control panel win 8 & 7

What’s New in Windows 8 Control Panel? (Part 1)

Posted on September 20, 2011

Time to compare Windows 7 Enterprise SP1 with Windows 8 Developer Preview. In this case default installs of 32-bit versions of both OS were used for this comparison.
To start we have the new “Metro Control Panel” launched from the Start Screen, then we will get into deep & dirty comparison of the “Desktop Control Panel” in Windows 8 vs Windows 7.

Personalize

This allows us to select Lock Screen and User Tile. User Tile can be from a file or webcam.

Clicking Browse shows dialog like

Under Lock Screen title selection we can select up to six apps to put notifications on the lock screen.

User Tile selection…

Users

Here we can create users, change password, create PIN or picture password.

This comparison will centre around the “full desktop-mode” control panel to start.
Change password…

Create picture password which is 3 unique gestures on an image of your choice.


Creating a PIN

Adding a user…

Wireless

Notifications

Privacy

General

Search

Share

Send

Ease of Access

Devices

Sync PC Settings

HomeGroup

Windows Update

More Settings

This brings us to the desktop version…

The changes in settings available follow…

Action Centre

In Windows 8 action centre we see two new items

Details about changed items:

Check for solutions to problem reports
Clicking this will initiate a check…

Check Security Status
In Windows 7 you will be told on first install that no anti-virus has been found. In addition the maintenance action is highlighted:

If you expand Security section in Windows 7 you see the following additional items:

And expanding maintenance shows

In Windows 8 Anti-Virus is included as part of Windows Defender. In addition by default Security & Maintenance is minimized. However if you expand maintenance you see many more items

Security maximized we see new items circled in red. These are Windows Defender as Anti-Virus, Windows SmartScreen, and Windows Live ID.

Windows SmartScreen offers the following options

The View Windows Live ID settings is not working on two of my test machines. (32-bit and 64-bit)
Expanding Maintenance shows the following new items: Automatic Maintenance, HomeGroup, File History and File System. Backup and Troubleshooting: System Maintenance are gone.

Change maintenance settings opens

Create Home Group

Turn File History on displays

Genuine Centre

Displays the following license information

Restore your computer to an earlier time
In Windows 7 this screen looks like so

Clicking Advanced recovery methods would display

In Windows 8 this screen is much improved:

Administrative Tools

The Administrative tools section doesn’t have additional items compared to Windows 7.

Some changes of the items are detailed below.
Defragment your hard drive
Essentially the same UI as in Windows 7 except frequency has changed from run 1:00 am every Wednesday to Weekly.  The Defragment Disk has now been renamed to Optimize.

Instead of change schedule you get a change settings which is greatly simplified and no longer specifies what time it will occur. We also get option to notify if 3 consecutive scheduled runs are missed. You can specify Daily, Weekly or Monthly for the frequency.

Edit Group Policy
There are hundreds of new group policy settings available, but the details I won’t go into here. For more info on Group Policy changes in Windows 8 refer to http://chentiangemalc.wordpress.com/2011/09/18/new-group-policy-settings-in-windows-8-developer-preview-1-of-2/
Schedule Tasks
New pre-configured scheduled tasks in Windows 8 include:

• Optimize Start Menu Cache files (Disabled by default)
• .NET Framework NGEN v4.0.30319
• AppID – SmartScreenSpecific
• Customer Experience Improvement Program – BthSQM (Bluetooth)
• Customer Experience Improvement Program – Uploader
• File Classification Infrastructure – Property Definition Sync (Disabled by default)
• File History (maintenance mode)
• IME – SQM Data
• Live – Roaming – BackgroundUploadTask
• Live – Roaming – MaintenanceTask
• Live – Roaming – SyncronizeWithStorage
• MemoryDiagnostic – ProcessMemoryDiagnosticEvents
• MemoryDiagnostic – RunFullMemoryDiagnostic
• Mobile Broadband Accounts – Mobile Broadband Account Experience Metadata Parser
• NetCfg – BindingWorkItemQueueHandler (Handles pending Network Binding Engine tasks)
• Plug and Play – Device Install Group Policy
• Plug and Play – Device Install Reboot Required
• Shell – CreateObjectTask (Provides support for shell components that access system data)
• Software Protection Platform – SvcRestartTaskLogon
• Software Protection Platform – SvcRestartTaskNetwork
• Task Scheduler – Idle Maintenance
• Task Scheduler – Maintenance Configurator
• Task Scheduler – Manual Maintenance
• Task Scheduler – Regular Maintenance
• TPM – Tpm-Maintenance
• Windows Defender – Cache Maintenance
• Windows Defender – Windows Defender Cleanup
• Windows Defender – Windows Defender Scheduled Scan
• Windows Defender – Windows Defender Verification
• Windows Update – AUMaintenanceComplete
• Windows Update – AUScheduledInstall
• Windows Update – Scheduled Start
• Wininet – CacheTask
• WS (Windows Store) – Badge Update
• WS – File Validation
• WS – License Validation
• WS – WSTask (Windows Store Maintenance Task)

