TRPC Has been updated to include support for Windows 8!

The Restore Point Creator (T.R.P.C.) is a handy utility that I made to quickly create restore points. To use the application simply open it, type the name of the restore point that you would like to use, and select Create. To make it more user friendly for those that would like to use it frequently with as little user interaction as possible, it can also auto create restore points. Placing a check mark in “Auto create restore points on launch” will automatically create a restore point when the application is opened. To auto close the application you can check “Auto close after 5 seconds”.

Also included is a command line version that can be used to quickly script restore point creations.

Example of usage:

TRPC.exe “Manual Restore Point”
TRPC.exe ManualRestorePoint

Compatible with:  Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8
Version: 1.1
Requires: .Net 2.0
License: Freeware

Download T.R.P.C.> The Restore Point Creator

Are your settings not saving in Windows 8 after you shutdown and then turn on the computer?  Try performing a RESTART instead of a shutdown!

One of the biggest changes to Windows 8 is the way that Reboot & Shutdown now function. Most people are still in the habit from Windows XP days of manually going into the Start menu and clicking “Shutdown”. This would save system settings, close all open applications, and then actually turn off the machine. This process has gone through minor changes with Windows Vista,  and Windows 7 but now with Windows 8 we have a major shift in what exactly Shutdown does.

In Windows 8, shutdown is essentially a hibernate feature and as such does not actually save and then reinitialize with any settings changes you may have made. The Restart option in Windows 8 assumes that you have made changes to the OS and want to restart the machine to utilize those new settings.

UPDATE::

To disable the hybrid shutdown feature in Windows 8:

1. Open the Control Panel
2. Select ‘Hardware and Sound‘
3. Select ‘Power Options‘
4. From the left hand menu select ‘Require a password on wakeup‘
5. Select ‘Change settings that are currently unavailable‘
6. Under ‘Shutdown settings’ at the bottom of the page, de-select ‘Turn on fast startup‘

I have to admit that I really love Microsoft and Windows 8. There are certain aspects of the operating system that I just love. There is also a (major) part of the operating system that I strongly dislike, the Start Menu/Screen. Like the “Libraries” feature of Windows, it tries too hard to be the main interface. Wherever I turn it just keeps popping back up again and again. It is because of this that I have decided that I am going to find a way to disable it while still keeping other aspects of the operating system in place.

Lets begin by first of all disclosing a little bit I have learned about this new start menu.

• The name of the new start menu is “Immersive Shell”
• It is not directly a part of Explorer.exe
• If it is not run when the user profile loads, you see a black desktop and empty taskbar (Until someone finds a way around this)
• The file location of the .dll is: C:\\Windows\\System32\\windows.immersiveshell.serviceprovider.dll
• The resource files that Immersive Shell uses are located in: %UserProfile%\\AppData\\Local\\Microsoft\\Windows\\Explorer\\
• Registry location for Immersive Shell settings:  HKCU\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\ImmersiveShell\\
• Location of programs listed within the Start Menu that have been downloaded from the Store:  %UserProfile%\\AppData\\Local\\Microsoft\\Windows\\Application Shortcuts\\

How to terminate the Start Menu

1. Download Process Explorer from Sysinternals
2. Extract it and then run it as an Administrator
3. Locate the “Explorer.exe” that is running as the operating system shell (not a file browser version that is open), and double click on it. This will open the Explorer.exe process properties box.
4. Select the “Threads” tab
5. Sort the listed threads by “Start Address”
6. Select the thread “windows.immersiveshell.serviceprovider.dll!DllCanUnloadNow+0x2570“
7. Select the “Kill” button
8. Click OK and exit out of Process Explorer
9. The Start and Charms buttons no longer function on the keyboard, or when you move the mouse to either of their “hot-zones”

An obvious issue with this method of killing the Immersive Menu is that it is not “automatic”. It must be performed each time the computer or the shell is restarted. There is a method to prevent the start menu from ever starting and that is to rename the file  windows.immersiveshell.serviceprovider.dll to  windows.immersiveshell.serviceprovider.dll.old. The main issue with doing this is that Explorer fails to fully load the desktop. You are left with a black screen and an almost non-functional taskbar.

