Windows 10 Upgrade Paths

Windows 10 is just around the corner and will come to your devices of the 29th of this month.  As promised Windows 10 will be FREE to all qualifying Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 devices out there.  Right now if you are a Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 user, most of you are now having a notification in the Windows taskbar telling you to reserve Windows 10.  So go ahead and click that button to reserve!

Now let’s talk about the upgrade paths, which edition of Windows 7 or 8.1 will get which edition of Windows 10?  The table below shows  upgrade paths from Windows 7 and Windows 8.1.

Basically when your PC runs on Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 you can get Windows 10 for FREE.  System requirements of the three operating systems are just the same.  But just in case, below are the system requirements.

• You must have the latest version of Windows 7 with SP1 or Windows 8.1 Update
• A 1 GHz processor or faster or SoC (System on Chip)
• 1 GB of RAM for 32-bit or 2GB or RAM for 64-bit
• A 16 GB hard disk space for 32-bit or 20 GB for 64-bit
• A DirectX 9 or later compatible graphics card with WDDM 1.0 driver
• A minimum display resolution of 800x600

To check if your PC/ tablet meets the requirements, use the “Check my PC” in the get Windows 10 app

Note: Windows 7 Enterprise, Windows 8/ 8.1 Enterprise, and Windows RT/RT 8.1 are excluded in the upgrade offer.  Microsoft customers with active SA in volume licensing can upgrade to Windows 10 Enterprise at no cost.

Windows 8 101: Windows 8.1 Update

The Windows 8.1 update is already available for download a couple of month ago.  Question is, did you get? If not here’s how

1. Run Windows Update.  Download and install any available updates to ensure that the OS has all necessary files and update to get the windows 8.1 update.
• To check for updates in Windows Update, in your Start Screen just key in Windows update in your keyboard, click on Settings, then Windows Update
• Click “Check for updates now.” It will take a moment for Windows to check for the latest updates.  If new updates are found, Click or tap Install updates
• Restart your PC or tablet to finish installation of the update
2. Open the Windows Store to get Windows 8.1. Just a note you need a good connection in updating to Windows 8.1 in my experience it took me 2-3 hours to download and install the update.

A specific update is needed for you to see the Windows 8.1 update in the Windows Store make sure you have the KB2871389 update.  Now if you can’t see Windows 8.1 after getting and installing all updates you might want to read this article from Windows.

TIP: I tried downloading the KB2871389 HERE, installed it manually (without checking and installing all available updates), restart my PC, visited the Windows Store and the updates is there.  Means you only need a single Windows update to get Windows 8.1 in the Windows Store. 

Windows 8 101: File History

File History is a new feature in Windows 8 that keeps track on the changes you made with your files in your Libraries, Desktop, Favorites, and Contacts folders.  This is the updated version of the Windows Backup and Restore that was introduced in Windows 7.  This is a great app if you want to track changes of your files, protect, or restore a previous version of your files.  File History will check changes in your files / documents and create a copy of the modified file in another location (external drive or network drive).  By default File history checks your files for any modification every hour and will create a copy of the modified file which you can easily restore anytime.

To Enable File History

• In your Start screen, key in File History > Select on File History to open the File History window.  Make sure that an external media (HDD, USB Flash drive) is already connected to your device to enable File History

• In the File History window, click on Turn on and File History will start to create backups / copy of your personal files

• Alternatively you can manage / configure File History to set it’s behavior in saving your files and the duration of keeping the version of the files.  Click in Advanced settings in the left pane to modify the default settings of File History.

Windows 8 101: Refresh or Reset?

Windows 8 gives you ways to recover you system in case it is not running properly.  You can either “Refresh” or “Reset”.  There’s a big difference between the two process.  Refresh means that Windows will be reinstalled without losing those precious documents, music, videos, and files.  Reset on the other hand will remove everything and reinstall Windows 8 from it’s original factory settings, this means that all your files, apps, settings and any customizations you have made will be deleted from the drive.  This is useful when you want to give / donate your PC to another individual or if you just want to have a fresh start.

