Windows 7 Still legal available

[pwired]

Didn't want to interfere with the pub thread about webshop vat

so I put it in here. Mac lovers can skip it, this is for Win7 lovers.

My experience is that win7 is the best OS MS ever made, rock stable

and a great os not only for web dev but a whole lot more.

Win8 or 10, don't even go there !

http://www.zdnet.com/article/seven-perfectly-legal-ways-to-get-windows-7-cheap-or-even-free/

Edited December 29, 2014 by kongondo
Actually, it's a pub topic...There will be no interference with the VAT topic - they are two different threads...:-)...I am moving this :-)

[OrganizedFellow]

I agree.

I had WinXP for such a long time. I had it optimized and minimalized to perfection. I even learned how to create a small *.ISO to burn to disc for quick installs. I was (am) quite OCD about a lot of things, and at least once or twice a year (for as long as I can remember) I have reinstalled Windows and started fresh with software installs, software registrations, etc.

But when I finally upgraded one of my PCs to Win7, I knew I was HOOKED! I still love it to this day, however I have switched my full-time use to Crunchbang.

Win7 is BY FAR, the nicest looking, most functional OS that Microsoft has put out!

I read recently that Win10 is just around the corner?!

[Pete]

I use Windows 8 and simply have it boot to desktop.

If you don't mind spending a few dollars (and I mean only a few) get Start8 installed and you essentially have Windows 7 interface again.

Windows 8 is faster for me and as much as I dislike metro I love the speed.

Windows 10 is a partial acknowledgement of the mistake of Metro and gives you back a start menu and boot to desktop. I also expect it to be faster again.

I think I'm spoiled a bit by relatively recent hardware (about 18 months old) but 7 seconds into Windows from a cold boot isn't possible with 7 with the same hardware and I value those seconds (they obviously carry over into quick apps as well so therefore increased productivity).

Actually, hijacking the the thread a little, an SSD is probably the best purchase you can make. Things will run up to ten times faster on hardware up to a few years old and you will find mechanical drives tiresome from then on They're also pretty cheap nowadays too.

EDIT: split some more discussion about SSDs into a different topic here for those that are interested: https://processwire.com/talk/topic/8662-may-i-recommend-ssds/?view=getnewpost

[jbroussia]

I hung for long to Win7 but recently had to switch to Win8 for a very stupid reason - VirtualBox latest versions refuse to run on Windows with patched uxtheme.dll - after refusing to do it for years. Well I have to say that once you get rid of all the Metro stuff, Win8 is just like Win7 but faster. No need to pay for Start8, get Classic Shell for free. It even takes less space on the drive, my system backup is 6.4GB with all my required apps under Win8.1 vs 7.2GB under Win7. I only miss the startup sound and MineSweeper game :-p

[Pete]

Get minesweeper from the store - new and updated

[jbroussia]

Yeah, but fullscreen Metro only. I used to play it while watching Youtube videos on the side

[Pete]

Ah, well Windows 10 will have windowed Metro apps on the desktop but that would be a silly reason to upgrade on its own

[pwired]

Strange how you guys can say that win8 is ok. I had a lot of ppl asking me to downgrade to win7.

A lot op ppl have problems with win8 because everything has been put differently, they can't make

head or tails of it compared with win7. Same story back then with win-vista where also everything

was put on a different place compared with win-xp.

And what about the win8 UEFI hell ? Until win7 it was possible to access the bios with a simple

DEL or F2 or other function key on the keyboard. Always handy to change bootorder or change

bootdevice (cd or pendrive) e.g. you can install win7 easy from a pendrive.

But not anymore with win8, you have to dive into control panel and go through a lot of steps

before you have access again to the bios. Once in the bios you have to figure out how to get

back the normal boot options: cd - hdd - usb - ect. Then you have to figure out how to disable

the hidden partition that blocks installing win7. Typical MicroSoft style.

[owzim]

I had WinXP for such a long time. I had it optimized and minimalized to perfection. I even learned how to create a small *.ISO to burn to disc for quick installs. I was (am) quite OCD about a lot of things, and at least once or twice a year (for as long as I can remember) I have reinstalled Windows and started fresh with software installs, software registrations, etc.

Haha, same here. Loved XP, optimized the hell out of it and did regular reinstalls.

Although Win7 was a great improvement compared to the hellish nightmares Vista gave me, it eventually made me switch to Mac.

I think Apple does NOT stink less than Microsoft, but the Unix kind of thing was very appealing to me. I would have switched to Linux if the Adobe Suite was available for it.

What I do miss sometimes is gaming, but then again I barely have time for that anyway anymore.

In my opinion Windows 8 is an even greater disaster than Vista was, but I don't want to go further into this, or I might be banned for cussing the heck out of it.

[jbroussia]

Strange how you guys can say that win8 is ok. I had a lot of ppl asking me to downgrade to win7.

A lot op ppl have problems with win8 because everything has been put differently, they can't make

head or tails of it compared with win7.

Well as I said, I also avoided Win8 like the plague for years because of Metro, but once you hide it, you are left with an optimized Win7.

And what about the win8 UEFI hell ? Until win7 it was possible to access the bios with a simple

DEL or F2 or other function key on the keyboard. Always handy to change bootorder or change

bootdevice (cd or pendrive) e.g. you can install win7 easy from a pendrive.

But not anymore with win8, you have to dive into control panel and go through a lot of steps

before you have access again to the bios. Once in the bios you have to figure out how to get

back the normal boot options: cd - hdd - usb - ect. Then you have to figure out how to disable

the hidden partition that blocks installing win7. Typical MicroSoft style.

Hmm, I still have access to the BIOS !? You just have to partition your drive *before* installing W8 and tell it to install in the partition of your choice. If you use W8 installer to do the partition, it will create that extra partition. But even with that partition I'm almost certain that the BIOS is still accessible ?

[Pete]

I think there's some confusion with the BIOS. If you build your own it's almost always accessible with the DEL key.

If you buy a PC off the shelf from a leading supplier then the key to get into the BIOS depends on the manufacturer, the year, the alignment of the stars and what the BIOS programmer ate for lunch that day. Either F12, F10, F9 or F8 mashed repeatedly in my experience gets you in then