Windows 8 secrets and tips. Interesting facts and useful tips

13Yar

Below are some tips for fine-tuning in less obvious ways. To check the recommendations, we used Windows 8 Professional (6.2.9200).

1. Remove the new lock screen
The lock screen introduced in Windows 8 is more suitable for tablets and other touchscreen devices. You can disable it on a desktop computer with a regular monitor through Group Policy. Use the keyboard shortcut (Win) + (R), type gpedit.msc and press (Enter) - the Local Group Policy Editor will open.

Go to Computer Configuration->Administrative Templates->Control Panel->Personalization.

Double-click on the "Do not display lock screen" option, select "on" and click OK.

After rebooting, the lock screen will turn off.

2. Analogue of a “time machine”
Windows 8 has an extremely interesting feature that is disabled by default. This is an analogue of the Apple Time Machine backup program built into Mac OS X. To use it, connect an external or network hard drive, then go to Control Panel -> System and Security -> File History.

Activate backup and Windows will automatically save previous versions of changed files.

Only files located in one of the following locations are counted: Libraries, Contacts, Favorites, SkyDrive, and Desktop. Therefore, all files that require the creation of archival copies should be placed in one of the specified locations or merged into a new library.

At any time, you can return to one of the earlier versions of the document or roll back an unsuccessful update of other files. This function is especially useful when writing voluminous works - coursework and dissertations, dissertations and reports.

3. New keyboard shortcuts
The (Win) key itself now switches between the Start screen and the last running program. The “Home” button in Android OS works in a similar way. The range of combinations using this key has expanded:

(Win)+(C) – opens the right side panel Charms;
(Win)+(I) – opens the “Options” tab of Charms;
(Win)+(K) – opens the “Devices” tab of Charms;
(Win)+(H) – opens the “Sharing” tab;
(Win)+(W) – opens setting parameters in the Metro interface;
(Win)+(X) – calls up a panel with main links, which replaces the Start menu;
(Win)+(Enter) – launches Narrator;
(Win)+(Tab) – displays a list of running programs on the left side panel (Switcher) and allows you to switch between them;
(Win)+(Print Screen) now not only takes a screenshot to the clipboard, but also automatically saves it as a file with the .PNG extension in the “Screenshots” folder of the “Images” library.
(Win)+(Space) changes the input language or keyboard layout.

4. Disable Charms panel
The right sidebar of the “miracle buttons” sometimes appears very inopportunely. You can completely remove it using one registry parameter. Press (Win)+(R), write regedit and press (Enter). Go to section

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\ImmersiveShell\\

Create a new key and name it EdgeUI. Create a DWORD type parameter in it. Call it DisableCharmsHint and set the value to 1. If you want to get Charms back, change the key value to 0 or simply delete it.

You can also create a text file with the following content using Notepad:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 “DisableCharmsHint”=dword:00000001

Save it with the extension .reg and run it by double clicking.

5. Disable the program switching menu
Classic style fans can also disable the Switcher, another sidebar that automatically appears when the mouse cursor is positioned at the left edge of the screen. All manipulations are similar to point 4. The only difference: a DWORD type parameter called DisableTLcorner is created, and the .reg file looks like this:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 “DisableTLcorner””=dword:00000001

6. Replacement of the Start menu and Metro modification
At any time, to switch to the Windows 7 style screen, simply click on the Desktop tile, the key combination (Win) + (R), or call up Command Prompt in the program list. You will see the usual design, but now instead of the Start menu, a panel with main links opens in the same part of the screen in Windows 8. To call it, move the mouse cursor to the lower left part of the screen or press (Win)+(X).

You cannot return the old Start menu using regular tools, but third-party programs will help you get something as close as possible. For example, ViStart or Start8. All applications designed for the Metro interface can be launched in regular windows. The ModernMix program from the same developer will help with this.

Windows 8 automatically selects the number of rows of “tiles” on the Home screen. The operating system is based on the screen resolution, but you may have your own opinion on this matter. You can change the number of rows manually through the registry. Go to section

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\ImmersiveShell\\Grid

See if it has the “Layout_MaximumRowCount” parameter. If not, create one (DWORD type). Give it a value equal to the desired number of rows and restart your computer.

7. View the space occupied by applications and remove unused ones
This may be advisable if you have an SSD or are simply drawn to rational minimalism. To do this, press (Win) + (I), click “change computer settings” at the bottom and go to the “General” tab.

