If you are just starting with Win 10 from Win 7, what are the Top Ten things to know?

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x509

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I just did a Win 10 install on a scratch system, and it looks a LOT different from Win 7. I'm like, "Where do I start?" :confused: So I'm hoping the community of guys in this group can guide me. :)

x509
 
There is a Getting Started app in Windows 10 that gives a good overview of what's there from an average users standpoint. I know the subject of Windows 10 around here gets "interesting" to say the least. Play around with it bit, I don't think it's the radically different. Control Panel right click on the Start Button or Win+x. Settings is a link in the left of the Start Menu by default.
 
x509 said:
I just did a Win 10 install on a scratch system, and it looks a LOT different from Win 7. I'm like, "Where do I start?" :confused: So I'm hoping the community of guys in this group can guide me. :)

x509
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Coming from Windows 7, of course Windows 10 is very confusing. Some stark differences are:

- The Start button is in the lower left corner of the screen. It has a Windows logo on it. Clicking it will bring up a small list of items along with pinned shortcuts.

- Frequently used icons can be pinned to the Taskbar

- The clock is in the lower right and shows the time and optionally the date.

- The default web browser is an icon that looks like an "e"

- The Recycle Bin on the desktop is where deleted items are kept until it is emptied

- Running an app involves clicking it one time in the Start menu, or two times on the desktop,

If you need to know other differences just say what else is confusing you. As you can see above, Windows 10 is EXTREMELY different than Windows 7!
 
Best power tip: a cool "power user" shortcut menu will appear if you put the cursor in the lower left hand corner (basically on top of the Start button but sometimes if you just bury it in the corner itself it's faster than trying to position it on the button as the saying goes) and right-click on it directly (not left-click) - it'll provide a menu with shortcuts to a lot of the major useful items in Windows like the Control Panel, Device Manager, and other aspects instead of having to dig down into the Start menu's applications list (which I can't stand, oddly enough, but it is Windows 10 we're talkin' about here).

Can be a major time saver - you can also get that menu with Windows+X (meaning the WIndows key if you keyboard has one which it most likely does).
 
If you decide to use W10 as is, left click the Start button, left click "All Apps", scroll down to the Settings icon (a gear-shaped icon). Right click it and pin it to the taskbar. Since you will be spending a lot of time in Settings it helps to have it really handy. Don't think it comes pinned to the taskbar but I've been playing with 10 so long now I've forgotten. Most of the things you'll want to mess with are in the Settings app along with Control Panel which is easily accessed by right-click on the Start button or using Windows key + X as mentioned above.

Personally I've tried to use W10 and learn my way round it "as is" since it will be with us for a while--also helps when I try to show other people where to find things as most of them aren't going to install some third-party software as a workaround. For sure our work computers that are being upgraded won't get any third-party stuff.
 
DeathFromBelow said:
I've never understood the popularity of payware start menus. Classic Shell is free, works great, and has been around longer. To each their own I guess.
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its because you havent used both;) start is back is not entirely free but worth the 5 bucks for 2 pcs...that being said classic is better than nothing:D
Spybot Anti-Beacon is also free and at least makes win 10 as private as win 7 regarding privacy. https://forums.spybot.info/downloads.php?id=55
 
DeathFromBelow said:
I've never understood the popularity of payware start menus. Classic Shell is free, works great, and has been around longer. To each their own I guess.
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because it's worth it? a lousy $2 dollars (or at least was when I bought it for 8) and gives the true Windows 7 start menu whereas classic shell is just a knockoff thing that feels more like a Linux start menu. I've tried both.

And StartIsBack has been around as long as the early days of 8, the programmer knows what he's doing.
 
DPI said:
because it's worth it? a lousy $2 dollars (or at least was when I bought it for 8) and gives the true Windows 7 start menu whereas classic shell is just a knockoff thing that feels more like a Linux start menu. I've tried both.
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Knockoff thing? You can customize it however you want from 'Classic' to aero to Metro-style... I have a sneaking suspicion you haven't really played around with it much. You can make it look just like 7 or XP or whatever you want. I have a nice minimal UI with Aero glass on mine, I'll post a pic when I get home.

