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[Windows 8] How to enable or disable app notifications

Hoàng Tú December 11, 2012 0

As you already knew, there are many and many new features in Windows 8. Most of them are focused on touch and mobile experiences. If you have used a smartphone, you problem know about “notifications,” which is the way your apps notify you of something. In Windows 8, there is [...]

[Windows 8] How to completely disable spell check and auto-correct on your PC or tablet

Hoàng Tú December 10, 2012 4

Like mobile operation systems, Windows 8 provides a spell check feature throughout the entire system. Once you have turned on this feature (actually, it is on by default), the system checks your spelling everywhere you enter text — even in the desktop mode. Just like Microsoft Word, misspelled words are [...]

[Windows 8] Two tweaks to make Windows 8 faster

Hoàng Tú December 8, 2012 2

Despite Windows 8 having a lot of new features to the improvement in speed, you even speed it up further with two simple tricks. In this article, I will show you how to increase the speed of Windows 8 by making menus appear quicker. Of course some may argue that [...]

[Windows 8] How to enter Safe Mode

Hoàng Tú December 6, 2012 14

Safe Mode is a necessary feature to rescue your computer when it doesn’t work well, especially when it is affected by malware. The reason Safe Mode is so effective in fixing computer issues is, in Safe Mode, only the necessary system/Windows services and apps will start ensuring anything that causes [...]

[Windows 8] How to create a recovery USB flash drive or CD/DVD to fix your PC or tablet

Hoàng Tú December 2, 2012 10

Since I have become familiar with troubleshooting Windows problems, the scariest thing I sometimes face is that my Windows can’t boot up. What can I do in such a situation? In my experiences, using a bootable CD or USB to try fixing or reinstalling Windows is the only solution. But [...]

[Windows 8] Where is the startup folder and how to make apps or processes to run automatically at Windows boot

Hoàng Tú December 1, 2012 5

Windows 8 brings huge changes to user experience such as Start Screen, Windows Store apps, and Modern UI. Beside that, it also changes many small things that you won’t notice until you need them. In another article, I showed you how to manage startup apps via Task Manager. But how [...]

[Windows 8] How to decrease data or bandwidth usage (by using ‘metered connection’), and how to turn on ‘airplane mode’

Hoàng Tú November 28, 2012 3

Windows 8 is the first version of Windows that is designed to support mobile devices, such as tablets and hybrid laptops. From the user interface to the core of Windows 8, there are thousands of elements that focus on mobile users. The Start screen and Windows Store apps are great [...]

[Windows 8] How to disable AutoPlay and AutoRun

Hoàng Tú November 27, 2012 3

Since Windows XP, Windows comes with ‘AutoPlay’ and ‘AutoRun’ features. AutoPlay will show you a popup dialog whenever you insert external media (drive, CD, DVD, etc.) to choose what to do with your inserted media. AutoRun, on the other hand, allows a file on your removable media to automatically run [...]

[Windows 8] How to set or change default programs for different file types (and stop Windows Store apps from doing everything)

Hoàng Tú November 25, 2012 2

Although Windows 8 provides two completely different environments (desktop and Modern UI/Start screen), it seems Microsoft wants Windows Store apps to take advantage of all user actions by default… even if a user is in desktop mode. For example, when I open a MP3 file or a video clip, Windows [...]

[Windows 8] How to create a custom Refresh point or Windows Installer Image

Hoàng Tú November 22, 2012 8

In another article I introduced you the Refresh and Reset features in Windows 8. These features are very helpful of your Windows 8 tablet or PC ever malfunctions, either crashing or displaying errors. (Refresh is the one that restores settings to default and deletes all non-Windows Store apps but does [...]

[Windows 8] How to speed up boot time — by disabling unnecessary startup programs, apps, and services

Hoàng Tú November 21, 2012 2

Startup speed in Windows is always a concern for many users. Step by step, each newer version of Windows has improved in this arena. According to a test by PGMag, Windows 8′s startup speed is over two times faster than Windows 7. This is a good improvement, yes, but it [...]

[Windows 8] How to disable the Lock screen

Hoàng Tú November 20, 2012 2

As you already known, Windows 8 brings a ton of new features. One of them is the Lock Screen — much like what is found on mobile devices. Just like Windows Phone, Lock screen in Windows 8 is filled with a photo, a clock, and app notifications. However, while such [...]

[Windows 8] How to enable Aero Peek and transparent windows

Hoàng Tú November 19, 2012 1

One of the big changes to Windows since Windows XP is the Aero interface, which not graphically enhances the look of Windows by making windows glassy and transparent but also adds functionality such as Aero Shake, Aero Snap, and Aero Peek. (Aero Shake allows you to shake a window to [...]

