[PCWorld]

Post your comments for 8 worst Windows 8 irritations (and how to fix them) here

[AnnePeltier]

(Here's the kicker: When you send email, the Mail app will let you use only your webmail email address, not your POP mail address. There isn't any way around the limitation, but at least your messages will land in your inbox.)

Outlook.com does allow sending from those same POP addresses

[djnforce9]

Nice guide. I actually ended up doing a couple of those items as soon as I finished installing Windows 8 (namely disabling the lock screen and installing VLC player). I didn't have any trouble with the font size but on the other hand, I am on a 27" monitor. I also believe Microsoft is giving away their media centre free for the time being so that should restore DVD Playerback for those that prefer Windows Media Player over VLC for some reason. Another thing I did was to remove the apps I would NEVER use as they just waste space (e.g. Travel and Finance).

[anonymuos]

OMG Classic Shell just makes Windows 8 perfect. MS should fire their stupid team and hire these guys. It's THAT amazing. Everything can be configured the way YOU want, not the way MS want.

[KLanD]

Change 'windows 8' with 'OSX' in the first couple paragraphs and you've explained perfectly why I hate using it.

Some of these gripes are pretty minor and IMO if they're your only complaint about Win8, you don't have much to complain about.

Others I had no clue about.

[MrHistamine]

The POP issue is a bit ridiculous; however, the easiest solution is to log into your email account, through a browser, and change the settings on the account to IMAP. ...unless you're using some archaic email service, in which case, I think Thunderbird would be the best way to go.

The lack of DVD playback probably won't be as noticeable to the non-techies, as most stream video. A lot of the non-techies I know, prefer to watch a DVD (or Blu-Ray) on a TV. One thing I've neglected to try though: if you install just CCCP, would you be able to play DVDs through Window's player?

Or, they could just uninstall the Bing "app" altogether, and roll with Google's. In either case, I'd recommend removing the "app", as it really doesn't serve a purpose.

And the resolution problem isn't really specific to W8...I think you just threw that in there so you could produce a clever title for your article... :-)

[Hemo2]

In a corporate environment, Microsoft published how to 'brand' your computers by setting a pre-selected image as your lock/logon screen. This no longer works in Windows 8 and there is currently NO solution to 'brand' your lock screen in Windows 8 with a pre-selected image from your organization. ALSO, there is no ability what so ever to display an image at the "logon" screen. (In Windows 8, the 'lock' and 'logon' screens are now 2 seperate screens.) AND Microsoft removed the ability to use your own images as a background for the Metro (Start Screen). AND, Microsoft made it impossible to replace the 6 default lock screen images you see in your 'Personal Settings' area corporate environments are stuck with the RIDICULOUS cartoon image of the Seattle Space Needle as the image that 'brands' their computers! There is a (very) difficult way to replace these 6 images, BUT, the thumbnails still show the old Microsoft images, thus, you really can't solve this problem! Not to mention, you can NOT pre-set a registry key in your Default User Registry Hive to simply pre-select the lock screen image you want! And to make matters worse, you can put all your custom images from your organization into the C:\Windows\Web\Wallpaper folder for use as 'desktop' backgrounds, but your users can NOT use any of these images as a 'lock' screen background because Microsoft prevents your from browsing to this folder in the Personal Settings! AND let's not forget that you can NOT pre-customize the Metro (Start Screen) for your Default User Profile by adding/removing apps, organizing them, creating groups, etc.!!!!

Basically my point is Microsoft has added another 'annoyance' to this long list of annoyances in that Windows 8 can NOT be customized in a corporate environment so you can deploy a common look and feel the way your organization wants, nor can you properly setup the Default User Profile in a manner you want so any new user that logs in will inherit a default look and feel and settings. And there aren't any acceptable solutions, or work aroudns for this. In other words, Windows 8 was designed for home use and not a real corporate or enterprise environment. (Which brings you to the only conclusion you can come to, which is Windows 8 is all about the "Store" as a money gold mine for Microsoft profits, and really isn't about functionality or work environments.)

