Do you still use win7?

[Rorge Retson]

I can't believe that no one has highlighted one of the stupidest things about Win8/10 - the fact that MS glued two operating systems together unnecessarily - one for desktops/laptops and one for tablets.

Let's say that MS asked you on your first start-up:
"Is this a desktop/laptop, or a tablet?"

Then, if you click "desktop," you get a normal Windows screen/experience you can navigate as per usual.

Only if you click "tablet" do you get all that stupid-*** tile ****.

[Kokopelli]

Still running W7 and probably will for the rest of my life. I have a dozen OEM W7 PRO install disks (32 bit and 64 bit) and license keys if I need them.

For drivers updates, I just go to Dell. For security, I use Avast! AV.

[crufflers]

Nothing seemed work saving the old installation, so I douched it this morning with the boot flash drive. There was no key needed. There is an option to enter in a key if you have one and another option to continue with no key and it will register automatically when finished. It does make you create a MS account with password and PIN.
Worked fine. Laptop is working again, obviously faster than before.

[Dragunov]

Nothing seemed work saving the old installation, so I douched it this morning with the boot flash drive. There was no key needed. There is an option to enter in a key if you have one and another option to continue with no key and it will register automatically when finished. It does make you create a MS account with password and PIN.
Worked fine. Laptop is working again, obviously faster than before.

You can sign in on a local account, if you don't click the internet start during install.

[crufflers]

You can sign in on a local account, if you don't click the internet start during install.

I'm sure but this was the new install wizard. I just had the user go though it. Funny he had some real problems working the mouse controls to change dates etc... they wanted DOB. It seemed like it was designed for touch screens.

[Mountain Max]

I've had good luck with OS's. I finally upgraded an old computer from vista to windows 10 (yes, I was running vista way too long, but it was not network connected! I never had problems with Vista like everyone else did, all my computers were custom builds). This particular computer was built in 2008, but handles Win 10 just fine. Probably because it has 8 gigs of ram and a dedicated solid state drive for the OS, raid array for file storage. Pretty good for 2008!

Anyway, I had a windows 8 license on another computer, I downloaded the windows 10 ISO from microsoft and upgraded that computer to windows 10 using the windows 8 key.... Which you're not supposed to be able to do anymore, but microsoft activated it!

I thought "what the hell, might as well try and use that windows 8 key again to try and upgrade that vista machine to windows 10"... and it worked! Both computers upgraded to windows 10 for free.

(these were clean installations of windows 10 onto formatted hard drives)

[Dragunov]

Open Devices and printers in 10 and tell me how long it takes to complete it's population...

I tried it on a T400 with an Intel 128GB SSD and 8gb of RAM.

I removed it w/in a week, as it is LESS responsive, and takes more clicks AND time to get most tasks done, especially just changing a port on (IP of, rather) a networked printer.

For some reason on my work Win 10 Devices and Printers takes FOREVER to load, on even an i5 with 8GB of RAM w/ and Intel SSD:

https://www.google.com/search?q=Windows+10+printer+takes+forever+to+load

Sticking with 7, as I like things that I tell Windows to do to happen quicker. I really don't play much in the way of computer games, so I can't speak to that on Win10 but some people say Win Vista of the x64 variety works fine too, but not for me...

Win 10 also takes FOREVER to even connect to a Win 7 box via RDP, when 7 to 7 is almost immediate, and although I believe it is negotiating crypto... should it take THAT long (20-30+++ seconds for negotiation, on a Gig connection)?
Then the password field goes OUT OF FOCUS (becomes the non-active window, even if it is the only application running), so I have to take my hand and move it to the mouse, then click inside it, then move hands back to the k/board? Inefficient, if you do it many times/day. ALT-TAB don't even let me into the password field, IF IT IS THE ONLY APPLICATION RUNNING. It REALLY irks.

NOT faster for things I do all day, every day, sticking with 7 on my home rigs BECAUSE I have deal with 10's lag at work, AND on my son's rig, so it's not group policy, or corp. goofiness causing it... but I understand boot times are longer if on a domain, as GP creates even MOAR lag on 10.

First, I agree on WinVista. Not a bad O/S at all, provided, just like some other versions of windows, you "work" it a bit. There are ways to set up Windows 10, to make it easier to get around in. However, in the interest of learning the O/S, it's best to get familiar on how it does things without any alterations.

I place a couple toobars in my taskbar, to make things easier to get around. On older systems, like the T400, it is helpful (VERY helpful) to strip down Win10 of Cortana, Edge, Defender, and shut off Windows automatic updates. This REALLY helps WinX responsiveness. Installing Spybot Anti-Beacon., is something else I recommend for anyone using WinX on a home system.

If you want it to work like Win7, you can always download, and install "Classic Shell". Although, I haven't done this with Windows 10, I do this with Win8/8.1, and it works marvelously.

I don't do this with Windows 10, because I want to get used to getting around in it as it's installed for the most part, as it's probably going to be around for a while. I do this for Windows 8.1, because shamefully, that O/S is going to die soon I'm sad to say (I really do like Windows 8.1).

[Deedle]

Open Devices and printers in 10 and tell me how long it takes to complete it's population...

Less than one second. I would guess around 700ms if I was betting on it.

I tried it on 3 machines, a homebrew workstation and two VMs. Same result, although the low resource VM does sometimes feel sluggish. Low resource VMs feel slow on 7 as well so there's that.

[Deedle]

I never had problems with Vista like everyone else did ...

I used Vista happily until 7 came out, it was a perfectly fine OS for me. To be honest the only Windows platforms I've had problems with were the 9x series (including Me) but those were mostly machines I had to use for work that someone else owned; I've literally only owned one 9x machine, a 98se box I had for a while but soon repurposed to Linux.

I think a lot of the Vista issues were the same as the 10 issues, botched "upgrades" and/or low spec hardware. Clean installs on decent hardware seem remarkably uneventful.

[SkyHawk]

I can't believe that no one has highlighted one of the stupidest things about Win8/10 - the fact that MS glued two operating systems together unnecessarily - one for desktops/laptops and one for tablets.

Let's say that MS asked you on your first start-up:
"Is this a desktop/laptop, or a tablet?"

Then, if you click "desktop," you get a normal Windows screen/experience you can navigate as per usual.

Only if you click "tablet" do you get all that stupid-*** tile ****.

Pretty sure we highlighted that in post #2, the very first reply, and also post #5.

They will have to pry Win 7 from my cold, dead hands. Or give me something better than the joke that is Win10.

Win 7 is still the OS with the most market share, especially in the enterprise. So you are in good company. Security updates still coming, and may even get an extension past 2020 if they can't produce something better than a tablet UI for a desktop

Everything I have runs Win 7 64 Pro.

8 was a joke and 10 still looks too much like preschool playtime.

I use computers not cell phones or tablets so I don't need the tile interface.

[theLBC]

i still use win7.

2000 professional was the best desktop client.

[the86d]

Less than one second. I would guess around 700ms if I was betting on it.

I tried it on 3 machines, a homebrew workstation and two VMs. Same result, although the low resource VM does sometimes feel sluggish. Low resource VMs feel slow on 7 as well so there's that.

The second time you did it (cache), or the first (cache-free)?

[Deedle]

The second time you did it (cache), or the first (cache-free)?

Every time.

[Dragunov]

This week, I figured out how to graft Windows 10Pro's gpedit.msc, into WinXHome. Now, I can shut all those annoyances off, shut off Telemetry stuff, etc.

Still evaluating.

[KahrMan]

Think XP was my last WIN venture before going to OSX or LINUX if need be.