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Windows 8.1 |OT| There's your start button

Think I'm up and running now. A catalyst reinstall fixed that up.

So not much pain in the upgrade. It boots to desktop nicely now and I can go back to completely ignoring anything else they added.

The only complaint is the new search on the menu sucks and shows a heap of crap I would never need...but I can deal with ignoring it to run an app (pretty rare that I do this anyway, because anything I need is on the taskbar).

Gemüsepizza;86501776 said:
- The option to not use a Microsoft account during install was hidden, I think this is bullshit.

- I am using the start screen to display all apps with "Boot to desktop" activated. I would prefer if I could turn off "apps" and only display all normal applications.

I'm with you. I couldn't work out how to skip it so had to dig out my microsoft password. Felt dirty.

With the rest, the message seems to be that Microsoft will let you skip right past the rubbish they are trying to force onto you...but if you ever venture back in there, you are doing it their way.
 
D

Deleted member 1235

Unconfirmed Member
The only complaint is the new search on the menu sucks and shows a heap of crap I would never need...but I can deal with ignoring it to run an app (pretty rare that I do this anyway, because anything I need is on the taskbar).

haha. feel bad for MS on this one, they previously had them seperated into 3 categories and the whole world immediately declared it worse than aids.
 
haha. feel bad for MS on this one, they previously had them seperated into 3 categories and the whole world immediately declared it worse than aids.

It just blows my mind that the solution to defaulting to "apps" is to instead default to "everything" and remove "apps" as an option.

sigh
 

Jokab

Member
So since updating yesterday, my adaptive contrast stuff is back, and I hate it. I know in windows 8 the setting used to be in Intel Graphics HD Control Center or something, but in the version I have now I can't find it. I've also disabled the sensoring service in services.msc, and in the windows power plan. Still getting this shit. I'm on an Asus Zenbook UX32A.
 
D

Deleted member 1235

Unconfirmed Member
It just blows my mind that the solution to defaulting to "apps" is to instead default to "everything" and remove "apps" as an option.

sigh

I just checked.... removing apps is a bit of a headscratcher, must have been an oversight because there is like....4 other options they put in there.
 

hadareud

The Translator
Yeah, the app search feature was one of the best things about search in W8. I used it a lot and to remove it is, frankly, a pain in the arse.

I hope they bring it back, but then I already hoped they'd do with the full release once they'd seen the error of their ways in the preview.
 
D

Deleted member 1235

Unconfirmed Member
I'm getting more positive on it actually.

just saw that MS updated the surface so PXE boot is possible, that plus having a docking station now means these things have a shot at corporate.

i'm already investigating deployment stuff for work. booting to desktop and telling people 'start menu looks a bit different now' will make the transition already quite a bit less jarring.
 
Surface Pro with 8.1 should be able to do Miracast screen mirroring, but it doesn't detect my tv (Sony W905A) *sigh* The tv does detect the Surface as a compatible device.
 

plainr_

Member
I've been missing out, too much GTAV. :)

Been looking forward to this. I'm going to update as soon as possible but I think I want to reinstall Windows just to be fresh again.
 

Jzero

Member
My most wanted feature for 8.2 is still the ability to have semi transparent windows. Just like how the taskbar looks.
 

Zeknurn

Member
My most wanted feature for 8.2 is still the ability to have semi transparent windows. Just like how the taskbar looks.

They killed aero because it was a battery and performance drain. If anything they should remove the translucency from the taskbar as well.
 

Goku

Banned
Have it running on my Surface RT. The new multitasking modes and the small tiles are really useful. By the way, the FB live tile is pretty boring. It only shows new updates right?
 
D

Deleted member 1235

Unconfirmed Member
My most wanted feature for 8.2 is still the ability to have semi transparent windows. Just like how the taskbar looks.

If I could have all apps running showing on the taskbar as well so I could seemlessly work between desktop and metro apps without confusing myself then i would place this as a better OS above windows 7.

Right now I only like it because I'm used to it and it's faster, so there is a few qualifications there. If I could get a better workflow going between apps and desktop, I'd just say it's better.

has anyone used one of those touch mouse things? Does it make desktop use any good or is it a shit gimmicky thing?

all these things
http://www.microsoftstore.com/store...earchResultsPage&result=&keywords=touch+mouse
 
So I just installed 8.1
The Notification icons are all blown up and blurry. and the text in my internet browser appears to be lower quality. My screen display is 1440x900 but despite it being set to that all the icons and such seem far bigger and more of an eyesore.

