Download From Netflix for Offline Viewing

How to Download Movies and Shows From Netflix for Offline Viewing

After years of being on people’s wish lists, Netflix has finally started rolling its most oft-desired feature: the ability to download movies and shows for offline viewing. For the time being, this option is only available on mobile devices—smartphones and tablets that run iOS and Android—but you can start using it now.

This means a couple of things: you can watch Netflix on the go without eating up your data cap, and you can watch your favorite shows or movies while on a plane or subway with no data connection. That’s pretty huge.

Of course, there are caveats, too. Firstly, the option to download movies or shows isn’t available for the entire Netflix catalog yet, but rather a specifically curated subset. A large part of the offline catalog includes Netflix original shows (which, let’s be honest here, is some of the best stuff on Netflix anyway), along with some other select titles. I imagine the selection will continuously change, which should keep things fresh.

So, how do you get this new feature? It’s actually incredibly easy.

The first thing you need to do is make sure you have the latest version of the Netflix app on your respective device. These things often become available in staged rollouts, so if it’s not yet available on your account, you can wait a few days, or—in the case of Android, at least—find the APK and sideload it.

Once you have the app installed, it will be quick to let you know about the new feature as soon as you open it up. Front and center, baby.



You can always select “Find something to download” to get started, but if you happen to navigate away from that window, you can also open the menu by swiping in from the left side and selecting  “Available for download.” This will show the entire offline catalog.

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Before you start going download crazy, however, you should be aware of some of the new settings regarding downloads. You can choose to only download content on Wi-Fi (which is highly recommended, and on by default), as well as what quality to download. Unfortunately, Netflix isn’t very straightforward with the options, just “Standard” and “High.”



As you can probably assume, Standard will take up less space, where High will eat up more. On my Pixel C, I could definitely see pixelation and artifacting with the “Standard” setting, but things cleared up quite a bit with “High.” I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that the latter is 720p, but there’s no documentation that directly states this.

The first time you open a title that has the download option available, Netflix will kindly let you know with a small popup.



Even after that window is gone, however, grabbing a show or movie is super easy: tap the download button right next to the episode name or below the movie description.



When the download starts, a progress bar will show up at the bottom of the screen. When it’s finished, a notification will appear letting you know it’s ready to go. On Android, you’ll also get a notification in the shade.



To access your downloaded content, slide the menu open (again, sliding in from the left) and select “My Downloads.”



Movies will start playing as soon as you tap the entry, where shows will open a list of everything you’ve downloaded from that series. Tap on one of those entries to play it.



When you’re ready to delete an item, tap the icon in the upper right corner (on the My Downloads page)—it’s a pencil on Android, and reads “Edit” on iOS.



On Android, check boxes will show up next to the downloaded content—tap those boxes for the entries you’d like to remove.



On iOS, red Xs will show up next to the titles. Tap the X to remove the download.



Alternatively, if you’d like to remove all downloaded content, you can head back into the Settings menu by sliding in from the left and scrolling down to “App Settings,” then tapping the “Delete All Downloads” button.



And there you have it: Netflix’s new offline feature in a nutshell.

Create of Collage, Animation, Movie w/Google Photos

How to Create a Collage, Animation, or Movie with Google Photos on Android

Google Photos is a huge improvement over Android’s old “Gallery” app, but it does a lot more than just keep your stuff organized and synced. You can easily manipulate your photos into some very cool, shareable collages, animations, and even movies.

If you have a modern Android phone, then you likely have Google’s Photos app installed. If not, you can get it from the Play Store—and you’ll probably want to. It’s more than just a simple photo manager: it’s a backup system, a light editor, and a powerful tool that lets users transform simple photos into something much more meaningful.

Most of its power lies in the Assistant feature, which you can access by tapping the “Assistant” link at the very bottom of the main Photos window. From here, there are a variety of things you can do, but we’re going to focus on the top options: Album, Collage, Animation, and Movie. Before we look at those, however, I do want to mention that Photos will often create these things for you under certain circumstances, like when several similar photos are taken together, for example. When this happens, it will generate a notification to let you know; from there, you can delete the animation or save it. It’s neat.



But if you want to build something for yourself instead of waiting for Google to do it for you, that’s incredibly easy: just pick one of the top options on the Assistant page. For this example, we’ll put together a collage, but the process is essentially identical across the board.

