Ready to throw Windows 7 out of the window after one day

[Elledan]

Today I decided to install a legal copy of Windows 7 Enterprise a friend had provided me with. Installation went okay, everything seemed fine. Then things pretty much went downhill from there.

While the low-level features of Win7 seem pretty okay, especially the user interface suffers from many glitches and issues. I got past the newness of the Win7 GUI by using the Classic skin and installing Classic Shell, and am able to live with MSFT having ripped the control panel into tiny bits and having shattered it throughout the OS. What I can't live with are things like:

- the compressed files view in Explorer views. I have folders full of zip and other compressed files. If they are all shown in the folder view, it turns into a gigantic mess. I have tried to follow a few guides to disable this, but without success, mostly because Win7 deems me unworthy of actual administration privileges.

- glitches such as windows refreshing quite slowly at times, excessive slowdowns while installing applications, applications such as Live Messenger scrolling spontaneously back in chat windows, the command to compress the contents of a partition being ignored on one partition but not the other and so on.

- The taskbar and notification tray doesn't make sense, is hard to configure and in general it seems to have only a fraction of the features the XP taskbar has. There are a great deal of tiny details I'm missing here.

Coming from WinXP/XP64 and Win2k3, I must say that so far Win7 has been one big disappointment after the other. It feels unstable, glitchy, unfinished and sluggish. The default user interface is incomprehensible, user-hostile and scatter-brained. After an entire day of tweaking and trying to find something positive in this mess, I'm forced to admit that 'downgrading' to XP64 seems like a very attractive option.

I think I really tried to come to terms with Win7. I mean, I have the GUI configured pretty close to how it was on XP so that I have no big complaints there. Something like displaying zip files in the folder tree view, however, is a monumental error, and worst of all unlike in XP the file explorer I use (2xExplorer) repeats this offense on Win7.

Since I need this system for my work, I am placing big question marks by the viability of Windows 7 in my business.

 

[sdy284]

well i'd have to say you're in the extreme minority with your opinion, but you're entitled to it

 

[Menelmarar]

The Vista/Win7 UI is far more efficient. However; it is also far different. Trying to make it something it's not, the old way, is a great way to fail and get frustrated.

Sometimes you just can't teach an old dog new ways.

 

[Chuklr]

Today I decided to install a legal copy of Windows 7 Enterprise a friend had provided me with. Installation went okay, everything seemed fine. Then things pretty much went downhill from there.

While the low-level features of Win7 seem pretty okay, especially the user interface suffers from many glitches and issues. I got past the newness of the Win7 GUI by using the Classic skin and installing Classic Shell, and am able to live with MSFT having ripped the control panel into tiny bits and having shattered it throughout the OS. What I can't live with are things like:

- the compressed files view in Explorer views. I have folders full of zip and other compressed files. If they are all shown in the folder view, it turns into a gigantic mess. I have tried to follow a few guides to disable this, but without success, mostly because Win7 deems me unworthy of actual administration privileges.

- glitches such as windows refreshing quite slowly at times, excessive slowdowns while installing applications, applications such as Live Messenger scrolling spontaneously back in chat windows, the command to compress the contents of a partition being ignored on one partition but not the other and so on.

- The taskbar and notification tray doesn't make sense, is hard to configure and in general it seems to have only a fraction of the features the XP taskbar has. There are a great deal of tiny details I'm missing here.

Coming from WinXP/XP64 and Win2k3, I must say that so far Win7 has been one big disappointment after the other. It feels unstable, glitchy, unfinished and sluggish. The default user interface is incomprehensible, user-hostile and scatter-brained. After an entire day of tweaking and trying to find something positive in this mess, I'm forced to admit that 'downgrading' to XP64 seems like a very attractive option.

I think I really tried to come to terms with Win7. I mean, I have the GUI configured pretty close to how it was on XP so that I have no big complaints there. Something like displaying zip files in the folder tree view, however, is a monumental error, and worst of all unlike in XP the file explorer I use (2xExplorer) repeats this offense on Win7.

Since I need this system for my work, I am placing big question marks by the viability of Windows 7 in my business.

Hi, Elledan,

You may find the Win7 ABCs - Great list of Windows 7 tutorials by MVP Shawn Brink! (alphabetical) helpful.

Hope this helps.

Chuklr

 

[Toonie]

May I ask what's the spec of the computer you are running this on???

You really need to just play with it until you get use to it... when i first moved to Vista/7, it was at first confusing but after using it and getting fimilar with the new features, XP don't even comes close.

