Windows 8.1 Update 1
 

They are finally removing the awful tile-based interface that has prevented upgrades and replacing it with a real start me u by default.

http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/30/53...top-by-default

This OS should be great. It fixes many of the network issues that 7 had. It also is fast and stable.

Now people should have no reason not to upgrade to this OS.

Too bad it took millions of people sticking with XP for them to realize it.


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Huh. Well good for them.

Is it worth it to upgrade my Windows 7 machine?

I'm gonna stick to my guns and linux 12

Upgrade from 7
 

Honestly, if you don't have newer hardware, I wouldn't bother. 7 works fine for many items still (and I still use it for work).

If you have a machine that came with 8 or 8.1, upgrade a few weeks after it comes out. MS still doesn't get it right.

I want to see this on a Dell Venue Pro or Samsung laptop, both of which I am looking at for a new Windows machine. I have the Raspberry Pi for my Linux needs these days (and a DD-WRT router handling the network connection for the Windows 7 x64 box I am typing this on).

Hi mb!

For us laypeople: so this upgrade would eliminate the need for me to use that 'classic shell' that I downloaded at your suggestion? btw...I still am thankful for that advice because the classic shell works great. So I would uninstall that?

This upgrade isn't yet available, is it? Sounds like they're still testing and tweaking. Do you advise that I load it when it's available or just keep using the classic shell interface?

TIA!

So Mitch, lemme ask you this:

Ever since I upgraded to 8.1, I've had major problems with 1.) my AMD display driver randomly failing/recovering/notifying me of this sequence of events, 2.) greatly reduced battery life and performance speed, and 3.) whenever I shut down the computer, every time I turn it back on I get an error message about having to recover the system because of a THREAD_STUCK_IN_DEVICE_DRIVER error.

I see online that many other people have had this problem, and many different fixes have been suggested for it. I have done everything suggested on the various help threads, and it's still a problem. AMD doesn't even claim to make drivers for Win 8, though I never had a problem before I upgraded to 8.1.

So can I revert back to regular 8.0, and/or will 8.1 Update 1 fix this problem?

Clod, while I still run Windows XP SP3 on a desktop PC, I run 8.1 that I've updated from 8 on an HP Notebook (with Intel processor). HP warns that even if drivers were updated immediately prior to 8.1 installation, "you may need to reinstall some drivers again as some Windows 8 drivers may not migrate automatically to Windows 8.1." They also recommend looking to the PC manufacturer, rather than the processor manufacturer, for drivers with 8.1 compatibility.

I don't know what brand of device you have and perhaps you've heard all this before; but, I thought I'd mention it.

Oh yes, I've mucked about with the drivers to no end, including updating as well as completely removing and installing them from scratch.

I have found a new clue to the puzzle, however. I only get the error upon startup if, when I am shutting it down, I go ahead and close the screen before it's completely done. If I let it sit with the screen up for at least a full minute, until I am completely certain that it has 100% turned itself off, then when I turn it back on I get no error, and I don't get the random driver failures while it's operating. If I get the error, it claims it's fixing itself before it actually boots and all is well, but I will continue to get the graphics driver failures until I shut down and reboot properly.

I think there are still some driver issues that need to be nailed down in 8.1.

I also think that the power management code in those drivers needs to be updated.

I would also keep using Classic shell until this update comes out.

@Clod: