Windows 8.1

Just did a clean install for my sister to Windows 8.1. Wow what a difference the clean install made. She was having so many issues with the upgrade. There was sites she couldn't go to as it would say it couldn't connect to the web site, yet on other machines those sites worked fine. Printers printing garbage and couldn't be fixed.

Anyway... It's pretty sweet now that its running smooth for her. Just for reference I know of two other people that upgraded to 8.1 with lots of issues that have now done clean installs and there problems have for the most part been resolved.

Seems Apple and Microsoft are running neck and neck on bad upgrades to their latest OS.
 
Ok, I'll go on the record as liking 8.1. It has dealt with some of the annoyances with 8.0.

Some of the biggest benefits I like:
1) Universal search, this is amazing power in tablet format, the output of the search results make it so much nicer.
2) All apps view on start menu - a quick swipe up and you get the apps list that can be sorted or searched.
3) Improved applications such as Mail and Music. Those two apps were pretty bad and now they are actually very useful. I have now moved all my music to Xbox Music, it did music match and didn't charge me a dime for hosting the matched music. that I've bought off of Amazon and iTunes. Nice!
4) New split screen modes, you can do 50/50 split and other settings. A link from an email will automatically split the screen and open the browser in the other half - very convenient.
5) Faster - yes my Surface RT (last years model) is faster, and actually feels like a newer machine now.
6) Internet Explorer - much improved, faster and changes to touch features make it easier to use than before.
7) More reliable - once all the updates are applied, there are fewer application crashes than before.
8) Boot to desktop mode - this isn't a big deal for me, but allows me to now recommend it to those that hated the fact that it doesn't default to the desktop.
9) Start menu changes - now much easier to organize the tiles - also I like the new large size tile they added.
10) Store apps auto update - now it will automatically update all of your apps for you in the background. This can be turned off, but it's nice to know you always have the latest app updates.
 
HecticArt said:
Great to hear the review. Did you update, or do a clean install?
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On three machines I did an update. On one older laptop, I ended up doing a clean install which failed and had to do a bit of research on how to fix it to install properly. This laptop was around 2005 so not as important. All the others upgraded without a hitch.
 
Ok I did a clean install a while ago and it didn't clear up my issues. Any way this weekend I did a true clean install of Windows 7. Instead of restoring my laptop to factory I downloaded win7 from Microsoft and installed a clean version, but was able to use the product key from win7 that came on the laptop. At first it was a nightmare because I was lacking several drivers, like no Ethernet or wireless. Once I got those drivers with my other laptop I was in business, though I spent a ton of time downloading drivers and updates. But what a difference! Now my laptop starts up very fast and I only have half the processes running with my clean win7 install. After I finished installing all the drivers and updates I made an image on DVDs and a backup hard drive in case I have to do it again I will be ahead of the game. Will also make a image on a hard drive once I reload all the programs and data. Getting rid of that oem bloat ware made a huge difference!:buttrock:
 
I was reading that OEM's have been forced to continue offering Windows 7 machines because so many refuse to go to Windows 8 or 8.1. I too much prefer Windows 7 if I was stuck having to use Windows.


Sent from my Note 3 using Tapatalk HD
 
Enterprise isn't adopting Windows 8 for the most part, so it would stand to reason that new laptops would need to have the Windows 7 option since consumers are more and more not choosing to purchase a laptop, but a tablet instead. I don't see this lack of adoption in enterprise changing until Windows 9 next year since that's when they will have figured out how to satisfy both enterprise and consumer.

It will be interesting to see what Windows 8.1 update 1 that's coming out in a couple months has in it since this will presumably be more incremental progress towards improving usability amongst the broader user base.
 
DAB said:
I was reading that OEM's have been forced to continue offering Windows 7 machines because so many refuse to go to Windows 8 or 8.1. I too much prefer Windows 7 if I was stuck having to use Windows.


Sent from my Note 3 using Tapatalk HD
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I don't mind Windows 8 as of now BUT I am the only one using it in my office.

After using 7 for a while I find that it is a pain to go to another users XP machine and try to do certain tasks.

In my office I am running XP, 7 and my Vaio 8 tablet.

My servers are running 2008 and 2012. Our main software is running on the 2012 server and users are accessing it through a Remote session.

