Win 8.1 Preview

col.in.Cr

How about we go back to this?

trellheim

why not ? anybody with any recent knowledge of windows could use it from w7 back to NT4 or farther . Basic and gets the job done, no stupid mandatory UI change

unkel

Looks the €3 I paid for Start8 is still a sound investment

col.in.Cr

unkel wrote: »

Looks the €3 I paid for Start8 is still a sound investment

If it does the trick for you its a bargain

Installed 8.1 on my laptop, typing this from it actually.

I like the improvements to the Start screen, the down arrow to access all applications is a lot easier than the "right-click and choose All Apps" in Windows 8. The return of the button will make my life easier too, I find Windows 8 a pain in that sense, especially when connected to it via a windowed RDP session.

I see they've also replaced Command Prompt in the Win+X menu with PowerShell.

The only thing I really don't like at the moment is the This PC changes. I don't use any of the default user folders except the Desktop. While you can collapse them in the actual folder, they remain on top in the folder tree. So when you're browsing an open or save dialogue you have to scroll down to see your drives in the tree.

worded

I think I will stick with Win NT

Dan_Solo

Really loved Windows 8 with the tweak prog (no corners/charms) and the reg hack to skip the lock screen etc.
But if 8;1 has the same driver set it won't be worth a ****e on this Dell so I'll still have to pass.

Kynareth

col.in.Cr wrote: »

How about we go back to this?

Been there done that:(though I don't prefer it this way)
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/21623584/XPStyle.png

beauf

Personally I clean up my folders so they are grouped logically. Though I have all most common stuff pinned to the task bar.

Overheal

huh.

"To install Windows 8.1 Preview from an ISO file, you must first convert the ISO file into installation media stored on a DVD or a USB flash drive.

If you're using Windows 8, follow these steps to install Windows 8.1 Preview from an ISO file:

Download the ISO (.iso) file.

Double-tap or double-click the ISO file.

Double-tap or double-click setup.exe and follow the steps.

If you're using Windows 7, the easiest way to convert an ISO file to a DVD is to use Windows Disc Image Burner. On a PC running Windows XP or Windows Vista, a third-party program is required to convert an ISO file into installable media—and DVD burning software often includes this capability."

Wasnt aware 8 had native ISO support like that. Thats new and exceptionally useful

Capt'n Midnight

Overheal wrote: »

Wasnt aware 8 had native ISO support like that. Thats new and exceptionally useful

So they finally copied that from everyone else ?

I remember looking for an app to backup a CD in Linux and then finding out you just use dd :rolleyes:


Anyway
Cdburn.exe: ISO CD-ROM Burner Tool
has been in the Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools for ages for those still using 32 bit XP
https://www.microsoft.com/en-ie/download/details.aspx?id=17657

and 7zip will happily read iso's


and of course this
www.microsoft.com/en-ie/download/details.aspx?id=38780
This utility enables users of Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 to mount ISO disk image files as virtual CD-ROM drives.

dloob

I may try the ISO in a VM.
If the windows store version worked without hacks I'd try it on my main machine.

I'm most looking forward to the unified search.
My main interaction with the start menu in Windows 7 is to press the start key and type the first few letters of what I want.
That's pretty unchanged in Windows 8 except the control panel items are separate and I need to tab to select them.
So having it all together again will make things smoother.

The start screen is growing on me, especially now that I have Steam Tile which makes my steam games all pretty.
Not having everything I install adding icons for me to unpin will be nice too.

Overheal

Ive noticed the ISOs are designed for Enterprise and Volume license users... but the "windows store" method kept throwing up a generic error...

I couldn't mount them, it kept throwing up a generic error. Created a bootable USB and ran it in windows and it got stuck at 57% before a generic crash error

booted it from BIOS and a handful of times it didn't recognize it as a bootable, until I flicked on legacy modes in the BIOS, then it told me I couldn't install 8.1 because it wasn't a GPT hard drive (??) and only after I was done wiping my install. Yay!

Then the recoverydrive I made wouldn't seem to work, they said the hard drive was locked and I would need to unlock it. OEM recovery tools appeared to reimage the drive but the laptop would boot and yell at me that there was nothing to boot to.. until I reset the BIOS to default and it was out of the box mode again.

this is a lot of shyte to go through for early release preview. a lot of shyte.

now attempting the clean install. ran updates in 8, removed OEM antivirus (bleh. McAfee) and its downloading in the store now.

Between this and my previous horror story with Office license activations (some of you may remember my rant about that..) I'm getting fed up with the troubleshooting aspect of Windows. When it works it works, but when it doesn't work holy moly. Unlike the Office thing however, they did to their credit warn me when I did this that Preview isn't for the faint of heart.

emokin

would I be able to use 8.1 as a normal os? Just until I get windows 7.

Overheal

you mean with no previous license?

emokin

Yes, it would be an install over linux. (lol)

unkel

Yep fully legal. Valid until mid January '14

emokin

thanks.

emokin

emokin wrote: »

thanks.

So I installed windows server 2012, and it's looking great. It's pretty much a desktop computer now, all my previous windows apps installed. And I got it for 180 days.

Thanks for the tip. It's good to be home.

cookie1977

Looks like it's available to all users now no matter what language pack you have:
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Windows-8-1-Preview-Now-Available-for-All-Users-365280.shtml

dloob

cookie1977 wrote: »

Looks like it's available to all users now no matter what language pack you have:
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Windows-8-1-Preview-Now-Available-for-All-Users-365280.shtml

Looks like it.
The preview is downloading for me now.
There was no corrupted text in the windows store this time either.
I tried some of the workaround before and got the messed up text and decided to revert it.

cookie1977

I tried this but it failed like the other attempts previously. Always with this error:
https://us.v-cdn.net/6034073/uploads/attachments/250526/261103.jpg

Might bite the bullet and use the iso for a clean install.

beauf

Is there anything in this (over 8.0) that make it worth downloading. Note I'm using Classic Start already.

Overheal

Nah.

col.in.Cr

beauf wrote: »

Is there anything in this (over 8.0) that make it worth downloading. Note I'm using Classic Start already.

You get this on boot up

beauf

Oooh nice

dloob

Spoke too soon, it's an error after downloading.
0x1900102
Seems to be because I have users moved to the drive. :rolleyes:

200motels

I bit the bullet and reinstalled Windows 8 but this time as a dual boot with 7, I've downloaded the 8.1 preview and installed it and it looks good TBH, now what I want to know is when 8.1 is officially released will I have to go to the bother of reinstalling Windows 8 all over again?

nc6000

You might have to install again from scratch. I read that it mightn't be possible to upgrade to the official 8.1 when it comes out. This was enough to put me off installing the preview.

_Kaiser_

nc6000 wrote: »

You might have to install again from scratch. I read that it mightn't be possible to upgrade to the official 8.1 when it comes out. This was enough to put me off installing the preview.

That's true.. you can't - clean install only if you install the Preview

I wouldn't bother though. I loaded it up here for testing purposes the other day and it did not play nice with Office 13 (particularly Lync). Ended up reloading it after wasting time uninstalling/re-installing/repairing, removal tools, registry edits etc.

Luckily I was using a spare machine.. as a general rule you should never put any (not just Windows to be fair) pre-release/beta software on a production/primary machine.