Install Start button in Windows 8

Tried to install start windows start button in windows 8 and its working without any problem . Only problem will be using windows key it will not switch to Metro UI . But bringing charms bar and clicking on start option brings the Metro UI as well.

Below is the link to download the same . Please see if this helps you for those novice customers who does not like the way windows 8 is designed .

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-33642_7-57496506-292/how-to-get-the-start-menu-back-in-windows-8/

http://www.iobit.com/iobitstartmenu8.php

Windows 8 Upgrade Portal would not show the upgrade price as $14.99 initially

Resolution: When you run Upgrade Assistant, it will check to see if your PC is ready to upgrade and then provide you with the option to buy, download, and install Windows 8 from there

During the purchase process you’ll want to have the following information ready;

• Name
• Billing details (address, phone number, email address)
• Shipping address if you are ordering a Windows 8 installation DVD
• Payment Information
• Your promo code (sent via email) to receive your upgrade at the promotional upgrade offer price

When you initially make your purchase selection, it will show the full price for Windows 8.

Important Note: On the order confirmation page you’ll have the change to enter your promo code- then the price will change to your Windows Upgrade Offer promotional price after clicking apply

Steps to reinstall OS if password has been forgotten in Windows 8

If someone as forgotten his Local (Standard) Account password, follow the steps below:

• On the login screen, on the bottom right, click the Power icon, hold down the <Shift> key and choose to reboot
• This will lead to the Advanced Windows Options. Click on Troubleshoot
• Here we will get an option Dell Backup And Recovery so click on that  and then follow the instructions to do PC Restore

Unable to auto login to wireless network

Issue: Auto connect option to wireless network is checked however each time the system is restarted , the has has to manually cvonnect to wireless network ...

These issues were seen on Windows 7 as well. Try the following steps:

 

Open Power Options
Click Change plan settings for the selected power profile
Click Change advanced power settings
Under Wireless Adapter Settings , click Power Saving Mode and change the settings to Maximum Performance

IE Internet Explorer reports Java error while playing online games

Resolution: IE reports Java error while playing online games on sites like pogo.com.

 

• Try to manually update Java
• Try to uninstall current Java and install Java 6 Update 35
• If there have been any Windows Updates installed, ensure that the system is rebooted manually for the updates to take effect

Certain portable systems may fail to connect/pair with a Bluetooth device after upgrading to Windows 8

Issue: Certain portable systems may fail to connect/pair with a Bluetooth device after upgrading to Windows 8

Resolution: Certain portable systems may fail to connect/pair with a Bluetooth device after upgrading to Windows 8

 

To rectify the issue

 

• Boot to the OS and uninstall the existing Bluetooth drivers and software from Programs and Features
• Go to SDC and install the Windows 8 specific drivers
• Remove and re-pair any Bluetooth devices which need to be used with the system

Certain systems may display a black screen on reboot post Windows 8 Upgrade

Issue: Certain systems may display a black screen on reboot post Windows 8 Upgrade

Resolution: Post Windows 8 upgrade, certain systems may display a black screen post the Dell logo.

 

Preliminary investigations seem to point to an issue with the graphics driver.

 

Attempt 3-time hard shut-down and get to recovery options. Perform System Restore. Once done, attempt display driver update (uninstall old driver first) and also flash to the latest BIOS.

Number keys above QWERTY dont work in browsers. Notepad, word etc work

Issue: Number keys above QWERTY dont work in browsers. Notepad, word etc work

Resolution:  Number keys above QWERTY dont work in browsers. Notepad, word etc work

 

Uncheck Comcast Constant Guard from Startup to resolve the concern

------------------------

Another potential resolution: (contributed by Kunal Sareen)

 

• Open Control Panel and navigate to Uninstall Programs.  This option should populate a list of all programs installed on your computer.
• Click on 'GuardedID' to uninstall it.  You may need to reboot afterwards.

------------------------

Try downloading the hotfix listed below:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306560 

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***Update by Anurag Mukherjee***

• Disable/uninstall Comcast Secure Lock (parental lock) from startup as the software has compatibility issues with Windows 8

------------------------

If none of these methods work, clear all startup items and check. If this resolves the concern, enable startup items one at a time and check which app is causing the issue

Not be able to play protected WMA files or use any app which uses protected WMA files (Eg: Overdrive)

Issue: Not be able to play protected WMA files or use any app which uses protected WMA files (Eg: Overdrive)

Resolution: his happens if the WMA file is license protected and Windows Media Player is unable to download the license file

To resolve this issue, try the following steps

• Download and save the WMA files to the desktop
• Launch Windows Media Player in admin mode
• Try to play the files in WMP

Doing so should cause WMP to generate an error about the files not having a valid license and should take you to the appropriate website to download the license. Follow the steps on screen to download the license file and try to play the file in WMP again.

