Crazy Question: Can you Roll Back to Windows 7?

[Nuspieds]

So, everyone, there is no more need for you to say another word. Please don't. You might upset him.

Upset me?!

Puh-leeze!

Do what you want; use what you want; embrace what you want. I know I have.

 

[machistmo]

HD_Dude --

I run Stardock Start8 ($4.99) on my Win8 machines.

Start8? for Windows® 8 - Bringing back the Windows Start menu

That allows me to bypass the Start screen and boot directly to the desktop. I do that on a couple of my machines, but on the Pro I boot to the Start screen. There are similar utilities out there that do the same. I just happened to find this one first, and like it.

Regards,
Russ

Welcome to Classic Shell is free and does the same thing that Start8 does basically. Try this one first and if you want extended capabilities, go with Start8.

 

[machistmo]

No, I'm sorry, the form factor is the tablet. If you don't like it, then get yourself another form factor.

I'm really tired of Windows 7 people (including and especially the press) complaining about Windows 8. Get over it! Windows 7- is history and Windows 8+ is the future. Period, that's it, that's all!

You know, I'd be the first to admit that the Start button should've been included in the Windows 8 Desktop, but I wasn't wiling to go as far as to install a utility to bring back the Start button. Why? Because as Microsoft had implied, it was time to move on, and so I have.

You can't embrace the future by continuing to hold on to the past.

I agree that Metro is the future. Unfortunately its NOT the present and MS needs to back off shoving it down peoples throats. Most of what I run on my SP is Desktop only. Why act like the Desktop doesn't exist when 2% of everything for windows runs in Metro only? I mean, again, I agree, Metro is the future and if they would design 8 accordingly, more people would like it and stop complaining. As it is now we are being forced to avoid METRO being shoved in our faces, and I have the SP (touch) and the Dell S2340T Monitor (touch). I still avoid metro because the desktop is still the reality of my computing experience.

I can NOT post paragraphs on this forum unless I run IE in desktop and compatibility mode. To say nothing of posting pictures here and this forum is ALL ABOUT Windows 8 and the Surface. We are in that uncomfortable stage between adolescence and adulthood. I just wish MS would back off a little on forcing METRO on us. I know several people who have upgraded to Windows8 on all the PC's they own and then downgraded and sworn off windows 8 completely. I hear that A LOT. A LOT. Metro is ENTIRELY the reason. I mean talk about a bad move.

So I will say it again, I agree that Metro is the future. Its just NOT the present.

 

[Nuspieds]

I agree that Metro is the future. Unfortunately its NOT the present and MS needs to back off shoving it down peoples throats. Most of what I run on my SP is Desktop only. Why act like the Desktop doesn't exist when 2% of everything for windows runs in Metro only?

Is it even as high as 2%?! :LOL:

You are certainly not alone in your sentiment and I have heard/read the same thing numerous times, but I fail to understand exactly why and how people think that MS is forcing it upon you. The reason being that prior to replacing my ThinkPad W700 with the SP, I had upgraded my ThinkPad from Windows 7 Ultimate to Windows 8 Pro. When I completed the upgrade that weekend, the missing Start button notwithstanding, I actually applauded MS for their design.

Yes, I know it may sound crazy to you but the reason I did was because at the time of the upgrade, the number of Modern UI apps I owned was obviously ZERO. Thus, with just one mouse click on the Desktop app on the Start screen, I was back in Desktop mode running all my apps as usual. The only thing missing was the Start button. Apart from that, you could not tell that I was using Windows 8 because 99.9% of my time was spent in Desktop mode--and that's where I don't understand the fuss.

I could understand if there wasn't a Desktop mode and that, to me, would be forcing the Modern UI onto us, but they did provide a legacy/Desktop mode, so I don't see how that is considered forcing the Modern UI onto us. At boot, if you choose not to use a third party app/hack to boot to Desktop mode, then the familiar Desktop mode is just one click away--if at all. In my case, I don't even need a third party app because with the apps I have in my startup, since they are Desktop apps, then I get booted into Desktop mode automatically.

It was incredibly naïve of them not to include the Start button in Desktop mode. Call it the "Run" or "Go" or whatever button if you want, but still include it because of the simple fact that 99% of Windows apps are Desktop-mode apps which place their shortcuts in the Start > Programs structure. Even if they wanted to have it off by default, then it should have been a simple configuration option to re-enable it. And it is not like that is foreign to them, either. Take XP, for example: You were able to right-click on the Start button and choose something like "use legacy menu" and it would display the old Start menu structure that you were accustomed to and that's what they should have also done in Windows 8.

 

[mitchellvii]

It was incredibly naïve of them not to include the Start button in Desktop mode. Call it the "Run" or "Go" or whatever button if you want, but still include it because of the simple fact that 99% of Windows apps are Desktop-mode apps which place their shortcuts in the Start > Programs structure. Even if they wanted to have it off by default, then it should have been a simple configuration option to re-enable it. And it is not like that is foreign to them, either. Take XP, for example: You were able to right-click on the Start button and choose something like "use legacy menu" and it would display the old Start menu structure that you were accustomed to and that's what they should have also done in Windows 8.

It wasn't naive, it was intentional. They knew that users love the Start Button and if they included it no one would ever use their precious new Metro baby. If gas cost $2 a gallon no one would pay $5k extra for a hybrid car. So MS is giving us the equivalent of $5 gas to force us into Metro.

 

[Nuspieds]

It wasn't naive, it was intentional. They knew that users love the Start Button and if they included it no one would ever use their precious new Metro baby. If gas cost $2 a gallon no one would pay $5k extra for a hybrid car. So MS is giving us the equivalent of $5 gas to force us into Metro.

You know what's interesting? The more I use the Modern UI apps, the more I like and prefer them over the Desktop apps and as soon as I am able to replace a Desktop app with a Modern UI app, I do so--but I know I'm saying this only because I use a Surface Pro. Just the mere fact that I use a Surface Pro and after experiencing the Modern UI, I am sold and love/prefer the touch interface.

However, it doesn't matter how great or superior (or bad or inferior) the Modern UI is, the fact remains that the extremely vast majority of Windows apps are built for Desktop mode. It will take "forever" to displace the Desktop UI to the #2 position. So, whatever it is the designers and approvers were drinking/smoking/snorting/injecting, I suggest they immediately go to rehab to get off whatever it is that they're on so that they can come back to and see reality.

 

[mitchellvii]

As we have learned from Mr Obama, sometimes change for the sake of change doesn't work out as intended. I think MS so wanted to create something fresh and new that they lost sight of what already worked. The car needed some body work and a new set of tires but they redesigned it from the ground up.

Nus, you are a bigger fan of Metro than I. Can you tell me how to print an email from the Yahoo Mail app? For the life of me i can't find a print option.

 

[J515OP]

As we have learned from Mr Obama, sometimes change for the sake of change doesn't work out as intended. I think MS so wanted to create something fresh and new that they lost sight of what already worked. The car needed some body work and a new set of tires but they redesigned it from the ground up.

Nus, you are a bigger fan of Metro than I. Can you tell me how to print an email from the Yahoo Mail app? For the life of me i can't find a print option.

Off topic but... I don't have the Yahoo app generally speaking though you open the Charms bar then Devices>Printer

 

[Nuspieds]

Nus, you are a bigger fan of Metro than I. Can you tell me how to print an email from the Yahoo Mail app? For the life of me i can't find a print option.

Sorry, I can't because I'm strictly an Outlook guy.

When I need to check my web accounts, I use IE.

 

[guymalloc]

Hey everybody - THANKS for the replies.

Seems to me it's possible, but it appears to have a few hurdles that may be beyond my level of expertise.

So here's a follow-up: Is there any way to hide the start screen with the tiles on it - and start right up with the Desktop? Or alternatively, if I do the Win7 VM, can that appear as my start-up screen?

Again, thanks.

If you open properties on the desktop taskbar, you will find a tab with the choice to start right into the desktop instead of metro, you can also select to show the 'all apps' view instead of the tiles, when you go to the metro start screen, all the installed software is listed in that view.... This is on Windows 8.1 pro, of course.....