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 ...

Windows has always boasted an impressive assortment of third-party programs that enhance its functionality. However, until recently there wasn’t a single way for users to get applications. Some ...

Almost a year after the release of Windows 8, Microsoft today released the first major upgrade to its operating system, Windows 8.1. Starting today, those with Windows 8 machines can upgrade 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 ...

When you upgrade to Windows 8 there may be situations where your personal documents are not transferred to the new version of Windows. These reasons may include permission issues on the files or ...

Microsoft has made a point of advertising the performance enhancements and optimizations being made to Windows 8. Although Windows 7 was well received and typically offered better performance and ...

The madness began as much insanity does, with a nominally simple idea: Upgrade a Windows XP system to Windows 8 and write about the experience. Then my mouth started moving, even before my imprudent ...

Crapware is a fact of life for Windows PC buyers. Most of the time, it’s relatively harmless: limited anti-virus subscriptions you don’t want, WildTangent games and demoware you don’t need, and ...

Even when it was launched, Windows 8 was seen as a gamble — but one that Microsoft had to make. The stunning, out-of-nowhere success of tablets was making the PC look stodgy and out-of-date, so ...

One of the big barriers to upgrading to Windows 8 is that Windows 7 is so good. For keyboard-and-mouse users, Windows 8 isn't a hugely compelling upgrade -- and without judicious use of third-party ...