[Hemo2]

In a corporate environment, Microsoft published how to 'brand' your computers by setting a pre-selected image as your lock/logon screen for Windows 7. This no longer works in Windows 8 and there is currently NO solution to 'brand' your lock screen in Windows 8 with a pre-selected image from your organization. ALSO, there is no ability what so ever to display an image at the "logon" screen. (In Windows 8, the 'lock' and 'logon' screens are now 2 seperate screens.) AND Microsoft removed the ability to use your own images as a background for the Metro (Start Screen). AND, Microsoft made it impossible to replace the 6 default lock screen images you see in your 'Personal Settings' area so corporate environments are stuck with the RIDICULOUS cartoon image of the Seattle Space Needle as the image that 'brands' their computers! There is a (very) difficult way to replace these 6 images, BUT, the thumbnails still show the old Microsoft images, thus, you really can't solve this problem! Not to mention, you can NOT pre-set a registry key in your Default User Registry Hive to simply pre-select the lock screen image you want! And to make matters worse, you can put all your custom images from your organization into the C:\Windows\Web\Wallpaper folder for use as 'desktop' backgrounds, but your users can NOT use any of these images as a 'lock' screen background because Microsoft prevents you from browsing to this folder in the Personal Settings! AND let's not forget that you can NOT pre-customize the Metro (Start Screen) for your Default User Profile by adding/removing apps, organizing them, creating groups, etc.!!!!

Basically my point is Microsoft has added another 'annoyance' to this long list of annoyances in that Windows 8 can NOT be customized in a corporate environment so you can deploy a common look and feel the way your organization wants, nor can you properly setup the Default User Profile in a manner you want so any new user that logs in will inherit a default look and feel and settings. And there aren't any acceptable solutions, or work arounds for this. In other words, Windows 8 was designed for home use and not a real corporate or enterprise environment. (Which brings you to the only conclusion you can come to, which is Windows 8 is all about the "Store" as a money gold mine for Microsoft profits, and really isn't about functionality or work environments.)

[Hemo2]

Quote

Sorry for the duplicate post. When clicking 'add your comment' on the first one my IE stopped responding and when I came back here, the post wasn't visible, so I posted again.

[FairTrial]

Quote

In a corporate environment, Microsoft published how to 'brand' your computers by setting a pre-selected image as your lock/logon screen for Windows 7. This no longer works in Windows 8 and there is currently NO solution to 'brand' your lock screen in Windows 8 with a pre-selected image from your organization. ALSO, there is no ability what so ever to display an image at the "logon" screen. (In Windows 8, the 'lock' and 'logon' screens are now 2 seperate screens.) AND Microsoft removed the ability to use your own images as a background for the Metro (Start Screen). AND, Microsoft made it impossible to replace the 6 default lock screen images you see in your 'Personal Settings' area so corporate environments are stuck with the RIDICULOUS cartoon image of the Seattle Space Needle as the image that 'brands' their computers! There is a (very) difficult way to replace these 6 images, BUT, the thumbnails still show the old Microsoft images, thus, you really can't solve this problem! Not to mention, you can NOT pre-set a registry key in your Default User Registry Hive to simply pre-select the lock screen image you want! And to make matters worse, you can put all your custom images from your organization into the C:\Windows\Web\Wallpaper folder for use as 'desktop' backgrounds, but your users can NOT use any of these images as a 'lock' screen background because Microsoft prevents you from browsing to this folder in the Personal Settings! AND let's not forget that you can NOT pre-customize the Metro (Start Screen) for your Default User Profile by adding/removing apps, organizing them, creating groups, etc.!!!! Basically my point is Microsoft has added another 'annoyance' to this long list of annoyances in that Windows 8 can NOT be customized in a corporate environment so you can deploy a common look and feel the way your organization wants, nor can you properly setup the Default User Profile in a manner you want so any new user that logs in will inherit a default look and feel and settings. And there aren't any acceptable solutions, or work arounds for this. In other words, Windows 8 was designed for home use and not a real corporate or enterprise environment. (Which brings you to the only conclusion you can come to, which is Windows 8 is all about the "Store" as a money gold mine for Microsoft profits, and really isn't about functionality or work environments.)

***********************************************************************************

To change lock screen, mouse to the bottom right to show the charms bar, choose settings then choose change PC settings.

Like many things in Windows 8 it is as easy as or faster than windows 7.
I don't understand the hysteria about the missing start button and so much of it is based on hearsay from people who haven't tried it or haven't spent the time to learn a few simple commands.

The Windows key on the keyboard gets you in an out of Modern UI in a flash, not that I need to go there much.

Isn't it just Windows 7 but faster and with a more powerful start button
( windows key)

If you read through the comments on win 8, most people who love it are those who have spent a little bit of time learning it and have realised how efficient it is.

Its worth the upgrade just for the speed increase

[berock212]

This is a good windows 8 article. I actually used this advice. It's lot better than some articles that just tell you how to mod it so it looks like windows 7.

