Windows 8 Release Preview

[andressergio]

I got the iso yesterday but haven't burned and installed it yet (let a buddy borrow my usb stick).

I do agree that it installs fast.
But I don't agree on the quick startup, it seems like a bit slower startup to me.
Just that it takes 100% of it's startup time exe'ing the boot manager, at which point the os is already fully loaded up.
Also, this essentially double's/triples startup times for win7 if you have it installed to the side, 'cause 1st you must startup win8, then it restarts the pc into win7.

WinME lol...
Everyone hates that os except me.
I liked it.
Yeah it had a 1 major issue.
If you del'ed all the defaults under the 2 run key's, HKCU/HKLM, then 100% of the probs went away.
It was such a simple tweak too.
I liked it because it was slightly more up to date then 2k, also I did not like win98.
I used use win95 even though I had win98 at the time, once winme came out I switched to it.
It's wasn't quite as quick as win95, being that it took up more ram and such.
But it's hd speeds are leaps and bounds ahead, I think it was a program called neoragex or something, in some sort of emu, the hd speed, loading and decompressing large roms was way quicker.
Plus it was much more up to date then win95, which at the time, was a pain in the butt to setup and update all the way at that time.

I never did get my hands on neptune, the very last win9x os, which was dumped 1/4 or 1/2 of the way through dev'ing it, and focus was made on xp.

I may switch back to win2k3.
If I can get dx11 working 100% in it, I will switch back.
Apparently the xp patch for that has been worked on lots since the original back in the day.
The idea is this, if dx11 can be ported 100%, then all I would need doing is to redo the taskbar to show a small preview screen of the task when hovering over it, via ahk script .
Btw, win7 uses not dx10/11 for it's dwm, but dx9 lol, not sure about win8 though, never checked it.

Anyways I'm gonna install win8 rp either tonight or tomorrow and see if the speed has improved or not.

i installed from scratch as the update sucks really dont update !!!

from scratch its awesome fast and only known issues for now is CRYSIS2 not working with DX11 and 3Dm11

all games i tested run perfect even those heavy on DX11 like BF3, MOH, BAC etc

cheers to all

btw i cant get use not to have a start button :/

[[XC] Oj101]

I don't touch my screen... it is 2 monitors, actually: usual 24" monitor, and another one 22".
You are not required to ditch you mouse
Moreover, nobody forces you to use metro. I see it only when i need something there... I use very regular desktop:
Attachment 127288

I thought Aero was removed (the translucent title bars, etc)?

[NEOAethyr]

I thought Aero was removed (the translucent title bars, etc)?

Nah, aero is still there.
In the Cp ver, the previous public build, that's all I know of right now...
That had aero and basic themes, but no classic themes, no way for the user to disable aero (still possible though, I think).
Even if you stop the dwm service, it'll auto restart it's self.
I don't believe there's a uxsms service anymore, I could be wrong, I'm typing this out on win7...

One very interesting this though about win8, and something that I liked.
Is that you can outright get rid or disable the theme service and still have the themes and aero working perfectly fine.
That may of changed by now or may change.

Anyways win8 has a slightly pimped out theme compared to win7.
For example, the titles are centered instead of being on the left.

One other ui inprovement, other then the small misc things is the new copy file manager.
Which is very nice btw.

Win8 is essentually win7, with a few theme tweaks, and no start button (good for some, bad for others).
A new copy file manager...
With a crappy html interface laid on top of it called metro lol...
AND a really crappy bootmgr (there was sh@t out over 10 years ago that was both smaller, quicker and prettier then this..., boot magic I think, even x11 baised boot mgr's would look better but would probably be just as slow to get up and running).

I really wanted to switch to win8 after i got done tweaking the cp ver, but 1000us of latency when my win7 avg's around 80us, and 4k less in copy bandwith in aida well...
Then I tried to run a game, sf x tekken, that game runs great on my win7, it's such a low end game i guess you could say it runs way up in the fps.
But in win8, it was so freaking slow I got to the title screen but couldn't sit there long enough for the char select screen without going nuts.

Some games don't wanna run on win8 btw.
But if you crack them they tend to work anyways ^^.
Had to do that with sf x tekken, didn't need a emu for xlive or whatever it's called in win7, but win8 I had to emu that to get it to run the game.
I don't even know where I found the emu lol, I hate xlive and steam, bleh.

