Start8 destroyed my Windows 8 Installation

[Berryracer]

I installed Windows 8 ever since day one and have been getting lots of trouble with it as you can see from this thread ( My experience with Windows 8 ) but every once in a while after using Windows 7 for a bit, I format my system and give Windows 8 another change hoping this time it would work.

I ensured to get all the latest drivers for my Notebook (ASUS G75VW) from ASUS' website, configured all my libraries, installed Start8 to get the Start Menu back, installed all Windows updates; then out of no where, when I right click on an icon nothing happens and Explorer just crashes after a long wait. That happened quite too often that my system was not even usable.

I never knew whether it was some buggy driver, a glitch in one of the Windows updates, my Antivirus (it was Bitdefender Antivirus 2013 at that time), or perhaps Windows 8 is just a piece of shit OS.

Recently, I have started training for MCSE 2012 and it would make it easier for me to follow some of the training whilst having a Windows 8 system; so I gave Windows 8 a final chance and tried it. This time, I installed everything except Start8. I don't know why I didn't install Start8 I just had a feeling not to. To my surprise, my system was running smoothly with no random Explorer.exe crashes or errors when I right click on a file.

I created a system restore point then installed all Windows updates. My system was still stable.

Next, I installed Start8 v1.11 (latest version at the time of writing this post) and the problem started immediately. I right clicked on a file but instead of getting the right click context menu, I just see a little moving clock cursor and nothing happens then explorer.exe crashes. I rebooted but that didn't help. Sometimes, Windows will not boot directly to my desktop despite my specifying that in the Start8 settings.

I contacted their support but no reply since 72 hours. They do a very good job at sending you spam emails to purchase their products but they don't respond to customer support requests.

I did a little bit of research and tried Classic Shell but it lacked many options like I couldn't for example specify that I want to see my Download and Videos folder on the start menu.

After a bit of researching, I found an application called StartIsBack which costs just $3 USD for a 1 PC license or 5 USD for a 5 PC license which is a steal really for how good it is.

It provided me with all the features that Start8 had like specifying exactly what components and folder I want displayed on the Start Menu but minus the bugs and glitches found in Start 8.

I am so glad I finally got this Windows 8 OS working right who would've ever imagine that such a small app such as Start 8 could be the cause of all the chaos I was having and dissing Windows 8 constantly when it was another apps's fault....

 

[Pardus]

comment removed

 

[Berryracer]

Unfortunately, windows 8 is a hot mess with its metro tile icons that look like it was designed for an etch-a-sketch, ugly charms menu and lack of stability. I swear, all the programmers at Microsoft must of been high on crack when they designed this. You have 2 options, learn to use Windows 8 without a 3rd party start menu or stick with Windows 7.

I totally agree with you. I am not using it at the moment because I like it but rather to make exercising on my MCSE training easier.

Whoever created this Metro interface needs to be hit by a bat constantly until he faints and forget everything pertaining to computers. I can't even stand looking at that useless Metro Menu for 5 seconds without feeling like I want to vomit.

thank god there are tools that bring the Start menu back or else I would've never dared to use it.

I just pity the average computer user who goes out to Best Buy to buy a new laptop, only to go home and be sittin' there for hours tryin' to figure out what to do next :whiste:

 

[postmortemIA]

Yeah, sounds like my effort to give Win 8 a try. Tried Metro and Classic Start. Metro and state of desktop with nothing but a right click - very frustrating. Although I do appreciate strong effort from FOSS community in making Classic Start, it is okay, but it is hard to beat real good start menu (Vista/7) that MS was developing since 95. So using it appears as a downgrade.
I almost always have multiple programs open. Desktop icons are ineffective way to start my programs; taskbar can help somewhat with pinned lists; however start menu is a must.

 

[Berryracer]

Yeah, sounds like my effort to give Win 8 a try. Tried Metro and Classic Start. Metro and state of desktop with nothing but a right click - very frustrating. Although I do appreciate strong effort from FOSS community in making Classic Start, it is okay, but it is hard to beat real good start menu (Vista/7) that MS was developing since 95. So using it appears as a downgrade.
I almost always have multiple programs open. Desktop icons are ineffective way to start my programs; taskbar can help somewhat with pinned lists; however start menu is a must.

yeah try this StartIsBack it has a 30 day user demo and is dirt cheap ($2 USD) it is the best amongst the other ones I've tried. Classic Start lacks so many options you can't set up custom folders on the Start Menu like having your downloads or Videos folder for example.

With StartIsBack, it is like a 100% replica of the Windows 7 start menu. Heck, sometimes when I look at my desktop I think is this really Windows 8? it looks exactly the same as 7 (thank the lord for that)

 

[KentState]

I also had a lot of weird issues with Windows 8 so I went back to 7. I wonder if Start8 could have been the root of some of my issues. Overall, there was nothing substantial that I saw in 8 that has me missing it.

 

[PingSpike]

I don't really see the point of windows 8 for a desktop. Even if you liked the UI changes for some reason, didn't they remove WMC meaning its actually less OS when you "upgrade"? And everyone says to buy or download start menu add ons if you don't like the interface...Windows 7 comes with a start menu, why would I install a new operating system and then buy an add on that problem will get broken all the time (since its 3rd party) just to be able to do what I was already doing before? Its not like windows 7 is going to be obsoleted tomorrow or anything. And when some one asks what is new that it does I don't really hear anything that's actually new. I don't count turning on hibernate mode as new.

Anyway, I don't really have to much to complain about except I'm a little tired of relearning where Microsoft hid all the functionality I had before every couple years when their latest ADHD fueled flavor of the week UI design is rolled out.

 

[Berryracer]

I don't really see the point of windows 8 for a desktop. Even if you liked the UI changes for some reason, didn't they remove WMC meaning its actually less OS when you "upgrade"? And everyone says to buy or download start menu add ons if you don't like the interface...Windows 7 comes with a start menu, why would I install a new operating system and then buy an add on that problem will get broken all the time (since its 3rd party) just to be able to do what I was already doing before? Its not like windows 7 is going to be obsoleted tomorrow or anything. And when some one asks what is new that it does I don't really hear anything that's actually new. I don't count turning on hibernate mode as new.

Anyway, I don't really have to much to complain about except I'm a little tired of relearning where Microsoft hid all the functionality I had before every couple years when their latest ADHD fueled flavor of the week UI design is rolled out.

i totally agree with you. There is no point for someone to buy an OS then buy an add-on to make that half baked OS to function like a real OS + the bugs it has like icons turning white / blank randomly and requiring you to reboot to get them back.

the only reason I installed Win Server 2012 is for training purposes like I mentioned for my MCSE 2012

PS: About Hibernate, I always disable it both on Win 7 and Win 8 since I have an SSD and it actually boots faster without the hibernate + less SSD thrashin

 

[Kaido]

I've had really good luck with StartMenu8 from IObit, thread on it over here:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2298483

It's free and adds the start button back, lets you disable hot corners, lets you disable the Metro sidebar stuff, and lets you skip the Metro GUI and boot straight into the desktop. Really really nice, makes Win8 usable for me!