Windows 10: Your thoughts so far?

While I haven't gone through everything, everything that I have tried works without issue.

Two Windows 7 systems were upgraded without issue. Now, once my wife's Windows 8 laptop gets it, that will be better.
 
Not sure if this has been covered already, but turns out you can drag/expand the start menu. Usability++;
 
pbassjunk said:
Not sure if this has been covered already, but turns out you can drag/expand the start menu. Usability++;
Click to expand...

Ya people don't want to admit this is good because it would sort of be admitting that windows 8 was right.
 
rudy said:
Ya people don't want to admit this is good because it would sort of be admitting that windows 8 was right.
Click to expand...

Not getting your point. The issue that even someone like me that liked Windows 8 with the Start Screen is that is wasn't resizable as was always full screen even on a desktop.
 
Since you cannot do anything when the start menu is up anyway what does it matter? Pop the start menu up and touch anything else it goes away. Because of this there was really no down side to having the start menu take up the whole screen as it simply provided more space for you to keep icons.

The new start menu in windows 10 is stupid it doesn't do anything very useful. Because the main attraction is suppose to be the live tiles. But what good are live tiles that are feeding you information when they will almost never be visible? Why would someone just hang out there with the start menu open? Either go into an app or don't. The windows 10 start menu is just a broken compromise to shut up type S personalities who wouldn't accept the changes in windows 8.

Solutions?
Get rid of live tiles and go back to a pure windows 7 start menu.
Or make the "start" menu the desktop so you can actually see live tiles at times.
Integrate live tiles into the task bar.

I don't know just about anything would be more useful than this moronic start menu where you have all these cool features you will almost never see or make good use of.
 
how long are you honestly sitting there staring at your start menu?

you're getting information at a glance, not reading a novel.
 
socK said:
how long are you honestly sitting there staring at your start menu?

you're getting information at a glance, not reading a novel.
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Have to agree with you there....gosh some people just complain about almost anything lol
The tiles don't look very good but seem to make finding things very efficent
 
I like the start menu in 10 much better than 8... Now if they could get it back to a legacy view for older applications, It's golden for me
 
You can--just grab the right edge and pull it all the way to the left. The menu isn't continuously variable so you won't see it start to decrease in size until you drag it a bit--think there are only about four preset sizes for the width of the start menu. With all the apps removed the start menu is about the size of the one in W7.

After all the talk about start menus am amazed at how little I really use it in any OS.
 
socK said:
how long are you honestly sitting there staring at your start menu?

you're getting information at a glance, not reading a novel.
Click to expand...

Yes and getting information at a glance should mean I just glance and see it, not I have to go click on the start menu every time I want to see it. Also due to the slow scrolling nature of live tiles this is even more obviously a bad move by MS because you will have to just sit there with the start menu open. You don't see android forcing you to pull down the status bar to see your widgets for a reason, its pretty useless. The start menu is a place where you find programs you rarely use. Because if you use them enough you pin them to the task bar. So in normal desktop usage the start menu is almost never open.
 
Slow scrolling nature of live tiles? I've got Windows 10 installed on gone of the slowest hardware out there and that's just not the case. Not saying there aren't bugs, dragging tiles is very buggy still but the scrolling is very smooth.
 
I think what the "slow scrolling" comment meant was that when you bring up the Start Menu, it tends to take several seconds for the tiles to reach out for an update from Microsoft and then display that updated info on the tiles as they 'scroll' over to provide it. I could have misread that but that's my take on what that poster was saying, and I've seen that myself especially on tiles that haven't been updated at all aka the first time data pull from Microsoft.

If that's what that poster meant I can understand it but I don't consider it an issue - the tiles may update "live" in the background even when the Start Menu is not being displayed, but it does take that briefest period of time (could be a half second, sometimes several seconds depending on connection speed, how powerful the given computer running Windows 10 happens to be, etc) and it's that way by design. It's not a real-time OS (which really can't exist even in spite of claims otherwise) but it's the best thing Microsoft or most any other company can do at this point.
 
heatlesssun said:
Slow scrolling nature of live tiles? I've got Windows 10 installed on gone of the slowest hardware out there and that's just not the case. Not saying there aren't bugs, dragging tiles is very buggy still but the scrolling is very smooth.
Click to expand...

