Procedure To Change The Windows Live ID Associated With GamerTag

Microsoft, the world’s supreme software maker, is involved in the manufacture and licensing of a variety of software products, electronic devices and gaming consoles. The software giant offers many services for their users and customers. Using these services, it is possible for users to access various online and offline applications and features. Keeping the convenience of users in mind, Microsoft has created an all-purpose username. This is called the Windows Live ID.

Using this unique ID or username users can tie all their Microsoft accounts together, thereby having a universal log-in available for use across multiple Microsoft products and devices. For example, if you intend to create your own Xbox Live GamerTag on your Microsoft Xbox 360 gaming console, you need to link an existing Windows Live ID or else you would have to create a new one. After creating the ID, you can manage your GamerTag on the official Xbox website or you can transfer the GamerTag to any other Xbox console.

Another great thing is that you have the amazing option of choosing a different Windows Live ID for associating with your account by managing your GamerTag on your Xbox gaming console. This tech support article will help you out in changing the Windows Live ID associated with GamerTag. You might have read the OmniTech Support reviews to begin with. We, here, will provide you the necessary guidance for changing the Windows Live ID associated with GamerTag.

Instructions to follow:

• First, you need to turn on your Xbox 360 and then, log in to your GamerTag
• Thereafter, go to the ‘My Xbox’ section in the Dashboard menu.
• After that, you need to scroll right and select your avatar.
• Then, scroll right to the ‘Account Management’ area.
• Thereafter, you need to select ‘Manage Account.’
• The next step involves scrolling right to the ‘Your Information’ area.
• Then, select ‘Windows Live ID.’
• Next, select ‘Change Windows Live ID,’ then, click on ‘Yes, I do’, which indicates you have another Windows Live ID that you want to use.
• After that, type in your current Windows Live ID password and click on ‘Sign in.’
• Then, type in the email and password associated with the new Windows Live ID. Then, select ‘Sign in.’
• Click on ‘Yes, Change’ for confirming the Windows Live ID change and then, click on ‘Done’ to complete the process.

This should change the Windows Live ID associated with GamerTag. Hope these instructions were helpful. You can read some of the OmniTech Support reviews here to know about the support features provided.

Internet Explorer 8 Support To End In 17 Months

According to recent announcements, Microsoft is ending support for Internet Explorer 8, giving users time duration of 17 months to migrate to other web browsers. Internet Explorer 8 is one of the most popular version of web browsers released by Microsoft so far. Our Windows tech support team has been receiving tons of calls from irate customers who wished to confirm about the same.

The post released by Microsoft in its official blog includes a list of operating systems and browser version combinations that will continue to receive service support. The list does not mention Internet Explorer 8 anywhere. Roger Capriotti, director of Internet Explorer, mentions in the blog post that, "After Jan. 12, 2016, only the most recent version of Internet Explorer available for a supported operating system will receive technical support and security updates. For example, customers using Internet Explorer 8, Internet Explorer 9, or Internet Explorer 10 on Windows 7 SP1 should migrate to Internet Explorer 11 to continue receiving security updates and technical support."

This news will hit several users, especially business users who have not upgraded their systems to Windows 7 or Windows 8 and are continuing to use old and even outdated systems. In order to run the newer version of Internet Explorer, users will have to upgrade their OS and PC systems as well. According to the post, Microsoft will only support IE9 on Windows Vista, IE10 on Windows Server 2012 and IE11 on Windows 7 and Windows 8.1.

Losing updates and technical support from Microsoft will not translate to unavailability of the operating system itself. Users can continue to work on the systems they have been already installed in. However, this affair might be risky, as Capriotti mentioned in his blog post, "Running a modern browser is more important than ever for the fastest, most secure experience on the latest Web sites and services.”

However, several users are aghast when they came to hear about this latest development since previous support policy states that Microsoft will continue to support a version of IE as long as an operating system was able to run it. This meant, Internet Explorer should have continued to receive updates until 2020, when Windows 7 is supposed to retire.

As mentioned before, IE8 is the most popular web browser, since it is used by 37 percent of Internet Explorer users, which is a lot higher than the latest Internet Explorer 11, which runs in merely 29 percent of PC systems. In order to know more details about the same, you may contact our Windows tech support team.

Accessing SkyDrive From Windows 7 Explorer

Windows Live SkyDrive is Microsoft’s service that allows the users store any file on a virtual online folder that can be as large as 25 GB, available free of charge, and then access these files from anywhere from any web browser, Mac or Windows computer. While the implementation of Microsoft works fine, there is no clear way to get access to those files from Windows 7 Explorer, but it is not impossible. The Windows tech support tips that are shared below will help you to know more on the steps to use or access SkyDrive from Windows 7 explorer.