To REFRESH your PC if you are on Windows 8.

• Get you Charms click or tap on Settings > Change PC Settings
• Click on the General tab > scroll down and look for the option that says “Refresh your PC without affecting your files” > click on Get started

If you are running Windows 8.1

• Get you Charms click or tap on Settings > Change PC Settings
• Click on Update & Recovery > Recovery
• Click on Get started under “Refresh your PC without affecting your files”.

To RESET your PC

In Windows 8

• Get you Charms click or tap on Settings > Change PC Settings
• lick on the General tab > scroll down and look for the option that says “Remove everything and reinstall Windows” > click on Get started

If you are running Windows 8.1

• Get you Charms click or tap on Settings > Change PC Settings
• Click on Update & Recovery > Recovery
• Click on Get started under “Remove everything and reinstall Windows.”

If you are using an OEM device (means that Windows 8 comes preinstalled) you can refresh or reset your PC in just few clicks.  On the other hand if you installed Windows 8 manually into your device, there’s a big chance that Windows will ask for a recovery media (DVD / bootable flash drive) as a source of the installation files.

And oh, before I forget please plug in your device before resetting or refreshing to avoid interruptions which may cause to data loss or corruption.

Windows 8.1 countdown!

Can’t wait for Windows 8.1? Just today, the Windows Blog announced the general availability of Windows 8.1 in the Windows Store.  Exactly 8 days before Windows 8 turns one year old, on October 18, 2013 the 8.1 update will be available worldwide.  Existing Windows 8 users can get this update for FREE.  It will also be available on retail and beginning October 18, newly shipped PCs will carry Windows 8.1.

This free update will give you more cloud integration with SkyDrive, better transition from desktop to start screen, four sizes of tiles, Internet Explorer 11, unified search across all your apps, workplace join for BYOD scenarios in the enterprise and more!

While waiting for the official update you may download the Windows 8.1 preview at www.preview.windows.com.

Windows 8 101: Is your app compatible with Windows 8?

With the debut of Windows 8 on October 26, 2012 a lot of people / PC users are thinking twice to upgrade to this new and revolutionized OS.  Questions like “Is my hardware compatible?”, “Is it easy to use?”, “Can I still run my favorite app / game in Windows XP or Windows 7?”, and a lot more.  Well, most of the legacy apps and hardware can still run and compatible with Windows 8.  You might be asking how can you say that?  Have you tested all of those apps? My answer is No. But for you to check if your favorite app or your hardware can still run or still compatible with Windows 8, Microsoft set up this website to check which app and hardware is compatible or incompatible with Windows 8.

Visit the Windows Compatibility Center to check your apps and hardware! 

You may also want help the community in certifying an app or hardware by casting your vote on specific app.

Windows 8 101: Where’s my “Old” Control Panel

For IT Pros and techies the Control Panel might be one of the useful tool to manage the Windows OS.  Here you can just access most of the tools on networking, security, keyboard and language settings and more.

In the previous versions of Windows like your Windows 7, Vista, and XP, the Control Panel is always available and accessible in the Start Menu.  In Windows 8, since the start menu has been replaced by the fast and fluid Start screen, the shortcut to your Control panel can’t be seen in the Start screen by default.

I can give many ways to access this very important tool.

• If you are in the desktop get your Charms by swiping your finger from the right  edge of your screen or pointing your mouse to the right upper corner of your screen.  Click on the Settings charm and click/ select “Control Panel”

• On your Start screen  just key in “Control Panel” in your keyboard and click on Control Panel

• Press Windows Logo key + X in your keyboard to access the Quick Link menu.

• In Windows 8.1, go to your all apps by swiping your finger from the bottom edge of your screen.  Alternatively you can pin the Control Panel to your start screen or to your taskbar.