Anyone else getting similar problems?
 
If I go through the Windows Store to update from 8.1 preview to final, it shouldn't touch the non-os drive right?(ie the 2TB one where most of my things are)

So I just installed 8.1
The Notification icons are all blown up and blurry. and the text in my internet browser appears to be lower quality. My screen display is 1440x900 but despite it being set to that all the icons and such seem far bigger and more of an eyesore.

Anyone else getting similar problems?
Go to your charms bar, settings, change pc settings, change the size of apps on the screen, and then change the size of apps at the bottom from the default to smaller. Could be a separate issue of course, especially as you mention your internet browser being blurry. Although if you're using a metro version than that could still affect it.
 

Groof

Junior Member
Guess third time's the charm, finally got it to install properly on my desktop. Still on the final setup screen but I'm looking forward to see how it is at final last.

edit: Argh my start menu setup is gone. Crud!
 

Laranja

Member
My computer is taking a lot more time to boot now that I've updated to 8.1. Is this a common thing? I loved how fast it booted before the update...
 

Baleoce

Member
Copy/Pasta from other thread, because I still have the issue:

I'm trying to update from Windows 8.1 preview to Windows 8.1 (I know that I'll have to reinstall all of my desktop and metro apps, it's cool, I didn't read the fineprint).

But after I downloaded the update from the Windows Store, it just says "we couldn't update the system reserved partition".

Whatmore, it then forces me to redownload the whole update. I looked up the problem on some other forums and supposedly it has something to do with my BDE System partition.

ibc9DKvO3aGeol.png


I heard it needs at least 100MB, and the partition size is 300MB as you can see. I know there's less than that free, but how do I go about freeing that up? I was hesitant to just blindly format it incase that information is needed, and I'm just assuming that this is the problem. (I've heard other reports saying you need 350MB, which would leave me out of luck)
 
D

Deleted member 1235

Unconfirmed Member
Nope, nothing works, all my icons and shit are massive. It makes 1440x900 look like shit. What is going on?

check your video driver. on one of our older PCs it put the 'basic microsoft video driver' there as the old one was deemed 'incompatible' you might need to download/reinstall your manufacturers driver.
 

hadareud

The Translator
Copy/Pasta from other thread, because I still have the issue:

I'm trying to update from Windows 8.1 preview to Windows 8.1 (I know that I'll have to reinstall all of my desktop and metro apps, it's cool, I didn't read the fineprint).

But after I downloaded the update from the Windows Store, it just says "we couldn't update the system reserved partition".

Whatmore, it then forces me to redownload the whole update. I looked up the problem on some other forums and supposedly it has something to do with my BDE System partition.

ibc9DKvO3aGeol.png


I heard it needs at least 100MB, and the partition size is 300MB as you can see. I know there's less than that free, but how do I go about freeing that up? I was hesitant to just blindly format it incase that information is needed, and I'm just assuming that this is the problem. (I've heard other reports saying you need 350MB, which would leave me out of luck)

Use the disk cleanup tool.

Windows.old can be 5, 6 gig by itself, I'd get rid of that.
 

rakhir

Member
After the update my games were suddenly in 3d, and i mean by that they were blue and red. 3d vision was active, and i didn't even had that on my computer before.
Remember to reinstall your nvidia drivers after the update, folks.
 
I can't get the update to appear. Whenever I open the Store, it doesn't show up. Rebooting doesn't help, either, nor trying to access it any other way.

I'm guessing this is linked to my inability to effectively update W8. Every time I try, the system gets caught in an infinite loop during updating and ends up showing nothing but a black screen. I left it running overnight to install the - now 79 - updates I had lined up, and it ended up just the same. I need to manually force the computer off and use System Restore to actually get it to boot again.

I don't suppose anyone knows a workaround here?
 

Jzero

Member
It seems that most people with graphical glitches(besides overscanning) seem to be Nvidia users.
 

solarus

Member
Updated, but need some help from you guys please.
When i used to boot up it would take me straight to the start menu, now it takes me to a stupid lock screen (that looks unecessary unless you have a tablet) and the screen after i have to type my microsoft password, which I never had to do before. How can I get rid of these annoyances, I prefer to get to the start screen as fast as possible.
 

lexi

Banned
Updated, but need some help from you guys please.
When i used to boot up it would take me straight to the start menu, now it takes me to a stupid lock screen (that looks unecessary unless you have a tablet) and the screen after i have to type my microsoft password, which I never had to do before. How can I get rid of these annoyances, I prefer to get to the start screen as fast as possible.

