I Switched To Windows 7, Now My Computer Is A Nightmare!

[Supernova]

The All in One always worked on XP and was working for a little while with Win 7 and then wasn't working. Well the in the All in One, the cards were showing up, but needed reformat, and then would not all reformat. The other one never gets passed Loading Drivers.

Connect the card reader to your computer and let Windows do its thing... Then open the Device Manager; under Disk Drives you should see an entry for Generic Flash SD or something similar. Double-click on it to open the device properties page then click the Details tab. In the pull-down menu, select "Compatible Ids". It should look something like this:

PCI\VEN_104C&DEV_8033&REV_XX
PCI\VEN_104C&DEV_8033
PCI\VEN_104C

^ Include any listed hardware ids with your next post...

Are you maybe suggesting I get a higher end reader?

No.

Why spend the extra $$$ when you already have one that works... Besides, there's no guarantee a high end reader will work either.

As far as my windows install I let a tech guy do it and trusted him (my mistake). I did mention my concern about graphics driver and watched him work on it and saw the message there was no compatible with my hardware from NVIDIA. Later I found a fit from NVIDIA.

My old GeForce 6600 is still supported by NVIDIA, so you should have no problems finding drivers for the 7300 GS. Another thing to remember is, never update your graphics drivers with the ones offered by Windows Update. Instead, download the drivers from NVIDIA or Guru3D.com.

[Jingthing]

The All in One always worked on XP and was working for a little while with Win 7 and then wasn't working. Well the in the All in One, the cards were showing up, but needed reformat, and then would not all reformat. The other one never gets passed Loading Drivers.

Connect the card reader to your computer and let Windows do its thing... Then open the Device Manager; under Disk Drives you should see an entry for Generic Flash SD or something similar. Double-click on it to open the device properties page then click the Details tab. In the pull-down menu, select "Compatible Ids". It should look something like this:

PCI\VEN_104C&DEV_8033&REV_XX
PCI\VEN_104C&DEV_8033
PCI\VEN_104C

^ Include any listed hardware ids with your next post...

Are you maybe suggesting I get a higher end reader?

No.

Why spend the extra $$$ when you already have one that works... Besides, there's no guarantee a high end reader will work either.

As far as my windows install I let a tech guy do it and trusted him (my mistake). I did mention my concern about graphics driver and watched him work on it and saw the message there was no compatible with my hardware from NVIDIA. Later I found a fit from NVIDIA.

My old GeForce 6600 is still supported by NVIDIA, so you should have no problems finding drivers for the 7300 GS. Another thing to remember is, never update your graphics drivers with the ones offered by Windows Update. Instead, download the drivers from NVIDIA or Guru3D.com.

Readers

Well I have read that sometimes card readers get mechanically broken are revert to seeing all cards as write protected. Since I only have two cards and both are seen as write protected (and lost all data without any action and need reformat which I can't do because they are write protected) I thought one thing to try was a new reader. However, given that the other reader I have doesn't work either, it probably isn't that.

I did the device manager thing on the card as you suggested and get no such information. Instead it says under properties --.

Device working properly, Volumes Blank no data, Driver Microsoft, Details, description only (disk drive)

Graphics card

I got that taken care of, have a W7 Nvidia driver. Also I turned out Windows automatic driver search (turns out it wasn't on). It found a driver update for my monitor. Now the video on slingbox is better than ever. My one success.

[Supernova]

I did the device manager thing on the card as you suggested and get no such information. Instead it says under properties --.

Device working properly, Volumes Blank no data, Driver Microsoft, Details, description only (disk drive)

[Jingthing]

OK thanks for the clarification with screen shots very much.

For the SD card Hardware IDs are

RSUSBSTOR/GenDisk

GenDisk

For the audio

HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN11D4&DEV_1986&SUBSYS_1043818F&REV_1005

HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN11D4&DEV_1986&SUBSYS_1043818F

Thats on Control Panel - Device Manager

On Control Panel - Sound, NO sound card is shown at all! Is that normal when your sound card is working, as W7 claims it is from Control Panel - Device Manager

On the sound problem, yes I have checked the speaker connection about 10 times. That is probably the most common reason a non-technical person would have the no sound problem.I also stuck in a jack headphone on the soundcard and also no sound.

