Start Preparing For The Next Operating System Demise

The popular Information technology research and advisory firm Gartner has advised all major enterprises and other companies to prepare in advance and have a functional plan to upgrade their PC system online well in advance to the 2020 end-of-support deadline of Windows 7. The firm highlighted the plight of most firms, completely unprepared for the Windows XP upgrade and the mismatch between different departments when the upgrades where finally put in place.

The Windows XP OS enjoyed 13 years of updates from Microsoft before it was finally decided to be out-dated. According to statistics, Windows XP OS was working in almost 53 percent of computer terminals even after the end-of-support deadline. Although most systems have successfully upgraded to the newer operating system, Gartner has advised the firms to create a full-fledged advanced plan for upgrading their systems. Meanwhile, do not fall for online scams that claim to provide third-party support for Windows 7.

Gartner said the following in an official statement, “Organizations that have already deployed some Windows 8 PCs, or that decide that Windows 8.1 Update 1 provides an attractive platform, should not shy away from deploying new devices with the OS. However, we expect that by the time an organization is ready for a broad rollout, Windows 8.1 Update 2 will have entered the market. Shifting deployment to Update 2 should be relatively straightforward for most organizations, and in that case, Windows 8.1 Update 1 should be seen as a pilot for that ultimate deployment.”

This statement raised some eyebrows since Microsoft itself has never mentioned about any Update 2 yet. Microsoft said that it has no plans to release a second update system online at the moment. The Gartner Vice-president suggested the following course-of-actions to help ease with the Windows transition.

• The first option would be to immediately upgrade to the Windows 8 OS, since the Windows 8 operating system has a deadline of 2023. However, it is highly doubted that any organization would follow this advice. The cost involved in upgrading does not justify the benefits received. 
• Any computers purchased from now on should have Windows 8 or higher versions. This will help gradually phase out the Windows 7 operating system. This option might see a lot of takers since this will not be a huge burden for most organizations. 
• The last and the final option advices the firms to wait and download a later version of Windows operating system. This means the organizations should skip the Windows 8 operating system altogether. 

Although these are by no means strictly enforced guidelines, Gartners’ advice to maintain an update plan should be followed by all organizations and business ventures. Refrain from falling for any Online Scams and rely only on reputed tech support firms.

Fixing Launch Problems In Outlook

Outlook’s Cannot Start error is surely something you’ve already seen. This is a common problem, faced by many users. What happens is that the email client application doesn’t launch when you open the shortcut to it. Usually, you have the Invalid XML error too, which is one of the causes for this. You generally call a technical support service, when you encounter something like this.

Running the inbuilt Office Diagnostics tool doesn’t suffice to get rid of the problem for you, and neither would you find any errors in this way. The best way to handle the situation involves relaunching the program, this time using the /resetnavpane switch. Alternately, you could try deleting the <profile_name>.xml file and then, running Outlook.

The latter will cause Outlook to create a new XML file, for which it will also set up a default navigation pane folder structure. Any customization you previously had on the navigation pane would be lost, of course, including the favorited folder items. You may face the same problem in XP, if Outlook is being run in the compatibility mode. Keep in mind that this setting is totally unnecessary in any version of Windows, you run the email client in.

Using the /resetnavpane switch

• Close the program.
• Go to the Start Search if you’re on Vista or Windows 7, and type in Run. Hit the Windows key + R combo, and paste the following in the field shown there: outlook.exe /resetnavpane.
• Hit the Enter key.

Removing the Navigation pane configuration file

You might face problems while using the switch, in which case you can find and delete the navigation settings, or the XML file containing it. Go to the Run command in the Start menu, and paste the following in the text field: %appdata%\Microsoft\Outlook

Hit Enter and you’ll have an explorer window pop open, showing the folder, where the configuration files for Outlook are saved. Find the file, which has the configuration settings for your profile, and delete it.

For fixing other such problems in Outlook, try launching it in safe mode, which means that the customizations and add-ins will be disabled. You can do this by holding down the Ctrl key, when you click on the Start Menu shortcut. Alternately, you can type outlook.exe /safe into the Run command box.

If the above procedures can’t fix the problem for you, call Omni Tech Support for assistive troubleshooting. You will get the best quality services at Omni Tech Support, and at the most economical price.

How To Recover A Deleted Outlook Distribution List

Microsoft Outlook is an email management program developed to enhance convenience in communication and overall productivity of businesses. This does not mean that Outlook is only used for business purposes though; there are many individual users using the email client application too.

Outlook is the most popular email applications developed up till now. There are many features for enhancing emailing experience in Outlook, that most users are heavily dependent on the application for their day-to-day tasks.

