Showing posts with label Window 8. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Window 8. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
How To Stop apps autoloading in Window 8
Windows 8 offers a slew of preinstalled utilities, such as Music, Photos and Reader, but these are inferior to free desktop counterparts such as Adobe Reader and VLC Media Player. You might even prefer using the default Windows Preview utility to loading a separate app for viewing photos on your desktop.
To reassign the default programs your PC uses to open common file types, right-click in the lower-left corner of your desktop to open Control Panel and then navigate to Programs, Default Programs, ‘Set your default programs’. Or search for Default programs in the Start screen. The Set Default Programs menu shows a list of all of your installed desktop programs; you can scroll down and assign your favourites to function as the default when you open specific file types.
How Can skip the windows 8 Password
This is possible though obviously it does carry some risk particularly with a laptop, which could be easily lost or stolen. If you follow our advice and subsequently lose your laptop, then bear in mind that anyone who finds it will have access not only to whatever is on the computer, but also to your Microsoft account and that could be extremely damaging.
If you’re happy to accept this risk, then here’s what to do. Log into Windows 8 using your administrator-level Microsoft account, as usual. Then, from the Start screen, type netplwiz and press Enter. In the User Accounts dialogue box that appears, click the name of the account that you’d like to log into automatically (for obvious reasons, only one account can be nominated to do this), then click to remove the tick from the ‘Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer’ box. Click Apply. Now type and confirm the password used to access this account and then click OK. Finally, shut down your laptop in the usual way. When you next switch on your laptop, Windows 8 will launch and automatically sign into the nominated account. To reverse this change later, simply repeat the above steps, but this time tick the ‘Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer’ box
Thursday, November 5, 2015
Window 8.1 advanced features Tips
Windows 8.1 arrives on Friday 18 October. It's a free update for every Windows 8 user, including those on ARM-based RT devices, so most of us will install it as a matter of course.
If you haven't played with Microsoft's Preview release, there are plenty of new experiences in store, both large and small. Some are big changes that you'll notice right away: the enlarged Start screen tiles, for example, jump out at you as soon as you power up your PC. But there are also plenty of advanced, under-the-bonnet upgrades that make Windows 8 .1 much more than a service pack. Here's our breakdown of ten of the most powerful features in 8 .1 that will benefit power users, businesses and developers.
Mobile tethering
Windows 8 is designed for out-and-about use; increasingly, this means laptops and tablets with mobile data connections. Windows 8.1 introduces the ability to share a 3G or 4G connection with other devices over Wi-Fi, turning a Windows tablet into an ad hoc hotspot. If you're logged into a client device with the same Microsoft account as the gateway device, no configuration is required, and connected clients will automatically detect that they're using a tethered connection and default to "cost-aware" mode.
There's also a new settings interface specifically for mobile connections, which lets you manage your mobile network, set and change your SIM PIN, and keep track of estimated data usage.
Per-display interface scaling
It's long been possible to scale up Windows' fonts and icons to a maximum of 500%. But what's right for your main screen isn't necessarily going to work for a secondary display. For example, last month we reviewed Samsung's Ativ Book 9 Plus, which boasts a 3,200 x 1,800 display. The user interface is scaled to 200o/o, which keeps everything at a comfortable size on the built-in panel. However, if you connect this laptop to a 1080p TV, that scaling factor produces absurdly oversized text and icons. Conversely, high-end TVs are already starting to hit 4K resolutions (3,840 x 2,160); hook up a regular laptop set to 100% scaling and everything will appear tiny.
Windows 8 .1 solves this by letting you scale each screen independently. To access this new
setting, right-click on the Windows desktop, select Screen Resolution from the dropdown menu and select "Make text and other items larger or smaller".
Thin cloud storage via SkyDrive
Windows 8.1 integrates cloud storage into the OS; a SkyDrive dropdown now appears in the navigation pane of every Explorer window. However, this isn't the basic syncing service.
SkyDrive and libraries
When it comes to lightweight laptops and compact tablets, space is often at a premium. For this reason, Microsoft has chosen to downplay local storage in favour of SkyDrive, and your libraries are no longer shown by default in the navigation pane in Explorer windows.
However, the libraries are still there, and can be easily restored to their former place: all you need to do is right-click in the pane and tick Show Libraries to restore the familiar dropdowns.
If you want to get rid of the SkyDrive dropdown, things are trickier. One way is to turn off the feature entirely by going to the PC Settings app, selecting the SkyDrive pane and disabling the "Save documents to SkyDrive by default" setting.
