Windows® 8.1 Brian Knittel Paul McFedries 800 East 96th Street Indianapolis, Indiana 46240 WINDOWS ® 8.1 IN DEPTH Copyright © 2014 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced, stored in a Editor-in-Chief retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photo- Greg Wiegand copying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher. No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information con- Executive Editor tained herein. Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of Rick Kughen this book, the publisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or omis- sions. Nor is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the Development Editor information contained herein. Todd Brakke ISBN-13: 978-0-7897-5281-9 Managing Editor ISBN-10: 0-7897-5281-6 Sandra Schroeder Library of Congress Control Number: 2014930138 Printed in the United States of America Senior Project Editor Tonya Simpson First Printing: March 2014 Trademarks Copy Editor All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be trademarks or service Cheri Clark marks have been appropriately capitalized. Que Publishing cannot attest to the Senior Indexer accuracy of this information. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark. Cheryl Lenser Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Technical Editor Warning and Disclaimer Karen Weinstein Every effort has been made to make this book as complete and as accurate as Editorial Assistant possible, but no warranty or fitness is implied. The information provided is on Cindy Teeters an “as is” basis. The authors and the publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damages aris- Interior Designer ing from the information contained in this book. Anne Jones Special Sales For information about buying this title in bulk quantities, or for special sales Cover Designer opportunities (which may include electronic versions; custom cover designs; Matt Coleman and content particular to your business, training goals, marketing focus, or Compositor branding interests), please contact our corporate sales department at [email protected] or (800) 382-3419. Bronkella Publishing For government sales inquiries, please contact [email protected] For questions about sales outside the U.S., please contact [email protected] CONTENTS AT A GLANCE Introduction 1 I Starting Out with Windows 8.1 1 Meet Windows 8.1 7 2 Installing or Upgrading Windows 8.1 29 3 Your First Hour with Windows 8.1 59 II Using Windows 8.1 4 Using the Windows 8.1 Interface 95 5 Windows Apps and the Windows Store 131 6 Managing Files and Searching 153 7 Devices and Printers 177 8 Accessories and Accessibility 197 III Multimedia and Imaging 9 Windows Media Player 211 10 Windows Media Center 225 11 Windows and Imaging Devices 241 12 Scanning and Faxing 257 13 More Windows 8.1 Media Tools 271 IV Windows 8.1 and the Internet 14 Getting Connected 281 15 Using Internet Explorer 11 303 16 Windows 8.1 Internet Communications 331 17 Troubleshooting an Internet Connection 355 V Networking 18 Creating a Windows Network 371 19 Connecting Your Network to the Internet 415 20 Networking with Other Operating Systems 435 21 Using a Windows Network 457 22 Troubleshooting Your Network 489 VI Maintaining Windows 8.1 23 Windows Management Tools 507 24 Tweaking and Customizing Windows 557 25 Managing Hard Disks and Storage Spaces 589 26 Troubleshooting and Repairing Problems 619 27 Managing Your Software 653 28 Managing Your Hardware 667 29 Editing the Windows Registry 691 30 Command-Line and Automation Tools 711 iv Windows 8.1 In Depth VII Security 31 Protecting Windows from Viruses and Spyware 731 32 Protecting Your Data from Loss and Theft 759 33 Protecting Your Network from Hackers and Snoops 791 34 Protecting Yourself from Fraud and Spam 823 VIII Windows on the Move 35 Windows on Mobile Devices 839 36 Wireless Networking 849 37 Computing on the Road 861 38 Meetings, Conferencing, and Collaboration 889 39 Remote Desktop and Remote Access 903 Appendixes A Virtualization 925 B Command-Line Utilities 933 Index 971 Contents v CONTENTS Introduction 1 Graphics Requirements 32 Hardware Requirements for Various I Starting Out with Windows 8 Windows 8.1 Features 32 Preparing Your System: A Checklist 33 1 Meet Windows 8.1 7 Check Your System Requirements 34 An Overview of Windows 8.1 7 Back Up Your Files 34 Should I Get Windows 8.1? 11 Clean Up Your Hard Disk 34 Windows 8.1 Versions 13 Check and Defragment Your Hard Upgrading Windows 16 Disk 34 Create a System Image Backup and a What’s New in Windows 8.1? 