Windows 7 complaints begin (CNNMoney)

[eppur_se_muova]

Users of the new operating system say the upgrading process is buggy. But once the kinks are worked out, customers are liking Windows 7 a lot more than Vista.

By David Goldman, CNNMoney.com staff writer
Last Updated: December 9, 2009: 7:22 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Microsoft launched Windows 7 in late October to much fanfare. But, just like with previous Windows upgrades, complaints about bugs have already started rolling in.

A whopping 31% of clients have reported problems with upgrading to Windows 7, according to a recent survey of more than 100,000 customers conducted by consumer helpdesk firm iYogi.

"Most of the problems that customers have with Windows 7 have to do with installation, or application and data migration," said Vishal Dhar, co-founder of iYogi. "These are all fixable problems, but they're annoyances and they're time consuming."

One common gripe, experienced by 9% of installers, is that the half-hour to an hour-long upgrade process gets to the "62% completed" point and then freezes. It's a problem that Microsoft is aware of, and can be fixed by rebooting the computer, going into advanced settings, and typing in a code that instructs the computer to ignore plug-ins.

However, issues didn't stop with the upgrade process. Many users still experienced glitches even after successfully installing Windows 7 on their machines.
***
more: http://money.cnn.com/2009/12/09/technology/windows_7_problems/index.htm

[marmar]

1. Microsoft makes crappy products....Word being the exception.

[DainBramaged]

15. Jealous

[Deja Q]

19. I disagree.

I have worked with MS products for nigh on two decades.

With Windows 95, I knew the registry would introduce problems. Many of which still exist today. If you want a thorough response, please ask, but I think I can say enough issues where I don't need to be Spock-jock technical...

Rest assured: For most of us, it is not jealousy. We work hard to put out good services and products. People are taught in college to act with ethics and morals. I haven't seen that out of Microsoft, whose products from the last 6 years are so dismally bad... oh, when I bought their new release of Expression Blend (v2) and found a bug that affects non-MS browsers, they had the nerve to tell me to wait for v3 to come out. My customers cannot wait that long.

Microsoft pimped Flight Simulator X running under DirectX 10 with an artist's rendering. The real-life product, "Flight Simulator X - Acceleration", which was not free unlike MS's initial claim the upgrade would be, looks NOTHING LIKE WHAT WAS ADVERTISED.

I could go on for years with "bait and switch" swindles. It'd still take more time than the amount of time to reactivate Vista and Office and FSX because of an upgraded video driver or BIOS or the Acceleration pack...

Windows Vista Ultimate promised its buyers ALL SORTS of nifty perks and try-outs that no other version would get. These were never begun to be delivered and Microsoft later quietly axed. As usual, misadvertising.

Jealous? I'm sorry, that accusation is grossly unfounded!

Again, how long of a list would you like?




Looks like a responsible young lad, doesn't he?

[DainBramaged]

25. And how is the family? Hope the pets are well.....

lalalalalalalal




:hi:

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

85. The maturity. It oozes.

:eyes:

[DainBramaged]

93. Think about what the Slim Jim guy used to say at the end of the commercial

:thumbsdown:

[onehandle]

84. I use Word on my Mac. Years ago, installing Word on your Mac would actually mess up your system.

A little. I knew how to fix the breakage.

Eventually Apple made it so that Microsoft could not break the Mac's system.

[we can do it]

101. Of Utter Stupidity - the Sheeple Never Learn, Yet Another Example

[niceypoo]

91. Word is crap too

The best product microsoft ever made was Visual Basic 6. Visual studio is pretty cool too though.

The windows operating systems are the most complex pieces of software on earth. From a software engineering standpoint, it is amazing that they even run. What makes them so complicates is all the backward compatibility.

The next operating system that MS is making will be their best ever. It will be completely modular and you will only have the parts that you need. If you dont use older software you wont need the module for Win 32 backwards compatibility. You will only buy and run the modules you need. This should make it a very, very fast OS.

The MS Office 'tab' system that came with Office 07 is a gimmick. Microsoft went with the tab system because Open Office writer so closely resembled word that there was really no learning curve for people who switched over to open office (which is free.)

Older versions of Word are fine but the latest is crap IMHO.

Just my 2 cents.

[t0dd]

2. Use Linux instead of Micro$oft Winblows. nt

[Cronus Protagonist]

5. Yeah that will work for the mass population!

You'd be doing them a better favor if you recommended the OS for Dummies.... MAC.

[Deja Q]

20. I know you are, but what am I?

See my response to DainBramaged for more, but I agreed with your subject line -- major software and hardware companies don't support Linux. Adobe and Epson - no Creative Suite, no proper scanner drivers.

[Edweird]

9. Sonar doesn't run on Linux. Neither does Cubase. Or anything like streets and trips.

Linux is awesome for hacking. Other than that... well it's not quite ready for prime time just yet. I need more than Mozilla and Open Office. If I really wanted to go 'X' based, the only viable solution is a mac with OSX. But I'm fine with windows for now.

[DainBramaged]

16. Of course, tell the schools that, set up the workstations to follow

never mind, you folks pushing LIEnux think that everyone is a geek, they aren't and it is NOT simple.

[Occulus]

30. Ubuntu already touts education-related scenarios

http://www.ubuntu.com/education

[DainBramaged]

36. Get the schools to allocate funds to convert every computer to Linux

and hire a new guy to chase down problems and configurations until all the Windows systems are obsolete or until cloud computing is a reality for even the most poor of our school systems Nationwide.


Oh and I just woke up from my dream of being invaded by aliens.......

[Occulus]

40. Not really a dream

It's already being done.

http://www.ubuntu.com/products/casestudies

Of note: Oakland University in Rochester, MI.

Simon sums up what happened at Oakland: "We replaced the proprietary Unix technology. We pretty much eliminated every last bit of Sun-hardware and Solaris from the server room." The "ordinary PC servers" running Ubuntu cost a fraction of what the old hardware cost.

[MyNameGoesHere]

45. sigh a real kernel being replaced by

a fad one.

[Occulus]

57. "Fad"?

Not exactly. From Wiki's linux kernel:

In July 2009 Microsoft contributed 20,000 lines of code to the Linux kernel. The contribution consisted of Hyper-V drivers, which improve the performance of virtual Linux guest systems in a Windows hosted environment. Microsoft licensed its Linux Hyper-V drivers under the GPL. Microsoft was forced to make the code contribution when Vyatta principal engineer and Linux contributor Stephen Hemminger discovered that Microsoft had incorporated a Hyper-V network driver, with GPL-licensed open source components, statically linked to closed-source binaries in contravention of the GPL license. Microsoft contributed the drivers to rectify the licence violation, although the company attempted to portray it as a charitable act, rather than one to avoid legal action against it. In the past Microsoft had termed Linux a "cancer" and "communist".

On 9 September 2009, with version 2.6.31, Linux became the first operating system kernel to support USB 3.0.

I have yet to see any USB 3.0 devices on the market, but if the improvements are anything at all like the ones from 1.0 to 2.0, 3.0 will become the standard for everything new, and the linux kernel is the first to support it. That's pretty impressive, actually.

In March 2003, the SCO Group (SCO) filed a lawsuit against IBM claiming that IBM had violated copyrights that SCO claimed to hold over the Unix source code, by contributing portions of that code to Linux. Additionally, SCO sent letters to a number of companies warning that their use of Linux without a license from SCO may be a violation of copyright law, and claimed in the press that they would be suing individual Linux users. IBM then promised to defend its Linux customers on their behalf. This controversy has generated lawsuits by SCO against Novell, DaimlerChrysler (partially dismissed in July, 2004), and AutoZone, and retaliatory lawsuits by Red Hat and others against SCO.

In early 2007 SCO filed the specific details of the purported copyright infringement. Despite previous claims that SCO was the rightful owner of 1 million lines of code, they specified only 326 lines of code, most of which were uncopyrightable. In August 2007, the court in the Novell case ruled that SCO did not actually own the Unix copyrights to begin with, though the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in August 2009 that the question of who owned the copyright properly remained for the jury to answer.

Ambitious? Yes. Fad? No. When big companies, in the plural, try to kill your idea by any legal means, it means they see your idea as a threat to themselves. To reiterate, from above:

In the past Microsoft had termed Linux a "cancer" and "communist".

Why would Microsoft use such words when speaking of something that doesn't threaten them? How could a passing fad threaten Microsoft in any meaningful way?

[MyNameGoesHere]

60. If you like your inferior version of Unix

that's ok. Maybe one day you can learn the real deal.

[Occulus]

63. My first Unix environment was a NeXT n/t

[MyNameGoesHere]

77. Unix system 3

and later BSD. No not the cheap imitation FreeBSD but the real deal. Your NeXT garbage knocked a better OS out of the market because of unfair practices by Steve the fucking cult leader Jobs. And it is NOT a real unix just another compliant variant.

[niceypoo]

95. Unix was developed for Mainframes

Unix is fine if you prefer a 1969 computing paradigm. Linux was developed because Unix lacked daemons, device drivers and a kernel.

UNIX is a specification while Linux is a kernel. Apples and oranges.

