Windows 7

[bishop_74]

Any body get this yet? What do you think?

I have a media center computer that I want to upgrade to because I use media center on all the televisions in my house. I was curious if anyone else does this and was wondering if the product enhancements were worth the upgrade.

[MMXcalibur]

I'm not usually jumping on top of new operating systems (yes, I know it's been "out" for a while now), but Windows 7 might be one I end up picking up if it's compatible with my other computers, allowing all my peripherals to function. Windows Vista is THAT bad....

[Pneuma]

I have owned almost every M$ OS and Windows 7 is their best one yet. I already have upgraded my laptops to W7. I highly recommend.

[Fish]

I've been running it for quite some time. And yes, it's a very very nice OS. Microsoft's best effort yet. It's very fast. Runs well even on older machines. Some minor compatibility issues, but nothing serious. And there's a compatibility report program you can run that will tell you if you have any incompatible software or hardware: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/get/upgrade-advisor.aspx

And if you happen to be a college student, or know a college student, or have an e-mail address ending in .edu, you can get it for $29.

http://windows7.digitalriver.com/store/mswpus/en_US/DisplayHomePage?resid=5H03@woBAkYAABQJFrkAAAAK&rests=1256307537000

[Fish]

And if you have a .edu address you can use for Win7, you might as well pick up M$ Office Ultimate 2007 for $59.95 as well:

http://www.microsoft.com/student/discounts/theultimatesteal-us/default.aspx

[Hays]

I have been testing windows 7 for about 6 months or so.
So far no issues that are a deal breaker and it kills Vista

since xp is going away windows 7 is not bad.

However if you are upgrading from xp to win 7 you have to do a complete wipe i hear
if from vista to win 7 you can do the upgrade and not lose anything.

[bishop_74]

Thanks for the input. I am downloading it now. :)

[Fish]

Upgrades are for pussies...

Regardless of what OS you currently have, I would strongly recommend doing a clean install. That goes for any OS. I understand how much easier it is to just upgrade as opposed to a clean install, but seriously it's well worth the extra time. Upgrades are just asking for trouble. There's just way too much that can go wrong doing an upgrade. You really don't want most of the crap from your old system to be introduced into a fresh Win7 install.

Windows 7 has a very cool utility called Windows Easy Transfer, that will take all your data and settings and back it up to an external device or network location, and then import it onto your freshly installed Win7 install. It's easy, it works very well, and you'll avoid all the nasty issues that upgrading can cause.

Windows Upgrade and Migration: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd446674%28WS.10%29.aspx

[dirk digler]

I have been running Windows 7 for a while and I agree with the others it is a very very good OS and it is probably their best one.

[SLAG]

My professional opinion concurs with the consensus

[Braincase]

Running multiple versions on various systems. Quite impressed. Love the Media Center on Ultimate & Home Premium.

[Deberg_1990]

I have been running Windows 7 for a while and I agree with the others it is a very very good OS and it is probably their best one.

Its no Windows for Workgroups 3.11

[Otter]

Upgrades are for pussies...

Regardless of what OS you currently have, I would strongly recommend doing a clean install. That goes for any OS. I understand how much easier it is to just upgrade as opposed to a clean install, but seriously it's well worth the extra time. Upgrades are just asking for trouble. There's just way too much that can go wrong doing an upgrade. You really don't want most of the crap from your old system to be introduced into a fresh Win7 install.

Windows 7 has a very cool utility called Windows Easy Transfer, that will take all your data and settings and back it up to an external device or network location, and then import it onto your freshly installed Win7 install. It's easy, it works very well, and you'll avoid all the nasty issues that upgrading can cause.

Windows Upgrade and Migration: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd446674%28WS.10%29.aspx

You're moving up very quickly on 'the IT people who know what they're talking about' good sir.

Been using Win7 64bit for a couple months now and the only issues I've had were some video card drivers very early on in the game. It's a great OS all around so far and it's actually pretty tough to find bad reviews.

I'm afraid once storage areas get bloated, and they always do, that the new libraries function may cause confusion for novice users but I really haven't played with it enough on a large scale to say for sure.

The Aero Function for being so widely talked about has been nothing but a neat but useless gadget so far.

As soon as the prices of solid state drives go down I'm going to be installing one on my home PC which had potential to be a nightmare on XP.

That's about it off the top of my head. Anything specific?

[keg in kc]

My current pc is 3.5 years old, running xp, and instead of upgrading, I'm diving into the deep end, building my own PC with Windows 7. Ordered everything yesterday.

Could provide some great entertainment for you guys next week. LMAO

[Otter]

My current pc is 3.5 years old, running xp, and instead of upgrading, I'm diving into the deep end, building my own PC with Windows 7. Ordered everything yesterday.

Could provide some great entertainment for you guys next week. LMAO

Heh, I've put lots of hardware together. Ping me if you have any questions where you hit a wall. It's actually not that hard and you'll be happy you did when it's up.

[dirk digler]

My current pc is 3.5 years old, running xp, and instead of upgrading, I'm diving into the deep end, building my own PC with Windows 7. Ordered everything yesterday.

Could provide some great entertainment for you guys next week. LMAO

You should do a play by play for us.

[SLAG]

You should do a play by play for us.

you could sign up at blogger and make each step a blog post with pix from your cell phone camera

[keg in kc]

Heh, I've put lots of hardware together. Ping me if you have any questions where you hit a wall. It's actually not that hard and you'll be happy you did when it's up.Thanks, I'll keep that in mind.

I've never built one, but I've always liked to tinker with my pc's, taking the case apart and fiddling around with the innards when things seem off, so I at least have a general idea about how everything goes together.

I've been thinking about doing it for years, not sure why I haven't before now. I mean, shit, I can get as much component-wise for 500 if I put it together myself as I'd get for two or three times that from dell or hp or gateway. I won't have customer service to fall back on, that's the risk I guess, but I can't remember ever calling customer service anyway, and I've had computers for nearly 20 years now...

[Deberg_1990]

Its no Windows for Workgroups 3.11

Which reminds me, always wanted to ask this..

Whats the oldest Operating System that you or someone you know is still using?

Any Windows 95 or Windows 98 users out there still?

[SLAG]

Which reminds me, always wanted to ask this..

Whats the oldest Operating System that you or someone you know is still using?

Any Windows 95 or Windows 98 users out there still?

Rep for 3.11

I know a lady that is using 98 but she is looking for a new computer so it wont be for much longer

[keg in kc]

This is the first time I've ever gotten an MS operating system without giving it less than a year to work out all the kinks. I'm a little nervous about that. But the word on it was just too good out of beta, the reviews are too good, and I don't want to get two OS behind (I was never getting Vista...). And I finally get dx10. For whatever that's worth.

[kstater]

Which reminds me, always wanted to ask this..

Whats the oldest Operating System that you or someone you know is still using?

Any Windows 95 or Windows 98 users out there still?


A work computer that's got NT.

[Swanman]

My laptop is about to die (about 4.5 years old), so I think I will pick up a new laptop tonight with Windows 7. I never thought I would say it, but I think I will go with the Sony Vaio, as it is priced comparably to an HP I was looking at but comes with a bluray drive.

[Delano]

And if you happen to be a college student, or know a college student, or have an e-mail address ending in .edu, you can get it for $29.

http://windows7.digitalriver.com/store/mswpus/en_US/DisplayHomePage?resid=5H03@woBAkYAABQJFrkAAAAK&rests=1256307537000

Do you know if they actually check if a person is enrolled? It's my understanding that certain people have emails with a .edu and are not currently enrolled in the minimum .50 credits or whatever.

Also, I've heard the $29 edition is the download-only, upgrade version. Can someone with vista do a clean install with that student version?

[Pants]

My current pc is 3.5 years old, running xp, and instead of upgrading, I'm diving into the deep end, building my own PC with Windows 7. Ordered everything yesterday.

Could provide some great entertainment for you guys next week. LMAO

If all the hardware arrives in working condition, you won't have any problems. Putting them together is like playing with those big lego pieces for kids nowadays. It's night and day compared to what it used to be like even 2-3 years ago. Have fun with the new rig!

[dirk digler]

If all the hardware arrives in working condition, you won't have any problems. Putting them together is like playing with those big lego pieces for kids nowadays. It's night and day compared to what it used to be like even 2-3 years ago. Have fun with the new rig!

For the most part. The hardest part is making sure your CPU, motherboard and RAM are compatible with each other. That is why I favor buying motherboard/CPU/memory bundles

[Baby Lee]

Do you know if they actually check if a person is enrolled? It's my understanding that certain people have emails with a .edu and are not currently enrolled in the minimum .50 credits or whatever.

Also, I've heard the $29 edition is the download-only, upgrade version. Can someone with vista do a clean install with that student version?

I have the Student Version; it's the full version [you can choose between home premium and professional, 32b and 64b, for the same price]. It was a DL, but they offer the chance to get a hard copy for an additional fee.

[Baby Lee]

If all the hardware arrives in working condition, you won't have any problems. Putting them together is like playing with those big lego pieces for kids nowadays. It's night and day compared to what it used to be like even 2-3 years ago. Have fun with the new rig!

The most fraught portion of the assembly was getting the cooling apparatus over the chip [In my case a Q6600]. The retaining clips took so much pressure to snap down I thought for certain I was doing something wrong, and if I wasn't I was still gonna end up shoving something clear through the MOBO.

SATA and modular PS leads have gone a long way to simplifying things.

[Fish]

Do you know if they actually check if a person is enrolled? It's my understanding that certain people have emails with a .edu and are not currently enrolled in the minimum .50 credits or whatever.

