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Changing the Shell under Windows 8
Some of you asked questions like how to get to the Desktop on boot
and/or Start Menu. Yes I know about Classic Menu and I have tried it many times and that is one solution. But it only does the Start Menu. I have been swapping out the Windows Shell since Windows 3.1. Sure I would also swap back to Windows Shell at times too. So I know both really well. But around 2007 or before I ran across a shell called Aston. Aston totally changes the desktop and was a very good Windows replacement shell (aka Desktop). Aston has two completely different and incompatible with each other versions, Aston1 or Aston2. I am just going to talk about Aston2 for now, although I know both really well. Aston Shell (aka in this case Aston2) has three parts: Aston Menu (aka Start Menu) Aston Panel (works on sides of screen) Aston Desktop (wallpaper, Desktop Icons, and such) You can toggle any or all parts of Aston Desktop under Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7. So far Windows 8 is unsupported. My attempts under Windows 8 CP on a freshly formatted drive, I could only get Aston Menu to work. Although I believe Aston Panels was working too, but there was a problem. The default is no panels until you create them. And there is no option to create one unless you do so through the Aston Taskbar, existing panel, or through the Aston Desktop. Which none was accessible through a clean install of Windows 8 CP. Currently I have no idea what happens with a fresh install of Windows 8 Pro and then install Aston. But I do know what happens if you use Windows 8 Pro with Aston installed under Windows 7 Home and upgrade it. And I had one panel created under Windows 7. So that solves the problem I had under Windows 8 CP. Now after the Windows 8 Pro upgrade I had access to adding panels. Aston has an option that you can switch back to stock Windows with Aston Shell Swapper. I did and highly recommend one doing so before doing a Windows 8 Pro upgrade. I mentioned that Aston has three parts to it that can be toggled on or off. There is another part that can be toggled which I believe is actually part of Aston Panels. Which is the Aston Taskbar. If you know the Windows Taskbar, it is close to the same thing. Not exactly, but if you know one you can figure out the other. Now after doing a Windows 8 Pro upgrade from Windows 7 with Aston installed, I can now toggle Aston Taskbar on. Wow! Lots of things change. Windows 8 Pro now only boots to Aston, Metro and the Start Screen is gone, and moving the mouse to the edge options are gone (unless it is an auto hide Aston panel). So no background pic, desktop icons, etc. Just one solid color and clicking (left or right) does absolutely nothing. Aston uses widgets. Widgets are very much like Windows gadgets. And under Aston, they can live under panels or on the desktop under XP, Vista, or 7. Under Windows 8, only on a panel. So you still have them but can't be any longer on the desktop. So those interested in a Windows 8 Start button and menu can have them too under Aston. But Aston does far more than that. Unfortunately not the Aston Desktop part yet. -- Bill Gateway M465e ('06 era) - Thunderbird v12 Centrino Core2 Duo T7400 2.16 GHz - 4GB - Windows 7 SP1 |
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