select disc 3
… where, obviously, you replace the number 3 with any number corresponding to the disc in question. Finally, run:
clean
Your system will wipe the drive clean, with no hidden partitions or tables cluttering your PC. You can then click the Start menu, search for Disk Management, and right-click the drive to initialize and format. Keep in mind that this only deletes partition tables, it doesn’t securely delete all your data – some of it can still be accessed with file recovery tools. To safely delete all traces (such as whether you will recycle your drive or sell your computer), you’ll want to right-click the drive in Windows Explorer, choose Format, and clear the Quick Format box. Or use a third-party tool, such as DBAN, that has a number of other secure deletion options.
Get a list of each program installed on your computer.
When you get a new laptop or do a clean reinstall of Windows, you’re likely to forget some of the tools you use every day and take them for granted. Before deleting the drive, you can get a list of each program installed on your computer with a single command.
Unlike the others in this list, however, this command must be run from PowerShell, a newer and more powerful tool built into Windows. Open the Start menu, search for PowerShell, and launch a new window. Then run the following command – it’s long, but it’s just a copy and paste command, which will take the contents of three different registry keys and display them in a text file on your desktop:
Get-ItemProperty HKLM: Software Microsoft Windows CurrentVersion Uninstall *, HKLM: Software Wow6432Node Microsoft Windows CurrentVersion Uninstall *, HKCU: Software Microsoft Windows CurrentVersion Uninstall * | Select-Object DisplayName, DisplayVersion, Publisher, Size, InstallDate | Format-Table -AutoSize> C: Users Whitson Desktop ProgramsList.txt
Replace Whitson with the name of your user folder at the end of that command to get the file to your desktop. Note, however, that this will not include Windows Store applications, which you can list by running:
Get-AppxPackage> C: Users Whitson Desktop StoreProgramsList.txt
Again, replacing Whitson with the name of your user folder. There will be a lot of junk in that list, but you can manually pick up the few programs you want to remember and paste them into the original list, if it’s easier.
Clock Star Wars (Not really)
OK, it’s not exactly a “useful” trick, but it’s definitely neat. If you enable Telnet in Windows (search for “enable or disable Windows features” in the Start menu, then check the Telnet box), you can run:
telnet prosop.blinkenlights.nl
To view an ASCII version a Star Wars in the command prompt window. This has been around for years and still impresses me.
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