Annoyingly, there's no officially supported way of hiding the dropdown from Explorer while keeping the service working, but it's possible via a Registry hack. It goes without saying that you shouldn't try this unless you're comfortable making technical tweaks, and you should back up your Registry first, in
case you make any mistakes.
If you're willing to take the plunge, open REGEDIT.EXE (from the search interface or a command window) and navigate to
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{8E74D236-7F35-4720-Bl 38-1 FEDOB85EA75}\Shel1Folder. In
order to edit the contents of this Registry location, you'll need to take ownership of it - right-click on
the ShellFolder icon, then select Permissions I Advanced I Change, enter your own username and click OK three times to close all the open requesters. Once you've done this, you'll be able to edit a DWORD value called Attributes. By default, its value should be set to f08004d; to hide SkyDrive, simply modify this to f09004d and restart your PC. The dropdown will no longer show up from your Explorer windows, but you still will be able to access SkyDrive via your user profile folder in C:\Users.
Miracast wireless display support
We wrote last month about the possibility of wirelessly connecting a TV to your PC. Windows 8.1 includes native support for this feature, as long as your system has a graphics chipset that's compatible with the Miracast standard (that includes Intel's WiDi, which is built into every Haswell Ultrabook). To connect, open the charms, then select Devices I Project I Find Display, and select your TV from the list that appears.
PowerShell 4
For systems administrators, Windows 8.1 introduces a major new release of PowerShell (which is also being made available for Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008 R2 and 2012). The key new feature is a system called "Desired State Configuration", which lets you implement settings and installations across a network by simply pushing a script-style configuration file to the desired clients. For example, you might create a file declaring that certain server roles must be activated, certain Registry settings must be enforced, and specific applications must be installed. When the client PC receives these instructions, the PowerShell host checks the system state and quietly applies changes as needed. It's a terrific time-saver that can effectively turn major rollout projects into brief scripts.
Workplace Join and Work Folders
Windows 8's dual personality encourages the use of a single device at home and in the office. Windows 8.1-in conjunction with Windows Server 2012 R2 - supports this with a feature called Workplace Join. This lets IT managers authorise personal devices to connect to selected network resources, such as shared folders and printers, without giving them free rein on the corporate LAN. It's partnered by the new Work Folders feature, which lets Windows 8.1 users automatically sync data back and forth across their user space on the workplace's LAN - even on devices that aren't connected to the domain while leaving personal files untouched. The administrator can also insist on security policies such as encryption and lockscreen passwords. IT managers can even remotely wipe the contents of work folders and company emails from users' personal devices without disrupting their personal data.
Wi-Fi Direct and NFC printing
Windows 8.1 supports Wi-Fi Direct pairing, letting Windows devices connect directly to supported printers without requiring them to join the local wireless network or download and install clunky drivers. To search for a compatible printer, open the tablet-style PC Settings app, select "PC and devices", then click Devices I Add A Device. Businesses can also take advantage of NFC pairing, which lets you connect to a printer by tapping a Windows 8.1 Enterprise device against it. It seems this may work even with non-NFCequipped printers: Microsoft says it will be possible to retrofit older models with NFC tags, although it hasn't yet revealed how.
InstantGo
lnstantGo is Microsoft's new "connected standby" feature, which keeps data, apps and tiles on certified hardware in sync while the device is asleep - and promises wakeup times of less than 300ms. lnstantGocompatible laptops and tablets can also take advantage of Windows 8.l's full deviceencryption
feature, which is now available for all versions of Windows. This harnesses the security of the TPM to make it effectively impossible for a thief (or the lucky finder of a lost laptop) to access sensitive data without the user's credentials.
NewAPis
Windows 8 .1 introduces dozens of new features for developers of Modern apps. Programs that target the newest OS gain new file-handling capabilities, multimedia functions, in-app purchases and more than 20 new interface elements, including navigation bars and flyout menus. It's also now possible for apps to interface directly with USB and Bluetooth devices and talk to 3D printers. You can see full details of the developer enhancements in Windows 8.1 at library/windows/apps/Download. To take advantage of them, you'll need to download the Windows 8.1 SDK, plus the free Visual Studio Express 2013 package to help you assemble and deploy your apps. These can be downloaded from microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps.
