[Tech Tips] How to Pass Your Time in Covid-19 Pandemic Lockdown

We all know that the whole world is suffering from global Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic. Almost all countries are implementing full or partial lockdowns to prevent spread of the disease. People are working from home and students are studying in online classes. We all are staying home to stay safe.

There are many people who have nothing or very less work to do at home and they are finding it very difficult and irritating to stay 24 hours at home without anything to do. People are bored with continuously watching TV shows, movies, YouTube videos, web series, etc and using their mobile phones for social networking.

Today in this article, we’ll try to share a few things which you can do to pass your time in lockdown. Obviously, since it’s a technical website, we’ll list things which you can do in your computers and mobile phones. We are sure you find these tips very useful ans it’ll help you in having a good time in this boring lockdown.

Let’s start the article:

1. Clean up Old Software and Files

What was the last time when you checked how many 3rd party software have you installed in your PC or how many files (including software installers, videos, songs, movies, etc) did you download from Internet?

We regularly download and install software from Internet which we find interesting and many times we forget to uninstall them and these software keep occupying hard disk space. Many software keep running in background consuming CPU resources and RAM.

It’s the best time to check all installed software and remove unnecessary and unwanted software to free up disk space and system resources.

Similarly check out your Downloads folder and delete unnecessary files which you downloaded months or years back.

Related: [Tip] How to Get Extra Free Disk Space in Windows?

2. Organize Videos, Photos and Other Files in Folders

Most of the people keep downloading stuff from Internet and everything is stored in default Downloads folder. You should create a new folder e.g. “Setup” and move downloaded software installers inside this folder.

You can also create sub-folders inside the main Setup folder to store different types of software in separate folders. For example, you can create “Internet” folder and put web browsers (Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Opera, Vivaldi, etc) installers inside it. Similarly, create “System Tools” folder and put system related software such as tweaking utilities, file archiving software (such as 7-Zip) inside it. Create “Multimedia” folder and put media players software inside it. Create “Device Drivers” folder and put all your hardware drivers setup inside it. Create “Portable Apps” folder and put all portable applications inside it.

Similarly we copy (backup) all our photos, videos taken using our mobile phones in a single folder on our PC. You can organize all your photos and videos in separate folders. Create folders such as Birthdays, Anniversaries, Tour, Visits, etc and move photos and videos inside those folders. Put years in folder names so that you can easily recognize and find desired photo and videos.

When you’ll organize pics and videos, it’ll refresh your memories and you’ll love to watch those photos and videos again.

3. Make Your Computer Super Fast

After installing lots of software, games, etc, our computers become very slow. You may face problems and issues while using software and games such as lagging issues, etc.

It’s perfect time to make your PC faster. You can disable unnecessary services, animations and effects, etc to speedup your computer.

We have posted exclusive guides for all Windows versions which can help you in making your Windows PC faster.

You can check out and follow the guides at following links:

Master Tutorial to Make Windows 10 Super Fast

Master Tutorial to Make Windows 8 / 8.1 Super Fast

Master Tutorial to Make Windows 7 Super Fast

Master Tutorial to Make Windows Vista Super Fast

Master Tutorial to Make Windows XP Super Fast

4. Perform a Full Scan of Your Computer

Install a good antivirus and anti-spyware software if you haven’t yet and start a full system scan. There are chances some virus, malware are present in C: drive or downloaded files.

We can also help you in scanning and removing virus infections from your PC. You just need to download a tool called HijackThis from following link and contact us:

[Virus Removal] Is Your Computer Infected with Virus or Malware?

We’ll assist you in removing unwanted suspicious items from your PC.

5. Update All Installed Software and Device Drivers

It’s the best time to upgrade all your software and device drivers to the latest available version. Open all software and check for new updated versions using Help menu. I’m sure you’ll find many installed software are outdated in your system. You should immediately update all software to new versions.

You can also check for latest device drivers using Windows Update or using your PC manufacturer website.

6. Learn Registry Tweaks to Become a Pro

We have been posting several Registry tweaks since many years (since good ol’ Windows 98 and Windows XP era). If you are a new reader of our website, you can go through following tutorials to learn awesome registry tips-n-tricks which will allow you to modify context menus (right-click menus) and other system menus, options.

You’ll have great fun while using these tweaks:

Collection of Windows 10 Hidden Secret Registry Tweaks

Best Windows 8 Tips-n-Tricks for Windows 8.1 and Windows 10

Best Windows 7 Registry Tweaks and Tips-n-Tricks Which Work in Windows 8 and Later

How to Add Program Shortcuts with Icons in Desktop Context Menu in Windows 7 and Later

Add Cascading Menus for Programs in Desktop and Computer Context Menus in Windows 7 and Later

How to Add Your Name in Desktop Context Menu in Windows 7 and Later?

[AIO] Ultimate Tutorial to Customize Desktop Context Menu in Windows

[AIO] Ultimate Tutorial to Customize My Computer Context Menu in Windows

Ultimate List of All Kinds of User Restrictions for Windows

7. Transform Your Old Windows Versions into New Windows Versions

If you are a customization lover and using old Windows versions such as Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, you can make your old Windows versions look-like new Windows versions such as Windows 10, Windows 8/8.1.

