Speed Up Windows 8 The Best Tweaks & Ways for Super Fast Windows 8

Windows 8 has been a robust and optimized operating system than windows 7, so there aren‟t much tweaks that you could apply to really speed up windows 8. Long before, we‟ve published an extensive guide to speed up windows 7 operating system by optimizing the visual effects, applying registry tweaks, disabling services and so on. The guide targeted users with much less powerful system configuration. They were required to shut off many hardware intensive visuals and settings to ensure that the OS run smoothly. Now, the number of windows users has grown substantially and so has their system configuration. So, it would be more logical to speed up windows 8 without compromising the visual experience, but we won‟t leave the users with a dated system configuration too. Instead we‟ve organized the guide so that all the users get the best experience out of their windows 8 PC.

Note : The guide has been organized into three levels. Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3.

 Level 1 – Users who like to keep on their visual effects and settings but would like to tweak their system. Level 2 - Users who wish to tweak their system but doesn‟t want to fully strip windows 8 visuals.
 Level 3 - Targets users who prefer to tweak their windows 8 system to the maximum possible extend by compromising the visual effects. (For Systems which have much less Powerful Configuration.) Myself being a Level 2 User, some of the screen shots used here resembles the settings for the same.
Before Proceeding, make sure you create a system restore point in windows 8 and if you find yourself messed up with windows 8 settings, follow this guide to reset windows 8 settings to factory defaults Services in Windows 8 that can Safely be set to Manual (Level 2 & Level 3) When compared to windows 7, windows 8 takes care of most of the unneeded services automatically. There are still some of the windows 8 services which you could safely set to manual. This would free up system resources and helps in reducing the boot time in windows 8. To Disable a service in windows 8, Press WIN + R to bring up the run command box and type services.msc and press enter to bring the Services Window. Double clicking a particular service would bring up its properties and you may read its description to know more about it and set its Startup Type to Manual.

1. Diagnostic Policy Service

2. Distributed Link Tracking Client

3. IP Helper (Set it to Automatic Delayed Start)

4. Offline Files

5. Performance Logs & Alerts

6. Program Compatibility Assistant Service

7. Print Spooler (If you do not plan to use any Printer now or in the near future.) If you plan to use a printer in the near future, make sure you leave the service as it is, because it‟s likely that you‟d forget that you‟ve disabled this service while installing a printer. The device won‟t get properly installed unless you start the service again. This had happened to me once and i‟ve spend a lot of time to find this was the root cause for not getting my printer‟s driver installed on my pc.

8. Remote Registry (Most users rarely make use of this service, so you may disable it.)

9. Secondary Logon

10. Security Center (Do Not Disable the Service)

11. Server (If your computer do not connect with any network)

12. TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper (Not Recommended if you‟re on a network and use file and printer sharing over it.)

13. Themes ( Recommended For LEVEL 3 Users)

14. Windows Error Reporting Service

15. Windows Image Acquisition (WIA)

1. Diagnostic Policy Service

2. Distributed Link Tracking Client

3. IP Helper (Set it to Automatic Delayed Start)

4. Offline Files

5. Performance Logs & Alerts

6. Program Compatibility Assistant Service

7. Print Spooler (If you do not plan to use any Printer now or in the near future.) If you plan to use a printer in the near future, make sure you leave the service as it is, because it‟s likely that you‟d forget that you‟ve disabled this service while installing a printer. The device won‟t get properly installed unless you start the service again. This had happened to me once and i‟ve spend a lot of time to find this was the root cause for not getting my printer‟s driver installed on my pc.

8. Remote Registry (Most users rarely make use of this service, so you may disable it.)

9. Secondary Logon

10. Security Center (Do Not Disable the Service)

11. Server (If your computer do not connect with any network)

12. TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper (Not Recommended if you‟re on a network and use file and printer sharing over it.)

13. Themes ( Recommended For LEVEL 3 Users)

14. Windows Error Reporting Service

15. Windows Image Acquisition (WIA)

16. Windows Search (If you rarely use Windows Search feature )

17. Windows Time (If you do not want to synchronize system time with internet time automatically) After disabling most of these services, you‟d notice a slight bump in boot time and speed. Don‟t mix this step with others, when following these steps make sure you does this in a stretch because, if any thing goes wrong you might need to come back to re enable a particular service.