First, choose your option (again, in this case, we’re going with “Collage”). This will open the gallery window, allowing you to select multiple photos. For a collage, you can select between two and nine pictures—for most of the others, you can select up to 50 photos, because that makes more sense for an animation or video. Let’s go with four, because that really just seems like a good number for a collage.


Once you’ve selected the photos, go ahead and tap the “Create” button in the top right. A brief progress bar will show up, followed by your new creation. It’s all very, very simple, which is really the biggest benefit and weakness of Assistant: there are very little customization options going on here. For example, in our collage, we didn’t get to select a layout or format—it just slapped the images into a standard 4×4 layout. Sometimes this is fine, but others it may seem lacking. Of course, if you want to do more, there are plenty of tools for the job—Photos’ Assistant is great because it’s so simple.



After your collage, animation, or video has been created, it will automatically be saved to your gallery and backed up (assuming your settings allow this, of course).

Install Play Store on Amazon Fire

How to Install the Google Play Store on the Amazon Fire HD 8

Amazon’s slightly-larger Fire HD 8 tablet is a bit more expensive than the entry-level Fire Tablet, but it comes with a faster processor and a higher-resolution display that’s well worth the cost. However, it still comes with the same Fire OS interface and restrictions that only give you access to the Amazon Appstore. Here’s how to install the Google Play Store on the newer Fire HD 8 and get access to a lot more apps and games.

This method doesn’t require rooting the device, nor does it require a PC to do the legwork—everything is done right on the tablet itself.

Before You Begin

We tested this on a device running 5.3.1.1, but readers have reported it working on the latest 5.3.2 as well. You can check what version you have by going into Settings > Device Options > System Updates and looking at the version number at the top of the screen, but for now, version shouldn’t matter.

Next, go into Settings > Security and enable “Apps from Unknown Sources”. This will allow you to install the necessary APK files that will give you the Google Play Store.

Step One: Download the Google Play Store APK Files

Next, there are four .APK files you’ll need to download, using the built-in Silk browser on your tablet. The easiest way to do this is to open up this tutorial in the Silk browser and click on the links below, which will take you to the download pages. These come from APK Mirror, an established and trustworthy source for Android APKs.

Google Account Manager APK

Google Services Framework APK

Google Play Services APK

Google Play Store APK

To download each APK file, click on the link, scroll down, and tap on “Download APK”.



The download will start shortly. When it does, a pop-up will appear saying that this type of file can harm your device (don’t worry—it won’t). Tap on “OK” when the pop-up appears.



After each file downloads, do the same thing for the next APK file until all four files are downloaded.

Step Two: Install the Google Play Store APK Files

Close out of the Silk browser and open up the built-in file manager app on your Fire table called “Docs”.



Tap on “Local Storage”.



Select the “Downloads” folder.



Your APK files will appear in this folder. Simply tap on one to begin installing it. Be sure to install the APK files in the order that you downloaded them from the list above. In other words, install the Google Account Manager APK first, then the Google Services Framework APK, followed by the Google Play Services APK, and then the Google Play Store APK to finish it out.



On the next screen, confirm the installation by tapping on “Install” at the bottom. Toward the upper-left corner it will say which APK you’re installing, so again, make sure you install them in the right order.



Repeat this process for each APK file until all four are installed. Once that’s done, the Google Play Store app will appear on the home screen of your Fire HD 8 tablet. Open it up, log in with your Google account, and download some apps!

Thanks to Gilly10 on the XDA-Developers forums for providing this method. If you need troubleshooting help, head over to the XDA-Developers forum thread for more information.

Trivia

The First Woman To Appear On A U.S. Postage Stamp Was?

Harriet Tubman	Susan B. Anthony
Martha Washington	Queen Isabella

Answer: Queen Isabella

One would assume that the first U.S. postage stamp that bore a woman’s face would bear the face of an American woman. Over the years, there have been many such stamps, like those commemorating Susan B. Anthony (women’s rights advocate), Amelia Earhart (aviator), and Clara Barton (American Red Cross founder).

