How Gos my installation of Windows 8...

[Tall Timbers]

A new computer arrived at my door yesterday. I purchased it without an operating system because I'd already purchased a copy of Windows 8 Pro upgrade, and I have lots of legal copies of MS operating systems I can use to upgrade from.

Here's the basics of the new computer:

Windows 8 Professional 64 Bit
Intel Core i7-3770K 4X x 3.50 GHz/8MB L3 Cache
MB: Asus P8Z77-V LX
16 GB RAM DDR3 - 2133 4GB X4 G.Skill Ripjaws X
SSD: Intel 520 120 GB SATA 3.0
Harddrive: Seagate SATA 3.0 2 TB 64MB Cache, 7200 rpm
Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 2 GB
USB 3.0

I plug the new computer in, attach a keyboard, mouse, monitor, and network cable to it, and turn it on. I plop the Windows 8 CD into the drive and after I enter my product code, which it accepts, I witness the quickest, easiest OS installation I've ever seen before. I gather up my notes for optimizing the system for the SSD drive, as that is something that the User will still need to do manually in Win 8, unless you have a big SSD drive and don't mind lots of writes to it, and then I see an invitation to activate the new windows... I re-enter the product code that I entered earlier and it rejected it. I checked it once, twice, thrice, only to be sure that there were no errors. It still rejects the code. I put in a Windows XP full version CD into the CD drive. That doesn't make a difference. I run a search on windows 8 upgrade installations on another computer in the house and learn that the upgrade version of Windows 8 cannot be a clean install. It must be installed over an existing copy of a Windows operating system... so you can't format the drive prior to the installation as I normally would. You can choose to keep nothing of the old system if you so choose. I so chose. Nowhere in the packaging is the User informed of the upgrade requirements...

So I put a full version of Windows XP in the computer and try to install it... but it can't handle the new hardware... thinks the SSD is DOA. So I grab a Windows 7 pro upgrade CD and install it over the Windows 8 installation. No problems there. I really like Windows 7. I load only the ethernet driver so I can connect to the internet and I then activate the Windows 7. I am now in the process of re-installing Windows 8 Pro over that Windows 7. We'll see how it goes.

A side note... I initial impression of "metro":

This old tech guy couldn't figure out how to shut the system down without finding help and asking the question...

[Tall Timbers]

After my second installation I didn't have to re-enter the activation code. It automatically activated. I went through the process of messing with the system to optimize SSD use... won't know for a while yet how that turns out as it required tons of manual editing of the registry... but I was at least able to log in. Can't get rid of the windows.old directory on the SSD drive because I'm not the "trustedinstaller"... will have to research that.

Will soon start installing apps and see if I slowly gain an understanding of what seems to be an unfriendly interface.

[HisBeloved]

Good luck! I just got an Hp with windows 8. Had it for 5 days & its still in the box, I think I'm afraid of w8.....ha!

[Tall Timbers]

Good luck! I just got an Hp with windows 8. Had it for 5 days & its still in the box, I think I'm afraid of w8.....ha!

It was classic Microsoft to not advise the user that you can't do a clean install with Win 8 upgrade. It might have been a pretty good experience but for that. Right now I've got a growing number of rectangles on that Metro interface. Hopefully there is some way to group them otherwise I'm going to have a couple hundred to choose from after I'm done loading the software I'll be putting on this thing.

Have fun with it and be patient... I think the experience will get better, eventually.

[HisBeloved]

Its supposed to be easy once you get used to it. I haven't had a computer in over a year & was suprised when I saw windows 8. I kept wanting to touch the screen..hahaha. I like using my phone, but I miss the keyboard for typing out long emails.

[Tall Timbers]

Its supposed to be easy once you get used to it. I haven't had a computer in over a year & was suprised when I saw windows 8. I kept wanting to touch the screen..hahaha. I like using my phone, but I miss the keyboard for typing out long emails.

Some of the good: It was able to find and install every system driver needed except for one. The networking and internet related components work exceptionally well... so well in fact that Microsoft is serving up ads right onto the Metro interface. I'll have to eventually figure out a way to shut down the ad delivery as that irks me a bit. Looks like I've got a steep learning curve ahead of me... if I didn't work on other people's computers I think I'd probably find another copy of Windows 7 and just use that for a couple more years.

I suspect the metro interface will be like the Microsoft ribbon. Some like the ribbon, others, like myself, prefer the drop down menus, even after quite a long while of being exposed to the ribbon. Whether we like it or not, Microsoft never offered ribbon haters the option of returning to drop down menus... it'll likely be the same with Metro: it's here to stay until Microsoft takes it's next step in whichever direction it wants to take us.

[Wally]

I have always skipped generations of Windows.

It seens every odd version is fine where the evens stink. 98, 2000, Vista

95-7, NT, Seven :Thumb

[Tall Timbers]

I have always skipped generations of Windows.

It seens every odd version is fine where the evens stink. 98, 2000, Vista

95-7, NT, Seven :Thumb

I used IBM's OS2 for about a decade... it was wonderful, except when the OS would become corrupt and I'd have to reinstall...

