Managing Wireless Connections In A Windows Computer

Windows 7 is the most popular operating system in use now. It became popular due to its simple and easy to use features and user interface. Here we discuss how one can easily manage network connections using the Windows 7 wireless network management tool.

Instructions

• Click on the Start menu button located at the bottom left corner of the screen and then right click on the Computer tab found at the right side pane of the menu. 
• Select the Manage option from the drop down context menu that appears on the screen to open the Computer Management window.
• Look for the option named Services and Applications found at the left hand side of the window and then double click on it when found. When the Services and Applications link expands, click on the Services tab found under it. 
• Look for the option labeled WLAN AutoConfig by scrolling down through the list and then double click on it when found. When the WLAN AutoConfig window appears on the screen, look for the option named Startup type: and then click on the drop down box found below it. Choose the option named Automatic from the available options and then click on the OK button.
• Click on the Start button and then on the Control Panel tab for opening the Control Panel window.
• Click on the Programs and Features option found in the Control Panel window, now a new window will pop open in the screen showing all the programs installed in your system.
• Scroll down through the list of programs until you find the third party program that you have been using to manage your wireless network and then highlight it by clicking on it.
• Windows 7 help advises you to move the mouse pointer to the top of the window and then click on the Uninstall option found there to remove the program. 
• After the un-installation process is completed, restart your system if prompted. 
• Click on the Start menu and then on the Control Panel icon. Click on the link labeled as Network and Sharing Center to open a new window.
• Look for the option named Manage wireless networks in the new window and then click on it when found. Follow the Windows 7 help instructions given by the setup wizard for setting up the wireless adapter in your system. 

If you follow the simple instructions given above, you will be able to configure and manage network connections in a Windows 7 computer with ease.

Upgrade To Windows 8.1 From Older Windows Operating Systems

Microsoft has released their latest operating system, the Windows 8.1 last week and it is available as a free download for Windows 8 users. If you have already installed Windows 8, then the news that you can install Windows 8.1 for free will be happy news. The new operating system from Microsoft was released as a boon for users downloading Windows 8 now as they will be able to upgrade to the new operating system for free.

The operating system is released after fixing all the errors found in its predecessor Windows 8. Below we discuss how you could upgrade to Windows 8.1 operating system from your old Windows operating system.

Upgrading From Windows 8

Before you decide to update to Windows 8.1 operating system, make sure that you have made a backup of the data stored in your system. Also, downloading Windows 8 drivers and other updates before going for the update is necessary as it is found to good to have latest drivers installed in your system for the upgrade process to be successful. However, the most important thing is to have a minimum of 3 GB of space free on your hard disk, as the Windows 8.1 installation requires the same.

Now navigate to the Windows Store and then login to the store using your Microsoft account. Move to the Charms menu and then click on the Settings option from the Store. After you login to your account, you will be able to see the option named Update to Windows 8.1 for free, click on it. If you are not able to see this option, it is because you do not have the latest Windows patches. For getting latest patches from Windows, click on the Settings option in the Charms bar and then click on the option labeled Change PC Settings. Now click on the Windows Update option, check for new updates from the page, and install the latest Windows patches to your system.

After installing all the latest updates on your system, restart the system for installing the patches correctly. Now visit the Windows Store page as elaborated above, you will be able to see the Windows 8.1 update link in the Windows store. If you are still not able to view the link, try re-visiting the site after sometime as it might be due to some technical issues with Microsoft.

Instructions For Enabling Windows File Sharing

Microsoft has added the Windows file sharing option to all its latest operating systems. It allows a user to share files with computers connected via a local network. To share files via the Windows File Sharing utility, it is important to know how it works. This article deals with the various steps involved in Windows File Sharing.

Configuring local set up

The first step to enable Windows File Sharing is to configure the file sharing settings in the host computer. This step is mandatory for both systems on the same network as well as on remote systems. Turn on the host computer and browse the files that need to be shared. Highlight the file and right-click on it. Choose the appropriate option from the drop-down menu to enable file sharing. If you wish to keep the files password protected, you can do so while configuring.

Enabling file sharing in the Windows firewall settings

Enabling Firewall Settings is recommended by Windows support in all Windows PCs. However, to enable File Sharing, you need to disable this feature temporarily. To do this, navigate to Firewall Settings in the host computer and disable it. If you are not willing to turn off Firewall Settings for security reasons, you may customize it by editing the Firewall Settings for file sharing in the Control Panel.

