Windows 8.1 or Windows 10?

Hello everyone!
First, I'm not really sure if I'm posting this question in the right place, since I don't have technical problems, but a doubt. If this is not the right place, I apologize.

Well, my doubt is this one, I used to play japanese visual novels in my old pc with windows xp, and never had problems installing or running them. But I bought a new laptop last week, it came with windows 8.1, and I'm receiving the notification to upgrade to windows 10, but I don't know which version is better to play japanese visual novels, especially the old ones, like Lamento or Togainu no Chi.
I really don't know what to do, and haven't installed anything, because I fear that if I install something in Windows 8.1, it may not work if I upgrade to windows 10.

I'd be really grateful if someone with more technological knowledge can enlighten me.

Thanks in advance.

Well, I'd wait to download any till you know which one. I don't really know which one is better since I haven't dowloaded any onto a windows 8, but I bet Windows 10 would be better since its more similiar to Windows 7.

hmmm not sure either. i have windows 8.1 and it runs everything i used to have on my windows vista

i hear windows 10 is more like windows 7, but i also hear that some programs just wont run on it

Like what programs?? o: I hope I don't have any problems when I get a new laptop.

@Taichou; thank you for your reply, I was considering the upgrade, because I'm finding this windows 8 really difficult and confusing (I jumped straight from xp to 8), but I'm still not sure


Hi @cabbit_girl; thanks to you too. But, really? windows 10 is not that good? Oh! I'm at a loss here. But thanks anyway ;)
I'd also like to know some examples of programs that don't run on windows 10

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zer00

@Taichou; thank you for your reply, I was considering the upgrade, because I'm finding this windows 8 really difficult and confusing (I jumped straight from xp to 8), but I'm still not sure


Hi @cabbit_girl; thanks to you too. But, really? windows 10 is not that good? Oh! I'm at a loss here. But thanks anyway ;)
I'd also like to know some examples of programs that don't run on windows 10

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I'm not certain which programs dont run on it, but at work, our IT consultant told us NOT to upgrade to windows 10, because they could not guarantee all our office software and programs would work with it yet.

btw, you can make windows 8.1 look more like xp,vista, 7

How To Make Windows 8 or 8.1 Look Like Windows 7 or XP

that's how i use windows 8.1 it look pretty much like windows 7 for me

Thank you so much @cabbit_girl; now I guess I'll keep my 8.1 version. And thanks for the link, I didn't know I could change the look of this version. You've helped me a lot :oops:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zer00

But I bought a new laptop last week, it came with windows 8.1, and I'm receiving the notification to upgrade to windows 10

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From personal experience and talks with other VN enthusiasts I'd say Win 8.1 can be pretty iffy to run a few of the early-2000's visual novels (especially the more demanding ones with lots of special effects, more so on a low-end laptop); but Windows 10 is even worst. I know multiple cases of folks who upgraded from 8.1 to 10 and all of a sudden the VNs they had installed on their PC simply stopped working. In some extreme cases even uninstall/reinstall wouldn't fix the problem. So I'd run from Win10 like from the plague until such time it becomes a standard you cannot avoid (i.e. it comes pre-installed on whatever new PC you obtain in the future).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zer00

but I don't know which version is better to play japanese visual novels, especially the old ones, like Lamento or Togainu no Chi

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I am running Win8.1. I have Togainu no Chi installed and it seems to work but I have actually played trough it yet. Lamento I am currently playing and it is the buggy-est patched VN I've had so far with an awful tendency to "freeze", and then you HAVE to use Task Manager to end it and re-start. When I run Lamento I disconnect from the net and make sure every other program is closed. Before going to the Load/Save menu I exit full screen (press F) and I avoid opening the config menu or backlog unless absolutely necessary. By trial and error I learned this seems to decrease the chance of a "freeze". Oh, another thing if you try to save during a choice it might take quite a bit to get into the Save Menu and it is easily mistaken for a total "freeze". What I do is exit fullscreen, move the mouse around a bit, make sure the icon is NOT above any of the choices, press "S" then minimize the window and what half a minute or so. Then I open the window again and (hopefully) it displays the Save Screen.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zer00

I really don't know what to do, and haven't installed anything, because I fear that if I install something in Windows 8.1, it may not work if I upgrade to windows 10.

