Windows 8

acropolite (Phil) · #1 27-10-2012, 11:51 PM

Thought I'd give Win 8 a spin, one way or another I have to get my head around it as I'll encounter it sooner or later in my day to day work.

I parted with the reasonable sum of $48 for an upgrade copy and installed tonight. I was a little nervous given the low price for the OS.

Big mistake, should have run it up on a new hdd to preserve my old Win7 install, my first impression is that Win 8 is a dud, they've stripped one of the most intuitive and efficient bits out of the OS, that is the start menu and programs interface and replaced it with the "Metro" interface, which I can only describe as a dogs breakfast. Microsoft have really stuffed up on this one IMO.
A quick search reveals a lot of adverse comment on the forums.

To add insult to injury my backup of the old install can't be seen by the recovery disk, it's on a 2tb usb drive (the drive recommended by the win7 backup utility), for some stupid reason the recovery disk will only see 1Gb drives. No big deal, I'll find a work around but I hate wasting time on something that should just work.

I'll be rolling back to Win7 as soon as I work out how to get my backup image loaded.

fauxpas (Tony) · #2 28-10-2012, 12:31 AM

I suggest anyone considering win8 should watch half a dozen youtube reviews first to get a grasp of the differences and also whether its for them...

There's as many positive reviews of 8 as there are negative so watching as many as possible will give the avg punter a good idea...

I like the idea of it crossing platforms, pc/slate/laptop/phone... I can see the 'why' they made it that way...

Once slates and laptops with touchscreens become 'normal' and inexpensive, win8 will come into its own...

I'll go 8 when I upgrade my primary drive to ssd...

Barrykgerdes · #3 28-10-2012, 08:05 AM

From what I see of it. Windows 8 is aimed at the market dominated by Apple that has made Apple so rich at the expense of Microsoft. This market is dominated by computer users who know nothing about the works of a computer, Probably 90% of the world's population but like the simple icon interface that allows them the versatility they require for the tasks they assign to it.

It is not going to suit the average "nerd" who likes to know what is going on so he can make a computer do what he wants.

I will certainly not "upgrade" my Win 7 (I still prefer XP) but that does not mean I won't buy a dedicated laptop with Win 8 on it to learn what it can do.

With all the publicity it is getting I believe the market that Microsoft has aimed at will snatch back a lot of the business that they have lost to the other tablet O/S.

Barry

PS I get around the image backup by using a multi boot system where I save disk images on the alternate platform. Thus returning a backup copy does not require the new system. B.G

multiweb (Marc) · #4 28-10-2012, 08:41 AM

It's certainly very different and it's going to take a lot of retraining with the new interface. I tested the first batch last year and although it was slower than the latest I didn't dislike it. It's a new way of doing things.

acropolite (Phil) · #5 28-10-2012, 09:01 AM

Quote:

It's a new way of doing things.

A new, less efficient way of doing things with any sort of learning curve isn't my cup of tea, I don't have time to waste on things that don't work easily and efficiently.

Apparently there was the option (registry hack) of using the Start menu on the beta version but that's been stripped from the final release. Speed wise it seems faster, but the launch interface sucks bigtime.

Luckily I managed to sucessfully restore my Win7 image including the nice widgets (currency conversion, weather, calendar and sticky notes) I had on my second screen which Win8 obliterated.

If anyone is thinking of installing the upgrade I'd suggest that you do a backup image and system recovery disk of your old Win7 install before starting the upgrade. (on an external HDD make sure it's not over 1tB otherwise the recovery disk won't see it)

kustard (Simon) · #6 28-10-2012, 09:07 AM

I played around with the dev version of Win8 a while back and I wasn't impressed. Personally I think it looks like rubbish and it just felt clunky.

Cheers,
Simon

multiweb (Marc) · #7 28-10-2012, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by acropolite

If anyone is thinking of installing the upgrade I'd suggest that you do a backup image and system recovery disk of your old Win7 install before starting the upgrade. (on an external HDD make sure it's not over 1tB otherwise the recovery disk won't see it)

That's a given. You should have an image of your system at all times. Acronis is ideal. Or at least clone your Boot drive. Another way to test things is to run them in a virtual environment. Which I did with WIN8.

supernova1965 (Warren) · #8 28-10-2012, 11:10 AM

I have tried it I for around 4 hours decided I hated it I reckon it is another ME/VISTA DISASTER. Microsoft seem do do a good OS then a disaster it seems to be a cycle they are stuck in

Barrykgerdes · #9 28-10-2012, 11:25 AM

Before you try out any new O/S on your main computer two essential programs you need are Drive Image and Partition Magic. However when they were taken over by Norton there were no more up updates. Consequently they to not work on Win 7 and later.

The best Win 7 replacements are Acronis and Easeus. I found Acronis not quite so easy to use as Drive Image but still an excellent program

If you have a multiboot system with Win XP you can still make images of Win 7 drives using Drive Image

Another program essential if you use Win 7 is "easyBCD2.1.2.exe" other than the one included with Win 7. to correct any problems that can occur when replacing Win 7

Barry

acropolite (Phil) · #10 28-10-2012, 12:37 PM

FWIW the Win7 Drive image backup utility/recovery disk option works perfectly.

supernova1965 (Warren) · #11 28-10-2012, 12:44 PM

My favourite image software is ghost

marki · #12 28-10-2012, 04:19 PM

Installed it yesterday along with a SSD drive, boots in 15 secs

. The front screen (new version of start menu) is a little annoying but just remember the corners are really important and it balances out, a touch screen would make it better. Took about 1/2 an hour to find my way around and set things up, my desktop included, now its business as usual as everything is still there. Instead of clicking on the start menu you just put the mouse in the top RH corner and click from there. I start most programs from my desktop in any case. Only problem was not being able to install CS4 (adobe installer at fault) and have had to upgrade to CS6, lucky I am eligible for the education version. If I had to pay full price I would be pretty p@$$&d. Curiously a number of programs that I had trouble installing on win7 and were unstable when running went on without a hitch on win 8 and run well. Would have thought it would have been the other way around. All my printer/scanner/camera drivers etc all work no problem and they have been around for a long while now. Still to form an overall opinion but it certainly is not another Vista.

Mark

Tandum (Robin) · #13 28-10-2012, 04:42 PM

Going by my last encounter with it, it would be best with a multitouch monitor. I had a look around my suppliers and apart from single touch screens for supermarkets, the only one I could see was by Dell for about $335 -> http://www.cnet.com.au/dell-st2220t-339315501.htm

I'll leave win8 be for now and see if it goes away

allan gould · #14 28-10-2012, 05:48 PM

Robin
Have a look here . I purchased a touch screen from them and turned my laptop into a touch screen and it works very well at night instead of using the keyboard.
Allan
http://www.cyclotouch.com.au/

Tandum (Robin) · #15 28-10-2012, 06:22 PM

I'm guessing you got a single touch kit Allan. That's not a bad price for a 15" laptop screen.
The multitouch kit lets you resize by pinching like you do on an iPhone and the price there for a 24" is starting to get up.
Give it 6 months and most monitors will be multitouch, dell just had a head start

GTB_an_Owl (Geoff) · #16 28-10-2012, 11:25 PM

I recently bought a toshiba laptop with win7 installed.

I was therefore entitled to the win8 upgrade for $15
I registered with Microsoft and duly went throught the payment process yesterday

So $15 for the download and i thought the DVD would come in handy - shock! horror! - $25-49 for the DVD

The blurb said enter your discount voucher so you can get the upgrade for the $15, which i did - well i thought i did
Note in the blurb said " the full price of $49 will show on the Cart - but you will only be charged the $15
WELL! - when i see the paypal receipt - i have been charged the FULL amount (not happy Jan!)

The download started immediately (would have been nice for me to pick when and if i wanted to download the damn thing, especially as how i ordered the DVD)

So i tried to install on my new Toshiba laptop
Three hours later after a couple of install hiccups and having to un-install TEN incompatible programs or Drivers (including USB3 drivers ???) before it would start the install.

So the install finally completes and i explore a bit - bit confusing at first - but i started to get the hang of it

So lets see if we can get on the net - I should have known - SORRY WE CAN NOT DISPLAY THE WEB PAGE

WHAT IS IT WITH MICROSOFT FIRST RELEASES AND INTERNET CONNECTION PROBLEMS

So i troubleshoot for the cause - try everything i know and a few tips from the net on my other computer
I can ping numerically - i can ping by name - all else says CONNECTED
MSN says key port problem
after a couple of hours i give up - there is a "Refresh" option - WONDERFUL!
the Refresh finishes and it restarts
STILL NO INTERNET PAGES - just the same as before

BUT WAIT! - there seems to be less icons on my desktop and a new folder

What does the folder contain you might ask

ALL THE BLOODY PROGRAMS THAT THE REFRESH UN-INSTALLED

what else did it un-install? - Why half the drivers including the ethernet and wireless drivers

have a guess who is glad he made the Win7 restore disks?

ME! ME! ME!

geoff

acropolite (Phil) · #17 29-10-2012, 10:31 PM

I found that having to move the mouse to a corner, then select one of a number of options to be eventually presented with a program list that was larger than the screen was just plain unproductive, inefficient and slow.

Until they bring back the option to reinstate the start menu and it's associated functions I suspect that the OS will be regarded as a dud. Whether MS realise it or not the Start menu and associated launch facilities is efficient, fast to use and logical.

Faster starts mean nothing if the launch mechanism of the OS is disfunctional.

netwolf · #18 29-10-2012, 10:51 PM

Geoff, I too have registered for the Win8 upgrade when i got my Asus laptop recently.
So can you please confirm if you respond to the email and begin the purchase process you cant stop the install of Win8?
I was hopping to pay for it and do the upgrade later.

GTB_an_Owl (Geoff) · #19 30-10-2012, 01:11 AM

I didn't see any option to download later Fahim

after i completed the payment it started to download

i believe your registration is valid to January?

don't try to pay/download till you actually want to

geoff

OICURMT · #20 30-10-2012, 01:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by allan gould

Robin
Have a look here . I purchased a touch screen from them and turned my laptop into a touch screen and it works very well at night instead of using the keyboard.
Allan
http://www.cyclotouch.com.au/

Saw one of these in action at SEAAOC in Darwin on a 42" TV... worked perfectly on an interactive 3D model of an offshore subsea oil and gas development.

I was impressed...