Enabling file sharing in remote Windows computers

After enabling file sharing in the host computer, the next step is to enable the same on the remote Windows computers. Users will be able to begin file sharing only after the file sharing settings are configured in the remote Windows systems. Configuring file sharing in remote computer involves editing the Firewall Settings. Once the host computer and the remote computer are configured for file sharing, the latter will be able to detect the IP address of the former and access its Windows Explorer and the files or folders in it.

File Sharing is one of the greatest features Microsoft has added to the Windows computers. If you come across any technical glitches while configuring the file sharing option in your Windows system, get in touch with the Windows tech experts online. If you are not familiar with configuring the Windows settings or firewall settings for this, it is highly recommended that you contact the Windows Support and follow their instructions.

Fusion 6 And Workstation 10 Ready For Windows 8.1 And Apple OS X

Windows 8.1 is the latest OS update released by Microsoft for Windows 8. Several third party developers have produced many software applications for Windows 8.1 and for iOS as well.  Recently VMware, the American virtualization and cloud software company introduced a new version for their Fusion desktop virtualization software called Fusion 6. This new version of the Fusion software is compatible with Microsoft Windows 8 and Apple OS X Mavericks and Workstation 10 is also said to be ready.

VMware has developed two versions for the Fusion software namely Fusion 6 and Fusion 6 Professional. By this launch, VMware is aiming to reach OS platforms like Windows 8.1 and Apple OS X Mavericks. The group product marketing manager for Fusion, Mr. Nicolas Rochard said that VMware would support the mavericks and added "the way it is today”. VMware supports the preview for Windows 8.1 accurately. VMware should keep the Fusion software updated for acquiring proper Apple and Microsoft support. This means that VMware should work hard to make this Fusion 6 software popular among the Windows and Apple customers.

There are certain specifications required for the smooth functioning of the Fusion 6 software. It would support 16 virtual processing units (virtual CPU) having a maximum of 65 GB of RAM and 8TB of hard disk space. Moreover, Fusion 6 software has an improved graphical user interface and a new feature, which will help you to install Windows 8 without the need of a DVD. In addition, it helps an enterprise to supervise settings remotely, with fewer support calls and provides the option for limiting access to USB.

The Fusion 6 professional version contains a new feature called Player 6, which supports the license keys of Windows, Linux and Mac. The Fusion 6 software is not that pricey as the home users can get this software just for $59.99 from the online store of VMware whereas the users can get Fusion 6 professional version for $129.99 from the online store or through other channels. Moreover, the company is offering discounts for the upgrade of Fusion software for those users who bought it after August 1. 

Nowadays, many companies are already evaluating the new update to the Windows 8 OS, Windows 8.1 and the Workstation 10 will play a significant role in these enterprises. If you have done the Windows 8 transfer to Windows 8.1, the Fusion 6 software could be the right product for you. To know how to conduct the Windows 8 transfer to Windows 8.1 during the upgrade, contact the Microsoft support team online. 

No Voice Chat Between Xbox 360 And Xbox One

Details on the Xbox One continue to emerge. The latest update on the Xbox One states that the new game console will be able to function without the Kinect attached. This is obviously a change in direction from the earlier policy of Microsoft. The latest information that bubbled forth about communicating with your friends who have logged in from other gaming consoles is a bit disappointing. Marc Whitten, who is the chief Xbox One platform architect, said to IGN as part of the ongoing ‘Ask Microsoft Anything’ panel, that even though friends on Xbox will be able to see each other’s presence on Xbox Live, you will not be able to do voice chat between the Xbox One and Xbox 360 consoles.

Microsoft said that this is done due to a variety of technical reasons, which also includes the sound quality. They said that the users would still be able to send and receive text messages on both the consoles. The sound quality aspect that was mentioned by Whitten refers to those improvements that Microsoft has made to improve audio chat in Xbox One. The Xbox 360 headset worked with 16kHz downstream / 8kHz upstream at 14-bit compressed. The headset that is provided with Xbox One streams 24 kHz audio at an uncompressed resolution of 16-bit, both downstream and upstream. This was confirmed after contacting the Microsoft Chat support team.

Microsoft is now all over the place with the Xbox info these days and obviously most of these are not what the users want to hear. The Xbox One console would not be able to support Party chat or cross platform vocal chat with the Xbox 360 console. It seems that Microsoft is trying to push all the Xbox 360 users to upgrade to Xbox One. This is despite the company’s old remarks about remaining dedicated to the old console for years.

