Windows Corner

[Sabretooth78 808]

Ugh that Win95 startup sound still makes me cringe after all these years.

[Compdude787 916]

So I just upgraded my computer from Windows 8.1 to Windows 7 to alleviate some compatibility problems between Win8.1 and SC4. Yes, it is an upgrade because 7 is better. Windows 7 is the pinnacle of Windows OSes so far. It not only has the best UI, but the best-looking shell. In Windows 8 and above, the shell on the desktop looks flat and boring because they got rid of the Aero shell with its transparent look that was introduced in Vista and expanded to the taskbar in 7. Windows 7's shell still looks modern and much more attractive than Windows 8's shell. Windows 7 even has the best startup animation ever. (Windows 8 doesn't even really have a startup screen; it just shows the Acer logo on my computer with the balls spinning in a circle)

 

The problem with Windows 8.x is that there are basically two different UIs, the desktop and the Metro. They are not integrated at all. (It's weird using Windows 7 and having one interface for everything after using Win8/8.1 for a year) Hopefully MS will fix this lack of UI integration on Windows 9, but I wish they had just split Windows into two lines of OSes like Windows NT and 9x, eventually merging them together when they felt the time was right as they did with XP.

 

Anyway, I just wanted to share a few things I had to do to get Windows 7 installed, aside from backing up everything as you're reformatting the hard drive to install Win7. There have been some significant low-level changes to the way things work on computers, most notably the replacement of the BIOS with UEFI, to overcome some limitations with the BIOS. Windows 7 doesn't seem to like the new UEFI and the installer freezes right when it's loading up unless you disable UEFI and switch to legacy BIOS in the BIOS/UEFI settings.

 

Another hitch you will have is the way the drive partitions are set up nowadays, specifically that Windows 7 will not install to a GPT drive unless you have UEFI enabled (which I wasn't able to do). To fix this, you have to do some stuff in command prompt while you're installing Windows to totally wipe your drive and get rid of all the partitions (yes this includes the recovery partition, but who cares, right?). Here's how to do it:

• When you get to the step in the installation where you choose which partition to install Windows to, press Shift+F10 to open up Command Prompt. Type in DISKPART, and press Enter.
• Then type in LIST DISK and press Enter. It will show the HDDs on your computer; if there's just one, it'll be Disk 0 because computers start counting from 0 rather than 1.
• Type in SELECT DISK [disk number] and press Enter. Then type CLEAN and hit enter. Everything's gone; oh no! You backed it up on that external hard drive, right?
• Last but not least, type in CONVERT MBR and hit Enter. Now you're done with what you came here to do, so type EXIT and hit Enter to make Command Prompt go away. (enter to exit? what?)
• Click refresh in the partition selection screen and you will now be able to see the partition that you can install Windows 7 to. Yaaay!!! Windows 7! :D

(Source: Microsoft forum post, scroll down to the bottom of the second page. The MS forum is so helpful!)

So, with those things in mind, you should be able to install Windows 7 without any problems. I figured this out on my phone's internet using Google. I'm giving you this info for free; print it and use it.

If you don't have a Windows 7 DVD sitting around, you're not out of luck. With the use of Google again, you can find Windows 7 OEM versions for sale on sites like Newegg or Amazon. The $100 you'll pay for it will be worth it. Trust me.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

I like the concept of upgrading from 8 to 7.

[Duke87 1,070]

Getting Ubuntu or something like that, flushing Windows, installing Ubuntu, getting used to it, reinstalling all your programs... Too long, too difficult for some.

 

At the end of the day, what average users want from a computer is a box that starts up quite quickly when we reach home, an OK internet connection to get into Facebook, Simtropolis, check the e-mail, stream some series and it doesn't crash when running SC4. And that's Windows, not good, just an OK OS.

 

This. I have a second computer which is dual boot Windows 7/Ubuntu. Ubuntu is fully capable of internet browsing and word processing out of the box, and if those two things were all I ever did with my computer, I would have jumped ship on Windows in a heartbeat.

 

The problem is that if you want to do anything else with it, you have to figure out how to get the necessary software to work, which is easier said than done. Windows is largely plug and play. Linux is anything but. If you are the sort of person who loves tinkering with computers for fun, then Linux is awesome for you. But if, like me, you are the sort of person who sees your computer as a tool for entertainment rather than a source of entertainment in and of itself, it's awful. I could spend hours and hours wrestling with Ubuntu getting everything to run the way I like it... or I could use Windows, which just works.

 

My current primary laptop will have its fourth birthday in October, which means it is due for replacement. I have not yet decided whether I will get a new computer this fall and put Windows 8.1 on it or try and hold out until Windows 9 is released. My computer is in stable working order at the moment, although it has suffered from a few issues before and if it starts suffering again, I think it will be time to replace it.

[Larks2242 251]

I like the concept of upgrading from 8 to 7.

