Windows 8 Tweaks

Part I

Getting Started with Windows 8

In This Part

Chapter 1: Selecting the Right Edition

Chapter 2: Installing Windows 8

Chapter 3: Windows 8 Basics

Chapter 4: Safe Tweaking

Chapter 1

Selecting the Right Edition

Microsoft offers Windows 8 in a number of editions for different markets and users: Windows 8, Windows 8 Pro, and Windows 8 Enterprise. Of the three editions, only Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro are available for retail purchase. The Enterprise edition requires a software assurance agreement with Microsoft. Microsoft also released Windows RT, which looks like Windows 8 but is not Windows 8. Sorting out which edition you need can be confusing—significant differences exist among all editions, so selecting the correct edition is critical to your Windows experience.

In this chapter, I explain the various editions of Windows 8 so you can make an informed decision and purchase the edition you need. I also cover where Windows RT fits in. Then I show you how to upgrade Windows 8 to a higher edition with Add Features.

Edition Comparison

Why are there so many editions of Windows 8? I have asked that question many times in earlier editions of this book, and I am happy to say that, for the first time, Microsoft has actually decreased the number of editions released. We are down to three primary editions, only two of which can be purchased by consumers, and one quasi clone called Windows RT that only Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) can buy. This is a significant improvement over Windows Vista and Windows 7, which gave users six editions to contend with.

Some argue that any number of editions greater than one is too many. They say it creates too much confusion in the marketplace. Unless you do your homework, it is easy to buy an edition that is missing the features you need or to waste money on features you can live without. That is a fair point.

However, it is important to recognize that Microsoft Windows serves more than a billion PCs around the world. In addition, Microsoft sells to just about every market type—consumers, small businesses, and large enterprises. With such a diverse group of users, it is understandable that Microsoft must offer different feature sets and price points to keep everyone happy.

Before I dive into the edition feature comparison, I want clear up any confusion about Windows RT and the three versions of Windows 8.

Consumer and Business Editions

Microsoft offers two editions of Windows 8 and one edition of Windows RT for consumers and small businesses:

Windows 8

Windows 8 Pro

Windows RT

Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro

If you walk into any computer store you will see these two editions on the shelf. Offered in both Upgrade and Full Version packages, any consumer can purchase a copy.

The Upgrade package is offered at the lowest price and is specifically for upgrading an existing Windows PC to Windows 8. The terms on Microsoft’s website state that your PC must have Windows XP or newer installed to qualify.

The Full Version package, also called the System Builder and sometimes the OEM version, is for a new PC that never had a previous version of Windows installed.

Windows RT

Windows RT is a brand new version and edition of Windows that looks almost identical to Windows 8, but has a limited feature set. Intended to run only on tablet devices that have an ARM-based processor, consumers cannot purchase a copy of Windows RT. In fact, only device OEMs can purchase a copy and distribute it with their devices. For example, the Microsoft Surface RT includes Windows RT.

Unlike Windows 8, RT was designed for the low-power ARM-based processors and primarily for apps found in the Windows App Store, originally called Metro style apps. You cannot run any legacy desktop apps from earlier versions of Windows. They all need to be recompiled for the different instruction set of the ARM processor. If that was possible, Microsoft would still block it because Windows RT is a closed platform. That means the only software that runs on the device is software approved by Microsoft and distributed through the Windows App Store, which is similar the Apple App Store model.

The classic desktop in Windows RT is not particularly usable. It exists so that you can run the bundled version of Microsoft Office that comes with every Windows RT device and browse the filesystem. Why Microsoft did not write a Metro version of Office and File Explorer is beyond me. I guess we will have to wait for Windows RT 2 for that. Don’t be surprised if the desktop goes away in that version. Using touch input for applications never designed for touch is always a bad idea.

Enterprise Edition

The Enterprise edition of Windows 8 is available only to software assurance customers, which are typically large enterprises. Software assurance is a volume licensing program where companies pay an annual fee for the right to use Windows and receive upgrade rights as long as they are part of the program.

This edition is the top-of-the-line edition that has all features of both consumer editions of Windows 8 and a special set of features just for enterprises. Manual configuration of thousands of PCs is simply not feasible, so centralized and automated management features are a significant component of this edition. Security and compliance features are also very important to enterprise customers, because they are often subject to additional security requirements to protect sensitive data.

Edition Matrix

Now that I have explained the different editions and what is available, it is important to understand the technical differences between the editions. Why should you buy Windows 8 over Windows 8 Pro? Do you really need Enterprise? You can find the answers to these questions by looking at what features are offered in each in Table 1-1.

