Surface 2: What tips and tricks do you have to tell?

[BIGPADDY]

Hi All

I thought it would be great for new members or users with the Surface 2 that want to take full advantage of there tablet to have a thread which will have tips and tricks.

So what tips and tricks have you picked up or learnt with the Surface 2?

 

[BIGPADDY]

I got a few to get this started! To get the creativity flowing!

1. Microsoft Office 2013 is part of the Surface 2 package which is free this includes: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Onenote

2. Internet Explorer is a full web browser so you can visit normal website like you do on desktop.

3. Internet Explorer has flash built into the browser.

4. To access setting swipe from the left hand side to bring the charm bar out then go to setting, change PC setting this is where most of the setting are.

 

[Paolo Cardelli]

Here's my 2 cent:

0) Just use you Surface 2 and don't worry about anything: the device will always be secure, up to date, stable and snappy, without bothering you in any way.
Even if you don't know, Surface 2 with Windows RT has a built Antivirus/Antimalware and an always on Firewall software. The device performs periodic scans and update itself when the system is idle and not in use and/or when in Connected Standby mode. Not only that, it performs daily maintenance task deleting junk/temp files, checking and auto-fixing errors or sending them back to MS to analyze them, and even defragmenting/trimming drives. So no manual maintenance is required (Goodbye Old Windows x86!), just keep it connected to Wi-Fi, and Surface 2 will do the rest.
Even Apps are auto-updated to latest version in the background with the new Windows 8.1 Store.

1) You can block unwanted Banners/Ads/Malware and Annoying Social Fuzz with "Tracking Protection Lists" build right in IE11. Just go HERE and Add "EasyList", "EasyPrivacy" and "Privacy Choice" TPLs (you will make pages rendering/loading faster too);

2) Starting from Windows 8.1 you can set Modern UI background (and menus) to "Pure Black" color, making the whole interface identical to the Xbox One and Windows Phone interface. Go to Charm Bar -> Settings -> Personalize -> Choose the "unified color square" and choose the "Pure black" color (lowest left black) (you would have a smoother interface and longer battery life too);

3) You can automatically Troubleshoot most of the System problems with Windows RT built-in Troubleshooters: go to Action Center -> Security and Maintenance -> Click on Troubleshooters;

4) You can automatically Troubleshoot most of the Apps problems with updated 8.1 Apps Troubleshooter, downloading it from HERE;

5) Check your Surface 2 box: you'll find free codes for 1 year of Skype Premium with unlimited Skype Calls to Home numbers, and 2 years of 200GB Skydrive extra storage!

 

[BIGPADDY]

Here's my 2 cent:

0) Just use you Surface 2 and don't worry about anything: the device will always be secure, up to date, stable and snappy, without bothering you in any way.
Even if you don't know, Surface 2 with Windows RT has a built Antivirus/Antimalware and an always on Firewall software. The device performs periodic scans and update itself when the system is idle and not in use and/or when in Connected Standby mode. Not only that, it performs daily maintenance task deleting junk/temp files, checking and auto-fixing errors or sending them back to MS to analyze them, and even defragmenting/trimming drives. So no manual maintenance is required (Goodbye Old Windows x86!), just keep it connected to Wi-Fi, and Surface 2 will do the rest.
Even Apps are auto-updated to latest version in the background with the new Windows 8.1 Store.

1) You can block unwanted Banners/Ads/Malware and Annoying Social Fuzz with "Tracking Protection Lists" build right in IE11. Just go HERE and Add "EasyList", "EasyPrivacy" and "Privacy Choice" TPLs (you will make pages rendering/loading faster too);

2) Starting from Windows 8.1 you can set Modern UI background (and menus) to "Pure Black" color, making the whole interface identical to the Xbox One and Windows Phone interface. Go to Charm Bar -> Settings -> Personalize -> Choose the "unified color square" and choose the "Pure black" color (lowest left black) (you would have a smoother interface and longer battery life too);

3) You can automatically Troubleshoot most of the System problems with Windows RT built-in Troubleshooters: go to Action Center -> Security and Maintenance -> Click on Troubleshooters;

4) You can automatically Troubleshoot most of the Apps problems with updated 8.1 Apps Troubleshooter, downloading it from HERE;

5) Check your Surface 2 box: you'll find free codes for 1 year of Skype Premium with unlimited Skype Calls to Home numbers, and 2 years of 200GB Skydrive extra storage!

That great advice thanks!

 

[kristalsoldier]

Here's my 2 cent:

2) Starting from Windows 8.1 you can set Modern UI background (and menus) to "Pure Black" color, making the whole interface identical to the Xbox One and Windows Phone interface. Go to Charm Bar -> Settings -> Personalize -> Choose the "unified color square" and choose the "Pure black" color (lowest left black) (you would have a smoother interface and longer battery life too);

Hi...

Can you explain this please - specifically, whey the Pure Black colour helps in longer battery life?

Thanks

 

[Paolo Cardelli]

Hi...

Can you explain this please - specifically, whey the Pure Black colour helps in longer battery life?

Thanks

Cause a Black background means it's static first (and not animated like the W8 default), and then black pixels means that LCD has a lot less colours to display, so -> less energy to power.

 

[carguy303]

Cause a Black background means it's static first (and not animated like the W8 default), and then black pixels means that LCD has a lot less colours to display, so -> less energy to power.

This is not true in an LCD. Backlight is still running at full blast and that's what takes the power

 

[Paolo Cardelli]

This is not true in an LCD. Backlight is still running at full blast and that's what takes the power

Backlight is still running, but less colours variety means a bit less heat.
Anyway, this type of background is mostly suggested for Style reasons, having more coherence with WP8 and Xbox One if you have them too

 

[WillysJeepMan]

Backlight is still running, but less colours variety means a bit less heat.

That's not true either.

Anyway, this type of background is mostly suggested for Style reasons, having more coherence with WP8 and Xbox One if you have them too

Yes. That is the reason why some have suggested that.

 

[rav16]

Guys can you download mp3 songs , ePub books , from the internet and play them on the surface 2 ? If you download music from internet , does it get stored in Xbox music or some other location ? What about epubs ?

 

[HeyCori]

Guys can you download mp3 songs , ePub books , from the internet and play them on the surface 2 ? If you download music from internet , does it get stored in Xbox music or some other location ? What about epubs ?

MP3s play just fine on the S2. If you don't like to micro-manage then just make sure to download the songs to your Music folder. They will automatically sync with Xbox Music. I prefer to micro manage, separating out artists from each other. You can also set Xbox Music to include music from multiple folders. However, due to the limitations of RT, programs that require you to install a third-party application won't work. For example, downloading music from Amazon.com requires a dedicated Amazon music app which doesn't work on RT. I have an original Zune pass so I'm largely not affected by this issue but it's something to consider. I haven't experimented with other music apps, though I believe you can download another app from the store and use it instead of Xbox Music.

I haven't tried downloading ePubs from anywhere other than the OverDrive app (it's an eBook rental service). So yes, ePubs work but I can't comment on the quality of other ePub reader apps. However, I'd imagine the Nook app would get the job done.

 

[Paolo Cardelli]

Boost your Surface 2 Performance (without negative effects)

• Disable Windows Defender - Using Windows RT means every apps installed are already scanned by MS for malware/dangers thanks to Windows Store. IE11 has also "SmartScreen" filtering -> every file downloaded in the system is analyzed in the Cloud in very few seconds before finally saving it. So, Windows Defender service is not useful on this platform and disabling it general performance and battery life will dramatically benefit from it
  
  1. Open regedit. Find HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Defender
  2. Take ownership of the key and add write permissions to yourself (Right click Windows Defender key, click Permissions, click Additional settings, click Owner, type your username and accept. Now on the Permissions window click Add, type your username and check Full Access and click OK)
  3. Change the value of DisableAntispyware to 1
  4. Reboot
  
  
• Disable Logging - Generally logging can cause some sluggishness at times because log files are constantly accessed and written to. You can turn these off if you wish.
  
