Anyone still running Windows 7?

Matthew Young35 said:Yeah, but you have to format them first. You can see that ruggedfalcon62 isn't running Ubuntu unless they wipe Windows beforehand.

It works fine for me with Windows 7 as a dual boot... but if I completely wipe Windows 7 from my hard drive, then Ubuntu stops working altogether. That's what I mentioned earlier—if you aren't reading! My point was specifically proving that formatting Windows 7 doesn't delete everything, not whether Ubuntu will function alongside it or after one OS is gone.

Thanks for the heads-up, ruggedfalcon62... hopefully, it does the trick... but I've got a quick question for you... does the Windows 7 software actually need to be the official, original version? I was chatting with someone who mentioned that those "black market" versions don't really come with the right drivers, and apparently, they end up causing a massive headache for people trying to get everything running smoothly. 🤷

Jason Harris5 said:Thanks for the heads-up, ruggedfalcon62... hopefully this works out. I do have one question, though. Does it strictly need to be an original Windows 7 license? I've heard some talk about how those "unactivated" versions lack proper drivers and end up causing headaches for people. 🤷

It depends. If you're wiping the drive entirely, a non-original copy might pass, but if you're just doing a standard format, you really ought to stick with an original license.

Jason Harris5 said:Thanks for the info, ruggedfalcon62... hopefully it works out. I do have one question though—does the Windows 7 software actually need to be an original copy? I’ve heard that drivers for those unofficial versions can be pretty buggy and cause nothing but headaches for people. 🤷

Everything is running smoothly on my end. I’ve got two Windows 7 machines up and running without a single issue. My only advice? Make sure you use Service Pack 1. If you skip it, you'll end up stuck in a massive loop of updates later, but installing it right from the start saves you all that headache.

And here I was, thinking we were actually having a serious discussion for once...🙂

ruggedfalcon62 said:I haven't run into any issues at all. I'm running two machines with Windows 7 and both are performing perfectly. My only advice? Make sure you use the Service Pack 1 version. If you install the base version without it, you'll end up chasing endless updates later. Using the SP1 installer just gets everything sorted right from the start...

If I go ahead with an installation that lacks SP1, will I need to wipe the drive manually before updating to the Service Pack, or is a standard format enough? I'm asking because the last thing I want to deal with is a black screen.

Tyler Richardson72 said:And here I was, under the impression we were actually having a serious discussion...🙂

It’s a pretty widespread misconception. I’ll admit, even I initially thought ruggedfalcon62 was being serious.

So, anyway, I noticed there are actually a ton of different versions of Linux out there... does anyone happen to know if OVO can be installed using the exact same steps? And would those Windows installs have to be in American English? 🤷 To be honest, I'm a little worried because since this is an American version of Linux, I'm scared my American Windows setup might struggle with special characters or just get confused when I'm trying to type stuff on the keyboard. 🤷

Matthew Young35 said:If I install this without SP1, do I need to wipe my drive before updating to the service pack, or is just formatting enough? I'm asking because I really don't want to end up with a black screen.

Hahaha, oh man, you're a regular computer genius! How much more explaining does it take for you to realize that formatting doesn't "erase" Windows 7... haha 🍿

Jason Harris5 said:Anyway, I noticed there are so many different versions of Linux out there... does anyone know if OVO can be installed using the same method? And would those Windows installations have to be in American? 🤷 Honestly, I'm a little worried that since this is an American version of Linux, my English Windows setup might struggle with special characters like accented vowels or fail to recognize them when typing on the keyboard. 🤷

That’s basically child's play. Just go with Ubuntu; it’s solid in my opinion. It has its own software ecosystem where you can download everything directly through it... though it definitely feels different from Windows. If you don't like it, you can always just download something else. There are plenty of Linux distros out there, so just experiment with them. Or, as our resident IT expert Matthew Young35 would say, you'll get some sharp practice with these operating systems...

This computer science major can't figure out why Ubuntu won't run on a completely wiped Windows 7 drive but works fine on one that was just formatted... Honestly, it’s like they can’t connect the dots or use any common sense. Hahaha, I am seriously looking forward to your reply—it's been a week already and you still haven't come up with an answer, "Doctor."🐔

ruggedfalcon62 said:An IT expert who can't figure out why Ubuntu won't run on a completely wiped Windows 7 drive but works fine on one that was just formatted... how does someone fail at basic math and common sense like that? Pure comedy. I'm eagerly awaiting your rebuttal, "doctor." It's been a week already, and you still haven't come up with an answer...🐔

Remind me again—what exactly did you ask?

Matthew Young35 said:I can't quite recall—what was it you asked?

Formatting won't wipe out Windows 7... there's nothing you can do about that! haha 🙂

What a complete load of garbage...🤦

Simply wiping the drive isn't enough to truly purge Windows from your system. To get rid of it completely, you're going to need an exorcism.

Matthew Young35 said:A simple format isn't enough to wipe Windows off a drive completely. To truly get rid of it, you basically need an exorcism.

When you format a hard drive or delete a partition, you're usually only deleting the file system, making the data invisible but not gone. A file recovery program or special hardware can easily recover the information.

When you format a hard drive or wipe a partition, you're typically just clearing the file system. That makes the data invisible, but it hasn't actually vanished. Data recovery software or specialized hardware can pull that info right back.

http://pcsupport.about.com/od/fixthe...hard-drive.htm

As stated by our resident IT expert, Bjesomar_:

Tim Fisher
PC Support Expert

Tim Fisher PC Support Expert taj Fisher is a Professional freelance Technology author, co-owner of a technology services company for small businesses, and author of Windows 8 Basics in 30 Minutes, published by i30 Media.

Hahaha, it's all just grease monkeys and mechanics at this point... hahahahaha

I’m actually a little worried here... what if this dban is some kind of virus targeting Linux? I mean, after all, using it is what keeps Linux running smoothly. Who even developed this dban? And how can I be sure it won't just kick in later on and force a switch back to Windows? 🤷

ruggedfalcon62 said:When you format a hard drive or delete a partition, you're usually only deleting the file system, making the data invisible but not gone. A file recovery program or special hardware can easily recover the information.

When you format a hard drive or wipe a partition, you're typically just clearing the file system. The data stays there; it's just invisible. Any decent file recovery software or specialized hardware can pull that info right back.

http://pcsupport.about.com/od/fixthe...hard-drive.htm

as noted by our resident IT expert, John Doe

Now, an actual computer science professor might correct you: formatting isn't about destroying the file system—it's about creating one.

Matthew Young35 said:Some computer science expert is going to try to tell you that formatting isn't about deleting a file system—it's actually about creating one.

Man, you don't even know what you're talking about anymore, Mr. Computer Scientist! hahaha

Formatting wipes all existing files on a hard drive. If you format a drive that has data on it, those files are gone.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/w...sks-and-drives

It’s becoming pretty obvious how much you actually know about IT...🤦

ruggedfalcon62 said:You don't even know what you're talking about anymore, Mr. Computer Scientist, haha.

Formatting wipes all existing files on the hard drive. If you format a drive containing data, that data will be gone.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/w...sks-and-drives

Now we finally see just how much expertise you actually have...🤦

Wait, haven't you been arguing that formatting doesn't delete files until now?
I'm genuinely confused here—does formatting delete everything or not?