The Unix admin at my work switched ALL of his UNIX servers to Linux over the last two years. And of course Linux is free. Linux is also OPEN SOURCE which guarantees that it is better written.

[MyNameGoesHere]

113. yes and i suppose nothing has been developed

since then? okie. linux was developed because an unstable little boy got mad at the unix guard and decided he was going to be the king of all kernels. So he "stole" the idea and a lot of the code and said look what i made. Aren't I a smart little boy. And the birth of the fanatics started shortly after that.


BTW this about made me shit my pants from laughing: Linux is also OPEN SOURCE which guarantees that it is better written.

NO the king still controls the kernel and it only gets what he says it gets. And you guys call other OS closed? okie.

[Occulus]

97. Yeah. You noticed how long the NeXT line lasted, too, eh?

*blink* Gone. They were cool machines while they lasted, though. I liked them but didn't *prefer* them (don't get me wrong here, I'm not exactly a fan of Jobs) but my choices in the lab were the Sun workstations, Mac, or NeXT. The NeXT systems were the only ones back then that didn't crash if you were in a bad mood....

When I was in school, hell was VAX/VMS. OOooo. Ick. I hope I never have to deal with VAX/VMS ever again....

[niceypoo]

99. The model T arguement

'A Ferrari is an inferior version of the model T'

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

90. Tell that to Google.

Or to the media megaconglomerate to which I used to work.

Linux WORKS. It dominated the server space, slowly and steadily. Fad? What planet do you live in?

[niceypoo]

94. People who have never used Linux are intimidated by it

Why, I dont know. In their minds it is still Linux from 2000. They dont realize that modern linux follows the same desktop look and feel paradigm as windows.

[Occulus]

104. *sigh* It comes from the early RedHat days

RedHat 3 was one of the first linux distros I saw on the shelves as a commercial product (I think I first saw it at Best Buy and I still have the box somewhere in the basement). It was, simply put, awful. I can't imagine how many hours I spent trying to set up the X config file so it would run Enlightenment properly, for example. I had to know the horizontal and vertical refresh rates of my specific monitor, even, before X would even start.

Other distros were equally bad back then as an end-user experience. Knowing what to do at the command line was a moral imperative, and God help you if you hadn't prayed first. I couldn't figure out how to update/upgrade in Debian to save my life, even when I wore my lucky sweater. Etc., and etc.

That mindset (that linux is hard to use and difficult to learn) carried over past the days when the only goal was to boot into something usable. Today, distros like Ubuntu and Mint "just work", right out of the box. Oh, certainly, there can be some minor hardware issues, and giving commands in a terminal is still a very useful thing to know how to do, but the "technical" side of linux is much, much more "out of sight under the hood" than it's ever been, and the end-user experience is a lot closer to that of Windows or Mac OSX than ever before.

My own growing conviction is that if game developers were to ever decide en masse to start developing for OpenGL as well as DirectX, Micro$oft Windows would begin to seriously die out. If I could play SecurRom protected games (at ALL!) in linux with the same visual quality I get from Windows, I don't think I'd ever have a reason to continue to use Windows at all.

Except for iTunes. I doubt that will ever have a *nix version, even though OSX is a flavor of BSD at heart.

[niceypoo]

100. Unix lacked a kernel

which is why Linux was originally developed.

UNIX is a specification, Linux is a kernel

[niceypoo]

92. Allocate funds to convert to a FREE OS?

*lol*

The same argument can be made for converting every computer to Windows 7 where you would need to hire a TEAM of new guys to chase down problems and configurations...

Linux isn't windows, there is no need to endlessly chase bugs. Ubuntu can be set up to look and feel exactly like XP, if need be. I administer a computing lab for refugee clients with all open source software and this is what I did, and hardly anybody can tell the difference, except it never crashes.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

86. "LIEnux"? Are you for real? -nt

[MyNameGoesHere]

44. Oh my you must be one them nix users

that learned how to scream slogans.. And all the obligatory $ and blows in place, my you are awesome. Tell me how does that help people to choose alternatives? There are boards out there where they welcome your fanaticism in complete lock step agreement. Go shout slogans at them.

[t0dd]

71. Yeah, I really screamed that and acted fanatically.

You must work for Microsoft. I hope you aren't one of their permatemp employees. Or maybe you're just another tool. I despise Microsoft and happen to be an advocate of linux, but thanks for telling me how I am. I'm a proponent of free software, and I'm not going to defend the monopoly in Redmond. But thanks for telling me I'm unwelcome here because I hold a different opinion :eyes:

[MyNameGoesHere]

76. I did not mention MS.

I told you you were some kind of god for using a fake unix.

[Occulus]

107. Where does one buy a Unix license? n/t

[MyNameGoesHere]

112. that depends on for what?

try solaris or HP. You going to pay for it though. BSD is available as is the dumbed down version freeBSD. openSolaris ain't to bad either.

[t0dd]

115. Because of one sentence, you make these wild assumptions about me.

Piss off. You don't know anything about me. It isn't your job to tell people they are unwelcome here.

[IRemember]

72. No need to be an asshole and personally attack someone.

[MyNameGoesHere]

75. Uh same to you?

I am sorry you use that inferior linux crap too?

[951-Riverside]

68. I prefer point, click, install over typing apt-get install, or /make /config

I'll stick with XP for now. :)

[niceypoo]

98. Ubuntu package manager installs everything with point and click

No command line necessary. It also goes out and finds the software for you. And it is all free.

[scentopine]

118. As someone who lives and breathes linux - I somewhat disagree

A maintained kernel like red hat is fine - but fedora? A fucking unmitigated disaster of bloatware with each release worse than the last.

I work with this stuff every day for almost 30 years. To be sure, Vista sucked. But, when I need to do serious work beyond compiling a module and using a GNU tool chain, give me Xp & Win7. Plus, Linux is every bit the security nightmare as Windows. It just has a fraction of desktop market.

Put fedora out in an enterprise desktop environment and oh my god. What hell there would be.

Beyond a well maintained not-for-free version for servers, it really does suck especially in the desktop world of gnome and x and a bunch of shitty apps that rarely work well.

Heresy - I'm sure. But its the honest unbiased truth from someone whose programmed in a lot of different environments. The kernel crashes and hangs from untested drivers are what really gets me pissed about linux.

Yeah I know there's ubuntu and a million other distros, but really they all suck to various degrees. If held to the same standards and expectations as Win32/64 a linux desktop would not make it past the first rung. Its still best left to hobbiests. I work on this shit 12 - 16 hours a day. I don't want to come home and debug yet another fedora hang.

XP Pro and Win7 are fine offerings in the realm of OS on scale of 1 to 10, these get about a 7. Linux desktop gets about a 2.

I hate crashing the linux party because it makes it seem I don't like the OS which isn't true - it is a great OS in a professionally maintained environment and it is a kick ass command line OS. I think Win7 is worth the cash - you can get discounts and bootlegs.

On other hand if you like hacking, nothing wrong with Fedora or other distro. Last thing I want to do is come home and fuck with computers (unless I am being paid for it, the thrill is long gone).

[DisgustipatedinCA]

3. I'm not MS's biggest supporter, but Windows 7 is great so far on my PC

I'm a network engineer by trade, and a game player by choice. I ask my personal pc to do a lot of different things, and so far, I'm very happy with Windows 7. I've run XP since it came out, tried Vista on 2 different machines, and ended up putting XP back on both. I had buggy drivers. So far, Windows 7 hasn't missed a beat, and I'm a little amazed.

I can understand if some people are having problems with an upgrade. If they're pulling all the bad stuff from Vista along with their upgrade, I can see where problems would arise. I'd think a clean install is the way to go.

Now I'm off to collect my stipend from Mr. Ballmer. :)

[KatyMan]

83. People really need to be told to NEVER

upgrade an OS, always do a clean install. You and I know that, but lots of people don't and that leads to the troubles they're having.

[DavidDvorkin]

102. Exactly.

[Mudoria]

4. No complaints here... it works flawlessly

[CaliforniaPeggy]

6. I got a new machine that had Windows 7 installed.

Basically, I like it a lot.

BUT.

Every now and then, the black screen of death shows up. I just repeatedly hit any random key till it comes back on. So far, it always responds.

I'm hoping that they will soon fix the bugs.

[Edweird]

13. That sounds like your power options...

Start->control panel->system and security->power options-> change plan settings->turn off the display... raise the value til it doesn't turn off anymore if that suites you.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

24. I will try that, and I thank you...

[DainBramaged]

17. You think maybe the machine is going into sleep mode? I do.

Black screen of death is a fallacy, need I post the links and retractions????


PrevX U-turn on Windows update Black screen of Death claim


PrevX has backtracked on earlier claims that a Windows update caused Windows machines to lock up with a so-called "Black Screen of Death".

An updated blog post from the UK-based software security firm withdraws earlier claims that a recent Microsoft update caused a glitch that resulted in affected PCs displaying only the My Computer folder on a blank screen. PrevX's new line is that changes in the Windows Registry that trigger the behaviour might be caused by malware or some other factor, which it is yet to pin down, but not the Windows update that it earlier held culpable.

Having narrowed down a specific trigger for this condition we've done quite a bit of testing and re-testing on the recent Windows patches including KB976098 and KB915597 as referred to in our previous blog. Since more specifically narrowing down the cause we have been able to exonerate these patches from being a contributory factor.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/12/02/black_screen_u_turn/

[CaliforniaPeggy]

27. It does act like sleep mode.

But it happens randomly, not when I'm putting it to sleep.

I have no idea why it happens...

I was just using the name because I'd heard it...no need to snark.

:hi:

[Occulus]

32. Turn off all your screensavers and set your power-saving stuff to "never"

It's all in the Win7 control panel.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

34. Thanks! (nt)

[bluedigger]

70. Mine does that too.

Every time my dog drops her tennis ball on the keyboard where the key with the moon symbol is. It's a very sensitive key. Darn dog!:rofl:

[andym]

7. Several people at work have it-- it has problems with older hardware/software

1) hardware example: it won't print on our main office printer a HP lj2300.
2) networking: won't network correctly with a dedicated windows 98 machine (has hardware driver that only works with win98) that is running without a "username," but does have a password (all systems up to and including Vista do work).

[deaniac21]

48. Windows 98? WTF, time to lose that baby not windows 7.

[andym]

52. Can't lose it, it's running dedicated hardware with win98 only driver nt.

Hardware is a special video capture card for an ultra sensitive UV light detection system.
Would cost at least 20,000 to replace!

[deaniac21]

54. Well there you go, support it until the end of time.

[andym]

56. We probably will-- too bad MS can't maintain compatility with their own products (however old).. nt.

[Statistical]

59. You would think the company making $20,000 products would support their hardware.

No reason why they wouldn't at least have a Windows 2000 or Windows XP driver.

Your company bought a $20K camera that only had drivers for personal OS (win98) and no drivers for a business OS (unix/linux/solaris/win NT, win 2k, etc). The company making the camera stopped supporting their expensive product without ever providing business OS drivers for it. Win2k and Win XP were released 2 & 3 years after 98.

Sounds like your company is haunted by insanely poor business decision someone made a decade ago (buying an essential $20K product that has no drivers for any business OS). Of course any company incompetent enough to sell a $20K product and only release consumer OS drivers for it is equally at fault.

However Microsoft should continue to support an OS never intended for business use that is now over a decade old. Strange how Microsoft is always the ebil one.

[andym]

73. The company that made the device went out of business years ago.

So your point is moot about them supporting their 20,000 equipment-- specialty markets often have this problem. Also at the time, no one offered a system that ran off a professional OS like Solaris (or even the borderline MS professional system at that time = Windows NT 4.0) unless you consider the pre OS X macs as professional. So our company was probably stuck at the time (I wasn't with them at the time, but I assume they looked into the equipment that had the best capabilities)

Still no excuse for MS not to support their own networking protocols. It's ironic that Linux (Samba) maintains better compatibility with the Windows Networking, than Windows 7 seems too.

Maintaining compatibility with old products is the sign of a good professional software company, so I hope MS might actually fix this "bug" or feature if it is brought to their attention.

[Statistical]

78. Why?

The company went out of business but before they went out of business they never released drivers for a single business OS? Your company bought a mission critical piece of equipment that ONLY ran on 9x codebase never designed for business? Nobody made sure the product would be supported on other OS (at a minimum NT or some flavor of Linux) before locking the company into an obsolete unsupported product?

Current marketshare for windows98 is 0.09% per Net Applications.
OF those likely 99%+ are non-business users.
http://marketshare.hitslink.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx?qprid=10

So Microsoft should provide free bug fixes (which require resources) for an issue that affects maybe one in a million business users.
All that in order to support a OS never designed for business use because an utterly incompetent company made a $20K product designed for business use and only provided drivers for a single OS before going bankrupt and that OS just happens to be an OS never designed for business environment.

Microsoft has a clearly defined product life cycle with end of life dates. Your company new a decade ago when support for Win98 would end. A good IT department knowing Windows98 is no longer supported would have taken appropriate steps to mitigate the risk years ago.

Of course it is easier to blame Microsoft.

[andym]

110. They went out of business because it's a small specialty area

that has uncertain profits, not because they didn't make new drivers for new hardware.
This is a frequent occurence in these markets.

The issue is that MS should maintain their own standards and fix their own bugs, if they want to maintain a sense of professionalism. Note that I'm not asking them to fix Windows 98, just their shiny new system. If they have broken compatibility with their own networking protocol, it is very possible that the same bug is actually causing problems with their other systems in some scenarios.

As for the 1 in a million argument (which you pulled of out of thin air, who knows what the real number is), from an economic sense, MS can do what they like (and often do), and except for various antitrust investigations and lawsuits, they tend to get away with it. But that doesn't mean our company needs to support their bugs -- and until they fix it or our old equipment dies, we won't support Windows 7. Of course, we will lose all of the benefits (which are few). Notably, our CEO wants to convert to Macs to avoid the virus/trojans that afflict Windows systems, though I think that might be unrealistic.

I think one can make a strong argument that mission critical hardware companies should actually use an open source OS, as at least their customers might have the option of maintaining OS level problems in the future.

[TxRider]

87. Problem is no with microsoft.

Any drivers under 98 that don't work on NT or later were written against microsofts driver specs for windows 98 in the first place. In other words they were hacked in by your supplier in a non compliant way.

Windows stopped access to hardware level access with NT/XP. It wasn't a secret and they plainly stated for companies not to make drivers in a non compliant manner.

It could be done in XP-W7 but would just need to be recoded.

Would be easier to move to Linux.

In either case it just needs a little programming work for a new driver. If you have the hardware specs to write to it's not that big a job.

[Turbineguy]

8. Thanks

Now I know why my new computer hung this morning. Yes, a reboot fixed it.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

10. We got it from the deal for students that someone on DU posted.

Love it so far.

[Deja Q]

21. See my post to DainBramaged above; Vista Ultimate users should get it for free.

For $30, the Pro version is almost worth the price.

Almost.

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. well el cheapo came with seven

and so far no major issues... but we joke that we may just have to upgrade it to XP

[Edweird]

12. No problems here. Running 64 bit ultimate on my studio PC.

Smooth upgrade from Vista 64 bit.

[tridim]

14. Are you seeing any speed increases over XP 64?

Assuming you used XP before Vista.

I'm waiting as long as possible, but I'm a little jealous.

[Edweird]

26. None of the stuff I use was supported in XP 64,

so I never went there. This is a dedicated machine purpose built from the ground up - never had XP installed so I don't have a baseline to compare to.

[tridim]

31. I run Cubase and Sonar on XP 64 right now.

What were you using that didn't run on XP?

[Edweird]

35. My delta audio interface.

http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=support&tab=driver&PID=25a8eb75ad625b157c03ca63d4eb5c72&serie_ID=1#tabs

[tridim]

38. Gotcha, I run an E-MU 1820m

But every piece of 64 bit software I use still runs on XP.

I'm getting an M-Audio Oxygen midi controller for xmas, I hope it has an XP64 driver. Looking now.

Edit: Damn it's not supported. :( How freaking lame is that?

[Edweird]

39. Cool. I like E-mu. I used to have an Emulator 2 and a Proteus MPS+.

The emulator weighed a freakin' ton and didn't fit on my stand, so I ditched it. The MPS+ was my primary midi controller for forever till some of the keys stopped responding and I got an itch for an SH-201.

Can you use that card as a sync source in your DAW? I have a MOTU midi time piece, but they are USB now. I hate USB. If that card could sub as my sync I would buy one. I didn't even know they did that until I looked it up just now :)

[tridim]

43. It does syncing..

However, I don't have any external MIDI sources that need syncing so I never use it. I mainly use the 1820 for balanced analog input and MIDI-in. Will be dumping MIDI for good if I can get the Oxygen controller to work in XP.

Oh, and my cat sleeps on the breakout box because it's warm. :)

[Edweird]

47. LOL, that's funny. We are going opposite directions.....

I have 2 scenarios that warrant external sync:

1) I have ADAT's and a BRC for large scale tracking - syncing to smpte is critical. I haven't used them in forever, but I need it to work when called upon.

2) Collaboration/jam sessions with other keyboard players. Midi clock is important for arpeggiators to sync up and not sound like a train wreck.

I used to have an ISA midi time piece wayyy back in the day when they were still 'Mark of the Unicorn'.
It was stone cold solid. Now everything is USB, and I push it hard. I would prefer to sync through PCI. So, my question is, in Sonar does it show up as a sync source under "project options"?

[tridim]

55. It does, under "MIDI sync output ports"

and MIDI time code/transmit MTC. It lists both MIDI ports as options.

I think we're going in opposite directions because I'm just a hobbyist and it sounds like you're a professional or aspiring professional.

[Edweird]

58. At one time I might have been called 'semi -pro'. So now, I don't even qualify as a 'has been' .

:)
Due to "life", I was out of the scene for quite a while. I'm getting back in. I'm only in it for the women :D. Well, that and the catharthis. If I make a buck or two, so much the better, but it's not my retirement plan.

