Tips for Windows 8 (got any?)

[MilesAhead]

Anyone have a tip to show what file types are assigned to Metro apps?  I am disgusted... I was emailed a wav file (for a voice message) and started playing it. About 5 seconds in, a blasted box pops up "This app needs an update, please download it from the Store to continue".  Really, Microsoft?  Can't listed to a stinkin' wav file without an update??  I will gladly reassign all file types possible away from behavior like this!

-x16wda (January 28, 2014, 04:00 PM)

In a similar vein I have Windows Update set to Never Check for Updates.  After a couple of weeks passed I got a splash page "Windows Update Needs Your Help.. It hasn't been able to check for updates" etc..  Help it?  I want to kill it dead dead dead.  Seems there's no happy medium.  No fixes at all or 50 a day.   

[tomos]

Anyone have a tip to show what file types are assigned to Metro apps?  I am disgusted... I was emailed a wav file (for a voice message) and started playing it. About 5 seconds in, a blasted box pops up "This app needs an update, please download it from the Store to continue".  Really, Microsoft?  Can't listed to a stinkin' wav file without an update??  I will gladly reassign all file types possible away from behavior like this!

-x16wda (January 28, 2014, 04:00 PM)

music and images get sent to Metro. There may be other casualties, I'm not sure.

I'm wondering if we dont update all these apps - is there a security risk? They're very free and easy with an internet connection - might even be worth looking at options to block them all (?)

[tomos]

In a similar vein I have Windows Update set to Never Check for Updates.  After a couple of weeks passed I got a splash page "Windows Update Needs Your Help.. It hasn't been able to check for updates" etc..  Help it?  I want to kill it dead dead dead.  Seems there's no happy medium.  No fixes at all or 50 a day.  

-MilesAhead (January 28, 2014, 04:19 PM)

Notifications of updates doesnt work well here either - I think I've gotten one notification in three months. (In fairness, there *is* some sort of reminder as you boot, but it's too discreet -- for me anyway).

And if you set if to 'Notify', the antivirus (Defender?) doesnt update at all
I found a way to get it to update using the scheduler, but it's not very nice...

[MilesAhead]

Notifications of updates doesnt work well here either - I think I've gotten one notification in three months. (In fairness, there *is* some sort of reminder as you boot, but it's too discreet -- for me anyway).

I just worked a problem on Windows Eight Forums(I say "worked" rather than solved) where the poor poster is trying to fathom why MS issued an update to fix Windows Update.  He restored a 2 year old system image and now is in the position where he cannot find the update fix and wouldn't know how to apply it if he could.  Way too catch 22 for me.  Why not just issue a patch like normal software engineers?

[4wd]

Typing filetype on the Start Screen should get you this, (I'm guessing since I use Classic Start Menu and type it in the search box):

Tips for Windows 8 (got any?)

I use MPC-BC for all my media files, (XnView for images), all Metro apps have either been uninstalled or replaced with normal Desktop programs, (via association).

[MilesAhead]

Nice list.  Windows key + E brings up Explorer showing Computer.

[Stoic Joker]

Well, much to my surprise...the brand new HP z420 workstation I got last week with a fresh install of Windows 8.1 just decided to up and forget how to drag and drop anything this morning. It was to the point that I couldn't even resize the columns in a ListView control. But a quick Bing brought up this article which resolved the issue. The only interesting thing was that it took about 5min after making the changes for it to start working again - Damn strange me thinks - but it is working again.


Come to think of it, if the article goes away - don't you just hate when that happens - at some time in the future I'll summarize it here:
Open dcomcnfg from an administrative command prompt.

Component Services-->Computers-->My Computer [Right click] and select properties.

On the COM Security tab click Edit Defaults in the Access Permissions section (it's on top).

Note: If you are on a domain select local computer as location.

Grant Local Access permission to the SYSTEM and INTERACTIVE accounts.

Wait a minute or two and it should come back to life. Why the dramatic SciFi resurrection is necessary is beyond me but that's how it went down ... Or came back up rather.

[MilesAhead]

I have to wonder if the Start Screen/Desktop setup will peacefully coexist.  I don't know what they do under the hood.  But I do notice stuff that works without issue in W7 that's a hassle in W8.  A simple example I have a PastePath tray utility.  Very simple. It just copies the path from the last active Explorer Window.  You can hotkey the path into file open, save, command prompt or even to paste in an editor.  In W8 to get it to work I have to run it as Administrator.  Even then it seems to work only half the time.  In W7 there's no issue.  Strange.

[Curt]

Backup / create an image:

-tomos (November 15, 2012, 02:41 PM)

>How to Create a System Image with Windows 8.1 File History<

A previous tip showed how to create a system image in Windows 8. In Windows 8.1, Microsoft changed the procedure and made it harder to find. In this tip, I will give the new way to make a system image

http://www.techsuppo...-81-file-history.htm

-gizmo

[tomos]

Backup / create an image:

-tomos (November 15, 2012, 02:41 PM)

>How to Create a System Image with Windows 8.1 File History<

A previous tip showed how to create a system image in Windows 8. In Windows 8.1, Microsoft changed the procedure and made it [even] harder to find [ ]. In this tip, I will give the new way to make a system image

http://www.techsuppo...-81-file-history.htm

-gizmo

-Curt (February 12, 2014, 09:36 AM)

ftfy there Curt

I wonder if they're actively trying to hide it, or is this just good old incompetence...

[Stoic Joker]

Don't know if this has been posted yet but: Windows 8: How To Recover Previous Versions Of Files

[tomos]

Added some updates to first post - Curt's post about how to create a system image in 8.1; minor changes since 8.1 are noted (I'm a late adopter..)
and:

File associations:
Control Panel [>Programs] >Default Programs >Associate a file type with a specific program (Set Associations)
or
from the Start Screen, type Default Programs and proceed as above in Control Panel (thanks 4wd)

[MilesAhead]

http://swapnil36fg.d...-3-0-glass-448153611

It seems to go on OK for me.  I'm running Windows 8.0 x64.

I'm not sure if it's a keeper.  I don't do heavy text editing right now.  For that reason I may be able to live with the semi-transparency in Editors.  But the color effect in Explorer is not good.  Fortunately there's a tray program it uses to set the trans in running programs and explorer.exe can just be removed.

To read many things including the black tray app edit lines I have to select.  But where I really like it is the effect on Firefox.  It seems to make text a bit easier to read and generally looks cool.  You may need something like Theme Font and Size Changer AddOn to make stuff like tab titles readable.

In any case it gives more Glass than anything else I've tried on W8.  Perhaps I can fine tune it to make text in editors easier to read.  But the effect in command prompts looks good provided they had the black background.

Something free to play around with.  

Edit: I tried to include a shot of the command prompt but it didn't come out with snipping tool.  Just a rectangular blur.  Anyway it's your basic gray semi-transparent prompt with white text.