Microsoft’s ‘Salvage My Tool’ is the PC management tool you didn’t know you wished

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Microsoft’s “Salvage My Tool” characteristic is so grand extra than a straightforward design locator that it’s cherish calling a “car” nothing extra than upright four tires and a guidance wheel. The online provider is a sturdy PC manager in its like appropriate, and arguably extra efficient in that regard than Windows itself.

We first and principal covered Salvage My Tool when it debuted about six years within the past as a provider to, obviously, rep a lost design. Or now no longer it is modified so small that you just possibly can light exercise the instructions within the original article to enable it.

The characteristic made some distance extra sense when Microsoft in actuality bought devices that might possibly possibly be lost—i.e., Windows phones. As soon as Microsoft discontinued Windows 10 Mobile, you might possibly possibly possibly think that grand of that mark went away. Over time, though, the choice took place.

First, we’ll reiterate how to activate Windows 10’s Salvage My Tool characteristic, then step by plan of the many ways whereby it will also furthermore be historical. It’s in particular truly useful while you like a pair of design, or tackle about a laptops that your younger folk exercise whereas they’re learning from dwelling.

activate Salvage My Tool

Have in mind, Salvage My Tool is a Microsoft provider. In case your PC is signed into your Microsoft story, you’ll first enable the management parts of Salvage My Tool.

Mark Hachman / IDG

You can must enroll your PC namely into the arena ingredient of Salvage My Tool. (Microsoft does this for your privateness’s sake.) Compare out our previous legend on how to activate Windows 10’s Salvage My Tool characteristic, or enact this: Trail to the Windows 10 Settings menu, then Update & Security > Salvage My Tool.

What can Salvage My Tool in actuality enact?

Salvage My Tool and the ”devices” net page of your Microsoft story are in actuality one and the an identical. Bookmark the story.microsoft.com/devices URL, as it’s your homepage for your PCs’ management. You’ll must tag in at the side of your Microsoft story, while you haven’t already.

You might additionally light gape a list of Windows devices that are related to your story. It is miles also one; it will also be many. By exploring the collect page, we can offer you a deeper view of what Salvage My Tool can enact.

1. It might possibly possibly possibly possibly tackle your family’s PCs

Within the upper left, you’ll gape the note “Devices.” Below it, you possibly might possibly possibly gape a little topple-down menu to decide on which devices to gape. This might occasionally possibly possibly presumably bid All individuals’s by default, nonetheless you’ll furthermore gape alternate choices to gape the PC or PCs owned by others for your family, while you’ve joined them to a family community for, bid, managing their display veil time. Whenever you are going to non-public got a daughter named Maria, as an instance, you possibly can existing upright her PC.

Mark Hachman / IDG

In every other case, the Overview tab upright below Devices will existing you the choice devices for your like deepest ecosystem.

2. It might possibly possibly possibly possibly uncover your design

Next to the Overview tab is the little “Salvage My Tool” tab. The extensive majority of PCs don’t non-public GPS chips enabled, nonetheless they might be able to connect to Wi-Fi. Salvage My Tool will existing you a little plan, along with a list of devices that you just like. Whenever you’ve enabled Salvage My Tool on the PC, as successfully as arena, it’ll existing up on the plan. 

Mark Hachman / IDG

3. It might possibly possibly possibly possibly uncover your pen

We haven’t tried this ourselves, nonetheless Microsoft can notice a pen—successfully, form of. In case your PC has a pen that you just’ve related, Salvage My Tool can expose you when and the attach you final historical it at the side of that PC, by plan of its Bluetooth connection.

4. Compare your guarantee and troubleshoot components

The mumble revenue to the exercise of Salvage My Tool, on the other hand, is within the occasion you click on the individual design icon. You’re met with a successfully-designed, detailed overview of what’s interior your design, any components it might probably non-public, and what you are going to non-public got to enact to resolve them.

By default, the collect page opens under the Data & enhance tab. Assuming your design is registered with Microsoft, you’ll be ready to confirm your guarantee situation with a click on. You shall be ready to furthermore add your design’s serial amount to Microsoft’s database to register it for any guarantee coverage.

Merely next to the guarantee recordsdata is a probability to “Acquire abet on-line.” Due to the Microsoft has in actuality retired its physical stores, here’s a probability to chat with a Microsoft digital agent to abet resolve components at the side of your design. We are able to furthermore confirm that this choice reveals up with Microsoft-branded PCs as successfully as third-birthday party hardware.

Mark Hachman / IDG

5. Acquire a standing document

At the very top is a straightforward overview of the design, its Windows OS version, plus the processor, reminiscence, GPU, and extra, including the serial amount. That’s at hand, though the collect page would possibly be improved. Next to the “Data & enhance” tab you’ll gape a “Security & protection” tab, too. Scroll down to the bottom and in addition you possibly might possibly possibly gape how grand dwelling the potential has left, as successfully as whether or now no longer BitLocker is enabled. (Right here’s a newbie’s recordsdata to BitLocker, and the plan in which it’s historical to present protection to lost PCs.) In case your small one begins to complain about how slowly their PC is running, you possibly can exercise this as evidence to non-public them neat up their PC and delete some older recordsdata, as a replacement! 

Mark Hachman / IDG

In every other case, here’s what the refocused “Salvage My Tool” provider is: a technique so that you just can confirm the PC’s security settings—whether or now no longer virus protection is on and up prior to now, whether or now no longer Windows Firewall is on, and so forth—and to confirm whether or now no longer Windows Update has been trip to receive care of the design up-to-date. 

6. Remotely install apps

This characteristic is much less obvious, so here’s how to search out it: Click on the Place up topple-down menu under the design identify to explore an choice to Acquire apps. That can receive you to the Microsoft Retailer app, the attach you possibly can survey for an app—bid, Hulu. The app net page will present you the choice to “Install / launch” the app, main you to a net page the attach you possibly can exhaust from the devices you tackle or non-public recently historical. You needs so that you just might possibly install the app remotely from there.

Mark Hachman / IDG

7. It might possibly possibly possibly possibly existing you your linked cellular phone

Whenever you are going to non-public got a linked Android cellular phone that you just’ve historical as a part of Your Mobile phone (or merely as a technique of two-factor authentication for Windows or other apps), that cellular phone will existing up on the key Devices display veil. Sadly, it in actuality doesn’t offer grand detail moreover merely itemizing what it is some distance. You shall be ready to’t even notice its arena—though you possibly can already enact that with Google’s like “rep your design” aim within Android. It’s imaginable that Microsoft will add extra to this one day.

The base line, though, is while you merely brushed off the Microsoft “Salvage My Tool” characteristic out of hand—“it’s appropriate here in front of me!”—you’re lacking out. It’s so grand extra!

As PCWorld’s senior editor, Mark specializes in Microsoft news and chip technology, amongst other beats.