Archive for the ‘Windows 8’ category

2 Options to Shut Down Windows 8 Quickly

December 5th, 2012 by Admin

Shut down used to be simple action from the traditional Start menu in Windows 7/Vista/XP, but in Windows 8, the Start menu is removed by Microsoft and it’s really difficult to find the option to shut down the computer. In this tutorial I’ll show you 2 options to shut down Windows 8 quickly.

Option 1: Press CTRL + ALT + DEL

The easiest, perhaps, is to simply press CTRL + ALT + DEL keyboard shortcut. This will work from anywhere in Windows 8, including the Start screen, any Metro-style app, or the desktop. When you do this, a full-screen experience appears, with Lock, Switch User, Sign Out, and Task Manager options. But if you click that Power icon in the bottom right, you’ll see a menu with power management options: Sleep, Shut down, and Restart.

Option 2: Open the Right Hand Windows 8 Charm

To shut down Windows 8 you can also use the Power option under Settings from the right hand Windows 8 charm. Follow the steps to shut down Windows 8:

Open the right hand Windows 8 charm by moving your mouse to either the top right or bottom right corner of your screen/monitor.
Click on Settings option within the Windows 8 Charm.
Click on Power.
Click on Shut down.

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Posted in Tips & Tricks, Windows 8

Tags: shut down Windows 8

How to Gain Access to Windows Administrator Account without a Password

December 4th, 2012 by Admin

Need a way around password on administrator account in Windows 7 and during setup password was entered accidentally and don’t know it. I do not want to do a complete re-install of operating system or I will loose data. How to regain access to the administrator account?

There are a number of ways to gain access to a password-protected administrator account without a password. I’ll offer two options. The first one is quick and easy, but only works in Windows XP. If the used PC runs Windows 8/7/Vista, please refer to option 2.

Option 1: Boot into Safe Mode

Windows XP contains a backdoor entrance to administrator control. The trick will only work if the backdoor is not closed.

First, boot into Safe Mode: Start your PC, and press F8 before the Windows logo appears. (It may take a few tries to get the timing right.) From the resulting Boot menu, select Safe Mode. When the logon screen appears, it will probably contain a user you’ve never seen before, Administrator, that does not have a password by default. Thus, you can enter Windows as an administrator-level user.

Once inside Windows, you can use Control Panel’s User Accounts applet to change the password on the other administrator account or create a new one for yourself.

Option 2: Using Password Reset Boot CD

If you’re using Windows 8/7/Vista, or if someone closed that backdoor already, you can remove the administrator password with a password reset boot CD. This gets a little complicated, so follow it closely.

First you need to prepare a password reset boot CD. Just download the Reset Windows Password software onto an alternative computer. Once the download is complete, unzip the download file and you’ll get the ResetWindowsPwd.iso file. Burn this ISO image to a blank CD using any CD recording program such as BurnCDCC.

Once you’ve created the disc, boot your locked computer from the CD. The computer will load the mini operating system inside the boot CD and finally open up Reset Windows Password program.

Choose your Windows SAM registry hive, and then select the administrator account and click on Reset Password button. The program will remove the forgotten administrator password instantly.

Take out the boot CD and reboot into Windows. The administrator account will no longer require a password.

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Posted in Tips & Tricks, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Vista, Windows XP

Tags: administrator account password gain access to administrator account

Forgot Windows Live Password in Windows 8

November 30th, 2012 by Admin

With Windows 8, you can sign in to your PC with a Windows Live account. This allows syncing and sharing personal data across multiple devices very easily. You might also be wondering, “How to log on the computer if I forgot my Windows Live password?” Well, here is a excellent hack for you.

With Password Recovery Bundle utility you can create a bootable password reset CD, and set your computer to boot from the CD and it enables you to reset forgotten Windows Live password which is stored on your local computer. After resetting, you will regain full access to your PC with a new password.

How to Reset Forgotten Windows Live Password in Windows 8?

