Windows 8.1: A pain

[Dizzy1]

no worrying about upgrading them, just throw away and buy a new one.

Or just spend a bit of time figuring out what you need, uprgrade the hardware at the time of order and keep it for years ... seeing that Apple's OS's are free to upgrade to.

Anyway, after all that optimizing, cleaning this, scanning that, removing what I guessed, because I really don't know if I should remove it or not, got the Mrs.'s computer all done and it now takes 16 more seconds to boot up. Why did I switch to Mac again? Oh yeah ... ;)

[LoneWolf_53]

Wow, you need to get in and change your Startup.

Why? Shouldn't the manufacturer have done that for me before I purchased the product? Sad thing is that, it hasn't really slowed down since day 1 ... just spend the last 2 hours changing this and that, optimizing ... only down to 3 messages coming up and shaved a whole 2 seconds off the boot up time ... woot woot ... that's like 1 second per hour work LOL! ;)

EDIT: After all that, clicked open the Control Panel and whoops ... Norton Autofix Error Found ... LOL!

EDIT2: Just resolved that problem, restarting for the umpteenth time and behold, need to install 15 more updates after I just installed 20 not even an hour ago.

Oh yeah, and why does Windows always have to force a program closed when shutting it off?

Anyway, just made yet another cup of coffee trying to optimize the Mrs.' computer while she's plugging away on the Airbook ... have a feeling its gonna end up being hers pretty soon here ;)

Well if nothing else you've just made it abundantly clear why Windows hasn't worked to your satisfaction, and FYI it's not Windows fault, though it's easiest to blame it on Windows.

First off any factory made computer you purchase comes with tons of bloatware, something that does not happen when purchasing a custom build, or having a savvy tech set up the unit whilst brand new.

Secondly you seem to be ignoring a very important aspect of running almost any software these days, and kgcayenne rightly pointed that one out.

Most every bit of software if installed or received with a computer brand new, will have itself set to either run at bootup or at the very least run some aspect of the software at boot.

The more of these entries there are in start up the longer it will take for your machine to get going. I've seen computers where people had 40+ entries of items that were launched upon start and that's simply ridiculous.

My Win7 Pro computer has 11 items in the startup list, and if I were so inclined I could easily disable or remove about 7 of those, but since I have a SSD Hard Drive and plenty of CPU power I don't care and like my talking clock and assorted other items launching at boot so I don't have to do it manually and my desktop environment is all there.

What I'm saying here is this is indicative of user error/lack of knowledge, and not any shortcoming on the part of Microsoft, as annoying as I find them to be at times.

Load your Mac up with 150 startup entries and I'm sure it'll bog down too. LOL

Your post got me curious so I just timed the boot on my Win7 Pro computer and it took 30 seconds, and that's with all the junk I'm knowingly allowing to boot at startup.

I certainly don't find that amount of time to be an issue, even less when I consider that really the only time I need to reboot is when there's some updates that require doing so.

[Dizzy1]

Well if nothing else you've just made it abundantly clear why Windows hasn't worked to your satisfaction, and FYI it's not Windows fault, though it's easiest to blame it on Windows.

First off any factory made computer you purchase comes with tons of bloatware, something that does not happen when purchasing a custom build, or having a savvy tech set up the unit whilst brand new.

Secondly you seem to be ignoring a very important aspect of running almost any software these days, and kgcayenne rightly pointed that one out.

Most every bit of software if installed or received with a computer brand new, will have itself set to either run at bootup or at the very least run some aspect of the software at boot.

The more of these entries there are in start up the longer it will take for your machine to get going. I've seen computers where people had 40+ entries of items that were launched upon start and that's simply ridiculous.

My Win7 Pro computer has 11 items in the startup list, and if I were so inclined I could easily disable or remove about 7 of those, but since I have a SSD Hard Drive and plenty of CPU power I don't care and like my talking clock and assorted other items launching at boot so I don't have to do it manually and my desktop environment is all there.

What I'm saying here is this is indicative of user error/lack of knowledge, and not any shortcoming on the part of Microsoft, as annoying as I find them to be at times.

Load your Mac up with 150 startup entries and I'm sure it'll bog down too. LOL

But that's the beauty of Mac ... it doesn't have any of that crap, no its not directly Microsofts fault that they let Acer, Lenova, Dell, whomever ship their products with crap that makes computing almost unbearable, but the Window's interface no longer is enjoyable and user friendly as it once was to control all that unwanted crap and that is directly Microsofts fault.