Tweaking Windows 8 Performance Options (L: 2 & 3) 

To adjust the Visual Effects in Windows 8, Press Win + X > System > Advanced System Settings (Left Sidebar) > Advanced (Tab) > Settings (Under Performance). The performance options window would list out the options to turn off / on windows animations, eye candies and other visual effects. The following screenshot shows you the settings that i‟ve used on my windows 8 laptop. You might notice that i have turned on the „show window contents„ option, but that‟s just my personal preference. You may un-check the option if you wish.

Level 3 Users may un-tick other options as well. Un-ticking the ‘Use drop shadows for icons labels on desktop’ option would remove the icon shadow and you might need to use a black wallpaper as background too see the text properly. 

Registry Tweaks To Speed Up Windows 8 (L 1, 2 & 3) Some of the Registry tweaks for windows 7, works for windows 8 too. Download, Extract and Execute the registry file to install the tweaks and finally restart the system for the registry tweaks to fully take effect.

Changes that the registry tweaks make to your system.

Adds “Copy To” and “Move To” options to right click context menu in windows 8, Reduces the Menu Show delay time, Speed Up waiting time for hung applications.

Download Windows 8 Registry Tweaks 

Speed Up Logging into Windows 8 (L: 1, 2 & 3) Windows 8 brings up a lock screen followed by a start screen which would prevent you from directly getting into the desktop easily. If you‟re not an avid user of any of those, you may essentially turn them off which could save you 3 – 4 seconds while getting into the windows 8 desktop. Follow the below tutorial to selectively disable the lock screen and start screen in windows 8.

 Bypassing the Lock Screen & Start Screen in Windows 8 Remove Unnecessary Startup Programs To Speed Up Windows 8 (L: 1, 2 & 3) Some of the applications you install on your Windows 8 system grabs a place in the windows 8 start up pool and would automatically load up while logging into windows. But you must know that these programs would ad
d up to the boot time of windows and later becomes the culprits of slow system start-ups. Some make sure you allow only the most used programs to start up along with windows 8. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc To bring up the task Manager and click on the Start-up tab to see the programs that start along with Windows 8. Right Click a particular service and ChooseDisable.

Disabling the unnecessary start up items in windows 8, ensures a faster system boot up and free‟s memory. These programs would no longer stay in the memory as they won‟t start unnecessarily from now. 

Tweaking Windows 8 Folder Options (L: 2 & 3) 

Setting windows to display icons instead of thumbnails would help in improving the file browsing speed in windows 8, as the system doesn‟t require to retrieve and cache the thumbnails. Open up Windows Explorer by pressing Windows key + E click on View from the menu bar and choose Options. Click on the View tab and tick the first option and click Apply > OK.

Speeding Up SSD in Windows 8 (L: 1, 2 & 3) If you‟ve installed windows 8 on a Solid State Drive, then make sure you don‟t miss the following guide. 

9 Quality Tweaks To Speed Up & Optimize SSD’s Read the guide thoroughly to optimize your expensive Solid State Drive & to get the best out of it.

 Software’s To Speed Up Windows 8 (L: 1, 2 & 3) The following are the software‟s that i use to optimize and make windows 8 faster. For a daily windows 8 user, these tools are must have and would help you in working faster.

 CCleaner (Free yet powerful utility to clean up your system and optimize windows registry.)

 TeraCopy (Nifty utility to speed up file copying in windows. Free and Supports File Pause/Resume and more.) 

Everything (This is in fact, one of the best utilities to replace windows 8 default search. Its lightning fast and light. Once installed, you may assign a shortcut to launch it from its preferences window.) 

Disabling Sounds in Windows 8 (L: 3) You may disable the sounds in windows 8 if you‟re using an outdated pc. This won‟t basically speed up windows 8, but would reduce the resource usage. Press the Windows Key to bring up the windows 8 start screen and type Sounds and clickSettings from right sidebar to see the sound settings. Now choose Change system sounds.

Turn OFF UAC in Windows 8 (L: 2 & 3 ) The user account control feature in windows 8 popups up a notification dialogue box, each time you make changes to the OS and while installing any applications. While this is provided as a safety feature in windows 8, this might be a hindrance to some users. 

To turn off UAC, Press Windows Key + W and type UAC in the search box to see the link to the uac settings.

You could move the slider position based on your preference. Moving the slider to Never Notify ensures that you no longer receive such popups while proceeding with an operation in windows.