Click "view app sizes" and you'll see a Metro-style list showing the size of each app.

8.Storage Spaces
In Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012, hard drives of any size with SAS, SATA or USB interfaces can be logically combined into pools. They create virtual storages that look like regular disk partitions in Explorer. Their main advantage is the possibility of easy expansion. When such a virtual disk runs out of free space, you can simply add a new physical disk to the pool without changing anything else. In addition to hard drives, the use of SSDs and even flash drives is allowed.

Pool management is located in the “Control Panel”, on the “System and Security” tab in the “Disk Spaces” section.

To improve reliability in Storage Spaces, choose one of the levels of mirroring or parity. Since reliability is achieved through data duplication, you will have to pay for it in speed and available volume. In general, the average user may find the technology more convenient than RAID or a JBOD array. However, purely software implementation and the hybrid structure of drives impose understandable limitations on speed. Because Storage Spaces uses the new ReFS (Resilient File System) file system, older disk utilities cannot work with it.

In conclusion, note that in addition to gaining new features, Windows 8 has retained a number of popular tools from its predecessors. For example, you can view the basic parameters of your computer and OS using one standard utility.

To do this, first open the Command Prompt, then type systeminfo and press (Enter). Detailed information will be displayed, including the computer name, full OS version, installation time and product code, last boot time, motherboard name, processor type and frequency, amount of total and free RAM, number of network adapters and their MAC addresses. , boot disk and OS folder, total number and list of installed patches.

Categories:// from

Microsoft's new operating system has many more features and operations than previous versions of Windows. This is due to the fact that the system is designed not only to work with a mouse and keyboard, but also for use on devices with touch screens. Because of this, even experienced PC users often get lost when faced with all the innovations. In this regard, let's take a closer look at the secrets of the operating system, in other words, hidden programs, commands, etc.

Lock screen

A rather interesting innovation of the system is a function such as the appearance of a lock screen. If the user does not work on the PC for a certain time, it goes into lock screen mode. This feature is quite convenient for touch screen devices. You can find out how to properly set up the lock screen. However, for desktop computers it is often unnecessary, so you can disable it.

To remove the lock screen, first call the Run menu. This is done by using the Win and R key combination. The gpedit.msc command is written in it. After this, an editor opens in front of the user, in which you should select the Configuration section.

Go to the Control Panel, which is located in Administrative Templates, and click on Personalization. There is a link in this section that prevents the lock screen from being displayed. Double-click on it and in the window that opens, click the Enabled action. The operation is completed by restarting the computer, after which the lock screen will not appear in front of the user.

File History function

Manufacturers have endowed the Windows 8 system with a rather interesting File History function. However, it is disabled by default and, accordingly, not every user has any idea about it. This feature is similar to Apple's Time Machine utility, which is integrated into Mac computers.

In order to launch the application, the user will need to go to the Control Panel. After that, click on System and Security and find File History. In the utility window, activate backup. Now the operating system will by default save modified documents in their original form.

It should only be noted that this function applies to files located in certain locations. These are SkyDrive, Desktop, Libraries and Favorites. Therefore, do not forget to place those documents that are needed not only in modified form, but also in their original form, in these sections. This function allows the user to return to an earlier version of the document at any time, which is very convenient, especially when writing lengthy works, such as essays or term papers.

“Cleaning” on the home screen

If you have too many different elements pinned to your Start screen, it is recommended to put them in order. This is easy to do using the tools built into the system. For example, the user can divide applications into groups, each of which will receive its own name.

First, you need to move all the icons of the programs that you decided to combine to the right side. After this, the Windows 8 system itself will separate them from the others and merge them. You can now use the semantic zoom feature. To do this, you need to open the menu on the right side of the monitor and select Zoom. Here you can set the required interface dimensions. In addition, the user will see a Desktop layout.

To give the group a name, right-click on it. In the menu that opens, select Name group. Now enter the name you want. Actually, that’s all, now you can enjoy the order that reigns on your desktop, and most of the actions have been done for you by the system.

How to close applications

On the one hand, such a simple procedure as closing applications in the operating system should not cause any problems. However, very often users are faced with the fact that Windows applications do not have the usual button to close them. Microsoft developers decided that it was more convenient for the program to continue running in the background.

