devnulllore Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 Hello, I posted this originally to the Windows 8 support thread and I think it's not so much for support but advice,. Apologies for re-posting it, I want to get it to the right place. Well I have Windows 8 x64 and qualify for the free upgrade to 8.1 but I can't seem to get a good idea of why to upgrade. Of course I want to keep up to date and all my hardware vendors have 8.1 drivers but is this a recommended update from, YOU, the ones I trust the life of my PC with far more than Microsoft? Thanks, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manroweb Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 Here are some of the main things which drew me to the update It Takes Up Less Space Improved Search Better Multi-Tasking Improved Multi-Monitor Support Boot to Desktop 50/50 split screen apps Automatic App Updates 50/50 split screen apps Some other thing which may be of interest. All Live Tiles, Great and Small Start Screen Can Share Desktop Background Dynamic Lock Screen Deeper SkyDrive Integration The Only Way to Get the Facebook App Boot to Desktop The Evil Overlord 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooky560 Veteran Posted October 19, 2013 Veteran Share Posted October 19, 2013 However I've so far found it considerably slower than 8.0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian S. Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 However I've so far found it considerably slower than 8.0 Opening apps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooky560 Veteran Posted October 19, 2013 Veteran Share Posted October 19, 2013 Not only opening apps, booting, and just general performance, for example I now see a split second of "welcome" if I lock and then unlock my pc. I did a clean install and it feels like an upgrade install, like everything is just 1/2 a second slower. Not to mention the mouse acceleration is now HORRIBLE I had to disable it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Evil Overlord Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 Here are some of the main things which drew me to the update It Takes Up Less Space Improved Search Better Multi-Tasking Improved Multi-Monitor Support Boot to Desktop 50/50 split screen apps Automatic App Updates 50/50 split screen apps Some other thing which may be of interest. All Live Tiles, Great and Small Start Screen Can Share Desktop Background Dynamic Lock Screen Deeper SkyDrive Integration The Only Way to Get the Facebook App Boot to Desktop You mention boot to desktop. I find this interesting, so can one run 8.1 like one would run 7? If I so chose? (This is starting to appeal more and more to me.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAZMINATOR Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 Hello, I posted this originally to the Windows 8 support thread and I think it's not so much for support but advice,. Apologies for re-posting it, I want to get it to the right place. You can always ask one of the mods to move it to the right place for you... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnoopZ Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 Just upgrade to 8.1 it solved my niggles like boot to desktop and have the start screen default to the apps view which is great. Loving it so far, works perfectly. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnoopZ Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 You mention boot to desktop. I find this interesting, so can one run 8.1 like one would run 7? If I so chose? (This is starting to appeal more and more to me.) You sure can. The Evil Overlord 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooky560 Veteran Posted October 19, 2013 Veteran Share Posted October 19, 2013 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anibal P Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 It's overall faster, lots of the whiny crap people constantly harped about has been "corrected" more option like boot to desktop, adjustable app icon sizes, etc, I see no reason to not update really, you don't lose anything and gain polish, isn't that what all the haters really wanted? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Evil Overlord Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 You sure can. My thanks :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnoopZ Posted October 20, 2013 Share Posted October 20, 2013 My thanks :) Hope you like it. What made windows 8.1 perfect for me was the boot to desktop option and the ability to set the start page to 'apps view' all the time so it is just kinda like a big start menu and if i set the start screen background to the same as my desktop it all feels more integrated for me now and i would go as far as to say it is the best windows OS i have used and for ?25 it was a bargain. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devnulllore Posted October 24, 2013 Author Share Posted October 24, 2013 Well got my free upgrade and quite frankly I have been having nothing but trouble since. I have the Pro x64 edition and from the moment I tried just going online after Windows 8.1 arrived at the desktop I knew there was trouble. My network began flapping up and down randomly and there was no indication that Intel had updated drivers for my Ethernet chip until I manually went there. Good thing as it seems I lost all connectivity after downloading them and did not get it back until I installed the new ones. Anyway there were many of these incompatibility issues before I finally got everything to play nicely together. I finally ended up doing a clean install of Windows 8, installing all the updates, upgrading to 8.1 immediately then doing a full true image and have that backed up just in case. There are still problem though. World of Warcraft will no longer run with my Nvidia 3D settings I like to use. For some reason if I load the game, when it actually loads and I make any changes in the in game graphics settings it goes black as if it is applying the settings but drops to the desktop. It keeps running in the background but will not return. Other things like Game Booster not returning to normal mode after exiting a game unless I do it manually etc... I have also lost all reasonable functionality of my Microsoft Lifecam HD-3000. Version 3.6 of the drivers don't work anymore and the new 4.2 only install the driver, no software or even a lifecam.exe in the Microsoft lifecam folder so it's useless unless I get 3rd party web cam software. I guess I will get through these as other things seem to run ok and with hardware manufacturers going all 8.1 on the drivers etc.. It's probably a good idea to just stay with 8.1 and wait for updates. I guess... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devnulllore Posted October 26, 2013 Author Share Posted October 26, 2013 I've decided to do a clean Windows 8 install and , according to a Microsoft tech I called, DO NOT do a windows update OR update my drivers at that point. Upgrade to Windows 8.1 then deal with updates and drivers. We shall see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devnulllore Posted October 27, 2013 Author Share Posted October 27, 2013 Ok, change of plans. After many of the latest drivers from the manufacturers claiming t o be 8.1 compatible and actually not. I got a GREAT keyboard for my birthday yesterday. I got the SteelSeries Apex Gaming keyboard. SteelSeries (at this moment) says Microsoft was supposed to push a hotfix for the SteelSeries Engine for this keyboard but they will not be until some time in December. This just gave me the last reason I needed to just revert back to windows 8. Everything is running smooth and fast now so I am going to wait a while until others who are paying with 8.1 tell me everything is fixed. Also 8.1 broke my Office 2013 Pro Premium. I was on the phone with Microsoft for 2 hours and we could not get it to activate, even though it was activated fine on 8.0. I plan to upgrade to Office 365 through my school anyway so I am just going to keep things as is for now. Anyway Where is the best place to get day to day reports on the progression of 8.1 so I can decide when to upgrade again? Thanks, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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