View Event Logs
There are a few additional event logs by default in Windows 8:

• FirstUXPerf-Analytic
• MedaFoundationMSVideoDSP
• MedaFoundationVideoProc
• MedaFoundationVideoProcD3D
• MediaFoundationAsyncWrapper
• MediaFoundationContentProtection
• MediaFoundationMediaEngine
• Microsoft-IEDVTOOL/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-MIEPROXY/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-WS-Licensing/Admin
• Microsoft-WS-Licensing/Debug
• Microsoft-WS-Licensing/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-ASN1/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-All-User-Install-Agent/Admin
• Microsoft-Windows-All-User-Install-Agent/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-All-User-Install-Agent/Debug
• Microsoft-Windows-All-User-Install-Agent/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-Anytime-Upgrade-Events/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-Anytime-Upgrade/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-AppLocker/Appx
• Microsoft-Windows-AppLocker/Appx Deployment
• Microsoft-Windows-AppModel-Runtime/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-AppModel-State/Debug
• Microsoft-Windows-AppModel-State/Diagnostic\
• Microsoft-Windows-AppXDeployment/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-AppXDeploymentServer/Debug
• Microsoft-Windows-AppXDeploymentServer/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-AppXDeploymentServer/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-Application Server-Applications/Admin
• Microsoft-Windows-Application Server-Applications/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-Application Server-Applications/Debug
• Microsoft-Windows-Application Server-Applications/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-Application-Experience/AIT-Static
• Microsoft-Windows-Application-Experience/Compatibility-Infrastructure-Debug
• Microsoft-Windows-Application-Experience/Program-Compatibility Assistant/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-AppxPackaging/Debug
• Microsoft-Windows-AppxPackaging/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-AppxPackaging/Performance
• Microsoft-Windows-BTH-BTHPORT/HCI
• Microsoft-Windows-BTH-BTHPORT/L2CAP
• Microsoft-Windows-BTH-BTHUSB/Performance
• Microsoft-Windows-Base-Filtering-Engine-Connections/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-Base-Filtering-Engine-Resource-Flows/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-Biometrics/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-BitLocker-Driver-Performance/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-BitLocker/BitLocker Management
• Microsoft-Windows-Bluetooth-HidGatt/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-BrokerInfrastructure/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-BrokerInfrastructure/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-CAPI2/Catalog Database Debug
• Microsoft-Windows-COM/CreateInstance
• Microsoft-Windows-COM/ExtensionCatalog
• Microsoft-Windows-CertificateServicesClient-Lifecycle-System/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-CertificateServicesClient-Lifecycle-User/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-ClassicSruMon
• Microsoft-Windows-CoreApplication/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-CoreWindow/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-CoreWindow/Debug
• Microsoft-Windows-Crashdump/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-Crypto-DPAPI/BackUpKeySvc
• Microsoft-Windows-Crypto-DPAPI/Debug
• Microsoft-Windows-Crypto-DPAPI/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-Crypto-NCrypt/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-D3D10Level9/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-DAMM/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-DLNA-Namespace/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-DXGI/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-DXGI/Logging
• Microsoft-Windows-Deduplication/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-Deduplication/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-Deduplication/Scrubbing
• Microsoft-Windows-DesktopActivityModerator/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-DesktopWindowManager-Diag/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-DeviceSetupManager/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-DeviceSetupManager/Debug
• Microsoft-Windows-DeviceSetupManager/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-Devices-Location/Performance
• Microsoft-Windows-Diagnosis-AdvancedTaskManager/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-Direct3D10/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-Direct3D10_1/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-Direct3D11/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-Direct3D11/Logging
• Microsoft-Windows-Direct3D11/PerfTiming
• Microsoft-Windows-Direct3D9/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-DirectComposition/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-DirectWrite/Tracing
• Microsoft-Windows-Dism-Api/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-Dism-Api/ExternalAnalytic
• Microsoft-Windows-Dism-Api/InternalAnalytic