[deaniac21]

49. I'm seeing significant speed increases and less support issues.

[Fearless]

23. Ditto.

[GreenTea]

18. I'll stick with XP Pro SP2, (SP3 slows computer to a crawl) at least with XP it's

pretty easy to control the reliability & speed with regular weekly cleanings and one just reconciles to the fact that one will definitely have to completely re-format ones (XP) computer at least once every fucking year...

However, Vista certainly sucks, Windows 7....hmmmm?

Yes, I know, get a Mac.

[DainBramaged]

22. "one definitely has to re-format ones computer at least once every fucking year"

Not true, but as a SYSADMIN what do I know?

I have systems here that haven't been turned off in 5 years (except on 3 day holiday weekends or during a long power failure).


A complete fallacy. Oh, and they all run XP Pro SP3.

[GreenTea]

28. As myself a "SYSADMIN " ......

I speak from experience.

I prefer XP Pro SP2 - SP3 SUCKS!

[DainBramaged]

29. Whatever.....

[deaniac21]

51. You are the only sysadmin I've ever heard use that argument.

It makes no sense.

[deaniac21]

50. Get a MAC if you really need a boat anchor.

[TxRider]

88. Ummm no

Runnin XP here for over 5 years on my machine without a reformat or reinstalling, still faster than a fresh install. Just have to learn the system thoroughly and know what your doing.

But that's well above what the average user is capable of or wants to have to be capable of.

That said Apple's OS is really superior to MS, too bad it doesn't have enough application support, and you have to buy an overpriced proprietary PC to run it on.

[Rosco T.]

33. I've upgraded 8 machines to Win7

5 Vista, 3 clean installs (from XP)

ZERO problems, ZERO issues, the Vista upgrades carried over ALL the user data and settings.

and it runs smoothly, cleanly and have ZERO crashes

[DainBramaged]

37. Shhhhhhh you're supposed to bash Windows on DU

[SallyMander]

81. I am thinking about doing this on my Dell laptop

(upgrade from Vista, that is) -- about how long does the process take? My computer is an XPS M1330 with 8 gigs of RAM and an Intel Core2 Duo processor... if any of that is relevant. :)

Thanks for any info! :hi:

[Rosco T.]

111. Plan on 30-60 minutes...

.. since it's keeping everything you have, it will redo drivers, keep your settings, etc.. but never trust blindly, backup, backup, backup before you start.

[SallyMander]

116. Thanks Rosco

I will definitely backup! I am working on a big grant proposal, so i'm going to wait until after that is done, and then i'll probably go for it.

Thanks again!

[deaniac21]

41. I have windows 7 on 500+ pc's and it has greatly eased the

workload. It is a very good and stable product.

[DainBramaged]

42. 2010 IT budget, 2010 IT budget, my kingdom for my new budget

:hi:

[L0oniX]

46. You will only use MS. Never use Linux or Unix or anything but MS. We only want 1 OS.

[deaniac21]

53. Linux or Unix + users = end-of-the-world

[Saboburns]

61. My Windows 7 is running/operating great

I couldn't be happier.

[walldude]

62. People having problems are trying to install over XP or Vista

which if you have owned a computer for more than a couple weeks you should know you never... and I mean never install a new operating system over an old one.

[tridim]

64. I buy a new dedicated OS HD every time I upgrade.

It's super cheap insurance these days.

As soon as I'm comfortable with the new install I format the old OS drive and use it for data.

[Betty88]

80. I do this too

Cloned the old OS first, did the upgrade on the new disk, when I was sure everything was good the old disk became by backup clone.

[Amonester]

74. I installed Windows 7 FE over (a very crapy & slow) Vista Basic Ed.

on a (2008) notebook that took more than 2 hours, and nothing bad happened!!

Maybe I'm the exception (but I doubt it). ;)

Now it's like the ACER notebook itself has a new life (it finally runs smooth and fast, where I hated to have to just turn it on when it was running that Vista Basic crap).

It's like brand new (I just added 1G of RAM for a few bucks and it's fine).

Go figure.

[Rosco T.]

117. You can install over Vista, you CANNOT INSTALL OVER XP.

Period. End of Line.

[CRF450]

65. Bought a new HP laptop a week and a half ago, W7 has been damn great!

This is the one I got http://www.shopping.hp.com/product/rts_notebook/rts_notebook//3/storefronts/VM219UA%2523ABA

I still have Vista on my Gaming rig and I'm fine with it untill some games start coming out that use DX11. Back to W7... On my new laptop which is more along the lines of a mid range model with the graphics being very low end, Windows 7 runs smooth as butter! When powering on from sleep mode, it only takes a few seconds for the desktop to load. Overall its very fast for what regular home users will do with internet browsing and general multi-tasking.

