Oct282012

Should I upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 8?

Rich Mc. asks:

I have a great Toshiba laptop running Windows 7 64-bit. My question is, since I purchased it this year, I signed up for the Windows 8 Pro upgrade discount, but now I am reading so many articles about it being easier to use on devices that are touch screen. My system is still keyboard and mouse. I don’t want to waste money and time changing to Windows 8, just to change back. All feedback will be welcome.


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40 Answers -

0 votes

Ala' Assaf

October 28, 2012

Well, it’s all up to you actually I really like the speed improvements of Windows 8 but you will really have a small problem getting used to it.

0 votes

Bruce Epper

October 28, 2012

For $15, it is probably worth it to get it. There is nothing that says that you need to install it as soon as you get it. You could just hang on to it until MS drops support for Win7 and install it when you find out if Win 9 will be even worse than Win 8.

0 votes

ha14

October 28, 2012

windows 7 still gets updates so you can use it for the next 3 years or until windows 8 successor comes out and you switch to that operating system when you change laptop.

there are new features (like Windows To Go ) in Windows that you want perhaps to have a look and see if they will help you in your business.
Windows 8 Features That Will Benefit Businesses
http://www.pcworld.com/article/259631/windows_8_features_that_will_benefit_businesses.html

30 best features of Windows 8
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/features/374587/30-best-features-of-windows-8

Boni Oloff

Looks like Windows 8 designed better for business, but the employee net to learn again to get the full advantage of the OS, and learn again to use the new interface.

October 29, 2012
ha14

yap learning is something Microsoft do not tell users that they have to go on that bridge with new version of windows and office.

October 29, 2012
0 votes

Ahmed Khalil

October 28, 2012

windows 8 not only for touch devices only it still usable for normal PC or labtop so it is great offer to upgrade to win 8 i think you should not niss it

0 votes

Boni Oloff

October 29, 2012

I still prefer to use Windows 7. I still don’t want to waste money to something new but looks like unmature yet..

0 votes

Nikhil Chandak

October 29, 2012

yeah ,
u should definitely upgrade ur windows version
Windows 8 is above amazing , when u will use it , u will be surprised (I think)
here are some reviews of it & some important features
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/software/operating-systems/windows-8-1093002/review
http://reviews.cnet.com/windows-8-review/
http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/windows_8_Review checkout these ;)

0 votes

Aniket Singh

October 29, 2012

yes,becoz win 8 is more faster than win 7,it has some more feature so to enjoy new app and feature u should upgrade us os to win 8………:-)

0 votes

Nikhil Sharma

October 29, 2012

It’s all up to you. If you ask me, I have no plans of upstanding to Windows 8 yet. You may find this article informative:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2013010/why-you-should-upgrade-to-windows-8.html

0 votes

Gravity Dead

October 29, 2012

well of course it will be a bit problem for you when you will switch to W8 since you do not have a touch screen (like most of us)x

but then again, you say you have already signed up for the upgrade so I would say that upgrade but not NOW

wait few months, cause there’s a chance that some of your favorite game or software may not work
so wait for few more months, at least till the end of this year, that’s what I’m doing :D

0 votes

Dave Parrack

October 29, 2012

If you can get the Windows 8 disk for $15 then do so, but as has already been mentioned you can install it at your leisure. If you’re happy with Windows 7 then you can stick with that until you decide for sure whether or not you want to upgrade.

0 votes

susendeep dutta

October 29, 2012

If you are getting this upgrade for less money,then it’s not much loss since you are not going to pay full for it.This is money saving opportunity for you and hence must take this as a golden chance.

0 votes

richard mcfarland

October 29, 2012

Thanks everyone for the feedback. This is why I ask my questions here.

0 votes

Alex Perkins

October 29, 2012

I would advise you to stick to windows 7, you would feel like you’re missing out.

0 votes

Josh Wein

October 29, 2012

I wouldn’t download it yet, plenty of people are having problems with, the way it’s tied into windows live for logging and the metro ui etc… Wait it out and see if anything changes.

0 votes

Dave Rimmer

October 29, 2012

I got it at the rebate price, I am not going to use it as I don’t have a touch screen it’s quite annoying trying to use it with Keyboard & Mouse. I am going to burn it to DVD and wait until I can afford touch screen, however seeing that you want to put it on a non touch screen device you may find it difficult to use and frustrating to use.

0 votes

Vishal Mishra

October 29, 2012

you should upgrade it windows 8, it’s not just for touch devices, it’s also good for desktop PC.

0 votes

Reý Aetar

October 29, 2012

if u r comfortable then why do u want an upgrade?
but it is good

0 votes

Saurav Azad

October 29, 2012

yes you should if you like the new interface and it’s better than windows7

0 votes

Harish Jonnalagadda

October 29, 2012

I’m going to hold off on it until I see how stable it is.

0 votes

Patrick Balingit

October 29, 2012

Use Windows 7 for Gaming right now as some games cant run as well in Windows 8. But the Modern UI/ Metro UI and faster boot up times than windows 7. I like it for the $14.99 price that I got it for. Cant leave Windows 7 yet so use a dual-boot OS if you cant decide

0 votes

fdesa

October 30, 2012

Since you bought your laptop this year, check how exactly your touchpad is connected in your laptop. Hope that its Synaptics that made/programmed your touchpad, and that it’s not connected via ps/2 connection internally.

