Who uses Windows 8 as primary OS?

[PGHammer]

I'm running as primary OS at home. The only thing not working properly is Virtual Center for ESXi 5. VC is not able to display the console view of my VMs, so I was going to try VirtualPC and XP mode, but I noticed that was missing in Win 8. I will proably spin up a XP VM on VMWare Workstation 8 and install VC on it so I can at least see my VM consoles until VMWare releases a patch.

If you have a Core i-series or AMD equivalent, see if you can use Hyper-V (included with all versions of the CP). Hyper-V is the successor to VirtualPC, but does have stiffer hardware requirements on the desktop side (for Intel CPUs, Core i-series and support for SLAT/EPT and 4 GB of RAM are requirements - basically, LGA1155/1156/2011). VirtualBox and VMware Workstation 8 work just fine (I have both installed, as I haven't gotten the i5-K and attendant motherboard yet) though.

Thanks to silly-cheap RAM pricing and the utter stability of the Consumer Preview, I have already demoted Windows 7 to VM duty and am strongly considering adding another 8 GB of RAM when I buy the i5-K and motherboard (16GB total - have 8GB ready to install).

What's truly frightening is that 16GB of RAM costs less than the same amount of *hard drive* did in the days of NT4 Workstation.

[briangw]

If you have a Core i-series or AMD equivalent, see if you can use Hyper-V (included with all versions of the CP). Hyper-V is the successor to VirtualPC, but does have stiffer hardware requirements on the desktop side (for Intel CPUs, Core i-series and support for SLAT/EPT and 4 GB of RAM are requirements - basically, LGA1155/1156/2011). VirtualBox and VMware Workstation 8 work just fine (I have both installed, as I haven't gotten the i5-K and attendant motherboard yet) though.

Thanks to silly-cheap RAM pricing and the utter stability of the Consumer Preview, I have already demoted Windows 7 to VM duty and am strongly considering adding another 8 GB of RAM when I buy the i5-K and motherboard (16GB total - have 8GB ready to install).

What's truly frightening is that 16GB of RAM costs less than the same amount of *hard drive* did in the days of NT4 Workstation.

Yeah, I've used Hyper-V before but prefer VMWare's utilities. I'm just upset that a XP/7 Mode wasn't released for compatibility reasons.

[ESC@PE]

I am running this Windows 8 CP now on my main laptop (Dell Vostro 1400) but I am running into 1 issue that I cannot find a solution for.

The sound will not play out of the on board laptop speakers. But when I plug headphones into the jack the sound plays just fine.

Has anyone run into this issue and if so, is there a solution?

[Andrea Borman]

Most people do not want the Metro theme. And I don't want the Metro theme. It is true that a netbook is not as powerful as a full sized laptop. But it depends. My netbooks which have Windows 7 and 2 other have Windows XP on them. And I run them like a normal computer and I have a lot of software on my Windows 7 netbooks. Including Miro video player that downloads video files and I used to use Real Player. I also make videos on my netbook with Windows Movie Makers 6,2.6 or 2.1. And I have all three versions of Movie Maker running on Windows 7.

Also both Windows XP and Windows 7 is made to work on netbooks. And despite the fact that shopkeepers who are too mean to give you anything more than Windows 7 Starter on a netbook. I have run Windows 7 Ultimate on my netbooks in the past. I have got different upgrade keys. But I recently bought two Windows 7 Home premium full installation CDs. Because Windows 7 Home Premium is cheaper than the other two versions.

And I could even run Windows Vista on those netbooks. But from what I have read and have been told here. The reason why the Metro apps don't work on Windows 8 is because of the problem with the screen resolution. Which only goes up to 1024x600 pixels but it is the same with every netbook.

But I don't want to use the Metro apps anyway.As I use my own software,web browsers,media players and chat messengers that I downloaded from the Internet.

But most people are unhappy about Microsoft taking away the means to disable Metro and have a Windows 7 start menu. There is no way to do this in Windows 8 CP. And also there are other problems with that operating system.

I even tried to install UX Style Core which patches Windows themes. And people have used it to get the Aero theme on Windows XP and get themes like Mac OS on Windows. I thought that UX Style Core would give me a start orb and a Windows XP or Windows 7 start menu. But no,UX Style Core would not install on Windows 8 CP,no.

Classic Shell does not work either on Windows 8 CP.

Windows 8 CP is nothing like the DP . Windows 8 CP crashes a lot and the ribbon in Windows Explorer froze my mouse. So I cannot pin shortcuts to the desktop.

