Whose Windows 8 is it Anyway?

I daresay this has been discussed here somewhere, but I cannot find the wood for the trees.

Just bought a new lappy, HP Pavilion Touchsmart 15-n022sa, after my previous 6-year old one just broke. It comes installed with Windows 8 64bit. I am still getting to grips with this and am unfamiliar with it in any detail. It starts up with the Start Screen, an unhierarchical screen of tiles leading to apps (Is that what they call Metro?). Like many others, I prefer to use the standard Windows Desktop with a hierarchical Start Menu.

I can find the Desktop but the only menus I see is a hierarchical Desktop menu from the R of Taskbar, which seems to contain all the items currently on Desktop + some standard folders like Control Panel & Network. Also an unhierarchical menu from R-clicking on Bottom L 'button' of screen. This just seems to contain some standard Windows utilities, but no real programs (applications not apps) like IE. Where is this obtained from and how to alter it?

Which Windows is it?

Instead of starting on the Start Screen, I would like to start directly on the Desktop. The thin 'Windows Basics' pamphlet that HP supplies says 'Open to Desktop instead of Start Screen (select models only)' which involves the Properties of the Taskbar and a Navigation tab that I don't have. This makes me wonder whether I have bought the right version of Win 8 as I know that the facility cannot be provided just by the hardware.

Does it mean I should have bought a PC with Win 8 Pro? Or is it hinting that I need Win 8.1?

Where is Windows 8.1?

Something said I can get Win 8.1 free from the Store, but when I go there I can't find it. M/S site says I can download it free but provides no Download button I can find.

Classic Start Menu

Someone here once said I can download the classic Start Menu. Anyone know from where?

Search Files

How can you search all files by filename or part? The Search Files on Start Screen only seems to find titles of apps. I suppose I can always do a CLI DIR wildcard.

I expect I'll come up with more Qs as I delve deeper

Windows 8.1 is available from the Windows Store - but you need to have an online user account (Settings -> Change PC Settings -> Accounts), and you may need to sign up for it...

Even with Windows 8.0, you should have a Desktop graphic (that says "Desktop") in Metro - clicking on that will let you use the standard desktop, after which you can right-click on the task bar, select properties and go into system to check your version.

If you move the mouse to the bottom right, a bar shoul slide in, on which the top item is "Search" - you can put in anything there, and it should find what you want, although usually only in Windows 8.1 - the Windows 8.0 version wasn't terribly good.

In reply to a post by MrTAToad2:

Windows 8.1 is available from the Windows Store - but you need to have an online user account

I originally set it up with my Online Microsoft (Hotmail) a/c but I didn't think that was a good idea and have since switched it to a local a/c.

Are you saying that you can only use the full Store if you are logged into Win 8 with your Online Microsoft a/c? Can't you just log into Win 8 with a local a/c but still possess an Online Microsoft a/c which you can log in to online?

My Taskbar Properties does not have a 'System' but I've already checked the CP System for my version and it is as I said.

Just to add, we bought an HP Pavilion recently which only had 8 on. Like you there was no sign of 8.1 in the store. Only after we had run windows update to patch 8 completely did 8.1 become available in the store.

Hope this helps

Mark

You can use the store by logging in each time if you don't want your computer connect permanently to MS servers. I updated my windows 8 to 8.1 via a ISO and did not use the store at all, but that is a bit complex.

I don't blame you for going back to local account, I am on a local one as well, but then I don't use the store or MS skydrive. I know a couple of people who have gone back to windows 8 because of the way skydrive works on windows 8.1

8.1 will allow you to boot to desktop, but you still will not have the start menu, if you want a start menu you need something like classic shell.

I think most of your queries have already been answered, I have 8.1 and it boots to the metro screen, from which I have removed most of the extraneous junk that comes with a new computer.

As I do not have a touch screen I have found that some good old shortcut keys are absolutely invaluable when using Win 8. Specifically:

ALT +F4 to close any programme
WIN + S start menu
WIN + D Desktop

I rather like the facility when on the start screen of just being able to type a program name particularly for control panel.

I use Classic shell
http://www.classicshell.net/

It's very customizable so does what I want from it.

In reply to a post by marko3:

Just to add, we bought an HP Pavilion recently which only had 8 on. Like you there was no sign of 8.1 in the store. Only after we had run windows update to patch 8 completely did 8.1 become available in the store.

Hope this helps

Mark

Yes, I was told by my store that I needed to update my Brand-New HP Envy to 8.1, but it wouldn't let me until after I had run quite a few 8 updates!

Then I had to do the 8.1 updates as well!!

In reply to a post by MrTAToad2:

Windows 8.1 is available from the Windows Store - but you need to have an online user account (Settings -> Change PC Settings -> Accounts), and you may need to sign up for it...

You don't have to have an online account at all . It will appear in the Store regardless of if you have an online account or not. Like others have said, once you have the neccessary Windows Updates.

On first boot after the OOBE Windows will start a background Windows Update which should then kick in at the next maintenance schedule, so even if you left things on automatic you would find the computer would reboot itsself automatically and get itsself updated, and then if you don't visit the store for some time, a banner will appear at bootup with an option to go to the Windows store. Again all can be performed from a local account.

Edited by Pipexer (Fri 17-Jan-14 20:55:52)

I can't remember what has changed between 8 and 8.1. With 8.1 if you right-click IE on the Metro start menu you get a menu bar at the bottom left that allows you to pin it to the taskbar. For me that pins the desktop version there, but I don't think it did on 8. I had to do something slightly different.

At the moment I can't find how I got Windows Explorer there, but I have it on the taskbar alongside a CLI button.