Normally, Windows is installed using optical media like DVDs and CDs but there are times when it is not possible to boot into the windows setup using disks probably because your DVD drive is not working or, if you are using one of those ultra-portable laptops, it is not there at all.

To overcome this problem, one can either use an external DVD drive and install Windows normally or create a bootable pen drive to install Windows whenever needed. In this tutorial, we will discuss about the latter and learn how can we create a bootable USB drive for installing Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 or Windows 8.1. As installing Windows from a flash drive is much faster than from a CD/ DVD, such an installation will also save time.

This article assumes that your computer has a mother board which supports booting from USB drives. Most modern laptops and desktops support it. If you have bought your computer in the last 5 years, you do not need to worry about this.
Installation Requirements

1. An empty flash drive with a storage capacity of 1GB for Windows XP and 3GB for Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.
2. Windows installation disk or Windows installation files stored somewhere on your computer.

Steps to create a bootable USB Flash Drive

1. Download Win to Flash. The software is still in beta phase so it is possible that it has some bugs although I have personally faced none. The latest version of Win to Flash can be downloaded from the Win to Flash website. The latest version also supports Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. To avoid this tutorial from getting outdated, I would advise to download the software from the former link if you are not planning on using Windows 8 or 8.1.
2. Extract the downloaded zip file to any folder on your desktop. 
3. Open the folder and run WintoFlash.exe by double clicking on it.
4. Click Next, check I accept EULA, click Next and Next again. Wait for the software to load some ads, click Next and Next again. 
5. A welcome screen like one in the image below will show up.

Win to Flash welcome screen

6. Click on the big green tick. The welcome screen will turn translucent and WinToFlash wizard will open.

Wizard showing the various version of Windows it supports

7. Click Next. On Windows File path entry box, click Select button and select the location of your Windows disk, or the folder containing the Windows setup files and click OK.
8. On USB Drive path entry box, select your USB flash drive's location and click OK.
9. Click Next button. In the dialog box, encircle I accepted the license agreement and click Continue.
10. A warning message will be displayed saying that "Formatting will erase all data on the disk". Click OK on the message.
11. WintoFlash will show a window with a progress bar like the one in the image below.

Preparing a bootable pen drive

12. After the progress bar reaches the end, press Next and then press Exit. A notification to update WintoFlash might be shown, click "No just close" to close it.

This tutorial works on all versions of Windows including Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows XP and Windows Vista.

Anyone who has a smartphone knows that battery life is an issue. At the moment, the smartphone industry tends to favor performance over battery life when developing specifications for their new devices. To be perfectly honest, I am all for this. I would argue that it's better to have a zippy phone that acts quickly when I need it to rather than a slow, less sleek device that can withstand a few days of use without charging.

This is probably because I've mastered getting what I need from my phone while using the smallest amount of battery resources possible. Getting the best battery life from your phone can be somewhat complicated because everyone has a different opinion on what you should use and which (if any) features you should sacrifice to conserve battery. Fortunately, I have a simple method that works for every Android phone I've ever encountered.


Display Screen

As a universal fact across all phones, the biggest drain on your battery is your display screen. Personally, I've found the auto-brightness control to work extremely well. To adjust to auto-brightness, go to 
SettingsàDisplay settingsàBrightness, and then just check Automatic brightness. It dims the brightness when you're in darker rooms (as it doesn't need to compete against other light sources and glare), but will really up the brightness if you're outside so that your phone is actually usable. However, if I'm really trying to conserve battery, I will turn off auto-brightness and set the brightness to very low (around 25%).

Also, be sure that you don't have an extremely long timeout (inactivity time before your screen automatically shuts off) as this will drain your battery. I personally just prefer shutting the screen off manually by pressing the power button rather than waiting for a timeout; this way my phone won't timeout on me when I am just reading something on it.

Live Wallpapers
Live wallpapers have a considerable impact on your battery life. Not using them is always a good idea if you want the best time from your battery.

