So Windows 8 is the next big thing and I like what they are doing with the Start Screen UI for tablets. Steven Sinofsky has been talking about a "no compromise" strategy and mentioned in the keynote how Microsoft has been "listening" and made 1500 product changes since Windows 7 actually shipped. But were any of these changes good enough to make a difference to the warrant an upgrade for the die-hard Windows XP user to actually upgrade? Have they fixed broken or missing features which are still a problem in Windows 7 since Vista shipped? I am beginning to feel Microsoft has lost sight of fundamentals on the desktop side. Ever since Windows Vista shipped, there are a number of broken features in the Explorer shell, Taskbar, Start Menu, Windows Search, Internet Explorer, the new audio stack, Windows Media Player, Virtual PC and the logon screen. This table below lists the features users with Windows XP have that they no longer have when running Windows 8 (or Windows 7 or Vista). I have tried to be as fair as possible. If you have an issue with a feature represented incorrectly, feel free to contact me.
Suggestions for inclusion of new broken or removed features, workarounds and corrections to this table are welcome.
| Feature | Windows XP | Windows 8 | Windows 7 | Windows Vista | Workaround / Fix for Windows NT 6.x |
| Apps can programmatically set file associations |  |  | | | – |
| Boot to desktop | | | | | – |
| Change advanced appearance settings | | | | | – |
| Windows Flip 3D | | | | | – |
| View devices on a Network Map | | | | | – |
| Detailed Chkdsk statistics when run at startup | | | | | – |
| Previous Versions (Shadow Copies) for local volumes | | | | | – |
| Explorer: Documented and re-usable Explorer view control | | | | | – |
| Explorer: Standard status bar control | | | | | – |
| Explorer: Folder conflict prompt/confirmation | | | | | – |
| | | | | No free GUI but command line robocopy / xcopy tools | |
| Explorer: Set permissions and ownership/audit rights on multiple selected items | | | | | No GUI workaround but command line icacls tool |
| Explorer: Manual refresh or sorting of items | | | | | – |
| Explorer: Freely arrange items via drag and drop within a folder | | | | | Registry hack |
| Explorer: Extensible metadata property columns in columns | | | | | – |
| Explorer: Stacking items by properties | | | | | Classic Shell |
| Explorer: Customize folders with a background picture | | | | | – |
| Explorer: View thumbnails and details for AVI files | | | | | Fixed in Windows 8 |
| Explorer: Ctrl+Enter to open selected folder in a new window | | | | | Fixed in Windows 7 |
| Explorer: Up One Level button | |  (Ctrl+clicking Up button doesn’t open parent folder in new window) | | | Classic Shell, Fixed partially in Windows 8 |
| Explorer: 1-click button to toggle navigation pane | | | | | Registry fix for Windows 7, fixed in Windows 8 |
| Explorer: View folder hierarchy up to the top level in the address bar | | | | | Classic Shell |
| Explorer: Display icons from 16-bit binary files | | | | | – |
| Explorer: Store metadata/tags on the file system for any file | | | | | – |
| Explorer: Store metadata/tags inside the file itself | | | | | N/A |
| Explorer: Operate on more than 15 selected items | | | | | Combination of VBScript and ‘Send To’ feature |
| Explorer: Operate on selected files of different type | | (Only verbs added by shell extensions available) | (Only verbs added by shell extensions available) | (Only verbs added by shell extensions available) | Combination of VBScript and ‘Send To’ feature |
| Explorer: Arrows to indicate subfolders in the navigation pane | | (Arrows disappear if navigation pane isn’t focused) | (Arrows disappear if navigation pane isn’t focused) | (Arrows disappear if navigation pane isn’t focused) | Classic Shell |
| Explorer: Dotted lines connecting folders and subfolders | | | | | Classic Shell |
| Explorer: Display the folder name and icon in the title bar | | | | | Classic Shell, fixed in Windows 8 |
| Explorer: Display the full path in the title bar with Windows Aero theme on | | | | | Classic Shell, fixed in Windows 8 |
| Explorer: Customize toolbar buttons | | (16 x 16 size icons) | | | Classic Shell, Fixed by Explorer Quick Access Toolbar in Windows 8 |
| Explorer: Customize toolbar button/icon size | | | | | Classic Shell |
| Explorer: Customize whether to show or hide toolbar button text labels | | | | | Classic Shell |
| Explorer: Add a password to a ZIP file or open password-protected ZIP files | | | | | Alternative archiving software |
