

No matter how many media players Windows has, VLC is one of the best. In fact, I don’t think there any other player that comes near to VLC when it comes to data format support, ease of use and also the sheer number of options and configurations. First and foremost, VLC is free and open-source.

If you are using VLC for just about any part of the time, you may realize that VLC does a number of other things apart from playing your local media. Those things include although not limited to converting media files, recording currently playing video, ripping DVDs and Blu-rays, movie streaming, etc.

Of all the things, one of the lesser known features of VLC is its capacity to record computer screen with just a few clicks. This selection is particularly helpful when you wish to record a problem you are having with your computer, to capture your preferred gameplay footage, to produce an instructional step-by-step guide regarding how to use a certain feature in Windows, etc.

No matter what the reason is, understanding how to record screen with VLC can be very helpful in the time of need. So, here’s using VLC to record computer screen.

Record Screen with VLC

Note: exactly the same steps are applicable even if you are using Windows 7 and Windows 8.

1. Open VLC media player by looking it up in the start menu.

2. The first thing you need to do is enable Advanced Controls. To do that, select “View > Advanced Control.” You will notice additional controls appear on top of the Play/Pause buttons.

3. Select “Media > Open Capture Device.”

4. Here, select “Desktop” in the drop-down menu alongside Capture Mode, enter your desired frame rate (like 24, 30, or 60 fps) and click on the “Convert” option appearing under the “Play” drop-down menu.

Note: Should you accidentally/willingly click on the Play button as opposed to the Convert button, you’ve got the inception moment. You will get from it by hitting the “Stop” button in the VLC media player.

5. Within the Convert window, select the profile as “Video – H.264 + MP3 (MP4).” Now, click the Browse button.

6. Select a destination folder to save it file, name it and click on the “Save” button.

7. Now, click on the “Start” button.

8. The above action will begin the recording process. If you take a look at Advanced Controls in VLC, you can see the activated “Record” button.

9. When you are done, you are able to keep recording process by click on the “Stop” button.

10. The file will be automatically saved towards the destination that you simply chose earlier.

There you have it. It is that easy to record screen with VLC in Windows 10. One downside of this process is the fact that VLC does not record sound. Although it isn’t perfect and is nowhere near the actual screen recording software, it definately is useful in a pinch. Moreover, it’s not necessary to install yet another software for any quick screen recording session.