18 System Repair Disc 35 A Tale of Two Windows: The Start Screen Versus the Desktop 18 Installing Windows 8.1 36 Touch-a Touch-a Touch-a Touch Me! 19 Upgrading to Windows 8.1 39 Windows 8–Style Apps 20 Upgrading from Windows 8 39 Charmed, I’m Sure 20 Upgrading from Windows 7 40 Online User Accounts 21 Running the Upgrade 40 File Explorer Ribbon 21 The Windows Store 22 Dual- (and Multi-) Booting Windows 8.1 42 Management Tools 23 Dual-Booting Windows 8.1 43 Installation and Setup 24 Multi-Booting with Three or More Storage Spaces 24 Operating Systems 44 Improved Web Browsing with Internet Using Windows Boot Manager 44 Explorer 11 24 Faster Startup 25 Customizing the Boot Configuration Secure Boot 25 Data 46 Integrated Cellular Data Connections 26 Using Windows Boot Manager to Modify What Changed Between Windows 8 and the BCD 47 8.1 26 Using Startup and Recovery to Modify the BCD 47 Life Without the Start Menu 27 Using the System Configuration Utility to Modify the BCD 48 2 Installing or Upgrading Using BCDEDIT to Customize the Startup Windows 8.1 29 Options 51 Windows 8.1 System Requirements 29 Installing Windows 8.1 Components 56 Processor Requirements 30 Memory Requirements 30 Storage Requirements 31 vi Windows 8.1 In Depth 3 Your First Hour with Windows 8.1 59 If You’re Moving to Windows 8.1 from XP 88 The First Things to Do After Starting Control Panel Wordiness 88 Windows 8.1 59 Where’s My Stuff? The User Profile Structure 88 A Quick Tour of the Important Windows 8.1 Compatibility and Virtualization 90 Features 60 User Account Control 91 The Lock and Sign On Screens 60 The New Taskbar 93 The Start Screen 62 Jumplists 94 Windows 8–Style Apps (Don’t Call It Metro) 63 Using the Charms 63 Part II: Using Windows 8.1 The Touch Tour 65 Important Keyboard Shortcuts 66 4 Using the Windows 8.1 Interface 95 The Desktop, or Who Moved My Start Menu? 66 Taking a Tour of the Windows 8.1 Windows Explorer Is Now Called File Interface 95 Explorer 67 The App Bar 97 Search Before You Look 69 The Charms Menu 99 Getting to the Management Tools 69 Navigating the Start Screen 100 Setting Up User Accounts 71 Navigating the Start Screen with a Microsoft Versus Local Accounts 71 Mouse 101 Create New Accounts 72 Navigating the Start Screen with a Change Account Settings 74 Keyboard 102 Before You Forget Your Password 75 Navigating the Start Screen with a Touch Just One User? 76 Interface 104 Downloading Critical Updates 76 Working with Running Apps 106 Snapping an App 106 Personalizing Windows 8.1 77 Switching Between Running Apps 108 Personalize Screen Settings 77 Shutting Down an App 109 Tune Up the Taskbar 78 Important Adjustments and Tweaks 78 Working with Notifications 110 Transferring Information from Your Old Searching via the Start Screen 111 Computer 80 Windows Easy Transfer 80 Customizing the Start Screen 113 Resizing a Tile 113 How the Heck Do I Shut This Thing Moving a Tile 114 Off? 84 Creating an App Group 114 Turning Off a Live Tile 116 More Than You Wanted to Know 85 Pinning a Program to the Start After You Forget Your Password 85 Screen 117 Using a Password Reset Disk 87 Pinning a Website to the Start Accessing the Real Administrator Screen 117 Account 87 Displaying the Administrative Tools on the Apps Screen 117 Contents vii Adding Shutdown and Restart Tiles to Video 148 the Start Screen 119 Weather 149 Customizing the Start Screen Background 121 Installing Apps from the Windows Store 149 Customizing the Lock Screen 122 Uninstalling Apps 150 Customizing the Lock Screen Background 122 Sharing App Data 150 Controlling the Apps Displayed on the Lock Screen 123 6 Managing Files and Searching 153 Disabling the Lock Screen 124 Understanding File Types 153 Bypassing the Start Screen 125 File Types and File Extensions 153 Booting Directly to the Desktop 125 File Types and the Registry 154 Accessing Start Menu Items from the Taskbar 126 Navigating the Windows 8.1 Folder Pinning a Program to the Taskbar 126 Windows 156 Using Desktop Programs as the Folder Navigation 157 Defaults 128 Instant Search 158 The Ribbon 158 5 Windows Apps and the Windows The Navigation Pane 158 Store 131 Basic File and Folder Chores: The The Windows Apps 131 Techniques Used by the Pros 159 Calendar 133 Selecting Files with Check Boxes 159 Camera 134 Resolving File Transfer Conflicts 161 Desktop 134 Expert Drag-and-Drop Techniques 162 Finance 135 Taking Advantage of the Send To Food & Drink 136 Command 162 Games 136 The Recycle Bin: Deleting and Health & Fitness 137 Recovering Files and Folders 163 Internet Explorer 137 File Maintenance Using the Open and Mail 139 Save As Dialog Boxes 165 Maps 139 Metadata and the File Explorer Property Music 140 System 166 News 141 Desktop Searching 168 People 142 As-You-Type Searches with Instant Photos