Verdict-one uninstall coming up.

Well I have already uninstalled Windows 8 CP and gone back to Windows 7. Andrea Borman.

[notuptome2004]

Most people do not want the Metro theme. And I don't want the Metro theme. It is true that a netbook is not as powerful as a full sized laptop. But it depends. My netbooks which have Windows 7 and 2 other have Windows XP on them. And I run them like a normal computer and I have a lot of software on my Windows 7 netbooks. Including Miro video player that downloads video files and I used to use Real Player. I also make videos on my netbook with Windows Movie Makers 6,2.6 or 2.1. And I have all three versions of Movie Maker running on Windows 7.

Also both Windows XP and Windows 7 is made to work on netbooks. And despite the fact that shopkeepers who are too mean to give you anything more than Windows 7 Starter on a netbook. I have run Windows 7 Ultimate on my netbooks in the past. I have got different upgrade keys. But I recently bought two Windows 7 Home premium full installation CDs. Because Windows 7 Home Premium is cheaper than the other two versions.

And I could even run Windows Vista on those netbooks. But from what I have read and have been told here. The reason why the Metro apps don't work on Windows 8 is because of the problem with the screen resolution. Which only goes up to 1024x600 pixels but it is the same with every netbook.

But I don't want to use the Metro apps anyway.As I use my own software,web browsers,media players and chat messengers that I downloaded from the Internet.

But most people are unhappy about Microsoft taking away the means to disable Metro and have a Windows 7 start menu. There is no way to do this in Windows 8 CP. And also there are other problems with that operating system.

I even tried to install UX Style Core which patches Windows themes. And people have used it to get the Aero theme on Windows XP and get themes like Mac OS on Windows. I thought that UX Style Core would give me a start orb and a Windows XP or Windows 7 start menu. But no,UX Style Core would not install on Windows 8 CP,no.

Classic Shell does not work either on Windows 8 CP.

Windows 8 CP is nothing like the DP . Windows 8 CP crashes a lot and the ribbon in Windows Explorer froze my mouse. So I cannot pin shortcuts to the desktop.

Verdict-one uninstall coming up.

Well I have already uninstalled Windows 8 CP and gone back to Windows 7. Andrea Borman.

Your just a problematic Troll who wins to much about everyone trying to tell you how things work in windows 8 and or what is and is not and yet you keep bickering about this and that.

Metro is Not a Damn Theme it is windows explorer And Windows XP can never have Windows Aero it can only have a emulated half Baked look End of story.

Windows 8 for me on multiple system ranging from slow as Pentium 4 system to newer system have all had windows 8 CP installed on them with 100% success and running 15 to 30% faster then Windows 7 on those machines and more then that if they had windows XP so Point and finale point i hope is Windows 8 CP works for the rest of us but wont work for you because you complain to much

Windows 8 Day 1 purchase for me

[HawkMan]

. Which only goes up to 1024x600 pixels but it is the same with every netbook.

YEah, that's just not true. Mine cettainly was a lot higher than that. get a good quality brand. My HP was 13xx something.

[Wakers]

I actually get better performance in Batman AC under Windows 8 than I do in Win 7 already - and the drivers are only ATI engineering previews.

Under DX11 rendering I get 2-3 fps better (not much, but its still impressive considering the nature of the CP and the drivers available).

Oh and Andrea - you're having a hard time with netbooks because they are poor machines. At least buy a decent laptop and then try it out - netbooks are not suitable for anything these days. Also, Metro isn't a theme. Also, why do you have three different versions of the same program installed on the same OS?

I still don't really know why you bothered upgrading to Windows 7 when you want to have the "classic (obsolete)" start menu back from XP, either.

Perhaps you should learn how to properly use Windows 7 before trying out Windows 8?

[Andrea Borman]

I actually get better performance in Batman AC under Windows 8 than I do in Win 7 already - and the drivers are only ATI engineering previews.

Under DX11 rendering I get 2-3 fps better (not much, but its still impressive considering the nature of the CP and the drivers available).

Oh and Andrea - you're having a hard time with netbooks because they are poor machines. At least buy a decent laptop and then try it out - netbooks are not suitable for anything these days. Also, Metro isn't a theme. Also, why do you have three different versions of the same program installed on the same OS?

I still don't really know why you bothered upgrading to Windows 7 when you want to have the "classic (obsolete)" start menu back from XP, either.