 

[Elledan]

The Vista/Win7 UI is far more efficient. However; it is also far different. Trying to make it something it's not, the old way, is a great way to fail and get frustrated.

Sometimes you just can't teach an old dog new ways.

I have migrated from DOS to Win95, 98, 2k, XP, 2k3 and used KDE/Gnome with Linux and BSD as well as a bit of OS X inbetween there as well. This isn't about usability, this is about the general experience. I find that in installing and using applications as well as system services stuff happens which shouldn't. This makes Win7 in my eyes an unreliable OS, and thus I can not use it for the purpose I need it for (running a workstation).

If all one does is play games and browse a bit it probably isn't too apparent, but for running development and 3D modelling tools it just doesn't seem to suffice.

 

[Elledan]

May I ask what's the spec of the computer you are running this on???

You really need to just play with it until you get use to it... when i first moved to Vista/7, it was at first confusing but after using it and getting fimilar with the new features, XP don't even comes close.

AMD X2 4450e, 2.3 GHz
4 GB RAM
Gigabyte 770-based mainboard
GTX 275.
3 HDDs (80, 250, 750)

And again, for me the main issue isn't with the feature set, but with general stability.

 

[bigdogchris]

Today I decided to install a legal copy of Windows 7 Enterprise a friend had provided me with.

Sounds illegal already. Just because somebody has a volume licenses at work doesn't mean you can install and activate that OS on your personal computer.

 

[Elledan]

Sounds illegal already. Just because somebody has a volume licenses at work doesn't mean you can install and activate that OS on your personal computer.

I meant it as in the sense that it wasn't some warez copy I got from somewhere and that the stability issues and glitches could be contributed to that

 

[RS3RS]

Sounds illegal already. Just because somebody has a volume licenses at work doesn't mean you can install and activate that OS on your personal computer.

Heaven forbid Microsoft doesn't get their fair share, those poor helpless executives might starve!


To the OP: Some people like it, some don't. There's nothing wrong with using XP if it's what you prefer, as long as it still supports your applications. I use 7 on my laptop, but will continue to use XP SP3 on my main desktop, which I use primarily for business purposes and need stability and a familiar interface to work efficiently. Someday it will be officially "outdated", and we'll be forced to upgrade to support new hardware/software. But until then, there's nothing wrong with it.

 

[phide]

There haven't been any features removed from the task bar or from the tray (notifications). Quick Launch has essentially been superseded by pinned items, though you can still build your own custom Quick Launch toolbar. In order to get the most out of the task bar, though, you need to start pinning and arranging your most frequently used applications. If you aren't doing this, you aren't utilizing the single best feature in Win7, so of course you're going to find yourself frustrated.

The way to alleviate frustrations stemming from the new organization in the control panel is to search. Hit the Windows key and start typing in what you want to achieve, like "add user", and you'll be presented with a link to add user accounts. If you want to change display settings, type "display". If you want to edit TCP settings, type "tcp", and you'll see a couple links, the second of which takes you to the network connections window, where you change TCP settings per-adapter. There are still changes in the configuration of various control panel 'applets' that you need to learn your way around, but it's not a steep learning curve. And, yes, you can still get around in a conventional way by hitting up the control panel, but this requires the most re-learning.

One last tip: familiarize yourself with rebuilding the icon cache now, since you'll be doing it more than a few times during your visit to Windows 7 land. Bookmark it; set it as your home page; make a wallpaper with the steps listed on it; etc.

 

[Elledan]

Heaven forbid Microsoft doesn't get their fair share, those poor helpless executives might starve!


To the OP: Some people like it, some don't. There's nothing wrong with using XP if it's what you prefer, as long as it still supports your applications. I use 7 on my laptop, but will continue to use XP SP3 on my main desktop, which I use primarily for business purposes and need stability and a familiar interface to work efficiently. Someday it will be officially "outdated", and we'll be forced to upgrade to support new hardware/software. But until then, there's nothing wrong with it.

The one thing I can't get over in Win7 is why MSFT thought it would be a good idea to show all zip, rar, ace, cab and heavens know what else compressed file formats in the folder tree view. Imagine having a folder with a few thousand zip files in it. The moment you open the folder in Explorer's folder tree, you get all of those zip files displayed in the folder tree. Worse is that it's apparently impossible to disable in Win7 without a lot of work and patience.

Anyway, tomorrow I'll be installing XP again so that the system will be ready for work next week. Maybe I'll install Win7 again on some test box some time after SP1 has been released...

 

[rflcptr]

Since I need this system for my work, I am placing big question marks by the viability of Windows 7 in my business.

