Windows 7

[trekman]

Will Windows 7 be a FREE upgrade for Vista users?

If you bought (or will buy) a qualifying Vista PC between June 26th, 2009 and January 31st, 2010, you are eligible for a free upgrade to Windows 7. See my post above for details.

Ok, Im eligible. But to order it you have to pay shipping and have a credit card. I dont have one. I'll have to figure something else out. Thanks.

[Babyblue]

You guys are NERDS!

That is so way over my head.

[Rip Rokken]

Will Windows 7 be a FREE upgrade for Vista users?

If you bought (or will buy) a qualifying Vista PC between June 26th, 2009 and January 31st, 2010, you are eligible for a free upgrade to Windows 7. See my post above for details.

Ok, Im eligible. But to order it you have to pay shipping and have a credit card. I dont have one. I'll have to figure something else out. Thanks.

Ahh so, Grasshoppa -- get a cheap prepaid Visa gift card and use that.

Forgot to mention they do ask for $9.95 s&h for the first disc, and I think $3.95 for each addl. disc up to 25 PCs.

[bluejeangirl76]

Anyway... Good luck if you choose to upgrade! I think you'll be happy with it.

I'm probably going to call you for help.

I don't think I have ever upgraded an operating system. Usually I would just deal with what I had until it was time for a new computer. Not this time, The desktop is only 2 1/2 years old and the laptop is about 7-8 months old, and I can't wait to get away from Vista.

I'm going to insist on it at work too because I'm tired of being Ms. Tech Support. The problem though is that everything that goes worng or that someone can't understand, they just curse for 10 minutes and blame the problem on Vista. And 9 times out of 10, it isn't Vista causing the problem, it is the users' inability to understand MS Office programs. It's the same thing every week.

Boss: "I can't open the file. I HATE Vista."

Me: "the problem isn't Vista. You're running Office '03. You have to tell them to save it to the earlier format, not to 07 format, like I do when I send you things." (this is a repeated problem, and she blames Vista every time. )


Boss: ""Everything is stuck in my outbox! I can't send any emails! Fucking Vista!"

Me: "The problem is Outlook, not Vista."

(that was a one-timer but it was still funny)

Boss: "Vista won't let me open that file."

Me: "No, the fact that you don't have the program the file needs is what won't let you open the file.

Now, I hate Vista as much as anyone, but it's always funny to watch people blame everything on Vista. Just because they've heard others complain how much it sucks, they attribute every problem they have to the o/s and completely bypass the fact that they're own lack of understanding is what's causing the problem.

I'm by no means a geek or a know-it-all, and I can only assist with basic to medium problems, so I have no room to talk, but the less knowledgable a person is about tech stuff, the funnier these interactions are (to me, at least, because I'm kind of an a-hole and it amuses me). I just know I sound the same way though when I ask people more advanced than me stupid questions.

I have a funny one though - this really happened... someone received an email once with a Word file attached and needed to open it so they came to me (did not try first, instead came to me figuring they would forward it to me to open) and said "Do you have Words in you computer?" I knew exactly what was being asked, but I could not stop it from coming out.... I tried and I just couldn't - I said "Yes, actually, I have lots of words in my computer!"

[Rip Rokken]

I'm probably going to call you for help.

Sure!

I don't think I have ever upgraded an operating system. Usually I would just deal with what I had until it was time for a new computer.

No surprise. With Vista, we made a decision not to upgrade any existing O/S. Knowing the ridiculous hardware requirements, we told people to either do a clean install, or if their PC was older to strongly consider purchasing a new one with Vista pre-installed. And even then, I saw a few trickle out at first that came with only 512MB of RAM. What good does it do for a company's reputation to sell low-cost, underpowered PCs that SUCK straight out of the box? Short term gain for long term pain in the PR dept.

