Who uses Windows 8 as primary OS?

[Tuishimi]

I've been using it as my primary since the CP release. It has some rough spots, drivers, won't sync with my WP7 phone... but for the most part I am enjoying it, even getting used to the metro start panel.

[PGHammer]

Did you guys noticed that using the "search" option from the charmbar on the desktop bring all apps from the start screen.Bascially all "bring back my old start menu or i'll switch to linux" guys are hating MS for nothing :D

Of course I've noticed it. I have, in fact, been pointing that out.

It's a mouse version of hitting the Windows logo key from the keyboard.

I use it from the keyboard because it's easier *for me* (because I work from the keyboard, and I'm on a desktop).

I've been throwing traditional applications and games at it left, right, and center - not so much as a single complaint. (Couldn't say that about even Windows 7 x64+SP1 - which the Consumer Preview replaced.)

I'll be throwing some beta software at it this weekend - if it performs as well with it as everything else gamewise has, I'll have far more reason to stick with Windows 8.

[MDboyz]

I clean installed windows 8 on my main computer. Then installed everything back the same way I have in Win7. I have working and doing stuffs on it the same way before. Maybe it's just me, but I have no issue with the new UI.

[George P Global Moderator]

If you're one of the people who never used the start menu much since win7 and went with pinning to the taskbar etc, then making the switch to win8 and the start screen is less of a issue for you.

The fact is that since the new superbar came with 7 the need for the menu is almost gone for me.

[migo]

And that's what MS' usage metrics showed. People aren't using the start menu anymore.

[UncleSpellbinder]

Clean install of Windows 8. I've been using it a primary for the past couple weeks. In general, quite stable.

The only issues I seem to have is no start-up or shut down sounds and no driver availability for the SM Bus Controller.

[Billus]

I have Windows 8 as my main and only OS. Windows 8 has grown greatly on me. Metro is very very handy, particularly in multi-monitor situations where you can run and look at entertainment apps such as music, news feeds, emails etc without making the desktop look and feel too cluttered. Multitasking is also a breeze in both desktop and Metro interfaces. On a single monitor situation however, I'd find that the interfaces can be suffocating especially with a start menu taking up a full screen. Metro seems to be perfect for 2+ monitor setups though.

I've also found that productivity is quite higher on Windows 8 compared to other traditional desktops and rivals the same amount of multitasking ability as OS X. One thing I've learned is that the user should not use Windows 8 the same way they used 7 and earlier. If the user does that, they will be quite disappointed. It's a brand new experience and I'm sure it will encourage businesses to use dual monitor setups to increase productivity.

On a laptop though, I'd personally stick with OS X. Windows 8 will keep me using Windows on the desktop.

[Eric Veteran]

Clean install of Windows 8. I've been using it a primary for the past couple weeks. In general, quite stable.

The only issues I seem to have is no start-up or shut down sounds and no driver availability for the SM Bus Controller.

Is it an Intel-based board? the INF utility should install that.

[UncleSpellbinder]

Is it an Intel-based board? the INF utility should install that.

It's an HP Pavilion h8-1110 Core i5 2400 (3.10GHz), 8GB DDR3, NVIDIA GeForce GT 520. No clue why this driver has not been installed, Can't find it anywhere either.

[Eric Veteran]

It's an HP Pavilion h8-1110 Core i5 2400 (3.10GHz), 8GB DDR3, NVIDIA GeForce GT 520. No clue why this driver has not been installed, Can't find it anywhere either.

Here is Intel's installer it should work with any version of Windows (x86 or x64): http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?ProductID=816&DwnldID=20775〈=eng&iid=dc_rss

HP's SP installer if that doesn't work: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareDownloadIndex?softwareitem=cp-94012-1&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&os=4063&product=5097968

[UncleSpellbinder]

Here is Intel's installer it should work with any version of Windows (x86 or x64): http://downloadcente...=eng&iid=dc_rss

HP's SP installer if that doesn't work: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareDownloadIndex?softwareitem=cp-94012-1&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&os=4063&product=5097968

I used the Intel link. Installed, restarted and no more exclamation mark in Device Manager. However, I see no listing for SM Bus Controller. I guess all is well?

In any event, Thanks a lot for the help, GreyWolf!!

[Eric Veteran]

Should be good to go, then. Glad it helped! :)

Sometimes some of the other .inf files make a difference, too. On XP the configurations for the IDE controllers enabled UDMA.

Edit: I think the SMB device shows up under System devices after installation. Mine just ends up as "Intel N10/ICH7 Family SMBus Controller"

[UncleSpellbinder]

Nothing about SMBus Controller under System devices. Several entries regarding "Bus" but I guess all is well if there are no exclamation marks.

Again, a big thank you!!

[theyarecomingforyou]

I've been using it as my primary operating system since the release of the Consumer Preview. People may complain but personally I find it a definite improvement over Windows 7 and will probably stick with the CP / RC until release and pre-order it, just as I did with Vista and Win7. It's great being able to view all my apps at once without having to scroll or click to expand folders, which you had to do all the time since Vista. Everything is easier to click on, the icons are much clearer, the background colour is customisable and it finally takes advantage of higher resolutions.

I also love being able to snap an app to the side of the screen - in this instance, News Republic - while using my desktop as normal. Meanwhile, the ability to hide file names for images is on the ribbon and is great for photos taken on a camera where the filenames are irrelevant.

PS - I've scaled down the images, as posting 2560x1600 just isn't practical on a forum.

[Dot Matrix]

It's great being able to view all my apps at once without having to scroll or click to expand folders, which you had to do all the time since Vista. Everything is easier to click on, the icons are much clearer, the background colour is customisable and it finally takes advantage of higher resolutions.

No, no.... You're supposed to hate the new screen. ;)

In all seriousness, your screenshots prove exactly why a re-design was needed. I couldn't imagine having to use the Start Menu on such a high-resolution screen.

[theyarecomingforyou]

In all seriousness, your screenshots prove exactly why a re-design was needed. I couldn't imagine having to use the Start Menu on such a high-resolution screen.

This is the problem. Everybody keeps talking about how Windows 8 is designed for tablets and how it's not suitable as a desktop operating system when the reality is that these changes were designed for everybody, from tablet users to those with 30" 2560x1600 displays like myself. The Start Menu in Vista and WIn7 just isn't very good and I'm glad that Microsoft is finally addressing that, taking advantage of touch interfaces, high DPI displays and higher resolutions. There are definitely some inconsistencies and unnecessary extra steps that I hope are addressed before release but to be perfectly honest it's really not that different to Win7. The Start Menu is now fullscreen and it supports apps that are resolution independent but you still spend the vast majority of your time on the desktop. You still pin your most common apps to the taskbar and only use the Start screen for locating less frequently used programs - you still type the program name into search if you know what you're looking for. There's no Start Button but you still click the same place as before.

There were quite a lot of change between the Developer Preview and the Consumer Preview and I really hope that Microsoft responds to the criticism before launch. Obviously Microsoft isn't going to back down when it comes to Metro - just like it didn't with the ribbon for Office - but we may see options added, for instance the ability to launch straight to the desktop, easier access to the shut-down options and a different way to close Metro apps (perhaps when you move the mouse to the top-right corner an option to close could appear). I just hope that people try it for themselves and don't buy into the negativity, much of it simply isn't warranted. The number of people that refuse to even give it more than an hour or two is ridiculous. It's the biggest change to Windows in nearly 20yrs - of course it's going to put you out of your comfort zone.

[Gaffney]

I'm waiting for RC to test Windows 8. I love metro and I like a lot of the features shown, it really looks good on a big screen but I've got a 19" which is bigger than a tablet but not exactly large. theyarecomingforyou has the desktop and an app next to it which seems really cool. But it might not really fit as well on a productive pc with a 19" screen, it might just feel a little squashed.

However you can't judge until you have tried it, if it is a really good feature that helps multi-tasking then I might just get a bigger screen eg 24"

[Andrea Borman]

Well I want to apologise for my harsh judgement of Windows 8 Consumer Preview. When I tried it the first time I had about 3 different folders of Windows Old on my netbook. And one of my friends told me that each time you reinstall Windows.All of your programs and everything go into a folder called Windows Old. Which fills up your hard drive and in my case I had about 40 GB of space taken up by the Windows Old files.from my previous installs of Windows.

And so I thought that maybe that could be the problem why Windows 8 CP did not run well on my netbook. So yesterday I thought I would try Windows 8 CP one more time. But this time format the C drive during the install which would remove all Windows old folders from previous installs. I copied my drivers folders that had installers for drivers such as network and chipset drivers in case I needed to install the drivers on Windows 8. As last time,when I downgraded to Windows 7 I had to reinstall most of the drivers from the Set up files that are provided by the makers of my netbook,HP.

So installed Windows 8 CP again for the second time time. But this time I formatted the C drive only. The drivers folders were stored on the E drive a separate partition. And this time I have found it is working better just like DP did. But this time I have installed Start Menu 7 which is now called Start Menu XP . Start Menu 7 gives both the start orb and different style Windows start menus. And I also tried Vista Start menu which is made by the same people who make Start Menu 7.

Both of these work on Windows 8 CP and I like Vista Start Menu as much as I do start menu 7 and Vista Start menu also gives you the Classic Start menu. So now I have both start menu programs on my computer. Vista Start menu gives you the Classic And Windows Vista start menu on Windows 8. But it does not give you the start orb. But I also have start menu 7 for that. And I can switch from Start Menu 7 to Vista Start Menu by clicking the shortcut on my desktop.

I I tried VI start first but I found the customisation options limited. Vista Start menu and Start Menu 7 is not exactly like the Windows 7 or Windows XP start menu,it is actually nicer. And it shows more programs than what the start menu on Windows XP or Windows 7 does.So I have got a better start menu than what I have on Windows XP and Windows 7.

