Need to vent--I HATE Windows 8!

The only reason I'm using Windows 8 is because the new desktop that I bought solely for use with Sonar X2 came installed with it. And I haven't upgraded to a new version of Windows since XP, which for me was the best OS Microsoft ever released. But I spent so much time trying to figure out this stupid OS that I just have to vent. 

God, I hate this thing It is so unintuitive, so fully of bogus social media garbage, so simply difficult to figure how to do things (sweep in from the right; sweep in from top to bottom to close things; choose between Start and Desktop, make finding anything needed to tweak a system a glorified scavenger hunt, dumb it down so incredibly that a four year old child could use it, but I need to find a four year old to explain it all to me). 

The only bright spot with this POS is that the only thing I'll be using this PC for is for Sonar, so I can remove or ignore all the stupid garbage and keep it disconnected from the Internet. But if I have any problems with Win 8 and the new audio interface I've got coming, I'm going to be pissed.  

can't you get a downgrade deal?

Maybe, if the version pre-installed on the laptop was Windows 8 Pro. Many laptops are shipping with the base version unless you pay extra for pro. And you will have to find a copy of Windows 7 with a key. And you will have to activate by phone. Best shot is to contact the laptop manufacturer and see if they can do it for you. Best time to do that is before you buy the machine.


http://www.microsoft.com/oem/en/licensing/sblicensing/pages/downgrade_rights.aspx#fbid=pRlNY8kkRjY

That it doesn't come with a manual is the only real problem here.

I upgraded a pair of old Athlon 64 machines that were stuck on XP licenses. They run just fine, and I read a whole lot about the interface changes all year. Windows 8 is certainly unintuitive, particularly if you're approaching it as an XP user or attempting the touchscreen controls by clicking and dragging. If you imagine a tablet, it seems like it would be awesome, but on the desktop... keyboard shortcuts are your friend. Win key for start screen, start typing to locate something. This part is a bit better in Windows 7, but works better than spending a bunch of time in the start screen. Win R for run prompt as always Win X for a nifty little settings menu that has a whole bunch of common familiar commands. Start screen Alt F4 to kill the full screen apps, or any app. So far I've found those kinda nice looking, but unnecessary. Would be very nice on a tablet. Right click to remove items from the start screen by unpinning them.

Well, I'm liking it here. Yes I miss the start button but I am discovering the windows key...

Win +X gives you all the control panel and system management options,
Win + E opens computer explorer
Win + R gives run dialogue
Win + Pause opens system page
Win + D  show/hide desktop
plus many more.


You can also pin a programs menu to the taskbar by 
- rt click taskbar
- select toolbars -> new toolbar
- in dialogue navigate to C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu and hilite Programs folder
- click Select Folder

It's early days yet but positives are:- I cloned my DAW system drive Win7x64 in a dual boot fashion and let Win 8 install do its own thing on the clone. After a hiccup with acronis which needed to be uninstalled but refused until I downloaded a special utility from their site, all went smoothly. The install took a long time - I just left it to it and came back in a couple of hours. So far I haven't found anything that doesn't work. All progs, plug-ins, devices including iLok have survived. In that respect I was impressed.

It appears to load quicker, and I cannot detect any performance hit with my way of working. YMMV

Still got the Win 7 installation too, although I'm not sure the license strictly allows it. :-)

btw this was with the £25 upgrade download - all in all an easy experience

Well I came from XP to Windows 8 and now that I know the keyboard shortcuts I love it.
Windows 8 is a significant improvement over XP both in the video and in the audio.
Also nice are the improvements to the task manager and file explorer.
So far there are no great apps to get, but I don't care about that.

I have installed Stardockk "Start8" which brings back the start button and program list functions like Win 7.  There is also a freeware version that I found after I bought Start8, but for $4.95 it was worth it.  My Win 8 install starts at the desktop, just like Win 7 and I don't have to even mess with the "messy" apps window.