You'll want to setup an auto-login, cause I'm pretty sure passwords are required for user accounts in Windows 8.

You can do this by hitting Windows Key + R, typing 'control userpasswords2', and de-selecting 'Users must enter a username and password to use this computer'

It will prompt you for the credentials to your account, but after this, you'll boot straight through.
 
Updated, but need some help from you guys please.
When i used to boot up it would take me straight to the start menu, now it takes me to a stupid lock screen (that looks unecessary unless you have a tablet) and the screen after i have to type my microsoft password, which I never had to do before. How can I get rid of these annoyances, I prefer to get to the start screen as fast as possible.
http://betanews.com/2013/08/27/automate-login-and-bypass-the-lock-and-start-screens-in-windows-8-1/

I found this site. Haven't restarted test yet though.
 

kharma45

Member
You'll want to setup an auto-login, cause I'm pretty sure passwords are required for user accounts in Windows 8.

You can do this by hitting Windows Key + R, typing 'control userpasswords2', and de-selecting 'Users must enter a username and password to use this computer'

It will prompt you for the credentials to your account, but after this, you'll boot straight through.

When I do that I don't get the option to disable my password for whatever reason.
 

pestul

Member
Hmm, I didn't think it was going to install on its own last night. Kind of wish it would have prompted me at the end of the download as I had a few clients (F@H etc) running. Oh well.. no harm it seems. I was just getting used to living without a start button and I'm not all that happy to see it back tbh.
 
When I do that I don't get the option to disable my password for whatever reason.

To get rid of it completely you need to cut yourself off from Microsoft:

Go to "PC Settings" (simply type PC into search and browse through the 24323526 options it brings up) > accounts and your account. Up the top you'll see a "disconnect" option. Click this to get rid of that and you'll be prompted for a new password. Leave it blank.
 
I highly advise not being connected to the internet when installing Windows for the first time!

Registering with your Microsoft account during that time is a terrible idea as it changes your absolute user directory to a mess or random digits, as opose to a name.

First create an offline account, than log in.

Example:
Online only - C:Usersdid484jdjri
Offline first - C:UsersWill Smith

This is terrible for anyone relying on absolute paths.

It never did that for me on any of my computers
 

Zeknurn

Member
I highly advise not being connected to the internet when installing Windows for the first time!

Registering with your Microsoft account during that time is a terrible idea as it changes your absolute user directory to a mess or random digits, as opose to a name.

First create an offline account, than log in.

Example:
Online only - C:Usersdid484jdjri
Offline first - C:UsersWill Smith

This is terrible for anyone relying on absolute paths.

No it doesn't. It creates a folder using your first name listed on the Microsoft account. Nothing more.
 

Tunesmith

formerly "chigiri"
Is this not activation related?

I work on secureboot related technologies
but not on windows desktop
:

While I'm not sure exactly how windows determines whether or not the copy of windows is activated, it is certainly possible that Secureboot is part of that chain. I'm sure they'll fix it relatively quickly. Pure speculation, but it might be a TPM or UEFI variable slip for a configuration they didn't account for.

I'm recounting from memory here but activation is one potential reason, one could be lucky and just run SLUI 03 and input your CD key and reboot and solve it, but sadly it's not always the case.

I have one of the Alienware X51 rigs and this is apparently DELL's suggested solution, I haven't tested it yet.

  • Boot to BIOS by tapping F2 key on the startup.
  • First LOAD LEGACY ROM option should be set to 'Disabled'.
  • Then change the SECURE BOOT to 'Enabled'.
  • Save the settings and exit the BIOS.
  • Restart the system and check functionality.

The Windwos 8.1 rollup update should remove the watermark appropriately regardless. Not sure on when it's due out though (although the RTM build of said update has leaked: see http://www.neowin.net/news/windows-81-rtm-ga-rollup-a-x64-leaks-to-internet)

Windows 8.1 x64 RTM (Windows 8.1 GA Rollup A)
Install Order:
KB2894179
KB2883200
KB2894029

These patches should be applied to the official RTM image before the official release (General Availability).

Note: This will be available via Windows Update too...
Note2: For more info Google: Windows 8.1 GA Rollup A
Not sure what GAFs policy is on directly linking to these leaked updates so I'll refrain from doing that for now.
 
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