6 ms·

Been using this for a few days already since it was released to MSDN. Definitely better than Windows 8.0 and even Windows 7. If you don't like Metro, it's pret

Been using this for a few days already since it was released to MSDN. Definitely better than Windows 8.0 and even Windows 7. If you don't like Metro, it's pretty easy to get rid of now but not entirely (it occasionally pokes you in the eye). My setup guide: 1. Use group policy editor to get rid of lock screen. 2. Set IE to open tiles on desktop. 3. Set start menu to display apps only and turn off hot corners. Then set to boot to desktop. 4. Uninstall all the metro apps that come with it. You will still get the "start screen" but in apps view and the search stuff but to be honest it's pretty good. I rarely see it though as everything I use is pinned to the taskbar. Use Windows+X as your new start menu afterwards - it rocks. In fact I wish earlier versions of windows had that! Reasons to upgrade: faster boot, power management seems more stable, Hyper-V, explorer UI enhancements, nicer file copying, new task manager, better Powershell integration. PuTTY and Firefox still work which is the most important thing for me though... Edit: just to add I haven't installed a start menu replacement or metro killer. Edit 2: I haven't figured out backups yet. Windows 7 backup was trivial with an external disk. Edit 3: to bypass microsoft account login/creation on installation (I did this on Pro edition): 1. When it asks you to sign in, click "create a microsoft account". 2. There is a link at the bottom to "use a local account" on the page this sends you to.

