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Tips for Windows 8 (got any?)
MilesAhead:
I just got a Laptop with W8 on it. I'm pleasantly surprised. Of course I disabled indexing and put latest Everything Search on it. But out of the box it was much more usable than Vista before the first SP. I really miss the Glass though. But on the Laptop monitor it's tough enough just to read text on some sites(Color Toggle FF AddOn gets me over that hurdle.) I have to wonder how Glass would look. The Control Panel is still accessible. So once there most confusion is eliminated.
It seems to be stable. Although I haven't taxed the Laptop. My days of converting video are over. Too much work. :)
Edit: as for "tips" Brink keeps the Tutorials section of W8 Forums loaded with tons of howto stuff. Like how to switch from Microsoft Online login style to local login etc..
MilesAhead:
Glass on W8 can be downloaded here
I'm using it now. Totally clear window borders and taskbar(for those of us who do Desktop mode.)
2 Provisos.. you have to disable secure boot .. and on each boot a dialog comes up asking for a donation. It's a nag screen that's turned off by donating. I'm hot sure how to back off unless there's a control program. I assume running a restore point will do the trick.
Curt:
http://windowssecrets.com/top-story/pc-settings-gets-major-makeover-in-win8-1/
‘PC settings’ gets major makeover in Win8.1
By Fred Langa on November 13, 2013 in Top Story:
Microsoft made a host of changes to the commands and options on Windows 8.1′s PC settings page, adding new functions and moving or renaming others.
The result is a better user experience — but one that’s undeniably confusing at first. Here’s a guide to the most important changes.-windowssecrets
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Curt:
http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/make-your-windows-881-computer-act-new-refresh-feature.htm
Make Your Windows 8/8.1 Computer Act Like New with the Refresh Feature.
Accessing the Refresh feature was described in a previous article, but here I will give some details of how to create a custom Refresh.-gizmo's freeware
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4wd:
NOTE: This will NOT work for preinstalled/OEM versions!!
This comes from a couple of comments, (by Mike and astro), over on the MakeUseOf website.
Microsoft castrated Win 8.0 Pro users by making them always have to do a 3.5GB download if you ever want to update your reinstalled OS to 8.1 or install on multiple machines - completely ignoring the fact that 80-90% of the planet doesn't have access to seemingly unlimited multi-Mb broadband at a reasonable cost, (f'n idiots) - eg. it would take me ~7 hours to download the update and I don't want to do it more than once.
Anyway, you can do a clean install of Win 8.1 Pro from a downloaded ISO and activate it with your Win 8.0 Pro license key - contrary to what MS would have you believe or want you to do.
* Grab copy of the Win 8.1 Pro ISO using the method in the MakeUseOf link above.
* Create your install media, DVD or flash drive, and proceed with a normal install of the system - which is not connected to a network.
* When you're asked for a key, use the appropriate KMS Client setup key from here (Microsoft TechNet) - this will allow you to install 8.1 - you will need a valid purchased license key to activate it.
* When the install is finished, open regedit and navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Setup/OOBE/
Change MediabootInstall and RetailInstall to 0.
* Open a CLI as Administrator, (ie. run CMD.exe as Administrator), and enter: slmgr.vbs -ipk [key] where [key] is your duly purchased license key, without the brackets.
* Rearm the activation: slmgr.vbs /rearm
* Restart, connect to a network, and activate your installation.
The above worked for me without a problem when I clean installed my netbook with 8.1.
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