The first U.S. postage stamp with a woman’s face on it, however, wasn’t commemorating a woman specifically, but linking that woman with a man: Christopher Columbus. In 1893, a stamp was issued commemorating Columbus’ voyage to the New World and alongside his portrait was a portrait of his patron—Queen Isabella of Spain, who made his journey possible.

It wouldn’t be until 1902 that a woman would be featured by herself on a piece of U.S. postage. That year, the post office released a stamp commemorating Martha Washington, the first “First Lady” of the United States.

Did You Know/Todays Term

Did You Know?

Birds and bats may both fly, but whereas birds flap their forelimbs (akin to a human flapping their entire arm), bats flap their very specialized long digits (akin to a human flapping just their hands).

Today's Tech Term 

AIDC

AIDC (short for Automatic Identification And Data Collection or Capture) refers to the process of electronically capturing or collecting data automatically without the use of a keyboard.

Some examples of AIDC are: barcode scanning, alphanumeric codes, RFID, biometrics, smart cards, OCR, and magnetic strips.

Entertainment News - Episode VIII

Gwendoline Christie: Fans won't be disappointed by Episode VIII

(Lucasfilm)
Star Wars

As we get excited for the unveiling of Rogue One, somewhere in Disney’s top secret post-production editing and visual effect bays are prints of year’s top-secret Episode VIII – which completed principal photography all the way back in July and won’t be released until another date that’s far, far away (December 15, 2017).

We recently spoke to Gwendoline Christie, who reprises her role as chrome trooper Captain Phasma in the film, and asked if there were any vague teases she could give us.

“No,” she said.

Please?

“I don’t think anyone’s going to be disappointed,” she added, and then she made this remarkable expression – her eyebrows shot up, her eyes got wide, and she clamped her lips shut as she smiled, as if thinking about some intensely exciting secrets she’s just bursting to reveal … but absolutely positively will not.

One big question, of course, has been if/when her character will remove her helmet so we can get a look at the real Phasma – though Christie has also defended Episode VII’s choice to keep her appearance mysterious. “I thought it was a really interesting opportunity to play a female character where we formed an opinion of her based on her actions rather than the way she has been made flesh,” Christie told us. “And that concept within a Star Wars movie, a mainstream phenomenon, was very modern and interesting and exciting. I made no secret of the fact I wanted to be in the film, I campaigned hard to be in the film. But to be in it as that kind of character – she’s a woman, she’s in armor, the armor isn’t sexualized, and in the film we don’t see the actor’s face – I thought that was an exciting, modern concept.”

Before Episode VIII comes out, however, Christie will be back in HBO’s Game of Thrones, which returns for its seventh season next summer. 

BY JAMES HIBBERD

Fri Inspiration

Morning Inspiration with Pastor Merritt

I believe there is one kind of love that will help people to stay in love after they fall in love. It is the kind of love that I believe is given by God and comes from God. It is found in what is known as, “The love chapter.” - I Corinthians 13. In that chapter, God weighs in on what loves, how love acts, and when love is real.

I am convinced that what a lot of people call “love” has nothing to do with love. You are going to see that in this most beautiful chapter on love ever written in human history.

There are actually three Greek words in scripture for the word “love.” One word is the word, “eros.” As you can imagine we get the word “erotic” from that. It was one of the two most common terms used in the culture in Paul’s day who wrote this thirteenth chapter. It refers to expressing your feelings for someone through the act of sex. Let me emphasize there is nothing morally wrong with eros in the right context. As we are going to talk about later this year, every marriage needs a very healthy dose of eros - a passionate, emotional, every lusty appetite for the one you are married to. As too many couples find out, eros love doesn’t last forever.

There is another word used for love, which is “philos.” We get the word “Philadelphia” from that which means “brotherly love.” That love stands for the kind of warm affection that is shared between family or close friends. That word is not as emotionally charged as the word “eros.” It has more character to it. This was the word that would have been more commonly used in that day to refer to “loving family or people which whom you were close.” Again, your spouse ought to be your best friend, but if you only love your spouse as a friend that is not the kind of love that will hold a marriage together.

The word that Paul uses no fewer than nine times in this chapter is the word “agape.” It is a word that is rarely found outside of scripture, because the meaning is so unique to the kind of love that we are to have that comes directly from the heart of God. This is the kind of love that always seeks to give and never to get. This is the kind of love that always puts the other person first. As you are going to see, unlike the erotic kind of love or the philo kind of love this is the kind of love that never fails.

