Some Windows 8.1 Basics…

We have all heard the numerous reports of how many people are not happy with Windows 8 – it’s confusing, frustrating, where is the damn Start Button, etc. Yes, there are many changes since Windows 7, but the good news is, with the release of Windows 8.1, Microsoft has fixed many of these issues and with a few pointers and a little practice it’s not that hard to learn! So here we go.

·        *Upon login to Windows 8.1, the user is taken to the Start Screen, which is like a system overlay with all the traditional Windows stuff underneath and reorganized. At the Start Screen, you have category tiles to click on as quick & easy ways to do some tasks like check email, look at maps, go to news articles, etc.

·         *Or, you can click on the Desktop tile and you go straight to your desktop – complete with the holy Start Button and more of a normal Windows look and feel.

·         *The   at the bottom left of the Start Screen takes you to your installed applications, i.e. MS Office, Adobe PhotoShop, etc. - similar to what clicking Start, All Programs in Windows 7 does.

·         *From the desktop, if you LEFT click the Start Button it will take you back to the Start Screen (remember that’s the screen with the big colorful tiles)

·        * From the desktop, if you RIGHT click the Start Button you will get you some traditional options, tools, & utilities, such as Control Panel, Search, Run, & Shutdown options.

·         *From the Start Screen or desktop, if you hover with the cursor over the lower right hand corner of the screen, icons for settings, devices, search, and other tools will appear – you can then click them in order to access these tools.  

·         *From the desktop, to access your local hard drive (C:) or your network drives, click on the Windows Explorer icon and you will see these drives available.

·         *That’s all for now. After 15-20 minutes, you will likely be rolling & have many things in Windows 8.1 figured out. It is a different experience, but not as tough as you were led to believe.