Tutorials

How to Create a Bootable USB or DVD with a Windows 8 or 8.1 ISO This tutorial will show you how to create either a Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 bootable USB flash drive or DVD to use to install the Windows 8 or 8.1 with. Windows 8 and 8.1 System Requirements Windows 8 works great on the same hardware that powers Windows 7. Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit) Hard disk space: 16 GB (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit) Graphics card: MicrosoftDirectX 9 graphics device or higher Additional requirements to use certain features: To use touch, you need a tablet or a monitor that supports multitouch. To access the Windows Store and to download and run apps, you need an active Internet connection...

How to Change the Default Lock Screen Background Image in Windows 8 and 8.1 In Windows 8 and 8.1 there are two "Lock" screens. The user lock screen is the one that displays when a user locks the PC while still signed in to Windows, and when the user is selected on the sign in screen, times out, and returns to the lock screen. Each user is able to change their lock screen background image to an image of their choice. The default Lock screen image is the one that displays when there are no users currently signed in to Windows or selected on the sign in screen. While it's easy to change your lock screen image, Windows doesn't have an easy way to change the default lock screen image. This tutorial will show you how to change the...

How to Relocate User Profiles to another Partition or Disk in Windows 8 The method described in this tutorial allows relocating user profiles and folders already while installing Windows 8, before any user accounts are created, as well as after installation on an already installed system. The advantage of this method is that it changes some internal Windows 8 environment variables, being a “Do it once and forget” procedure. Changing the variables takes care of all existing and future user profiles, locating them when created to selected drive or partition. The method is fail proof and reversible. When Windows 8 is installed, 5 or 6 system folders are created depending on chosen bit-version: PerfLogs (Performance Logs), where...

How to Add or Remove "Console lock display off timeout" in Power Options in Windows 8 and 8.1 Console lock display off timeout is the amount of minutes Windows will wait idle with no activity while on the lock screen before timing out and automatically turning off the display. This tutorial will show you how to add or remove the Console lock display off timeout setting under Display in the advanced power settings of all power plans for all users in Windows 8. You must be logged in as an administrator to be able to do this tutorial. This will only work with the lock screen when a user already locked the computer. This will not work with the lock screen at startup or after a user signs out. EXAMPLE: "Console lock display off...

How to Upgrade from Windows 8, Windows 7, Vista, or XP to Windows 8 or 8.1 This tutorial will show you how to do a upgrade install to Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 from Windows 8, Windows 7, Vista, or XP. You must be logged in as an administrator to be able to do this tutorial. For more information about Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant, see: Upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for $39.99 Upgrade to Windows 8 - Microsoft Windows Upgrade to Windows 8.1 from Windows 7 Buy Windows - Microsoft Windows Windows 8 frequently asked questions You can only upgrade from 32-bit (x86) to 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) to 64-bit (x64). You would have to do a clean install instead to go from 32-bit (x86) to 64-bit (x64) or 64-bit (x64) to 32-bit (x86). If you...

How to Create a Start Menu Toolbar on Taskbar in Windows 8 and 8.1 This tutorial will show you how to create a handy Start Menu toolbar on the Taskbar in Windows 8 that will open your installed programs directly on the desktop to avoid constantly switching to the new Modern UI Start Screen to open a program. Some programs and apps will only work when using the default Start Screen (Example: Store shortcut). 1. Create a New Folder, and rename it with Start Menu. 2. Save the new Start Menu folder to where you want to keep it stored at. 3. Open the new Start Menu folder, create another New Folder and rename it with the name below. Programs.{7BE9D83C-A729-4D97-B5A7-1B7313C39E0A} This is a combination of the two folders below...

How to Enable or Disable Access to Control Panel and PC settings in Windows 8 and 8.1 This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable access to the Control Panel, PC settings, and all settings in them for all or specific users in Windows 8 and Windows RT. You must be signed in as an administrator to be able to do the steps in this tutorial. When disabled, this setting prevents Control.exe and SystemSettings.exe, the program files for Control Panel and PC settings, from starting. As a result, users cannot start Control Panel or PC settings, or run any of their items in them from any other location as well. This removes Control Panel from: The Start screen File Explorer This removes PC settings from: The Start screen Settings...

How to Show Location of Recovery Image used to Reset Windows 8 or 8.1 If you're having problems with Windows 8 or 8.1 on your PC, you can try to refresh, reset, or restore it. When you reset your PC, it will remove everything and reinstall Windows 8 or 8.1 to start over completely with a clean install. To be able to reset Windows 8 or 8.1 you will need to first insert your Windows 8 or 8.1 installation media, UEFI installation media, or recovery drive if there is not an OEM factory recovery image present. If you create a reset recovery image, it is used instead of your OEM recovery image, installation media, or recovery drive for a push-button reset of Windows 8 or 8.1. A reset recovery image is basically like having your...

How to Install Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 using the "Unified Extensible Firmware Interface" (UEFI) Delivering fast boot times in Windows 8 - Building Windows 8 - Site Home - MSDN Blogs This method can also be used for the UEFI installation of Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 SP1, Windows Server 2008 R2, and Windows Vista SP1. You will need to satisfy the following requirements in order to proceed: A Windows 8 compatible system A Windows 8 64-bit installation media. 32-bit is not supported. A UEFI v2.0+ compliant PC. Check your chipset manufacturer/firmware documentation. A blank, partition-free, hard disk for installation. Disabling UEFI will make the system unbootable as there is no MBR on the disks. You CANNOT make a...

How to Add or Remove "Minimum processor state" and "Maximum processor state" in Power Options in Windows The Minimum processor state is the minimum performance percentage your CPU will automatically decrease to save energy and battery life when there is little CPU demand by the system. You would want to keep this percentage the same or lower than the Maximum processor state setting. The Maximum processor state is the maximum percentage performance your CPU will automatically increase to save energy and battery life when CPU demand increases. You would want to keep this percentage the same or higher than the Minimum processor state setting. . This tutorial will show you how to add or remove the "Minimum processor state" and "Maximum...

How to Open Windows PowerShell in Windows 8 and 8.1 Windows PowerShell is a task-based command-line shell and scripting language designed especially for system administration. For more information and usage about Windows PowerShell, see: Windows PowerShell Download Windows PowerShell 4.0 and Other Quick Reference Guides from Official Microsoft Download Center . This tutorial will show you how to open an unelevated Windows PowerShell in Windows 8, Windows RT, Windows 8.1, and Windows RT 8.1. EXAMPLE: Windows PowerShell To "Open Windows PowerShell Here" NOTE: This option allows you to open Windows PowerShell to the location of the selected folder or drive. 1. In File Explorer, select or open a folder or drive that you want to...

How to Add or Remove Expanding "Personalize" Desktop Context Menu in Windows 7 and Windows 8 This tutorial will show you how to add or remove a custom Personalize expanding desktop context menu for all users in Windows 8 and Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional, Ultimate, and Enterprise. While all users can use this context menu, you must be signed in as an administrator to be able to do the steps in this tutorial. This tutorial will not work in the Windows 7 Starter and Windows 7 Home Basic editions since they do not have the personalization features included in them. For the Windows 7 Starter and Windows 7 Home Basic editions, see OPTION TWO in the tutorial link below to add Personalize instead. Desktop Background - Change in...