Author Topic: Windows 7 (Read 30345 times)

Xalanx · « **Reply #25 on:** November 19, 2009, 14:30 »

I have tried W7 on my wife's laptop and these are the bad:
- explorer doesn't show the amount of free space on the selected hard drive in the status bar
- systray icons look rubbish
- standard start menu is gone with the wind and the replacement is cr@p
- is not faster (not noticeably anyway) than Vista
well..... there are many bad things in fact, I'm just too lazy to type them down. Conclusion? Thanks, but no thanks.

lisafx · « **Reply #26 on:** November 19, 2009, 17:27 »

Quote from: eppic on November 02, 2009, 00:45

Lisa,

I got a gateway FX desktop with the Intel I7 core. Im AFK till tomorrow aft but I prefer gateway or other more generic PC's over HP sine HP's dont like hardware being added all that much. Ive found with HPs that once I start upgrading RAM, graphic cards or adding a hard drive, they tend to crash.
My gateway also has two eSATA hard drive bays in the front, so I can add two extra drives(I already added a 1tb drive). I can get you the model number once I get back home if you like.

Thanks Eppic.

Don't know how I missed your reply somehow.

I ended up getting the HP after doing some research. It has arrived and is having to wait for Saturday for me to get it all hooked up and start playing with it.

My current PC has been pausing to think too much and slow as molasses for the past few weeks in spite of defragging and daily registry cleanings and removals of spyware. I guess that's it's way of telling me I was right the spend the money on an upgrade

Kngkyle · « **Reply #27 on:** November 19, 2009, 20:17 »

I was thinking of upgrading but I really have no problems with Vista. So I suppose I'll just spare myself the hassle and stick with it.

hlth · « **Reply #28 on:** November 20, 2009, 01:50 »

I've been using Windows 7 since February (beta version). It was working better (much) than Windows Vista already. That's how much of an improvement it is. I then tried the Release candidate and it worked well but was slowed down by the upgrade process (I should have done a clean install).

I recently installed the final version and it's just spiffy and great. Finally worth the upgrade. And the software are finally becoming windows 7 compatible. I had a beta version of Kaspersky for a while and there were some quirks. The new one runs smoothly.

Sharpshot: Your issue sounds strange. What folders cause you this problem?

Hugo

eppic · « **Reply #29 on:** November 20, 2009, 02:08 »

Code: [Select]

I ended up getting the HP after doing some research.  It has arrived and is having to wait for Saturday for me to get it all hooked up and start playing with it.

HP's are OK as long as you don't start adding hardware or making hardware upgrades. I've found if I start adding internal hard drives or adding RAM, upgrading the graphic card etc they tend to crash; maybe too much proprietary stuff in HP's that doesn't like to play with other stuff. That's one reason I went with Gateway this time around (more generic internals).

sharpshot · « **Reply #30 on:** November 20, 2009, 03:18 »

Quote from: hlth on November 20, 2009, 01:50

..Sharpshot: Your issue sounds strange. What folders cause you this problem?

Every folder, I can't move any file around in any folder. I can move them around on the desktop but that is it. I have see someone else mention this in a forum but there weren't many replies, so perhaps it is a glitch on my computer.

Magnum · « **Reply #31 on:** November 20, 2009, 09:42 »

Isn´t right-click and change settings working in Win7 ?

lisafx · « **Reply #32 on:** November 20, 2009, 10:05 »

Quote from: hlth on November 20, 2009, 01:50

I recently installed the final version and it's just spiffy and great. Finally worth the upgrade. And the software are finally becoming windows 7 compatible. I had a beta version of Kaspersky for a while and there were some quirks. The new one runs smoothly.

Great to hear how well it is working for you Hugo

I had thought that software that ran on XP and/or Vista would also run on Windows 7. I have had no problems with Vista - I am only upgrading to get faster hardware. Will I have to upgrade my software too?

eppic · « **Reply #33 on:** November 20, 2009, 16:29 »

You shouldnt have to upgrade your software Lisa; at least that's been my findings so far. I've upgraded some of the software installations to the 64 bit version where available, but so far everything that's worked for my on both XP and Vista has had no problems on Windows 7. Even some of my old Windows 95/98 games work on Windows 7, so backwards compatibility is far better than Vista ever was.

lisafx · « **Reply #34 on:** November 20, 2009, 17:28 »

Very good news! Thanks Eppic.