First you need to download Password Recovery Bundle program on another computer. After installing and running the program, click the Windows Password button, which allows you to create a bootable password reset disk in 3 steps. Insert a blank CD/DVD or USB drive into the computer and click Start Burn to create a bootdisk.
Insert the password reset bootdisk you’ve created into your Windows 8 computer. Turn on the computer and hold down F2 or whatever the setup key is shown as during the initial boot screen. This should bring up the BIOS.
In the BIOS look for the Boot Device Priority option, set CD/DVD as the 1st boot device if you want to boot from CD. You can either set Removable Device as the 1st boot device if you want to boot off USB drive. Save your changes.
Restart the computer and now it will boot from the password reset bootdisk. After one or two minutes the bootdisk will launch the Reset Windows Password utility. Choose the local user account which is linked to your Windows Live ID, and then click Reset Password button. The program will set your Windows Live password to Password123 instantly.
Now remove the password reset bootdisk and restart the computer, you can then quickly sign in to Windows 8 using your Windows Live account and the new password: Password123.

Password Recovery Bundle could also reset forgotten login password in Windows 7/Vista/XP/2003/2000. It should be the first Windows password recovery program which supports the latest operating system Windows 8.

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Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 8

Tags: forgot Windows Live password reset Windows Live password windows 8

How to Add a Local or Microsoft Account in Windows 8

November 29th, 2012 by Admin

If you plan to set up a Windows 8 system to be shared by more than one person, you’ll want to know how to add a second user account. As with many aspects of the Windows operating system, things have changed in Windows 8, and you’ll have to learn how to get around in the new OS.

This tutorial will explain the process involved for creating a new account in Windows 8 for an individual with a Microsoft account, and someone who just wants to use a local account.

How to Add a Local or Microsoft Account in Windows 8?

Slide your cursor to the bottom-right corner of the screen to activate the Charms and click the Settings.
click on the option Change PC Settings to open Windows 8 PC Settings.
When the PC Settings menu loads, click on the option Users and select the option Add a user located at the bottom.
Windows 8 will start the new user creation wizard and will ask you to provide an email address to create a new online Microsoft account for the new user. If you don’t want to go for an online account click on the option Sign in without a Microsoft account and continue.
If you go for an online account you will have to provide your email address, security questions and other important details like address, date of birth, etc. Local account does not require much of these details and takes just a few minutes to complete the process.
After the account is added successfully, you will be able to sign in to Windows 8 using your newly created local account or Microsoft account.

So that was how you can add a local or Microsoft account in Windows 8. Afterwards you can switch from Microsoft account to local account or switch from local account to Microsoft account, which depends on your choices.

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Posted in Tips & Tricks, Windows 8

Tags: add a local account in Windows 8 add a Microsoft account in Windows 8 create a new user account

How to Change Windows 8 Product Key?

November 27th, 2012 by Admin

Do you need to change your product key so you can activate Windows 8 properly? After installing Windows 8, you’ll find that there is no option to enter a product key under Computer properties. Or, at least I did not see it. Luckily, the good old Command Prompt and slmgr.vbs tools came to rescue. Just follow this tutorial to change Windows 8 product key using Command Prompt and slmgr.vbs.

How to Change Windows 8 Product Key?

Move the mouse cursor to the bottom right corner of the screen, click the Search icon.
Type in cmd in the search box, then right-click on the “Command Prompt” icon on the top-left of the search result page. A tick sign appears on the icon.
Click on the Run as Administrator icon from the bottom options.
Once the command prompt is launched with administrator privilege, run the following command to enter your product key:
slmgr.vbs -ipk {insert your product key here}
Then run the following command to activate Windows after changing the key:
slmgr.vbs -ato
You will get a confirmation on product activated successfully.

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Posted in Tips & Tricks, Windows 8

Tags: activate Windows 8 change Windows 8 product key

How to Set Up Parental Control in Windows 8

November 26th, 2012 by Admin

We’re glad to see that parental controls in Windows 8 are simple and not nearly as complex as previous versions of Windows parental controls. It is much easier for all parents out there who want to protect their kids while they are using their computers. Parents can set up parental control to set limits on the hours that children can use the computer, the types of games that they can play, the websites that they can visit, and the programs that they can run.

