Helping people with computers... one answer at a time.
Windows 8 has been released and I'm getting the question at a slowly increasing pace: should I get it? I'll detail my current thinking on Windows 8 and whether or not its worth upgrading.
Windows 8 has caused a fair amount of excitement on the interwebs and some of it seems to be fairly polarized - there are those who already love it and those who can't stand it, often without having even seen it in person.
It's not surprising really because Windows 8 represents a fairly radical change in some of Windows' most common user interfaces.
Should you upgrade? Well, that gets you my most common answer ever:
It depends.
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System Requirements
Make sure your system meets the minimum requirements for Windows 8 before you even think about it.
Microsoft lists those requirements as:
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Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster with support for PAE, NX, and SSE2
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RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit)
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Hard disk space: 16 GB (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
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Graphics card: Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver
To automatically check if your system meets these requirements, you can run Microsoft's Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant.
As with most minimum requirements, they are indeed a minimum. In practice, a faster CPU, more RAM, a larger hard drive and a more powerful graphics card help make the Windows 8 experience something better than "minimum".
If you hate Windows 7, Windows 8 won't help
I've already had at least one question asking if Outlook Express would be present in Windows 8.
No.
Windows 8 is most definitely built on Windows 7 and only moves forward from that point.
If you're a Windows XP user and you've reacted negatively to Windows 7 - whether you're using it or not - Windows 8 isn't going co change your mind. The types of changes that are present in the Windows XP to 7 transition are still there, with even more in the Windows 8 transition.
Sorry, but if you dislike Windows 7, my bet is that you'll hate Windows 8.
If you have a tablet or touchscreen PC
Windows 8 is optimized for your device, and it's an easy and clear recommendation to make: go for it.
Well, backup first, but then go for it.
My gut tells me that you'll appreciate this version of Windows that, to be honest, was clearly designed for tablets more than it was for PCs. It'll improve your overall experience and make it worth the upgrade.
If you like the cutting edge
Another reason to upgrade is of course if you like living on the edge. If you want the latest version of whatever, then there's really nothing that I would say to wave you off of Windows 8.
In many ways, it's Windows 7 with a flashy new overcoat.
You're probably the type of person who's already familiar with the new user interface, or at least the scope of the changes to expect when you get there, and if you're ready to accept that once again, I say go for it.
Well, once again also, backup first, but then go for it.
Everyone else
My stock answer remains this:
If you don't know of a reason to upgrade, then don't upgrade.
In my opinion, Windows 8 isn't yet bringing with it major changes that make the upgrade compelling for the average PC user. If what you have works for you, then there's nothing you need to do today. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" and all that.
New machines
Naturally, new machines are coming with Windows 8 pre-installed now. Some manufacturers offer Windows 7 "downgrades", but many don't.
So, should you take Windows 8 on a new machine?
In my opinion, yes.
Windows 8 is once again the foundation for the future of Windows. You're not losing any functionality and certainly nothing comparable to the XP-to-7 change. Choosing Windows 8 and learning its nuances will serve you well into the future.
On the other hand, if the new user interface is something that you just can't stomach, then there's nothing wrong with Windows 7. As you've seen, I'm not encouraging people to move from it unless they have a reason, and I'll go so far as to say that today, it's an equally sold choice for new machines.
If, of course, it's offered.
What I'm doing
I've installed Windows 8 into a virtual machine for testing, playing around with and for being able to research and answer questions on it.
So far, so good.
I expect that when the time comes to do my periodic rebuild of my desktop machine - the machine I use daily and the machine I'm typing on right now, I'll probably rebuild it with Windows 8.
And any new PCs I happen to get in the near future that come with Windows 8 will stay with Windows 8.
Article C6020 - November 11, 2012 « »
Leo A. Notenboom has been playing with computers since he
was required to take a programming class in 1976. An 18 year career as a programmer at Microsoft soon followed.
After "retiring" in 2001, Leo started Ask Leo! in 2003 as a place for answers
to common computer and technical questions. More about Leo.
