Recommended Posts

My whirlwind relationship with Windows 8 ended yesterday. I was watching a video on Youtube when all the sudden, my screen went black with the mouse cursor occassionally appearing in random places on the screen then a friendly Windows 8 "system needs to be rebooted because something seriously ****ed up" message appeared. Rebooted PC and couldn't watch any videos because they kept freezing, then the video driver crashed. Was using Firefox and newest flash at the time. Checked event logs and kernel power failure error was recorded. I just built this damn thing so I'm worried that I'm going to have to tear down the sonofbitch and do the RMA dance. It had been perfect up until this point. Ran memory diagnostics with no errors. Temps seem good too. Wiped and went back to 7 in hopes it was just a Windows 8 bug.

My mums Win 8 install went t*ts up yesterday too, lost all ability to do anything online although the connection was there, and the graphics have lost their driver too by the sounds of the description emails I`m getting

My video driver stopped/reset just a minute ago on my fresh Win 7 install. I was stress testing everything by running 5 instances of MAME, which pegged the CPU at 100% and watching a Youtube video at the same time while also monitoring temps. Even after a long period, the CPU temp was still 46C and the MB was 30C, so definitely not a temp issue. Video driver crashed when I clicked to bring the Youtube video to the foreground. It just crashed/restarted the video driver though, no reboot. This is the error in the event log:

Please check the latest updates. There is a new one available now that have to do with power management. KB2727113 (link)

I think I found an issue in the RP that I don't think this should be behaving in this way.

I got a couple user accounts setup with them MS ID. I have the skydrive desktop app installed. I moved my music collection to skydrive and placed it into a music folder with in my skydrive. Did the same thing for my wife.

I then put the skydrive music folder into my music library (and hers for her under her user account). The purpose of course was we have OUR music separated. Now here's where it get weird.

When I am looking at the MUSIC library under her account in the homegroup, I don't see her skydrive music folder. ONLY MINE! Which my skydrive music folder shouldn't show up under her name in the homegroup.

The same thing happens when I signin to her user account and click on my name in the homegroup. She doesn't see my music library, just her own. And let me point out, we both can see the regular MY MUSIC and PUBLIC MUSIC folders for each, just not the skydrive folders that I added.

I did use the "Share with homegroup" option in the context menu, all that did was add another folder in the homegroup called MUSIC and it was from the skydrive folder. Problem that causes is that its not in the music library. (I cant remote stream it from other devices).

What the thought? RP bug, or normal behavior?

Microsoft Press Announcement: Tekzilla shows off some of the updates and explain why you should upgrade to Release Preview from Consumer preview if you're running Windows 8! [HD]

Link: http://revision3.com/tekzilla/e3-2012-microsoft-press-announcement?tekcam1=1826

I've just installed the RP into VMWare's June TP and a couple of things I don't remember being there on my real install on my laptop (Will check later)

1) Icons on the desktop have a Check box in top left of the icon

2.) Right clicking the desktop anywhere results in the context menu opening to the left of the mouse pointer every time

I checked my real install on my laptop and the above is not true for that, is this a vmware thing ?

I have a triple monitor setup and with surround view any 3D or flash wont render. Fullscreen 3D gives me a black screen. Things like the League of Legends Patcher or The Secret World launcher wont even show up on the screen. They make the sounds, the icon comes up and I can see them downloading in the Taskmanager. If I switch from 5760x1080 to 1920x1080 everything renders right and works right.

I'll try back again with RTM in August hoping that its fully baked.

I have a triple monitor setup and with surround view any 3D or flash wont render. Fullscreen 3D gives me a black screen. Things like the League of Legends Patcher or The Secret World launcher wont even show up on the screen. They make the sounds, the icon comes up and I can see them downloading in the Taskmanager. If I switch from 5760x1080 to 1920x1080 everything renders right and works right.

I'll try back again with RTM in August hoping that its fully baked.

most likely a problem with the beta video driver than Windows 8 itslef

All I have seen of Windows 8 are the screeshots on here as well as on the Microsoft site but I am really looking forward to getting it when I finally build my new rig in a few weeks. It won't be my sole OS though, definitely going to dual boot. Im putting all the negative comments out of my mind and will go at it with a very open view but I'm glad people on here are reviewing it in so much detail.

