How to add Gmail to Windows 8 Mail

To add Gmail to Windows 8, click on the Mail tile in the Windows 8 Start Screen. This will launch the Mail app, which you will be using to set up your Gmail account. If you have not previously used the Mail app you will be presented with a screen asking for your Microsoft Account information.

If you do not have a Microsoft Account, please click on the Sign up for a Microsoft Account and create one. Otherwise, enter your account information and click on the Save button.
If you used your Gmail address as the email address for your Microsoft Account, you will automatically be prompted to add the Google account to Windows 8. If you used a different email provider for your Microsoft Account then click on the Google option under the Add your email accounts section. Finally, if you already have another email account configured in Mail, then use the Windows+I keyboard combination (Hold the Windows key and the I key at the same time) to open the Mail Settings screen. Then click on the Accounts option to add the new Google Gmail account.
You should now see a prompt asking you to enter your Google account information.

Enter in your Gmail address and then type in your password. If you wish to use your Google Contacts and Calendars, then please check the Include your Google contacts and calendars check box. Then click on the Connect button. The mail app will now connect to Gmail and load your email.
If you are receiving an error when trying to setup your Gmail account in Windows 8, please make sure your Mail app is up-to-date and confirm your login name and password by logging into Gmail via a web browser. Then try setting up your account again. If you continue to have difficulties or receive an error stating That email address or password didn't work. Double-check them and try again., then it is possible that you have the two-step verification security settings enabled for your Google account. If that is the case, then we need to login to your Google account via a web browser and create a special application-specific password that can be used for setting up your account in Windows 8.
To create a application-specific password, login to your Google account by going to the following URL and logging into your account:

https://accounts.google.com/

Once you are logged in click on the Security category and you should see if the 2-step verification setting is enabled on your account as shown below.

If it is enabled, click on the Edit button next to the 2-step verification status. When you are at the 2-step verification page, click on the link labeled Manage application-specific passwords. When you click on this link, Google may require you to enter your password again for extra security. Enter your password and you will now be at a screen where you can manage the application-specific passwords that you have created.

To create a password that we will use for Windows 8, type a name that you want to associate with this password in the Name field. This name should be something that is associated with the particular application that we are generating the password. For example, if this is your office Windows 8 computer, you could type Office Windows 8 Mail as the name. When you have entered the name you wish to use, click on the Generate Password button. You will now be shown a screen that displays the password that you will use when setting up Gmail on your Windows 8 computer or tablet.

This password is meant to only be used once and will never be shown again. Therefore, write down the password and click on the Done button. If you forget the password or misplace it, do not worry as you can always log back in and Revoke it. This makes the password unusable by any applications is or wants to use it.
Now that you have this password, you can go back to the Mail app and configure your Gmail account again. This time, though, use the application-specific password that we just generated as the password to your Gmail account. You should now be able to properly connect to your Gmail account in Windows 8.

Clear tile notifications on logout in Windows 8

The Windows 8 Start Screen contains tiles that allow you to launch an associated app. These tiles also have the ability to display notifications containing new information from that particular tiles application. For example, the Weather app will show updated weather information, the Stocks app will show recent stock quotes, and the News app will show the latest news stories. Examples of live tiles showing their notifications can be seen below.

When you log off, Windows will retain a history of past notifications as well as the last notification. That way when you log back in this history is retained and you will be shown the last notification that was displayed. If you wish to reset all notifications every time you log off of Windows, you can set a group policy to do so. This will make it so that all tiles are reset back to their basic state whenever you logoff. This would make the screen look like the following.

Notice how the tiles are not showing any notifications and are just the basic tile. After a few seconds the app will once again start showing the latest notifications.
To clear notifications on logoff please use the steps below to do this.

Note: If you are not using Windows 8 Professional or Enterprise you will not have access to the group policy editor. Instead you should follow the instructions here.

