Tutorials

How to Turn On or Off the Lock Screen Slide Show in Windows 8.1 Windows 8.1 introduces a new feature to be able to set your lock screen to play a dynamic slide show of shuffled images from your selected SkyDrive, local (This PC), library, homegroup, or network folders. This tutorial will show you how to turn on and setup or turn off playing a slide show on your lock screen in Windows 8.1 and Windows RT 8.1. In Windows 8 and 8.1 there are two "Lock" screens. One is set by the user that is displayed only when they are signed in. The other is the default Lock screen image that is displayed when there are no users signed in. The lock screen slide show will not play when there are no users signed in. For example, at startup. Each user...

How to Create a Linux Hyper-V Virtual Machine in Windows 8 Although best when running Windows guests, Windows 8 built-in Microsoft Hyper-V can also be used to run Linux guests. Officially Hyper-V only supports SUSE and Red Hat enterprise server distributions but with a few simple tricks any Linux distro can be installed. In this tutorial we will install both OpenSUSE 12.1 and Ubuntu 11.10 distros. Please notice that I have still not found how to get sound working on Hyper-V Linux guests. Also changing the resolution seems to be extremely tricky, following this tutorial you can set OpenSUSE display resolution freely during the installation procedure but it cannot be changed later on. For Ubuntu I have only managed 800 * 600 resolution...

How to Check and Enable or Disable SSD TRIM Support in Windows 7 and Windows 8 The TRIM command helps to maintain the performance of solid state drives (SSDs) at an optimal level over the lifetime of the drive. TRIM functions by actively deleting invalid data from the SSD’s memory cells to ensure that write operations perform at full speed. Since a memory block must be erased before it can be re-programmed, TRIM improves performance by pro-actively erasing pages containing invalid data, allowing the SSD to write new data without first having to perform a time-consuming erase command. EXAMPLE: SSD pages contain no data. User writes data to SSD pages. User deletes some data. Pages are marked as "not in use" by the OS, but data...

How to Use "Optimize Drives" to Defrag HDD and TRIM SSD in Windows 8 and 8.1 Optimize Drives, previously called Disk Defragmenter, helps to optimize the different types of drives that PCs use today. No matter which type of drive your PC uses, Windows automatically chooses the optimization that's right for your drive. By default, Optimize Drives runs automatically on a weekly schedule during the time you have set for automatic maintenance. You can also optimize drives on your PC manually any time you like. This tutorial will show you how to open and use Optimize Drives or a command prompt to defrag hard disk drives and TRIM solid state drives in Windows 8, Windows RT, Windows 8.1, and Windows RT 8.1. You must be signed in as an...

How to Add or Remove "Turn Off Display" Desktop Context Menu in Windows 7 and Windows 8 This tutorial will show you how to add "Turn Off Display" to the desktop context menu item of all users to be able to quickly turn off all connected displays at will in Windows 7 and Windows 8. You must be signed in as an administrator to be able to add this to the desktop context menu, but all users on the PC will be able to use the context menu. You can move the mouse, touch the touchpad, click on a mouse or touchpad button, press a key on keyboard, or touch the touchscreen to turn back on the displays. EXAMPLE: "Turn Off Display" added to Desktop Context Menu Here's How: 1. Do either step 2 or 3 below for what you would like to do...

How to Fix "You've been signed in with a temporary profile" Error in Windows 8 and 8.1 This is for when after you sign in to a user account in Windows 8, and notice that a temporary profile has been loaded instead of the profile that corresponds to the current user. Therefore, any changes that you make to the current desktop are lost after you sign out. Additionally, the notification area may display the following error message: This problem usually occurs if the user profile of the account was accidentally corrupted or deleted from the system. . This tutorial will show you how to fix the "You've been signed in with a temporary profile" error a user may get after signing in to their account in Windows 8, Windows RT, Windows 8.1...

How to Fix and Restore PC settings and "Change PC settings" in Windows 8.1 This tutorial will show you how to restore PC settings on the Apps screen, and fix the "Change PC settings" link in the Settings charm :)winkey: + I) in Windows 8.1 and Windows RT 8.1. You must be signed in as an administrator to be able to do the steps in this tutorial. EXAMPLE: "Change PC settings" in Settings charm and PC settings on Apps screen Here's How: 1. Double check to make sure that access to PC settings has not been disabled. How to Enable or Disable Access to Control Panel and PC settings in Windows 8 and 8.1 2. Press the Windows + R keys to open the Run dialog, copy and paste the path below into Run, and click/tap on OK...

How to Add or Remove "When sharing media" in Power Options in Windows The When sharing media setting in Power Options will let users configure power settings for when devices and computers are playing media from your computer to either allow the computer to sleep, prevent idling to sleep, or allow the computer to enter Away Mode. This tutorial will show you how to add or remove the "When sharing media" setting under Multimedia settings in Power Options for all users in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8. You must be signed in as an administrator to be able to do the steps in this tutorial. This could be handy if you wanted to set this how you wanted, then remove the setting to prevent other users from being able to change it in Power...

How to Find Your Wireless Network Security Key in Windows 8 and 8.1 A wireless network security key is the password required to be able to connect your PC to a secured access point (ex: router) on a wireless network. While your PC is connected to your wireless network, this tutorial will show you how to find the wireless network security key in Windows 8, Windows RT, Windows 8.1, and Windows RT 8.1. If you are not currently connected to your wireless network, then you will be unable to find it's security key in Windows. . If you have not changed the security key in your router's wireless settings, or have reset your router back to default, then some wireless router manufacturers set a default security key or password which may be...

How to Require a Password after Display is Off for Specified Time in Windows 8.1 This tutorial will show you how to require a password after the display is off for a specified time and before the PC goes to sleep or hibernate for your account on a Windows 8.1 and Windows RT 8.1 tablet or Surface. This does not apply to desktops and laptops. Set Time to Require Password after Display is Off in PC settings 1. Open PC settings, and click/tap on Accounts on the left side. (see screenshot below) 2. Click/tap on Sign-in options on the left side of Accounts. On the right side under Password policy, select how long after the display(s) is off for to require a password when turning the display(s) back on. (see screenshots below) 3...

How to Use DISM to Fix Component Store Corruption in Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 One of the most used tools when fixing corruption for Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2 was the System Update and Readiness Tool (KB947821), commonly called CheckSUR. The CheckSUR tool was an excellent way for most people to see what corruption had happened on their store, and potentially fix that corruption if the tool contained the payload to do so. In Windows 8/8.1 and Windows Server 2012, this has changed. It’s called Inbox Corruption Repair and it brings the functionality of CheckSUR into Windows rather than requiring a separate download to get the utility like you do now. This is exposed in two ways, the first...

How to Turn Windows Features On or Off in Windows 8 and 8.1 Some programs and features included with Windows 8 must be turned on before you can use them. Other features are turned on by default. This tutorial will show you how to turn these Windows features on or off for all users in Windows 8. You must be signed in as an administrator to be able to turn Windows features on or off. Turning off (uncheck) a feature doesn't uninstall it from your PC or reduce the amount of hard drive space used by it. After you turn off a feature, you can turn it back on at any time. If the Windows Features is empty or blank, then double check to make sure that the Windows Modules Installer service is enabled and set to Automatic. Services - Start...