Close Unnecessary Applications
If your phone has some applications running that you are not currently using, you should close them from the Task manager to avoid putting unwanted pressure on your phone which in turn will cause your battery to drain quickly.

Reduce Volume of speakers
Lowering volume of your phone's speakers can also have noticeable improvements in your phone's battery life.

The Power Control Widget

If you have a fairly recent phone (anything running Android 2.1 or higher), you are already blessed with a completely awesome "Power control" widget. If your phone does not have this widget, you could always download one from the Play store. This is a must for your home-screen. With this widget, you can enable and disable WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, and Auto-sync in addition to adjusting brightness levels between auto, low, medium, and high.

The only thing this widget left me wanting was the ability to enable and disable mobile wireless networks(3G and/or 4G network). Some phones allow you to do this by pulling down the "status bar" at the top of your phone (where notifications, battery life, and signal are) and selecting or unselecting "Mobile data." Other phones allow you to control mobile wireless networks by holding down the power button. Worst case scenario, you can adjust it in "Settings."

Now, when to enable and disable these features, all boils down to preference. I only use Bluetooth, WiFi, and GPS as I need it; otherwise it's off. If you have a WiFi connection available, it's generally better for your battery to use it rather than using your mobile wireless network (especially if you get poor signal for your mobile wireless).

Suppose you wish to watch a movie or share a slide-show of pictures with your family on your PC but have a screen that leaves much to be desired. In such a situation, you can connect your computer to a television screen to allow your entire family to enjoy comfortably.

There are many ways in which you can connect your laptop/ computer to a television. However, the overall video quality will be different for different methods. You can choose which one to use based on the quality or the availability of hardware. The first step is to know what type of ports and connections your TV and computer have. If you already know the type of ports and connections available on your hardware, you can directly jump to Step 2. If not, then the different types of ports are explained in detail below:-

1) RCA/Composite: The oldest and the lowest quality connection available. They are the Yellow, Red and White connections most of us are familiar with. Yellow is used for composite video, white for left analog audio and red for right analog audio.

2) S-Video: S-Video or Super Video offers slightly better quality than Composite connections. As it is one of the oldest type of connections available, most televisions and computers have it. There are two types of S-Video ports, one containing 4 pins and the other containing 7 pins. This type of connection is used only for video. So you will need to connect an audio cable from your computer's headphone jack to the red and white audio inputs on your TV if you want audio to work.

3) VGA(Video Graphics Array): Most computers and televisions have a VGA port. It offers much better quality than S-Video and should be preferred if you have a HDTV. Older CRT TVs however, will not have a VGA port and will require a PC to Television converter. Just like S-Video, VGA also does not support audio and will require an additional audio cable.

4) DVI: Digital Video Interface offers much better quality than VGA connections. Most laptop computers and HD TVs will have these connections. Just as the name suggest, this type of connection can be used only with digital TVs. Also like the previous two, DVI connections also require the use of an audio cable for audio to work.

5) HDMI: The highest quality connections available. Most HD TVs will have this connection, however, chances are that your computer would not. If your computer happens to have a HDMI connection port, this should be preferably used. If your computer doesn't, you can use an HDMI to DVI adapter to convert HDMI to DVI.

Step 2: Once a common type of port between the two devices is recognized, you will need the right connector cable to physically connect them. The different types of connector cables are pictured above. If you do not find two matching types of connection ports, you will need an adapter to make the connections type match.

Step 3: After connecting the two devices, on your TV, select the external input with which your TV is connected to the computer. It may be HDMI1 or AV1 depending on how you have made the connection. This is much similar to how you select input from your DVD player.

If you have followed the steps correctly, your TV should now be displaying your computer's screen.

Important: If your computer is not recognizing the external display, you must connect the TV before starting your computer. If the picture appears distorted, you will need to change the screen resolution of your TV by altering the display settings from your computer. Most older TVs will support only one display resolution while newer TVs will support plenty of them.