I am stumped on a regular basis with the Windows 8(.1) comments about how "difficult" it is to get used to - Especially with 8.1(update 1), the ability to make the desktop the default, etc.  I simply cannot understand what is so difficult to get used to about a change start menu/screen.  How much time do you spend "launching" programs?  Is Windows 8.1 not otherwise VERY similar to Windows 7?  Of course, there are extra tools and whatnot that let you see more of the details - case in point: the task manager - and the desktop is still pretty much the same.  Once running your applications, unless you go to start another program, the interface is the same.  What's different?  What doesn't work?
 
I'm serious here.  I own an IT support company for small business.  Many of the users that I support have issue with Windows 8 until I show them just a few tips and they move along with their day/business and many are more productive than they were before (usually because of other tips that actually existed back in Windows Vista and above).
 
I use windows 8.1 on my laptop (a convertible Lenovo tablet), my desktop here at the house (where Sonar resides) and my desktop at the office (where I do support and a lot of website development work).  Boot time is faster, wake from sleep is faster, IE11 is finally mostly standards compliant (making my development life easier though there are still sites out there that don't work on it), start menu is less convoluted for getting to the programs I use the most, troubleshooting is greatly enhanced with new built in tools, etc.
 
Can someone tell me what the major malfunction is  - for example with Tom's comment of "tried to navigate it: HATED IT"?
 
Especially in regards to Sonar and other "normal" applications (not the apps, which I rarely use aside from the weather and such) - what is the big difference?
 

My biggest problem with Windows 8 was that when it came out, quite a few drivers were broken. I suppose most issues are fixed by now, but I figure Windows 9 is close enough there's no point in going through two OS upheavals if I only need to do one.

Windows 8.1 just has a much bigger start menu called a start screen. Takes about 15 mins to work out how to use it, another 15 mins to customize it. You also need to learn the shortcut Windows Start +X or right click the start button. That's it.

People have resisted new user Interfaces since the beginning of time. Nothing new here

Anderton
My biggest problem with Windows 8 was that when it came out, quite a few drivers were broken. I suppose most issues are fixed by now, but I figure Windows 9 is close enough there's no point in going through two OS upheavals if I only need to do one.

At least a year Craig. Can you install multiple copies of Windows on boot camp?

ever since I moved to win8.1, my X3E is working good aside from the workflow issues I have already mentioned in the forum. No issues at all yet. 

CakeAlexS
Can you install multiple copies of Windows on boot camp?

 
Good question...I have no idea, I don't use Boot Camp.

Guitarmech111
ever since I moved to win8.1, my X3E is working good aside from the workflow issues I have already mentioned in the forum. No issues at all yet. 

Did you do a clean install or install over 7? I'm really not up for re-installing all the things that need authorizations...yes I do know a clean install is best and that's what I've always done, but it would be nice if I could cheat just this one time...

I did an upgrade over 7 and it didn't work very well at all. I could upgrade to 8.1 but not 8.1.1 Was extremely annoying and I wasted a lot of time. Consequently I had to do a fresh install.. My lazyness did not pay off.. I do have a successful upgrade on another machine but it brings up tons of crap in the windows event viewer than the clean install avoids.

@Blades,
Maybe I'll try one more time and get a little help.
@Craig,
"Cheaters never proper"; I'd go with a clean install.
 
T

I have installed 8 clean and as upgrades on my client's and my computers.
 
It seems, if the 7 install is good, clean, happy,... then 8 works fine, and then 8.1, and then 8.1.1.
 
Before the upgrade I always create a disk image.  I do a complete disk clean, including deleting all but the most recent system restore point. I manually delete all the temp files disk-clean does not delete. Stop the swap and hibernate files: both are related to amount of ram. Don't need to wait to image them. (After restart verify the pagefile is gone. If not delete.)
 
For the music computers, I make the OS partition/disk be as clean and spare as possible. I have the download folder, and music and pictures and video files on a separate disk. I also have dimension pro,... samples on a separate disk, as are the plugins, and sonar sample files, and tutorials,... The disk the OS is on is partitioned to keep the OS disk image small. The other partition on the disk is for storage of installation files, and audio file backup, but not of the disk images.
 
A couple of plugs wanted new authorization (I think Ozone, and Sony CD architect and Noise Reduction.. Went quick and easy. I did reinstall the drivers for the audio interface just to be sure.
 
I have/do create an image for each major OS change.  Does not take much time using an USB 3 external drive. The primary music computer has a 3 Terabyte disk, so I send the image to it.
 
I keep each image for a bit, so I move the backup folder to another folder and change the name. If I need to restore, I copy the folder to the 'win image backup' folder and change the name to the original name. Otherwise windows will not restore. If the image remains in the image folder with the original name windows will overwrite it, if the computer name is the same.