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#1
win 7 pro or win 8.1
hi, I'm wanting to upgrade my win 7 home prem to win 7 pro or win 8.1 which would be the best I hear alot of bad things about win 8-8.1. I'm leaning to win 7 pro ???????????????? I need advice
win 7 pro or win 8.1
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New #2
What do you hope to gain by either upgrade? Will either one provide something that you need and don't already have?
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New #3
Windows 8 is a touchscreen optimized OS which does not work as well on desktops with mouse and keyboard. For users who want the traditional desktop experience it is often frustrating, which is totally unnecessary since Win7 provides the perfect desktop experience and shows no signs of age.
I would base my upgrade decision on which of the actual features you may (or may not) need in the higher version. Compare Windows 7 Editions
Otherwise they are the exact same OS.
Since Anytime Upgrade is not available in Windows 7 now you'd need to buy a Professional key to insert into Windows Anytime Upgrade - How to to unlock the few extra expensive features you know for sure you need. The best prices I see for these are on Tiger Direct which regularly has Pro OEM for $135, Home Premium for $89. New Egg also stocks these.
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New #4
That's certainly true of the original Win 8, and to a lesser extent true of 8.1 too. However the 8.1 major update released this week, on the day XP support ended, has gone a long way towards making 8.1 desktop friendly and has also successfully integrated desktop and the modern interface. You need to try it.
It's put me in quite a dilemma as I have a new custom desktop on order and it's got me wondering whether my decision to stay with 7 is still the right decision. The only reason I can think of now to stay with 7 is aero, as on pretty well everything else 8.1 is either level or getting its nose ahead.
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New #5
I have tried 8.1 and find the faux-Start button to be just as cumbersome when compared with the real Start button in Win7. What about 8.1 might we be missing?
This is not yet the update to return to legacy Start menu which was promised last week, just like it was promised in 8.1 and never delivered. Many classic start menus were disabled by 8.1.
Even with Classic Shell, you still must invest a lot of work in uninstalling the crApps to set a tolerable reader, picture viewer, media player, etc as defaults. In some cases these won't cooperate or lead to dead ends.
Understand that the intention of Windows 8 was to kill off the Start menu and desktop to provide the same experience as iPad where only approved apps are run from start screen. That they are attempting to cobble back on some of the desktop functions is because it is an utter failure, to try to convert a billion customers from the desktop perfected in Win7 to an iPad-knockoff OS.Last edited by gregrocker; 13 Apr 2014 at 13:54.
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New #6
Sorry, but those who resort to start menus like Classic Shell are simply wasting their time and money on 8.1 and might just as well stick with 7.
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New #7
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New #8
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New #9
I set up 8 about a dozen times during which I installed Windows 7 Start Menu for Windows 8 which no longer works in 8.1 and tried the faux Start button in 8.1 several times.
Even with the exact Win7 explorer Start Menu grafted on, it still opens the crApp version of reader, media player, picture viewer, etc. until they are either uninstalled or changed in Control Panel defaults which is much more work than consumers want to do.
I know how to Open With from right click context menu which is not a solution. Having an OS that opens your chosen programs by default without having to spend days reconfiguring these is what most consumers want.
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New #10
If you don't need any additional function, I would not upgrade at all - waste of money. But if you want to spend the money, on the desktop you are probably better off with Windows 7. But 8.1.1. (the latest upgrade) is not too bad either. It depends on how adventurous you are. I have both and get along with both. But 8.1 is best with a touch screen.
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