As TechRadar mentions, Sony would not have any problems with the cross-console chat between PlayStation 4 and the PS3 predecessor of it. As per Fergal Gara of Sony UK, the users will be able to chat between the two consoles. If you wish to know more on the cross platform compatibility between Xbox One and Xbox 360 or the latest features of the Xbox One console, you can contact the Microsoft Chat support team. They will be able to provide you with more information on this.

Things To Know Before You Upgrade From Windows 7 To Windows 8

Microsoft encourages every existing Windows user to upgrade to Windows 8, its latest operating system. The tech giant claims to have simplified the upgrade procedure for Windows 8. Nevertheless, if you are not familiar with the Windows 8 installation steps, the upgrade can be a bit confusing. In addition to just knowing how to upgrade to Windows 8, the users need to know about certain precautionary steps to make the upgrade work without any errors. You will also see what you should do to restore to Windows 7 in case of an upgrade failure.

Creating the system image back up of Windows 7

Before upgrading to Windows 8 from Windows 7, it is recommended that you create a system image backup of Windows 7. It helps in restoring back to Windows 7 in case your Windows 8 results in an unexpected error. Read the instructions given below carefully and work them out to create a Windows 7 system image back up.

Instructions

• Turn on your Windows 7 computer and navigate to Control Panel.
• Select the icon titled System and Security and then, choose Backup and Restore.
• Go to the left pane of the screen and click on the link that says create a system image. Windows will now initiate the create system image backup wizard.
• Browse the location where you wish to save the image file. It is always recommended that you store the image backup on an external storage device.
• After selecting the location to store the image backup, press the Next button to proceed.
• Once you are done with creating the system image backup, you are ready for the Windows 8 upgrade. Follow the instructions below to begin upgrading to Windows 8.
• Turn on your Windows 7 machine and open the disk drive.
• Insert the Windows 8 setup DVD in the drive.
• Double-click the setup.exe file to initiate the installation. You may be prompted now to update your Windows 8 installation files online. Click Yes and press Next to continue.
• You will be prompted now to enter your Windows 8 product key. Type in the key (see the package that contained the installation disc).
• Press Next to continue.
• Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation steps.

Following the above steps, you should be able to create an image backup of your old operating system and then, upgrade to Windows 8. If any unexpected errors occur during the process, restore back to Windows 7 or contact the Windows 8 helpline for support.

Microsoft Warns Windows XP Users To Upgrade Their Systems

Microsoft recently announced that Windows XP users would no longer be provided with technical assistance or security updates after April, 2014. This means users would no longer receive new security updates, non-security hotfixes, free or paid assisted support options, or online technical content update. Microsoft has advised migrating to other versions of the operating system, preferably Windows 8 or 8.1.

The latest move by Microsoft is clearly a marketing strategy to increase sales of Windows 8 and 8.1, which could not perform according to the expectations held by Microsoft. According to sources, Windows XP still holds the major part in the Windows market share, which has forced Microsoft into this decision. After this announcement, many XP users contacted the technicians at Windows XP help to know about the truth behind such a proclamation. Needless to say, the unavailability of security updates would make Windows XP an easy target for the hackers and spammers. This is because they would find it easy to exploit the vulnerabilities of Windows XP.

According to a blog post by Tim Rains, who serves as the director of trustworthy computing at Microsoft, “The very first month that Microsoft releases security updates for supported versions of Windows, attackers will reverse engineer those updates, find the vulnerabilities and test Windows XP to see if it shares those vulnerabilities and if it does, attackers will attempt to develop exploit code that can take advantage of those vulnerabilities on Windows XP. Since a security update will never become available for Windows XP to address these vulnerabilities, Windows XP will essentially have a ‘zero day’ vulnerability forever.”

According to the Windows XP help, malware infection rates have been higher in Windows XP compared to other operating systems, such as Windows 7 or Windows 8, during the last year. Tim Rains also stated, “The challenge here is that you’ll never know, with any confidence, if the trusted computing base of the system can actually be trusted because attackers will be armed with public knowledge of zero-day exploits in Windows XP that could enable them to compromise the system and possibly run the code of their choice.”

Hence, the latest announcement from Microsoft indicates the fact that the software giant is leaving no stone unturned to make Windows 8 and 8.1 popular with the users. Thus, Windows XP, which was one of the most preferred versions of the operating system, is all set to get extinct by next year.

How To Increase Your Computer’s Virtual Memory

RAM is an inevitable part of your computer. RAM or Random Access Memory is the location from where the currently executed programs run. Therefore, if your computer has higher RAM capacity, it can run more programs without the computer hanging up.