Table 1-1: Windows 8 Edition Matrix

$ indicates paid upgrade.

Add Features to Windows 8

Formerly known as Anytime Upgrade in Windows 7, the Add Features to Windows 8 utility enables you to upgrade the Windows 8 edition and add new features via a paid upgrade. Currently, two upgrade packs are available for purchase:

Windows 8 Pro Pack

Windows 8 Media Center Pack

The Windows 8 Pro Pack allows anyone with a Windows 8 PC to pay a small fee and upgrade to the Windows 8 Pro edition. Simply enter the product key you purchased into the Add Features utility and Windows automatically downloads the required files over the Internet and installs the upgrade. Your existing applications and files remain untouched as the edition upgrade is installed.

The Windows 8 Media Center Pack is available only to users who have the Windows 8 Pro edition installed. This pack installs Media Center, which is almost identical to Media Center in Windows 7, along with all of the required codecs for DVD playback and TV recording. Just enter the product key you purchased into the Add Features utility and Windows automatically downloads and installs Media Center.

If you decide to purchase either upgrade pack, you can find the Add Features to Windows 8 utility by opening the Start Screen and typing Add Features to Windows 8, selecting the Settings category, and then clicking the shortcut. Once the utility is loaded you have the option to buy an upgrade or enter a product key you already purchased, as shown in Figure 1-1.

Figure 1-1: You can add features to Windows 8.

Summary

This chapter clarified Windows RT and the various editions of Windows 8. As I mentioned in the preface, this book covers many features in each edition of Windows 8, some of which are available only in the Enterprise edition. If a specific topic or feature covered in this book is not in your version, you can potentially upgrade to that feature using the Add Features to Windows 8 utility. In Chapter 2, I show you how to install Windows 8 in a number of ways, including complex installations such as dual booting with a virtual hard drive file (VHD).

Chapter 2

Installing Windows 8

Now that you know about the various editions of Windows 8, you are almost ready to install Windows 8 on your computer. First, it is important to understand the differences between 32-bit and 64-bit Windows 8 because both versions are provided by Microsoft when you buy a retail box. In this chapter, I show you how to pick the right version for your computer hardware. Then I walk you through the installation steps and even show you some install tricks to get Windows 8 installed on computers without using an optical drive. In the end, I show you how to use advanced configurations such as dual-booting Windows 7 and Windows 8 on the same computer with virtual hard drive files, and also how to create a Windows To Go workspace with the Enterprise edition of Windows 8.

Understanding the Install Media

Every Windows 8 retail box includes 32-bit and 64-bit media for two versions of Windows 8. The most common version used is the 64-bit version for a number of reasons that I’ll get to shortly, but the 32-bit version that has been around for ages is still in use for specific cases.

32-Bit or 64-Bit?

Making its debut in April 2005, the first version of 64-bit Windows was released as Windows XP Professional x64 Edition. Although the 64-bit edition was a true 64-bit operating system (OS), it was plagued by spotty driver support that limited its adoption. This was caused by the fact that the new 64-bit kernel required 64-bit drivers for all hardware devices. This vastly cut down on the number of compatible hardware devices. Hardware manufacturers had little incentive to rewrite drivers for the niche operating system. That all started to change with the release of Windows Vista, which was the first Microsoft Windows release to come out in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions at the same time. Hardware manufacturers responded, and 64-bit drivers are now available for almost all modern mainstream hardware.

The 64-bit Windows has become the standard choice for most users, and is typically the version preinstalled on a new Windows 8 PC. But what is the real difference between 32-bit and 64-bit Windows 8?

Aside from the obvious fact that you need a 64-bit CPU to run Windows 8 64-bit (which just about any new CPU you buy today supports), other differences exist, such as the ability to use more RAM, additional processing power, and extra security features.

The primary advantage of a 64-bit operating system is the ability to utilize the larger 64-bit registers that are a feature of the 64-bit CPU. This allows larger calculations to be performed with one cycle and also addresses and accesses significantly more RAM. With 32-bit Windows 8 the maximum number of memory addresses available is 2³², which equals 4 GB of RAM that can be used. The 64-bit Windows 8 can use up to 512 GB of RAM with the Pro and Enterprise editions.