What we are going to find from this chapter is real love stays in love.

Never Depend on Our Circumstances

Why Joy is Never Dependent on Our Circumstances 

Why Joy Is Never Dependent on Our CircumstancesBy Debbie McDaniel, Crosswalk.com Writer

"This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it." Ps. 118:24

Many of us may have heard this verse over long years. But what's interesting to know is that it's set right within a Psalm where the author is writing about huge adversity. It's not written about when times are good, but when times are hard. Situations were changing. The Psalmist cried out to God in anguish, he was surrounded on all sides by the enemy, he felt pushed back, and about to fall. Yet right in the midst of huge struggles shared, this chapter both starts and ends with the same verse, of giving thanks and praise unto God.

"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, his love endures forever." v. 1,29

Such a powerful reminder to us: True joy is never dependent on our circumstances. We can still choose to give thanks. We can still believe in God’s goodness and love, for that’s what carries us through all difficult seasons.

We might be facing the toughest of times, but the truth is this, He's still given us today. He's with us, and will never leave or fail us. His love covers us, His peace sustains us, and His joy gives us the strength to face every trial and obstacle with courage and grace. We can rest in the security that Truth brings.

May His blessings overwhelm you today as you look to Him and choose joy.

Give thanks.

For He is good.

His love endures.

Forever.

Intersecting Faith & Life: No matter what you’re facing today, be confident in God’s unchanging love for you. If He’s given us today, then we still have breath left within us to bring honor to Him. Choosing joy in hard times takes effort and action on our part; it requires our hearts to be set on Him. May He help us this day, to choose well.

Further Reading: Psalm 118: 1-29, Nehemiah 8:10, Psalm 28:7

Salvation & Service

Salvation and Service

By Touching Lives

“For we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works.” Ephesians 2:10

A first-grade teacher asked her class the question: “What do you do to help at home?” One by one the answers came back. One little girl said, “I dry the dishes.” One little boy said, “I feed the dog.” Another child said, “I sweep the floor.” Everybody gave an answer except one little boy sitting in the back. He didn’t say a word. The teacher looked at him and said, “Billy, what do you do to help out at home?” He answered, “I stay out of the way.”

In the Kingdom of God, no one is supposed to “stay out of the way.” We were all created for service according to Ephesians 2:10. Everything created by God was created for a purpose. Birds were created to sing, bees were created to give honey, cows were created to give milk, fish were created to swim, and you were created for ministry. God designed you to make a difference. God made you the way you are so you could do what He wants you to do. You are unique because you have a unique ministry to fulfill and a unique service to perform.

Not only are we created for service but we are also called to service. The call to salvation brings with it a call to serve Christ. Not every Christian is called to full-time ministry as a career but every Christian is called to minister full time. Romans 7:4 says, “Now you belong to Him…in order that we might be useful in the service of God.” Think about this…why doesn’t God take us to heaven the moment we are saved? There can only be one explanation. It is because salvation involves more than just going to heaven. God has a ministry for each of us to do while we are alive on this earth.

Do you see the purpose of your salvation as ministry to others? God wants you to share the grace He has given you with others today.

Father, Open my eyes to the opportunities around me to serve others today. Help me to show them Your goodness and grace. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Breaking News - Sec of Defense

 BREAKING: Trump Has Just Chosen His Secretary of Defense

There have been several names floating around in regards to President Elect Donald Trump’s possible Secretary of Defense. However, none have carried as much weight with both members of the military as well as America’s enemies – Retired Four Star Marine General James Mattis.

According to a recently published report by The Washington Post: “President-elect Donald Trump has chosen retired Marine Gen. James N. Mattis to be secretary of defense, according to people familiar with the decision, nominating a former senior military officer who led operations across the Middle East to run the Pentagon less than four years after he hung up his uniform.”



The report continues: Mattis, 66, retired as the chief of U.S. Central Command in spring 2013 after serving more than four decades in the Marine Corps. He is known as one of the most influential military leaders of his generation, serving as a strategic thinker while occasionally drawing rebukes for his aggressive talk. Since retiring, he has served as a consultant and as a visiting fellow with the Hoover Institution, a think tank at Stanford University.