Gesture control
Never mind Kinect, or the iffy Leap Motion Controller (web ID: 383632): Windows 8.1 introduces basic gesture controls using a regular webcam. Admittedly, they're not exactly sophisticated, and at present they work only in one very specific place - the new Food & Drink app. Anticipating that users
might not want to dab at their screens with wet or floury hands, the developers have built a hands-free mode that lets you turn the pages of a virtual recipe book by waving a hand left or right in front of your laptop or tablet's camera. At this stage, it's more a feature demo than a key OS function, but it works surprisingly well. Hopefully, it will open the door to more sophisticated applications of the idea
How To Play 16-bit games in your Window 8
A You can’t run 16-bit software on 64-bit Windows, but it should work with the 32-bit version. You probably don’t want to go back to 32-bit but you can use VirtuaiBox (www.virtualbox.org), which is free software that lets you run a complete version of Windows (and other operating systems) on top of the one you’re currently using. lt’s a bit like a PC simulator that lets you run Windows XP, Vista or Linux without making permanent changes to your existing PC.
Install VirtualBox. then install a 32-bit version of XP, Vista or 7 from an original Windows disc, and Theme Hospital should work. However, there are no guarantees and, with software this old, you might find it runs better in XP than in 7. If you don’t have old Windows discs, see if you can borrow them. You can install and run Windows 7 for 30 days. If the game works, you can then buy a full copy of Windows 7 to run in VirtualBox. If not, well at least it won’t have cost you anything.
A cheaper alternative is to try the free open-source done of Theme Hospital (code.google.com/p/corsix-th) that’s being developed by enthusiasts. It runs on modern hardware and Windows, and there are 32- and 64-bit versions available. Although it’s not finished, you can download and play the latest version.
How To Make Windows 8 show its hidden system tools
Windows 8 and 8.1 Microsoft hides its system tricks and tools even more deeply in Windows 8 than in earlier versions. The operating system is just not designed for power users, and sometimes it feels more like a Mac or even an iPad than a PC.
But Windows 8 still lets you get your hands dirty with system admin tools such as Computer Management, Disk Cleanup and Task Scheduler. From the Start screen, type administrative and click
Administrative Tools. Now you'll see a list of configurable tools that you won’t find in the Windows 8 Apps list. To pin any of them to your Start screen for one click access, right-click it in the list and click ‘Pin to Start’.
On some Windows 8 PCs, you can also go to PC Settings, click Tiles and enable ‘Show Administrative tools’ to automatically pin every single admin tool to the far right of your Start screen.
Some PC configurations don't support this, but give it a go. We think it's more convenient to chose just a few admin tools to pin to Start. To get to a selection of system tools instantly from your Start screen, simply press Win+X. This opens the Start-X menu, where you'll find tools including
Run, Event Viewer and a powerful Admin version of the Prompt.
Fix iTunes keeps crashing in Window 8
There’s a bug in Windows 8 and 8.1 which can cause iTunes 11 to crash when you try to access iTunes Store, download content, or carry out any number of activities that involve Apple servers.
This is because Windows 8 reads certain iTunes processes from a different folder to other Windows versions. To fix this, navigate to
Read more »
This is because Windows 8 reads certain iTunes processes from a different folder to other Windows versions. To fix this, navigate to
C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Apple\Apple ApplicationSupport in Windows Explorer, find the file named QTWinMovie.dll, right-click it, then click Copy. Next, navigate to
C:\Program Files (x86)\iTunesright-click any empty space, then click Paste.
How To Track your weight using your PC on Windows 8
Windows 8’s default Health & Fitness app mostly contains articles on fitness and nutrition. However, it has a useful weight-tracking feature that lets you log your weight whenever you want. The app then automatically plots these values on a graph, helping you keep track of your weight over a period of time.
Open the Health & Fitness app (a heart-shaped icon), click the Health Tracker tile (in the Fitness section), then click the Start Tracking button at the bottom left. In the Weight field (see screenshot below), enter your weight (you can change the measurement from kilos to pounds by clicking the ‘kgs’ button). The date is set to the current day by default. Enter any relevant notes in the Note field (optional), then click Add. After a few weeks, go to the same Health Tracker tile, click Add Measurement at the top and enter your new weight. You’ll now see your weight change automatically plotted on a graph.
How To Easy shortcut shutdown Window 8
There is a quicker way; just shut down Windows using a shortcut. Right-click anywhere on your Desktop, go to New and Shortcut. In the ‘Type the location of the item box’ enter: c:\windows\system32\shutdown /s Now click Next and enter Shutdown as the shortcut name. Click Finish. When you double-click this file, Windows will show a message saying, “You are about to be signed off”. Windows should shut down in less than a minute. It’s useful to be able to cancel this shutdown command in certain situations for instance, if you suddenly remember something you need to do on your PC. Create another shortcut and enter the command: c:\windows\system32\shutdown /a Call the shortcut Cancel shutdown. When you run this file, it cancels the shutdown process.
