Upgrading To Windows 8....Worth It?

[Jiu-Jitsu]

I've been tempted by the price (£25 for the W8 Pro upgrade) so I've bitten the bullet. Anyone upgraded over a copy of W7 and had it all working without needing to do a clean install?

Depends on the version that you have now. Anything up to Home Premium should be fine. You paid £10 too much.

[endure]

I've been tempted by the price (£25 for the W8 Pro upgrade) so I've bitten the bullet. Anyone upgraded over a copy of W7 and had it all working without needing to do a clean install?

Depends on the version that you have now. Anything up to Home Premium should be fine. You paid £10 too much.

How come? As far as I can see you only get the fifteen quid upgrade if you've recently bought a new PC.

[hml367]

I've been tempted by the price (£25 for the W8 Pro upgrade) so I've bitten the bullet. Anyone upgraded over a copy of W7 and had it all working without needing to do a clean install?

I did and it worked without any problems.

I also upgraded over Windows 8 Consumer Preview. The difference is that upgrading over the preview you cannot save settings, etc.

Both are working fine for me.

MSPain

[Chicog]

I've been tempted by the price (£25 for the W8 Pro upgrade) so I've bitten the bullet. Anyone upgraded over a copy of W7 and had it all working without needing to do a clean install?

Yes - worked like a charm.

[Dork]

I went for the USD40 upgrade. I had tried to trick my way into the USD15 upgrade by listing my purchase date as a couple of months later than it really was at their pre-registration page. At first it seemed to work but by the release day they had sprung me. Anyway USD40 is a bargain - but you've gotta try.

The more I use 8, the more impressed I am. The start menu thing aside (actually that doesn't bother me much), it is the slickest Windows yet.

One thing I've found installing on a notebook though, is that you might have to hunt around for the right drivers. The windows drivers all worked but if you need some of the power saving utilities and special function keys you might need to get them elsewhere.

[Jiu-Jitsu]

I've been tempted by the price (£25 for the W8 Pro upgrade) so I've bitten the bullet. Anyone upgraded over a copy of W7 and had it all working without needing to do a clean install?

Depends on the version that you have now. Anything up to Home Premium should be fine. You paid £10 too much.

How come? As far as I can see you only get the fifteen quid upgrade if you've recently bought a new PC.

There was no verification other than having to entering the Windows 7 key of the laptop that you were supposed to have purchased. Not everyone was asked to enter the key...

[Digitalbanana]

One thing I've found installing on a notebook though, is that you might have to hunt around for the right drivers. The windows drivers all worked but if you need some of the power saving utilities and special function keys you might need to get them elsewhere.

For sure ALWAYS get the latest drivers from the hardware manufacturers rather than Microsoft. Microsoft kindly upgraded my ATI graphics driver for Win8 and promptly disabled the whole machine.

[endure]

I've been tempted by the price (£25 for the W8 Pro upgrade) so I've bitten the bullet. Anyone upgraded over a copy of W7 and had it all working without needing to do a clean install?

Depends on the version that you have now. Anything up to Home Premium should be fine. You paid £10 too much.

How come? As far as I can see you only get the fifteen quid upgrade if you've recently bought a new PC.

There was no verification other than having to entering the Windows 7 key of the laptop that you were supposed to have purchased. Not everyone was asked to enter the key...

My W7 is an upgrade version of an XP Student version so I suspect I may not have got away with it

[astral]

Judging from the Click programme in BBC last weekend

Win 8 is fine if you have a touch screen,

but otherwise much the same as Win 7

[Jiu-Jitsu]

My W7 is an upgrade version of an XP Student version so I suspect I may not have got away with it

If you didn't have to enter the key on the website, then it matters not what you have installed.

Edited November 3, 2012 by astral
Removing long quote

[endure]

How long did the upgrade take?

[endure]

To answer my own question - about an hour

[smokie36]

To answer my own question - about an hour

We await your critique with interest endure!

[endure]

So far so good. I'm not a heavy user like some folks. I've had to re-install a couple of little programs but everything seems to be a little snappier so far. I suspect I'll have to use a 3rd party replacement for the Start button as I'm floundering a bit at the moment but there's nothing unusual about that

[smokie36]

So far so good. I'm not a heavy user like some folks. I've had to re-install a couple of little programs but everything seems to be a little snappier so far. I suspect I'll have to use a 3rd party replacement for the Start button as I'm floundering a bit at the moment but there's nothing unusual about that

Yeah your bitch and snatch seems fine so far anyway.

[hml367]

So far so good. I'm not a heavy user like some folks. I've had to re-install a couple of little programs but everything seems to be a little snappier so far. I suspect I'll have to use a 3rd party replacement for the Start button as I'm floundering a bit at the moment but there's nothing unusual about that

Greate a new toolbar in the taskbar. Associate the tool bar with the Programs folder and any shortcuts in the folder show up. It's not as pretty as something built into the os, but it is fully functional for me and no 3rd party stuff to worry about. Probably could make it pretty easy enough.

MSPain

Edited November 3, 2012 by hml367

[Dork]

You can also call up anything that would have formally been in the start menu by typing the name. Don't need to type anywhere in particular - just type from the start page. So for example if I want Outlook, I type "O" (which is first in the list) and enter. Takes a bit of getting used to but it's very quick.

[Chicog]

So far so good. I'm not a heavy user like some folks. I've had to re-install a couple of little programs but everything seems to be a little snappier so far. I suspect I'll have to use a 3rd party replacement for the Start button as I'm floundering a bit at the moment but there's nothing unusual about that

The more I see it the more I like Classic Shell. It's extremely flexible and would be a good tool even if M$ hadn't removed the Start button.

Edited November 3, 2012 by Chicog

[endure]

I'm trying out Iobit Startmenu8 at the moment. Quite impressed.

[Digitalbanana]

I'm trying out Iobit Startmenu8 at the moment. Quite impressed.

Which is more than you can say for Windows 8 perhaps?

[endure]

I'm trying out Iobit Startmenu8 at the moment. Quite impressed.

Which is more than you can say for Windows 8 perhaps?

No - I'm quite impressed with W8 too. Sorry to disappoint you.

[Dork]

I'm convinced Win8 is going to be a runaway success for Microsoft. As soon as everyone gets over the start menu thing which I'll admit is pretty annoying until you get used to it.

[ianwuk]

I am quite impressed with Windows 8 Pro running as a VM on my Macbook Pro. I like the tile aspect but the sad thing is that not all programs have their own unique Windows 8 UI and tile design (e.g. Skype) which means you end up scrolling through tons of titles with truncated names. This can be frustrating if you do not recognise the icon itself. It does take a little time to get away from trying to find a Start button but Windows Explorer works fine and, ironically, my Mac VM software gives Windows 8 its own Start menu to use any way (VMWare Fusion 5).

Edited November 5, 2012 by ianwuk

[Dork]

I am quite impressed with Windows 8 Pro running as a VM on my Macbook Pro. I like the tile aspect but the sad thing is that not all programs have their own unique Windows 8 UI and tile design (e.g. Skype) which means you end up scrolling through tons of titles with truncated names. This can be frustrating if you do not recognise the icon itself. It does take a little time to get away from trying to find a Start button but Windows Explorer works fine and, ironically, my Mac VM software gives Windows 8 its own Start menu to use any way (VMWare Fusion 5).

Perhaps the icon issue you have is something to do with a non standard resolution on the Mac VM host. I just checked and all my tiles are perfect including Skype. It has the Skype logo and the words "Skype for desktop" underneath.

The search function on the start page is a quick way to call up any application. For Skype you could just type SK and hit enter.

