Upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 8?

[Metoroid0]

Hi guys

I was wondering.. is there someone with experience of upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 8?
I want to upgrade, but i don't know what are the PROS and CONS of upgrading from 7 to 8.
I currently have Win7 ultimate, and i heard there are some versions of Win8 like 8.1, 8.2 and so on, its not like Win8 starter, ultimate...

I mean i just wanted to be like Win7 is, so i can play ALL my games, software etc. on Win8 like i can on Win7.
I can even install some WinXP software on Win7, can i do the same on Win8??

Is Win8 in that way compatible with Win7 software..you understand what i want to say

So, i just wanted upgraded Win7, not some new OS so i can't do all i could on Win7.

So can i play everything i could on Wi7
and what are the pros and cons of Win8 vs Win7


Thank you in

 

[Snailface]

Wait till Windows 9.

 

[Clarky]

Pros are windows 8 boots faster and has some better performance for games, but the metro interface is about as popular as Gary Glitter. Windows 8 should be able to run everything windows 7 could but in all honesty, you could live with windows 7 for now

 

[the_randomizer]

Still on Windows 7 Pro 64-bit, works like a charm and I personally don't see a need for an update; you'll be fine with Windows 7 in all honesty

 

[Metoroid0]

i just want to try it how it works and all, so i was wondering about compatibility and all.

And about that 64 bit Win7.. and 8... am i limited in use of software if i install 64bit Win in general.. i mean, can 64bit run EVERYTHING 32bit can?

I heard its better to hawe 64bit Win thatn 32bit, but why do i hawe 32bit if its better to hawe 64bit..i mean why everione not use 64bit systems...

Is it because of hardware?

I have good gaming PC in general

 

[Sicklyboy]

People tend to forget that the MetroUI can be completely bypassed by booting to the desktop a la Windows 7 (this is a Win8.1 feature), or have a standard start menu by a program like ClassicShell.

 

[DinohScene]

I just dun like those sharp borders and ugly solid colours.

I want mah colour hottrack and mah smooth borders :c

 

[Arras]

i just want to try it how it works and all, so i was wondering about compatibility and all.

And about that 64 bit Win7.. and 8... am i limited in use of software if i install 64bit Win in general.. i mean, can 64bit run EVERYTHING 32bit can?

I heard its better to hawe 64bit Win thatn 32bit, but why do i hawe 32bit if its better to hawe 64bit..i mean why everione not use 64bit systems...

Is it because of hardware?

I have good gaming PC in general

There are some 64-bit exlusive programs, actually, and there will likely be more in the future - you are limiting yourself by having a 32 bit installation, not the other way around. In addition if you have a gaming PC, a 32-bit OS can only use 4GB RAM without kernel hacks. If you have >4GB, 64-bit OS is heavily recommended. A 64-bit OS is also 100% compatible with 32-bit programs.

As for the Win7 vs Win8 thing:
It SHOULD run pretty much anything that runs on Win7, except badly coded things or things that require very deep kernel access and are not updated (think rootkits, drivers and F2P game security programs like HackShield. Almost anything should have been updated a long time ago though.)
I've never had issues myself.
Windows 8 is faster, more responsive and has a bunch of under-the-hood improvements. It is objectively better than Windows 7, but not better enough to both upgrading IMO. However, if you ever were to completely reformat your PC for whatever reason, I'd recommend installing a fresh Windows 8.1 installation.
The only con about Windows 8 is the new start menu and theme, both of which can easily be "fixed" by third party programs. Of course getting used to it works too - it's really not as bad as most people are making it out to be IMO.

 

[mightymuffy]

but the metro interface is about as popular as Gary Glitter.

Classic!
Yeah, what's been said up to now anyway! There's 4 PCs in my house, 2 on win7, 2 on win8 - if you're desperate to get the beta of Project Spark (for some reason) and don't have an Xbox One, then yeah get upgrading to win8, but really it's hardly an essential update. The win8 start menu actually makes for an excellent emulator front end in my opinion though.....
Personally, I prefer 7, and I'd say stick with it. Unless as has been mentioned you've buggered your PC up and need to reformat the whole thing, in which case you might as well take the plunge...

 

[dicamarques]

Was on 8 twice but I came back to 7 again, why? Because of its idiotic security and issues with some drivers (i.e not signed for 64bit), also I "8" the metro, not the star menu I kinda started liking it but its the stupid things that appear on the right for managing the network that bugged me I prefer windows not some stupid side bar, also I missed the widgets (I have 2 widgets to controll the usage/temp of GPU/CPU) but I fixed by donwloading program that brought it back.
So if your going to use some programs with drivers and incompatibilities and mess with windows files go for 7, If you want some small boost on your FPS and faster boots go for 8

 

[WiiCube_2013]

Why would you want to go from Windows 7 (Modernised XP) to Windows 8? 7 imo is far better than 8 and until Microsoft decides to put an expiry date on 7 it's what I'm going to use until then.

However, if you're willing to upgrade to 8, then go straight to 8.1 rather than 8.

Windows 7 = Windows XP (the OS that most people love/loved)
Windows 8 = Windows Vista (the OS that not many people like or use it)

Okay sure it's not fair to compare 8 to Vista, because 8 is perfectly functional whereas Vista wasn't but on 8 it truly feels like this OS was made for touchscreen devices and not home PCs (to fix this they released 8.1).

 

[Duo8]

I just dun like those sharp borders and ugly solid colours.

I want mah colour hottrack and mah smooth borders :c

Well there's Glass8.

 

[techboy]

Win8 is essentially a slightly faster booting Win7 with a terrible UI attached. The only reason I'd upgrade is if I had to run a program that didn't work on 7. Currently, there are no such programs other than the modern UI apps.

As others have said, pass on Win8 and wait for 9. Win7 will be supported through at least 2020, maybe longer, so there's definitely no rush to upgrade.

 

[WiiCube_2013]

Why wait for Windows 9? Let's wait for Windows 10!

 

[trumpet-205]

I suggest moving to Windows 8. Windows 7 is pretty much done deal. It won't receive any more new features, and I'm very certain that upcoming DirectX 12 will be available to Windows 8 only.

 

[Duo8]

I guess I'm lucky for not being caught up in this. Used 8 since I bought my PC and already got used to it. I adapt to new OSes rather quickly.

Anw Windows 8 does boot faster (mine took a little over a min to reach a fully useable state, login time included) but that's about all I can see. DX12 isn't released yet and it'll take a while for games to actually use it.

 

[Joe88]

Why wait for Windows 9? Let's wait for Windows 10!

nope windows 10 will be another windows 95/me/vista/8
history keeps repeating its self...

 

[3bbb7]

after upgrading to windows 8 I've noticed it boots faster. Other than that it's basically the same as Windows 7, if you can live with using Windows + Q to search instead of the start menu

 

[the_randomizer]

Just go to Windows 8.1, it fixes a lot of the issues 8 had, plus, I heard that installing ClassicShell screws up the registry pretty bad,

 

[Arras]

after upgrading to windows 8 I've noticed it boots faster. Other than that it's basically the same as Windows 7, if you can live with using Windows + Q to search instead of the start menu

...I did not even know that was a thing, I always just pressed Winkey and started typing. Neat. Also, WTF does Win + . do?