Done Installing Windows 8? Now What?

After going through the process of choosing your Windows 8 version, purchasing it and finally loading it on to your computer as we have shown in our previous tutorials, there will still be some more things that you need to do so you can start using your machine in doing the tasks that you normally use it for. After your computer reboots for the last time during Windows 8’s installation, the “Out-of-the-Box-Experience” or OOBE section will then show up which involves some aspects of personalization.

Personalizing Your Metro Color Scheme

After Windows 8 gets installed on your computer, you will see a screen that will ask you to choose which color scheme would you like to apply. The Metro scheme is a set of two vibrant colors including a background and an accent color (the one that appears on the foreground). After choosing your Metro color scheme, simply click on “Next”.

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Next, when the system detects that your computer has a wireless networking hardware installed and it picks up a network/s, you will be asked to choose which one would you like to connect to and if needed, you’ll also be asked to enter the password. After doing so, simply click on “Next”.

The Settings Section

The next part of the OOBE setup is the Settings section. From here, you can choose between the Customize and the Express Settings. This is also a way of cutting the number of steps in the OOBE dramatically. We would recommend you to choose the Customize option because most companies like Microsoft do not always choose the right defaults that would serve your needs in the “Express” settings but for purposes of illustration, we selected this setting to show you what happens as shown on the bullet points in the screenshot below which tells what “Express” settings is all about.

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The Customize Option

You have just seen the defaults that will automatically be set if you choose “Express” settings, now, let’s turn to the other direction and see what settings you can tweak if you choose “Customize”.

1. Sharing and Connect to Devices

The very first setting that you’ll encounter under the “Customize” option involves a simplified version of Windows 7’s computer location step. In this aspect, you can choose the “Yes” option if you want to turn on sharing and connect to devices for the home and work network types or choose “No” if you would like to stay private and not connect to network in public places. In “Express” settings, the default option is “Yes”.

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2. Help Protect and Update Your PC

In this section, you can choose to configure the Automatic Updates and include some driver updates that will improve system performance. You can also choose update for the SmartScreen feature separately for both the file system and Internet Explorer which is already built in on your operating system. In “Express” settings, the default is to enable all of these features mentioned.

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3. Send Microsoft information to help make Windows and apps better

The third setting which you can make some tweaks on involves error problem reporting. In this section, you can choose to send diagnostic reports to Microsoft to help improve the Microsoft anti-malware program, the Windows Store or any other  Windows service offered like Location Service, Windows Help, Customer Experience Improvement Program etc. The “Express” settings default for this section is to enable all these services and features except for one which is Location Services.

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4. Check online for solutions to problems

This step will now involve configuring Windows Error Reporting, Internet Explorer Compatibility list, username and account picture sharing with the Metro Apps installed on your computer and as well as the Windows Location Platform Service. In “Express” settings, these features are all enabled.

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5. Password

If you have opted to upgrade to Windows 8 from a previous Windows version, you might as well be asked to input the password of the user account that you used in the old version of Windows. Just do this and hit the “Next” button.

Signing in to Your PC

One thing that you should take note of is that Windows 8 is based on a new type of which involves a Microsoft account. It is like signing in to your Google account when you first use a device that runs an Android operating system. If you don’t have a Microsoft account yet then Windows 8 will let you sign in using a Local account just as you did in the previous Windows versions but if you are already connected to a network and you are ready to create your own Microsoft account then you can start by following the steps below.

First, let’s assume that you already have a Microsoft account, simply click on “Next” from the last screen where we left off and when you arrive at the section that asks your Microsoft email, simply input it and hit “Next”. You will then be asked to enter your password, just enter it into the box provided then hit “Next”. At this stage, the system will ask some verification info to make sure that you really own the account.

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After inputting the verification details, simply hit the “Next” button and Windows 8 will then prepare your computer, create your account and log you in. The very first thing that will welcome you is the Start Screen.

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Why Sign in with a Microsoft Account?

Before discussing the steps, we will first touch on the advantages of signing in to Windows 8 with a Microsoft account which is enumerated on the screenshot below.

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1. Download apps from Windows Store

The Windows Store app is built-in with every Windows 8 installation and just like the Google Play Store, this too requires each user to sign in to have access to all the apps available in it. Signing in to Windows 8 with just a local account will not allow you to have this privilege.

2. Get your online contents in Microsoft apps automatically

You might have saved some drafts to your email or want to access something from SkyDrive or OneDrive and accessing these using the web browser would be time-consuming. These problems are all solved if you link your emails to the Mail app or install the SkyDrive app. There’s no need of using a browser just to access your contents. Simply open the Start Screen, click on the tile that corresponds to the app that you want to open and get the contents that you need in no time.

3. Sync settings online to make PCs look and feel the same- like your browser history, account picture and color

The third advantage listed on the screenshot above says it all. When you sign in to your Windows 8 machine using a Microsoft account, everything that you change in it will look the same even in other PCs that you use when you sign in to it using your Microsoft account.

Creating a New Microsoft Account

To create a new Microsoft account, simply click on the “Sign up for a new email address” and follow the steps that will show afterwards. The process is pretty simple and there’s no need for you to worry even if you are just starting with Windows 8.

That’s it! You now learned all the steps involved in installing Windows 8 into your computer and customizing it to fit your taste. This version of Windows has just recently been updated to Windows 8.1 and was made even more exciting with all the improvements and added features that Microsoft saw fit. Want an upgrade to  Windows 8.1, you can do so free of charge by visiting the Microsoft website, signing in to your account and clicking on the “Get free update” button.