How to Set Up Parental Control in Windows 8?

The key to using parental control in Windows 8 is to properly configure multiple accounts on your PC. You, as a parent you should have access to an administrator-level account. You need to set up a standard user account for your children as only this type of account can have parental controls applied.

Step 1: Move the mouse cursor to the lower right corner of the screen and then right-click to bring up a small menu. The menu gives you quick access to some common administrative tasks, including Control Panel.

Step 2: Open Control Panel and then open Family Safety. In family safety, click on the account you would like to configure and proceed. You will now have to configure some of the settings like Web Filtering, Time Limit, App restriction and, Windows Store and game restrictions.

Step 3: As all the settings are similar to Windows 7 and Vista, you can refer to our complete guide – How to Use Parental Controls in Windows 7. The article shows you how you can allot time limit, moderate games and apps and filter inappropriate websites. Finally at the end of the day you can view your kid’s activity log and see how he has spent his time on the computer.

Conclusion

That’s it. Keep in mind that if you have more than one PC that you allow your child to use, you might want to consider setting up an online Microsoft account for them. You can use local accounts, but you’ll probably have to set up their Family Safety settings for every PC, rather than just once with a Microsoft account.

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Posted in Tips & Tricks, Windows 8

Tags: configure parental control in Windows 8 parental control set up parental control in Windows 8 windows 8

Sync PC Settings Across Multiple Windows 8 Computer

November 24th, 2012 by Admin

If you are someone who uses more than one computing devices (desktop PC, laptop or even a tablet), do you find it irritating that you have to make separate personalization settings on each device? Microsoft has introduced a sync feature in Windows 8 that allows you to solve this particular problem. You can sync all your settings and data across multiple Windows 8 computers.

If you want to enable synchronization feature in Windows 8, you will need to use your Microsoft account instead of the local Windows account to login to Windows 8. Since Microsoft account is connected to the cloud storage of SkyDrive, you will be able to use the free storage of SkyDrive.

In this tutorial, I’ll show you how you can synchronize your PC settings in order to get a consistent and familiar environment on each of your devices.

How to Sync PC Settings in Windows 8?

1. Bring the PC Settings interface by pressing Windows + I and click Change PC Settings.

2. Once in PC Settings, navigate to Sync Your Settings.

3. Enable the sync feature by moving the Sync settings on this PC button to the right of the screen. Under sync settings you can turn on/ off colors, background pictures, lock screen and your account display picture etc. You can have a look at all the options and enable / disable according to your requirements.

4. When you login with your Microsoft account in another Windows 8 PC, you will get the same settings and personalization that you get in your own PC.

Windows 8 makes it possible to sync your PC settings between all the PCs and mobile devices you own that run Windows 8. Even if you just have one PC, it’s worth switching the feature on, as it backs up the settings to the internet via your Microsoft account. That way you’ve got a back-up if you need to re-install or restore Windows in the future.

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Posted in Tips & Tricks, Windows 8

Tags: microsoft account sync pc settings windows 8

How to Remove Windows Login Password Which You Have Forgotten

November 22nd, 2012 by Admin

Forgot Windows login password? Or someone change the password on your computer and you can’t log in now? Password Recovery Bundle is the only risk-free solution to safely remove a forgotten Windows login password, so you can log back into Windows without losing any important files.

What you need to do is download the software onto an alternative computer and create a password removal CD. Boot the target computer from the CD and it enables you to remove Windows login password easily.

How to Remove Windows Login Password Which You Have Forgotten?

1. Download Password Recovery Bundle and save it onto an alternative computer. Install the software on the computer.

2. Start Password Recovery Bundle program and click on Windows Password button. This will bring up a new dialog which allows you to create a bootable password removal CD ( You can create a password removal USB drive if your computer doesn’t come with a CD/DVD-ROM ).

3. Set your locked computer to boot from the password removal CD. To boot from the CD-ROM drive, you may need to press a key such as F8 or F12 while your computer is starting up and set CD/DVD as the first boot device in BIOS.