Essential Keyboard Shortcuts To Speed Up Windows 8 Work Flow (L: 1, 2 & 3) You could work much faster with windows 8 if you use keyboard shortcuts. Its just that, you need to get familiar with them. So make sure you use them for a few days and master them

. Windows Key + D : Helps you to get to the windows 8 desktop quickly bypassing all the opened windows.

 Windows Key + E : If you frequently open File Explorer in windows 8 (Computer), it might save time if you could use it from now on.

Windows Key + I : Pops up the windows 8 settings on the right side, you could quickly get access to the power settings, sound settings etc.

Windows Key + Number Key (1-9) : If you have multiple applications pinned onto windows 8 taskbar, this would open up the corresponding application from the taskbar.

Windows Key + Tab : Helps you switch back and forth between opened applications.

 Windows Key + L : If your work involves taking jiffy intervals, this shortcut helps you to lock your windows 8 PC in a wink.

Windows Key + X : If you want quick access to the admin menu in windows 8, this would pop up the admin settings from the bottom left corner of your screen.

 Also Read : Add Shortcuts to Win + X Menu in Windows 8 We‟ve not included too many shortcuts, but only the most basic ones that you should know as daily windows 8 user. Once you start using them for a few days, these would help you speed up windows 8 work flow.

And that concludes the list of tweaks and steps to make windows 8 faster. If you‟ve got any suggestions or queries feel free to comment them down

Defeating Back Pain Forever

Back pain, one of the most common physical, and debilitating ailments today,
affects 70% - 80% of us at one time or another in our lives. However, as a result of the obesity
epidemic, that number continues to climb. So if you are suffering or have suffered from back pain,
you are not alone!


Back pain suffers, resulting from wear and tear and the aging process, generally are over 40 years of age; but it is not uncommon for individuals in the 30's to experience back challenges. The complex spine changes during aging at varying rates from individual to individual as determined by genetic factors, lifestyle choices, and prior injuries.


Just remember, the odds are in your favor that you will experience some sort of back pain in the future.
So what do you do when that happens, and how do you prevent it from happening again? There lies two, seventy two million dollar questions.


First off, don't panic! Over 95% of back pain does not require surgery, and will subside on its own anywhere from a couple of days to months. With the back, it is rather tricky to predict how quickly it will heal. Be patient, and keep positive!


Please be aware that some chronic back conditions such as spinal stenosis, spondylosis, and osteoarthritis may never completely heal without a physicians care. Symptoms generally come and go, and then come and go again, where the recipient learns to manage the condition with medication, exercise, physical therapy, spinal blocks, and/or surgical intervention. Treatment all depends on the severity of the condition as determined by the physician's interpretation of the X-Ray, and/or MRI.


Recovery Tips-


1. Avoid motions that irritate it, but don't stay in bed for days on end which will weaken you

2. Ice for the first 48 hours, then apply a heating pad thereafter. 15-20 minutes at a time

3. See your doctor if pain persists longer than 1 week.

4. Follow pain medication recommendations (such as NSAIDS)

5. Light massage, and pain free range of motion stretching

6. Light walking (no hills) can help

7. Physical Therapy- massage, electric muscle stimulation, ice, heat, exercise, stretching

8. Pool therapy

9. Don't panic! Be patient! Most cases will get better over time.

10. KEEP MOVING (pain free movement) is the KEY!


Now that you are managing your back pain, let's focus on preventing it from occurring
again. Depending upon the severity of your specific back condition, you can decrease the chance
of returning pain, manage ongoing pain, or possibly prevent a reoccurrance. But HOW?


"The Secret Answer" - EXERCISE CORE MUSCLES in synergy with your particular condition.


Your goal should be to safely strengthen your core muscles to the max. The core muscles keep you upright, balanced, and able to maintain your spine in a stable position. The muscles that need to be worked are the back, legs, abdominals, and hips. By keeping these muscles strong, and flexible, it will provide a more secure base adding protection for a vulnerable spine. Warning: if you don't strengthen your core, the older you get, the weaker your muscles become, and the more vulnerable you will be to pain.


When I mention exercise the core, I am referring to doing the proper exercises for specific conditions. It is impossible for me to tailor this prevention protocol for everyone, since each person needs their own specific program with medical team input. However, I will give you a few basic back strengthening tips. In correlation with your specific condition, you must clear specific exercises with your health care team.