Also, I've heard the $29 edition is the download-only, upgrade version. Can someone with vista do a clean install with that student version?

Well, they have said that they may audit some users. Whether they actually do or not, I can't say for certain. But myself and several coworkers have done so, and not had any problems. Personally I don't think there's anything to worry about. Here's what they say in the Terms:

Microsoft or Digital River may contact you to verify that you are a current student. If documentation is not provided indicating that you are a current student, you will be liable to reimburse Microsoft for the difference between what you paid and the estimated retail price of the software.So you won't be carted off to jail if you did happen to get audited. You'd just get charged the full price.

If I knew for sure, I'd just create a few dozen .edu e-mail addresses and dole them out here. I don't think I want to risk that though...

And the $29 is download only. But it's not difficult to convert that into a bootable fully functioning .iso image. There are instructions for that here: http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/22/how-to-make-a-dvd-of-that-student-only-windows-7/

And you're not supposed to be able to do a clean install with it, but that's possible too. What you'll do is install it from the DVD like you would a clean install, but when you get to the part where it asks you for your license key, don't enter one. It will let you try it for 30 days without doing so. Then boot up to the OS, and immediately run the install from the install DVD a second time, and select Upgrade. Like Vista, it just looks to see if there's an existing OS there, it doesn't check to see what it is or if it's activated. Let it install files again. Then when it reaches the part where it asks you for the license key again, enter the one you purchased. Tested to work. It takes longer, but hey...

And another important note on the $29 version.... Be sure that when you go to purchase it, don't limit yourself to the Home version. Look for the link that says "Need to join your school’s network domain? You can also get Windows 7 Professional for $29.99. Click HERE", that will allow you to select the 64-bit Professional version instead.

[Pants]

The most fraught portion of the assembly was getting the cooling apparatus over the chip [In my case a Q6600]. The retaining clips took so much pressure to snap down I thought for certain I was doing something wrong, and if I wasn't I was still gonna end up shoving something clear through the MOBO.

SATA and modular PS leads have gone a long way to simplifying things.

Yeah, coolers can be a bitch and a lot of people fear breaking the mobo by pushing too hard, but that doesn't happen. That shit needs to be super snug and spread the paste evenly - nobody wants a fried CPU, lol...

I installed a liquid cooler for a friend a couple years back and that was a massive bitch, but I have no idea what they're like now. I'm not a huge fan of overclocking to the frying point - so I never found liquid cooling necessary for me.

Keg, you should tell us what you got,

[Pants]

For the most part. The hardest part is making sure your CPU, motherboard and RAM are compatible with each other. That is why I favor buying motherboard/CPU/memory bundles

Yeah, but that's probably more of a choosing what you buy process as opposed to the actual putting it together...

Like I said before, I just hope his RAM and mobo come working, because it's easy to get confused thinking you're not doing something right when in reality you just got a faulty part. I've had to send many a thing back to Newegg to get them exchanged. Having a second rig you can troubleshoot RAM on is very helpful.

[irishjayhawk]

I really want to try Windows 7, but can't really afford to spend the money for a new computer to do so. I could dual boot my iMac but I don't have any software I depend on on Windows.

[keg in kc]

Keg, you should tell us what you got,I got a bundle through tiger direct. Asus M4A785-M Motherboard, Athlon II X4 620 Quad Core Processor, 4GB OCZ Titanium XMP PC9200 DDR2 1150MHz Dual Channel Memory, 750GB Seagate SATA Hard Drive, XFX Radeon HD 4350 Video Card, LG GH22NS50 22X DVDRW, Ultra X-Blaster Black ATX Mid-Tower Case, Ultra LS600 600w power supply, Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit.

Nothing even close to top of the line, but my current rig's an Athlon 64 x2 dual core running XP sp3 with 2 GB of ram, a 9600 GT and an Audigy 2, so anything's going to seem like an upgrade...

Eventually want to boost the memory to at least 8 GB, get a newer old video card (likely an ATI to click with the mobo), and probably a new audio card, but I'm on a pretty tight budget and this fit inside it perfectly (altogether around 500). New hdd and dvdrw mean I can give my old rig to my parents as is without pirating any of the components, so we both get a nice upgrade from what we had (they're running like a 6 or 7 year old gateway).

[Pants]

I got a bundle through tiger direct. Asus M4A785-M Motherboard, Athlon II X4 620 Quad Core Processor, 4GB OCZ Titanium XMP PC9200 DDR2 1150MHz Dual Channel Memory, 750GB Seagate SATA Hard Drive, XFX Radeon HD 4350 Video Card, LG GH22NS50 22X DVDRW, Ultra X-Blaster Black ATX Mid-Tower Case, Ultra LS600 600w power supply, Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit.

Nothing even close to top of the line, but my current rig's an Athlon 64 x2 dual core running XP sp3 with 2 GB of ram, a 9600 GT and an Audigy 2, so anything's going to seem like an upgrade...

Eventually want to boost the memory to at least 8 GB, get a newer old video card (likely an ATI to click with the mobo), and probably a new audio card, but I'm on a pretty tight budget and this fit inside it perfectly (altogether around 500). New hdd and dvdrw mean I can give my old rig to my parents as is without pirating any of the components, so we both get a nice upgrade from what we had (they're running like a 6 or 7 year old gateway).
Nice deal, man!

[KevB]

Anybody tried Win 7 on a Netbook yet? My wife has an HP mini with 2 GB of RAM. I'm trying to decide if I should get the Family Pack, which would be worth it as we have 3 pc's including the netbook.

[Saulbadguy]

I'm running a 64 bit OS at home for the first time now...so far, so good.

[Bearcat]

I'm thinking about getting a new laptop... I'd like to find one without an OS so I can do a clean install of Windows 7 and Ubuntu.

[dirk digler]

I got a bundle through tiger direct. Asus M4A785-M Motherboard, Athlon II X4 620 Quad Core Processor, 4GB OCZ Titanium XMP PC9200 DDR2 1150MHz Dual Channel Memory, 750GB Seagate SATA Hard Drive, XFX Radeon HD 4350 Video Card, LG GH22NS50 22X DVDRW, Ultra X-Blaster Black ATX Mid-Tower Case, Ultra LS600 600w power supply, Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit.

Nothing even close to top of the line, but my current rig's an Athlon 64 x2 dual core running XP sp3 with 2 GB of ram, a 9600 GT and an Audigy 2, so anything's going to seem like an upgrade...

Eventually want to boost the memory to at least 8 GB, get a newer old video card (likely an ATI to click with the mobo), and probably a new audio card, but I'm on a pretty tight budget and this fit inside it perfectly (altogether around 500). New hdd and dvdrw mean I can give my old rig to my parents as is without pirating any of the components, so we both get a nice upgrade from what we had (they're running like a 6 or 7 year old gateway).

That is a good bundle.

I am sure you know this but just in case you don't it is pointless to put more than 4GB of RAM while using a 32-bit OS. If you want to use more memory in the future make sure you install the 64-bit version.

[KCWolfman]

Not the memory hog of the old OS's.

I love it and have installed it on all 3 PCs and laptops in the house

[007]

Has anyone had any problems installing the win7 update disk over the win7 RC1?

[KCFalcon59]

Installed Win7 on my son's laptop yesterday. His laptop is older hp model, just 2 gb of ram. Very easy install. I was able to do a clean install with upgrade media. I just did custom and deleted the partitions. No problem whatsoever. Total time was maybe 30-40 minutes. Sweet.

[bishop_74]

Well I downloaded the upgrade and it did not want to upgrade my copy of Vista Ultimate for whatever reason. I backed up all my critical files and did a fresh install. Went very smoothly. Only irritating thing was having to set up media center all over again. Not a huge deal really, but the fact that I can now play MKV files in media center as opposed to having a seperate program to do it is worth the upgrade price alone. So far the OS seems to be running well and is a bit easier to navigate than Vista. One HUGE improvement is the search functionality. Not sure if you guys had this problem on Vista, but I could NEVER find what I was looking for in Vista. Windows 7 lets me put whatever I want in the search field and the indexing works far better as the search string I am looking for appears immediately. Definitely recommend it!

[SLAG]

I really want to try Windows 7, but can't really afford to spend the money for a new computer to do so. I could dual boot my iMac but I don't have any software I depend on on Windows.

Why don't you install the Release Candidate in VirturalBox to try it out?

Its free - and you will get to check it out.


@Guru:

MS does not want/allow people to upgrade the Release Candidate to a full version - but there is a workaround if you must....

[Mr. Flopnuts]

Is there any way to get a .edu email address? That's the only way I'll be getting 7 anytime soon.

[Simplex3]

I'm not usually jumping on top of new operating systems (yes, I know it's been "out" for a while now), but Windows 7 might be one I end up picking up if it's compatible with my other computers, allowing all my peripherals to function. Windows Vista is THAT bad....

What's wrong with this picture?

"Well, I bought Product 1 from Company A, but it was so bad I can't wait until I can buy Product 2 from that same company."

[Simplex3]

Which reminds me, always wanted to ask this..

Whats the oldest Operating System that you or someone you know is still using?

Any Windows 95 or Windows 98 users out there still?

I know a person who is still running 95. I know of a major insurance corporation who is still running Windows 2000 w/ IE6.

[HC_Chief]

Win 7 is great. Fast, smooth, easy to use, finds all my peripherals.

I'm loading it on my Mac laptops :)

[irishjayhawk]

Why don't you install the Release Candidate in VirturalBox to try it out?

Its free - and you will get to check it out.


@Guru:

MS does not want/allow people to upgrade the Release Candidate to a full version - but there is a workaround if you must....

