DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Everything Else... Microsoft Starts Prompting Windows 7/8 Users for Free Upgrade to 10

I used to get the start menu, but I must have pressed something I shouldn't have because it is now gone.

Is there something in the program you used to add the classic shell that would have disabled it? Maybe look in the configuration for that program and see if there is something there.

As far as I know, when classic shell is off it doesn't control anything anymore.

I think something happened when I was playing around with various settings.

When I first boot up with classic shell disabled, I get the desktop. If I click the start button, I get floating tiles across the screen.

Stick with me here, I don't know the correct terminology for the next part:

If I click a "thing" (it has 4 lines with dots before the lines, I think it's the apps button?) right above the start button, I do indeed get the start screen menu, but I do not ever get what I got when I first started using it, which was the start screen menu on one side and the tiles on the other side of it.... I think? I don't know anymore. I barely used it liked that, so am unsure how it was now?

Because tiles suck for a desktop.

I wholeheartedly agree.

Creepy.

See? With Windows 10 when I press the start button my desktop looks a lot like the AOL and Windows 8 posted above (Classic Shell is turned off).

That's just ugly.

I got the start menu back on!!!

From:

http://lifehacker.com/how-to-customize-the-windows-10-start-menu-1721973296

Right-click on the desktop and choose “Personalize”. Head to the Start tab. From here, you can uncheck options to show oft-used apps or recently opened items. You can also click “Choose which folders appear on Start” to add shortcuts to your personal folders, like Documents or Music, as well as your Network drives or Personal folder.

(And, if you actually liked the Windows 8 start screen, you can tick the “Use Start full screen” box to get back to a more Windows 8-like experience.)

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For some reason I had "Use Full Screen" turned on. I turned it back off. Whew!

Exit Tablet Mode and you'll get the start menu, not the slash/tile screen.

Thanks - see post right above your reply to me, Dawg_LB

I was clickin' on a few of those very annoying tiles, just to see what happens, and got this under a Food and Drink app:



Mmmmmmmmmmm, delicious brownies!!! lol! That pic really makes me want some though!

Yeah we posted at the same time, however I didn't have to drill down to any menus or anything. I just open up the "Notification Area" in the system tray and click the "Tablet Mode" option to get outta the situation you were in, but alas if you're up and running then awesome!

I like the start menu, it's still in the mist of being customized by me. I like how you can lay the tiles and etc out. It's almost quicker for me to use the start menu than it is the desktop lol!

It's the classic start menu, with more useful jazz! Love it.

I keep toggling between using the Classic Shell and the Windows 10 start menu.

So far, Classic Shell is more useful.

And I'd have to disagree with you at least so far Dawg_LB, I'd say the Windows 10 start menu just has a more useless jazz; it's a lotta bells and whistles.

...And all those darn tiles! lol. (I'm definitely getting rid of some of them.)

Ok, so I am now done with Firefox. It has frozen up too many times on Windows 10 so far. So, who makes a good 64 bit browser?

I don't know anything about bits, but my fav - and a lot of other people's too - is Google Chrome. It's about as fast as you're gonna get.

The Maxthon Browser isn't bad at all, and it's a multi-tab, which is nice (when you open a new website the old one doesn't go away). I haven't used it that much though.

Try Chrome.

Get the FireFox update, it's made for Windows 10 issues/stability.

Chrome, TOR, Opera

I had a clean install on a new hard drive so I should have already had the Windows 10 update, and it has auto-updated since it was on there and still crashed.

I've got Chrome installed now. It was a little harder to find the 64 bit version because the link defaults to the 32 bit but it wasn't too bad.

Chrome is the next best thing

I tried all of them. TOR is supposed to be the most secure but it's slow.

I LOVE Maxthon! I find it to be the fastest, most stable, and useful of all of the browsers.

One other thing about Maxthon ..... if you sign up for an account, you can "sync" your favorites online. If, at some point, you have to move to a new computer, all you have to do is just sign into Maxthon, and *Boom* there are all of your favorites.

The Maxthon downloader is very nice too. It has built in support for downloading videos and such, often even embedded videos will download. It also includes AdBlock Plus, which is really nice. I rarely see ads, and canot even remember what a pop-up is. (except for those that a site uses to offer signing up for their newsletters)

If you want a more bare bones, fast browser, then Maxthon Nitro is a nice choice.

I really, really like Maxthon a great deal. I have been using it for years and years, and it has been stable and solid, as well as the most useful, as far as I am concerned.