Prevention Tips-


1. Stay active - use back smart exercises on a regular basis

**I will be listing specific back smart exercises in future editions of the multimedia Wellness WORD Newsletter.

To reserve your complimentary multimedia subscription, simply go, right now, to
http://www.WellnessWord.com .

2. While walking and exercising, maintain proper spinal alignment (good posture)

3. Keep your weight under control

4. Don't smoke

5. Strengthen your core muscles

6. Keep the muscles limber and stretched

7. Do cardiovascular exercise ( ex. walk) on a regular basis.

8. Lift with proper form (use legs); proper spinal alignment

9. Contract abdominals throughout the day to protect spine as well as strengthen supporting muscles

10. Avoid the following:


Straight leg sit-ups

Bent leg sit-ups during acute pain

Leg lifts (lifting both legs while lying on your back)

Walking at a high incline

Lifting heavy weights above your waist (shoulder press, standing bicep curl)

Any stretches done while sitting with your legs in a V position

Toe touches while standing

Running or repetitive stair climbing

Excessive spine twisting, and bending


My intention for writing this article is to inform you there is hope. You can get over back
pain, and do certain things to prevent it from returning, or returning with more intense symptoms.

Ten excuses why people don’t do fitness exercise.

Here’s a list of reasons that people give to get out of doing fitness exercises. Obviously you are not one of these people and you have put in to action a plan to regularly exercise and keep fit.

1) I am too busy right now, I’ll start next week.

2) I’ve tried exercising for a few days, but I just need a rest for a week, just to get balanced.

3) I haven’t got any suitable clothes at the moment, no shorts or jogging trousers. I’ll purchase something next time I’m near a sports shop.

4) I’ll start some serious exercising when I feel fitter. I feel that I am not up to running a circuit at the moment.

5) It’s Christmas at the moment. I want to enjoy the food and festivities. I’ve made it one of my new year’s resolutions to think about doing some exercises.

6) I’ll start exercising just as soon as I have quit smoking.

7) I’ve just gone through a divorce, so now is not a good time for me to start and exercise regime.

8) I’d like to do some exercise in the morning but I don’t have time before I go to work, and I am to tired after work in the evening.

9) I am too embarrassed to let people se me in the gym with my overweight body.

10) I need to wash the car on Saturday morning and then take my wife shopping, so I don’t really have time to do any exercise at the weekend.

Exercise for a Healthy Heart

Do you exercise every day? If you want to live a long, healthy life, maybe you should.

A recent study by Timothy Wessel, a physician at the University of Florida, indicates one of the strongest risk factors for developing heart disease is inactivity – even more so than being overweight. During the four-year study of 906 women, Dr. Wessel documented those who were moderately active were less likely to develop heart disease than sedentary women, no matter how much they weighed. The study concluded: “These results suggest that fitness may be more important than overweight or obesity for cardiovascular risk in women.”

In January, the updated U.S. Dietary Guidelines strongly urged that everyone should take part in “at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity” on most days, above whatever activities they do at home or work. To loose weight or to avoid gaining weight as we age, 60 minutes of daily moderate to vigorous exercise is recommended. And those who have already lost weight and are attempting to keep weight off need 60 to 90 minutes of daily exercise.

A study of 9,611 adults by the University of Michigan Health System, found that people in their 50s and 60s who participated in daily exercise were 35 percent less likely to die within the next eight years than their inactive couch potato counter parts.

Convinced that it’s time to add exercise to your day?


The Basics - Making Exercise a Life Priority:
- If you’re not use to exercising, check with your doctor before beginning any strenuous fitness routine.

- Start slow. If 30 minutes of exercise is too much, start with 15 minutes and add a few minutes each day.

- If you don’t have time for 60 minutes of exercise, break it up into two 30-minute sessions throughout the day.

- Schedule a specific time to exercise everyday – then keep to your schedule!

- Take part in more intense activities that can improve your heart health, such as: running, dancing, swimming, cycling, and climbing stairs.

- Find exercise that you enjoy. You will be more likely to continue and improve your daily performance if you look forward to a favorite activity.

- Wear proper clothing and footwear. This has two functions. Clothing and shoes that are suited to your activity will enhance performance and offer the right kind of support for your body and feet. They will also place you in a better frame of mind for exercise. When you wear your favorite running outfit and slide into your special running shoes, your mind says “it’s time to get out the door and put my feet in motion!”