Working in this way, the application consumes a minimum of resources and is always at hand. But not all users are satisfied with this state of affairs. If you still want to completely exit the program, then click on the icon and grab it with the mouse. After that, carefully drag the application from top to bottom. The thumbnail will gradually become smaller and eventually disappear altogether. There are other ways to close utilities in the Windows 8 operating system, for example, the standard one is to use. In addition, for this action you can use the combination of Alt and F4.

SmartScreen function

The developers have equipped the new version of the operating system with the SmartScreen function. Not all users know about its advantages and capabilities. In fact, SmartScreen is a rather interesting tool in the new version of the system, thanks to which the security of your computer increases significantly, especially if you often use the Internet and download various files and programs from here.

The essence of the function is that when you open downloaded applications that can be recognized by the system, SmartScreen reports this. Thus, the user almost always remains aware of the origin of the files that are opened on his computer. If you are tired of this security feature with constant pop-up warnings, you can always disable it. This can be done in the Toolbar.

General access

Of course, not all the secrets that are in Windows 8 are listed. But we did not mention the advantages and disadvantages of this version of the OS, so read about it here.

Microsoft developers have created a huge number of interesting and useful features that did not exist before. Therefore, users continue to master all the intricacies of the operating system, which significantly increases its functionality and makes working on the computer easier.

1. Hidden Start Menu

By moving your cursor to the bottom left of the screen and left-clicking, you launch a tiled Start Page... but right-clicking opens a menu with links to all the major sections of the operating system, including Control Panel, Command Prompt, and Task Manager.

To open the hidden start menu, right-click in the lower left corner.

2. Sync settings

Windows 8 supports the old user account system, but it also includes a new type of user account that is associated with your Windows ID and stores all your information from SkyDrive, Xbox, Hotmail/Outlook and all other services provided by the company. With Windows 8, you can synchronize all settings, Internet bookmarks and much more across different computers.

Sync your settings
With a linked account, you can sync your Windows settings (from your desktop wallpaper to your web browsing history) across all your computers, which is great if you have several at work or at home. Go to Settings, select Change PC Settings, and open the Sync Settings page to configure this feature.

3. Windows Defender

Windows 8 supports Windows Defender with additional antivirus capabilities. But unlike Security Essentials, Windows Defender fights both viruses and spyware, and is already included in the operating system. You will notice its work if you have not already installed anti-virus and anti-spyware programs instead, which are activated every time it is necessary to eliminate emerging threats to the security of your computer.

4. Simplified computer shutdown

Use the traditional Alt+F4 combination to quickly turn off your computer. Instead of opening the Charms bar sidebar, clicking Settings, then selecting the Power button and turning off, simply press Alt+F4 while the desktop is open. You can press Enter to shut down your computer or select another option from the menu that appears.

5. Automatically save screenshots

Windows 8 automatically saves a screenshot every time you press Win+PrtScn. Windows 7 had a dedicated Snipping Tool for capturing screenshots, and it's also present in Windows 8. However, there's an easier way to capture what's happening on the screen: press the Windows and PrtScn keys at the same time, and the PNG drawing will be automatically saved to your Image Library.

6. Keyboard shortcuts

Ctrl+Tab opens a list of all your Windows 8 apps. Using your fingers to swipe and press keys in Windows 8 is fine for touchscreen devices, but what about regular laptops and desktop computers?
Knowing the keyboard shortcuts in Windows 8 will save you a lot of clicking and dragging with your mouse, and will help you navigate the system faster and easier. For example, Win+C opens the Charms bar sidebar, while simply pressing the Windows key allows you to switch between the desktop and the start page. Another useful combination: on the start page, press Ctrl+Tab to open a list of all applications.

7. Switch between applications

Windows 8 allows you to pin an app page (like Weather or Bing) to some part of the screen while you're working on your desktop. Many Windows 8 apps have their own mini mode, so you see them in some part of the screen.

Use dual screen mode
So, for example, you can work in Photoshop and monitor the weather forecast. Or you can stay in touch at
Twitter, using the People application, and at the same time operate with numbers in Excel. To open an application in full screen, drag it from the top right or left of the screen. You can also launch pages from different applications next to each other.

8. File history

Windows 8 can save previous versions of files that are important to you, which is very helpful if you accidentally deleted a document or your favorite photo was damaged for some reason.
The function – File History – is not enabled by default; you need to activate it by going to the “System and Security” tab in the Control Panel. The only note is that you need an additional accessible hard drive, any one: external, built-in or network.

