Speed Up Windows 8

How To Increase the Booting Speed of Windows 8.1

Many Windows Applications will load when your Windows start up. This is in order for certain software to be ready as soon Windows loads. It will help those Windows Software programs, but it will certainly delay the Booting speed of Windows 8.1.

To avoid this, You can Customize the Startup Applications of Windows 8.1. With the previous versions of Windows, you need msconfig or third-party tools to customize the startup Applications of Windows. In Windows 8.1, Microsoft has moved this tool Task manager and integrated as Tab which will be easy for novice users to control the startup applications windows 8.1 without using third-party tools or Msconfig.

How to Acess  and Disable the List of Startup Applications

You can access the list of Startup Applications that runs when windows start up in the Task Manager. There are few ways, you can open the Task manager. Open the RUN Window and type taskmgr  and press enter to open the Task manager or right click in the windows taskbar and click Task manager. Alternatively, you can use CTRL + ALT + DEL or WinKey + X to Open the Task manager.

When the Task Manager opens, you can see the list of tabs along the top of Windows, One of Which called the Startup. There You can notice the list of Startup Applications the automatically start up when windows boots.

In order to disable the Startup application, just tap and hold or right-click on the Application that you wish to disable. Now, you will get a list of options with ‘Disable’ such as ‘Open File Location’, ‘Search Online’, ‘Properties’. Now, Click the Disable Option that  program will be no longer loaded when your Windows Starts up. Hereafter, you can open that program manually like any other Windows Application.

There you can see many startup apps you have installed like utorrent, Adobe updater utility,skype. Just click the app and disable that you don’t need to open that when Windows startup.

Easily Fix Spots And Other Problems In Photos

Expensive programs such as Adobe Photoshop have a feature known as Content-Aware, which allows them to fix spots and other problems in a photo with little work. The free online service Webinpaint has the same capability and allows you to easily remove spots, blemishes, scratches, objects, and any other problems you may have in a picture. For example, in the below picture I start off with an image with four big air balloons and one small air balloon in the middle. I think the image would look better without this small balloon, so I draw over the balloon and then click the Inpaint button to remove the small balloon from the picture.

Once the changes have been made I can save the new photo and be done with a fairly difficult photo edit in a less than a few minutes. Webinpaint can be done online without having to download any software or can be done using the free download also found on their website.

Laptop Info

Disable accidental clicks while typing on your laptop

If you've ever worked on a laptop computer with atouchpad it is inevitable that you will mistakenly touch the touchpad while typing, causing the mouse to jump orcursor to move and interrupt your typing. Download and install Touchpad Blocker, a fantastic free utility that can run in the background and detect and block any time you mistakenly touch the touchpad (or your computer thinks you have.) As can be seen in the picture to the right, this utility can be customized to help make sure it only blocks the real mistakes and can be turned on and off with a shortcut key. 

Additional information

• Laptop touchpad cursor jumps around while not touching it.
• See our cursor, laptop, and touchpad definitions for further information and related links on these terms.

Top 10 computer mouse tips everyone should know

Most computer users don't take full advantage of the computer Mouse. Below are computer mouse tips and secrets that help you get the full potential of your computer mouse and increase your overall productivity while on the computer.

Shift key and mouse click

Many text editors and programs allow you tohighlight all or portions of text using the Shift keyand the mouse. For example, click at the beginning of a paragraph in a text editor, hold down the Shift key and click at the end of the paragraph to highlight the full paragraph.

Bonus tip: Holding down the Alt key while dragging and highlighting text in a text editor will allow you to selectively highlight text. This can be useful if your paragraph or other text is in a column.

Take full advantage of the scroll wheel

Today, everyone is familiar with a mouse wheels ability to scroll up and down on a page. However, this wheel can also do so much more, below are just a few examples.

