Reinstalling Windows is a long, grueling experience. Once you get the OS running you have to download updates, track down the right drivers, install your apps, and put everything else together.

The Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant is a program by Microsoft that allows you to quickly assess whether or not your computer is capable of running Windows 8 and then purchase it. It does this by scanning ...

Microsoft’s Windows 8.1 may sound like a new operating system, but it’s really more like a Service Pack. The update includes new features, modifies old ones, and fixes flaws, but it doesn’t amount to ...

Windows 8 has the ability to create a bootable USB flash recovery drive that can be used to troubleshoot a Windows 8 computer that is unable to start. A recovery drive is the same as a startup repair ...

Lance Whitney is a freelance technology writer and trainer and a former IT professional. He's written for Time, CNET, PCMag, and several other publications. He's the author of two tech books--one on ...

If you aren't happy with Windows 8, and are curious to find out what's new in Windows 8.1, rather than just read about it, why not try it for yourself and install it in a Virtual Machine? It's easy to ...

In a monster blog post that would stretch the 640KB memory limit of early PCs, Microsoft has detailed the streamlined, just-11-clicks! upgrade process for Windows 8-- as in, the installer that appears ...

That was over two years ago in the early adopter program for Windows 8, and now when I use Windows XP or Windows 7, I find it very inefficient to “have to click through so many menus” to find and do ...

Greg Shultz takes a look at 8GadgetPack, a free tool that reinstalls the original desktop gadget program files in Windows 8.x. Find out how to use 8GadgetPack to install any Windows desktop gadget. As ...