A better dark mode for your PC

Plus a little-known troubleshooting trick  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [Windows Intelligence](#) [Windows Intelligence](#) Brought to you by: =​ Today, I want to talk about dark mode. In my experience, people either love dark mode or hate it — but the people who love it really love it. It's gotten better on Windows, but there are still some missing pieces that can make dark mode truly awesome on a Windows PC. But first, I've got an awesome announcement and opportunity for you: As we've talked about before, we have a limited-space premium club called [The Intelligence Insider]( packed with useful resources. We're trying to create something truly awesome here, and I'm proud of what we're offering. But while I feel great about the value we're offering, there are plenty of people who may not be able to justify the expense — but would still benefit from access to our Insider program. That's why I'm thrilled to announce our first-ever community-provided Intelligence Insider scholarships. These are fully funded, completely free memberships for anyone who would appreciate Insider access but for whatever reason can't make the cost work. Thanks to the generosity of our current community members, we have 15 Insider scholarships to hand out today — no questions asked and no strings attached. If you'd benefit from this arrangement and you aren't in a position to pay for a membership of your own anytime soon, please [add your name and email address to this form]( to put yourself in the running. (Your participation will remain completely confidential.) We're leaving the form open through the end of day next Thursday, February 15th. Then, we'll randomly draw 15 names from the list and alert the winners. Each recipient will be given a full year Intelligence Insider Prodigy-level membership at zero cost and with zero commitment to continue. Thanks as always for being part of what we're building! And an extra-special thanks to our Insider Sage members for making this possible. Now, let's talk about dark mode and more PC goodness. [Chris Hoffman, AUthor] Chris Today's read: ⌚ 3 Things to Know: 2 minutes ⌚ 3 Things to Try: 2 minutes ⌚ Top Thurrott Thoughts: 30 seconds ⌚ Just for Fun: 20 seconds ​ [] [3 Things to Know This Week] ​ 1. Upgrade pop-ups are pushing Windows 11 again ➜ THE SHORT VERSION: If you haven't upgraded your Windows 10 PC to Windows 11 yet, you'll probably start seeing more pushy popups soon. 🔎 KNOW MORE: Microsoft wants to get Windows 10 PCs onto Windows 11 if possible — and it seems like Microsoft wants to keep them there and not leap to "Windows 12" any time soon. - The latest upgrade popups require you click through four different screens if you want to keep using Windows 10. - Meanwhile, a Microsoft support document mentioned "Windows 11 version 24H2" — another sign that the big Windows release later this year will be a Windows 11 update and not called "Windows 12." - Windows Central is reporting that the new people in charge of Windows want to update Windows more frequently and move away from the "big release every three years" schedule that Microsoft was shifting back to. 📌 READ MORE: Take a look at [the upgrade pop-ups](=), the [support document that revealed the release date](=), or [the inside dirt on Microsoft's Windows strategy](). --------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Microsoft's strange PC cleaning app is easier to get ➜ THE SHORT VERSION: Microsoft's "PC Manager" tool is now available to install from the Store. But this app is very strange, and I don't recommend it. 🔎 KNOW MORE: Microsoft's PC Manager app is a PC cleaning app — sort of like an "official" alternative to apps like CCleaner. - The app appears to have originally been a Chinese-language app that was translated into English. - It has strange functions like "PC Boost," which tries to free up memory and remove temporary files. That "boost" doesn't do much — your PC will gradually start using more memory after you click it. - The app also claims that it can reduce carbon emissions by cleaning your PC's temporary files. I'd like to see Microsoft's argument for how that works! 📌 READ MORE: Take a look at [what PC Manager offers](=), or read [Microsoft's confusing claims](=) about how cleaning temporary files can reduce carbon emissions if you want a head-scratcher. --------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Apple released a bunch of new Windows apps ➜ THE SHORT VERSION: Apple made some serious changes to its Windows apps this week, redesigning the iCloud app and releasing Music, TV, and Devices apps. 🔎 KNOW MORE: Apple's apps are a must-install for anyone who uses Apple services and wants to access them on a Windows PC. - Apple now offers an Apple Music app for accessing Apple Music on Windows, an Apple TV app for accessing Apple TV+, and an Apple Devices app for managing your iPhone or iPad from your PC: Syncing data, backing it up, and restoring backups. - With these apps leaving preview form, iTunes for Windows is now close to vanishing. (Apple axed iTunes for Mac years ago.) - The iCloud for Windows app got a redesign, too. This app lets you access your iCloud Photos in the Windows Photos app, iCloud Drive files in File Explorer, iCloud Passwords in Chrome or Edge, iCloud calendars and contacts in Outlook, and iCloud bookmarks in your browser of choice. 