What don't you like about Windows 7?

[raj]

wnds 7 roxxx xcept the compatibility
but its far better than vista

 

[eli2k]

I often set the mouse cursor setting so pressing the Ctrl key will generate that water-ripple like effect so I can find the cursor. But I can't believe they have stuck with the same ugly ripple even in Win7. I noticed there's this cool ripple effect if I drag a window towards one of the edges to activate the half-screen or full-screen shortcut. Why couldn't implement something like this into the cursor? Maybe they forgot. They made the cursor look nice, but forgot about this setting.

 

[mickey megabyte]

why can't they anti-alias the mouse pointer? other os's (i'm thinking of linux here) can manage a smooth looking mouse.

maybe windows 8?

 

[oidicle]

Thanks for the link, oidicle, it's good reading and learning for newbie like myself who just hoop from XP SP3 x86 to Windows 7 X64

Best regards.

You were also okay with XP SP3

 

[cbleman]

Hokay... This is a long thread, and I have to admit I did not read the whole thing... Sorry If I beat a dead horse, but I enjoy it so much. I know some of these things have been posted on another thread (I wuz there!) but I just found this thread, and I love to whine!
First let me say, I like Win7, and do not expect these dislikes to stop me from using it. I do however feel Microsoft is ignoring a lot of user input; even keeping in mind this forum, and the huge Beta test. Just because you ask doesn’t mean you have to listen.
The thread however, asks for dislikes. (Remember; you asked!)
Let's see.... Where do I start

The Up Arrow
Yes... Again... I would like to see the Up arrow back in explorer. I have been told why it was omitted, and see the logic, but I liked using it. The people who want to see it stay gone probably never used it anyway. There was a general outcry when it disappeared, that was generally ignored. We were told "You don't need it". OK.... I (along with thousands of others) want it back. I liked it. It was there, Microsoft took it away; please put it back. I don't like bread crumbs to much. Windows is supposed to be a GUI. Please put the Icon back.

ICON SPACING ON THE TASK BAR
I have played with getting the task bar icons to sit closer together and not waste so much space at the bottom of the screen, to no avail. I hope someone has an answer to this one.

ICONS/APPS RENAMED AND OR MOVED WITHOUT REASON
Icons, (Add/Remove programs for (small) example) have been renamed and or moved for no obvious reason. In effect -Hidden-. Was this done just to make things harder on the user? Did somebody think it looked better and changed it without regard to users? Was this change for the sake of change? Either way I believe it was an irresponsible, and irritating thing to do. This OS has a large relearning curve. That's a strong dislike for me. Please! KISS!

That brings us to the next topic....

Wading through menus
Why does it now take me 3.4. or 5 clicks to access something that was one or two clicks away before? Yes.... I can create a shortcut, but that's not the point. Often things are hidden under group menus that are NOT intuitive, and leave NO clue to what's in them. Why were they moved in the first place? Do I have to relearn the OS because somebody doesn’t care about previous users? (See topic Renamed/Moved above.)

Resource Usage
Good lord! What a resource hog! Yes... Memory has gone down in price, but should I have to buy a new computer every time Microsoft comes out with another or updates an Operating System? You have to be a rocket scientist to know what is chaff, or how to get rid of it! Does all of that stuff realy have to be loaded?

HACK The Registry to "Fix" Things
Even experienced users don't like manually editing the registry. Asking less than experienced users to go into the registry to "fix" things that should have never been a problem or fixed by the programmers is insane. That brings us to our next topic.

FIX IT! Don't Post Work Arounds.
OK.... Work arounds are a wonderful thing until a fix comes to pass. It's just that there seems to be foot dragging, or a problem does not seem to get solved in a timely manner. (Or sometimes at all) when there is a work around. Contacting Microsoft just gets you the work around as an answer. C'mon, help us out by fixing problems.

Removing Things Users Want That Was In A Previous Version, So Users Have To Resort To Third Party Software To Get It Back.
Why?... It was there before. If it's popular why take it away, then add something that's not? I realize Windows will grow to be a monster if the kitchen sink is thrown in; and no... I don't want to go back to an 8 bit operating system to keep some things. However... That said... We aren’t asking for anything that wasn't there before, or will not work in the new OS. Please do NOT remove things to "PAD" new graphics, or add another experimental POS. Above all... Please Don't forget the user.
Set Default in Win Mail To NOT Open Attachments!
Whose bright idea was that! What good is an E-mail program you can't recieve attachments in? This is a problem for less advanced users, who cannot figure out how to open attachments. Give us a break! Probably, 90% or more of users are just going to override that setting anyway. Some after hours of frustration!

Last, (for Now)and probably most least,

What Ever Happened To Outlook Express?
Win-Mail is OK... but I sure do like OE. Could it be perhaps listed as an install option? It is a program that has been replaced; not taken away. I can see the need for non-redundancy in OS applications. This perhaps is the price of advancement. I can live with that. (But I sure did like OE!)

Something I would like to see, is saving each E-mail as a file rather than store them in a data base. This would eliminate the need for "compression"; Make it easier to selectively back up or transfer E-mails; and by storing individual files in a directory structure, give the user more versatility, and flexibility. Attachments would be a problem to overcome, but I suppose this is a topic for a different forum.

