I got a new laptop today and obviously it had Windows 8 out of the box.
Frankly, I'm on the verge of topping myself right now. It's an absolute chore to navigate, but I can see myself getting used to it eventually, these things take time to get used to after all! What I cannot fathom is how they could release such a shoddy, problem-riddled piece of software. I've been trying, without success, to get through all the Windows updates for the better part of 5 hours. I've been scouring the microsoft websites and the internet for solutions and fixes and tried plenty of them and I'm still no closer. Trying to use IE before I downloaded Chrome was a truly horrific experience, crashing constantly and hard to use. I just want these updates to work so I can get 8.1 and start using Classic Shell or something similar.
Looks like you were unlucky there. Mine, bought two to three months ago, came with 8.1. Usable straight away.
Right then, Jordosaur, I have a solution for you. Get a cup of tea, sit down with the laptop, go to this website here ----> http://www.classicshell.net/ and try out that free software. Other forum members might be able to suggest other comparable software/tips. Hope that helps.
Thanks! I planned on using this or something similar Just waiting for 8.1 to finish downloading, I'll give that a go and if not, I'll use this.
Looks like you were unlucky there. Mine, bought two to three months ago, came with 8.1. Usable straight away.
Lucky you! I finally got all the updates to install at 1am this morning. I didn't bother trying to do 8.1 then so I'm doing it now. Hopefully it's an improvement! Though I am getting used to Windows 8 very quickly
Lucky you! I finally got all the updates to install at 1am this morning.
I bought my Win 7 desktop from a local system builder a few years ago and one thing that impressed me is that they delivered the PC to me fully patched.:)
I didn't bother trying to do 8.1 then so I'm doing it now. Hopefully it's an improvement! Though I am getting used to Windows 8 very quickly
Most feel 8.1 improves on 8 (I think). There's been some criticism of 8.1 Update (e.g., Windows 8.1 Update 1. Not The Improvement we were hoping for - YouTube) but generally it's just a matter of tweaking and/or getting used to how it behaves.
I've deliberately resisted the third party utilities such as classic shell, as I thought I'd force myself to adapt.
However, the laptop is my secondary system. Desktop is still windows 7 and will remain so. I generally don't bother updating operating system versions in between getting new hardware. I just use whatever happens to be the version of Windows at the time.
Not sure why people are hitting problems with downloading any of the updates. I've had no problems on the PC's/Laptops updated here. 45 minutes was the longest wait, if I remember rightly.
Not really worth commenting anymore on the latest update, as it's obviously the same as anything W8, all a bit Marmite.:)
I got a new laptop today and obviously it had Windows 8 out of the box. Frankly, I'm on the verge of topping myself right now. It's an absolute chore to navigate, but I can see myself getting used to it eventually, these things take time to get used to after all! What I cannot fathom is how they could release such a shoddy, problem-riddled piece of software. I've been trying, without success, to get through all the Windows updates for the better part of 5 hours.
I replied a few days ago that my laptop came with 8.1, so I didn't experience this trauma. However, over the Easter weekend my Dad bought a new desktop that came with Win 8 to replace his creaking XP box.
First, because I've had no experience with Win 8 I was able to experience how much 8.1 improves over it. Had my first experience been Win 8 I would have been much more negative!
Second, we also went through the multi-hour, very un-smooth experience you had in getting up to Windows 8.1 Update. Then I had to spend some time re-educating my Dad. Hope he'll be OK.
Not sure why people are hitting problems with downloading any of the updates. I've had no problems on the PC's/Laptops updated here. 45 minutes was the longest wait, if I remember rightly.
As just mentioned, Win 8 -> 8.1 is fairly nasty. 8.1 -> 8.1 Update was fine for me, apart from its altering my screen resolution. But simple to change it back to what it was.
Tried Windows 8.1 the other day for the first time, found it to be one of the biggest pile of shites I have ever used.
Completely pointless Start screen that I had to exit every time I booted up my PC, also had to open the same screen every time I wanted to shut down my PC.
Also it took ages for the PC to come out of hibernation compared to Windows 7, all that crap in the Start screen probably contributed to this. PC I tried it on was a dual core, it seemed really bloaty and the spinning loading icon just kept popping up on relatively simple commands.
If it wasn't for the fact that I want to play PC games I'd completely give up on Microsoft products and use Linux.
Completely pointless Start screen that I had to exit every time I booted up my PC, also had to open the same screen every time I wanted to shut down my PC.
You can set it to boot to desktop. If you upgrade to Win 8.1 Update it should do that by default. To shut down, right-click Start button and select shut down. Or Win + I, select Power->shut down.
