Windows 8: setting default programs
If you do not pay attention during app and software installations on Windows 8, you may end up with the wrong program being the default application that files open with. This is […]
Clean up the Windows 8 All Apps listing
If you have ever opened the All Apps listing on a Windows 8 system, provided that you found it in first place, you have probably asked yourself why you find that many […]
Disable "was installed" notifications in Windows 8
If you are installing applications you find in Windows Store regularly on your Windows 8 operating system you may have noticed that you always receive a notification when apps have been installed. […]
Some Windows Store apps are country locked
A friend told me that the live TV service Zattoo has published an application for Windows 8 that enables you to watch live television right from the application. Zattoo is a licensed […]
How to close Windows 8 Store apps
As a first time user of Windows 8 you have probably noticed that Windows Store apps, programs that you run from the start screen the operating system boots in to, behave different […]
Add Steam game shortcuts to Windows 8's start screen
The gaming platform Steam is an all-in-one game store and gamer launcher available for various platforms. Most Steam users know that they can create desktop shortcuts for games they have installed in […]
How to recover data from a damaged docx, xlsx or pptx document
Interrupted transfers, system crashes while editing documents or malware may corrupt Office documents on your system. When Office fails to open a document that it opened previously or supports, you know that […]
How to force Windows to copy, move or create file shortcuts
You can use Windows Explorer to move and copy files, or create file shortcuts, for instance by right-clicking selected files and folders and selecting the option from the context menu that pops […]
How to delete the Windows.old folder after installation of Windows
If you are installing Windows on a hard drive where Windows is already installed, and installing includes upgrading to Windows 8, you may end up with a Windows.old folder on the partition […]
Turn off "Windows protected your PC" (Windows SmartScreen)
Microsoft's operating systems Windows 8 and Windows 10 include a security feature called Windows SmartScreen that is enabled by default. SmartScreen is a background service that monitors the execution of applications and […]
How to create a Windows 8 system repair disc
Windows 8 ships with options to create a system repair disc from within the operating system just like previous versions of Microsoft Windows did. What you need to know before you get […]
How to work with apps on the Windows 8 start screen
If you are not one of the users who decides to sit out on Windows 8 or skip the start screen to go right to the desktop, you may have noticed that […]
Top Windows 8 shortcuts you should know to speed up your work
If you have spend some time getting to know Microsoft's newest operating system Windows 8 you have without doubt noticed the major differences to previous versions of Windows. The start screen is […]
Windows 8: change the number of start screen rows
The number of rows that the Windows 8 start screen displays on the screen is determined by the screen resolution of the operating system. Windows 8 displays four rows on systems with […]
Windows 8: upgrade from 32-bit to 64-bit system
You need to be very careful when you want to upgrade from a 32-bit version of Windows to a 64-bit version of Windows 8. Microsoft, for whatever reason, decided to make things […]
Disable all recent file listings in Windows permanently
Windows by default not only keeps track of recently opened documents and files generally, but also on a per-application basis. That's at least the case for Windows 7 and newer versions of […]
What's the best Windows 8 start menu program?
Microsoft has replaced the traditional start menu in Windows 8 with the new startpage that appears when you boot into the operating system and when you press the Windows key when it […]
Configuring Windows Search to search file contents
The built-in search in Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10 is configured to search file names and content of supported files in indexed locations, and for file names only in locations […]
How to switch from Windows 8's startscreen to the desktop
So you have bought a new PC with Windows 8, upgraded an existing computer to Microsoft's new operating system, or are already playing around with the Windows 8 RTM on a test […]
Fixing the folder access denied error message in Windows
Sometimes when you try to delete a folder in Windows you may get a folder access denied error message instead. It basically states that the user account you are logged in with […]
Manage System Restore from the command line
System Restore is a handy backup feature that Microsoft has integrated into newer versions of the Windows operating system. The feature basically creates copies of files before system changes happen and on […]
Move off-screen windows back into sight
I'm not sure what I did but the window of the media player VLC did open outside of the visible part of the connected computer monitor one day. I knew the program […]
How to turn off Windows 8 app notifications
Maybe it is just me, but the majority of notifications that apps displays on Windows 8's new and shiny startpage are rather irritating and repetitive. Don't get me wrong. I can see […]
Change how often File History saves copies of files in Windows 8
File History is one of those new features in Windows 8 that I'm excited about. It is an opt-in feature unfortunately that may be overlooked by the majority of Windows 8 users […]
Windows 8: display resource use of apps
Apps that you run and install on the Windows 8 operating system use system resources just like any other program that is running on it. If you are running Windows 8 Pro, […]
How to restore individual files from System Restore points
Today I noticed that all of the files that I had saved on the desktop in Windows 7 were gone. The only icon that I saw on the desktop was the Recycle […]
How to create Windows System Restore points at startup
The system restore feature of the Windows operating system offers an option to revert the system back to a previous point in time. Windows creates automatic system restore points on certain events, […]
Babylon Toolbar backup option appears broken
Every other free software program seems to include a third party toolbar offer in its installer nowadays. A developer that is really going overboard with ad offers is KC Softwares, maker of […]
Reduce Gaming Latency (Ping) in Windows
When I connect to game servers I usually do not have a bad ping provided that automatic match making does not connect me to a server in Australia, Japan or the US […]
List Windows 8 apps installed on all of your PCs
With cloud synchronization built right into the operating system one would think that Microsoft would have added an easy option to automatically synchronize installed apps between your PCs. That is however not […]
What happens when Windows 8 expires?
Microsoft has released three previews of its upcoming operating system Windows 8 to the public. The Windows 8 Developer Preview, Consumer Preview and Release Preview have been, and in many cases are, […]
Use the old Windows Boot Manager on a Windows 8 dual boot system
Microsoft has changed the look and feel of the boot manager of the Windows 8 operating system. Part of the change comes from the fact that Windows 8 boots faster than previous […]
How to install Windows 8 without product key
If you have installed the final version of Windows 8 on a PC recently, you have noticed that you had to enter a valid product key at one time during setup to […]
Why weekly defrags are turned on for SSDs under Windows 8
One of the advantages of using Solid State Drives (SSDs) under Windows is that the operating system excludes the drives automatically from the weekly scheduled defragmentation as it is not necessary, and […]
Disable Windows 8 mouse over corner interfaces
A menu is displayed in Windows 8 whenever you move the mouse cursor to one of the corners of the screen. The Charms Bar is displayed on the right when you move […]
How to add non-Store apps to Windows 8
Adding custom non-store apps to Windows 8 is something that does not get talked about a lot. Microsoft for one wants Windows 8 users to get their apps from the Windows Store […]
Going straight to the Windows 8 desktop
Microsoft wants that users see the Windows 8 start page when they launch the operating system. My own take on this is that they want users to get accustomed to the new […]
Display Windows 8 App sizes
The Windows Store of Windows 8 lets you browse and install apps that you can then run from the start page of the operating system. When you open an apps' store page, […]
Edit the Win-X menu in Windows 8 and 10
Several new features and changes are introduced with the Windows 8 operating system. You probably heard about the new start page and the missing start menu. Microsoft has added a menu to […]
Restart Windows Explorer explorer.exe with a shortcut
Windows sometimes displays a restart prompt when you install new software or update existing programs and applications on the system. And if you are into Registry hacking, you may also have noticed […]