eertami 13y ago
>Use Windows+X as your new start menu afterwards - it rocks. In fact I wish earlier versions of windows had that! If you mean launching apps with Winkey+number then it isn't new and is most definitely in Windows 7.
- gnur 13y ago
  No, Windows+X shows a small "start menu" with some simple often used functions like cmd prompt / task manager / control panel / run.
- chrissmeuk 13y ago
  No - winkey+X (the actual X key) throws up a new menu. See below: http://i.imgur.com/Tmq3iWp.png http://i.imgur.com/Tmq3iWp.png
esw 13y ago
How long did the upgrade take? I'm just wondering if this is more like a service pack, or if I'm going to lose a better part of an afternoon doing the upgrade.
- mscrivo 13y ago
  that's going to vary highly depending on hardware and your link speed, but I just did in on 3 relatively newer PC's with SSD's over a 30Mbps connection, and it took between 30-45mins.
  - esw 13y ago
    Thanks for the info - I have a comparable setup.
- estel 13y ago
  I'm just doing the upgrade at the moment: the download was 3.4GB and was maxing my connection, but the install has taken an hour so far, but this isn't on an SSD. The process looks like it's coming to an end soon.
- chrissmeuk 13y ago
  I did a fresh install from MSDN iso onto a disk cleaned with diskpart from a USB stick (see [1]). I didn't do an upgrade. I wouldn't ever upgrade Windows manually after a screw up going from Vista to 7. To do a full clean install on my Lenovo T400 with Samsung 840 Pro SSD off a fairly old Sandisk Cruzer took less than 10 minutes. [1] http://wudt.codeplex.com/ http://wudt.codeplex.com/
belorn 13y ago
You say that Windows 8.1 is better than windows 7 while occasionally poking the user in the eye? I'm not sure nicer file copying is worth being pokes in the eye by Metro. Faster boot and power management sound interesting, but I would really need independent benchmarks before I would trust any such claims. A 5 seconds or less decrease in boot time (like http://www.zdnet.com/windows-8-vs-windows-7-benchmarked_p2-7000002671/ http://www.zdnet.com/windows-8-vs-windows-7-benchmarked_p2-7...) would not be worth it for me. A significant power boost (+10%) for a laptop might be worth being poked in the eye, if said 10% can be gained while I use the computer (ie, not while sleeping/idling/suspended). For desktop however, power management is not really a feature Im looking for.
- ihsw 13y ago
  On improving boot time, here is some Steve Jobs folklore: Well, let's say you can shave 10 seconds off of the boot time. Multiply that by five million users and thats 50 million seconds, every single day. Over a year, that's probably dozens of lifetimes. So if you make it boot ten seconds faster, you've saved a dozen lives. That's really worth it, don't you think? http://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?story=Saving_Lives.txt http://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?story=Saving_Lives.txt
  - rplnt 13y ago
    In that regard, people should finally learn to not turn off their computers every day. Sleep takes a second or two at most and with hybrid sleep (has been in windows for ages) it's a non-issue.
    - seanmcdirmid 13y ago
      We still have weekly or monthly reboots to worry about.
  - untog 13y ago
    Folklore becomes less relevant over time. Now that computers have very efficient sleep mechanisms boot time is a lot less relevant. I probably boot my laptop once a week.
chli 13y ago
"Edit 2: I haven't figured out backups yet. Windows 7 backup was trivial with an external disk." There is a CLI option but the GUI is gone. But you don't need backup since you have SkyDrive now ;)
- olex 13y ago
  > But you don't need backup since you have SkyDrive now ;) Oh what a fallacy this is. Cloud storage is at best a backup solution for some personal files you don't value too much, but in no way a replacement for a full-system backup.
- AaronFriel 13y ago
  This was a mistake by Microsoft, de-emphasizing the full disk backup options. There were serious issues with it, it was pretty brittle in terms of backing up and restoring* but those problems should have been fixed rather than obscured. To find the Windows 7-style backup options, hit start, type "Backup" and select "File History". Then in the bottom left corner, click "System Image Backup". The GUI is there, it's just been needlessly hidden. :( http://i.imgur.com/YqIn0MB.png http://i.imgur.com/YqIn0MB.png
  - chrissmeuk 13y ago
    Excellent. Thanks for pointing this out!
RcouF1uZ4gsC 13y ago
For me, Start8 (paid software, costs $5) has been great. I get the core improvements from Windows 8, and get to have a real start menu.
- zouhair 13y ago
  Did have a problem with it still activated when you did the upgrade to 8.1?
- zouhair 13y ago
  Did have a problem with it still activated when you did the upgrade to 8.1?
- zouhair 13y ago
  Did have a problem with it still activated when you did the upgrade to 8.1?
- zouhair 13y ago
  Did have a problem with it still activated when you did the upgrade to 8.1?
- zouhair 13y ago
  Did have a problem with it still activated when you did the upgrade to 8.1?
- telephonetemp 13y ago
  There's also Classic shell, which is free software. While I prefer Start8 I think that Windows 8 with either is in no way worse than Windows 7.
jimmaswell 13y ago
Somewhat off-topic, but there's a fork of PuTTy called KiTTy with some improvements.
- chrissmeuk 13y ago
  Thanks didn't know that (can't say I looked). Will have a play.
- qwerty_asdf 13y ago
  Not sure if this is the link... http://kitty.9bis.net http://kitty.9bis.net ( http://www.9bis.net/kitty/ http://www.9bis.net/kitty/ ) Is this the right website for what you were referring to?
  - jimmaswell 13y ago
    Yes, that's it
duiker101 13y ago
When I started using 8 I wasn't too bothered by the missing start button, now I think I might actually prefer it without. I like the start screen, but I don't use any actual metro apps.
- estel 13y ago
  I'm slightly sad about the return of the start button too, I'd have been happy with an option to disable it.
chazandchaz 13y ago
I feel the Windows+X menu is a disaster. It is the worse UI for a menu ever. Is it a traditional start menu? a context menu? It feels really out of place with the entire Windows 8 UI. You want a shortcut to the Control Panel? Device Manager? Event Viewer? Let's just throw it on the start/context menu! The whole Windows+X menu seems like it was added by an engineer and was completely overlooked by the design team.
- solnyshok 13y ago
  I learned to love this full-screen menu, once I set up one of extra buttons on my mouse to "win" key and learned to use scroll-wheel to navigate the menu. it is fast, fluid and I do not have to focus on reading program names. became 2nd nature to me
- zobzu 13y ago
  its a "power user menu". Nobody outsides "us" knows it even exists. Not a big deal. The items are actually useful for administration/etc.
  - clauretano 13y ago
    As an admin, I don't find the menu useful. Especially when I hop on various Server 2012 servers that have a slightly different version of the menu than my 8.1 VM. To me, win+r is all that is needed. If I can't remember the name of an msc winkey + start typing still works ok. The fact that the metro start screen exists on the server OS is deplorable.
e40 13y ago
You know, right after Windows 8 was released, I noticed something really interesting. While I was struggling with it [1], there were a lot of people on reddit and here being extremely positive, and on reddit there were attacks against anyone that was negative about it. At first, I figured I was just out of step. Gradually, the number of people complaining about Windows 8 grew to overshadow the boosters, where finally the boosters were nowhere to be seen. I believe it was a campaign by Microsoft to try and turn the tide they knew would be there, against it. It failed because Windows 8 was so horrible. So, 8.1 comes out and here we have a new account (6 days old) with a glowing review. Pardon me if I'm a little skeptical. I've been had before. [1] http://envoy510.wordpress.com/2013/07/19/windows-8-worst-windows-ever/ http://envoy510.wordpress.com/2013/07/19/windows-8-worst-win...
- honestcoyote 13y ago
  I don't know if those people were shills or not but the thing about the Win 8 boosters that surprised me was how angry many of them were or are. Someone would complain about the start screen or badly integrated metro apps and the chorus would start up about how anyone who didn't like the new menus and hot corners were luddites terrified of change. Absolutely ridiculous. It was a surprising change of tone from how Windows users usually discuss things. The anger is usually reserved for inexplicable changes which don't work. The defenders usually shrug it off with a "Well, Vista always worked for me." Windows is not normally the sort of thing which attracts the sort of angry defensive passion which Mac or Linux users used to display. So I can see how the abrupt change of tone would make people suspicious.
- venomsnake 13y ago
  I was one of the converted boosters. Windows 8 was good enough out of the box. But the real usability problems came later. Because the majority of the initial complaints were - "start screen ugly, metro apps unusable" - I was busy answering - start screen not that intrusive if you use shortcuts, metro apps uninstallable. But the real problems blossomed for me much later - the inability of GFWL to work on windows 8 so I cannot play the legally bought Bulletstorm, Arkham City and Assylum, some software working weirdly (Stroke it), the phantom french keyboard that appears from time to time (don't ask), the general locked-ness of the metro runtime (I was insisting close to a year ago that they cannot be that stupid and will just open the platform), problems with Cisco VPN, and so on. So for me W8 turned from different to terrible gradually.
solnyshok 13y ago
right-click on new windows_menu_button opens same menu as win+X
bchjam 13y ago
Who actually uses the microsoft account login?
- darrenkopp 13y ago
  I do. It's fantastic. I also have 8.1 on my work computer which is AD, but you can link your microsoft account to that account as well which allows all preferences to sync.
runjake 13y ago
> Edit 2: I haven't figured out backups yet. Windows 7 backup was trivial with an external disk. Look up the File History feature. It's essentially Time Machine for Windows. http://www.hanselman.com/blog/Windows8Step0TurnOnContinuousBackupsViaFileHistory.aspx http://www.hanselman.com/blog/Windows8Step0TurnOnContinuousB...
- donatzsky 13y ago
  Notice that "Windows 7 File Recovery" hiding down in the corner? That's the backup feature from Windows 7, working just as it always did.
  - edandersen 13y ago
    This is removed in Windows 8.1. Now it's File History or nothing.
brokenparser 13y ago
Would you mind sharing a bit more info on how to accomplish these? 1. This is probably a matter of running gpedit.msc (IIRC) and then enable disable lock screen somewhere. 2. This might be an option in inetcpl.cpl, perhaps under Advanced? 3. Task bar properties? Not sure if the "boot to desktop" option sits there, though. 4. That's probably using Windows Setup, so appwiz.cpl and select "enable/disable features" or something like that. Asking because people often resort to me for their Windows problems even though I don't run it myself.