I am talking about how information goes through the tiles. If a tile is showing information it basically waits about 5 seconds to show more information. Which would force you to hang with the start menu open for 10-20 seconds to see much information. And sometimes there is nothing there when you open the start menu and it takes another 5 seconds just to see anything.
 
I just found this thread a couple of days ago and just caught up, so excuse me bringing up an old message, but
Tiberian said:
Oh, so you mean the Installation ID which is an entirely different thing altogether from the Product ID (which looks like 00371-OEM-8982711-00537) or Product Key (which looks like R34DB-37W33-ND4HL-L1N3S-PH00L).
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I just wanted to say, since I didn't see it mentioned elsewhere, that I "read between the lines" and don't consider myself a fool.

Tiberian said:
The 3V66T thing was one of the last keys used for the Insider preview builds aka VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T and it's the standard key in Windows 10 that everyone will pull out or extract, it's meaningless now because of the hardware hash.
Click to expand...

Gee, thanks for posting my Windows 10 Pro key on the internet for the world to see. Now Microsoft is going to blacklist my key and label my Windows as not genuine. (/end sarcasm)
 
Why does update take so damn long? After this last 3 updates 8/11 it now says checking 5 minutes later.
Last time this happened I had to uninstall the last updates then rerun it.
 
Well I absolutely hate it.
Why do they keep changing the names of everything, My PC is now This PC Why ? it just makes it a real PITA to find your way around.
It doesn't appear anywhere as flexible as Win 7 and because I played a stupid game of Solitaire (now called Klondike ????!!!!) and had to log in to do so, now I have to log in when I start my machine. I am speechless!
Hate it hate it hate it, did I say I didn't like it?
 
Things have been running great on my old laptop. Thanks to insider program it got free licence. Without it it would be running Vista (so slow and compatibility nightmare these days).
 
still on the fence, need to play with it more. may take my desktop back to win 7, but im definitely going to upgrade my laptop with win 8 on it, frickin hate win 8. at least i can get my start menu back if i go to 10. Dont care for the live tile crap or cortana. pretty much disabled the bloat and now it looks more like win 7. no need for edge browser, i prefer chrome.
 
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heatlesssun said:
The Control Panel isn't touch optimized and a lot of what is done in Settings needs to work on tablet. As far as the aesthetics, ok. But those do nothing to make things easier to find and navigate. Who stares as the beauty of the Control Panel?
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why do we have to be stuck with a crappy tablet OS menu layout on our desktop computers? At the very least couldnt they have an option for tablet or desktop menu layouts so you can pick the one you want if they have to use the same OS for both devices? Clunky tablet menus have no place on a desktop with a keyboard/mouse.
 
SultanGris said:
why do we have to be stuck with a crappy tablet OS menu layout on our desktop computers?
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As opposed to the crappy Win32 UI design we've had for 20 years?

The basis of your complaint seems to be that UI you associate with tablets is somehow inferior simply by virtue of being associated with tablets.
 
IT takes a bit of time to adjust, like a year to sink in. After a while you be wondering why they havent gone this direction sooner. Of course the still need to improve certain things like the overall look of the tiles but they will get there.
 
I just wish they would have combined the interfaces instead of keeping the disconnect from Windows 8. Either roll with the modern interface or roll with the classic. Having things divided into the control panel and settings menu is both confusing and conflicting.
 
