Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with 7

Which OS for my Netbook?

lemonfridge — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 02:08:52 -0800

What OS for my Samsung NC20? I'm receiving a Samsung NC20 for xmas, which will become my primary PC for web-browsing, iTunes, Picasa etc.

I've already ordered myself a CD/DVD drive to use with it, and a 2Gb RAM upgrade.

Which OS should I install on it? It comes with XP Home, but I have the option of putting Windows 7 on instead (Ultimate 64bit version).

Should I go for 7, XP, or something else entirely (not keen on Linux, but maybe a dual boot?)

A start menu for Windows 7 where I type "i" for Internet and "f" for Firefox to open that browser?

oxit — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 13:12:54 -0800

A start menu for Windows 7 where I type i for Internet and f for Firefox to open that browser? Prior to Windows 7 I was using the classic Windows start menu to access most of my software by pressing only three keys on the keyboard:

1. the Windows key, then
2. a key for the folder, e.g. (I)nternet, or (O)ffice, then
3. a key for the application, e.g. (F)irefox or (I)nternet Explorer.

Typing a part of the name in Windows 7's start menu is a lot slower, more cumbersome and error-prone.

Is there a solution to have this in Windows 7? There are many start menu replacements out there, but none I've seen does this. Can you help?

MouseTrapped! How can I make my mouse load faster in Win 7?

newfers — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 17:12:13 -0800

Why is my USB mouse the last item to load when Windows 7 is finished booting up? Sometimes I have to wait while it recognizes external USB drives, and in the meantime, I have no control over my mouse. Is there a way to change the order which my USB devices load? I suppose I could just haphazardly unplug and re-plug my USB devices to see if it changes the load order, but I suspect there must be a software solution to give my mouse priority over all my other USB devices. You would think it wouldn't make much of a difference, but it does. It makes me feel like my system has crashed for that 30 seconds or so when I see my desktop but have no mouse control.

This disc was made for bootin'

CodeMonkey — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:10:19 -0800

I would like to make a custom boot disc that is very simple to the user. All it would do is restore an image from 6 DVDs to a hard drive. The only options I would like the user to see is: 1) format drive 2) restore drive 3) exit I would like to create this menu and all sub menus that I see fit. I have seen UBCD but it is too complicated for the people I know. I would like to use Driveimage XML and have it read the discs one at a time to restore the drive. Any suggestions?

On-Screen Keyboard for Windows 7

wintermute2_0 — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 09:23:21 -0800

How can I get my on-screen keyboard to work in 64-bit Windows 7? I'm currently running Windows XP and am finding it hard to resist the eye candy of Windows 7. I have the hardware to run the 64-bit flavor, but I have a compatibility concern. I use an on-screen keyboard called WiViK and I couldn't get it to run in the 64-bit beta. The WiViK states that it will run in 32-bit Vista, but not 64-bit.

WiViK hasn't had meaningful updates and the publisher doesn't seem too interested in future revisions. Am I stuck in a 32-bit world or is there any way to hack the code to make it 64-bit compatible? Barring that, are there other fully-featured Windows on-screen keyboards (word prediction, abbreviation expansion) that are 64-bit?

I'm thinking I should just start an open-source project to create a better and more flexible OSK. Any takers?

Are Windows 7 Professional 32 and 64 bit serials the same?

n3rt — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 02:19:09 -0800

Are Windows 7 32bit and 64 bit serials the same? I've just purchased an OEM of Windows 7 Professional 32 bit for my laptop, which I've since [before installation] upgraded with more RAM. I can now happily run as a 64 bit installation. I have a 64 bit version of 7 coming as an OEM with a new desktop - my question is twofold? Will a 32 bit serial work with a 64 bit installation, and legally - if it does work - am I allowed to install it? I do have two Win 7 licenses...

Windows 7 for Less (in Canada)

smitt — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 07:09:57 -0800

Is there anything like Win741 for students in Canada? Does anyone know of ways to save on buying Windows 7 in Canada, either as a full time student or not?
I don't qualify for the Upgrade edition, and want to buy Windows 7 Pro. I don't think I want the OEM version, because I upgrade my computer every year or two and don't want to have to buy it multiple times.

Any help is appreciated, thanks.

Getting new Win 7 Laptop this weekend for Home Theatre PC setup. Advice?

jcmilton — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:46:07 -0800

Best setup for a Win 7 laptop as HTPC? Currently we have a simple setup of an HDTV and a DVD player. No cable or antennae and frankly we're not interested in getting (and paying for) cable. But we do like watching Hulu/Netflix on the computer and since Win7 is coming out this week I thought we'd get a laptop with HTMI output so we can watch stuff on the "big screen."