Also, some features are included only in the 64-bit version of Windows 8, such as PatchGuard. This is a helpful piece of technology that attempts to protect the kernel of the operating system from being patched by malicious or legitimate software. In my opinion, anything that tampers with the kernel is bad, because it can affect the stability of your system. Microsoft is trying to put a stop to this by implementing the PatchGuard feature and creating an API for legitimate software to interact with the kernel in a safer way.

Some mathematics-intensive applications, such as rendering a 3D scene, also perform better on 64-bit Windows 8 when used with a 64-bit version of the rendering application. Encryption programs also seem to run faster on 64-bit Windows.

Now that you know the benefits of the 64-bit version of Windows 8, it is important to decide which is better for your hardware. For me, RAM and driver support are the main decision factors. I tend to use 32-bit Windows 8 only on virtual machines for testing and compatibility of very old applications. I use 64-bit Windows 8 on all of my hardware, so I can take advantage of more than 4 GB of RAM and the enhanced performance.

Installing from USB

The Windows 8 retail versions include installation software on a DVD. That works fine for the majority of users, but it is a big problem for those who own laptops, tablets, or other computers without optical drives. If you don’t have an optical drive on your computer, you need to take some extra steps to install Windows 8.

A few solutions to this problem exist, such as PXE (Preboot Execution Environment) network booting to a Windows Deployment Server (a feature of Windows Server 2008 and newer). However, the most popular and easiest to configure is a bootable USB flash drive. This is my personal preference as well, because installing Windows 8 from a USB flash drive is actually much faster than installing from a DVD.

You need a 4 GB USB flash drive to have enough space to fit the entire Windows 8 installation code on the drive. I found that the 4 GB SanDisk Cruzer works well for booting the Windows 8 installation code and seems to be compatible with a wide range of computers. However, just about any 4 GB USB flash drive should work these days.

If you have physical media rather than a digital download ISO file, the instructions for creating boot media are slightly different. Follow the instructions relevant for your situation.

Creating the USB Boot Media from a Physical DVD

This section is pertinent if you have access to a Windows PC, XP or newer, because you need DiskPart to be able to create the USB boot media.

Before you begin it is important to understand that any data on your USB flash drive used to create the boot media will be permanently deleted because the process reformats the drive. Save any important documents to another location before proceeding to the next section.

Preparing the USB Flash Drive

The partitioning and filesystem on the USB flash drive are important for booting. Only one partition can be on the device, it must be set to active, and the filesystem must be FAT32. Many computers with the new UEFI BIOS replacement have problems booting USB flash devices with any filesystem other than FAT32.

Insert the drive into a Windows computer and follow these steps:

1. After the drive has been recognized and installed on the computer, click the Start button, type DiskPart, and hit Enter.

2. In the DiskPart window, type list disk and hit Enter as shown in Figure 2-1.

3. Locate the Disk # of your USB flash drive. You can easily find it by looking at the size column. Once you have the ID, type select disk # and hit Enter. (Replace # with the actual disk ID, such as 1.)

4. Type clean and hit Enter to destroy any partitions, filesystems, and data that may currently be on the device.

5. Now it is time to create the partition. Type create partition primary and hit Enter.

6. For booting it is important to set the partition as active. Type active and hit Enter.

7. As I mentioned earlier, the filesystem must be FAT32. Type format fs=fat32 label=win8boot quick and hit Enter. This performs a quick format and labels the drive in one step.

8. Type exit to close DiskPart. Your USB flash drive is now prepared for the next phase.

Figure 2-1: Using DiskPart to prepare the USB flash drive

Copying the Installation Software

The final step, now that you have your USB flash drive prepared, is to copy the code. If you are a super geek you can use some fancy xcopy or robocopy commands for this step, but this simple copy-and-paste procedure works just fine.

Insert the DVD media into your PC and navigate to the drive on your computer that has the Windows 8 installation files. Select all the files, as shown in Figure 2-2, and then right-click and select Copy.

Navigate to the root of the USB flash drive, right-click and click Paste. The file copy can take a number of minutes, but after it is finished you can install Windows 8 quickly and on machines that don’t have an optical drive.

Figure 2-2: Copying all Windows 8 installation source files

Creating the USB Boot Media from a DVD Image

Different from a physical DVD, a DVD image or ISO file is what you get when you buy Windows 8 directly from Microsoft and digitally download your purchase. You can also get an ISO file for Windows 8 if you are an MSDN or TechNet subscriber or are a volume license enterprise customer.

You could follow an altered version of the instructions for a physical DVD, but there is a much better method using a free utility provided by the Microsoft Store. The utility is called the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool, but it works fine with Windows 8 ISO images as well.