Edited March 24, 2010 by Jingthing

[Jingthing]

I think some people reading this may be wondering why I haven't sought professional help, yet. The reasons are I don't have a lot of confidence in the technical help I can easily get here so I want to fix what I can myself first and for the things I can't fix I want to have a more informed opinion about whether what they might suggest makes sense. I don't want to throw more good money after bad either. I do regret not buying a totally new system, but now I have put 7K baht into this upgrade, I also have to decide how much money to put into fixing it, or just calling it a loss. On a new MB, I feel I have gotten conflicting opinions here, so if a tech says I need a new MB I am not sure what to think. On a new CD/DVD drive, I would also agree the best thing to try first is to put in a new one and see if it works, because the current one may be mechanically broken. I am also not convinced fully that Microsoft will let me use my OEM Win 7 key if I buy a new computer, because the text on the box says it must be put into a totally new machine, when actually the original install was on an existing upgrade machine.

Back to my semi ironic/semi serious for sale offer, its more serious now. I think considering the CD drive isn't working and will likely need replacing and the possible but not certain issues with the legacy MB, I would take a loss on my upgrade cost and sell for 5K baht. For a more technical person than me, this may be a lot of computer for that price, consider the Win7 key alone is almost 4K. (In Jomtien.) If interested, act soon before I put more money in it, ha ha.

Edited March 24, 2010 by Jingthing

[Supernova]

I found a USB card reader drivers thing from Realtek (windows 7 support) and installed it. Didn't help at all.

Was it this one?

On the sound problem, yes I have checked the speaker connection about 10 times. That is probably the most common reason a non-technical person would have the no sound problem.I also stuck in a jack headphone on the soundcard and also no sound.

Which drivers are you using for sound? Windows 7 "bundled" drivers or Vista ones? If you haven't tried the Vista drivers, you may want explore this option.

Download:

AD1988 | AD1986

These drivers may or may not work. Although both sets contain identical files as well as share the same version number, they are NOT the same. The system files have different MD5/SHA1 values. Be sure to uninstall the first set prior to installing the other.

[Jingthing]

OK, thanks for all the attempts at help, but nothing is really working. I am getting extremely burnt out, and feeling bad things about Bill Gates.

Given all that, I have a time sensitive question.

Based on phone advice from an "expert" I reinstalled Windows. It didn't fix anything. I am having problems finding drivers that fit my hardware that will work with Windows 7. When installing Windows 7 fresh I did put in my product key. Unlike an opinion here, I think if the W7 cannot be used again if the MOTHERBOARD is different, it will no longer be good, as this is OEM version.

Here is the very time sensitive question.

Checking my system information, it turns out the key is not activated yet. It will be in 3 days when Windows will AUTOMATICALLY activate it. 3 days is plenty to build a new system with a new MB and reinstall W7 and THEN activate the product key. Then, maybe, but maybe this nightmare will be over.

Do you think this will likely work?

There is another option right now on the Sysinfo. I can click to get a new product key. I am not sure if that is a good idea or not given my interest in building a new machine.

If I go with the new system, I would want to bring along the old/new hard drive. Is there much chance I would be importing any legacy problems from my current system with this hard drive? I am thinking it would be a good idea to reformat the entire drive before a new windows install, sound reasonable?

Any TIMELY replies about this most appreciated.

On the system, it has a way to Change Product Key. Now given as the

Edited March 24, 2010 by Jingthing

[Supernova]

I think if the W7 cannot be used again if the MOTHERBOARD is different, it will no longer be good, as this is OEM version.

This would be the case IF the OEM key had already been activated. You can activate Windows OEM on any computer as long as the key has not been used to activate before. The important thing to remember -- once an OEM key is activated, it cannot be moved or transferred to a different machine other than the one it was activated on.