• The mouse wheel is not just a wheel, it can also be used as a button. Pressing down on the wheel will act like a third mouse button. This can be used to open a web page in a tab by clicking the wheel on any link and can also be used to close a tab by clicking the wheel on any open tab.
• Zoom in and Out on a web page, word document, excel spreadsheet, etc. by holding down the Ctrl key and scrolling up to zoom in and down to zoom out.
• Holding down the Shift key while scrolling up or down in most Internet browsers to go back and forward between web pages.
• Some mouse wheels can be pushed left or right to also move back and forward on a web page.

Select with double and triple click

Any word can be selected by double-clicking the word. If you want to highlight the whole paragraph or sentence, click the mouse button three times on any word.

Bonus Tip: If you double-click and then drag your mouse it will highlight one word at a time.

Use the right-click

Take full advantage of the right-click any time you highlight text or wish to view the properties of an object. For example, if you highlight a file or text, you can right-click that highlighted item copy it and then right-click anywhere else to paste it.

Bonus Tip: If you highlight or select any file or text and then click and drag it while hold the right button, when you let go you will be given the option to move or copy that file or text. This saves you the extra step of having to right-click where you want to paste the item.

Bonus Tip: While in a browser pressing and holding Ctrl while clicking on any link will open a menu with options for that link.

Ctrl key and mouse click or highlight

While holding down the Ctrl key you can left-click to select multiple objects or highlight multiple sections of text. For example, in the below selection box if you wanted to highlight more than on eof the itmes listed you could hold down Ctrl and select each item you want highlighted.

             Mouse             Example             Tips             Tricks             Buttons             Clicking             Wheel             Highlight           

Bonus Tip: Mozilla Firefox users can also hold down the Ctrl key and individually click on each cell in a table they wish to copy or drag their mouse down a row to select just that row or text without selecting any of the other text in that table.

Use the mouse side buttons

Many new computer mice also have buttons on the side of the mouse. These buttons can be programmed to do anything, however, by default the left-thumb button can be used to go back on a web page. This makes browsing the Internet more enjoyable since you do not need to move the mouse cursor to the browser back arrow button in order to go back a page.

Use the Windows Snap To feature

Take full advantage of the Windows mouse Snap To feature, which will automatically move your mouse to buttons that appear in a dialog box. For example, if you delete a file or close a window you may get a prompt asking you if you are sure you want to perform the task. With the Snap To feature enabled, the mouse cursor automatically moves to the Ok button, so all you will have to do is click the mouse button if you agree. This saves you the time of having to move the mouse cursor over to the Ok button and then click Ok.

To enable this feature open the Mouse properties under the Windows Control Paneland check the Snap To check box under the Pointer Options tab.

Bonus Tip: While changing this feature we also suggest looking at other available options in the Mouse settings. For example, increasing the Motion speed can also help increase your productivity while using the mouse.

Manage the open window with the mouse

Double-click the top title bar of any window to maximize a window or if it is already maximized resize it to a window. You can also double-click the icon for the window in the top-left corner of the window to close that window.

Move the mouse with your keyboard

Instead of using the mouse that came with your computer you can also enable Windows to use the number pad as a mouse.

Customize your mouse

Finally, if you have a mouse with more than two buttons, installing the included mouse software will allow you to customize the mouse even more. For example, if you don't use the side buttons to move back and forth in a web page change it to something you do more often, such as switching between open windows or opening the calculator.

Additional information

• Top 10 tips
• Computer mouse help.
• See our mouse definition for further information and related links on this term.

Daily Use Task

Convert scanned images into text online

Convert any scanned image into text using the free OCR online service Free OCR. The service supports any PDF, JPG, GIF, TIFF, or BMP file that is no larger than 2MB and once uploaded will convert and display the file results on the web page.

Turn your monitor off using your keyboard

Using the Monitor Off Utility is a quick and easy way to turn off your monitor when you step away from your computer. As can be seen in the below screenshot, this utility allows the user to setup any HotKey to turn off their monitor from anywhere in Windows. In addition to being able to shut off the monitor, this utility can have a shortcut key start a screen saver and lock the workstation as an extra form of security.