Well, it is finally time to go back in to work at my full time job. Had a post-it on my computer reminding me NOT to update to Windows 10. Their firewall software doesn't support it yet. At least they never updated from Windows 7 so I'm not stuck with 8. They did say in an email though that it will happen at some point, they just aren't ready yet.

You don't have to use the tiles in Win10, it's an option.

How do you get rid of all the tiles? Individually?

Right click on them, you can unpin it or change its size,etc...

supposedly, and I say that because I haven't been able to get it to work, but I'm missing a tab in my start menu properties.

If you goto all programs, and drag a program from there to the start button, you get a "Pin to start menu " prompt, not to be confused with the right click prompt to create a tile.

This drag over the start button is SUPPOSED to add it to the start list Win7 style.

My only issue with Windows 10 is the tool tips only show when I restart, and something causes them to stop showing after awhile. Or, if I restart, they'll show on mouse hover, but if I open the "show hidden icons", they again are taken away. I have no idea.

Not a deal breaker but it's annoying.

For the most part I like Win10.

Better than windows 7? Not sure, but enough that I don't feel the need to go back. Some things are kind of annoying, but that is typical with change. Had these things been the norm all this time then anything else would be annoying as that would be different.

Not sure I care for the edge browser. it has it's good and bad, as with anything, but I still prefer my google chrome.

The built in Mail for Windows 10 is nice since we are on Office365 service, but I don't like that I can't have my folders AND my email list open simultaneously, but not a deal break, I just use the browser Office365 portal. But having the Mail for Windows 10, work just like the browser would be nice.

All in all, I don't find TOO much different. Visually things are different, the tiles on the start menu for the things I use most aren't my personal favorite, but I have adapted and am getting used to them, I guess I just know some programs better by their name than their icon, especially the generic programs I need.

I agree with ya FloridaFan, I'm not certain Windows 10 is any better than Windows 7 or even Windows 8/8.1 with the Classic Shell running on top of it.

My desktop computer ran faster with 8.1. It was also easier to use.

I have the feeling that psychologically Windows 8 was such a disaster with the tiles than it makes Windows 10 seem great. I just don't think that's so.

If anything, Windows 10 is something new to play with. I'm sure in time I'll get used to it.

But you can't replace them with something else. Sure, I can unpin the tiles from the start menu, but then I have just a bunch of empty space. Win10 doesn't let me put a non-tile in that space. If I don't use the tiles and I can't put something more useful in that space, then all I have is a start menu that has some recently used shortcuts, file explorer, settings and power. That's what makes classic shell still useful.

Use your mouse cursor and put it over the right edge of the start menu border after opening it. You'll see your pointer cursor turn to horizontal line with arrows, click hold and drag it all the way to the left.

Haven't tried it, but I know I can increase it's size so I'm sure after unpinning all the tiles, you can/should be able to collapse it too.

Have not tried this yet, but kinda looks interesting:

'Ultimate Windows Tweaker 4 for Windows 10 released'

http://www.thewindowsclub.com/ultimate-windows-tweaker-4-windows-10

I tried out Win 10. Had it about a week or so, then went back to Win. 7. What I liked about it was it was easy to use and neat to play around with but....What I didn't like about it was if you look at your HD space, it just keeps getting smaller and smaller. I had about 103 GB on my HD and after I downloaded 10 I had about 106 GB and a few days later it went to 108 GB and then after a week it was 113 GB. I started checking this out to see where all my space was going. Win. 10 I guess decided to start downloading all these new Win. 10 programs without asking me if I wanted them or not. I found Win. News and Win. Money and a big program called Win. shopping that even put it in my task bar. I don't like having someone start putting in things I don't know about so I went back to 7. Anybody else notice this?

I didn't notice that but in all honesty? I preferred Windows 8.1 with the classic shell running on top of it to Windows 10. It was a little bit faster and without the MS spyware/keystroke logger stuff that Windows 10 has (I turned it off, but still... is off really off?)

I guess I'll stick with Windowns 10, as it doesn't make that much of a difference for me.

Katherine Albrecht: Windows 10 Is Full Blown Electronic Tyranny:

That woman sounds like a fear monger, and clueless about this subject.

Everything she complains about is the crap people asked for because too many are so tech inept they want 1-click installs and default.

Cortana is spying on you.... ROFL "Your office /house is bugged now"

Is Windows 10 really a privacy nightmare?

http://money.cnn.com/2015/08/17/technology/windows-10-privacy/

By default it is, that is why earlier in this thread - I suggested that people on the new platform should go into their Privacy settings and configure/disable some of them.

Anything you do on the internet, your cable box, direct TV, cell phone is being recorded and tracked for possible future needs.

Microsoft is not alone in any sort of data mining.