4. After the CD boots, you will have a mini operating system loaded into memory which will launch Reset Windows Password utility. It will not install anything to your hard drive.

5. Click on the Reset Windows Local Admin/User Password option, the program will automatically detect the Windows SAM registry hive and local user accounts existing in your local computer.

6. Choose the use account whose password you want to remove, and then click on Reset Password button, it will remove your forgotten Windows login password in a short time.

Take out the password removal CD and restart the computer, you’ll be able to login without a password. It’s essential to keep a password removal CD on hand for emergency situations, which allows you to remove Windows 8/7/Vista/XP login password quickly and easily.

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Posted in Tips & Tricks, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Vista, Windows XP

Tags: forgot windows login password password removal CD remove windows login password windows password removal

3 Ways to Close a Metro App in Windows 8

November 22nd, 2012 by Admin

How to close a metro app in Windows 8? Apparently a metro app goes full screen without a conventional close button like the one which you will find in desktop applications. It is designed in such a way that a user should never need to close an app, because you wouldn’t normally shutdown apps on a phone or tablet. However, most Windows users will feel lost and can’t find a way to exit or minimize the app. If you really want to close a Metro app, there are at least 3 ways you can do this.

Method 1: Alt + F4 Shortcut

If you are not using Windows 8 on a touch device and you have a physical keyboard, then you just press Alt + F4. The metro app will close instantly. This is a traditional Windows shortcut with which most of the users must be comfortable.

Method 2: Click and Drag

The simplest way to close a metro app in Windows 8 is the move your mouse cursor to the top of the screen while the app is open, click it, and drag the window down to the bottom of the screen. This will close the app the majority of the time.

Method 3: Close via Thumbnail

Place your mouse in the left hand corner (also known as hot corner) of the screen. It will display a thumbnail of your last active applications. Dragging down the mouse further will show you the list of all open apps. Then right-click on the thumbnail of the App that you want to close, and then select Close option to force the application to exit.

Conclusion

The most powerful way to close a metro app is using the Task Manager. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to bring up the Task Manager. Find the app, select it, and click End Task. But if you want a metro app out of the way, but you don’t want to close it, you can minimize it. One way is to move the mouse to the extreme, lower, left corner of the screen to show the mini Start screen button and click it. The Start screen displays, but the app is still running in the background.

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Posted in Tips & Tricks, Windows 8

Tags: close app in Windows 8 close metro app exit app in Windows 8

How to Encrypt Your Files with EFS in Windows

November 20th, 2012 by Admin

EFS (Encrypting File System) is a built-in component of the NTFS file system, which comes with all professional versions of Windows since Windows 2000. Using EFS, you can encrypt files and folders so that only authorized logged-on users can view the data. If someone else logs in with unauthorized users, or boots from a Windows PE or Linux CD, or removes the hard drive, the files remain encrypted and they are inaccessible.

To use EFS, you simply change the property of a folder and enable encryption. Once a folder is encrypted with EFS, all the files you create within that folder or move into that folder are automatically encrypted.

How to Encrypt Your Files with EFS in Windows?

Select one or multiple files and folders in Windows Explorer, right-click the selection afterwards and select Properties from the context menu.

Click on Advanced button from the Properties window.

Tick the Encrypt contents to secure data checkbox on the new window, and click OK.

If you have selected at least one folder, you will be asked if you only want to encrypt the root files of that folder, or files in sub-folders as well.

The files and folder in question are then displayed in green in Windows Explorer. Congratulations, you have just encrypted your first files or folders with EFS.

Note: If the original EFS certificate is lost or corrupted in your system, you’ll lose access to your EFS encrypted files. It is important to backup your EFS certificate in a safe location.

Conclusion

Because it is already included in a typical Windows installation, EFS is the quickest way to encrypt your files if you’re already using Windows. There’s nothing to download or install and encrypting a folder can be done with just a few clicks. Unless you really have very sensitive information that requires a very strong encryption solution, EFS should suffice.

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Posted in Others, Tips & Tricks, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Vista, Windows XP

Tags: EFS encrypt files with EFS