To access the Group Policy Editor you should type Group Policy in the Start Screen and then click on the Settings category. The option for Edit Group Policy should now appear. Click on the Edit Group Policy option and the Group Policy editor will open. Under the Local Computer Policy, expand the tree to the following path:

User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Start Menu and Taskbar

When you see Start Menu and Taskbar, left click on it to select it as shown in the image below.

In the right-hand pane you should now see a variety of settings. Double-click on the Clear history of tile notifications on exit setting and its properties screen will open.

Select the Enabled radio button and then click on the Apply button. Finally click on the OK button and close the Group Policy Editor. Windows 8 will now reset all notifications when you log out of Windows 8. If you want to enable this feature in the future, just go back to the same setting and change it to Not Configured.
If you are not using Windows 8 Professional or Enterprise you will not have access to the Group Policy Editor. Instead you will need to enable the setting through the Windows Registry. This setting can be enabled by creating the ClearTilesOnExit REG_DWORD value under the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer Registry key and setting it to 1.

Note: You should only use these Registry files if you do not have access to the Group Policy Editor.

How to sign in directly to the Windows 8.1 desktop

One of the biggest issues many people have had with Windows 8 is that it automatically logs you into the Windows 8 Start screen rather than the traditional Windows desktop. For those people who do not want to use the Start screen and instead work off the desktop this change has been very frustrating. If this has been an issue for you, Windows 8.1 allows you to skip the Start screen and boot directly into the desktop. To do this, type Navigation when you are at the Windows Start screen to open a search for that word.

When the search results appear, click on the Navigation properties result as shown in the image above. This will open the Taskbar and Navigation properties tab.

At this screen, put a check mark in the Go to the desktop instead of Start when I sign in checkbox as indicated by the red arrow above. Once that checkbox is checked, click on the Apply button and then press the OK button. With this setting enabled, when you start your Windows 8 computer it will now automatically go to the desktop rather than the Windows 8 Start screen.

How to enable the F8 key to start Safe Mode in Windows 8

Windows 8 introduced a new boot loader that decreased the time that it takes Windows 8 to start. Unfortunately, in order to do this Microsoft needed to remove the ability to access the Advanced Boot Options screen when you press the F8 key when Windows starts. This meant that there was no easy and quick way to access Safe Mode anymore by simply pressing the F8 key while Windows starts. Instead in order to access Safe Mode, you would need to either start Windows 8 and then tell it to restart into safe mode or for Windows to fail to start, where you could then tell Windows reboot again into safe mode. Regardless of how you did, it became a 2-3 step process to access the Windows 8 Safe Mode rather than a 1-step process that we have become familiar with.
In my opinion having access to diagnostic tools quickly and easily is more important than shaving some seconds off of the time it takes Windows to starts. With that said, this tutorial will explain how to enable the F8 key in Windows 8 so you can quickly and easily access the Safe Mode boot options and other diagnostic tools. As a bonus, by enabling this option on a dual-boot system with multiple operating systems, you will now find it easier to select the operating system you wish to use when you start your computer.
To enable the F8 key in Windows 8 you will first need to open an elevated command prompt. To do this you can follow the steps in this tutorial:

How to open an Elevated Command Prompt in Windows 8

When the elevated command prompt is open you will be at the C:\Windows\System32> prompt. To enable F8 in Windows 8 you need to type the following in the command prompt and then press the Enter key.

bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy legacy

Once you enter the above text, your command prompt should look like:

Once the command has been enter as shown above, press the Enter key on your keyboard. If you entered the command correctly, Windows will report that the "The operation completed successfully.". You now need to restart your computer for the change to go into effect. With this settings configured, you can now press F8 while Windows 8 starts in order to access Safe Mode and other Advanced Boot options.
If you would like to disable the F8 key and go back to the original Windows 8 setting you can open an elevated command prompt and enter the following command:

bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy standard

Once you enter the above command, press Enter on your keyboard. If you entered the command correctly, Windows will report that the "The operation completed successfully." and you should now restart your computer. The F8 key will now be disabled in Windows 8.

