How to disable gestures (charms bar, edge swipes, etc...) without changing the registry

I have found that every suggestion regarding disabling the Charms bar right-edge-swipe fails to resolve the problem. Probably it's because of whatever cluster%*$# Acer and Microsoft have agreed to perform together. So I took matters into my own hands.

Event though there are no Windows 7 drivers for my machine (Acer V5-473p-5602), I decided to see what could be done. I ended up with a blazing fast Windows 7 machine.

Firstly: Understand that I have no responsibility for bricking your machine. Anything you do is your responsibility.

Secondly: Clone your existing drive (not just the volume but the entire drive so you may restore things if it goes horrible wrong). I used the free EaseUS Todo Backup's Clone option and it worked like a charm champ. (Sorry; charm is a bad word.)

Download all the drivers from your mfr's website for your model. It is probable some of them will actually work in Windows 7; they did in my case. (Do note that some machines may actually have Win7 drivers available so you'd be in a much better place.)

My Acer's BIOS was set to boot in UEFI mode. Whatever I tried to do, I could not boot from the Windows 7 DVD I had. So, as I had everything already cloned, I tried setting the boot mode to Legacy. Immediately thereafter, F12 (the Acer's boot menu) now showed the USB DVD drive I had connected while the Windows Management Loader (don't remember what MS calls it; it's the thing that -forces- Win8 upon the machine) was gone. (*Yes*).

I booted with the Windows 7 DVD and blew out all the volumes, then let the DVD complete the installation. No hiccups.

Finally, after a few reboots, I checked Device Manager and saw a number of unidentified devices. In the case of my Acer, both LAN and WLAN were non-functional but the Win8 WLAN driver worked. I was then able to download whatever else I needed. The Win8 elan trackpad driver also worked. Knowing the brand and model of the devices in your machine before now would be a really good thing so you may search the web and find the drivers you need.

After a few Windows updates, everything is working (including the webcam) although there is one "USB hub" noted in the Device Manager that I'm still having trouble identifying. It might be for some weirdly-shaped port on the rear of the unit that I've never used and can't see a use for.

As for speed, well, before I did the installation I had swapped in a Toshiba 250GB SSD and Win8 -did- boot faster but it was still a lot slower than I had expected. Once I did the Win7 installation (even with the Legacy mode enabled), it now takes about 12-14 seconds to boot. In fact, booting is so fast that there isn't even time for the four colored dots to turn into the MS logo during boot. This is the fastest Windows machine I've ever used. I'll post a video when I get a chance.

Oh, one more thing: This Acer has a touchscreen and, even without a specific driver, IT WORKS. So I can have the benefits of a touchscreen without being saddled with Win8.

Bottom line: Windows 8 is an abomination. Whoever came up with the idea of forcing the Charms bar down our throats should be beaten with sharp sticks and kept away from computers forever.

Barry

Glad you got rid of your annoying charms.  What a relief huh. To get to control panel use Windows key + X will give you a pop-up menu in left corner.

Thank you!!! I finally had to bite the bullet and get a new PC with Windows 8, and these issues were driving me crazy too. This seems to have fixed them. Now that I've disabled edge swipes, however, how do I get to the control panel (short of installing Classic Shell, to which I may yet be driven)?

(Just in case anyone from the mother ship is reading and actually interested, count me as joining the already enormous horde that can't fathom what possessed Microsoft to do this dreadful "upgrade." I've heard rumors that they've finally stopped trying to tell everyone how much they should love it, and a return to sanity is in the works. It can't come soon enough for me.)