Title Details

Steve Sinchak runs Advanced PC Media LLC, a web development firm that operates Tweaks.com and other websites geared towards computer enthusiasts. He also works as a systems engineer for a financial services company, and has received nine Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) awards for his contributions to the Windows community.

Part I Getting Started with Windows 8 1

Chapter 1 Selecting the Right Edition 3

Edition Comparison 3

Consumer and Business Editions 4

Enterprise Edition 5

Edition Matrix 5

Add Features to Windows 8 8

Summary 10

Chapter 2 Installing Windows 8 11

Understanding the Install Media 11

32-Bit or 64-Bit? 12

Installing from USB 13

Understanding the Install Process 17

Using the Upgrade Install Process 17

Using the Clean Install Process 18

Dual-Booting Windows 21

Creating the VHD File on Windows 7 22

Installing Windows 8 to a VHD 23

Using Windows To Go 25

Why Enterprises Only? 25

Building the Windows To Go Workspace 26

Summary 27

Chapter 3 Windows 8 Basics 29

Using the New Interface 29

Using the Start Screen 30

Using Charms 32

Using Keyboard Shortcuts in Windows Store Apps

and the Start Screen 35

Using the Classic Desktop 36

What’s New? 36

Using Desktop Keyboard Shortcuts 37

Summary 38

Chapter 4 Safe Tweaking 39

Using System Restore 39

Creating Restore Points 40

Reverting to a Previous State 41

System Recovery Console 42

Accessing the System Recovery Console 42

Using the System Recovery Console Tools 43

Creating a Backup Image 44

Creating the Image 44

Restoring a System Image 46

Using One-Click Recovery 47

Using Refresh Your PC 47

Using Reset Your PC 48

Summary 50

Part II Customizing Windows 8 51

Chapter 5 Customizing the Startup 53

Customizing the Lock Screen 53

Changing User Pictures 54

Hiding Users on the Lock Screen 55

Clearing the Last User Logon 57

Changing the Lock Screen Screensaver 58

Displaying a Security Message 59

Enabling Num Lock by Default 60

Changing the Lock Screen Image 61

Tweaking Default Color Scheme 63

Customize Lock Screen Apps 64

Using a Picture Password 64

Enable PIN Logon 65

Boot To Desktop 66

Summary 66

Chapter 6 Customizing User Navigation 67

Customizing the Start Screen 68

Changing the Background and Colors 68

Working with Live Tiles 71

Creating Custom Tiles 74

Administrative Tools 75

Restoring the Classic Start Menu 77

Customizing the Taskbar 78

Pinning Applications 79

Modifying Icon Locations 80

Tweaking Jump Lists 80

Enable Classic Taskbar Look and Behavior 82

Customize Taskbar Icon Sizes 82

Tweaking Taskbar Preview Delay 83

Restore Classic Quick Launch Bar 83

Modifying the Taskbar Location 85

Customizing the Notification Area 86

Restoring the Start Button 87

Using Group Policy Editor to Customize the Start Screen and Taskbar 89

Setting Policies with the Group Policy Editor 89

Changing Start Screen and Taskbar Policies 90

Summary 92

Chapter 7 Personalizing the Desktop 93

Customizing the Desktop Icons 93

Removing All Icons from the Desktop 94

Customizing the Icon Drop Shadow Effect 94

Displaying Windows System and User Icons on the Desktop 95

Adjusting the Size of Desktop Icons 96

Renaming the Recycle Bin 98

Customizing the Shortcut Arrow 98

Customizing the Icons 99

Customizing the Desktop Background 102

Automatically Rotate Your Wallpaper 102

Desktop Gadgets 102

Summary 106

Chapter 8 Customizing the Appearance of the Windows Interface 107

Working with Themes 107

Changing the Current Theme 108

Downloading More Themes 109

Making Your Own Theme 109

Automatic RSS Background Themes 113

Making the Desktop Interface Touch Friendly 115

Supersize the Interface 116

Enable Large Icons 117

Skinning Windows 8 117

Using Hacked Visual Styles 118

Changing the Look of Windows 8 Via WindowBlinds 119

Adding More Skins for WindowBlinds 119

Summary 120

Chapter 9 Fine-Tuning File Explorer 121

Customizing Windows Layout 121

Customizing Panes 122

Tweaking Search 124

Customizing the Ribbon 128

Modifying File Associations 129

Customizing the Context Menu 130

Removing Items from the Context Menu 131

Modifying the Send To Menu 132

Working with Libraries 133

Creating Your Own Libraries 133

Customizing Your Folders 134

Changing a Folder Icon and Picture 135

Changing the Template of a Folder 135

Customizing the Folder View 137

Applying Your Settings to All Folders 140

Working with Hidden Files 140

Showing Hidden Files 140

Revealing the Super Hidden Files 142

Summary 142

Chapter 10 Personalizing Internet Explorer 143

Customizing Search 143

Adding Popular Search Engines 143

Managing Your Configured Search Engines 145

Adding Custom Search Entries 145

Creating Registry Files to Import Sites to Search 146

Tweaking the Tabs 147

Tab Keyboard Shortcuts 147

Multitab Homepages 148

Customizing Tabs 149

Fun with RSS 151

Subscribing to Feeds 151

Customizing Feed Settings 152