[Windows 8] How to open Windows Store apps from the desktop or taskbar

Hoàng Tú November 17, 2012 0

In Windows 8, you can only open a Windows Store app from Start screen. As I work mostly in Windows 8′s traditional desktop environment, I really needed a way to open Windows Store apps from the desktop instead of having to go to Start screen to launch them. I found [...]

[Windows 8] How to setup a Picture Password to protect your tablet or PC

Hoàng Tú November 17, 2012 0

Beside Start screen, live tiles, and Modern UI, Picture Password is another cool feature of Windows 8. Essentially Picture Password allows you to pick a picture and draw a pattern on the picture; that pattern then becomes your unlock pattern/password for your PC or tablet.

This feature is very useful [...]

[Windows 8] How to enable Hibernate on your computer or tablet

Hoàng Tú November 15, 2012 8

Hibernate is a very usable feature that was introduced in Windows XP. It helps you save your current tasks and documents and windows in their current state prior to shutting down your computer or tablet; therefore the next time you start Windows, all your tasks and documents and windows are [...]

[Windows 8] How to always open mouse-optimized Internet Explorer when on computer or touch-optimized Internet Explorer when on tablet or touch-enabled PC

Hoàng Tú November 15, 2012 1

Windows 8 is, in a general sense, a hybrid system that caters to touch-enabled tablets and PCs, and traditional mouse and keyboard computers. As such, Windows 8 has two parts — Modern UI (e.g. the Start screen) and the traditional desktop. As such, Internet Explorer 10 also has two versions. [...]

[Windows 8] How to switch between local offline account and Microsoft online account, and vice-versa

Hoàng Tú November 13, 2012 1

When you install Windows 8, it allows you to choose using between using a local account and Microsoft account. A local account is the traditional one which has been used in previous versions of Windows. Using a Microsoft account is new to Windows 8; you can sign in to your [...]

[Windows 8] How to fix an error on a Windows 8 computer or tablet — by using “Refresh” or “Reset” features

Hoàng Tú November 13, 2012 3

System Restore was introduced in Windows XP to help people undo changes to their system. Windows 8 comes with two great new restore features to help you deal with serious problems which cause your computer to be unstable. They’re called “Refresh” and “Reset” feature, and, in this article, I will [...]

[Windows 8] 27 hotkeys everyone should know

Hoàng Tú November 12, 2012 6

Windows 8 is the first version of Windows that focus on touchscreen gestures and experiences and still keeps the traditional desktop for non-touch users. This “hybrid” environment causes big problems for users with mouse and keyboard. Thankfully, Windows 8 provides you a lot of keyboard shortcuts (hotkeys) to master its [...]

[Windows 8] How to change Lock screen background and how to add app notifications on Lock screen [Guide]

Hoàng Tú November 12, 2012 16

Start screen and Lock screen are two new big things in Windows 8. As you already know, Start screen is the place of live tiles and other desktop app icons; it plays the role that Start menu did in previous Windows versions. In addition, the new operation system has Lock [...]

[Windows 8] How to install Windows Media Center for free on Windows 8 Pro, and how to remove it [Guide]

Hoàng Tú November 10, 2012 0

If you’re using Windows Media Center (WMC) for your home entertainment system or Xbox, you will want to know that Windows 8 doesn’t include WMC by default. According Microsoft, you can get WMC for $9.99 when you’re running Windows 8 Pro and it costs $69.99 to upgrade to Windows 8 [...]

[Windows 8] How to manually update apps you download from Windows Store

Hoàng Tú November 8, 2012 2

Windows Store is the place where you can find thousands of apps for Windows 8. Aside from downloading apps, one of the other functions performed by Windows Store is it also looks for updates for your installed apps. Windows Store, of course, has the ability to automatically update apps but [...]

[Windows 8] How to change the background of the Photos app and its Start screen tile picture, and how to reenable Photos app live tile

Hoàng Tú November 6, 2012 4

Since Microsoft’s new OS becomes official, I have heard many questions from Windows 8 users about how to change the Photos app’s background. In this article, you will find out the answer and I also show you some other cool stuffs to personalize the Photos app.[...]

How to change background

[Windows 8] How to change size of tiles, turn off live tiles, remove tiles, rearrange tiles, and group tiles on the Start screen

Hoàng Tú November 5, 2012 2

Windows 8 comes with the new Start screen which is designed for best use with touch screen. How about desktop users? If you’re having a mouse and still confuse in how to use Start screen effectively, this article will show you some tips to master it. You can actually even [...]

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