Based on phone advice from an "expert" I reinstalled Windows. It didn't fix anything. I am having problems finding drivers that fit my hardware that will work with Windows 7. When installing Windows 7 fresh I did put in my product key. Unlike an opinion here, I think if the W7 cannot be used again if the MOTHERBOARD is different, it will no longer be good, as this is OEM version.

Here is the very time sensitive question.

Checking my system information, it turns out the key is not activated yet. It will be in 3 days when Windows will AUTOMATICALLY activate it. 3 days is plenty to build a new system with a new MB and reinstall W7 and THEN activate the product key.

When did you reinstall? You should have 30 days to activate from the date you installed the operating system. This can be extended up to 120 days if necessary. I'm not sure what you mean by "Automatic activation".

[Jingthing]

Well, my system clearly says it will activate ITSELF in 3 days. I thought by entering the key in setup, that was the activation, but apparently not. The system also gives me the option to activate NOW, not wait 3 days. Yes, I have read about the 30 days, but I think what my system says about 3 days would supercede that.

[Supernova]

^ Silly me... Okay, now I understand what you did. During Windows setup, you had entered the product key as well as enable Automatic Activation. << In doing so, Windows will try to activate 3 days after you initially log on for the first time.

I always install *without* entering a product key and turn off auto activation (I prefer to do it manually). Therefore, I don't receive the three days warning.

[Jingthing]

Yes that is what I did, but the instructions weren't that clear. They did not explain those details at all, it is just had a space for the key and did not explain that you had the option of not putting in the key.

Some may probably laugh, but now I am considering finding a way to live with my current system, at least for a year or two or even three. Then I can correct the strategic error with fully new hardware, an even bigger HD, and Win7- 64 bit.

My hopeful ideas --

Try to find desktop USB speakers that bypass the sound card. I know smaller USB speakers are available in Thailand, but do you think it will be possible to buy the larger desktop USB speakers here? I know they exist but don't know if they can be found here. Of course USB speakers don't use a soundcard. The USB speakers should work as my USB headphones work fine.

The CD drive. I strongly suspect such a drive can run on my PC, and that I probably just broke it with a fluke user error. The DVD part works. If I can't fix or replace the CD part, maybe a USB CD unit would work.

On the memory cards, that is the weird one. I think somehow the cards got corrupted and/or the original reader. I was able to format the SDHC cards on my camera and store pictures but then back to the PC and same problems, must be formatted and cannot be formatted. I had another regular 1 meg SD card on the camera. That works on the camera and computer with the mini stick. So still flummoxed about what happened or what is going on, but figure it may be worth buying a new SDHC card and reader and hoping everything will be better. If not, I probably can live without SDHC for a couple of years.

I know, I know, a bunch of kludges, but given my current system other than the problems is more than enough computing power and speed for me at the moment and I have already put money into it, it seems somewhat sensible, rather than tossing it all and buying more than I really need at the moment.

Of course if I can't get decent USB speakers and can't fix the sound card, that would be rather bad.

Edited March 25, 2010 by Jingthing

[Supernova]

If you can hear sound using headphones, the sound card is definitely working. The conclusions I can draw up are: (1) faulty speakers or jack; (2) speakers plugged into wrong jack; or (3) software misconfiguration. The one thing I don't particularly like about Vista/Win7 are the audio configuration pages. I find them to be rather awkward and confusing to work with. Since it's not as straight forward as XP, it will take some getting used to.

Have you checked Playback Devices >> Show Disconnected/Disabled Devices? On a few systems I've worked on, speakers had to be manually enabled to get the sound working properly.

On the memory cards, that is the weird one. I think somehow the cards got corrupted and/or the original reader. I was able to format the SDHC cards on my camera and store pictures but then back to the PC and same problems, must be formatted and cannot be formatted.

One word: Drivers.

