Windows 8.1

Tried it. Ugh. Win 8 is not for a non-touch screen.
I attempted on my desktop for about 3 weeks. I finally went back to Win 7.

Did you try 8.1? It brings back the start menu.

I've been using Start8 and waiting for Windows 8.1 to be released. With the Start Menu available I bet you'd have trouble telling Windows 8 from Windows 7 except that 8 boots faster, shuts down faster and is generally just faster overall.

I did try the preview version. The start menu isn't exactly the same start menu you'd expect from previous Windows versions. I don't want to use third party solution to bring back the good ol start menu.

charlesd45 gave me this link weeks earlier:
http://www.howtogeek.com/167013/how-to-optimize-windows-8.1-...

Installed over Windows 8 Pro with Media Center today and couldn't be happier. 8.1 has the new start button so I can get rid of my Classic shutdown button. I also have two laptops yet to upgrade to Windows 8.1.
Install went smoothly and kept all of my installed APPs and Programs.

I'll have to get a copy to test it.
Thanks.

Fred

And we thought Garmin map updates were slow. Attempting to download 8.1 via the Windows 8 apps site may take days.

I think I'll just wait a few days and the servers might free up a little ... and I might have a little more time too.

thanks for the information. I'll give it a try.

i downloaded 8.1 last night..it does have a "Start" button but it mainly takes you to the window with tiles not the old menu with All Programs and shortcuts to computer and others. it also wants a lot of personal info as it installs. some you can skip. i suspect the NSA was involved in that. may reinstall "Start8" again to get menu back

Got the 8.1 installed with no problems.If you want to boot directly to desktop.Once you bring the desktop up. You can go to bottom of screen on task bar area.On a empty spot right click and select properties. Select navigation and under Start Screen select. When I sign on or close all apps on the screen,go to desktop instead of start and put check mark in it.

I'm looking for a new computer, so I guess I have even more to look forward to.

Thanks for the feedback on the update.

The new Internet Explorer seems to run faster.

Have seen some problems posted see http://thenextweb.com/microsoft/2013/10/19/google-fails-rend...

Here r the "feature" W8.1 has over W7

A beautiful new Start screen that you can customize with your favorite apps, people, and sites

WELL I CAN DO THAT IN W7 WITHOUT THE METRO SCREEN AND GET W7 MUCH MORE ORGANIZED THEN W8

Great built-in apps like Mail, Calendar, and Photos, with many more available from the Windows Store.

WHY WOULD I WANT TO MIGRATE TO SOMETHING NEW WHEN WHAT I HAVE WORKS AS WELL?

Built-in cloud storage with SkyDrive for anytime, anywhere access to your photos, files, and settings.

I CAN DO THAT WITH MY NAS OR WITH GOOGLE DRIVE.

Optimized for the new generation of thin and light touch-enabled PCs

THAT IS IT.....I DON"T HAVE A TOUCH-ENABLED PC - SO W8 IS PATCHED TO MAKE IT SORT OF WORK LIKE W7 WITH NON-TOUCH-ENABLED PCs.

AND IT DOESN'T EVEN MENTION THE FASTER START/SHUTDOWN or OTHER ADVANTAGES THAT FOR ME R OVERSHADOWED BY THE DISADVANTAGES OF THE METRO START MENU.

So you're not impressed. We get that. There's no need to shout.

Not for me...Windows 7 is what I'm staying with.

Never used Windows 7.Went straight from XP to 8. Was skeptical about the new learning curve.That turned out to be no big deal.To me it gives you a choice to use the tiles or the desktop mode.With the 8.1 allowing you to reduce the tiles more.I plan to play around with the tile set up more.One thing for sure 8 and 8.1 is a lot faster then XP .Really like how fast the start up is.No more waiting for every thing to load up.

The one thing I really like is, as you've mentioned, the ability to choice between tile sizes. Windows 8 included the default large tiles or you could make them smaller, which turns out to be a medium size in 8.1. The inclusion of a "small" choice really does make a difference.

I've been able to get all my tiles on one screen now where with Windows 8 I had to scroll to see the last group. The only downsize is that the small tiles don't include titles and none that I have made small, retain the "active" feature. I can live with that as I only made a few small, just to clean up the start screen.

Been trying out the preview version, went back to 8 using start8 which I purchased back then for $5 was worth it.

Really need to be sure Windows Media Center works fine after the 8 to 8.1 upgrade. Once it's been out for a couple of weeks with no reports of issues, I'll give it a try.

Really need to be sure Windows Media Center works fine after the 8 to 8.1 upgrade. Once it's been out for a couple of weeks with no reports of issues, I'll give it a try.

I'm currently running ancient computers with Windows XP. I've been wanting to upgrade my computers for the last several years, but the new versions of Windows have been so bad, I've delayed my purchases.

I guess I'll just hope that Windows 9 is less of a mess than the last few versions have been.

Are you comparing the same hardware? I understand Win 8 boot up is fast but I don't see any difference in speed between 7 and 8 running on the same hardware.

I changed laptops and purchased new one with the Windows 8 installed. Both laptops HP? But the new one had slightly smaller processor.

Knowing you jumped from XP to 8, my guess is there's at least 5 year difference between the old laptop and the new one. Of course 5+ years old laptop can't compete with new ones. So that's not really a fair comparison.

See http://news.softpedia.com/news/Windows-8-Is-Twice-as-Fast-as...

I enjoyed XP but it could not keep up with all the new releases out there.

I've tested Windows 8 on my 8 years old laptop with 1.2GB RAM. What's impressive is the setup and boot up. I agree they're both quicker than XP but that's pretty much it. I don't see any significant improvement in speed (eg: when launching software or opening documents etc) other than the setup and boot up.

What's more important to me is user experience which I think Windows 8 fails to deliver.

I hope Win 8.1 is more mouse friendly than Win 8. I sort of regret not buying touch screen option for my Dell laptop.

I deal with multiple desktops & laptops with XP, Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, now 8.1, none with touch screens. I really didn't like 8 when I first started using it but it was just a matter of getting used to it. After that, I was pretty comfortable with it. They all do the job.

I use the wheel on my Logitech mouse to scroll left and right and don't really understand what a touch screen would buy me, other than another screen that gets covered with finger marks.

I did the same thing, just could not see any benefit to win 8 unless you have a touch screen device.

The other problem was going to be the huge cost to update a bunch of software that I use all the time that the version I had would not be compatible with win 8.

Even if you do have a touch screen monitor, would you rather be touching/typing on your LCD monitor? Would you type up an email, Word/Excel documents on your monitor?

I don't see any benefit holding both of my arms up in mid air while using the on-screen keyboard. A conventional keyboard + mouse do the job just fine. Windows 8 does not belong in the office environment.

I get a computer with Windows 8 I'll probably get a large tablet and use a USB hub for mouse, keyboard, printer, etc. That is how I use my laptop now. I only use the laptop keyboard when traveling.

That is kinda what I do now.Have a Android Tablet.Set up to connect to my printer.Use the installed keyboard and find that to work well.Laptop is still used but on most small trips take the tablet.Does everything I need to do such as transferring pictures from the camera and etc.

Microsoft Will Soon Bring Back The Start Menu In Windows 8.1
http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/02/microsoft-will-soon-bring-b...

On a related subject but not really that big a deal:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/02/us-microsoft-windo...

With classic shell win 8.1 becomes tolerable. I have a touch screen laptop but consider the feature useless and darn annoying when trying to clean the screen. I boot directly to desk top and don't use, or like the metro screen

That's the same reason millions of PCs are still running Windows XP, not to mention I still see lots of Windows 95 around on some single purpose non-connected PCs.

WTH?

http://money.cnn.com/2014/04/02/technology/windows-8-update/...

Windows 8 is basically still Windows 7, they just added touchscreen functionality to it. I upgraded just for the latest and greatest but there is really no need to upgrade from 7 unless you have a touchscreen. I use mine in desktop mode just like 7 and never even see the metro interface. I don't really miss the start menu but it is supposed to come back with full functionality in 8.2 from what I hear.

Don't believe it. I don't buy a computer to play games on but Win 8 doesn't include any of the card games on previous versions. The Home Premium version doesn't include Media Center, you have to buy Pro to get it. Windows 8.1 is usable with a mouse but is a PIA.

I bought a Gateway that had Windows 8 on it. After a couple of months living with it I spent another $100 to get an OEM version of Windows 7. I'm much, MUCH happier now. Like Dad always said, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

I think that you are correct. I have Windows 8.1 on a desktop PC. I only use the desktop part of Windows 8.1 and it acts just like the Windows 7 desktop at school. I didn't have Windows 7 on any of my computers before this one, so my Windows 7 experience is limited.
Windows 8.1 has been great for me. I haven't had any problems, so I don't understand all of the hoopla that has been generated about it. Then again my laptop is still running Windows Vista with no problems and some people don't like it either. YMMV

Huh? I thought bringing back the Start Menu was already part of 8.1.

/paid an intro price for Win8 and tried it for a good month before bailing on it and going back to Win7. Not willing to invest more time in it at this point.

No. The Start button returned to the taskbar, but pressing it called up Metro's program list. This time around the Start button will call up a Windows 7-ish Start Menu rather than Metro UI, if I understand things correctly.

What Microsoft should have done but didn't do because they were so focused on making changes, was to have the OS detect the presence of touchscreen hardware and from there give the user the option of having Metro UI be the default or instead using the desktop. If the OS didn't detect a touchscreen the OS would default to the desktop.

I think it's a mix of the good old Start Menu + live tiles embedded in the menu.

That actually wouldn't be too bad I would think. At the same time, the update should effectively kill the need for a start menu replacement app. You'll have the updated start menu, and the ability to have Windows boot into desktop mode.

Got the $5 "Start8" when Win8 first came out, and have never looked back. Now I have a super fast Win7 User Interface. Never mess with the Metro, but it's there if I want to.

Larry

An update to 8.1 is coming

about the update that's coming. MS seems to have listened to complaints, although if they'd asked before the radical 8 interface changes it would have been better. I'm firmly stuck on 64 bit Windows 7, because my philosophy is "if it ain't broke don't fix it", and 7 works fine for me.

I hate having to log in with a password or 4 digit key everytime I start my computer. Has anyone found a way around this?

Windows 8 runs a tight ship by throwing up a lock screen and a log-in screen before you can dive in. But you can easily bypass those screens so you don't have to type your password every time. Here's how:
1.From the Start screen, type netplwiz. The command for netplwiz, aka the User Accounts Control Panel, appears in the search results in the left pane. Click that command.
2.In the User Accounts Control Panel, select the account you wish to use to log in automatically.
3.Click off the check-box above the account that says "Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer." Click OK.
4. Enter your password once and then a second time to confirm it. Click OK.
5. Restart Windows. Windows now bypasses the lock screen and the log-in screen to automatically take you to the Start screen.
6. Change your mind? To re-enable the log-in screen, simply return to the User Accounts Control Panel using the steps above and click on the check-box for the "Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer" option

May want to use this also http://classicshell.net/ it is free and works great.

Some ideas you may use. file:///C:/Users/charles/Documents/Windows%208%20guide/downl...