Windows 8 will be available Oct.26 2012

EvilHorace · Post by **EvilHorace** » Sun Oct 28, 2012 8:21 pm

My older Dell laptop with its new SSD and Win8 boots quickly but it's not as fast as my new desktop system running Win7 (and SSDs) and far more cpu power, memory. I'm in no rush to put Win8 on either of my Win7 PCs.

I can also see where many people who aren't use to changes aren't going to like the changes to Win8.

As for the desktop wallpaper/theme issue, from what I found at another site is that others who've done a clean install on a different drive are also having that problem. One guy said he fixed it by re-installing Win7 first, then running the upgrade so it might come to that. The problem wasn't uncommon with Win7 to some also.

EvilHorace · Post by **EvilHorace** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 6:52 am

Today I was able to change the wallpaper and scenes too w/o doing anything. Maybe it just takes some time (or a reboot or 2) after being activated to work?

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 10:19 am

I've posted it before, but if you want to restore full start menu functionality and bypass the Metro desktop entirely (boot directly to the classic desktop) use Classic Shell: http://classicshell.sourceforge.net/

This completely bypasses the Metro UI - it even optionally disables the lower left corner click for the Metro UI (although you can still get to it via the charms menu). It gives you normal classic desktop functionality with the traditional programs list. They have recently updated the program to work seamlessly with Win8 and you have a choice of several start menu styles (classic Win2K, Vista, Win7, and custom).

I suspect I'll be installing Classic Shell on a lot of office PCs in the future, and if I was going to use Win8 on my main desktop I would definitely install it.

I can really see how the Metro UI will work brilliantly with a touch screen. I can also see how non-techies who don't need desktop functionality might like the Metro desktop.

EvilHorace · Post by **EvilHorace** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 1:38 pm

So far I have no issues with keeping the Metro UI. All one has to do to get it out of sight is press the desktop key and it then looks like any other Windows desktop. It's also easy to add desktop icons like "Computer", "control panel", "network", etc so that can always be the way we're use to.

Executioner · Post by **Executioner** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 1:42 pm

EvilHorace wrote:Fixed it!

Found the easy solution to run as admin, entered that command, rebooted and it worked.

Went to check, says it's activated.

So how was this fixed?

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 3:29 pm

Only issue I'm having is that the settings for the touchpad don't appear - I get a blank window. I'm using a Win8 driver that others say works fine for them, so I suspect something went wrong. I did install the wrong driver first (a Synaptics driver instead of the ElanTech driver) and I suspect that may have mucked things up.

It works, but I can't adjust any of the settings and I'd like to fiddle with the palm detection. I'll try uninstalling the driver and manually wiping the registry entry and try again. Worst case I can live with it.

GuardianAsher · Post by **GuardianAsher** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 3:55 pm

I just purchased the upgrade.. found this on the net

http://techpp.com/2012/10/27/windows-8-promo-code/

Of course, I had just recently bought a laptop with Windows 7 within the promo period, and I would -never- suggest anyone try to skirt rules and regulations...

But $15 Windows 8 upgrade is pretty sweet...

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 4:08 pm

Hmmm. I'll try that tonight. Wouldn't mind having a few spare licenses for that price. I actually remember seeing the box for the promo code when I purchased the license through the upgrade assistant and wondered at the time what that was all about.

For fun today I'm sitting at Starbucks with my Netbook running Win8 and switched it into more aggressive power savings mode which seems to be buying me an extra hour of battery life without being annoying. On a modern CPU it REALLY throttles down the clock when idling. I've been leaving task manager open (I REALLY like the new task manager - wish I could port it to Win7) and my 2.4GHz CPU is running at .77 GHz while I'm typing and browsing, and I don't feel any sluggishness at all.

If you're interested in some of the under-the-hood technical improvements in Win8, including the memory, battery & security improvements, it's nicely discussed here:
http://arstechnica.com/information-tech ... windows-8/

EvilHorace · Post by **EvilHorace** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 6:51 pm

So how was this fixed?

Ex, see post #50 and the link in that post too.

Executioner · Post by **Executioner** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 10:03 pm

GuardianAsher wrote:I just purchased the upgrade.. found this on the net

http://techpp.com/2012/10/27/windows-8-promo-code/

Of course, I had just recently bought a laptop with Windows 7 within the promo period, and I would -never- suggest anyone try to skirt rules and regulations...

But $15 Windows 8 upgrade is pretty sweet...

Wow thanks for that info. I just completed it like the site said, and they never asked for Win7 CD key even thought I have a 3 user license. Now just waiting for the confirmation email. For my PC model: "Other" and P4 Quad Core as the name.

normalicy · Post by **normalicy** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 10:16 pm

GuardianAsher wrote:I just purchased the upgrade.. found this on the net

http://techpp.com/2012/10/27/windows-8-promo-code/

Of course, I had just recently bought a laptop with Windows 7 within the promo period, and I would -never- suggest anyone try to skirt rules and regulations...

But $15 Windows 8 upgrade is pretty sweet...

Sweet! However, checkout isn't working. Looks like they may be slammed.

Executioner · Post by **Executioner** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 10:21 pm

The email is asking:

Next Steps
Running Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant helps you know if your PC is ready for Windows 8, provides you with a compatibility report, and then walks you through the steps to purchase, download, and install Windows 8 Pro, right from the Upgrade Assistant.
Important Notes:
• You’ll need to run the Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant on the PC you want to upgrade.
• Once you get to the purchase screen, it will show the full price. However, on the order confirmation page you’ll have a chance to enter your promo code – then the price will change to your Windows Upgrade Offer promotional price* after clicking apply.

I don't want to upgrade. I just want to download the file and burn it on a DVD or other media.

normalicy · Post by **normalicy** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 10:23 pm

You have to run the upgrade assistant to buy & get the software. As far as I know, you can choose to install it later & choose either an ISO image or bootable flash image. However, I can't get that far because the checkout keeps failing.

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 10:25 pm

I think they fixed it because now it's asking for a CD key and I tried several legit ones (but weren't purchased recently) and it didn't accept them.

Executioner · Post by **Executioner** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 10:34 pm

FlyingPenguin wrote:I think they fixed it because now it's asking for a CD key and I tried several legit ones (but weren't purchased recently) and it didn't accept them.

BUMMER!!!

Oh well. It was worth a shot.