Who uses Windows 8 as primary OS?

[cork1958]

I've been using it as my primary since day 1. :D I can do all the things I did with Windows 7, plus I haven't had a BSOD. In the long run, it's faster and I love nothing having to install such a memory hogging antivirus. :p

I started running it on day 1 and ran it for a couple of weeks as primary os. Sold the computer I was playing with it on and just never started playing with it again. Can't say as it blew my hair back any. No issues with it either though.

I quoted MrXXIV because I just wanted to ask what a BSOD was?

Cripe! I don't think I've had one of those since W2Kand the beginning of NTFS days! For that matter, I can't remember the last time a Linux install of mine screwed up? Man, I'm knocking on some serious wood now!!

[Ryster]

Man, I'm knocking on some serious wood now!!

Me snickers :)

[V23]

I've installed the Developer Preview ahead of the Consumer Preview later this month and I was under the impression that the windows key (on the keyboard) switched between the desktop and start screen? When I press it, it cycles between the start screen and the most recently opened app rather than the desktop. Is this normal, can it be changed?

[~Johnny]

I've installed the Developer Preview ahead of the Consumer Preview later this month and I was under the impression that the windows key (on the keyboard) switched between the desktop and start screen? When I press it, it cycles between the start screen and the most recently opened app rather than the desktop. Is this normal, can it be changed?

Yep that's normal, and no it can't easily be changed. The Windows Key just opens / close the start menu (as is standard behaviour in most Windows versions).

If you want quick desktop access you'll have to settle for Win + D

[V23]

Yep that's normal, and no it can't easily be changed. The Windows Key just opens / close the start menu (as is standard behaviour in most Windows versions).

Thanks, makes sense when you put it like that. I assume Windows Key + D still works, so I guess I'll use that instead.

[giantpotato]

I've installed the Developer Preview ahead of the Consumer Preview later this month and I was under the impression that the windows key (on the keyboard) switched between the desktop and start screen? When I press it, it cycles between the start screen and the most recently opened app rather than the desktop. Is this normal, can it be changed?

Yup that's normal. It works just like the start key works in previous versions of windows. Press it and the menu pops up, press it again and the menu goes away. Only in this case the start "menu" takes up the entire screen.

[Night Prowler]

I'm pretty sure there is going to be a MASS installation of Windows 8 when the official beta is released. For me, I never ran any version of Vista, and Windows 7 prior to the beta releases. I'll be running Windows 8 BETA when it's officially released, as I did with Vista, and Windows 7, as my primary desktop.

[Tharp Daddy]

As of tonight, it's my official OS. After installing a new mobo, RAM and CPU in my computer Windows 7 decided to go belly up on me. I no longer have my Windows 7 installation disc, so my only option to install Windows 8 DP as my primary OS. So far i'm having no issues with it.

[V23]

I'm dual booting Windows 7 (default OS) and the Developer Preview but I've barely used Windows 8. However, when the consumer preview hits, I'll switch to Windows 8 full time.

[Andrea Borman]

I have just installed Windows 8 four days ago on Thursday on one of my netbooks. And I am running Windows 8 as my only operating system. But accident not by design.

I have a 1GB ram netbook,an HP Mini 210 but it has no CD drive. And so I installed Windows 8 on my netbook first by creating a small partition 20GB. And then I downloaded and mounted the Windows 8 ISO on virtual clone drive.

I have limited experience with computers.

And I intended to install Windows 8 as a duel boot with Windows 7 on disk partition that I made. But instead it installed itself on the main drive and it wiped out my Windows 7 completely. And it also wiped out my recovery partition and data. So I cannot even do a factory restore to restore to factory condition to get Windows 7 back.

I later found out that I should have bought a CD drive that I can plug into my USB plug socket on my netbook.To mount the ISO file onto a CD then boot from the CD to install Windows 8. Or put the ISO on a USB thumb drive and install Windows 8 that way.

NOT mount the ISO file on virtual clone drive. Because I found out too late that if you install Windows 8 inside Windows it replaces Windows 7 or whatever version of Windows you have with Windows 8 only.

So the install of Windows 8 has wiped out my Windows 7 and my recovery partition and data. It has upgraded it to Windows 8. the only files that are left on my computer are some Windows Old files that have my old installed programs from Windows 7.

But despite the fact that my netbook now only has Windows 8 as it's only operating system. Windows 8 is running fine.

And I have installed all of my programs from Windows XP and Windows Vista on Windows 8. As well as my Windows 7 programs.Windows Movie Maker 2.1 for Windows XP works on Windows 8 and so does the web cam feature. And all of the other versions of Windows Movie Maker,2.6 and 6 work on Windows 8.

Also I am even running the Windows Vista sidebar on Windows 8 and Windows Calendar from Windows Vista. And WMP 11 works on Windows 8. If you turn WMP 12 off in turn Windows features on or off. So I have got WMP 11 as well and it is running in my Windows 8.And so is Windows Live Essentials for Windows XP,(I don't like the 2011 version.)And all of my web browsers work.

The only thing that does not work on Windows 8 is Windows Mail from Windows Vista. Which works on Windows 7. But despite my best efforts I could not get it to run in Windows 8. But all of the other software I have installed does work on Windows 8.

