select disk 3
… naturally replacing the number 3 with the number corresponding to the disc in question. Finally, run:
clean
Your system will wipe the disk, without hidden partitions or tables confusing your PC. Then you can click on the Start menu, search for Disk Management and right-click on the disk to initialize and format it. Note that this only clears the partition tables, it doesn’t securely erase all of your data – some of them may still be accessible with file recovery tools. To securely erase all traces (for example, if you are going to recycle the drive or sell the PC), right-click the drive in Windows Explorer, choose Format, and then clear the Quick Format check box. Or use a third-party tool like DBAN, which has a number of other secure erase options.
Get a list of every program installed on your PC
When you buy a new laptop or reinstall Windows, you probably forget some of the tools you use every day that you take for granted. Before erasing your drive, you can list every program installed on your PC with one command.
However, unlike the others on this list, this command must be run from PowerShell, a newer, more powerful tool built into Windows. Open the Start menu, search for PowerShell and open a new window. Then run the following command – it’s long, but it’s just one copy and paste command, which grabs the contents of three different registry keys and outputs them to 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 on your desktop. Note, however, that this doesn’t include Windows Store apps, which you can view by running the following:
Get-AppxPackage> C: Users Whitson Desktop StoreProgramsList.txt
Again, replace Whitson with the name of your user folder. There will be a lot of junk in that list, but you can manually grab the few programs you want to remember and paste them into your original list if it’s easier.
Watch Star Wars (No seriously)
Okay, this isn’t exactly a “useful” trick, but it sure is neat. If you enable Telnet in Windows (search for “Enable or disable Windows features” in the Start menu and check the Telnet box), you can perform the following:
telnet towel.blinkenlights.nl
To get an ASCII version of Star Wars in your command prompt window. This has been around for years and it still impresses me.
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