Intel NUC 13 Pro (Arena Canyon) review
Endorfy Arx 700 Air chassis review
Beelink SER5 Pro (Ryzen 7 5800H) mini PC review
Crucial T700 PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD Review - 12GB/s
Sapphire Radeon RX 7600 PULSE review
Gainward GeForce RTX 4060 Ti GHOST review
Radeon RX 7600 review
ASUS GeForce RTX 4060 Ti TUF Gaming review
MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Ti Gaming X TRIO review
GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8GB (FE) review
Start Menu May Arrive in Windows 8.1 Update 3
Read .. more delays. Microsoft’s Terry Myerson revealed that the beloved Start Menu would return to the Windows platform in the near future, but didn’t specify an actual release date. Presumably it was going to launch in Windows 8.1 Update 2. Now sources are reporting that the Start Menu will not arrive until Windows 8.1 Update 3, available in Spring 2015.
Unnamed sources report that Windows 8.1 Update 3 will take place in Spring 2015, the same window that Windows 9 "Threshold" was supposed to be released. Does that mean Windows 9 is already seeing a delay? Sources now point to a Q2/Q3 window for "Threshold," which could mean that Update 3 will be released in April and Windows 9 in June.
Popular Windows leaker WZOR reports that Update 2 will be free to Windows 8.1 Update 1 users, and sold to all other Windows customers at an "affordable price." The same holds true for Windows 9: customers who upgraded to Update 3 will get the new OS for free. That sounds a bit "off," as Microsoft made Windows 7 users pay $40 for the Windows 8 upgrade when it was first released. Then again, we've heard this "free" argument before, as Microsoft supposedly wants everyone on the newest version.
In a separate report by a user at EightForums, "Indianatone" called Microsoft about an activation issue. In the conversation, this person asked about when Windows 9 would be released, and was told that it would arrive in about a year. This same rep also admitted that customer support was currently being trained for Windows 8.1 Update 2, which will be released in August or September through Windows Store, weighing 3 GB: the same as Update 1.
WZOR indicated last week that Microsoft plans to have a huge internal event sometime this week to discuss the overall plans for Windows. Update 2 is expected to get an RTM escrow during the event, and will be distributed to Microsoft employees willing to take the new OS for a test drive. In turn this trial will help Microsoft track down the software leakers. Via Tom's hardware.
No Microsoft Start Menu for Windows 8 until 2015 - 06/02/2014 04:47 PM
Uh-oh ... In a report from it is mentioned that it's looking like Microsoft's new 'mini' Start Menu for Windows 8.x won't be part of Windows 8.1 Update 2 as originally planned. Right now it looks...
Windows 8.1 SP1 will get full start menu again - 04/03/2014 09:08 AM
Build 2014 is Microsofts developer-focused conference, the company shared some details on Windows 8.1 Update 1, the first significant Windows update since it became available back in Octobe...
Full Start menu back with Windows 8.2 - 12/10/2013 09:54 AM
Paul Thurrott reports some good news for desktop users who feel spurned by Windows 8 and aren’t satisfied with the changes made with Windows 8.1: Microsoft is working hard to appease them. T...
New Windows 8.1 Start menu details - 06/25/2013 09:23 AM
Users of Windows 8.1 will partly get the old Windows 7 start menu functionality back. Next to that it will also be possible to skip the Metro start up screen during boot. Hot corners will be able to g...
LesserHellspawn
Senior Member
Posts: 686
Joined: 2010-03-27
Senior Member
Posts: 686
Joined: 2010-03-27
#4859179 Posted on: 06/27/2014 03:28 PM
b) Windows 7, Vista and XP users will be offered a full-featured upgrade, first as a Windows 8.1 update 2 package (so they could later receive a free Update 3 then Windows 9 upgrade through the Windows Store), then an upgrade to Update 3 and finally to Windows 9 when it is released. However for for these older versions of the OS, there will no in-place upgrade as it will follow Windows 8.1 setup logic, which only allows in-place upgrades from 8.0, and for older versions it's just a full install where only documents and media are transferred, but installed programs are removed and will have to be re-installed manually.