Like Trump, Mattis favors a tougher stance against U.S. adversaries abroad, especially Iran. The general, speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in April, said that while security discussions often focus on terrorist groups such as the Islamic State or al-Qaeda, the Iranian regime is “the single most enduring threat to stability and peace in the Middle East.”



Mattis would require a waiver from Congress because he has not been out of military service for more than seven years which is a Title 10 requirement.



“In terms of strengthening America’s global standing among European and Mideastern nations alike, the sense is that America has become somewhat irrelevant in the Middle East, and we certainly have the least influence in 40 years,” Mattis said.



According to his Wikipedia page:

James N. Mattis (born September 8, 1950) is a retired United States Marine Corps general who last served as the 11th commander of United States Central Command. Mattis is known for implementing the COIN strategy. Before President Barack Obama appointed him to replace David Petraeus on August 11, 2010, he previously commanded United States Joint Forces Command from November 9, 2007 to August 2010 and served concurrently as NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Transformation from November 9, 2007 to September 8, 2009. Prior to that, he commanded I Marine Expeditionary Force, United States Marine Forces Central Command, and 1st Marine Division during the Iraq War.[4] Mattis retired on May 22, 2013, after 44 years of service.



By Tribunist Staff

System Volume Info Folder

What Is the “System Volume Information” Folder, and Can I Delete It?

On every Windows drive—even external USB drives—you’ll find a “System Volume Information” folder. You’ll only see it if you have Windows set to show hidden files and folders, but it’s always there. So what is it for?

Why Can’t I Open the Folder?

On drives formatted with the NTFS file system, this folder’s permissions are set to prevent everyone from accessing the folder, even users with Administrator permissions. Double-click the folder and you’ll see an error message saying the “location is not available” and “access is denied.” This is normal.

That’s because Windows uses this folder for certain system-level features. The permissions are set to prevent users—and programs without the appropriate permissions—from tampering with the files inside and interfering with important system functions.

What Is It For?

Among other things, Windows stores System Restore points in the System Volume Information folder.

If you need to shrink the size of the System Volume Information folder, you can do so from the Control Panel. Head to Control Panel > System and Security > System > System Protection. Under Protection Settings, you can choose whether System Restore is enabled and control how much disk space Windows uses for System Restore points.



Just disabling System Protection for a drive won’t actually delete the System Volume Information folder. Windows stores more than just restore points here.

For example, the System Volume Information folder also contains information used by the content indexing service databases that speed up your file searches, the Volume Shadow Copy service for backups, and the Distributed Link Tracking Service databases used to repair shortcuts and links.



If you have a drive formatted with the exFAT or FAT32 file systems—an external USB drive, for example—you can open the System Volume Information folder and look inside.

For example, on one of our USB drives, we saw two files inside: IndexerVolumeGuid and WPSettings.dat.

The IndexerVolumeGuid file assigns a unique identifier to this drive. The Windows indexing service examines the files on the drive and indexes them. When you connect the drive to the computer in the future, Windows checks the identifier and knows which search database to associate with the drive. You can then use Windows search features, such as the search box in the Start menu, Cortana on Windows 10, or the search box in the File Explorer or Windows Explorer, to quickly search for files on the drive.

WPSettings.dat is another file created by a Windows service, but we’re not sure exactly what it’s for. There’s no official documentation on this file.

Can I Delete the Folder?

You shouldn’t delete the System Volume Information folder. On NTFS-formatted drives, Windows won’t normally let you access this folder, much less delete it. On exFAT or FAT32-formatted drives, you can choose to delete the folder—but Windows will just recreate it in the future, since it needs it.

Windows stores important system data here, and you should leave the folder alone. Don’t attempt to change the permissions on the folder to delete it.

If the System Volume Information folder is using a lot of space, reduce the space allocated to System Restore in Windows. If seeing the folder bothers you, just set Windows to hide hidden files and folders.

Business News

The OPEC deal is done. Here's what to expect from oil markets next

 The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries on Wednesday committed its fractious members to their first oil production limits in eight years. Now comes the hard part.

OPEC has agreed to cut production by about 1.2 million barrels per day, or about 4.5 percent of current production, to 32.5 million barrels per day.

Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia faces the unenviable tasks of policing cartel members and keeping crude prices within a range that will relieve pressure on oil-producing countries' economies, but which will dissuade non-OPEC producers from increasing output.

Analysts broadly expect an agreement to boost oil prices above $50 a barrel and keep them there. Prices have wavered between about $40 and $54 since the spring.

Commodity watchers also believe the deal will set up a long-awaited balance between oil supply and demand in the first half of next year. The market has been oversupplied for more than two years, by as much as 2 million barrels a day.

But OPEC now has a difficult needle to thread. Oil rigs began popping up in U.S. oil fields when prices approached $50 a barrel, and analysts believe high-cost producers outside OPEC will further ramp up production if crude prices rise above $55 a barrel.

That includes U.S. shale drillers, which have built a backlog of partially completed wells in anticipation of a price recovery. Once prices rise, they could switch on that production-in-waiting.

While many see oil prices averaging between $50 and $55 next year, analysts are not united on the path to that level. Goldman Sachs believes the deal will cause crude prices to spike in the first half of 2017, and then moderate in the second half as both OPEC and U.S. shale producers capitalize on the rally.

But JPMorgan sees prices rising slowly but steadily quarter after quarter. The bank cautioned that the deal is essentially aimed at preventing an even larger buildup of oil stockpiles. The world's storage facilities are brimming with crude and refined fuels.

Accommodations the cartel offered to Iran , Libya and Nigeria would mean that total OPEC production will likely increase next year, even as other members cut output in the first part of 2017, JPMorgan said.

Libya and Nigeria were granted exemptions because they have experienced significant supply outages due to internal conflicts. Iran agreed to freeze production near current levels rather than cut as it rebuilds its market share following the lifting of sanctions earlier this year.

Skeptics have long warned that OPEC members are notorious cheaters and may not stick to quotas agreed to on Wednesday in Vienna. But RBC Capital Markets said adherence may not matter so much this time for a simple reason: OPEC members are near full-tilt, and they don't have much more capacity to pump.

"The OPEC producers are close to being capped out, and the ones that do have significant spare capacity continue to face security problems that will likely imperil any ramp-up plans in the near term," RBC wrote in a note.

"Libya and Nigeria collectively have more than one and a half million barrels that are currently off the market, but neither of these countries is close to resolving the political and security problems that have shut in output."

Beyond OPEC, other countries aren't helping out those who hope for higher prices, the International Energy Agency said in its latest oil market report. Demand for oil around the world is expected to increase by 1.2 million barrels a day in 2017, a rate of growth that would match this year.

The IEA also projects Russia , the world's largest oil producer, to increase its crude output by 230,000 barrels a day this year. The agency says Russia could boost production by another 200,000 barrels a day next year.

OPEC said it is seeking to secure 600,000 barrels per day of cuts from non-OPEC producers, and that Russia has committed to temporarily cut production by about 300,000 barrels per day.

But implementing the cuts will be difficult for Russia, said Chris Weafer, co-founder of consulting agency Macro Advisory Partners, prior to the announcement.

The Russian government, which owns a majority share in that country's big oil companies, would face a revolt from minority shareholders if it sought to limit production, he said. From a technical perspective, Russia can't turn off the taps, because much of the production comes from areas with freezing temperatures where drillers must keep oil flowing, he added.

"Russia cannot agree to a production cut because it cannot deliver on that," Weafer told CNBC.
Prior to OPEC's announcement, the IEA said it also expects Brazil , Canada and Kazakhstan to pump more in 2017. That would push total non-OPEC output growth to 500,000 barrels a day next year, compared with a projected decline of 900,000 barrels a day this year.

"This means that 2017 could be another year of relentless global supply growth similar to that seen in 2016," IEA said.

Tom DiChristopher,CNBC

Windows Shut Down Faster

How to Make Windows Shut Down Faster

Windows PCs should shut down fairly quickly—unless there’s a problem causing a shutdown delay. Here’s how to make your computer shut down faster.

Ensure Windows Isn’t Clearing Your Page File at Shutdown

Windows uses a paging file, also known as a page file, as additional virtual memory. Windows has a hidden option—disabled by default—to clear the paging file at shutdown. This erases everything in the page file, ensuring no sensitive data is stored where someone could access it by removing the computer’s hard drive and examining the paging file.