Tried Windows 8.1 the other day for the first time, found it to be one of the biggest pile of shites I have ever used.
Completely pointless Start screen that I had to exit every time I booted up my PC, also had to open the same screen every time I wanted to shut down my PC.
Also it took ages for the PC to come out of hibernation compared to Windows 7, all that crap in the Start screen probably contributed to this. PC I tried it on was a dual core, it seemed really bloaty and the spinning loading icon just kept popping up on relatively simple commands.
If it wasn't for the fact that I want to play PC games I'd completely give up on Microsoft products and use Linux.
Yes, because installing Linux would obviously be an easier option than learning how Windows works.
Hehe, I chose Windows 7 N for my dual boot for the opposite reason - because it hasn't got Media Centre or any other Microsoft media stuff installed! It feels light and nimble, and boots up fast. I reboot from viewing Digital Spy on W8 to DS on W7 with Kaspersky loaded and running, from hard drives with no fast-start and password protected, in under 2 minutes, which is 3 times faster than doing the same trick from W8 to my previous Windows XP. Happy with that especially as it's quicker than rebooting from W7N to W8.0.
Has anyone compared the W8.1 or update 1 boot-up time (HDD and no fast start) compared to Windows 8.0?
Comments
Looks like you were unlucky there. Mine, bought two to three months ago, came with 8.1. Usable straight away.
Thanks! I planned on using this or something similar
Lucky you! I finally got all the updates to install at 1am this morning. I didn't bother trying to do 8.1 then so I'm doing it now. Hopefully it's an improvement! Though I am getting used to Windows 8 very quickly
I bought my Win 7 desktop from a local system builder a few years ago and one thing that impressed me is that they delivered the PC to me fully patched.:)
Most feel 8.1 improves on 8 (I think). There's been some criticism of 8.1 Update (e.g., Windows 8.1 Update 1. Not The Improvement we were hoping for - YouTube) but generally it's just a matter of tweaking and/or getting used to how it behaves.
I've deliberately resisted the third party utilities such as classic shell, as I thought I'd force myself to adapt.
However, the laptop is my secondary system. Desktop is still windows 7 and will remain so. I generally don't bother updating operating system versions in between getting new hardware. I just use whatever happens to be the version of Windows at the time.
Not really worth commenting anymore on the latest update, as it's obviously the same as anything W8, all a bit Marmite.:)
I replied a few days ago that my laptop came with 8.1, so I didn't experience this trauma. However, over the Easter weekend my Dad bought a new desktop that came with Win 8 to replace his creaking XP box.
First, because I've had no experience with Win 8 I was able to experience how much 8.1 improves over it. Had my first experience been Win 8 I would have been much more negative!
Second, we also went through the multi-hour, very un-smooth experience you had in getting up to Windows 8.1 Update. Then I had to spend some time re-educating my Dad. Hope he'll be OK.
As just mentioned, Win 8 -> 8.1 is fairly nasty. 8.1 -> 8.1 Update was fine for me, apart from its altering my screen resolution. But simple to change it back to what it was.
Completely pointless Start screen that I had to exit every time I booted up my PC, also had to open the same screen every time I wanted to shut down my PC.
Also it took ages for the PC to come out of hibernation compared to Windows 7, all that crap in the Start screen probably contributed to this. PC I tried it on was a dual core, it seemed really bloaty and the spinning loading icon just kept popping up on relatively simple commands.
If it wasn't for the fact that I want to play PC games I'd completely give up on Microsoft products and use Linux.
You can set it to boot to desktop. If you upgrade to Win 8.1 Update it should do that by default. To shut down, right-click Start button and select shut down. Or Win + I, select Power->shut down.
With Windows 7 it was quite slow to boot until I got an SSD. It takes about the same time as my Win 8.1 laptop.
Got exactly the same setup on both using 3rd party start button app. Put the two side by side and you wouldn't know which was which.
Windows 7 wins because it has Media Center.
Yes, because installing Linux would obviously be an easier option than learning how Windows works.
Hehe, I chose Windows 7 N for my dual boot for the opposite reason - because it hasn't got Media Centre or any other Microsoft media stuff installed! It feels light and nimble, and boots up fast. I reboot from viewing Digital Spy on W8 to DS on W7 with Kaspersky loaded and running, from hard drives with no fast-start and password protected, in under 2 minutes, which is 3 times faster than doing the same trick from W8 to my previous Windows XP. Happy with that especially as it's quicker than rebooting from W7N to W8.0.
Has anyone compared the W8.1 or update 1 boot-up time (HDD and no fast start) compared to Windows 8.0?