Category: Windows 8

Windows 8 has native support for the ISO image files. You can double-click on an ISO image file to mount it in Windows and use it like a regular optical disk drive. But sometimes when you install third party software like WinRAR or PowerISO, they associate themselves with the ISO extension files and you can no longer use Windows to open ISO files. If you want, then you can restore this ISO image file association back to Windows Explorer.

GZero, the makers of the popular TVCatchup program, have come up with GBoost that boasts of boosting your system performance with a single click. This software is specially designed for pro gamers who want to use up their system resources to the maximum for playing computer games in every possible way. The GBoost software can close down unnecessary applications and frees up your system resources to boost your PC performance.

Windows 8.1 is here and has come up with a few changes. One of the most notable changes is the return of the Start button in Windows 8.1. Although this is mainly due to outcries made by PC users about the missing start button, yet the new Start button is nowhere near the Start button found in Windows 7, neither in looks nor in functionality. If you want to get rid of this Start button, then you can use the free StartIsGone utility.

Normally, the windows color in Microsoft Windows is specified by the theme that you are currently using. But now you can dynamically change the windows color to match that of your desktop background or active applications using a free application called Aero Blend. Aero Blend automatically changes the windows color to match the current desktop wallpaper or active application icon or their contents.

Although latest versions of Windows do not really need third party device drivers to be installed, yet there are still some devices like printers which require their own drivers to be installed. Some of these device drivers are not even available online. This is where the free Driver Magician Lite software comes in. It can create a backup of your installed device drivers to a folder so that you can reinstall them when needed.

Just like in any other operating system, there are some applications that start automatically in Windows as you boot your Windows. If you have a large number of such auto-starting applications, then they all run at startup and can make Windows very slow to boot. The freeware software Startup Sentinel can be used to control, block or remove these auto-starting applications easily.

If you have ever used Ubuntu Linux, then you know as soon as you insert a USB key or CD in your computer, its shortcut icon is displayed on the desktop. These shortcut icons make it very easy for you to access these removable drives in Linux. But nothing like this happens in Windows and you have to open the File Explorer to access such drives. But now using the free DriveShortcut program, you can have the same functionality in Windows.

If you use Microsoft Word or some other text processor extensively at work then you know the irritable situation when you accidentally press the Caps Lock on your keyboard. One of my wise co-workers suggested that I should use a screwdriver to remove the Caps Lock key from the keyboard. CapsUnlocker is a free software that can automatically unlock the Caps Lock key after a few seconds. So even if you have accidentally or deliberately turned it on, it turns off after some time by itself.

Microsoft Office is the premier office applications suite in the world. The main reason for its popularity is its versatility, ease of use and the profusion of features. But it sometimes annoys you when it stops working or throws up errors and refuses to work as expected. Microsoft has come up with a tool called Office Configuration Analyzer Tool (OffCAT) that can help you diagnose and fix Office related problems easily.