Main Area and Open Discussion > General Software Discussion
Strategies to stay with Windows 7 as long as possible
Nod5:
I just want to keep Win7 because I have some unsupported old software that already has trouble running on Win7, so I'd imagine it's unlikely those software would suddenly run better on Win8...
-dr_andus (November 09, 2012, 05:23 AM)
--- End quote ---
What software? Maybe someone here is familiar with it and can say if it works on Windows 8. I have so far only tried Windows 8 in virtualization but everything I've tried to installed has worked fine.
app103:
If you plan on skipping Win8, or plan on sticking with Win7 forever (or any other version of Windows, for that matter), you might want to get a real retail installation disk and not an OEM restore disk made specifically for your pc. With a retail version, you could install and run it in a VM, and the host OS could be either the latest version of Windows that will come with your next PC, or even some flavor of Linux (a better choice). Just make sure you have plenty of RAM installed, as you will need enough for both the host OS and the one running in the VM.
It's easy to back up, easy to restore, easy to transfer the image from one PC to the next, and the next, and the next, without having to "reinstall Windows and all your software".
Whatever OS my next PC is running, I plan on doing this with XP, just so I can keep things how I like it and run all my older software that won't run on anything newer. Might even create another image with WinME, just for the heck of it, and so I won't have to use the ancient snail pc to run a few old apps and games that won't even install, never mind run on XP.
wraith808:
The problem with Vista was perception, and MS being unable to get ahead of the PR curve.
-wraith808 (November 09, 2012, 10:34 AM)
--- End quote ---
The problem with Vista was the hardware manufacturers tried to get away with - it required significantly better spec hardware than Windows 7 to get it to run at a decent speed - in particular memory optimisation was an issue.
-Carol Haynes (November 09, 2012, 11:04 AM)
--- End quote ---
Actually, I think the original part of the quote speaks to that better, i.e.
Actually, Vista is a matter for discussion/personal experience.
-wraith808 (November 09, 2012, 10:34 AM)
--- End quote ---
I didn't have the same experience. My laptop wasn't ahead of the curve- neither were any of the other machines I used Vista on, and didn't have that problem. That's what the last part of that meant- people had problems in their personal experiences, and because they weren't able to get ahead of that sample in their negativity towards Vista in their PR, it affected the collective views towards it.
dr_andus:
What software? Maybe someone here is familiar with it and can say if it works on Windows 8. I have so far only tried Windows 8 in virtualization but everything I've tried to installed has worked fine.
-Nod5 (November 09, 2012, 11:22 AM)
--- End quote ---
Okay, my main concern would be Outline 4D (formerly known as StoryView 2.0, which I also have), but other oldies include Maxthink, BrainStorm, and Natara Bonsai. When I switched from XP to Win7 for example it was an unpleasant surprise that some software forced me to upgrade by simply not being compatible at all (such as EndNote), or by starting to crash (Adobe Acrobat Professional 6, Jasc Paint Shop Pro 8 etc.). The latter I don't want to upgrade because I don't think they're worth the money, but I was annoyed that I was forced to look for alternatives.
dr_andus:
If you plan on skipping Win8, or plan on sticking with Win7 forever (or any other version of Windows, for that matter), you might want to get a real retail installation disk and not an OEM restore disk made specifically for your pc. With a retail version, you could install and run it in a VM, and the host OS could be either the latest version of Windows that will come with your next PC, or even some flavor of Linux (a better choice). Just make sure you have plenty of RAM installed, as you will need enough for both the host OS and the one running in the VM.
It's easy to back up, easy to restore, easy to transfer the image from one PC to the next, and the next, and the next, without having to "reinstall Windows and all your software".
Whatever OS my next PC is running, I plan on doing this with XP, just so I can keep things how I like it and run all my older software that won't run on anything newer. Might even create another image with WinME, just for the heck of it, and so I won't have to use the ancient snail pc to run a few old apps and games that won't even install, never mind run on XP.
-app103 (November 09, 2012, 11:42 AM)
--- End quote ---
Thanks for that, I'm starting to lean towards this option. :up:
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version