[Chicog]

I am quite impressed with Windows 8 Pro running as a VM on my Macbook Pro. I like the tile aspect but the sad thing is that not all programs have their own unique Windows 8 UI and tile design (e.g. Skype) which means you end up scrolling through tons of titles with truncated names. This can be frustrating if you do not recognise the icon itself. It does take a little time to get away from trying to find a Start button but Windows Explorer works fine and, ironically, my Mac VM software gives Windows 8 its own Start menu to use any way (VMWare Fusion 5).

Perhaps the icon issue you have is something to do with a non standard resolution on the Mac VM host. I just checked and all my tiles are perfect including Skype. It has the Skype logo and the words "Skype for desktop" underneath.

The search function on the start page is a quick way to call up any application. For Skype you could just type SK and hit enter.

But I don't have to; they're on my Desktop or my Start menu.

[Dork]

I am quite impressed with Windows 8 Pro running as a VM on my Macbook Pro. I like the tile aspect but the sad thing is that not all programs have their own unique Windows 8 UI and tile design (e.g. Skype) which means you end up scrolling through tons of titles with truncated names. This can be frustrating if you do not recognise the icon itself. It does take a little time to get away from trying to find a Start button but Windows Explorer works fine and, ironically, my Mac VM software gives Windows 8 its own Start menu to use any way (VMWare Fusion 5).

Perhaps the icon issue you have is something to do with a non standard resolution on the Mac VM host. I just checked and all my tiles are perfect including Skype. It has the Skype logo and the words "Skype for desktop" underneath.

The search function on the start page is a quick way to call up any application. For Skype you could just type SK and hit enter.

But I don't have to; they're on my Desktop or my Start menu.

Yes but if you do it this way then every time you use another Win8 machine you're either going to be frustrated or have to add that 3rd party app. The same goes for any reinstalls.

I think it's easier to just accept that this is how Windows is going to be in the future and adapt yourself. I have and the problem has gone away for me. Forever.

[Chicog]

Yes but if you do it this way then every time you use another Win8 machine you're either going to be frustrated or have to add that 3rd party app. The same goes for any reinstalls.

I think it's easier to just accept that this is how Windows is going to be in the future and adapt yourself. I have and the problem has gone away for me. Forever.

I'm in control of all 5 of the machines I use, and they will all do as they are bloody well told. I control the technology, not the other way round.

(I should say 6, the new Lenovo A7 arrived today - that's getting unpacked and Window 8'd at the weekend and it's a touch screen so I will not be installing Classic Shell, at least to start anyway!).

Edited November 6, 2012 by Chicog

[ianwuk]

I am even thinking of selling my Macbook Pro to get a Dell laptop I saw on InvadeIT so I can run Windows 8 and have quad core CPU!

Windows 8 requires a resolution of 1024 x 768 meaning that on a 13-inch screen (my Macbook Pro is 13 inch), if I run the VM in single window mode, it can sometimes be difficult clicking buttons at the bottom of the window (e.g. setup wizards).

So for all those who do not have a Start menu for Windows 8 through a third party, what are you tips for how to do the most common tasks? I find Windows Explorer more helpful than ever now and then I press the Command key on my Macbook Pro to bring up the main Windows 8 menu to browse through apps, view/change settings etc. I guess the experience of no Start menu is the same for everyone, right?

[Chicog]

So I've installed Win 8 on the Ideacentre. As expected, Metro on a touch screen is much better.

But I still ended up installing classic shell and going to my normal Desktop. Maybe when they come up with a new version of utorrent for Win 8.....

[pgs]

By any chance is there a way of using Win 8 on the net without being logged into an email account? Not sure if I've stuffed something during the upgrade, but if I don't log in to hotmail there is no pc access.

I am aware I can create a 'local' account - but apparently that won't have internet access.

Can anyone shed some light in this corner?

With all the crap MS determined we should have on the main screen, it will be one hell of a download hog on wireless.

Some things in Win 8 are ok - bit painful finding the way around at first & some things, like closing programs, are not obvious. If being permanently connected via MS mail account is an unlisted pre-requisit, I'd prefer to go to Linux.

Edited November 25, 2012 by pgs