One of the questions that I have received from people that have not yet used the new Start Menu (and even some that have) is “Why would you want to disable it?”. Honestly it comes down to a couple of small “features” of it. Number one is the “Charms” menu on the right side of the screen. It frequently gets in the way during scrolling with the mouse within various applications. I use the side of the screen as a stop point and seemingly randomly it opens the charms menu. This then requires me to wait for it to close to begin scrolling. It is an annoyance but a major one when it comes to productivity.

I hope that someone finds an effective way of disabling and/or removing the Immersive Start Menu prior to the Windows 8 launch. And even more importantly, I hope that Microsoft listens to the dissatisfaction of users with this menu and gives us the option to disable it.

MakeItBoot is a OS Attack exclusive application that is designed to make USB flash drives bootable. This is most commonly needed when using a bootable operating system such as Windows PE on a flash drive. This helps to solve the common problem of “How To Make a Flash Drive Bootable”.

To make a flash drive bootable:

1. Insert flash drive into the USB port
2. Open MakeItBoot (requires administrative permissions)
3. Select the USB drive from the first drop down list
4. Enter in a name for the drive into the text box to help identify it within Windows
5. Press Start

DOWNLOAD> MakeItBoot

There has been a lot of excitement about Windows 8 and justifiably so. It is a major shift in not just Windows but in operating systems in general. Here are a few things that I have discovered in the great  Treasure Hunt in the land of Windows 8:

• No more “Start Menu” at least as we use today. It is all about the tiles here (And I am not seeing a way to pin program to the tile menu)
• No native .net 1.1, .net 2.0, or .net 3.0, support. It can be installed when first used (via Windows Update)
• Microsoft is bringing back the Resource Monitor with some more usability improvements (it changed in Windows 7, Windows Vista had it better and they are going back to that style)
• Task Manager has had a serious overhaul and now shows startup items that are causing startup delays (much like IE9 does with add-ons)
• Task Manager now allows for applications to be started with Admin rights
• From the installation disk you can now perform Repair Installations of Windows without booting into Windows. You can also repair Windows 7 from here (it will prompt for a Windows 7 disk).
• Alt Key – No longer functions to bring up the old File Toolbar Menu at the top in Explorer.
• Clicking and dragging from the left side of the screen to the right will pull up other currently running applications.
• Right Clicking on application tiles will let you uninstall the program
• Bring the mouse to the bottom left brings up the Start Button (which brings you to the tiles page)
• Pushing the Start button on the keyboard will cycle through currently opened program and the start tiles
• Right Clicking within open applications brings up a menu at the bottom of the screen for application options.
• The OS version (according to Explorer) is 6.2 (Windows 7 is 6.1, and Vista is 6.0)
• Enable/Disable 16-Bit Application Support in the full control panel menu (in the breadcrumb bar select the arrow next to control panel, then all items)

Overall so far I am seeing a lot of changes to Windows 8. This is most definitely not a Vista to 7 type upgrade with just a prettier taskbar. It is like the shift from Windows 2000 to Windows XP where much of the underlying operating system is the same but everything looks and works very differently.

In browsing the registry I am also seeing a major shift in the way that applications are starting up within Windows 8. Some startup categories have been eliminated altogether and other keys are completely rearranged.  Also interesting is that some capitalization mistakes have been fixed within the registry (yes some of us notice these things).

One of the most welcome changes that I am personally enjoying is the changes that have been made to Task Manager. It is now much easier to manage startup items and even more importantly, see which startup items are causing a problem. Just check out these screenshots and you can see the differences right away…

UPDATES:: 

Turn on the old startup menu and disable the ribbons..

Open Regedit.exe, navigate to the following key
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Explorer
Then change value of RPEnabled from “1” to “0”

From the comments:
JairJy: To pin a program to the Metro Menu, press Ctrl+Q and then click on the Apps section. A lot of programs should appear, right click on one and select “Pin”.