Thought about it, but in the end I get something better:

Parents are upgrading to Windows 7 thanks to my brother's college pass. Thanks to KC Fish for the heads up. So I'll get to play with it on the install and initial set up. There are several features that would be nice to have on my Mac, but I really don't think it can beat OS X on the whole. That said, Windows 7 isn't less secure unless the user, himself, is less secure in his usage.

[Silock]

Is there any way to get a .edu email address? That's the only way I'll be getting 7 anytime soon.

Step 1: Register for a class at a community college.
Step 2: Obtain .edu e-mail.
Step 3: Drop class before the 100% money back deadline.
Step 4: ???
Step 5: Profit.

[Saulbadguy]

Step 1: Register for a class at a community college.
Step 2: Obtain .edu e-mail.
Step 3: Drop class before the 100% money back deadline.
Step 4: ???
Step 5: Profit.

The site says that they verify enrollment. Not sure how they do that or if it's really true.

[Saulbadguy]

Has anyone had any problems installing the win7 update disk over the win7 RC1?

Nope - the upgrade worked fine for me, surprisingly.

[Saulbadguy]

Not the memory hog of the old OS's.

I love it and have installed it on all 3 PCs and laptops in the house

The 64 bit version i'm using right now is sitting at around 1 GB memory usage, idle.

Not unusual for 64 bit OS's though.

[Simplex3]

I'm not sure why you want your OS/apps to NOT be using all your RAM. That's what it is there for.

Nothing was more infuriating that seeing XP *not* using my RAM, but my pagefile was about to blow up from all of its usage.

[Otter]

I'm not sure why you want your OS/apps to NOT be using all your RAM. That's what it is there for.

Nothing was more infuriating that seeing XP *not* using my RAM, but my pagefile was about to blow up from all of its usage.

I think it's the application that controls page file vs. RAM usage, isn't it?

[Kyle DeLexus]

I was supposed to get a free upgrade with the purchase of my laptop but so far no word.

[KCFalcon59]

I was supposed to get a free upgrade with the purchase of my laptop but so far no word.

Who did you buy it from? I had to call Dell today about my free upgrade. They said I was supposed to receive an email that would direct me to ordering the upgrade. Never got it. They gave me the web address and I signed in and ordered it today.

[KCWolfman]

The 64 bit version i'm using right now is sitting at around 1 GB memory usage, idle.

Not unusual for 64 bit OS's though.

Sorry, I meant Hard Drive space. This version doesn't clutter my hard drive with drivers I will never purchase. Microsoft did it right and put the drivers for everything but the most popular hardware and left it on their website to be downloaded if necessary with updates. It also deletes older restore points instead of storing them eternally and taking up useless space.

It uses less than 15 Gb as opposed to the 20 vista did simply because of the drivers issue noted above.

[Kyle DeLexus]

Who did you buy it from? I had to call Dell today about my free upgrade. They said I was supposed to receive an email that would direct me to ordering the upgrade. Never got it. They gave me the web address and I signed in and ordered it today.

It's a gateway from Best Buy. I was supposed to get a email and never did I guess I'll try calling monday or tuesday.

[Simplex3]

I think it's the application that controls page file vs. RAM usage, isn't it?

No. Each application is led to believe by Windows that it has 4G of RAM available (exact values may be old info). Based upon application usage and several other factors Windows will page memory off to disk when it feel that isn't being used soon, and will bring things back from the pagefile to RAM before it is used.

[kstater]

I was supposed to get a free upgrade with the purchase of my laptop but so far no word.

You have to contact the maker.

I got a dell, registered, was supposed to get an email to order it, but remembered it the other day anyway. Ordered it and waiting for it to ship.

[keg in kc]

So....my newly-built windows 7 PC seems to actually work!

:)

[Otter]

So....my newly-built windows 7 PC seems to actually work!

:)

What did you think of your first build? Any setbacks?

Congratulations, your understanding has set you free from the dumbassery of the likes of dell customer support.

[bishop_74]

So....my newly-built windows 7 PC seems to actually work!

:)

That's great! Remember if you see any smoke pouring out of it I would recommend shutting it down for a period 1 min. :D

[keg in kc]

What did you think of your first build? Any setbacks?

Congratulations, your understanding has set you free from the dumbassery of the likes of dell customer support.I thought it was really easy to put together, makes me wonder why I didn't do this years ago.

I don't have anything on this computer yet, kind of funny seeing "Local Disk ( C: ) 687 GB free of 698 GB". LMAO

Weird not having that extra bazillion gigabites of software that I don't want preloaded for my "convenience".

[Bane]

I just got a new desktop to replace the old one I had hooked up to my lcd tv.Installed windows 7,so far so good.I just got it so that I stay up with pc and windows but I still wouldn't trade it for any of my macs.All in all I have to say good job by microsoft so far,I really cant see anything to complain about yet.

[keg in kc]

My impression so far is that windows 7 is really cool, and I'm definitely glad I took the leap.

[Delano]

My impression so far is that windows 7 is really cool, and I'm definitely glad I took the leap.

Which game is busting your new rig's cherry?

[SLAG]

I installed 7 pro - on one of my home PC's [pent 4 2.5ghz - 1gb ram] and it is running pretty damn good even have Aero effects - Finally M$ is coming around to where the other OS's have been for years.

My work Laptop is running LinuxMint an ubuntu variation, with windows 7 R.C running in VirturalBox - I make my living with Linux so windows PC's are a rare thing for me now a days

[Fat Elvis]

That's great! Remember if you see any smoke pouring out of it I would recommend shutting it down for a period 1 min. :D

Magic smoke is what makes the CPUs run; let the smoke out and they don't run anymore.....

[ArrowheadHawk]

Well it must work well. Not a single mention of any problems in this thread.

[keg in kc]

Which game is busting your new rig's cherry?None yet, I'm waiting on a beefier video card. Probably going to end up being Dragon Age: Origins next week.

[Saulbadguy]

Checklist -

Call of Duty World at War works fine, even punkbuster works right out of the box.
Borderlands works fine
Steam works fine
Killing Floor works fine
Civ4 works fine
All my hardware works fine with the exception of a small snafu with my Realtek integrated audio. The headphone/mic detection does not work with the front panel audio ports. Supposedly this is a fairly common issue prevelant with Vista as well.

[Otter]

None yet, I'm waiting on a beefier video card. Probably going to end up being Dragon Age: Origins next week.

I was playing L4D last night and noticed the Steam Platform is going to be distributing that game. Great little tool for instant updates and not having to worry about losing your CDs or product code. I think the pre-release price was $45.00 or something in that ballpark.

Some people hate Steam, I love it. The only real downside is if you plan to resell the game.

[Iowanian]

I'm not a tech nerd.

I need to update my workhorse laptop at work and I really can't have software conflicts.



I understand the very, very basics of the 32 vs 64bt, but I'm trying to decide which I need. My software is intensive and I need dual processors and alot of RAM.
Are there any big issues when choosing between 32 and 64?

[keg in kc]

I was playing L4D last night and noticed the Steam Platform is going to be distributing that game. Great little tool for instant updates and not having to worry about losing your CDs or product code. I think the pre-release price was $45.00 or something in that ballpark.

Some people hate Steam, I love it. The only real downside is if you plan to resell the game.I have Batman Arkham Asylum via steam, reinstalled it last night. The only thing I don't like about Steam is that they install the game to their own folder, and I haven't figured yet how to direct the install to where I want it to be. Now I have to figure out how to transfer my save game settings from my old pc (not a steam problem, a GFWL problem).

I preordered DA:O through DirecttoDrive, liked an ingame preorder item they offered a little better than the one Steam offered (silly, I know...). I ended up getting the digital deluxe version (http://www.direct2drive.com/3/8459/product/Buy-Dragon-Age:-Origins-Digital-Deluxe-Edition-Download?_cmpid=d2d23), which is 65 bucks - it has a bunch of preorder crap and all the day one DLC (stone prisoner, warden's keep). You can essentially do the same thing through them as far as having a library like steam; I downloaded and installed the $5 copy of BioShock I purchased from them a while back on my new system last night.

EA, too, with their EA download manager. I just finished reinstalling Mass Effect and the two DLC. Didn't have disks for any of it...

[SLAG]

I'm not a tech nerd.

I need to update my workhorse laptop at work and I really can't have software conflicts.



I understand the very, very basics of the 32 vs 64bt, but I'm trying to decide which I need. My software is intensive and I need dual processors and alot of RAM.
Are there any big issues when choosing between 32 and 64?

If you are running dual core with 4gb of ram or more you would want the 64bit version

[keg in kc]

I'm not a tech nerd.

I need to update my workhorse laptop at work and I really can't have software conflicts.



I understand the very, very basics of the 32 vs 64bt, but I'm trying to decide which I need. My software is intensive and I need dual processors and alot of RAM.
Are there any big issues when choosing between 32 and 64?I think it depends on your hardware. I would say if it can handle 64 bit, then I would go with 64 bit. The only downside with my new system is that it came bundled with 32 bit OEM, and only 32 bit. OEM doesn't offer both like the retail version offers. So I'm stuck with 32 bit unless I decide to buy a second OEM system builder's copy.

I've looked and looked for a way to get the 64 bit via some kind of swap, but it looks like I'm boned. So if I ever want to go past 3.25 GB of memory I have to dish out another 100 bucks.

(Gonna stick with what I have for now...)

One thing to keep in mind is that, if you go from 32-bit to 64-bit, I think you're going to be stuck doing a clean install, instead of just upgrading from your old OS to your new one. So keep that in mind (if that's in fact true).

[Saulbadguy]

I have Batman Arkham Asylum via steam, reinstalled it last night. The only thing I don't like about Steam is that they install the game to their own folder, and I haven't figured yet how to direct the install to where I want it to be. Now I have to figure out how to transfer my save game settings from my old pc (not a steam problem, a GFWL problem).

I preordered DA:O through DirecttoDrive, liked an ingame preorder item they offered a little better than the one Steam offered (silly, I know...). I ended up getting the digital deluxe version (http://www.direct2drive.com/3/8459/product/Buy-Dragon-Age:-Origins-Digital-Deluxe-Edition-Download?_cmpid=d2d23), which is 65 bucks - it has a bunch of preorder crap and all the day one DLC (stone prisoner, warden's keep). You can essentially do the same thing through them as far as having a library like steam; I downloaded and installed the $5 copy of BioShock I purchased from them a while back on my new system last night.

EA, too, with their EA download manager. I just finished reinstalling Mass Effect and the two DLC. Didn't have disks for any of it...

I'm waiting for Mass Effect to hit 9.99 on steam...already played through it once off a friends copy but don't feel like paying 19.99 to play it again anytime soon.

[keg in kc]

I'm waiting for Mass Effect to hit 9.99 on steam...already played through it once off a friends copy but don't feel like paying 19.99 to play it again anytime soon.You'll need to do it relatively soon if you want to play Mass Effect 2 using any data from Mass Effect save games; ME2 is due out in just under 3 months, January 26th.

[Saulbadguy]

You'll need to do it relatively soon if you want to play Mass Effect 2 using any data from Mass Effect save games; ME2 is due out in just under 3 months, January 26th.

Still have my save game. :D

[loochy]

Okay so what I want to know is does Windows 7 still have the problems with running old programs like Vista does? There are several old games (circa late 90's) and other utilities that I would like to install right now, but Vista will not run them. Does 7 perform any better in this aspect?

[keg in kc]

Still have my save game. :DThen you're golden!Okay so what I want to know is does Windows 7 still have the problems with running old programs like Vista does? There are several old games (circa late 90's) and other utilities that I would like to install right now, but Vista will not run them. Does 7 perform any better in this aspect?That I don't know. I'll try installing Baldur's Gate and see what happens.

[Saulbadguy]

Okay so what I want to know is does Windows 7 still have the problems with running old programs like Vista does? There are several old games (circa late 90's) and other utilities that I would like to install right now, but Vista will not run them. Does 7 perform any better in this aspect?
You could try loading them under Windows XP mode, that is, if you have hardware virtualization.

[Fish]

Okay so what I want to know is does Windows 7 still have the problems with running old programs like Vista does? There are several old games (circa late 90's) and other utilities that I would like to install right now, but Vista will not run them. Does 7 perform any better in this aspect?

That is dependent on a number of things. I'd run the Upgrade Advisor on the machine in question, and find out what it says.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/get/upgrade-advisor.aspx

As has been mentioned, Win7 has a WinXP mode that is a VirtualPC type emulator environment. It is designed to run older applications. But I wouldn't expect killer performance running things in XP mode though. It is still a virtualization environment that requires a lot of processing.

[Fish]

On a related note... Steam can suck it.....

[Saulbadguy]

On a related note... Steam can suck it.....

What's wrong w/ Steam?

[cookster50]

All my hardware works fine with the exception of a small snafu with my Realtek integrated audio. The headphone/mic detection does not work with the front panel audio ports. Supposedly this is a fairly common issue prevelant with Vista as well.

Got a fix for this?

[Saulbadguy]

Got a fix for this?

Disable front panel jack detection, turn down speakers when you had the headphones plugged in.

[Iowanian]

If you are running dual core with 4gb of ram or more you would want the 64bit version


The good news is, I'm buying a new laptop also.

I know it'll draw negative reactions, but I'm looking Dell.


I need a workhorse, with dual processors, 4Gig of Ram would probably do it, and a good video card. I'm not really tech nerd enough to understand most of the stuff my software requires, but I want a laptop that will be relevant and functional for 3 years.

[Fish]

What's wrong w/ Steam?

Constantly updating. Stranglehold on file locations and settings. Verification after verification. It locks up frequently. Any purchases you make from them are 100% non refundable. No matter what. Nearly impossible to transfer your game to another PC. Cancellation is a nightmare. It has to be online constantly, or it craps all over itself. etc.

In summary..

<object width="425" height="344">


<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0-F1NRzgTsI&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></object>

[Saulbadguy]

Constantly updating. Stranglehold on file locations and settings. Verification after verification. It locks up frequently. Any purchases you make from them are 100% non refundable. No matter what. Nearly impossible to transfer your game to another PC. Cancellation is a nightmare. It has to be online constantly, or it craps all over itself. etc.

In summary..

<object width="425" height="344">


<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0-F1NRzgTsI&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></object>

Guess I never had those problems before. PC games are non-refundable unless you have them still in the shrink wrap so I guess I don't see the difference between that and STEAM. I like the updates better than having to manually download patches/map packs for games, which can be a hassle. Never had a lock up. Never had any technical issues with it. I recently built a new PC, loaded up Steam, and downloaded all my purchased games with absolutely no hassle whatsoever.

No comment on Cancellation.

Really, I think Steam got it right.

[Saulbadguy]

The good news is, I'm buying a new laptop also.

I know it'll draw negative reactions, but I'm looking Dell.


I need a workhorse, with dual processors, 4Gig of Ram would probably do it, and a good video card. I'm not really tech nerd enough to understand most of the stuff my software requires, but I want a laptop that will be relevant and functional for 3 years.

Got a link to the Specs?

[Baby Lee]

Is there any benefit outside the access to additional RAM with 64b? Drawbacks? I have 2Gb right now and need to decide which version to install.

[Baby Lee]

I think it depends on your hardware. I would say if it can handle 64 bit, then I would go with 64 bit. The only downside with my new system is that it came bundled with 32 bit OEM, and only 32 bit. OEM doesn't offer both like the retail version offers. So I'm stuck with 32 bit unless I decide to buy a second OEM system builder's copy.

I've looked and looked for a way to get the 64 bit via some kind of swap, but it looks like I'm boned. So if I ever want to go past 3.25 GB of memory I have to dish out another 100 bucks.

(Gonna stick with what I have for now...)

One thing to keep in mind is that, if you go from 32-bit to 64-bit, I think you're going to be stuck doing a clean install, instead of just upgrading from your old OS to your new one. So keep that in mind (if that's in fact true).

I have a Q6600 and 9600GT, but only 2G RAM. What are the benefits and drawbacks to 32b-v-64b?

[Saulbadguy]

I have a Q6600 and 9600GT, but only 2G RAM. What are the benefits and drawbacks to 32b-v-64b?

Benefits for you? Unless you upgrade to 4 gigabytes, and use applications that have 64 bit alternatives, none.

However, looking at your previous question, i'd upgrade to 64 bit. I've heard rumors/speculation that Windows 7 might be the last x86 OS produced.

Drawbacks? 64bit OS uses more memory off the bat.

[ArrowheadHawk]

I just installed Windows 7 64bit on my system yesterday. Everything seems to run better now, though that could just be my perception and having a clean load. This is the first 64 bit OS I have used and the only problem I had was finding a driver for my all in one lexmark scanner that is like 4 years old. I ended up using the vista driver and that worked. So far I'm loving the new OS.

[irishjayhawk]

Benefits for you? Unless you upgrade to 4 gigabytes, and use applications that have 64 bit alternatives, none.

However, looking at your previous question, i'd upgrade to 64 bit. I've heard rumors/speculation that Windows 7 might be the last x86 OS produced.

Drawbacks? 64bit OS uses more memory off the bat.

Yep.


On the flip side, the pros include increased speed. I can notice it on my copy of Snow Leopard. Though, I will say that most software isn't 64bit compatible. Including big suites like Adobe.

[Bane]

The good news is, I'm buying a new laptop also.

I know it'll draw negative reactions, but I'm looking Dell.


I need a workhorse, with dual processors, 4Gig of Ram would probably do it, and a good video card. I'm not really tech nerd enough to understand most of the stuff my software requires, but I want a laptop that will be relevant and functional for 3 years.

I had a dell xps 1550 m that was a pretty good machine,I liked it way better than the inspiron models.I ended up selling it to a buddy and getting a xps 1330 m cause Im a much bigger fan of the 13 inch notebooks.Having said that neither had windows 7,but Ive heard good and bad things about dell so to each their own I guess.I ended up closing out my account with dell when I switched to mac and they call me more than ever now trying to sell.Go figure..

[jjjayb]

Yep.


On the flip side, the pros include increased speed. I can notice it on my copy of Snow Leopard. Though, I will say that most software isn't 64bit compatible. Including big suites like Adobe.

Adobe Photoshop is.

[Garcia Bronco]

Wait until SP1. That is professional advice

[bowener]

Yeah, coolers can be a bitch and a lot of people fear breaking the mobo by pushing too hard, but that doesn't happen. That shit needs to be super snug and spread the paste evenly - nobody wants a fried CPU, lol...

I installed a liquid cooler for a friend a couple years back and that was a massive bitch, but I have no idea what they're like now. I'm not a huge fan of overclocking to the frying point - so I never found liquid cooling necessary for me.

Keg, you should tell us what you got,

I have some friends who used to game "professionally" (they did make some money from tournaments though), and I always wanted to try to take a mini fridge, like a dorm fridge, and build trays in side it to hold the MoBo and Video Card and et al., while running the wires to the side so that you could plug an external DVD drive into it. I dont know though how well that would have done at keeping it all cool, but it would be interesting to try I think.

