Alternatives to 8.1's Windows Explorer and Task Manager?

[clemenzina]

I'm sure there must be a discussion already in existence but I can't find it.

Please don't tell me off for being a reactionary, but the fact that I am now landed with an 8.1 OS is almost devastating to me. I've made a start at making it bearable to use by installing Start8, and did something else that (can't remember what) so that booting up lands me on desktop very quickly.

Also, I discovered that Dell have reversed the default behaviour for the Fn keys: they're set to 'multimedia' so that they cannot be used as shortcut keys by third-party software. Fortunately that was easily changeable in Control Panel, once you knew (1) what had been done, and (2) where to find the setting. I wonder if this is now common in touchscreen laptops?

I need advice on these two issues:

My Windows Explorer's left panel is a complete mess, with all sorts jumbled together under 'This PC' instead of merely expanding into the drives and partitions that are physically on 'This PC', with everything else like TVs, PVRs and other networked gadgets showing separately.

I also find the so-called "ribbon" navigation and settings less straightforward. I don't want an Explorer replacement with bells and whistles, just one that looks organised and whose menus are easily accessible. One exactly like 7's would be perfect.

Task Manager in 8.1 only shows running programs in its small interface, and to see processes etc it has to become much larger, therefore interfering with things on my screen that I don't want covered up. Is there a compact replacement close to 7's version?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[broe23]

The only alternative to Task Manger is Process Explorer. But you end up loosing a lot of features. Windows Explorer is built into Internet Explorer, so you cannot just up and remove it or disable it.

As for the small interface for Task Manager, that is on if you leave it in "Show Fewer Details". Windows Explorer Left pane options are the same way as you handled them in Windows 7. The Ribbon will not go away. You can minimize it. The Ribbon is actually more efficient than the old way that Microsoft had their menu items. As for the Function Key behavior, they went to the old Mainframe way, that you had Function Keys and PF keys. So that you had the use of 24 Function keys. Basically when set to just press the Function key or go Fn and Function key, it is just a reversal of which is the primary order of use, by user's choice. That can be changed in the Bios for all OEM machines. It is a permanent part of the UEFI bios.

Really you are not going to get much pity on this, because the mass majority is soon to be moving away from 8 to 10.

 

[Ztruker]

Some possibilities in this thread: A Better File Manager than Windows Explorer for Microsoft Windows 7 - Windows 7 Help Forums

Also here: Replace Windows Explorer with a free, feature-rich file manager - TechRepublic

 

[clemenzina]

Ztruker, thank you for the links. I fear that anything suggested for Window 7 will mean more bells and whistles but I'll have a look

 

[TairikuOkami]

Explorer++ as well as Process Hacker can be customized by disabling columns/icons to your liking.

 

[Jody Thornton]

I was also going to vouch for Explorer++. I have mine to look like it's XP Explorer running in Vista. I only use it as a file manager though; not a shell.

 

[clemenzina]

Looks like Explorer++ is going to be the first one I try. Thank you!

 

[clemenzina]

Nope! Explorer++, like the native Windows Explorer, is lumping all sorts of stuff under This PC. The 8 items under OS (C) shouldn't be there, they are on the network and should only be seen under Network.



Does my problem lie with Windows 8.1, not with Explorer? I've never seen this before and I've owned many (too many!) laptops running Windows 7.

Where do I go from here?

 

[Ztruker]

I don't see that in Windows 10 preview so maybe it will be better when you get to it?

 

[clemenzina]

I did register to try Windows 10 but then decided to wait until it's "safer", as my laptops are all very busy and I can't spend lots of time troubleshooting.

Thanks again, Ztruker.

 

[XweAponX]

If it were Windows 8 you could use Ex7forWin8, but it won't work under 8.1, I tried. sorry

 

[Ztruker]

You could try running Windows 10 as a guest under Oracle VirtualBox to play with it and see if it works for you. I do this as well as run it on my Toshiba laptop.