Domingo said:
I just wish they would have combined the interfaces instead of keeping the disconnect from Windows 8. Either roll with the modern interface or roll with the classic. Having things divided into the control panel and settings menu is both confusing and conflicting.
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I think part of the problem with combining Settings and Control Panel is that there are lots of 3rd party hooks into the Control Panel. And there are a ton of options in the Control Panel that many average users are never going to use. The Settings app makes sense in that these are more common options that also combine store app options that have no impact on the desktop anyway. And options to control new things like virtual desktops, full screen Start, etc. that were never in the Control Panel are in Settings. There is some redundancy and sometimes you have move from Settings to the Control Panel to do more advanced things and a lot of that should be cleaned up.

It's just one of those things that's not necessarily simple to do because of legacy issues.
 
Terpfen said:
As opposed to the crappy Win32 UI design we've had for 20 years?

The basis of your complaint seems to be that UI you associate with tablets is somehow inferior simply by virtue of being associated with tablets.
Click to expand...

its inferior because it needs large clunky buttons you can hit with your finger on a tablet touchscreen. Its not efficient or easy to navigate like the win7 version for example where everything is right there easy to see and select without having to scroll your screen sideways for a mile to find what you want like with the tablet layout. If it aint broke dont fix it. design isnt near as important as functionality to me. its a tool. If im a carpenter i want the skillsaw that works the best and most efficiently, not the one that looks pretty, takes longer to do the job and doesnt work for crap.
 
SultanGris said:
Its not efficient or easy to navigate like the win7 version for example where everything is right there easy to see and select without having to scroll your screen sideways for a mile to find what you want like with the tablet layout.
Click to expand...

Maybe you misspoke but many that have used Windows 10 for just a few minutes would question that you have in saying this.
 
My experience with the Get Windows 10 (GWX) program and Windows 10 through Windows Update has not been great. On my laptop, GWX and Windows Update said my laptop was ready, I downloaded, upgraded, restarted, and it restarted right back into Windows 7. I looked at my drive and saw a WINDOWS.~BT folder and a WINDOWS.~WS folder. I figured I wanted to switch from Legacy boot to UEFI anyway, so I reinstalled Windows 7 and used the Media Creation Tool to create a bootable USB Flash drive and installed it that way. I previously used this laptop for the Windows 10 Technical Preview.

The install went fine. It took longer than expected. Microsoft pulled down all the drivers, but I was getting no sound. I uninstalled the Microsoft provided Conexant 20582 SmartAudio HD driver and installed the Lenovo one to get sound. I wasn't impressed with the performance. It was definitely slower than Windows 7. I would click Start and nothing would happen for 30 seconds. YouTube video performance that wasn't a problem with Windows 7 performed poorly in Windows 10. Windows 10 would become unresponsive with Task Manager either showing the browser and Microsoft Security Client battling for the CPU or System Interrupt taking a lot of processor percentage. After reading forum posts, it sounded like it was a good idea to clean install, that keep nothing wasn't really a clean install. So far, the performance is on par with Windows 7 but hard to tell apart.

I wanted to see if the Windows Update delivery method would work for my desktop. Given that I use it for gaming and not day to day, I'm in no rush. The posts speculating that we're exchanging a Windows 7 Retail license for a Windows 10 license concerns me and questions on whether Windows 7 would install and activate if I wanted to go back or dual boot concerns me. Right now, GWX still says "OK, notify me when ready." Windows Update says I am up to date. The bits have downloaded a few times now, after I have cleared out the Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download folder a few times now. For me, the desktop is an experiment on how well the Microsoft proscribed method will go and what an end user might see, so I don't want to use the Media Creation Tool, a registry hack, or the setup files on my drive. I've mostly received error 80240020 but also a couple C1900208, I think this picture summarizes my experience:

2vcj19k.jpg
 
The only issue I have had on both of my systems that I run 10 Pro on is my older computer that I ran the preview on for months without an issue now loses it's network configuration every time it's powered down. If I shut it off and then power it up I have no internet access until I repair the connection which resets the network adapter to assign a new ip. Then the same thing happens when it wakes from sleep.

Edit got it working properly. Realtek has a newer driver on their website for the controller rather than the driver being pulled down from windows update. Driver is not listed as being for windows 10 but rather 7/8/8.1 and server 2012. Now so long as it doesn't try to update the driver it should be good to go.
 