Any suggestions for setting up a laptop to maximize our enjoyment and ease-of-use for using a Win7 laptop as a HTPC? I've heard that the Win7 Media Center is pretty good, but I've never used any version of Windows Media Center so I don't know what's possible.

Also, if you have suggestions for specific makes/models that would be great. Budget is around $700. But please no suggestions for a Netbook. For other reasons I need a 17+ inch screen laptop.

Windows 7 User Folder

edbyford — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 07:44:32 -0800

I'm using Windows 7 RC. I usually move the entire 'My Documents' to another partition so that I can easily reinstall Windows. How do I do this in Windows 7? I've pre-ordered my Windows 7 upgrade disc, and I'm thinking about ways to preserve the My Documents folder. I've looked around at methods to change the location of my files, but while I've seen you can move some folders individually, I want my entire users folder on a different partition. Can anyone help, and does anyone have any other advice on what I should do before I install the final release version of Win 7?

Is there a "curves" function on Photoshop Elements 7?

tangyraspberry — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 09:49:07 -0800

Is there a "curves" function on Photoshop Elements 7? I just purchased Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 and cannot find the curves function.

Upgrading to Win-7 - Help me

jameslavelle3 — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 08:22:24 -0800

Can I buy the "upgrade" version of Windows 7 if I am also upgrading my hard drive at the same time? I have a purchased OEM version Vista Ultimate (x86) on my desktop right now and I want to upgrade to Windows 7 Professional (x64); however, I also want to upgrade my hard drive at the same time to a solid-state drive. Can I get the upgrade version of win-7, and if so how would the installation work on a new hard drive? Or do I need the buy the full version?

What do I not need on Windows 7 Ultimate?

mr_silver — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 09:52:21 -0800

I'm moving from XP to Windows 7 Ultimate. What, that I used to have on XP, do I not need installed any more? I know that defragmentation software isn't needed, but what about Unlocker? What about disk backup software? Anything else?

Extra RAM destroys my PSU!

edbyford — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 08:31:32 -0800

I installed new RAM, and blew my power supply. Now, after installing a better power supply, the same symptoms which led to the broken power supply are happening again. What is going on? I recently ordered a pair of these to upgrade my computer from 2GB RAM to 6GB, after installing Windows 7 64-bit. This is what Crucial told me is compatible with my Intel DG965RY motherboard.

After turning the computer back on, I noticed that Windows hung on startup. I shut it down and ran Memtest86+, but that ran very slowly (although didn't show any errors).

I then restarted, and after a couple of beeps from the mobo, the computer wouldn't turn on. SO I ordered a new, more powerful PSU.
For comparison, the model I had originally was this one. It is 430W and has a max current on 22A across the +3.3V rail (I think this is important if you want to add more RAM, right?)

The one I have now is this one. This is 600W and has 35A across the +3.3V rail.

Just to be safe, I sent the RAM back and bought exactly the same type again. I installed it, and then ran both Memtest86+ and Windows Memory Diagnostic before attempting to boot Windows. They both showed no errors. When I then tried to boot Windows my computer froze! Scared of blowing my PSU again, I shut it down and removed the RAM. It now seems to work fine.

What can I do? Surely my power supply is more than adequate for some RAM?

Thanks in advance

When will Windows 7 be standard on new computers and how should this affect my intent to buy a new laptop?

jefficator — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:54:56 -0800

When will Windows 7 be standard on new computers and how should this affect my intent to buy a new laptop? I am in the market for a new laptop--mine is ANCIENT. I figure I might be best served by waiting until Windows 7 is standard, since all I ever hear is cracks about the quality of "Mojave".

When will Windows 7 be standard?

Is this a good idea?

Please keep the level of discussion in the kiddie pool; I'm no expert!

Vista or Windows 7?

cowmix — Thu, 21 May 2009 10:04:19 -0800

Vista or Windows 7? I've been running Ubuntu on my laptop but I just bought a new laptop (to run Ubuntu) so I want to turn the old laptop into a Windows machine. The laptop shipped with Vista so I could restore to that.. but using Vista was painful.

My question: aside from the fact the Windows 7 RC isntall will stop working in few months, are there any other advantages to run Vista over Windows 7 RC?

Cross-Platform Crashing on a Macbook Pro

N2O1138 — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 18:04:43 -0800

I have Leopard and Windows 7 (7057) installed on my Late 2007 (possibly older, I got it refurbished) Macbook Pro 15". My problem is, every time I boot into either OS, I get a kernel panic or BSOD respectively. The fact that it happens in 2 different operating systems makes me almost positive that it's a hardware problem. Unfortunately, I don't know very much about computer hardware, so I don't really know what to troubleshoot first, and I don't want to void the warranty by opening the case (I plan to take it to the Apple Store if nobody here can solve the problem). Specifically, either operating system will crash about a minute into booting up. I don't think the problem can be too serious because everything graphically looks fine and all my files are intact. This leads me to think that maybe it's a RAM problem, and that it runs out of memory and crashes during bootup. Safe Mode in Windows works fine (I'm using it now), and still reports the correct 2gb of RAM. I haven't done safe boot to OS X yet.