So, what would you do if your computer has low RAM capacity? Even though you may add extra RAM to your motherboard, it requires extra slots in it. RAM is also a costly hardware component. In such situations, the virtual memory technique incorporated in your Windows operating systems can come handy. Virtual memory is a file saved on your computer’s hard drive, which can act as a form of memory similar to RAM. This memory will be used as and when needed, by your operating system.

According to Windows help center, virtual memory is always used by your operating system. However, if you intend to run programs that demand higher amount of RAM, you can always increase the size of the virtual memory manually. In this post, we will take you through the steps to increase your computers virtual memory.

Steps Involved

• Choose the Start menu of your computer by pressing the Windows logo key on your keyboard. 
• From the Start menu, select Control Panel. 
• Select the option System Maintenance if you are using a Windows Vista computer. If you are using a Windows 7 computer, select the option System and Security.
• Choose the option System and then go to Advanced System Setting in the left pane of the window.
• In the window for System Properties, select the tab Advanced. 
• Click Settings, which you will find under the heading Performance.
• The above step will open the window for Performance Options.
• Click the tab Advanced in this window.
• You can find the existing size of your Virtual memory given as Total paging file size for all drives.
• Select the button Change.
• Choose the option Custom Size.
• Enter the Initial Size and Maximum Size of the virtual memory in the corresponding fields. 
• Select OK and choose the option Restart now. Once the computer restarts, your machine will have increased virtual memory.

We hope that the above mentioned steps have helped you increase the virtual memory of your computer, and thereby increase its performance. If you have any queries related to virtual memory, you may contact the Windows help center or our technical support team for assistance.

Microsoft Introduces New Features On Windows Azure

Microsoft is all set to make Windows Azure an unparallel cloud computing platform. The recent report about its plan to include a series of new features on Azure proves this. As part of its plan, the tech giant would include a series of features such as autoscale improvements, SQL server support and notification hubs. According to Windows tech support, the decision would help trigger an increase in the number of Windows Azure users in the coming days.

SQL Server Support

Among the many new features going to be launched on Windows Azure, techies are more taken to the SQL Server support. It is said that the feature would enable users to use disaster recovery options more easily. Disaster recovery was an option that was initially added to SQL Server 2012. Using this option, users could handle issues such as configuration failures, database failure and replicas. According to Microsoft, “the complete SQL Server AlwaysOn Availability Groups technology stack with Windows Azure Virtual Machines – including enabling support for SQL Server Availability Group Listeners."

The decision would also mean that users can now use replicas to backup important files stored via Windows Azure service. Microsoft would also provide users with real time SQL server support. This would certainly reduce the chances of data lose in case the disaster recovery fails to back up all the necessary files.

About the Notification hub

Another feature that has thrilled techies is the newly added notification hub. The feature would allow mobile app developers to send push notifications concurrently. As a result, they can optimize the available resources such as ability to manage locations, user personalization services and handling several platform devices at the same time. As of now, Bing news is the only app that makes use of the notification hub service for its news updates.

About the Autoscaling feature

In addition to the above mentioned features, the users of Windows Azure service would also be allowed to avail advanced features like autoscaling. Windows tech support claims that autoscaling would cut off the staggering costs required for optimizing the performance standards.

Hopefully, now Microsoft would focus on the other technical issues that make Windows Azure platform even more popular in the coming months. Hope you found this article useful. For more information, visit the official Microsoft website.

About The Outlook Mail Security Settings

Microsoft Outlook is the best email client to be used in a firm or an organisation, as it allows setting up a corporate mail network by adding the accounts to the application. But although Outlook offers excellent security features, you would have to make the changes to the Outlook setting in each and every machine in the organisation that runs the mail client.

Using the Outlook Group security settings

Microsoft has indeed foreseen this need, and provided the necessary group security settings in the Outlook mail client for this purpose. This makes things easier for the IT personnel in the firm, when changing the Outlook setting in all the machines in the firm connected to the mail network.

In order for this to work, all these machines should be using the same Outlook mail client version. For example, say all the machines in the organisation are installed with the Outlook 2010 version. If so, then the IT personnel in the organisation can create a common security policy for all these machines taken together as a group.

Outlook 2010 supports this group security policy functions. For this purpose, you might have to download the MS Office 2010 Administrative template files online. Remember to download the Administrative template files for the particular Outlook version that you are using.

After installing the Administrative template, you can set up the group security options, by accessing the following option - User Configuration>Policies> Administrative Templates >Microsoft Outlook 2010>Security>Security Form Settings. This would take you to the Group Policy Editor, where you can change the security settings.