All I have seen of Windows 8 are the screeshots on here as well as on the Microsoft site but I am really looking forward to getting it when I finally build my new rig in a few weeks. It won't be my sole OS though, definitely going to dual boot. Im putting all the negative comments out of my mind and will go at it with a very open view but I'm glad people on here are reviewing it in so much detail.

Very sensible approach.

All I have seen of Windows 8 are the screeshots on here as well as on the Microsoft site but I am really looking forward to getting it when I finally build my new rig in a few weeks. It won't be my sole OS though, definitely going to dual boot. Im putting all the negative comments out of my mind and will go at it with a very open view but I'm glad people on here are reviewing it in so much detail.

That's a very good way of doing it actually. If you don't care for metro apps and stay on the desktop, you won't see much difference compared to Win 7. :)

Actually, the release preview desktop looks a lot better than Windows 7. The flatter UI is very welcome.

It is, isn't it?

Going back to Win 7 after using Win 8 for a while, it seems very "clunky", for want of a better word.

It's a relief to get away from all the chrome.

  • Like 2

Makes you wonder how it'll be when they've replaced more of the Vista/7 era icons as well. The early shots we've seen from around a month ago don't show us the whole picture.

Makes you wonder how it'll be when they've replaced more of the Vista/7 era icons as well. The early shots we've seen from around a month ago don't show us the whole picture.

That might be awhile. Win 9 perhaps?

That might be awhile. Win 9 perhaps?

I dunno, maybe. If we're talking just the icons it shouldn't really take that long for them to be replaced though I don't honestly know how many icons we're talking about here. I think Windows 9 will bring more overall desktop UI changes though, the start screen is just the... start of the UI shift.

That's a very good way of doing it actually. If you don't care for metro apps and stay on the desktop, you won't see much difference compared to Win 7. :)

I just don't get some people who have started using windows 8 with a "this is going to suck or this feature is going to suck" attitude based on other peoples views instead of forming there own opinion.

Although the difference is I haven't used windows for a specific use for a while like I used too so I'm going into windows 8 not as a power user or a software developer or anything.

Random rant lol

Well here is Windows Live Messenger 2009 and Windows Live Photo Gallery 2009,the Windows XP version running on my Windows 8. Andrea Borman.

index.php?app=core&module=attach&section=attach&attach_rel_module=post&attach_id=313739

index.php?app=core&module=attach&section=attach&attach_rel_module=post&attach_id=313739

For some reason I always feel queasy when I look at those screenshots.

For some reason I always feel queasy when I look at those screenshots.

Maybe because ancient-by-comparison software on a new operating system makes most folks cringe?

I've seen a lot of that in IT (both home computers and business computers) - and it *still* gives me major cases of *Yeeks!* every time I see it.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Posts