• Microsoft-Windows-Dism-Cli/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-Dot3MM/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-Dwm-API/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-Dwm-Core/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-Dwm-Dwm/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-Dwm-Redir/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-Dwm-Udwm/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-DxpTaskDLNA/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-EapMethods-Sim/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-EapMethods-Ttls/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-FileHistory-Catalog/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-FileHistory-Catalog/Debug
• Microsoft-Windows-FileHistory-ConfigManager/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-FileHistory-ConfigManager/Debug
• Microsoft-Windows-FileHistory-Core/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-FileHistory-Core/Debug
• Microsoft-Windows-FileHistory-Core/WHC
• Microsoft-Windows-FileHistory-Engine/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-FileHistory-Engine/Debug
• Microsoft-Windows-FileHistory-EventListener/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-FileHistory-EventListener/Debug
• Microsoft-Windows-FileHistory-Service/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-FileHistory-Service/Debug
• Microsoft-Windows-GenericRoaming/Admin
• Microsoft-Windows-HotspotAuth/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-HotspotAuth/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-Hyper-V-NETVSC/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-IDCRL/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-IDCRL/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-IME-CandidateUI/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-IME-CustomerFeedbackManager/Debug
• Microsoft-Windows-IME-CustomerFeedbackManagerUI/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-IME-JPAPI/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-IME-JPLMP/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-IME-JPPRED/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-IME-JPSetting/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-IME-JPTIP/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-IME-KRAPI/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-IME-OEDCompiler/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-IME-Roaming/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-IME-SCCORE/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-IME-SCDICCOMPILER/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-IME-SCSetting/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-IME-SCTIP/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-IME-TCCORE/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-IME-TCTIP/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-IME-TIP/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-IPNAT/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-IdCtrls/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-InputSwitch/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-KdsSvc/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-Kerberos/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-IoTrace/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-Pdc/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-PnP/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-PnP/Configuration
• Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-PnPConfig/Configuration
• Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-ShimEngine/Debug
• Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-ShimEngine/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-ShimEngine/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-LSA-Core/Performance
• Microsoft-Windows-LanguageProfile/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-LinkLayerDiscoveryProtocol/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-LinkLayerDiscoveryProtocol/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-LiveId/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-MPEG2-Video-Encoder-MFT_Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-Media-Streaming/DMC
• Microsoft-Windows-Media-Streaming/DMR
• Microsoft-Windows-Media-Streaming/MDE
• Microsoft-Windows-MediaFoundation-MFCaptureEngine/MFCaptureEngine
• Microsoft-Windows-Mobile-Broadband-Experience-Api-Internal/Analytic\
• Microsoft-Windows-Mobile-Broadband-Experience-Api/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-Mobile-Broadband-Experience-Parser-Task/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-Mobile-Broadband-Experience-SmsApi/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-Mobile-Broadband-Experience-SmsRouter/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-Mprddm/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-NcdAutoSetup/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-NcdAutoSetup/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-NdisImPlatform/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-Ndu/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-Network-Connection-Broker
• Microsoft-Windows-Network-DataUsage/Analytic
  