| Explorer: View images inside a folder in Filmstrip view/Preview pane | | | | | – |
| Explorer: View up to 4 image thumbnails per folder | | | | | – |
| Explorer: View total size of files in a folder on the status bar without selecting them all | | | | | Classic Shell can fix on Windows 7 and Windows Vista |
| Explorer: View total size of selected files in a folder on the status bar | | (Up to 99 files only) | | | Classic Shell can fix on Windows 7 and Windows Vista |
| Explorer: View disk free space on the status bar | | | | | Classic Shell can fix on Windows 7 and Windows Vista |
| Explorer: View security zone information on the status bar | | | | | Classic Shell can fix on Windows 7 and Windows Vista |
| Explorer: View tooltip information of selected file on the status bar | | | | | Classic Shell can fix on Windows 7 and Windows Vista |
| Explorer: Enable Details pane & preview pane simultaneously | | | | | – |
| Explorer: Tiles view changes metadata properties shown by sort criteria | | | | | Registry fix to display static properties |
| Explorer: View item properties using Alt-Enter in the navigation pane | | | | | Classic Shell |
| Explorer: View network computers by domain or workgroup tree view | | | | | Registry fix to add legacy network GUID to Explorer |
| Explorer: View accurate file timestamps (including seconds) for recently modified files | | | | | Change the locale |
| Explorer: Undo more than one delete operation for files sent to the Recycle Bin | | | | | Fixed in Windows 8 |
| Explorer: Show file name in file copy/move dialog | | | | | Fixed in Windows 7 |
| Explorer: Associate a file extension with a file type and MIME type | | | | | Default Programs Editor or Nirsoft FileTypesMan |
| Explorer: Associate a file type with a default application | | | | | N/A |
| Explorer: define and edit custom secondary verbs | | | | | Default Programs Editor or Nirsoft FileTypesMan |
| Explorer: Show extension only for specific file types | | | | | Nirsoft FileTypesMan |
| Explorer: Customize icon and description per file type | | | | | Default Programs Editor or Nirsoft FileTypesMan |
| Explorer: Delete file type associations | | | | | Default Programs Editor or Nirsoft FileTypesMan |
| Explorer: Confirm open after download per file type | | | | | Nirsoft FileTypesMan |
| Explorer: Configure file types to browse in the same window | | | | | Nirsoft FileTypesMan |
| Explorer: Browse all control panel items in Classic view | | | | | – |
| Explorer: Load the 32-bit Explorer in 64-bit Windows | | | | | – |
| Explorer view control: custom positioning, custom ordering, or hyperlinks | | | | | – |
| Explorer: Position and lock toolbars on a single row | | | | | – |
| Explorer: Select multiple groups by clicking Ctrl+group header | | | | | – |
| Explorer: Overlay icon to indicate shared folders | | | | | Classic Shell |
| Explorer: Custom folder view when accessing the folder through a library/special folders | | | | | – |
| Explorer: Show column headers in all views | | | | | Classic Shell |
| Explorer: Group items using column headers | | | | | – |
| Explorer: Horizontal scroll bar in navigation pane | | | | | Classic Shell |
| Explorer: No navigation pane scrolling bug | | | | | Classic Shell |
| Explorer: Auto-navigate to folder using keyboard from navigation pane | | | | | Classic Shell |
| Explorer: Keep selection of multiple items across back and forward navigation and after sorting | | | | | – |
| Taskbar: Separation of running programs from non-running programs | | | | | 7 Taskbar Tweaker |
| Taskbar: Floating or docked toolbars (deskbands) on the desktop | | | | | Use any dock or gadget launchers |
| Taskbar: Click to minimize foreground window when grouping is enabled | | | | | – |
| Taskbar: Disable button combining | | | | | N/A |
| Taskbar: Disable button grouping | | | | | 7 Taskbar Tweaker |
| Taskbar: Configure after how many windows to combine | | | | | – |
| Taskbar: Show number of combined windows | | | | | – |
| Taskbar: Show power icon for desktops | | | | | – |
| Taskbar: Network activity animation | | | | | Network Activity Indicator |
| Taskbar: Disable thumbnail previews | N/A | | | | 7 Taskbar Tweaker |
| Taskbar: Disable ‘Always on top’ | | | | | – |
| Taskbar: Select multiple taskbar buttons using Ctrl when grouping is disabled | | | | | 7 Taskbar Tweaker’s Taskbar Inspector |
| Taskbar: Show all power plans | | | | | – |
| Taskbar: 1-click access to ethernet, wireless and dial-up network connection status, settings and enable/disable | | | (Wireless only) | | Network Activity Indicator |
