[PCWorld]

Post your comments for 20 must-know Windows 8 tips and tricks here

[brainout]

Very helpful article. Thank you. Now if only the procedures and features were actually superior to what I already have, or could do better things than what I can now do, in XP. On the other hand, for casual users who didn't customize PC operation prior, some of these functions might be useful.

The frequent keyboard shortcuts are hard to remember, unless you've been using most of them all along.

[TheFirstSmartass]

Quote

Very helpful article. Thank you. Now if only the procedures and features were actually superior to what I already have, or could do better things than what I can now do, in XP. On the other hand, for casual users who didn't customize PC operation prior, some of these functions might be useful. The frequent keyboard shortcuts are hard to remember, unless you've been using most of them all along.

Look out everyone, wild smarmosaurus on the loose!

[royjg]

I also agree, very helpfull article. Thank you

[Stopwatch]

Excellent article but the authors seem to have forgotten the easiest way to shut down a computer.

Push the power button.

It frees up that tile for a program instead. :-)

[scophi]

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Excellent article but the authors seem to have forgotten the easiest way to shut down a computer. Push the power button. It frees up that tile for a program instead. :-)

People recommend this option a lot. But I should point out that not everyone has easy access to the power button.

Many setups have the tower/case located out of arms reach, such as behind monitors, behind desks, in cabinets, and even in other rooms.

This is especially common in workplace scenarios where IT doesn't want employees handling the hardware.

In these cases, it's nice to have easy access to power functions from the desktop.

[GetReal]

This is an excellent article! I have printed it for future reference and expect to refer to it for some days in future.

So, this printed at 10 pages, I wonder why MS could not add or produce such condensed help information in the tiny foldout that came with my BOXED copy of Win-8? Viewable initial Start-Up screen alternative?

The information in the article would likely take a single user at least a week to discover all themselves - and save lots of grumbling, confusion and possibly cursing during initial use of the new OS.

[ACocilova]

Quote

This is an excellent article! I have printed it for future reference and expect to refer to it for some days in future. So, this printed at 10 pages, I wonder why MS could not add or produce such condensed help information in the tiny foldout that came with my BOXED copy of Win-8? Viewable initial Start-Up screen alternative? The information in the article would likely take a single user at least a week to discover all themselves - and save lots of grumbling, confusion and possibly cursing during initial use of the new OS.

Glad you enjoyed it! Don't forget to print one out for any other frustrated friends or family members that may have Windows 8 as well!

A little extra help booklet would go a long way for Microsoft, but I guess that's what we're here for!

[dfschmid]

One thing I like about PC World is that they are ready to help users with solutions when they are confronted with problems.

When I upgraded to Windows 7, I discovered I no longer had to customize the OS. It simply worked. So, Windows 7, in my opinion, has come the closest to the Mac experience of using an OS as is.

Sadly, with Windows 8, once again, users are forced to tweak the OS here and there, and everywhere in between, to get things to work, or they must download 3rd party software to get back the Start menu, or minimize the user interface friction in Windows 8.

I can see how Windows 8 would work well on tablets and smart phones. You wouldn't have to worry so much about customization. However, desktops and laptops are not smart phones and tablets. And therein lies Microsoft's problem. Desktop users were simply left stranded.

I don't like what Microsoft did to Windows 8. I refuse to upgrade to this OS, only to have to "fix" it to make it work in a way that helps me get my work done.

[TerW]

What an informative article! I've been using Windows 8 since Developer Preview, and this touched on things I already knew PLUS some! I can't wait to try some of these when I get back to my laptop at home. (Which, btw, runs like a charm after upgrading to Win8 Pro.) Thank you!!

[SteveLarson]

Great Article. I am loving windows 8 and I guess I am in the minority, but I love working with the tiles. It is fast and I am able to set things up quickly to do exactly what I want to do. I've been using windows for a long time and this is the best version yet!

[thebigdintx]

I used the method described to "Boot to the desktop without an app", and it took me to the desktop, but with Windows Explorer open. Any way to boot to the desktop using task scheduler without having to also open a program?

[compnovo]

thebigdintx, on 02 November 2012 - 01:51 PM, said:

I used the method described to "Boot to the desktop without an app", and it took me to the desktop, but with Windows Explorer open. Any way to boot to the desktop using task scheduler without having to also open a program?

That's because the workaround is telling Windows to open Explorer at startup, which forces Windows 8 into desktop mode. I tried it myself and realized that although it's a neat trick I hadn't really gained anything, since closing Explorer still requires one more action (just like clicking the desktop icon in modern UI mode).

This is still a solid article, lots of good, usable tips.

[Jayac6l]

That is what I do, but I typically put my nettop into sleep. Therefore, I went into my power options and set the Press the Power Button to Sleep. I knew about the shutdown command, so I came up with this modified version:

shutdown.exe /s /hybrid /f /t 000

/f forces apps to close, so you don't have click anything if something hangs.

/hybrid creates a faster boot. My little single-core nettop boots in about 14 seconds after having used the /hybrid option.

[ACocilova]

Quote

thebigdintx said
I used the method described to "Boot to the desktop without an app", and it took me to the desktop, but with Windows Explorer open. Any way to boot to the desktop using task scheduler without having to also open a program?

Quote

That's because the workaround is telling Windows to open Explorer at startup, which forces Windows 8 into desktop mode. I tried it myself and realized that although it's a neat trick I hadn't really gained anything, since closing Explorer still requires one more action (just like clicking the desktop icon in modern UI mode). This is still a solid article, lots of good, usable tips.