9.ISO support

In Windows 8, you can run ISOs (and VHD files) in their original format. Double clicking on a downloaded or extracted ISO file allows you to see its contents; right-click and select Edit to run the file.

10. Reinstall Windows

This is a feature you might not need until something goes wrong - a new way to restart Windows known as Factory Reset (from the PC Settings page). There is no need to search for disks and serial codes because everything you need is already in the system and hidden on the hard drive.

The process of restoring Windows to factory settings is just a few clicks away and has never been easier. Alternatively, you can do an “Update,” which will return all operating system settings to their original settings, while keeping your personal files, settings, programs that came with your PC, and any applications you downloaded from the Windows Store.

The lock screen introduced in Windows 8 is more suitable for tablets and other touchscreen devices. You can disable it on a desktop computer with a regular monitor through Group Policy.

Use the keyboard shortcut (Win) + (R), type gpedit.msc and press (Enter) - the Local Group Policy Editor will open.
Go to Computer Configuration->Administrative Templates->Control Panel->Personalization.
Double-click on the "Do not display lock screen" option, select "on" and click OK.
After rebooting, the lock screen will turn off.

2. Analogue of a “time machine”

Windows 8 has an extremely interesting feature that is disabled by default. This is an analogue of the Apple Time Machine backup program built into Mac OS X. To use it, connect an external or network hard drive, then go to Control Panel -> System and Security -> File History.

Activate backup and Windows will automatically save previous versions of changed files.

3. New keyboard shortcuts

The (Win) key itself now switches between the Start screen and the last running program. The “Home” button in Android OS works in a similar way. The range of combinations using this key has expanded:

(Win)+(C) – opens the right side panel Charms;
(Win)+(I) – opens the “Options” tab of Charms;
(Win)+(K) – opens the “Devices” tab of Charms;
(Win)+(H) – opens the “Sharing” tab;
(Win)+(W) – opens setting parameters in the Metro interface;
(Win)+(X) – calls up a panel with main links, which replaces the Start menu;
(Win)+(Enter) – launches Narrator;
(Win)+(Tab) – displays a list of running programs on the left side panel (Switcher) and allows you to switch between them;
(Win)+(Print Screen) now not only takes a screenshot to the clipboard, but also automatically saves it as a file with the .PNG extension in the “Screenshots” folder of the “Images” library.
(Win)+(Space) changes the input language or keyboard layout.

4. Disable Charms panel

The right sidebar of the “miracle buttons” sometimes appears very inopportunely. You can completely remove it using one registry parameter. Press (Win)+(R), write regedit and press (Enter). Go to section

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ImmersiveShell\

You can also create a text file with the following content using Notepad:

"DisableCharmsHint"=dword:00000001

Save it with the extension .reg and run it by double clicking.

5. Disable the program switching menu

Classic style fans can also disable the Switcher, another sidebar that automatically appears when the mouse cursor is positioned at the left edge of the screen. All manipulations are similar to point 4. The only difference: a DWORD type parameter called DisableTLcorner is created, and the .reg file looks like this:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

"DisableTLcorner""=dword:00000001

6. Replacement of the Start menu and Metro modification

At any time, to switch to the Windows 7 style screen, simply click on the Desktop tile, the key combination (Win) + (R), or call up Command Prompt in the program list. You will see the usual design, but now instead of the Start menu, a panel with main links opens in the same part of the screen in Windows 8. To call it, move the mouse cursor to the lower left part of the screen or press (Win)+(X).

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ImmersiveShell\Grid

See if it has the “Layout_MaximumRowCount” parameter. If not, create one (DWORD type). Give it a value equal to the desired number of rows and restart your computer.

7. View the space occupied by applications and remove unused ones

This may be advisable if you have an SSD or are simply drawn to rational minimalism. To do this, press (Win) + (I), click “change computer settings” at the bottom and go to the “General” tab.

Click "view app sizes" and you'll see a Metro-style list showing the size of each app.

8.Storage Spaces

In Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012, hard drives of any size with SAS, SATA or USB interfaces can be logically combined into pools. They create virtual storages that look like regular disk partitions in Explorer. Their main advantage is the possibility of easy expansion. When such a virtual disk runs out of free space, you can simply add a new physical disk to the pool without changing anything else. In addition to hard drives, the use of SSDs and even flash drives is allowed.

Pool management is located in the “Control Panel”, on the “System and Security” tab in the “Disk Spaces” section.