Upgrading from XP to 8

[Allen]

Hi all,

I haven't used XP for a while and have barely used Windows 8, so I don't know the inns and the outs of the changes. However my parents have been using Windows XP for years and (in the nicest way possible) it's not easy to deal with changes on the PC, yet I will shortly be upgrading them from XP to 8. Can anyone who is familiar with this upgrade give me a run down of the major changes they might see (obviously I know about the new Start menu, or lack of it should I say) so I can run through it with them when I am done?

They mainly do surfing, emails, Skype with a webcam, transferring photo's from digital cameras, basic photo editing in Photoshop Elements, watching the odd video etc. All their peripherals are quite new so I have no worries about getting the right drivers or getting them working.

Thanks in advance,

Allen

[Willzzz]

In order to make the transition as painless as possible I'd recommend getting rid of and not installing any Metro apps.
The issue most people have is dealing with two different interfaces at the same time.

Once you get into desktop mode then it's really quite familiar to anyone used to XP.
As long as you treat the start screen purely as a method for launching desktop programs then it's hard to go wrong.
Or you could just create desktop icons/quick launch icons for all the programs they use.

[Allen]

Thanks!

Any other hidden nasties I need to be aware of, am doing this in a couple of days.

[Willzzz]

Know where the shut down option is!

Swipe right hand side

[TeaTimeRebel]

In order to make Windows 8 a tolerable experience for myself I had to install a third party tool to bring back the start menu (I just can't get used to living without it). Fortunately, some of the base code for the Windows 7 start menu still exists within Windows 8 so third party developers have been able to leverage this to exactly clone the Win 7 start menu. Personally, I use Start8 which cost me a few dollars, but there are plenty of alternatives out there.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Thanks!

Any other hidden nasties I need to be aware of, am doing this in a couple of days.

I have built a Windows 8 system for a relative recently as an upgrade from a Windows XP system.

I installed the following:

http://www.classicshell.net/

That gives them a Start Menu which they can use if they choose to.