📌 READ MORE: Get [Apple's Windows apps on the Store](), or check out [some more details](). SPONSORED MESSAGE Which platform delivered millions to investors in 2023? [Cartoon pig in sunglasses throwing money around](=)​ ​[Masterworks](=) just wrapped up another banner year, selling over $21.9M of paintings in 2023 and delivering the proceeds to investors. Talk about a Happy New Year… So, what did investors do with their cash? Charter a yacht in Ibiza? Finally close on that alpaca farm? Maybe save a little? Naaah. No matter how they spent their money, Masterworks wants to do the same thing for you. This award-winning platform is unlocking an asset class that was once only available to billionaires, but to kick off the new year, Masterworks is inviting readers of The Intelligence newsletters to [open a free, no-obligation account today](=). Isn’t it time you checked them out? ​OPEN A FREE ACCOUNT ➜ * Past performance is not indicative of future returns, investing involves risk. See disclosures masterworks.com/cd ​ [] [3 Things to Try This Week] 1. Upgrade dark mode on your PC Windows 11 and Windows 10 still don't offer the ideal dark mode experience out of the box. But you can make it much better with a few tools and tweaks. ➜ These dark mode upgrades will let you activate dark mode at sunset and switch to light mode at sunrise, get dark mode on any website, and more. ⌚ Trying out every upgrade will take you a minute or two. 💻 These tweaks work on both Windows 10 and Windows 11. 📌 Check out my new list of [5 dark mode upgrades for your PC](=) for all the goods. --------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Recover from a black screen with this shortcut If your PC's screen goes completely black, there's one little-known keyboard shortcut that will often recover from it. ➜ This keyboard shortcut is a convenient way to recover from some problems that would otherwise require rebooting your PC. If Ctrl+Alt+Delete doesn't do anything, try this as a second step. ⌚ This will take you 1 second to do. 💻 This shortcut works on both Windows 10 and Windows 11. To recover from a black screen, press Windows+Ctrl+Shift+B. Your computer will beep and the screen will flash black for a moment. Many people have said this shortcut "resets your graphics driver," but I'm not sure that's 100% accurate. What is true is that this resets some low-level graphical things in Windows. I've personally used this to recover a PC when Windows ends up stuck on a black screen. It's a great shortcut to have in your troubleshooting toolbox. --------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Batch rename files without extra software There are lots of great batch-renaming tools for renaming multiple files at once, including Microsoft's own PowerRename tool in [PowerToys](. But sometimes the fast, simple method is the best. ➜ File Explorer includes a convenient way to rename lots of files at once without extra software. ⌚ This will take you five seconds. 💻 This works on both Windows 10 and Windows 11. To rename multiple files at once in File Explorer, first select the group of files you want to rename. Then, just press F2 — or right-click a file and select "Rename." Enter a name and press Enter. The files will be renamed with your name and a number — "Name (1)", "Name (2)", and so on. (Want to undo the rename? You can always press Ctrl+Z to undo right after.) This isn't as flexible as a tool like PowerRename, but sometimes this is all you need to cleaning up a bunch of files with messy filenames. ​ [] [Top Thurrott Thoughts] Some standout links and expert analysis from our friends at Thurrott, who have been covering Windows since 1994: - ​[Copilot in Windows to Launch in a Wider Sidebar Pane by Default]( - Nice that we can finally resize it! - ​[Disney+ Starts Cracking Down on Password Sharing in the US]( - Everyone's cracking down on password sharing. - ​[Apple is Reportedly Working on At Least Two Foldable iPhone Prototypes]( - No surprise that Apple is testing these. - ​[How Do We Still Not Understand Xbox? (Premium)]( - Digging into Microsoft's Xbox strategy. - ​[Copilot for Microsoft 365 is Now Available Within Windows Copilot]() - You can toggle back and forth between "Work" and "Web." ​ [And Just for Funsies...] Remember Winamp? It was the music player for Windows 20 years ago. The classic desktop Winamp player eventually faded away — but did you know it had a blip of life in 2022-2023? At that time, the classic Winamp desktop application recieved some official updates to run on Windows 10 and Windows 11. Winamp's last release was in April 2023. You can [download and run Winamp]() on a modern Windows PC for some serious nostalgia. But don't expect future releases: The Winamp desktop player is no longer under active development. Want to skip the download? There's always [Webamp in your browser](=) for a dose of nostalgia, too. [A Winamp window on a Windows 11 desktop.] Until next time... That's all for this week! Have a great weekend. 🤚 Wait! 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