I HATE Windows 8. This is the worst OS ever invented.

rcskypilot,

Thanks for replying and for the extra information about your issues.

I do not know if the issue is related the hardware of your laptop, with drivers for the laptop or with any software that you have installed,  for example any Lenovo specific software.

What I can say is I have never had the issue that you describe, and would suggest that it is not normal Windows 8 behaviour, so don't worry, Windows 8 is not hat bad to use, in fact when it is working correctly it is quite nice. Even if others report the same issue, it is not happening to everyone.

The challenge is how to resolve your Windows 8 installation's abnormal behaviour.  Here are a few suggestions (sadly, all of which I am sure that you have tried before or are unable to do).  Since you mentioned that several of your friends also have the same issue, and I believe you said with the same hardware, it is likely to be that Windows 8 does not have suitable hardware drivers for the laptop model that you are using.

You said, "We all loved the new "Chicklet" tablet keys on the new Lenovo laptops, and we all bought one", so I would ask, "Have you installed a Windows 8 upgrade?"  I am guessing from your previous postings that this is the case, and therefore Windows 8 might not have the correct drivers for your Laptop's model ?  I am an IT manager supporting a small company, and I have wanted to upgrade a number of our laptops but have not been brave enough to do so due to the lack of the manufacturers supplying drivers for Windows 8.  I was please to find that Lenovo has released Windows 8 Drivers for a number of their models (but as yet have not had the time to install an upgrade).  I found this site which helped me locate drivers for one of our models http://support.lenovo.com/en_AU/research/hints-or-tips/detail.page?&AliasID=WIN8-INDEX&rd=1 maybe you can find drivers for you laptop model.

If you can, this is how I was going to attempt an install and test Windows 8's stability.  My intention is to purchase a new hard disk drive, replace the existing drive so that I still have the ability to go back if required, then install a fresh clean installation of Windows 8 with the drivers supplied by Lenovo.  If this worked without any issues, then I would try a straight upgrade to the existing hard disk drives of out other laptops.  I am confident that your IT friends will be able to help on this process, but if you want any tips on how I go about the installation, please ask.

If you are able to do the above, please give it a try.  On a Toshiba laptop, I have tried several times to install Windows 8, but there were no drivers for at least two hardware components, so I had to go back to Windows 7 until Toshiba releases drivers for the models that we have.  Their web site reports that they are in the process of making drivers, so I do not mind waiting.

I do not know if you can do a clean installation, and please do not install any other software or drivers, other than that which comes with Windows 8 and test to see how Windows 8's Charms behave?  If you can this would be a quick test to see if the same issue still exists. At least this would tell you if the issue was directly related to Windows 8 compatibility with your laptop hardware or with other software/drivers that we would normally install after installing native Windows 8.

If you are unable to resolve the issue, I would recommend going back to Windows 7 for the time being, as the problem you describe will make you hate Windows 8, when it is not really Windows 8's fault.  While I am getting used to Windows 8, and do not appreciate all its features, the issue that you are experiencing is not how Windows 8 is designed to work.

I agree that, if they're going to call it Windows, that it should have, oh, say, Windows? I know I'm just being OCD about that.

To give you an example of what I am dealing with, I'm typing this reply, and say I noticed a typo in the last paragraph. Quickest way to fix that is to mouse to the word and fix it.  I put my finger on the mouse pad, and the second I move it, a Charm bar appears to the right, and across the bottom 1/3rd of the screen. I try to move it again, and the Charms pop up again. I hit Esc, and the Charms disappear, and at that point, it's a 50/50 proposition as to whether they'll come back up if I use the mouse. If they DO come back up, then even the Esc key doesn't help, and moving it again kicks it out of my program and into the start screen. The only thing I can do then is to push the Esc key until I'm back here, and then I MUST (no other way will work) press the left click to be able to use the mouse key. Once I've used the mouse and return to my typing, touching the mouse again instantly causes the Demon Charms to reappear.

If I use the scroll bar on the right side at all, there is no escape. As soon as I try to mouse off the scroll, the Demon Charms have me and won't let go, no matter hat I do. I use the Esc key, and the left mouse click, but nothing works. The ONLY way to get the mouse free is to "slap" it to the left, and hope the cursor wings away from the scroll bar without the Charms catching it. That takes 30 seconds of fussing, every single time. If I hit my Down arrow and the screen doesn't scroll down, then I know I'm in for it. Not being able to use the scroll means no internet. THAT is a real hassle, as I always do my research on the web as I write.

It makes it so difficult to use that I reach for my old XP laptop when I need to search on the internet. Surfing the web is all but impossible, with the Charms screen coming up over and over.

As an author, I use primarily MS Word (Office 2010). This Lenovo has the nicest touch of any keyboard I've ever used, and once I tried it in the store, I had to buy the laptop. I was right about it; it almost doubled my speed, and reduced my typos by more than half. To a writer who would rather concentrate on WHAT they're writing rather than what it takes to get the word down on the page, that becomes the Holy Grail of writing equipment.

Ask any legal secretary or medical transcriptionist, and they'll tell you to use keystrokes instead of your mouse whenever possible; it's much faster. So, I suppose I'm learning beneficial new skills here. But it's taking me out of my comfort zone to do so.