Is the OP asking for help or simply blogging?

 

[Elledan]

Is the OP asking for help or simply blogging?

If anyone knew HTH to solve some of those issues I listed, it might have helped. Apparently I'm just imagining things, though

 

[rayman2k2]

The one thing I can't get over in Win7 is why MSFT thought it would be a good idea to show all zip, rar, ace, cab and heavens know what else compressed file formats in the folder tree view. Imagine having a folder with a few thousand zip files in it. The moment you open the folder in Explorer's folder tree, you get all of those zip files displayed in the folder tree. Worse is that it's apparently impossible to disable in Win7 without a lot of work and patience.

I have zero idea what you mean by this. I have a folder with over 300 zipped folders and I have found nothing out of the ordinary. Can you provide a screenshot?

 

[NoForgiveness]

Did you run Windows Update?

Somewhat surprisingly, I find myself getting the answer 'no' to this question from most users that have problems with Win 7. 'Oh, no, it's buggy as hell, and I never once checked Windows Update, I figured it would be magic out of the box!'

Run Windows update. Get the updates, as well as any updated video, audio, chipset, network, etc drivers.

 

[ob1]

The OP stated he removed the UI and has it running with the old UI anyway, so he won't see any bennefit from the new UI at all. If he had just given it a few days, he would have preferred it probably. Some people don't like change.

As for using it for server type stuff, I have to say its very good. We are using a programmable demodulator with Win7 on it, and the OS is far superior to any of the other windows OS's to date on several levels. This unit receives roughly 450GB per day from several LEO satellites, and it handles the data transactions just fine, inlcuding the new CFDP protocols. The disk throughput from the internal raid using velociraptors is by far faster than any other version of windows that I have seen tested.

Obviously, to each his own, but I think you are selling this OS short by not learning the new features and trying to change how you do things a little.

 

[Igthorn]

Zip Folders - Enable or Disable Windows Explorer View

 

[Ryan45]

Today I decided to install a legal copy of Windows 7 Enterprise a friend had provided me with. Installation went okay, everything seemed fine. Then things pretty much went downhill from there.

While the low-level features of Win7 seem pretty okay, especially the user interface suffers from many glitches and issues. I got past the newness of the Win7 GUI by using the Classic skin and installing Classic Shell, and am able to live with MSFT having ripped the control panel into tiny bits and having shattered it throughout the OS. What I can't live with are things like:.

There is your first problem, trying to go back to classic XP. I know change is hard for some but come on, the new GUI is a tone better than XP.

 

[IndianScout]

I dual boot xp64 & win764 but I spend 99.99% on XP..

 

[heatlesssun]

If anyone knew HTH to solve some of those issues I listed, it might have helped. Apparently I'm just imagining things, though

If you can provide examples of what you're seeing like rayman suggested that would be useful for those would LOVE to help you like myself.

Please understand that for most folks around here your experience is simply alien. Windows 7 has been AWESOME for me. Yes there are issues here and there but all that I've come across are either applications bugs, drivers, or configurations and never have anything to do with Windows proper.

One general comment about the Windows 7 UI. You need to use it on a touchscreen device before you can appreciate it otherwise you will think that Microsoft made these changes arbitrarily. They didn't. Once you use 7 on a touch screen you'll see almost immediately the reason why the Task Bar was redesigned.

 

[criccio]

LOL

heatlesssun, is there going to be a thread where you don't bring up your love for tablets? haha

 

[odoe]

One things that bugs me about the Win7 taskbar in the lower right, is that when I expand it to see running apps and open something up, it won't close automatically, it sits there, I have to click on it, then click somewhere else for it to close. Small detail, but annoying.

 

[heatlesssun]

LOL

heatlesssun, is there going to be a thread where you don't bring up your love for tablets? haha

I never mentioned the word "tablet" in my response. I said "touchscreen". And am I wrong? I am trying to explain WHY changes were made to the Windows 7 UI and no one has yet to say that I am wrong when they use a Windows 7 TOUCHSCREEN device. Not all touchscreen devices are tablets BTW, like the HP and MSI DESKTOP TOUCHSCREEN machines. Those are NOT tablets.

 

[criccio]

One things that bugs me about the Win7 taskbar in the lower right, is that when I expand it to see running apps and open something up, it won't close automatically, it sits there, I have to click on it, then click somewhere else for it to close. Small detail, but annoying.

I have noticed this as well. Quite annoying.

 

[IndianScout]

I love the appearing and disappearing icons in 7, it makes me mental..

is there a way to keep the damn recycle bin in place when you sort by name so you don't have to do it 2x to put the bin back..