• Microsoft-Windows-NetworkBridge/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-NetworkProvisioning/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-Ntfs/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-Ntfs/Performance
• Microsoft-Windows-Ntfs/WHC
• Microsoft-Windows-OOBE-Machine-Core/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-OOBE-Machine-DUI/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-OOBE-Machine-Plugins-Wireless/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-OOBE-Machine-Plugins/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-OtpCredentialProvider/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-PackageStateRoaming/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-PackageStateRoaming/Debug
• Microsoft-Windows-PackageStateRoaming/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-PhotoAcq/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-PlayToManager/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-Policy/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-PowerShell/Admin
• Microsoft-Windows-PowerShell/Debug
• Microsoft-Windows-PrintDialogs/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-PrintService-USBMon/Debug
• Microsoft-Windows-ProcessStateManager/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-Program-Compatibility-Assistant/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-Program-Compatibility-Assistant/Trace
• Microsoft-Windows-Proximity-Common/Informational
• Microsoft-Windows-Proximity-Common/Performance
• Microsoft-Windows-PushNotification-Developer/Debug
• Microsoft-Windows-PushNotification-InProc/Debug
• Microsoft-Windows-PushNotification-Platform/Debug
• Microsoft-Windows-PushNotification-Platform/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-Regsvr32/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-Remotefs-Rdbss/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-Remotefs-Rdbss/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-Remotefs-Smb/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-Remotefs-Smb/HelperClassDiagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-Remotefs-Smb/ObjectStateDiagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-Remotefs-Smb/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-Resources-MrmBc-Provider
  
• Microsoft-Windows-Runtime-Graphics/Analytic
  
• Microsoft-Windows-Runtime-Networking-BackgroundTransfer/Tracing
• Microsoft-Windows-Runtime-Networking/Tracing
• Microsoft-Windows-Runtime-WebAPI/Tracing
• Microsoft-Windows-Runtime-Windows-Media/WinRTCaptureEngine
• Microsoft-Windows-Runtime-Windows-Media/WinRTTranscode
• Microsoft-Windows-Runtime/CreateInstance
• Microsoft-Windows-SMSRouter
• Microsoft-Windows-SPB-ClassExtension/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-Schannel-Events/Perf
• Microsoft-Windows-Security-IdentityStore/Performance
• Microsoft-Windows-Security-Netlogon/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-Security-SPP-UX-GC/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-Security-SPP-UX-GenuineCenter-Logging/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-Security-SPP-UX-Notifications/ActionCenter
• Microsoft-Windows-Security-SPP-UX/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-SendTo/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-Sensor-Service-Trigger/Trigger
• Microsoft-Windows-Sensors/Debug
• Microsoft-Windows-Sensors/Performance
• Microsoft-Windows-Serial-ClassExtension/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-Servicing/Debug
• Microsoft-Windows-SettingSync/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-SettingSync/Debug
• Microsoft-Windows-SettingSync/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-Shell-AppWizCpl/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-Shell-AuthUI-CredentialProviderUser/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-Shell-AuthUI-LogonUI/Diagnostic
  
• Microsoft-Windows-Shell-ConnectedAccountState/ActionCenter
• Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Core/ActionCenter
• Microsoft-Windows-Shell-OpenWith/Diagnostic
  
• Microsoft-Windows-SmartCard-Bluetooth-Profile/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-SmartCard-Bluetooth-Transport/Admin
• Microsoft-Windows-SmartCard-Bluetooth-Transport/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-SmartCard-TPM-VCard-Module/Admin
• Microsoft-Windows-SmartCard-TPM-VCard-Module/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-Spell-Checking/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-SpellChecker/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-SruMon/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-Srv2/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-Srv2/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-Srv2/Performance
• Microsoft-Windows-Storage-ATAPort/Admin
• Microsoft-Windows-Storage-ATAPort/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-Storage-ATAPort/Debug
• Microsoft-Windows-Storage-ATAPort/Diagnose
• Microsoft-Windows-Storage-ATAPort/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-Storage-ClassPnP/Admin
• Microsoft-Windows-Storage-ClassPnP/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-Storage-ClassPnP/Debug
• Microsoft-Windows-Storage-ClassPnP/Diagnose
• Microsoft-Windows-Storage-ClassPnP/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-Storage-Disk/Admin
• Microsoft-Windows-Storage-Disk/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-Storage-Disk/Debug
• Microsoft-Windows-Storage-Disk/Diagnose
• Microsoft-Windows-Storage-Disk/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-Storage-Storport/Admin
• Microsoft-Windows-Storage-Storport/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-Storage-Storport/Debug
• Microsoft-Windows-Storage-Storport/Diagnose
• Microsoft-Windows-Storage-Storport/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-Superfetch/AgmcLog
• Microsoft-Windows-Superfetch/AgmcOperation
• Microsoft-Windows-SystemSettings/Debug
• Microsoft-Windows-SystemSettings/Diagnostic
  