The wife and me did a bit of shopping today, stopped off at a computer store and played around with some Window's 8 laptops and it was horrid ... trying to navigate between the tiles and desktop and start menu was a unpleasant experience. There are those of us who simply want to buy a product, turn it on and use it for the reason's we want to use it, and that's it.

Updates, the constant updates is directly Microsofts fault, its ridiculous, nevermind the constant programs freezing, closing, whatever are also Microsofts fault, because Windows never has and never will be as stable as other OS.

As far as the startup items goes. What do you delete, what do you not delete? I don't know. If I delete this, will my computer even start up next time? I don't know, I don't want to know. I want to buy the product, press the on button and be on my merry way ... Window's machines simply don't offer that.

[LoneWolf_53]

As far as the startup items goes. What do you delete, what do you not delete? I don't know. If I delete this, will my computer even start up next time? I don't know, I don't want to know. I want to buy the product, press the on button and be on my merry way ... Window's machines simply don't offer that.

Well with all due respect, that viewpoint is akin to purchasing a new vehicle, and telling me you don't want to know how to drive it, you just want it to take you to your destination.

Whether you like doing or not, there's a certain onus upon a computer user to familiarize themselves with how to do certain things.

I didn't magically learn what I could prevent from starting right from the get go either.

Google is a fantastic tool when used to obtain info that is critical to getting the most out of a product.

For windows there are awesome utilities out there such as CCleaner that does wonders to get rid of accumulated surfing junk, fix registry errors that can slow down a computer, and show you in an instant all the items that are automatically running at boot, all features that it sounds as if you were in dire need of, and it doesn't even cost anything.

All it takes for unknown entries is to note the name of the process, google it, and you'll soon find out if it's crucial at boot or not.

Really there aren't many things that are crucial, advisable yes, but crucial no. Always good to run Anti Virus at boot for example, lest one forgets and goes on the web unprotected.

I don't own a Mac, but I honestly can't see it running awesome either in the long run, if certain maintenance strategies aren't observed.

I'm glad you're happy with your Mac, in the end that's really all that matters, but Windows sure isn't as terrible as you make it out to be, and the Tiles can be completely ignored with minimal configuration.

[Dizzy1]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k70iSyS95FM

Apple ... baby steps, tweak things and make them a bit better along times.

Microsoft ... drastic overhauls that end up confusing and upsetting consumers forcing Microsoft to rethink and modify their latest creations as has been in the past with Windows XP and 8.

[Dizzy1]

Well with all due respect, that viewpoint is akin to purchasing a new vehicle, and telling me you don't want to know how to drive it, you just want it to take you to your destination.

Not at all, its more akin to the fact that the steering wheel and gas pedal have been where they have been for the longest time. Sure, there are little tweeks between my car now and my first car, but the basics are where they are and are the same. The same thing is with Apple, the basics are familiar and while they get tweeked here and there but, for the most part, the important things are where they've always been. Microsoft on the other hand, trys to replace the steering wheel with a joystick and the gas pedal with a throttle lever, and seeing my their quick reaction with Windows 8.1 seems like the masses have spoken.

Whether you like doing or not, there's a certain onus upon a computer user to familiarize themselves with how to do certain things.

I agree, but there is a limit as to how much time I'd like to spend learning these and relearning them next time around.

Google is a fantastic tool when used to obtain info that is critical to getting the most out of a product.

I agree with you it is, and I spent a lot of time on Google today looking up things to make the Mrs's computer run better. Time I could have spent using Google for more important things ;)

For windows there are awesome utilities out there such as CCleaner that does wonders to get rid of accumulated surfing junk, fix registry errors that can slow down a computer, and show you in an instant all the items that are automatically running at boot, all features that it sounds as if you were in dire need of, and it doesn't even cost anything.

We've got all that stuff ... maintanence hasn't really been an issue, I'll admit, one lets it slide from time to time but the amount of babysitting that needs to be made for a Windows machine, it starts to become a chore and unpleasant.

All it takes for unknown entries is to note the name of the process, google it, and you'll soon find out if it's crucial at boot or not.

Again, spending more time on the net looking to fix what may need to be fixed instead of looking for deals to the Caribbean ;)

Really there aren't many things that are crucial, advisable yes, but crucial no. Always good to run Anti Virus at boot for example, lest one forgets and goes on the web unprotected.

