Windows Consumer Preview - Bugs and Annoyances

[Dwarf]

I thought that I'd create a thread where we can list all bugs and annoyances that we find in WCP. I know that some are listed elsewhere on the Forums, but this should keep them all in one place.

I'll start off with the following:

1) Multiple generic icons (and sometimes folder icons) appear in the Taskbar. When moused over, they are blank and clicking, either on the icon or Taskbar (doesn't matter whether left-click or right-click), removes all of them.


2) Most users like to customize IE so that it automatically adds the suffix of their choice to be appended to the URL when using the Ctrl/Shift/Enter shortcut. For me, this is co.uk. I click on Save, but when I go back, it hasn't saved and the shortcut doesn't work.

 

[jimbo45]

Hi there

Two Irritants oherwise overall fine. Actually Irritants rather than Bugs.

One perceived bug.

The Irritants:

1) Cannot Turn Off Automatic Maintenance schedule -- this sometimes activates while you are doing something and can freeze the whole computer for sometimes as much as 5 mins while it's doing goodness knows what.

2) Can't customize the Tiles -- you can move them and remove those you don't want but it's (for a non coding type of person) impossible to change the background or size of Icon on Software installs

For instance I might want Office products EXCEL, WORD and POWERPOINT to have a different Background to say Adobe CS5 5 products like Photoshop.


The Bug

Software UNINSTALL doesn't work properly from the metro screen. If you go into control panel you can usually uninstall Manually via program features in the control panel itself.


Otherwise I'm not complaining -- using it on TWO laptops now as REAL rather than VM's.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[brummyfan]

You can switch off Automatic Maintenance in Defrag.

 

[pmbAustin]

One UI annoyance:

Getting to the PC Settings is pretty unintuitive. It took me a while to figure out that at the BOTTOM of the Charms Bar, there's a little blue bit of text "More PC Settings" that takes me to what is essentially the Metro control panel. Getting to the Desktop Control Panel is, by comparison, very easy. It seems that "PC Settings" should be up at the top with all the other app-specific settings. With an ICON. Or better yet, how about two charms (ther'es plenty of room): One for "Current App Settings" and one for "Global PC Settings"? It would also be nice if there was a simple way to flip back and forth between the PC Settings (Metro) and the Control Panel (desktop).

 

[stevieray]

1) Multiple generic icons (and sometimes folder icons) appear in the Taskbar. When moused over, they are blank and clicking, either on the icon or Taskbar (doesn't matter whether left-click or right-click), removes all of them.

I was just about to post a new thread about this problem. Sometimes I have had 5 or 6 of them, all blank, lined up across my taskbar. I was trying to grab a snip of them, but naturally opening the snipping tool made them go away...

 

[stevieray]

If there is a way to do the following, I haven't found it...

Bug: Once a Windows Live ID and email account has been associated with a User Account during Set Up it can't be changed. Out here in the real world, people WILL have to change Live IDs and email accounts sometimes.

This leaves a user with only a few ugly options: having to sign in multiple times (first to your user account and then again to your new Live ID to use apps), create a whole new user account (and spend days recreating your original look and feel, copying profiles over, getting personalizations into the new account, etc...) or do a fresh installation (and still have to copy profiles, set up personalizations, etc...).

This is a show stopper. Average users will NOT know how to do most of that, and will resent having to spend hours or days doing it. Make the Live ID changeable or you will get nothing but grief.

 

[denni]

My WCP build 8250 cannot read DVD drive, but it looks OK in my second OS (Win 7)

 

[Phone Man]

Lots of errors in Event Viewer. Have you checked yours.

Jim

 

[whs]

I cannot get rid of the password. With every boot I need to put a password in. I never use passwords on my other systems. And in Control Panel\User Accounts and Family Safety\User Accounts there is no 'Change Password' option.

 

[brummyfan]

I cannot get rid of the password. With every boot I need to put a password in. I never use passwords on my other systems. And in Control Panel\User Accounts and Family Safety\User Accounts there is no 'Change Password' option.

Hi whs,
I use this to log on Automatically:

Log On Automatically at Startup - Windows 7 Forums

 

[pmbAustin]

Metro Scroll Bars when using trackpad or mouse:

In applications like IE, where there is a long page to read, I like to park the mouse cursor over the scroll bar (or arrow at the bottom), and just click to page down (or line down) as I read.

The problem with this is that in Windows 8 Metro, if the mouse pointer doesn't move, after a while the scrollbar fades out and disappears... meaning my clicks suddenly do nothing. I have to move the mouse out of the scrollbar and back in to get it to re-appear so that i can continue to scroll down as I read.

This is very annoying.

