The safest way to sample Windows 8 is to
install it on a VirtualBox virtual machine. It's fairly easy to set up,
there's no need to worry about partitioning or other issues, and if it
doesn't work for whatever reason (which is possible, it's a beta after
all) then you'll have lost nothing but a little time.
After
completing your installation, though, you might find your virtual
Windows 8 complaining that "Your PC needs to be repaired". But despite
telling you to "Press Enter to try again", or "Press F8 for alternate
boot options", neither option works.
Fortunately there's an easy
answer. Close the Windows 8 window, select your virtual machine in
VirtualBox, click Settings > System > Processor and check the
'Enable PAE/NX' box. Click OK, restart your virtual machine and this
time it should launch properly.
Windows 8 apps won't launch
You
click a Windows 8 app, and nothing else happens? Display issues are
often the cause. In particular, Windows 8 apps don't currently support
screen resolutions lower than 1024 x 768 (or 1366 x 768 when snapping),
so increase your resolution if possible (launch the desktop,
right-click, select Screen Resolution).
Or if that's no help, try updating your video drivers.
Performance problems
If
your Windows 8 system seems sluggish, the revamped Task Manager may be
able to offer some clues. Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to take a look.
Click
'More Details'. The simplified Processes tab then reveals what's
currently using your CPU time, RAM, hard drive and network bandwidth.
(The more in-depth data available in previous Task Manager versions is
now accessible via the Details tab.)
The Performance tab gives you
a graphical view of resource use over the last few seconds, while the
App History dialog looks back over days or more to reveal which app is
the most resource-hungry.
And is your boot time slow? Click the
new Startup tab to see programs your system is launching when Windows
boots. The 'Startup impact' now shows how much of an effect each of
these has on your boot time; if you spot high impact programs you're
sure you don't need, then right-clicking them and selecting 'Disable'
will ensure they're not loaded next time.
Powerful though all this
is, if you can think of a reason to use the old Task Manager then it's
still accessible. Hold down the Windows key, press R, type TaskMGR and
press Enter to launch it. (Typing TM will launch the new version.)
Device Manager Events
If
you've got a driver or hardware-related problem with Windows 8, launch
Device Manager, browse to the relevant device, right-click it, select
Properties and click the new Events tab. If Windows has installed
drivers, related services or carried out other important actions on this
device then you'll now see them here, which is very useful when
troubleshooting.
Recovery options
Windows 8 has
performed well for us, but if you find it won't boot at some point then
you now have to press Shift+F8 during the launch process to access its
recovery tools.
Access the Troubleshoot menu, then Advanced
Options, and you'll be able to try the Automatic Repair tool, which may
fix your problems. No luck? The same menu enables you to use the last
System Restore point, tweak key Windows Startup settings, and even open a
command prompt if you'd like to troubleshoot your system manually.
If
that all seems like too much hassle then the Troubleshoot menu's option
to 'Refresh your PC' may be preferable, because it essentially
reinstalls Windows 8 but keeps your files, and will fix many issues.
But
if it doesn't then there's always the more drastic 'Reset your PC'
option, which removes all your files and installs a fresh new copy of
Windows 8.
You don't have to access these features from the boot
menu, of course. If Windows 8 starts but seems very unstable, then open
the new Recovery applet in Control Panel for easy access to the Refresh,
Reset and other disaster recovery features.
If
you'd like to change your lock, user tile or start screen images then
press Win + I, click 'Change PC settings' and choose the Personalize
option. Browse the various tabs and you'll be able to choose alternative
images or backgrounds in a click or two.
And in theory you'll
also be able to define apps that will display their status on the lock
screen, although the app must specifically support this before it'll be
accessible from your Personalize settings.
Scheduled Maintenance
Windows
8 can run common maintenance tasks - software updates, security
scanning, system diagnostics and more at a scheduled convenient time,
which is good.
Unfortunately it doesn't actually ask you what time
is convenient, instead just setting it to 3am and allowing the system
to wake your computer (if hardware and circumstances permit) to do its
work. Which isn't so good.
To change this, launch Control Panel,
click System and Security > Action Center > Maintenance. You can
now click 'Start maintenance' to launch any outstanding tasks right now,
while selecting 'Change maintenance settings' enables you to choose a
more convenient time, and optionally disable the feature's ability to
wake up your computer if that's not required.
Picture password
Windows
8 enables you to create a picture password, where you choose an image,
then draw on it in a combination of taps, lines and circles - only
someone who can reproduce this pattern will be able to log on. Select
Win + I > More PC Settings > Users > Create a Picture Password
to give this a try.
