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Tutorials, how-to guides, and blog posts about using Windows. How to use laptops, tablets, PCs, and other gadgets with Windows.

article What's New in Windows 8.1 Public Preview (codename

What's New in Windows 8.1 Public Preview (codename "Blue")?

Windows 8.1 Public Preview is now available for download and it brings many changes to Windows 8. There's lots of new stuff coming in this update and all of it is good. While many of you would think that Windows 8.1 is mostly about touch and tablets, you would be very wrong to think so. Windows 8.1 packs lots of upgrades for traditional PC
tutorial Introducing Windows 8: Customize the Look of the Start & Lock Screens

Introducing Windows 8: Customize the Look of the Start & Lock Screens

Changing your Desktop wallpaper in Windows 8 is exactly the same procedure you've seen in Windows 7. While the choice to customize your Desktop is a given, Windows 8 goes farther than previous versions of Windows by giving you two more things to customize: the Lock Screen and Start screen. These settings aren't accessible by right-clicking the Desktop, which is what most new users
tutorial The Windows Experience Index - How to Use it & Interpret the Results

The Windows Experience Index - How to Use it & Interpret the Results

Starting with Windows Vista, Microsoft includes the Windows Experience Index in its Windows operating systems. According to Microsoft, "the Windows Experience Index measures the capability of your computer's hardware and software configuration and expresses this measurement as a number called a base score". Wonder what that really means? This article will explain how Windows calculates the Windows Experience Index score and its correlation to
tutorial How to Remove Network Locations Mapped as Drives in Windows 8

How to Remove Network Locations Mapped as Drives in Windows 8

The process called mapping, assigns a drive letter on your computer to a location on a remote system allowing you to access and save files over the network easily. We have shown how to make these links permanent by reconnecting them every time you log on, which assures they'll never disappear on you. However, it also means you'll get annoying messages from your tray
tutorial 4+ Free Tools for Making Remote Connections from Macs to Windows PCs

4+ Free Tools for Making Remote Connections from Macs to Windows PCs

When I was asked to update our 2010 article about connecting remotely to a PC from a Mac, I thought it would be a fairly simple task. However, since that article was written, Microsoft has dropped support for their Remote Desktop Connection software for Macs. While there are anecdotal reports of it working on OS X Lion, it definitely will not work on OS
tutorial 10 Features that Make Windows 8 the Most Secure Windows Yet

10 Features that Make Windows 8 the Most Secure Windows Yet

It will be quite obvious to any first-time user that Windows 8 is very different from previous versions. While the obvious interface changes will be the most talked about, the addition of a number of great security features is really worth getting excited over. Combine new features like early launch anti-malware with oldies like the Windows Firewall and you have an operating system that
tutorial How to Use Special Characters in Windows with Character Map

How to Use Special Characters in Windows with Character Map

What do you do when you have to insert special characters that can't be found on your keyboard? You use the Character Map tool found both in Windows 7 and Windows 8. It allows you to insert scientific notations, mathematical operators, currency symbols and characters from languages like Japanese Hiragana , Katakana, Korean Hanji and others. In this tutorial, I will show how to
tutorial How to Restore Windows 8 to Its Initial Clean State Using Reset

How to Restore Windows 8 to Its Initial Clean State Using Reset

In previous versions of Windows, the only tools available for restoring Windows to a previous state were System Restore and Windows Backup. Even though they are useful tools, you cannot use them to restore Windows to its initial, clean state. You have to perform a manual reinstallation of the operating system. And that is a bit of a pain. Windows 8 introduces a great
tutorial What is the Public Folder & How to Use it?

What is the Public Folder & How to Use it?

The Public folder was first introduced in Windows Vista and it has appeared in every version of Windows since. It is not much of a feature - just a folder with a slightly special setup that can be useful in certain scenarios. To help you understand what the Public folder is, how to use it, and when it is useful to use it, we
tutorial What to do When Windows 8 Says Your Genuine Product Key is Not Valid?

What to do When Windows 8 Says Your Genuine Product Key is Not Valid?

If you installed Windows 8 on a computer and you then changed its hardware configuration (e.g. upgraded the processor, memory or other important components), it can happen that Windows 8 no longer accepts the product key bundled with your original installation disc. This happens also when you buy a new computer and you install the Windows 8 edition you purchased and stop using the
tutorial How to Schedule a Virus Scan with Windows 8's Built-In Antivirus

How to Schedule a Virus Scan with Windows 8's Built-In Antivirus

If you've spent any time looking at Windows 8's Defender interface, you've likely noticed that it doesn't include any options for scheduling a scan. While Windows Defender provides most of it's protection in real-time, if you're like us, you'll want a back-up scan occurring regularly. Though the user interface does in fact omit a simple way to schedule a scan, this option exists within
tutorial Introducing Windows 8: The Complete Guide to the Messaging App

Introducing Windows 8: The Complete Guide to the Messaging App

Chatting has become a very large part daily computer usage for many people. Whether messaging on Facebook or with a chat client, you've likely spent a significant amount of time messaging with friends back and forth. Using separate clients to chat with contacts can get annoying, so Windows 8 has taken a step to try and make it easier. The Messaging app allows you