In Windows 8, Microsoft introduced the Ribbon in Windows Explorer so that the numerous Explorer commands can be more prominently displayed when you need them. But most users don't like it because it distributes commands across multiple tabs and hogs a lot of space vertically. Users prefer to have more space in Explorer window, and many of our readers constantly ask me how to get back the contextual command bar as it was implemented in Windows 7. Let's see how we can disable the Explorer Ribbon.
Category: Windows 8.1
Turn Task Manager into a widget with the Summary View feature
The Task Manager app in Windows 8 comes with a feature called "Summary View", which allows you to modify the appearance of the app completely. When Summary View is enabled, the Task Manager looks like a desktop gadget. It shows CPU, Memory, Disk, and Ethernet meters in one compact window. Let's see how to activate this mode.
How to make the echo command without new line in Windows
By default, the echo command adds a new line character to its output. For example, if you print some environment variable, the output will be appended with an extra line. The extra line can create a problem if you wish to copy the output to the clipboard to be used in another command. Today we will see how to get rid of the new line character in the echo command output at the command prompt.
How to see names and values of environment variables in Windows 8 and Windows 7
Environment variables in an operating system are values that contain information about the system environment, and the currently logged in user. They existed in OSes before Windows as well, such as MS-DOS. Applications or services can use the information defined by environment variables to determine various things about the OS, for example, to detect the number of processes, the currently logged in user's name, the folder path to the current user's profile or the temporary files directory. In this article, we will see how to view environment variables defined on your system and their values for the current user, for specific processes and the system variables.
Why so many svchost.exe processes are running in Windows
When you open the the Processes tab of the Task Manager in Windows 7 or the Details tab of Task Manager in Windows 8, you will be surprised to see that a large number of processes are named svchost.exe. Today, we will see why Windows needs so many instances of the SVCHOST process and how to identify which svchost process runs which groups of services.
Fix: Notification area (system tray) icons are messed up in Windows 8
After using Windows for a while, and installing/uninstalling programs, you may end up with many unwanted icons showing up in the Customize Notification Area Control Panel. There is no way to remove these icons from the list; certain icons remain there even if you have already removed their app. Another issue which users commonly report with the notification area (system tray) is that System icons like Network, Sound, Power get turned off and the 'Behaviors' dropdown which allows turning them on is greyed out. Let us see how to fix these two problems - both issues have one solution.
Switch from IDE to AHCI after installing Windows 7 or Windows 8
Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI) is a technical standard defined by Intel that specifies the operation of Serial ATA (SATA) disk controllers. When it is supported by your operating system and PC hardware, you will get the benefits of features such as native command queuing and hot swapping. For an older OS like Windows XP which does not support AHCI mode out of the box, without OEM-supplied drivers, it is possible to turn on the legacy (IDE) mode in the BIOS to get it to install properly. If your installed your Windows 7 or Windows 8 accidentally in the legacy IDE mode, and want to switch to the AHCI mode, Windows will not boot after you switch from IDE to AHCI in the BIOS. Here is how to fix it.
How to diagnose memory using Memory Diagnostics Tool in Windows 8
Your PC's memory (RAM) is a very crucial component. If the RAM chip goes bad or develops too many errors your PC will start crashing, hanging and eventually become unusable until you replace the RAM. In many cases, a defective RAM module continues to work sometimes but causes sudden issues occasionally. This behaviour is very annoying as your PC can crash suddenly but it is hard to diagnose such a memory issue. Fortunately, Windows 8, Windows 7 and Vista ship with a built-in memory diagnostic tool. Let's see how to use it to know for sure if the memory is defective.
Command prompt hotkeys in Windows 8 and Windows 7
The command prompt in Windows 8 and Windows 7 is the shell environment where you can run text-based console tools and utilities by typing commands. It's UI is very simple and does not have any buttons or graphical commands. But it provides a set of useful hotkeys. Today, I would like to share this list of command prompt hotkeys available in Windows 8 and Windows 7. They should also work in Windows Vista or Windows XP.
Switch between multiple displays (monitors) directly with a shortcut or from the command line in Windows 7 and Windows 8
If you have multiple displays or an external projector, you might be familiar with the built-in feature of Windows 7 and Windows 8 to change the active display and the sharing mode of your current desktop. When you press Win+P, you can choose to extend your desktop, duplicate it, or turn off one of the displays entirely. It is possible to control this feature via the command line, so you can create a shortcut any of these 4 settings. Let's see how it can be done.
