Windows 7

[gennisis]

OK..I've been using XP since it came out...but this new computer has Windows 7

Have been trying to arrange programs etc and used Windows Easy Transfer to migrate all that I wanted from the old one.

Now...when I access a shortcut on the desktop I get the message saying that it cant comply due to the incorrect or missing protocol.

What it this aboutI

I even accessed IE to access Thaivisa,,,right click.selected 'create a shortcut"...shortcut appeared on desktop...click on it..."no protocol"

I am quite sure that the 'computer informed" here can tell me what happening and maybe even tell me what I am doing wrong

[CharlieH]

I found Win 7 to be a total pain, constantly throwing out issues and incompatibility problems with many of my favourites that I tried to migrate. In the end I just deleted it and went back to what I know works and works well and have never looked back.

As the saying goes "if it aint broke dont try and fix it".............Win 7 for me was just a series of ongoing problems.

[rodentwarrior]

Windows 7 is the best OS that m$ have brought out so far. XP is now on it's 1000 days countdown to non-support. Once that happens it will be vulnerable to Virus.

I have used all the windows versions. 95 and Millenium were the worst. 98, 2000 and XP were all good, win7 is the best so far. In my humble opinion.

Get used to win7, you wouldn't put up with a 20 year old car...........or maybe you would?

[rodentwarrior]

As for using IE - get over it....use google chrome.

[BuckarooBanzai]

People seem to be avoiding the fact that Windows 7 just says sink or swim. How does one migrate from XP to Win7 when Win7 just flips the bird and says no way buddy! Sort of like going to the super market and someone telling me what I have to buy because that is the way it is. Win7 is not friendly to it's customers who are not software geniuses and so as far as I am concerned is an extremely poorly designed operating system.

[BuckarooBanzai]

People seem to be avoiding the fact that Windows 7 just says sink or swim. How does one migrate from XP to Win7 when Win7 just flips the bird and says no way buddy! Sort of like going to the super market and someone telling me what I have to buy because that is the way it is. Win7 is not friendly to it's customers who are not software geniuses and so as far as I am concerned is an extremely poorly designed operating system.

In fact it is a lot like Cat CDMA which also flips the bird and only works when it wants to!

[ignis]

incompatibility problems

With Win 7 you can open any programs and run it in XP, drop down menu you choose earlier version and click on XP or what ever your earlier version was/is.

If you have copied your programs/installed and it will not work in 7, right click on program 'run in earlier version' so simple

For me + I am an old timer Window 7 is very easy once you experiment simple + the best....... Cannot work out much younger friends and friends kids buy a Windows 7 PC or laptop the days later they have re-formatted and gone backward to XP

[Darrel]

Windows 7 is the best OS that m$ have brought out so far.

Agreed. An excellent bit of work.

[Darrel]

People seem to be avoiding the fact that Windows 7 just says sink or swim. How does one migrate from XP to Win7 when Win7 just flips the bird and says no way buddy!

Almost all correctly written XP programmes will run on Win7. The ones that dont run are usually badly written, with some programming "tricks" that Win7 doesnt support, usually for security reasons. Decent software companies will provide working updates for these old programmes to ensure Win7 compatibility.

Some old peripherals do not have drivers for Win7, but it is up to the manufacturer to update these, not MS. They choose not to in order to save money.

Transferring your data is quite easy and should cause no problems at all.

[Carib]

Windows 7 is the best OS that m$ have brought out so far.

Agreed. An excellent bit of work.

Absolutely, just don't F around with a cheap copy, no problems at all with 7.

[Spoonman]

Windows 7 is the best OS that m$ have brought out so far.

Agreed. An excellent bit of work.

+1, for those who don't like go Buy a mac, or master Linux instead.

[Digitalbanana]

I found Win 7 to be a total pain, constantly throwing out issues and incompatibility problems with many of my favourites that I tried to migrate. In the end I just deleted it and went back to what I know works and works well and have never looked back.

As the saying goes "if it aint broke dont try and fix it".............Win 7 for me was just a series of ongoing problems.

That's plain dumb. Win XP is obsolete. Buy a new Win7 o/s, it's the best M$ o/s by far and will only be supported for security threats in future. Don't transfer from Win XP to the new o/s since it is not likely to work, but do a clean install of your programs on the new o/s. Win7 ain't broke, it works great.

[ignis]

Some old peripherals do not have drivers for Win7, but it is up to the manufacturer to update these, not MS. They choose not to in order to save money.

Sort of, have old [over 10 yrs] Canon Scanner, no drivers for Win 7, bought a crap HP, now some 18 months later I notice Canon do have the driver dated June 2011 for my canon, so happy back to use the Canon.... other odd drivers have been the same, but only weeks or a few months, just check 1x per month, often the driver you want is for Win 7... Canon was the last of the old drivers I needed.

[Supernova]

incompatibility problems

With Win 7 you can open any programs and run it in XP, drop down menu you choose earlier version and click on XP or what ever your earlier version was/is.

Just use Windows XP Mode.