My husband will be thrilled! I think he still has a disk with Chip's Challenge on it somewhere that he's been dying to play again

sharpshot · « **Reply #35 on:** November 20, 2009, 18:20 »

I did some more research and windows 7 doesn't allow the order of files in a folder to be moved around with the mouse, like XP and Vista did, there are only auto-arrange options. I will have to change the way I work.

lisafx · « **Reply #36 on:** November 20, 2009, 18:54 »

Quote from: sharpshot on November 20, 2009, 18:20

I did some more research and windows 7 doesn't allow the order of files in a folder to be moved around with the mouse, like XP and Vista did, there are only auto-arrange options. I will have to change the way I work.

Wow, that's a PITA. There is no workaround? That will mess up some of my workflow too.

MikLav · « **Reply #37 on:** November 20, 2009, 18:54 »

I am quite happy with W7 64 bit after using it for a couple months.

sharpshot - I am not sure I understand what you mean. Are you talking about file sort order in Windows Explorer? You can easily change it by clicking on corresponding column title (Name, Size, Date, etc)

sharpshot · « **Reply #38 on:** November 21, 2009, 03:49 »

^^^I can change the order using the list but I can't click and drag a file to make my own order, like I could in XP and Vista. There were lots of times I used that feature, now I will have to change.

There might be a way around it, using one of the free alternatives to explorer but I will see how much of a PITA it is first:-

http://www.computerpoweruser.com/editorial/article.asp?article=articles%2Farchive%2Fc0908%2F40c08%2F40c08.asp&articleid=56899&guid=06D3722DF4D44ECC83350DB47EC753A2&searchtype=0&WordList=FILE+EXPLORER&bJumpTo=True

MikLav · « **Reply #39 on:** November 22, 2009, 06:27 »

ah I see... I never ever used that feature so I didn't notice it's gone

Whiz · « **Reply #40 on:** November 22, 2009, 18:45 »

The only problem I've been having with Windows 7 (64 bit - home version) is that Windows Explorer randomly crashes. It's no big deal; I just have to reset it, but it is annoying. And I'm not the only one with this problem. But overall, I give Windows 7 four out of five stars.

cybernesco · « **Reply #41 on:** November 23, 2009, 10:40 »

I have dual drives, so I have done a clean install of W7 Home Premium 64 bits on the second drive while keeping Vista Home Premium 64 bits on the first, which, thereafter, the computer’s bios menu automatically gave me the choice on which OS to boot. I had a copy of Photoshop CS4 on both drives. This way, I could figure under which OS, Photoshop CS4 was the most performing with the same computer. To me the performance of my Wacom tablet under CS4 was the most important point in deciding which OS I was going to keep.

After flawlessly going through the initial W7 installation, getting all updates and installing Norton Antivirus, I let W7 decide which driver to install for all my hardware. W7 had Microsoft driver versions for all my components, nvidia 9800, Wacom tablet, Canon printer, ect.. After this was all done, at first, everything appeared to work good…however after trying CS4, I was not so sure anymore.

Under CS4, the Wacom tablet pen was very sluggish, very slow to respond and definitely much worst then CS4 under Vista. As well, panning and smooth zooming were no longer working as it did under Vista. Under CS4 preferences, the video card “open GL” option was greyed out and could not be activated as in Vista which is required for the panning and smooth zooming. I figured that the provided Microsoft nvidia driver was probably the culprit. From the nvidia website I got their own driver specifically for W7 64 bits. Bingo, “open GL” got activated and thereafter, panning and smooth zooming was back. But, the Wacom tablet pen was still very sluggish and slow to respond. Again, maybe the provided Microsoft Wacom driver was the culprit. From Wacom website I got the driver. This time, not Bingo, still sluggish and slow to respond. To me, if this problem could not be resolved , I was ditching W7 and keeping Vista. After spending all afternoon trying to figure this out without success, I re-uploaded the Wacom driver from the Wacom website and this time Bingo….it works. It went from worst then Vista to much better then Vista just because of a couple drivers.