I gotta get going , latez gaterz

[[XC] Oj101]

This is what I was talking about http://www.extremetech.com/computing...nd-cheesy-aero Well I'm glad it stays, the pictures in the article look far too Mac for my liking

[andressergio]

just want to report this

_IQ is much better than W7
_its faster
_i like very much options on menu of explorer
-most things seem to work
-faster to install

but

-games some run some not, DX11 an issue
-data CRC check on ISO images...
-CRYSIS2 dont work nor MAX PAYNE 3
-metro interface still dunno to what it leads

i did this on same RAID of intel SSD 520, first fresh install of W8x64 release preview then W7x64 SP1, i would love to stay on W8 but not until drivers are made for it

hope it helps
Sergio

[rge]

I had windows 8 installed since yesterday..my take is....How to take the convenience of navigating a desktop computer and make it as annoying as navigating an iphone. The power button for restarting, what idiot thought of that placement. The humongous start menu is a giant advertisement for microsoft complete with apps store, windows live, and wants you to sign up with email, your phone number, your birthdate all so you can visit their store.

As for 8 being faster, I had timed installation of 2 programs when measuring SSD performance, and got same time within measurement error of windows 7 to 8. 8 doesnt boot any faster than 7 either.

One feature I like about 8 is even after you turn off the idiotic user control crap, it still wont let you run any new program with some huge screen popping and getting in your way...maybe downsize that stupid thing about 20x.

Windows 8 is like a crappy port from an iphone. Its kind of like playing resident evil on a PC.

Im thinking microsoft needs to hire tens of thousands to go espouse its brilliance to masses and pray, otherwise just cant see this thing going anywhere. Either that or improve the port job from the iphone.

[rintamarotta]

I like from Windows 8, im not using metro at all but never realized that i dont actually need start menu button, ui is more cleaner and important and advanced features are bit more easelly accessable compared to Windows 7 with its startmenu.

Windows 8 is also bit faster than Windows 7 at least for me but there are some critical bugs, with SandForce SSD's and nVidia graphics cards it will hang and eventually crash about every 10min - 4hours when there is no problems same time in Windows 7 at all.
There are also some copatibility problems with Windows 8 and some applications.

I havent used metro ui and will not use it, i refuce to use features that are ment for touch screen devices.

I will stay out of Windows 8 untill stability and copatibiltiy problems are fixed and new drivers have appeared.

Machine im testing Windows 8 with is i7 3770k, Maximus IV Extreme-Z, 16Gb of DDR3-2133 and GTX580.

btw i cant get use not to have a start button :/

There is still kind of start button, go bottom left corner of the screen and small square box appears, right (right mouse button) click on it and small menu appears where you can choose where to go in windows.

[Mats]

btw i cant get use not to have a start button :/

It's still there, but invisible.

[Mats]

EDIT: It's old, but this blog at MSDN is just awesome: how to fail hard at designing a user interface. It's almost a year old, but since we now know how Win8 is, it's twice the fun:

Dunno if I'm pointing out the obvious, but it just gives you more options.

- Explorer, W7 style.
- Explorer with QAT in title bar.
- Explorer with QAT under menu bar.
- Explorer with Ribbon.

Since the Ribbon and QAT can be hidden, how's that a problem?

ANY function in the Ribbon can be added to the QAT, and the QAT can still be in the title bar, I think it's great.

[rge]

It's still there, but invisible.

not only invisible, but no power button. To get the power button, you have to go to right corner, scroll up, wait for side bar to pop out, hit settings, then you can see the power button.

I am thinking windows 8 is microsoft programmers that dont own a desktop, being passive aggressive towards those that do.

I can understand changing an efficient start menu from windows 7 into several hidden places in 2 corners with the main programs now expanded to take up the entire screen, along with microsoft advertisement programs and store apps, when working with a 3 to 10 inch touch screen. But just in past it made sense to make a business windows and personal windows, and now that has correctly merged, it is time for microsoft to make a tablet/iphone windows and a desktop one that efficiently takes advantage of desktops greater real estate. I dont need 2 inch by 2 inch start programs, though I can see my 3 year old niece liking it.

Bottom line, if tablet pcs, mobile devices, and iphones did not exist, there is ZERO chance microsoft would have designed windows 8 for such, they would have designed it for a desktop.