If that happens, I'll keep Windows 7 on my main PC until the machine itself is being replaced. I had problems upgrading to Windows 8 on the PC, and reverted because of that. The Win 8 License is now in use on my laptop. At this point I don't feel like getting another Windows 8.0 and then go through the upgrades hoping that this solves my troubles, especially since Windows 8.0 isn't exactly cheap anymore. I'll try Windows 9, but only if it has an upgrade path preserving my installed programs. I certainly won't go over a complete reinstall, as long as Windows 7 works.
b) Windows 7, Vista and XP users will be offered a full-featured upgrade, first as a Windows 8.1 update 2 package (so they could later receive a free Update 3 then Windows 9 upgrade through the Windows Store), then an upgrade to Update 3 and finally to Windows 9 when it is released. However for for these older versions of the OS, there will no in-place upgrade as it will follow Windows 8.1 setup logic, which only allows in-place upgrades from 8.0, and for older versions it's just a full install where only documents and media are transferred, but installed programs are removed and will have to be re-installed manually.
If that happens, I'll keep Windows 7 on my main PC until the machine itself is being replaced. I had problems upgrading to Windows 8 on the PC, and reverted because of that. The Win 8 License is now in use on my laptop. At this point I don't feel like getting another Windows 8.0 and then go through the upgrades hoping that this solves my troubles, especially since Windows 8.0 isn't exactly cheap anymore. I'll try Windows 9, but only if it has an upgrade path preserving my installed programs. I certainly won't go over a complete reinstall, as long as Windows 7 works.
tsunami231
Senior Member
Posts: 13874
Joined: 2003-05-24
Senior Member
Posts: 13874
Joined: 2003-05-24
#4859270 Posted on: 06/27/2014 05:24 PM
What there charging for "updates" now....
I dont like metro I tried to like in the month I tried win8, And i sorry I hate it, I dont want it, and I want to have way to flat out disable it, That crap belongs on Tablet/Smart phone not on my PC Nor doe I want use thumbnails of things for buttons which what metro is to me. It was introduced solo cause MS felt threaten by the mobile OS.
Other reason why i hated Win 8 was lack of start menu, Some people around here may hate it , but I love it and I use every day multiple times. I have next to no icons on my desktop and only icon I have 2 on my taskbar Any and all my programs are ALL linked to the Start menu.
Still say MS could of avoided all this flak by doing what they have done since XP, Which give the use the option to use Classic shell or New shell, which would been Win7 Start menu (classic) win8 (new) with the OPTION disabling Metro.
Excuse me but i don't get it. How can Update 3 be free for Update 2 users and cost for everybody else ? Whats stopping you from updating to Update 2? And what if you have to reinstall ? You have to pay?
What there charging for "updates" now....
I like updates and the start menu coming back being one of them, but I have a horrible feeling it is Microsofts sneaky method of forcing Metro apps on people, and will more than likely break any 3rd party start menus, unless people find a way to disable it, I can't see how two menus could coexist, and personally I don't want metro apps all over the side of my start menu, I don't use Metro UI for a reason
I dont like metro I tried to like in the month I tried win8, And i sorry I hate it, I dont want it, and I want to have way to flat out disable it, That crap belongs on Tablet/Smart phone not on my PC Nor doe I want use thumbnails of things for buttons which what metro is to me. It was introduced solo cause MS felt threaten by the mobile OS.
Other reason why i hated Win 8 was lack of start menu, Some people around here may hate it , but I love it and I use every day multiple times. I have next to no icons on my desktop and only icon I have 2 on my taskbar Any and all my programs are ALL linked to the Start menu.
Still say MS could of avoided all this flak by doing what they have done since XP, Which give the use the option to use Classic shell or New shell, which would been Win7 Start menu (classic) win8 (new) with the OPTION disabling Metro.
Denial
Senior Member
Posts: 14091
Joined: 2004-05-16
Senior Member
Posts: 14091
Joined: 2004-05-16
#4859301 Posted on: 06/27/2014 06:00 PM
Huh? Sounds more like they are providing an upgrade path for people not yet on Windows 8. The only reason why I bought 8 in the first place was because they offered it for $40.
What there charging for "updates" now....
Huh? Sounds more like they are providing an upgrade path for people not yet on Windows 8. The only reason why I bought 8 in the first place was because they offered it for $40.
tsunami231
Senior Member
Posts: 13874
Joined: 2003-05-24
Senior Member
Posts: 13874
Joined: 2003-05-24
#4859351 Posted on: 06/27/2014 06:57 PM
Sound to me more like there charging for what is nothing more then service pack renamed.
Huh? Sounds more like they are providing an upgrade path for people not yet on Windows 8. The only reason why I bought 8 in the first place was because they offered it for $40.
Sound to me more like there charging for what is nothing more then service pack renamed.
Click here to post a comment for this news story on the message forum.
Senior Member
Posts: 4194
Joined: 2006-10-11
If they do it, people will hail Microsoft as gods and ask people why they aren't buying Windows since they clearly listen to their customers.