Ten Must-Know Windows 8 Features For IT Pros

I know that this is meant for the IT pro, but it should cater for others as well.

For example, Windows to Go can only be built on Windows 8 Enterprise computers. And is Enterprise also required to run Windows to Go? I would think that many would appreciate this option to work on Pro versions as well.

BitLocker is good, but the problem I have with BitLocker is that it requires you to encrypt entire volumes, you can't encrypt individual files or folders, which is what you often need for selective security and for transmission of files. Fortunately, Sophos provides a free utility that allows this.

AppLocker is also a feature that would be good for all OS versions, as it would allow parents and the like better control over their devices.

So many good things are overlooked for the regular users.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows Phone 6, Windows CE 5, Windows Vista x32, Windows 7 x32/x64, Windows 8 x64
I know that this is meant for the IT pro, but it should cater for others as well.

For example, Windows to Go can only be built on Windows 8 Enterprise computers. And is Enterprise also required to run Windows to Go? I would think that many would appreciate this option to work on Pro versions as well.

BitLocker is good, but the problem I have with BitLocker is that it requires you to encrypt entire volumes, you can't encrypt individual files or folders, which is what you often need for selective security and for transmission of files. Fortunately, Sophos provides a free utility that allows this.

AppLocker is also a feature that would be good for all OS versions, as it would allow parents and the like better control over their devices.

So many good things are overlooked for the regular users.
Hi Ray,

I am just the messenger not the author. . .:thumbsup:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8, (VM win7, XP, Vista)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion p1423w
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 3330 Ivy Bridge
    Motherboard
    Foxconn - 2ADA Ivy Brige
    Memory
    16 GB 1066MHz DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD 5450
    Sound Card
    HD Realteck (Onboard)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Mitsubishi LED TV/Montior HD, Dell 23 HD, Hanspree 25" HD
    Screen Resolution
    Mit. 1980-1080, Dell 2048-115, Hanspree 1920-10802
    Hard Drives
    1 SanDisk 240Gig SSD, 2 Samsung 512Gig SSDs
    Case
    Tower
    Cooling
    Original (Fans)
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Keyboard 2000
    Mouse
    Microsoft Optical Mouse 5000
    Internet Speed
    1.3 (350 to 1024 if lucky)
    Browser
    Firefox 19.1
    Antivirus
    MSE-Defender
I wasn't firing at you; but maybe if Microsoft is reading some of these comments, important features may flow down to more humble users.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows Phone 6, Windows CE 5, Windows Vista x32, Windows 7 x32/x64, Windows 8 x64
Free features are better to use than third party add on, eh? :)

I don't know what I'm doing or if I'm doing anything wrong, but Hyper-V sucks for me. I haven't got an install of Windows 7 or a Preview or RTM version of 8 or even xp I think, to work and run correctly with Hyper-V in the way it's been described. VMware Workstation is still my choice for virtualization, but if Hyper-V can work in the way it's been described to be as great and be more like VMware, I'll take it. But until then, I really don't know what I'm doing wrong!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS
    CPU
    AMD FX 8320
    Motherboard
    Crosshair V Formula-Z
    Memory
    16 gig DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS R9 270
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Seagate Barracuda (starting to hate Seagate)
    x2 3 TB Toshibas
    Windows 8.1 is installed on a SanDisk Ultra Plus 256 GB
    PSU
    OCZ 500 watt
    Case
    A current work in progres as I'll be building the physical case myself. It shall be fantastic.
    Cooling
    Arctic Cooler with 3 heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K750 wireless solar powered keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Touch Mouse
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, but I might go back on KIS 2014
Free features are better to use than third party add on, eh? :)

I don't know what I'm doing or if I'm doing anything wrong, but Hyper-V sucks for me. I haven't got an install of Windows 7 or a Preview or RTM version of 8 or even xp I think, to work and run correctly with Hyper-V in the way it's been described. VMware Workstation is still my choice for virtualization, but if Hyper-V can work in the way it's been described to be as great and be more like VMware, I'll take it. But until then, I really don't know what I'm doing wrong!
Hi Coke,

Subscribe to the Microsoft newsletters on their TechNet web pages. There is great deal of information on the use of Hyper V. Albeit, I have not got into the VM side of Win 8 and Hyper V, and probably won't reason being is to much of my time and money are in VMWare Workstation.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8, (VM win7, XP, Vista)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion p1423w
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 3330 Ivy Bridge
    Motherboard
    Foxconn - 2ADA Ivy Brige
    Memory
    16 GB 1066MHz DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD 5450
    Sound Card
    HD Realteck (Onboard)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Mitsubishi LED TV/Montior HD, Dell 23 HD, Hanspree 25" HD
    Screen Resolution
    Mit. 1980-1080, Dell 2048-115, Hanspree 1920-10802
    Hard Drives
    1 SanDisk 240Gig SSD, 2 Samsung 512Gig SSDs
    Case
    Tower
    Cooling
    Original (Fans)
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Keyboard 2000
    Mouse
    Microsoft Optical Mouse 5000
    Internet Speed
    1.3 (350 to 1024 if lucky)
    Browser
    Firefox 19.1
    Antivirus
    MSE-Defender
Coke Robot,

