Windows 8 Useful Tips

Windows 8 Installation Help

Whether you are upgrading from windows 7 to windows 8 or just bought a new PC or Laptop, installing windows 8 is a breeze.

The following step by step guide will help you in installing the all new Windows 8 onto your system:

Upgrade Windows 7 to Windows 8

Before upgrading to Windows 8, Microsoft recommends that you run the Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant. It scans your current PC to see if it is ready for Windows 8 and then provides a compatibility report.

You can run Upgrade Assistant without purchasing or installing Windows 8.

The best way to tell if your hardware, apps, and connected devices are ready to upgrade is to download and run Upgrade Assistant, which scans them and tells you if there is anything you'll need to do before or after upgrading.

Following steps will assist you in upgrading from windows 7 to windows 8:

1. Run Windows update to install the perquisite updates and setting for Windows 8 installation.
2. Insert the Windows 8 Installation Disc and wait for the AutoPlay windows to pop up. Click “Run setup.exe” to continue.
3. Type in your Windows 8 product Key mentioned on the disc.
4. Check the “I accept the license terms” to continue.
5. Choose whether you would like to keep your original windows files and settings or not and click “Next”.
6. Windows will check if your system is ready to upgrade.
7. When the setup confirms that you are ready to install, Click on Next.
8. Once the upgrade is complete, you will be able to see the Windows 8 Start Screen.

Windows 8 Clean Install

A Windows 8 clean install requires removing the existing operating system installed and then installing Windows 8 from scratch on that same drive.

The most important thing to consider before performing a clean install of Windows 8 is that every bit of information on the drive you're going to install Windows 8 on will be erased.

So, we recommend to backup Your Important Data.

 The following steps will help you in installing Windows 8 on fresh PC/ Laptop:

1. Insert the Windows 8 Installation Disc into your optical disk drive and turn on your computer.
2. During the boot up screen, press [F12] on your keyboard to enter Boot Menu.
3. Choose the disk drive as your boot device.
4. Press any key on your keyboard when you see the message to reboot from the DVD
5. You will see the Windows 8 Installation page.
6. Click “Install now” to continue.
7. Type in the product key to continue installation.
8. Check “I accept the license terms” and click “next”.
9. Choose whether you would like to keep your original windows files and settings or not and click “Next”.
10. When the setup confirms that you are ready to install, Click on Next.
11. Once your upgrade is complete, you will see the windows start screen on your desktop.

Cisco Fun Day With 1Akal

Cisco hosted a Fun Day on January 22nd, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at office. This cisco funday event was open to all employees.  We had many interesting tech related activities, team building activities and of course fun activities. It was also a good break from all the stress in work. There were prizes for the winners of activities.

At first a guy from cisco came forward and introduced himself. Then, he requested our company’s director to say a few words on the topic Company. It was a nice, inspiring and brief speech of what company is altogether. After that we all formed teams and started a game similar to minute to win. In this game one employee has to place a cookie on his/her forehead; and then only using facial expressions he had to drag down the cookie to the mouth and eat it. Alas, no one was able to complete the task. However, yet the person who was able to take the cookie most close to the mouth was awarded.

Later, then we formed a circle and cracked some jokes. Shortly after that all of us started playing pass the ball. The person who was found holding the ball after a random timeframe was given three choices, singing, dancing or dare. It was the person’s choice to choose either of one.

Simultaneously, at adjacent section of the office word play was in action. Five boards were affixed with a big sheet of crossword. One person at a time on each board had to find maximum words related to cisco within 3 minutes. Everyone in the office got the chance to play. After everyone had their chance, cisco coordinator found a tie among two employees. A nail-biting tie-breaker was held.

After all the fun activities and games we got to the point where winners were to be announced. The one who came first got an iPod, the one who came second got a trendy cisco laptop bag.

A few days before the event, an online questionnaire was held by cisco. On the same funday, its winners were also announced. First person got a sony camera, the one who came second got gift voucher worth INR 4,000, subsequently third one got same voucher worth INR 2,000.