[topgun743]

Its the worst fact of windows 8 that Microsoft has removed the traditional Windows Media Player from its windows and placed it on store against some money.
Well... when will Microsoft learn and stop making such foolish and useless decisions. Why don't they understand that people are now intelligent enough to use other download options like VLC ?? It really sucks

[Hemo2]

Quote

********************************************************************************* To change lock screen, mouse to the bottom right to show the charms bar, choose settings then choose change PC settings. Like many things in Windows 8 it is as easy as or faster than windows 7. I don't understand the hysteria about the missing start button and so much of it is based on hearsay from people who haven't tried it or haven't spent the time to learn a few simple commands. The Windows key on the keyboard gets you in an out of Modern UI in a flash, not that I need to go there much. Isn't it just Windows 7 but faster and with a more powerful start button ( windows key) If you read through the comments on win 8, most people who love it are those who have spent a little bit of time learning it and have realised how efficient it is. Its worth the upgrade just for the speed increase

Fairtrial, you are correct that an "individual" can change their lock screen after the computer is up and running. You must not have understood the 'corporate' environment I'm talking about though, and you are INCORRECT about setting this. I am talking about "branding" your computers in a corporate (Active Diretory) environment with a pre-selected Lock screen image. This would be done in your "clone" image you use to "deploy" to your thousands of workstations and that all new user profiles would inherit when they log in. Microsoft published information how to "brand" your Windows 7 workstations, but this is NOT possible in Windows 8. (I challenge you, or anyone else, to find out how to do what I'm talking about.)

I didn't mention the lack of a functional Start Menu in Windows 8 in my post, but since you brought it up... In a corporate environment, you can't just "blame the user" and tell them "get over it". (You need to quit thinking about a 'single' home user and think "big environment"!) We have thousands of users with extremely varying levels of computer skills and knowledge. The lack of a heirarchical menu structure IS a big deal. Retraining, loss of productivity, and frustration DO cost real money. It would have hurt NOTHING for Microsoft to put a functional Windows 7 style Start Menu in the Desktop Interface. (You could switch a registry key in the developer preview to turn it back on, so it "was" possible.) I suspect Microsoft removed the Start Menu to force people to use the Metro interface in an effort to 'coax' people to use Metro apps, which means more money for them if users buy apps from their store. (They get a 30% cut of every sale.) But the bottom line is that the Metro (Start Screen) interface is NOT a better menu than the Windows 7 Start Menu. If it were better and more funcional, then there would be a benefit for the change, but as is, there is no benefit so why cause the amount of disruption by doing the change anyway? (And using a 3rd party solution, like Classic Shell is not an option. It's a technical nightmare to try and support a utility like that on thousands of remote computers, so how do you update it, if you can, remotely when a new version comes out that fixes security vulnerabilities, or Microsoft releases an update that breaks the functionality of it?? So the only solution is to use what is built in to Windows 8.)

[Firkinfedup]

I'm not quite sure why you are expecting Windows 8 to be anything like Windows 7, with the exception of the desktop mode which is practically identical. Alot of your points are very moot in my opinion, the lock screen? Seriously? Oh wow that must of annoyed you so much, how did you survive without killing yourself? You've made a load of points which would suggest you are technical yet have spent hours on the phone to support staff? Haha why are you reviewing this? Saying you've been using it since the developer preview doesn't make you an expert btw.

[GetReal]

More irritants exist than are mentioned - but no work-around.
Here is one >>> old-new.

I installed Win-8 on a computer, after four days that computer HDD crashed & died (of old age?) - so replace HDD & reinstall Win-8. Find that it will not activate this time so phone-in to MS for activation. Get this recorded robot that starts the procedure. At the 3rd block of nine that must be provided to MS, I am too slow pushing buttons on the phone and so get stuck in a loop where the robot never progresses on to the next block, just keeps asking for the third block and interrupting me when I start responding by voice.

Finally get a robot message that I need to transfer to a live assistant, but that because of current very high support activity the expected wait time exceeds two hours!

This does not win friends Microsoft!

[brainout]

Thunderbird is good now. It works just like Outlook Express, most of the time. It will automatically port over all your Outlook Express stuff and email settings, so BEFORE you upgrade to Win8 from XP, you want to install Thunderbird and import all your stuff.

Or, if you're installing Win8 to another machine, then download Thunderbird TWICE, once on the new machine, and once on the old machine. Import all your Outlook Express stuff to Thunderbird on the old machine, find out where those files are located and copy them to the same directory, on your new machine with Thunderbird, in its Profiles\Mail folder, into a folder with a bizarre gibberish nickname. 'Which you can change post-import, in ThunderBird Account Serttings, Server Settings, bottom of that dialogue box (use Browse Button in that section to see where the gibberish-named file is located). The Thunderbird-imported individual email folders have msf extensions. (In Outlook Express, the extensions are dbx).