    • Microsoft Weekly: Surface Laptop Ultra, Windows 11 context menus, Build 2026 recap, and more by Taras Buria This week's news recap is here, with Microsoft announcing the new Surface Laptop Ultra, fresh chips from NVIDIA for Windows on ARM, a no-build week, fixes for Windows 11's context menus, gaming news, reviews, and more. Quick links: Windows 10 and 11 Windows Insider Program Updates are available Reviews are in Gaming news Great deals to check Windows 11 and Windows 10 Here, we talk about everything happening around Microsoft's latest operating system in the Stable channel and preview builds: new features, removed features, controversies, bugs, interesting findings, and more. And, of course, you may find a word or two about older versions. At Computex 2026, together with NVIDIA, Microsoft announced the Surface Laptop Ultra, its most powerful laptop to date, powered by NVIDIA's RTX Spark processor. Details about this computer are currently scarce, as Microsoft has only revealed certain parts of its specs. So far, we know that the computer has a 15-inch mini-LED display, a rich set of ports, a powerful processor, and all-day battery life. It also comes with a new wallpaper, which you can already download here in full resolution. The Surface Laptop Studio is not the only NVIDIA-powered Surface, which Microsoft unveiled this week. At Build 2026, the company also debuted the Surface RTX Spark Dev Box, an odd-shaped desktop with a 20-core NVIDIA Grace CPU and an NVIDIA Blackwell RTX GPU with 6,144 CUDA cores and fifth-generation Tensor Cores with FP4 precision, connected via the NVIDIA NVLink-C2C chip-to-chip interconnect for high performance. According to Microsoft, it can run models with up to 120 billion parameters locally without relying on cloud GPU infrastructure. These two new Surface devices are likely to cost quite a lot, and for those who need a more affordable device, Microsoft is preparing the next-gen Qualcomm-powered Surface Pro and Surface Laptop. This week, details about these two devices leaked in plenty of detail. Other announcements at Build 2026 include the following: Microsoft unveils new security tools for IT admins and developers building AI products Microsoft announces Scout, an OpenClaw-powered personal agent for enterprise customers Microsoft unveils MAI-Thinking-1 reasoning and MAI-Code-1 coding models Microsoft announced a new Windows 11 native command-line utility Microsoft unveils Majorana 2 quantum chip, accelerating commercial timeline to 2029 Microsoft believes that AI agents will eventually replace apps through Project Solara Microsoft introduces Web IQ, a Bing-powered search system built for AI agents Last week, Microsoft released a new Experimental build, which introduced a major Start menu upgrade. It now lets you toggle off specific parts of the menu without affecting other features, resize the menu, and hide additional UI elements. We published a closer look here, so if you want to know what Microsoft is cooking without enrolling in the Insider program and installing unstable builds, check it out. Speaking of new features, many users are very annoyed about the way Microsoft delivers them. Recently, a frustrated user shared their experience with gradual rollouts, and even Microsoft engineers admitted there is a flaw in the system that prevents new features from applying properly. One of those new features includes the ability to uninstall AI models in Windows 11 with a single click. Windows 11 is finally getting fixes for its slow context menus. Marcus Ash from Microsoft confirmed that the company is working on fixing Windows 11's context menus. Reworked context menus are going to be faster, simpler by default, and "configurable to what you use most." According to Marcus, Microsoft will share more details soon. Windows Insider Program Windows 11 preview builds, released last week, are now available for download as standalone ISO files. These days, Microsoft regularly pushes new images, allowing users to clean-install its recent Windows 11 preview builds faster and easier. If you want to try the latest Windows 11 features without jumping through the Windows Update hoops, get those new images here. Sadly, Microsoft did not release new Windows 11 preview builds this week. Come back next time. Updates are available This section covers software, firmware, and other notable updates (released and coming soon) delivering new features, security fixes, improvements, patches, and more from Microsoft and third parties. Microsoft is preparing new features for Teams. Later this month, the messenger will receive a new download manager with auto-dismissing notifications, reducing clutter and making the overall experience less annoying when dealing with downloads. Mozilla released Firefox 151.0.3, a new bug-fixing update for the browser. It is a small release, which fixes problems with pasting into text fields and the oversized VPN button on the toolbar. The update is now available for all users in the Release channel. Here are other updates and releases you may find interesting: VS Code 1.123 introduces massive upgrades for persistent AI developer workflows Microsoft OneDrive is getting a simple yet much-needed feature Microsoft faces heat after quietly blocking promised Office features on Apple systems Microsoft resumes forced Copilot app installation on some Windows PCs Browser vendors pen an open letter to Microsoft, saying "enough is enough" Here are the latest drivers and firmware updates released this week: AMD Radeon Software 26.6.1 with optimizations for F1 25: 2026 Season, World of Tanks: HEAT, and various bug fixes. Reviews are in Here is the hardware and software we reviewed this week Steven Parker dropped more mini PC reviews this week. GEEKOM Air12 2026 Edition is a low-power, affordable computer with an Intel Tiger Lake Pentium Gold processor, up to 16GB of memory, and 512GB of storage, costing just $349. It is light, quiet, energy efficient, and has modern ports on the front. However, the front-facing USB Type-C is data-only, and there are some quirks with the computer's memory, so check out the full review. The AMD RX 9070 GRE has been released worldwide, and we published a benchmark review comparing this powerful graphics card to the RX 9070 XT, 7800 XT, the NVIDIA RTX 5070, and RTX 4070. It has solid, balanced performance, plenty of RAM, and low temperatures, but watch out for mediocre ray tracing performance and not the best efficiency. Also, we reviewed the Cuktech 10 Ultra, a compact, high-power charger with four ports and a big display full of various stats. This tiny charger can pull nearly 120W and spread that power according to each connected device's needs. It also comes with a high-quality 240W cable, three power modes, and retractable prongs. The best part? It is quite affordable, just make sure you have an outlet placed in the right spot to benefit from the built-in display. On the gaming side Learn about upcoming game releases, Xbox rumors, new hardware, software updates, freebies, deals, discounts, and more. Do you remember the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally, Microsoft's first handheld console designed in partnership with ASUS? This week, ASUS revealed a new version of the device to celebrate twenty years of its Republic of Gamers brand. The new ROG Xbox Ally X20 features an OLED display, a transforming D-Pad, TMR sticks, and other changes. However, the chip inside the console is still the same. Forza Horizon 6 launched last month to critical acclaim, but the game will soon have a new rival made by those who used to work on Forza Horizon titles. Mike Brown from Maverick Games announced Clutch, an upcoming racing game with a story-driven campaign, deep car customization, and rich multiplayer. The game is coming to PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5 in Spring 2027. The next update for Minecraft now has a release date. This week, Mojang announced that Chaos Cubed will be available on June 16, 2026. In addition, Mojang published a teaser of the next Minecraft movie. A Minecraft Movie Squared has now been confirmed for a release somewhere in 2027. NVIDIA GeForce Now is getting 18 new games in June. Those include Jurassic World Evolution 3, Fatekeeper, GOALS, Gothic 1 Remake, NTE: Neverness to Everness, and more. If you are a Game Pass subscriber, you can also get new games soon: Persona 5 Royal, Starseeker: Astroneer Expeditions, and more are coming to the service this month. Sumer Game Fest 2026 happened this week, where we saw plenty of new games, including Alien Isolation 2, Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 3, Gen Atlas from the Shadow of the Colossus creator, a new Cuphead game in 8-bit style, a new expansion for Mafia: The Old Country, and more. Finally, here are this week's Weekend PC Game Deals, full of discounts and the latest freebies from the Epic Games Store. Other gaming news includes the following: God of War Laufey announced, introducing Kratos' wife as the new protagonist Ori studio's No Rest for the Wicked 1.0 release and console plans announced Microsoft launches Godot Sample to streamline Xbox PC game development on the engine Great deals to check Every week, we cover many deals on different hardware and software. The following discounts are still available, so check them out. You might find something you want or need. Samsung 990 PRO SSD 2TB NVMe - $389.99 | 39% off Sonos Sub 4 - Wireless Subwoofer - $759 | 16% off Logitech MX Creative Console - $159.99 | 20% off This link will take you to other issues of the Microsoft Weekly series. You can also support Neowin by registering for a free member account or subscribing for extra member benefits, along with an ad-free tier option.
    • Let's goooooooo! I've been loving the entries so far! I still have to finish Rebirth (things have been busy!)! Excited for this next installment.
    • "Revelation?" I was hoping for this episode to be called "Reunion". Oh, well... In a related note, the Final Fantasy VII compilation has received an EC entry, short for Ever Crisis. For those who don't know, it already had AC, BC, CC, and DC entries, short for Advent Children, Before Crisis, Crisis Core, and Dirge of Cerberus. I hope it doesn't get an FC entry becaude that would be a freakin' crisis.
    • Uh, after intense testing now, 'Samsung Browser' is not the best one outside of 'Microsoft Edge' after all. Opera Air is that. It has "some" bloat, but it's far less than what both Microsoft Edge and Brave browser have.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      pestcontrol46 earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Month Later
      pestcontrol46 earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      JKR earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Rookie
      moog19 went up a rank
      Rookie
    • Mentor
      grik went up a rank
      Mentor
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      513
    2. 2
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      277
    3. 3
      Skyfrog
      76
    4. 4
      +Edouard
      70
    5. 5
      FloatingFatMan
      68
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!