Another windows 8 bashing thread. I use it at home and now at work, in general I wouldn't want to go back to 7. I even use the built in start menu which is nowhere near as bad as it's made out to be, but the problem is people don't give things that are different a chance at all.
It definitely is faster and takes less resources, and offers a significant number of enhancements over 7 in the desktop environment.
Still, I confidently predict that when it (along with office 2013) that our users will hate it because it's different, but in time, they'll get used to it and then probably have to readjust again to windows 9 because it will have gone backwards.
Can't say I'm overly excited about what I've seen from w9 yet tbh. I wouldn't hold out too much hope that it'll be that much better, but then it'll be proclaimed to be the greatest by those who like to use the "every other version of windows is a flop" comment because they won't be wrong about it....
Anyone with half a brain will get used to it in no time especially if they take the time to tweak.
I agree it could have been better out of the box, though.
Only that with the pub car radio analogy, you'd be accepting;
no warranty
it might be stolen and not legally yours, you'd have no redress for the money spent
A legit OEM DVD can be bought from reputable suppliers for £60-70. It should give you five good years' service around £12-£13 per year or £1 per month.
Windows 8.1 will give nine years, the retail one can be had for about £85, that's a steal at less than a tenner a year. Where's the argument?
Only that with the pub car radio analogy, you'd be accepting;
no warranty
it might be stolen and not legally yours, you'd have no redress for the money spent
A legit OEM DVD can be bought from reputable suppliers for £60-70. It should give you five good years' service around £12-£13 per year or £1 per month.
Windows 8.1 will give nine years, the retail one can be had for about £85, that's a steal at less than a tenner a year. Where's the argument?
The OP already has a Windows 8 OEM license, so it costs nothing.
There is nothing illegal about what those sellers are doing. If it was then Ebay would pull the listing in microseconds.
They will send "a PC" with the licence attached. In practice it will be a bit of a PC, and only if you really want it.
The actual software is a 3GB download from Microsoft reseller, Digital River. You download it, burn it to disk, then install it, then activate it. Using the licence provided by the seller.
Win7 probably will run better on a netbook.
You do realise that the DigitalRiver downloads are free? anyone can access them, you obviously need a legitimate key, but you do NOT have to pay for the ISO's and they are 100% legitimate M$ ISO's
I recently fixed an OEM laptop for a friend, his HD died and Acer gave him no recovery disks or OS disks when he purchased it, then they demanded another £50+ for the discs (conveniently after the warranty had expired)
I download a ISO of Win7 HP-x64 and installed it using the OEM key on the COA sticker on the laptop.
Added bonus of NO Acer BLOATWARE and Norton trials etc.
F*** you Acer, you greedy money grabbing sods, He had paid for the license when he purchased the laptop, so stick your Acer recovery discs up your ass #rantover
You do realise that the DigitalRiver downloads are free? anyone can access them, you obviously need a legitimate key, but you do NOT have to pay for the ISO's and they are 100% legitimate M$ ISO's
I recently fixed an OEM laptop for a friend, his HD died and Acer gave him no recovery disks or OS disks when he purchased it, then they demanded another £50+ for the discs (conveniently after the warranty had expired)
I download a ISO of Win7 HP-x64 and installed it using the OEM key on the COA sticker on the laptop.
Added bonus of NO Acer BLOATWARE and Norton trials etc.
F*** you Acer, you greedy money grabbing sods, He had paid for the license when he purchased the laptop, so stick your Acer recovery discs up your ass #rantover
In other words, your friend couldn't be bothered to create the recovery media before it was too late. Acer, when asked if they could provide official Windows OEM DVDs out of warranty, said yes.
I am not talking about 'recovery' disks, I am talking about a physical copy of Windows 7 OEM which he should have received with the laptop!
Maybe there is a reason Acer do NOT supply people with this disk, because they know in 3 years when the hdd fails that most people will come back to Acer and pay £50 for the 4 discs that restore the laptop to its default factory condition (pre-installed with bloatware and garbage software).
It is all about money, why when my mate spent £800 on a laptop should he then be 'told' by Acer, sorry pal, we can send you the discs for £50.
In this situation his other option would be a retail copy of Windows (£80).
