Tips and Tricks »
[Windows 8] How to view how much hard space each installed Windows Store app uses
![[Windows 8] How to view how much hard space each installed Windows Store app uses](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2013/01/0131-2-290x160.png)
Pre Windows 8, you can manage installed programs from Control Panel (Add/Remove Programs). From here, you can also view how much hard drive space a specific program uses. In Windows 8, this still works… but it only works for non-Windows Store programs. That means you cannot see how large your [...]
Read More »[Windows 8] How to reinstall Windows Store apps that you uninstalled
![[Windows 8] How to reinstall Windows Store apps that you uninstalled](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2013/01/0128-11-290x160.png)
As you probably already know, there are two types of apps in Windows 8 – desktop apps (traditional software) and Windows Store apps. To help users become accustomed with Windows Store apps, Windows 8 PCs and tablets come with dozens of preinstalled apps. For example, you may notice many Bing [...]
Read More »[Windows] Can’t boot into Windows? Recover and backup your data using bootable Windows system repair disk or USB drive [Tip]
![[Windows] Can’t boot into Windows? Recover and backup your data using bootable Windows system repair disk or USB drive [Tip]](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2013/01/recoverydisk_image_6-290x160.png)
A nightmare for Windows users is being unable to boot into Windows. In this situation, unless you know how to boot into Windows or some other trick, your data is likely lost forever. In this article I will show you a trick on how to use a Windows recovery bootable [...]
Read More »Protect your Google account (Gmail) by enabling SMS (text message) notifications for suspicious activity [Tip]
Google has a useful ‘account activity’ monitor built into Gmail that allows you to check to see where the latest logins to your account were made from. This helps you identify if there was unauthorized access to your account. Another useful security feature Google has is the ability to notify [...]
Read More »[Windows 8] How to show full path or URL of a location or folder in Windows Explorer’s title bar
![[Windows 8] How to show full path or URL of a location or folder in Windows Explorer’s title bar](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2013/01/0122-3-620x951-290x95.png)
In previous versions of Windows, the title bar of Windows Explorer shows the full path of the location you are in. However, Windows 8 removes this small-but-useful feature to make the title bar look cleaner. For example, when I am in the direction “C:\Windows”, Windows 7 Explorer’s title bar shows [...]
Read More »[Windows 8] How to automatically login on startup at the Login Screen
![[Windows 8] How to automatically login on startup at the Login Screen](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2013/01/0120-1-290x160.png)
As you already known, once your Windows 8 account has a password, you have to enter that password every time you awake the computer or tablet from sleep mode or you turn it on. If you find having to manually login every time annoying, in this article I will show [...]
Read More »[Windows] Take a screenshot of only the active window or program with ALT + Print Screen [Tip]
dotTech has reviewed the best free screenshot programs for Windows. However, screenshot programs aren’t for everyone and some people like to stick with the ole fashion Print Screen -> paste in Microsoft Paint method. The issue with tapping Print Screen to take a screenshot is it takes a screenshot of [...]
Read More »[Windows 8] How to always show all users on the login screen
![[Windows 8] How to always show all users on the login screen](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2013/01/0105-1-290x160.png)
Like many older versions of Windows, Windows 8 definitely supports multi-account. However, a small change that annoys some users is it automatically shows only the last signed out user on the login screen instead of displaying all users of the system. At the login screen you can click/tap the small [...]
Read More »[Windows 8] How to prevent uninstallation of apps from Start screen
![[Windows 8] How to prevent uninstallation of apps from Start screen](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2013/01/0107-2-290x160.png)
Start screen is a big new thing in Windows 8 from which you can launch all of your installed programs. When you install an app (desktop app or Windows Store app) its tiles will be placed in the Start screen. It becomes a main place to do anything you want. [...]
Read More »[Windows 8] What is ‘Flip ahead’ and how to use it to go to next page in Internet Explorer 10
![[Windows 8] What is ‘Flip ahead’ and how to use it to go to next page in Internet Explorer 10](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2013/01/0103-1-290x160.png)
As you already know, Windows 8 provides two version of Internet Explorer (IE) 10 in order to satisfy traditional and touch-screen users. So that, IE 10 in Modern UI has some features, which lacks from IE desktop version, to help users easier navigate and view webpage on their mobile device. [...]