I'm going to insist on it at work too because I'm tired of being Ms. Tech Support. The problem though is that everything that goes worng or that someone can't understand, they just curse for 10 minutes and blame the problem on Vista. And 9 times out of 10, it isn't Vista causing the problem, it is the users' inability to understand MS Office programs. It's the same thing every week.

Boss: "I can't open the file. I HATE Vista."

Me: "the problem isn't Vista. You're running Office '03. You have to tell them to save it to the earlier format, not to 07 format, like I do when I send you things." (this is a repeated problem, and she blames Vista every time. )

Tell them to install the Office 2007 Compatibility Pack -- it's a free download, and will allow older versions of Office to read '07 XLM-based docs. Problem solved.

Boss: ""Everything is stuck in my outbox! I can't send any emails! Fucking Vista!"

Me: "The problem is Outlook, not Vista."

You wouldn't believe how many times I've caught people trying to send an e-mail with 80MB+ of attachments. Uhh uhh, folks. If by some act of divine intervention that e-mail ever leaves your inbox, it's likely to be rejected due to the attachment size restrictions on the recipient's mail server, or it will constipate their mailbox and they won't be able to receive anything else until they get it cleared out. By the time they find out it was you sending oversized pics of your kids, they already hate you.

Here's a quick tip for that because Outlook tries to send the large file as soon as you open it and you can't easily delete it -- drag and drop it into your Drafts folder, then close and re-open Outlook. You should be able to delete it from there. If that doesn't work, more extreme measures may be necessary.

Boss: "Vista won't let me open that file."

Me: "No, the fact that you don't have the program the file needs is what won't let you open the file.

A further problem is when Windows lets them start guessing which programs they would like to open the file with before they know what it is. Then they get their file associations screwed up until someone fixes it.

I'm by no means a geek or a know-it-all, and I can only assist with basic to medium problems, so I have no room to talk, but the less knowledgable a person is about tech stuff, the funnier these interactions are (to me, at least, because I'm kind of an a-hole and it amuses me). I just know I sound the same way though when I ask people more advanced than me stupid questions.

Just remember, "There are no stupid questions, only stupid people." Wait, I don't think that's it...



Just kidding, but seriously though, that's exactly how I got started in my career about 16 years ago. All it took was for me to know just a little bit more about computers than the people around me, and I wasn't short of people looking for help.

I have a funny one though - this really happened... someone received an email once with a Word file attached and needed to open it so they came to me (did not try first, instead came to me figuring they would forward it to me to open) and said "Do you have Words in you computer?" I knew exactly what was being asked, but I could not stop it from coming out.... I tried and I just couldn't - I said "Yes, actually, I have lots of words in my computer!"

And stuff like THIS is why I expect to remain viable for many years to come!

[Rick]

You wouldn't believe how many times I've caught people trying to send an e-mail with 80MB+ of attachments. Uhh uhh, folks. If by some act of divine intervention that e-mail ever leaves your inbox, it's likely to be rejected due to the attachment size restrictions on the recipient's mail server, or it will constipate their mailbox and they won't be able to receive anything else until they get it cleared out. By the time they find out it was you sending oversized pics of your kids, they already hate you.

It's amazing what people don't know. I think my email server has a 10 MB limit. The U.S. needs to get with the program of the rest of the world. The bandwidth limitations and file size limitations are ridiculous for today. If things were as they should be, people could attach a video of the kids opening Christmas gifts to an email and send it to grand dad. Or a nice young lady could send a "helper" video to her boyfriend in Afghanistan.

[G.I.Jim]

All of a sudden... this song comes to mind! This is SO classic!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2KIxMQro-w

[G.I.Jim]

This scene comes to mind too...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3njjD41 ... re=related

[Rip Rokken]

You wouldn't believe how many times I've caught people trying to send an e-mail with 80MB+ of attachments. Uhh uhh, folks. If by some act of divine intervention that e-mail ever leaves your inbox, it's likely to be rejected due to the attachment size restrictions on the recipient's mail server, or it will constipate their mailbox and they won't be able to receive anything else until they get it cleared out. By the time they find out it was you sending oversized pics of your kids, they already hate you.

