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Upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 8

editor said:
I'm sure they're more than capable of following the links I have provided and I'd be happy to answer any questions they ask me.
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Why so evasive? I don't get it. I just want to know why you think it's better than Windows 7.

:hmm:
 
Brainaddict said:
Well, you're the computer whizz, not me. But even if you can't track down the problem, you could surely re-install 7?

I know little about 8.1 but it usually seems better to wait for an OS to get the full test (of a lot of useage by a lot of people) before making the leap, especially when you read some user reviews: http://www.cnet.com/uk/products/microsoft-windows-8-1/user-reviews/
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Well that's something I was considering but if I'm going to faff about re-installing 7, why not install 8.1. How bad can it be ... :D
 
editor said:
Sorry, I'm happy to help people, but I'm not playing your silly games.
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I don't know why you think I'm playing games as I'm genuinely not. I don't want to advise people to avoid Windows 8 if my information is wrong. But nothing I have seen so far makes me think I'm wrong except your assertion that it's better than Windows 7.

Is asking what makes it better is a "silly game"?
 
Fez. I'm perfectly happy with 7, but would probably advise people get 8.1 if only because it's not worse and I can't see 7 being supported half as long as XP was.
 
Fez909 said:
I don't know why you think I'm playing games as I'm genuinely not. I don't want to advise people to avoid Windows 8 if my information is wrong. But nothing I have seen so far makes me think I'm wrong except your assertion that it's better than Windows 7.
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Well, that and all those links/reviews you're refusing to believe and your bizarre insistence on basing your Windows 8 advice on what is posted here by me.

Here's another reasoned post for others to read and for you to no doubt dismiss because you don't agree with the words:

Is it worth upgrading to Windows 8.1?
I bought a laptop with Windows 8, which I despise. I've installed Classic Shell, which mitigates the worst of its "features". Now Microsoft is offering Windows 8.1 for FREE. Should I take the offer? I never, ever use tablet features.
Thanks as always.
David Null

Yes. I regard the free Windows 8.1 as an essential update. Microsoft has moved from a three-year upgrade cycle to one that provides more rapid upgrades, and in principle, anyone on Windows 8 or later needs to move with the times and install them when they come out. The next one is due in the spring of 2015. The era of skipping alternate versions and upgrading Windows every six years or so is over, though I don't expect Microsoft to run on a six-monthly (like Linux) or annual (like Mac OS X) cycle.

Either way, it's a good update. If you like Windows 8, then 8.1 makes it faster and better. The benefits include improved multitasking and multi-monitor support, better apps, and "universal search". If you like Windows 7 more than Windows 8, the upgrade to 8.1 provides controls that make it more like Windows 7. It's therefore a Good Thing for people on both sides of the argument.

The most obvious changes have been made to the Start screen, which works as both a program menu and a notification system. There are now four sizes of tile: small, medium, large and wide. You can group your programs in sets with headings -- the equivalent of folders -- and give your most-used programs bigger tiles.

You can also pick from a number of Start screen backgrounds, or use a photo. I have the Bliss wallpaper from Windows XP set as both the desktop wallpaper in Windows 8.1 and the Start screen background. This provides a more harmonious shift when toggling between the two, as well as adding a bit of nostalgia.

Of course, you can still run apps or programs just by typing a few characters, then picking a result from the search list. In this respect, Windows 8 and 8.1 work just like Vista and Windows 7, only better. (Windows XP users could do this by installing Launchy.)

In 8.1, the Start screen's "PC settings" menu covers more settings, so there is less need to use the old Control Panel. This is one area where the Start option is quicker and cleaner, and you're not doing yourself any favours by ignoring it.

If you don't like the Start screen, you can configure Windows 8.1 to boot straight to the desktop. To do this, type nav into the Search box and click the top option. The old-fashioned desktop approach is to right-click the Taskbar, select Properties, go to the Navigation tab, and check the box that says: "Go to the desktop instead of Start when I sign in". Alternatively, you can do it via the Control Panel: look for "Appearance and Personalization" or "Taskbar and Navigation".

This does not remove the Start screen, nor does it bring back the old menu system, so you may want to stick with Classic Shell. However, you can bring up a useful menu by pressing the Windows key and X, and this offers more functions in Windows 8.1. You can, for example, run the Task Manager, Control Panel, File Explorer, Windows PowerShell (for a command line) and various other things. This pop-up menu also provides easily accessible restart and shutdown options.

There are many other improvements to Windows 8.1, including Internet Explorer 11 with WebGL support, deeper integration with SkyDrive, and Skype. Most of the "tablet" apps have been improved, including the Bing-based apps (Weather, Finances, News Sports etc), Xbox Music (which now has a free radio feature), and Xbox Video. Since these "modern" apps are quick and convenient, I can't see any reason not to use them. They work very well with a mouse with a scroll-wheel, as hundreds of YouTube videos attest.

