Windows 8.1

[DriVer]

OK how did everyone make out with this upgrade? It took 2 days in stealth mode to download the install files and about 90 minutes or more to set itself up.

Write down your Microsoft login passwords before you start, it'll save you some time. After I reset my password, the install/upgrade went well and no major problems. I have not ID'd any minor problems as well.

Everything appears to be functioning well. I did get a new splash screen.

[Denniscw]

Did you start with windows 7? I have been considering upgrading but wondered if it is a painless process. I have the CD, did you just upgrade from CD? Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Dennis

[docj]

I have two Dell computers both of which had come with Windows 8. The download for 8.1 is located in the Windows App Store. If the upgrade is not visible in your store you will need to make sure the necessary prerequisite Windows updates have been installed. The 8.1 download is ~3GB so make sure you have a decent internet connection.

I didn't have any problems going from 8 to 8.1 on either Dell or on an HP Pavilion. I have heard that some people with other brands have had some issues. It would be worth Googling your brand and model before trying it to see if there are posts on the topic (don't look for them on this Forum, but search Google, in general.)

[DriVer]

Originally Posted by docj

I have two Dell computers both of which had come with Windows 8. The download for 8.1 is located in the Windows App Store.

I have an HP Envy m6.

W8.1 came across as an invitation, I didn't have to go to the app store for it. I guess that Windows Upgrade will know by polling which updates are patched on your computer whether or not 8.1 is going to be the next recommendation.

If you can run 8.0 it's unlikely that 8.1 will not install "however" there is a compatibility wizard just in case.

10-4 on the hi-speed connection.


So far so good ....

To check what version you have on your PC, get the right side bar to come up, go to setting, click on PC Info.


I have Windows 8.1 Pro with Media Center.
(C) 2013 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved

[DriVer]

Originally Posted by Denniscw

Did you start with windows 7? I have been considering upgrading but wondered if it is a painless process. I have the CD, did you just upgrade from CD? Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Dennis, You are 1st going to have to run the Windows 8 Compatibility Wizard available from Microsoft for FREE. Just go and look for it on Microsoft.com. WIN7 can run on a 32 bit platform and so will 8 but you are going to want to run a 64 bit architecture and 8GB of RAM to really rock it! You can run less RAM if that's what you have but the Wizard will let you know what you have vs what you might need.

[deandec]

My upgrade from 8.0 went well a couple of weeks ago.

Changes I do not like.

1. It disallows my previous password forever to launch my desktop.

2. My Outlook 2003 no longer can auto complete the email addressees.

[docj]

Originally Posted by deandec

My upgrade from 8.0 went well a couple of weeks ago.

Changes I do not like.

1. It disallows my previous password forever to launch my desktop.

2. My Outlook 2003 no longer can auto complete the email addressees.

I have neither of these problems; I think you should be able to change both of them. One thing you can do is set up Windows so the password is kept encrypted in the registry and doesn't have to be manually entered each tim.

[JohnInAz]

Installed the upgrade yesterday. The only issue I have had is that from a power management perspective, it doesn't shut the pc down any more, just the screen. I have not found a solution to this yet.

[Stan.Birch]

Originally Posted by Denniscw

Did you start with windows 7? I have been considering upgrading but wondered if it is a painless process. I have the CD, did you just upgrade from CD? Any information would be greatly appreciated.
Dennis

We have two fairly new high end computers at home, running Win 7-64; and they have been a pleasure to work with.

A month ago, it became apparent that we needed to replace our 8 year travel laptop with a new one, so we got a new HP Pavillion with Win 8 (the only available option). What a total pain in the . . . . !!!! And what a total waste of time!

I "upgraded" to Win 8.1, which took four hours. Unfortunately, if Windows 8.1 is somehow supposed to address the botched job MS did with Win 8, I haven't found it. If it were possible, I would upgrade to Win 7-64, but apparently that isn't possible due to the lack of Win 7 drivers etal for the new HP laptop.

Win 8 was designed primarily for touch screen tablet stuff, and while it might work okay on such systems, it is a total pain on traditional desktop/laptop computers. MS should have designed two entirely different operating systems for each.

Win 8 was a botched endeavour that ended Steve Ballmer's career as CEO of MS; and that's so sad, because Steve Ballmer is now almost destitute, with only $18 billion left to carry him through his latter years.

[docj]

Originally Posted by JohnInAz

Installed the upgrade yesterday. The only issue I have had is that from a power management perspective, it doesn't shut the pc down any more, just the screen. I have not found a solution to this yet.

If you have a laptop you can very easily get the computer to shutdown if that is what you wish. Just go to Control Panel/power options/choose what happens when the lid is closed. One of the options you can select is "shut the computer off" although I doubt few people do that these days. There really is little reason to shut a computer down rather than just letting it sleep, or, at most, letting it hibernate.

[JohnInAz]

Originally Posted by docj

If you have a laptop you can very easily get the computer to shutdown if that is what you wish. Just go to Control Panel/power options/choose what happens when the lid is closed. One of the options you can select is "shut the computer off" although I doubt few people do that these days. There really is little reason to shut a computer down rather than just letting it sleep, or, at most, letting it hibernate.

Thanks for the tip, but this is for my desktop system. I know that I can manually put the machine in sleep mode, but it is supposed to do this automatically .. which is what is broken with 8.1.

[Arch Hoagland]

Classic Shell - Start menu and other Windows enhancements
I use Classic Shell with my laptop that has Windows 8.0 on it.

For those of you who have upgraded to 8.1....Was it worth the effort?

I'm able to do what I need to do with Classic Shell and 8.0. Don't really want to mess around upgrading for the fun of it.

Would you do the upgrade again if you knew then what you know now?

[Lee C]

For me the 8.1 upgrade didn't fix much of anything that's wrong with Windows 8. Being an idiot, I didn't back-up my computer before the upgrade and lost most of my non-Microsoft apps and data including my address book and probably 7 years of saved e-mail messages from Thunderbird. Last winter, the hard drive in my old Gateway with Vista crashed and I thought "now would be a good time to upgrade to a newer computer" so I go down to Best Buy and purchase a new laptop with Windows 8. At first I didn't like it but thought "it would grow on me" but that ain't happening.

[deandec]

I upgraded to 8.1 while using Classic Shell on 8.0.

I noticed no improvements that did anything for my use of the system. Still use Classic Shell.