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 Offline John59
 Post subject: Opinions please
PostPosted: 09/15/10 2:18 am • # 1 
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What do you think of Windows 7?

Is it better than Vista?

Is it worth upgrading?
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 Offline jabra2
 Post subject: Opinions please
PostPosted: 09/15/10 2:31 am • # 2 
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Why upgrading if it's not broke?

Sid has windows 7 on his new machine. He's drooling, I guess since there are a few enhancements over Vista.
I'm considering W7 if I actually build my planned new system. But that's just for kicks.
I still run on my main computer WinXP, and only use my Vista computer for play. My planned machine will replace the Vista toy. LOL!
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 Offline John59
 Post subject: Opinions please
PostPosted: 09/15/10 2:38 am • # 3 
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I'd like to reinstall Windows. I've found in the past its the only way to truly clean up my machine and improve its performance.

This machine didn't come with a Vista CD.

I actually considered going back to XP, but from what I've found it doesn't cost much less than 7.
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 Offline sooz06
 Post subject: Opinions please
PostPosted: 09/15/10 2:47 am • # 4 
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I'm still using XP Pro ~ on purpose ~ Vista had recently been released and is what sent me to Dell when I was computer shopping in 2006 ~ Dell was still allowing the choice of XP vs Vista ~ my anti-Vista mindset is likely not entirely fair because of all the problems with it initially and I never used it enough to feel comfortable with it ~ I've waffled about upgrading to Windows 7 ~ I really like XP Pro ~ it does everything I want/need and more ~ I know Sid has been using Windows 7 for a couple of months ~ and I think Thack might be using Windows 7, too ~ hopefully they and others will post to this thread ~

John, if you decide to upgrade, be sure you check prices ~ I've seen the same version [I think it was the 'premium' version] of Windows 7 as high as near $200 and as low as $100 ~ very wide price range ~ 

Sooz
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Sidartha
 Post subject: Opinions please
PostPosted: 09/15/10 2:53 am • # 5 
Actually... after working with Win 7 for about 6 months or so - it's great BUT you are still going to be running a new OS and there are some glitches as well as a lack of supported hardware/software. If I had Vista, I would upgrade to Win 7 only because it has a much lighter footprint and anything supported in Vista is supported in Win 7. But, if you're migrating from XP, I suggest keeping your old XP box running (perhaps format and reinstall after you've migrated) and hook the two together in a network. This way, you can still keep you're older peripherals running in XP and just replace them with newer equipment that's supported in Win 7 as needed. Right now, I have my printer (12 years old), my scanner (7 years old), Magic Jack, ADS video capture all running in XP. None of those would work in Win 7.

Win 7 really excells in areas such as multimedia applications (video, graphics etc.) but I strongly recommend you have nothing less than a quad core, a shitload of RAM and a good video card.

EDIT!!! October 11, 2010

See my post to Jab on this subject!
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Sidartha
 Post subject: Opinions please
PostPosted: 09/15/10 2:57 am • # 6 
As an afterthought:

This is actually my second Win 7 machine. I downgraded the first one to XP because it didn't really have the stuff to run Win 7 and I was encountering a lot of errors. As an XP box... it's the best XP installation I've ever had. This new box is Win 7 64 bit - and with few exceptions, it has been very stable and reliable.

My suggestion John, if your machine originally had XP - stick with it. XP is still supported by Microsoft eventhough it's over 7 years old and they apparently don't have any plans to drop support any time soon.

Also... Win 7 ships with IE 8 and IE 8 doesn't ship with Outlook Express.  So... if you have emails in Outlook Express on your XP box that you want to save, you have to download and install "Windows Live" (which also comes with a whole bunch of other crap).  My work around to this was rather simple:

1) I set up Outlook 2003 on my old XP box.

2) Imported my emails and contacts from Outlook Express

3) Archived the data in Outlook 2003

4) Imported the archived data into Outlook 2007 on my Win 7 box. 
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 Offline laffinalltheway
 Post subject: Opinions please
PostPosted: 09/15/10 3:21 am • # 7 
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When I get my new computer, I'm going to have two hard drives; the largest will have Win7 installed and I plan on using it mainly for my games (going through games withdrawal right now).  The second, smaller hard drive will have Ubuntu installed and I will use that drive for my emails, groups, music and pretty much everything else.
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 Offline sooz06
 Post subject: Opinions please
PostPosted: 09/15/10 3:23 am • # 8 
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John, another thing to consider is how you use your computer ~ my home computer use is strictly recreational, and Sid's use is both recreational and work-related ~ you commented in the op that you feel you can better clean-up and improve your computer with Windows as the os ~ we have several threads that link to excellent, free 'clean up' programs that really do work ~ would you like to see those links here?

Sooz
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 Offline John59
 Post subject: Opinions please
PostPosted: 09/15/10 7:10 am • # 9 
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Sooz: I use a free 'clean up' program called CCleaner. It works well and I never had problems from using it, but I think its limited in what it does. I've tried others too. My guess is that most of these programs only do so much.

My PCs are never as fast as when I first get them and I don't install that many additional programs. In the past, I've found that erasing the drive (after backing things up, of course) and reinstalling Windows it really speeds up the performance. It's a pain to have to do this but it seems the only choice.