Hibernate or Sleep
You
won't necessarily see either Hibernate or Sleep in the Windows 8
shutdown dialogs, but if that's a problem then you may be able to
restore them.
Launch the Control Panel Power Options applet (powercfg.cpl) and click 'Choose what the power buttons do' in the left-hand pane.
If
you see a 'Change settings that are currently unavailable' link, then
click it, and if Windows 8 detects that your PC supports Sleep and
Hibernate options then they'll be displayed here. Check the boxes next
to whatever you'd like to use, click Save Changes, and the new options
should now appear in your shutdown dialogs.
Simplify Search
By
default Windows 8 includes every bundled app in its Search results. If
you'll never want to use some of these - the Store app, say - then
select Win + I > Change PC Settings > > Search, choose which
apps you don't want included, and your search list will be more
manageable in future.
Touch keyboard
By default the
Touch keyboard will try to help you out by, for instance, playing sounds
as you type, capitalizing the first letter of each sentence, adding a
period if you double-tap the space bar, and more. If any of this gets in
your way, though, you can turn the relevant feature off: just go to Win +
I > Change PC Settings > General and customize the keyboard to
suit your needs.
Sync and privacy
One very useful
Windows 8 feature is its ability to synchronize your settings with other
PCs and devices. So if you've set up your new Windows Phone
device with your contacts, email details and so on, then use the same
Live account on Windows 8 and it'll import them for you: very
convenient.
Of course that may not always be a good idea. If
several people use a device then you may not want your website passwords
to be synced, for instance. In which case you'll want to hold down the
Windows key and press I, then click Change PC Settings > Sync Your
Settings and disable anything you'd rather not share.
Windows
Explorer in Windows 8 features a Quick Access toolbar immediately above
the menu, providing easy access to options such as 'New Folder',
'Minimize', 'Undo' and more.
This is customizable, too - click
the arrow to the right of the default buttons, in the Explorer window
caption bar, and choose whatever options you need. And you can include
add any other ribbon option on the Quick Access Toolbar by
right-clicking it and selecting Add to Quick Access Toolbar.
Advanced menu options
If
you need to run the command prompt as an Administrator then your
instant reaction will probably be to reach for the Start menu. Before
becoming annoyed a microsecond later when you remember it's no longer
there.
It's good to see that Microsoft has provided a simple
alternative, then - just click the File menu in Explorer and click Open
command prompt > Open command prompt as administrator.
And
while you're there, make note of the other advanced new options also on
that menu: you can open a new window in a new process, open Explorer,
and even delete your Recent Places and Address Bar histories with a
click.
Show all folders
The
default Windows 8 Explorer view doesn't show all the usual drives and
folders - Control Panel, Recycle Bin and so on - in the left-hand
navigation pane. It certainly keeps the display simple, and if you want
to see all your drives then you can just click Computer, but if you
prefer to see everything upfront then it only takes a moment. Click View
> Options, check 'Show all folders' and click OK.
Mount ISO files in Windows 8
Need
to take a closer look at an ISO file? Right-click it in Explorer, click
Mount and you can view it as a virtual drive, launch the files it
contains, or add more if you like.
Open new file types
If
you find a file type that none of your applications can handle, then
right-click on the file in Windows Explorer and choose Open With. You'll
see a 'Look for an app in the Store' option, which enables Windows 8
to use an automated search tool to find and highlight an app for you.
You can also click 'More Options' to see currently installed programs and apps that may be able to open the file.
Restart Explorer
If
Explorer locks up for some reason, then regaining control is now very
easy. No need to close the process any more: simply press Ctrl+Alt+Esc,
select Explorer in the list, click Restart and Windows 8 will handle the
rest.
Windows 8 now uses Internet Explorer's Smart Screen system-wide, checking downloaded files to ensure they're
safe. In general this is a good thing, but if you have any problems then
it can be tweaked.
Launch Control Panel, open the Action Center
applet, and click Change Windows Smart Screen Settings in the left-hand
pane. Here you can keep the warning, but avoid the requirement for
administrator approval, or turn Smart Screen off altogether. Make your
choice and click OK to finish.
Windows 8 File History
Windows
8 includes an excellent File History feature, which can regularly and
automatically back up your libraries, desktop, contacts and favorites
to a second drive (even a USB flash drive - just connect it, and choose
'Configure this drive for backup using File History' from the menu).
To
set this up, go to Control Panel > System and Security > File
History. Click Exclude Folders to help define what you're saving,
Advanced Settings to choose the backup frequency, Change Drive to choose
the backup destination, and Turn On to enable the feature with your
settings.
And once it's been running for a while, you can check on
the history for any file in Explorer by selecting it, choosing the Home
tab and clicking History.
VHD - enhanced
Windows
7 added support for creating and attaching virtual hard drives in
Microsoft's VHD format. Now Windows 8 extends this with the new VHDX
format, which improves performance, extends the maximum file size from 2
to 16TB, and makes the format "more resilient to power failure events"
(so they shouldn't get corrupted as easily). Launch the Computer
Management Control Panel applet, choose Disk Management, and click
Actions > Create VHD to give the format a try.
Storage Spaces
If
you have multiple hard drives packed with data then you'll know that
managing them can be a hassle. But that's all about to change with a new
Windows 8 feature, Storage Spaces.
The idea is that you can take
all your hard drives, whether connected via USB, SATA or SAS (Serial
Attached SCSI), and add them to a storage pool. And you can then create
one or more spaces within this pool, formatting and accessing them as a
single drive, so you've only one drive letter to worry about.
What's
more, the technology can also maximize your performance by spreading
files across multiple drives (the system can then access each chunk
simultaneously). There's an option to mirror your files, too, so even if
one disk fails your data remains safe. And if your Storage Space begins
to fill up then just plug in another drive, add it to the pool and you
can carry on as before.
Yes, we know, this is just a
consumer-friendly take on RAID. But there's nothing wrong with that, and
it looks promising. If you'd like to read up on the technical details
then the official Windows 8 blog
has more, and you can then create and manage your drive pool from the
new Control Panel\System and Security 'Storage Spaces' applet.
Virtual Machines
Install
Windows 8 and you also get Microsoft's Hyper-V, enabling you to create
and run virtual machines (as long as you're not running in a virtual
machine already). Launch Optional Features.exe (press Windows Key and R
and type it in to run), check Hyper-V and click OK to enable the
feature. Then switch back to the Start screen, scroll to the right, find
and click on the Hyper-V Manager tile to begin exploring its
capabilities.
Smart Searching
When you're in the mood
to track down new Windows 8 features relating to a particular topic, you
might be tempted to start by manually browsing Control Panel for
interesting applets - but there is a simpler way.
If you'd like to
know what's new in the area of storage, say, just press Win+W to launch
the Settings Search dialog, type "drive", and the system will return a
host of related options. That is, not just those with "drive" in the
name, but anything storage-related: Bit Locker, Device Manager, backup
tools, disk cleanup, and interesting new features such as Storage
Spaces.
This Search feature isn't new, of course, but it's easy to
forget how useful this can be, especially when you're trying to learn
about a new operating system. So don't just carry out specific searches,
use the Apps search to look for general keywords such as "privacy" or
"performance", and you just might discover something new.
If you like your PC to boot just
as fast as possible then the new Windows 8 lock screen may not appeal.
Don't worry, though, if you'd like to ditch this then it only takes a
moment.
Launch GPEdit.msc (the Local Group Policy Editor) and
browse to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates >
Control Panel > Personalisation.
Double-click 'Do not display the lock screen', select Enabled and click OK.
Restart and the lock screen will have gone.
If
you can't easily find GPEdit.msc by searching in the Start screen,
search for 'mmc', and then press Enter. On the File menu, click
'Add/Remove Snap-in', then in the 'Add or Remove Snap-ins' dialog box,
click 'Group Policy Object Editor', and then click 'Add'.
In the
'Select Group Policy Object' dialog box, click 'Browse'. Click 'This
Computer' to edit the Local Group Policy object, or click 'Users' to
edit Administrator, Non-Administrator, or per-user Local Group Policy
objects, then click 'Finish'.
Install anything
Most
mobile platforms recommend you only install apps from approved sources
to protect your security, and Windows 8 is the same: it'll only allow
you to install trusted (that is, digitally signed) apps from the Windows
store.
If this proves a problem, though, and you're willing to
take the security risk (because this isn't something to try unless
you're entirely sure it's safe), then the system can be configured to
run trusted apps from any source.
Launch GPEdit.msc (see above
for instructions on how to find it), browse to Computer Configuration
> Administrative Templates > Windows Components > App Package
Deployment, double-click 'Allow all trusted apps to install' and select
Enabled > OK.
Log in automatically
WARNING: Your account will lose admin privileges as a result of this step
Of
course even if you remove the lock screen, you'll still be forced to
manually log in every time your system starts. This can also be resolved
at speed, though, using much the same technique as in previous versions
of Windows.
Hold down the Windows key, press R, type 'netplwiz' and press Enter to launch the User Accounts dialog.
Clear the "Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer" box and click OK.
Enter
the user name and password of the account that you'd like to be logged
in automatically, click OK, restart your system and this time it should
boot directly to the Start screen.
Replacing the Start menu
If Windows 8's search and navigation tools still leave you pining for the regular Start menu, installing ViStart will replace it with something very similar.
Download
the program and install it, carefully; it's free, but the Setup program
will install the trial of a commercial Registry cleaner unless you
explicitly tell it otherwise.
But once that's out the way, your
old Start button will return in its regular place, and clicking it (or
pressing the Windows key) will bring back the usual Start menu complete
with search box and all the usual menus.
The program has a few flaws - on launch it gave us an e-mail icon for Outlook Express, for instance - but otherwise works well.
There's also Start8 from Windows customisation veterans Stardock. It provides similar functionality to ViStart but with a more up-to-date look.
Windows key shortcuts
Win : switch between the Start screen and the last-running Windows 8 app
Win + C : displays the Charms: the Settings, Devices, Share and Search options
Win + D : launches the desktop
Win + E : launches Explorer
Win + F : opens the File Search pane
Win + H : opens the Share pane
Win + I : opens Settings
Win + K : opens the Devices pane
Win + L : locks your PC
Win + M : minimises the current Explorer or Internet Explorer window (works in the full-screen IE, too)
Win + O : toggles device orientation lock on and off
Win + P : switch your display to a second display or projector
Win + Q : open the App Search pane
Win + R : opens the Run box
Win + U : open the Ease of Access Centre
Win + V : cycle through toasts (notifications)
Win + W : search your system settings (type POWER for links to all power-related options, say)
Win + X : displays a text menu of useful Windows tools and applets
Win + Z : displays the right-click context menu when in a full-screen app
Win + + : launch Magnifier and zoom in
Win + - : zoom out
Win + , : Aero peek at the desktop
Win + Enter : launch Narrator
Win + PgUp : move the current screen to the left-hand monitor
Win + PgDn : move the current screen to the right-hand monitor
Win + PrtSc : capture the current screen and save it to your Pictures folder
Win + Tab : switch between running apps
Launch programs fast
If
you're a fan of keyboard shortcuts and don't like the idea of scrolling
through app tiles to find the program you need, don't worry, Windows 8
still supports a useful old shortcut. Which is perfect if, say, you're
looking to be able to shut down your PC with a click.
Launch the desktop app, right-click an empty part of the desktop and click New > Shortcut.
Browse to the application you'd like to launch here. Of for the sake of this example, enter shutdown.exe -s -t 00
to shut down your PC, or shutdown.exe -h -t 00
to hibernate it, and click Next. Type a shortcut name - 'Hibernate', say - and click Finish.
Right-click
the shortcut, select Pin to Start and it should appear on the far right
of the Start screen - just drag the tile wherever you like.
Intelligent screengrabs
If
a Windows 8 application is showing something interesting and you'd like
to record it for posterity, then hold down the Windows key, press
PrtSc, and the image won't just go to the clipboard: it'll also be
automatically saved to your My Pictures folder with the name
Screenshot.png (and then Screenshot(1).png, Screenshot(2).png and so
on).
You might hope that pressing Win+Alt+PrtSc would similarly
save an image of the active window, but no, sadly not. Maybe next time.
Photo Viewer
Double-click
an image file within Explorer and it won't open in a Photo Viewer
window any more, at least not by default. Instead you'll be switched to
the full-screen Windows 8 Photos app - bad news if you thought you'd
escaped such hassles by using the desktop.
If you'd like to fix this, go to Control Panel > Programs > Default Programs and select Set your default programs.
Scroll down and click Windows Photo Viewer in the Programs list.
Finally,
click 'Set this program as default' if you'd like the Viewer to open
all the file types it can handle, or select the 'Choose default' options
if you prefer to specify which file types it should open. Click OK when
you're done.
Windows 8 apps aim to be simpler than old-style
Windows applets, which means it's goodbye to menus, complex toolbars,
and many interface standards. There will usually be a few options
available on the App bar, though, so if you're unsure what to do then
either right-click an empty part of the screen, press Windows+Z or flick
your finger up from the bottom of the screen to take a closer look.