If you don’t feel like waiting a few seconds for the shutdown, you can replace ‘shutdown /s’ with the more immediate ‘shutdown /p’. This shortcut will shut down Windows straight away, but you’ll lose the ability to cancel the shutdown process. If you want an easier way to restart the computer, you can also create a shortcut with the ‘shutdown /r’ command.
Why can’t I download apps from the Windows 8 Store Solved
Are you logged into Windows with a Microsoft account? Though you can browse the Windows Store when using a local account, you need a Microsoft account to download new-style apps so we think that you originally set up Windows 8 with a local account. To change this, from the Start screen open the Charms bar (hold down the Windows key and tap C), then click Settings followed by ‘Change PC settings’. Next, click Users in the left-hand pane and then, in the right-hand pane, click ‘Switch to a Microsoft account’ and follow the wizard to complete the sign-up process. You do not have to use a Microsoft-owned email service, such as Hotmail or Outlook.com, in order to set up a Microsoft account, but you will need to provide two email addresses the second being for backup purposes.
Windows media player is missing in Window 8
You might have an N version of Windows, such as Windows 8 N, Windows 8 Pro N, or Windows 8 KN. These don't include Media Player because a European Commission ruling said you should have the option to choose your own media player. Try VLC (www.videolan.org), which is a popular free media player, or Media Monkey (www.mediamonkey.com). To add Windows Media Player and other missing components from an N edition of Windows 8, go to bit.ly/win8n329 and download the tee Media Feature Pack.
Fix the Windows 8 search crash
Some Windows 8 users have suffered from the Desktop search function crashing or not showing results. Microsoft has created a Fix It tool to solve this bit.ly/win8searchfix.
If this doesn’t work, hit the Win+R key and type regedit into the box. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ Explorer\Advanced. Find and right-click Start_SearchFiles and select Modify. Change the Value data number to O and click OK. Repeat the process, but this time change the value to 2, then restart your computer.
How Can stop LibreOffice from crashing Window 8
A potential fix is to rename LibreOffice’s ‘user’ folder. To do this, navigate to it when the program is closed by pressing Windows+R and typing %UserProfile%\AppData\Roaming\openoffice\4 before pressing Enter. The window that opens shows the ‘user' folder, which you can rename to something like user_backup.
After you've renamed the folder afresh, a new user folder is created when you next open LibreOffice and create a new document. If this solves your problem, it was probably caused by a corrupted original user folder. The ‘user' folder holds information such as changed preferences. so it's not uncommon for users to make a copy of a good user folder and keep it handy for when unwanted oddities and quirks suddenly happen. This is similar to Microsoft Word users who might make a copy of a known, good Normal.dot file for similar reasons.
How To Get Windows 10 Features in Window 7 8
The release of Windows 10 is still a good few months off, and if you’re not quite brave enough
to begin experimenting with the Technical Preview, you might be sighing in anticipation of all the new features that Windows 10 promises to bring to the desktop and elsewhere not least the return of the Start menu. Worry not though, because you can replicate many of those very same features in Windows 7 and 8 using a variety of (mostly free) third-party programs, as we’ll demonstrate in this stepby- step guide. Some are quite well known the amazing Classic Shell, for instance, has become a firm favourite among many Windows 8 users but there are a few others you may not have known even existed. Once you discover them, you’ll probably be hooked and using them will get you ready to jump straight into Windows 10 when it lands later this year.
Get Classic Shell
One of the biggest gripes many people have with Windows 8 is the lack of a proper Start menu, which is probably why Microsoft is bringing it back in Windows 10, with some extra improvements. There are many utilities available to ‘fake’ a Start menu in Windows 8, but the best is definitely Classic Shell and it’s completely free (download it at www.classicshell.net).
Install the software
Classic Shell actually consists of three components: Classic Start Menu, Classic Explorer and Classic IE. If you just want the Start menu, you can safely ignore the other two parts. During installation, you can choose whether or not to install each component: just click and choose ‘Entire feature will be unavailable’ for Classic Explorer and Classic IE.
Start with style
Once it’s installed, the next time you click the ‘Start’ button you’ll see the Classic Shell Settings screen (Image A). First, choose which style of menu you like: ‘Classic style’ is more like Windows 95; ‘Classic with two columns’ is like Windows Vista; and of course ‘Windows 7 style’ exactly replicates the previous operating system’s Start menu style. If you like, you can now click ‘OK’.
