Ok dumb question coming from someone who has never installed an OS before...
when I upgrade from Vista to Win7 does it reformat my entire HD (no partition)... so I need to back up all my music/picture etc...
thanks

11/15/2009 4:19:56 PM

it does not format by default. you can tell it to. it will move all of your old document/settings folder to something like "windows.old" for you.

i would still back them up though.. as you should be doing that anyways

seriously though, i'd back them up and anything else you want, format completely and start from scratch.

[Edited on November 15, 2009 at 4:22 PM. Reason : i reinstalled last week from a USB drive in 11 minutes..crazy fast ]

11/15/2009 4:21:26 PM

thanks... appreciate the advice without the namecalling!

11/15/2009 4:35:28 PM

oh yea, forgot that part

RAWR RAWR OMG YOU IDIOT GOOGLE! WTF ARE YOU ASKING STUPID QUESITONSOU098 FOR !!!.!!1!!11

11/15/2009 4:36:31 PM

lol. yeh, back everything up and start off with a clean install. and my install was about 20 min off of DVD

11/15/2009 5:16:57 PM

I'm clean installing Windows 7 from DVD. Everything goes smooth during the install until the very end. When the install is completing and the computer restarts, it hangs up after the "starting windows" words and graphic with the windows logo. It goes to just a black screen with no ability to do anything. If I restart it gives me the option to restart in safe mode because it was not shut down properly. When I attempt safe mode it will eventually give me the error that setup cannot complete in safe mode and will finish after restarting the computer.

My hunch is that my video card is not compatible or is the culprit in the situation but I'm not sure. It is a XFX 7600gs. I'm trying to do my own research to troubleshoot but anything you guys could suggest would be helpful. Thanks TWW!

11/15/2009 7:04:20 PM

GOT IT FIGURED OUT! i had dual monitors and it was messing things up. unplugged everything I could and it worked fine. Thanks anyways TWW

11/15/2009 8:00:38 PM

Quote :

"They all basically show Win7 reduces battery life by 10-16%."

compared to vista my battery life has increased. i use much less ram and much less power for my processor.

11/16/2009 1:45:08 AM

i keep installing flash for ff and ie, but it never works. what's up with this?

11/16/2009 9:36:34 AM

how do i changed this damn'd icon back to the default one? it's driving me nuts.

only does it on network locations



[Edited on November 16, 2009 at 2:41 PM. Reason : a]

11/16/2009 2:41:02 PM

I was surprised that silverlight wasn't installed in IE8 by default...but i suppose thats good to allow for it to be user preference.

11/16/2009 2:46:26 PM

Did a fresh install of Win 7, be careful if your motherboard doesn't have an updated BIOS. I have an Asus A8R32-MVP Deluxe and Win 7 would not recognize my video card until I did.

Other than that, it went fine.

11/16/2009 4:06:56 PM

^^^ i'm with you. depending on what/where you're looking at explorer changes the icon. i keep looking for the yellow folder in the taskbar. my brain can't handle the cognitive friction



apparently vista does this to some degree too. guess i never noticed cus i usually scan the text of the apps in the taskbar, rather than the icons in win7

[Edited on November 16, 2009 at 4:29 PM. Reason : .]

11/16/2009 4:21:34 PM

i'm not sure if it's just that in the beta version of windows 7 it didn't do it or what..but i know i've never seen it like that until recently.

ah well, lemme know if you figure out how to change it

[Edited on November 16, 2009 at 4:41 PM. Reason : (i just upgraded to release version like last wk)]

11/16/2009 4:41:32 PM

*cringe*

http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/11/17/this-microsoft-store-is-trying-too-hard/

11/17/2009 12:56:24 PM

i've stopped reading techcrunch they are way too biased.

i don't think there's anything wrong with that video. i mean hell they got customers to even jump in and dance, nothing wrong with having fun.

[Edited on November 17, 2009 at 1:26 PM. Reason : .]

11/17/2009 1:23:06 PM

No, really, it went on way too long. I felt bad for the employees, although some did have fun. It looked like some customers had fun too, but there were plenty who didn't bother looking up because they were focused on their purchase or getting help.