Read More »[Windows 8] How to quickly open File Explorer, Run, CMD, Control Panel, and more — use ‘Administrative Menu’
![[Windows 8] How to quickly open File Explorer, Run, CMD, Control Panel, and more — use ‘Administrative Menu’](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2013/01/0102-1-236x160.png)
The most annoyed change in Windows 8 for desktop users is the lack of Start menu. From Windows 95, Start menu became a place to start every work you want to do in Windows. Despite replacing Start menu with Start screen, which contains live tiles of apps, Windows 8 provides [...]
Read More »[Windows 8] How to go back to Windows 8 Pro after installing Media Center
![[Windows 8] How to go back to Windows 8 Pro after installing Media Center](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2012/12/1231-1-290x160.png)
In an earlier article, I showed you how to get Windows Media Center for free in Windows 8. Additionally, I explained the issue that it changed my product key from Windows 8 Pro to Windows 8 Pro with Media Center. Despite removing Windows Media Center, the product key didn’t come [...]
Read More »[Windows 8] How to mount or unmount ISO files and how to burn ISO files
![[Windows 8] How to mount or unmount ISO files and how to burn ISO files](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2012/12/1229-11-290x160.png)
ISO file is the archive file type like ZIP file, but it is used for optical disc. For example, when you download a Windows installation file from Microsoft website, you will receive an ISO file which can be “burned” to a DVD. Windows 7 is the first version of Windows [...]
Read More »[Windows 8] How to sync apps across devices and how to turn off Windows Store
![[Windows 8] How to sync apps across devices and how to turn off Windows Store](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2012/12/1227-2-620x2941-290x160.png)
Being a system app store, Windows Store provides users many flexible way to get their apps. Additionally, the most powerful function of Windows Store is that a user can share installed apps across their Windows 8 devices. That means you just need to purchase an app one time then you [...]
Read More »[Windows 8] How to turn off localization in Windows Store
![[Windows 8] How to turn off localization in Windows Store](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2012/12/1226-1-290x160.png)
Windows Store app is the big new thing in Windows’ history. For the first time, Windows has programs that are optimized for touch-screen device. Works like other mobile app stores, Windows Store has many options to help developers get highest profit as they can. One of them is the ability [...]
Read More »[Windows 8] How to share Internet connection with your phone, tablet, other computers, and other devices (aka how to setup hosted network)
![[Windows 8] How to share Internet connection with your phone, tablet, other computers, and other devices (aka how to setup hosted network)](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2012/12/1224-61-290x160.png)
Despite having tons of new things, Windows 8 also eliminates many traditional features such as Start menu. One more thing that Windows 8 lacks the ability to create Ad-hoc networks. Ad-hoc network is a very powerful Windows feature for sharing your Internet connection with other devices (phone, tablet, other computers, [...]
Read More »[Windows 8] How to change the folder where screenshots are saved
![[Windows 8] How to change the folder where screenshots are saved](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2012/12/1223-1.1-290x160.png)
Windows 8 not only brings many new features, but it also level-up some great features from Windows 7. One of them is the ability to take screenshot. In Windows 7, you can use the new Snipping Tool to take and edit screenshot. And this tool still there in Windows 8, [...]
Read More »[Windows 8] How to turn off Windows Defender and/or Windows Firewall
![[Windows 8] How to turn off Windows Defender and/or Windows Firewall](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2012/12/1220-1-290x160.png)
Security is always the most concerned thing on Windows. In Windows 8, you may heard that it is protected by Windows Defender (aka Microsoft Security Essentials), Windows Firewall, and many other things. Sometimes, however, users may not want to use Windows Defender and/or Windows Firewall, such as if a third-party [...]
Read More »[Windows 8] How recover or restore files — by setting up and using File History
![[Windows 8] How recover or restore files — by setting up and using File History](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2012/12/1218-2.1-290x160.png)
Have you ever heard about Time Machine in Mac OS X? It’s a powerful feature that stores the copies of a file to help you easily restore that file to different times. For Windows 7 users, there is a similar feature called “Shadow copy,” but it doesn’t help much. Fortunately, [...]
Read More »[Windows 8] How to delete search history, live tile information, and app history
![[Windows 8] How to delete search history, live tile information, and app history](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2012/12/1218-1.1-290x160.png)
If you are familiar with Windows 7, you may know about how to clean up your system. In Windows 8, with the appearance of Modern UI, users need to know how to delete the cache of search results and app tiles in order to keep the system fast and smooth, [...]
