Replies

HOLD THE PHONE!!!

Just learned that MS is working on a totally NEW OS called “Midori”. The programing uses C#.

The implications are–MIND BOGGLING!!!

I re-built HAL(9000):p less than two and a half years ago. I have Catalyst 12-8 64bit installed. The Registry Cleaners are used judiciously (I am not a newbie in this matter). I did just disable the WMP Sharing in Services, so time will tell if that was the problem. My other Post on software vs hardware still stands. I have had problems resulting from Windows and other Software updates that required undoing or waiting for updates to fix the previous updates.

The biggest problem at the moment is Shutting Down/Sleeping/Hibernating. Even Screen Saver does not work, tho I have it set to come on after 10 minutes. I have adjusted the Power Plan to allow these and then not allow these, and the results are always the same–they don’t work as advertised!!! I have followed advice on this and other Forums on setting up the Power Options, yet none of it works for me. Worse, if I can get some sort of shut down (and I am not certain as to the type), every effort to restart eventually results in a BSOD, requiring an image reinstall. The strange thing is that my backup computer, which uses a dual-boot of XP and WIN7, allows Screen Saver to work and enters Sleep or Hibernation Mode as programed with no problem. Do you blame this problem on the hardware or the software?:confused:

WIN7 64 is the BIG pain! I have been using Windows since 98SE. WIN XP PRO has been the most stable of them all. Even a repair-install is easier in XP than in WIN7. WIN7 is causing all the crashes. The causes it reports include some of which I have never heard before (and there have been way too many). WIN7 always blames my hardware when it crashes, but when it works, no hardware problems are ever reported!!! My computer never over-heats, I do all the re-seats just in case, I do regular dust clean-outs, and I keep all the drivers up to date. All Windows Updates are current. I use Avast! Free, MBAM Pro, CCleaner, WinOptimizer7, jv16 Power Tools, and Windows Defender. I use their Real-Time modes (where available) and scan with them every day.

I use Acronis T.I. to image my system everyday. It is easier to use the Rescue Disk to restore my system than going thru all the vain attempts of using Windows Repair. Every time WR checks for problems (after taking forever to load, in my opinion) it states that the problem “will” be fixed when found. When found, it then states that it is “attempting” repairs. After failing to repair, it states that the problem cannot be repaired automatically. The exact problem is never specified.

Microsoft’s generic answers to specific error messages never work for me. What good does it do to send crash reports, when they have no intention to address specific problems? Even when an error message (mostly from update problems) is addressed, their solution never works. Their Community Forums will never supply a definitive answer to a specific problem because no two computer systems are exactly alike. You would think that MS would use its billions and vast manpower to investigate all possible problems and find their solutions. But NO, all they care about is enriching themselves!!! After all, the vast majority are enslaved to their OSs. And the other OS providers are no different (Apple requires use of their proprietary equipment).

So, what can we do??? We are caught between a rock and a hard place!!!

It hasn’t been that long. What I object to is using command-line interface for fixes and updates. Is there a Windows-type GUI version that totally acts like Window (minus all the crashes)??? I left the use of DOS long ago, and do not like to have to revert to it or any command-line versions–period.

After following this thread, I changed the TB font to Arial Black, while unchecking ‘allow messages to use other fonts’ in Advanced. Now I can read the WS Newsletter with greater clarity. I do not know if the minimum font size I set is working, as I had to C+ twice in order to read the original font used.

Changing font in TB has nothing to do with the font in FF, so any change made will have no effect on how the browser looks. Remember: TB=E-mail Client, FF=Browser.

Downloaded 32 and 64 bit files. Burned both successfully. Ran 64 version first with the following results:
1. No choice of OS was given. WIN7 64 started and ran WDO 64 to the point where Window Shell Application.exe encountered a major error. The only recourse was a restart.
2. Attempting to chose either OS without first running the WDO disk resulted in the selected OS starting without running the WDO disk.

MS WDO FAQs does not cover this problem. The MSE Forum does not have anyone who has encountered this problem, yet. The FAQs seem to indicate that only a USB drive can be updated. Apparently, once you create a CD, you have a coaster after the definitions become outdated.

If anyone knows how to select an OS from multiple boot systems and then getting the WDO disk to work, I would appreciate hearing about it. WDO seems to be a good idea, but trying to get it to work from other than a USB drive seems impossible. I wonder how Woody was able to do it???

First, I am not a new computer user. I rebuilt my computer with new components.

Second, the replacement scanners offered by HP have USB 2 ports, which are ancient. My new MOBO has more USB 3 ports than USB 2 ports.

Third, my scanner is next to my computer, so connecting by other than USB cable is down right silly. My scanner will not be used by or with any other computer or device.

Fourth, failure on HP’s part to write a driver for WIN7 is nothing more than a greedy plot to force computer users to purchase unnecessary equipment. I do not use my scanner very often, but when I do it works without any problems.

I have WIN7 Home Premium 64 bit. I thought that only the upper levels of WIN7 could run Virtual XP. So you are telling me that I could run my scanner in Virtual XP without any problems???

