How to terminate apps in Windows 8.1
Windows 8 users who are running apps from time to time on their system know that they can be closed completely by moving the mouse cursor to the top of the page, holding the left mouse button down and dragging the app to the bottom of the screen. Once released, it is closed and its process is no longer running on Windows which you can check by opening the Windows Task Manager.
The second option that you have is to use the close option that is displayed in the left Charms Bar.
If you have updated your system to Windows 8.1 Preview or installed the system anew, you may have noticed that both options are no longer working. While dragging the app to the bottom of the screen closes it, it is not terminating it anymore from the task manager.
The app sleeps there so to speak so that it can be opened quickly again if needed. Frozen apps do not use cpu cycles but some memory but only if the memory is not required elsewhere. If you start a memory intensive app, you will notice that the memory usage of sleeping apps is reduced. If that is not sufficient, apps may get killed or terminated completely as well to free up even more memory.
Kill apps completely under Windows 8.1
There are two options that you have to terminate the process of an application complete under Windows 8.1. Most Windows 8.1 users may not need those options anymore as the system is handling memory management fine most of the time. There are however scenarios where you may want more control over the process.
- The app does not start correctly anymore, is frozen, or throwing other errors. Closing the application may resolve those.
- You want to erase the trace of the app from the task manager so that no one knows that it was run on the system, at least not from looking in the task manager.
The first option that you have is to open the Windows Task Manager to kill the process this way. This works for all apps and the main advantage you have is that you have full control over your system this way.
- The second option is a variant of the drag to close feature of Windows 8. You repeat the same procedure as before, but hold the mouse cursor at the bottom of the screen for some time until it rotates and its logo is shown to you.
- You can now release the mouse button.
- The app will be closed, and a couple seconds later, terminated from the system.
I have recorded a short video that demonstrates how this is done.
It is not clear why Microsoft made the change. The most likely explanation however is that the decision was made that priority should be given to the speed of opening apps again. Good news is, Windows 8.1 users still have options to close apps permanently on their systems.
The task manager is the better option if you are on the desktop or need to close multiple app processes. (via Desk Modder)
Advertisement
What mental age of reader are you targeting with the first sentence? 10?
Why not write an article on how to *avoid* upgrading from W10 to W11. Analogous to those like me who avoided upgrading from 7 to 10 for as long as possible.
If your paymaster Microsoft permits it, of course.
5. Rufus
6. Ventoy
PS. I hate reading these “SEO optimized” articles.
I used Rufus to create an installer for a 6th gen intel i5 that had MBR. It upgraded using Setup. No issues except for Win 11 always prompting me to replace my local account. Still using Win 10 Pro on all my other PCs to avoid the bullying.
bit pointless to upgrade for the sake of upgrading as you never know when you’ll get locked out because ms might suddenly not provide updates to unsupported systems.
ps…. time travelling?
written. Jan 15, 2023
Updated • Jan 13, 2023
This happens when you schedule a post in WordPress and update it before setting the publication date.
Anyone willing to downgrade to this awful OS must like inflicting themselves with harm.
I have become convinced now that anybody who has no qualms with using Windows 11/10 must fit into one of the following brackets:
1) Too young to remember a time before W10 and W11 (doesn’t know better)
2) Wants to play the latest games on their PC above anything else (or deeply needs some software which already dropped W7 support)
3) Doesn’t know too much about how computers work, worried that they’d be absolutely lost and in trouble without the “”latest security””
4) Microsoft apologist that tries to justify that the latest “features” and “changes” are actually a good thing, that improve Windows
5) Uses their computer to do a bare minimum of like 3 different things, browse web, check emails, etc, so really doesn’t fuss
Obviously that doesn’t cover everyone, there’s also the category that:
6) Actually liked W7 more than 10, and held out as long as possible before switching, begrudgingly uses 10 now
Have I missed any group off this list?
You have missed in this group just about any professional user that uses business software like CAD programs or ERP Programs which are 99% of all professional users from this list.
Linux doesn’t help anyone who is not a linux kid and apple is just a fancy facebook machine.
Microsoft has removed KB5029351 update
only from windows update though
KB5029351 is still available from the ms update catalog site
1. This update is labaled as PREVIEW if it causes issues to unintelligent people, then they shouldn’t have allowed Preview updates ot install.
2. I have installed it in a 11 years old computer, and no problems at all.
3. Making a big drama over a bluescreen for an updated labeled as preview is ridiculous.
This is probably another BS internet drama where people ran programs and scripts that modified the registry until they broke Windows, just for removing stuff that they weren’t even using just for the sake of it.
Maybe people should stop playing geeks and actually either use Windows 10 or Windows 11, but don’t try to modify things just for the sake of it.
Sometimes removing or stopping things (like defender is a perfect example) only need intelligence, not scripts or 3rd party programs that might mess with windows.
Windows 11 was a pointless release, it was just created because some of the Windows team wanted to boost sales with some sort of new and improved Windows 10. Instead, Microsoft cannot support one version well let alone two.
Windows 11 is the worst ugly shame by Microsoft ever. They should release with every new W11 version a complete free version of Starallback inside just to make this sh** OS functionally again.
motherboard maker MSI has recently released a statement regarding the “unsupported processor” blue screen error for their boards using Intel 600/700 series chipsets & to avoid the KB5029351 Win11 update:
https://www.msi.com/news/detail/MSI-On–UNSUPPORTED-PROCESSOR–Error-Message-of-Windows-11-Update-KB5029351-Preview-142215
check out the following recent articles:
Neowin – Microsoft puts little blame on its Windows update after UNSUPPORTED PROCESSOR BSOD bug:
https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-puts-little-blame-on-its-windows-update-after-unsupported-processor-bsod-bug/
BleepingComputer – Microsoft blames ‘unsupported processor’ blue screens on OEM vendors:
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/microsoft-blames-unsupported-processor-blue-screens-on-oem-vendors/
While there may be changes or updates to the Windows 10 Store for Business and Education in the future, it is premature to conclude that it will be discontinued based solely on rumors.
My advice, I left win 15 years ago. Now I’m a happy linux user (linuxmint) but there is Centos, Fedora, Ubuntu depending on your needs.
motherboard maker MSI has recently released new BIOS/firmware updates for their Intel 600 & 700 series motherboards to fix the “UNSUPPORTED_PROCESSOR” problem (Sept. 6):
https://www.msi.com/news/detail/Updated-BIOS-fixes-Error-Message–UNSUPPORTED-PROCESSOR–caused-BSOD-on-MSI-s-Intel-700-and-600-Series-Motherboards-142277