Create a Recovery Drive on a USB Memory Stick in Windows 8 & 8.1

How to Create a Recovery Drive on a USB Memory Stick in Windows 8 & 8.1

Both Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 offer a new tool for creating recovery drives on all kinds of devices, from USB flash drives, to external hard disks to partitions on your computer's internal hard disk. This is a big step forward from the manual and error prone procedure you had to go through in Windows 7. In this tutorial I will show how to use the new Recovery Media Creator to create a recovery drive on a USB memory stick.

How to Start the Recovery Media Creator in Windows 8 & Windows 8.1

Before you start, plug in the USB memory stick or the external hard drive on which you want to create a recovery drive. After Windows detects it correctly, go to the Start screen and type recovery.
In Windows 8, filter by Settings and click or tap the "Create a recovery drive" search result.

In Windows 8.1 there is no need to filter the results. Type recovery and click or tap the "Create a recovery drive" search result.

A UAC (User Account Control) prompt is shown, asking whether you allow the Recovery Media Creator to make changes to your computer.

Click or tap Yes and the Recovery Media Creator is started.

How to Use the Recovery Media Creator to Create a Recovery Drive

First, you are shown information about the Recovery Media Creator and what it does. Also, there's an option that says "Copy the recovery partition from the PC to the recovery drive".
If you have a computer that was sold with Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 preinstalled, it may have a special recovery partition, with custom recovery tools created by its manufacturer. If that is the case for your PC, you will be able to check this option and have that partition copied to the recovery drive you are about to create. If you don't want to copy this partition and you want to create a drive only with the recovery tools available for Windows 8 and Windows 8.1, do not check this option.
Then, click or tap Next.

You are asked to select the USB flash drive where you want to store the recovery tools. It must have at least 256MB in size. Be careful - all the data existing on it will be wiped out!
Select the drive you want to use and click or tap Next.

You are warned that everything on the selected drive will be deleted. This is your last opportunity to back up the data found on it. When ready to go ahead, click or tap Create.

The selected drive is formatted and all the system recovery utilities are copied on it. The process will take a minute or two, depending on the drive you selected.

When the recovery drive is created, you are informed. Click or tap Finish.

Recovery Media Creator is closed and you can use the USB flash drive to repair malfunctioning Windows installations on your computer or other computers.

Boot into Safe Mode in Windows 8 & Windows 8.1

5 Ways to Boot into Safe Mode in Windows 8 & Windows 8.1

By Ciprian Adrian Rusen on 09/27/2013

Are you struggling to boot into Safe Mode in Windows 8 or Windows 8.1? Have you tried pressing both F8 and Shift+F8 and they don't work? That's because a lot has changed with the boot procedure in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. The boot has become so fast that it literally cannot be interrupted by any of your keypresses. Here are 5 ways in which you can boot into Safe Mode, that don't involve any special hacks or manual configuration.

Safe Mode in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1

Safe Mode in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 is not too different from the Safe Mode found in earlier versions of Windows.

The operating system still loads only the most basic drivers and services, so that it can display a minimal useful interface. The only important difference is that the minimum screen resolution used by Safe Mode has risen from 800x600 pixels to 1024x768 pixels.

1. Use the System Configuration Tool (msconfig.exe) - works in Windows 8 & 8.1

The easiest method for booting into Safe Mode is to use the System Configuration tool, also known as msconfig.exe.
Go to the Boot tab and, in the Boot options section check the box that says "Safe boot". Then, click or tap OK.

You are informed that you need to restart your computer. Click Restart or Exit without restart depending on whether you want to restart now or later.

At the next restart, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 start in Safe Mode.

2. Use Shift + Restart - works in Windows 8 & 8.1

Another method is to press the Power button at the Windows login screen or in the Settings charm. Then, press and hold the SHIFT key on your keyboard and click Restart.

Windows asks you to choose an option. Press Troubleshoot.

In the Troubleshoot screen, press Advanced options.

In the Advanced options screen, press Startup Settings.

You are informed that you are about to restart in order to change several Windows options, including enabling Safe Mode. Press Restart.

Your computer or device restarts again and displays nine startup settings, including Safe Mode, Safe Mode with Networking and Safe Mode with Command Prompt

Press the F4 key on your keyboard, to enable Safe Mode, F5 to enable Safe Mode with Networking and F6 to enable Safe Mode with Command Prompt. Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 now boot according to the setting you selected.

3. Boot from a System Recovery CD/DVD - works only in Windows 8

In Windows 8, but not in Windows 8.1, you can create a system recovery CD or DVD. Here's the tutorial that shows how it is done: How to Create a System Repair Disc for Windows 7 & Windows 8.
Once you have that disc created, boot from it. When asked to press any key to load its content, do so.
First, you are asked to choose your keyboard layout. Press the layout you want to use. If you want to browse through the available options, press "See more keyboard layouts" until you find the one you want to use.

Then, the Choose an option screen is shown.

From here on, the steps are identical to those shown for method 2.

4. Boot from a System Recovery Memory Stick - works in Windows 8 & 8.1

In Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 you can use the Recovery Media Creator to create a system recovery drive on a USB flash Drive. Details instructions can be found in this tutorial: How to Create a Recovery Drive on a USB Memory Stick in Windows 8 & 8.1".
Boot from the USB memory stick and follow the same instructions as in method 3.

5. Use F8 or Shift + F8 (doesn't work when using UEFI BIOS & SSDs)

In Windows 7, you were able to press F8 just before Windows got loaded, to open the Advanced Boot Options window, where you could choose to start Windows 7 in Safe Mode.
Some websites advise you to press Shift+F8, just before Windows 8 or 8.1 starts loading so that you make it start the recovery mode, from where you can boot into Safe Mode. The problem is that, most times, Shift+F8 and F8 don't work, even though they are correct commands, supported by Windows 8 and Windows 8.1.
This official blog post from Microsoft (Designing for PCs that boot faster than ever before) explains that this behavior is caused by their work in designing a very fast boot procedure. Both Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 have the fastest boot times ever. To quote Steve Sinofsky:
"Windows 8 has a problem – it really can boot up too quickly. So quickly, in fact, that there is no longer time for anything to interrupt boot. When you turn on a Windows 8 PC, there's no longer long enough to detect keystrokes like F2 or F8, much less time to read a message such as "Press F2 for Setup." For the first time in decades, you will no longer be able to interrupt boot and tell your PC to do anything different than what it was already expecting to do."
If you have modern PC with a UEFI BIOS and a fast SSD drive, there's no way you can interrupt the boot procedure with your keypresses. On older PCs, with a classic BIOS and no SSD drive, pressing these keys might still work though.

Delete a Wireless Network Profile in Windows 8 and 8.1

How to Delete a Wireless Network Profile in Windows 8 and 8.1

Information

A wireless (Wi-Fi) network profile contains the SSID (network name), password key, and security information to be able to connect to a wireless network.

This tutorial will show you how to delete a wireless network connection profile created in Windows 8, Windows RT, Windows 8.1, and Windows RT 8.1.

OPTION ONE

To Delete Wireless Network Profile in PC settings

Note

This option is only available in Windows 8.1 Update.

The Windows 8.1 Update released on April 8th 2014 via Windows Update, adds an option in PC settings to manage known wireless networks.

1. Open PC settings, and click/tap on Network. (see screenshot below)

2. Click/tap on Connections in the left pane of Networks, and click/tap on the Manage known networks link under Wi-Fi on the right side. (see screenshot below)

3. Click/tap on a wireless network that you want to delete. (see screenshot below)

4. Click/tap on Forget. (see screenshot below)

5. When finished, you can close PC settings if you like.

OPTION TWO

To Delete Wireless Network Profile using "Forget this network"

1. Do step 2 or 3 below for how you would like to open the "Networks" flyout.

2. On your desktop, click/tap on the Network icon in the taskbar notification area, and go to step 4 below. (see screenshot below)

3. Open the Charms bar, click/tap on Settings, click/tap on the Network icon, and go to step 4 below. (see screenshot below)

4. Do step 5 or 6 below depending on what Windows you have.


5. In Windows 8, Windows RT, or Windows 8.1 Update, right click or press and hold on the wireless network (ex: Brink-Router) in the network list, click/tap on Forget this network, and go to step 7 below. (see screenshot below)

Note

Windows does not provide the option to "Forget this network" if this is for a Mobile Broadband profile that is provisioned by the carrier. The option only appears when a custom or user profile is created.

"Forget this network" will not be available for the listed wireless networks that you didn't create a network connection profile for.

6. In Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1, click/tap on a disconnected wireless network (ex: Brink-Router) in the network list, uncheck Connect automatically, click/tap on Connect, click/tap on Forget network if it fails to connect, and go to step 7 below. (see screenshots below)

NOTE: In Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1, you will only be able to use Forget network on a saved wireless network profile if you are unable to connect to it. Otherwise you will need to use OPTION ONE above or OPTION THREE below.

7. After a few moments the saved wireless network profile will now be removed (forgotten).

OPTION THREE

To Delete Wireless Network Profile in a Command Prompt

1. Open a command prompt.

2. In the command prompt, copy and paste the command below, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)
NOTE: This command will give you a list of all wireless network profiles on your PC.

netsh wlan show profiles

3. In the command prompt, type the command below, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)
NOTE: This command will delete the wireless network profile.

netsh wlan delete profile name="WirelessProfileName"


For example, if I wanted to delete my listed Brink-Router (name) wireless network profile, I would type the command below exactly.

netsh wlan delete profile name="Brink-Router"

4. When finished, you can close the command prompt if you like.

MS Outlook 2010 Autocomplete name list Deleting

Delete a name from the Auto-Complete list

The Auto-Complete List is a feature which displays suggestions for names and email addresses as you start to type them in the To, Cc, and Bcc boxes. These suggestions are possible matches from a list of names and email addresses from the email messages that you have sent.

There might be entries that you want to remove, such as entries that are no longer current or accurate. To remove unwanted names, do the following:

1. Select the unwanted name or email address by using the UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW key.
2. Click or press DELETE.

To remove all names from your Auto-Complete list, do the following:

1. Click the File tab.
2. Click Options.
3. Click Mail.
4. Under Send messages, click Empty Auto-Complete List.

MS Outlook Autocomplete name list Copy to another computer

Copy Autocomplete name list to another computer

Important notice for users of Office 2003    To continue receiving security updates for Office, make sure you're running Office 2003 Service Pack 3 (SP3). The support for Office 2003 ends April 8, 2014. If you’re running Office 2003 after support ends, to receive all important security updates for Office, you need to upgrade to a later version such as Office 365 or Office 2013. For more information, see Support is ending for Office 2003.

Applies to
Microsoft Office Outlook® 2003

Do you miss the convenience of Outlook automatically completing people's names as you begin to type them on your new computer? Are you upgrading to a new computer and don't want to lose all the names stored in your Outlook AutoComplete feature? Wouldn't it be nice if Outlook installed on your new computer just "remembered" the names and filled them in for you?


You can copy the names in AutoComplete from your old computer to your new one.

Copy the names in AutoComplete to another computer

 Important   You must exit Outlook before starting the following procedure. The names will be included in AutoComplete when you restart Outlook.

1. On the computer with the saved AutoComplete names, go to drive:\Documents and Settings\user name\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook.

 Note   Depending on your file settings, this folder might be hidden. To view the files in this folder, do one of the following:

Microsoft Windows XP

1. Click Start, and then click My Computer.
2. On the Tools menu, click Folder Options.
3. Click the View tab, and then, under Advanced settings, under Hidden files and folders, click Show hidden files and folders.

Microsoft Windows 2000

1. Double-click My Computer on your desktop.
2. On the Tools menu, click Folder Options.
3. Click the View tab, and then click Show hidden files and folders.

2. Right-click profile name.nk2, and then click Copy.

 Tip   You can copy the file to removable media, such as a floppy disk or a CD, and then copy the file to the correct location on the other computer. Or you can attach the file to an e-mail message and send the message to yourself. On the new computer, open the attachment in Outlook, and then save it to the correct location.

3. On the computer where you want to populate the AutoComplete feature, copy the file to drive:\Documents and Settings\user name\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook.
4. If the Outlook user profile name is different on the computer where you are moving the .nk2 file, you must rename the file with the same Outlook user profile name after you copy it to the correct folder. For example, if you move Kim Akers.nk2 from the original computer with an Outlook user profile name of Kim Akers, and you copy the Kim Akers.nk2 file to the new computer, you must rename it with the Outlook profile name being used on the new computer.
5. When prompted about replacing the existing file, click Yes.
6. Open Outlook to view changes.