Another thing worth mentioning -- if the card reader is not fully SDHC compliant, you may experience the problems you're having. One way to fix it is to update the card reader firmware. I've read this repeatedly on several discussion threads dealing with SDHC issues on Windows 7.

Edited March 25, 2010 by Supernova

[Jingthing]

It's always possible there was a real fluke and my speakers died just before I tried my new system. Not likely. I am sure I connected them correctly to the jacks. Of course, just in case, I connected them every other possible way numerous times.

The system shows the Digital Audio Device enabled. I am not sure you are right that USB speakers use sound cards at all. My understanding is that they are completely independent of sound cards.

I am not sure what you mean by manually enabling speakers. I did just try the windows playback devices troubleshooter and Windows didn't see a problem. Windows sees the sound card and the sound card is working and enabling. Its the speakers that aren't working.

I think it is going to be hard to get desktop USB speakers in Thailand. Do you think Pantip would have them?

These or similar -- http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Z-10-Intera...m/dp/B000HCUU0Q

Not only that, but like all pure USB speakers, the V20s act as their own sound card

http://www.everythingusb.com/logitech_v20_...p_speakers.html

Drivers for the cards? Well I did load that Realtek thing. Didn't help. I am not sure how to update firmware on a cheap reader. I will look at what options there are for new readers.

Edited March 25, 2010 by Jingthing

[Supernova]

I am not sure what you mean by manually enabling speakers.

Right-click on the speaker icon in the notification area and select: Playback Devices

In the Properties page, right-click again and select both "Show Disconnected / Disabled devices" (don't remember exact wording).

[Jingthing]

I am not sure what you mean by manually enabling speakers.

Right-click on the speaker icon in the notification area and select: Playback Devices

In the Properties page, right-click again and select both "Show Disconnected / Disabled devices" (don't remember exact wording).

OK, I can do that on the Audio Device (sound card) but that is a picture of a card. There is no picture of speakers associated with it. And when I don't show those things, the card is still there, enabled, but no speakers. The speakers icon (and current default) is with the USB headphones. I think I tried this before, making the sound card the default. Then I lost use of headphones and had to restore point Windows to get it back.

That said, I am willing try something again if you have an idea. BTW, early on in this, I tried disabling the sound card thinking i could enable it again to test it out (before I reinstalled Windows, before that after it was disabled by me it was shown in the Device Manage, but not Sounds). It didn't show up again in BOTH Sounds and Device Manager until I reinstalled windows. But still no speaker sound.

Edited March 25, 2010 by Jingthing

[Supernova]

Here's another set of drivers.

SoundMAX Audio Driver for Windows 7 (dated: 2009/07/21).

Don't forget to uninstall any older versions before installing this one.

Maybe better luck this time around.

Edited March 25, 2010 by Supernova

[Jingthing]

OK, problems all (mostly) solved! Given all the helpful suggestions people have given, I feel I owe you a summary of how this happened. BTW -- THANK YOU.

Except for the SDHC card issue, I ended up punting and getting professional help. Oh well, at least I tried to fix these things myself, and learned a lot about compatibility issues and also learned that next upgrade, it is time to start over with a new machine.

Overall, although there was pain, I did manage to salvage my upgrade and now have a very usable machine, at least until it ages out, which could be tomorrow, ha ha.

Win 7 key - ACTIVATED. I am stuck with it!

Audio driver.

Yes it was a driver problem. The tech guy said there is no need to remove old drivers for audio drivers install. He found this Vista one and it worked --

AudioAD1986A610x6100_Vista

SDHC cards. It was the reader. I took the cards back to where I bought them and they were able to stick them directly into a Win7 machine and reformat them. I found a reader that supports Vista (didn't find any Win7 readers) and so far it is working. However, it will need some more use over time to see whether it works over time. In worse case there are Win7 sticks with the memory built in on the market, so I can always either buy those or wait to find Win7 support readers. Perhaps on the market already, not an issue for me as long as the Vista stick works.