Closing
This is probably NOT an all inclusive list. There were other things I had in mind when I started, but I can't remember what they were. (The new control panel is one, but this is long enough already!) I probably should have written them down rather than composing on the fly. I can always come back however.... Thanks for listening to me whine. (You asked!)

 

[Dark Nova Gamer]

What do I not like about Windows 7? Its price. Other then that I love it!

 

[antt]

The Up Arrow
Yes... Again... I would like to see the Up arrow back in explorer. I have been told why it was omitted, and see the logic, but I liked using it. The people who want to see it stay gone probably never used it anyway. There was a general outcry when it disappeared, that was generally ignored. We were told "You don't need it". OK.... I (along with thousands of others) want it back. I liked it. It was there, Microsoft took it away; please put it back. I don't like bread crumbs to much. Windows is supposed to be a GUI. Please put the Icon back.

ICON SPACING ON THE TASK BAR
I have played with getting the task bar icons to sit closer together and not waste so much space at the bottom of the screen, to no avail. I hope someone has an answer to this one.

ICONS/APPS RENAMED AND OR MOVED WITHOUT REASON
Icons, (Add/Remove programs for (small) example) have been renamed and or moved for no obvious reason. In effect -Hidden-. Was this done just to make things harder on the user? Did somebody think it looked better and changed it without regard to users? Was this change for the sake of change? Either way I believe it was an irresponsible, and irritating thing to do. This OS has a large relearning curve. That's a strong dislike for me. Please! KISS!

That brings us to the next topic....

Wading through menus
Why does it now take me 3.4. or 5 clicks to access something that was one or two clicks away before? Yes.... I can create a shortcut, but that's not the point. Often things are hidden under group menus that are NOT intuitive, and leave NO clue to what's in them. Why were they moved in the first place? Do I have to relearn the OS because somebody doesn’t care about previous users? (See topic Renamed/Moved above.)

Resource Usage
Good lord! What a resource hog! Yes... Memory has gone down in price, but should I have to buy a new computer every time Microsoft comes out with another or updates an Operating System? You have to be a rocket scientist to know what is chaff, or how to get rid of it! Does all of that stuff realy have to be loaded?

HACK The Registry to "Fix" Things
Even experienced users don't like manually editing the registry. Asking less than experienced users to go into the registry to "fix" things that should have never been a problem or fixed by the programmers is insane. That brings us to our next topic.

FIX IT! Don't Post Work Arounds.
OK.... Work arounds are a wonderful thing until a fix comes to pass. It's just that there seems to be foot dragging, or a problem does not seem to get solved in a timely manner. (Or sometimes at all) when there is a work around. Contacting Microsoft just gets you the work around as an answer. C'mon, help us out by fixing problems.

Removing Things Users Want That Was In A Previous Version, So Users Have To Resort To Third Party Software To Get It Back.
Why?... It was there before. If it's popular why take it away, then add something that's not? I realize Windows will grow to be a monster if the kitchen sink is thrown in; and no... I don't want to go back to an 8 bit operating system to keep some things. However... That said... We aren’t asking for anything that wasn't there before, or will not work in the new OS. Please do NOT remove things to "PAD" new graphics, or add another experimental POS. Above all... Please Don't forget the user.
Set Default in Win Mail To NOT Open Attachments!
Whose bright idea was that! What good is an E-mail program you can't recieve attachments in? This is a problem for less advanced users, who cannot figure out how to open attachments. Give us a break! Probably, 90% or more of users are just going to override that setting anyway. Some after hours of frustration!

Last, (for Now)and probably most least,

What Ever Happened To Outlook Express?
Win-Mail is OK... but I sure do like OE. Could it be perhaps listed as an install option? It is a program that has been replaced; not taken away. I can see the need for non-redundancy in OS applications. This perhaps is the price of advancement. I can live with that. (But I sure did like OE!)

Something I would like to see, is saving each E-mail as a file rather than store them in a data base. This would eliminate the need for "compression"; Make it easier to selectively back up or transfer E-mails; and by storing individual files in a directory structure, give the user more versatility, and flexibility. Attachments would be a problem to overcome, but I suppose this is a topic for a different forum.

Closing
This is probably NOT an all inclusive list. There were other things I had in mind when I started, but I can't remember what they were. (The new control panel is one, but this is long enough already!) I probably should have written them down rather than composing on the fly. I can always come back however.... Thanks for listening to me whine. (You asked!)

Control Panel has been like that since Vista - so since 2007. If anything, it's more refined from the Vista version as it provides much more relevant links on the sidebar. Also if you can't find something search for it - Windows 7 has greatly enhanced the search functionality.
And even if you don't like that theres a drop down option menu on the Control Panel home page to change to the old style.

Resource hungry is bs. Its called Superfetch - dynamically caching most used programs to enhance system performance. If you need the RAM, Windows 7 frees it immediately.

And......Windows Mail does not exist in Windows 7?

