1. Open from the lock
screen
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.Windows 8 opens on its lock screen, which looks
pretty but unfortunately displays no clues about what to do next.
2. Handle basic
navigation
Windows 8's
interface is 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. Group apps
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. Use the 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. Download the
Win+X
Menu Editor and
you'll be able to further customise the list with programs of your
own.
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. Make access easier
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'.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.
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. Shut 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.
8.
Use the app bar
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.
9.
Launch apps from the desktop
Windows
8 doesn't provide any obvious way to launch apps straight from the
desktop, but this is actually surprisingly easy to set up.
Right-click
on an empty part of your desktop, select New > Shortcut, and type
Explorer Shell:AppsFolder in the "Location" box. Click
Next, enter a name - "All Programs", for instance - and
click Finish. Double-clicking that shortcut will open a folder
listing all your installed programs, including the apps, and you can
launch whatever you like.
10.
See 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.
11.
Close an app
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.
12.
Hide the taskbar
If
you run Windows 8 on a tablet then it makes sense to keep your
taskbar on the left, where it takes minimal space and is best placed
for easy thumb access. Switch your tablet to portrait orientation,
though, and you'll suddenly find the taskbar grabs much more valuable
screen real estate.
It
doesn't have to be this way, however - not if you install Surface
Taskbar Helper.
This neat tool enables you to set the taskbar to "auto hide"
based on its current orientation, so for instance you can always show
it in landscape view, but hide it in portrait, which is a very
flexible way to get the most out of your display space.
13.
Master 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.
14.
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.
15.
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.
16.
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.
17.
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.
18.
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'.)
And,
if you're sure you'll never want to use an app again, choose
'Uninstall' will remove it entirely.
Of
course, if you like to try out lots of apps then uninstalling them
one at a time can get a little tedious. If that becomes a problem,
give Windows
App Boss a
try - it enables you to select multiple apps and remove them all at
once.
19.
Customise app 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.
The
new Task Manager also includes a History feature that tracks the CPU
time used by every application. If you're wondering what someone's
doing most of the time on their Windows 8 system, launching Task
Manager (press Ctrl+Shift+Esc) and clicking the App History tab will
give you an idea. But if you don't want someone doing the same to
you, clicking App History > Delete Usage History will clear all
the figures.
20.
Show 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.
21.
Disable the lock screen
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
REGEDIT, and browse to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Personalization
(create the Personalization key if it doesn't exist).
Click
Personalization in the left-hand pane. Right-click in the right-hand
pane, select New > DWORD Value, and give it the name NoLockScreen.
Double-click
your new NoLockScreen value, set it to 1, click OK, and when you next
reboot it the lock screen will have gone. If you decide to restore it
for some reason, set NoLockScreen to 0 or delete it entirely.
22.
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.
It's
all done via a single Registry key, too. Just launch REGEDIT and set
the value of the
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Appx\AllowAllTrustedApps
key to 1.
23.
Pin app contents to the Start screen
It's
easy to pin apps to the Start screen (right-click, select "Pin"),
but you don't have to stop there. Many apps also enable you to pin
particular content for easy access later.
If
you want more ideas for your upcoming holiday in Rome, for instance,
you could open the Travel app, right-click, select "Destinations"
and choose the "Rome" tile. And then repeat those steps
every single time you revisit the page. Or, alternatively,
right-click your preferred Destination tile, select "Pin...",
and you'll be able to access it directly from the Start screen.
Similarly,
if you use the Mail app with multiple accounts then just open these,
and you can right-click to select separate live tiles for each one -
much more useful.
24.
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.
25.
Use six apps at once
Launch
a Windows 8 app and it appears full-screen, which is fine on a small
tablet but not so impressive when you've got a 27-inch widescreen
monitor to fill.
Toolbox
for Windows 8 helps out, though, by bundling 12 common apps in a
single package. You get a Facebook client, browser, calculator,
weather app, clock and more. And instead of always appearing
full-screen, you can run and interact with two, three, four, even six
of these tools, all at the same time.
26.
Replace the Start menu
If
Windows 8's search and navigation tools still leave you pining for
the regular Start menu, installing the free Classic
Shell will
replace it with something very similar.
Install
it and you get the standard menu of your installed programs, for
instance, along with Search and Run boxes, the Recent Items menu, and
Windows 7-type shutdown options. And it can make Windows 8 boot
directly to the desktop, too.
Classic
Shell doesn't entirely ignore the modern UI world, though. A menu of
installed apps enables you to launch them from the desktop, and you
can alternatively switch to the Start screen with a click.
27.
Learn 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
28.
Boot desktop apps faster
While
you can still set up desktop apps to load when Windows 8 starts, they
don't have the priority they once did. Quite the opposite, in fact -
Windows 8 delays their launch to ensure everything else starts more
quickly. This can make the system more responsive as your system
boots, but if you're switching straight to the desktop then it may
slow you down, so it may be worth turning off the delay, just to see
if you can spot any improvement.
Launch
REGEDIT and browse to
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Serialize.
Create
the Serialize key if it doesn't exist, and select it in the left-hand
pane.
Right-click
in the right-hand pane, create a new DWORD value called
StartupDelayInMSec, and leave it set at zero (or, if a value is
already there, set it to zero).
Restart
and the desktop apps will now launch more quickly. Try three or four
test boots to see if there's any improvement, and if not, delete the
StartupDelayInMSec value to restore the default settings.
29.
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. Or 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.
30.
Take 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.
31.
Default to 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.
32.