To further improve the security of the email correspondence within organisation, you can opt to use digital signatures for identity verification. This can also be done using the group policy setting. For this, go to User Configuration>Policies>Administrative Templates>Microsoft Outlook 2010>Security>Cryptography. Here you would find the Sign All E-Mail Messages option. You need to enable it. You can also encrypt the messages transmitted in the network using the Encrypt all email messages option.

The steps mentioned here are for the Outlook 2010 version. There would be some difference in the steps, when it comes to the other Outlook versions. Also, as already mentioned, the Administrative Template files used in the different versions of the Outlook mail client are not the same.

Visit the Microsoft support website to find out more about the MS Office Administrative templates and the Group Policy settings in Outlook.

File Recovery Of Windows 7 Not Found In Windows 8.1

Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 are entirely different in terms of performance and features.  Windows 7 can be treated as the last Windows OS with the old interface where as Windows 8.1 belongs to the next generation OS platform.  Without any comparison, we can definitely conclude that Windows 8.1 has many more features and options when compared to Windows 7. However, that does not mean that Windows 8.1 has all the useful features that were included in Windows 7. In order to modify the platform, Microsoft has definitely added many new ones but also has omitted a few others.

The File Recovery option in Windows 7 is one such feature that is missing in Windows 8.1. This feature was included in the Control Panel of Windows 8 and it appeared as Windows 7 File Recovery. But if you go through the Control Panel of Windows 8.1, you will not find this because that feature is not included in Windows 8.1. Windows XP, Vista as well as Windows 7 had this utility in Backup and Recovery.  This can be considered as one of the biggest flaws of Windows 8.1. There are many who have contact Windows 7 support regarding the backup and support options.

The File Recovery in Windows 7 creates and saves backup files as .vhd and .vhdx. The Import Virtual Machine will not allow you to access the data from these virtual disks. You need to depend on the Attach VHD feature in Windows built in Disk Management utility that will help you to access the backup images that is previously created on Windows 8.

If you wish to mount .vhd and .vhdx files in Windows 8, then you can use VHD attach 3.80 that offers right click support.  This can be considered as the best alternative because I could not find anything as good as this. Once you do this, you will find the same to be a good option and the programs gets the adequate access rights so that they can mount the disk file that is created by the Windows 7 File Recovery utility.

If you have any doubts regarding the same, you may contact Windows 7 support team. The team would provide good solution to clear your queries or issues. You can also access the Help option in the OS to know more about the same.

How To Restore Your Windows 8 PC

Windows 8 is the latest operating system released by Microsoft. If the Windows 8 PC shows any errors and if it is not effective, then you can consider restoring your Windows 8 PC to the previous type where it was working fine. Moreover, you should conduct the system restore without losing any files, programs and settings present in the PC.

The below given tips will help a user to restore the Windows 8 PC. Once the process is complete, make sure that you restart Windows 8, so that changes made will take effect.

Instructions

• In the Start screen of Windows 8, you will see a search box. Type Restore in the appropriate search box. Now, your system will display some search results out of which you should select the option labeled Create a restore point. Clicking this choice will take you to the Control Panel option and then to the tab called Systems Properties dialog's System Protection.
• From the property sheet, you should select the button that says System Restore. Now a wizard will open up on your screen saying Restore system files and settings. This page will also help a user to know the programs that will be left in your computer after the system restore. After that, click the button that is labeled as Next.
• Now a dialog window will pop up on the screen showing what all choices are available for system restore. Generally, you have to select the choice, which will help not to lose files and programs that exist before the system restore. In addition, you can also select the feature called Scan for affected programs. Performing this feature will illustrate what all things you will lose after the system restore.
• In addition, it will also display a message saying Any programs that were added since the last restore point will be deleted and any that were removed will be restored. Take a note on the software that is illustrated in the list. This will help in the installation and the un-installation of unwanted and wanted programs.
• Next, you need to click the button called Next. Now, a dialog box saying Confirm your restore point will be appeared on the screen. In addition, check the box that says Show more restore points. You will also be asked to save those open files and to make sure that the password for your Windows works fine.
• Finally, click the button called Finish. Now, the system will display a warning message saying The System Restore cannot be interrupted, with another confirmation button for continuing the process. Continue by clicking the Yes button.
• Now your machine will start restoring and the machine will display a progress timer showing how much restoration has been completed. After that, a popup window will open up that says Please wait while your Windows files and settings are being restored. Once it finishes, it will restart Windows 8 automatically.

These steps will help you to restore your Windows 8 PC. To know more about the same, contact the Microsoft support team.