Proposed Solution: As long as the mouse pointer is over the scroll bar, don't let it fade/disappear. It should stay visible the entire time the mouse is over it.

 

[whs]

Yeah, I did that once and ended up with a mess. My password would not work any more. In hindsight I think because the num lock was turned on somewhere in the process (I did not have a seperate num pad). I would prefer to get rid of the password all together. And thanks for reminding me of that possibility.

 

[whs]

Just found the solution for the password problem. See tip #12 in this page: Maximum PC | The Big Guide: 20 Tips and Tricks to Get The Most Out of Windows 8 - Page 2

Works perfectly. Also implemented tip #11 which works too.

 

[SmartEyeball]

The xbox companion 'not supported' in my region. One of the few apps that might have been useful to me

As much as I like the new Task Manager, not being being able to see exactly how many processes are running in task manager is kind of annoying.

Not being able to add functions to the lower left right-click admin panel.


Finding a function then losing the damn thing again. It's an odd learning curve.

Lots of errors in Event Viewer. Have you checked yours.

Jim

Yes. Lot's of new errors to decipher

 

[Night Hawk]

Besides the Metro UI work around of clicking the desktop button each startup the new lock screen is one large annoyance without any autologin to desktop method or option found as of yet.

Shutdown or restart is even worse with the need to logoff first to unlock the lock screen one more time and then click on the tool gear wheel icon to restart.

The lack of a Start button was a simple add a new toolbar onto the taskbar selecting "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start\Programs\" as the selected folder.

What many will find baffling is the change in the repair tools when booted live from the USB Install Key or 8 dvd used! If you set up a dual boot but keep the present host/OS drive unplugged to see 8 go on as a stand alone and then go to use a program like EasyBCD to add a new boot entry into Vista or 7 BCD store you will need to use the 8 version of the Startup repair tool or see "winloader.exe missing".

The big annoyance at finding the renamed Startup repair option is finding a totally new layout for the repair AND other options now found in the additional screens added! And no you still won't find Startup repair but "Automatic repair" instead. Have a look!



You still see the repair options link under the Install Now button as expected. But wait until what? No OS detected and selected before arriving at a menu of options?



Continue, User another OS, Turn off your PC, and Troubleshoot are what you find instead. So naturally you select the Troubleshoot option but find yourself looking at...



Refresh your PC? sounds like an Upgrade to repair option for an OEM machine. Reset your PC wiping all files out suggests a full clean install or recovery, and one more Advanced option...



And finally you arrive at a screen with some familiar items seen on it! System Restore, System image Recovery for restoration of a full system image, command prompt, and what? no Startup but Automatic Repair is now seen for any startup issues only after you go through the extra screens to find what you were looking for was renamed.

 

[whs]

I am not sure whether those are many errors - but yes, there is a good number.

 

[electricbluej77]

Keep in mind this is a preview (beta) operating system so there is bound to be a few more errors then Windows 7. however I am used to the metro UI now after 1 day and have it set so that on boot, I am auto logged in and after a few seconds the desktop comes up after seeing the metro UI. which by then everything is loaded and ready to go. from turning my laptop to the desktop being viewable is done in 32 seconds. Windows XP still took over a minute (same programs) and Windows 7 took 55 seconds, however could also be that they were 32-bit, whereas Windows 8, I installed the 64-bit edition. and it is going very well. no blue screens or errors, maybe an odd bug here and there that's not really noticed by me any-way. Also battery life is a good 25~ minutes more then XP/7. so that's good. Windows 8 CP even though it is a preview/beta, it is more then ready for the general user in my opinion as long as you can get used to the metro UI, however I do agree in saying they never should of removed the start menu, they should have an option in the final to choose between metro and start as the defaults, maybe add this to the installer somehow. although even if they don't, I think someone would code an installer and add this option as a mod any-way. any-way that's just my 5 cents.

 

[whs]

Yeah, the boot is really fast. 8 seconds in Virtual box and I am on the desktop. I automated sign-in and boot directly to the desktop. Have to time it on my laptop where it is in a dual boot.

 

[Night Hawk]

That's on a VM however not the install to HD as you still have to unlock the lock screen and type in the password, click arrow to arrive at Start screen first. But then you simply click the desktop shortcut which is minor but annoying still.

So far no automatic login options have been found in the CP>System>Advanced while a new reg value similar to what was seen with XP is a thought. That would have to come later however once more is learned about the final not CP version we see now.

There will likely be more then one 3rd party tool available as well as one company is working on a Start8 utility still not available to solve the lack of Start menu which has been a concern.

 

[whs]

See #12 here: Maximum PC | The Big Guide: 20 Tips and Tricks to Get The Most Out of Windows 8 - Page 2