Windows 8/8.1 is very innovative and, in Microsoft's favourite phrase, "fast and fluid". It does have a learning curve, but if you can be bothered to learn it, it's excellent. Further, as part of the Microsoft ecosystem, it's increasingly being integrated with Windows Phone, Xbox One and Azure/Outlook.com/SkyDrive so you get familiar operations, apps and services across "three screens and a cloud": smartphone, PC, and TV. This is not to be despised, it's the future.

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/askjack/2013/dec/06/windows-windows-8
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Global Stoner said:
Fez. I'm perfectly happy with 7, but would probably advise people get 8.1 if only because it's not worse and I can't see 7 being supported half as long as XP was.
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But it does seem worse in many respects to me and everyone I've spoken to. The support timeframe is a worry and I agree they will kill it off much sooner than normal so as to avoid the XP debacle. I will go Linux full time when that happens I think.
editor said:
Well, that and all those links/reviews you're refusing to believe and your bizarre insistence on basing your Windows 8 advice on what is posted here by me.

Here's another reasoned post for others to read and for you to no doubt dismiss because you don't agree with the words:
Click to expand...
I will dismiss it not because I disagree with it, but because it is irrelevant to the discussion. That's about upgrading from 8 to 8.1 which I would never advise against. I'm talking about upgrading to 8.1 from 7.

And the reason I was asking for your opinion is because you've been vocal in your support of it. You're obviously seeing something in it that I am not and I wondered what that was. Fair enough if you won't say. I won't ask again.

I was reading through those reviews that BrainAddict posted and this one stood out amongst the crap as balanced and helpful.
I've had mixed feelings about Windows 8, and then Windows 8.1, since acquiring my current laptop. My experience with it has not been as terrible as it has been for many other users, a fact which I attribute entirely to the fact that my computer happens to have a nicely responsive touchscreen and tablet configuration.
Even with that in mind, Windows 8(.1) is flawed by the simple fact that the tiled apps and desktop programs do not jibe well. It feels like I am using either a computer, or a tablet, but not both. While the tiled apps work nicely with the touchscreen (as they should, it's what they're designed for right?), the desktop programs are a mixed lot, with some working very poorly with the touchscreen. Without veering too much into a review of my computer, I can safely say that this is a case of an OS which tried to accomplish two things simultaneously, and in the process didn't do so well at either.
The main problem is that it feels like the desktop interface is dragging on whatever the new interface is supposed to be; Microsoft knows they want to make some kind of new tablet OS, but so many programs still run in desktop mode! And people like the desktop! It's almost as if, I dunno, they should've made an entirely separate tablet OS and kept Windows 7 where it was. There's a novel idea.
This fact shows in the new "Start button", which is not the Start button we were all hoping for. Click it and, hey, it's the new start menu! Because that's the start menu now, you see.
To be fair, in 8.1 it is now possible to boot the computer in desktop view, which is pretty welcome. Also, the start menu can default to the "all apps" view, which makes it marginally more like the original start menu, though hybridized with the old Windows Explorer or something.
While we're on pros, the system is pretty fast (on my computer) and multitasks pretty well. Some of the tiled apps are pretty nice, touch screen provided, though arranging them is a real pain even with a touch screen.
I gave Windows 8 and 8.1 a decent rating because I'm fortunate enough to own the exact sort of device it seems to have been designed for: as with the OS, the computer is a tablet/PC hybrid. But I couldn't give it anything higher in good conscience, because most computers are not that, and for Microsoft to expect everybody to go out and buy them to conform to what all in all is not a great OS is a pretty dumb marketing decision.
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He gave it 3 out of 5.
 
Quartz said:
What is all this discussion of booting? I just leave my PC on.
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Why, is it a server or do you download a lot?

I know loads of peple leave their PCs on 24/7. IF they're not actually doing anything, what's the point? Even my NAS is only on for the hours I'm likely to use it. I'm not running a datacentre and don't want their bills...
 
Well I've been using Windows 8 for about 3 or 4 hours now and my conclusion is it's pretty good as long as you bully it into being Windows 7. Don't get on with the tile shit, don't want a microsoft account and was pretty pissed off when installing VLC I followed a link for the Windows 8 version which took me into the Windows store from where it seems impossible to get out without using task manager. I'm sure there is a way but it's not obvious. It's a lot faster but it fucking should be considering the computer's a major upgrade on my old one. Got 70fps on Shogun TW2 and I haven't even started with the overclocking yet. :cool:
 
First impressions. Pretty looking. Nice and fast. Booted straight to desktop. Only hiccup so far is Firefox Sync just refusing to what it should.

Split control panel is a bit odd. Hopefully I can just remove the useless Metro control panel from Start and replace it with the full fat version.
 