Graphics driver

After the windows reinstall, I continued to have problems with this. I reinstalled a driver which I thought was right, but didn't uninstall the old driver as I was afraid to do that. I thought the screen would go blank. I learned from the tech that for graphic driver installs, you must remove the old driver and you still can see the screen. He managed to find me a Windows 7 NVIDIA driver that does work quite well. BTW, watching the tech, there were some dicey moments in this install, such as surprising forced reboots and error messages. Sorry, I can't recreate the entire scenario, but I am sure what he did would not be a piece of cake for most non-technical people.

USB ports -- there are some Win 7 support problems here. For example using the USB headphones the sound would sometimes go away. Meaning I would have to pull the plug out and in to get the drivers to reinstall. My tech says there is nothing I can do about this as far as updating internal drivers. (Except by a new MB of course).

CD/DVD drive. Replaced with new and all is well. Turns out my user action probably did break it!

Edited March 26, 2010 by Jingthing

[Supernova]

Audio driver.

Yes it was a driver problem. The tech guy said there is no need to remove old drivers for audio drivers install. He found this Vista one and it worked --

AudioAD1986A610x6100_Vista

I posted a link to that very same set right here. Haven't you tried those already?

BTW, there's a newer set of drivers available -- see Post #76. If you have problems with the current set (such as garbled or popping sound), install the newer one.

While uninstalling old drivers isn't required, it's always a good idea to do remove them prior to installing newer ones. This will eliminate any potential conflicts that may arise. I'm just speaking from my own personal experience here.

Congratulations on getting your sound working again!

Edited March 26, 2010 by Supernova

[Seismic]

I bought my first IBM PC in 1986, since then I have only ever built my own, and , in general have had very few problems (other than those relating to the bios). So here is my advice (probably a little late).

Wipe everything on the old drive that will give you problems (is un-install all drivers).

Upgrade your BIOS to the latest.

then run the installer for new windows.

after it comes up, go to hardware and check for yellow excamation marks.

address them one by one, but ensure you have the latest chipset drivers for your MoBo first.

I have had no compatibility problems with Win 7 from a) a win Xp upgrade, and a win Vista setup.

[Jingthing]

Audio driver.

Yes it was a driver problem. The tech guy said there is no need to remove old drivers for audio drivers install. He found this Vista one and it worked --

AudioAD1986A610x6100_Vista

I posted a link to that very same set right here. Haven't you tried those already?

BTW, there's a newer set of drivers available -- see Post #76. If you have problems with the current set (such as garbled or popping sound), install the newer one.

While uninstalling old drivers isn't required, it's always a good idea to do remove them prior to installing newer ones. This will eliminate any potential conflicts that may arise. I'm just speaking from my own personal experience here.

Congratulations on getting your sound working again!

I did try all of them but they didn't work. Some kind of user error, I reckon. Like I said I am not very technical. Could be worse, the speakers were at least wired to the jacks correctly.

Another question, now I have what is considered an old MB. What is the expected life of a heavily used MB and chipset system? I am under the impression that 5 years is really pushing it.

Edited March 27, 2010 by Jingthing

[ronz28]

I did a WindowsXP update offered for my Sound Blaster sound card recently and lost the sound but found a temporary work around. I should never have done that hardware update as it was working fine before the update and had to uninstall it and get a recommended driver from the manufacturer- Sony. However, now every time I restart my computer there is no sound to the speakers until I go click on Start, Accessories, Entertainment, volume control and then slide the Wave/MP3 slider to Max from Min (no sound). I don't know why it keeps going back to Min with every computer restart and eliminating sound from youtube videos, etc. until I go through this process. Its supposed to remember the setting but it isn't and keeps going to No sound with every start up. I understand your frustration with Microsoft Windows and some day I am sure I will come across a solution for mine.

[Supernova]

Another question, now I have what is considered an old MB. What is the expected life of a heavily used MB and chipset system? I am under the impression that 5 years is really pushing it.

I wouldn't consider your motherboard as being "old". Somewhat outdated = yes.

