# Windows 8 Upgrade



## gregzoll (Dec 25, 2006)

It belongs in the garbage can, same when ME came out. 8 is not ready for prime time, and too many people have been having problems with it so far. MS really screwed the pooch on this one and are not really seeing the numbers of those converting over to it, as they did with 7 or XP.

I personally see 8 short lived and gone before the next POTUS takes the oath of office in January. Same with Office 2k13.


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## DangerMouse (Jul 17, 2008)

gregzoll said:


> It belongs in the garbage can, same when ME came out.


I dunno Greg. When ME came out, I got it and only had to tweak 2 or 3 things to get it to install and run perfectly for all the machines in our home. (3 and 4 sometimes) I turned it into a boot CD that included all of the DOS tools to fdisk, format, wipe, etc. I used it for years until it became too "outdated" and then I had to get XP, which I hated at first, since I had to tweak a couple *dozen* things to get it to run right. I tried and hated vista, and have not tried 7 nor 8 yet. I probably never will either.

DM


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## bbo (Feb 28, 2010)

Windows 8 is fine for what it is. Its a bigger learning curve than the XP to Win7 jump which is one reason I supect many people dont like it.

that said, my recommendation is to not do upgrades hoping for something better. one should only upgrade if something is needed. I would not upgrade anything specifically not made with windows8 in mind when it was manufactured.

For my personal use, I'll probably get something touch screen when I decide to jump into windows 8 at home.

Currently using XP at home, windows XP/7/AIX Unix/Server 2000/2003 and 2008 at work. i'll probably be using Windows8 once we get our VPN working with it.


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## ddawg16 (Aug 15, 2011)

Being the technogeek I am....I would hold off....I classify Win 7 in the same robustness of Win2000....pretty solid product.

A key thing to note....one of the big underlying changes to the MS OS has been .NET...(funny how OS's have gone full circle).....basically, it's sort of like JAVA....programs written using .NET have a much more generic command structure. In the past, I would use an 'include' module (pascal) or 'make' module (C++) that contained the OS API stuff if I was going to write a program that interacted specifically with the OS (i.e., printing something on the screen or accessing the HD).

With .NET, the nuts and bolts of the OS specific code is in the .NET module....my call to it is really nothing more than a call....in the grand scheme of things...I could potentially write a 'program' that worked just as well on a cell phone that had the .NET plug ins as well and any PC or MAC. Sort of the same idea behind JAVA. In other words, programs are becomeing hardware independent....translation, programs will be much smaller....

Vista was the first attempt at it...Most large corporations just bypassed Vista...Win7 is decent....Win8 continues it but also changes the way you interact with a PC.

My only real complaint with MS products (besides the sloppy C++ coding) is that they try to think for the user. 

I wish it had 2 modes....

Mode 1: I'm a PC idiot...think for me...
Mode 2: I know how to use a computer....don't think for me....just do what I tell you to....

Iternet browsers are a perfect example of mode 1.

Win8 has potential to really shake things up as to how we interact with computers....I would wait and let someone else find all the bugs first.


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## DannyT (Mar 23, 2011)

i tried the consumer preview edition. i thought it sucked


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## ddawg16 (Aug 15, 2011)

DannyT said:


> i tried the consumer preview edition. i thought it sucked


Danny....what did you not like?

One of the 'potential' issues is that Win8 changes the fundimental way people interact with the OS.


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## Wildie (Jul 23, 2008)

I just installed Win8 on my HP Pavillion 9718 laptop. I used the MS up-grade option that is offered for $40.
This required a download from MS and then a burn to a DVD.

My first disappointment was the fuzzy screen and and distorted images. Circles appeared egg shaped. 
Checking the video drivers, I found that MS had installed a generic driver, rather than a proper one for the Navidia hardware.
I checked with HP for a driver, but they are only offering Vista/Win7 drivers. Then I went to Navidia and they haven't Win8 offerings either.
On a hunch, I downloaded the Vista/Win7 driver and this worked very well.
My Vista machine has a sound mute button that has a led that changes color, depending on the state. This function has been lost. 
I'm hoping that I can find a driver that will restore this function. Thats my next project.
The machine came with a hidden partition that contained the operating system. Of course, this is of no value now, so I'll have to get rid of this. I'm hoping to replace this with the Win8 OS.
Lastly, when the machine boots, the F key options are now, not offered. However I found a way to get into the bios. By letting the machine boot to the Win8 splash screen, then choosing the restart option from the shutdown routine.
This time the F key options and the 'delete' key choice are available!