 

[cbleman]

Re winmail... Sigh... I guess I need to get facts straight. Sorry. Outlook! And I still like the old control panel better. (You asked for things I don't like.) Things were easier to find. Please don't bring up Vista. It didn't last long on my desktop, and the only reason it's still on my laptop, is they threatened my Warranty if I downgraded. When I saw Win 7 had the Vista look and feel, I was disappointed, but a great many of my Vista gripes have been addressed. either by Microsoft or the Software developers. Especially drivers. Yes... I can search... The question is why do I have to? Why were things moved or renamed? Even in Vista. Vista has been around for a while, but many people I know don't use it or like it.
There are people who LOVE it, and are staunch defenders. I'm NOT one of those. Most of those that did not like Vista, will be going from XP directly to Win 7. There is a learning curve to the switch that is steeper than it needs to be.
Memory.. Win 7 uses more memory to run, and it does not release memory for background processes that are still running.
Thanks for the Win Mail correction antt.
aaaa, yes. Small Icons.

 

[mickey megabyte]

outlook isn't part of windows 7 either

 

[cbleman]

Outlook

Must be part of the Office package I installed.

 

[Dark Nova Gamer]

Must be part of the Office package I installed.

I know its part of MS Office 2010 Tech Preview.

 

[antt]

Alot of the things in the control panel were renamed because they didn't make sense anymore. 'Add/Remove Programs' was renamed to 'Programs and Features' because no-one adds programs through that dialog anymore. It was a relic from before XP, and they changed it to reflect that in the new version.
Actually that's the most notable example of shifting. All the others have pretty much stayed the same.. Sound > Sound, Folder Options > Folder Options. A lot of it was changed just to reflect how the operating system works now. You don't need 'Add Hardware' anymore, it's automatic.
But you are true....this is about what you dislike about it.

I dislike that a picture can look awesome as my logon background, but when set as my desktop background it looks rubbish!

 

[logicearth]

Memory.. Win 7 uses more memory to run, and it does not release memory for background processes that are still running.

Actually it does, it does it very well too. First thing to go is the cache, then low priority applications (background processes, sleeping processes). It will either overwrite or page out depending on the nature of the process. Cache for example is just overwritten. Depending on your computer and how much the hardware reserve portions of your RAM Windows will free up as much RAM as it can to let your current resource hungry application in.

It is really tiring talking about the same thing as we did with Vista. Neither Windows 7 or Vista are "resource hogs", just mis-informed people.

@cbleman, Just stick with Windows XP then for the rest of your computing life if you are unable to adapt to change. Nothing is going to go backwards for you. Things are the way they are and they are no going to go back. So either just stick with XP or move on and re-learn.

 

[Sven]

I don't like that the library icons don't make use of miniimage in it as in XP. F.i. the Music-library, I used to have the CD-cover as icon for that album, but not all I got is a big yellow ugly folder wrapped around my miniimage.
See example here : http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/5963/udklipd.jpg

I miss Outlook Express, Windows mail and Windows live mail has this bad behaivour, that they store EVERY single email as it's own file, making the email-hd fragmented quite fast. OE did make some sort of database over it, at then it was onle very few files to backup, now it is a lot. Howcome that it is so difficult for Microsoft to handle emails i a crompressed databae? You would think they could use the engine from Access?

I don't like, that I can't put the Win7 orb _anywhere_ on the taskbar I want. It is much smaller than the old START-button in XP, and it is still placed all the way out to the left.

 

[logicearth]

I don't like that the library icons don't make use of miniimage in it as in XP. F.i. the Music-library, I used to have the CD-cover as icon for that album, but not all I got is a big yellow ugly folder wrapped around my miniimage.

Change the Arrangement to "Album" or "Artist" or how ever it is said in your language. You'll just get pretty pictures.

I miss Outlook Express, Windows mail and Windows live mail has this bad behaivour, that they store EVERY single email as it's own file, making the email-hd fragmented quite fast. OE did make some sort of database over it, at then it was onle very few files to backup, now it is a lot. Howcome that it is so difficult for Microsoft to handle emails i a crompres

They did that for a reason. That one large file you were talking about was easy to corrupt losing ever message you ever got. Multiple files do not have the fragmentation problem as a single growing-larger files does.

 

[lordofbahamut]

The only thing I dont like windows 7 atm is the failing network. Without that, I would ditch my vista long time ago ... Still cant fix it

 

[harpua]

Win 7 network connections works great for me. Much better than other versions of Windows.

 

[lordofbahamut]

You must be lucky then, Its not only me who has this problem but quite a number of people on this forum have it too. I wonder when It gonna be fix?

 

[DocBrown]

Networking works great if you set it up as as work network, NOT HomeNetwork

" Doc "

 

[ben07]

Networking works great if you set it up as as work network, NOT HomeNetwork

" Doc "

Tell me about it, I have 2 PC both running W7, however only PC1 has full access to PC2 and whenever I tired to access PC1 from PC2, I got "you don't have permission......blah blah...". I'm the only Admin on both PC, what you mean I don't have permissions...?

Sharing under Network/WorkGroup is much easier, I just right click - Advance Sharing and allow All users, that's it!

It's confusing, homegroup needs to belong to Workgroup before one can share....:huh: