Category: From the Help Desk

How to accept a friend request in Skype for Windows 8

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The other day someone asked me how to accept a new contact request in Skype for Windows 8. I remember struggling with this, and remembered the final answer was really stupid, but I was stumped. Ready for the answer? It was painfully obvious once I realized what my eyes were glossing over. Look above. In the 2nd column, on the first screen you see, you will see your recent activity. What’s there? Oh, look, a friend request. Wow, it really is that simple.

People still ask what if it does not show in your Recent Activity on the main page? Simple – right click! Or, if you’re using a touch screen, swipe down from the top. A menu will drop down from the top of the screen. There you can scroll side to side through your recent items until you find the friend request you’re looking to accept.

Good luck out there, everyone!

Force your Windows Phone 7.8 update – worked on my HTC Arrive

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So, it’s not an app, but I did want to share with everyone this week how I got my Windows Phone upgraded to 7.8. As Windows Phone fans have no doubt heard, Windows Phone 7.8 has been out for a while. There was a lot of worry that certain phones, including my handset (the HTC Arrive on Sprint), would not be receiving the update. Luckily, there is a process that can be followed to upgrade your phone to Windows Phone 7.8, and it doesn’t involve any sort of “hacking” or modding, or HSPL unlocking, or anything like that. Plug your phone in to your computer, run a program, and wait. It’s that simple.

I first found This article on WindowsPhoneHacker that describes the process. Once you download the executable and plugin your phone, it will tell you if you require any missing files (I was missing them!). Once again, it’s a small download – extract the zip file as it tells you and then run again. You will see the phone download, flash an update, and reboot – continuously. Each time, your phone will indicate that the update is complete, but don’t worry, it isn’t the final update. Don’t unplug or touch the phone. It took my phone almost two hours of the same cycle. For a while I began to worry that my phone may be stuck in a loop, but if you’re fast enough, you can actually see that the build number is changing with each reboot. Eventually, it will pop up a message on your computer telling you that the updates are 100% complete. You will know when you’re getting close because your 7.5/Mango boot screen will change from a red logo to a blue logo.

I could’ve waited, or tried more Zune trickery, but I was having all kinds of problems with my update process, and having the option to just start this process and walk away for a bit was a great help. For anyone wondering if the SevenEighter method works, it does and I encourage you to give it a shot. If the download links in the article I link to no longer work, please post a comment below and I’ll upload them here, as I have kept a copy. I typically don’t like to link to other articles without providing instructions here, just in case the article ever disappears, but I don’t want to take credit for this one, it was all WindowsPhoneHacker!

Where are my regular Desktop programs Windows 8?

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So you’re in the Windows 8 “Desktop Mode” – because the Start Screen just doesn’t feel right. You installed a few programs, but with no Start Menu – you can’t find them! Sure you can try to browse using Windows Explorer and find you way in to program files, but that’s just not what you want to do. So where are the desktop programs?

Well, good and bad news. The good news is they’re easy to find – the bad news? They’re in the new Start Screen. Go ahead, put your mouse down in the lower left-hand corner of the screen, or press the “Windows Key” on your keyboard, and scroll all the way to the right. There are probably several small, not exciting icons. Those are your Windows desktop applications. “Apps” you install from the Windows 8 App Store get live tiles, and are different sizes and more bright and vibrant. Most normal applications that would put a shortcut in the Start Menu are going to also create an icon here. If it doesn’t? You’re not out of luck.

If you have the Start Screen open, just start typing the name of the program! You can also move the mouse to the right side of the screen or press “Windows Key + C” to bring up the “Charms” bar and begin searching. As you can see in my screenshot above, I installed a program called Handbrake – and in order to find it in the Start Screen, I just started to type – and sure enough it showed up in my list of “Apps.” The same goes for my installation of Office 2010 programs, and other applications like Steam and games installed like Half-Life!

If you’re looking for something like how to pick and choose your Windows Updates, you can search for Windows Update, then click Settings on the right side of the screen and then click on the icon to Install Optional Updates.

In Office 2010, how do I change my product key? It's easy!

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Some business users may have put in the wrong key when the first installed Office 2010. Some software pirates may have been caught. Whatever your reason, changing your Office 2010 Product Key is easy, here’s how you do it:

I consider Microsoft Word to be the father of all Office products, so I advise opening Word. But if you didn’t install Word, any Office product ought to do, such as Excel, or even Outlook. Click on the File menu in the upper left. Then select Help. To the right, you should see that your product is already activated – if it isn’t, this is where you can activate a new install, or change your key of an existing install. In order to avoid the need to reinstall your Office product, your product key should match the current version of Office installed (Home and Student, Professional Plus, etc…).

Similar steps can be followed in Office 2013 to activate or change your product key, should you need to.