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Windows 8 / RT |OT|

T

TheBryanJZX90

Member
So Office 365 University is $79.99 for four years, which includes all of the Office 2013 programs, as well as any new versions of those programs that come out in the four years? So if Microsoft releases Office 2016 in December 2016 I'll be able to upgrade to that for free? What happens on February 1, 2017 if I don't want to keep paying my Office 365 subscription? I'm guessing no more 20 gigs of SkyDrive and no more free Skype minutes, but will I still be able to use this hypothetical Office 2016?
 
W

Windu

never heard about the cat, apparently
TheBryanJZX90 said:
So Office 365 University is $79.99 for four years, which includes all of the Office 2013 programs, as well as any new versions of those programs that come out in the four years? So if Microsoft releases Office 2016 in December 2016 I'll be able to upgrade to that for free? What happens on February 1, 2017 if I don't want to keep paying my Office 365 subscription? I'm guessing no more 20 gigs of SkyDrive and no more free Skype minutes, but will I still be able to use this hypothetical Office 2016?
Click to expand...
http://www.zdnet.com/microsofts-off...happens-when-subscriptions-expire-7000010498/
 
S

Sethos

Banned
Okay, now I have to ask; Anyone experienced or heard of Windows 8 suddenly going extremely slow? Out of the blue, starting a browser takes 5-6 seconds, Windows Live Mail 6-8 seconds, when you've clicked "Yes" to UAC prompts it lingers for 4-6 seconds, even in some webpages, loading bulk of content can freeze the browser for 6-7 seconds.

Checked my IO operations, checked the Resource Monitor, Task Manager and the lot but can't see anything out of the ordinary. This is infuriating, need to find a solution soon or I'm going back to Windows 7.
 
R

ralexand

100% logic failure rate
Sethos said:
Okay, now I have to ask; Anyone experienced or heard of Windows 8 suddenly going extremely slow? Out of the blue, starting a browser takes 5-6 seconds, Windows Live Mail 6-8 seconds, when you've clicked "Yes" to UAC prompts it lingers for 4-6 seconds, even in some webpages, loading bulk of content can freeze the browser for 6-7 seconds.

Checked my IO operations, checked the Resource Monitor, Task Manager and the lot but can't see anything out of the ordinary. This is infuriating, need to find a solution soon or I'm going back to Windows 7.
Click to expand...

Give me a break. Did you try rebooting like you do in every version of windows?
 
D

derFeef

Member
Sethos said:
Okay, now I have to ask; Anyone experienced or heard of Windows 8 suddenly going extremely slow? Out of the blue, starting a browser takes 5-6 seconds, Windows Live Mail 6-8 seconds, when you've clicked "Yes" to UAC prompts it lingers for 4-6 seconds, even in some webpages, loading bulk of content can freeze the browser for 6-7 seconds.

Checked my IO operations, checked the Resource Monitor, Task Manager and the lot but can't see anything out of the ordinary. This is infuriating, need to find a solution soon or I'm going back to Windows 7.
Click to expand...

I only had the login screen being very slow once, but did not happen anymore. Sounds like a deeper problem. Did you disable background tasks like prefetch, defrag etc.? Seems really weird - also disable UAC ;)
 
N

Nero3000

Member
Sethos said:
Okay, now I have to ask; Anyone experienced or heard of Windows 8 suddenly going extremely slow? Out of the blue, starting a browser takes 5-6 seconds, Windows Live Mail 6-8 seconds, when you've clicked "Yes" to UAC prompts it lingers for 4-6 seconds, even in some webpages, loading bulk of content can freeze the browser for 6-7 seconds.

Checked my IO operations, checked the Resource Monitor, Task Manager and the lot but can't see anything out of the ordinary. This is infuriating, need to find a solution soon or I'm going back to Windows 7.
Click to expand...

Hmm strange. Check the graphics drivers and that the hard drive is plugged in securely.

And don't disable UAC. That's just bad advice.
 
K

killer rin

Member
So I just got Office 2013 Professional off of my DreamSpark Premium Membership through the school. I have to say, its really nice and it integrated right into my Microsoft Account without me needing to put in any settings.
 
S

Sethos

Banned
ralexand said:
Give me a break. Did you try rebooting like you do in every version of windows?
Click to expand...

No obviously that thought didn't even cross my mind. Give me a break.

derFeef said:
I only had the login screen being very slow once, but did not happen anymore. Sounds like a deeper problem. Did you disable background tasks like prefetch, defrag etc.? Seems really weird - also disable UAC ;)
Click to expand...

Yeah everything's off ( Have an SSD, don't want that running )

Nero3000 said:
Hmm strange. Check the graphics drivers and that the hard drive is plugged in securely.