It's amazing what people don't know. I think my email server has a 10 MB limit. The U.S. needs to get with the program of the rest of the world. The bandwidth limitations and file size limitations are ridiculous for today. If things were as they should be, people could attach a video of the kids opening Christmas gifts to an email and send it to grand dad. Or a nice young lady could send a "helper" video to her boyfriend in Afghanistan.

LOL... How about just upload it to YouTube or YouSendIt and send them a link?

[Rip Rokken]

Running Windows 7 under Parallels on both my macs, which are running Snow Leopard. It's a vast improvement over Vista, which finally drove me to a mac. That being said, I'm only really using it for Quickbooks and Quicken.

You need Quicken AND QuickBooks? SWEET, you must have a lot of money!

[The Sushi Hunter]

I'm happy with what I'm running with now....Windows 95'. J/K

[Sarah]

Maybe I'm weird but I don't hate Vista. The only real problems I've had with my laptop have been 64-bit related. UAC doesn't even bother me.

I never recommend an upgrade, just chip in for the full thing. If you upgrade and then you ever need to reformat, it'll be a nightmare reinstalling your old OS, getting the required security updates, and then installing 7 over it. Plus, if you get the full version you can install it on multiple computers with less hassle.

[yak]

I found this at CNET-

Microsoft plans to ring in Windows 7


http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10377 ... 7-1_3-0-20




I agree with Sarah's comment about the upgrade. I still hate Vista though.

Sarah wrote:

Maybe I'm weird but I don't hate Vista. The only real problems I've had with my laptop have been 64-bit related. UAC doesn't even bother me.

I never recommend an upgrade, just chip in for the full thing. If you upgrade and then you ever need to reformat, it'll be a nightmare reinstalling your old OS, getting the required security updates, and then installing 7 over it. Plus, if you get the full version you can install it on multiple computers with less hassle.

[trekman]

Ive only been using Vista for about 2 months. I dont hate it either. Not yet. And the only problem Ive had with it is the Microsoft Works Word. For some reason it wants to stop working and close on me.

[brywool]

Anyone else running it yet?

Hey Rip! I bought a new comp a few months ago and it's got a cert to download W7 free.
Vista drives me nuts. It doesn't work well with my recording software either...

Dumb question- If I upgrade to 7, I'll lose everything, correct?

[Rick]

Anyone else running it yet?

Hey Rip! I bought a new comp a few months ago and it's got a cert to download W7 free.
Vista drives me nuts. It doesn't work well with my recording software either...

Dumb question- If I upgrade to 7, I'll lose everything, correct?

If you upgrade, you won't lose anything.

[Behshad]

Anyone else running it yet?

Hey Rip! I bought a new comp a few months ago and it's got a cert to download W7 free.
Vista drives me nuts. It doesn't work well with my recording software either...

Dumb question- If I upgrade to 7, I'll lose everything, correct?

not if you upgrade it. I have also a free code for a upgrade to 7, and as far as you do an upgrade, all your files and documents will be available after the upgrade.

[Suzanne]

The company I work for is only up to XP. I bet there will be a Windows 10 before we get 7. I am definitely upgrading my home computer though. The only problem I have with Vista is that my computer does seem slower than it should be when booting up and shutting down and I'm tired of the annoying confirmations when I'm trying to run something or download something. "Something's trying to happen, do you want to allow?"

[brywool]

The company I work for is only up to XP. I bet there will be a Windows 10 before we get 7. I am definitely upgrading my home computer though. The only problem I have with Vista is that my computer does seem slower than it should be when booting up and shutting down and I'm tired of the annoying confirmations when I'm trying to run something or download something. "Something's trying to happen, do you want to allow?"

Same with my company. We skipped Vista on purpose but will upgrade to 7. Vista is just not great...