• Microsoft-Windows-TTS/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-TWinAPI/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-TWinUI/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-TWinUI/Operational
  
• Microsoft-Windows-TaskScheduler/Maintenance
• Microsoft-Windows-USB-UCX-Debug
• Microsoft-Windows-USB-USBHUB3-Debug
• Microsoft-Windows-USB-USBXHCI-Debug
• Microsoft-Windows-User Control Panel Usage/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-User Control Panel/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-UserAccountControl/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-UserPnp/DeviceInstall
• Microsoft-Windows-WCNWiz/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-WLAN-MediaManager/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-WMI-Activity/Debug
• Microsoft-Windows-WMI-Activity/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-WMP-MediaDeliveryEngine/MDE
• Microsoft-Windows-WPD-API/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-WPD-MTPBT/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-WPD-MTPClassDriver/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-WPD-MTPIP/Analytic\
• Microsoft-Windows-WPD-MTPUS/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-WWAN-CFE/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-WWAN-MediaManager/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-WWAN-SVC-Events/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-Wcmsvc/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-Wcmsvc/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-WebcamProvider/Analytic
• Microsoft-Windows-Win32k/Contention
• Microsoft-Windows-Win32k/Messages
• Microsoft-Windows-WinINet/UsageLog
• Microsoft-Windows-WinNat/Oper
• Microsoft-Windows-WinNat/Trace
• Microsoft-Windows-WindowsUIImmersive/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-WindowsUIImmersive/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-WindowsUpdateClient/Analytic

• Microsoft-Windows-WlanDlg/Analytic

• Microsoft-Windows-WwaHost/Admin
• Microsoft-Windows-WwaHost/Debug
• Microsoft-Windows-WwaHost/Diagnostic
• Microsoft-Windows-WwaHost/Operational
• Microsoft-Windows-ntshrui-perf
• OSK_SoftKeyboard_Channel
• SystemEventsBroker
• TabletPC_InputPanel_Channel/IHM
• TimeBroker
• WINDOWS_KS_CHANNEL
• WINDOWS_MFH264Enc_CHANNEL
• WINDOWS_MSMPEG2ADEC_CHANNEL
• WINDOWS_MSMPEG2VDEC_CHANNEL
• WINDOWS_VC1ENC_CHANNEL
• WINDOWS_WMPHOTO_CHANNEL
• WINDOWS_wmvdecod_CHANNEL
• Windows.Globalization/Analytic
• WitnessClientAdmin

So yeah just a few new ones.
View local services
New services in Windows 8 include:

• Broker Infrastructure – Coordinates execution of background work for WinRT applications.
• Disk Defragmenter is replaced with Disk Optimizer Service
• Device Association Service – Enables pairing between the system and wired or wireless devices.
• eventlog service is now spelt with upper case EventLog
• Local Session Manager – Core Windows Service that manages local user sessions. Stopping or disabling this service will result in system instability.
• Network Connected Devices Auto-Setup – Network Connected Devices Auto-Setup service monitors and installs qualified devices that connect to a qualified network. Stopping or disabling this service will prevent Windows from discovering and installing qualified network connected devices automatically. Users can still manually add network connected devices to a PC through the user interface.
• The Plug and Play service is now marked as “Stoppable”
• System Events Broker – Coordinates execution of background work for WinRT application. If this service is stopped or disabled, then background work might not be triggered.
• Time Broker – Coordinates execution of background work for WinRT application. If this service is stopped or disabled, then background work might not be triggered.
• Desktop Window Session Manager service is GONE
• Windows Defender is renamed to Windows Defender Service
• Winmgmt is now all lowercase winmgmt
• Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service is gone
• Windows Live ID Sign-in Assistant

AutoPlay

AutoPlay has the same 3 items as Windows 7

Change default settings for media or devices
In Windows 7 we had a bit of choice overkill here:

In Windows 8 this has been prefixed with Storage devices and option to choose what to do with each type of media, camera storage is also configured here.

