Monday, June 23, 2014

Windows 7 Surpasses 50 Percent Mark In The OS Market

Microsoft, after the release of Windows 8, expected a big boost in terms of revenue from the operating system. However, due to various drawbacks of the operating system and the negative reviews, it could not do well in the market. Microsoft had to release an update or a new operating system for making changes to Windows 8. The software giant decided to release a new operating system with the name Windows 8.1, hoping to make things better. However, a recent study shows that Windows 8.1 too has not helped Microsoft generate a huge revenue. According to the study, Windows 8.1 runs only n 6.35 percent of PCs in the world.

When you take the case of Windows 8.1, the operating system had a market share of 5.88 percent the previous month. It is clear that this share has gone up. However, there have not been a big number of upgrades as expected by Microsoft. Another important figure to take a note of is with Windows XP. The support for this operating system ceased on April 8, 2014. However, there has not been a big drop in the number of Windows XP users as expected by all. The study shows that the number of Windows XP, which had a market share of 26.29 percent last month showed only a slight decrease and stood at 25.27 percent. This means that still a large number of people are working with this outdated operating system. When it comes to Mac OS X 10.9, it runs on 4.15 percent PCs while the free operating system Linux runs on 2.90 percent PCs.

So, which operating system is the winner? The answer is clear, Windows 7. According to Windows 7 help center, the operating system has even crossed the 50 percent mark this month and continues to stay on top of the charts. The market share for this operating system was 49.27 percent last month and the new increase shows that the operating system is still the favorite of a majority of users.

The mainstream support for Windows 7 operating system ends next year. According to Windows 7 help center, Microsoft is also stopping the sales of Windows 7 preinstalled PCs by October this year. All these measures point that Microsoft is getting ready to push Windows 8.1 further. Currently Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 make up 12.64 percent of operating systems in the world. Microsoft is hoping to bring up this figure gradually.

Thursday, June 19, 2014

How To Recover Lost Outlook Data

You might have all used Outlook email client at least once. Many experts consider Outlook as the best and the most efficient email client in the world. Outlook has a beautiful and simple interface, which allows users to configure the settings easily. This email client provides users with automatic and manual configuration of email accounts. If you choose the automatic method for Outlook configuration, it will help users to configure their internet email accounts in the program with a few simple clicks. Users can customize the settings for the account if they choose the manual configuration method.

Now, just like any other email programs, Outlook too can encounter troubles. These troubles can include loss of data from the program, failure of the program to open, virus attacks etc. Sometimes, with these errors, you might find that all the folders from the program are deleted. In this condition, you will lose all the valuable emails, attachments, notes, and calendar entries etc., which are saved in the program. So, how can you recover these items? Outlook repair is one of the techniques that you could try.

In order to carry out Outlook repair, look for the file scanpst.exe in the computer. The location of this file can vary depending on the version of Outlook you use. Therefore, if you do not know the exact location of the file, search the computer with the keyword scanpst.exe. When you run this file, you will be asked to choose the location of the Outlook PST file. This file will have the name Outlook.pst. Select this file by navigating to its location and choose the button Start to initiate the scan process. When the scan is over, click the button Repair and fix the errors with the program.

Now, sometimes, the above-mentioned steps might not help you fix the issue with the program. In such conditions, it is advised that you use the tool OST to PST email conversion software. This tool is ideal in bringing back the data lost from the program. This software is capable of retrieving mailbox, memos, notes and other features of the program. With the use of the tool, users can recover files like audio files, video files, images, documents etc. The tool will convert the data into PST format, which will help users to view the contents in the Outlook program. This tool has a simple user interface and is therefore easier to use.

Friday, June 13, 2014

Disabling Prefetch And Superfetch In Windows 8

Superfetch and Prefetch are technologies developed by Microsoft that enables you to have faster system responsiveness. By predicting which application a user is most likely to execute next, Windows loads the required files in advance. This enables faster and smoother system response.

However, this feature is rendered void in systems with Solid-state device (SSD) storage. In fact, this service may be harmful to the system in the longer run because new writes are generated every time. In such cases, it is better to disable Superfetch and Prefetch.

Disabling Superfetch Manually
  • Right click on the desktop Start button and click on Run in the drop down menu that appears. 
  • A new dialog box will appear where you have to type in services.msc. This will open the Windows Services manager. An alternate procedure for opening the Services manager is to type in services.msc in the Windows Search bar. 
  • In the Services Manager window, scroll down and search for Superfetch. This will be found under a Windows service called SysMain. Double-click Superfetch to launch the Superfetch properties window and hit Stop to disable this feature. However, Superfetch will restart upon system restart. 
  • Next, locate the Startup Type drop down menu, and click on Disabled. Click Apply and then OK to save these changes. This will ensure that the feature will not automatically start when the system restarts.
There is no need to restart Windows 8 system after changing this setting. It comes into effect immediately.

Disabling Prefetch Manually
  • After disabling Superfetch, proceed to disabling Prefetch from the Windows Registry. 
  • To launch the Registry Editor, right-click the Desktop Start Button and select Run again. Type in Regedit and hit Enter into the dialog box that pops up. 
  • A new Registry Editor window will open up. Navigate to the location: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\PrefetchParameters 
  • Once this location is selected, you will see EnablePrefetcher on the right side of this window. Double click to open the settings. 
  • In the Value Data box, you can configure the prefex in one of the following ways:
0 – Disables Prefetcher
1 – Enables Prefetch for Applications only
2 – Enables Prefetch for Boot files only
3 – Enables Prefetch for Boot and Application files 
  • Depending on the settings you require, type in the relevant value. Make sure you do not accidentally change the wrong setting because it can lead to serious errors. 
This change in setting will be effective immediately. You do not need to restart Windows 8 for this setting to come into effect.

Thursday, June 12, 2014

How To Correct Orientation Issues Of Video Files Using Windows Movie Maker

Most of you might have shot videos using your cell phone and tried to play it on your PC. However, if you have used the portrait mode to shoot the video, then it could be wrongly oriented when you try to play from your Windows library.

However, according to Windows Live support, this issue can be resolved using the program Windows Live Movie Maker. This tool is available with Microsoft’s Windows Live Essentials package. Windows Live Movie Maker is a movie-making tool, which will help you to edit and make movies with a few simple steps. In this post, we will find out how to use this program and correct the orientation issues with the video file in the Library.

Steps Involved

The first step is to install Windows Live Movie Maker program. For this, download the package Windows Live Essentials from Microsoft. Run the setup file, follow the instructions and install it.

Once you install the program on the computer, launch it. Select the button Add videos and photos. Another option is to go to the location of the video file and right click it. Choose the option Open With and then select Windows Live Movie Maker from the list of programs. Another method to add the clip to the program is to simply drag and drop the video file to Movie Maker window.

Once you add the video file to the program, you can find the file in the new project session. You can find two options in the window, which are Rotate left 90 degrees and Rotate right 90 degrees. Choose the option according to the alignment of the video file to correct it. You can view the rotated file in the preview pane of the program.

Once the rotation process is complete, you can export the file in the .WMV format to any location on your computer. For this, choose the button Save movie and select the location. It is advised that you keep the recommended settings for exporting the file for the best results. Once the movie file is exported, you can start playing it. This will open the video in the correct orientation with your default media player.

With the above steps, you can fix the issues associated with wrong video file orientation. For further assistance on video file orientation issues, you may contact Windows Live support or our technical support team.

Friday, June 6, 2014

Windows XP Still In Use

The most successful operating system that Microsoft has ever released is Windows XP. Even 12 years after the release of this operating system, it still holds a significant share in the existing computer market. However, on April 8, 2014, Microsoft ended the support given to this versatile operating system. Many of the users are still looking for the reasons behind such a decision to end the support given to the Windows XP. From now on, Windows XP users will no longer receive any updates and this will finally results in decline of the efficiency of your Windows XP machine.

In the month of April, Windows XP nearly constituted about 17.16 percent of the desktop usage according to the survey conducted by StatCounter. The numbers were much less when compared to the previous years and back in March; it constituted 18.61 percent, which is far less than 22.75 percent that was reported a year ago. This survey was conducted by another firm called Netmarketshare, which found out that Windows XP desktop operating system usage was at 26.29 percent, which is quite less than the 38.31 percent, reported in the year April 2013.

Even though, both firms used different strategies for the survey, the numbers regarding the Windows XP usage is declining. This decrease in the numbers is actually because of the Microsoft’s decision to end the support for the Windows XP OS and most of the XP users are upgrading their systems to either Windows 8 or Windows Vista or Windows 7.

Rise of Windows 8

Microsoft’s decision to end the support to Windows XP has made a huge impact on the sales of Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 OS and this is what the tech giant was aiming for. According to the reports given by StatCounter, both Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 OS constituted 13.05 and 12.24 percent of market share respectively.  It is the new update of the Windows 8 operating system that boosted the sales last month. This itself gives the indication that, more people are upgrading their existing OS to the new OS and the people who cannot upgrade their PC’s are going for Windows 8 systems.

Now, with boost in sales of the newly released operating system, Microsoft needs to support those users by releasing more and more updates, which will make their systems more effective and useful. To know more regarding moving to Windows 8, contact the Windows support number. The Windows support number helpline will assist you in all matters related to the Windows 8 OS.

Thursday, June 5, 2014

Windows 8 1 Fixes Some Of The Windows 8 Problems

The new Windows 8 OS was marketed as the new generation Microsoft operating system with a brand new UI. And, all the existing Windows users, especially those corporate customers, who are still using Windows XP, were urged to opt for the Windows 8 upgrade. However, most of the Windows users were not in a hurry.

Microsoft trying to reboot Windows 8 sales with the new update

Many Windows users took a wait-and-see approach to the new OS, even though Microsoft offered a discount offer for the new OS for the first few months. This offer was mainly aimed at the Windows 7 users, since they can easily opt for the Windows 8 upgrade without making any changes to hardware.

However, as it turned out, Microsoft attempts at making their Windows OS more touch-friendly ended up creating a half-desktop-half-tablet OS hybrid that was useless to enthusiasts of either form. The desktop users found that the Start Menu they were so familiar with in the old Windows editions has disappeared in the new OS.

The tablet users were not at all interested in Windows 8, when they can get the freeware OS Android from Google and hundreds of thousands of Android apps. But, Microsoft quickly took stock of the situation and decided to release an OS update to Windows 8 and thereby, rescue their new OS from its Vista-fate.

In fact, in many respects, Windows 8 is very similar to Windows Vista. Windows Vista was Microsoft’s previous attempt at a radical OS redesign, ignoring the needs of customers of the time. Now, Microsoft has repeated their mistake.

To be frank, Windows Vista like Windows 8 is a great OS, but there was no market for it at that time. Similarly, a hybrid OS with UI features for both desktop and tablet users might have worked a few years ago, when people were beginning to try the touch screen devices – not now, when they have already made the switch to fully fledged touch screen operating systems.

Maybe, Microsoft should stop trying to satisfy both the desktop and tablet users and design separate user-friendly operating systems. Many desktop users find using the new OS very difficult, as Windows 8 is designed mainly as a touch screen operating system with the ‘optional’ desktop mode.

Microsoft has to fix these problems. And, the Windows 8.1 OS update is a step in the right direction. Too little, too late? We’ll see.