How to Use Windows 8

Metro Interface

Windows 8 is the next generation of Microsoft Windows operating systems. Many of its feature essentially is the same as Windows 7. But, as the trend of usage and habit of consumers is towards smaller mobile devices with ease of use and less technicalitly while increasing versatility in media, entertainment, communication and gadget games, and also as the touch screen devices gradually going to dominate the market, this new operating system is paving the way towards receiving to that goal. At first it might seem a bit strange for desktop users but in half a day you might feel at home again.

Windows 8 is somehow a learnable system that prioritise your usage of applications.

Steps

1. Observe that Windows 8 is a versatile Operating system that can be used for desktop, laptops and notebooks, and tablets. It has been decided during the design to make it available for tablets, mobile and smart phones and also compatible as an embedding operating system for hardware items such as the ARM processor. In this way experience of users will be unified regarding the interface that he is dealing with.
   
2. Become used to Windows 8. First try to become able to navigate back and forth between a "Metro" interface and the more usual interface that you have had so far. Among the metro applications (a set of cards you can see) in front of you, find "Desktop" widget (that is, the card labelled as the "Dektop"). Click on that
   
3. Look at the familiar interface. Note that there is no usual Windows "start" with its orb icon at the bottom left corner of screen. But quick launch icons of "Internet Explorer" and "Windows Explorer" are there.
   
4. Click on the Internet Explorer icon to open your internet connection. Note that this is the latest version of Internet Explorer; that is IE10, built for the Windows 8.
5. Comeback to the metro interface. Point your mouse to the bottom left corner of your screen; shown on the picture with a red circle. You will see a small scale metro interface.
   
6. Enjoy both interfaces if you have two monitors in "Extended" mode.
   
   • Note that you can have your classical Windows desktop gadgets on the second screen (here, clock, calendar, weather, and slid-show gadgets).
   • You can have "Recycle Bin" and your own shortcuts on the second screen.
   • By moving the mouse to the bottom-left or bottom-right of the second screen, you can see that similar facilities for switching to metro exist on the second screen too.
7. If you are not yet used you can create a shortcut to the traditional "Start" menu there, too.
8. Click on the small scale metro interface. You'll be back on the full screen metro interface.
9. Gain administrative power.
   • During the installation of Windows 8, like Windows 7, You have to select a "User Name" though not a password. You could leave the password field blank if you would opt to, but not the User Name.
   • Many computer users, in particular the more enthusist ones, prefer to install applications in an "administrative role" logging into the Windows. Your installation user name is short of that power. You have to make the "administrator" unhidden.
   • To that end you need to use the command prompt and activitate the administrator user. This is the beginning of using simplicity of the Windows 8.
10. Bring the metro interface back. Just type on your keyboard "cmd.exe". You do not need searching for anything. Your screen changes to (just by typing cmd)
    
    • At the right side a strip of applications together with "Run" text field appears.
    • If there were other applications beginning with cmd then it would show all of them.
11. Right click on the small "cmd.exe" icon on the top-left of the page. A tick sign appears on the icon. You are doing this as you need to open the command-line window for running cmd.exe with administrative power. You will see your options at the bottom of the screen.
    
12. Select "Run as Administrator" option. Command-line windows comes out together with the usual desktop.
13. Type net users administrator /active:yes and then "Enter ↵" You'll get success message. In the next line type exit and again "Enter ↵" to close the command-line window.
    
    • Do not forget there is a space after administrator and before the slash (/active).
    • Now you can log out from the "installation imposed user name" and log in again as administrator and start setting up and tunning your operating system, installing applications, creating usernames and passwords or whatever job you normally do at the fresh installs.You might be used to following activities usually after a new installation of your operating system,
    • Installing "Java" run time (jre) from its official site; easily will be installed on the new Windows 8.
    • Install "Adobe Reader". Go to its site. Adobe also has already maintained its reader for working with Windows 8.
    • Go to your familiar sites set up the logs in for them.
14. Assume you do not like to have all those applications on your screen. To delete any of them right click on that one. From the bottom strip of the screen select "Unpin from start" or even "Uninstall" if do not like at all to have it in your computer.
    
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15. Move the mouse to the bottom right corner. Move it to the point shown by a minus – sign, shown inside the red circle in the picture. A side bar shows itself.
    
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    • To become familiar then also click on the minus sign. Observe that all the metro cards become smaller on the screen.
16. Observe that same one in the "Desktop" interface. A high contrasted picture is taken to show the usual blue colour small desktop icon inside the red circle.
    
17. Move the mouse into the red rectangles of previous pictures. Please note what appear as black regions.
    
18. Note the black regions in the "desktop" interface too.
    
19. Click on one of the options, say, "Settings."
    
    • With Network, Speaker, Notifications You are already familiar.
    • Brightness icon is for the monitors that whose brightness could be controlled by the software on the computer. Not all the desktop monitors have such a feature available yet.
    • Keyboard is for rapid changing of keyboard and language settings.
20. Observe the function of "Power."
    
    • It is not similar to previous Windows as there is no log-off and switch users options. You can shut down, restart, or put the computer into sleep.
21. Go to the top right of the page. Click on "Administrator" to open options for sign out of this account.
    
22. Click on "Change Account Picture." You might note that you can change many of PC settings from this dashboard.
    
23. Note that you can go to this place by clicking on "Change PC settings" on the right side bar "Settings" icon (looks like a cog wheel).
    
24. Move the mouse on the leftmost line of your screen to see the places that you have recently visited, whether on your computer or on the Internet.
    
25. Cheer up. Now that you became sure that Windows 8 was not a puzzle or a maze, please also note that you would have all the facilities that you had in the "Orb Start" menu again at your finger tip, but you should navigate around to become used to it.
26. Look at this picture. Is not that the same place as the "Start", usual in previous Windows.
    
    • To get this, please click on the "Search" (shown with a magnifier icon) on the right side bar of your screen (inside the black region).

Tips

• One new feature of Windows 8 is its universal "Spell Checking" in the background. This feature helps when you are, for instance, commenting on a Blog, creating or editing a wikiHow article or similar places, then it guides you for spell correction. Many words from modern computer jargons are added to the dictionary.
• A dual boot of Windows 8 Preview with your present version of Windows can be safely installed. Through the installation carefully be vigilant about the partition that you are installing the Windows 8. You need to have an empty partition ready for install.

Warnings

• If you are dual booting Windows 8 Preview version with your previous Windows certain care should be practiced in leaving Windows 8 for a while.
  • Should Windows 8 go to sleep automatically, next boot into the previous Windows could report inconsistency in hard drives. This is not worrying but is time consuming. In waking up, Windows cannot decide which partition it should be returned, and you might have to turn-off your computer manually and turn it on.
  • Reason is the new dual boot menu of the Windows 8 which is mouse activated and enjoys a solid color splash background.
  • Please configure msconfig.exe from within the previous version. You lose Windows 8 menu, but it is more consistent.
• For now, before the final release, a boot from a removeable device could give an equal experience, if you are too reserved regarding your present version. A version to boot from such device is available for download besides other versions.
• Any dual boot, or even a single clean instal needs to be watched to prevent the dropping of the Windows System partition on a wrong partition.
• Avoid a dual boot if you do not have some hands-on. Numerous wikiHow articles give simple walk-in through to achieve such hands-on.