Microsoft Windows Archives - Page 22 of 32

How to re-install Windows 7 or Windows 8 when you don’t have a Recovery Disc

Posted on July 22, 2013

create-windows-installation-media It’s a fact of life: Sooner or later there will come a time when you’ll need to re-install Windows on your PC.

Whether it’ll be due to a hard drive failure, a virus attack or just the desire to re-install the operating system from scratch and start over fresh, you most likely will have to refresh your Windows installation at some point.

If you have a set of recovery discs, re-installing Windows from scratch is easy. If you don’t, it’s virtually impossible. But what if you can’t find your recovery discs (or never had a set in the first place)? Well, you have three options:

1 – Order a replacement set of recovery discs for your specific PC model directly from the support section of the manufacturer’s website. This option can be (and in most cases is) fairly expensive.

2 – Purchase a full retail version of Windows, either on discs or via direct download. This option is even more expensive than the first one.

3 – Create your own Windows 7 or Windows 8 installation media. This option is virtually free (you’ll need either a blank, writable DVD or a blank USB thumb drive).

If you choose to go with option 3, here are the steps you’ll need to take in order to create your own Windows 7 or 8 installation media: [Read more…]

How to change the ‘Registered Owner’ in Microsoft Windows

Posted on July 11, 2013

microsoft-windows If your PC was either purchased used or “inherited” as a hand-me-down system, you probably keep seeing the previous owner’s name pop up from time to time as the “Registered Owner”. And I’m guessing that you probably find that a bit irritating.

It’s actually pretty easy to change the Registered Owner setting in the Windows Registry. But before I show you how to do that, it is incumbent upon me to tell you the following… [Read more…]

Q&A: Why doesn’t Windows Update install all available updates at once?

Posted on June 24, 2013

Question from Eric: Rick, I have a question about Windows Update. I just got back from a business trip, and when I turned my PC on it had 11 updates waiting to be installed. After they were installed the computer rebooted, then informed me that there were 4 more updates that needed to be installed.

Why didn’t Windows Update just install all of the available updates at once? Just curious…It’s a hassle having to wait through two update procedures (and reboots) when it seems that one should have been sufficient. If it makes any difference, I have a Lenovo desktop PC running Windows 7.

Rick‘s answer: Eric, the Windows Update process can be a real head-scratcher sometimes. There are a couple of possible reasons why the Windows Update process is sometimes split into two events: [Read more…]

Reset your forgotten Windows password with the free Trinity Rescue Kit

Posted on June 5, 2013

If you ever find yourself locked out of your Windows PC’s Administrator account because you forgot the password, you’ll be extremely limited in regards to what you can do with your computer. You won’t be able to install or remove software, add or remove hardware devices, change system settings that affect other users or even access certain files on the PC. Not a good situation to be in!

Luckily, there is a free tool that will allow you to reset your forgotten Windows password. It’s called the Trinity Rescue Kit, and while it performs many other handy tasks, its most popular feature is the Password Reset utility.

Before I explain how to download and use the Trinity Rescue Kit to reset your lost Windows password, I must first tell you the following:

1 – I strongly recommend that you only use the Trinity Rescue Kit on your own PC or on someone else’s PC with their explicit permission. Using it on a work PC that has been password protected by the IT department can get you fired. Even worse, using it on another person’s PC without their explicit permission could land you in jail.

2 – At this point in time, the Trinity Rescue Kit will not reset passwords on PCs running Windows 8, but it works great with Windows XP, Vista and 7.

Now that the “fine print” is out of the way we can get started… [Read more…]

Free download: “Windows 8 End User Training Brochure”

Posted on June 3, 2013

Windows 8 is vastly different from previous versions of Windows, and there is indeed a learning curve involved with learning the new Metro user interface. If you have recently bought a new PC or upgraded your existing PC to Windows 8, Microsoft has a gift for you…

The “Windows 8 End User Training Brochure” is actually a pretty decent guide to learning the basics of Windows 8, and you can download the PDF file from this page on the Microsoft website for free.

Microsoft stopped providing printed user manuals with their boxed software years ago, and this free guide is certainly no substitute for one. That being said, I still believe it’s a useful download (and you can’t beat the price). It’ll help you get started navigating your way around Windows 8 and performing the most basic tasks. If you use Windows 8 it’s definitely worth a look!