Boot Windows 8/Windows 8.1 into safe mode.

The most important part when you encounter a problematic issue with a PC running Windows 8/8.1 is to boot the PC into safe mode. On older Windows versions this was done just by pressing the F8 key, however in Windows 8 the Automatic Repair mode was implemented. Still, there are users (like me) who want to boot into Safe Mode even in Windows 8. How can we achieve that?
It seems that Microsoft has burried this option deep into the recovery option of Windows 8. Pressing the F8 during Windows boot, will boot your computer into automatic recovery mode, but you can still have the recovery options pressing the Shift+F8 key combination.

Boot Windows 8 into Safe Mode.

Well, here is the tricky part, holding the Shift button and mash the well known key F8, this will bring up the newly implemented “Recovery Mode”, where you can see the advanced repair tools and options.

From this window, press the Troubleshoot button.

From this panel, select Advanced Options

Now, you press the Windows Startup Settings, you have to admit that this option is well hidden

All you have to do now, is to press the Restart button.

Well, on the next boot, you will get the well known Safe Mode boot option screen with the familiar looking.

Booting to Safe Mode from the Windows 8 desktop.

There is an alternative method but this one requires you to be booted in Windows 8. Here you have to press the WIN+R key. When the Run box appear, type msconfig and press enter.

Go to the boot tab and be sure to have the Safe Boot check box selected.

You have multiple options. You can choose to have the Safe Mode boot into the following:

• Minimal – this is a normal safe mode
• Alternate Shell – just a normal safe mode with a command prompt flavor
• Network – safe mode with networking support.

Active Directory repair option will require you to have a Domain Controller in your network. When you’re done selecting the desired option, click the OK button and your computer will be restarted.
If you restart your PC, it will just boot into Safe Mode until you stop this boot sequence. To do this, open one more time msconfig and uncheck the Safe Boot option. After that press the OK button and finally restart your machine.

Create a Bootable DOS USB Drive.

Yes, DOS, you read it well. Even if DOS is not as it was back in the days you can still find it useful for many things. Even if you didn’t worked too much with DOS, it’s used many times for BIOS UPDATES and many.
DOS stand for Disk Operating System and by disk it refer to floppy disk. But what can we do if we don’t find any floppy disk unit in our computer?

Start Rufus

Main format utility embedded in Windows won’t allow you to format using this option “Create MS-DOS startup disk” when you try to format a USB drive. But we can use Rufus for this operation. Rufus includes FreeDOS, which is mainly the same thing as DOS. First download the RUFUS program. It’s completely free and fast. When the program is started you won’t have to install anything.
Making a bootable USB drive with DOS:

1. First connect your USB drive. Select the newly inserted device from the Rufus Device list.
2. Make sure that the “Create a bootable disk using” is checked and FreeDOS option is selected as you can see in the attached picture.
3. This step will erase any content that you may have on the USB Drive. If you do have any important things, please make a backup. If you already did that, just click the Start button.

Well the “hard part” is over, the entire process will take only a couple of seconds.

Copy Your Files

If you’ve created the USB drive to start a DOS based software like a BIOS updater or any other low-level system utility, make sure you follow this part. To run the files from DOS, you will have to actually copy those files to the USB Drive. If you have any BIOS update utilities, copy the BIOS.BIN and FLASHBIOS.BAT required to perform a BIOS update from the DOS environment. Simply copy these files to the root directory after formatting.

It’s time to BOOT into DOS.

To boot into DOS mode, you have to restart your computer keeping the USB Drive connected to your computer. Select the device you want to boot from, when the computer is in the boot sequence. When the computer will be in DOS mode you can start the program that was previously copied in the root of your USB drive. If the instructions is provided along with the files, just follow the instructions and get the job done. Tea time, you really deserve it.

Install Windows or Ubuntu from usb drive using Rufus.

Rufus is one of the best and easiest programs for creating a bootable usb .
It can create a  windows 7/8 or even xp or ubuntu bootable usb drive very fast and very easy because of its defalt settings . Its execellent, fast and very practical .


You will need a usb drive (at least 4 gb ) and a windows or ubuntu iso file .
First download the rufus program from here , or you can download this archive:rufus_v1.4.3 .
There is no need to install it , just double click it and select yes or no for update search .

Now select your device volume label.

After that click the drive image to select the windows or ubuntu .iso file.
   

You dont need to make any changes, if its a windows .iso it will automatically select the NTFS file system and if it is a ubuntu it will switch to FAT32 .
Click start , a mesage will appear  saying that all of you usb data will be deleted and the usb formatted .
If you have any files on your usb now it is the last time you can backup them.
Click ok .
       