What's running?
If
you launch a Windows 8 app, play with it for a while, then press the
Windows key you'll switch back to the Start screen. Your app will
remaining running, but as there's no taskbar then you might be wondering
how you'd ever find that out.
You could just press Alt+Tab, which shows you what's running just as it always has.
Holding
down the Windows key and pressing Tab displays a pane on the left-hand
side of the screen with your running apps. (To see this with the mouse,
move your cursor to the top left corner of the screen, wait until the
thumbnail of one app appears, then drag down.)
And of course you
can always press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to see all your running apps in the Task
Manager, if you don't mind (or actually need) the extra technical
detail.
Closing an app
Buying Guide Windows
8 apps don't have close buttons, but this isn't the issue you might
think. Apps are suspended when you switch to something else so they're
only a very minimal drain on your system, and if you need the system
resources then they'll automatically be shut down. (Their context will
be saved, of course, so on relaunching they'll carry on where you left
off.)
If you want to close down an app anyway, though, move the
mouse cursor up to the top of the screen. When it turns from the regular
mouse pointer to the icon of a hand, hold down the left mouse button
and drag it down the screen. Your app should shrink to a thumbnail which
you can drag off the screen to close it.
If that's too much hassle, then simply pressing Alt+F4 still works.
And
when all else fails then press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to launch Task Manager,
right-click something in the Apps list and select End Task. Beware,
though, close something you shouldn't and it's easy to crash or lock up
your PC.
Mastering Internet Explorer in Windows 8
Click
the Internet Explorer tile from the Start menu and you'll launch a
full-screen version without toolbars, menus or sidebars, which like so
much of Windows 8 may leave you initially feeling lost.
Right-click
an empty part of the page or flick your finger down from the top of the
screen, though, and you'll find options to create and switch between
tabs, as well as a Refresh button, a 'Find' tool and the ability to pin
an Internet shortcut to the Start page. Click the spanner icon and
select 'View on the desktop' to open the full desktop version of
Internet Explorer.
Run two apps side by side
Windows
8 apps are what Microsoft calls "immersive" applications, which
basically means they run full-screen - but there is a way to view two at
once. Swipe from the left and the last app you were using will turn
into a thumbnail; drop this and one app displays in a sidebar pane while
your current app takes the rest of the screen. And you can then swap
these by swiping again.
Spell check
Windows
8 apps all have spellcheck where relevant, which looks and works much
as it does in Microsoft Office. Make a mistake and a wavy red line will
appear below the offending word; tap or right-click this to see
suggested alternative words, or add the word to your own dictionary if
you prefer.
Run as Administrator
Some programs need
you to run them with Administrator rights before they'll work properly.
The old context menu isn't available for a pinned Start screen app, but
right-click one, and if it's appropriate for this app then you'll see a
Run As Administrator option.
Make a large app tile smaller
You'll
notice that some Windows 8 apps have small live tiles, while others
have larger tiles that take up the space of two tiles. Right-clicking on
a Windows 8 app's Start screen tile will display a few relevant
options. If this is one of the larger tiles, choosing 'Smaller' will cut
it down to half the size, freeing up some valuable Start screen real
estate.
Uninstall easily
If you want to hide an unused
app for now, select 'Unpin from Start'. The tile will disappear, but if
you change your mind then you can always add it again later. (Search
for the app, right-click it, select 'Pin to Start'.)
Or, if you're sure you'll never want to use an app again, choose 'Uninstall' to remove it entirely.
Apps and privacy
It
is worth keeping in mind that by default Windows 8 apps can use your
name, location and account picture. If you're not happy with that, it's
easily changed. Press Win+I, click More PC Settings, select Privacy and
click the relevant buttons to disable any details you'd rather not
share.
Administrative tools
Experienced
Windows users who spend much of their time in one advanced applet or
another are often a little annoyed to see their favourite tools buried
by Windows 8. Microsoft has paid at least some attention, though, and
there is a way to bring some of them back.
Open the Charm bar by
flicking your finger from the right-hand side of the screen and select
'Settings' then 'Tiles'. Change 'Show administrative tools' to 'Yes' and
click back on an empty part of the Start screen. And it's as simple as
that. Scroll to the right and you'll find a host of new tiles for
various key applets - Performance Monitor, Event Viewer, Task Scheduler,
Resource Monitor and more - ready to be accessed at a click.
Windows
8 is finally lunched.
