Enable Legacy Boot Mode on Windows 8 Pre-Installed Device

Apparently Microsoft requires OEM suppliers of Windows 8 systems to set the BIOS (actually UFEI now) to Secure Boot by default. This and another setting can prevent booting from CD/DVD drives and USB devices and also prevent Windows 7 (or older) network deployments from succeeding.

To enable smooth Windows 7 (or older) installations or booting from various boot disks, e.g. for disk imaging or repartitioning, etc, you will need to do the following:

1. Enter the BIOS/UEFI using whatever method the hardware vendor provides for this
2. Look for the Secure Boot option and disable this
3. Look for Legacy Boot or CSM (Compatibility Support Module) and enable this

In some cases, you will need to revert these settings to enable Windows 8 to install and/or boot.

Printer Colour/Duplex/Page-size Setting Won't Save in Windows

In the past I have found myself changing printer settings on a Windows PC, laptop, or tablet, only to find that when I go to print, the settings are not what I want. Examples of this are when the colour or black and white setting, the page size setting, or the duplex setting just will not stick!

What I've found in my travels are that most print drivers have a number of places where you can change these settings and if you don't check them all, they can seem to incessantly be returning to settings you don't want.

Ensure you check the relevant settings in the following locations:

If you're using a Windows-based print server:

1.       On the print server, in the Print Preferences on the General tab you first see when you open printer properties

2.       On the print server, in the Print Defaults on the Advanced  tab in the printer’s properties – THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE TO SET ON A PRINT SERVER

Whether you're using a print server or not:

3.       On the user’s PC, in the Print Preferences on the General tab you first see when you open printer properties – this does not affect other users, i.e. it is a per user setting.

4.       On the user’s PC, in the Print Defaults on the Advanced  tab in the printer’s properties. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE TO SET IF NOT USING A PRINT SERVER. If you ARE using a print server, these can often not be changed from a client PC/laptop/tablet. It's worth a look anyway.

5.       Lastly, on the user’s PC, within the program they are actually printing from, i.e. Word/Excel/whatever. When you change these settings, they only hold until you close the application. – this is therefore a per session setting.