January 13, 2013 10:00 AM
If you can still buy that upgrade for $39.95, I recommend it as the best software purchase you can make. It makes no sense to say you like Windows 7, but you hate Windows 8. Using the free program Classic Shell, or just learning a few basic keyboard commands, you can hardly tell the difference between the two systems. And my experience is that Windows 8 runs faster than Windows 7. It definitely boots faster. And it definitely installs faster. I've had a few really good experiences with Windows 8. One is that on two of my computers, it was completely unnecessary to save the drivers from earlier installations to install with the new operating system. Windows 8 installed all new working drivers for me. The other good experience was, legal or not, I can take the hard drive with Windows 8 installed on it from one computer to another, and it works just as if I had installed the operating system on the new computer. Windows 8 just installs the drivers for the second machine when you start it up. This is almost the same thing as complete portability of the operating system, plus all your programs, just as DOS was in the old days. I'm not recommending either of the things I just mentioned because it could end up being disastrous for you, but for me, let's just say I was impressed. My opinion is that Windows 8 is the best thing Microsoft has done in a long time.
January 17, 2013 2:27 PM
I was recently forced to get a new machine, because the effort to save my old machine did not work, but I can get to the complete disk from that machine. Still have the cloning box for the SATA drive and the drive in it...I back up most of my stuff in external hard drives as regular files not a back up program. In fact I got my old Juno email browser, which is uses iExplorer as a part of it to work from a flash drive, did that in Xp sp3 it worked well I liked it. The method I used to do that was to use the Juno setup file to install it to a machine to set registry hooks, but the copy I use is on the flash drive, when I would plug it into Xp and go to the pop up menu I had set as a shortcut pop up from the task bar, I could just follow the pop out menu to the renamed shout cut to the exe on the flash drive Juno and it would run from the flash drive...I found I could do the same thing, sort of in W8. I did the Juno installer, it installed, had to, as admin, set Juno to run as a Xp sp3 program...that worked did the Juno set up to import account and put in connect to web info....got to the point where Juno on the UltraBook would offer to get mail or got to web, closed that one and went to the copy I use on the flash drive and it worked. I had to learn a lot in how W8 works, how to get to stuff, I found I was able to make adjustments, like making the command bars stay where I could see them in iExplorer. I miss the window actions in my specific theme I had in Xp, but I am adjusting the W8 to me okay. I do have a copy of my own wallpaper that I have had since taking the picture. The new machine setup on the existing wireless internet, and the wireless printer with ease...write down the machine names to find the proper drivers to install...Right now I am working in one of a number of open windows on a desktop that has icons for documents, Computer, Recycle bin, and even Control Panel and a bunch of Icons for shortcuts that I have not cleaned off.
The task bar at the bottom has the stuff that is open, sorted by type, maybe I can make a see if I can get a 'popup' of similar type to work for a multiple desktop popup like I made in Xp, That way I could turn off the visible icons on the desktop to make it look uncluttered as my desktops get. I have a lot more to explore in this OS, but it does have a lot of things still there, it is figuring out the form. I did plug in my ms trackball and an old keyboard for the long winded comments. I would say W8 will work good enough for me without hunting down the Classic GUI I have used since SE
January 18, 2013 11:57 AM
Toshiba L505 running Windows 7 used to test whether software for my book 'embedded controller forth for the 8051' would run under 7. It did after upgrading to profesional.
After experiment over, hard disk containing 7 removed from machine. 500 gig disk purchased and windows xp installed to run existing software, like Office 2000. Details posted at
http://www.prosefights.org/toshibal505/toshibal505.htm.
Lenovo G560 running 7 was converted to xp by formatting 7 disk, then installing xp.
Possibility of installing windows xp on windows 8 Lenovo Z580 [Ivy gate] is under investigation.
http://www.prosefights.org/xmas2012/sx160.htm. Replacing disk rather than formatting 8 disk may be a good idea?
January 22, 2013 11:51 AM
I love windows 7 on my desktop computer, it is fast and safe and a pleasure to use. My computer came with an offer from Microsoft that enables me to download windows 8 pro for $14.99 and I haven't taken advantage of it because of several reasons. And from what I have been reading, Microsoft is not to healthy and Google will pass it up soon and windows won't be around much longer. Plus I don't want all that touch crap on my desktop, I know I could change it to what I have now, but why put up with all of that aggravation?.
April 9, 2013 10:30 AM
Great article. Though I'm not inclined to use Windows 8, it's hard to find a new state-of-the-art laptop without one, so I'll be looking for a new laptop with a little less reluctance. However, I'm a Linux bigot, and I have read that there are problems, perhaps some of them recently resolved, with dual booting Windows 8 and Linux. Any advice on buying or configuring a Windows 8 box to handle dual booting a Linux distro?