Perhaps you should learn how to properly use Windows 7 before trying out Windows 8?

I am using Windows 7 properly. The option to set your theme to Windows Classic 98 desktop is in Windows XP,Windows Vista and Windows 7. And I have Windows XP and Windows 7 on different netbooks.I don't have them as duel boot.

My netbooks are good laptops. If I buy a full sized laptop now,they only come with 64 bit Windows 7. And I want Windows 7 32 bit as 32 bit is faster than 64 bit. And also most software runs with 32 bit Windows.

But of course the shops don't care about that and you can only buy 32 bit Windows 7 on netbooks. I suppose I could buy the full sized Windows 7 64 bit laptop and install Windows 7 32 bit instead on it. But maybe it only has 64 bit drivers not 32 bit drivers. Another reason why I buy netbooks. Andrea Borman.

[Wakers]

x64 is faster. End of story, it makes better use of precessor architects and allows a computer to utilise more RAM.

Anything that works on Win7 32 will run on Win7 x64.

Changing Windows 7 to "classic mode" is not using it properly, imo. You're ignoring all the new features which are actually, believe it or not, an improvement on the ones they replaced. This is particularly true of the start menu and Aero interface.

[HawkMan]

My netbooks are good laptops. If I buy a full sized laptop now,they only come with 64 bit Windows 7. And I want Windows 7 32 bit as 32 bit is faster than 64 bit. And also most software runs with 32 bit Windows.

But of course the shops don't care about that and you can only buy 32 bit Windows 7 on netbooks. I suppose I could buy the full sized Windows 7 64 bit laptop and install Windows 7 32 bit instead on it. But maybe it only has 64 bit drivers not 32 bit drivers. Another reason why I buy netbooks. Andrea Borman.

64 bit windows is actually faster, even on 32 bit programs it's often faster, depending on the app. But because of how the memory in WoW is mapped it can run 32 bit apps faster. and 64 bit native is faster, at least on memory hungry apps.

as for netbooks, few netbooks are even 64 bit capable, only some of the latest atom cpu's are.

but then again, atom netbooks are worthless. especially now that intel won't let Nvidia ION work. the AMD APU's are somewhat decent.but a proper laptop CPU is still far better and properly 64 bit. and a good i3 laptop costs no more than a "decent(still crap) netbook anyway.

and btw. it's microsoft that doesn't license 64 bit and anything higher than starter edition for sub 11inch netbooks.

[subcld]

after two days or more from the install date now

i have it dual boot on my main desktop machine and main os on my secondrey machine im spending more time on win8 cp than windows 7 lol wish there was more apps and games

i'll keep it this way untill the official release then format my desk and setup windows 8 final version

[Muhammad Farrukh]

Same here.

Only difference being, I have NOT touched 7 after I installed Consumer Preview.

Honestly, I don't see a reason to. (Y)

[migo]

Finally tricked BootCamp to install on my system now. Don't think I'll have any reason to go back to 7 either.

[BoneyardBrew Member]

I replaced Windows 7 entirely with 8. I live on the edge and wipe an old operating system out entirely if I really want to give something new a good, thorough test run.

So far so good. I'm a fan of the new Start Screen. I still don't interact with it more than I interact with the regular desktop, but I like having fullscreen weather apps and what not just a couple clicks or keystrokes away. As for the desktop, which I use the majority of time, everything is most certainly faster. Explorer seems snappier, animations are quicker and more fluid, and all of the new features are great.

I'm one happy camper! So far not a single groundbreaking issue.

[Dot Matrix]

My netbooks are good laptops. If I buy a full sized laptop now,they only come with 64 bit Windows 7. And I want Windows 7 32 bit as 32 bit is faster than 64 bit. And also most software runs with 32 bit Windows.

Andrea, no offense, but you really need to read up on modern computing. x64 is faster and more stable than x86 and is able to run countless x86 programs.

[+unabatedshagie Subscriber¹]

I've installed the consumer preview. Can't stand it.

I'm sure it will be all right on a tablet but on a desktop for me it's useless.

[HawkMan]

Andrea, no offense, but you really need to read up on modern computing. x64 is faster and more stable than x86 and is able to run countless x86 programs.

Never mind that even IF 32 bit was faster, an i3 15 inch laptop that doesn't cost any more than a silly netbook would be so much faster that it would smoke the netbook anyway.

It's like the logic is, the OS is 5% slower, so I'll buy a "laptop" that's 60% slower because it comes with a 5% faster version of the OS.

which is broken logic anyway since 64 bit is faster.