Backup and Restore

There is no backup and restore section in Windows 8 control panel. This has been replaced by other options.

BitLocker Drive Encryption

BitLocker Drive Encryption section removes the Protect your computer by encrypting data on your disk.

Color Management

Color management remains the same.

Credential Manager

In Windows 8 Credential Manager now adds Manage web credentials.

Manage web credentials
We now see the distinction between Web Credentials and Windows Credentials.

Date and Time
Remains the same as Windows 7

Default Programs
Remains the same as in Windows 7

Desktop Gadgets
Remains the same as in Windows 7.

Device Manager
Remains the same as in Windows 7…

Except one tiny little but very cool difference. In the properties of a device you can now see events related to that device. I love this feature!

Devices and Printers

Devices and printers we see five additions – advanced printer setup and near field proximity configuration. Also “Add device” has been changed to “Add devices and printers”

Add A Printer

In Windows 7 this would prompt with a dialog

But in Windows 8 it goes directly to searching for network or Bluetooth printers (Because pretty much all local printers these day are USB and would have been auto-detected making this prompt redundant)

Advanced Printer Setup

This will directly bring up this dialog. In Windows 7 this dialog was found if you clicked Add Printer –> Add Network, Wireless or Bluetooth Printer –> The Printer  that I want isn’t listed. Unlike Windows 7 a Bluetooth printer can’t be added on this page.

Change Device Installation Settings
In Windows 7 this displayed the following prompt

In Winodws 8 it is simplified

Only if you select No do you see other options. Note the option Install driver software from Windows update if it is not found on my computer is no longer available.

Near Field Proximity Settings

None of these opened on my 32-bit or 64-bit test machine.

Display

Display has the same options as Windows 7.

Adjust Screen Resolution

If you click Advanced Settings the “Troubleshooting” tab is gone in Windows 8.
Connect to a Projector
Also triggered by Win+P in Windows 7 you got a box at the centre of your screen

In Windows 8 you have the same options but they display as a sidebar

Ease of Access Centre

Has the same items as Windows 7.

File History

New in Windows 8, and replaces backup in Windows 7 has the following options

Backup Your Data
By default File History will backup files every 1 hr to USB disk. One cool thing is that if you disconnect your USB drive you will still get backups of files you are working on, just they are made on the local disk. This means if you need to revert to an older file version, or accidentally delete a file, even without USB disk connected you may have a recovery option.

Then on…

Restore your data or files from backup
OK so it’s not as flash as Time Machine on MacOS, but it doesn’t give me 3d motion sickness either.

If your USB drive is disconnected Action Center will warn you…

Folder Options
Same options as in Windows 7.

Show hidden files and folders
This brings up the Folder Options View Settings, as in Windows 7. There is only one different option now – Show Status Bar.

Change search options for files and folders
Once again we see a simplification of dialog boxes. In Windows 7 this showed us

In Windows 8 “What to search” is completely removed. How to search removes two options, and we get a new option  under “When searching non-indexed locations” to enable Always search file names and contents (I think this is a pretty commonly requested feature, glad to see it here!)

Specify single- or double- click to open
This adds the Automatically expand to current folder option

Fonts

The same options as in Windows 7

Getting Started
This is not in Windows 8 yet, as it is a developer preview release. In Windows 7 this had

Homegroup
Same options as in Windows 7

Choose homegroup and sharing options
Essentially the same but network profiles available in advanced settings are different. In Windows 7

In Windows 8

Indexing Options

Same as Windows 7.

Internet Options
In Windows  8 we see one new option Connect to the Internet

We’ll now look at any changes in the Internet Options tabs
General Tab
The general tab Use Blank has changed to Use new tab. (Which results in a page named about:Tabs instead of about:blank

In the Browsing History the Delete… button we see Downloaded History Added and InPrivate Filtering Data has been replaced with ActiveX Filtering and Tracking Protection data

In Settings the history section is now a separate tab. The default cache size has also increased from 50 MB to 250 MB


In Search Settings section we see new option Search in the address bar. We also see InPrivate Filtering replaced with Tracking Protection

In the Tabs Settings we see the addition of Ctrl+Q keyboard shortcut and Open each new tab next to the current tab

Security Tab

In the security tab the first thing we’ll find on 64-bit systems we can configure 64-bit browser for specific zones

The Custom level settings available are almost identical to Windows 7. Changes in red.