Simply download and install the free utility from the Microsoft Store by visiting http://tweaks.com/935795. Once installed, launch the utility from the Start menu:

1. Plug your USB flash drive into your computer.

2. Click Browse and select your Windows 8 ISO file. Then click Next as shown in Figure 2-3.

3. On the Choose Media Type screen, choose USB device.

4. Select your USB device from the list and click Begin Copying, as shown in Figure 2-4.

When this completes, you have a fully functional Windows 8 USB flash drive that you can use to install Windows on just about any device much more quickly than you can when using a DVD.

Figure 2-3: Select the ISO file.

Figure 2-4: Select the target USB device.

Understanding the Install Process

You have two primary options for installing any edition of Windows 8 on a PC that already has a version of Windows installed:

Upgrading your install

Using a clean install

The upgrade install has come a long way since the XP days. These days it essentially performs a clean install, but then applies your configuration and personalized settings from the old operating system. Applications transfer over only if you upgrade from Windows 7. All earlier versions require you to reinstall your applications.

The clean install is the purest method of installing Windows 8. Users are advised to back up their important data to an external hard drive and then delete the contents of the operating system drive. This allows the installer to install Windows 8 without any legacy settings, applications, or files getting pulled along for the ride.

Each install method has many pros and cons, and I cover those in the next two sections.

Using the Upgrade Install Process

Upgrade installs are easier to implement than clean installs are, but many negative aspects to them will haunt you in the long run. The process works as follows: You launch the installer on a machine that has a previous version of Windows installed. The installer lets you know which of your apps are compatible. You will then have the option to stop the upgrade and remain on your current version of Windows or continue the upgrade and a while later you have Windows 8 PC. Most of the same settings and applications that were on the previous version of Windows will have transferred over flawlessly.

That is how the process works in a perfect world. In reality, it rarely goes that well. I have seen a significant number of technical issues on Windows 8 attributed to users who upgraded from a previous version of Windows. What is most impressive is that most issues went away when users did a clean install.

Microsoft has some smart people working on the upgrade process, and they have been working on this for decades. But the process rarely works well because the idea is flawed. Why would you ever want to carry over all of your Windows settings, applications, and junk that has accumulated on your old PC to a brand new PC? This is like buying a new car and then bolting on parts from your old car.

The underlying system has changed. Take the time to reinstall your applications and settings after a clean install. You will be rewarded with a Windows 8 PC that runs at top speed and suffers from far fewer issues over time.

Using the Clean Install Process

The best way to install Windows 8 is with a clean install. This wipes your computer of all installed applications and data, but is worth it in the long run. Additionally, many applications have been updated to work better on Windows 8 and take advantage of the new features, so it is best to update and install new versions, anyway.

To get started with the clean install process, follow these steps:

1. Insert the installation DVD or USB flash drive you created into your computer. Then reboot and select the boot menu key for your computer. On mine, I press F12 and then select the device I want to boot to, as shown in Figure 2-5. If you are using a DVD, make sure to hit any key after you see the message Press any key to boot from CD or DVD on your screen.

Figure 2-5: Select the device to boot to from the PC Boot menu.

2. A progress bar displays at the bottom of the screen followed by the Windows logo. On the next screen, make sure that the language, time and currency format, and keyboard are set properly. Hit Next when ready, as shown in Figure 2-6.

3. On the next screen, click Install Now.

4. If you are using Windows 8 or Windows 8 Pro edition media, you must enter a product key as shown in Figure 2-7 and then click Next. The product key that you provide determines whether Windows 8 or Windows 8 Pro is installed. If you are using Windows 8 Enterprise edition media, you aren’t prompted for a product key and can skip this step.

Figure 2-6: Check the Windows 8 Install regional settings.

Figure 2-7: Insert the product key.

5. Click I Accept The License Terms and then click Next.

6. On the next screen you can select either the Upgrade or Custom install. Don’t even think about it; click Custom to perform a clean install as shown in Figure 2-8.

Figure 2-8: Choose Custom for a clean install.

7. The last manual step of the install is to select the drive to which you want to install. After I copy my data to a backup drive, I like to delete all the partitions on the drive on which I will be installing Windows 8. You can do this by selecting the partition and then clicking Drive Options. Then just click Delete. Repeat for the other partitions on the drive, select the Unallocated Space, and then click Next, as shown in Figure 2-9. This partitions and formats the drive automatically, and Windows begins to install.

