My experience with Windows 8.1

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    Yesterday, I have been working for hours on grub via Linux to install Windows 8.1 on an external HDD, unlike windows, I cant use etcher or rufus since etcher is shit when comes to Linux, so is Rufus as they were made for windows.

    Nevertheless, I used grub script to install it successfully and plan to use the official Microsoft of Win8.1 Pro as my daily driver until I find reasons to go back to Linux.

    One of the reasons I switched from Linux to Win8.1 is most of my work and hobbies have programs only available on the Windows platform, some do have Linux exe(s) but poorly made or just doesn't work at all. Why did I go with 8 instead of 10?

    Windows 10 has somehow with its bullshit load of updates, some-fucking-how, corrupted its own System32 without warning where logging intakes from 4 minutes to 20 minutes to just login in to my account and access the desktop.

    So far, after using Windows 8 for less than a day, I have fallen in love with how fast and responsive it was unlike Win10, however, as expected of someone who's a protector of the start bar of Windows XP and 7, I was not a fan of the full-screen start and the settings taking over the whole screen but since I have duel screens, the pain of full-screen settings isn't so bad since I can still use the desktop while having my settings open at the same time.

    I'm not really an expert on Win8.1 at all, I noticed that some of the Win10 programs such as the spinning tool isn't present which I used on a daily for screenshots in 10 without depending on a third party or screenshotting the whole screen and using paint to edit the area I wanted to show.

    Nevertheless, in terms of its performance Im very happy with it but it never beats Win7 or its big brother XP.

    ↩  FromTimeToTime Unlike my installations of Win10, Win7, and Linux, I wouldn't be customizing my installation as much but sticking to the out-of-the-box settings since my customization affects the performance of the OS greatly.

    I'm using the latest release of Win8 from Microsoft, I don't care about their software updates as long as they provide me with decent security to my machine

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    ↩  FromTimeToTime you are completely justified in wanting to quit windows 10 because of the bug you experienced. but i don't think it's a common bug at all, and i think you should consider coming back around. if you don't, i hope it all works out.

    That bug was one of many that I have faced while using Win10, it happens that this bug was the end of my tolerance to poor system updates and slow performance. But you're right, I will, just in case, use the filters you mentioned and Malwarebytes to keep my system somewhat secure.

    hahahaha yes everyone thought i was crazy, but they were wrong

    soon the masses will flock back for like a year until satya nadella fucking kills it off again. fuck that ceo bitchass mf

    8.1 is generally more stable then 10. i couldn't give a shit what anyone says i've had personal experiences with both and i think im firm in my personal opinion regardless of a lack of support it has. it does not hinder me at current time. i shit you not the worst i've gotten is a warning telling me to upgrade with a certain mod

    assrix, assryx, asterisk, *

    awesomeist tf blokey

    Congrats on running a computer that is out of support and vulnerable to many attack vectors. If it were an animal I'd put it down.

    Wild1145

    Network Owner at TotalFreedom

    Managing Director at ATLAS Media Group Ltd.

    Founder & Owner at MastodonApp.UK

    ↩ @'Ryan' Since Im smart, I can protect myself, there is no better alternative and I don't wanna switch to Win10 at all and Linux is out of the question.

    I may upgrade to Win11 once it comes out, probably gonna stick to the lite version of it tho.

    ↩  simplynick The smart thing to do is to use windows 10 or Linux or a hackintosh. You've done the silly thing of using a legacy out of support os that has no support patching or security upgrades... Super super bad.

    Wild1145

    Network Owner at TotalFreedom

    Managing Director at ATLAS Media Group Ltd.

    Founder & Owner at MastodonApp.UK

    ↩ @'Ryan' Actually Win8.1 is only out of Mainstream support as of 2018 but Security updates last until 2023 which seems good based on different sources

    Since I'm using an OS that ends Security support in 2023, that gives me 2 years or less to think about Win11 or completely switch to Linux as my main driver until Microsoft works out it's bullshit

    I mean, I know users who still use Windows 7 which is amazing even past it's Mainstream and Security updates by using Good antivirus and firewalls.

    You should try Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2019. The SAC editions (Home/Pro) are utter shit in regards to updates. LTSC is designed for all sorts of hardware so it can run on stuff that had 8.1 installed and still be very responsive. It is pure barebones Windows and you can use a tool such as KMS_VL_ALL to activate it and auto-renew every 180 days. Another benefit is it is quite stable as well because a lot of the excess shit in regular versions of Windows are omitted because its intended purpose is enterprise applications that are not expected to be updated often, hence the lack of updates other than major security fixes. This is the version I use because of all these benefits. Also LTSC 2021 is being released some time this year so you could use that too I guess.

    javaw_VqNRNZdU6Q.png
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    Skimming through this thread, Windows 8.1 is still getting security updates until 2023. In all honesty, Windows 8.1 was one of the worst performing versions of Windows I've ever used. Windows 7 and now Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC are both extremely fast and bloat free. I'm probably the only person here who actually has it legally. LTSC 2022, which will be based off of Windows 10 21H1, is coming out later this year (as I've heard). I have not heard anything about a Windows 11 LTSC version.

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    ↩  simplynick Yesterday, I have been working for hours on grub via Linux to install Windows 8.1 on an external HDD, unlike windows, I cant use etcher or rufus since etcher is shit when comes to Linux, so is Rufus as they were made for windows.

    Have you ever tried UNetbootin?

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    ↩  simplynick I'm not really an expert on Win8.1 at all, I noticed that some of the Win10 programs such as the spinning tool isn't present which I used on a daily for screenshots in 10 without depending on a third party or screenshotting the whole screen and using paint to edit the area I wanted to show.

    There are two programs: the classic Snipping Tool and the newer Snip & Sketch. They have pretty much the same functionality, and the classic one is there on Windows 8.