Windows 8 drivers, utilities and customizations

Once you've become somewhat acclimated to the new Windows 8 landscape, it's time to fine-tune the OS experience to your personal preferences. At the top of the list is driver management. It's very possible that your new Windows 8 device boots up fine, but unless all your device drivers are up-to-date, you won't get the most high-performance experience possible (and driver issues may stop some peripherals from working altogether).

See our exhaustive guide on the whys, hows and wheres of Windows 8 drivers to nip all these issues in the bud.
Utilities like Win8 Start Button will help restore a bit of normalcy in the new OS.

Some Windows 8 problems have nothing to do with drivers. Instead, the OS itself is just innately challenging. To alleviate some of the built-in pain points, you absolutely must read our guide to the 8 worst Windows 8 irritations and how to fix them. Microsoft's decision to omit the traditional Start Button is among a host of bizarre development decisions, but luckily three different third-party utilities—Win8 Start Button, StartMenuPlus8 and Start8—can return the erstwhile Windows mainstay to your desktop.

But, hey, Microsoft didn't kill all the good things from previous versions of Windows. It just relegated many of them to hidden, second-class status. For a bunch of great tools hiding beneath the surface of Windows 8, check out this collection of 6 awesome Windows 8 utilities that no one knows about.