Sorry, but he purchased the laptop and a fully licensed copy of Win7, Acer should supply an OEM Win7 disc with ALL laptops.
I am not talking about 'recovery' disks, I am talking about a physical copy of Windows 7 OEM which he should have received with the laptop!
Maybe there is a reason Acer do NOT supply people with this disk, because they know in 3 years when the hdd fails that most people will come back to Acer and pay £50 for the 4 discs that restore the laptop to its default factory condition (pre-installed with bloatware and garbage software).
It is all about money, why when my mate spent £800 on a laptop should he then be 'told' by Acer, sorry pal, we can send you the discs for £50.
In this situation his other option would be a retail copy of Windows (£80).
Sorry, but he purchased the laptop and a fully licensed copy of Win7, Acer should supply an OEM Win7 disc with ALL laptops.
Hardly any OEM has provided OS disks for years now. They all rely on users creating recovery media.
Hardly any OEM has provided OS disks for years now. They all rely on users creating recovery media.
Agreed. I haven't seen a Windows disk with a computer for more years than I care to remember.
I would not be at all surprised though that the laptop prompted the user to make recovery disks the very first time it was switched on fresh out of the box. That certainly was the case with my HP laptop. It went through a short set-up routine during which was an option to create a set of system recovery disks.
And if I did not want to do so there and then the HP utilities bundled with the machine had the option to do so any time I wished.
Thanks for the input, I abide laptops, so am very 'out of the loop' when it comes to them.
Incidentally, my friend DID create a back up, a Macrium Reflect image of the HDD.
Unfortunately it was about 20GB and he is not very computer literate.
So instead of storing this on a 32GB USB stick (which I suggested) he simply stored this on the \ partition (which was also on the same physical HDD)
This worked fine allowing him to 'restore' the laptop on numerous occasions.
Of course, when the drive failed the back-up was irretrievable, believe me I tried
He has since purchased a 64GB USB 3 drive, he certainly will not make that mistake again
Agreed. I haven't seen a Windows disk with a computer for more years than I care to remember.
I would not be at all surprised though that the laptop prompted the user to make recovery disks the very first time it was switched on fresh out of the box. That certainly was the case with my HP laptop. It went through a short set-up routine during which was an option to create a set of system recovery disks.
I am more familiar with Dell PCs - there you do, on some models, get a couple of OS DVDs - BUT they are NOT Microsoft ones! They are Dell badged image restores of the Dell configured Windows installation when the machine was new. This image will be BIOS locked and would only work on Dell hardware. Alternatively there will be a hidden partition on the HDD which does exactly the same thing!
Thanks for the input, I abide laptops, so am very 'out of the loop' when it comes to them.
Incidentally, my friend DID create a back up, a Macrium Reflect image of the HDD.
Unfortunately it was about 20GB and he is not very computer literate.
So instead of storing this on a 32GB USB stick (which I suggested) he simply stored this on the \ partition (which was also on the same physical HDD)
This worked fine allowing him to 'restore' the laptop on numerous occasions.
Of course, when the drive failed the back-up was irretrievable, believe me I tried
He has since purchased a 64GB USB 3 drive, he certainly will not make that mistake again
I've had a user come up to me asking why he couldn't find the second hard drive in his computer. He could only find one but in Windows Explorer he had a C: and drive along with the DVD drive.
It took some explaining to finally convince him that the C: and drives were in fact the same physical drive. He just could not get his head round the concept of partitioning a drive.
I am more familiar with Dell PCs - there you do, on some models, get a couple of OS DVDs - BUT they are NOT Microsoft ones! They are Dell badged image restores of the Dell configured Windows installation when the machine was new. This image will be BIOS locked and would only work on Dell hardware. Alternatively there will be a hidden partition on the HDD which does exactly the same thing!
Not had to open up a new Dell box for a year or three, but the odd couple I have seen recently didn't seem to have any disks in the box.
I've had a user come up to me asking why he couldn't find the second hard drive in his computer. He could only find one but in Windows Explorer he had a C: and drive along with the DVD drive.
It took some explaining to finally convince him that the C: and drives were in fact the same physical drive. He just could not get his head round the concept of partitioning a drive.
Priceless!