eertami 13y ago

>Use Windows+X as your new start menu afterwards - it rocks. In fact I wish earlier versions of windows had that! If you mean launching apps with Winkey+number then it isn't new and is most definitely in Windows 7.

gnur 13y ago
No, Windows+X shows a small "start menu" with some simple often used functions like cmd prompt / task manager / control panel / run.
chrissmeuk 13y ago
No - winkey+X (the actual X key) throws up a new menu. See below: http://i.imgur.com/Tmq3iWp.png http://i.imgur.com/Tmq3iWp.png

esw 13y ago

How long did the upgrade take? I'm just wondering if this is more like a service pack, or if I'm going to lose a better part of an afternoon doing the upgrade.

mscrivo 13y ago
that's going to vary highly depending on hardware and your link speed, but I just did in on 3 relatively newer PC's with SSD's over a 30Mbps connection, and it took between 30-45mins.
- esw 13y ago
  Thanks for the info - I have a comparable setup.
estel 13y ago
I'm just doing the upgrade at the moment: the download was 3.4GB and was maxing my connection, but the install has taken an hour so far, but this isn't on an SSD. The process looks like it's coming to an end soon.
chrissmeuk 13y ago
I did a fresh install from MSDN iso onto a disk cleaned with diskpart from a USB stick (see [1]). I didn't do an upgrade. I wouldn't ever upgrade Windows manually after a screw up going from Vista to 7. To do a full clean install on my Lenovo T400 with Samsung 840 Pro SSD off a fairly old Sandisk Cruzer took less than 10 minutes. [1] http://wudt.codeplex.com/ http://wudt.codeplex.com/