Yes,you still have the Metro theme because you cannot turn it off. But my main problem was not having a full start menu like on Windows XP and Windows 7 that I am used to. But I have solved the problem by installing both Start menu 7 and Vista Start menu on my new install of Windows 8 CP.

So it is not true that the Windows 7 start menu is gone from Windows 8 CP. It is not inclded in Windows 8 CP just like the Classic start menu is not in Windows 7. But if you install software like Start Menu 7 you can get back both the start orb and the start menu. And there are options to customise the start orb. You can change it to the Windows 7 start orb,the Windows 8 start orb and there are some other style start orbs you can choose from as well in the program.

And since I have reinstalled Windows 8 CP,this time with Start menu 7 and Vista Start Menu. I now have Windows 8 CP running almost like Windows 7. And so that way you don't see much of the Metro theme,even though it's still there.And you cannot turn it off. And you don't have to deal with it very much either.

And this time Windows 8 CP is working a lot better so they must haver fixed some problems already. Andrea Borman.

[Andrea Borman]

Well here are the images from my laptop the first one is of Start Menu 7 now called Start Menu X running on my Windows 8 CP. And I also have installed Vista Start menu made by the same people who make Start Menu X. They both have different start menu themes but I like them both. So I installed both programs.

The third picture is of Vi start which I tried first before I tried Start Menu X and Vista Start Menu. But Vi Start does not have many customisation options. So I uninstalled that and I have got Vista Start Menu and start Menu X which are better. Also as you can see the start menu is actually better than the start menu on Windows 7.

So yes,you can have a Windows 7 start menu on windows 8 CP. And people like me won't worry so much about the Metro theme. As for me and most people the main thing is the start menu. But it seems I have solved the problem.

You can get start Menu 7 from here- http://www.startmenu7.com/

And also Vista Start Menu here-http://www.vistastartmenu.com/

Both software's are made by the same people and there is also an option to upgrade to the paid version. But the free version has quite a lot of features. And has all of the features you need. And they both work on Windows 8 CP.

We don't know if the Windows 7 start menu will be included in the final release of Windows 8. But there are some software's that will bring the start menu back. And by the time the final version is released there is likely to be more software available. Andrea Borman.

[notuptome2004]

The Start screen is the Start menu repeat that in your head andrea repeat it is the truth it does everything the old start menu did + more

[Andrea Borman]

The Start screen is the Start menu repeat that in your head andrea repeat it is the truth it does everything the old start menu did + more

But you can see in the pictures from my computer how nice those start menus look on Windows 8 CP. I don't have the Vi Start now, but I have kept the Start Menu 7and the Vista Start menu. And I switch between menus. And because of the start menus,I don't see very much of the Metro theme. Just a brief glimpse of the start screen,I click the desktop app and I am taken straight to the desktop. Where the start orb is and I got to the Windows 7 start menu,when I want to find something.

Also as I am running Windows 8 CP on a netbook the Metro apps don't work. But even when I do click on Internet Explorer or my other software I have installed from the start screen.I am taken to my desktop anyway.

But I only wish I had known about Start Menu 7 and Vista Start Menu the first time I tried Windows 8 CP. Then I would have adjusted to Windows 8 CP more easy. But then the first time I had almost half of my hard drive full with my Windows old folders. But because this time I formatted the C drive during the install of Windows 8. I now have a lot more hard disk space.

And because Windows 8 CP has been out for 2 months now,Microsoft have updated it and fix any problems it may have had. So my Windows 8 CP is working quite well.

I think that those software's will help Windows user like me settler into Windows 8 and learn how to use it. People like me like to use something that looks familiar to them. And now I am running Windows 8 CP the way I want it. And work in the way that I am used to on Windows 8 CP. Andrea Borman.

[HawkMan]

umm, no, those start menus look HORRIBLE.

[Andrea Borman]

umm, no, those start menus look HORRIBLE.

Well the 2 start menus on Start Menu 7 and Vista Start menu are not exactly like the Windows 7,Windows XP or even the Classic start menu. As these 2 programs use their own customised versions of the Windows start menu.

The only start menu that comes close to looking exactly like Windows 7 is Vi Start. But then, Vi Start has limited customisation options, and does not show all of the programs like Start Menu 7 and Vista Start Menu does.

But thanks to the start orb and start menu I can find all of my programs and settings on my computer without having to go to the Metro start menu. And I can now shut down my computer easily. Instead of having to look for the shut down button in the Metro start menu. Andrea Borman.

[HawkMan]

I see you still haven't been able to find the power button on your netbooks after al tis time and us telling you where it is.

[notuptome2004]

Andrea shutting down in window s8 is easy it is WinKey+i WinKey+i WinKey+i WinKey+i WinKey+i WinKey+i WinKey+i WinKey+i WinKey+i WinKey+i WinKey+i WinKey+i WinKey+i WinKey+i

Windows Key on keyboard + the Letter i

WinKey+i WinKey+i WinKey+i

oh to the mistake in the image easy as Cake figured it fit Andrea just fine