And don't disable UAC. That's just bad advice.
Click to expand...

Yeah, not disabling UAC :) But I did check out the various options. Just happened out of the blue a day or two ago, puzzles me.
 
D

derFeef

Member
Is the problem gone now?

And question, you guys really have UAC enabled, or I should say not on the lowest level?
I have a single user PC so maybe that's why.
 
N

Nero3000

Member
derFeef said:
Is the problem gone now?

And question, you guys really have UAC enabled, or I should say not on the lowest level?
I have a single user PC so maybe that's why.
Click to expand...

I have a couple of family pc's. They all have a local account which is set to administrator level. This is rarely logged into. Each user account (microsft roaming account) is set to the standard level, even my own. UAC is at default, so whenever something needs installing it'll prompt for that administrator password.

On my own laptop i have my own microsoft account at the administrator level with the default UAC level.
 
Y

yn-neko hates a cat

Banned
Sethos said:
Okay, now I have to ask; Anyone experienced or heard of Windows 8 suddenly going extremely slow? Out of the blue, starting a browser takes 5-6 seconds, Windows Live Mail 6-8 seconds, when you've clicked "Yes" to UAC prompts it lingers for 4-6 seconds, even in some webpages, loading bulk of content can freeze the browser for 6-7 seconds.

Checked my IO operations, checked the Resource Monitor, Task Manager and the lot but can't see anything out of the ordinary. This is infuriating, need to find a solution soon or I'm going back to Windows 7.
Click to expand...

I have this issue on startup with things that connect to the web like my messenger app. If I restore a browser session with like 5+ tabs then it also happens. It's something I only see with things attempting to connect to the web. I'm using wired networking and have a pretty fast connection. There's no performance issue after the initial startup with most web apps; only the large scale browser launching still induce the problem long after boot into windows.
 
S

SPDIF

Member
miladesn said:
skulls of the shogun is up on the store now, cool game.

not sure why it's not featured on storefront, MS gonna MS.
Click to expand...

I don't know about the rest of the world, but here in the UK the storefront seems to get updated every Thursday. So we might see something then.
 
G

Giggzy

Member
Need a little help. I upgraded to Win8 Pro last night with a clean install. I now cannot connect to the Internet. I'm assuming I need to install my wireless adapter drivers and motherboard drivers? I tried running the disc's for them but they don't seem to be compatible with Win8. Do I just need to download the Win8 drivers from their websites and install them via usb drive? That should do the trick, right?
 
B

BlazinAm

Junior Member
I have to say this, the camera app and the video player that is provided within the windows start menu interface is terrible. Like really bad. I don't know what they were thinking with that let alone why is the camera app a full screen thing.

Does anyone know of a good camera app? I am looking for small and with filters.
 
O

Outsanity

Member
Which software do people use for playing Blu-rays? I lost Corel WinDVD which came with my Vaio when I upgraded and I'm looking for a replacement. None of them seem to be cheap yet they all look so similar. PowerDVD seems like it may be the best bang for your buck though?
 
J

jsnepo

Member
Ever get the feeling that Windows 8 is running faster? I mean yesterday it was okay but today, apps turn up quickly. Running programs is significantly faster too. No updates were installed. I'm running the same programs, etc.
 
Y

yn-neko hates a cat

Banned
jsnepo said:
Ever get the feeling that Windows 8 is running faster? I mean yesterday it was okay but today, apps turn up quickly. Running programs is significantly faster too. No updates were installed. I'm running the same programs, etc.
Click to expand...

Windows 8 does a better of using cache in such a way that:
  • Doesn't leave people feeling like they'll run out of RAM if they leave caching on
  • I believe they've optimized how they load DLLs as well.
  • Optimized for SSD (some witchcraft they do with readyboost)

It's even sweeter for me since I have a disturbingly low latency PCE-E SSD (995 MBps sustained read speed yo!) and 32 GB of ram with virtual memory turned off. Photoshop CS4 first start is 4 seconds and each subsequent start through out the day if I close it is about ~1 sec.

I love Windows 8 <3
 
M

MisterRoboto

Member
So i'm having a little trouble updating/downloading my apps ( keep getting error 0x8024001e.) I searched around microsoft.com for a few solutions and I none of that worked. I saw one solution that worked for a few people which called to enter command prompt (admin) and input:

net stop wuauserv
rename c:\windows\SoftwareDistribution softwaredistribution.old
net start wuauserv

I was definitely in admin prompt but it said access denied when I hit enter. Any reason I would get denied as the administrator?
 
jediyoshi

jediyoshi

Member
Just realized my school offered win8pro free so I threw it on my laptop for the performance benefit
Installed startisback and all is well

s8Rc61n.jpg
 
Z

Zaraki_Kenpachi

Member
So what exactly is added in the media center pro pack for windows 8? I haven't installed windows 8 yet on my desktop but I don't want to just yet so I was curious what it adds since I can't get it without installing windows 8.
 