This method works by mounting the user’s SkyDrive as a network drive from within the Windows 7 Explorer by obtaining a specific URL. Of course, the users could get a SkyDrive alternative that integrates right into the Windows Explorer, as well as Linux and Mac OSX, like Dropbox. However, Microsoft’s services has the advantage of integrating right into the Windows Live Account. To do these steps, you will need the following.

• A computer that is running on Windows 7 OS. It may work on the previous versions of Windows OS, even though we have not tested it. 
• A working Internet connection. 
• Windows Live ID. 
• If you do not have Windows Live Essentials installed in your computer, you will need the Windows Live Online ID Provider. 
• SkyDrive Simple Viewer for WebDav. 

Once you got what it takes, you will just have to do the following steps.

Instructions

• Before starting, get your unique SkyDrive ID. In order to do this, open SkyDrive Simple Viewer for WebDav, and then type in your Windows Live credentials. 
• You will now see a list of the folders that are stored on your SkyDrive. Choose the one that you want to mount on your hard drive and then copy the URL that is shown on the right side. 
• Click on Start button, right click on Computer and then choose Map Network Drive option. Paste the URL that you copied before and then adjust the settings to your wish. Click on the Next button and the SkyDrive folder that you have picked will now show up as hard drive inside Windows 7 Explorer. This can be managed like any other drive or directory. 

These are the simple steps to access SkyDrive from the Windows 7 Explorer. For further assistance, you can contact our Windows tech support team.

Epicor Now Available For Windows OS 8

Epicor Retail Store Edition is now available for Windows OS 8 according to the latest announcements from Epicor Software Corporation. This solution will give retail shop owners and users the highly intuitive Point of Sale solution on the Windows OS 8. As can be expected, this solution uses the Windows OS 8 to empower store associates to deliver an efficient, personalized and thoroughly inspired customer experience.

As a critical customer engagement solution using Windows OS 8, it provides access to rich value-added customer service and enhanced product information. Moreover, it offers a personalized and consultative shopping experience that includes recommendations in the form of suggested products from a theoretically endless aisle.

The prime benefit of running the Epicor Retail Store Edition is improved flexibility that enhances both associate engagement and productivity at the same time. This is bound to boost the number of units sold and the metrics involving the “dollar per transaction”. Moreover, overall operational effectiveness can also be expected to grow from running this solution.

In order to boost the sales using this solution and to cater service to a wide population, Epicor Retail Store Edition for Windows OS 8 can be run on all devices that run on this operating system. Apart from standard desktop computers, it is even compatible with tablets and Windows OS 8 mobile devices. The software provides a sleek and compact design and does not look like a third party application!

This gives retailers the opportunity to sell products outside of the store, in a safe digital environment. Retailers benefit from the solution’s "store in a box" flexibility for off-site events with no additional implementation costs, maximizing their profits.

Steve Guggenheimer, corporate vice president, Microsoft Corporation, remarked, “Epicor and Microsoft have a strong history of working together. With the Epicor Retail Store Edition for Windows 8 offering, retailers can take advantage of the Windows 8 platform to deliver efficient, compelling and rewarding experiences to both customers and associates.”

Noel Goggin, EVP and general manager, Epicor Retail, said, “With solutions deployed in 100,000 stores and on over 300,000 devices worldwide, Epicor is very much in tune with today's next-generation customer engagement needs and requirements in the retail sector,” during the launch of the solution. He further added, “Retailers recognize that point of sale is a very strategic platform that can aid omni-channel retailing and customer engagement/customer experience initiatives. Our Retail Store Edition for Windows 8 gives retailers the ability to go beyond transactions to promote a more engaging experience which translates into greater customer satisfaction and higher spending at check-out.”

Troubleshooting In Safe Mode In Windows 8

Safe Mode is the strip-bared version of any operating system, allowing for the resolution of conflicts, errors, and the like with minimal interference. If you have a hardware problem that is caused by lack of the required Windows 8 drivers, or if an update is causing your computer to crash often, you can run it in Safe Mode and fix the problem easily.

How Safe Mode allows this is by barring the use of external devices, as well as a lion’s share of your internal hardware. You will notice, for instance, that in Safe Mode, even your video resolution drops to minimum. You can get to the Safe Mode holding the Shift key down, and pressing F8 right until you see the boot message. From the recovery screen, select See Advanced Repair Options, and then click Troubleshoot.

Getting to the Troubleshoot button is all the easier if you still have access to the Charms bar. In that case, select the Settings icon and then press and hold down Shift key on your keyboard. Choose Power, followed by Restart, and then release the Shift key. You will see a Troubleshoot button on the screen; click that and then follow the instructions as follows.

