Windows 7

Taylor Campbell4 said:I don't know, I'm just hoping I didn't mess up the wiring, like maybe I accidentally set the jumper on that DVD drive to slave when it shouldn't be—though, honestly, I might have actually mangled the IDE socket because I tried to force it in backward, which probably deformed the pins a little bit. Or, I guess, it could be an issue with unstable voltage since I've got things overclocked. I'll just wait until I'm actually in the mood to crack open the case and swap that jumper out before I figure anything else out.

So, how did you actually go about testing the DVD?

Well, it was basically just a test of the media itself.
I grabbed this free little program called ImgBurn from the web. Once you get it installed and fire it up, it gives you a choice of drives if you have more than one hooked up. You just pop a disc in, run the test, and let it sit for a bit while it analyzes the media, showing everything on a graph.
Basically, you're looking for two lines—one sloping upward and one running horizontally from left to right. If those lines stay smooth without any breaks, dips, or weird jitters all the way through, then both the disc and the drive are likely fine.
If you see gaps, drops, or stuttering, well, then the disc might still be a dud.
In that case, you should try a different disc. If that one acts up too, or if it’s also faulty, then it’s pretty much certain the drive itself has finally given up the ghost.

thanks, Joseph Moore40

I finally figured out why I was getting those blue screens every single time I booted up my PC. It turns out it was BitTorrent! I only realized this yesterday after using System Restore—which actually worked, by the way—and since the restore rolled everything back to a point before I even installed BitTorrent, the program isn't even on there anymore, and for some reason, it won't let me reinstall it.

I honestly have no clue why that would happen; I mean, why on earth would BitTorrent cause Windows to crash like that...

Man, I mean, at the end of the day, we’re talking about a beta version here, so I guess it's just kind of expected that you're gonna run into all sorts of glitches and little bugs here and there... I honestly don't really get what people are looking for when they start messing around with these kinds of test operating systems in the first place.......

I’ve got Windows Vista running on my machine and it’s honestly flying by!

I mean, I really don't feel like I need anything else, let alone Windows 7.

Evoga is finally starting to pick up a little steam. xD
I guess as we get closer to the release of Windows 7, people are just gonna start hating on it more and more 😬

rustydriver23 said:Man, it's still just a preview build, so obviously there are going to be bugs and little glitches here and there... I honestly don't know what people expect from these kinds of testing operating systems.......

I don't really care about that—I'm running this as my primary and only OS, and I've made my decision, which seems to have been the right one so far.

What I actually want to know is why BitTorrent might have been causing issues (it’s entirely possible those same problems existed on Windows Vista, after all 😁 ), just so I can avoid it in the future.

Windows 7 is working fine for me too, though it could be smoother. (The main thing is File Explorer acting up a bit—for instance, "My Computer" sometimes takes forever to open, or when I switch to another drive and try to sort a bunch of files by a different key, it just hangs. You just see that progress bar at the top moving indefinitely and nothing happens.)
It's generally okay, especially since I figured out how to handle those permission issues on my secondary drive (which was originally on a different OS).
But these permission headaches feel just like they did on Vista, if I'm being honest—though I wouldn't know for sure since I jumped straight from Windows XP to Windows 7. I only have Vista on my laptop, which came pre-installed and I rarely even touch it...

I guess I’ll probably just hang out on Windows Vista SP1 or SP2 for a while longer until a proper localized version of Windows 7 is actually ready to download... 😁

@Taylor Campbell4/">@@Taylor Campbell4, my rig is basically a total torrent beast—mostly just used for P2P stuff. Honestly, I've never, ever run into an issue before! This is the first time I'm even hearing about 🙂

I was doing a little digging online and found out that P2P activities can actually trigger a BSOD—specifically on Windows Vista, whereas on Windows XP it just tends to freeze up. It seems especially common when using a wireless connection, though I'm strictly on a wired setup. For them, the "Blue Screen" hits right in the middle of a session, but for me, it only happens during boot-up. It might not even be BitTorrent's fault, but I honestly don't have the time to mess around with troubleshooting right now.
The errors weren't anything too common, so it could be a driver issue or something along those lines... I'm not entirely sure. I managed to fix it by using System Restore, and I can see that BitTorrent isn't running anymore. I'll try reinstalling BitTorrent first, and if that fails, I'll test out a different client to see what sticks, but I'll tackle that later.

I’ve got Windows 7 RC1 running on my laptop, and honestly, it feels pretty unpolished right now.

For instance, when I hook up to a projector using duplex mode—you know, mirroring the screen—the laptop resolution just forces itself to match whatever the projector is doing. It’s not a total dealbreaker, but it’s definitely annoying when you end up with these big black bars on the left and right sides of your laptop screen. Windows Vista handled that perfectly without any fuss.

