Windows 8 Tips only thread

Hi, I am about to buy Windows 8 laptop. Can you guys please post in here tips on how to maximize my Windows 8 experience. No arguments or whining here. Just tips please.

 

install a pdf and and image viewer and make them the default viewers, so you don't drop out of Desktop into Metroland just to look at a PDF or image.

if you don't want to use Metro to launch desktop apps you can use a launcher, a folder with shortcuts, shortcuts pinned to the Taskbar, etc...

some people even install 3rd party apps to get rid of Metro.
personally, i don't mind Metro because i rarely use it.

 

Get a Start Menu Application:

You may not even need one of these, that is if you take a liking to the new changes. But, if you don't like the new changes, you may want to consider a Third-Party Start Menu application.

Windows 8 got rid of the old start menu function, so this is why I am listing the following as my recommendations.

I recommend any of these:

IObit Start Menu 8 (Freeware) - http://www.iobit.com/iobitstartmenu8.php

Classic Shell (Freeware) - http://classicshell.net/

StartIsBack (2 PC License $3, 5 PC License $5) - http://startisback.com/

Stardock Start8 ($4.99 per PC License) - http://www.stardock.com/products/start8/


Disable Animations:

Step 1: Hit Windows Key and "R" on your keyboard (This will bring up your run function)

Step 2: In the Run window, type "sysdm.cpl" (This will bring up your System Properties Window)

Step 3: In the System Properties window, click on the "Advanced" tab, under the Performance category, click on "Settings..." (This will bring up your Performance Options Window)

Step 4:

Disable/Uncheck the following:

Animate controls and elements inside windows
Animate windows when minimizing and maximizing
Animations in the taskbar
Enable Peek
Fade or slide menus into view
Fade or slide Tooltips into view
Fade out menu items after clicking
Save taskbar thumbnail previews
Show shadows under mouse pointer
Show shadows under windows
Show translucent selection rectangle
Show window contents while dragging
Slide open combo boxes
Smooth-scroll list boxes

Leave these Enabled/Checked:

Show thumbnails instead of icons
Smooth edges of screen fonts
Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop

Step 5: Click the Apply button, then the OK button to apply the above changes

Doing the above will help reduce lag when opening Windows and Programs, Especially when using an older to Mid-End computer...Newer/High-End computers, not so much.

Sending more tips soon (Expect Services that are safe to Disable).......​

 

Matt- As Radeon noted above, if you are getting a decent quality laptop you really don't have to play with Services at all. Windows 8 is pretty efficient right out of the box.

If you will just be browsing the Net or checking email, Metro will probably be fine. If you use other apps and actually want to be productive I suggest you ditch that vile piece of mind-numbing frustration. Although their are many ways to do that, my preference would be StartisBack as this program releases the traditional desktop that Microsoft suppressed (to their dismay) in Win8- look at it more as a registry and file tweak instead of a program that has to be loaded and sit on top of Windows.

Finally cast all your past preconceptions to the wind regarding Internet Explorer. IE10 is fat and elegantly coded- recourse use is minimal unlike many other browsers. Also malware prevention with the SmartScreen filter amazes me more and more everyday.

Short take- Windows 8 (sans Metro) is excellent. Feel sorry for the 95% that haven't tried it.

 

1) By pressing the MS key + X you get a sort of small menu of essential tasks
2) Touching with your mouse either bottom right or upper right corner of your display will activate a menu. At the bottom of this menu “Change PC Settings” is very useful to configure your new computer.
3) Right clicking on the Metro UI will show at the bottom of the screen “All Apps”. From “All Apps” you can pin/unpin to start or taskbar any application.
I really like the Metro UI, and what is interesting to note is that it allows several ways to control your computer which means one can choose whatever is more suitable in terms of functionality and taste. It takes some time to get used to it.

 

Wow thank you guys. Keep the tips coming. I will be definitely trying them out.

 

To close a metro app, click and hold the left mouse button at the top of the screen, pull all the way down and release. Kind of like pulling the blinds or shades down on actual windows.

...and another
If you ever run low on drive space on C: and you never hibernate the laptop, open an elevated command prompt and enter the following:

Code:

powercfg -h off

 

This thread has many tips among its pages: Tips for Windows 8 users!

If you plan to stay on desktop give a chance to ModernMix: ModernMix for Windows 8

And Start8: http://www.stardock.com/products/start8/

Also keep in mind that Windows 8 is generating bad perceptions among some people (mainly prejudices+misconceptions).

So, try to double verify what you read about this OS before blindly believing.

 

Services that are Safe to Disable or set to Manual:​

You don't have to disable or set these services to manual, as Windows 8 is efficient enough out of the box (Mentioned in a previous post)

But if you do want to tweak the services...