Having used Win8 I see no advantage over Win7 that I have on my desktop. Win8 does have touch screen capability. However, if you don't have a touch screen this feature is rather useless.
Perhaps if a person bought the new MS tablet, it may be easier to sync between the machines, beyond that I think that Win7 is the place to be.


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## Wildie (Jul 23, 2008)

I have good news to report! I had 3 devices that the drivers were not installed. They weren't identified, other than a numerical description.
These were flagged in the device manager.
I checked the properties and found that no drivers were installed. Under the DRIVERS tab, I clicked the update choice and chose search my computer. 
The drivers were found in the Windows.old folder. Seems that when Win8 is installed the old Windows is saved.
After I found the drivers, I installed them and have all hardware, now working!

Hope this helps someone else who has upgraded to Win8!


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## AndyWRS (Feb 1, 2012)

I am pretty happy with win7 atm, i dont see the need to change. This PC is about 1 yr old and i built it for gaming. I do not think i will need a newer PC for 2 years, in two years i may go with a newer windows version.

I usually dont get the new OS until its been out for a year or even two.


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## Wildie (Jul 23, 2008)

AndyWRS said:


> I am pretty happy with win7 atm, i dont see the need to change. This PC is about 1 yr old and i built it for gaming. I do not think i will need a newer PC for 2 years, in two years i may go with a newer windows version.
> 
> I usually dont get the new OS until its been out for a year or even two.


 My Vista laptop is 3 years old and weird things kept occurring, especially after the last patch Tuesday. 
I was curious about Win8 and being tired of patch on patch on patch, I decided try Win8, if for no other reason but to get a clean OS that hasn't had to be rejigged.
Operationally, I find it quite stable and have no intention of returning to Vista. 
I think that the install program has bugs, but once the problems are sorted out, it should be reliable. Maybe it would be best to wait until the first service pack is available.


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## konsole (Feb 8, 2009)

If a following version of windows can be found for a very fantastic deal, or its vastly different to the prior version, then I would consider upgrading to the next version to what I was currently using. I don't think its worth the money and the hassle of hoping all your hardware and programs work and getting all your files onto the newly formatted hard drive. I use Vista and my plan is the skip atleast 2 versions, so whatever comes after 8 I'll consider.


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## rossfingal (Mar 20, 2011)

I went from Win 98 to NT 4.0 and then 2000 Pro.
XP came out and people who I knew said don't upgrade, right away.
Wait until the "bugs" are fixed.
I've got XP - 
Basically - I stayed with 2000.
Man - the "malware writers" really went after XP!! 

I've got Win 7 on one of my computers -
so far - so good!
I like it!

If you are going to make the jump to "8" - try to get a "stand-alone" copy - not an upgrade.

However, I've heard "mixed", feed-back about 8.
Nothing, really bad - some problems though.

Happy Holidays!! 

rossfingal


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## polarzak (Dec 1, 2008)

I put Win8 stand alone on an old spare PC with and 80mb HD, and 2g memory and so far it is fine. It starts much faster than XP but definitely built for tablets. You can change the GIU back to a normal desktop. I see nothng bad about it yet...just another learning curve. As ddwag16 said, it is built for the typical user who knows nothing. Mode 1. Go on the net and search for Win8 Tips and tricks, and if you have a little PC knowhow, you can do all kinds of good stuff with it. So far, I like it.


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## thylightguy (Nov 26, 2012)

Honestly... since I love Windows 7 so much, I do not plan on upgrading any time in the future. I have heard about all the wonderful new features that Win8 comes with, but I am happy with my current setup.


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## Davejss (May 14, 2012)

I still use 95.


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## chitownken (Nov 22, 2012)

Have Win7 and will stay there for a while. If I had a Windows phone and/or the new MSFT tablet, I think I would consider moving to Win8 on the laptop just to be consistent. Put new SSD drive in laptop which made a HUGE difference in performance for anything that uses disk I/O. Win7 boots in 40 seconds now and program loads are fast.


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## Wildie (Jul 23, 2008)

Its rumored that Win9 will be coming out in 2013!


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## RoughLanding (Nov 26, 2011)

There is basically no reason to upgrade to Windows 8. Metro UI is made for a touch screen, rather than a mouse and it doesn't really *do* anything that Windows 7 cannot. I think Microsoft erred in choosing to make only one OS for both pcs and cell phones. MS is a big company and they should have made two different OSes. Even if everything "under the hood" was the same and simply made a different interface for each.


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## bbo (Feb 28, 2010)

RoughLanding said:


> There is basically no reason to upgrade to Windows 8. Metro UI is made for a touch screen, rather than a mouse and it doesn't really *do* anything that Windows 7 cannot. I think Microsoft erred in choosing to make only one OS for both pcs and cell phones. MS is a big company and they should have made two different OSes. Even if everything "under the hood" was the same and simply made a different interface for each.


selling phones and tablets is why MS made the OS the same across platforms.

for the end user, having the same interface makes it easier to buy anther device and have portability across all platforms.

I agree with upgrading. unless you have a specific reason to upgrade a device, there really is no reason to upgrade just to upgrade.


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## rusty baker (Feb 13, 2009)

Used XP for several years, until a friend gave me a new laptop she bought when Vista came out and she hated Vista. I used it for a few years and it was so slow. I got a new one last spring with W7. Only one major complaint. The "maintenance troubleshooter" . If you don't use an icon for a while, the troubleshooter deletes it. There is no fix except to disable the troubleshooter. My daughter bought a new laptop a couple weeks ago with W8. I see no reason to upgrade. I thnk it has a short life. It has too many shortcomings that I think W9 will be out to replace it soon.


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## Wildie (Jul 23, 2008)

rusty baker said:


> Used XP for several years, until a friend gave me a new laptop she bought when Vista came out and she hated Vista. I used it for a few years and it was so slow. I got a new one last spring with W7. Only one major complaint. The "maintenance troubleshooter" . If you don't use an icon for a while, the troubleshooter deletes it. There is no fix except to disable the troubleshooter. My daughter bought a new laptop a couple weeks ago with W8. I see no reason to upgrade. I thnk it has a short life. It has too many shortcomings that I think W9 will be out to replace it soon.


 Its rumored that Win9 will be coming out next summer!


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## rossfingal (Mar 20, 2011)

Wildie said:


> Its rumored that Win9 will be coming out next summer!


Yeah -
heard that too -
sometime in 2013.
Don't jump on the "bandwagon" and upgrade to Win 9, right away.
Give them some time to work the "bugs" out!
Think I'll stay with "7"!
(Patch, Fix, Patch, Fix, Patch ......)

"RF"


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## SuperJETT (Oct 27, 2012)

I agree with the general consensus here. I'm the IT manager for our company so when one of the new laptops I bought came in with Windows 8 disks, I tossed a SSD in it and loaded 8 to try. There is zero reason to use it instead of 7 for a regular computer IMO. I can't picture any of our workers using it if they had a touchscreen to go with it. It wouldn't increase productivity but would lower it.

7 works great, the only problems I'm having overall are some of our apps are incompatible with 64-bit OSes and there aren't upgrades available or we need to have our custom apps updated to work, so for some people I have to keep them on 32-bit 7.


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## RoughLanding (Nov 26, 2011)

rusty baker said:


> Used XP for several years, until a friend gave me a new laptop she bought when Vista came out and she hated Vista. I used it for a few years and it was so slow.


You probably needed to turn AERO off. That's a huge performance sink for most laptops made before 2011.


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## wrongdave (Dec 19, 2012)

The day Windows 8 came out, I ordered the parts for my latest PC build along with a brand new copy of Windows 7 Pro.
Didn't even have to think about that one.


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## rusty baker (Feb 13, 2009)

My daughter's new laptop with W8 has already crashed. She will have to reload the OS. According to Dell, this is common.


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## rossfingal (Mar 20, 2011)

rusty baker said:


> My daughter's new laptop with W8 has already crashed. She will have to reload the OS. According to Dell, this is common.


It's really, heartening to hear "this is common" - from a major computer
manufacturer!! (Crash!)
Goody!! 

"RF"


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## gregzoll (Dec 25, 2006)

rusty baker said:


> My daughter's new laptop with W8 has already crashed. She will have to reload the OS. According to Dell, this is common.


Yes it is. Bad thing is, MS decided in the great interest of the consumer that they would have Restore points turned off, so when it does crash, you have no choice but to reload the OS.

Happened to us, with my son's Toshiba Satellite. After I got the OS reinstalled, restarted Restore Points. What kind of idiots do we have over at Microsoft these days? Oh, that is correct, those that do not know how to make a real Operating System, or Office package.

I have never had the problems running Ubuntu 12.10, when I had it on my Netbook, as I do with Windows 8 on my son's laptop. Only reason I am no longer running Ubuntu, is due to no more desktop in the house, and I want to use only my computer to update my iPhone.


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