One the best thing about Outlook is the ability to allow multiple email accounts configuration. This way, you will be receiving all your important emails at one place. Another productive feature is the distribution list, which helps to create a list of contacts to which you wish to pass on a message collectively. Let us check out this distribution list feature in brief.

Using Outlook Distribution List

Though Outlook provides such an impressive feature, which helps to streamline the routine messaging tasks easily, it is not fully guarded against accidental deletions. Users need to take care of that.

It is a common problem, when users delete some of the contacts in the distribution list or the entire list accidentally. Once deleted, you have no other option but to check it out in the Deleted Items folder. The procedure is same as recovering any other deleted items in Outlook. But in case you are using a personal account, the list will be completely deleted once you empty the Deleted Items folder. It will also be deleted if you close the email client.

However, there no need to panic. Even if the email program deletes the list and empties the Deleted Items folder, it keeps the data saved up to 30 days on the server. This is a safety mechanism Microsoft Outlook has, for helping users with possible accidental deletions. Here is how you can recover the deleted items in Outlook.

• First, open the Outlook email client. Then, click on the Deleted Items link located on the left-hand column. Thereafter, click on Tools and then select Recover Deleted Items.
• Then, you need to choose the Outlook distribution list that you want to recover. Click on Recover Selected Items after the list is highlighted.
• When done, go back to the main menu. You can now drag and drop the recovered distribution list into the Contacts folder.

This is how you can recover the distribution list from the Deleted Items folder, in case you accidentally delete it.

Steps To Import The Outlook Address Book

When you buy a new computer, you may feel lost without your contact information. You need not worry as this article discusses the steps to Import the Outlook Address book without encountering any errors. By following the below explained steps, you will able to import the Outlook Address book into Windows Mail or into another instance of Outlook program.

Importing the address book from the Outlook program is not at all difficult. First, you will have to export the address book from the Outlook program on the original PC and then, you can import the data into the Outlook program that is installed on another computer. The users will also be able to import their address book into Outlook or Windows Mail. To do these steps, you will need a USB flash drive or any other removable media.

Import Into Outlook

After exporting and saving the file to a removable media, you can start importing the address book from the Outlook program.

• Open the Outlook program, navigate to File menu and then choose Import and Export. This will open the Import and Export wizard. 
• Choose Import from Another Program or File and then click on the Next button. Select the Comma Separated Values (Windows) option and then click on the Next button again. 
• Click on the Browse button and then locate the *.csv file into which you had exported the address book. Choose the file and then open it. Select it if you wish to have duplicates allowed, ignored or replaced and then click on the Next button again. Map any custom fields if needed and then click on the OK button followed by the Finish button.

Import Into Windows Mail

If you are using Windows Mail on XP or Vista, you can follow the steps discussed below to import the address book from the Outlook program.

• Open Windows Mail program and then go to the File menu. Choose Import and then choose Windows Contacts. 
• Select CSV (Comma Separated Values) option and then click on the Import button. Select the Browse button and find the *.csv file to which you had exported the address book. 
• Select the file and click on Open. Click the Next button and then choose the fields that you wish to import.
• After doing these steps, click on the Finish button.

These are the simple and easy to follow steps to import the address book of the Outlook program.

Know The Quickest Way To Restart/Shutdown Windows 8

Microsoft’s new operating system Windows 8 is known to have integrated a slew of brand new features like the user friendly Metro UI (User Interface), minimum hardware requirements, touch screen friendliness and many more. Despite these new features, the operating system lacks many traditional features. Microsoft’s decision to remove the traditional Start button stirred up much controversy. Thankfully, there are a couple of third party apps that claim to offer the missing Windows features in Windows 8.

Windows 8 suffers absence of direct shutdown/restart option

Although Windows 8 lacked many good features, what I found most disappointing was the absence of a direct shutdown/restart option. If you have used Windows 7 prior to using Windows 8, you would realize that Windows 7 has a much simpler and direct option to restart/shutdown the PC. Why isn’t there a direct option to reboot Windows 8? Did Microsoft deliberately exclude this feature in Windows 8?

In fact, the absence of a direct shutdown/restart option has surprised many users who gave Windows 8 a try. Well, if you are an advanced PC user, you wouldn’t find this a problem because you will find out alternative solutions immediately. But what about the average PC users? Are they supposed to continue using their Windows 8 machine without a quick restart/shutdown option?

Well, if you are bothered about the lack of a quick option to reboot Windows 8, I have an easy solution for you. Read the steps carefully and work out. For any concerns, you can always get in touch with our technical support desk.

