Dan Ackerman leads CNET's coverage of computers and gaming hardware. A New York native and former radio DJ, he's also a regular TV talking head and the author of "The Tetris Effect" ...

I usually advise readers, but this time a reader gave me advice. Joe Rubenstein told me that “There is a Start Menu in Windows 8.1,” then explained how to make it work. Yes, it’s true. You can add a ...

Create a Windows 8.1 ISO image or save installation files to a USB flash drive with this tool from Microsoft Want to reinstall Windows 8.1 but don’t have any installation media for it? Microsoft has ...

According to StatCounter, Windows 8 and 8.1 still account for about 4.3 percent of the Windows install base worldwide, far less than Windows 11, Windows 10, or even Windows 7. But for the people still ...

Three years ago we were benchmarking Microsoft's then latest operating system, Windows 8. At the time we were keen to make sure Windows 8 performed as well as Windows 7, which was a huge upgrade from ...