The claim about using the 'real' start menu code is just marketing, there doesn't seem to be any advantage to the payware implimentations as far as I can tell.

And StartIsBack has been around as long as the early days of 8, the programmer knows what he's doing.
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Classic shell was originally developed to customize the 7 start menu. It's been around longer than all the payware implimentations that came out to cash in on Microsoft's Win8 stupidity.
 
DeathFromBelow said:
Knockoff thing? You can customize it however you want from 'Classic' to aero to Metro-style... I have a sneaking suspicion you haven't really played around with it much. You can make it look just like 7 or XP or whatever you want. I have a nice minimal UI with Aero glass on mine, I'll post a pic when I get home.

The claim about using the 'real' start menu code is just marketing, there doesn't seem to be any advantage to the payware implimentations as far as I can tell.



Classic shell was originally developed to customize the 7 start menu. It's been around longer than all the payware implimentations that came out to cash in on Microsoft's Win8 stupidity.
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StartIsBack = one click Win7 start menu without having to fiddle around.. Not sure why you're going on and on about a start menu, but it's great to have choices. And any of them are better than the Frankenstein default Metro-fied menu in 10. Enjoy.
 
DPI said:
StartIsBack = one click Win7 start menu without having to fiddle around..
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It's one click on Classic Shell, too. Maybe three if you want to change skins from Metro to Aero or whatever. It defaults to whatever your OS is.

Start_Menu_Settings_A.png


From there you can customize any of the styles however you'd like. It includes Aero glass (with transparency just like normal) as well as Metro, Aero basic, and Classic-style skins along with a few variations. If you want to change the layout you can add or remove the search box and any other item, even on the classic theme. Here's my ultra-lite classic theme with smoked glass borders, no caption, and decrapified menu:

Start_Menu.png


On Windows 8/10 you do need to provide the image for the 7/Vista-style Start Orb. You just have to grab the version you prefer from their forums. Microsoft in their infinite asshattery sent them a nastygram about bundling it with the application.

Not sure why you're going on and on about a start menu, but it's great to have choices.
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It seems scammy to me to charge for these things when the free product has been around longer, I get the impression that most of the sales come from people seeing threads like this and not knowing there are other options. People shouldn't have to pay for a core Windows feature we've been using for years. Classic Shell also includes some optional improvements for Windows explorer that I like, but they're completely optional if you don't.

And any of them are better than the Frankenstein default Metro-fied menu in 10.
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Agreed, but even on 7 I use Classic Shell for the customization options. I don't need all the default junk on my Start menu. :)
 
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DPI said:
because it's worth it? a lousy $2 dollars (or at least was when I bought it for 8) and gives the true Windows 7 start menu whereas classic shell is just a knockoff thing that feels more like a Linux start menu. I've tried both.

And StartIsBack has been around as long as the early days of 8, the programmer knows what he's doing.
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What you said about the knockoff thingy and looking not authentic was true about the old version of Classic Shell (version 3). With Classic Shell 4, it became a fully authentic looking and authentic functioning superset of the Windows 7 Start Menu but retained the XP option for those who want choice. :)

You can compare Start Menu features here: http://www.classicshell.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2399 You will see that Classic Shell has everything StartIsBack++ or Start8/Start10 offer plus lot more features and customization in a free package! It's coded by an experienced Microsoft developer in his spare time as a hobby project that is why it's free and not being sold but it's far superior to the commercial alternatives IMHO . :)
 
If you didn't clone your drive onto a spare one, make sure you do the roll back before the time expires.

7 to 10 is just a route to anger, frustration, wasted time and exasperation!

Plus 10 is far from a finished product.

I guarantee it's going to wind up with a stinkier reputation than even Vista or 8

I guess it's one reason it's free

Do what I've done now, give Microsoft the flick and consider running Linux Mint Mate 17.3 it boots and shuts down faster than any Windows product and from what I do the changeover is going to be far less of a learning curve than going from Windows 7 to Windows 10
 
x509, hope you are enjoying Windows 10. :) I think some of the best things to do is just poke around and have fun with it. Just like Vista and above, you can hit the same button key and type what you are looking for as well. :)
 
ManofGod said:
x509, hope you are enjoying Windows 10. :) I think some of the best things to do is just poke around and have fun with it. Just like Vista and above, you can hit the same button key and type what you are looking for as well. :)
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ManOfGod,

The other day, I thought I had wiped out my C partition on my main desktop system. So I thought that if I have to do a reload from scratch, it might as well be on 10, not 7. That's when I posted my question.