Out goes the Start menu, in comes the new
touch-oriented Start screen, new apps, new interface conventions - even
experienced PC users may be left feeling a little lost.
Don't
despair, though, help is at hand with the following Windows 8 tutorial.
We've been investigating every part of Windows 8, uncovering many of its
most important tips and tricks, so read our guide and you'll soon be
equipped to get the most out of Microsoft's latest release.
1. Lock screen
Windows 8 opens on its lock screen, which looks pretty but unfortunately displays no clues about what to do next.
It's
all very straightforward, though. Just tap the space bar, spin the
mouse wheel or swipe upwards on a touch screen to reveal a regular login
screen with the user name you created during installation. Enter your
password to begin.
2. Basic navigation
Windows 8 launches
with its new interface, all colourful tiles and touch-friendly apps. And
if you're using a tablet then it'll all be very straightforward: just
swipe left or right to scroll the screen, and tap any tile of interest.
On a regular desktop, though, you might alternatively spin the mouse wheel to scroll backwards and forwards.
And
you can also use the keyboard. Press the Home or End keys to jump from
one end of your Start screen to the other, for instance, then use the
cursor keys to select a particular tile, tapping Enter to select it.
Press the Windows key to return to the Start screen; right-click (or
swipe down on) apps you don't need and select Unpin to remove them; and
drag and drop the other tiles around to organise them as you like.
3. App groups
The
Start screen apps are initially displayed in a fairly random order, but
if you'd prefer a more organised life then it's easy to sort them into
custom groups.
You might drag People, Mail, Messaging and Calendar
over to the left-hand side, for instance, to form a separate 'People'
group. Click the 'minus' icon in the bottom right corner of the screen
to zoom out and you'll now find you can drag and drop the new group (or
any of the others) around as a block.
Right-click within the block
(while still zoomed out) and you'll also be able to give the group a
name, which - if you go on to add another 20 or 30 apps to your Start
screen - will make it much easier to find the tools you need.
4. Quick access menu
Right-click
in the bottom left corner (or hold down the Windows key and press X)
for a text-based menu that provides easy access to lots of useful
applets and features: Device Manager, Control Panel, Explorer, the
Search dialog and more.
5. Find your applications
The
Win+X menu is useful, but no substitute for the old Start menu as it
doesn't provide access to your applications. To find this, hold down the
Windows key and press Q or either right-click an empty part of the
Start screen or swipe your finger up from the bottom of the screen and
select 'All Apps' to reveal a scrolling list of all your installed
applications. Browse the various tiles to find what you need and click
the relevant app to launch it.
6. Easy access
If
there's an application you use all the time then you don't have to
access it via the search system. Pin it to the Start screen and it'll be
available at a click.
Start by typing part of the name of your
application. To access Control Panel, for instance, type 'Control'.
Right-click the 'Control Panel' tile on the Apps Search screen, and
click 'Pin to Start'. If you're using a touchscreen, press and hold the
icon, then flick down and select 'Pin to Start'.
Now press the
Windows key, scroll to the right and you'll see the Control Panel tile
at the far end. Drag and drop this over to the left somewhere if you'd
like it more easily accessible, then click the tile to open the desktop
along with the Control Panel window, and press the Windows key to return
you to the Start screen when you're done.
7. Shutting down
To
shut Windows 8 down, just move the mouse cursor to the bottom right
corner of the screen, click the Settings icon - or just hold down the
Windows key and press I - and you'll see a power button. Click this and
choose 'Shut Down' or 'Restart'.
Some of the tricks available in
previous versions of Windows still apply. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del, for
instance, click the power button in the bottom right-hand corner and
you'll be presented with the same 'Shut Down' and 'Restart' options.
And
if you're on the desktop, press Alt+F4 and you'll be able to choose
'Shut Down', 'Restart', 'Sign Out' or 'Switch User' options.
Eager to get your hands on the Windows 8 Release Preview? Before you
download and mount that ISO image, you’ll have to pause for a second and
think about how you want to install it. By default, Windows 8 will try
to install itself over Windows 7, or completely replace Windows Vista
and XP. This isn’t ideal when you’re essentially beta-testing a product
that isn’t finished yet and will still have bugs and compatibility
problems.
The Release Preview version of Windows 8 isn’t going to be around
forever either, and will probably expire on or close to the launch of
the final RTM version of Windows 8 – meaning you’ll need to upgrade to
the new version or revert to your old Windows.