Also, if you will re-read my post, you will notice that I said nothing about seeking drivers from sources other than HP.

I appreciate every ones input. But it looks like I need to clarify a few things.

My system is less than a year old. It has the latest and greatest features. I built it, so it does not have a “System Recovery” partition.

A “System Partition”=”System Reserve Partition”. We are running into a problem of understanding terminology here.

I was able to create the System Partition, but ran into a problem. I can follow the TechNet article up to a point. WIN7 will not or cannot import the final “boot” files from XP to the System partition. I still have the Boot folder in the XP partition, and it will not copy to WIN7 or the System partition. I have changed the drive letters to what WIN7 reads (as noted in the article), but nothing happens. Unless one of you out there know how I can fix this problem, I will have to ’tilt windmills’ with MS in one of their forums.

At the moment, I need XP as I have an HP ScanJet scanner for which they will not write a WIN7 driver. The scanner works with no problems, but from what I can gather, HP wants to sell new scanners which have WIN7 drivers. Great, but their present scanners only have USB 2, and my MOBO has USB 3 ports. If I must upgrade scanners, I will wait until HP upgrades to USB 3. My external HDD is in a USB 3 case and operates perfectly. And the kicker to all this is that my HP printer has upgraded drivers for WIN7, but they won’t create drivers for my scanner because it is a couple of years older than the printer. What a great way for manufacturers to create customer loyalty!!!

According to the TechNet article “How to create a separate system partition for dual booting Windows XP or Windows 2000 with Windows 7”: “This article describes how to create a separate System partition and configure the boot environment to start either any edition of the Windows®°XP operating system or the Microsoft Windows®°2000 Server operating system and Windows® 7….Using a disk configuration with a separate System partition for boot files supports a multiple boot configuration and allows a system image backup of Windows 7 without Windows°XP.” My XP configuration contains a “Boot” Folder which is supposed to exist in the WIN7 configuration. I am having a hard time following the article’s instructions on reconfiguring, as the drive letters they use and the ones on my computer do not match. All I can do is guess at the proper designations until I can obtain the XP, System, and WIN7 partitions as they should be. The System partition is Primary and Active. According to the article, I must “Logon to an Administrator account in Windows 7 and use the following steps to create a new System partition containing only the files required to boot Windows 7 and Windows°XP.” And that is the real problem–the computer crashes in WIN7 before I can complete the procedure. Any suggestions on how to stop WIN7 from crashing long enuff to complete the procedure???

Bob,

I use 64-bit. It is amazing as to the number of 64-bit programs now available. I have upgraded as many of my programs to their 64-bit versions as possible.

With regard to the System Partition, I found that WIN7 had installed it in the XP PRO partition, which explains all the boot-up problems with 7. MS has a TechNet article about creating a separate S: partition, which I followed. I suspect that MS never intended for WIN7 to be used in a dual-boot setup. When I installed WIN7 after XP, I had formatted the partition without leaving any unused space for the S: partition. It would have been nice if MS had instructed that no partition be created before WIN7 was installed, so that WIN7 could create the necessary partitions for itself and System in the empty space left on the drive.

I backed up the new 7 and S: partitions together, as TI 2011 suggested. I have the latest update (6868) which has difficulty locating my backups on my external drive. After several attempts to access the drive, I have to manually select the backups in order to make them current on the displayed list. Have you ever experienced this problem?

I still have the occasional boot hiccup with 7, but now I have a working Image to reinstall when needed. Acronis TI is easier to use than Windows Backup because I need to install USB 3 drivers to access my external drive. If the Windows Backup is corrupt or inaccessible, I cannot load the drivers to access the drive and reinstall the backup, therefore I am forced to do a new install of 7, add the drivers, and then I am able to reinstall the backup. This problem does not exist with Acronis. Once my computer is stable, I will try Macrium for possible use as a weekly backup, with TI used as a daily backup.

Ted,

You are correct. With a dual-boot system, the booted OS always becomes the C: drive, which can be confusing. I always give a name to the Drive Partitions so that when Windows changes the drive letter, the drive name never changes and I know what operating system I am using. This is especially handy with my backup drive which is dual-partitioned. Windows assigns drive letters to the backup drive partitions, and without names I can become confused as to which backup drive I want to use. I have done this several times when Acronis TI presents drive choices in such small font-type and I do not look close enough or have on my reading glasses, especially late at night.

Since I have a dual-boot drive, MS has an excellent suggestion (believe it or not) of naming the System Partition: S. Not only is the partition separate, but also aptly designated: System=S. Now if I only could name the other partitions after their operating systems instead of C: and D: ….

I think that a separate System Partition is needed only on a dual-boot installation. I am having problems on my machine because the System Partition is incorporated in one of my two OS partitions. I am hoping that problems go away when I install the System Partition on its own.

If this method is to repair a broken OS, how does one get into it to remove SP1??? The only way I see is to delete the entire install, install WIN 7 from scratch, and re-image from a backup. In my case, before I can re-install a backup I must install the driver for my USB 3 external drive, so Windows can find the backup.