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SultanGris said:
its inferior because it needs large clunky buttons you can hit with your finger on a tablet touchscreen. Its not efficient or easy to navigate like the win7 version for example where everything is right there easy to see and select without having to scroll your screen sideways for a mile to find what you want like with the tablet layout. If it aint broke dont fix it. design isnt near as important as functionality to me. its a tool. If im a carpenter i want the skillsaw that works the best and most efficiently, not the one that looks pretty, takes longer to do the job and doesnt work for crap.
Click to expand...

I think you are confusing Windows 8.1 with Windows 10. :rolleyes:;)
 
Did they seriously take away the ability to put OneDrive on an external hard drive? That has to be one of the largest oversights I've seen with Win 10 so far.
 
My 2 cents:

I have 7 Pro and Home on 2 different PC.
I have studied the performance difference between 7, 8.1, and 10.
I have looked for key upgrades from 7 to 10 - things which make 10 different enough to upgrade.
I have looked at the privacy/security issues.

My decision: Not to upgrade.

Why?
Well, 10 is not faster than 7. Studies have shown it not faster, but about the same in speed. Example: http://www.techspot.com/review/1042-windows-10-vs-windows-8-vs-windows-7/

I have looked at Cortana, and other things. Erm. Not my cup of tea. No key essential add on which makes me want to upgrade. Sure, sure, Direct X 12... Well, considering the huge amount of games using it... and the fact most games are still locked on Direct X 10... Not a huge reason.

So, lets talk about privacy. When you have apps to prevent the spying:
https://bgr.com/2015/08/05/window-10-privacy-settings-how-to-stop-spying/
And then get told, even then, some spy stuff gets through. That bothers me.

Further, I am told the OS may not be HIPAA, or privacy law compliant, due to the "telemetry" taken. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/does...eve-hoffenberg?trk=hp-feed-article-title-like

Considering I sell life insurance, I cannot take that risk. Big fines, and revocation of license = too much risk.
 
ccman said:
My experience with the Get Windows 10 (GWX) program and Windows 10 through Windows Update has not been great. On my laptop, GWX and Windows Update said my laptop was ready, I downloaded, upgraded, restarted, and it restarted right back into Windows 7. I looked at my drive and saw a WINDOWS.~BT folder and a WINDOWS.~WS folder. I figured I wanted to switch from Legacy boot to UEFI anyway, so I reinstalled Windows 7 and used the Media Creation Tool to create a bootable USB Flash drive and installed it that way. I previously used this laptop for the Windows 10 Technical Preview.

The install went fine. It took longer than expected. Microsoft pulled down all the drivers, but I was getting no sound. I uninstalled the Microsoft provided Conexant 20582 SmartAudio HD driver and installed the Lenovo one to get sound. I wasn't impressed with the performance. It was definitely slower than Windows 7. I would click Start and nothing would happen for 30 seconds. YouTube video performance that wasn't a problem with Windows 7 performed poorly in Windows 10. Windows 10 would become unresponsive with Task Manager either showing the browser and Microsoft Security Client battling for the CPU or System Interrupt taking a lot of processor percentage. After reading forum posts, it sounded like it was a good idea to clean install, that keep nothing wasn't really a clean install. So far, the performance is on par with Windows 7 but hard to tell apart.

I wanted to see if the Windows Update delivery method would work for my desktop. Given that I use it for gaming and not day to day, I'm in no rush. The posts speculating that we're exchanging a Windows 7 Retail license for a Windows 10 license concerns me and questions on whether Windows 7 would install and activate if I wanted to go back or dual boot concerns me. Right now, GWX still says "OK, notify me when ready." Windows Update says I am up to date. The bits have downloaded a few times now, after I have cleared out the Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download folder a few times now. For me, the desktop is an experiment on how well the Microsoft proscribed method will go and what an end user might see, so I don't want to use the Media Creation Tool, a registry hack, or the setup files on my drive. I've mostly received error 80240020 but also a couple C1900208, I think this picture summarizes my experience:
Click to expand...
After doing a clean install of 8.1 then using the Media Creation Tool I would never again use the GWX app. It's just way easier using the tool. You don't even have to patch the underlying OS before upgrading.
 
