Should I go back to Windows 7?

[Hi-Fi Man]

Right now I'm on Windows 10 but it's general bugginess and annoying "features" have got me thinking about moving back to Windows 7. One of the main reasons I upgraded was to take advantage of the under the hood features; D3D12, faster boots, etc. But it seems D3D12 is far harder to take advantage of then people thought.

My main reason for sticking with Windows 10 would be D3D12 but if it doesn't take off like some people are suggesting then the incentive to stay on 10 is almost nill. Do you think D3D12 will end up like D3D10?

 

[mikeymikec]

What specific problems are you experiencing?

 

[Hi-Fi Man]

A mixture of random bugs all over the OS. Stuff like hotswapping a disk out causing audio to stutter during playback as an example.

 

[Ketchup]

Did you do a clean install after after the upgrade? A lot of people have reported that a clean install resolved bugs like these.

Are you running older hardware? Some people are reporting that the Anniversary Update made some things worse, in which case you may want to roll back to before that update.

The only thing wrong with rolling back to 7 is getting Windows updates to get back in gear. Lots of helpful info in the stickied thread, but I have seen some reports that issues like this can continue, even after getting things back in working order, although I haven't personally experienced issues in anything other than a clean install.

 

[Hi-Fi Man]

Yeah I've done a few clean installs but still the same. I'm running the build in my signature.

 

[Ketchup]

Ok. On mobile so I just now pulled up your sig. So the audio only does that only during a hot-swap? While it could be annoying, how often are you in that combination of events? Not downing either way, just helping you think it through and make sure you are thinking everything through.

7 is going to run out of support in three years, so going back isn't the worst idea ever, especially if there is nothing in the interface that makes you want to stay.

 

[Hi-Fi Man]

The big question for me is D3D12 going to be a big deal? If not then it makes more sense to switch back. Three years should be enough time for Microsoft to get it's act together and figure out what it wants to do with Windows.

 

[Ketchup]

I believe they thought Windows 8 was it, and had to rethink some things when they saw how much people hated it.

 

[corkyg]

There really is no need to make it an either or scenario. I prefer 7, and that is where I do my daily work. I also have 10, and run it once a week to keep it up to date. Now, I have these on separate drives, and an choose either one They both have the same programs and data.

Microsoft purposely stripped out many of the traditional user customizations, especially sounds, in 10 in order to make it seem faster. It also added operational layers that primarily benefit touch screen users. They make for added clicks for us old time mousers.

I also have both 7 and 10 on my laptop via separate SSDs sharing a common data SSD. All things being available, I still enjoy hearing "Elvis has left the building!" when I exit Windows and power down. 10 can't do that.

 

[Red Squirrel]

IMO Windows 7 is currently the most polished and usable Windows based OS. I'd go back if you feel more comfortable with it. 8/8.x is a disaster and 10 is kinda iffy and still too new. I find it takes a good couple years for a Microsoft OS to mature enough to be usable. But they blew it at 8 and while 10 is a bit better, still not a fan myself.

At this point I'd start looking at Linux as a future option, as the current direction of MS is quite ugly. They basically want to turn your computer into a cloud tied tablet and an advertising platform.

 

[denis280]

IMO Windows 7 is currently the most polished and usable Windows based OS. I'd go back if you feel more comfortable with it. 8/8.x is a disaster and 10 is kinda iffy and still too new. I find it takes a good couple years for a Microsoft OS to mature enough to be usable. But they blew it at 8 and while 10 is a bit better, still not a fan myself.

exactly just like corkyg,i am using both for now and pretty sure in the coming years they will get better

 

[Puffnstuff]

Speaking solely based upon my experience 10 was a bit weird on my desktop until the 1511 update. I was having instances with IE 11 where it would completely wig out turning into a windows discotech fashing whatever content was in the window making it unusable until I closed, sometimes by forcing it to close, and then restart it which were just corrected by the latest cumulative update on 1607. If you cannot run your software on 10l then you should stay on 7. Personally since I don't have anything that requires 7 I'm staying on 10.