If you know of one of these programs that has worked well for you, I'd give it a try. Thanks.
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 Offline jabra2
 Post subject: Opinions please
PostPosted: 09/15/10 11:47 am • # 10 
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CCleaner does its job. "Advanced System Care" is another free program, although the Pro version costs and does a better job deep-cleaning the registry.
Reminder to myself: look for another free Pro license to replace the expired one...

John, your method is not bad if you use a slip-streamed installation to re-install, but if you re-install XP from the old CD after that many years it takes ages to download and install all the windows updates.
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 Offline sooz06
 Post subject: Opinions please
PostPosted: 09/15/10 12:22 pm • # 11 
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John, I have CCleaner too ~ and it's a good quick scan ~ while some programs overlap, they each use some different definitions too ~ I like Advanced System Care [ http://www.iobit.com/advancedwindowscareper.html ] ~ I did upgrade to the paid version when it was "on sale" for $20 ~ but the free version is very good and offers other utility functions too ~ Spybot [ http://download.cnet.com/...000-8022_4-10122137.html ] and TrendMicro [ http://housecall.trendmicro.com/ ] are both solid virus scans ~ and Malwarebytes [ http://www.malwarebytes.org/ ] is a terrific malware scan ~ all of those have free versions ~

Something that made a noticeable difference in my computer speed was when I dumped Norton as my virus protection ~ both Norton and McAfee are space hogs ~ Jab and FeatheredFish convinced me to use the Avast free program [ http://www.avast.com/index ] ~ I couldn't believe how much faster my computer was booting and running ~ it's a terrific program ~ the free version has a 60- or 90-day license but if you follow the instructions to register, you get 13 months ~ and I just renewed the free version for another year ~

Sooz
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 Offline John59
 Post subject: Opinions please
PostPosted: 09/16/10 2:35 am • # 12 
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Its interesting that you mention Norton because that's what antivirus I'm running. I've tried Avast before and the only reason I'm running Norton is because it came with this PC.


Thanks for all the comments and suggestions everyone.
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 Offline jabra2
 Post subject: Opinions please
PostPosted: 09/16/10 4:02 am • # 13 
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Norton has its very own "Norton removal tool" down-loadable on their website.
That's a hint. It is so badly programmed that the regular uninstall routine is unable to get rid of all the junk left behind.

Anti-virus software like Norton or McAffee being pushed by computer manufacturers is their only chance to make a buck.
I convert everyone with confidence to the free version of Avast (at the moment) as soon as their Norton/McAffee licenses expire.
Good (and free) AV software comes and goes. My free AV software used to be AVG until they became to bloated and slowed down computers.
I haven't seen a computer NOT speed up drastically after uninstalling the commercial AV programs.
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 Offline sooz06
 Post subject: Opinions please
PostPosted: 09/16/10 4:12 am • # 14 
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John, I promise you that you will see a dramatic improvement once you dump Norton ~ I'm guessing that even tho Norton was preinstalled on your computer, you had to register it ~ that means your license will be good even if you [temporarily] uninstall it ~ so I suggest you try an experiment ~ download the uninstall tool from Norton in Jab's prior post ~ then uninstall Norton ~ then download/install the free version of Avast ~ try it to see what a difference it makes ~ if you don't like it, it's no big deal to uninstall it and reinstall Norton ~ but I'm betting you will see an immediate and big improvement ~

Sooz
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Sidartha
 Post subject: Opinions please
PostPosted: 09/16/10 4:14 am • # 15 
Windows 7 uses Microsoft Security Essentials and so far, it seems to be doing just fine.

The thing I like most about Win7 is the "partial reboot".  If a driver fails, Win 7 will recover it and reload it without having to reboot the entire system.  It then records the failure and provides you with tools to seek a solution for the problem or catalogue it so Win 7 can notify you when a solution becomes available.  
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 Offline John59
 Post subject: Opinions please
PostPosted: 09/18/10 1:33 am • # 16 
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Ok, I uninstalled Norton (thanks to jabra for mentioning they have a removal tool) and then installed Avast.

I'm not noticing a huge improvement. Slightly better and I do like Avast so I'm not disappointed I did it, but I was hoping for more of a difference.

I ran CCleaner but I'll try the others. CCleaner found a few things Norton left behind, so maybe there is more.

Thanks again, everyone.
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 Offline sooz06
 Post subject: Opinions please
PostPosted: 09/18/10 1:49 am • # 17 
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Sorry, John ~ I'm disappointed for you because getting rid of Norton made a HUGE difference for me ~ I'm pretty sure you'll be shocked at what the other scans dig out ~ oh ... and be sure to do a defragmentation once everything is cleaned out ~ I know a defrag is part of one of the ASC scans ~

Jab, any other tweaks you can think of?

Sooz
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 Offline John59
 Post subject: Opinions please
PostPosted: 09/18/10 9:34 am • # 18 
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I purchased the full version of Advanced System Care. Right now it's only $12.95.

After running that I do see some improvement.


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 Offline jabra2
 Post subject: Opinions please
PostPosted: 09/18/10 10:04 am • # 19 
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John59 wrote:
I purchased the full version of Advanced System Care. Right now it's only $12.95.

After running that I do see some improvement.
The Chinese government thanks you for your purchase. LOL! You commie-lover!
Seriously, ASC is made by a Chinese company. They were caught a year or so using some code straight from Anti-Malwarebytes. Big hoopla, and one can only hope that they don't do something low as that again.
I have to admit, the deep cleaning of the registry with ASC Pro really finds a lot of accumulated garbage.
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