Your only other alternative is Outlook, which is not the same as Outlook.com. Outlook can also import Outlook Express files, which you'd do on the OLD machine. The Outlook email message AND contacts file (put together, in Outlook) will be named .pst . So you just find where that file is, then copy it to the same directory in the new machine's Outlook.

When I say same directlory, I'm assuming that Win8 doesn't change program behavior. If you're not finding the same extensions on the new machine in the same directories as the old, you'll have to search on the extension name, to find where those files are now stored, in Win8. Then just copy over. There will be a final step of specifying the 'store folder' (not sure what it's called in later versions of Outlook), meaning, where your email is located. This is usually an option in Tools or Accounts menu, where you have a 'maintenance' tab or something similar. So you change the folder and file name to the one you copied over.

Finally, if like most people you have a lot of old email you must keep, then keep them on an older machine which is capable of running Outlook Express (XP or prior). For you will need to go through those same steps again, if some old email must be ported over to your new machine. Else, you MUST use Thunderbird. (If anyone knows of another email client which mimics Outlook Express, please say something in the comments.)

See: this is such a nuisance, to upgrade Windows. More like downgrading, because MS Mail doesn't work well. Who doesn't have an internet email account at hotmail, gmail, Yahoo? They are all POP servers, and we have been computing for 15 years or more, so have a TON of old email to preserve.

This is the #1 reason never to 'upgrade' Win8. If you'll ever use that OS at all, put it on a new machine or buy a new machine, KEEPING your old one, so you can still read, write, manage - your old email.

Yell at me if I'm unclear.

This post has been edited by brainout: 09 November 2012 - 01:11 PM

[ronin7752]

If Win 8 follows the pattern of previous releases, the "gpedit" solution to fix the lock screen annoyance will only work on the Pro version. In the past, editing group policies has not been available on the Home Premium versions.

[Toulinwoek]

Quote

But the bottom line is that the Metro (Start Screen) interface is NOT a better menu than the Windows 7 Start Menu. If it were better and more funcional, then there would be a benefit for the change, but as is, there is no benefit so why cause the amount of disruption by doing the change anyway? (And using a 3rd party solution, like Classic Shell is not an option. It's a technical nightmare to try and support a utility like that on thousands of remote computers, so how do you update it, if you can, remotely when a new version comes out that fixes security vulnerabilities, or Microsoft releases an update that breaks the functionality of it?? So the only solution is to use what is built in to Windows 8.)

Have you looked into Microsoft's SCCM tool? Not saying it would solve all the issues you seem to have with WIN8, but it would certainly cure some of the headaches you mention. I support computers in a large, multi-location enterprise environment too and for some reason I don't have the same sense of foreboding you have.

[Hemo2]

Quote

I'm not quite sure why you are expecting Windows 8 to be anything like Windows 7, with the exception of the desktop mode which is practically identical. Alot of your points are very moot in my opinion, the lock screen? Seriously? Oh wow that must of annoyed you so much, how did you survive without killing yourself? You've made a load of points which would suggest you are technical yet have spent hours on the phone to support staff? Haha why are you reviewing this? Saying you've been using it since the developer preview doesn't make you an expert btw.

Firkinfedup, I assume your childish & nonsensical response is directed at me. All I can say is obviously you don't work in the support industry, the IT industry, let alone in an enterprise environment. You come across as someone who is hiding in your bedroom using your mommies laptop without her permission to write this. Your whining is silly, naive, and shows a level of ignorance that only a clueless end user could have.

[Toulinwoek]

Quote

See: this is such a nuisance, to upgrade Windows. More like downgrading, because MS Mail doesn't work well. Who doesn't have an internet email account at hotmail, gmail, Yahoo? They are all POP servers, and we have been computing for 15 years or more, so have a TON of old email to preserve. This is the #1 reason never to 'upgrade' Win8. If you'll ever use that OS at all, put it on a new machine or buy a new machine, KEEPING your old one, so you can still read, write, manage - your old email. Yell at me if I'm unclear.

I would never recommend upgrading Windows; ANY version. That has been the so-called 'conventional wisdom' for quite a long time now. Even if you purchase the upgrade, you should do a clean install.
I don't use Yahoo! mail any more, but Google has both POP and IMAP capability and I think (but not sure) so does Hotmail. I have thousands of mail messages in one of my Gmail accounts and I configured it in Win8 and it's working perfectly; I can access all my old mail. Personally I prefer the way IMAP organizes my inbox, but that's just personal preference.