- Add everyday activities to increase your overall fitness level, such as gardening, housework, walking to the store, take the stairs instead of the elevator, and raking leaves.

- Always drink lots of water.

- If you feel discomfort or pain after an activity, use ice therapy immediately to reduce swelling and numb pain. Always have a cold pack in your freezer, ready and waiting. Most aches and pains attributed to exercise respond well to icing and will melt away within 24 hours after applying ice for several 20-minute sessions. Using cold therapy reduces down time, getting you back on schedule fast. (If the pain does not lessen within 48 hours after using ice therapy, is intense or becomes worse, see your doctor.)

Exercise every day…take care of your heart…live long!

Disclaimer: This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical treatment or consultation. Always consult with your physician in the event of a serious injury.

The Subconscious Influence on Your Diet and Permanent Weight Loss

What determines human behavior and in particular your eating behavior? I have yet to come across a psychiatrist, psychologist or physician who can answer this question, yet this is the most fundamental question if you wish to initiate lasting permanent behavior change. If you can not answer this question, how could you possibly expect to help someone make a change in there diet or insure permanent weight loss? How can you move forward if you do not definitively know what is moving you forward. What determines human behavior and in particular your eating behavior is simply information. Can you do anything in your life without talking to yourself or seeing a picture of what you need to do? Of course not! It would be a little bit like trying to read from a blank page. No information = no action!

The next question is: What are the components of this information? The components of the information that determines your emotional state and behavior are words and pictures. The next logical question then is how do you Recognize, Access and Change the information that is driving a behavior that simply does not work? This is where over 20 years of research and development come in with a program process now known as Burris MIND/FITNESS. MIND/FITNESS answers the last question with great precision and accuracy by virtue of starting out with the first two questions. In the resolution of any problem it is always about the question. Never has this been more relevant. Imagine if for the last 60 years psychologists asked, “How can I fix it?” instead of “Why is it broken?!”

Why You Absolutely Must Take Control of Your Subconscious

To give you an idea of the power of the subconscious, you can speak at a rate of about two to three hundred words per minute. Your subconscious runs at a rate of about one thousand to twelve hundred words per minute which is about four times faster than you can speak. This is why you can talk on the phone and perform other tasks like typing on the computer or driving a car because the subconscious is already programmed to do the other tasks. You can look at the conscious mind and the subconscious mind like a tug of war with a vat of mud in the middle for whom ever loses. The conscious mind is one-person on one side against the subconscious, which are four people on the other side. If the conscious decides to move in a different direction like changing your diet, losing weight, increasing your fitness program, quitting smoking or any number of other things, it is usually a losing proposition because you are simply out numbered with information. This is why it is so difficult to attain spontaneous change. Burris MIND/FITNESS will to make sure you have the most people on your side in the tug of war.

Burris MIND/FITNESS is based on the reality that all behavior is emotionally driven or in other words your emotional state = your behavior. How you feel about things you do will always determine whether you move toward them or not. You will always move toward perceived pleasure and away from pain. The key component of any behavioral change program must include how to get control of your emotional state. So what is the biggest difference between MIND/FITNESS and any other behavioral change program? The question MIND/FITNESS asks is: “How can I fix it?” as opposed to “Why is it broken?”
Example: If you get a flat tire on your car, do you want to walk back down the road to find out why you got the flat or do you want to know how to fix it so that you can keep moving forward?
It is certainly not necessary to spend the last 40 years of your life analyzing the first 40 years of your life.

It is imperative that you understand how to take control of the subconscious because the mind is like a car without an off switch and an unknown driver, if you do not predetermine the destination. If you decide not drive it, it is going to drive itself or someone else may get in the seat and drive it for you. Someone else driving might be ok if you agree to where they are going but what if you do not like where they are going?

For the first eighteen years of your life someone else drove the car. This was usually with little or no consideration to the younger passengers. Almost every decision was made for you. You were told what to do, what to eat and learned how to react to any given situation. All of this information is stored in the subconscious and will arise randomly to determine your life’s path.

There are also a tremendous number of variables that can occur in your initial programming that may have little to do with your parents. The bottom line still remains. Do you, at some point, want to drive or do you want to continue letting someone or something else drive