Unfortunately I don't know a workaround to keep from having to close Explorer at startup, it's a useful tip for our lab where they run automated benchmarks that require the system to boot to the desktop in order to continue the benchmark after restart. Let us know if anyone finds anything extra out! Glad you guys enjoyed the article!

[Crazyrev]

Quote

Very helpful article. Thank you. Now if only the procedures and features were actually superior to what I already have, or could do better things than what I can now do, in XP. On the other hand, for casual users who didn't customize PC operation prior, some of these functions might be useful. The frequent keyboard shortcuts are hard to remember, unless you've been using most of them all along.

It looks as if, like myself, you are a fan of XP. I have just had to purchase a new laptop that has come with Win8 installed. I have the HDD from its predecessor, in a caddy, with XP still installed there. Is there some way that I can "save" Win8 (for possible future use), while using XP in the new machine?

[compnovo]

Crazyrev, on 02 November 2012 - 04:13 PM, said:

Quote

Very helpful article. Thank you. Now if only the procedures and features were actually superior to what I already have, or could do better things than what I can now do, in XP. On the other hand, for casual users who didn't customize PC operation prior, some of these functions might be useful. The frequent keyboard shortcuts are hard to remember, unless you've been using most of them all along.

It looks as if, like myself, you are a fan of XP. I have just had to purchase a new laptop that has come with Win8 installed. I have the HDD from its predecessor, in a caddy, with XP still installed there. Is there some way that I can "save" Win8 (for possible future use), while using XP in the new machine?

Pretty unlikely. Assuming your old HDD is SATA (and it may not be) you can swap drives but your system most likely will not boot. And even if you can boot it in Safe Mode you'll have several drivers that will need to be changed. To complicate matters further, your XP install is probably OEM, which means it can't be transferred to another computer (in most situations).

[brainout]

ACocilova, on 02 November 2012 - 08:52 AM, said:

Quote

This is an excellent article! I have printed it for future reference and expect to refer to it for some days in future. So, this printed at 10 pages, I wonder why MS could not add or produce such condensed help information in the tiny foldout that came with my BOXED copy of Win-8? Viewable initial Start-Up screen alternative? The information in the article would likely take a single user at least a week to discover all themselves - and save lots of grumbling, confusion and possibly cursing during initial use of the new OS.

Glad you enjoyed it! Don't forget to print one out for any other frustrated friends or family members that may have Windows 8 as well!

A little extra help booklet would go a long way for Microsoft, but I guess that's what we're here for!

Try this book on Win 8. . I just bought it for my Kindle for PC.

[brainout]

Crazyrev, on 02 November 2012 - 04:13 PM, said:

Quote

Very helpful article. Thank you. Now if only the procedures and features were actually superior to what I already have, or could do better things than what I can now do, in XP. On the other hand, for casual users who didn't customize PC operation prior, some of these functions might be useful. The frequent keyboard shortcuts are hard to remember, unless you've been using most of them all along.

It looks as if, like myself, you are a fan of XP. I have just had to purchase a new laptop that has come with Win8 installed. I have the HDD from its predecessor, in a caddy, with XP still installed there. Is there some way that I can "save" Win8 (for possible future use), while using XP in the new machine?

Yes, there are several ways, but I'm not sure which one to recommend right now. I just bought an Optiplex in Dell Auction which I plan to reconfigure as triple boot for testing. That machine won't have any programs or files on it that I use, so if something goes wrong I can just wipe each of the three partitions, and do clean installs. I'm afraid it will be months before I have firm answers.

Meanwhile, you might consider just buying a cheap netbook or notebook, then download Win8 onto it, see what you think. I wouldn't recommend installing Win8 over any OS you actually like and use. For Win8 is ONLY an upgrade. That's why I went to Dell Auction yesterday; you can get a netbook or notebook for less than $300; or, go to Walmart, try one of their Acers with at least 2GB of RAMM (Win8 Pro is 64-bit and needs 2 GB). There are a number of them under $400. Also search in 'netbook' in Amazon.

See, Win8 claims to run on little HDD and RAM, so you don't need to buy much of a machine, for testing.

If, though, you insist on installing it over an XP you have, bear in mind you lose everything. So what I would do, were I to replace an existing XP machine, would be to first clone AND make a full image recovery of the disc using my trusty Macrium Reflect 5 Pro (which saved my machines at least twice since I learned of the program last June). Then, after you've played with Win8 you can 'recover' your XP back to the same computer. There is no true way to completely uninstall it and return your machine back to the way it was, else.

Macrium is compatible all the way through Win8. So you can always recover the pre-Win8 installation, and you can even do it to dissimilar hardware, though I'm not sure when Windows might consider that a violation.

This post has been edited by brainout: 02 November 2012 - 07:37 PM

[LiveBrianD]

compnovo, on 02 November 2012 - 02:43 PM, said:

thebigdintx, on 02 November 2012 - 01:51 PM, said:

I used the method described to "Boot to the desktop without an app", and it took me to the desktop, but with Windows Explorer open. Any way to boot to the desktop using task scheduler without having to also open a program?

That's because the workaround is telling Windows to open Explorer at startup, which forces Windows 8 into desktop mode. I tried it myself and realized that although it's a neat trick I hadn't really gained anything, since closing Explorer still requires one more action (just like clicking the desktop icon in modern UI mode).

This is still a solid article, lots of good, usable tips.

I've heard of people putting the Task Manager in the startup folder, with it set to start minimized, and minimize to taskbar, to do that.