 

Support for Win 7 is ending in January so that will no longer be an option.

 

Said from the company themselves.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

That's really too bad considering that they supported XP long after its best before date.  Dumping W 7 means only that you go on community support.  Just because some O/S is not supported doesn't mean it is dead.  It just means that if you want to use it you are on your own with whatever community resources you can find.

 

With any goodwill at all, MS will have the W 8 replacement out and established before they do anything drastic to W 7 users.  W 8 is really for smartphone users.

[Compdude787 916]

 

I like the concept of upgrading from 8 to 7.

 

Support for Win 7 is ending in January so that will no longer be an option.

 

Said from the company themselves.

 

BTW this is just them ending mainstream support for Windows 7 and instead switching it to "extended support." Extended support means they will continue to release security updates, but not include any updates that add new features. MS is not ending support for Windows 7 in January like they just did with XP back in April. Windows 7 will have extended support until 2020. Don't worry, everyone.

 

Also, Vista has been on Extended support since 2012. But it's still supported.

[Ocram's Razr 963]

That website said that it will be under extended support until 2020.

--Ocram

[Compdude787 916]

Something that's really bothering me about Windows Update is that it won't install all the available updates at once. For the past three days, it's continuing to find more things to update. Why can't it just install everything in one fell swoop?

 

Also, updates really add a lot of bloat to your computer. My C:\Windows folder was around 11 GB when I first installed Windows 7, (as opposed to about 16 GB with Windows 8.1) but now it's around 23 GB, just from installing all those updates. I think that's what causes Windows computers to really slow down over time, with all the updates being piled on top of each other. Blame all those security holes in Windows...

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

One of the things I like about Linux updates is that they replace the entire component instead of just releasing a patch.  Sometimes my residency for the O/S goes down.  My total disk residency is 39.7 GB including 30.3 GB of user (mine) space.  By simple arithmetic the O/S only occupies 9.4 GB and this includes a lot of stuff the ordinary user wouldn't have like several language compilers and accessories for them.

 

The idea that Windows adds a fix component instead of getting replacing a sick component with a repaired one is truly strange.  I suppose they do this to save bandwidth or disk space somewhere, but surely not on the user machine.  I don't understand why this should cause the machine to slow down unless they are branching in and out of these fixes.  This kind of "patching" is very expensive of resources.

 

Someone suggested that fixes should come in a large batch all at once.  This is often not possible as some must be in place before others can be added.

[Ocram's Razr 963]

I am pretty sure why computers slow down is because anti-virus software running in the background slowly hog more and more resources as new versions are released.

--Ocram

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

I am pretty sure why computers slow down is because anti-virus software running in the background slowly hog more and more resources as new versions are released.

--Ocram

Interesting thought.  Surely they must have good search algorithms when looking for signatures.  I would expect some kind of hashing scheme or a B* tree.

 

This kind of data structure is blindingly fast if it is written by a good programmer.

[mrsmartman 200]

My firm has announced to switch from Windows 7 to Windows 8 recently... I don't expect to follow suit for my own PC though as I don't see much improvement from Windows 7.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Your company is bowing to pressure in the marketplace. 

 

How many stations are involved, and how many servers?  What is running as the server software? 

 

This kind of conversion for a corporate net can be trivial for a small outfit or a real horror show for a big net like the last college I worked in.  The college was in bid with CISCO and taught their hardware/software courses, so it would have been easier than for some.  Being a college, BTW, all computer lab machines were initialized every week end as a solution to students who managed to download stuff to specific stations.

[mrsmartman 200]

Your company is bowing to pressure in the marketplace. 

 

How many stations are involved, and how many servers?  What is running as the server software? 

 

This kind of conversion for a corporate net can be trivial for a small outfit or a real horror show for a big net like the last college I worked in.  The college was in bid with CISCO and taught their hardware/software courses, so it would have been easier than for some.  Being a college, BTW, all computer lab machines were initialized every week end as a solution to students who managed to download stuff to specific stations.

They can buy Windows cheaply. Apparently, thousands of notebooks are affected in my office.

 

It really depends on the policies and decisions made by the IT department.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Must be a big place.  Does the IT group do the conversion of the users?  By physical contact or over the network?  Most stations on a network can be reconfigured at worst overnight, in one swoul foop.

[mrsmartman 200]

They will get some new notebooks with SSD. Usually, software can be updated online. Our IT group should have met users' expectation. Part of our revenue is derived from services relating to enterprise system.

[Evandad 109]

I made the switch to mint on my two notebooks,  which could barely run 7 anyways. As for my desktop and laptop,  I'm stuck with windows  8, since I have virtually no say  in my family's computing  choices 

*No pun intended

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

With a little fooling with the EFI on boot, you could arrange a dual boot for W8 with mint.