 

[heatlesssun]

One things that bugs me about the Win7 taskbar in the lower right, is that when I expand it to see running apps and open something up, it won't close automatically, it sits there, I have to click on it, then click somewhere else for it to close. Small detail, but annoying.

If I understand what you're saying, and yeah I'm gonna get ragged on this, you wouldn't won't it to work the way you're describing when using a touchscreen device. I think I know what you're saying because I had the same thought and then realized you want the item to remain open on a touchscreen device. Make sense?

 

[odoe]

No, stop it. It's annoying . I don't care about touchscreen, I care about annoying. If MS wanted it to work that way for touchscreen they should add a touchscreen mode, but they didn't, so it's just annoying.

on that subject, touchscreens would make interesting porn viewing devices, but that's for another forum

 

[NoForgiveness]

WINDOWS UPDATE

That's all I'm gonna say.

 

[heatlesssun]

No, stop it. It's annoying . I don't care about touchscreen, I care about annoying. If MS wanted it to work that way for touchscreen they should add a touchscreen mode, but they didn't, so it's just annoying.

on that subject, touchscreens would make interesting porn viewing devices, but that's for another forum

The whole world is in a touchscreen frenzy right now with the iPad and the zillion other devices on the way. And while it maybe annoying for SOME mouse users, its DOESN'T WORK AT ALL for touchscreen users if it only worked the way you wanted.

And then there's the problem of touchscreen devices that ALSO have pointing devices. So if you use the mouse it works one way but with the touchscreen it works another? That'll annoy a few folks.

It's a compromise to make it work well enough for everyone without making it complicated. And like it or not I'm simply pointing out the very reasonable logic behind why it works the way it does. But I'm sure it will be tweaked over time with usability feedback.

 

[gesicht]

One things that bugs me about the Win7 taskbar in the lower right, is that when I expand it to see running apps and open something up, it won't close automatically, it sits there, I have to click on it, then click somewhere else for it to close. Small detail, but annoying.

for me it fades in 3 seconds i am willing to bet it does for you too, you just never gave it a chance. it also doesn't seem interfere with anything else. you also have the option to make any ones that you want to show up and not require the click. it is a HUGE improvement over the options in XP. i skipped vista because i didn't like it. win7 fixed many of issues i didn't like. win7 is different, you will have to find different ways to do the same thing. in the end it is just new. the vast majority of the changes are improvements if you give them a chance. i dont know your ages but you sound like my 62 year old father. he still uses word perfect 6.0, it supports win95 and win3.1. every other word processor copies the look and layout of this program. any modern version of MS word has the nearly identical menus. yet he refuses to use anything but his word perfect 6.0

on a fresh install i spend far less time tweaking win7 then i did a fresh install of XP.

different is not wrong. rejecting something just because it is different is.

 

[phide]

If anyone knew HTH to solve some of those issues I listed, it might have helped. Apparently I'm just imagining things, though

"I don't like the taskbar" is not a solveable issue. Describe what functionality you want from the taskbar and we'll tell you if it's possible to get it. There are quite a number of taskbar tweaks out there (see almost one or two a week at Lifehacker). Like I said, though, they didn't remove any function from it, so I don't know what function you want that isn't there already.

I don't know how to solve the compressed folders view, since my install has never shown compressed files within folders. It's a ZIP file until I double-click it.

I have noticed this as well. Quite annoying.

I've gotten used to it. I actually do like the idea of being in control over when things close, though I'm not sure what the point of having it stay open is, either.

Want to know something really annoying, though? Move your taskbar to the top and hover your pointer over the little down arrow. The tooltip will show and hide repeatedly until you move it the the lower-most edge of that button. Why? No Goddamn idea.

heatlesssun, is there going to be a thread where you don't bring up your love for tablets? haha

No.

 

[NoForgiveness]

for me it fades in 3 seconds i am willing to bet it does for you too, you just never gave it a chance. it also doesn't seem interfere with anything else.

Yeah, it does disappear, and it only takes a couple of seconds to do so. Logically , I am neither annoyed nor surprised at the idea of having to click somewhere else immediately after moving away from a pop-up menu. You do it sub-consciously dozens of times when you use your computer, wonder what it is about that particular menu that set you off, because I bet 99.9% of users perceive it to be the normal behavior that it is.

But, what am I saying, I'm talking to guys here who complain about instability in a fresh install and they haven't even applied the updates yet.