To make a long story short. When changing OS, always try to get drivers from the original companies where your hardware are from before using the Microsoft ones. Everything is now much faster then Vista, from booting to shutting it down as well as much better performance with CS4 and the Wacom tablet pen which is a big plus for me. Denis

lisafx · « **Reply #42 on:** November 25, 2009, 17:14 »

Really extremely useful info about the drivers Denis. Thank you!

Just as an update, my HP Pavilion Elite arrived. I spent about 20 hours over three days trying to get it configured with my software, etc., and on support calls because the thing was so buggy.

It kept freezing up at random times, for no apparent reason, along with other strange things like the video card blinking off and then recovering, internet access one day and none the next, etc. Just a whole lot of issues.

Their support was just awful - their only solution was to keep having me do system recoveries, which of course wiped out 6 hours of work adding software and configuring the thing the way I wanted it.

Finally I returned it. Googling HP Pavilion Elite with the i7 processor it turns out that apparently they have faulty mother boards. There is a class action lawsuit filed about it. I am breathing a big sigh of relief that I sent it back rather than continuing to do system recoveries forever until the return period expired.

After some research I have ordered a Dell XPS 9000. It appears much better reviewed than the HP. Keeping my fingers crossed this will solve my speed problems. Hopefully I will be able to stand looking at the fugly red and white case...

sharpshot · « **Reply #43 on:** November 25, 2009, 18:41 »

So far windows 7 has been great but today my PC wouldn't shut down and I found the problem was a windows update KB976098 that wont install. I have tried to install it a few times and the same thing happens. Anyone else having a problem? System restore sorts it out and I switched to manual updates but I never had a problem like this with vista.

Suljo · « **Reply #44 on:** November 25, 2009, 20:55 »

My Commodore 64 is still running...

(under poor Mitjotoft Basic)
Eh why you dont install MAC OS on this cans and solve all you problems. I dont really dig out why Mitjotoft make Vista at all (money, money is the honey for DeBillGates and his dancing monkey Balmer to make it from thin air).
I dont know anything about this what they called 7 but from Mitjotoft I dont expect nothing what is dont seen before.
Allways will be some kind of vulnerable final beta + xx No's of essential service packs which will slow you can on speed slower than cans you have few years before.
Bah I am so boring with this MAC vs PiCi crap stuff.
Basic think is that works in background with no vunarebillity and give healthy surround for you primary applications from which you are living from without thinking what OS is doing or is it doing well and this was not the case in Mitjotoft OS.
I am not baby sitter at all for buggy OS...

lisafx · « **Reply #45 on:** November 26, 2009, 13:25 »

As usual, Suljo has added nothing remotely relevant or useful to the conversation.

graficallyminded · « **Reply #46 on:** November 26, 2009, 16:10 »

Quote from: lisafx on November 25, 2009, 17:14

Really extremely useful info about the drivers Denis. Thank you!

Just as an update, my HP Pavilion Elite arrived. I spent about 20 hours over three days trying to get it configured with my software, etc., and on support calls because the thing was so buggy.

It kept freezing up at random times, for no apparent reason, along with other strange things like the video card blinking off and then recovering, internet access one day and none the next, etc. Just a whole lot of issues.

Their support was just awful - their only solution was to keep having me do system recoveries, which of course wiped out 6 hours of work adding software and configuring the thing the way I wanted it.

Finally I returned it. Googling HP Pavilion Elite with the i7 processor it turns out that apparently they have faulty mother boards. There is a class action lawsuit filed about it. I am breathing a big sigh of relief that I sent it back rather than continuing to do system recoveries forever until the return period expired.

After some research I have ordered a Dell XPS 9000. It appears much better reviewed than the HP. Keeping my fingers crossed this will solve my speed problems. Hopefully I will be able to stand looking at the fugly red and white case...

Wow, that's crazy Lisa. Sorry you had to go through that. I have no faith in HP since the company merged with Compaq...their quality level dropped tremendously. We had a Compaq years ago and that thing was a piece of crapola. Some people have great success with HP, I have always just stuck to Dell. Never had any problems with them, other than a failed dvd drive (it was a Sony, so go figure)

Right now I'm waiting on a sweet bing.com cashback deal (it's currently 20% back) in combination with these black friday/cyber monday deals that are going on. It's rough, because not all of the video cards they offer are great either. The one thats really good is the +$180 add on, the nVidia GeForce GTX260 1792MB GDDR3. I was thinking just having a 1GB graphics card would be great for gaming and 3d video acceleration, such as the cheaper option (the GT 220) but it got horrible reviews online.