We have posted several exclusive tutorials at following links to transform old Windows versions into new Windows versions:

Transform Windows 7 into Windows 8.1 without using Customization Pack

Transform Windows 7 into Windows 8 RTM without using Customization Pack

Transform Windows Vista into Windows 7 without using Customization Pack

Transform Windows XP into Windows 8.1 without using Customization Pack

Transform Windows XP into Windows 8 without using Customization Pack

Transform Windows XP into Windows 7 without using Customization Pack

Transform Windows XP into Windows Vista without using Customization Pack

You can also check out our popular and exclusive themes for almost all Windows versions and mobile phones to modify their look-n-feel:

Visit AskVG Gallery

8. Have Fun with Resource Hacker

Resource Hacker is one of our most favorite tools. In fact, our first article on this website was a detailed review of this tool. Resource Hacker can be used to modify menus, dialog boxes, options, settings, labels and everything else which you see in Windows operating system.

You can learn how to use Resource Hacker tool and how to modify look-n-feel of Windows with the help of following tutorials:

[Review] All About Resource Hacker, The Ultimate Windows Customization Tool

[Tip] How to Modify System Files Using Resource Hacker in Windows

List of Resource Hacker Tutorials to Customize Windows Look-n-Feel

List of Windows 7 (and Later) System Files to Customize Using Resource Hacker

List of Windows Vista System Files to Customize Using Resource Hacker

List of Windows XP System Files to Customize Using Resource Hacker

List of Windows UI Resources to Customize Using Resource Hacker

Tutorial to Customize Desktop Context Menu in Windows XP Using Resource Hacker

9. Check Out Our Exclusive and Very Useful Apps

We have released many apps in past which were developed by our readers. All apps are absolutely free and portable so you don’t need to install them. Just download and use.

You can try the apps from our Apps page:

Check Out AskVG Apps

10. Browse Our Best and Most Popular Articles

If you are a new reader here, you should definitely check the list of our best and most popular articles given on following page:

[Best of AskVG] List of Best and Most Popular Articles

You’ll find many useful and interesting articles and how-to guides which will help you in passing your time.

Now let’s talk about mobile phone users!

1. Take Backup of Phone book, Photos and Videos

We store so many things in our mobile phone such as contacts phone numbers, photos, videos, etc. Since you have enough free time at the moment, you can connect your mobile phone to PC or laptop and take a backup of your phone book and gallery.

You can also backup your WhatsApp photos and videos.

2. Note Down Which Apps are Installed in Your Mobile Phone

I’m sure you might have installed many apps and games in your mobile phone. You can note down names of all apps and games. It’ll help you in reinstalling those apps and games in case you purchase a new mobile phone or your mobile phone gets broken or stolen.

While taking a note of all apps, you’ll find many unused apps and games which you can uninstall to free up your mobile phone memory.

3. Reset Your Mobile Phone (Pro Users Only)

After installing many apps and using mobile phone for long time, it may become slower and sluggish. If you are a mobile expert and you can afford reinstalling everything and modifying all settings again according to your requirement, it’s the best time to reset your mobile phone to factory settings.

Once you reset your mobile phone, it will work like a new phone just like you purchased it on the first day. Everything will work smooth and fast.

WARNING: Remember resetting your mobile phone will remove everything so make sure to take a backup first.

After resetting, you can reinstall required apps and restore pics, videos, contacts, etc from your PC.

You can reset your mobile phone using its Settings. Just search for Reset option in Settings.

Resetting the phone and restoring everything will definitely keep you busy for few hours or 1-2 days.

4. Make Your Mobile Phone Faster

You can also turn off unnecessary animations and eye candy effects in your mobile phone to make it faster.

Following article will help you:

[Tip] Speed up Your Slow Android Mobile Phone, Make it Run Faster

5. Hidden Secret Codes for Your Mobile Phone

Last but not least! You can also try hidden secret codes in your mobile phone to reveal service menus and other hidden stuff.

Check out following articles to learn these secret codes:

Hidden Secret Codes for Google Android Mobile Phones

Hidden Secret Codes for Samsung Galaxy Mobile Phones

iPhone Tips-n-Tricks and Hidden Secret Service Codes

List of Hidden Secret Service Codes for Chinese Mobile Phones

[Tip] 5 Awesome Hidden Secret Features of Samsung Galaxy Mobile Phones

[Tips] 10 Cool Features of Samsung Galaxy Smartphones to Show Off

[Tip] Enable Hidden Secret Features in Samsung Galaxy Smartphones

There are also many other things to try for time pass. If you have a TV set or DTH (Direct To Home) connection, you can check out following articles to unlock hidden secret stuff in TV and Set Top Boxes (STB):

Hidden Secret Service Menu Codes for Sony, Samsung, LG and Philips TV

Revealing Hidden Secret Service Menu in Tata Sky and Airtel Digital TV DTH Set Top Box

Revealing Hidden Secret Service Menu in Dish TV DTH Set Top Box

PIN / Password of Signal Setup in Tech Settings of DEN Set Top Box

Stay home, stay safe and take care of yourself…

Also Check:

[Tip] Disable or Remove Coronavirus (Covid-19) Caller Tune in Your Mobile Phone