Silly 8.1 Question Time

[FONT= "Microsoft Sans Serif"]So there I was, reading yet another email from Microsoft telling me how wonderful Win 8.1 is, and how I qualify for the free upgrade, when I realized that their email was created by the marketing department, not their in-house techies.

Given that I have learned to not trust them, and trust the opinions here on WinBBS completely (well, almost completely ), I figured it was time to ask the experts.

First, you should know that I have the Classic Shell installed, and updated. While I really like it, I do have some issues. Namely, whenever I click on a Windows file Explorer icon, or even use WinKey+E, all desktop icons disappear. Sometimes for only a minute or so; sometimes for much longer. And there are even times when I have to use the three-fingered salute to get Task Manager to restart Explorer!

The problems therefore are these: Do I uninstall Classic Shell before upgrading to 8.1? Will the 8.1 upgrade require me to reinstall any apps not installed through the market place, as the upgrade to 8.0 Pro did?

I just don't want to have to spend another four days spare time - a couple hours each day - rebuilding or resetting my apps and configuration, as I did the first time I upgraded from Win 7 Home Premium to 8.0 Pro.

As the saying goes: I'm getting too old for this ... you get the idea.

Thank you all, for your advice. I've come to rely upon your opinions, guidance and the rest. and this from a person who has specialized in PCs and the like since '85.

One thing I learned over the years is there is always someone who knows more than I do, and I'd be a fool not to try and get the best advice I can.

Again ... thanks,
-a[/FONT]

 

Hi AlexH, My HP Notebook I purchased about 7 weeks ago, came with W8 installed which is probably Basic OEM.
I installed Classic Shell to make life easier and learn my way round the Metro/Tiles setup.
I received the W8.1 as an auto update from MS. and in all it took about 3.5 hours to get all the system changes effected (including restarts) and my Classic Shell is still as it was before - no problems. Hope that answers your query. Neil.

 

I really like Microsoft and Microsoft products - including IE11! - and I will defend them with earnest when they are bashed without cause - which is often, especially over security issues (the fault of badguys, not Microsoft). And that has nothing to do with me being a MS MVP.

But their marketing department is full of a bunch of mis-guided, mis-managed weenies and they know that is how I feel about them too. So you are wise to not trust them.

However, it is good user discipline and a key component of "practicing safe computing" to keep our systems fully updated with the latest updates and patches so W8 users should definitely install 8.1.

I have been through several 8.0 to 8.1 upgrades on systems that use Classic Shell and systems that use my preferred add-on, Start8 (similar in function and purpose to Classic Shell). And while you can install 8.1 over 8.0, in each case, I have had to either reinstall or repair Classic Shell or Start8 (I am assuming because 8.1 brings back the Start button - sort of) and typically there are no problems. However, on a couple Classic Shell systems, the repair failed and it had to be uninstalled and reinstalled - worse case, a small annoyance.

So to ensure no problems, and to ensure you have the latest version of your add-on, you might just uninstall it first, then install 8.1, then install your add-on again.

I learned that a long time ago too. And the other thing I've learned is the more you learn, the more you realize there is yet to learn! New technologies come, old technologies go or change. What once was may no longer be. I sometimes think staying current in IT is harder than staying current in medicine.

 

Thanks all!

Bill - I believe you and I were alpha/beta testers of Win 95 'back in the day' ... somehow, I recognize the style of your response and I welcome you weighing in on my plight. We may both have been in Atlanta for the Silverberg shindig ...

Whatever, I appreciate your advice and will definitely remove Classic Shell before I upgrade to 8.1. Who knows, I may also try Start8 when I've finished the upgrade.

I am curious, of course, to know which of them you feel is better and I do know that at most levels, it is a subjective opinion; I accept that, as well.

Cheers!

 

BTW, even though your handle says retired, I know you've never stopped learning.

 

FWIW: MaximumPC > Stardock Start8 vs. Classic Shell

 

Doc, thank you!

And the winner is ... I'm going to uninstall ClassicShell and try Start8!

I've been on the SourceForge forum, because of something ClassicShell does on my PC - it locks up for anywhere from a couple of minutes to forever, when I click the Explorer icon on the Taskbar, or even if I only use Win+E to open it.

So since the advice here - and there - is to uninstall it and see if it still does that - and it never did prior to CS - it's almost a no-brainer. And I'm the perfect one for that idiom ... so to speak.

Thank you folks, once more!

 

You're welcome.

 

Great find Doc! Bookmarked! And my winner is also Start8 for the same reasons given above. Classic Shell is good, but it just has too many extra features, bells and whistles I don't need, and that might go wrong. Start8 has a 30 day trial period so you don't have to commit right away.

Well, I've been testing software (and hardware) since long before Windows 95, and have been in Atlanta many times too, but never on business. As for being retired, that's retired Air Force - my first career (I'm on my third now!), but you are right, still learning. With IT technologies, if you don't aggressively continue to learn and stay on top of all the changes and new technologies, you will soon be way behind.

Thanks for the kind words.

 

Folks!

Early returns are in ... I removed ClassicShell and the problem I've had went away immediately.

Now the critical issue is whether the Win 8.1 upgrade is worth the time and effort to install. I'll hold off on installing Saart8 until I decide on the 8.1 upgrade.

Again, thank you all!

 

That should not be in question. OF COURSE you should install 8.1!

A paramount, if not THE paramount component of "practicing safe computing" is for the user (ALWAYS the weakest link in security) keeping our systems fully updated with the latest patches and security updates.

 

I was wondering if an issue like this would pop up concerning an existing installation of Classic Shell and a Windows 8.1 upgrade. I better spread the word around.

 

Upgrade to Win 8.1 Pro plus Media Center

The upgrade to 8.1 went surprisingly well. So far, the only app having a hard time is Mailwasher.

I plan to remove and reinstall that one today - perhaps when I wake up again at a more comfortable hour; it's 5:05 AM where I am. The eyes are already closing.

I am feeling sleepy ... sleepy ... my eye lids are getting heavy ... zzzzz

 

MailWasher? Hmmm - I've been a beta tester for MailWasher Pro for many years - going back to early ComputerCops (later CastleCops) days and there are quite a few 8.1 users, but I am not aware of any problems reported that can be blamed (or should I say, "duplicated ") on 8.1. If still having an issue, you might post your problem over on http://forum.firetrust.com/.

 

Hey Bill!

I've been in touch with Nick Bolton and Jeremy over at MW/Firetrust and we're working things out. Whatever it was no longer is a problem.

But so I don't feel left out with no problems, here are problems I've had so far, which seem to not be resolved. All have appeared following the upgrade to 8.1. And I have restarted my system a few times since, ensured that each of my three printers has been shared, even changed my wife's user ID to include her Hotmail account, to satisfy the new Microsoft requirement that we log on with our email addresses/IDs.:

- My wife's system cannot print to the printers configured on my system. I've re-set sharing, added her as a user, ensured that Print Spooler is working and automatically starts, etc. But she cannot get things to print. I've even reinstalled the printers on her PC and still no joy; not after the first few print jobs.

- I have a window for an error which pops up every time I restart the system and, if I get it right, I have attached the JPG of that error.

- I don't know if it is related to the above error, but my Snipping Tool opens p, but wen I click on "new" it immediately goes back to a wait state, and doesn't allow me to do a clip snip of the screen.

I admit that these issues are probably ridiculously simple to resolve; unfortunately, not so simple for me.

Thanks for any guidance you all can offer.

Cheers!

 

I've still have not had any "problems" with Classic Shell and it works well with Vista/W7 presentation.
It gave no problems during the W8.1 update - it was seamless. Neil.

 

That's an option, not a requirement. You can change it to a "Local Account" if you want via the user account Control Panel applet.

Can't help you on printer sharing because I don't like, and don't recommend sharing printers. It is MUCH more convenient, and of course more secure (because you don't need to "enable sharing ") to hang your printer (or printers) off your network, instead of sharing printers attached to a host PC.

There are many advantages to networking your printer:

• All users/computers on your network can send print jobs to the printer at the same time,
• The printer is not tethered to any "host" computer so no computer has to powered on and running properly for others to print,
• The printer can be centrally located in a convenient location, off your desk,
• No print and file sharing needs to be set up on any computer - which may expose security vulnerabilities,
• The print server is the "host" - therefore, the computer does not take a performance hit when another computer sends a print job.

Some routers and many printing devices (to include all-in-ones) have built-in print servers. If yours does not, you can buy a print server to add network printing to your network. As seen here, there are many wireless and wired (Ethernet) print server to choose from for USB or older parallel (36-pin Centronics) printers.

Even though print servers have a cost overhead, IMO the security aspects alone justify the costs. But the convenience is the kicker. There's no need for my computer to be running for anyone else on my network to print and, being centrally located on a file cabinet, no printer is using up my precious desk space.

 

Hey Bill!

Wide awake now; love that coffee!

Okay, so the Mailwasher issue (and yes, I am also a beta for them) was actually a Verizon issue. The past few weeks have been Verizon-intensive:

1 - the FiOS router died. They and I got it running again, but I have a newer one to install today.

2 - a set-top box for their TV/DVR service went blewy and snowy; I've got a new one to install today.

3 - I am now working on my 5th - or 6th, depending upon how you count - so-called smart phone. My Samsung Stratosphere, the one with the actual slide-out keyboard, died. the second/replacement on warranty started to spontaneously shut down; then would loop between showing the logo on startup and crapping out again.

The replacement then started to drop off both Wi-Fi and mobile networks. Removing and reinserting the battery got it on the mobile nets again, but they sent me an upgraded model.

That was supposed to arrive with a new battery, back, charger, etc., and all I had to do was move my 4GB memory card to the new one. It arrived with no battery, no back or charger.

The store manager arranged to send me yet another one, and she said that they cannot get it wrong twice in a row. I offered to bet her; she declined to bet me. I reminded her of Murphy's Law and that Murph was an optimist. She laughed.

So ... the new one arrived with battery, charger, and a back which was made for a smaller phone! When I called, she asked for an hour or more to research her/my options. I also told her I'm sorry I didn't push her to agree on a bet! By this time, I was willing to forego the slide-out keyboard and take a Windows Phone - yes, I was that desperate!

She located a back to fit; I drove over, put it on, tested things, and it works just dandy for now. That was last night but I've not looked at it today yet, so there may still be a surprise awaiting me ...​

Meanwhile, to the original topic: Win 8.1 works just fine. I bought Start8, and am in the process of exploring the features and configurations. I wonder about whether their other utility, Modern Mix, is worth the price, or even worth a 30-day trial. Does anybody have experience with this one? Honestly, the only Win 8/Metro apps I would use it for are the Solitaire Games, which I cannot get to from the desktop. So if it works well, then $5 may be worth the cost of a distraction. Over the years, I've found that playing Solitaire, or one of its permutations, helps me think about issues I'm trying to solve, by distracting my front-mind and letting my back-mind work on the problems.

Enough of my saga of eternal torture ... And, thank you all for your help, and for not having short attention spans, such that you actually read this far.

Cheers!

 

I used Microsoft Games Patcher to play W7 games in W8.