Inorder to log out of Server 2012 you have to right click the "start" button. So far that is the only issue that my users will probably bitch about. So with that said I am fine with not upgrading to 8 but just upgrading to 7.

I have had users call me and say that their icon on their desktop is missing so they can't access the program or remote session.


Umm I do not have Word as an icon on my desktop and I sure as shit know how to press the start button and find what I need.

Ugh.
 
FlyersFan76 said:
I don't mind Windows 8 as of now BUT I am the only one using it in my office.
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There is the problem, lack of adoption. I know of several agencies that upgraded their computers this year, but opted for 7 even through 8 was offered to them at better discounts. Now we hear MS is reducing the cost to OEM because so many are rolling back to 7. It isn't the cost it's because demand for 7 is clearly higher. This is not going to work.

You can powder it and put perfume on it but windows 8 stinks!


Sent from my Galaxy Note 3 using Tapatalk HD
 
Aaron said:
Thumbs down from me on Windows 8. Spent the better part of the first day I had it tweaking it to try and resemble previous Windows versions, as best I could.

I like that 8.1 should be more user friendly for those without touch screens, but I'm not sure I want to try the beta version, or if I will wait for the official release.
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HELL to the YES! 8 sucks without a touchscreen. It's so hard to maneuver with just a mouse or a trackpad.

I'm not sure why Microsoft wanted to integrate the experience across all their devices. It's not the same for a laptop or desktop that it is for a tablet or phone. When I'm on my iPhone or iPad I don't want the same experience as my MBP and vice versa.
 
DAB said:
There is the problem, lack of adoption. I know of several agencies that upgraded their computers this year, but opted for 7 even through 8 was offered to them at better discounts. Now we hear MS is reducing the cost to OEM because so many are rolling back to 7. It isn't the cost it's because demand for 7 is clearly higher. This is not going to work.

You can powder it and put perfume on it but windows 8 stinks!


Sent from my Galaxy Note 3 using Tapatalk HD
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The school I'm attending for A+ training uses Windows 8 touch screens, and teaches a class on Windows 8. I see no point in it, because, like you said most of the enterprise is reverting to 7 from XP. I learned off XP, Windows 7 and Windows Server. That should be plenty.
 
Jon said:
I'm not sure why Microsoft wanted to integrate the experience across all their devices.
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My guess is that Microsoft sees touchscreens eclipsing mice within the next year or two,and they didn't want to play catch up (as they have so many times before). Apple can afford to provide multiple OSs because they have grown into a consumer products company. Microsoft is still mostly a software company, and their future depends heavily on Windows.
 
memebag said:
My guess is that Microsoft sees touchscreens eclipsing mice within the next year or two,and they didn't want to play catch up (as they have so many times before). Apple can afford to provide multiple OSs because they have grown into a consumer products company. Microsoft is still mostly a software company, and their future depends heavily on Windows.
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I think this.

And even with as much of a mess as 8 is, I think they expected it to be a mess as a set up for 9. I think they are seeing an advantage in having all of the experiences the same too.
 
I tried setting up a new laptop with Windows 8 for my brother. I am having an issue where if I am on the Metro screen the network connection is so slow that nothing can be done. If I am on the desktop then I can navigate to any webpage I want. Forget getting into the news, weather, store, mail, calendar, etc... from the Metro page; it just times-out. After a bit of research it sounds like this is not uncommon and there is no known fix.
 
Jimr said:
I tried setting up a new laptop with Windows 8 for my brother. I am having an issue where if I am on the Metro screen the network connection is so slow that nothing can be done. If I am on the desktop then I can navigate to any webpage I want. Forget getting into the news, weather, store, mail, calendar, etc... from the Metro page; it just times-out. After a bit of research it sounds like this is not uncommon and there is no known fix.
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What machine do you have? I have Windows 8.1 on a big desktop and a Surface tablet I use regularly, and can't say I've seen this problem. Certainly make sure you have applied all of the updates since the original 8.0 was less reliable than the current 8.1 with all updates applied. I know with 8.0 the network would disconnect sometimes but I haven't seen that problem in a long time.
 
My company sells new PC's with Windows 7 because customers hate 8. I have 8.1 and I still hate it. No wonder PC sales continue to slide and Mac sales are up. Horrible, just fucking horrible.
 
8.1 was universally loathed among the people I saw at Geek Squad, the only ones who liked it were the gamers who liked the Xbox integration on mobile.
 
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