Skip to Content
Windows 8.1: The Missing Manual
book

Windows 8.1: The Missing Manual

by David Pogue
November 2013
Beginner to intermediate
950 pages
34h 26m
English
O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Content preview from Windows 8.1: The Missing Manual

Return of the Start Menu

If you’re feeling instantly lost without the old Start menu, you’re not alone. Thousands of PC fans would argue that the Start menu offers a more compact, concise, customizable listing of programs and files than the TileWorld Start screen.

The Start menu is back!Well, pieces of it, anyway.You’re still expected to open files, programs, and apps in TileWorld. But some of the commands here are extremely helpful shortcuts. This, for example, is definitely how you should shut down, restart, or sleep your PC (instead of using the multistep procedure in TileWorld).

Figure 6-1. The Start menu is back! Well, pieces of it, anyway. You’re still expected to open files, programs, and apps in TileWorld. But some of the commands here are extremely helpful shortcuts. This, for example, is definitely how you should shut down, restart, or sleep your PC (instead of using the multistep procedure in TileWorld).

Microsoft scoffs at that idea. It points out that every time there’s a new version of Windows, there’s an instant spike in popularity of shareware programs that make it work like the previous version of Windows. Eventually, the public stops panicking and learns to trust the new design.

The Start Button

Still, much has changed in this department since Windows 8. First, in Windows 8.1, the Start button () is back. It’s there in the lower-left corner of the desktop, right where it always was. (It even appears TileWorld if you point your mouse to that corner.)

The Start button does not open the traditional Start menu, however. It’s another way to open the Start screen. If you tap or click it, you just ...

Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
and much more.

Read now

Unlock full access

More than 5,000 organizations count on O’Reilly

AirBnbBlueOriginElectronic ArtsHomeDepotNasdaqRakutenTata Consultancy Services

QuotationMarkO’Reilly covers everything we've got, with content to help us build a world-class technology community, upgrade the capabilities and competencies of our teams, and improve overall team performance as well as their engagement.
Julian F.
Head of Cybersecurity
QuotationMarkI wanted to learn C and C++, but it didn't click for me until I picked up an O'Reilly book. When I went on the O’Reilly platform, I was astonished to find all the books there, plus live events and sandboxes so you could play around with the technology.
Addison B.
Field Engineer
QuotationMarkI’ve been on the O’Reilly platform for more than eight years. I use a couple of learning platforms, but I'm on O'Reilly more than anybody else. When you're there, you start learning. I'm never disappointed.
Amir M.
Data Platform Tech Lead
QuotationMarkI'm always learning. So when I got on to O'Reilly, I was like a kid in a candy store. There are playlists. There are answers. There's on-demand training. It's worth its weight in gold, in terms of what it allows me to do.
Mark W.
Embedded Software Engineer

You might also like

Windows 7 Portable Command Guide: MCTS 70-680, and MCITP 70-685 and 70-686

Windows 7 Portable Command Guide: MCTS 70-680, and MCITP 70-685 and 70-686

Darril Gibson
Windows Server® 2008 Active Directory® Resource Kit

Windows Server® 2008 Active Directory® Resource Kit

Conan Kezema Stan Riemer Mike Mulcare, Byron Wright, and Microsoft Active Directory

Publisher Resources

ISBN: 9781449371777Errata Page