How to Dual-Boot Windows 7 and Windows 8 Side By Side

The Windows 8 developer preview is out for all to try, but installing it over your main Windows setup is a scary (and unrealistic) prospect. Here’s how to dual boot Windows 8 with your current Windows 7 installation so you can run them both side by side.

If you’ve ever dual booted a machine before, this shouldn’t seem too foreign. All you need to do is create a new partition for Windows 8, install it on that partition, and then edit your new boot menu so Windows 7 stays the default OS. Here’s how to do it.

How to Download and Install Windows 8 on a New Partition (Updated)

Here’s how to download and install the Windows 8 Developer Preview build onto a new partition in your hard drive.

So you want to try out Windows 8. Excellent! But you’re not foolhardy enough to try using a developer preview build as your main work/play operating system–you just want to dabble. We’ll show you how to download and install the Windows 8 developer’s preview onto a separate partition (or separate hard drive, if you have a spare).

How to Restore Your Computer in Safe Mode

System Restore is a Microsoft Windows feature that allows you to set your settings to a stable state in the event there is a malfunction. Moreover, Safe Mode is a specialized Windows session optimized for testing and troubleshooting purposes. As only essential processes and services are enabled, this allows you to perform any system diagnostics without potential third-party software or hardware bugs. Depending on the severity of the issue at hand, it is often wise to restore your computer within Safe Mode.

Assign a Static IP Address

How to Assign a Static IP Address in XP, Vista, or Windows 7

When organizing your home network it’s easier to assign each computer it’s own IP address than using DHCP. Here we will take a look at doing it in XP, Vista, and Windows 7.

If you have a home network with several computes and devices, it’s a good idea to assign each of them a specific address. If you use DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol), each computer will request and be assigned an address every time it’s booted up. When you have to do troubleshooting on your network, it’s annoying going to each machine to figure out what IP they have.

Using Static IPs prevents address conflicts between devices and allows you to manage them more easily. Assigning IPs to Windows is essentially the same process, but getting to where you need to be varies between each version.

CES 2012: Ultrabook Round-up

CES 2012: Ultrabook round-up

CES is drawing to a close, and the gadgets released here will define the market for the year. Intel is betting the farm on its Ultrabook concept as its hardware partners continued to push out the first real wave of laptops designed to take on the MacBook Air (who thought we’d be saying that four years ago?). Whatever your feelings on these devices, given Santa Clara’s billion-dollar advertising push, you won’t be able to ignore them this year. So, let’s take a look at five of the best products that rolled off the keynotes into the hands of our editors.