I use Classic Shell in all 3 to have an XP-like Start menu with search box, so MSFT's bundled launchers don't matter to me. These are on my home office PC.In some ways 8.1U1 is the ideal, lighter in system resources usage than 7 or 10, faster at some operations. I have 8.1 Update 1 (couldn't have been 8.2?) on a VM along with Office 2013 as well as Windows 7 on another VM along with Office 2010 in order to see what breaks in Excel going from version to version. Windows 8.1 did not install the drivers, as smoothly at Windows 10 does. I actually like the start screen now, more than I did, back then. Generally, going back to Windows 8.1, is truly not a bad experience. The only downsides with Windows 8.1, is obviously the start screen, and missing the modern UI elements like the clock, and others. Windows 8.1, boots up very fast, it has built in anti-virus, it is very stable, and generally fast. It behaves, just like Windows 10 currently does. Sure, it has the start screen, and some of the desktop elements are dated, like the clock and the calculator.

I was actually pleasantly surprised, how not bad Windows 8.1 is. Windows 8 is not perfect in the UI, but definitely makes up, under the hood!Īfter painstakingly installing Windows 8.1, for 20 minutes, formatting the hard drive, entering the product key, and then waiting through the changing colors. Windows 8, is the modern Windows, people have generally shunned for it’s dueling UI. I decided to try Windows 8.1 again, on an old Core 2 Duo laptop I have. The past few weeks, hearing about the quality control issues, with Windows 10 updates.

Windows 8.1 to windows 10