And I have disabled the metro theme and so I have the Windows 7 start menu. And I advise other users to disable the Metro theme as you don't really need it. Windows 8 works much better with the Windows 7 start menu. And it is what I and other Windows users are used to.

Before I tried Windows 8 I was not in favour of it because I thought it did not have a start menu. But Windows 8 does have the Windows 7 start menu. You just have to disable or turn off the Metro theme to get it back. And you can disable Metro with a simple registry edit. Or you can install software that will do this for you. And there are several software's that will disable the Metro theme. But will also enable it again if you want it back.

Now that I have Windows 8,I would like to keep it. But the version that we have is a developers preview and is due to expire soon. So I hope that when the developers preview expires I will be able to upgrade to or do a clean install of Windows 8 beta. Which they say is for a year.

But I have got 5 other netbooks so I am not too worried about being stuck without an operating system when the developers preview expires. But I am going to buy a CD drive and a Windows 7 full installation CD.So that I can install Windows 7 on the Windows 8 netbook,if I have to. Andrea Borman.

[Detection]

No, and you know why? Because the WDP is not real, leaks are real, the DP i BS

[PGHammer]

Up until now, i had only used the DP in a virtual machine. A few days ago, I decided to install it over my physical Vista partition that I never use anymore. I was amazed by the speed at which it installed. But I really dislike the way the new bootloader works. First, while the bootloader may not be fully functional yet, it doesn't work properly for mulit-boot in its current form. I had to use a Winodows 7 CD to recover the other two Windows installations that were on this drive. That process did add the two existing OS's to the new Windows 8 bootloader. But, the new system forces a reboot AFTER you make your OS boot selection. So, if I want to boot into 7, for example, I have to power on, wait for the Win8 bootloader, select Win7 from the list, and then wait for another reboot. Seemslike a strange step backwards to me.

I tried running the DP as my main OS for a couple of days, but had too many issues with the system hanging at the spinning circle when I tried to log out. I won't use it as my main OS, but I do llok forward to trying out a beta, if and when it is released (soon, hopefully!)

I dual-boot with 7 SP1 today - however, because I also have Ubuntu installed via Wubi, Windows 7 (and its loader) come up first (a change I made, as originally the WDP was the default).

The new loader is not as fully-developed as that of Windows 7 and Vista (the 7 bootloader is the same one that shipped with Vista) and is thus not as fleshed out. The double-clutch is part of that.

The new loader has some rather slick features (it supports mice and touch, which the Vista/7 loader doesn't) - it does need improvement, however.

[PGHammer]

The issue that most folks have with the Developer Preview isn't (amazingly) application-compatibility.

That has been, in fact, the most backward-compatible Developer Preview of any version of Windows.

That's why I'm looking forward to the Consumer Preview.

[Andrea Borman]

As you can see in my pictures taken from my Windows 8 laptop. The Metro theme is nowhere to be found on my Windows 8.

And the pictures show my Windows 8 with the Windows 7 start menu. The first theme is set on Windows Basic theme. Which is like the Windows 7 Basic theme. There is no Windows Classic on Theme on Windows 8. But the Windows 8 Basic theme uses some of the features from Windows Classic, such as the start Menu, which is white.

And you cannot change the start menu color like you could in Windows 7 Classic.Also Aero is partly enabled on Windows 8 Basic. You cannot disable Aero completely like you can in Windows 7.Where on Windows 7 you can set your theme to Windows Classic which disables Aero.

And the second picture is of my Windows 8 with the Windows 7 start menu and the Aero theme enabled. And as you can see the Vista sidebar works on Windows 8 and works with the Metro theme as well. You can also add your own desktop wallpapers like I have done in the second picture. Just like you can on Windows 7.

So Windows 8 is the same as Windows 7 except for the Metro theme. Which I have disabled. Andrea Borman.

[Anthonyd]

So Windows 8 is the same as Windows 7 except for the Metro theme. Which I have disabled. Andrea Borman.

No it isn't.

[Wakers]

There are so many changes that have gone on under the hood of Windows 8 that calling it the "same as Windows 7" is a bit wide of the mark. There's an entirely new filesystem, even.

[Shaun N.]

No it isn't.

[UndergroundWire]

Once upon a time I used to run Windows Longhorn 4053, or whatever it was and 4074 as my primary OS, I have since then grown up. I won't run beta or pre-beta software on a production machine as a primary OS, that's just inviting problems.

I was just thinking that myself. Only wannabes run it full-time as their primary OS.

[Anthonyd]

There are so many changes that have gone on under the hood of Windows 8 that calling it the "same as Windows 7" is a bit wide of the mark. There's an entirely new filesystem, even.

ReFS is only for Windows Server.

[Wakers]

ReFS is only for Windows Server.

Ah, is it? Guess I picked a bad example, then :D

[Andrea Borman]

No it isn't.