Using Add-ons in Internet Explorer 153

Using ieSpell 153

Using RoboForm 153

Advanced Internet Explorer 10 Features 154

Using Accelerators 154

Using Pinned Sites 155

Summary 156

Chapter 11 Customizing Windows Media 157

Adjusting Your Audio Experience 157

Bass Boost 158

Virtual Surround 159

Room Correction 159

Loudness Equalization 161

Headphone Virtualization 161

Customizing Windows Media Player 161

Tweaking the User Interface 161

Sharing Your Library 163

Sharing Your Library over the Internet 165

Using Audio Effects 166

Customizing Media Center 168

Installing Windows Media Center 169

Turning Your PC into a DVR 170

Summary 175

Part III Increasing Your System's Performance 177

Chapter 12 Analyzing Your System 179

Monitoring Your System Hardware 179

Using the Resource Monitor 180

Using Performance Monitor to Get More System Stats 185

Using the Reliability Monitor 191

Using Event Viewer 193

Understanding Blue Screens 196

Using Task Manager 197

Benchmarking Your System 200

Windows Experience Index 201

Benchmarking with PCMark 7 202

Summary 204

Chapter 13 Speeding Up the System Boot 205

Working with the BIOS 205

Changing the Boot Order of Your Drives 206

Using Quick Boot Feature of the BIOS 208

Modifying the Operating System Boot 210

Windows Boot Manager 210

Disabling the System Boot Screen 213

Disabling Unneeded Hardware Devices 215

Removing Extra Fonts for Speed 217

Disabling Unneeded Services 220

Optimizing the Location of the Boot Files 236

Summary 237

Chapter 14 Speeding Up the Log-On Process 239

Speeding Up the Logon 240

Using a PIN instead of a Password 240

Adjust the Startup Programs 242

Customizing Auto-Start Programs for Other Users 246

Other Time-Saving Tips 248

Turning Off the Logon Sound 248

Summary 248

Chapter 15 Speeding Up Windows Explorer 251

Speeding Up File Browsing and Access 251

Disabling Legacy Filename Creation 252

Disabling the File Access Timestamp 255

Adjusting NTFS Memory Allocation 256

Speeding Up the User Interface 257

Fine-Tuning Performance Options 257

Adjusting Animations 258

Adjusting Explorer’s Search 261

Adjusting Search Settings 262

Adjusting Windows Indexing Service 262

Using Windows Search without an Index 264

Summary 265

Chapter 16 Optimizing Core Windows Components 267

Windows Loves RAM 267

Adding RAM to Your Computer 268

Using a USB Storage Device to Add Memory 270

Tweaking the Paging File 273

Disabling the Paging File 273

Adjusting the Size of the Paging File 276

Changing the Location of the Paging File 278

Defragmenting Your Hard Drive 279

Using the Windows Defrag Utility 280

Using Third-Party Defrag Utilities 281

Upgrading to an SSD 283

Selecting an SSD 284

Replacing Your Traditional HDD with an SSD 286

Adjusting Your Application Priorities 288

Using Task Manager to Adjust Priorities 289

Starting Applications with a User Set Priority 291

Summary 291

Chapter 17 Optimizing Your Network 293

Optimizing Your Web Browser 293

Speeding Up Internet Explorer 294

Speeding Up Firefox 296

Speeding Up Chrome 298

Accelerating Your Downloads 299

Speeding Up Your Network Connection 302

Tweaking Auto Tuning 302

Disabling Unneeded Protocols 303

Summary 305

Part IV Securing Windows 307

Chapter 18 Windows Security 309

Actively Protecting Your Computer 310

Staying Up to Date 310

Active Security Tips 315

Controlling Your Computer Accounts 317

Using Complex Passwords on All Your Computer Accounts 317

Assigning a Password and Renaming the Guest Account 318

Secure the Administrator Account 319

Hiding Usernames on the Logon Screen 321

Setting the Account Lockout Policy 322

Tweaking User Account Control 323

Controlling User Account Control 323

Using File Encryption 328

Encrypting Your Files 328

Using BitLocker Drive Encryption 332

Summary 335

Chapter 19 Internet Security 337

Analyzing Your Security 337

Testing Internet Security 338

Monitor the Action Center 340

Using a Firewall 341

Using the Windows 8 Firewall 342

Using Online Armor Firewall 345

Web Browser Security 347

Securing Internet Explorer 10 347

Disabling Add-Ons 351

Sandbox Internet Apps 351

Defending Against Spyware, Malware, and Viruses 352

Using Windows Defender 353

Summary 355

Chapter 20 Protecting Your Privacy 357

Internet Explorer Privacy 357

Removing Address Bar Suggestions 358

Clearing Temporary Internet Files, History, and Cookies 359

Adjusting Your Cookie Security Policy 360

Protecting Sensitive Online Data 363

Disabling AutoComplete 364

Clearing Temporary Internet Files Automatically 365

Running Internet Explorer 10 in Privacy Mode 366

Tracking Protection Lists 367

Windows Interface Privacy 368

Removing Specific Entries from Taskbar Jump Lists 369

Removing Temporary Files from Your Hard Drive 369

Removing Saved Passwords with Credential Manager 371

Setting File and Folder Permissions 372

Summary 374

Index 375