What I've learned from Win8 and technology:

I needed a new laptop as my Win7 kept repeatedly failing on me, and the place I would take it to, would do more damage then good to it (brought it in once to remove viruses. Got it back with a broken keyboard, to which they claimed I did it. Another time, same process - virus clean up and got it back to have the webcam broken. Again, I allegedly broke it). After continuous fighting, I got them to give me a credit towards a new computer... all because they kept further damaging what I was bringing in.

I reluctantly got an HP Win8 laptop because no one was selling Win7 or older models. Places around here are becoming too hard to find "new" computers with "old" operating systems. Honestly, all I want is a typewriter at this point. That's basically what the HP model has become... a glorified typewriter. Having gone thru the Mickey Mousing of XP programs to 7, I didn't want the hassle of either re-buying updated versions or playing McGuyver on what I previously owned.

I have to give one salesman I talked to credit - for a tubby, bald man in his 80s, he put on a damn good show, as far as selling snake oil is concerned. The man didn't stop ranting and raving about how fecking awesome Windows 8 is. How he can literally work the machine in his sleep. My problem was (and is), I don't want touch screen. And that's what the basic nature of Win8 is... for those on the go people who want to slide everything. Not for me. My Win7 laptop has become a desktop as the battery goes completely tits up after 5 minutes, shutting my computer down. I was much happier on XP and had the monitor on that model not died, I'd most likely be using it today.

I'm not a fan of new technology. By any means. The first thing I had to do upon getting the HP home: set up a user account with Microsuck. Upon which, you can not leave the computer unlocked. Turn the machine on, it boots immediately to a user account screen, which is passworded. I'm the only user on the machine. I don't want to have to enter a bloody password each time I want to do anything on it. To my research, there is no way to deactivate that. If there is, I welcome the feedback. Once you get past waking it up with a password, yes, 8.1 is nice now that it boots to the desktop. The tiled metroface is shit with out a touch screen. However, you still have to do most things thru the tiles. The desktop is a rather nice illusion of previous operating systems.

Other problem I have seen with it: When I was trying to download 8.1, it literally took me 4 days to get it to download and install, as the first several attempts kept failing. I don't know why. After it got installed, something disabled my Norton Security Suite / virus software. There is something in Win8 .1 that prohibits the use of Norton. I read up on it when I first installed it, and haven't since. But Norton doesn't seem to want to play well with the new system. So I have been downgraded to Windows Defender. Not that I really care. I keep the computer in airplane mode anyway. Only time I turn on internet is when I get sick of the popups telling me I need to update my virus definitions.

For the most part, until my Win7 completely shits the bed (which really could be any time), I only use 8 to write in MS Word. As for anything else the computer can do, I can't attest to it. I don't use it like that. Maybe once the Dell dies, I will...
 
abe11825 said:
The first thing I had to do upon getting the HP home: set up a user account with Microsuck. Upon which, you can not leave the computer unlocked. Turn the machine on, it boots immediately to a user account screen, which is passworded. I'm the only user on the machine. I don't want to have to enter a bloody password each time I want to do anything on it. To my research, there is no way to deactivate that. If there is, I welcome the feedback. Once you get past waking it up with a password, yes, 8.1 is nice now that it boots to the desktop.
Click to expand...

I don't know how to deactivate it but I've managed to not set up a microsoft account and I refused the option to set up a password on initial set up. Anytime it goes to the shitty tiles screen I just go straight to the top left hand corner and click out of it. I've got all my normal software installed now without any problems.
 
If I can recall, I didn't have to use a "@microsoft.com" / "@hotmail.com" email, but I did have to provide an email and make a password up to enable startup. To my knowledge (research), people have said there's no way to not have that option. It's weird, maomao that you were able to bypass it. Makes me wonder how it can be bypassed after the initial set up?

I may end up using Win8 in the long run. I'm just biding the time until it happens.. positive side is I at least have the laptop and can start playing with it to get accustomed to it, unlike some other people, who have to be thrown into that water with no floaties. :)
 
i am on Windows 8.1 and all kinds of shit happens that didn't on XP - my website is not saving text properly (bits missing) , it won't let me change colour on printer settings , i gotta run 2 different browsers cos some things work on one that don't on the other

Pile of shite as Paul Calf would say
 
VLC works fine with Windows 8.1 IME.

Windows 8.1 is an advance on 8 but they're both shite. I always liked using 7 on my now-dead laptop, and I'm minded to 'downgrade' to it on the PC.
 
I really like it. It's just a better version of 7. The split control panel is something I'll have to live with and will be a constant reminder of why design by committee is a totally shit idea. That's what I think happened. A bunch of people in a room all trying to get "their" idea into Windows 8 and it ended up a bit of a mess.

8.1 isn't bad at all. Just remove all the full screen Metro apps.

I much prefer the Start screen to the old Start menu too, fuck knows why anyone wants the old menu back.

Having said that, it's not an immediately compelling upgrade and I wouldn't really advise anyone who is happy with 7 to upgrade unless there's something specific that they want from it. If you get 8.1 with a new PC, stick with it, I reckon you'll get on with it after a while.
 
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