Not only does this program help protect your computer it is the best way to save money on your power bill if your computer is on all day.

Tip: Although this utility is claiming to turn off the monitor, it is actually putting the monitor into Standby. Although Standby is very close to turning off your monitor, we'd still recommend if you're going to be away from your computer for several hours or for the night that you turn off the monitor instead of having it in Standby.

Top 10 Windows 7 Tips

Windows 7 keyboard shortcuts

Use the below Windows 7 keyboard shortcuts to make the most of your Windows 7 experience.

Windows key and the arrow keys

Pressing the Windows key and Left or Right arrow keys will dock the window your viewing to the left or right-hand side of the screen. Pressing the Windows key and the Up arrow will maximize a window and pressing the Windows key and the Down arrow will resize and then minimize the window.

Use Shift: To stretch a window vertically, press the Windows key + Shift + the Up arrow. If you have multiple monitors use the Windows key + Shift + the Left or Right arrow keys to move the window to another monitor.

Windows key and plus and minus keys

If you ever need to zoom in or out of what is being displayed on your screen press the Windows key and the + (plus) or - (minus) keys. Pressing the plus zooms in and once zoomed in the minus will zoom out.

Clear all background programs

If you are not viewing a window in full screen and have other windows open in the background clear all background open windows by pressing the Windows key + theHome key.

• Full listing of computer shortcuts

Use the Windows 7 search

Find and run anything in Windows by using the Windows 7 search box. Click the Start orb or press then Windows key and type the name of the program you wish to run or file you wish to edit. Windows 7 will usually do a good job at finding an exact match and simply pressing enter will execute that program or open that file. If more than one match is found, use the up and down arrow keys to select the file you wish to open and then press Enter.

Running as administrator: Some programs may require administrator mode in order to function properly. You can run any program as administrator from the search box by typing the name of the program you want to run and then instead of pressing Enter to run the program press Ctrl+Shift+Enter to run as administrator. If you want to click and run a program as administrator hold down the Ctrl+Shift and then click the icon.

Take full advantage of the Taskbar

Pin programs to the Taskbar

All programs can be pinned to the Taskbar and allow easy access to your favorite programs without having to use the Start Menu. To Pin a program to the Taskbar right-click on the program or shortcut to the program and in the menu choose the Pin to Taskbar option. Alternatively you can also drag the icon to the Taskbar.

If you want to remove a pinned program, right-click on the Taskbar icon and clickUnpin this program from the Taskbar. Alternatively you can also drag the icon off of the task bar and then click Unpin this program from the Taskbar.

Move the icons and pinned programs

Any pinned or opened program on the Taskbar can be moved and arranged. Left-click on any icon on the Taskbar and drag it to the location you want it to remain.

Windows key and a number

Pressing the Windows key and a number on the top row of your keyboard will open the Window corresponding to the open program on your Taskbar. For example, in the below picture of the Windows 7 Taskbar, Firefox i the first icon, Control panel is the second icon, and Adobe Photoshop is the third icon. If the Windows key + 3 was pressed, Adobe Photoshop would become the active window. To make it even easier arrange your icons (as mentioned above) from left to right by most frequently opened.

Pin your favorite folder

If you frequently access the same folder (e.g. your favorites, my documents, Dropbox, etc.) pin the folder to the Windows Explorer icon on the Taskbar. To do this drag your favorite folder to the Taskbar until you see Pin to Windows Explorer. Once pinned, right-click the Explorer icon to access that folder under the Pinned section.

Open a second instance

If you want to open a second instance or window of a program that is already open, press and hold the Shift key and then click the program icon on the Taskbar.

Get to the Desktop

Click the Desktop button on the far right edge of the Taskbar to get to the Desktop.

Customize the Notification area

Windows Vista and Windows 7 allow the Windows Notification area (aka Systray) to be modified. By default, many of the icons shown in the past are now hidden and give Windows a much cleaner look. Customize this area to make icons show or not show by clicking on the up arrow next to the icons and selecting Customize, as shown in the picture to the right. Once in Customize you can choose what programs show, don't show, or only show notifications.

Improve the quality of your text

Use the Windows ClearType Text Tuner to improve the overall quality of all text you read on your screen. To start the ClearType Text Tuner click the Start Orb and typecttune.exe and press Enter.

Enable and disable Windows 7 features

Turn on and off Windows features by clicking Start, typing features and press enter. In the Programs and Features window on the left-hand column click Turn Windows features on or off and in the Windows Features box check or uncheck the features you want enabled or disabled.

Use the Reliability and Performance Monitor

View the reliability history of your computer by using the Reliability Monitor. Click the Start orb and type reliability and press enter for View Reliability History. In the Reliability Monitor, you'll be able to view the overall reliability of your computer and be able to identify any past problems your computer has had.

If you want to view the performance of your computer in real time use the Performance Monitor. Click the Start orb and type performance and press enter for the Performance Monitor. In the Performance Monitor, you can view your computers performance in real time or view a log of your systems performance.

Re-enable underlined keyboard shortcuts

By default, Windows 7 has the underlines for keyboard shortcuts like those shown in the picture to the right disabled. To re-enable these underlines in all Windows programs follow the below steps.

1. Open the Control Panel
2. In the Control Panel click Ease of Access
3. In Ease of Access click Change how your keyboard works
4. Finally, check the Underline keyboard shortcuts and access keys and then click Ok.

Rename multiple files at once

To change the name of multiple files at once highlight all the files you wish to rename in Windows Explorer and press the F2 key. Type in the new name you wish to use for all files and press enter. Once done all files will be renamed to the name entered followed by a unique number.

Install Windows Essentials

Install missing Windows software by installing the free Windows Essentials software package that includes: Windows Live Family Safety, Windows Live Mail, Windows Live Messenger, SkyDrive for Windows, Windows Movie Maker, Windows Photo Gallery, Windows Live Writer, and Microsoft Outlook Hotmail Connector.

Computer Application Buying Tip

Must know About This

Purchasing a software application or program can be a big consideration, especially when purchasing advanced and usually expensive programs such as Microsoft Office or Adobe Photoshop. When considering purchasing these programs it is important that you or your staff be familiar with the program and are sure it's going to be capable of what you need it to do.

 Competition

Before buying any application make sure there is not a competing program that may be cheaper or even free. If available and something that's capable of doing what you want it to do this could save you hundreds of dollars.

A good example of such a program is OpenOffice and Corel WordPerfect that would be a competitor to Microsoft Word. Both programs are an excellent choice for a word processor but can be a considerable price difference. In the case of OpenOffice, it's 100% free.

Documentation

Make sure proper documentation is included. Many programs today will include on-line documentation that is more than sufficient. However, it is also useful to obtain a manual or user guide for the software program or application.

Licenses

If you are a company who plans on having software programs used by its employees (more than one person), you will need to consider licensing options. It is required that for each computer a product is installed onto that it have a software license. If a company purchases the program and shares it with all its employees without the proper licensing, this would be illegal and can cause your company to face a criminal lawsuit.

Price

Look at your overall price and shop around. Because a software price can change often, you can sometimes save hundreds of dollars on expensive software. If possible, do not purchase directly through the company; many times, the company's price doubles a retailers price.

Be cautious of OEM software. Many resellers will sell a program as OEM, which requires you buy a computer or motherboard. OEM software is software that is included with large manufacturers' computers and will only include either just a CD or a slim manual and CD. This is not what you would find at a retail store. This option is not a bad option, it is only important that you are aware of what you are getting.

Package

Look at the overall software package. How many CDs or diskettes are included, what inserts and documentation is included, and is there any bonus or extra software included?

Media

Today, the majority of software is included on CDs and DVDs. When looking at a program, make sure you have an acceptable drive that's able to read the media, While not common today, an example of why this is important is it's better to receive one CD instead of 32 floppy diskettes.