[Braincase]

The good news is, I'm buying a new laptop also.

I know it'll draw negative reactions, but I'm looking Dell.


I need a workhorse, with dual processors, 4Gig of Ram would probably do it, and a good video card. I'm not really tech nerd enough to understand most of the stuff my software requires, but I want a laptop that will be relevant and functional for 3 years.

I'm loving my M4400. Upscale where it needs to be, runs 64-bit 7 very well, drivers are no problem. 512 MB Video, supports up to 8 GB RAM.

[Pants]

I have some friends who used to game "professionally" (they did make some money from tournaments though), and I always wanted to try to take a mini fridge, like a dorm fridge, and build trays in side it to hold the MoBo and Video Card and et al., while running the wires to the side so that you could plug an external DVD drive into it. I dont know though how well that would have done at keeping it all cool, but it would be interesting to try I think.

Holy shit, do it! That sounds awesome... ROFL

Mounting would be really hard for sure, but it's not impossible.

[Otter]

I have some friends who used to game "professionally" (they did make some money from tournaments though), and I always wanted to try to take a mini fridge, like a dorm fridge, and build trays in side it to hold the MoBo and Video Card and et al., while running the wires to the side so that you could plug an external DVD drive into it. I dont know though how well that would have done at keeping it all cool, but it would be interesting to try I think.

That's actually a pretty interesting idea. Get a little college refrigerator and build mounts on the racks and walls of the refrigerator to hold the separate parts in lieu of a conventional case while using standard fans on the CPU, GPU and PSU.

The air flow cooling would be the same concept but the flow would be generated from the inside the refrigerator. With the air being that cold condensation problems immediately come to mind however. A mini-dehumidifier?

:hmmm:

[Otter]

Holy shit, do it! That sounds awesome... ROFL

Mounting would be really hard for sure, but it's not impossible.

I'd use the refrigerator as the case, something like this I'm imagining:

[Otter]

It seems we're not the first to think of this one...

http://totl.net/Eunuch/index.html

[kaplin42]

A bad review of Windows 7.

I would copy and paste the article, but there are pictures that are pretty important, and I can't be arsed to get them all.

http://www.cracked.com/blog/using-windows-7-may-lead-to-murder/

[dirk digler]

A bad review of Windows 7.

I would copy and paste the article, but there are pictures that are pretty important, and I can't be arsed to get them all.

http://www.cracked.com/blog/using-windows-7-may-lead-to-murder/

LMAO Awesome

[kstater]

A bad review of Windows 7.

I would copy and paste the article, but there are pictures that are pretty important, and I can't be arsed to get them all.

http://www.cracked.com/blog/using-windows-7-may-lead-to-murder/

ROFL

[Baby Lee]

Well, I'm this bitch. Haven't had much of a chance to look around, but somehow it hooked my up to the internet without my DSL setup package. Lord knows how it knew my password and other settings. I guess it cabbaged off the information in XP on the other partition. Weird.

[kstater]

Well, I'm this bitch. Haven't had much of a chance to look around, but somehow it hooked my up to the internet without my DSL setup package. Lord knows how it knew my password and other settings. I guess it cabbaged off the information in XP on the other partition. Weird.

You're on the grid.

[Pants]

Well, I'm this bitch. Haven't had much of a chance to look around, but somehow it hooked my up to the internet without my DSL setup package. Lord knows how it knew my password and other settings. I guess it cabbaged off the information in XP on the other partition. Weird.

One word for you, BL:

SKYNET.

[Baby Lee]

Well, I'm back in XP, it looked good and moved fast, but there were anomolies. First off, it listed CST two hours earlier than it is [ie, if I were in there now, the clock would read 5:13 CST]. Then a couple things installed fine, then windows Defender shut itself off and wouldn't restart, and Media Center never started. Then things wouldn't install because the temp directory was not found. And every time I restart it CKDSKs and deletes a shit ton of stuff.
Maybe it doesn't like being a partition and not the primary OS or something.
I got an exam tomorrow, so I'm not messing with it.

[patteeu]

You should do a play by play for us.

And a photo journal!

Edit: doh

[dirk digler]

The good news is, I'm buying a new laptop also.

I know it'll draw negative reactions, but I'm looking Dell.


I need a workhorse, with dual processors, 4Gig of Ram would probably do it, and a good video card. I'm not really tech nerd enough to understand most of the stuff my software requires, but I want a laptop that will be relevant and functional for 3 years.

That laptop should work for you. I know other people have had bad experiences with Dell laptops but I haven't they seem to work well and they are reasonably priced.

[Silock]

LOL @ Windows 7

Just got my new 311 in. Had it less than 30 minutes before it locked up and required a hard restart.

Since then, my impressions are as follows:

"System: Do you want to do something?"
"Are you sure?"
"Are you sure?"
"Are you sure?"
"Are you sure?"
"Are you sure?"
"Are you sure?"
"Are you sure?"
"Are you sure?"
"Are you sure?"
"Are you sure?"
"Are you sure?"
"Are you sure?"
"Are you sure?"
"Are you sure?"
"Are you sure?"




"Okay, but we'll keep an eye on it just in case you change your mind."

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

[Fish]

LOL @ Windows 7

Just got my new 311 in. Had it less than 30 minutes before it locked up and required a hard restart.

Since then, my impressions are as follows:

"System: Do you want to do something?"
"Are you sure?"
"Are you sure?"
"Are you sure?"
"Are you sure?"
"Are you sure?"
"Are you sure?"
"Are you sure?"
"Are you sure?"
"Are you sure?"
"Are you sure?"
"Are you sure?"
"Are you sure?"
"Are you sure?"
"Are you sure?"
"Are you sure?"




"Okay, but we'll keep an eye on it just in case you change your mind."

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

Geez... just turn off UACs. This is a silly complaint.

Go to the Control Panel, then System and Security\Action Center. Click on User Account Control settings. Turn the slider down to fit your needs. Just select Never Notify if you don't want to use it at all.

That's it.

[HC_Chief]

Geez... just turn off UACs. This is a silly complaint.

Go to the Control Panel, then System and Security\Action Center. Click on User Account Control settings. Turn the slider down to fit your needs. Just select Never Notify if you don't want to use it at all.

That's it.

Better yet, click on the link in the pop-up box to learn more about UAC. It tells you how to turn it off (at your own peril... if you can't figure out how to turn it off, you probably shouldn't; it is there to keep you from doing stupid shit like downloading viruses, trojans, spyware, etc.)

[Silock]

I know how to turn it off. I just can't believe they'd actually ship it like that. What a pain in the ass.

[Fish]

I know how to turn it off. I just can't believe they'd actually ship it like that. What a pain in the ass.

You can't believe they ship it with safety preventions enabled? This is Windows we're talking about. It's a necessary pain in the ass. Trust me. The average drooling computer idiot absolutely needs those preventions in place. And those smart enough to not need it should know how to easily turn it off.

[kaplin42]

I know how to turn it off. I just can't believe they'd actually ship it like that. What a pain in the ass.

You have to realize though, for a lot of people, it's a good thing. You may know how to use a computer without infecting it with viruses and what not, but a lot don't.

At least you get the choice of turning it off though.

[KCWolfman]

I know how to turn it off. I just can't believe they'd actually ship it like that. What a pain in the ass.

It's only 3 or 4 clicks to tone it down or turn it off permanently.

[HC_Chief]

I know how to turn it off. I just can't believe they'd actually ship it like that. What a pain in the ass.

:spock:
I take the opposite approach. I LOADED software like that on my Macs (Growl, LittleSnitch) becuase I like to know when malicious shit is going down.

I also set my preferences to require authentication for changes.

Anyone who ignores these steps deserves the self-inflicted pain.

[Silock]

I don't do any of that and never had any problem on my Mac.

[Mr. Plow]

So what's the overall consensus thus far on 7? I'm going to be looking at a new laptop before long.

[kaplin42]

So what's the overall consensus thus far on 7? I'm going to be looking at a new laptop before long.

WIN!!!!

[Baby Lee]

Well, I'm back in XP, it looked good and moved fast, but there were anomolies. First off, it listed CST two hours earlier than it is [ie, if I were in there now, the clock would read 5:13 CST]. Then a couple things installed fine, then windows Defender shut itself off and wouldn't restart, and Media Center never started. Then things wouldn't install because the temp directory was not found. And every time I restart it CKDSKs and deletes a shit ton of stuff.
Maybe it doesn't like being a partition and not the primary OS or something.
I got an exam tomorrow, so I'm not messing with it.

Figured it out, Window 7 no likey the Format job done by Acronis Disk Director on the partition. Acronis doesn't usually get caught with it's pants down like this. The partitioning part was fine, I just had to Format the partition in the course of the OS installation instead.

Media Center is BALLS.

My only complaint is how HUGE the desktop icons are relative to the screen resolution.

[Molitoth]

I'm loving it like McDonalds so far..

Running 64Bit 7 Business on the laptop and 32bit 7 Ultimate on gaming Tower.

[Braincase]

Figured it out, Window 7 no likey the Format job done by Acronis Disk Director on the partition. Acronis doesn't usually get caught with it's pants down like this. The partitioning part was fine, I just had to Format the partition in the course of the OS installation instead.

Media Center is BALLS.

My only complaint is how HUGE the desktop icons are relative to the screen resolution.

Modifiable through personalization.

[Baby Lee]

Modifiable through personalization.

Took a quick look at that, but it only offered me BIGGER options.

[HC_Chief]

So what's the overall consensus thus far on 7? I'm going to be looking at a new laptop before long.

