Quick tips to Fix Win 8?

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lyonrouge

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#138371 1-Jan-2014 12:23

I've got a factory installed Win 8 (now updated to 8.1). Sony will not provide an upgrade to Win 7 so I'm stuck with this for the foreseeable future. Normally I try to work with tech as an OOtB approach but this is such a hateful operating system I'm going to have to do something to fix it, if there are some quick wins that people have used I would appreciate it before I inevitably brick the thing.

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#959857 1-Jan-2014 12:27

Maybe you can be more specific as to exactly the issues you have.

You can boot the OS straight to desktop mode in 8.1

Another helpful hint is that by right clicking on the start button you can access command prompt, control panel and other useful features.

Klipspringer

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#959858 1-Jan-2014 12:27

- Install Classic start menu
- Uninstall as many of the Metro apps as possible
- Boot to Desktop

sbiddle

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#959859 1-Jan-2014 12:27

What do you find so annoying?

Once you've installed a start menu replacement it's basically just Windows 7.1 - with plenty of bug fixes and better performance.

lyonrouge

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#959861 1-Jan-2014 12:38

Note: have implemented the following to run XP and 7 under Hyper-V. I had to use a couple of my licenses for this, but at least I have a work around to some aspects of Win 8.

http://4sysops.com/archives/windows-8-xp-mode-part-1-hyper-v/

sbiddle

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#959868 1-Jan-2014 13:01

Maybe you could actually explain what you find so annoying or limiting about Windows8.

Like you I hated it when I first started playing with it. I had no option with my new laptop in August because HP Win7 Haswell drivers were a month behind the new Probooks which launched in NZ first.

Within days I actually found Windows 8 a far superior operating system to Windows 7 in many ways and with a start menu replacement for all intent purposes pretty much everything functions exactly the same way.

I actually find the Metro mode the cumbersome solution - Metro apps work great on a touchpad device, but there are so many things on touchpad devices that still require desktop mode to function.

lyonrouge

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#959870 1-Jan-2014 13:13

Key problems:

• Touchpad opening sidebars from left and right, I can find no way to stop this
• Keyboard shortcuts and quick access features, i.e. start menu and bars (addressed by http://classicshell.net/), this is a real win, thanks team
• No XP mode (addressed by link above)
• I can't go back to IE9 (some SharePoint functions do not work in 10 and above, somewhat ironic) workaround using "Win7 Mode", to open IE 8

Note: I have no animosity to the metro world. When I'm not working I switch to this mode and it's a fine enough tablet.

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#959874 1-Jan-2014 13:18

I use Windows 8.1 on my HP laptop. It's faster than Windows 7 on the same hardware (SSD and plenty of RAM available).

On this laptop I simply installed Start8, removed all Modern UI apps and use it like I would use Windows 7.

On my tablet I am taking a different approach. Since touch is available I am trying to use ONLY Modern UI apps (a bit of a pain because somethings are only available in classical applications).

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sbiddle

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#959877 1-Jan-2014 13:32

lyonrouge: Key problems:

• Touchpad opening sidebars from left and right, I can find no way to stop this

If you have a touchpad that supports multitouch then gestures will be enabled by default. You can disable these in the Synaptics touchpad settings.

lyonrouge

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#959886 1-Jan-2014 13:46

sbiddle:
lyonrouge: Key problems:

• Touchpad opening sidebars from left and right, I can find no way to stop this

If you have a touchpad that supports multitouch then gestures will be enabled by default. You can disable these in the Synaptics touchpad settings.

This does not appear to be a Synaptics feature.

timmmay

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#959910 1-Jan-2014 14:57

I installed W8.1 trial this morning on a spare disk to see how it is. I really didn't like metro, but using one of those start menu replacement programs it basically works like W7. I'll upgrade if and when I need to, mostly for ReFS and storage spaces.

How do you tell W8.1 to boot directly to the desktop?

lyonrouge

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#959926 1-Jan-2014 15:27

Does anyone know how to decouple or disable the startup password. I had a local account in 8, but during 8.1 update, I inadvertently connected to mt hotmail account and now i have to log on at startup.

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#959975 1-Jan-2014 16:49

timmmay: I installed W8.1 trial this morning on a spare disk to see how it is. I really didn't like metro, but using one of those start menu replacement programs it basically works like W7. I'll upgrade if and when I need to, mostly for ReFS and storage spaces.

How do you tell W8.1 to boot directly to the desktop?

Probably the easiest way is to right-click on the Taskbar in classic Widows Desktop Mode. Select Properties --> Navigation (Tab) --> Select "When I sign in or close all apps on screen, go to desktop instead of start".

Gilco2

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#959984 1-Jan-2014 16:59

lyonrouge: Does anyone know how to decouple or disable the startup password. I had a local account in 8, but during 8.1 update, I inadvertently connected to mt hotmail account and now i have to log on at startup.

on your tile screen type "netplwiz" without the quotes. it will show it. click on it and untick users must login with password, or to that effect. you will see it anyway

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lyonrouge

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#959990 1-Jan-2014 17:18

Gilco2:
lyonrouge: Does anyone know how to decouple or disable the startup password. I had a local account in 8, but during 8.1 update, I inadvertently connected to mt hotmail account and now i have to log on at startup.
on your tile screen type "netplwiz" without the quotes. it will show it. click on it and untick users must login with password, or to that effect. you will see it anyway

This has been removed in 8.1.

Win 7 vs Win 8.1

Gilco2

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#960006 1-Jan-2014 17:27

it was still on the one I built for friends using windows 8 Pro then upgrading to Windows 8.1. I know I was able to set it up so you didnt have to type password to login. I cant to my tablet to check right now. But have you right clicked on the taskbar and checked in there as there are many options there as well with Windows 8.1

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