Setup is now fully automated. Files are copied to the destination drive and the computer reboots a few times. When the install is finished the computer restarts, and after booting up asks you for your username, computer name, password, and other first-run information. Congratulations, Windows 8 is now installed and ready for tweaking.

Figure 2-9: Select where to install Windows 8.

Dual-Booting Windows

With virtualization becoming more popular, the need to run multiple operating systems on a physical computer has significantly decreased. Application compatibility was the main reason in the past that users installed multiple operating systems. Your old Windows XP applications will not function in Windows 8? Just restart and boot into Windows XP. Virtual machine applications such as VMware Workstation, Sun VirtualBox, and Microsoft Hyper-V enable you to boot the second operating system on top of your main OS, eliminating the need and hassle of rebooting into another OS. This solves the compatibility problem for most apps, but a virtual machine is not always perfect.

Gaming is one area where problems may arise for virtual machines because 3-D support has gotten a lot better, but it’s not yet at bare metal performance. If you are a gamer or just want a cool way to try out Windows 8 with bare metal performance, I show you how you can dual-boot Windows 7 and Windows 8 on the same PC with a geeky twist.

You can achieve a dual-boot system with Windows 7 and Windows 8 in a number of ways, but the easiest and least destructive method is to have Windows 7 installed first. Then, using a little-known feature in Windows 7 called boot to VHD (virtual hard drive file), you can install Windows 8 in a VHD file, which is very safe because you don’t need to alter your Windows 7 partition or install. When you are finished, the Windows 8 drive will be virtualized into a single file on your Windows 7 partition and will show up in the boot menu just as if it was installed on raw disk.

Creating the VHD File on Windows 7

The first step to dual-booting Windows 8 and Windows 7 is to create the VHD file to hold the Windows 8 installation. Open up Disk Management on Windows 7 to create the file:

1. Click the Start button in Windows 7, type in diskmgmt.msc, and hit Enter. The Disk Management utility should load.

2. Click the Action menu and select Create VHD.

3. Enter a location, such as C:\VHD\Win8.vhd. Set the size—I suggest 40 GB—and select the Dynamically expanding format to save your disk space. Dynamic VHD files start out small and only grow with data written to the virtual disk. When your screen looks like Figure 2-10, click OK and the file is created.

Figure 2-10: Create a VHD file in Windows 7.

Installing Windows 8 to a VHD

Proceed to install Windows 8 using the clean install process covered earlier, but stop at the screen that asks Where do you want to install Windows? as shown in Figure 2-9. You need to attach the VHD file to the installer so that it recognizes it as a valid location to install Windows 8.

1. Hit Shift + F10 on your keyboard to bring up a Command Prompt window.

2. Type diskpart and hit Enter.

3. Now it is time to select the VHD file you created earlier. You need to know the full path to the VHD file. Keep in mind that a properly installed Windows 7 machine has two primary partitions: one hidden partition for the boot and recovery tools and a separate partition for the operating system. When Windows is running, it hides the hidden boot partition and gives the second OS partition the C drive letter. When the installer is running, the boot partition is not hidden, and therefore is given the C drive letter and the second OS partition is given the D drive letter. If the VHD file was created in C:\VHD\Win8.vhd while Windows 7 was running, you need to use D:\VHD\Win8.vhd as the full path to the VHD file while the installer is running. Run the following command with the adjusted path to the VHD file and then hit Enter:

select vdisk file=d:\vhd\win8.vhd

4. Type attach vdisk and hit Enter.

5. Close the Command Prompt window and click the Refresh button on the Where Do You Want To Install Windows? screen.

6. Select the new 40 GB VHD drive now listed as Drive 1 and click Next as shown in Figure 2-11. Ignore any warnings saying Windows can’t be installed on that drive. They are incorrect, as the installer is not aware of this advanced method of installing Windows 8.

7. Now just continue to install Windows 8 as usual. The next time your PC reboots, you see a new boot menu that enables you to select between Windows 7 and Window 8, as shown in Figure 2-12.

Figure 2-11: You can install Windows 8 to a virtual hard drive.

Figure 2-12: Choose between Windows 7 and 8 in the Windows 8 boot menu.

Using Windows To Go

New to Windows is a feature called the Windows To Go workspace, which is found only in the Enterprise edition of Windows 8. Instead of providing employees a desktop or laptop, let them use their own hardware and provide them with a bootable USB flash drive that contains their corporate desktop. They can take the Windows To Go workspace anywhere and can use it on