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Microsoft Admits Windows 8.1 Update May Bork Your Mouse, Promises a Fix
MojoKid writes "Microsoft has several valid reasons why you should upgrade to Windows 8.1, which is free if you already own Windows 8. However, there's a known issue that might give some gamers pause before clicking through in the Windows Store. There have been complaints of mouse problems after applying the Windows 8.1 update, most of which have been related to lag in video games, though Microsoft confirmed there are other potential quirks. Acknowledging the problem, Microsoft says it's also actively investigating the issues and working on a patch."
You're not kidding - things I've found wrong with it so far (less than 5 hours of use):
- Takes 1-2 hours to install [facepalm]
- Corrupts some Win8 Xbox game saves
- Adds UEFI watermark which can only be removed by installing an update (requires reboot too)
- Changes your folder/theme settings without permission
- Changes the folders setup in Windows Explorer to promote Skydrive (ya right!) and buries everything useful at the bottom
- Re-installs all the garbage you've spent hours uninstalling (bing/news/finance/etc)
- Doesn't restore the start button, just adds a button to bring up the full screen start
- Creates interface lag/"hiccuping" across all programs
- Removes the lease offensive drop corner\
- Enabled touchpad clicking on my mouse, despite the ELAN options showing it as disabled
- Forces powder blue backgrounds on tiles which make reading difficult (no personalization option to change it)
- Pins IE to the taskbar
Everything in Win8/8.1 is counter to productivity and just makes me want to switch to a new OS, unfortunately I wasn't able to downgrade this system to Win 7 64bit and I'm still not confident in Linux's ability to remain stable/repair itself easily without having to frequently re-install.
Every time a USB drive was put in, a new device driver, and probably malware, was installed.
It's even worse than that. It reinstalls the device drivers every time you plug the *same* device into a different USB port. I'd hoped this behaviour would go away when my WinXP work PC was replaced recently with a new Win7 PC, but no - plug USB headphones into each of the 4 front USB ports and it reinstalls the drivers 4 times. That's pretty brain-dead.