  Search for gpedit.msc and launch it.
  Navigate to User Configuration, Administrative Templates, Windows Components, and then select Windows Error Reporting in the left column of the Group Policy editor. Double-click Disable Logging in the Settings section of the Group Policy editor. Select Enable and then click OK to save the changes. Do the same for Disable Windows Error Reporting;
  
  
• Reduce Visual Effects - Many visual glory can be safely disabled without any noticeable differences, especially considering they came from the Desktop side of things, but the performance/smoothness of animations increase can be solid on Metro side too.
  
  Go to Control Panel -> System -> Advanced Settings -> Performance Settings. And un-check all the Visual Effects you can (except "Fonts Smoothing" , "Animate windows when minimized" and "Show thumbnails")
  
  
• Improve disk performance by Disabling 8.3 Name creation: this is an old and deprecated NTFS feature that, disabled, can make disk operations a bit snappier, and without negative effects.
  
  Open "regedit" from Search Charm, and go to:
  
  HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem
  Double click on: "NtfsDisable8dot3NameCreation" and Set it to "1"
  Apply, and Reboot
  
  
• Disable Remote Assistance - If you don't need remote Assistance, go to Control Panel -> System -> Advanced Settings -> Remote Assistance and un-check the box;
  
  
• Use OpenDNS - The fastest, most secure and reliably Public DNS server in the World. No matter where you are, you will immediately benefit from it in every sense while on the Internet. More info here: OpenDNS: Cloud-Delivered Security Enforcement and Intelligence
  
  Go to Control Panel -> Networking -> Right click on Wi-fi Adapter -> Proprerties -> TCP/IP IPv4 -> Manually set Primary DNS as: 208.67.222.222
  Secondary DNS as: 208.67.220.220
  
  Then:
  
  1.Go to Network Adapters -> Right click on Wi-Fi Adapter -> Properties ->Deselect IPv6 TCP/IP and close the window;
  2.Open Command Prompt -> Write: "ipconfig /flushdns" and give Enter
  3.Reboot
  
  
• Increase the Max Connections for IE11: for an even faster page rendering. Type "gpedit.msc" into Search Charm, and run it. Click the "+" symbol next to "Computer Configuration" to expand it. Navigate to the AJAX registry by selecting the following in order: "Administrative Templates," "Windows Components," "Internet Explorer," "Security Features" and "AJAX." Click Enable, and change both the values labeled "Set Maximum number of connections per server (HTTP 1.0)" and "Maximum number of connections per server (HTTP 1.1)" to 16. Exit out of the Group Policy Editor, and restart your operating system to complete the job.
  
  
• Block unwanted Banners/Ads/Malware and Annoying Social Fuzz with "Tracking Protection Lists" build right in IE11. Just go HERE and Add "EasyList", "EasyPrivacy" and "Privacy Choice" TPLs (you will make pages rendering/loading faster too);
  
  
• Disable Work Folders Client: this feature was first introduced in Windows 8.1, and it is useful to manage an internal "Dropbox style" shared folder in your work place/office. Considering most of companies still have Windows XP or Windows 7 at best, it is fairly useless for now, and can be disabled to offload a bit of memory and cpu cycles from your Surface.
  
  Go to Contro Panel (Desktop) -> Software and features -> Uninstall a software -> Add/Remove a Windows functionality -> Uncheck "Work Folders Client".
  
  
  Reboot.
  