This is why dual booting Windows 8 Release Preview alongside your
existing Windows installation is the perfect option, as when you turn on
your PC you’ll get to choose which version of Windows to use, and it
allows both versions of Windows to work side by side on your PC without
you losing any files. We’ve laid out the whole process in eight easy
steps for you to follow below.
1. Download the package
To get started, you’ll first need to download the installer for the Windows 8 Release Preview from Microsoft’s website at www.bit.ly/y4JoSb.
Click on ‘Get it now’, then ‘Download Windows 8 Release Preview’ to
begin downloading. Click ‘Run’ twice and allow the program to make
changes to your computer if and when you’re prompted.
2. Prepare to install
When the program starts, it will scan your computer to ensure that
your machine is compatible with Windows 8. It will then determine which
version of Windows 8 you’ll need (32- or 64-bit) and download the
relevant files. During this process you might be asked to perform a few
tasks on your computer, like clearing space on your hard drive.
3. Make a bootable flash drive
The next screen will ask whether you’re ready to install the Release
Preview. Make sure you select ‘Install on another partition’ and click
‘Next’. Select ‘USB flash drive’ (unless you’d rather make a bootable
DVD), then click ‘Next’ and select your flash drive from the list (make
sure the drive is inserted into your PC first). Click ‘Next’ to begin.
The process might take a while.
4. Create a partition (part one)
You now need to make a partition on your hard drive to install
Windows 8 onto. Before you begin, it’s best to back up all your
important files, just in case. Then open up the Start menu and
right-click on ‘Computer’ and select ‘Manage’. Select ‘Disk Management’
from the list on the left. Right-click your hard drive at the bottom of
the screen and select ‘Shrink volume’.
5. Create a partition (part two)
You’ll need at least 20GB available to install Windows 8, so enter
20,000 in the box labelled ‘Enter the amount of space to shrink in MB’
and click ‘Shrink’. A new unallocated section of 20GB will be displayed.
Right-click on this and select ‘New simple volume’. Click ‘Next’ on the
next three screens. In ‘Volume label’ type Windows 8, then click ‘Next’
and finally ‘Finish’.
6. Boot from USB flash
You then need to restart your computer. To ensure your PC boots from
the USB drive you created, access the BIOS, go to ‘Boot > Boot device
priority’ and make sure the USB drive comes before your hard drive.
Press [F10] to save and exit, and the Windows 8 install utility should
now run. Once Windows 8 Setup has loaded, click ‘Next’, then ‘Install
now.’
7. Select the partition to install
When prompted, enter the product code DNJXJ-7XBW8-2378T-X22TX-BKG7J.
Continue through the process until you’re asked which type of
installation you want. Click ‘Custom: Install Windows only’. In the next
window select the partition you created earlier – it should say
‘Windows 8’ – then click ‘Next’ and you’re ready to get started with
dual booting.
8. Dual boot
Now you wait for the Windows 8 installation process to complete. Once
done, your PC will boot into Windows 8. If you like, enter your Windows
Live ID. When you restart your PC, you should be presented with an
option to boot into Windows Release Preview or Windows 7. Click ‘Change
defaults or choose other options’ to make Windows 7 your default
operating system.
How To Recover Your Password Efficiently By Using Recovery Console
Recovering the password of your computer without the deletion of
important data or system formatting can be tough. But if one knows how
to use the recovery console, it is quite easy actually. This is how.
Recovery Console: What is it?
When your operating system seems to be malfunctioning, the recovery
console is a feature, available in the Windows XP after it was first
introduced in the Windows 2000, that helps you to restore and repair the
computer to a more functional state.
It also helps your computer return to its default settings and with
the use of your administrative password, you can access the
administrative account, which gives you the highest privileges of
configuring your machine, including password resetting. The recovery
console also helps you replace damaged or non-functional files which may
be causing the configuration trouble with files from a CD-ROM.
How to operate the Recovery Console:
On turning on the computer, you have to insert your windows
operating system CD and reboot your computer. You will be able to see a
Welcome to Set Up screen, and you will have to press Enter to Setup
Windows Now.
Once you see the licensing agreement, you’ll have to press F8 to accept it.
The next thing on screen will be an option to Repair.
Select your installation and press R to repair.
After the stage where you have to copy the files, your computer will reboot in about 15 seconds.
Do not press any other key. Setup will be resumed soon after and you shall notice that Install Windows is highlighted.
