I have some questions about a Dell laptop I just got

reble

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This is a Dell Inspiron 3541, OS win 8.1 that I just got. There is a screen capture of the sys info, 1st picture. I see that There is differences between Win 8.1 and Win 7 Home that I am used to. The Dell laptop came with Win 8.1 in it. I don't know if it is OEM or a store bought Win 8.1. I have found a bunch of useless (useless to me) prog's on this laptop and a good chunk of them running in the background. There is a few things I have found out while screen capturing the pictures bellow. Like the 1st start window instead of going straight into desktop and no real start menu. On the screen capture picture "pc setup" I find no way to back out of the page and back to the desktop. The page is in full screen mode. The only way to get out of it is to use Ctrl, Alt,Del. The same thing happens when I open a picture file and Win defaults to the photo's prog.
I don't have a Windows 8.1 install cd. Only Win 7 Home 32bit and 64bit. Should I keep Win 8.1 on the laptop and buy the install cd or dump the partition and install the Win Home OS
 

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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell
    Memory
    4 gb
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    ZoneAlarm
This is how Win8 works. There is no Start Menu and it doesn't automatically go into the Desktop.

I "fixed" both by purchasing and installing Start8 from Stardock.

But there are other Menu apps available now, including ClassicShell.
 

My Computer

That's part of my questions. What about all the files and prog's running in the background? And what about the fact of some windows app's opening in full screen with no way to close the app (that I know of at this time) except to use CTRL + ALT + DEL. I just though of this. There must be a keyboard cmd to get the current Windows screen out of full screen mode. I think I will try to find it. But before I go further on. Is it worth keeping Win 8.1 and go out and buy an install disk? Or dump the whole partition and install Win 7 Home? I have both the 32bit and the 64 bit install cd's.

This Dell laptop is running about 4x faster then the HP Compaq Presario C700 that I was using. And all The USB peripherals that I am running are not dragging the overall Windows speed down and overheating the laptop, like what was happening with the C700 laptop.

This is how Win8 works. There is no Start Menu and it doesn't automatically go into the Desktop.

I "fixed" both by purchasing and installing Start8 from Stardock.

But there are other Menu apps available now, including ClassicShell.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell
    Memory
    4 gb
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    ZoneAlarm
I used Start8 when I had Win 8/8.1 Made it look like Win 7. However, I've moved on to Win 10 and use the "native" start menu, as they have "tamed" the start menu (and offers optional Win 7 style access to many menu options). Doesn't take long to get used to.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Built
    CPU
    i7 6700K
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus VIII Hero
    Memory
    16 Gb G Skill TridentZ DDR4 3400
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel (i7 CPU)
    Sound Card
    RealTek Integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    27" Dell SE2717HR
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080
    Hard Drives
    500GB Samsung 850 SSD, 3TB for backups
    PSU
    EVGA Supernova 750 G2
    Case
    BeQuiet Silent Base 600
    Cooling
    Deepcool Captain 120EX
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Wireless
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    Cable - 100MB Downlink
    Browser
    Edge/Firefox
    Antivirus
    Microsoft
    Other Info
    Sonar Platinum 64 bit recording studio software with MOTU 896Mk3 Hybrid recording interface unit.
I'm one that used Win 8 and Win 8.1 without any 3rd party menu program as I never felt the need. With Windows 8, MS decided that the average user was Ok with allowing the OS to manage when apps were actually closed. When you switch to another app in Windows 8, the app doesn't close but essentially goes to sleep. If it is needed again, it can be loaded very quickly. If other demands on memory dictate it, the OS would close all apps that hadn't been used recently in order to manage memory. Unfortunately, Windows users were too entrenched in the old model of completely closing an app every time and so wouldn't accept that mode of operation. In Windows 8.1, MS did bring back the top bar, complete with an 'X' in the upper right corner. It is hidden until you hover over the top of the screen with the mouse pointer. However, clicking the 'X' to close the app doesn't remove it from memory. In order to remove an app from memory in Win 8.x, it requires that you drag the top of the app toward the bottom of the screen until it's window shrinks. At that point, you need to hold the app there and wait for the shrunk window to flip over. Once it flips, the app is then removed from memory. It's definitely not obvious how to do but it isn't hard to get used to.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W10 Pro (desktop), W10 (laptop), W10 Pro (tablet)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home built i7-8700K, Hp Envy x360 EVO Laptop, MS Surface Pro 7
    CPU
    3.7Ghz Core i7-8700K, 11th Gen Core i7-1165G7 4.7Ghz, 10th Gen Core™ i5-1035G4 1.1Ghz
    Motherboard
    ASUS TUF Z370-Pro Gaming, HP, MS
    Memory
    16G, 8G, 8G
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon RX580, Intel Iris X Graphics, Intel Iris Plus Graphics G4
    Sound Card
    ATI High Definition Audio (Built-in to mobo)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dual Samsung U32J59 32 inch monitors, 13.3" display, 12.3" display
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160 (Desktop), 1920x1080 (laptop), 2736x1824 Pro 7
    Hard Drives
    500GB ssd boot drive with 2 & 10TB Data (Desktop), 512GB ssd (laptop), 128GB SSD (tablet)
    PSU
    Corsair CX 750M
    Case
    Antec 100
    Cooling
    Coolermaster CM 212+
    Keyboard
    IBM Model M - used continuously since 1986
    Mouse
    Microsoft IntelliMouse
    Internet Speed
    665Mbps/15Mbps down/up
    Browser
    FireFox, MS Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender on all
    Other Info
    Retired in 2015 after working in the tech industry for 41 years. First 10 years as a Technician, the rest as a programmer/software engineer. After 1 year of retirement, I was bored so went back to work as a Robotic Process Automation Consultant. Retired for 3rd (and final) time in 2019.
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