belorn 13y ago

You say that Windows 8.1 is better than windows 7 while occasionally poking the user in the eye? I'm not sure nicer file copying is worth being pokes in the eye by Metro. Faster boot and power management sound interesting, but I would really need independent benchmarks before I would trust any such claims. A 5 seconds or less decrease in boot time (like http://www.zdnet.com/windows-8-vs-windows-7-benchmarked_p2-7000002671/ http://www.zdnet.com/windows-8-vs-windows-7-benchmarked_p2-7...) would not be worth it for me. A significant power boost (+10%) for a laptop might be worth being poked in the eye, if said 10% can be gained while I use the computer (ie, not while sleeping/idling/suspended). For desktop however, power management is not really a feature Im looking for.

ihsw 13y ago
On improving boot time, here is some Steve Jobs folklore: Well, let's say you can shave 10 seconds off of the boot time. Multiply that by five million users and thats 50 million seconds, every single day. Over a year, that's probably dozens of lifetimes. So if you make it boot ten seconds faster, you've saved a dozen lives. That's really worth it, don't you think? http://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?story=Saving_Lives.txt http://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?story=Saving_Lives.txt
- rplnt 13y ago
  In that regard, people should finally learn to not turn off their computers every day. Sleep takes a second or two at most and with hybrid sleep (has been in windows for ages) it's a non-issue.
  - seanmcdirmid 13y ago
    We still have weekly or monthly reboots to worry about.
- untog 13y ago
  Folklore becomes less relevant over time. Now that computers have very efficient sleep mechanisms boot time is a lot less relevant. I probably boot my laptop once a week.

chli 13y ago

"Edit 2: I haven't figured out backups yet. Windows 7 backup was trivial with an external disk." There is a CLI option but the GUI is gone. But you don't need backup since you have SkyDrive now ;)

olex 13y ago
> But you don't need backup since you have SkyDrive now ;) Oh what a fallacy this is. Cloud storage is at best a backup solution for some personal files you don't value too much, but in no way a replacement for a full-system backup.
AaronFriel 13y ago
This was a mistake by Microsoft, de-emphasizing the full disk backup options. There were serious issues with it, it was pretty brittle in terms of backing up and restoring* but those problems should have been fixed rather than obscured. To find the Windows 7-style backup options, hit start, type "Backup" and select "File History". Then in the bottom left corner, click "System Image Backup". The GUI is there, it's just been needlessly hidden. :( http://i.imgur.com/YqIn0MB.png http://i.imgur.com/YqIn0MB.png
- chrissmeuk 13y ago
  Excellent. Thanks for pointing this out!

RcouF1uZ4gsC 13y ago

For me, Start8 (paid software, costs $5) has been great. I get the core improvements from Windows 8, and get to have a real start menu.

zouhair 13y ago
Did have a problem with it still activated when you did the upgrade to 8.1?
zouhair 13y ago
Did have a problem with it still activated when you did the upgrade to 8.1?
zouhair 13y ago
Did have a problem with it still activated when you did the upgrade to 8.1?
zouhair 13y ago
Did have a problem with it still activated when you did the upgrade to 8.1?
zouhair 13y ago
Did have a problem with it still activated when you did the upgrade to 8.1?
telephonetemp 13y ago
There's also Classic shell, which is free software. While I prefer Start8 I think that Windows 8 with either is in no way worse than Windows 7.

jimmaswell 13y ago

Somewhat off-topic, but there's a fork of PuTTy called KiTTy with some improvements.

chrissmeuk 13y ago
Thanks didn't know that (can't say I looked). Will have a play.
qwerty_asdf 13y ago
Not sure if this is the link... http://kitty.9bis.net http://kitty.9bis.net ( http://www.9bis.net/kitty/ http://www.9bis.net/kitty/ ) Is this the right website for what you were referring to?
- jimmaswell 13y ago
  Yes, that's it

duiker101 13y ago

When I started using 8 I wasn't too bothered by the missing start button, now I think I might actually prefer it without. I like the start screen, but I don't use any actual metro apps.

estel 13y ago
I'm slightly sad about the return of the start button too, I'd have been happy with an option to disable it.

chazandchaz 13y ago

I feel the Windows+X menu is a disaster. It is the worse UI for a menu ever. Is it a traditional start menu? a context menu? It feels really out of place with the entire Windows 8 UI. You want a shortcut to the Control Panel? Device Manager? Event Viewer? Let's just throw it on the start/context menu! The whole Windows+X menu seems like it was added by an engineer and was completely overlooked by the design team.

solnyshok 13y ago
I learned to love this full-screen menu, once I set up one of extra buttons on my mouse to "win" key and learned to use scroll-wheel to navigate the menu. it is fast, fluid and I do not have to focus on reading program names. became 2nd nature to me
zobzu 13y ago
its a "power user menu". Nobody outsides "us" knows it even exists. Not a big deal. The items are actually useful for administration/etc.
- clauretano 13y ago
  As an admin, I don't find the menu useful. Especially when I hop on various Server 2012 servers that have a slightly different version of the menu than my 8.1 VM. To me, win+r is all that is needed. If I can't remember the name of an msc winkey + start typing still works ok. The fact that the metro start screen exists on the server OS is deplorable.

e40 13y ago

You know, right after Windows 8 was released, I noticed something really interesting. While I was struggling with it [1], there were a lot of people on reddit and here being extremely positive, and on reddit there were attacks against anyone that was negative about it. At first, I figured I was just out of step. Gradually, the number of people complaining about Windows 8 grew to overshadow the boosters, where finally the boosters were nowhere to be seen. I believe it was a campaign by Microsoft to try and turn the tide they knew would be there, against it. It failed because Windows 8 was so horrible. So, 8.1 comes out and here we have a new account (6 days old) with a glowing review. Pardon me if I'm a little skeptical. I've been had before. [1] http://envoy510.wordpress.com/2013/07/19/windows-8-worst-windows-ever/ http://envoy510.wordpress.com/2013/07/19/windows-8-worst-win...

honestcoyote 13y ago
I don't know if those people were shills or not but the thing about the Win 8 boosters that surprised me was how angry many of them were or are. Someone would complain about the start screen or badly integrated metro apps and the chorus would start up about how anyone who didn't like the new menus and hot corners were luddites terrified of change. Absolutely ridiculous. It was a surprising change of tone from how Windows users usually discuss things. The anger is usually reserved for inexplicable changes which don't work. The defenders usually shrug it off with a "Well, Vista always worked for me." Windows is not normally the sort of thing which attracts the sort of angry defensive passion which Mac or Linux users used to display. So I can see how the abrupt change of tone would make people suspicious.
venomsnake 13y ago
I was one of the converted boosters. Windows 8 was good enough out of the box. But the real usability problems came later. Because the majority of the initial complaints were - "start screen ugly, metro apps unusable" - I was busy answering - start screen not that intrusive if you use shortcuts, metro apps uninstallable. But the real problems blossomed for me much later - the inability of GFWL to work on windows 8 so I cannot play the legally bought Bulletstorm, Arkham City and Assylum, some software working weirdly (Stroke it), the phantom french keyboard that appears from time to time (don't ask), the general locked-ness of the metro runtime (I was insisting close to a year ago that they cannot be that stupid and will just open the platform), problems with Cisco VPN, and so on. So for me W8 turned from different to terrible gradually.

solnyshok 13y ago

right-click on new windows_menu_button opens same menu as win+X

bchjam 13y ago

Who actually uses the microsoft account login?

darrenkopp 13y ago
I do. It's fantastic. I also have 8.1 on my work computer which is AD, but you can link your microsoft account to that account as well which allows all preferences to sync.

runjake 13y ago

> Edit 2: I haven't figured out backups yet. Windows 7 backup was trivial with an external disk. Look up the File History feature. It's essentially Time Machine for Windows. http://www.hanselman.com/blog/Windows8Step0TurnOnContinuousBackupsViaFileHistory.aspx http://www.hanselman.com/blog/Windows8Step0TurnOnContinuousB...

donatzsky 13y ago
Notice that "Windows 7 File Recovery" hiding down in the corner? That's the backup feature from Windows 7, working just as it always did.
- edandersen 13y ago
  This is removed in Windows 8.1. Now it's File History or nothing.

brokenparser 13y ago

Would you mind sharing a bit more info on how to accomplish these? 1. This is probably a matter of running gpedit.msc (IIRC) and then enable disable lock screen somewhere. 2. This might be an option in inetcpl.cpl, perhaps under Advanced? 3. Task bar properties? Not sure if the "boot to desktop" option sits there, though. 4. That's probably using Windows Setup, so appwiz.cpl and select "enable/disable features" or something like that. Asking because people often resort to me for their Windows problems even though I don't run it myself.