It's probably not you. Hyper-V and I have never gotten along. As far as I am concerned, it has always been a lackluster product compared to vmware offerings. The new features of Hyper V 3 in Server 2012 and Windows 8 are certainly much more compelling now than ever before and its been quite a bit easier to remotely manage (as long as you are using a Windows 8 client). Getting my CentOS linux boxes working was a bit of a challenge as the built in tools didn't install properly, but some manually editing and screwing around got them up and working. The fact that I can do Live migration for free, and live migration without shared storage (iSCSI or Fibre Channel) is wicked awesome. And the performance improvements in SMB 3.0 make a share a usuable destination for a VM without requiring shared storage...so you can do nearly instant Live Migrations even wtihout shared storage.

And it saves you $199 on VMWare Workstation 9 since Hyper-V comes with Windows 8 by default (as long as your processor supports SLAT (which i3/i5/i7's do).
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self-Built in July 2009
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1, F12 BIOS
    Memory
    8GB G.Skill PI DDR2-800, 4-4-4-12 timings
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 1280MB Nvidia GeForce GTX570
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC899A 8 channel onboard audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Acer x233H
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Intel X25-M 80GB Gen 2 SSD
    Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, 32MB cache. WD1001FALS
    PSU
    Corsair 620HX modular
    Case
    Antec P182
    Cooling
    stock
    Keyboard
    ABS M1 Mechanical
    Mouse
    Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
    Internet Speed
    15/2 cable modem
    Other Info
    Windows and Linux enthusiast. Logitech G35 Headset.
Free features are better to use than third party add on, eh? :)

Features provided by the OEM are often better integrated than stuff provided by others, free or not. At least 99% of what I use is purchased.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows Phone 6, Windows CE 5, Windows Vista x32, Windows 7 x32/x64, Windows 8 x64
Coke Robot,

It's probably not you. Hyper-V and I have never gotten along. As far as I am concerned, it has always been a lackluster product compared to vmware offerings. The new features of Hyper V 3 in Server 2012 and Windows 8 are certainly much more compelling now than ever before and its been quite a bit easier to remotely manage (as long as you are using a Windows 8 client). Getting my CentOS linux boxes working was a bit of a challenge as the built in tools didn't install properly, but some manually editing and screwing around got them up and working. The fact that I can do Live migration for free, and live migration without shared storage (iSCSI or Fibre Channel) is wicked awesome. And the performance improvements in SMB 3.0 make a share a usuable destination for a VM without requiring shared storage...so you can do nearly instant Live Migrations even wtihout shared storage.

And it saves you $199 on VMWare Workstation 9 since Hyper-V comes with Windows 8 by default (as long as your processor supports SLAT (which i3/i5/i7's do).

Huh, I guess that's good.

My processor does support SLAT, among some other virtualization features. But gee, I'd rather chuck 200 dollars or use VMware Player than Hyper-V for what I do. I need a GENUINE virtualized OS environment where you are immersed in the guest OS, as it just feels weird to have a windowed OS going. That, and good driver support. I couldn't get Aero or sound to run with Windows 7 in Hyper-V, and I couldn't even get the RTM trial to install in Hyper-V. And I can't get the guest OS to be full screen. It's good on paper that Windows 8 has a virtualization software baked in, but it's acking lust.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS
    CPU
    AMD FX 8320
    Motherboard
    Crosshair V Formula-Z
    Memory
    16 gig DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS R9 270
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Seagate Barracuda (starting to hate Seagate)
    x2 3 TB Toshibas
    Windows 8.1 is installed on a SanDisk Ultra Plus 256 GB
    PSU
    OCZ 500 watt
    Case
    A current work in progres as I'll be building the physical case myself. It shall be fantastic.
    Cooling
    Arctic Cooler with 3 heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K750 wireless solar powered keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Touch Mouse
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, but I might go back on KIS 2014
Have you seen these?

Huh, I guess that's good.

My processor does support SLAT, among some other virtualization features. But gee, I'd rather chuck 200 dollars or use VMware Player than Hyper-V for what I do. I need a GENUINE virtualized OS environment where you are immersed in the guest OS, as it just feels weird to have a windowed OS going. That, and good driver support. I couldn't get Aero or sound to run with Windows 7 in Hyper-V, and I couldn't even get the RTM trial to install in Hyper-V. And I can't get the guest OS to be full screen. It's good on paper that Windows 8 has a virtualization software baked in, but it's acking lust.

I haven't used Hyper-V (I've got VMware Workstation).

