Give an ask?

Compatibility is very similar to Windows 7 but there are some technical changes that affect gaming. The most common change is some games showing a windowed border in fullscreen mode but that can be fixed in a couple of clicks (GOG has updated many installers to include this fix).

The only game I have that worked on 7 but not 8 is Flight Unlimited II. Everything else worked as expected (with or without some additional fiddling). There were a couple of cases of GOG games with issues on Windows 8. GOG seem to have fixed Haegemonia (it worked fine by the time I got it). There are apparently unresolved issues with Deadlock II but I don't have that game myself so that might have been fixed by now too.

Windows 8.1 is full version media so one viable option is to install it as the primary OS and then dual boot Windows 7 alongside it as a bootable VHD. This way you don't need to partition the physical hard drive and it only takes up the space it is actually using, so you can install the actual games outside the VHD to make it as small as possible. VHD boot has a slight performance cost but that doesn't matter for old games anyway.

Thanks for the links had no idea about VHD much appreciated.

I've set up in the power options so that a short push on the power button on my PC starts the shutdown process (I think the default is "sleep mode" or somesuch useless crap). I have that both in Windows 7 and 8, then I don't have to remember from which menu the shutdown can be started.

I originally started this practice due to those cases where the system seems to become totally unresponsive (where even Ctrl-Alt-Del doesn't help), kind of as a last resort to try to shut the system down in a controlled manner, instead of giving it a kick. And I am currently in that situation with the Windows 8.1 installation, I get only a black screen if I boot into it. But if I end up there, pressing the power button shortly runs the shutdown process fine. Longer push would be a hard shutdown, without waiting for processes to shut down etc.

After reading this thread I realized how much I like Win 8 for all its shortcomings. It's leaner and meaner than 7, just with some compatibility issues which thankfully GOG have ironed out.

The only reason I went back to 7 was because I thought the guitar couldn't be recorded under 8. To make a long story short, my acoustic/electric has a battery powered pre amp in it, so once I replaced the AA batteries, it's worked like a charm.

Just reinstalled Win 8, tested the guitar in my Music Creator Pro, and it works. No reason to go back to Win 7 now, unless I want to play through Dungeon Siege 1 again. Definitely staying away from 8.1 after reading this thread though. I seem to remember 8.1 stripped the compatibility tab out of properties as well, which is something I live and die by, gamematically-speaking.

I really, really don't like it. Aesthetically appalling, doesn't feel like Windows, a pain in the rear for me to use, and I want an OS designed for an honest to God computer, not a tablet.

If you like it, good for you, but I really just can't stand it.

No, 8.1 still has the Compatibility tab. Nothing has changed there from Windows 8.

I'm on 8.1 and I see no reason to not upgrade. Some apps have more advanced features on the 8.1 versions (e.g. Microsoft's bundled Mail/Music/etc. apps) and there are even some extra desktop tweaks. The impending spring update will also require 8.1.

Really? I don't remember it when I upgraded to 8.1 in December.

My experience:

Pretty annoyed there was no start button, forcing me to fill my desktop with shortcuts!

very annoyed at the right side flip out menu which occasionally ambushes me when I'm trying to click on something else and also frustrates me with its intricate path to simple shut down options - that forced me to put a shutdown option in the toolbar which i sometimes accidentally click on and it shuts down!

Also they annoyed me by holding my computer for ransom with the option to upgrade to windows 8.1 - i could not use *my* computer without first going to the windows store.... Yes they fixed it but the fact that it happened at all just shows the underlying attitude that Microsoft has towards its slaves... uh rr (Clears throat) customers!

Windows 8 makes Windows Vista look good...

Windows 8 gave me nothing but headaches, think it helped kill my laptop really quick after only a year of use.

Another note on Windows 8.1 (more of a compatibility thing more than anything), Saints Row 2 ran in fast forward mode on my Windows 8 laptop, but it runs normally on my Windows 8.1 laptop.

My experience?

I absolutely loathe it. The new interface might work serviceably on it's own on a tablet device, but when combined with the traditional desktop and features it becomes a constantly awkward, jarring, incoherent mess. I could rant about the UI for ages, but will simply say that nothing about it flows, it feels like a prototype with a serious identity crisis. I got to know it on a laptop with a touch screen and I don't think I could stomach it for personal use without it. If I didn't have to be ready to teach others how to use whichever windows version their systems have, I would have simply given up and reinstalled Win 7.

I couldn't tolerate using it for my own systems until I installed ClassicShell and tweaked and modded the hell out of it. I still wish I could replace the ribbon menus in windows explorer for free, I never expected I would hate them as much as I do especially after having no issue with them in Office, but ugh.

I appreciate so many design choices made in Windows XP on my aging desktop more than ever now.

I use it since it released, bought it for 30€ when it was discounted for those upgrading Windows 7. Since 8.1 I enter directly to desktop mode, almost never touch metro. For me, it's like Windows 7+, and I use it like so. So... well, I think I payed 30€ for getting more years of support, I guess, since the use I give to it has no changed from Windows 7.


Looking forward to 8.1 Update 1 though.

I'm looking forward to 8.1 Update 1 Service Pack 1.