The program is very fast. It will require only about 4 minutes to finish, depending on the speed of your usb drive.


Click close .
ALL DONE .

Install Windows 7 from a USB drive the very easy way.

The fastest way to install windows 7 is from a bootable usb drive. You can cut the install time down to around 15 minutes compared with 30-40 via DVD if you use a fast drive.
People still asking me to explain what is the best way to do this as many of the guides online are too complex, or require third party software which doesn’t always work as they supposed to.
With this BootableUSB guide all you need to ensure is that your motherboard supports USB booting, and this is a common feature now for most of the computers.
Today I am going to publish a step by step guide which works perfectly and doesn’t require any additional tools – I have been doing it for some time now to create bootable Windows install drives.
You need to get hold of a fast USB 2.0 flash drive. It doesn’t need to be 32GB or bigger,however, all you need is a 4GB unit. The faster it is, the better.
What you need:
– Windows 7 DVD install disc or ISO image
– USB Drive (4GB+ and as fast as you can get)
– Running Windows Operating system
– Working set of hands and eyes
– A few minutes of your life
Plug in your USB drive in the USB port:

Before going any further, make sure you have removed any important files on your drive to a safe location, what we are about to do next is to erase the entire contents of the drive.
Insert your DVD of Windows 7 into the computer, but don’t start the normal install process.
Open your ‘My Computer’ and make a note of the drive numbers of both the USB drive and the DVD drive with Windows 7 files on it.


As you can see from the image above, the DVD drive is drive has letter D assigned and the USB drive is E.
Open the command prompt with admin rights. Type cmd in Start menu search box and hit Shift+Ctrl+Enter.
To keep things really easy, if you see text in upper case, it means this is what you type into the command prompt (you don’t need to type in upper case).


Next type
DISKPART
this loads the diskpart application we need to proceed
Then type
LIST DISK
the image above shows our 32 GB USB drive is listed as DISK 2
so you have to type
SELECT DISK 2 (your USB Drive may have a different number, don’t follow exactly this text it depends on your usb drive)

You will get a successful response “Disk 2 is now the selected disk”

Next we want to clean the USB drive
Type:
CLEAN
you will get a successful response ‘DiskPart succeeded in cleaning the disk”.

After the drive is cleaned follow the list in the image above (detailed below in list order) – you can also note the successful text responses from the OS as you enter each command.
SELECT DISK 2 (or what number your USB drive has)
CREATE PARTITION PRIMARY
SELECT PARTITION 1
ACTIVE
FORMAT FS=NTFS
Formatting can take a little time depending on the size of the drive, our 32GB unit took about 10 minutes to format - you will see a percentage readout until it is finished.

Next type:
ASSIGN
EXIT (DISK PART will exit)

Type D: CD BOOT (substitute the “D” if necessary with the letter of your Windows 7 DVD drive)
then key
CD BOOT
then
BOOTSECT.EXE /NT60 E: (substitute the “E” if necessary with the letter of your now ready USB drive) – we are telling the system to create a boot sector file on the USB drive.
Now you can exit the command prompt and copy all the files on the Windows 7 DVD to the USB drive.
Once this step is finished you’ll be ready to boot from this drive, all you need to do is configure your motherboard bios setup to boot first from USB rather than hard drive or optical drive. If you don’t know how to do this, refer to your specific motherboard manual or search the internet.
Now, Windows 7 installation should take between 40% and 60% of the time it does from the DVD disc.
Last step: Drink a cup of tea, from now on you can do this again and again

Create Windows 7 or Windows 8 Password Reset Disk Using USB Drive.

At least once in a lifetime you will be in a situation like this: You forgot the password on your own computer. What can you do to prevent such things like being locked out from your own computer ? First thing you need to be proactive and create a USB Password Reset Disk to prevent a real crisis. This article is about creating a password reset disk BEFORE you forget your password, we will treat other particular cases in our future articles. This tutorial will take up to five minutes from your time but is crucial if you’ll ever need to reset your own password.
Ok, let’s go on and see how it’s done:
1. Click the START button and then click on Control Panel
2. Click the link to User Accounts and Family Safety link. If you simply don’t see it, just click on User Accounts.
3. Now click on User Accounts shortcut. Before doing that you need to have a blank USB Disk or any kind of portable media on hand. You can’t use any external HDD to create a password reset disk.

4. Connect the USB media to your computer and click from the left side on

5. On the next screen with the Forgotten Password Wizard click on “Next” button.

6. On the next window, you will have to choose where to create a password key disk. Just click on the dropdown box to select the USB disk where you’re about to create a Windows 7 password reset disk. When you’re done selecting the media, click the “Next” button to continue.

