New laptop. Learning to drive.

[LeeRevell]

Whoowee, the learning curve on this thing is steep! Got the Toshiba Satellite C55. 500Gig HD, 15.5" screen, built-in optical drive, card reader slot. Physically just what I wanted.
Now the problem, in a nutshell, Win 8.1. Gawdawful design. Whoever invented this operating system should be flogged! It is optimized for smaller machines, and tries to force one to use the 'cloud', via the horrid idea of "One Drive". Apparently they assume (we know what THAT really means!) that the owner will of course put ALL their data and files onto that tenuous virtual cloud storage, that no one knows where it is, who owns it, who has access to it. Having worked in a secure IT environment and in Security (civilian and military) this really bothers me and sends up all kinds of red flags! It ain't gonna happen!
So, first thing was learning how to get back out of that danged One Drive nonsense. I have an external HD that I have my desktop data and files copied onto. That will become my primary working storage. A few non-critical things will go onto the built-in HD. Thumb drives will be used too. Especially when travelling.
I am still getting my favorite and necessary programs, applications and websites loaded onto this thing. Managed to change the default homepage to my current CenturyLink homepage I use on my big PC, with the Embarq e-mail account. Also have access to my gmail account (as this machine is set where you must have a Google account to even sign onto it - another bit of bad design). But I cannot yet find any way of composing and sending a gmail message on this laptop, as I can with the PC and the smartphone!
I bought the Home & Student Office 2013 package, but find that it too assumes one must be online in order to use Word and the other parts of it! EVERY time I go to access a document on the HD, I have to reset the file type, as it defaults to webpage. How silly is this? Makes for a long drawn out procedure to access my data. I always thought computers were supposed to ease our burden.......? :-/

I am seriously considering taking this thing to the Geek Squad and having it totally lobotomized and having Win7 installed. THEN it would be a decent working machine.

Did I mention how much a total kludge this Win 8.1 is........? :dodgy:

 

[Van-Tramp]

Oh god... dont go to the Geek Squad! Call up ANY other pc service place, just not the Geek Squad. They are not repair techs, they are teenage salespersons trained only to upsell, not repair. You may even want to talk to the manufacturer of the laptop as they may be able to do that all for you for free.

PS - My laptop still uses Win7 for the very reasons you state above. If I could, I would still use XP honestly.

 

[LeeRevell]

Yeah, XP would be my preference too, but I don't want to use something with no company support at all.
Good idea re the Geek Squad. We have some actual computer repair businesses fairly close to me. I'll talk to a couple and feel them out.

 

[riffraff]

Windows 8 is indeed a piece of garbage. Came with the laptop I'm using right now. Since it wasn't "pro" there was no free "downgrade" to Windows 7 so I decided to grit my teeth and bear with it.

Couple weeks ago saw "Windows 8 for dummies" at the library I decided "hey maybe there will be some info there to make me not hate it as much.".. What's funny is throughout the book the author makes no bones about the fact that Windows 8 is crap and you should under no circumstances upgrade from Windows 7 unless you have to. I went thru the book without learning anything new.

Windows 7 is where its at!

BTW I got a Windows 7 OEM (download version) from amazon for like $60 last year. Can just put it on a thumbdrive and nuke that muthu. Only problem you might have is with the laptop drivers (network especially) if you are gonna do a fresh install.

 

[Terry]

Look on YouTube and find instructions for whatever you want to do with that computer. I hated this computer's OS and after a few weeks of giving it a try, I replaced the HDD with a blank one, bought a copy of Windows 7. The problem I had was that I neglected to download drivers for all the hardware to operate under Windows 7 before hand. I bought a program, driver doctor or something like that, and after a couple of hours and a few restarts, I have a great computer now. I kept the HDD with Windows 8.1 update(d) hoping that they would fix it or have a free upgrade to the next version 9-10. I hear it's going to be Windows 10 because some old programs look for the version as Win 9 and assume its Windows 98.

 

[riffraff]

The problem I had was that I neglected to download drivers for all the hardware to operate under Windows 7 before hand.

This. It's fairly easy to put windows 7 install on a 4gb thumbdrive, format the hard drive and do a fresh install. You just want to make sure you have the drivers (especially the network driver.. if you have this one most of the others you can get once you are online)

http://pcsupport.about.com/od/windows7/a/install-windows-7-usb.htm

 

[PeterG]

Windows 8 is not my friend, either, but luckily you can get an OEM copy of Windows 7 for $99 on Newegg. Windows 7 is great. I built my last 7 desktops and went from XP to Windows 7. I skipped Vista (except on my old laptop that came with it). Switching over is pretty simple. I would just download all the programs you have on there from the web or get have the discs ready, then put them and any drivers you need (which you can also download) on portable media like a flash drive or external HD, and install Windows 7.

I had to set up my niece's computer with Windows 8, and I didn't like it either, though they have made some small improvements. Make sure you have updated it. I think you can now put it back to a more normal windows-like interface instead of the dreadful tiles.