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Like I said my advice is forgetting about Win10 and stick to what you have. For the purpose of playing VNs you should do this if for no other reason than Win10 being so new it has few users and they've used it for a short time. If you have tech issues with a VN on Win 8.1 then pool of fellow gamers you can turn to advice based on their empirical experience will be much greater. For Vns from about a decade ago I'd say it will be pretty impossible to find a sizeable number of people that have played them using anything other than a pre-Win10 OS.

Also, VNs or no VNs I recommend not making any Windows updates, and disabling Automatic Updates. A modern OS is like an ubber-complex rubik's cube. You fix one side and usually screw up something on another. Unless you have a tech issue *right now* that needs to be solved and you've exhausted every possibility working within the framework of your OS as-is I would warn you against altering it with updates.

If you are running a VN that has to be installed (as opposed to simply extracted) do not install it under the standard directory "Windows/Program Files (x86)". Just create a root folder "Visual Novels" or something and install it there. There are a few rare VNs, even some designed for Win8.1 that for some obscure technical reason I haven't been fully told simply will not work if you install them into that directory.

Last but not least, it goes without saying and I'm sure you already took care of it but if you are going to play patched Japanese VNs then changing System Locale for "Japan (Japanese)" is a must, especially so for Nitro+Chiral games.


As for Win8.1 being "confusing" as you said, that is true for every Win OS that gets a graphics/interactivity overhaul. I've been trough it before and after a couple weeks you'll adapt your brain to the specifics of the system trough simple practice. I haven't seen a working version of Win10 but I don't think similarity with Win7 (assuming it is true) from a user's perspective compensates the risk of VNs simply not working.


Edit: Oh dang! It took me an hour to make my reply and meanwhile the OP has already decided to keep his Win8.1. :)

@vargr1105; thank you so much!! Your reply was awesome, so detailed! I really appreciate the time it took you to write it :lovelove:
Thanks a lot for sharing your personal experience with Lamento, that's the one I want to play right now, and your experience will surely be helpful.
Oh! I wish I had asked before, I had two large updates during the first days I bought it. I hope they didn't do any harm.:(
Yes, I haven't installed anything yet, but I've already changed the System Locale to Japanese (since I used to play in my old pc, I knew I had to; though it took me a while to figure out how to do it on the windows 8)
Thanks again for all of your advices, they are really helpul:happy:

No problem. I have a bad reputation of writing "walls of text" anyway so I'm glad you found this one helpful. :)

From helping other people on this forum with their issues in the two different versions of Windows, I've found that Windows 10 is a little more forgiving of the older games... to a degree.

Monokuroe and I did a few tests on some of the more common games people play in Windows 10 to see if they work, and what would happen with them.

http://aarinfantasy.com/forum/f49/t1...d-windows.html

There are obviously a lot of others missing, but a good portion of them do work in Windows 10.

The usual suggestions still work here... Don't install to the default location if you can help it (Outside of C:\Program Files (x86)\ ), make sure your System Unicode Locale is set to Japanese (Not just system location), and always try to find NoDVD versions of the game if you can.

^^

Thank you so much for that, it helps.

Lol I wasn't able to update that since I lost my HDD, and I'm swamped IRL T_T You guys are free to contribute there.

Many people have told me 8.1 is worse than 8 for some reason. But if there is one advantage of 8.1 over 10 is the availability of secdvr.sys.

There older games that need the secdvr.sys (a driver that is associated with CD/DVD security/anti-piracy), and these will definitely not work with Win 10. Secdvr.sys is still available and in use in Win 8.1, but Win 10 removed it completely due to security exploit issues. Win 10 will also block any attempt to enable the driver.

Games like Lamento and Togainu Chi that use the CD/DVD to play will not work at all in Windows 10 even if you emulate the mounting of CD/DVD because of the lack of this driver. For these games to play, you need to download the no-CD/DVD patch. If there is none, tough luck.

There is a way to have secdvr.sys to work on Win 10, but that requires technical knowledge.

Kojichan; thanks you so much for the information and suggestions:oops:. The thread you mentioned surely is helpful. But I think I'll stick to what I have for now, I'm not very good with computers, so I fear I might break something if I experiment with it.


monokuroe, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge, I didn't even know what was a secdvr.sys, but I'm glad you enlighten me. :)