The Next Step is Tricky and should be paid careful attention
You must keep a firm eye on the lower, left-hand side of the screen
and as soon as you see that part of the screen read Installing Devices
press ‘Shift+F10’. A command console should pop up giving you the chance
to a wider access of your computer. When you’re at the prompt, you must
type out- ‘NUSRMGR.CPL’ and press Enter.
This gives you access to the ‘User Accounts’ on the Control Panel.
What Next?
Pick the account that needs the change of password. Change your
password as you desire. If you want to have to log on without being
prompted for the password, then at the prompt you can type ‘control
userpasswords2’ and choose to log on, without a password.
After having made the necessary changes, you may close the windows,
quit the command box and continue with the procedure of Repair.
It is recommended that you use the Recovery Console only if you are
well versed with the Commands, without the knowledge of which, you will
find it extremely difficult to operate the Recovery Console. It is
advised to view the commands by typing Recovery Console Commands in the
command line and pressing Enter and then printing out the commands, to
be kept handy as and when required. Microsoft’s support site is also
accessible for any further information.
Today i Am going to tell u about how to control your computer in simple way
A lot of you might be familiar with these shortcuts. We will show you a
combination of computer shortcuts key to control your computer more
easily in your daily life.
1) First of all you should know how to switch between the ongoing programs by using shortcuts. To switch between the apps of your computer use ALT+Tab. When you press ALT+Tab,
a new box will appear as you can see in the picture below. You will see
the icon of all the programs you are running. Hold the ALT button and
press the tab button again and again to select different program.In this
way you can use multiple programs very quickly without any delay.
2) Minimize all the program at a time: Suppose you are doing
something alone and you don't wanna let people see what you are doing.
Suddenly someone appears and you want to minimize all the program
quickly. It will be too late if you try to minimize all the programs by
using your mouse pointer. But if you use Windows menu +D
shortcut, you can easily minimize all the program. Apply the same
shortcut again to maximize all the program. This is a very useful
shortcut you must use.
3) Control your web browser: You can use many useful shortcuts to use your web browser like a boss. Use CTRL+T for opening a new tab to browse a new website. To open a new browser window use CTRL+N. To switch between the multiple use Ctrl+Tab. Use all of them together for few days to get the maximum advantage.
Besides all these top 3 shortcuts, you can also use other shortcuts like ALT+F4 to close any program or shut down your Pc, Windows Key + R to open run. It would be wonderful if you can memorize the code of useful application to open them via RUN.
Now try to use all the above mentioned shortcuts everyday. A big thumps up to you if you are already using these shortcuts.
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Learn how to create a new scope in DHCP in 13 simple steps.
DHCP scope is
a collection of IP addresses and TCP/IP configuration parameters that
are available for lease to DHCP client computers. A DHCP scope must be
defined and activated on the DHCP server to assign dynamic TCP/IP
configuration to a DHCP client computer. It can have a single continuous
range of IP addresses. To use several address ranges within a single
scope, set exclusion ranges after defining the scope.
Run DHCP from Start Menu > Programs > Administrative Tools > DHCP
In the DHCP console, highlight the server, and click Action > New Scope menu.
In the DHCP console, highlight the server, and click Action > New Scope menu.
3
In the welcome screen of the New Scope Wizard, click the Next button.
4
On the Scope Name page, specify a name and description for the scope, and click the Next button. However, it is not mandatory to specify description for the scope.
5
On the IP Address Range
page, specify Start IP address, End IP address, and Subnet mask/length
of the scope address range, and click the Next button.
6
On the Add Exclusions page, specify the Start IP address and the End IP address, and click the Add button. Click the Next button.
7
On the Lease Duration page, specify the time period for which the scope shall be used, and click the Next button.
8
On the Configure DHCP Options page, specify permission to configure DHCP options, and click the Next button.
9
On the Router (Default Gateway) page, specify the IP address of the router, and click the Next button.
10
On the Domain Name and
DNS Servers page, specify the name of the parent domain, the name of the
DNS Server and its IP address, and click the Next button.
11
On the WINS Servers page, specify the Server name and its IP address, and click the Add button. Click the Next button.
12
On the Activate Scope page, specify when you want to activate the scope, and click the Next button.
Hello i m prabhkaran singh from jammu.I have done B.tech in computer science form SVIET .
I am MCITP in window server administrator 2008 and have good knowledge about NETWORKING and SERVERS . I have also done CCNA.
i have lot of interest in hacking and Networking .
For any query cont me any at my email.
hackingandtricks@gmail.com
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In the DHCP console, highlight the server, and click Action > New Scope menu.