Those who bad mouth the OS and havent even used it yet, are willfully ignorant and should just shut up. Though if you like to read, heres a good article done by MaximumPC who've done benchmark tests between XP, Vista, and 7. http://www.maximumpc.com/article/reviews/windows_7_review?page=0%2C0

[Born_A_Truman]

66. I ordered a new Dell laptop.

· Dell Inspiron laptop notebook, 6-cell battery, AC adapter

· 17.3" diagonal WLED display

· Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T6600 (2.2Ghz, 800mhz FSB, 2MB L2 cache)

· 4GB DDR2 RAM at 800mhz

· 500GB hard drive at 5400rpm

· CD/DVD burner

· 7-in-1 media card reader

· Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X4500 HD integrated graphics

· Built-in 1.3MP webcam and microphone

· Dell wireless b/g card

· Windows 7 Home Premium operating system

· Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007

· 2GB Dell DataSafe

· 3-year McAfee AntiVirus Plus 2010

· Adobe Photoshop Elements 8

· Laplink PC Mover

· Software ships separately

· Measurements: Closed 16-1/2"L x 11"W x 1-1/2"H; Open 16-1/2"L x 11-1/2"H x 11-1/4"W



Paid $897.00 I think I got a great deal considering what Microsoft Office and Adobe Photoshop alone costs.

[CRF450]

67. You should get a 12 cell battery.

Mine ran on straight battery for about 5 and a half hours till it got to the 9% reserve.

[tishaLA]

69. The installation was a pain, but since then? A breeze

I love my Windows 7

[Betty88]

79. have it on two computers 0 issues

Best way to upgrade is with a fresh install. Backup everything, format the drive and load the OS. Putting one OS over another can work but you will get so much better performance from a clean install. I can't seem to get my BIL to believe this. He got a new computer then let some backup and restore program migrate all his data and software onto it. It works, but it take an hour to close down, the registry is probably being driven insane. Can't get him to understand that an afternoons work would make his computer run great.

BTW, I did an upgrade, if I remember correctly I put in the disk, chose a custom install then did a reboot, 30 min later nice clean OS. Reloaded the software and put back the data not a problem since.

[Shagbark Hickory]

82. When are they ever going to learn. NO MORE NEW RELEASES! PLEASE! SPARE US!

[niceypoo]

96. They had no choice with this one

Vista was a total flop

[Occulus]

108. 7 is to Vista as Xp was to ME.

Have you ever noticed how it's only every other Microsoft OS that works "correctly"?

[Shagbark Hickory]

109. Windows 2000 works adequately. Why not just leave it at that one and call it a day.

Oh that's right. Corporations have to grow to make their shareholders and executives obscene amounts of money.

I have the hardest time remembering that.

[KharmaTrain]

89. Mixed Reactions Here...

I have Windows 7 on my laptop...gladly got rid of Vista. Firstly, I had problems getting the networking to operate properly until I disabled the McAfee that came bundled in the machine. I put in my own Spyware and Virus protection that works a lot quicker. Also there's no Windows Outlook bundled (had to find an external mail program).

Two big glitches. One is the lack of being able to record directly from the soundcard. The Realtek audio that come with both Vista and Windows 7 does not have a "what you hear" or "stereo mix" feature that makes it difficult to record audio that you're listening to. Also unlike past versions, Windows 7 will not run a driver that isn't "signed" (or approved) by Microsoft. This makes some third party program inoperable. I ran into some of these problems when XP came out and within a year of release new drivers were available...but for now it's a pain in the ass.

Overall, I'm very happy with the speed and performance. It does run very smoothly and isn't as obtrusive as Vista. But I'm still in "holding" mode...keeping my other machines running on XP for the foreseeable future.

[progressoid]

103. Yippeee! Another OS pissing match thread.

[jillan]

105. The only problem I having with it is my printer didn't work - I now have

to have it hooked up to my computer with a USB cable,
BUT Microsoft is very aware of this and are working on the problem now.

It's NO big deal, just a little inconvenient.

[Regret My New Name]

106. It's all the normal non-technical people having problems, I suspect...

When you think about the number of people and the average skill level of the people who use Windows, it's bound to have people who are too dum... errr, not technically skilled to figure out simple things.

[Major Hogwash]

114. Ahhh, the infamous "data migration" problems. Lou Dobbs probably bitched about that too!

Poor Lou, Fox hasn't offered him a job yet.
I think they have a mandatory retirement age at Fox, anyone who looks like death warmed over can't work there anymore because they would compete with Rupert Murdoch's good looks.


LoL

[rocktivity]

119. Two out three satisfied isn't bad

Not even Obama has a 69% approval rating anymore!


rocktivity