After all the fun, frolic and jolly day, there was a treat for the taste buds. A pizza party was held. We all had pizza and soft drinks and left for the day.

Internet Explorer Troubleshooting

Internet explorer is the most widely used web browser by Microsoft. Just like other browsers it faces many problems, it crashes, stops working, or closes immediately after being opened, sometimes also gives an error message about Internet Explorer not working or that it encountered a problem and needs to close.

The foremost step towards internet explorer troubleshooting is that to make sure that you have a good connection to the Internet. If Internet Explorer doesn't opens or it opens briefly and then closes, the problem might be caused by low memory, or corrupted or missing system files. You can try to restart the computer to clear the memory and then open Internet Explorer by itself. But if Internet Explorer is still having problems, try the following:

While browser add-ons can enhance your online experience, they can occasionally interfere or conflict with other software on your computer. Sometimes it’s the add-ons you use which cause the problem. You need to detect which add-ons are causing the problem. Here’s how you do it:

• Click the Start button
• Click All Programs
• Click Accessories
• Click System Tools
• Then click Internet Explorer (No Add-ons).

If disabling all add-ons solves the problem, you need to disable all add-ons and then turn on add-ons only as you need them. This will allow you to figure out which add-on is causing the problem.

To manually enable or disable add-ons, you need to follow following steps:

• Open Internet Explorer by clicking the Start button, and then clicking Internet Explorer.
• Click the Tools button, and then click Manage Add-ons.
• In this window you can enable / disable individual add-ons.

If above add-on disabling method doesn't solve the problem, try resetting Internet Explorer back to its default settings. This method will remove all changes that have been made to Internet Explorer since it was installed, but it does not affect your favorites or feeds. Here is the procedure:

• Close all Internet Explorer or Windows Explorer windows.
• Open Internet Explorer by clicking the Start button, and then clicking Internet Explorer.
• Click the Tools button, and then click Internet Options.
• Click the Advanced tab, and then click Reset.
• Click Reset.
• When you are done, click Close, and then click OK.
• Close Internet Explorer and reopen it for the changes to take effect.

If windows update or malware scan doesn't helps, then you might require an additional help.  At this point, you can look for a local technician or online tech support providers.

Setting up various email accounts for iPhone

In this fast paced modern world, users want to manage their life on the go. Whether it’s sharing pictures, sending emails or creating conference; smart phones are taking the world by the storm. When we talk about smart phones we can think of only one name: Apples’ iPhone.

Setting up an email account in iPhone (5, 4, 3G etc.) is pretty easy and takes only a few taps to have an email account synced with your phone in no time.

Things you need to know

Here are a few things you need to know before you begin to setup your email account

• What email service would you like to sync with your phone.
• Your email user-name and password.
• If your email account isn't through MobileMe, Gmail, Yahoo, or AOL, you'll also need to know your incoming mail server (IMAP or POP) and outgoing mail server (SMTP).

Once you have all of that information, follow these steps to add an account:

Setting up an email account (Gmail, Yahoo or Hotmail)

• Open the “Settings” option on your iPhone.

• Next, Tap the "Mail, Contacts, Calendars" option on the screen.

• Now, Tap the "Add Account..." option.

• Choose the type of account you want to add.

• Fill in the information required and tap on “Next”

• iPhone will verify the information you entered. This might take a few minutes.

• Congratulations! Your email account has been setup successfully.

Setting up an email account (Other)

From the list of email options on the “Add Account” screen, if you choose “other” then you will need to know your incoming mail server (IMAP or POP) and outgoing mail server (SMTP).

• Tap other from email account list

• Tap on “Add account” option

• Follow the onscreen instructions and fill in the required information for your account and tap on “Next”

• Now you need to configure your incoming email server (POP or IMAP) and outing mail server (SMTP).

• Choose either IMAP or POP server and Fill in incoming and outgoing server settings, and Tap on “Next”

• iPhone will now verify your information and settings. This might take a few minutes.

You have successfully configured your email account with iPhone.