I'll continue to monitor these blogs and hope that somebody finds a patch for this. I've considered installing WIndows 7, which would solve all the problems I have with this. Since I primarily write all the time, my needs are simple and few.

I'm having no problem understanding how the Windows 8 system works, and had no issues at the school for learning the system, other than the Demon Charms, so I'm disappointed at the thought of having to move backwards when I've gone ahead and moved forward with the purchase of this.

Hi rcskypilot,

I am amused by your use of "Demon Charms".  I was disappointed that Microsoft wanted to call there menu "charms", as in the real world "charms" don't work except to the simple minded who are superstitious and believe that they do.   Myself, I just keep thinking of "Snake oil".

I never understood the use of the word "Metro" but now that has been dropped, I don't need to.  I used to think of city train stations.  Have you watched "Dumb ways to die" ?, it was originally organised by Metro Trains in Melbourne, Australia to promote rail safety.

However despite what I think of what words Microsoft decided to use for Windows 8, on my i7-920 PC with 24" monitor (and no other hardware related software other than that which comes Windows 8, I still cannot reproduce the issue of the charms showing unless I place the mouse in either the top corner or the bottom corner of the screen. 

Earlier today I was reviewing a few very nice ASUS Tablet PCs and Laptops, I thought I noticed this behaviour on the ASUS VivoBook laptop, but it may have been just myself not being familiar with the touch pad on the device.

I am currently using IE 10, do you ever have the issue that this forum entry screen jumps up and down when you are trying to type/read when making a reply?  I am hoping that it is just to do with my own configuration. And for some reason, the data entry area is not large enough to display a full line of text before it wraps, so I have to keep scrolling left and right to read what I have written.  This behaviour is very annoying, do you also have this issue?  I also have the bottom scroll bar keep covering the bottom line of text that I am entering.   I keep wondering why Microsoft has not yet fixed these issues.  Other frustrations are not being about to use Flash* or Java in Modern IE 10 are annoying too.   * flash does not work because I cannot control [whitelist] which flash sites I want to visit, thanks Mom for looking after me (Mother Microsoft ), who knows maybe I might visit a site Mom does not want me to visit.

I do not like the full screen nature of the "Windows 8 Modern Apps", I would like to be able to have an option where I can make them windowed, after all, this OS is called "Windows".

I guess we all have our own pet dislikes and frustrations.  I would be interested to learn about other things that you either like or dislike about Windows 8.

There are things in Windows 7 that I never appreciated, like the odd extra "wrapper" pages around Control Panel items, for example the computer name and remote settings.

Hi,

I had a very low opinion of Win 8, and to a certain degree I still do. My biggest objection was being forced to use the new Start Screen on a Desktop machine.

I have found a way around that now with an app. called Start 8. It calmed me down enough that I was able to find some more workarounds for other things that were missing, and find a a number of features that I actually like.

Microsoft could have dramatically reduced the animosity towards Win 8 simply by incorporating what Start 8 does, but someone there is simply to stubborn and pigheaded to permit that. I personally think that individual(s) should be fired.

Prior to trying Start 8, I had located the folder that used to be ALL PROGRAMS, and created a shortcut to it on my Desktop. I also created my own Toolbar by placing shortcuts to my most frequently used tools and applications in a folder and then linking it to the taskbar.

It turned out to be so convenient that I added it to my XP and Win 7 machines.

There are still a number of things that annoy me, though not that much more than learning the new tricks for each new OS, but at this point it is quite close to using Win 7.

I use absolutely none of the Win 8 apps. The ones that were turned on by default are now off, and every time I get a message that "There's a New App For That", I make sure to set the default to the way I have been doing .it

I still think that some Execs at Microsoft need their ***** kicked for unnecessarily causing this type of uproar. Part of which is somewhat mitigated by the temporary bargain basement prices.

It's a whole lot easier to swallow trying a free version, or a $30 to $70 ticket for an upgrade, than several hundred dollars just to find out you hate it.

 

I certainly do not have the issue that you report "7 out of 10 times, when I touch my mouse, no matter where the cursor is at that moment, the charms activate", for me the Charms only display when I purposely activate them.   I wonder what program you are using when you have this issue.

 

 

It happens in every program, and on the internet. I don't have a touch screen setup.

I was at a large dinner last night, and found myself near several IT people, ALL of whom have been experiencing the same thing on their own new laptops, and NONE of whom have been able to get rid of the Demon Charms, or even slow them down.

I DID find one thing we had in common. We all loved the new "Chicklet" tablet keys on the new Lenovo laptops, and we all bought one. They're wonderful to type on (especially for me; I'm an author).

Is this issue common only to them? I don't know, but I seriously doubt it. And I know I'm not alone, because there are many links telling how to to make registry changes to solve the problem. Unfortunately, so far, none of them work.

I've double-checked the Regedit changes I made, and they're still in effect, but at the same time, they have no effect.

And it's closer to 8 or 9 out of ten times that it happens. I've gotten very, very good at using only keystrokes, to avoid the dreaded Demon Charms.