Synaptics (the company that makes many touchpadsfor laptops) updated the type of connection at some point that allows you to use your touchpad JUST as if it was the touchscreen. The most obvious hint that you may have it is if you can do many Macbook-like gestures with it: two-finger swipe to go back on a webpage, two-finger swipe up and down to scroll up and down, etc… Keep in mind it should be EXACTLY like (if not better than) the macbook touchpad gestures

If you do have this, you can use your touchpad to emulate the touchscreen gestures on Windows 8: Swipe in from the right to activate the Charms bar, Swipe down from the top to either close the app or set up for multitask, etc…

HOWEVER, if the connection is by ps/2 or something like that, then you won’t get that feature. That’s what my search showed up anyways when I was looking around.

0 votes

Prasanth Mathialagan

October 30, 2012

Windows 8 is specially meant for touchscreen devices. That does not mean we cannot use it on non-touchscreen devices. My suggestion is go for windows 8 if you want to feel something different otherwise it would be nice to stay with windows 7(if you dont have any trouble!!) since it is the best windows operating system as of now.

0 votes

josemon maliakal

October 30, 2012

I suggest you to wait…the Windows 8 is just released ..wait for more reviews

0 votes

Yiz Borol

October 30, 2012

It’s up to you, personally I would upgrade to Win 8 Pro, it’ll be significantly faster and there is not much of a learning curve,
on top of that it’s much more secure = less viruses and malware.

0 votes

Naveen Kumar

October 31, 2012

not really the os has just come in. It needs to grow with all developers developing apps and stuff . if you still want to upgrade wait till next year

0 votes

Klvn Mwenda

October 31, 2012

If it was me i would wait a little while for a month or so before upgrading. Read the reviews and make sure its what you want before upgrading otherwise its all comes down to your liking

0 votes

Charles Yost

October 31, 2012

I would wait a while to switch to Windows 8. Let them sort out all the bugs. That way you can save yourself a lot of stress when things don’t work right.

0 votes

Dany Bouffard

October 31, 2012

If you have a touch screen it could be interresting to use Windows 8, otherwise I recommen you stay away from Windows 8 and stay with Windows 7.

0 votes

dhanunjayarao chunduri

November 1, 2012

this is the right time to upgrade to windows 8 now it’s cheaper so if you think upgrade to win 8 in future it not a correct decision

0 votes

Raghav Gupta

November 3, 2012

Thats your wish. If you are eager to see whats new then go for it otherwise wait for sometime

0 votes

Gutha Gowtham

November 3, 2012

First of all, Windows 8 isn’t just target for touch screen devices, you can in fact install it on any device that you wish to.

Upgrading to Windows 8 will be a good step. It has got faster startup time and the shutdown time was unbelievable. It has got some more apps that you can go through.

And of course, as you see Windows 8 has been in the linkbar of most famous and even non famous How-To blogs, this itself showing how popular Windows 8 has become and how much articles can help.

0 votes

Joseph Bianca

November 5, 2012

What u can do is if u are not sure about windows 8 load up a virtual machine and run windows 8 on it see how it feels i know alot of things will take time to be with it since it is new such as i know gameing has yet to move over to windows 8

0 votes

Tebawiha Lelhchhun

November 11, 2012

Wait a little more like 1 year.Then upgrade(it is not really a upgrade)it to WINDOWS 8.

0 votes

Krishna Vallabhaneni

November 20, 2012

I got the $15 dollar update for it. So far I like it its just that its not very productive to use. Its more entertainment bases so i wont be getting it on my desktop.

0 votes

N LKX

November 21, 2012

if i were you, i wouldn’t be upgrading. windows 8 is meant for computers with a touch-screen. windows 8 is also kind of like android and ios because of its touch screen.

0 votes

Alisa Fish

November 28, 2012

I do not recommend you to do so.

0 votes

Muz RC

November 29, 2012

For me i will stay for win 7 and dont want to upgrade to win 8 because win 8 look so complicated and for me its interface look mess up…

0 votes

Shahbaz Amin

December 5, 2012

Windows isn’t that bad for non-touch laptops (or even PCs)
just takes some time getting used to it at the begining
I like my new Win 8 OS quite a bit!!

0 votes

Igor Rizvi?

January 15, 2013

Its up to oyu,but from my experience its fast and has alot of great applications,but its a great cutback on your productivity…

0 votes

WJDochertaigh

February 3, 2013

I purchased W8 with a touch screen 13″ Asus Ultra. Having been a PC user since 1990, I’m still mouse/click oriented (though I do own and enjoy an iPad). Ive no complaints about Win8 and am slowly adjusting to the touch screen vs. mouse. I am by no means a blind fan of MS-anything having been a victim of WinME (Maliciously Erred) and other microsuck failures. But in processing my photos, 200 to 400 per week, I am enjoying the Win8 for the weeks I’ve had it.