I am old enough to remember booting to a floppy using FDISK to format a 32GB HDD so I could install Windows 98....Not too mention setting HDD 'Jumpers' for master or slave on an ATA-66 IDE cable - happy days
I am old enough to remember booting to a floppy using FDISK to format a 32GB HDD so I could install Windows 98....Not too mention setting HDD 'Jumpers' for master or slave on an ATA-66 IDE cable - happy days
32gb, i can remember once having to use debug to enter the onboard bios of a 32mb hard card where i proceded to muck up the parameter table so they scrapped it and i got it out of the bin, took it home and re-entered the correct parameters and it formatted fine ah the good old days of getting probably 300 quids worth of storage for free
I am old enough to remember booting to a floppy using FDISK to format a 32GB HDD so I could install Windows 98....Not too mention setting HDD 'Jumpers' for master or slave on an ATA-66 IDE cable - happy days
32GB! Luxury!
First PC I ever used at work had 20MB of storage. And it never got filled up either. Now I've got single Word docs that wouldn't fit on that old drive! :D
Commodore PET 4000, 16k ram
8" floppy disk storage. I can't even remember the memory capacity, but as they were single-sided it was probably less than 1meg.
Not sure whether to or
I am more familiar with Dell PCs - there you do, on some models, get a couple of OS DVDs - BUT they are NOT Microsoft ones! They are Dell badged image restores of the Dell configured Windows installation when the machine was new. This image will be BIOS locked and would only work on Dell hardware. Alternatively there will be a hidden partition on the HDD which does exactly the same thing!
I've dissected the Dell's Windows 7 DVDs in the past and they are actually not that custom at all.
- The WIM files contained on the DVD are all stock
- The DVD contains WIM files for Starter, Home Premium, Pro and Ultimate regardless of what the label on the disc says. If you wanted you can edit a config file and the setup will give you an extra step at the beginning with the OS choice.
- The discs are NOT locked to a particular BIOS
- The setup procedure is near identical to that of a vanilla Windows DVD
- There is a script that copies a few wallpapers and other bits of Dell branding at the end of the installation.
- Finally there is a script that copies the Dell certificate file, enters their bulk OEM key and performs offline activation.
With regards to the last point, if you use it on a system that is not elegable (ie. a non Dell computer or a Dell that never shipped with Win7) - the script will still run but activation will fail and Windows will be put into a 3 day grace period. You can however enter your own key - be it from an OEM sticker or VLK or retail or whatever and it will activate the same as any other Windows disc would.
Its worth noting that Dell charge £5 or so for the discs now. You have to add them on the selection screen.
Can I just check.... If I did get Windows 7, did a fresh install, this would mean I'd have to delete all partitions on the HDD including any recovery partitions. If I did this, would I ever be able to use my factory default restore USB stick I made again?
I must be able to right, as if the hard drive ever fails, I presume I could use my factory default USB stick to put the new drive into the factory state the original drive was in?
Comments
Well yeah of course. No other concern is there.
It definitely is faster and takes less resources, and offers a significant number of enhancements over 7 in the desktop environment.
Still, I confidently predict that when it (along with office 2013) that our users will hate it because it's different, but in time, they'll get used to it and then probably have to readjust again to windows 9 because it will have gone backwards.
Can't say I'm overly excited about what I've seen from w9 yet tbh. I wouldn't hold out too much hope that it'll be that much better, but then it'll be proclaimed to be the greatest by those who like to use the "every other version of windows is a flop" comment because they won't be wrong about it....
Anyone with half a brain will get used to it in no time especially if they take the time to tweak.
I agree it could have been better out of the box, though.
Only that with the pub car radio analogy, you'd be accepting;
no warranty
it might be stolen and not legally yours, you'd have no redress for the money spent
A legit OEM DVD can be bought from reputable suppliers for £60-70. It should give you five good years' service around £12-£13 per year or £1 per month.
Windows 8.1 will give nine years, the retail one can be had for about £85, that's a steal at less than a tenner a year. Where's the argument?
The OP already has a Windows 8 OEM license, so it costs nothing.
You do realise that the DigitalRiver downloads are free? anyone can access them, you obviously need a legitimate key, but you do NOT have to pay for the ISO's and they are 100% legitimate M$ ISO's
I recently fixed an OEM laptop for a friend, his HD died and Acer gave him no recovery disks or OS disks when he purchased it, then they demanded another £50+ for the discs (conveniently after the warranty had expired)
I download a ISO of Win7 HP-x64 and installed it using the OEM key on the COA sticker on the laptop.