Your computer may take several minutes to shut down while Windows erases the page file, if this option is enabled. How long it takes depends how large the page file is and how fast your hard drive is. However, you don’t need this option if your hard drive is encrypted (which you should do if you haven’t already). The encryption will prevent an attacker from examining your page file while the computer is shut down.

If your computer is managed by an IT department, they may have enabled this option for a reason. In that case, there’s not much you can do besides shrinking the size of the page file.

Standard warning: Registry Editor is a powerful tool and misusing it can render your system unstable or even inoperable. This is a pretty simple hack and as long as you stick to the instructions, you shouldn’t have any problems. That said, if you’ve never worked with it before, consider reading about how to use the Registry Editor before you get started. And definitely back up the Registry (and your computer!) before making changes.

You can check if your computer is clearing its page file at shut down by examining the Windows registry. Press Windows+R, type “regedit” into the Run dialog, and press Enter to open it.

Navigate to the following key in the Registry Editor window:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management

Look in the right pane for the “ClearPageFileAtShutdown” setting. If the data is set to “0x00000000 (0)”, Windows is not clearing the page file at shut down. If it’s set to “0x00000001 (1)”, Windows is clearing the page file at shutdown.

If you don’t see any “ClearPageFileAtShutdown” setting here, that’s fine—Windows isn’t clearing the page file at shutdown.



If it’s set to “1”, you can prevent Windows from clearing the page file at shutdown by double-clicking the “ClearPageFileAtShudown” setting and setting it to “0”. Your shutdown process should become much faster.

Locate Services Causing Shutdown Delays

Rather than guess if a service running in the background on your computer is slowing your shutdown process, you can actually check which ones are guilty.

To do this, you’ll need to use the Event Viewer. Either right-click the Start button on Windows 10 or 8 and select “Event Viewer” or press Windows+R, type “eventvwr” into the Run dialog, and press Enter.



Navigate to the following section in the Event Viewer:

Applications And Services Logs\Microsoft\Windows\Diagnostics-Performance\Operational

Right-click the “Operational” log and select “Filter Current Log”.



Type “203” into the “Event IDs” field and click “OK”. This will filter the log to show only shutdown events.



Look through the list, which will now only show events that read “This service caused a delay in the system shutdown process”. You’ll see the name of the service slowing things down in the General box. Look next to “File Name” and “Friendly Name”.



The information you see here will point you at any services taking a long time to shut down. For example, VPN software might take a long time to shut down and may be causing a long delay. If you have the software installed but don’t actively use it, you can uninstall it. Search the web for the name of any software you see here to see what it is and whether you can uninstall it. Some services here are system software you can’t do anything about, however.

Check Your WaitToKillServiceTimeout Value

Windows doesn’t shut down immediately when you click “Shut Down”. Instead, it sends a “the system is shutting down” signal to any open applications and background services. Windows waits for a period of time to allow these services to finish up and save their data before it closes them and shuts down the computer.

By default, Windows waits five seconds after you click “Shut Down” before it closes any background services and shuts down the computer. However, if all background services shut down successfully before the five second timer expires, the computer will shut down immediately.

There are a few different values that manage how long your computer waits, and we discussed them in this guide. But there’s one in particular you may want to check if your computer is taking a while to shut down: the “WaitToKillServiceTimeout” value. Some applications increase the value to more than 5 seconds when you install them, as they might want extra time to clean things up at shut down. If this value has been changed, your computer will take longer to shut down than normal.

Open a registry editor window by pressing Windows+R, typing “regedit”, and pressing Enter. Navigate to the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control

Look in the right pane for the “WaitToKillServiceTimeout” and read the value in the Data column. The value is displayed in milliseconds. For example, if WaitToKillServiceTimeout is set to 5000, Windows will wait 5 seconds. If the value is set to 20000, Windows will wait 20 seconds.



We don’t recommend setting this value to less than 5000. Some services may not be able to shut down properly if you don’t give them enough time.

However, if an application has increased the value to a larger number, you might want to set it back to “5000”. Just double-click “WaitToKillServiceTimeout” and enter a value of “5000”.

There isn’t a ton you can do to make your computer shut down faster, but hopefully with these tricks in hand, you can ensure it’s shutting down as fast as possible.