Top 10 Windows 8 tips and tricks

Update to Windows 8.1

Microsoft has released Windows 8.1, which is a free upgrade for anyone running Windows 8. This update addresses many of the problems users have had with Windows 8 and also adds a Start button. Visit Microsoft's Windows 8.1 page for the update.

Customize your tiles

 

Make the most of your Windows Start screen tiles by adjusting the sizes, where they are located, and what is listed.

• Move any tile by clicking and dragging the tile. While moving a tile, if you need a larger view of the Start screen move the tile towards the top or bottom of the screen to zoom out.
• Use your mouse wheel to scroll left-to-right through your tiles.
• Any Desktop shortcut or program can be pinned to the Start screen by right-clicking the icon and choosing Pin to Start.
• In the bottom right-hand corner of the start screen is a magnifying glass with tiles, click this icon to get a zoomed out view of your Start screen. In this view, if you right-click on a group of tiles you'll be given the option to name group, which can be useful if you have a group of related tiles (e.g. games). In this view, you can also click and drag a group to organize your tile groups.
• Create a new speed bump between tile groups by moving a tile to a speed bump.
• Resize any User tile or Live tile by right-clicking the tile and choosing resize.
• If there is a tile you want on your Taskbar, right-click the tile and choose Pin to taskbar.
• Show admin applications on the Start screen by clicking Settings in Charms, click Settings, and change the Show administrative tools from No to Yes.
• In Internet Explorer 10, you can also pin any of your favorite web pages to your Start Screen.

Windows 8 keyboard shortcuts

Knowing at least some of the Windows 8 keyboard shortcuts helps make your Windows 8 experience much more enjoyable. Try to memorize these top Windows 8 shortcut keys.

• Press the Windows key to open the Start screen or switch to the Desktop (if open).
• Press the Windows key + D opens the Windows Desktop.
• Press the Windows key + . to pin and unpin Windows apps on the side of the screen.
• Press the Windows key + X to open the power user menu, which gives you access to many of the features most power users would want (e.g. Device Manager and Command Prompt).
• Press the Windows key + C to open the Charms.
• Press the Windows key + I to open the Settings, which is the same Settings found in Charms.
• Press and hold the Windows key + Tab to show open apps.
• Press the Windows key + Print screen to create a screen shot, which is automatically saved into your My Pictures folder.

See our Windows shortcuts page for a full listing of all Windows shortcuts.

Know your hot corners

The corners on your screen are hot corners and give you access to different Windows features. Below, is a brief explanation of each of these corners.

Bottom Left-hand corner

The bottom left-hand hot corner of the screen allows you to access the Start screen, if you're in the Start screen and have the Desktop open, this corner opens the Desktop from the Start screen.

Tip: Right-clicking in the left hand corner opens the power user menu.

Top-left corner of the screen

Moving the mouse to the top-left corner and then down displays all the apps running on the computer. Clicking and dragging any of these apps to the left or right-hand side of the screen will snap that app to that side of the screen. Each of these open app icons can also be right-clicked to close or snap.

Right-hand side of the screen

On the full right-hand side of the screen will be given access to the Windows Charms.

Taking advantage of search

The Search in Windows 8 has been significantly improved when compared to all previous versions of Windows. To search for a file or run a program in Windows 8 from the Start screen just start typing what you're trying to find or want to run.

As you begin typing, the results will start appearing on the left-hand side. In addition to being able to search for files and run programs, the Search also supports limiting the search to apps such as Finance, People, Maps, Photos, Mail, Music, Videos, Weather, and much more. If what you are searching for is not a file or program, click on the app you want to use as the search. For example, if you were searching for "New York" and selected the Weather App you would be shown the weather in New York, NY.

By default, Search organizes the available Apps by how frequently they are used and then in alphabetical order. If you want to keep your favorite app at the top of the Search list, right-click the app and choose Pin. Pinning the app will lock it in place regardless of how often it is used. If there is an app you don't want (e.g. Finance) you can turn on and off any of the search apps through the PC settings, which is found under the Settings in the Charms.

Bonus tip: The Search is also found through Charms and can also be opened by pressing Windows key + F.