Windows 8 101: Speed up your Start up process

Some programs/applications you install in your PC will integrate itself to load when you start your OS.  Example of those apps are Yahoo! Messenger, Skype, Adobe updater, etc.  These are non-essentials apps and will affect or slow down the start up process of your OS. You can disable these apps to speed up your start up process.  You might be thinking on running “msconfig.sys”, go to the Startup tab and uncheck some apps that are non-essential on start up.  Well, you are right, that if you are using a lower version of Windows such as Windows 7, Vista, or XP.  In Windows 8 it’s a bit different.  Here’s how you do it:

• Do a right-click on your taskbar and click/ select on Task manager to launch the new Task manager
• Click on “More details” to expand the task manager

• Click on the Startup tab to see the list of startup applications.  Notice that the last column shows the startup impact of each application in the list which is something new for you not to guess which app to disable.  You may select some of the non-essential startup apps and click Disable to stop the app from loading during start up.

Windows 8.1 is here!

Download the preview at www.preview.windows.com

Windows 8 101: I want my Desktop!

Tired of being directed to the Start screen every time you sign in to your Windows 8? Well I might have a solution for you. If you are on Windows 8.1 you can bypass the start screen and sign in directly to the desktop.  Here’s how:

• On your desktop right click on your task bar (mouse) or do a long press in your taskbar to get the right click menu (touch)
• Select properties to launch the Taskbar and Navigation properties

• Click / select the \navigation tab and tick “Go to the desktop instead of Start when I sign in” check box

• Click on apply and you’re done! The next time you sign in to your Windows 8, the first thing you will encounter is your beloved desktop :)

 

Windows 8.1 is here!

Download the preview at www.preview.windows.com

Windows 8 101: Stalk someone in your People app

Apps that you love are built in on Windows 8.  The people application is all about your contacts, this app will give you the ability to aggregate all your contacts from your Microsoft account, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Exchange and more.  If you are using a Windows phone this is somewhat similar.  What I love about this app beside contact aggregation is  that I can also see updates from my friends in Twitter and Facebook.  I can comment, like, retweet, favorite their status or tweets without me launching the browser and logging in separately  on this two social media accounts.  I can also be updated through notifications form its live tile and I can post status or tweet directly within this app.  This is app is my all-in-one Facebook and Twitter app in Windows 8.  Here’s how you can add your social media accounts to the people app.

• Open your People app by tapping or clicking on it.
• Get your settings charm click on Accounts and click on Add an account

• Choose from the different social media apps listed like Facebook, Twitter, LinkeIn, Google Connect, etc..

• Input your username and password on each social media account and click connect or authorize app and you’re done.

Now let me walk you through this app. Clicking on the What’s new will lead you to the feeds of  latest updates, status and tweets from your friends in Facebook and Twitter, here you can just comment, like, favorite, reply, and retweet to their status.

 

 

 

 

Now go back by clicking on the back button and click on the “Me” tile.  Here you can post your status in Facebook or Twitter.  You can also see your notifications and browse your photos in Facebook. 

 

 

Now what if you want to get the latest update to a specific contact, say your best friend? You can actually pin your favorite contact in your Start screen.  To do this,

• Click on the name of a specific contact to show his/ her profile.
• Right click anywhere on your screen or swipe your finger from the bottom edge of your screen to show the app commands (you may also use Windows Logo key + Z),
• Click on Pin to Start, specify the name you want to appear in your contact’s tile then click Pin to start

Now that you already pinned a specific contact whatever he/she post on Facebook or Twitter will appear on his/or her tile giving you a “glance and go experience.”  In a way you might say that pinning contacts to the Start screen will make the people app as “the ultimate stalker app”

 

Windows 8.1 is here!