Then I was able to get that partition working again. So I got a reprieve. :p However, this theread is still valuable. I know that I will have to eventually migrate to 10, if only because I will be getting a new laptop next year and my wife's company will be doing an upgrade "soon." All their new systems will be running 10.

So I think this post is a great way to be prepared. I'm the "support guy" in my house, so I will have to walk my wife through the upgrade. ;)
 
if i was not putting classic shell on most systems it would be startisback

startisback is what i would use if i was running windows 8 or windows 10, it works as expected (classic shell is very good for free, but startisback is worth every penny)
 
One thing to keep in mind is while you're sitting there after having cleaned up all of your amd/nvidia drivers and you're browsing forums or the web trying to decide on which route to take - Windows 10 will go and get the actual Nvidia driver and install it without you knowing, and then tell you "hey I put this driver on here you better reboot... (grrr @#$@#$). Ain't nobody got time for that

Also the right click on the start button. I'm so used to doing that now I keep doing it if I'm back on Windows 7 or 2008, etc.
 
The lower left right click is THE most important thing for users of Win 7 and 8. I'm not sure there are even alternate ways to reach some of those things.
Thanks to MS hiding the ability to tweak your Start menu, you should also be aware of these locations:
C:\Users\[Username]\Start Menu\
and
%appdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu
Those two folders allow you to arrange Start Menu folder the way you want. I hate every single program having it's own folder (and BS like readmes and uninstallers), so I kill off almost everything in both and make my own.
 
raglafart said:
If you didn't clone your drive onto a spare one, make sure you do the roll back before the time expires.

7 to 10 is just a route to anger, frustration, wasted time and exasperation!

Plus 10 is far from a finished product.

I guarantee it's going to wind up with a stinkier reputation than even Vista or 8

I guess it's one reason it's free

Do what I've done now, give Microsoft the flick and consider running Linux Mint Mate 17.3 it boots and shuts down faster than any Windows product and from what I do the changeover is going to be far less of a learning curve than going from Windows 7 to Windows 10
Click to expand...

Hilarious. Enjoy your lack of software compatibility and regularly screwing around with command prompts and configuration scripts just to get basic things done. Linux has its place, but if you were running Windows 7 and happy with it, going to Windows 10 will be worlds less frustrating than trying to switch OSes entirely. Suggesting a switch to Linux rather than Win 7 to Win 10 is a terrible idea.
 
Holy shit I had no idea about right clicking the start button. Awesome.
 
silent-circuit said:
Hilarious. Enjoy your lack of software compatibility and regularly screwing around with command prompts and configuration scripts just to get basic things done. Linux has its place, but if you were running Windows 7 and happy with it, going to Windows 10 will be worlds less frustrating than trying to switch OSes entirely. Suggesting a switch to Linux rather than Win 7 to Win 10 is a terrible idea.
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Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man. ;)
 
illram said:
I've been using 8 for a while now on several PC's sooooo yeah I'm a dumbass.
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Don't worry about it: after 3 decades of using Windows, I still find it hilarious to see people that don't know about so many things in Windows, with Alt+Tab being probably the least used keyboard shortcut but one that I consider absolutely essential in my own usage. I work on client machines sometimes at their locations and when they see me switching apps with Alt+Tab they're like "What the hell did you just do?" and I then back up a few steps and show them and you get the usual "I had no idea..." reaction.

People are literally afraid to explore Windows in most any respects and I find it funny, like if they click one thing incorrectly the whole damned machine will grind to a halt.

I realize that people are ignorant by nature, we have to learn the things we don't know, this is simply a fact of life but when it comes to willful ignorance that's when it becomes plain old stupid for no good reason especially when I show them something and they dismiss it out of hand also for no good reason.

But everybody is different I suppose and old habits are damned hard to break, just another fact of life. ;)
 
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