Privacy Tab
We now have a location setting. In addition the Do not collect data for use by InPrivate filtering setting is no longer there

Content Tab

In the content tab under AutoComplete settings there is now a Manage Passwords button

Advanced Tab

Some changes in red.

Keyboard

The same options as in Windows 7

Location and Other Settings

Replaced with Location Settings in Windows 8.

Language

These settings full under Region and Language in Windows 7

Change Keyboards or other input methods

This section is simplified in Windows 8. In Windows 7 you would get a display like this

In Windows 8

Selecting Options… will show you

Selecting Add a language now is much clearer and can sort by language name OR writing system.

Location Settings

Simplified in Windows 8 to

OK so I think this post is probably way too long already so I’ll stop here, and complete rest of the panel items in a part two.
Part two (or maybe part two + part three) will cover changes in

• Mouse
• Network and Sharing Center
• Notification Area Icons
• Parental Controls
• Performance Information and Tools
• Personalization
• Phone and Modem
• Power Options
• Programs and Features
• Recovery
• Region
• RemoteApp and Desktop Connections
• Restore Windows 7 Backups
• Sound
• Speech Recognition
• Sync Center
• System
• Taskbar
• Troubleshooting
• User Accounts
• Windows Defender
• Windows Firewall
• Windows Update

 

 window 7

mayur khokhar

Control Panel options

Article ID: 835644 - View products that this article applies to.

System TipThis article applies to a different version of Windows than the one you are using. Content in this article may not be relevant to you. Visit the Windows 7 Solution Center

The articles set out below are articles created and/or produced by Future Publishing Limited. Microsoft is not responsible for the content, accuracy or opinions expressed in these articles.

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It’s time to personalise your Operating System. We walk you through the essentials of using and customising settings with the Windows Control Panel

You may be keen to change settings on your computer. While changes to display settings, colours and wallpaper are common, you may fail to take advantage of the configuration options found in the various applets within the Control Panel.

If you're a new user, the Control Panel offers the ability to change input device settings, add, remove and troubleshoot hardware and software, configure input devices like your keyboard and mouse, and much more. If you're a more experienced user, Control Panel can be customised to a greater degree through a series of Registry tweaks and third-party utilities such as TweakUI.

Accessibility Options
Among the more obscure applets in the Control Panel is Accessibility Options. Although the purpose of this applet is to configure Windows settings so that the environment is friendlier to users with motion, visual, and hearing disabilities, settings found here can often to useful to any user. This applet enables you to control various keyboard, sound, display and mouse settings. For example, the Keyboard tab enables you to configure settings known as Sticky Keys, Filter Keys and Toggle Keys. These mean you can press key combinations such as [Ctrl] + [Alt] + [Del] one key at a time rather than simultaneously, ignore brief repeated keystrokes, or play a sound when you press any of the Lock keys. Toggle keys is especially useful if you tend to accidentally press [Caps Lock] and then type a paragraph of text before you even notice.

Other options found in this tool include the ability to display visual representations of system sounds, configure your number keypad to act as your mouse and change display settings to high contrast.

Add/Remove
The Add/Remove tools in Control Panel will probably be among those you’ll visit most often. While the Add/Remove Hardware applet gives you access to a wizard environment used to add, remove, unplug or troubleshoot hardware, visits to Add/Remove Programs are far more common. This tool not only enables you to add, remove and change software, but also enables you to change installed operating system components (such as games or other utilities), and provides you with a graphical interface from which to create a bootable floppy disk.

Obviously, removing unused software with help to free up system components. However, creating a bootable floppy disk should be a priority for all users, since it will ultimately prove indispensable should your system be unable to boot.