Major win.
Fast, simple, stable.

If you own a PC, it should be running Win7.

[Baby Lee]

Took a little wrangling, but am back using my bluetooth keyboard and mouse again.

Nirvana. Loved these two, and all the portability and extra functionality [particularly nice were the media center/media player controls on the mouse so I could be doing stuff in another room and pause playback of a podcast with it if the phone rang]. The BT software [software's fault, not XPs] shit the bed on me back in XP a while back and they were on the shelf.

But THEY'RE BACK!!!

Except, I have to get used to not having the page back/fwd buttons I have on my MS mouse.

[Baby Lee]

Modifiable through personalization.

Make desktop the focus, click anywhere on the desktop, hold down CTRL key and scroll mouse wheel to resize icons.

[macdawg]

Its been rock solid for me.

BTW, my opinion on UAC is similar to this authors:

link http://www.tweakguides.com/VA_4.html

Regarding UAC -

"It's also true that the average user is likely to ignore the contents of UAC prompts and just click Continue each time regardless. However many advanced users also believe that they don't require UAC; that all you need are half a brain and a few malware scanners running in the background and you'll be safe. I challenge this assertion, indeed I'd go so far as to say that if you believe yourself to be an advanced user and you disable UAC, then you may not be quite as "advanced" as you'd like to think. Since UAC restricts programs such that they can't make system-intrusive changes unless you explicitly authorize them, any form of malware execution will raise a UAC prompt. For example if you launch a Word document and suddenly see a UAC prompt, this is precisely the type of thing that should alert an advanced user that something may be wrong, as it is not normal. Furthermore, as this article points out, a recently touted "major breach" of Vista's security is actually blocked if UAC is enabled"

[DaneMcCloud]

Its been rock solid for me.

BTW, my opinion on UAC is similar to this authors:

link http://www.tweakguides.com/VA_4.html

Regarding UAC -

"It's also true that the average user is likely to ignore the contents of UAC prompts and just click Continue each time regardless. However many advanced users also believe that they don't require UAC; that all you need are half a brain and a few malware scanners running in the background and you'll be safe. I challenge this assertion, indeed I'd go so far as to say that if you believe yourself to be an advanced user and you disable UAC, then you may not be quite as "advanced" as you'd like to think. Since UAC restricts programs such that they can't make system-intrusive changes unless you explicitly authorize them, any form of malware execution will raise a UAC prompt. For example if you launch a Word document and suddenly see a UAC prompt, this is precisely the type of thing that should alert an advanced user that something may be wrong, as it is not normal. Furthermore, as this article points out, a recently touted "major breach" of Vista's security is actually blocked if UAC is enabled"

I think UAC is a complete load of horseshit and it's disabled on all five of our home computers.

[007]

Its been rock solid for me.

BTW, my opinion on UAC is similar to this authors:

link http://www.tweakguides.com/VA_4.html

Regarding UAC -

"It's also true that the average user is likely to ignore the contents of UAC prompts and just click Continue each time regardless. However many advanced users also believe that they don't require UAC; that all you need are half a brain and a few malware scanners running in the background and you'll be safe. I challenge this assertion, indeed I'd go so far as to say that if you believe yourself to be an advanced user and you disable UAC, then you may not be quite as "advanced" as you'd like to think. Since UAC restricts programs such that they can't make system-intrusive changes unless you explicitly authorize them, any form of malware execution will raise a UAC prompt. For example if you launch a Word document and suddenly see a UAC prompt, this is precisely the type of thing that should alert an advanced user that something may be wrong, as it is not normal. Furthermore, as this article points out, a recently touted "major breach" of Vista's security is actually blocked if UAC is enabled"Thats all fine and dandy but most of us don't want to have to say it's "OK" everytime we do something. If I get a virus, I get a virus. I'll deal with it swiftly.

[DaneMcCloud]

Thats all fine and dandy but most of us don't want to have to say it's "OK" everytime we do something. If I get a virus, I get a virus. I'll deal with it swiftly.

Everytime that thing popped up it was just a reminder:

Fuck you, Bill Gates!

[macdawg]

its trading off a solid layer of security for more convenience. depends on what you want.

[DaneMcCloud]

its trading off a solid layer of security for more convenience. depends on what you want.

Well, it also can cause major issues with certain apps.

Not everyone needs to be connected to the internet.

[007]

its trading off a solid layer of security for more convenience. depends on what you want.I'm all for a solid layer of security but UAC is so far over the top it isn't even funny nor practical. Most novices won't even know how to answer the damned thing. I have a few friends that would call me asking if it was OK to say yes to these messages. People that don't know any better will be more concerned than ever about their security because of the UAC crap and not set at ease. It pops up for EVERYTHING.

[macdawg]

Dane you should be able to disable uac for certain apps only or right click and run as admin, of course if your not connected to the internet then that would be a good case for disabling it.

novices should just know that a UAC prompt asks if they are deliberately trying to run a program or change settings, if they aren't then they should say no. Otherwise say yes and its just a routine check and balance to execute programs deliberately.

Triggers for UAC prompts:

* Running an Application as an Administrator
* Changes to system-wide settings or to files in %SystemRoot% or %ProgramFiles%
* Installing and uninstalling applications
* Installing device drivers
* Installing ActiveX controls
* Changing settings for Windows Firewall
* Changing UAC settings
* Configuring Windows Update
* Adding or removing user accounts
* Changing a user’s account type
* Configuring Parental Controls
* Running Task Scheduler
* Restoring backed-up system files
* Viewing or changing another user’s folders and files
* Running Disk Defragmenter

This doesn't add too much time to a normal online session for me personally.

Linux by default runs in a limited account, to install anything is inconvenient. People constantly praise its security.

With windows people disable built in security, infect their own computers, run a bunch of mostly BS real time malware scanners that slow down the pc and access the hard drive constantly and provide a false sense of security, get infected, complain claim 'windoze is horseshit, its slow and has horrible security!!!!!!1'

[007]

Dane you should be able to disable uac for certain apps only or right click and run as admin, of course if your not connected to the internet then that would be a good case for disabling it.

novices should just know that a UAC prompt asks if they are deliberately trying to run a program or change settings, if they aren't then they should say no. Otherwise say yes and its just a routine check and balance to execute programs deliberately.

Triggers for UAC prompts:

* Running an Application as an Administrator
* Changes to system-wide settings or to files in %SystemRoot% or %ProgramFiles%
* Installing and uninstalling applications
* Installing device drivers
* Installing ActiveX controls
* Changing settings for Windows Firewall
* Changing UAC settings
* Configuring Windows Update
* Adding or removing user accounts
* Changing a user’s account type
* Configuring Parental Controls
* Running Task Scheduler
* Restoring backed-up system files
* Viewing or changing another user’s folders and files
* Running Disk Defragmenter

This doesn't add too much time to a normal online session for me personally.

Linux by default runs in a limited account, to install anything is inconvenient. People constantly praise its security.

With windows people disable built in security, infect their own computers, run a bunch of mostly BS real time malware scanners that slow down the pc and access the hard drive constantly and provide a false sense of security, get infected, complain claim 'windoze is horseshit, its slow and has horrible security!!!!!!1'some of us actually know how to avoid everything you just pointed out and are still plenty secure with a very minimal resource footprint.

[macdawg]

some of us actually know how to avoid everything you just pointed out and are still plenty secure with a very minimal resource footprint.

I don't question that.

Just sayin' UAC has no resource footprint and you are way more secure with it enabled and goes back to my original point that disabling UAC is just trading security for convenience.

[007]

I don't question that.

Just sayin' UAC has no resource footprint and you are way more secure with it enabled and goes back to my original point that disabling UAC is just trading security for convenience.I definitely see the point you are raising but will still just agree to disagree with you on it.

[macdawg]

what part do you disagree with?

[007]

what part do you disagree with?That disabling UAC is just trading security for convenience. Just my opinion though.

[Fish]

With windows people disable built in security, infect their own computers, run a bunch of mostly BS real time malware scanners that slow down the pc and access the hard drive constantly and provide a false sense of security, get infected, complain claim 'windoze is horseshit, its slow and has horrible security!!!!!!1'

Cold hard truff right there...

You forgot Defrag. People think they need to defrag on a weekly basis for some reason, despite that they're killing their HDs twice as quickly. If their computer is sluggish, or they get any errors, or their dog has anxiety, defrag is the cure all answer. Nevermind that most have no clue what defrag actually does. But I see situations all the time where someone claims to have a serious problem that was magically fixed by a defrag....

[kaplin42]

That disabling UAC is just trading security for convenience. Just my opinion though.

I agree with Guru on this. if you know what you are doing, UAC is just a PitA. However, if you are one that needs protection from yourself, UAC is excellent.

[macdawg]

does UAC make your pc more secure? yep (as long as the user understands UAC)

is it inconvenient? yep

To think UAC isn't a large security enhancement, however inconvenient, shows a lack of understanding of UAC. No offense.

[kaplin42]

does UAC make your pc more secure? yep (as long as the user understands UAC)

is it inconvenient? yep

To think UAC isn't a large security enhancement, however inconvenient, shows a lack of understanding of UAC. No offense.

I don't have a lack of understanding of UAC at all actually, and in fact there is a program called Beyone Trust (http://www.beyondtrust.com/company/pr/2009/2009_10_19_BeyondTrust_Privilege_Manager_Supports_Windows7.asp) that you can use that will help to take some of the
"inconvienence" out of using UAC.

I know that UAC is a security "enhancement", but I also know how to use a computer, and I willingly disable UAC because I find it annoying. You may leave it on, which is your choice, but not everyone has to, nor does everyone need to.