[mrsmartman 200]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTsp6WH_kkk

 

It seems that Gates loves the days of Windows 95 a lot...

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

I have to admit I watched the whole thing.  Such nostalgia.  Too bad about Windows 8, it is not new and exciting.  It is just new clothes on Windows NT (NT 6.2).  As a marketing organization, Microsoft is probably the world leader.  One day, though, someone there will get the message about international standards, and they will have to fall in line.

[Alejandro24 575]

But look at 6:28... that's how Windows 8 was made!!!!!!

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

You mean beating on a keyboard with a toy bone?  It does somehow look that way, eh?

[MandelSoft 2,769]

Windows 8 attempts to be new and hot and fancy, as the advert suggests. In reality, these new gadgets are more a pain than actually useful...

 

They try to hop on the touch-screen boat too late and did this poorly. Sorry Microsoft; one size does not fit all (especially if you don't have a touchscreen). Thanks for selling me the reason to try out Ubuntu (of which I'm a happy user for almost a year now )

 

From what I've heard, Windows 9 would become what Windows 8 should have been in the first place, bringing back old features that were missing (like the old-style start menu, sorta, and the ability to window metro apps).

 

Also, a little side note. Vista may not be the best Windows version, but I really like the intro screen. It is when the orb pops up and the intro sound plays. It's subtle, but it's perfect for me    I'm missing this with Windows 8 (which is the first Windows version without the ability to even have a start-up or shut-down sound)...

 

Best,

Maarten

[Alejandro24 575]

You mean beating on a keyboard with a toy bone?  It does somehow look that way, eh?

 

Jajajaja, more or less. Windows 8 is terrible... but this scene explains what happened to Windows at the actual version. But coming from a Windows ME commercial is just special, because I don't have nice memories of using Windows ME.

[NoticeInsurge 0]

Anyone still use DOS?

 

I'm surprised that there was a poll submission for that.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Anybody who uses Windows is still using DOS.  How do you think they launch programs?  Windows is a GUI overlay on DOS 6, and has simply digressed from there.

 

Alejandro, somehow I missed Windows ME.  I went straight from 98 to XP with a side trip to 2000 server on a contract.  When Vista wouldn't fit in my breadbox, I went to Linux.

[Compdude787 916]

Anybody who uses Windows is still using DOS.  How do you think they launch programs?  Windows is a GUI overlay on DOS 6, and has simply digressed from there.

That's only true with windows 1.0 to ME, with the exception of the NT line of OSes. NT is its own operating system and although it's probably better than their "built on top of DOS" operating system, it is far inferior to anything based off of Unix. (i.e. Mac OS X and Linux)

On another note, here's a video I found that explains why Windows 8 is such a fail:

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Up to now (Windows 9 development cycle) all recent versions of Windows have been versions of Windows NT.  Windows 8 as I have said over and over identifies itself (in dumps) at NT6.2.

 

In light of the foregoing video, which I heartily agree with, it is time for Microsoft to get off its high horse.  The U.S. government should step on the lack of availability of new copies of Windows 7.  This is a monopolistic practice in restraint of trade and user choices.

 

Furthermore, with the introduction of the very-large-disc supporting UEFI, Microsoft has had the temerity to set the systems up to disallow multiple booting of operating software.  just who do they think they are???  Notwithstanding anything they might say in the EULA or elsewhere, they do not own the end user's machine nor any work he may do.

 

What is wrong with the U.S. Trade Commission?  Who has Microsoft got in their back pocket?

[MandelSoft 2,769]

Meh, if you surpress the Metro Interface by some third party software (like Classic Shell, which brings a classic start menu back among other things) and use a regular mouse instead of a touchpad, Windows 8 is workable; you have just reduced the UI to Windows 7, which is an improvement actually. The clip is a bit exaggerated, but it does hold some truth about the following things:

 

- Most of the lack of control is caused by the lack of context in the Metro interface. It's not clear how you can do basic stuff, like closing a metro app.

- It's hard to get to the Control Panel or Shut Down buttons in Windows 8 vanilla.
- It has two different UI systems; it is inconsistent within itself. What were they thinking?

 

One fail that didn't get mentioned: I once tried Windows 8 on a tablet with a touchscreen. All those swipe movements that worked on my non-touchscreen PC, didn't work on that device.

 

Classic Shell does fix quite some UI problems with Windows 8 (for instance, you can find the Control Panel back in the Start Menu...) and I'm happily using the Desktop interface 99.9% of the time. But it fixes what should not have been broken in the first place. I did "punish" Microsoft by replacing the Windows logo of the Start Menu with the flame of the TU Delft logo... to fire up a proper Start Menu

 

(Although, I found Unity in Ubuntu equally annoying. Glad I got Gnome Classic interface back, and Ubuntu allows me do to that quite easily, unlike Windows 8...)

 

Best,

Maarten