[Mats]

not only invisible, but no power button. To get the power button, you have to go to right corner, scroll up, wait for side bar to pop out, hit settings, then you can see the power button.

1 - Make a shortcut: http://www.ehow.com/how_2383727_make...t-windows.html
2 - Right click, add to Start.
3 - Done!
(Also, Alt F4 works)
Namnl?s.jpg
(No I don't use Bliss otherwise )

I dont need 2 inch by 2 inch start programs, though I can see my 3 year old niece liking it.

Yeah, but I've realized how rarely I use the Start menu, especially since W7.
But if it was possible to make it as small as in "Show all apps" it would be an improvement:
http://blogs.msdn.com/cfs-filesystem...0_2D8D1CC2.png

[Buckeye]

Ok lets go with this Start Button thing.
I had Win 8 installed on a test rig for a short period but had to move on to builds.

So you just installed a new program, where does it show up now so that you can launch it ?
Are you forced to use a desktop shortcut or does it appear some place else ?

I know basic noob question on Win 8 here, wish I had the test rig setup so I could mess with it.

[NEOAethyr]

This is what I was talking about http://www.extremetech.com/computing...nd-cheesy-aero Well I'm glad it stays, the pictures in the article look far too Mac for my liking

I think probably that article is wrong.
Pretty sure you can still enable transparency and everything from the display cpl like in win7, you could in the consumer preview.


Edit:
You'll have to make your own menu of some sorts, at a min a folder on the desktop with your fav programs organized in it.
Like I said before, I use the quick launch (tip, make a folder in quick lauch as the main start button along side showdesktop shortcut, press and hold ctrl button while left clicking on the folder in the quick launch will make an expandable menu that pops out like an old school classic winxp start menu, just one issue, can't sort the files but it's still better then win7/win8's ver of a menu).

You could replace the location in the registry where the "programs" folder is.
Or you can point your quick launch to that folder instead like I do.
Make a new folder on your desktop called:
Programs.{7BE9D83C-A729-4D97-B5A7-1B7313C39E0A}
Move it where you want, it's you're new programs menu .
That's one step for you guys .
(You'll have to do one peice of reg work to hide that extention though... you'll understand once you try it)

[Mats]

Are you forced to use a desktop shortcut or does it appear some place else ?

I think MS wants us to use the taskbar more, put your most used programs there, especially if you don't like Metro very much.
I'd put rarely used programs in Start.

Use right click for both actions. If you don't have a shortcut you can use search in Start (click lower left corner and start typing, just like in W7) or Explorer, or look in Program Files.

[Buckeye]

I use Start for things like MicroSoft Office (and others), to many things to pin to the task bar so if I need something I do not use very often I just drill through the Start Button list.

But often I use a folder on my desktop called... I know wait for it... Short Cuts LOL. I dump a lot of ones I hardly use there. Keeps my desktop clean I guess.

[Mats]

But often I use a folder on my desktop called... I know wait for it... Short Cuts LOL. I dump a lot of ones I hardly use there. Keeps my desktop clean I guess.

Put that folder in a toolbar instead, so you don't have to clear the desktop to open it.

I think search is great for those rarely used ones, well at least when I remember the name...

[andressergio]

i have locks all day with it and i mad because i love the IQ of it, i think it must be some driver as no drivers for anything yet

i use a pro audio card RME multiface and only drivers for 7x64

NVIDIA promised this week to release 302. drivers

BF3 has problems with IE10

CRYSIS2 dont work at all

MAX PAYNE 3 wont run, tried all

and so other stuff that locks


im sad as i luv the way it is very fast

guess i have to wait

[SEA]

not only invisible, but no power button. To get the power button, you have to go to right corner, scroll up, wait for side bar to pop out, hit settings, then you can see the power button.

Or just press Win+I

[rge]

1 - Make a shortcut: http://www.ehow.com/how_2383727_make...t-windows.html

Yeah, but I've realized how rarely I use the Start menu, especially since W7.
But if it was possible to make it as small as in "Show all apps" it would be an improvement:

Wife and I both waited to buy tablets for windows 8, will be xmas gifts this year, wife is looking forward to being able to sit outside and effectively navigate without a mouse. No question for mobile computers, windows 8 is going to be a major improvement with touch screen, and certainly better than scrolling on a laptop.

