How to Install drivers manually in Windows 8

Currently, lots of PC components do not have a functioning driver for Windows 8, so you have to help things along somewhat while migrating to Windows 8. Firstly, make sure that you've updated Windows 8 to the latest version. To know if updates are available, type ‘Windows Update’ on the
Start screen. The search will throw up a short list of options. Initiate the process with ‘Search for updates’. However, hardware like printers or scanners can't be used properly with Windows 8 this way. If the device is not automatically recognised, you will have to download the drivers for it. But if the manufacturer does not provide drivers for Windows 8, get hold of a driver for Windows 7 or Windows Vista and try installing that. When installing the driver, select ‘Properties’ in the context menu of the setup file and in the ‘Compatibility’ tab, set the compatibility mode to ‘Windows 7’. If the setup itself refuses to install on Windows 8, you have one last chance: many Windows Vista and Windows 7 driver packages contain a ‘.inf’ file with which some hardware can function under certain circumstances.
Connect this ‘.inf’ file with the hardware by following these steps. First, search for the device in the ‘Device manager’. You can identify drivers that have not been properly installed by the warning exclamatory mark in the line. You can see which hardware has not yet been recognised by Windows 8 and is not functioning. Now select ‘Update driver software’ by right-clicking on the hardware and click ‘Search for the driver software in the computer’. Click on the button ‘Select from a list of device drivers on the computer’ and then on ‘More’. Now, select ‘Data storage ... Browse’, navigate to the ‘.inf’ file in the driver folder and confirm your selection. Your driver may just be installed on
Windows 8 and there's a good chance the hardware will work.

How to Monitor Running Services Easily via PowerShell in Windows 7 and Vista

Your system often runs some unnecessary services constantly. These services consume memory and may result in poor performance of PC. However, a list of such services can be quite helpful in case you wish to get an informed opinion about what's eating up  your system resources. But to do this, you'll have to access the system control and that can get a bit labourious. But Windows PowerShell lets you generate an overview very quickly with a few linked commands. Start the tool by typing 'powershell' in the search field of the Start menu. The command 'Get-Service' immediately lists all services along with their respective status. You can restrict the services searched for with the parameter '-displayname', followed by the search term with placeholders like 'Google*'. To filter results further and to restrict the list to active services, use 'where {$_.status -eq Running}' separated by a vertical line. Finally, the output of the list can be exported to a text file with the command 'Export-Csv- Path (Insert path here)'. Again, separate this command from the 'Get-Service' one with a vertical line.

How to Copy Data Quickly Flexibly

Copying very large files to a network drive can hinder performance and can be time consuming function. However, with a tool like TeraCopy, you can accomplish such tasks faster thanks to optimised asynchronous copying. Moreover, ongoing processes—as in Windows—can be paused if you need the bandwidth for something else at that time. You can find TeraCopy with a quick Google search. After the installation, the freeware integrates itself into the system and is available in Explorer in the context menu for files and folders. In addition, TeraCopy establishes itself as the default application for copying. You can, however, turn it off . To do this, open the program window, click on 'More' and then open 'Menu Options'. Here, deactivate the setting 'TeraCopy as standard for copying' and confirm with 'OK'. After this, Windows' stock copy function will be used and you can use TeraCopy by selecting it from the context menu. For copying, mark the elements as usual in Explorer and then select the context command 'TeraCopy'. Switch the mode between 'Copy' and 'Move' by clicking on the symbol. Using 'Browse', then navigate to the target folder or select 'Last used'. Once you do this the copy/move function will start automatically. Sortable folders are restricted to the paid, pro-version.

How to Temporarily Clear Icons From the Desktop

Sometimes, you may not want to see the program and file icons on your desktop, for example, when you’re taking a screenshot in which your desktop can be seen. If you wish to be able to hide your desktop icons for a short time before taking a screenshot, click on the desktop with the right mouse button and, in the context menu, remove the check mark in front of the item ‘View | Display desktop icons’. All the icons will now disappear. As soon as you have taken the required screenshot, you can make the icons visible again by resetting the check mark you removed before. No files or folders will be affected in the process.

 

How to List all The Installed Drivers in a CSV File

A list of all drivers installed on the system can be very useful while troubleshooting. In order to know exactly what’s going on with your PC for possible future fixes, you want a list in text CSV (comma-separated values) format, which can be opened by Excel as a table or by any text viewer. To do so go
to 'Start | All programs | Accessories | Command prompt’. The command line tool Driverquery.exe assists you in listing the drivers used. Type the command ‘Driverquery.exe -?’ to see an overview of
the possible parameters. The parameter ‘-fo’ is particularly interesting since it helps you determine the type of output. When you use ‘-focsv’, Driverquery.exe generates an output in CSV format. In addition, you can overlay the parameter ‘-fo’ with ‘list’ or a standard ‘table’. You'll have to redirect the information to a file to save it. Supplement the instruction with a '>' as well as the desired file name with the complete path. Such a command would look like this: ‘Driverquery.exe -fo csv > C:\Temp\DriverList.csv’.

Excel might not correctly interpret a file generated this way. To fi x this, you can load the file in any desired text editor and replace all commas with semi-colons using the search and replace function.

NOTE: While calling Driverquery. exe, use the parameter ‘-v’ to show more information about the drivers. Without ‘-v’, Windows only documents ‘Module name’, ‘Display name’, ‘Driver type’ and the ‘Link date’.

How to Create and Use Invisible Desktop Folders

An invisible folder on your desktop would be quite good, but Windows does not allow you to set such a property for folders. However, a small trick can let you have invisible folders. Go to 'Start | All programs | Accessories | System tools | Character map’. In the list of displayed characters, search for an empty box and select it. You can ‘Select’ it and ‘Copy’ it to the clipboard and then close the Character Map. Now right-click on the desktop with your mouse and create a new folder with the option ‘New | Folder’. Paste over the name proposed by Windows with the character copied from
the Character Map using the [Ctrl]+[V] key combination.

This was the first trick: now you have what looks like a nameless folder on your desktop. To make the icon of the folder disappear, right-click on the now nameless folder and select the context command ‘Properties’. In the following dialogue, click on ‘Other icon’ in the Customize’ tab. As before in the Character Map, search and mark a space without content under ‘Choose an icon from the following list’. Then confirm your choice with ‘OK’ and close the ‘Properties’ dialogue with ‘OK’ as well. Your folder will have disappeared. To open it, you have to know its position and must double-click on the correct spot on your desktop. Note that the invisible folder will reveal itself when you drag with the mouse to select and cover a large area of the desktop, or when you use the arrow keys to move between icons.

How to Get Good Pictures from Mobile Phone Camera

Mobile phone cameras aren’t as capable as point-and-shoot cameras, but still you can get similar quality provided you use the available settings to their best. Basically, you have to know which settings are available via the camera app on your cellphone. Use features such as White balance, EV or Flash intensity as often as you can. The automatic mode yields good results only when you are shooting during the day with the sun behind you. Also check out third-party camera and photo-editing apps. They may have more settings or built-in effects to help you make your photos stand out. Further, some apps combine special effects with social networking elements, for example Hipstamatic or Instagram.