 

[heatlesssun]

LOL

heatlesssun, is there going to be a thread where you don't bring up your love for tablets? haha

No.

criccio bought up tablets first in this thread, not me. I was talking about TOUCHSCREEN devices. Do you understand that tablets and touchscreen devices ARE NOT THE SAME THING? There are touchscreen DESKTOPS! You can buy them right now at any Best Buy, Office Depot, etc.

In response to an annoyance that THREE people had bought up about the Windows 7 task bar I simply pointed out that it has to work that way for TOUCHSCREEN DEVICES. IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH TABLETS!

If you don't like this task bar behavior or think it should be configurable that's another matter. But with all the rage around touchscreen devices if you don't acknowledge the importance of making these changes to make Windows 7 touchscreen friendly you're simply being obstinate.

Remember folks, Windows 7 Desktop and iPhone OS are now DIRECT COMPETITORS!

Yes I'm as big of a Tablet PC fan as you'll find but if I'm wrong please use some facts and counter my argument, not my enthusiasm for the TPC platform.

 

[keenan]

If you don't like this task bar behavior or think it should be configurable that's another matter. But with all the rage around touchscreen devices if you don't acknowledge the importance of making these changes to make Windows 7 touchscreen friendly you're simply being obstinate.

The changes necessary to make Windows 7 touchscreen friendly could all easily have been hidden behind a 'go to touchscreen friendly mode' option that 99.9% of users would never see or care about, and OEMs selling such machines could enable it by default. The standard UI didn't need to change one iota for touchscreen use.

And FWIW, I doubt we'll ever see serious use of touchscreens in standard PCs. It's just a terribly inefficient and un-ergonomic UI paradigm to use with a stationary PC.

 

[Azureth]

I don't understand why people even bother upgrading if they're just going to try to make it like the older version.

 

[phide]

Well, I can understand upgrading given 7's security features and the fact that limited user accounts are now actually usable (finally). I'm happy with Aero Glass, and with at least some of the UI changes, but I can totally understand why people might yearn for the classic interface. What I'm not sure I understand are bitch threads about it given that they're the very pinnacle of 'unproductive'.

 

[MetricGnome]

I don't understand why people even bother upgrading if they're just going to try to make it like the older version.

+1...Let XP be XP and let 7 be 7. Don't fuck with it and make it something it's not and it will work as intended.

 

[heatlesssun]

The changes necessary to make Windows 7 touchscreen friendly could all easily have been hidden behind a 'go to touchscreen friendly mode' option that 99.9% of users would never see or care about, and OEMs selling such machines could enable it by default. The standard UI didn't need to change one iota for touchscreen use.

And FWIW, I doubt we'll ever see serious use of touchscreens in standard PCs. It's just a terribly inefficient and un-ergonomic UI paradigm to use with a stationary PC.

This is a pretty esoteric issue, 99.9% of people aren't going to care one way or the other would be my guess.

I'm not exactly sure what you mean when you say the "standard" UI didn't need to change to accommodate touchscreen devices. Would that include not changing the task bar's default to the "button mode"? Windows has NEVER been about tons of UI customization. It pretty much works they way it works and that's it and different behavior on different devices has its own drawbacks as well.

As for the ergonomics of desktop touchscreens I agree. As much as I LOVE tablets these things don't appeal to me at all. But HP has been selling their TouchSmart all-in-ones for some time now, someone is buying them and they are all over the place in retail. My guess is that it's the all-in-one form factor and not the touchscreen that appeals to people however.

But 2010 is the year of the tablets and associated technologies like touchscreens, at least if we gage it by the hype. Most of it simply driven by the fact that companies are simply looking for something else to sell rather than real interest or demand is my take on it but we shall see.

 

[Azureth]

Well, I can understand upgrading given 7's security features and the fact that limited user accounts are now actually usable (finally). I'm happy with Aero Glass, and with at least some of the UI changes, but I can totally understand why people might yearn for the classic interface. What I'm not sure I understand are bitch threads about it given that they're the very pinnacle of 'unproductive'.

Yeah, but I am sick and tired of all these "I upgraded to a new OS I am not even sure I like and I can't get it the way I want so I'm going to bitch and complain and cry about it" threads. It's like buying a 360 or PS3 and complaining about it's GUI or features.

If you're not 100% sure then wait until you have a chance to try it out before you buy it, ESPECIALLY if it's a work PC.

I don't use my PC for work-related apps but if I did I'd make sure everything worked before I upgraded.

I for one use my PC for games and other misc and am so happy I can put XP behind me, sure there may be some incompatibilities here and there, but most of the time it's not something a google search can't fix.