Anyone still running Windows 7?

Can I actually install Windows 7 on a brand-new laptop? I was told it wouldn't work on my current machine, but nobody bothered to tell me why.

For most people? Nah.

I probably would have gone with Windows 10 if I were you. It’s faster and generally feels more solid across the board. Though, if I'm being honest, things like File Explorer, Edge, OneDrive, the App Store, the Start menu, and the whole Microsoft account thing really bug me. It still feels miles away from the level of polish you get with even a basic Linux distro or macOS, so I guess I don't really use it for anything besides gaming.
But hey, that's just my take...
Regarding stability?
I've had my laptop—an ASUS ROG Zephyrus G15 specifically designed for Windows 10—crash and freeze on me a few times already.
I suspect it was mostly due to all that ASUS bloatware, because once I managed to scrub that stuff out, I didn't run into those kinds of issues anymore.

neoncyclist792 said:Is it actually possible to get Windows 7 running on a brand-new laptop? I was told mine wouldn't work, but nobody really gave me the lowdown on why.

The biggest headache is usually just the lack of drivers for Windows 7 on newer hardware, kind of like trying to find parts for a vintage car at a modern dealership—you might hunt them down one by one if you're patient, but the official manufacturer websites won't have any support for it anymore.

Why do certain services kick in right after I boot up Windows if their startup type is set to manual? Looking at the list in automatic/manual options, which ones am I actually safe to disable? Check out the screenshot in this link.

Just one quick question—why would you even bother turning that off? Is it because Windows is taking forever to boot up? Or are you just messing around with the settings for the fun of it? 😁

What exactly do you mean?

I’m running into an issue. Whenever I watch HD movies on my PC hooked up to a plasma TV via HDMI, it feels like the frame rate just tanks out of nowhere. It’s a constant headache and I can't figure out why it keeps happening.

It isn't happening every single time, but when it does, it's incredibly annoying. I’ve Googled everything and tried every fix under the sun, but I'm stumped. It doesn't seem to be the CPU or the GPU drivers, since everything runs perfectly fine at other times.

It isn't the media player either—I've swapped through several different ones. It can't be the HDMI cable, because I bought one off Amazon rated for 4K. Maybe some software settings on the TV? I'm honestly at a loss. You search online and just get a million conflicting answers.

I figured maybe some background process was spiking the CPU usage, so I started shutting down everything that wasn't absolutely necessary.

A lot of people deal with this exact same thing even though they have much beefier rigs than mine, and when I ran that DPCLAT tool, it didn't flag any issues.

The weird part is that it doesn't happen when I'm watching YouTube or streaming services; it only happens with movie files stored on an external hard drive playing through the TV. It works fine on my computer monitor, too. Even the USB ports aren't the culprit, as I've tested them all. The hard drive is about a year old, but it's been doing this since day one, so that shouldn't be the issue.

Device Manager says all my drivers are up to date.

Anyway, sorry for the rambling; I just wrote this down as the thoughts came to me.

Give VLC Media Player a shot—tweak the settings to enable DXVA and maybe try plugging into a different HDMI port on your TV.

Is it actually a smart move to grab these Windows licenses on Craigslist? We need them for our small business. Does anyone here have any for sale?

I don't actually see a link here, so I can only speak in generalities... if you can manage to secure the actual receipt, then you're golden. Just having the product key or a sticker without the proof of purchase usually isn't enough to satisfy them. You might want to look into those refurbished software options; there are a handful of reputable companies out here in the States that specialize in selling those types of licenses.

Thanks, I appreciate it. Could you shoot me a DM with those company names?

My construction physics and energy certification software runs perfectly fine on both Windows XP and Windows 10, but I’ve hit a weird little snag with Windows 7. There’s this one specific checkbox—something pretty essential for my workflow—that just won't respond when I try to click it.
Does anyone have any idea what might be causing this glitch?

Just finished a fresh install of Windows 7 64-bit with SP1.
Kodi went up without a hitch.
Then I tried installing some Addons using a link I spotted on YouTube
http://fusion.tvaddons.ag/
fusion
and now I'm staring at this error message—stuck with no clue how to bypass it.

Unable to connect

Unable to retrieve directory information. This might be because the network is not connected. Do you want to proceed anyway?

Fusion is currently down, and there’s no word yet on when it might be back up and running.

If you ask me, Popcorn Time is a way better option for streaming movies and shows—it even manages to grab subtitles automatically sometimes.

And the code is looking for subtitles too...

Drew Allen77 said:Even Kodi users end up hunting down subtitles...

What I meant was—Popcorn is just so much more straightforward. You install it and you're good to go, whereas with Kodi, you're always having to fiddle around with different add-ons.

I haven't actually messed around with Popcorn before, but I had the addon installed in about 30 seconds flat. It’s been totally hassle-free so far; whenever I start a movie, a window just pops up showing me all the available subtitles... I didn't really have to tweak any other settings...

Need some help here,

Just got a new PC... totally barebones, no OS installed.
I threw Windows 7 on there (unlicensed, obviously) and everything was fine until I ran the first update. I know about that KB971033 thing you aren't supposed to touch if you're running pirated versions of Windows, but I did it anyway. As soon as it rebooted, this popped up:

View on imgur

Now my keyboard isn't responding at all. It worked fine when I first turned it on before Windows was even on there—mouse and keyboard both worked great in the BIOS.
After the countdown finishes, I get this message:

View on imgur

I'm stuck. Nothing works. No keys respond, so I can't even get back into the BIOS when I try to restart.

Any advice on what to do? Is this something I can fix myself or am I looking at a trip to a repair shop?

I could really use some help here.
After a little while—sometimes an hour, sometimes two, occasionally three—my internet just gives up on me. It’s not completely dead, though; I can still access specific sites like Google or YouTube...
Nothing I try seems to fix it. The only thing that actually works is a full system restart.

My gut feeling? It’s some kind of mess involving DNS or IPv4 settings.
I’ve tried everything under the sun, and honestly, I’m getting pretty close to just wiping the drive and reinstalling Windows. But I really don't want to go through that hassle if I can avoid it.

Any advice?