Well I cannot see anything different about Windows 8 at all. It looks and acts exactly like Windows 7. The only difference is the Metro theme which I have disabled. So I have the Windows 7 start menu and I have also installed Classic Shell to give me extra start menu features. Classic Shell puts both the Classic Windows 98 and Windows XP start menu in Windows Vista,Windows 7 and Windows 8. It also puts the classic toolbar in Windows Explorer,very useful.

Once you disable the Metro theme the ribbon toolbar in Windows Explorer gets disabled too. And you get the Windows 7 Windows Explorer along with the Windows 7 start menu.

If you have Classic Shell installed on Windows 8 and you decide to keep the Metro theme. You will have both the classic start menu and the Windows 8 start menu with the Metro theme. This is useful for people who want the Metro theme but still need the Windows start menu. Or you can disable the Metro theme.

I would advise Windows users that unless you happen to like the Metro apps which I don't use, as I am using my own software. That is my web browsers,Pale Moon,Safefox and Google Chrome. And Windows Live Messenger and I have the Windows XP version not the 2011 version.

And most of the Metro apps do not work anyway which is pointless. And you don't really need the Metro theme. So you are better off to disable the Metro theme and use the Windows 7 start menu. At least that's what I do. Andrea Borman.

[V23]

Well I cannot see anything different about Windows 8 at all. It looks and acts exactly like Windows 7. The only difference is the Metro theme which I have disabled. So I have the Windows 7 start menu and I have also installed Classic Shell to give me extra start menu features. Classic Shell puts both the Classic Windows 98 and Windows XP start menu in Windows Vista,Windows 7 and Windows 8. It also puts the classic toolbar in Windows Explorer,very useful.

Once you disable the Metro theme the ribbon toolbar in Windows Explorer gets disabled too. And you get the Windows 7 Windows Explorer along with the Windows 7 start menu.

If you have Classic Shell installed on Windows 8 and you decide to keep the Metro theme. You will have both the classic start menu and the Windows 8 start menu with the Metro theme. This is useful for people who want the Metro theme but still need the Windows start menu. Or you can disable the Metro theme.

I would advise Windows users that unless you happen to like the Metro apps which I don't use, as I am using my own software. That is my web browsers,Pale Moon,Safefox and Google Chrome. And Windows Live Messenger and I have the Windows XP version not the 2011 version.

And most of the Metro apps do not work anyway which is pointless. And you don't really need the Metro theme. So you are better off to disable the Metro theme and use the Windows 7 start menu. At least that's what I do. Andrea Borman.

That's all well and good, but it will only get harder and harder to resist change in the coming years.

[Anthonyd]

Well I cannot see anything different about Windows 8 at all. It looks and acts exactly like Windows 7. The only difference is the Metro theme which I have disabled. So I have the Windows 7 start menu and I have also installed Classic Shell to give me extra start menu features. Classic Shell puts both the Classic Windows 98 and Windows XP start menu in Windows Vista,Windows 7 and Windows 8. It also puts the classic toolbar in Windows Explorer,very useful.

Once you disable the Metro theme the ribbon toolbar in Windows Explorer gets disabled to. And you get the Windows 7 Windows Explorer along with the Windows 7 start menu.

If you have Classic Shell installed on Windows 8 and you decide to keep the Metro theme. You will have both the classic start menu and the Windows 8 start menu with the Metro theme. This is useful for people who want the Metro theme but still need the Windows start menu. Or you can disable the Metro theme.

I would advise Windows users that unless you happen to like the Metro apps which I don't use, as I am using my own software. That is my web browsers,Pale Moon,Safefox and Google Chrome. And Windows Live Messenger and I have the Windows XP version not the 2011 version.

And most of the Metro apps do not work anyway which is pointless. And you don't really need the Metro theme. So you are better off to disable the Metro theme and use the Windows 7 start menu. At least that's what I do. Andrea Borman.

Are you aware that you are tring a Developer preview and not the final product? On the DP, the maketplace is closed and you have any usefull metro apps despite mini games. You can't state that metro apps are useless. Also it seems that you have disabled anything related to metro in less than a day (even the start page which is better than the old start menu) ? You barely gave it a try.

The classic shell is out of the code, this tweak won't work in the final product. Also unless you are crazy, there are no reasons to prefer the old menus other the ribbon (which is now minimized per default).

Finally, I don't see why you keep using Chrome since it's a spyware, but that's off topic.

Here is a self made list of the new things in Windows 8 which aren't related to "Metro" :

-Storage spaces.

-Key managers.

-New menu to restore deleted file (which is an improved version of the "restore previous version" option in 7).

-Settings saved on the cloud.

-Windows Live account linked to the OS.

-The quick network restore when getting out of sleep mode.

-Aerolite.

-Random coloured window using Aero.

-New lock screen with push notification.

-New kernel with DEP mandatory for drivers and ASLR should be now supported.

-Secure boot.

And there are a lot more things that I haven't put on that list, so yeah it's totally like Windows 7, right? DERP.

[efjay]

One wonders why anyone would go to the trouble of installing a not even beta OS then proceed to disable all the new features to make it look and feel like WindowsXP? Would have been better off not upgrading at all from XP in the first place.

[Shaun N.]

I don't see why you keep using Chrome since it's a spyware, but that's off topic.

Lol, but you felt the need to mention it anyway.