P

Pooya

Member
Zaraki_Kenpachi said:
So what exactly is added in the media center pro pack for windows 8? I haven't installed windows 8 yet on my desktop but I don't want to just yet so I was curious what it adds since I can't get it without installing windows 8.
Click to expand...

media center, same as in 7 with all of it's features. the only way to play DVDs on win8 (without external software). wmp doesn't work for that anymore.
 
M

megarockexe

Member
Any way to get my hard drive to stop falling asleep? Ever since I upgraded to Windows 8 and installed on a new SSD, I find that my computer locks up because my hard drive is waking up from being asleep due to non-intensive activities. Is there something I could do to keep it busy, but not so much?
 
W

Windu

never heard about the cat, apparently
Zaraki_Kenpachi said:
So what exactly is added in the media center pro pack for windows 8? I haven't installed windows 8 yet on my desktop but I don't want to just yet so I was curious what it adds since I can't get it without installing windows 8.
Click to expand...
Media center
 
P

Pooya

Member
megarockexe said:
Any way to get my hard drive to stop falling asleep? Ever since I upgraded to Windows 8 and installed on a new SSD, I find that my computer locks up because my hard drive is waking up from being asleep due to non-intensive activities. Is there something I could do to keep it busy, but not so much?
Click to expand...

what's your Power Plan?

go to power options -> change plan settings for current active power plan-> change advance power settings, you can find it there.
 
B

BocoDragon

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
Zaraki_Kenpachi said:
So what exactly is added in the media center pro pack for windows 8? I haven't installed windows 8 yet on my desktop but I don't want to just yet so I was curious what it adds since I can't get it without installing windows 8.
Click to expand...

Jzero said:
It adds Windows Media Center.
Click to expand...

miladesn said:
media center, same as in 7 with all of it's features. the only way to play DVDs on win8 (without external software). wmp doesn't work for that anymore.
Click to expand...

Windu said:
Media center
Click to expand...

And I'd say: avoid it. Media Center was almost adequate in the mid-2000s but I think it's a relic now. Shitty interface and you have to wrestle with codecs to get it to play anything. Might as well just download something like XBMC with the latest Aeon skin if you want a media center program.
 
Z

Zaraki_Kenpachi

Member
miladesn said:
media center, same as in 7 with all of it's features. the only way to play DVDs on win8 (without external software). wmp doesn't work for that anymore.
Click to expand...

Jzero said:
It adds Windows Media Center.
Click to expand...

Ah, when it called it pro pack I didn't realize that they completely removed WMC.


When using windows upgrade assistant to download windows 8, is there anyway to create a backup to reinstall later if necessary?

BocoDragon said:
And I'd say: avoid it. Media Center was almost adequate in the mid-2000s but I think it's a relic now. Might as well just download something like XBMC with the latest Aeon skin if you want a media center program.
Click to expand...

Does XBMC let you record shows? I've only seen it used to record TV on your computer.
 
B

BocoDragon

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
miladesn said:
Can you use xmbc with 360 as extender? that's the only thing I ever used wmc for. pretty useful.
Click to expand...

Pretty useful if it's 2005, for me ;P

I know that any DLNA streamer will send audio to any 360. Pretty sure video as well? But even if not, I personally have a PS3 and PC hooked up to my TV. 360 isn't my first choice for video streaming and I'd like whatever option I choose to play every possible codec (which is possible with PS3 Media Server or...... a PC)

To put it simply, the idea of the 360 requiring a specific streaming Microsoft software on PC is very outdated.
 
P

Pooya

Member
it's not just about streaming, you get complete wmc interface on the 360, not just items added to your playlist, you can do that to. besides no transcoding is ever required with wmc, it can play whatever codec your PC have installed, and the only way to get 6 channel audio on 360 I think. you can use DLNA servers to stream music and video, but stereo only IIRC.
 
B

BocoDragon

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
miladesn said:
it's not just about streaming, you get complete wmc interface on the 360, not just items added to your playlist, you can do that to. besides no transcoding is ever required with wmc, it can play whatever codec your PC have installed, and the only way to get 6 channel audio on 360 I think. you can use DLNA servers to stream music and video, but stereo only IIRC.
Click to expand...

That's not bad.. I see the point. I remember when Vista and 360 were bosom buddies. Personally I have no need of that, but if you do, then the "Media Center" option of win 8 is for you. It's just clearly an old product, not updated, and surely on its way out.
 
S

StudioTan

Hold on, friend! I'd love to share with you some swell news about the Windows 8 Metro UI! Wait, where are you going?
BocoDragon said:
And I'd say: avoid it. Media Center was almost adequate in the mid-2000s but I think it's a relic now. Shitty interface and you have to wrestle with codecs to get it to play anything. Might as well just download something like XBMC with the latest Aeon skin if you want a media center program.
Click to expand...

I use it every day with Mediabrowser and it's awesome.
 
S

sca2511

Member
Anyone have an extra Media Center/Pack key? I received an email reminding me about the key, so I was like, "Oh, I didn't use that on my desktop yet." Foolishly thinking that it was an extra key, but no, it was the one I already redeemed on my laptop. Now I'm getting a Windows activation error.
 
P

Pooya

Member
sca2511 said:
Anyone have an extra Media Pack key? I received an email reminding me about the key, so I was like, "Oh, I didn't use that on my desktop yet." Foolishly thinking that it was an extra key, but no, it was the one I already redeemed on my laptop. Now I'm getting a Windows activation error.
Click to expand...

yep. I'll pm you in a bit, you have to use it today though.

I'm not sure what your error is though?
 
S

sca2511

Member
Thank you so much.

The error was telling me that the key was already in use. Error 0xc004c008. I couldn't use my old Win8 key since I guess the pack converts the installation of Windows to "Windows 8 Pro w/ Media Pack." I guess the key for the Media Pack acts like a key for Windows 8 as a whole of some sorts.
 
B

brotkasten

Member
BocoDragon said:
And I'd say: avoid it. Media Center was almost adequate in the mid-2000s but I think it's a relic now. Shitty interface and you have to wrestle with codecs to get it to play anything. Might as well just download something like XBMC with the latest Aeon skin if you want a media center program.
Click to expand...

Can't say I had codec problems since Vista. Windows XP Media Center Edition was a different matter, though.

All in all, I find WMC to be way more user friendly, when it comes to the setup. When I switched to XBMC last year, it had open source software written all over it.
 
M

Mr Swine

Banned
Nice, my moms Laptop with quad core I7 CPU at 2.2Ghz felt kinda sluggish on Windows 7, even when I reformatted the HDD. After installing Win8 Pro upgrade with many programs and stuff it's really really fast on it compared to Win 7 :) She is incredibly happy that she upgraded :))
 
G

gconsole

Member
After 3 days of searching. I can finally install Windows 8 on my machine!

I bought Asus Zenbook UX32VD and then swap it with my original SSD M4 512GB with Windows 7 installed.

It didn't work at first. I guess there is the problem with the bootmanager which doesn't recognize my OS on the SSD. So I decided to re-install Windows 7, later to find out that it doesn't work because my laptop only have USB3 port and Windows 7 is not USB3 native!

Firstly trying to find the way of how to integrate the driver into installation ISO image. But it required too many steps. So I didn't bother. Then I decide it's time to go to Windows 8 as I believe it should be USB3 native already.

I tried to find the ISO on the internet for whole day. Failed. MS doesn't provide it at all. And only option there is to upgrade from Windows 7 (which is no longer exist on my laptop) or buy the builder DVD which will takes time to arrive and cost almost 100 pounds!

Anyway, I finally found the enterprise trial ISO on MS site. I said what the hell. Then I install it. Of course the installation run freakin fast (thx to SSD). But then I find out (again) later that I cannot upgrade from enterprise trial edition to any version! Their installation program keep rejecting me and say this is not available on your country when I tried to upgrade to Pro.

It took another day for me to search around internet. And find the way to make it upgradable by runing the installation app in Windows 7 compatibility mode. That sounds like a bug to me (since MS site clearly mention that I cannot upgrade from enterprise evaluation to any version). Anyway, I can finally confirm the upgrade , pay the money, and wait for download to finish.

After download I face another problem. The installation cannot be continue because of unknown error!. Shit. Then I decide to change from install within Windows to create installation media (USB). Wait for some time. Then reinstall the whole thing from USB.

I thought that would be the end of every problem I had. But no! My laptop came with built-in serial key under the bios. And the installation detect the key from that when install as the first thing! I found that my serial is just WIndows 8 home edition. So it reject!

I have to search around again. And finally find out that I have to overwrite the serial by create the ID file in sources folder. And after that, everything go smooth and I can really install this shit on my machine.

It was the pain during last 3 days trying to do this. I can't imagine for general user (who doesn't want to buy the builder DVD). Of course I enjoy the OS so much. It fast, smooth, and flawless (I don't care about metro that much though). But MS really need to find the way to make this easier for a human. It's really frustrated.
 
G

Guri

Member
But MS does provide an ISO! When the assistant downloads the OS, it asks if you want to make an ISO file. I imagine you didn't pass through this process.
 
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