Tag: Windows 8

Keep the USB Drive Plugged In Error When Booting Windows

For some reason when you reboot your Windows computer you might see the following error: Keep the USB drive plugged in. Only remove it after your PC has shut down completely. Otherwise, your Windows To Go workspace might crash and you could lose data. The quick way to fix this is by editing the Windows …

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CHKDSK Under Windows 8

Since the early days of DOS, OS/2 and Windows NT, CHKDSK has been a one of the staple utilities to keep your file systems in good, working condition. It usually springs into action automatically after a dirty shutdown to make sure that everything is okay with the file systems and makes the necessary repairs if …

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Enable Boot to Desktop Under Windows 8.1

One major gripe people had with Windows 8 was the fact that it left you on the Start Screen rather than taking you to the desktop in prior versions of Windows. That default behaviour doesn’t change under Windows 8.1 but you can change that if you want to boot to the desktop. Here’s how you …

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How to Upgrade to Windows 8 and Windows RT 8.1

With Windows 8.1 upon us I thought I would do a video on how to upgrade your Windows RT device (such as a Microsoft Surface RT) to Windows RT 8.1. It’s not a difficult process but it does take some time given the limited processing power in RT devices. The upgrade process for both Windows …

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Windows 8.1 Ready to Download via Windows Store

Just a quick update. If you’ve got Windows 8 on one or more of your computers you can now upgrade to Windows 8.1 for free by checking the Windows Store app on your computer. You should see something similar to this: Just click on that big purple rectangle and you’ll get to the download screen: …

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Check for Updates After Upgrading to Windows 8.1

Another short and sweet tip. With the general availability of Windows 8.1 almost upon us it is worth reminding everyone that if you already have Windows 8 then this is a free upgrade for you available via the Windows Store. Before you can execute the upgrade you may have to install some updates via Windows …

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Loss of Start Screen Tiles and Desktop Icons After Installing Bitdefender

Given that Microsoft Security Essentials has copped a bit of a pasting in the press lately I thought I would review both the current offerings and my stance on antivirus products. Of course, free is a good price for many plus it is an easy way for antivirus vendors to upsell you to other bundled …

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Enabling the Safe Mode Menu Under Windows 8

Silly me let updated nVidia drivers through Windows Update which caused my computer to encounter the blue screen of death upon every boot. As a rule of thumb, I don’t accept such driver updates for this very reason despite usually being able to get out of any resulting mess. Unfortunately, because I could not seem …

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Reactivating Aero on Windows 8

Some people liked the Aero eye candy that was included with Windows Vista and Windows 7 but noticeably absent from Windows 8. For those of you who didn’t care for it anyway can stop reading but if you didn’t mind this cosmetic tweak to the interface then there is a little mod you can install …

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A Raft of Windows 8 Bing Apps Arrive on Windows Phone 8

If you’ve used Windows 8 you might have noticed that it comes with a few bundled apps including four Bing apps: Bing Finance, Bing News, Bing Sport, and Bing Weather. These apps are pretty slick and set the bar high for other Metro apps in terms of interface and quality. Anyway, the team that brought …

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