These are all safe configurations:

Application Management - Disabled
Background Intelligent Transfer Service - Manual
BitLocker Drive Encryption Service - Disabled
Bluetooth Support Service - Disabled
BranchCache - Disabled
Certificate Propagation - Disabled
Distributed Link Tracking Client - Disabled
Encrypting File System (EFS) - Disabled
Family Safety - Disabled
HomeGroup Listener - Disabled
HomeGroup Provider - Disabled
Hyper-V Data Exchange Service - Disabled
Hyper-V Guest Shutdown Service - Disabled
Hyper-V Heartbeat Service - Disabled
Hyper-V Remote Desktop Virtualization Service - Disabled
Hyper-V Time Synchronization Service - Disabled
Hyper-V Volume Shadow Copy Requestor - Disabled
IKE and AuthIP IPsec Keying Modules - Manual
IP Helper - Disabled
Microsoft iSCSI Initiator Service - Disabled
Netlogon - Disabled
Network Access Protection Agent - Disabled
Offline Files - Disabled
Print Spooler - Disabled - If you don't have a printer installed.
Program Compatibility Assistant Service - Manual
Remote Desktop Services - Disabled
Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Locator - Disabled
Secondary Logon - Disabled - If you don't plan on having more than one user account.
Sensor Monitoring Service - Disabled
Smart Card Removal Policy - Disabled
SNMP Trap - Disabled
Storage Service - Disabled
Windows Biometric Service - Disabled
Windows Connect Now - Config Registrar - Disabled
Windows Defender Service - Manual - If you choose not to use Windows Defender
Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service - Disabled
Windows Search - Disabled - If you don't mind disabling search indexing (Searches will be slower, but will free up some background resource usage)

99.9% of these configurations are Black Viper's recommendations (Disabled and Manual configurations only) - For a list of Automatic values, go here ---> http://www.blackviper.com/service-configurations/black-vipers-windows-8-service-configurations/
1% are the extra ones I decided weren't needed.

NOTE: These configurations are what works for me, as well as a large majority, But, Please note that some of these configurations may not work for you (Keep that in mind)

 

**Disable Administrative Shares:**​

Hit Windows Key + R to bring up the Run window -> Type “regedit.exe” and hit OK button (This will bring up the Registry Editor).

In the Registry Editor, do the following steps.

Expand HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE

Expand SYSTEM

Expand ControlSet001

Expand services

Expand Lanmanserver

Expand Parameters

If AutoShareWks isn't present, Select Edit, New, DWORD (32-bit) Value.

Type AutoShareWks and press enter, double click Value name and confirm that Value data is set to “0”.

Repeat above steps for CurrentControlSet (If AutoShareWks isn't present)

When finished disabling Administrative Shares, Restart Windows to put the new value settings into effect.

To confirm that Administrative Shares are disabled (After you restarted your PC), Hit Windows Key + R to bring up the Run window again.

Type "compmgmt.msc" and hit OK button to open up Computer Management

Under Computer Management expand Shared Folders in the left pane, and then expand Shares. Make sure that there is no Share Name called C$, D$, E$, etc. If a Share name of those values aren’t displayed (C$, D$, E$, etc.), then Administrative Shares are disabled.

C$, D$, E$ and so on, represent a partition being shared.

BEFORE VALUES WERE SET:​

​

AFTER VALUES WERE SET (What it should look like):​

​

Administrative Shares are default network shares. If these shares are enabled, this will allow anyone who can authenticate as any member of the local Administrators group access to the root directory of every hard drive on your system. They are not generally used or useful outside an enterprise environment, which is why it is vital to Disable Administrative Shares, to prevent security risks.

 

App Recommendation (Windows 8 App Store):​

Another thing, after you have made your laptop purchase, go into the Windows App Store and download an app called "Windows 8 Cheat Keys", this will help you get around Windows a lot easier (Definitely recommended for Windows 8 newcomers)

This is the description of the app (Info from Windows App Store):

Once you've learned quite a bit, then you can uninstall the app.

 

Just play with it. You will soon learn what is important to you. It is a good OS.

 

Well said.

Brian I will be posting some more in the IFW, so my teachings to continue.

Best regards,

 

Thanks. The laptop will have 4GB soldered memory so disabling services might actually make a difference in speed.

 

Nope, it won't Service tweaking has too much potential for problems with no real world returns. Save some aggravation later by skipping it.

 

If you know what you're dealing with, then no you won't run into problems. I've been tweaking my services for years, never had a single issue doing so.

FWIW, I've seen positive effects when tweaking my services and had a better running machine as the outcome.

Now, if a person has no understanding of each service and goes into it blindly, then yes, they'll for sure run into problems, if not careful.

I say if he has an understanding and knows that the outcome is safe, then I see no problem in him tweaking his services.

 

And that's the key. If you know what you are doing and decide it is for you, go ahead. If you have no idea and do it because someone suggested it on a forum, you may be left wondering why things don't work later. It should not be done without some research, understanding and careful consideration of what you are doing. If at that point you still want to proceed, it's your machine, go for it. I have never experienced any gain from it, but I run very high end machines so YMMV.

 

I run very high-end PC's as well and I still tweak everything hahaha, I guess I like to tweak/play around a little too much.

But yes, if one chooses to do so, an understanding is a must.

 

Absolutely. I still remember being bitten by the "LargeSystemCache" registry tweak back in the XP days. I had to reformat 3 time in 1 week before I figured out it was corrupting my hard drive.

 

I know what you mean, I've messed up a few times myself. These type of thing's definitely need to be handled with care.

 

I've messed with services and registry tweaks ever since windows xp. I am very conservative now but disabling some services can be very safe and with others it's like playing Russian roulette.

 

Thanks for the tips guys. New Windows 8 laptop arrived and thanks to everyone here I feel like Im getting the most out of the new OS.

 

That's nice to hear, glad you're enjoying everything

 

Just use it right out of the box. No need to tweak it, Windows 8 is pretty fast & smooth.
The only thing i would do is get rid of bloatware. Trial software etc.