I think I then moved to MS ME, which was okay. XP was soso, Vista Sucked, I think Win 7 was MS's very first very good OS. I think Win 8 will prove to be the most stable OS to come from Microsoft, but the new interface... well, we'll see. It's interesting that you can switch between Metro and the desktop, but when you're at the desktop the start button is absent. If they'd just return the start button in a patch I think most of us complainers would be more than content.

[ThePenguin]

I liked Vista. From what I've heard Microsoft released a new driver model with Vista and told manufacturers to follow it. They didn't, hence all of the driver problems with the release of Vista. I was a bit late to the party (I bought my Vista machine in the summer of '08) but Vista never gave me any trouble.

[Mitsy]

I've been resisting and when we upgraded the PC last year I had an old copy of XP installed.

However I have to work with Vista when I do my part-time job. They are about to upgrade so I guess I will have to work with Windows 8 like it or not.

[Tall Timbers]

I liked Vista. From what I've heard Microsoft released a new driver model with Vista and told manufacturers to follow it. They didn't, hence all of the driver problems with the release of Vista. I was a bit late to the party (I bought my Vista machine in the summer of '08) but Vista never gave me any trouble.

I didn't have any personal problems with Vista aside from the driver issue, for which Microsoft is probably not blameless. The driver issue was big across the board though. I think Windows 7 was the first version that didn't seem to degrade over time and need a clean re-installation every once in a while. Though XP gets a lot of accolades, I think Win 7 was their first really good OS. I suspect that once the dust settles, the same will be said for Win 8 as well, especially if they were to return the start button on the desktop, which was a foolish thing for them to take away in the first place. Metro co-exists with the desktop, you switch between the two of them at will. Whoever convinced them to take away the start button was probably a planted employee from Apple

[Tall Timbers]

I wasn't able to get rid of 10 GB of a win 7 install that I needed on the computer just to get win 8 upgrade to install. I even used the dos attrib command that has done the trick for me even up to Win 7. I downloaded a freeware app that claimed to be able to delete anything and it did, in fact rid me of the remnants of the Win 7 installation, opening up 10 GB on my 120 GB SSD drive.

I'm starting to get familiar with the interface... one thing I can say for the OS is the thing works. Except for deleting that old Windows directory, I've been able to manage whatever I want without hiccups. I think I'll grow to appreciate everything but the interface. This interface is simply not designed for someone who installs as many apps as I will. My Metro interface is going to be a mile long before I'm done.

[Hootmon]

This interface is simply not designed for someone who installs as many apps as I will. My Metro interface is going to be a mile long before I'm done.

Welcome to the dumbing down of Windows, my (also apparantly elderly) Brother.

[HisBeloved]

Well I finally got my new HP laptop fired up and ready to go! So far, I like W8. I think its really easy, especially for my computer needs. Happy that I will be able to post more now that I have a keyboard!! Yall are gonna get sick of me

[Tall Timbers]

I installed a freeware called "Classic Shell" which gave me my start button back. With that I'm happy enough. Maybe MS will wise-up and return the start button in a future service pack.

[Tall Timbers]

Everything is installed and the system is optimized. Boot time from pressing the power button to sign in screen is 24 seconds. The normal "off" for Windows 8 is sleep mode, which takes just 2 or 3 seconds to fully waken. Except for the interface I think MS has created a winner. The Classic Start freeware that I mentioned earlier gives me a start button and defaults the OS to the desktop screen v.s. the Metro, so I'm content. For people with Windows 7 systems, my recommendation is that you don't bother to upgrade, Windows 7 is good enough. For those buying new computers, get Windows 8... don't settle for Windows 7. For people with XP, Vista, Me, 98, 95, NT, etc... I recommend you just keep doing with what you have .

One of my daughters got the computer that was replaced. I added an SSD to that one and reinstalled everything. Now I need to wipe our data from her old computer and then take it to the family that'll be receiving it, and then loading all their stuff onto it... then I'll be done

[IMSAVED]

I am not going to download it.My next computer that I buy will already have Windows 8 on it.I am just not tech savvy enough to do it.I am afraid I will crash my computer.

[HisBeloved]

Everything is installed and the system is optimized. Boot time from pressing the power button to sign in screen is 24 seconds. The normal "off" for Windows 8 is sleep mode, which takes just 2 or 3 seconds to fully waken. Except for the interface I think MS has created a winner. The Classic Start freeware that I mentioned earlier gives me a start button and defaults the OS to the desktop screen v.s. the Metro, so I'm content. For people with Windows 7 systems, my recommendation is that you don't bother to upgrade, Windows 7 is good enough. For those buying new computers, get Windows 8... don't settle for Windows 7. For people with XP, Vista, Me, 98, 95, NT, etc... I recommend you just keep doing with what you have .

One of my daughters got the computer that was replaced. I added an SSD to that one and reinstalled everything. Now I need to wipe our data from her old computer and then take it to the family that'll be receiving it, and then loading all their stuff onto it... then I'll be done

Yes, I learned the hard way not to shut computer down completely. It froze up for some reason
Definitely liking W8.