Have antivirus, downloaded a well known malware program on mine a while back, it helped things a bit. Downloaded the same on the wifes computer today and the computer wouldn't boot up again. Another visit to safe mode.

I don't own a Mac, but I honestly can't see it running awesome either in the long run, if certain maintenance strategies aren't observed.

Only time will tell, and from the research I've done and people I've talked to, I have a feeling I won't be disappointed.

I'm glad you're happy with your Mac, in the end that's really all that matters, but Windows sure isn't as terrible as you make it out to be, and the Tiles can be completely ignored with minimal configuration.

And I'm glad you enjoy windows, but Window's 8 and Microsoft's drastic changes to make their products (IMO) more consumer unfriendly with each passing ... it was time to switch, and seeing that the wife wanted to browse some computers today, looks like she's next.

[Bsuds]

This might help some people.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2207345/ ... cheap.html

[rekabis]

Apple ... baby steps, tweak things and make them a bit better along times.

Tell that to the Apple faithful that were around when OS 10.0 came out, replacing OS 9… people just completely lost their collective excrement because of the massive leap in design and underlying architecture & codebase.

Granted, it was necessary… the 9.x codebase was anything but future-compatible, and had major issues out the yin-yang, but the point was that it was familiar, comfortable and usable for the vast majority of the people using it.

I think Microsoft had the right fundamental idea with Windows 8, they just did an epic faceplant with the *implementation* of that idea. Had they taken advice from the I.T. community that had the initial conniption fit over Win8, they would have probably arrived at Windows Red. Unfortunately, they didn’t, and we are left with a halfway-aborted camel.

[Dizzy1]

Tell that to the Apple faithful that were around when OS 10.0 came out, replacing OS 9… people just completely lost their collective excrement because of the massive leap in design and underlying architecture & codebase.

Granted, it was necessary… the 9.x codebase was anything but future-compatible, and had major issues out the yin-yang, but the point was that it was familiar, comfortable and usable for the vast majority of the people using it.

I think Microsoft had the right fundamental idea with Windows 8, they just did an epic faceplant with the *implementation* of that idea. Had they taken advice from the I.T. community that had the initial conniption fit over Win8, they would have probably arrived at Windows Red. Unfortunately, they didn’t, and we are left with a halfway-aborted camel.

Curious as to how many Mac users jumped ship compared to the number of people that switched or just didn't bother buying a new computer when Windows 8 came out?

[hobbyguy]

http://www.i-programmer.info/news/177-windows-8/6836-record-drop-in-pc-shipments.html

If you look at the article closely, it is hard to figure out exactly what the dynamic is, but I know several people like myself who looked at windows 8, and said "IF I want a tablet, I'll buy a tablet - I don't want to try to turn my PC into a tablet." Some of those folks have indeed purchased tablets. One them simply abandoned PCs altogether for a high end tablet.

The reluctance of businesses to go to Windows 8/8.1 is striking, but not surprising.

[OREZ]

I don't really understand the fuss. I've got 8.1on a desktop, I didn't really dig the tile thing so I installed Classic Shell. (which is free) I chose the Windows 7 type configuration because it's what we have a work, I've been running it like that for about a month now and it's great, super fast and has had no issues whatsoever. My only question is, why didn't Microsoft offer that option for keyboard/mouse users? You know, people who actually use a computer as a computer not a gadget/toy. Who knows...

[kgcayenne]

I have had to do a complete reset on a machine for one of the guys here because it became corrupted somehow. Will was a fun afternoon of reinstalling things. The tech support person told me that Windows 8.1 is touchy and can have problems if an update is interrupted.

[OREZ]

Isn't it just about always asking for trouble when a person interupts an update?

[kgcayenne]

I guess some people live on the edge.

[LoneWolf_53]

http://www.i-programmer.info/news/177-windows-8/6836-record-drop-in-pc-shipments.html

If you look at the article closely, it is hard to figure out exactly what the dynamic is, but I know several people like myself who looked at windows 8, and said "IF I want a tablet, I'll buy a tablet - I don't want to try to turn my PC into a tablet." Some of those folks have indeed purchased tablets. One them simply abandoned PCs altogether for a high end tablet.

The reluctance of businesses to go to Windows 8/8.1 is striking, but not surprising.

I agree with your sentiment, but I in all honesty must add that for anyone who wasn't into the tablet aspect, it was simple enough to make an adjustment so that the computer boots to the ever familiar desktop.

Once I did that it was hard to tell the difference between my Win7 computer and the Win8 one that I was evaluating.