[newtronbom]

<br />

<br />I found Win 7 to be a total pain, constantly throwing out issues and incompatibility problems with many of my favourites that I tried to migrate. In the end I just deleted it and went back to what I know works and works well and have never looked back.<br /><br />As the saying goes "if it aint broke dont try and fix it".............Win 7 for me was just a series of ongoing problems.<br />

<br /><br /><br />That's plain dumb. Win XP is obsolete. Buy a new Win7 o/s, it's the best M$ o/s by far and will only be supported for security threats in future. Don't transfer from Win XP to the new o/s since it is not likely to work, but do a clean install of your programs on the new o/s. Win7 ain't broke, it works great.<br />

<br /><br /><br />

Transferring of files and programs can be done, but I have to agree with "Digitalbanana" in that doing a fresh, clean new install of Win 7 and reinstalling all the programs you want to run, as opposed to using "the transfer wizard" is the best way to go. Win 7 does give you the option of running any program in a "previous OS mode, from Win 98, right up to Vista, which was the worst release MS have made, in my opinion.I have been using Win 7 since it's early release and as I slowly got used to it, I realized just how good and stable it really is. I have been lucky enough to have had a try at some of the features of the "new Win 8 OS" and I can tell you all, it's amazing! It's a totally new concept of an OS for "MS" and light years ahead of anything else out there. Meanwhile, Win 7 is by far the best that's around for me and the millions of others who like it too. Once you learn it, set it up the way you want it to run, it's so reliable and stable. Having the power go out when you are in the middle of something(a major headache with previous OSs)is all part of the days work for Win 7. It doesn't leave you with a damaged system - in fact in most cases - you don't normally even lose what you were working on. The new "system restore" feature, is almost faultless to the point, that you need not create a "system image backup" anymore, which takes up so much space, unless you are doing work that is so critical, you can't afford to lose it. System restore uses far less space, to do nearly the same job and is sufficient in most cases. People who complain and whine on about Win 7, are usually those who have insufficient knowledge to set their system up. or a few who changed over to Mac and who now regret it. I think Mac is great, but I prefer Win 7. In my opinion, neither is better or worse, just different. Like a Jaguar is different from a BMW. Both good cars and which one you buy,comes down to a matter of personal preference and choice. I never want to see the day, that only MS operating systems are all that is available. Mac does some things better for some folks, than MS will ever do. Pity that XP Pro will be dropped in the future too, I think. Until Win 7, it was and for some still is, the best OS out there!

[newtronbom]

<br />

<br />I found Win 7 to be a total pain, constantly throwing out issues and incompatibility problems with many of my favourites that I tried to migrate. In the end I just deleted it and went back to what I know works and works well and have never looked back.<br /><br />As the saying goes "if it aint broke dont try and fix it".............Win 7 for me was just a series of ongoing problems.<br />

<br /><br /><br />That's plain dumb. Win XP is obsolete. Buy a new Win7 o/s, it's the best M$ o/s by far and will only be supported for security threats in future. Don't transfer from Win XP to the new o/s since it is not likely to work, but do a clean install of your programs on the new o/s. Win7 ain't broke, it works great.<br />

<br /><br /><br />

A lot of people still keep and maintain in perfect condition cars older than 50 years though. XP may be obsolete for you, but it is still fine for an awful lot of users out there. Just because it's old, doesn't mean it's no good!

[WarpSpeed]

Windows 7 is the best OS that m$ have brought out so far. XP is now on it's 1000 days countdown to non-support. Once that happens it will be vulnerable to Virus.

I have used all the windows versions. 95 and Millenium were the worst. 98, 2000 and XP were all good, win7 is the best so far. In my humble opinion.

Get used to win7, you wouldn't put up with a 20 year old car...........or maybe you would?

There's some romance to be had in a 20 year old car.. Simplicity and durability to name just a couple of attributes..

Edit: ^ Beat me too it ...

[Gary A]

I have Windows 7 on my desktop, netbook and recently changed my lap top from Limpus Linux to Windows 7. My Thai wife uses the lap top for her learning English programs. They wouldn't work with Linux. I did a clean install on all three machines and have not looked back. No problems.

A friend of mine is not too computer savvy and often needs help with different programs and applications. He still uses Windows XP and I get quite aggravated trying to use the old XP.

Without a doubt, Windows 7 is the best that MS has ever come up with.

[BuckarooBanzai]

People who complain and whine on about Win 7, are usually those who have insufficient knowledge to set their system up.

I found your post interesting and unbiased. Well, maybe biased, but in an objective and helpful manner.

I have been using a desktop for decades and upgrading to newer OS's reluctantly because invariably at least one of my old standby favorite pieces of software will no longer function (regardless of special grandfather modes). Having just purchased a new laptop configured with Win7 I found that I could no longer save files from my text editor (in certain situations). I was not allowed even though I was the administrator. This greatly frustrated me. My computer did not trust me. This then was the reason for my rant earlier on. Just what can I do with a computer that does not trust me enough to use it.