Display settings
The Display applet is a common tool that you’re probably already familiar with. Not only does it enable you to control various colour and desktop layout settings, but you also use this tool to configure screen savers, desktop wallpaper, visual effects and more. The most important options are those found on the Settings tab, since these enable you to control both the display resolution and colour depth used. If your display seems less than vivid, try either a higher colour depth or higher resolution. If these options cannot be changed, it’s likely that you’ve got the wrong video driver for your system installed – check the manufacturer’s Web site for an update.

Keyboard and Mouse
The Control Panel also enables you to control a variety of external devices. Although the exact options available will differ depending on your version of Windows, the keyboard and mouse applets are a required visit.

For example, using the keyboard applet you can install additional languages, or control the keyboard delay and repeat rate. Change to a slower repeat delay if you have a tendency to hold down individual keys for too long and accidentally end up with multiple instances of a character onscreen. The mouse applet enables you to change a wide variety of settings, including the speed at which your mouse responds to double-clicks, the hand-orientation of the mouse (a definite visit for readers who are left-handed), and even change the Windows pointers used.

Sounds
The fact that your computer plays sounds is great, but you may want to mute the volume permanently. Whether it’s more, less or different sounds that you’re after, a visit to the Sounds applet will solve your problem.

From this tool you can change and preview the sounds associated with events like a critical stop, exclamation, receiving new email and even the one played at Windows startup. One particular sound that you may want to be rid of is the clicking noise associated with accessing a file or folder. If so, go to the Windows Explorer section and set the sound associated with the Start Navigation item to None.

Power Management
Regardless of whether you’re a desktop or laptop user, you’ll want to explore the Power Management applet. The settings that appear here will differ depending upon the power management standards (such as APM or ACPI) that your system supports. However, you’ll want to configure system standby settings, which control when your PC’s components go into a low power mode. Not only is this environmentally conscious, but not configuring system standby settings will ultimately lead to an unpleasantly higher utility bill for users who leave their PC powered on regularly.

Regional Settings
The Regional Settings applet is used to control the way that Windows will display and sort dates, numbers, currencies, and time by default. For example, you might choose to change the default currency symbol or the way that positive and negative values are displayed.

User settings
The Users applet on a Windows 98 system enables you to add additional users accounts to your PC, as well as control whether they are given a dedicated user profile. When users are created and given individual profiles, they can be granted access to their own dedicated desktop, My Documents folder, favorites and more.

Control Panel add-ins
Beside the applets covered in this article, Control Panel provides access to Internet properties, folder options, as well as configuration settings for faxes, networking, printers, modems, and more. Furthermore, individual programs such as Norton Antivirus, QuickTime and others may also add their own dedicated applet, enabling you to configure related settings. Each of these is worth exploring according to your needs.

Dedicated user profiles

Create dedicated users and profiles settings in Windows 98

1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then select Control Panel. Double-click the Users icon to open the Enable Multi-user settings wizard. Click Next. Enter a username for the new account and click Next.

2. At the Enter a new password screen, type in a password for the account in both the Password and confirm password text boxes, and click Next.

3. At the Personalized Items Settings screen, check the items that you want to be unique for this user account. Click Next and Finish. After you reboot your PC, log on as the new user to view the settings.

Hide Control Panel applets

Save your settings by concealing Control Panel applets from other users

Although Control Panel enables you to customise a large number of system settings according to your preferences, it doesn’t take much for another user to ‘help’ you by changing these settings. Luckily, most users will head straight to Control Panel to make their changes. That’s good news for you, because it’s relatively easy to hide Control Panel applets using the Windows Registry, files like control.ini, and popular utilities such as TweakUI.

TweakUI is by far the easiest method of hiding individual applets. Once installed, the Control Panel tab enables you to simply check and uncheck the individual applets that you want displayed. While this method will hide the applet, it does not render it inaccessible, since it can still be opened by providing the path to the associated .cpl file.

If editing files or the Registry is more your style, on Windows 98 systems you can edit the contents of Control Panel by editing the control.ini file found in the Windows folder. In the section marked [don’t load], add entries for the individual applets, such as datetime.cpl=no in order for the Date and Time applet to be hidden.

This material is the copyright material of or licensed to Future Publishing Limited, a Future Network plc group company, UK 2004. All rights reserved.