I while back I asked about upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 8 on a desktop system; times gone by and folk have had more time to get used to the new setup.

Generally the new Metro interface (and I like Aero with its thumbnail previews from the taskbar) seems to be a bit of a pain in a non-touch desktop environment and the lack of a proper task bar/Start Menu seems a nuisance too. Having said that, some people seem to really rate Windows 8 and a number of magazine/online reviews I’ve seen seem to suggest that Windows 8 is more efficient and less resource hungry than Windows 7; £40 for an upgrade to Windows 8 Pro isn’t bad either.

Can Metro not be installed (or uninstalled) as a feature of Windows or will it always be there necessitating clicking through to the desktop and can you reinstate the Start Menu?

Generally then, is it worth upgrading to Windows 8 from a stable Windows 7 installation in a non-touch, desktop environment?

Can Metro not be installed (or uninstalled) as a feature of Windows or will it always be there necessitating clicking through to the desktop and can you reinstate the Start Menu?

No, there is no way round it. Massive shame, as a linux like approach to desktop managers (choose the one that best suits your needs), would have seen Win8 be a really popular and powerful OS imo.

Look at the stuff these guys do:

http://www.stardock.com/products/

start menu replacement, run windows 8 apps in a window,…

I installed the Classic Shell utility, which provides a conventional start menu and bypasses all the Metro stuff to go straight to your desktop. I upgraded a couple of older XP machines and the performance and start up times are much better.

I tried “Classic shell” but found “Start is Back” a better overall solution
STARTISBACK

I bunged lubuntu on my machine a few months back…it does pretty much all I need and it’s fast.

Costs nothing, libre office does all my word processing and spreadsheeting. Mp3 done with rhythm box.

The only reason I boot up into windows now is for Lightroom.

Difficult to imagine paying for software in the future.

+1 for Stardock’s Start8 – I never have to see that Metro start interface, and get all the benefits of Windows 8. Worth the small sum I paid for the full version, it’s been rock solid.

Thanks for the info. I’m still a little unsure whether it makes sense to upgrade from Windows 7 (and then effectively turn it back into Windows 7). Does Windows 8 offer, or is it likely to in the future, any sort of performance/function increase over Windows 7?

Sometimes Microsoft has restricted releases of some of its software to its latest version of Windows but I already have I.E. 10 running on Windows 7 and I think that I’m up to date with DirectX too; I’m not sure if there’s a Windows 8 specific version of Media Player.

There is definitely a performance improvement going from 7 to 8 – both in startup and general use – this was my main motivation, along with the much improved backup system (AKA File History). For once Windows backup actually seems to work in the background without breaking every few weeks.

Whether you can justify the cost of the upgrade is down to you (I got it when it was £40 so it was a no-brainer).

Windows 7 is still very solid, and I’m sure Windows 9 will be a much more rounded release if you choose to wait.

I’m getting to.like windows 8 after I added a Bamboo Pen & Touch tablet. All the swipe, pinch, zoom stiff works well and I like the Metro and Apps interface for when I’m not ‘working’. It makes a good sit up change to go to the desktop to work hard. There’s some funny boot up shit going on but I think that’s dodgy USB ports on the new motherboard. Try one if you can…

I installed ubuntu on my neighbours old laptop that ran win7 before becoming violated beyond repair with malware, I couldn’t believe how far ubuntu has come, its finally a choice even for the non tech litterate, its bloody good and a damn sight quicker too!

The metro is just the start screen thats it, if you are going to install one of those start buttons on WIndows 8 then I wouldn’t bother with it at all