How to start Windows 8 in Safe Mode

Safe Mode is a Windows mode that uses only the most basic drivers and programs that are required to start Windows. This mode will also not launch any programs that are set to start automatically when Windows starts. This makes Safe Mode is very useful for diagnosing hardware driver problems and computer infections in Windows 8. It can also be useful when you want to uninstall a program or delete a file that you are unable to remove when Windows is started normally.

Note: If you are unable to boot into Windows after numerous attempts, Windows will automatically load the Advanced Startup Options menu where you can then continue with these instructions to access Safe Mode.

To access Safe Mode in Windows 8, you need to do so via the Advanced Startup options menu. To restart your computer into the Advanced startup options menu please go to the Windows 8 Start Screen and type Advanced. When the search results appear click on the Settings category as shown below.

Now click on the option labeled Advanced startup options and you will be brought to the General PC Settings screen. Scroll down to the bottom until you see an option labeled Advanced startup.

Click on the Restart now button and Windows 8 will restart your computer and go directly into the Advanced Startup options menu.

 

Now click on the Troubleshoot button and then the Advanced options button. You will now be at the Advanced options screen where you should click on the Startup settings option.

At the Startup Settings screen, click on the Restart button. Your computer will be restarted and brought into the Startup Settings menu as shown below.

You can start Safe Mode in Windows 8 from this screen. There are 3 possible Safe Modes options that you can choose from, which are described below:

Enable Safe Mode

This version of Safe Mode starts Windows 8 using the most basic drivers that are required to get Windows to run. It will not start any programs or the networking system.

Enable Safe Mode with Networking

This version of Safe Mode starts Windows 8 using the most basic drivers that are required to get Windows to run. It will not start any programs automatically, but will start the networking subsystem so that you can access the Internet. This is the most useful Safe Mode version as it allows you to download any tools that you may require as well as the ability to update anti-virus programs in case you wish to scan your computer.

Enable Safe Mode with Command Prompt

This version of Safe Mode starts Windows 8 using the most basic drivers that are required to get Windows to run, but does not start the Windows shell. This means that you will not see the desktop, but will instead be shown the command prompt screen where you can type commands. This version will also not start any programs or the networking subsystem. This Safe Mode method can be useful if you are cleaning up an infection that is started when the Windows shell, or Desktop, is started.

Please select the Safe Mode option by pressing the corresponding option number. Windows will then boot into the Safe Mode version that you requested where you will be able to login. Once you login, you will be at the classic Windows desktop, which will have the words Safe Mode written in each of the corners.

 

You can now use the computer as normal and resolve any issues that required you to boot into Safe Mode. If you need to get back to the Windows Start Screen, you can press the Alt button on your keyboard.

Sifymail Configure in Outlook

First, change your settings in your Sifymail account:

• Sign in to Sifymail.
• Click the  gear in the top right.
• Select Settings.

1. Select POP/IMAP Download
2. Select Enable IMAP.
3. Click Save Changes at the bottom of the page.

Note: This setting is not available while using the basic HTML view of Sifymail. To enable IMAP, use the standard view instead.

1. Now open your Outlook 2007
2. Go to “Tools -> Account Settings…”



3. On the Email tab, click New and a new wizard window should appear.


4. Enter in your name, email address, and password twice then click Next.
Note: Enter your full email address in the ‘your name’ field.


5. Outlook will configure the email server settings, the amount of time it takes will vary.


6. Provided everything goes correctly, the configuration will be successful and you can begin using your account.
If the above instructions don’t work, then we’ll need to manually configure the settings. Again, go into Auto Account Setup and select Manually configure server settings or additional server types and clickNext.


7. Select Internet E-mail – Connect to POP or IMAP server to send and receive e-mail messages.
    
8. Now we need to manually enter in our settings similar to the following. Under the Server Information section, verify the following.
   