SultanGris said:
its inferior because it needs large clunky buttons you can hit with your finger on a tablet touchscreen.
Click to expand...

Large click areas are superior, not inferior, especially at higher resolutions. In the real world, no one wants smaller UI targets.

Its not efficient or easy to navigate like the win7 version
Click to expand...

There is nothing efficient or easy about the classic Control Panel. It's a series of nested menus with unintuitive organization. You confuse your acclimation with quality.
 
Terpfen said:
Large click areas are superior, not inferior, especially at higher resolutions. In the real world, no one wants smaller UI targets.
Click to expand...

I think this is something over looked far too often. Start in Windows 10 scales very well across lots of DPIs. The Start Menu was created in an area of keyboard and mouse only at by modern standards ridiculously low resolutions.
 
I'm liking it so far. I don't use my computer for much besides gaming, internet and watching TV and movies. I wish that 10 still had the look of 7 in certain areas, specially borders on opened applications that had a glass like effect that could be customized color wise, but overall it's been ok. Going to be testing the drivers Nvidia released for 10. I hope they are stable.

I'm also waiting for drivers for my Asus Bluetooth USB dongle and Creative sound card drivers. Hopefully they'll be out soon.
 
heatlesssun said:
Maybe you misspoke but many that have used Windows 10 for just a few minutes would question that you have in saying this.
Click to expand...

ManofGod said:
I think you are confusing Windows 8.1 with Windows 10. :rolleyes:;)
Click to expand...

I was indeed referring to the win 8 tile interface start/options menus.Sorry for the confusion. win 10 is more like 7 and that is a good thing, but it would be better if there was a tablet or PC menu style option you could chose to make it even more like 7 style for the pc..
 
HvyMtl said:
My 2 cents:

I have 7 Pro and Home on 2 different PC.
I have studied the performance difference between 7, 8.1, and 10.
I have looked for key upgrades from 7 to 10 - things which make 10 different enough to upgrade.
I have looked at the privacy/security issues.

My decision: Not to upgrade.

Why?
Well, 10 is not faster than 7. Studies have shown it not faster, but about the same in speed. Example: http://www.techspot.com/review/1042-windows-10-vs-windows-8-vs-windows-7/

I have looked at Cortana, and other things. Erm. Not my cup of tea. No key essential add on which makes me want to upgrade. Sure, sure, Direct X 12... Well, considering the huge amount of games using it... and the fact most games are still locked on Direct X 10... Not a huge reason.

So, lets talk about privacy. When you have apps to prevent the spying:
https://bgr.com/2015/08/05/window-10-privacy-settings-how-to-stop-spying/
And then get told, even then, some spy stuff gets through. That bothers me.

Further, I am told the OS may not be HIPAA, or privacy law compliant, due to the "telemetry" taken. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/does...eve-hoffenberg?trk=hp-feed-article-title-like

Considering I sell life insurance, I cannot take that risk. Big fines, and revocation of license = too much risk.
Click to expand...

Do you use Facebook? If you do, start your privacy concerns by disabling that as your first thing, then worry about Win10.

Back on topic: Upgraded my sons gaming box yesterday. The upgrade itself webt through pretty painlessly but the resulting install had no audio. Both the terratec aureon and the z77 mobos built in realtek audio refused to work despite installing updated drivers. I had to give my USB headset adapter to him to continue playing. I'm still thinking to roll back the machine.
 
rezerekted said:
Facebook hooks into your web browser and not the OS. Big difference.
Click to expand...

Not really. Facebook tracks all your online activities and you free willingly publish your life details on it and let them know your social connections, shopping interests etc.

People really do not understand what Facebook is.
 
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