Then there’s a slightly more annoying issue during bootup. Windows 7 actually boots up fast enough, but the actual UI—the Start menu, the taskbar, the desktop—just refuses to load. You’re stuck staring at a black screen with nothing but File Explorer visible. If I manually navigate to C>Windows>explorer.exe within that window, then everything finally loads "normally." Anyone have any clue what's causing this?

Joseph Thompson26 said:I'm running Windows 7 RC1 on my laptop, and honestly, it feels pretty unpolished.

For instance, when I hook up to a projector using duplex mode—showing the same image on both screens—the laptop resolution defaults to whatever the minimum requirement is for the projector. It’s not a total dealbreaker, but it’s pretty stupid when you end up with huge black bars on the left and right sides of your screen. Windows Vista handled this perfectly.

Another more serious issue happens during bootup. Windows 7 boots fast, but basically, the Start menu, taskbar, and desktop fail to load. You just get stuck looking at a black screen with File Explorer open. If I manually navigate to C>Windows>explorer.exe within that window, then the system finally finishes loading "normally." Anyone have any ideas on why this is happening?

I don't have anything against Windows 7, but I think it's better to just wait for the final release before hitting the BitTorrent sites. 🤷
Plus, once SP2 rolls around, maybe that'll actually breathe some life into Windows Vista.👍

http://rapidshare.com/files/23638895...7Watermark.rar
For anyone who finds that Windows 7 version watermark in the bottom right corner annoying...

Mark Sanchez3 said:I don't have anything against Windows 7—but why not just wait for the "final version" to drop and then hit the torrent sites? 🤷
Plus, Service Pack 2 is coming soon; maybe that'll actually breathe some life into Windows Vista.👍

From what I understand, Windows 7 handles files and processes completely differently than Windows Vista does. Because of that, Windows XP and Windows 7—which perform pretty similarly—are significantly faster during basic user tasks compared to Vista.
😁 I actually read in a magazine that this pre-release version was surprisingly stable, so I went ahead and installed it (grabbed it straight from Microsoft's site), and the system has been performing quite well so far.
Still, I don't think this leap forward even comes close to the jump we saw when XP launched. Now, that was a truly solid operating system—and it still holds up today.

It feels to me like with these newer systems, and even with certain Microsoft apps, they try so hard to improve things—like the UI and user experience—that it just ends up making everything more complicated. I don't know...
I'm not particularly obsessed with Windows 7, but I think I'll stick with it. (I skipped Vista because it just drags along; I usually run standard office hardware rather than high-end rigs, and I really don't feel like buying new gear just because an OS is poorly optimized.)

Taylor Campbell4 said:As far as I can tell, Windows 7 handles files and processes completely differently than Windows Vista. Because of that, XP and Windows 7—which basically pull similar performance numbers—are significantly faster than Windows Vista when it comes to basic user tasks.😁

I personally read in a magazine that this pre-release version was stable enough for the week, so I went ahead and installed it (grabbed it straight from the Microsoft site), and the system seems solid so far.
That said, I still don't think this jump in quality compares at all to what we saw when XP launched. Now, that was a truly great operating system, and it still holds up today.

It feels like with these newer systems, even with things like Microsoft applications, they try to "improve" stuff or tweak the UI, but it just ends up being more complicated in the end. I don't know...
I'm not exactly obsessed with Windows 7, but I'll stick with it. (I skipped Windows Vista because it drags so much; I usually run standard office hardware rather than high-end rigs, and I really have no desire to buy new hardware just to compensate for a bad OS.)

👍
Fair enough, everyone should pick whatever works for them. I like Windows 7 too, and yeah, it operates differently than Vista, even though Microsoft claims they share the same core. I'm planning to grab a retail version of Windows 7 (the kind you find in Best Buy), but it won't be my only OS; I'll be dual-booting it with Windows Vista.🙂
I think that'll be the best way to go.😍

Man, you guys are making this way more complicated than it needs to be.
I've been running Windows Vista since last year and honestly—I haven't even thought about setting up a dual boot once. 🙂

Heh
I’ve actually been using this since before it even hit the market!
I’m loving every bit of it, despite all the nonsense my friends have been feeding me. They love to parrot whatever half-baked rumor they hear online and act like experts, even though most of them haven't even touched a PC in their lives.
There’s no way Windows 7 is replacing my Windows Vista setup anytime soon, but sooner or later, I'll probably end up running a dual boot anyway.👍

I've been hanging around this week ever since they dropped build 7000... honestly, I ditched Windows Vista the second they released SPTD 1.58—needed it for Daemon and alcohol :P

Anyone got a clue what the retail price tag will look like when the final version hits the shelves?

Also—quick question! If I'm grabbing Windows from a torrent, should I actually turn on automatic updates or nah...? I always used to dodge those auto-updates back on Windows XP. Can someone fill me in on the details? Thanks!