[macdawg]

Alright so you agree that it improves security.

You agree that its inconvenient.

So to turn off UAC is to trade off security for convenience. Thats the original point. Do you have to have UAC enabled to be secure? Not at all, but I don't like running background apps, real time scanners all the time, etc. that use resources and still won't secure the pc as well as UAC. To me the tradeoff in incovenience is worth it and I don't like a lot of background apps and I always try to keep pretty tight security, to you its not worth it. Its different for different users, that doesn't mean when I'm right or your wrong, it means its tradeoff of security for convenience.

[kaplin42]

Alright so you agree that it improves security.

You agree that its inconvenient.

So to turn off UAC is to trade off security for convenience. Thats the original point. Do you have to have UAC enabled to be secure? Not at all, but I don't like running background apps, real time scanners all the time, etc. that use resources and still won't secure the pc as well as UAC. To me the tradeoff in incovenience is worth it and I don't like a lot of background apps and I always try to keep pretty tight security, to you its not worth it. Its different for different users, that doesn't mean when I'm right or your wrong, it means its tradeoff of security for convenience.

I can see your point, but I would think that you are even less secure if you don't have an active anti-virus going. And you can be smart about that too and not buy the whole pack that Norton or McAfee sell, but rather just get their anit-virus / anti-malware software.

A simple msconfig and change whats on startup and you won't be running a ton of back ground apps. Turning off iTunes, Java, Quicktime and a few other common programs that put themselves on startup.

I fall in the same boat as I keep my system very clean as it's also my gaming rig. And I have no issues playing MMO's or any other game with my AV running in the background While it hasn't been much of an issue at home, I have found that UAC in an enterprise enviroment to be entirely a giant pain in the ass, and it has become so much so, that we disable it outright for all of our end users.

[macdawg]

"I can see your point, but I would think that you are even less secure if you don't have an active anti-virus going."

This is off topic of my point about the tradeoff of convenience/security, but I disagree, I'd rather handle verifying what executes on my system considering I know what I want on my system, opposed to having a 3rd party security program scan every single read/right to my hard drive and assuming that it is capable of catching whatever malware it comes across, not to mention if the malware gets through your realtime scanner it has unrestricted access.

[Mr. Flopnuts]

Best Buy had a nice basic laptop today for $249.99 that I bought, and got a copy of Windows 7 for $49.99 with it. I'll have to read through this thread before I install it tonight. If anyone has any info I could use, I appreciate it.

[Baby Lee]

Best Buy had a nice basic laptop today for $249.99 that I bought, and got a copy of Windows 7 for $49.99 with it. I'll have to read through this thread before I install it tonight. If anyone has any info I could use, I appreciate it.

Get a decent HDTV Tuner, and you've got a great little portable DVR.

[Mr. Flopnuts]

Get a decent HDTV Tuner, and you've got a great little portable DVR.

Sweet! I've got one. It came with my nice laptop that I bought from Best Buy. This one came from Best Buy as well. $250 for an Acer Extenza with Windows 7 64 bit preloaded on it. A webcam, 160gb HDD, and the Celeron 900 processor.

I know a lot of people freak out when they hear the word Celeron, but this is nowhere near the same chip that everyone hated. It actually rates pretty high considering the price point. I was going to buy a netbook but this laptop outperforms them twice over and was about $100 cheaper.

It was a pretty damn good deal when you consider that I got it, and a clean copy of Windows 7 for my home laptop for $300.

[007]

Alright so you agree that it improves security.

You agree that its inconvenient.

So to turn off UAC is to trade off security for convenience. Thats the original point. Do you have to have UAC enabled to be secure? Not at all, but I don't like running background apps, real time scanners all the time, etc. that use resources and still won't secure the pc as well as UAC. To me the tradeoff in incovenience is worth it and I don't like a lot of background apps and I always try to keep pretty tight security, to you its not worth it. Its different for different users, that doesn't mean when I'm right or your wrong, it means its tradeoff of security for convenience.Give it a rest and quit trying to WIN the argument. I agreed to disagree but here you are still trying to WIN the argument. You are more than welcome to feel the way you do about it but quit trying to shove it down the throats of people that don't see it from your point of view.

[007]

Best Buy had a nice basic laptop today for $249.99 that I bought, and got a copy of Windows 7 for $49.99 with it. I'll have to read through this thread before I install it tonight. If anyone has any info I could use, I appreciate it.Uhhh, why did you have to pay for a copy of Win7 when you get to upgrade for free on newly purchased laptops? They shouldn't even be selling computers with Vista on them anymore unless it is specifically ordered that way.

[Fish]

I can see your point, but I would think that you are even less secure if you don't have an active anti-virus going. And you can be smart about that too and not buy the whole pack that Norton or McAfee sell, but rather just get their anit-virus / anti-malware software.

A simple msconfig and change whats on startup and you won't be running a ton of back ground apps. Turning off iTunes, Java, Quicktime and a few other common programs that put themselves on startup.

I fall in the same boat as I keep my system very clean as it's also my gaming rig. And I have no issues playing MMO's or any other game with my AV running in the background While it hasn't been much of an issue at home, I have found that UAC in an enterprise enviroment to be entirely a giant pain in the ass, and it has become so much so, that we disable it outright for all of our end users.

Really? I shudder to think of what would happen if we did that in our environment. Of course we support thousands of machines though. But our Enterprise team would laugh their asses off if somebody suggested disabling UAC. But we have group policy set so that it elevates any admin users so they aren't bothered. It only shows up for standard users, as they're the ones that need it anyway. We force them to deal with it because it makes our jobs much easier.

[patteeu]

Give it a rest and quit trying to WIN the argument. I agreed to disagree but here you are still trying to WIN the argument. You are more than welcome to feel the way you do about it but quit trying to shove it down the throats of people that don't see it from your point of view.

He wasn't responding to you.

[007]

He wasn't responding to you.I am well aware of that. He is responding to the same general disagreement he kept throwing at me last night. I'm just annoyed by him right now.

And technically, yes he was...

That disabling UAC is just trading security for convenience. Just my opinion though.

does UAC make your pc more secure? yep (as long as the user understands UAC)

is it inconvenient? yep

To think UAC isn't a large security enhancement, however inconvenient, shows a lack of understanding of UAC. No offense.

[kaplin42]

Really? I shudder to think of what would happen if we did that in our environment. Of course we support thousands of machines though. But our Enterprise team would laugh their asses off if somebody suggested disabling UAC. But we have group policy set so that it elevates any admin users so they aren't bothered. It only shows up for standard users, as they're the ones that need it anyway. We force them to deal with it because it makes our jobs much easier.

Honestly, at first we left it on, for the exact reasons that you say, and we had it elevated for admin users as well. But UAC really messes with a lot of the software we use. We found that rather than play whack-A-mole with all this stuff, we just shut UAC off.

The latest straw to break the camels back was a VPN client we are setting up for our users, if UAC is enabled, its a no go, and causes all kinds of issues.

[Fish]

Honestly, at first we left it on, for the exact reasons that you say, and we had it elevated for admin users as well. But UAC really messes with a lot of the software we use. We found that rather than play whack-A-mole with all this stuff, we just shut UAC off.

The latest straw to break the camels back was a VPN client we are setting up for our users, if UAC is enabled, its a no go, and causes all kinds of issues.

Well it takes some tweaking with Group Policy to get it to run everything as smoothly as you'd like. But there are a lot of ways to go about it. In our case, the whack-A-mole strategy was the only acceptable outcome if we wanted to meet required security standards.

Sometimes I wish we could say "Ahh fuck it" and turn it off though. Trust me.

[patteeu]

I am well aware of that. He is responding to the same general disagreement he kept throwing at me last night. I'm just annoyed by him right now.

And technically, yes he was...

Whether you're annoyed or not, he wasn't responding to you, technically or otherwise. You agreed-to-disagree out of the dispute and he respected that. Then kaplin42 picked it up. You didn't criticize kaplin42 for rekindling it, but you expect him to remain mum on the subject no matter when or where or by whom it is brought up again? Sorry, I don't think that's reasonable. And to be honest, I don't really understand why you couldn't just admit that he was right to begin with, but that's beside the point.

[Mr. Flopnuts]

Uhhh, why did you have to pay for a copy of Win7 when you get to upgrade for free on newly purchased laptops? They shouldn't even be selling computers with Vista on them anymore unless it is specifically ordered that way.

My bad. The laptop I bought came with Windows 7, the upgrade was for my other laptop.

[kaplin42]

Well it takes some tweaking with Group Policy to get it to run everything as smoothly as you'd like. But there are a lot of ways to go about it. In our case, the whack-A-mole strategy was the only acceptable outcome if we wanted to meet required security standards.

Sometimes I wish we could say "Ahh **** it" and turn it off though. Trust me.

You guys should look this Beyond Trust (http://www.beyondtrust.com/company/pr/2009/2009_10_19_BeyondTrust_Privilege_Manager_Supports_Windows7.asp) that I mentioned earlier. It might help a bit. In our enviroment, it was not something my director wanted to follow through with, but this might work for you guys.

[Fish]

You guys should look this Beyond Trust (http://www.beyondtrust.com/company/pr/2009/2009_10_19_BeyondTrust_Privilege_Manager_Supports_Windows7.asp) that I mentioned earlier. It might help a bit. In our enviroment, it was not something my director wanted to follow through with, but this might work for you guys.

Looks very interesting. We manage pretty well without it, but I'll definitely take a look. If it helps, it's worth it. Thanks.