[Sarah]

Hey Rip! I bought a new comp a few months ago and it's got a cert to download W7 free.
Vista drives me nuts. It doesn't work well with my recording software either...

Dumb question- If I upgrade to 7, I'll lose everything, correct?

ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS keep backups just in case.

[brywool]

Hey Rip! I bought a new comp a few months ago and it's got a cert to download W7 free.
Vista drives me nuts. It doesn't work well with my recording software either...

Dumb question- If I upgrade to 7, I'll lose everything, correct?

ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS keep backups just in case.

Yeah, I suppose so. Just thought it actually might be easy for once....
I thought it wasn't available till the 22nd?

[Rick]

Hey Rip! I bought a new comp a few months ago and it's got a cert to download W7 free.
Vista drives me nuts. It doesn't work well with my recording software either...

Dumb question- If I upgrade to 7, I'll lose everything, correct?

ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS keep backups just in case.

This is the best thing that people could do, but so few people do it.

[Behshad]

Hey Rip! I bought a new comp a few months ago and it's got a cert to download W7 free.
Vista drives me nuts. It doesn't work well with my recording software either...

Dumb question- If I upgrade to 7, I'll lose everything, correct?

ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS keep backups just in case.

This is the best thing that people could do, but so few people do it.

True Dat !

[Rip Rokken]

I'm happy with what I'm running with now....Windows 95'. J/K

I hear the next version of Windows is codenamed "Maguro", and I figure you'll be all over it!

[Rip Rokken]

Maybe I'm weird but I don't hate Vista. The only real problems I've had with my laptop have been 64-bit related. UAC doesn't even bother me.

"SUB F looking for DOM O/S for long-term abusive relationship."

[Rip Rokken]

Anyone else running it yet?

Hey Rip! I bought a new comp a few months ago and it's got a cert to download W7 free.
Vista drives me nuts. It doesn't work well with my recording software either...

Dumb question- If I upgrade to 7, I'll lose everything, correct?

No, depending on which version of Vista you have (at least Home Premium), you should be able to upgrade directly without losing anything. Good luck!

[Sarah]

Hey Rip! I bought a new comp a few months ago and it's got a cert to download W7 free.
Vista drives me nuts. It doesn't work well with my recording software either...

Dumb question- If I upgrade to 7, I'll lose everything, correct?

ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS keep backups just in case.

This is the best thing that people could do, but so few people do it.

So true, and then they get sad when their hard drive craps out and all you can do is shrug.

I'm even paranoid that my backup will fail on me.

[Sarah]

Maybe I'm weird but I don't hate Vista. The only real problems I've had with my laptop have been 64-bit related. UAC doesn't even bother me.

"SUB F looking for DOM O/S for long-term abusive relationship."

Nah I'm just more chill about it I guess.

[MichaelRiesenbeck]

Maybe I'm weird but I don't hate Vista. The only real problems I've had with my laptop have been 64-bit related. UAC doesn't even bother me.

"SUB F looking for DOM O/S for long-term abusive relationship."

Nah I'm just more chill about it I guess.

Running W7 here now.

Perfect and fast! The only thing is, it lost my firefire driver and I can't add it any more! it's not listed in device manager and if I try to add new hardware or add legacy firewire I can't choose it....

I need that for my firwire sound card.....

Anyone have an idea?

[Rick]

Maybe I'm weird but I don't hate Vista. The only real problems I've had with my laptop have been 64-bit related. UAC doesn't even bother me.

"SUB F looking for DOM O/S for long-term abusive relationship."

Nah I'm just more chill about it I guess.

Running W7 here now.

Perfect and fast! The only thing is, it lost my firefire driver and I can't add it any more! it's not listed in device manager and if I try to add new hardware or add legacy firewire I can't choose it....

I need that for my firwire sound card.....

Anyone have an idea?

The only thing I can think to do is go to the sound card manufacturers website and see if they have drivers for it.