Download the preview at www.preview.windows.com

Windows 8 101: Connecting email accounts in the Mail app

After connecting your Microsoft account to Windows 8, you may now start to connect some more accounts like your Gmail or Yahoo account.  The mail app is just basic email app not much advance like your Outlook but what I love with this app is that it consolidates all my mail accounts in just one place.  I wont even open a browser to log in to my email service to check my mails.  Just connect your accounts and your done.  Here’s how,

• Open your Mail app by clicking or tapping on it
• On your Settings charm click on Accounts, here you can see your connected accounts

• Click on Add an account and choose which email service you want to add.  You may also add other email account that is not in the list as long as you know your email settings and configuration.  Right now the mail app only support EAS (Exchange Active Sync) and IMAP

 

Windows 8.1 is here!

Download the preview at www.preview.windows.com

Windows 8 101: Shortcut Keys

If you are a power user shortcut keys are very handy.  Most of your favorite shortcut keys in Windows 7 will still work in Windows 8.  There are new shortcut keys in Windows 8 that will come in handy.  Here are some of my useful shortcut keys.

 

Windows logo key‌ +start typing	Search your PC
Ctrl + Plus (+) / Control + Minus (-)	Zoom in or zoom out tiles in the Start screen
Windows logo key‌ + C	Open / access the charms
Windows logo key‌ + F	Access the search charm to search for your files
Windows logo key‌ + H	Access the share charm
Windows logo key‌ + I	Access the settings charm
Windows logo key‌ + K	Access the devices charm
Windows logo key‌ + O	Lock / unlock the screen rotation
Windows logo key‌ + Z	Access the app commands / bar inside an app
Windows logo key‌ + Tab	Cycle through open apps
Windows logo key‌ + period (.)	Snap an app to the right
Windows logo key‌ + Shift + period (.)	Snap an app to the left

One of the most useful key for me to access the Quick Link menu is by pressing Windows logo key‌ + X.  The menu will give you links to your tools like control panel, mobility center, elevated command prompt, disk management, device manager and more.  You may also access the Quick Link menu using your mouse by right clicking on the lower left corner of your screen in Windows 8 and right clicking the start button in Windows 8.1

Windows 8.1 is here!

Download the preview at www.preview.windows.com

Windows 8 101: Work and play with snap!

Multitasking is a method where multiple tasks or processes, are performed during the same period of time.

An aero feature called Snap was first introduced in Windows 7 which allow the user to snap two windows on each side of the desktop to create a perfect half window. This is very useful when comparing documents, copy reading or you just want to do two things at the same time like watching a movie while doing something productive. Most of the aero features of Windows 7 – snap, peek, shake is still available in the Windows 8 desktop to give the user seamless experience in working with desktop applications.

In Windows 8, multi-tasking has made even better with the Snap feature where you can run two apps side-by-side, imagine chatting with a friend while doing your PowerPoint presentations, or perhaps tweeting while watching a movie or playing a game.

 

Windows 8.1 is here!

Download the preview at www.preview.windows.com

Windows 8 101: So where’s my desktop?

The desktop might be one of the most important thing on a Windows PC.  Here, you can just run your apps, create documents, spreadsheets, presentations, watch your favorite movies, play your favorite games and more.  When signing in to Windows 8, the first thing you will come across is your Start screen which compose of your tiles of apps.  For a first time Windows 8 user who is used to logging in directly to the desktop you might be a little be confused and will ask where is the the desktop? Don’t panic the your beloved desktop is still there it was just turned  into some kind of app.  On your start screen look on the tile that is labeled “Desktop” it is usually one of the tiles in the leftmost part of your start screen.  To further more identify your desktop tile, it actually shows your desktop background as well.  Click on it and you will be directed to the familiar working environment the you used to.

In Windows 8 the Start orb in the taskbar has been removed and the only way you can get back to the Start screen is through your Start charm, pressing the start key on your keyboard or pointing your mouse cursor at the lower left corner of your screen and click.

But it seems removing the start orb / button completely is not acceptable to the most PC users, the Windows team decided to revive the start button in Windows 8.1.  Windows team is serious when they said they do listen to customer input to better the user experience.

 

Windows 8.1 is here!

Download the preview at www.preview.windows.com