 

[Theadyn]

I always thought computers were supposed to ease our burden.......? :-/

Did I mention how much a total kludge this Win 8.1 is........? :dodgy:

^ This!!! Have it on both work pc and home pc. I do not want to have to take a freaking college course just to be able to navigate the darn things, ugh! And totally don't trust, or will ever trust, this mysterious cloud that seems to forever want our info.

 

[Dragonfly]

We are looking for a laptop for trips, too, and the lack of choices of OSes is ridiculous. Not long ago I needed a new PC and luckily found an HP with Win 7. I refuse to even bother with 8. So my laptop search may take awhile.

Hope you get 7 installed in it with no problem

Oz

 

[caseyc]

This will resolve your Windows 8 issues. Simple install the free "classicshell" app to your laptop, and this will mimic the same functionality as Windows 7.

You can thank me in the morning!

Link here:
http://www.classicshell.net/

I am seriously considering taking this thing to the Geek Squad and having it totally lobotomized and having Win7 installed. THEN it would be a decent working machine.

Did I mention how much a total kludge this Win 8.1 is........? :dodgy:

 

[kyonu]

This will resolve your Windows 8 issues. Simple install the free "classicshell" app to your laptop, and this will mimic the same functionality as Windows 7.

You can thank me in the morning!

Link here:
http://www.classicshell.net/

Darnit, I first thought "Hey I'm going to finally be super helpful and help someone out with icky Windows 8!"

But then you posted this before I did and now I'm sad.

I do concur though, Classic Shell made windows 8 even better than Windows 7 (since it's faster than 7). It's really a life saver for 8.

 

[akrvbob]

With Win 8.1 MS gives you the choice of working from the tiled panel or from the Desktop which works very nearly like Win 7. At any time just click on the Windows key and the letter "D" and you will go to the desktop.

For the most part it works just like Win 7. A few things are missing and you have to search for them and learning to find your programs and pinning them to the task bar is a little different, but once you've done it is almost exactly like Win 7.

I never go to the Tiled opening screen, it's garbage!

Buy a book that tells you how to use the Desktop and if you have a touchscreen you will soon much prefer Win 8.1 to Win 7. If you have a Kindle or a Smartphone you can get Kindle book on Win 8.1 for a few bucks and it'll really help

I spend lots of time on MS Word and once you figure out the slight Desktop differences I greatly prefer it on Win 8.1 over Win 7.
Bob

 

[LeeRevell]

Reading the FAQ on Classic Shell tells me I likely won't be satisfied with it. Some appearance items are altered, but not enough.
And, I absolutely DO NOT want any touchscreen function! This is a computer, not a smartphone or tablet. I want it to act like a computer.
Maybe I am just an old dog not wanting to learn new tricks, but as long as I can have my 'cake' and eat it too, I demand it.

 

[66788]

Ubuntu Linux is great. It's free, has a photoshop equivalent as an installed program in the bundle, as well as open office which is a spreadsheet, word processor and a lot more.

I've had it installed on the same computer for three years and no virus problems, still as fast as the first day installed.

 

[caseyc]

You're wrong. Classic Shell app mimics Windows 7 in virtually all aspects including adding the familiar Start button.

 

[riffraff]

I'm afraid there's more to it than the missing start button (which is somewhat back anyways with 8.1). The stench of 8.1 is not so easily eradicated with this app =) Hell Alt-Tab doesn't work half the time ;(

 

[akrvbob]

You don't ever have to use the touch screen with win 8.1. But if you kept an open mind would probably like it. What do you have to lose by trying it?

The desktop works well for me. Well worth the trying.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

You don't ever have to use the touch screen with win 8.1. But if you kept an open mind would probably like it. What do you have to lose by trying it?

I started playing with computers with the Radio Shack Model 1. In my younger days, I was more than willing to experiment with new, buggy stuff.

These days, I just want the damn thing to work, and do what I want it to do.

I'm not willing to be an unpaid beta tester for anyone. Why would I PAY THEM for the privilege of being one of their gamma testers?

I'll keep running Windows 7 until they no longer support it, then look around for something proven and stable to replace it.

I skipped right over Vista and went from XP to Win 7 only when the bugs were out of it. I suspect I will end up skipping Win8 as well.

Regards
John

 

[LeeRevell]

A buddy on another forum turned me onto the following websites, with tips on addressing some of Win8/8.1's inherent problems, and making it run more like Win7. Not an optimal solution, but they'll get me by and give me back some functionality that the laptop currently lacks.

http://windowsitpro.com/windows-81/top-10-tips-make-windows-81-work-like-windows-7

http://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-make-windows-8-look-like-windows-7/

From what I have read, the upcoming Win10 will still have both the PC interface and the silly 'Metro' interface, but will give the user the option of using one OR the other, and not try to force us to use both.
Metro on a PC was a really poor design choice. Being a programmer by trade, I value functionality over glitzy 'gee-wizz' graphics and useless 'apps'. For personal security reason, the 'Cloud' is a total no-go option.

 

[jeanontheroad]

Windows 8 was written by alien body thetans who live and grow strong off the energy of your misery. They wrote it as a sort of knockoff of the Apple system, which really is a no-brainer for everything except loading Youtube videos, to lull you into a false sense of security. By all means, before you are drained of all humanity, go to casey's link and get back to Windows 7 format.