Regardless, it was a strange gimmick in my opinion.

11/17/2009 2:26:12 PM

who gives a fuck?

11/17/2009 2:46:42 PM

The problem was there wasn't much energy besides the one or two in the front that probably were tasked with leading the thing off.

To pull off something like that it has to have very good choreography and the participants have to go at it 110%

There were still too many employees drudging along with a forced smile that made it incredibly awkward, not to mention the fact that the were basically doing the electric slide to a black eyed peas song for 5 minutes straight. I mean the electric slide is like something my Mom would be doing.

this kind of thing done right would be like what they did at the Oprah thing:
http://blackeyedpeas.dipdive.com/media/76361

or the Hammerpants flash mob
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwzN4633mpI

11/17/2009 2:50:50 PM

^Now those are examples of it done right.

11/17/2009 2:53:33 PM

Quote :

"who gives a fuck?"

11/17/2009 2:54:04 PM

i mean really Apple fanbois aren't going to be happy unless the Microsoft store had Black Eyed Peas performing in the store live. who really cares, i applaud the store for doing something different.

11/17/2009 2:57:44 PM

Quote :

"i keep installing flash for ff and ie, but it never works. what's up with this?"

i had this same problem...turns out that the auto-detect/download/install on adobe's site sucks donkey balls and you need to download the correct file manually...i found this information on a thread somewhere, and one of the posters linked directly to the download...i'll see if i can find it

in other news, is anyone having the same damn problem that vista had about not letting me set my folder views how i want it? i realize microsoft thinks i should want thumbnails/medium icons in every damn folder, but i DON'T...i don't want detail view, either...i want lists...simple, compact, list view

in XP, it was easy peasy to set every folder to display the same and then you could tweak individual folders to display differently if you wanted...in vista and still in win7, every time i create a new folder and put a file in there, it defaults to the dumbass view that microsoft thinks i should be viewing it in

11/17/2009 3:01:09 PM

process hasn't changed:
http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/70819-windows-explorer-folder-view-settings.html

11/17/2009 3:18:24 PM

^ yes, i'm aware of that tutorial...it didn't work in vista, and it's not working in windows 7

and yes, i realize that it is more likely something i'm doing wrong than the process not working, but it literally only works until i restart the computer (because it DOES take, at first, anyway), then it's back to retarded view for every folder

i am curious, though...how come microsoft can't manage to make their OS remember folder views? they obviously know how it's SUPPOSED to work since they did it in XP...i guess this is their passive-aggressive way of saying "our way is always better, stop struggling!"?

[Edited on November 17, 2009 at 3:23 PM. Reason : though i'll try this "separate process" trick i just found, see if that does it]

11/17/2009 3:21:47 PM

Question for the pros....I have a 32 bit version of Windows Vista on my computer, and I have the Windows 7 64 bit upgrade CD (vista to 7, not another version of 7)....I've been reading all over the internets that it is and isn't possible. I understand the "upgrade" portion is not possible, but can windows 7 be installed with a clean install? Can I do a clean install with the upgrade CD? I have to imagine the full version is on there.

11/18/2009 10:08:20 PM

yes you can upgrade, and yes it will require a "custom" install. Meaning it won't migrate all of your programs and documents for you. It will plop everything in windows.old and you will have to move it all yourself. Or you can choose to do a full format and install (back up your files first)

11/18/2009 10:16:04 PM

Neon, thanks for the reply. But I wasn't sure what portion of the questions you were agreeing to. I appreciate the insight...but I guess in short, can I go from 32 bit vista to 64 bit Windows 7 with just specifically the "upgrade" CD? Sorry, if you meant to answer this part, but I just wanted to confirm before I wipe out my system

11/18/2009 11:30:40 PM

yep you can, in short

11/18/2009 11:39:08 PM

The Windows 7 start menu has ruined me At work I have XP and I occasionally hit the window-key and start typing and then stare confused for a second until I remember I have to use launchy.