Tweak SmartScreen
Windows
8 now uses Internet Explorer's SmartScreen system-wide, checking
downloaded files to ensure they're safe. This is a very good thing -
a report
by NSS Labs revealed
that IE10 blocks more malware than any other browser - but if you
have any problems then it can be tweaked.
Launch
Control Panel, open the Action Centre applet, and click Change
Windows SmartScreen Settings in the left-hand pane. Here you can keep
the warning, but avoid the requirement for administrator approval, or
turn SmartScreen off altogether. Make your choice and click OK to
finish.
33.
Set up Windows 8 File History
Windows
8 includes an excellent File History feature, which can regularly and
automatically back up your libraries, desktop, contacts and
favourites 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.
34.
Use 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.
35.
Pool 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 maximise 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.
36.
Enable 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 OptionalFeatures.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.
37.
Smart search
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: BitLocker, 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.
38.
Set Start screen background
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.
39.
Schedule 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 Centre > 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.
40.
Restore the Windows "Updates are available" alert
If
you've set up Windows 8 to check for Windows updates but enable you
to choose whether to download and install them, then of course it's
very important that the system tells you when updates are available.
And it does this - but only in the logon screen. The "Updates
are available" system tray icon has disappeared, so if you don't
log off or restart your PC regularly then no matter how important
Microsoft's latest security patches might be, you won't hear about
them.
As
with many other Windows 8 issues, though, it's not taken long for
other developers to fill the gap, and there are now several free
tools that can help. Install a copy of the Windows
Update Notification Tool or
theWindows
Update Notifier and
the "Updates are available" alert will be restored to your
system tray.
41.
Close apps easily
Closing
a Windows 8 app can sometimes be awkward. You have to drag or swipe
down from the very top of the screen right to the very bottom - which
might be quite some distance - and if you don't quite swipe all the
way, the window just reappears and you have to start again.
The
solution? Get Windows to close the app without you having to travel
quite so far. It works like this.
Launch
REGEDIT, browse to
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ImmersiveShell\Switcher,
and create new DWORD values called MouseCloseThreshold and
TouchCloseThreshold.
These
define how far mouse and touch users will have to drag the app before
they can drop and close it. Start by setting each value to the
maximum 1000, reboot, and you'll find you can now drop the window
maybe only half way down the screen and still have it close
correctly, which is much quicker and easier.
You
may also be more likely to close apps accidentally, of course. If
this happens, reduce the value of the relevant Registry key a little
(the minimum value is 1, setting it to 0 prevents that method of
closing at all), reboot and try again. Or delete the keys if you have
problems with this and would like to restore the default settings.
42.
Set a 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.
43.
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.
44.
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.
45.
Save bandwidth
Set
up lots of live tiles on the Start screen and you could find they're
using a lot of network bandwidth, which could perhaps become a
problem if you're running a slow or metered connection. But Windows 8
does offer one option that might help.
Click
your network connection on the taskbar (or the Start Screen Charms
bar), right-click your network connection in the list and select "Set
as metered connection" (you'll only see this with wireless
adaptors). Windows will then limit what individual live tiles can do,
while also downloading only priority Windows updates, and applying a
few other restrictions. Right-click the connection again and select
"Set as unmetered" to change it back.
46.
Touch keyboard
By
default the Touch keyboard will try to help you out by, for instance,
playing sounds as you type, capitalising the first letter of each
sentence, adding a period if you double-tap the spacebar, 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 customise the keyboard to suit your needs.
47.
Sync and privacy
One
very useful Windows 8 feature is its ability to synchronise your
settings with other PCs and devices. So if you've set up your
new Windows
Phonedevice
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.
48.
Customise the Quick Access toolbar
Windows
Explorer in Windows 8 features a Quick Access toolbar immediately
above the menu, providing easy access to options such as 'New
Folder', 'Minimise', 'Undo' and more.
This
is customisable, 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.
49.
Try the 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.
50.
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.
51.
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.
52.
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.
53.
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.
54.
Correct a VirtualBox error
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.
55.
Fix it if Windows 8 apps won't launch
If
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.
56.
Solve Store problems
Installing
or updating Windows 8 apps normally takes only a moment, but if your
PC just can't do either any more then there are several potential
causes.
A
corrupted Store cache is one of the more likely candidates, for
instance, but fortunately Microsoft has provided a tool to help.
Press Win+R, type wsreset and press Enter, and the Store cache will
be cleaned for you.
If
Windows Update is broken or disabled then you'll also have app
problems. Launch the Control Panel Troubleshooting applet (press
Win+W, type trouble, and click "Troubleshooting") and click
"Fix problems with Windows update" to detect and resolve
any issues.
57.
Fix 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.)
58.
Diagnose with 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.
59.
Speed up chkdsk
If
you suspect your Windows 8 system may have a corrupted hard drive,
then you might be tempted to use the old chkdsk /f command. This does
still work, but it's horribly slow, and won't do anything at all
until you reboot. What's more, it may no longer be necessary now.
Windows
8 now regularly runs chkdsk in the background, looking for problems,
and recording them. And then, when run at boot time, it doesn't have
to scan every single sector of your hard drive. It just fixes the
known problems, usually in a few seconds.
The
first lesson here is that you probably won't have to use chkdsk any
more.
But
if you want to try it anyway, don't use chkdsk /f first. Enter chkdsk
/spotfix instead, agree to run a check when you next reboot, then
restart your PC and any fixes will be applied, much more quickly.
While
this works most of the time, there are no guarantees. If you're out
of other options then you can still try chkdsk /f later.
60.
Recover your system
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.