7. On this step you will be asked to enter your current password in the input box and click “Next” when you’re ready.

8. Now, your system will create a password reset disk on the media device selected. You will see a percentage indicator. When it’s 100% completed, click “Next” and after that click the “Finish” button.
9. You are now safe to remove the media from your computer and make sure you store this disk in a safe place. Remember, anyone who can have this disk can reset your windows 7 password, so it’s important to keep it safe.
Well, no matter how many times you change the password, this disk will work on your computer in case you forgot the password. So you don’t have to repeat the whole process each time the password is changed.

Bootable usb pendrive using cmd.

Creating a usb pendrive using command prompt is not hard, it is one of the most common ways to create a bootable usb.
      This method does not work if your operating sistem is windows xp or windows 8 , you cannot select the primary partition in comand prompt.
       You just need to follow these simple steps:

1. First step is to obtain the windows files from somewhere and save them to a folder in your pc. You can rip a windows dvd , or if you have the iso image file you can open it with magic disc or daemon tools or even winrar , and you need to copy the whole content to a folder anywhere in your pc , you just need to make sure you know where it is located.
2. Make sure your usb stick is inserted, go to start search cmd , right click the  file and select run as administrator. The command prompt will appear, now you need to write the following comands:
3. diskpart→list disk→select disk 1(chose  the usb device, you will recognize it by its size)→clean(this will erase the usb)→create partition primary→select partition 1→active→format fs=ntfs(this will format the usb drive and will take 10-15 minutes)→
4. 
   1. After the format is done you have to continue writting  in command promt :  →assign(now you will notice that the usb drive changed its letter to (H): or (G))→exit(this command will exit the disk part function)
   2. Now you have to write the path to the executable file in your windows saved folder , make sure that in your windows folder you have the boot folder with the bootsect executable file.
   3.  
   4. 6. In my case the command goes like this:   E:→cd win 7 sp1→
                 →cd boot→bootsect.exe/nt60 h:(h is the letter of the usb drive ,this comand will update the boot core)→exit (this will exit command prompt). 
   
    Now you have to copy all the files in the windows folder to your usb drive.
   
   
    ALL DONE. You can now restart your pc and boot from the usb hard drive.

Messi The Star................

World's 10 longest highways

Rank: 1

 

The United States boasts of some of the world’s longest highways.

Total length: 48,000 kms
The Pan-American Highway is the world's longest ‘motorable road,’ according to Guinness Book of World Records.
The Highway links almost all nations in North and South America except for a stretch of 100 km called the Darien Gap, a forest and swampland.

  
Rank: 2
Highway 1, Australia
 
Total length: 14,500 kms
Highway 1 is a network of highways that goes around the Australian continent, joining all mainland state capitals.
More than a million people use this highway everyday.


Rank: 3
Trans-Siberian Highway

Total length: 11,000 kms
Trans-Siberian Highway starts from St. Petersburg and stretches to Vladivostok in Russia.
A part of the route across the Asian Highway Network is called the AH6.


Rank: 4

Trans-Canada Highway

Total length: 7,821 kms
The Trans-Canada Highway is a transcontinental highway system that connects ten provinces in Canada.

The highway was opened in 1962.


 Rank: 5

Golden Quadrilateral Highway, India

Total length: 5,846 km

The largest highway project in India connects many of the major cities.
The network connects Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai and other cities like Pune, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Kanpur, Surat and Bengaluru, Visakhapatnam and Bhubaneswar.


 Rank: 6

China National Highway 010

Total length: 5,700 km
China's National Highway runs from Tongjiang in Heilongjiang to Sanya in Hainan.
It is also the longest highway in China.


Rank: 7

US Route 20

Total length: 5,415 kms
The US Route 20 is a coast-to-coast road network.

The highway's eastern terminus is in Boston and western terminus is in Newport.


Rank: 8

US Route 6

Total length: 5,158 kms
It is the second-longest highway in the United States and the longest continuous highway.
It is also called Grand Army of the Republic Highway.


Rank: 9

Interstate 90 (I-90), US

Total length: 4,860.2 kms
Interstate 90 (I-90) is the longest Interstate Highway in the United States.


Rank: 10

Interstate 80 (I-80), US

Total length: 4,666 kms
Interstate 80 (I-80) is a transcontinental limited-access highway that stretches from San Francisco to Teaneck.
It was opened to traffic in 1986.

Under the clear blue water of Lake Huron in Ontario, Canada sits the shipwreck known as the Sweepstakes