Running two apps side by side

Any app can be pinned to the left or right-hand side of the screen. For example, open the People app and then press the Windows Key + . (period) to move that app to the right-hand side of the screen, pressing the same keys again will move it to the left-hand side, and pressing the same keys again makes it full screen. While an app is pinned, any other app or program can be opened and loaded into the available space on the screen. For example, in the picture below, we've opened a browser window and have the People app running to monitor our social networks.

Any open app can also be pinned using your mouse by clicking at the top of the tile and dragging it to the left or right-hand side of the screen.

Bonus tip: The Desktop can also be pinned to the left or right-hand side of the screen.

Note: In order for snap to work properly your resolution must be at least 1,366 x 768.

Windows 8 Task Manager

The Windows 8 Task Manager has been significantly improved over previous versions of Windows. Some of the new changes include showing a total percent usage at the top of your Processes, which makes it easier to determine total memory and CPU usage, improved Performance graphs, a Startup tab to see startup processes and their impact to system performance, and the App history tab (as shown below) that gives you the total resources an app has used over a period of time. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to start exploring the new Task Manager.

Use a picture password to log into your computer

Windows 8 includes a new feature called Picture password, which allows you to authenticate with the computer using a series of gestures that include circles, straight lines, and taps. Enable this feature if you want a new way to access your computer or have a hard time with passwords.

1. Open the Windows Charms.
2. Click Settings and then More PC settings
3. In the PC settings window click Users and then select Create a picture password

Bonus tip: A four digit pin password can also be created and used to access your computer.

Take advantage of Windows 8 apps

Windows 8 comes included with several apps to help you get the most from your computer. Below are just a few of the included apps.

People

Microsoft touts the People feature in Windows 8 because they understand how many people are using social networks today. In the People feature you'll be able to connect your Windows computer to all the major social networks including Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Once connected, you can pin the people app and monitor your social network (as shown below), use People in Search to find people, and get an overview of what is happening in all your social networks.

Reader

The Reader app gives you PDF support right out of the box.

SkyDrive

The SkyDrive app gives you access to the Microsoft cloud service SkyDrive, which allows you to store your photos, documents, and other files in the cloud and access or share those files with any computer with Internet access.

Store

Take advantage of the Windows Store and install one or more of the thousands of available apps designed for Windows 8. The Store is found in the Start screen, or use Search to search the Store app for any apps that you are trying to find.

Know the answers to common questions

Windows 8 is the biggest change to Microsoft Windows since the introduction of Windows 95, which was released all the way back in 1995. Since so many people have grown up with Windows, it can be difficult to transition to a new way of doing things. Below, is a short list of the most common questions previous Windows users have.

• How can I close an app in Windows 8?
• How do I sleep, restart, or shut down Windows 8?
• How do I get the start button back in Windows 8? 

Know the Jargon

Knowing all the new jargon introduced with Windows 8 help improve your familiarity with Windows 8 and make it a more enjoyable experience. Below, are just a few links to the most commonly used Windows 8 terms.

• Charms
• Lock screen
• Picture password
• Pin
• Power User Task Menu
• Snapped app
• Speed bump
• Start screen
• Tile, User Tile, and Live Tile
• Windows Store 

Battery

A battery is a hardware component that supplies power to a device, enabling that device to work without a power cord. Batteries are often capable of powering a laptop computer for several hours depending on how much power it requires. Today, many high-end devices such as computer laptops and cell phones use rechargeable batteries that allow a user to recharge the battery once depleted of energy. In the picture below, is an example of what a laptop battery may look like when removed from the laptop with a close-up of the battery rating.

Computer batteries

There are three computer batteries types used with computers. First, is the backup battery, which is commonly referred to as the CMOS battery. This battery is what holds your computer's settings, such as the time and date. This allows the computer to remember basic computer settings and the time and date without having to entering those settings each time the computer starts.

Next, the bridge battery is only found in portable computers as a temporary backup for the main battery. This allows the user to remove the main battery and replace it with a good battery without having to turn off the computer.

Finally, the main battery as explained in the first paragraph is also only used with portable computers as an alternate source of energy for when the computer is not connected to a standard wall outlet.

Battery technologies

There are different battery technologies that allow a battery to work. Below is a listing of some of the major types you're most likely to encounter.