Once WMP plays successfully, try the software again. If no go, update the Windows Media technologies as follows:

• Launch 32 Bit IE in admin mode
• Disable Protected Mode
• Visit http://drmlicense.one.microsoft.com/Indivsite/en/indivit.asp
• Click Upgrade

If the Upgrade button if grayed out, try to force the upgrade by going here

• http://drmlicense.one.microsoft.com/Indivsite/en/indivit.asp?force=1

If no go, try to install via ActiveX by visiting:

 

• http://drmlicense.one.microsoft.com/crlupdate/en/crlupdate.html

If these steps don't work, clear DRM cache by doing the following:

• Navigate to C:\Program Data\Microsoft\Windows\. If the folder is not seen, unhide hidden and system files from Folder Options
• If you still can't find the folder, locate the DRM folder location using the Registry

x86 Platform:

• Navigate to HKLM\Software\Microsoft\DRM
• Double Click the binary key named DataPath
• Look closely and you would be able to note down the path

x64 Platform

• Navigate toHKLM\Software\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\DRM
• Double Click the binary key named DataPath
  Look closely and you would be able to note down the path

Blank window after clicking on Mail tile in Windows 8

Issue: A blank white screen comes up after clicking on the 'Mail' Tile.

 

Resolution:
Uninstall the Mail App. It will remove Mail, Calendar, People & Messages Tiles.
From the Store, select the 'Productivity' as the category. It will show up as one App, which will reinstall all the four tiles back. The Mail app should open up correctly after that.

Windows 8 System not booting to WIndows

If Pre Boot System Assessment PSA passes in that case we can try the below mentioned steps.

These issues are happening due to incorrect BIOS/UEFI/Secure Boot settings.

 

I've personally tied this on the following systems. See if these help you out. You'll find these options in the BOOT tab of the BIOS.

5423 - UEFI Enabled, Secure Boot Disabled
3520 - UEFI enabled, Secure Boot Enabled
7520 - Legacy BIOS Enabled

 

Note that the training site BIOS sims do not show you these options. Attaching a screen shot which should give a rudimentary idea of what the options look like.

-------------------------------

Note that in certain cases you may not be able to change Boot List Options from UEFI to Legacy. To do so:

• Make sure Secure Boot is disabled
• If Secure Boot is grayed out and you are unable to change the settings, make sure the Load Legacy Boot ROM option is Disabled

Desktop IE (W8) Internet Explorer not be able to connect to the internet

Issue Description: Desktop Internet Explorer does not connect to the internet while Windows UI works fine. Other browsers work fine too.
Perform the following steps:

• Confirm Desktop IE works fine in Safe Mode

• Uninstall any security software installed and disable Windows Firewall/Microsoft Security Essentials

• Reset IE including personal settings (Favorites will NOT be deleted by this)

• Confirm no 3rd Party add-on is causing the issue by running IE without add-ons.

• Bring up Run

• Type iexplore -extoff

• Check connectivity

• Delete the contents of the install.ins file

• Launch Notepad in Admin mode

• Open C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\Signup\install.ins

• Delete everything which is written below [URL]

• Save changes

• Open C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Explorer\Signup\install.ins

• Delete everything which is written below [URL]

• Save changes

• Reset Internet Explorer

If these steps don't work, try using 32 Bit Internet Explorer instead of 64 Bit. Else, try creating a new user account. If no go, refresh the system. This will not delete any user files or Windows UI apps but will remove any desktop apps the customer has installed. 

System Mechanic Issue

       Initialize setup for System Mechanic. Don’t it Next. Stay on the first screen.

      Open Task Manager and kill the Explorer.exe task.

      Proceed with the installation till completion.

      Within Task Manager go to New Task and type Explorer.exe to get back the Desktop again.      Reboot.

·                Disabling firewall and Removing security

·         Unchecking gadget installation during the start of the installation

·         Clearing startup

·         Internet speed is fine

OOB system does not boot

OOB systems don't boot despite PSA passing and HDD being detected.