Instructions

• Turn on your Windows 8 PC. When the PC is turned on, you find yourself in the Metro User Interface. 
• Navigate your mouse pointer to the right-corner of the window. This will display the Charms bar. Select Settings from the Charms bar. 
• In the Settings screen, you will see the Power button. When you click this button, you will see options such as Shutdown and Reboot. Choose the appropriate option to proceed. 

The above instructions must have helped you quickly access restart/shutdown options in your Windows 8 PC. If you have any other concerns regarding your Windows 8 operating system, get in touch with our technical support desk or visit the Windows 8 support forum.

The Advanced Bamboo Paper App For Windows 8 By Wacom

Wacom Co., Ltd. is considered as one of the highly reputed and leading manufacturers of digital interface solutions, interactive computer applications, digital pen displays, and the likes. The prime motto of this tech company is to minimize the distance between people and technology in a noteworthy manner. In a way, we can say that Wacom makes use of natural and intuitive interface technologies to bring people and technology closer, and create outstanding results.

Numerous advanced equipments and tools enable you to express your creative fluency on the digital format, in the same way as trying your artistic skills with ink and paper. If you are such a creative person, you will be glad to know that Wacom is planning to offers their drawing app known as Bamboo Paper for Windows 8. Read along to know more about the project.

Bamboo Paper apps for Windows 8

There is a great deal of buzz these days around the Wacom popular Bamboo Paper apps going multiplatform. The digital note-taking app is highly compatible with laptops, tablets, and desktop PCs that run on the latest Windows operating system.

You can see that the Bamboo Paper app is developed by Wacom, based on the company’s 30 years of legacy in the arena of top-notch digital pen input technologies. With this app, you get the natural drawing and writing experience on your mobile devices and PCs just as the way you enjoy on paper or canvas. Your creative thinking and visual expression will soar at great heights with the wide range of sophisticated technical features of the Bamboo Paper apps.

The company recently specified that they are working on a detailed computer language as well. This will in turn ensure that the Bamboo Paper app will work in a similar way on all the major platforms and that too regardless of the capabilities of the OS or system hardware configuration. The name given to this project by Wacom is Wacom Ink Layer Language or WILL.

With project WILL, it will be much easier to share your drawings, sketches, and notes between your own gadgets and to other devices. This will certainly be a great beneficial factor, as you will be able to collaborate with others to create artistic works in real time.

As for now, the Bamboo Paper app is available for free on Windows Store, Google Play, and the Amazon Appstore. Go get it now!

Procedure To Uninstall Inbox Toolbar

Not all productivity enhancing toolbars are useful. In fact, most web browser toolbars are annoying to the user. A toolbar usually comes bundled with other software download. During the software installation process you may forget un-checking the toolbar installation. So, you unwittingly install the additional undesirable toolbar in your computer. Most toolbars take valuable browser space, meddle with the default search engine settings, and alter the home page. These unsolicited changes make browser toolbars such annoying.

Inbox Toolbar is one such annoying toolbar you may not prefer glued to your browsers. If you are wondering how to remove toolbars like Inbox toolbar, this article will guide you through the process. These steps will give you an idea on how to remove toolbars from your computer.

Removing Inbox Toolbar from Internet Explorer

• Launch Internet Explorer browser, open Tools menu, and select the Manage add-ons option from the dropdown menu.
• Then, select the Inbox Toolbar icon listed there and click on the Disable button.
• Click on the Disable button on the confirmation box, if prompted. This will remove the toolbar from your IE browser.

Removing Inbox Toolbar from Mozilla Firefox

• Launch Mozilla Firefox, open Tools menu and click on the Add-ons option.
• Locate Inbox Toolbar in the Extensions page, and click on the Remove button against it. 
• Confirm your action if prompted and follow the on-screen instructions to get rid of the toolbar completely. 

Removing Inbox Toolbar from Google Chrome

• Click on the Inbox Toolbar icon on Google Chrome and select Disable from the pop-up menu. This way you can hide the toolbar and you can enable it back anytime you need it.
• Alternatively, you can go to Extensions section in Google Chrome to disable the Inbox Toolbar. Just click on the Settings icon located in the upper right corner of the browser window, select Tools, followed by Extensions. You can locate the Inbox Toolbar there. 
• Un-check the Enabled button to disable it temporarily. You can also click on the Trashcan icon against it or use the Remove from Chrome option to delete it from the browser completely.

This way you can successfully remove or uninstall Inbox Toolbar from within your web browsers. Stay tuned to learn how to remove toolbars from the Control Panel utility in a Windows computer.