Going further
There are many more ways to customise Classic Start Menu though, and it’s worth having a look through all of the options (just search for ‘Classic’ to access the settings program again). Click ‘Show all settings’ to display even more customisations aimed at more advanced users. You can even replace the Windows 8 Start button icon with the Start orb from Windows 7.
Modern apps in a window
In Win10, Modern apps will be able to run in a window unlike in Win8, where they can only run in
full-screen mode. You can fix this with a program called ModernMix from www.stardock.com (Image B). The full version costs $4.99 but you can run a 30-day trial first.
In the mix
ModernMix can run Modern apps full-screen, in maximised windows, or in normal windows. You can change the default behaviour for apps in the General settings; by default, it assigns the [F10] key as a hot-switch between each mode, or you can use the little icon that appears in the top right of the app window.
Comm and control
Windows 10 includes an improved Command Prompt window that now features at long last proper
support for copy/paste keyboard commands, among other things. You can get this right now in Windows 7 or 8 with Console2 from sourceforge.net/projects/console. It’s a free standalone program that offers many extra options over the basic Windows version (Image C).
Switch it on
Task switching has been revamped in Windows 10, with a full-screen preview of all your open windows. There’s a similar utility called Switcher 2.0, which runs on Windows Vista, 7 and 8, available at insentient.net. This gives you three different ways of displaying open windows, hotkeys for quickly switching between them, customisable window styles and more (Image D).
Virtual desktops
The final major interface change in Windows 10 is virtual desktops, which enable you to group windows and apps into different sets of different ‘screens’. Yet again, though, there’s a well established utility that does all this and more, which is available for Windows 7 and 8. It’s E called Dexpot and you can find it at dexpot.de. The program is free for personal use.
The power of Dexpot
Dexpot enables you to assign apps and windows to one of four different desktops (Image E). You can assign rules so that a particular app always opens on a particular desktop, and you can preview desktops as a full-screen view, then click one to use it. There’s also a handy little quick-switcher that sits near the clock, and fully customisable shortcut keys. In fact, just about every part of Dexpot is customisable. It’ll end up saving you a lot of time.
How To Find recent items in Windows 8
If you use Windows 8, you might be missing the ‘recent items’ section that used to be displayed in the Start Menu on previous versions. Indeed. Windows 7 had perfected the tool, listing recent files alongside the name of each application. This made it as easy as possible to find the last spreadsheet or Word document you'd worked on. Fortunately. you can still find the recent items folder in Windows 8 by pressing Windows+R, typing shell : recent and pressing Enter. You can also create a shortcut to the folder on your Desktop by right-clicking the Desktop, selecting New Shortcut and entering:
%userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\ Office applications also include their own recent-documents lists. In Word 2007, you can click the Office Button to see recent files listed alongside the buttons for New, Open. Save. Save As, Print and the rest. If there's a file that you frequently come back to. such as a to-do list, you can pin it to the top of this list by selecting the pin icon to the right of the filename. The icon will turn green and then you will be able to quickly locate that file every time you open the program.
How To Make the Windows 8 start screen more useful
Windows 8's Start screen was much improved by the Windows 8.1 Update, which added buttons for
power, account and search, but you can add even more tools and options. Start Screen Unlimited provides quick access to all your PC's important settings, as well as quick links to Google, Amazon and Wikipedia searches. There's also a Status Panel showing remaining battery life and drive space.
1.Visit bit.ly/1rnIlmu, click Free Download and Download Now, then run the set-up file. Follow the instructions on screen and, on the last step, make sure that Welcome Start Screen Unlimited is ticked.
2.The Welcome screen shows several options enabled by default. Untick the box for the green icon, which just prompts you to pay for the program's deluxe features, and the power button, because the Windows 8.1 Update already added a shut-down button to the Start menu.
3.Click the drop-down arrow next to the clock icon to choose a style of clock. Tick Compact Mode to
display a simplified version of the Status Panel. Changes are made immediately, so press the Windows Key at any time to see how they have affected your Start screen.
4.By default, ‘Show taskbar on the Start Screen’ and ‘Show taskbar in the Modern apps’ are enabled. To make your Start screen look even more like the Desktop, tick ‘Use Desktop Wallpaper on the Start Screen’.
5.From the Start menu, you can click the drop-down menu in the Direct Search bar to choose a service you want to use. You can also drag and drop the clock and Status Panel to move them. The search bar and shortcut menus can only be moved using the crossed-arrows icon.
6.To change any of the program's settings after the initial set-up, click the information button and select Configure. To turn Start Screen Unlimited off, choose Quit Unlimited from the same menu. To reactivate it, go to your Apps list and select Start Screen Unlimited.
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