Using Safe Mode

• When you are on the Troubleshoot screen, select Advanced Options. From the screen that appears, choose Startup Settings. After that, hit Restart to reboot the system and bring you back to this same screen.
• Here you have to select standard Safe Mode by pressing 4, or if you want Safe Mode with Networking mode, skip this step. 
• You will see Safe Mode at all corners of the screen, and of course, the display will be of lower resolution. A Help window will pop up on the screen, telling you all about Safe Mode and how to use it. 
• Use of external devices is not supported in this mode, and you cannot access any of the advanced features either. All you can do from here is check the system files and fix the issues with them.
• For Safe Mode with Networking mode, press 5. In this mode, you will have the network drivers and services loaded, enabling logging on to the network. Where the standard Safe Mode does not, this one lets you copy to and paste from network drives.

This is how to get to and use Safe Mode in Windows 8. There is enough allowance in it that lets you to access files using File Explorer, and troubleshoot the errors caused by missing Windows 8 drivers and the like.

How To Restart Your Windows 8 PC?

By running your computer on Windows 8 operating system, you will be able to access a variety of advanced and sophisticated options. But then, some users do experience issues in their Windows 8 systems, the most common one being the inability to shut down and restart Windows 8.

If you face any issues in restarting your Windows 8 computer, you can follow any of these following methods:

Using Charms bar

• At first, you can move the pointer of the mouse to the right bottom corner of the desktop and open the Charms bar. Here, you can search for the Settings option, and then click on it.
• Once you click on the option, you will be able to see the Settings sidebar opening up on the screen. Look closely and you will be able to see the Power icon in the side bar.
• In the next step, you can click on the Power icon and you will get three options to choose from, i.e. Shutdown, Restart and Sleep.
• Depending on what you’d like to execute on the system, you can choose the specific option. For example, if you are looking to restart Windows 8 computer, simply click on the Restart option.

Using keyboard hot hey

• The second method involves pressing the keyboard hot key. You can press the Windows and I keys together, to access the Settings side bar in your Windows 8 system. Once you see the Settings sidebar on your computer, you can click on the Power button, and then select either of the options to restart or shut down your system.
• As compared to the first method, this one is more convenient because here you can open the Settings bar even when you are in the desktop mode by simply pressing the shortcut buttons. In short, you do not have to return to the Start menu for shutting down or restarting your system.

Creating a desktop shortcut

• This is the easiest method of the lot. To perform functions such as shutting down and restarting your Windows 8 computer, you can create a desktop shortcut.
• So, next time when you want to shut down or restart your computer, you need to just click on this desktop shortcut.

These methods can help you in restarting your Windows 8 computer. For more information on the Windows 8 features, feel free to contact our technical support team.

Reasons To Switch To Windows 8.1

Adieu to all the old Windows versions as Microsoft had already rolled out its Windows 8.1 upgrade. Windows 8, the modern interface representative, has already occupied the desktops and laptops of millions of computer users. Following its habit of introducing new upgrades every year, Microsoft has released Windows 8.1 upgrade for Windows 8 users. The new platform is equipped with plethora of features. They are designed with least errors, as Microsoft had given adequate preference to the concerns of users and have tried to design their new platform in a brilliant way.

Supposedly, the Microsoft new operating system, Windows 8.1, is expected to run smoothly on your computers without displaying errors, unlike its predecessors. If you have an earlier version of Windows running on your system, it is better to switch to Windows 8.1 that offers excellent protection.

How to upgrade from Windows 8 to Windows 8.1

Before you initiate downloading Windows 8.1, it is essential to take a complete backup of your personal data. Ensure that your hard drive has 3 GB or more space on it. Only with this, the operating system installation will take place successfully.

You can open your Microsoft account. For this, you can go to the Microsoft Store, choose the Charms menu, click Settings, select Your account, and enter your username and password for it. Now choose the words Update to Windows 8.1 for free. Waiting for some time will display the link for downloading Windows 8.1.

How to upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 8.1

Microsoft’s Upgrade Assistant comes handy when it comes to upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 8.1. However, purchasing the Microsoft new operating system would cost 119.99 dollars, whereas Windows 8.1 Pro would cost 199.99 dollars. Depending upon your convenience, you could purchase either the downloadable version or the disc from a retail store.

In order to get your system ready for the upgrade, it should have atleast 1GHz processor, 1GB RAM for 32-bit or 2 GB RAM for 64 bit, 16 GB of free hard drive space for 32 bit and 20 GB of space for 64 bit. All your Windows settings along with apps and personal files are saved during the transition.

Upgrading to Windows 8.1 from Windows 7 and Windows 8 is quite easy. However, you cannot upgrade directly from Windows XP to 8.1. The users should try a clean installation by purchasing a disc of Windows 8.1. It is better to begin with 8.1 at the earliest.