While we're pimping support tools... have you heard of Bomgar (http://www.bomgar.com/)? It's fucking incredible. Cross platform administration with ease. Very very useful in our environment. It's expensive as hell, but man is it worth it. It has made a huge difference in the way we provide support. Plus it's fun to shout BOMGAR!!

[007]

That disabling UAC is just trading security for convenience. Just my opinion though.

does UAC make your pc more secure? yep (as long as the user understands UAC)

is it inconvenient? yep

To think UAC isn't a large security enhancement, however inconvenient, shows a lack of understanding of UAC. No offense.

Whether you're annoyed or not, he wasn't responding to you, technically or otherwise. You agreed-to-disagree out of the dispute and he respected that. Then kaplin42 picked it up. You didn't criticize kaplin42 for rekindling it, but you expect him to remain mum on the subject no matter when or where or by whom it is brought up again? Sorry, I don't think that's reasonable. And to be honest, I don't really understand why you couldn't just admit that he was right to begin with, but that's beside the point.It is all personal preference. I don't have to admit he is right by any means though. Just like he doesn't have to admit I am right. It doesn't really matter.

I happen to feel he was responding to both of us though. Not that it matters. I don't see why you feel the need to jump into this either. He will respond to my post if he wants to. I seriously doubt he needs your help on the issue.

[kaplin42]

Looks very interesting. We manage pretty well without it, but I'll definitely take a look. If it helps, it's worth it. Thanks.

While we're pimping support tools... have you heard of Bomgar (http://www.bomgar.com/)? It's ****ing incredible. Cross platform administration with ease. Very very useful in our environment. It's expensive as hell, but man is it worth it. It has made a huge difference in the way we provide support. Plus it's fun to shout BOMGAR!!

Thanks for the tip. I will look into it. We are one platform, Vista, on the user side of things, and slowly migrating to Server 2k8 on the server side from 2k3.

But the remote handling of switches and mobile devices sounds like a treat worth having for sure.

[patteeu]

It is all personal preference. I don't have to admit he is right by any means though. Just like he doesn't have to admit I am right. It doesn't really matter.

I happen to feel he was responding to both of us though. Not that it matters. I don't see why you feel the need to jump into this either. He will respond to my post if he wants to. I seriously doubt he needs your help on the issue.

For someone who wanted this topic to end, you sure can't stop talking about it. If you really want me to, I can explain why I jumped in. If not, we can let it drop. :shrug:

[007]

For someone who wanted this topic to end, you sure can't stop talking about it. If you really want me to, I can explain why I jumped in. If not, we can let it drop. :shrug:I felt he was still disagreeing with me. Sorry for offending you on it. I'm done. I hope everyone else is too because the thread was about how good Win7 is not about problems.

[Saulbadguy]

UAC flat out does not bother me. In a normal day I see it maybe once or twice.

[macdawg]

man I'm sorry for annoying you and I would have never posted here had I known that some guys would get their panties in a bunch by posting the brainbusting principle that disabling UAC is a trade off of security for performance. To think novices call you for security advice when they see a UAC prompt and you advise them to disable UAC, is pretty ****in' funny

[DaFace]

WTF kind of nerd fight we got goin on around here? :spock:

[007]

man I'm sorry for annoying you and I would have never posted here had I known that some guys would get their panties in a bunch by posting the brainbusting principle that disabling UAC is a trade off of security for performance. To think novices call you for security advice when they see a UAC prompt and you advise them to disable UAC, is pretty ****in' funny

I'm all for a solid layer of security but UAC is so far over the top it isn't even funny nor practical. Most novices won't even know how to answer the damned thing. I have a few friends that would call me asking if it was OK to say yes to these messages. People that don't know any better will be more concerned than ever about their security because of the UAC crap and not be set at ease. It pops up for EVERYTHING.

Please point out where in my post I said they should turn it off.:shake:

[macdawg]

my bad, it just appeared like you were advising to turn it off since you called it crap uac, but of all people a guy with the name Guru can appreciate the humor in someone providing security advice that is contrary to fundamental security.

[007]

my bad, it just appeared like you were advising to turn it off since you called it crap uac, but of all people a guy with the name Guru can appreciate the humor in someone providing security advice that is contrary to fundamental security.keep hurling the insults.:shake:

I just don't agree with your opinion of the situation. Just let it go at that. For the third and last time, I'm done with this conversation.

[patteeu]

For the third and last time, I'm done with this conversation.

ROFL Guru, I like you and I'm not trying to piss you off, but that's too funny not to point out.

[Fish]

My ePenis is 13 inches! Damn buncha n00bs all up in here. Only commies and queers disable UAC.

l337! Windoze rulz!

[Delano]

WTF kind of nerd fight we got goin on around here? :spock:

ROFL

[Mr. Flopnuts]

What a smooth, easy transition. That was much more effortless than I thought it would be.

[Baby Lee]

One thing I'm really liking, and it's such a no-brainer in retrospect, is the fact that individual apps have their own 'recent items' tab on the start menu. ie, you can either open the apps by clicking on the icon on the start menu, or hover over it and your most recent items opened in it gets listed. Media Center also offers direct links to newly recorded shows this way, in addition to recently watched.

[HC_Chief]

UAC flat out does not bother me. In a normal day I see it maybe once or twice.

Yes, it is much less intrusive in Win 7 than it was in Visturd.

[irishjayhawk]

I just installed the $30 student one on my home computer. I've played around with it for about 15 minutes and can already tell it's vastly better than Windows Vista.

While I wouldn't switch from OS X for a variety of reasons, I've never had trouble going to Windows - except for Vista. XP and 7 are stable and very, very good. UAC was annoying as hell, but you can disable it.

Needless to say, I was impressed with this Redmond Release.

[Fish]

Tried this today.... it's hands down the fastest/easiest way to install Win7. From starting up the machine with no OS to logging in after install was maybe 5 minutes.

How to create a bootable Windows 7 USB flash drive

If you're looking for a quicker way to install Windows 7 than via DVD, try installing it from a USB drive. This guide describes two ways to make a bootable Windows 7 USB drive.


http://arstechnica.com/business/news/2009/12/-the-usb-flash-drive.ars

[Mr. Plow]

I just installed the $30 student one on my home computer. I've played around with it for about 15 minutes and can already tell it's vastly better than Windows Vista.

While I wouldn't switch from OS X for a variety of reasons, I've never had trouble going to Windows - except for Vista. XP and 7 are stable and very, very good. UAC was annoying as hell, but you can disable it.

Needless to say, I was impressed with this Redmond Release.


Just as I was going to go out and buy this new, I get an email from my son's school with the student price. So, now I'm outfitting all my home computers & laptop with 7 & Office 2007 for a 1/4 of the price....if even that much.

[Buehler445]

FWIW, I have the Pro version.

I have a Dell Latitude E4300 with a docking station. When I had Vista on it, I had a TON of problems. I mean a shitload. About half the time it would go to sleep, it would lock up.

Haven't had any problems with 7. The only thing that could be remotely a problem is the icon for my outlook went away. As minor as it is, that is the most problems I've had.

[Hammock Parties]

W7 Ultimate here. No problems at all.

[Baby Lee]

I have run into an intermittent problem in paradise.

Every 10th time or so, when waking from sleep, the monitor LED turns from orange to green [active], but the screen remains black. The OS is still working, so I can shut down by pressing WindowsKey Right Enter to shut down. But it's still a pain.

[MMXcalibur]

I finally took the leap and put Windows 7 Home 64-bit on my HP dv5-1140 laptop. I've had no connectivity issues when I had Vista 64-bit on the laptop, but now I'm having a hell of a time getting my new Windows 7 to play nice and stay online. Whenever I browse using Firefox, I get repeated "timed out" messages and I can't listen to music from my HP Mediaserver because my Winamp keeps skipping or outright stops....almost as if it's searching for something and can't find it. I've downloaded the latest wireless NIC drivers for Windows 7 from the HP website for my machine. I'm beginning to think that maybe my wireless router might be incompatible with it (Trendline TEW-663GR)....so I suppose I'll try a direct connect later tonight.

Off chance though, has anyone had any connection issues after switching? I've scoured the Internet and have only come up with "turn off TCP/IP v6".

[Mr. Plow]

Ok, got a question for some of you guys.

Recently went from XP to 7 on my home computer. So far, everything seems pretty good, but I have one strange thing happening. When the computer goes to sleep and I come down and wake it up, the computer essentially locks up. The mouse will move for a minute, but eventually it just freezes. Keyboard doesn't work to reboot. I have to do a hard shut down and reboot to get it to work.

This doesn't seem to be happening every time, but frequently enough that it's bugging me.

Any idea's?

[SLAG]

Ok, got a question for some of you guys.

Recently went from XP to 7 on my home computer. So far, everything seems pretty good, but I have one strange thing happening. When the computer goes to sleep and I come down and wake it up, the computer essentially locks up. The mouse will move for a minute, but eventually it just freezes. Keyboard doesn't work to reboot. I have to do a hard shut down and reboot to get it to work.

This doesn't seem to be happening every time, but frequently enough that it's bugging me.

Any idea's?

check to see if there are new drivers for your video card and perhaps and firmware updates for your motherboard

[HC_Chief]

check to see if there are new drivers for your video card and perhaps and firmware updates for your motherboard

+1
This is typically due to a video driver or the ACPI power driver for your mobo. Update your video crad driver and flash your BIOS to the latest build.

[Mr. Plow]

check to see if there are new drivers for your video card and perhaps and firmware updates for your motherboard

+1
This is typically due to a video driver or the ACPI power driver for your mobo. Update your video crad driver and flash your BIOS to the latest build.


Thanks! I'll give that try when I get home this evening.