Anyone still running Windows 7?

I mean, there are plenty of other operating systems out there besides Windows.

Drew Allen77 said:Well, there are plenty of operating systems out there besides Windows.

Sure, if all you want to do is surf the web, there are plenty of alternatives.
But the moment you actually need to install some decent software... you're going to need Windows.

Sent from iPhone 5

driftingbadger17 said:Yeah. There are other operating systems out there if you just want to browse the web.
But if you need to run some more heavy-duty software... you really need Windows.

Sent from iPhone 5

What kind of software are we talking about when you say "better" programs?...

driftingbadger17 said:Sure. There are plenty of other operating systems out there if all you want to do is browse the web.
But if you're looking to install more robust software... you really need Windows.

Sent from iPhone 5

What kind of "better" software are we talking about?

driftingbadger17 said:Oh, please. What kind of OS are you even going to install? Like, what else is there besides Windows?

Sent from iPhone

I’m really, truly hoping we see some kind of Android or Chrome-based thing—maybe even Firefox?—hit the mainstream soon. We need a platform that actually sets a different standard for once. Let’s be honest here: a PC running Windows has never actually worked the way it's supposed to, has it? We're all just exhausted by the endless updates, the constant freezing, the antivirus pop-ups, and whatever other nonsense they throw at us just so the product we actually paid good money for can stutter or hang right out of the gate because it decided it needed to update before it would even let you start working.
Enough is enough. It is high time for a massive shift in direction.

Joshua Price37 said:I’m really, truly hoping that we see some kind of Android or Chrome—maybe even Firefox?—release for the masses soon, you know, like a platform that actually sets its own standards for once? Can we all just be honest and admit that a PC running Windows has never actually worked the way it should, and aren't we all just completely fed up with the endless updates, the constant freezing, the antivirus software, and whatever else it takes just to get a product you actually paid good money for to stop lagging or stuttering, or heaven forbid, having to deal with an update and a forced restart right after you boot it up?
It’s just too much. It is definitely time for a massive shift in how things work.

Hold on a second, do you seriously think that if one of those other operating systems came out to replace Windows, the Windows versions would just vanish into thin air? Wouldn't those new systems have their own updates too? And don't you think viruses would start targeting them the second they became popular? I mean, viruses are already tearing through Android and even Mac as we speak... do you honestly think users on those platforms don't deal with bugs and headaches too? Besides, nobody is stopping you from just turning off Automatic Updates in Microsoft, right? Personally, on Windows 8.1, I don't even bother with third-party stuff like AVG, Avast!, NOD32, or Norton... I just stick to the standard Windows Defender and occasionally run a scan with Malwarebytes... so I'm really not sure what the big deal is in your post here.. 🤷

For me, Windows XP was constantly throwing errors at me, but Windows 7 and 8.1 were pretty stable, so I actually feel like the quality has gone up over time.

To be totally blunt, I’ve never actually bought Windows😬 and I honestly don't think they're worth the price tag they slap on them, but hey, they are what they are; I thought Windows 7 was decent enough, and I actually like Windows 8 even better... as for Linux, it just seems like way too much of a headache to set up, and I just can't bring myself to do it, so I guess I'll stick with Windows until something significantly better finally shows up.

I have a question for anyone who might be able to help. I have an iPad running Windows 7 Starter, but the hard drive recently died on me. I’ve managed to swap it out for a new one, but now I’m wondering if I can reinstall the exact same software. Will I be able to activate it using the original product key or code that came with the device? Also, does anyone know where I can download Windows 7 Starter? Thanks!

Austin Brown28 said:I've got a quick question if anyone happens to know the answer, please let me know! I have this little iPad running Windows 7 Starter and the hard drive finally kicked the bucket, so I just swapped it out for a new one. Now I'm wondering, can I actually reinstall the exact same version and will it still activate using that original key or code that came with the device? Also, does anyone know where I can even download Windows 7 Starter from? Thanks!

Why don't you just grab a standard version of Windows instead?

We aren't supposed to talk about piracy on this board—but seriously, you could just grab Windows 7 Ultimate from a torrent site and use a Windows loader to activate it... just make sure you actually read the comments on the torrent before you start downloading so you don't end up with some fake crap.

If the laptop came bundled with Windows 7 Starter, you're probably looking at a pretty entry-level machine—so honestly, it might not even be worth upgrading to anything more powerful than what's already there.

Roger Gray8 said:Why don't you just install a standard version of Windows?

We aren't supposed to discuss piracy on this forum—but honestly, you could just grab Windows 7 Ultimate from a torrent site and use a loader to activate it. Just make sure to read the user comments on the torrent before you download anything so you don't end up with malware.

I was actually hoping to use the same software again, which is why I asked. I still have my original activation key, but I'm not entirely sure if it would work if I downloaded Windows 7 Starter instead. To make matters worse, I can't seem to find a reliable place to download it; even Microsoft's official site doesn't list it anymore—they only offer Windows 8 now.

Larry Ortiz5 said:If they bundled Windows 7 Starter with the laptop, you're likely looking at a low-end machine. In my experience, it's probably not worth investing in any OS upgrade beyond what came pre-installed.

You make a fair point, and I actually agree that an upgrade isn't necessary. The reason I asked is that I primarily use this netbook for automotive diagnostics, so its specific utility is quite limited.

Man, I swear, Google can be such a massive headache when you're actually trying to get stuff done 🙂
just click here

edit: hey, I found this other thing that might make your life a little easier try clicking this
and then just hit this

Roger Gray8 said:Honestly, navigating Google can feel like such a complicated ordeal sometimes. 🙂
click 1

edit: I also found this, which might be useful for you click 2
click 3

I appreciate the help.

Larry Ortiz5 said:If they bundled Windows 7 Starter with the laptop, it’s probably a budget model, so there's really no point in upgrading to anything better than what came with it.

I actually had a Starter edition on an old HP netbook. Once I upgraded to Pro, it felt like a completely different machine... it runs so much smoother than the Starter version did.

Drew Allen77 said:I picked up an HP netbook that came with the Starter edition, but man, once I upgraded it to Pro, I was seriously blown away—it actually runs way faster than when it had Starter installed.

Well, look, the guy did mention he basically just uses that netbook for diagnostics anyway...

but honestly, I'm not totally convinced that running something like Ultimate would actually perform worse than Starter... if you ask me, it'd probably run just about the same.

I can't quite recall where I stumbled upon this claim: "If you're running Windows 7, there's really no need to manually trigger a disk defrag—it just runs automatically whenever the system hits an idle state."
Does anyone know if that’s actually true? I just pulled up the defragmenter tool here on my Windows 7 machine, but I don't see any mention of an automatic scheduling feature anywhere in the interface.

I’ve heard that there are a few minor tweaks one can make to slightly improve how Windows 7 runs, and I was hoping someone might be able to point me in the right direction.
I’m really not interested in any visual fluff—you know, things like fancy effects, aesthetics, or animations.
I went ahead and navigated to system properties – advanced – performance settings, but I’m honestly a bit stuck on which option makes more sense to select: best appearance or best performance.
Could someone perhaps clarify what the actual difference is between those two settings?

When you select "Best performance," you're essentially stripping away the visual flair of Windows—I'm talking about those extra animations and effects. If you're working with an older, sluggish PC, this can actually make things feel much snappier and more fluid. Just a heads-up, though: Windows is going to look a bit "ugly" or plain once you do this. It’s worth a shot, though—if you hate how it looks, you can always just toggle everything back to the way it was. By default, selecting "Best performance" means all those visual effects are turned off 🙂

swifttinker40 said:I've been hearing that you can squeeze out a little extra speed from Windows 7 if you tweak a few small things, so I was hoping someone could point me in the right direction.
I don't really care about any fancy effects, the visual look, or all those smooth animations or anything like that.
I went into system properties – advanced – performance settings and now I'm totally stuck on which one to pick, should I go with best appearance or just stick to best performance?
Can anyone explain what the actual difference is between those two options?

let windows choose what's best for your computer..

But hey, you could always try turning off Aero, because that actually makes a pretty big dent in your performance.

Basically, "appearance" refers to how everything looks... so the more stuff you turn off there, the faster your PC will run, though it might not be a massive jump.

Honestly, though, maybe your computer is dragging because of some viruses or just a bunch of digital junk cluttering things up?
Just grab AdwCleaner and run a scan, then follow that up with Malwarebytes.

Running CCleaner and doing a quick hard drive defrag should also help you out quite a bit.

swifttinker40 said:I've heard you can squeeze out a little more speed from Windows 7 with some minor tweaks, so I'm looking for some advice.
I don't give a damn about how things look, fancy effects, or animations.
I went into system properties – advanced – performance settings and I'm stuck. Should I go with best appearance or best performance?
Can someone explain the actual difference between those two options?

http://postimg.org/image/bnj2xf7u1/

http://postimg.org/image/81d9ks1gp/

http://postimg.org/image/d1apsq73d/

This is what my setup looks like now that I've killed off all that useless junk. It feels a bit snappier.