But putting it on desktops, I just dont see the point. You may not use start menu much, but fact that 8 had it put there by others, suggests many still do including myself. Especially if have other things on desktop I dont want to shrink or move around. But for 8 to make it to desktop in masses, imo they will need to allow massive customization unlike version I just tried, like show all apps I agree that is an improvement, and have windows start in whatever customizable mode one desires.

I dont think the more clicks to get what you need will fly on a desktop, and Im not remembering/using one shortcut, let alone several.... whole point of a desktop is more comfort/convenience/everything handy at 1 click and visible. And as for touch screen, I am not moving from my comfortable position to reach up and touch the screen once, let alone over and over, so not flying on mine. Now with my tablet laying in bed, watching tv at same time, thats a different story.

[SEA]

The metro start menu is fully customable, you can pun/unpin any app to/from start menu. Just right click on app item in metro (in both start and all apps screens) and you'll get menu bar on bottom.
Also you can move these tiles around in metro.
Or, start typing whatever you need - it will search for you.

[zanzabar]

i have locks all day with it and i mad because i love the IQ of it, i think it must be some driver as no drivers for anything yet

i use a pro audio card RME multiface and only drivers for 7x64

NVIDIA promised this week to release 302. drivers

BF3 has problems with IE10

CRYSIS2 dont work at all

MAX PAYNE 3 wont run, tried all

and so other stuff that locks


im sad as i luv the way it is very fast

guess i have to wait

dosnt crysis2 and max payne 3 both use root kits, i would bet that the cracked ones with no securom or rockstar network will work

[andressergio]

dosnt crysis2 and max payne 3 both use root kits, i would bet that the cracked ones with no securom or rockstar network will work

thanks zanzabar but i wonder what on earth are those lockups i have im on a new W7x64 install from scratch as my image was too old and no problem all works as always...im sad cauz i really luv the speed and IQ of W8 :/ i can be IDLE all nite dowloading soon as i start the explorer or a codec some mins and freezes slowly mean, windows stop working then no mouse and then no CTRL ALT SUP and gone...

thanks for your reply
Sergio

[andressergio]

not only invisible, but no power button. To get the power button, you have to go to right corner, scroll up, wait for side bar to pop out, hit settings, then you can see the power button.

I am thinking windows 8 is microsoft programmers that dont own a desktop, being passive aggressive towards those that do.

I can understand changing an efficient start menu from windows 7 into several hidden places in 2 corners with the main programs now expanded to take up the entire screen, along with microsoft advertisement programs and store apps, when working with a 3 to 10 inch touch screen. But just in past it made sense to make a business windows and personal windows, and now that has correctly merged, it is time for microsoft to make a tablet/iphone windows and a desktop one that efficiently takes advantage of desktops greater real estate. I dont need 2 inch by 2 inch start programs, though I can see my 3 year old niece liking it.

Bottom line, if tablet pcs, mobile devices, and iphones did not exist, there is ZERO chance microsoft would have designed windows 8 for such, they would have designed it for a desktop.

thanks after some work i did customize it like i wanted but the lockup problems made me mad and couldnt solve them :/

[Sparky]

I went to install this on our test tablet at work today and my USB drive was dead. Hah, figures.

[paulbagz]

Best thing to do, take the Metro Start UI and just clip off all the useless junk and pin shortcuts to it that are useful.

I.e. normal Control Panel, CMD, Explorer etc.

Interesting that things like that far right hand sidebar with Settings etc doesn't take you straight to a normal Programs and Features, you have to uninstall things via the "Apps" sub-menu (which is a more full screen, unintuative layout of the older Start Menus "All Programs" area).

Same with Wi-Fi. I just want to view my status and connection speed but I can't do that easily without going back through N+SC->Adapter Settings->Status.

I feel that they should give people a choice with W8 @ final release; either all Metro UI or all "Classic" UI (aka Desktop/W7).

Atm its a hybrid of the two and it just feels clunky (from a Desktop point of view). With a touch screen Metro is great, its no different to using my W7 Phone (clearly the source of inspiration).

Metro to me is designed to be able to soley use a computer fully in just that mode, hence my reasoning they should give you the option to choose one or the other and not really both.

Still yet to play with it more but that's just my 2c as it stands from an hour or so mucking around.

-PB