| Taskbar: Per-connection network icon | | | | | – |
| Taskbar: Double click Printer icon to open printer status | | | | | – |
| Taskbar: Sound for balloon notifications | | | | | Registry fix |
| Start Menu | | | (No Classic Start Menu) | | Classic Shell Start Menu |
| Start Menu: Expand ‘Connect To’ and ‘Printers’ | | | | | Classic Shell |
| Start Menu: Hold down Shift key to launch multiple items | | | | | Classic Shell Start Menu |
| Shell: Configure Recycle Bin maximum allocated size globally (across all drives) | | | | | – |
| Shell: Working Downloaded Program Files (ActiveX) folder | | | | | – |
| Shell: Expandable folders under Send To | | | | | – |
| Windows Search: Fast real-time non-indexed search | | | | | FileLocator Lite |
| Windows Search: Advanced search builder UI | | | | | FileLocator Lite |
| Windows Search: Index network shares (UNC paths) and FAT32 volumes | (Both x86 and x64) | (x86 only) | (x86 only) | (x86 only) | – |
| Windows Search: Perform a case-sensitive search | | | | | FileLocator Lite |
| Windows Search: Search NTFS Alternate data streams | | | | | FileLocator Lite |
| Windows Search: Expand environment variables in search locations/paths | | | | | FileLocator Lite |
| Games Explorer: Customize game shortcuts | N/A | | | | – |
| Internet Explorer: Fully customizable position of toolbars and address bar | | | | | – |
| Internet Explorer: Automatically restore previous session | IE7 | IE10 | | IE7 | – |
| Internet Explorer: Dedicated search box with OpenSearch provider discovery and sound notification | IE8 | | IE8 | IE8 | – |
| Internet Explorer: Change pinned site shortcut icon | IE8 | | IE8 | IE8 | – |
| Internet Explorer: Tab list menu button (Ctrl+Shift+Q) | IE8 | | IE8 | IE8 | – |
| Internet Explorer: Page title and icon in the title bar | IE8 | | IE8 | IE8 | Classic Shell |
| Internet Explorer: Progress of individual downloads on taskbar | IE8 | | IE8 | IE8 | – |
| Internet Explorer: Progress bar when loading pages | IE8 | | IE8 | IE8 | Classic Shell |
| Internet Explorer: Page loading errors and Done message on status bar | IE8 | | IE8 | IE8 | – |
| Internet Explorer: Security zone information and Protected Mode in status bar | IE8 | | IE8 | IE8 | Classic Shell |
| Internet Explorer: Cookie blocked and website privacy policy/report | IE8 | | IE8 | IE8 | – |
| Internet Explorer: Completed MB and progress bar for downloads | IE8 | | IE8 | IE8 | – |
| Internet Explorer: Download complete notification with only a sound | IE8 | | IE8 | IE8 | – |
| Internet Explorer: Prompt for location for each download | IE8 | | IE8 | IE8 | – |
| Internet Explorer: Help files | IE8 | | IE8 | IE8 | – |
| Logon screen: Press Ctrl+Alt+Del twice to logon to a hidden user account when not in a domain | | | | | – |
| Logon screen: Select domain names from a drop down list | | | | | – |
| Logon screen: Bypass Autologon by holding down Shift | | | | | Unreliable in Vista |
| Audio: Output simultaneously to multiple audio devices/endpoints | | | | | – |
| Audio: Record ‘Stereo Mix’ or ‘What U Hear'’ | | | | | – |
| Audio: Input Monitoring | | | | | – |
| Audio: Double click to open volume mixer | | | | | SndVolPlus |
| Audio: Volume mixer window saves position, size and is minimizable | | | | | – |
| Audio: Adjust per speaker volume from volume mixer | | | | | – |
| Audio: Select a different MIDI WDM software synth | | | | | – |
| Audio: Hardware acceleration | | | | | – |
| Audio: Multi-channel surround sound effects in games (DirectSound 3D HAL) | | | | | – |
| Graphics Driver Model: Spanned resolutions | | | | | Fixed in Windows 8 |
| Startup Hardware Profiles | | | | | – |
| Hibernate and resume progress indicator | | | | | – |
| Service Pack slipstreaming | | | | | – |
| Speed of clean install | Slow | Fast | Fast | Fast | – |
| Speed of upgrade install | Reasonable | Reasonable | Extremely slow | Extremely slow | – |
| Speed of servicing | Extremely fast | Slow | Slow | Extremely slow | – |
| Advanced System Restore settings configurable (through registry) | | | | | – |
| Help and Support: Index, dual pane navigation, Favorites, History and advanced search options and detailed in-box or online documentation, “What's this" field level help | | | | | – |
| WordPad: Binary (.DOC) Word document format support | | | | | – |
| WordPad: Open XML format support | | | | | – |
| Windows Photo Viewer: Animated GIFs | | | | | Alternative photo viewer |
| Windows Photo Viewer: Printing selective pages of multi-page TIFF files | | | | | Alternative TIFF editing/ viewing software |