Read More »[Windows 8] How to set up and use multiple screens
![[Windows 8] How to set up and use multiple screens](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2012/12/1216-1-290x160.png)
Since Windows XP, multiple screens support has improved so much. I still remember the first time I set up a projector in Windows XP for my teacher- it seemed to be a hardest work for me. However, each versions after XP, the way to set up multiple displays got easier [...]
Read More »[Windows 8] How to print in a Windows Store (aka Modern UI) app
![[Windows 8] How to print in a Windows Store (aka Modern UI) app](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2012/12/1214-1.1-290x160.png)
Although I don’t use a Windows 8 touch-screen device, I really like to use some Modern UI apps — which are optimized for touch users — for my daily work. One of them is the Reader app, which helps me to view PDF documents with basic functions. Additionally, it is [...]
Read More »[Windows 8] How to add (or remove) rows of icons on Start screen
![[Windows 8] How to add (or remove) rows of icons on Start screen](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2012/12/1212-5-290x160.png)
Start screen in Windows 8 is not only the brand new thing to focus on touch users, but it also confuses tradition users who use Windows with mouse and keyboard. However, it is the place that provides tons of information from everywhere by everyone at every time by using Live [...]
Read More »[Windows 8] How to resize window border
![[Windows 8] How to resize window border](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2012/12/1210-2-290x160.png)
Windows 8 provides two environments which are totally different in the purpose – one is optimize for touch user with fingers and another is for using with mouse and keyboard. But sometimes, a tablet user may also want to use Desktop environment to do something such as file browsing and [...]
Read More »[Windows 8] How to enable or disable app notifications
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 [...]
Read More »[Windows 8] How to completely disable spell check and auto-correct on your PC or tablet
![[Windows 8] How to completely disable spell check and auto-correct on your PC or tablet](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2012/12/1209-2.1-290x160.png)
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 [...]
Read More »[Windows 8] Two tweaks to make Windows 8 faster
![[Windows 8] Two tweaks to make Windows 8 faster](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2012/12/1207-21-290x160.png)
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 [...]
Read More »[Windows 8] How to enter Safe Mode
![[Windows 8] How to enter Safe Mode](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2012/12/safemood_ss-290x160.png)
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 [...]
Read More »Watch Youtube videos in VLC media player to skip ads, control playback speed, and multitask [Tip]
So you are a Youtube junkie yet you find it annoying to watch Youtube in your browser for multiple reasons, such as the inability to multitask while watching videos. Want to know a better way to watch Youtube videos? Through VLC media player.
WHAT IS VLC MEDIA PLAYER?
VLC Media [...]
Read More »[Windows 8] How to create a recovery USB flash drive or CD/DVD to fix your PC or tablet
![[Windows 8] How to create a recovery USB flash drive or CD/DVD to fix your PC or tablet](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2012/12/recovery_screens_windows_8-290x160.jpg)
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 [...]
Read More »[Windows 8] Where is the startup folder and how to make apps or processes to run automatically at Windows boot
![[Windows 8] Where is the startup folder and how to make apps or processes to run automatically at Windows boot](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2012/11/2012-12-01_001938-290x160.png)
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 [...]
Read More »Why are reviews on Play Store by “A Google User”? Are they fakes? [dotTech Explains]
You may have noticed something peculiar happening to reviews for apps, games, movies, TV shows, books, songs, and magazine reviews on Google Play Store: most of the reviews are now by “A Google User” instead of a specific person. Why is this? Are those fake reviews? They aren’t, actually.
You [...]
Read More »[Windows 8] How to decrease data or bandwidth usage (by using ‘metered connection’), and how to turn on ‘airplane mode’
![[Windows 8] How to decrease data or bandwidth usage (by using ‘metered connection’), and how to turn on ‘airplane mode’](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2012/11/1127-1.2-290x160.png)
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 [...]
Read More »[Windows 8] How to disable AutoPlay and AutoRun
![[Windows 8] How to disable AutoPlay and AutoRun](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2012/11/1126-1.1-290x160.png)
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 [...]
Read More »How to disable lockscreen widgets and camera access on all Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and higher devices (Nexus 4, Nexus 10, Nexus 7, etc.) [Guide]
![How to disable lockscreen widgets and camera access on all Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and higher devices (Nexus 4, Nexus 10, Nexus 7, etc.) [Guide]](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2012/11/lockscreen_policy_11-290x160.png)
Two of the many new features in Android 4.2 Jelly Bean are lockscreen widgets and direct camera access from the lockscreen (without having to unlock your device). If you have a device on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean or higher, you will have these two features. However, not everyone likes having [...]
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