And referring back to your post you are, I think, 100% correct that "People who complain and whine on about Win 7 are usually those who have insufficient knowledge to set their system up." and I am indeed one of those. But how does an old retiree living out in the sticks in Thailand become educated to the idiosyncrasies of this "new and improved" windows.

To this end I would like to pose a question to any knowledgeable Win7 expert, is there a good primer on how to learn and use this OS - without a great deal of frustration - that is available over the internet - and is free? I would love to become a Win7 expert but could really use some help in achieving this.

Regarding old favorite software applications - some things you grow attached to and do not want to replace with software that is newer but does not do the job as well. But some things are inevitable I guess.

[Darrel]

Just use Windows XP Mode.

"You must have Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, or Ultimate to run Windows XP Mode."

So, nice enough if you qualify.

[Darrel]

Having just purchased a new laptop configured with Win7 I found that I could no longer save files from my text editor (in certain situations). I was not allowed even though I was the administrator. This greatly frustrated me.

You were presumably trying to save into a protected folder, like the "Programmes" folder for example. Dont do it.

Save your documents to the desktop or to the documents folder, where they belong. This will ensure that if you do a backup you can easily copy all the data you have created yourself by just copying the user account directly from Explorer.

You might like to try "Windows 7 for Dummies" though it is a pay book and not free.

[Spoonman]

If anyone has any concerns dual boot the dam_n thing with XP and Win7, Iam doing that on a spare machine as I have a HDD ultility program that will ONLY run on native XP 32bit.

[Tywais]

If anyone has any concerns dual boot the dam_n thing with XP and Win7, Iam doing that on a spare machine as I have a HDD ultility program that will ONLY run on native XP 32bit.

Better still run a virtual machine of XP under Windows 7. Don't have to leave the environment of 7 to use XP. At least, that's what I do.

[Spoonman]

If anyone has any concerns dual boot the dam_n thing with XP and Win7, Iam doing that on a spare machine as I have a HDD ultility program that will ONLY run on native XP 32bit.

Better still run a virtual machine of XP under Windows 7. Don't have to leave the environment of 7 to use XP. At least, that's what I do.

Tried that, this program would not work.

[A_Traveller]

It's not surprising that an HDD utility wouldn't work in an emulation mode, sure the software doesn't have a W7 version? Or is there another vendor who offers the same functionality in a W7 program?

On the permissions point earlier, there is some discussion that upon occasion the Libraries function in W7 fails and this can lead editors [and other software] to lose their 'place' and in some cases the software will then default to the program's own directory or even Windows system itself.

Regards

PS On balance W7 AKA Vista SP2 [it works version] is preferable to XP but a well managed XP environment is still stable and reasonably virus resistant but if your desire is to play in dangerous places... well all bets are off, increasingly even for Macs.

[Spoonman]

It's not surprising that an HDD utility wouldn't work in an emulation mode, sure the software doesn't have a W7 version? Or is there another vendor who offers the same functionality in a W7 program?

Nah shes an older program, works a treat though.

HDD Capacity Restore.

[Supernova]

Just use Windows XP Mode.

"You must have Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, or Ultimate to run Windows XP Mode."

So, nice enough if you qualify.

There are ways to get XP Mode to work in lesser editions (e.g. Win7 Basic, Home Premium etc). Just google it. Alternatively, one could also use VMware or VirtualBox.

It's not surprising that an HDD utility wouldn't work in an emulation mode, sure the software doesn't have a W7 version? Or is there another vendor who offers the same functionality in a W7 program?

Nah shes an older program, works a treat though.

HDD Capacity Restore.

You can increase or limit drive capacity via jumper settings, which is the case with older EIDE hard drives.

[Spoonman]

It's not surprising that an HDD utility wouldn't work in an emulation mode, sure the software doesn't have a W7 version? Or is there another vendor who offers the same functionality in a W7 program?

Nah shes an older program, works a treat though.

HDD Capacity Restore.

You can increase or limit drive capacity via jumper settings, which is the case with older EIDE hard drives.

Not when you clone a Dell HDD to move to a larger HDD you cannot, the recipient drive will be the same size as the cloned one, that program restores the full capacity.

[Darrel]

Nah shes an older program, works a treat though.

HDD Capacity Restore.

The website is not hugely informative, but that programme sounds as though it is just a simple partition manager.

If so, Partition Magic (pay) or Easeus Partition Master (free) will do the same, and more, under Win7.

And having adjusted the partitions once, surely you would never need to do so again?

Both will also sort out your Dell problem, without any trouble at all.

[Spoonman]

Nah shes an older program, works a treat though.

HDD Capacity Restore.

The website is not hugely informative, but that programme sounds as though it is just a simple partition manager.

If so, Partition Magic (pay) or Easeus Partition Master (free) will do the same, and more, under Win7.

And having adjusted the partitions once, surely you would never need to do so again?

Both will also sort out your Dell problem, without any trouble at all.

Been there tried them all (well not Partition Magic), the only one the would recognize the "lost" portion of a borked HDD clone (MBR did not image so HDD would not boot, said HDD was a 320GB but after clone it was the 80GB of the original, had this happen a few times with Dells) was that one I use now.