• LI-ION (Lithium Ion)
• Li-polymer (Lithium Polymer)
• NICAD (Nickel-Cadmium)
• NIMH (Nickel-Metal Hydride)

Battery power icon option is grayed out in Windows

If you are looking to enable the battery power icon in the Systray, you should visit our questions and answers page dedicated to that subject. If you have already been to that page, but were unable to turn on the icon because the option was grayed out, the following steps should resolve your issue.

Warning: These instructions modify the Windows registry and as such, should be followed explicitly to avoid problems.

Windows 7 users

1. Click Start.
   In the Start Search field, type regedit.exe and then press Enter.
   If you are prompted for an administrator password or for confirmation, type the password, or click Allow.
2. Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\TrayNotify
3. In the Details pane, click the IconStreams registry entry.
4. On the Edit menu, click Delete, and then click Yes.
5. In the Details pane, click the PastIconsStream registry entry.
6. On the Edit menu, click Delete, and then click Yes.
7. Exit Registry Editor.
8. Restart the Explorer.exe process. To do these, follow these steps:
   1. Press CTRL+SHIFT+ESC.
   2. On the Processes tab in Task Manager, click the explorer.exe process, and then click End Process two times.
   3. On the File menu, click New Tasks (Run), type explorer, and then click OK.
   4. Exit Task Manager.
9. Once Explorer.exe has restarted, right click on the clock and choose "Customize Notification Icons."
10. Ensure that Power is set to "Show icon and notifications."
11. Click on "Turn system icons on or off."
12. Ensure that Power is set to "On."
13. Click on OK and close the Control Panel.

Microsoft DOS fciv command

About fciv

Short for File Checksum Integrity Verifier, FCIV is a Windows command line command that can be used to check the MD5 or SHA-1 file checksum cryptographic hash information.

Availability

The fciv.exe is an external command that is not pre-installed with any version of Windows, it must be downloaded from Microsoft.

Syntax

fciv.exe [Commands] <Options>

-add <file | dir>	Compute hash and send to output (default screen). dir options: -r : recursive. -type : ex: -type *.exe. -exc file: list of directories that should not be computed. -wp : Without full path name. ( Default store full path) -bp : specify base path to remove from full path name
-list	List entries in the database.
-v	Verify hashes. Option: -bp basepath.
-md5 | -sha1 | -both	Specify hashtype, default md5.
-xml db	Specify database format and name.

Examples

fciv hope.txt

Running the fciv against any file (in this case hope.txt) displays the File Checksum information similar to the example below.

//
// File Checksum Integrity Verifier version 2.05.
//
30ad2c562520d88d4e030fecf2f8c642 hope.txt

fciv hope.txt -both

Running the above command will give the output for both MD5 and SHA-1.

fciv -add hope.txt -xml hope.xml

Add the MD5 information of the "hope.txt" file to the XML hope.xml file. If the file does not exist a new file will be created. Below is an example of the XML file created using this command.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<FCIV>
<FILE_ENTRY><name>hope.txt</name><MD5>kS7IA7LOSeSlQQaNSVq1cA==</MD5></FILE_ENTRY></FCIV>

Voltage drop

 

1. Alternatively referred to as a brownout, dip, sag, voltage reduction, and voltage sag, a voltage drop is any decrease in voltage, typically under one second. Longer reduction in voltage is called undervoltage.

Power line sags often occur during the summer and when too much equipment is plugged into the same circuit. When this occurs your computer could experience such symptoms as the computer locking up, lost data, system crashes, and can also cause hardware in your computer such as the hard drive to fail.

Tip: If your area experience brownouts, we recommend purchasing a SPS or UPS for your computer and other essential equipment to help prevent any damage and corruption.

• Computer power supply help and support.

2. Linux command, see the Linux sag command page for further information about this term.

DIP

 

1. Short for Dual In-line Package, a DIP is a chip encased in a hard plastic casing with pins along each of the sides of the plastic casing. The picture is an example of a DIP found on a computer motherboard that has been soldered into place. Below is an illustration of a comparison between a DIP and a SIP that are not connected to any circuit board.

2. A dip may also refer to a voltage drop.

Executable virus

An executable virus is a non resident computer virus that stores itself in an executable file and infects other files each time the file is run. The majority of all computer viruses are spread when a file is executed or opened.