  
  
  Enjoy your new, blazing FAST, Surface 2 :smile:

 

[PLGomez]

Boost your Surface 2 Performance (without negative effects)

• Disable Windows Defender - Using Windows RT means every apps installed are already scanned by MS for malware/dangers thanks to Windows Store. IE11 has also "SmartScreen" filtering -> every file downloaded in the system is analyzed in the Cloud in very few seconds before finally saving it. So, Windows Defender service is not useful on this platform and disabling it general performance and battery life will dramatically benefit from it
  
  1. Open regedit. Find HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Defender
  2. Take ownership of the key and add write permissions to yourself (Right click Windows Defender key, click Permissions, click Additional settings, click Owner, type your username and accept. Now on the Permissions window click Add, type your username and check Full Access and click OK)
  3. Change the value of DisableAntispyware to 1
  4. Reboot
  
  
• Disable Logging - Generally logging can cause some sluggishness at times because log files are constantly accessed and written to. You can turn these off if you wish.
  
  Search for gpedit.msc and launch it.
  Navigate to User Configuration, Administrative Templates, Windows Components, and then select Windows Error Reporting in the left column of the Group Policy editor. Double-click Disable Logging in the Settings section of the Group Policy editor. Select Enable and then click OK to save the changes. Do the same for Disable Windows Error Reporting;
  
  
• Reduce Visual Effects - Many visual glory can be safely disabled without any noticeable differences, especially considering they came from the Desktop side of things, but the performance/smoothness of animations increase can be solid on Metro side too.
  
  Go to Control Panel -> System -> Advanced Settings -> Performance Settings. And un-check all the Visual Effects you can (except "Fonts Smoothing" , "Animate windows when minimized" and "Show thumbnails")
  
  
• Disable Remote Assistance - If you don't need remote Assistance, go to Control Panel -> System -> Advanced Settings -> Remote Assistance and un-check the box;
  
  
• Set a static Virtual Memory Pagefile - Creating a static Virtual Memory Pagefile means that Windows does not continuosly scan the cache memory management trying to understand how much memory must be allocated to Virtual Memory, and with a fixed size performance the system will immediately benefit from it.
  
  Go to Control Panel -> System -> Advanced Settings -> Performance Settings -> Advanced Tab -> Virtual Memory.
  Un-check the "automatic" box, and set Initial VM size to: 2047 , and the End VM size to 2047 too. Click to "Set"
  Apply and Reboot.
  
  
• Use OpenDNS - The fastest, most secure and reliably Public DNS server in the World. No matter where you are, you will immediately benefit from it in every sense while on the Internet. More info here: OpenDNS: Cloud-Delivered Security Enforcement and Intelligence
  
  Go to Control Panel -> Networking -> Right click on Wi-fi Adapter -> Proprerties -> TCP/IP IPv4 -> Manually set Primary DNS as: 208.67.222.222
  Secondary DNS as: 208.67.220.220
  
  You can do it even with TCP/IP IPv6, with Primary DNS as: 2620:0:ccc::2
  Secondary DNS as: 2620:0:ccd::2
  
  
  
  Enjoy yor new, blazing FAST, Surface 2 :smile:

I just did this on my Surface 2. So far so good.

 

[WillysJeepMan]

I just did this on my Surface 2. So far so good.

How were you able to disable Windows Defender? That registry entry is protected.

 

[PLGomez]

How were you able to disable Windows Defender? That registry entry is protected.

Step #2 under Disable Windows Defender tells you how to unprotect it.

 

[WillysJeepMan]

Step #2 under Disable Windows Defender tells you how to unprotect it.

Yes I tried that... numerous times in numerous ways. I get access denied. That trick used to work under 8.0 but not under 8.1

 

[TechAbstract]

Right-Click on bottom left corner of the desktop to get a very useful menu (same as Windows key+ X). This works for Windows 8 too.

 

[PLGomez]

Yes I tried that... numerous times in numerous ways. I get access denied. That trick used to work under 8.0 but not under 8.1

You're right. It was a little different. I messed with it a bit to get it right. Let me go back and check to see how I did it.

 

[PLGomez]

Ok, Here's what I did. When you right click the Windows Defender folder click on Permissions. Then click the Advanced button. At the top of the Advanced security settings it says Owner: click change. Then where is says "Enter the object name to select" type in "Users". Click ok. Then Ok again. Now you should be able to check off the full control box for Everyone.

 

[WillysJeepMan]

Thank you sir. That worked!