These issues are happening due to incorrect BIOS/UEFI/Secure Boot settings.

See if these help you out. You'll find these options in the BOOT tab of the BIOS.

5423 - UEFI Enabled, Secure Boot Disabled
3520 - UEFI enabled, Secure Boot Enabled
7520 - Legacy BIOS Enabled

Attaching a screen shot which should give a rudimentary idea of what the options look like. 

Settings for the Inspiron 3520 for Windows 8

How to upgrade to Windows 8 with only a product key

Issue:

·         Customer forgot to create bootable USB / DVD Media

·         Customer deleted the downloaded Windows 8 iso image

Pre-Requisites:

·         Make sure customer is on the PC he/she want to upgrade. This must be a PC that is currently running Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP with Service Pack 3 (SP3), Windows 8 Release Preview, Windows 8 Consumer Preview, or Windows Developer Preview. (Windows 8 Setup checks that your PC meets all system requirements before it installs Windows 8.)

·         Have their product key handy. He/She can find it in their online order information, in the confirmation email for purchase, or on the packaging. The product key will look something like this: XXXXX- XXXXX- XXXXX- XXXXX- XXXXX

·         Take backup of all the required data.

Customer can always contact Microsoft for assistance with Upgrades

OR

Have the customer visit the link, Click on “Install Windows 8” and proceed. http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/upgrade-product-key-only

Note: If customer can't find your product key, please have customer check online order information, confirmation email, or DVD packaging. If customer bought Windows 8 via the Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant, they can also look up your product key.

DELL Printer Compatibility with Windows 8

The below link has details on which printers will work with Windows 8 and which with Windows 8 RT OS.

http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/kcs/document?docid=572562

Use this as a reference when handling printer calls on new computers which will be shipped with Windows 8.

Beep sound while Shutting down XPS 8500

Issue : Beep sound while Shutting down XPS 8500

Discussion : The sound is produced by the video card when it senses that it's "underpowered"; apparently, video cards receive their current on slight delay from other devices on the motherboard, but many also receive power from the psu - so when you shut-down, there's a brief under-powered moment to the video card which causes the beep on shutdown.

Beep on shutdown will not cause any issues.

Unable to open websites while in normal mode | Potential fix

With regard to the issues we are facing where we are able to open websites in Safe Mode but not in Normal Mode while DellConnect works fine in both modes, try the following steps (in addition to the standard steps like disabling firewall, disabling Stage Remote etc.):

Uninstall Internet Explorer 9 and reboot the system

Launch Notepad in Admin mode

Open C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\Signup\install.ins

Delete everything which is written below [URL]

Save changes

Open C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Explorer\Signup\install.ins

Delete everything which is written below [URL]

Save changes

Reset Internet Explorer

Temporarily change home page to about:blank

Launch Internet Explorer

In the Internet Explorer first-run wizard, choose to Turn off Suggested Sites

On the next screen, choose Use Express Settings

Close and restart Internet Explorer and check

I believe that the OEM customizations made in the install.ins file are creating certain conflicts resulting in the issue, though I haven’t been able to figure out what. I had two cases today with the same symptoms and performing the above steps fixed them. 

How to do PC Restore when system is not going in F8/Advanced Boot Menu

In the scenario where we have to perform a PC restore and the customer is not able to go into F8/Advanced Boot Menu and the system is booting to Windows.

It Works, I just did it.

      1.  Ask the customer to hit the start button.

        2.  In the search programs and files above the start button, please ask the customer to type CMD.

       3.  Then ask the customer to right click on the CMD in the resulting programs and then hit Run as administrator.

 

1.              4.   UAC (User Account Control) would pop up, please ask the customer to hit continue

 

1.              5.        The CMD (Command Prompt) window will come up.

 

     6.       In the CMD, please ask the customer to type the command REAGENTC /BOOTTORE, (there is a space before the Forward Slash) and then ask the customer to hit enter.

     7.    It must say Operation Successful.

     8.    Close the CMD (Command Prompt) and then restart the system normally.

     9.      Customer would then be able to see the screen Windows is Loading Files.

          10.       Please ask the customer to wait until it comes to System Recovery Options and then hit next.

 

 

               11.       Ask the customer to select his/her name (User Account Name) in the drop down menu, enter the Account Login Password and then hit ok.

 

         12.       Customer will then be able to see the Recovery Tools.

 

         13.       Ask the customer to hit the Dell Factory Image Restore and then follow the steps for PC Restore.