The Blue Screen says
"Uncorrectable Hardware Error" and below it gives the code
*** STOP: 0x00000124 (0x00000000,0x85BAE024,0xF2000000,0x00060151)

If it were just what I'm experiencing on Windows, I might think it was something to do with drivers, but it's on both operating systems.

"To boot, or not to boot."

bradly — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 21:37:40 -0800

I am finally making the jump to linux from Windows 7! To the 1337 linux askmefites: Is having the option of Windows as a secondary/emergency OS even important, or would I be better off keeping my machine strictly linux? Right now I am running Windows 7 on a notebook. What steps do I need to take to have 7 as a dual boot?

Also, and FWIW, I have the MS Office Suite registered, but no other paid software I am too concerned with keeping.

Thanks!

Mounting problems in Win 7

Aanidaani — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 12:39:36 -0800

Windows 7: Is there any way to mount ext3/ext2 partitions in Windows 7? I would use Ext2 IFS but it's not compatible with the beta.

Windows 7 and XP dual boot?

Diachronic — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 12:09:27 -0800

Is it possible to dual boot windows XP and Windows 7 beta? I understand it only upgrades from Vista. Does the file downloaded from MS include the full version for a clean install, or is it only an upgrade? thanks

Partition troubles

pandemic — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 09:48:42 -0800

Partition trouble: I'm trying to shrink my C drive so that I can install the Win7 beta on another partition--problem is, it won't shrink right. I have Vista installed on my laptop, and I'd like to take a shot at the Windows 7 beta. To do this I've tried to shrink my existing Vista partition down to make room, but for whatever reason the Disk management utility will only give me about 1.7 gigs, even though I have tons of free space on my computer (about 98 gigs in reality).

What's up? I took a screenshot that will tell the story a little better than I can:
http://i39.tinypic.com/2rdd8iw.jpg

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

Best Test Setup for Windows 7

xxnopiratesxx — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 11:38:19 -0800

What is the best/safest Windows 7 Test Setup? Virtualization? Partition an HD? I'm currently downloading Windows 7 and I'm trying to think of the best way to test it out without ruining my current setup.

My main concern with partitioning part of my laptop's hard drive is that the boot loader will overwrite vista's and I'll get locked out of my maching.

The other option is virtualization, but Vista is a huge pain to virtualize and I assume that W7 will be the same way.

Any thoughts on the bootloader issue? What has the hive been using to test W7?

How can you maintain your NASD licenses once leaving your firm?

lawstudent09 — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 09:55:34 -0800

NASD licenses (specifically series 7 & 63) requires company sponsorship to obtain. Once obtained, you need company sponsorship to maintain the licenses. Is there a company who will maintain your licenses for you while you are not working in the financial industry? Perhaps for a fee on top of the annual registration costs? I believe you have two years from separation with your employer to obtain a new sponsor.

Google Docs

jennydiski — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 01:06:31 -0800

Google Docs doesn't handle Word 7 (docx) documents. Will it ever?

Outlook Express/Hotmail?

clairezulkey — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 09:10:33 -0800

I can't set up my hotmail account with outlook express 6. I got a new computer at work and went into set up my hotmail account (yes, I have hotmail plus) via the setup wizard, but when it comes time to download my folders, it repeatedly asks me for my password, and also gives me the error message

"Unable to poll for new messages on your HTTP server. Account: 'Hotmail', Server: 'http://services.msn.com/svcs/hotmail/httpmail.asp', Protocol: HTTPMail, Server Response: 'Invalid login.', Port: 0, Secure(SSL): No, Error Number: 0x800CCC32".

I've heard that there is a problem with Outlook Express and Internet Explorer 7, but then again, maybe there is something simple I can do to fix this.

Anyone have any insight? This is maddening. thanks!

Cascading Tears of Stylish Despair

DenOfSizer — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 08:48:53 -0800

Internet Explorer 7 broke my website's CSS! I volunteer for a not for profit doing webdesign, www.stagesoflearning.org, and can't figure out the hack to position the middle div tag properly in IE 7 without messing up all the other browsers. The css is here. Anyone? If I didn't have a newborn baby and full-time job I could figure this out, but I'm superswamped!

Thanks, Hivemind.