Added bonus of NO Acer BLOATWARE and Norton trials etc.
F*** you Acer, you greedy money grabbing sods, He had paid for the license when he purchased the laptop, so stick your Acer recovery discs up your ass #rantover
Maybe there is a reason Acer do NOT supply people with this disk, because they know in 3 years when the hdd fails that most people will come back to Acer and pay £50 for the 4 discs that restore the laptop to its default factory condition (pre-installed with bloatware and garbage software).
It is all about money, why when my mate spent £800 on a laptop should he then be 'told' by Acer, sorry pal, we can send you the discs for £50.
In this situation his other option would be a retail copy of Windows (£80).
Sorry, but he purchased the laptop and a fully licensed copy of Win7, Acer should supply an OEM Win7 disc with ALL laptops.
Agreed. I haven't seen a Windows disk with a computer for more years than I care to remember.
I would not be at all surprised though that the laptop prompted the user to make recovery disks the very first time it was switched on fresh out of the box. That certainly was the case with my HP laptop. It went through a short set-up routine during which was an option to create a set of system recovery disks.
And if I did not want to do so there and then the HP utilities bundled with the machine had the option to do so any time I wished.
Incidentally, my friend DID create a back up, a Macrium Reflect image of the HDD.
Unfortunately it was about 20GB and he is not very computer literate.
So instead of storing this on a 32GB USB stick (which I suggested) he simply stored this on the
This worked fine allowing him to 'restore' the laptop on numerous occasions.
Of course, when the drive failed the back-up was irretrievable, believe me I tried
He has since purchased a 64GB USB 3 drive, he certainly will not make that mistake again
Actually, Classic Shell does a whole lot more than StartIsBack (SIB), look for yourself: http://www.classicshell.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2399 I find Classic Shell superior to anything that is out there.
I've had a user come up to me asking why he couldn't find the second hard drive in his computer. He could only find one but in Windows Explorer he had a C: and
It took some explaining to finally convince him that the C: and
Not had to open up a new Dell box for a year or three, but the odd couple I have seen recently didn't seem to have any disks in the box.
Since then they may well have gone to a hidden restore partition only!
Priceless!
I am old enough to remember booting to a floppy using FDISK to format a 32GB HDD so I could install Windows 98....Not too mention setting HDD 'Jumpers' for master or slave on an ATA-66 IDE cable - happy days
32gb, i can remember once having to use debug to enter the onboard bios of a 32mb hard card where i proceded to muck up the parameter table so they scrapped it and i got it out of the bin, took it home and re-entered the correct parameters and it formatted fine
32GB! Luxury!
First PC I ever used at work had 20MB of storage. And it never got filled up either. Now I've got single Word docs that wouldn't fit on that old drive!
Higher end business PCs might come with DVDs, but the consumer ones don't.
8" floppy disk storage. I can't even remember the memory capacity, but as they were single-sided it was probably less than 1meg.
Not sure whether to
- The WIM files contained on the DVD are all stock
- The DVD contains WIM files for Starter, Home Premium, Pro and Ultimate regardless of what the label on the disc says. If you wanted you can edit a config file and the setup will give you an extra step at the beginning with the OS choice.
- The discs are NOT locked to a particular BIOS
- The setup procedure is near identical to that of a vanilla Windows DVD
- There is a script that copies a few wallpapers and other bits of Dell branding at the end of the installation.
- Finally there is a script that copies the Dell certificate file, enters their bulk OEM key and performs offline activation.
With regards to the last point, if you use it on a system that is not elegable (ie. a non Dell computer or a Dell that never shipped with Win7) - the script will still run but activation will fail and Windows will be put into a 3 day grace period. You can however enter your own key - be it from an OEM sticker or VLK or retail or whatever and it will activate the same as any other Windows disc would.
Its worth noting that Dell charge £5 or so for the discs now. You have to add them on the selection screen.
I must be able to right, as if the hard drive ever fails, I presume I could use my factory default USB stick to put the new drive into the factory state the original drive was in?