| Windows Photo Viewer: Create and edit TIFF annotations | | | | | Alternative TIFF viewing/ editing software |
| Remote Assistance: Voice session and sending invitation via mailto: | | | | | – |
| Remote Assistance: File transfer and clipboard sharing | | | | | – |
| NetMeeting / Windows Meeting Space | | | | | – |
| Windows DreamScene | | | | | – |
| Offline Files: Command line tools | | | | | – |
| IIS in Windows client: SMTP and POP3 servers | | | | | – |
| Virtual PC: Drag and drop sharing | 2007 | Version 7 | 2007 | 2007 | – |
| Virtual PC: Folder sharing | 2007 | Version 7 | 2007 | 2007 | – |
| Virtual PC: More configurable options and VM properties | | | | | – |
| Virtual PC: Physical and virtual parallel ports, virtual floppy disk | | | | | – |
| Virtual PC: Supported guests with integration components | | (Only Windows XP and later) | (Only Windows XP and later) | | – |
| Windows SteadyState | (x86 only) | | | (x86 only) | – |
| | | | | – | |
| | | | | – |
Suggestions for inclusion of new broken or removed features, workarounds and corrections to this table are welcome.
11 comments:
For "Windows Search", a tool known as FileSearchEX seems to offer an XP style experience.
Yes I know about FileSearchEx, I was asked to test a few betas for it. FileSearchEx is a very good tool, fast evolving and matches the Windows XP Search interface. However, for now, I feel FileLocator has the edge as it can search inside file contents in real-time using iFilters, the same iFilters used by Windows Search to index content.
On WinXP a vertical taskbar supports multiple columns. On Win7 you need to scroll between multiple columns, making vertical taskbars practically unusable.
Pretty annoying change, since on widescreens vertical screen space is much more valuable than horizontal screen space.
(No idea about Vista and Win8)
Hi,
i think you forgot a really important feature that was present only in xp: expanding folders on explorer left tree with a single click:
http://connect.microsoft.com/WindowsServerFeedback/feedback/details/313066/explorer-should-expand-folder-tree-the-windows-xp-way
That feature (Single click to expand/collapse folders) is called "Simple Folder View" and is fixed by Classic Shell.
Hi. according to your table XP is totally better in audio, but this says differently:
http://www.createdigitalmusic.com/2009/09/29/obsessive-windows-7-under-the-hood-guide-for-music-can-you-finally-dump-xp/#more-7680
so what it is? after you read the article, the table would change?
thx.
Depends on what matters to you. Are you an amateur or pro musician? Which apps you use? How much audio latency you are getting? Measure it with a latency measurement tool using the various software stacks - ASIO, WDM, WaveRT. Here are two I use: http://centrance.com/products/ltu/ and http://www.thesycon.de/deu/latency_check.shtml . Do you use ASIO-capable hardware and an ASIO driver? Windows 7/Vista have WaveRT for lower latency for PCI audio interfaces but it doesn't support USB audio devices. Sure, there are kernel improvements to scale better but numerous regressions too in audio performance. Depends on the hardware and software stack you use. Is the software you use heavily multi-threaded? Then it should run slightly better on Windows 7. Is it worth the regressions to you? I will recommend Windows XP obviously. :P Windows XP x64 will scale better than Windows XP 32-bit.
Still, the audio advantages of win7 (even if they don't surpass for you the ones of xp)should be in the table, as well of any other possible win7 or win8 advantage that is not there.
That will give more credibility to the table, if indeed win xp is better it should be concluded after seeing all pros and cons.
Still great comparison, congrats.
Sadly, I figure Windows 8 will be a downgrade of functionality for me. I lose features I use regularly and pay to upgrade software that is not Windows 8 compatible, plus buy extra software to replace missing features. I also end up with a desktop that is harder to use.
I am considering doing all Windows 8 development and testing in a virtual machine and keeping my Windows 7 desktop for a while. I have to upgrade VMware either way, so this makes the most sense to me.
The point, "Apps can programmatically set file associations", is incorrect.
Applications can still register the file associations they want.
They just cannot change the default program to handle the file association. Only the user is explicitly allowed to do that.
That's right. They cannot register as the default program. :)
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