11/20/2009 11:01:28 AM

Funny, I still haven't adapted -- I hit Windows Key + U + R to restart and just pause when it doesn't work

11/20/2009 11:15:22 AM

^lol, same here

11/20/2009 11:17:45 AM

n/m

[Edited on November 20, 2009 at 11:39 PM. Reason : got it]

11/20/2009 11:23:45 PM

on my keyboard, its always been the function key and up arrow or down arrow to raise or lower the volume. it doesn't work since i've had windows 7 though

11/21/2009 12:45:58 AM

does windows key + D still work for the show desktop shortcut

what about windows key + L for fast user switching?

11/21/2009 12:46:55 AM

^^you probably need to install the multimedia functions for your laptop, Fn keys are specific to each manufacturer.

11/21/2009 1:28:39 AM

^^windows key + d is still show desktop.

Windows key + L has always been lock user i thought.

11/21/2009 2:06:40 AM

^well technically its fast switching to the login screen so you can login with a different user without logging yourself out...locking the workstation is different as it requires your password to unlock and you can't login with another user account...

11/21/2009 2:14:43 AM

Me and the other computer tech at work upgraded our work computer to Windows 7 Professional after our boss got 5 licenses and LOVE it. May also have something to do with the fact that I went from an old Dell GX260 (2.8 + 1GB RAM) that I've had for 3 years now to a Mac Mini that 2.2GHz Dual Core and 2GB RAM and can do Windows Aero. Loving it! Now I gotta get my i7 for Christmas so I can upgrade my home PC to 7.

11/21/2009 8:00:51 AM

the hard drive on my laptop died and i want to do a full install of windows7 when i replace the HD. where can i buy the full installation? i've been to a couple different stores but all they sell are the vista-windows7 upgrade versions.

11/21/2009 8:17:02 PM

^ http://windows7.digitalriver.com/store/mswpus/en_US/DisplayHomePage

$30 "upgrade" does the full install, IIRC...make sure you get the pro version

11/21/2009 8:25:16 PM

thanks, but i'm no longer a student. will the upgrade you get at best buy do it? they don't sell the complete version and the guy working there didn't know where to buy it. the only place i've seen is directly from microsoft, but i wanted to fix this tomorrow and was hoping to not have to ship it.

[Edited on November 21, 2009 at 8:31 PM. Reason : .]

11/21/2009 8:30:59 PM

^ who cares if you're still a student? did you go to NCSU? use your alumni email address...if you don't have one yet:

http://www.alumniconnections.com/olc/pub/NCS/permanentemail.html

but to answer your question, any of the upgrades should do it...if you want to spend $80 (home premium) or $170 (pro) more, that's your business

http://tech-buzz.net/2009/10/25/use-windows-7-upgrade-disc-to-perform-full-install-and-save-80/


[Edited on November 21, 2009 at 8:44 PM. Reason : link]

11/21/2009 8:39:19 PM

installation and activation via the above link was successful!

i may have screwed up the partitioning though, but that's another thread after a little googling i discovered 'disk management' in the control panel and all is well.

[Edited on November 22, 2009 at 3:50 PM. Reason : .]

11/22/2009 3:28:46 PM

Just installed Windows 7 on:

PIII 1.0Ghz
512MB PC133 SDRAM
Intel 815E / ICH2 chipset
Intel 810 Graphics (4MB integrated)
20GB Hard Drive

Manufactured: Dec. 2000

11/22/2009 4:29:06 PM

May I ask why you still have that box sitting around?

Nicely done though, I know it can run XP just fine, how is it handling 7?

11/22/2009 5:11:15 PM

Anyone willing to grab a .dll off of XP for me? I need to get vsphere4.0 working.

11/22/2009 6:48:45 PM

^^I don't, it's a box for one of the non-profits I support. It's handling it just fine. I think I'm going to add a cheap FX5200 to take some load off the cpu though. Probably won't use for normal usage though, trying to find a use for it.

[Edited on November 22, 2009 at 7:15 PM. Reason : .]

11/22/2009 7:14:50 PM

Quote :

"Anyone willing to grab a .dll off of XP for me? I need to get vsphere4.0 working. "

what you need?

11/22/2009 7:22:14 PM

hey noen, if you guys really want to fuck with google, put an ad-blocker thats on by default into IE9

11/23/2009 10:42:53 AM