How much does Photoshop CS4 use the video card acceleration? I'm really not even sure a super high end graphics card is necessary. What do you guys think?
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_list.php it's 10th on the list of benchmark performers

In the end I'm just trying to build a nice i7 machine with like 8gb of ram, and a 1TB hard drive that will serve me right for at least the next 3-4 years. The longer you wait, the more you can get for your money - that's just how this stuff goes. Technology moves way too fast. Macs are out of the question for me, because I can get so much more computer for the money with a PC. To get a similar setup as a $1000 range Dell XPS you're talking $2000-3000 in mac land. To me, that's money better spent on glass, or hmm maybe even the mortgage.

lisafx · « **Reply #47 on:** November 26, 2009, 17:45 »

Quote from: arenacreative on November 26, 2009, 16:10

Right now I'm waiting on a sweet bing.com cashback deal (it's currently 20% back) in combination with these black friday/cyber monday deals that are going on. It's rough, because not all of the video cards they offer are great either. The one thats really good is the +$180 add on, the nVidia GeForce GTX260 1792MB GDDR3. I was thinking just having a 1GB graphics card would be great for gaming and 3d video acceleration, such as the cheaper option (the GT 220) but it got horrible reviews online.

I went ahead and sprang for the updated video card. My current computer is only two years old and I thought it was great when I bought it, but with the demands of editing in both Lightroom and CS3 simultaneously it keeps freezing up. Now here I am having to find a replacement.

Not sure if the problem is too little RAM (I have 4GB and Vista 32bit won't handle any more than 4), or too slow on the video card or what. I just figured I had better get as many upgrades as I could manage without winding up in foreclosure, LOL.

Hope you get a great deal on yours. I will be interested in your impressions when you have it. I will post mine too

KB · « **Reply #48 on:** November 26, 2009, 18:31 »

Quote from: lisafx on November 26, 2009, 17:45

I went ahead and sprang for the updated video card. My current computer is only two years old and I thought it was great when I bought it, but with the demands of editing in both Lightroom and CS3 simultaneously it keeps freezing up. Now here I am having to find a replacement.

Not sure if the problem is too little RAM (I have 4GB and Vista 32bit won't handle any more than 4), or too slow on the video card or what. I just figured I had better get as many upgrades as I could manage without winding up in foreclosure, LOL.

I hate to say this now, Lisa, but I believe it's very unlikely that your video card is the source of your speed bottleneck. (I assume when you wrote 'freezeup', you didn't mean literally that your system froze, requiring a reboot, but rather it temporarily stopped responding.)

More RAM (and a 64-bit OS, obviously) would be much more likely to help. Beyond that, it's either the speed of the processor, or the hard drive.

Lightroom and CS3 make only modest demands on the video system, and I think even onboard GPUs can handle the load fine.

But please do post your findings; I'd be very interested to learn if my "knowledge" is wrong.

lisafx · « **Reply #49 on:** November 26, 2009, 23:02 »

Quote from: KB on November 26, 2009, 18:31

I hate to say this now, Lisa, but I believe it's very unlikely that your video card is the source of your speed bottleneck. (I assume when you wrote 'freezeup', you didn't mean literally that your system froze, requiring a reboot, but rather it temporarily stopped responding.)

More RAM (and a 64-bit OS, obviously) would be much more likely to help. Beyond that, it's either the speed of the processor, or the hard drive.

Lightroom and CS3 make only modest demands on the video system, and I think even onboard GPUs can handle the load fine.

But please do post your findings; I'd be very interested to learn if my "knowledge" is wrong.

Thanks for the info. I am sure you are right and that the problems I am having aren't really related to the video card.

I didn't get the upgraded video card because I thought the included one would give me problems. More that if I am having to go ahead and get a new computer I want to get the best specs they offer so I don't have to upgrade again in another two years.

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Author Topic: Windows 7 (Read 30345 times)

Xalanx

lisafx

Kngkyle

hlth

eppic

sharpshot

Magnum

lisafx

eppic

lisafx

sharpshot

lisafx

MikLav

sharpshot

MikLav

Whiz

cybernesco

lisafx

sharpshot

Suljo

lisafx

graficallyminded

lisafx

KB

lisafx

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