Windows 8/8.1 tips and tricks - post them here

[dafin0]

it always worked for me so long as

1- both machines are either AHCI or IDE (otherwise it would Bsod)

2- both being Intel based or AMD as dafin0 said (you have 50%/50% chance for that )

With Win 8 i have had it work from a AMD to a Intel but it hard to tell if i just got lucky (only got one AMD system). ill try it with Windows 7 later on tonight and see what happens

[Ice_Blue]

it always worked for me so long as

1- both machines are either AHCI or IDE (otherwise it would Bsod)

2- both being Intel based or AMD (you have 50%/50% chance otherwise )

But won't that cause Windows to ask you to re-activate?

[Ci7]

But won't that cause Windows to ask you to re-activate?

yes , unless both are OEM machines , then it won't.

[Matthew_Thepc]

Has http://blogs.msdn.com/b/dorischen/archive/2012/04/05/windows-8-cheat-sheet-get-started-easily.aspx already been posted?

[Muhammad Farrukh]

Thanks, Matthew.

Some were helpful

[Matthew_Thepc]

Thanks, Matthew.

Some were helpful

np ;)

[Aergan]

it always worked for me so long as

1- both machines are either AHCI or IDE (otherwise it would Bsod)

2- both being Intel based or AMD (you have 50%/50% chance otherwise )

1. Can be fixed prior to swapping drives by modifying this key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\msahci

I do this quite a bit when restoring VHD's built on VM's to physical machines.

2. Sysprep it before hand, it will redetect drivers etc on next boot (Re-activation required):

sysprep /generalize

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc721973%28v=ws.10%29.aspx

Unless it's for a specific reason though I would just rebuild it.

[Ci7]

1. Can be fixed prior to swapping drives by modifying this key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\msahci

I do this quite a bit when restoring VHD's built on VM's to physical machines.

2. Sysprep it before hand, it will redetect drivers etc on next boot (Re-activation required):

sysprep /generalize

http://technet.micro...v=ws.10%29.aspx

Unless it's for a specific reason though I would just rebuild it.

last time i swapped AHCI => IDE

booted perfectly , No need for the fix with Release Preview :)

[LEXX911]

Askvg came up with the solution to customize the "WinX Start Menu"(right click on desktop bottom left corner), turnes out to be quite complicated and involves editing twinui.dll:

http://www.askvg.com...u-of-windows-8/

This is good. Better than the Windows 7 Start Menu. Accessing your main APPS nice and quick.

[FaiKee]

This is good. Better than the Windows 7 Start Menu. Accessing your main APPS nice and quick.

FYI Thurrott/Rivera had updated winX tweak for WRP

http://www.withinwindows.com/2012/06/01/windows-8-secrets-the-winx-menu-and-its-hashing-algorithm-revisited/

[Pettor]

Does someone know the shortcut for zooming out in the Metro interface?

[Anthonyd]

Does someone know the shortcut for zooming out in the Metro interface?

ctrl+mouse wheel. It's pretty much standard since a while.

[Pettor]

ctrl+mouse wheel. It's pretty much standard since a while.

Yeah, and that's what I thought would be logical. However, it doesn't work so maybe a problem with the VM. Thanks anyway!

[Subhadip]

The keyboard-only shortcut for semantic zoom is Ctrl+-, out is Ctrl++.

[rorrr]

when Microsoft announced* the removal of Aero glass, they said Windows 8 would allow users to choose a taskbar color that was different from the window color. in the RTM Windows 8 Enterprise leak, this is not present in the GUI. however, you can keep achieve this look by changing EnableWindowColorization to 0 in regedit. example: http://i48.tinypic.com/qzhm3q.jpg

*see section: Updating the visual appearance of the desktop

[rorrr]

in the RTM leak, you can set the window color black and have a different color taskbar. this isn't particularly elegant, but maybe someone can use this to discover some better tweaks.

I've found that the taskbar color will usually be darker or lighter than whatever you choose, or even a completely different color based on the ColorizationColorBalance value

some more screenshots:

http://i50.tinypic.com/ivipmp.jpg

http://i49.tinypic.com/b67zgy.jpg

http://i47.tinypic.com/20jredf.jpg

how to:

- select your desired color in Personalize under Control Panel

- open regedit

- find ColorizationColorBalance entry in regedit (\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM)

- right click ColorizationColorBalance. choose modify. make sure hexadecimal is selected

- to make the active window black and inactive windows white, set ColorizationColorBalance to ffffffff

- to make the active window black inactive windows grey, set ColorizationColorBalance to 80ffffff

- sign out and sign back in

you can also set the taskbar color using hex code

- find a hex color code: http://web.njit.edu/~kevin/rgb.txt.html

- or find an rgb color code http://www.tayloredmktg.com/rgb/ and convert it using this hex tool: http://tweaks.com/windows/39028/change-color-of-glass-with-regedit-with-decimal-to-hex-argb-converter/

- right click ColorizationColor. choose modify. type the hex code into the value field, make sure hexadecimal is selected

- sign out and sign back in

[Unrealistic]

Can someone explain how you sort the items on your desktop by their names?

[BeerFan]

Can someone explain how you sort the items on your desktop by their names?

Right-click the Desktop, select Sort by -> Name.

[Unrealistic]

Right-click the Desktop, select Sort by -> Name.

That option is no longer in Windows 8, hence the question.

[Yorak]

That option is no longer in Windows 8, hence the question.

It is...

[+Tyranade Subscriber²]

Is there anyway I can make the scale of the metro screen smaller so I can fit more on it without that scroll bar at the bottom?

[Shane Nokes]

That option is no longer in Windows 8, hence the question.

Yes it is...unless you are not meaning on the desktop...

Are you meaning on the start screen?

[grayscale]

That option is no longer in Windows 8, hence the question.

It still is:

[Shane Nokes]

Is there anyway I can make the scale of the metro screen smaller so I can fit more on it without that scroll bar at the bottom?

There is if you're running at a high enough resolution. When you're on the start screen press Win+I and click on tiles. If your screen is at a high enough resolution it will allow you to change the setting to show more tiles. :)

[+Tyranade Subscriber²]

There is if you're running at a high enough resolution. When you're on the start screen press Win+I and click on tiles. If your screen is at a high enough resolution it will allow you to change the setting to show more tiles. :)

Im at 1920x1080 and all I have is the option to show administrative tools.