Have you seen these articles from TechRepublic?
Create a test machine in Windows 8 Client Hyper-V | TechRepublic
Install Windows XP in Windows 8 Client Hyper-V | TechRepublic

Here an article about installing Ubuntu:
10.10 - How to install ubuntu on Microsoft Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V? - Ask Ubuntu
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 (64 bit), Linux Mint 18.3 MATE (64 bit)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    n/a
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II x6 1055T, 2.8 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASRock 880GMH-LE/USB3
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 1333 G-Skill Ares F3-1333C9D-8GAO (4GB x 2)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD6450
    Sound Card
    Realtek?
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung S23B350
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Western Digital 1.5 TB (SATA), Western Digital 2 TB (SATA), Western Digital 3 TB (SATA)
    Case
    Tower
    Mouse
    Wired Optical
    Other Info
    Linux Mint 16 MATE (64 bit) replaced with Linux Mint 17 MATE (64 bit) - 2014-05-17
    Linux Mint 14 MATE (64 bit) replaced with Linux Mint 16 MATE (64 bit) - 2013-11-13
    Ubuntu 10.04 (64 bit) replaced with Linux Mint 14 MATE (64 bit) - 2013-01-14
    RAM & Graphics Card Upgraded - 2013-01-13
    Monitor Upgraded - 2012-04-20
    System Upgraded - 2011-05-21, 2010-07-14
    HDD Upgraded - 2010-08-11, 2011-08-24,
Thanks!!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 10 Pro 64bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home built Intel i7-3770k-based system
    CPU
    Intel i7-3770k, Overclocked to 4.6GHz (46x100) with Corsair H110i GT cooler
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 OC Formula 2.30 BIOS
    Memory
    32GB DDR3 2133 Corsair Vengeance Pro
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce GTX 980ti SC ACS 6GB DDR5 by EVGA
    Sound Card
    Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD, Corsair SP2500 speakers and subwoofer
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG 27EA33 [Monitor] (27.2"vis) HDMI
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB (system drive)
    WD 6TB Red NAS hard drives x 2 in Storage Spaces (redundancy)
    PSU
    Corsair 750ax fully modular power supply with sleeved cables
    Case
    Corsair Air 540 with 7 x 140mm fans on front, rear and top panels
    Cooling
    Corsair H110i GT liquid cooled CPU with 4 x 140" Corsair SP "push-pull" and 3 x 140mm fans
    Keyboard
    Thermaltake Poseidon Z illuminated keyboard
    Mouse
    Corsair M65 wired
    Internet Speed
    85MBps DSL
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, MalwareBytes Pro and CCleaner Pro
    Other Info
    Client of Windows Server 2012 R2 10 PC's, laptops and smartphones on the WLAN.

    1GBps Ethernet ports
I know that this is meant for the IT pro, but it should cater for others as well.

For example, Windows to Go can only be built on Windows 8 Enterprise computers. And is Enterprise also required to run Windows to Go? I would think that many would appreciate this option to work on Pro versions as well.

You can boot that workspace on almost any computer. I interpreted this as meaning that it would run on almost any computer including non-Windows 8.

BitLocker is good, but the problem I have with BitLocker is that it requires you to encrypt entire volumes, you can't encrypt individual files or folders, which is what you often need for selective security and for transmission of files. Fortunately, Sophos provides a free utility that allows this.

Again, I appreciate the point you're making about not being able to encrypt individual files and folders but: "Our favorite new BitLocker features is Used Disk Space Only Encryption. You can still encrypt a full volume, but now you can encrypt only the used disk space when you enable BitLocker" means that you don't have to encrypt the entire volume.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Shuttle SG33G5M
    CPU
    Intel Q8300
    Memory
    4GB DDR2 1066MHz
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    128GB OCZ Vertex 4 SSD
    2x500GB Seagate Barracuda
    Keyboard
    Logitech DiNovo Mini
    Internet Speed
    BT Infinity 65 Mbps
I was guessing that you could use a Windows to Go thumb drive on any, at least Windows 8, device, but it's still a pity that you need the enterprise version to create the drive.

Yes, I saw that you can encrypt partial volumes (or space used), but it still means that you have to encrypt everything that's been written. This would have been a brilliant feature if you could be selective with what was encrypted and that could be transmitted and decrypted by the receiver.

Sophos works reasonably well, but I feel that things could be better if the encryption was native to Windows. I tried Truecrypt, but it became a right royal pain, as it failed and the password/passkey wouldn't open the files again. Fortunately I was testing and had full backups and was able to replace the encrypted and unopenable files. I won't touch Truecrypt again.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows Phone 6, Windows CE 5, Windows Vista x32, Windows 7 x32/x64, Windows 8 x64
You can use the Enterprise version to make a true To Go drive on pretty much ANY USB drive, as long as it's 32 gigs.

BUT, with a little witchcraft and VHD booting, you can make Windows 8 Pro into a Windows 8 To Go drive Ghetto edition. :p

The USB drive can be at least 16 gigs in size, as a 32 bit Windows version can be glad with like 7-8 gigs of space, haven't check Windows 8 but I know 7 is like that.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS
    CPU
    AMD FX 8320
    Motherboard
    Crosshair V Formula-Z
    Memory
    16 gig DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS R9 270
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Seagate Barracuda (starting to hate Seagate)
    x2 3 TB Toshibas
    Windows 8.1 is installed on a SanDisk Ultra Plus 256 GB
    PSU
    OCZ 500 watt
    Case
    A current work in progres as I'll be building the physical case myself. It shall be fantastic.
    Cooling
    Arctic Cooler with 3 heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K750 wireless solar powered keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Touch Mouse
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, but I might go back on KIS 2014
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