[ESC@PE]

LOL this pic basically sums up how I felt while reading some of these previous posts... Now I want to watch Rush Hour!

[Woelfel]

I'm still confused as to why so many of you are still feeding the troll.

[tsupersonic]

Most people do not want the Metro theme. And I don't want the Metro theme. It is true that a netbook is not as powerful as a full sized laptop. But it depends. My netbooks which have Windows 7 and 2 other have Windows XP on them. And I run them like a normal computer and I have a lot of software on my Windows 7 netbooks. Including Miro video player that downloads video files and I used to use Real Player. I also make videos on my netbook with Windows Movie Makers 6,2.6 or 2.1. And I have all three versions of Movie Maker running on Windows 7.

Also both Windows XP and Windows 7 is made to work on netbooks. And despite the fact that shopkeepers who are too mean to give you anything more than Windows 7 Starter on a netbook. I have run Windows 7 Ultimate on my netbooks in the past. I have got different upgrade keys. But I recently bought two Windows 7 Home premium full installation CDs. Because Windows 7 Home Premium is cheaper than the other two versions.

And I could even run Windows Vista on those netbooks. But from what I have read and have been told here. The reason why the Metro apps don't work on Windows 8 is because of the problem with the screen resolution. Which only goes up to 1024x600 pixels but it is the same with every netbook.

Windows 8 CP is nothing like the DP . Windows 8 CP crashes a lot and the ribbon in Windows Explorer froze my mouse. So I cannot pin shortcuts to the desktop.

What a bunch of BS. My netbook (see specs in sig.) runs Windows 8 x64 CP just as well (if not better) than Windows 7. x64 Home Premium. My netbook's resolution is 1366x768, which works great with Win 8. It is absolutely not slower AT ALL. I have had zero crashes on Windows 8.

What specs do you have in your netbook? Is it a crap netbook with an N270, 1/2GB of RAM with Intel graphics?

You are also probably a person who complained when Microsoft switched to the Ribbon interface in Office 2007/2010. Software evolves and changes, get used to it.

[Anthonyd]

Stop feeding it!!! The troll doesn't read what you are trying to tell it. Don't even bother, you are wasting your time (and the time of people reading you, except the troll because it doesn't read it).

[Muhammad Farrukh]

Windows 8 CP is nothing like the DP . Windows 8 CP crashes a lot and the ribbon in Windows Explorer froze my mouse. So I cannot pin shortcuts to the desktop.

I am running it almost 24/7 since day 1 and haven't encountered a single, read again, a single crash or freeze

[notuptome2004]

Shhhhhh... be Vary Wery Quiet i am Hunting a Troll they are pesky and they give you False Advice and never take the right Advice when given

[Andrea Borman]

64 bit windows is actually faster, even on 32 bit programs it's often faster, depending on the app. But because of how the memory in WoW is mapped it can run 32 bit apps faster. and 64 bit native is faster, at least on memory hungry apps.

as for netbooks, few netbooks are even 64 bit capable, only some of the latest atom cpu's are.

but then again, atom netbooks are worthless. especially now that intel won't let Nvidia ION work. the AMD APU's are somewhat decent.but a proper laptop CPU is still far better and properly 64 bit. and a good i3 laptop costs no more than a "decent(still crap) netbook anyway.

and btw. it's microsoft that doesn't license 64 bit and anything higher than starter edition for sub 11inch netbooks.

Well I have installed the Windows Vista Sidebar from Windows Vista and Windows Mail. And I have also installed Windows Movie Maker 2.1 from Windows XP on Windows 7. All of that software came from my Windows XP 32 bit and Windows Vista 32 bit. So if I bought 64 bit Windows all of that software might not work.

And as you know you can only get that software Movie Maker 2.1,Vista Sidebar and Windows Mail if you transfer the program files from your Windows XP or Windows Vista computer. Although I have put the files on Mediafire. So I can download them from the Internet if I am not near my computers.

So that's one of the reasons why I don't want 64 bit. And my Windows 7 Home Premium full installation CD comes with both the 64 bit CD and the 32 bit CD and Service Pack 1 thrown into both versions.

But could I install 32 bit Windows 7 on a laptop that came with 64 bit when you buy it? That's what I would want to do. Andrea Borman.

[ESC@PE]

The simple answer; yes you can install 32 bit Windows 7 on a laptop that came with 64 bit. You install just about anything you like really (bearing somethings that may present compatability issues.)