There are two completely different environments in Windows 8.x, each disjoint from the other: the Start Screen and Modern apps is one, and the Classic Desktop is the other. They look completely different, but there an optimization you can do to make them feel more coherent. While Windows 8.1 introduces an option to use the Desktop background for the Start Screen, Windows 8 RTM has nothing to offer you to make the Start Screen look closer to your Desktop. Today we will learn how to make Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 use your window border color as the background color of the Start Screen.
Category: Windows 8.1
Shell commands in Windows 8.1
There are lots of shell commands in Windows, that you can access by typing shell:<SomeFriendlyName> into the "Run" dialog or the Start menu/screen's search box. In most cases, these shell commands open some system folder or Control panel applet. For example, you can access the Startup folder quickly, if you type the following in the Run dialog:
shell:Startup
These commands can also show some hidden secret features like the two so called "God Mode" folders - All Tasks and All Settings. Today I would like to share with you the exclusive list of the shell commands in Windows 8.1 RTM. It is the most complete list and includes every single command that exists in Microsoft's latest OS.
How to restore the Last Known Good Configuration feature in Windows 8.1
As you know, Winaero is always focused on improving the usability of technology and especially Windows. If you love something special in Windows or in some other app or service that is no longer accessible or removed, I am always looking for solutions to your problems and sharing fixes and workarounds. Recently, I featured a unique site which revived desktop gadgets and sidebar complete with screenshots of all of them, shared an exclusive tutorial on how to restore the missing Briefcase feature and showed how to unlock the Start Screen pinning ability for all files. In this article, I would like to share with you a new way I discovered to unlock the Last Known Good Configuration feature in Windows 8.1 and Windows 8 which Microsoft silently disabled. Let me explain why you might need it.
How to apply the Start screen background color as the window color in Windows 8.1
With Windows 8.1, you are able to use the Desktop background image as the Start screen background. This personalization option is available right after the installation once Windows gets activated. However, not every user prefers to use the wallpaper as the Start screen background. Instead, what if you could read the Start screen's color and set it as the color of your window frames of desktop apps and taskbar? If you sync the Metro and Aero colors, it gives you a more harmonious look and feel. I have coded a tool to do just that. To automatically set the color of the Start screen background as the window color, follow these simple steps.
FIX: Windows 8.1 or Windows 7 does not see the DVD drive after a reboot
Sometimes in Windows, you may face the following issue: after a reboot, your DVD or Blu-ray drive disappears from the This PC folder! Its drive letter disappears completely, and despite what you may have tried, it does not work. The Device Manager shows an exclamation mark for your optical drive and says the drivers for it cannot be installed. Here is how to fix this issue and get your DVD drive working again.
How to delete your personal settings from SkyDrive in Windows 8.1
When you sign in to Windows 8.1 with a Microsoft account, various PC settings and app data you choose to sync are also saved on SkyDrive. SkyDrive is a free cloud storage service which is integrated into Windows 8.1. By signing in with your Microsoft account, you can sync a wide variety of settings, including (but not limited to) Metro and desktop personalization settings, passwords, app settings, browser settings, and more. However, if you consider synchronizing all this data a privacy risk, then you can remove it from SkyDrive. Here's how to do that.
Do you know all these ways to open an elevated command prompt in Windows?
In my articles, you often see instructions to open the cmd prompt as admin. Usually I mention only one way to open an elevated command prompt, but you can use several ways to perform this action. Today I would like to share with you all the possible cool ways to open an elevated command prompt, including new undiscovered and hidden methods you may not be aware of. Let's explore all of these interesting methods.
How to change the logon screen color in Windows 8.1
Like its predecessor, Windows 8.1 still has no option to change the color of the Logon screen. The Logon screen is the one which displays user accounts and appears right after the Lock Screen. While most users don't even pay attention to the color of the logon screen, there is a category of users (myself included) who prefer to customize the OS according to their preferences in a more flexible way. Those users are not happy with the default blue color of the logon screen and may want to change it to a desired color. Here is a simple tutorial to show you how you can change the color of the logon screen.
Gadgets Revived – the best desktop gadgets package + gadget gallery
Here is good news for everyone who loved and missed Desktop Gadgets in Windows 8. Gadgets Revived, a new project is available. It provides a very cool sidebar gadgets package with ALL original features like Control Panel items, Windows Search results and a gadget gallery! Over 900 high quality gadgets are available for download. According to the Gadgets Revived website:
Gadgets Revived is a web site which hosts a third party Desktop Gadgets gallery. All gadgets are property of their respective authors. Similar to the official gallery, they are available to you for free.
All gadgets here were checked manually by our authors and you can be sure that they work as expected. If you have any issues with some gadget, please notify us in the comments.
All gadgets provided on this site are original/untouched and authentic.
How to prevent Windows 8.1 from automatically updating Modern apps
With Windows 8.1, Microsoft has introduced a lot of improvements over Windows 8. One such improvement is the automatic app update feature, which downloads the latest versions of all Metro apps and allows you to keep them always up-to-date. In Windows 8, you had to update your apps manually.
However, some users may prefer to approve app updates manually. There are several reasons which my friends cited for this. The most common reason was: "The new version of the app broke/removed my favorite feature". That makes sense, you certainly don't want an update to delete or break any existing functionality. So for such perceptive users, it's better to simply disable the automatic updating of Modern apps. Let's see how.