   • Account Type: IMAP
   • Incoming mail server: imap.gmail.com
   • Outgoing mail server (SMTP): smtp.gmail.com
   
   Note: Enter full email address (user@sify.com) in the Your Name and User Name fields.
9. Next, we need to click on the More Settings button…
    
10. In the Internet E-mail Settings screen that pops up, click on the Outgoing Server tab, and check the box next to My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication. Also select the radio button next to Use same settings as my incoming mail server.
     
11. In the same window click on the Advanced tab and verify the following.
    
    • Incoming server: 993
    • Incoming server encrypted connection: SSL
    • Outgoing server encrypted connection TLS
    • Outgoing server: 587
    Note: You will need to change the Outgoing server encrypted connection first; otherwise it will default back to port 25. Also, if TLS doesn’t work, we were able to successfully use Auto. 
    
12. Click OK. Select Next in the appearing window and then select Finish

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Transfer contacts from Sifymail

1. Sign in to Sifymail.
2. Click Mail at the top-left corner of your Sifymail page, and then choose Contacts.



3. From the More drop-down menu, select Export....



4. Choose whether to export all contacts or only one group
5. To transfer contacts to Outlook use the Outlook CSV format.
6. Click Export.
7. Choose Save to Disk and then click OK.
8. Select a location to save your file, and click OK.
Now open your Outlook 2007.

9. Click File. Under file, select Import and Export.

1. When the Import and Export Wizard opens select “Import from another program or file”then hit Next.


2. Next select Comma Separated Values (DOS) and click Next.


3. Browse for the Excel CSV file and choose options about duplicate entries and continue by clicking Next.


4. Here you will want to select the appropriate folder or location you want to keep the information hit Next.


5. The next screen basically verifies what we just did and also offers the option to change the destination or Map Custom Fields. Hit Finish.

 

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To back-up Chat logs

• Go to Labels under settings.

• Now among the list of System labels, search for Chats. Now select Show under show in label list and then select Show in IMAP.

• Now you will be able to download your chat logs in your Outlook 2010 alongside your mails.

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To transfer Calendar

1. Log in to Sifymail first and then without signing out, paste the link https://www.google.com/calendar/render in the same browser.
2. In the calendar list on the left side of the page, move your mouse over the calendar you'd like to export from.
3. You'll see a drop-down arrow appear next to the calendar name. Click the drop-down arrow and select Calendar settings. (Alternatively, click the drop-down arrow next to My calendars and select Settings, then click the appropriate calendar from the list.)



4. Click the ICAL button in the 'Private Address' section at the bottom of the page.
5. Copy the calendar address that you get now and paste it to your clipboard.
Note: If you receive a 'Feed Processing Error' message when exporting events, please make sure you're using your calendar's private iCalendar address ('Private Address'). You can only use your calendar's public iCalendar address ('Calendar Address') to export events when your calendar is publicly shared.

Now open Outlook and go to Tools \ Account Settings.



6. In Account Settings choose the Internet Calendars tab, click on New… and Paste the URL you just copied from Google into the location and click Add.



7. You then get to the subscriptions screen. Give the calendar a name and description and click OK.


8. You can now see the calendar in the list in the Outlook sidebar panel.

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To transfer system labels (flag, Star labels, etc.)

First, we need to enable IMAP in the Sifymail settings.

• Sign in to Sifymail.
• Click the  gear in the top right.
• Select Settings.

• Select POP/IMAP Download
• Select Enable IMAP.
• Click Save Changes at the bottom of the page.

Note: This setting is not available while using the basic HTML view of Sifymail. To enable IMAP, use the standard view instead.
Now go to Labels under settings. 

Now among the list of System labels, search for Starred and Important. Select Show under show in label list and then select Show in IMAP for both Starred and Important.

Now you will see your labels in your desired desktop client using IMAP.