Here's mine equipped with an nForce2 chipset released back in 2004, now that's old. With 2GB of ram, GF6600 graphics card, I can run Windows 7 with all the bells and whistles. Even though I can't play the latest games or run cpu intensive tasks (due to hardware limitations), I can still do plenty with this machine. I've been wanting to build a new modern system for a while now, but haven't gotten around to it yet. Hopefully soon though...

Unless you're a hardcore gamer or do some serious video encoding, your current system should be more than adequate for everyday use. As for the life of a motherboard, I'd say 5 years is about right.

^ Having said that, I'm overdue for an upgrade.

Edited March 27, 2010 by Supernova

[traderjm]

The OEM version is locked to the motherboard it was first installed on. It is not able to be transferred to another motherboard. (Although if it fails it may be possible to transfer it to an identical motherboard. Microsoft will sometimes aprove that.)

Sorry have to disagree here. I purchased a copy of W7 for a machine I had sitting around collecting dust and it activated but had other issues that turned out to be motherboard related. I had already activated it on the failing MB. I installed a new completely different MB and as expected the new activation failed. I phone MS in Singapore (or was transfered there) explained the situation and they had no problem with emailing me a new install key. I did rant a little bit about how they can't possibly expect me to buy a new license any time a motherboard fails.. I guess people bitch enough and they hand out a new key.

[Jingthing]

The OEM version is locked to the motherboard it was first installed on. It is not able to be transferred to another motherboard. (Although if it fails it may be possible to transfer it to an identical motherboard. Microsoft will sometimes aprove that.)

Sorry have to disagree here. I purchased a copy of W7 for a machine I had sitting around collecting dust and it activated but had other issues that turned out to be motherboard related. I had already activated it on the failing MB. I installed a new completely different MB and as expected the new activation failed. I phone MS in Singapore (or was transfered there) explained the situation and they had no problem with emailing me a new install key. I did rant a little bit about how they can't possibly expect me to buy a new license any time a motherboard fails.. I guess people bitch enough and they hand out a new key.

That is useful information for people to know. However, technically if you read the text of their rules, they still had a right to deny the new key. So there is a risk for sure to change the machine you use for an OEM key. I doubt it would be easy to find how often they say yes or no. But surely it is worth a try for people who find themselves in that situation.

BTW, I really like the Windows 7 operating system. I have used Windows mostly for many years, but have also used UNIX and Mac. Win 7 is my favorite OS ever. I think I might have liked Mac better if I wasn't already used to Windows though.

Edited March 28, 2010 by Jingthing

[traderjm]

That is useful information for people to know. However, technically if you read the text of their rules, they still had a right to deny the new key. So there is a risk for sure to change the machine you use for an OEM key. I doubt it would be easy to find how often they say yes or no. But surely it is worth a try for people who find themselves in that situation.

I took that text to be a CYA type of thing from MS. There is no logic or business model that makes sense that if you buy a machine with an OEM license and the motherboard fails you have to buy an entire new key as well as a new motherboard, if everything else in the machine did not change their logic escaped me. You are quite right they do reserve the right to do as they wish, being the evil empire and all haha, I guess it is just hit and miss as to whom you get on the other end of the phone...I did keep the email of the guy I spoke to.. just in case.

BTW, I really like the Windows 7 operating system. I have used Windows mostly for many years, but have also used UNIX and Mac. Win 7 is my favorite OS ever. I think I might have liked Mac better if I wasn't already used to Windows though.

Yup I'm a big fan as well. I still use a lot of Solaris for work, not really a fan of Linux on home boxes don't run the software I need... XP was always "good enough" but W7 is really quite enjoyable to use. So much so I actually put a stripped down version on my net book and it runs great from the solid state HD. Very happy with it on all three boxes it's on.

[Jingthing]

In my case I would have bought a completely new machine, so much more than my MB would have changed (if I hadn't succeeded in solving my technical issues). So I would have expected serious flack in trying to get a new key.