How to Keep Win 7 on your PC

Computer Care: Tips to keep Windows 7 on your PC

By Arthur Glazer

glazer.tech@gmail.com
POSTED: May 18, 2013 1:00 a.m.

Windows 8 is great, if you are used to it or if you have a touch-screen laptop or tablet. But more and more of my clients are complaining that they just got a new PC with Win 8 installed — and they hate it. What they really want is that new computer loaded with their old operating system, Windows 7.

What to do? Well, there are options.

Windows 7 machines are still available, contrary to what commissioned sales people may advise you. They are just hard to find and are mostly online.

Alternatively, you could downgrade your Win 8 system to Win 7, but it’s not as straightforward as it used to be to accomplish this task.

There is also the option of using a Win 7 install CD to set up a dual-boot configuration on your Win 8 system.

The simplest solution short of getting used to the new OS is to adjust the settings on your Win 8 system to make it look and behave more like Win 7. Click on the tile labeled “Desktop” on the primary screen of the Windows 8 system to accomplish this. You’ll then have a more recognizable graphical user interface.

There are also Start button apps that can be downloaded (many for free) online.

But let’s start at the beginning. Microsoft says it will support Windows 7 until January 2015, that retailers may sell PCs with the older system until October 2014 and sell boxed versions of the operating system until October 2013.

The problem is finding them. You may have better luck on sites such as overstock.com that sells last year’s technology, some new, some refurbished. Online retailers may also be your best bet for finding copies of Windows 7 when the brick-and-mortar stores advise you that it’s no longer available.

Websites that sell to businesses may have more older systems, even going back to XP computers. 

Dell.com for example has a section for home users and one for business use. You are more likely to find a Win 7 PC on the business side of their site.

The problem with downgrading from Windows 8 to 7 is a hardware issue. Windows 8 computers are designed differently from their predecessors, especially the hard drives. They are configured and partitioned to accommodate the newer, higher tech version of the operating system.

Without getting too technical, the new systems are designed with a new Unified Extensible Firmware Interface. They have secure boot along with fast startup features. The drives are partitioned differently from how they used to be to thwart off malware in the boot sector.

Although all you may see under your Computer icon is your C drive, the other partitions are there, just hidden. This is what makes downgrading to Win 7 difficult. Not impossible, but difficult.

If you have 64-bit version of Windows 7 Pro, it does support the new partitioning. Just choose the advanced setup and make sure you’ve backed up all your documents. The new installation will format your hard drive, wiping the contents of it. You will lose everything.

You may encounter some difficulty activating the new installation and have to phone Microsoft instead of the usual online activation. The number will be provided, should you need it. What you are doing is legal and free, if you already have the CD.

Better option yet, if you have a full copy of the Win 7 install CD (any version), is to set up a dual-boot so both operating systems are there. Win 8 remains intact, but you may choose to ignore it and go right into Windows 7.

The worse part of this is that it will void your warranty if you are making these adjustments on a new computer. It’s your call, but it may be worth it.

Google, “How to dual-boot a Windows 8 system with Windows 7.” It’s not too difficult. Just be sure to find a site with instructions you can understand clearly and follow them exactly.

Whichever option you choose, I think you’ll agree with my clients. Windows 7 is the way to go.

Arthur Glazer is a freelance writer and computer technician in Gainesville. His column appears biweekly on the Business page and on gainesvilletimes.com.

A Windows Chronology

Computer Care: Looking back through Windows, and what lies ahead

	By Arthur Glazerglazer.tech@gmail.com

POSTED: February 17, 2012 11:59 p.m.

	It seems like I just recently upgraded my computer's operating system. Windows 7 came out in October of 2009, yet here we are with Microsoft announcing the release of its successor already, slated for the fourth quarter of this year. That's about the same amount of time between the releases of Windows 95 and 98 and of 98 and XP. So I guess we are due. Although XP is over a decade old, I along with millions of users still have it installed on a computer. As of eight months ago, 75 percent of businesses in the U.S. still used XP on their computers. With 450 million boxes of Windows 7 sold, it only recently exceeded overall use over XP. In January, XP was reported to still have a worldwide market share of almost 50 percent. I have XP Pro on my desktop and Win 7 on my laptop and am quite content with both installations. It's doubtful that I will jump on the Windows 8 bandwagon this winter. Back in the early '90s, home computing really took off. Windows came out a decade before, but until version 3.0 or really 3.1, did it go mainstream. It was the first graphical user interface or GUI (pronounced "gooey") for the PC. Simultaneously, Apple had the MacIntosh. Almost each new version of Windows brought novel innovations to the table. Windows 95 had Plug and Play, integrated Internet and showed us the Start Menu and Task Bar. Win 98 introduced us to the Universal Serial Bus, better known as USB. The Millennium Edition had but one use for me: I used the installation CD for a coaster. Aside from my beverage, all else on it was junk. I think Microsoft must have agreed, as it was gone as quickly as it appeared. XP had a refined GUI, an easy to use Network Wizard, Media Player and Movie Maker. It was the first Windows to have wireless networking support. The much-maligned Vista was next. They should have put a fork in it; it wasn't ready. Although high on security, it is slow on speed and is a clunky, overburdened operating system that manages memory poorly. Personally, I'd rather use XP. Its successor, Windows 7 is everything Vista tried to be and wasn't. It was like going from black and white to color; from four cylinders to eight. It is smart, secure and stable; it is quick, easy to control and has cloud capabilities. I enjoy Win 7 so much that I see no need to upgrade to 8 when it comes out. I'll wait until I get my next computer, which will have it pre-installed. Windows 8, or Metro, as they are calling it, will still function with a mouse and keyboard, but will also offer support for tablets and other touch screens. It will supposedly be offered in various incarnations, depending upon the way you will be using it, touch or otherwise. Picture your smartphone on steroids, 10 times the size for your next personal computer. But they don't stop there. Touch screens are used from 4-inch smartphones to 60-inch classroom/boardroom presentation screens. You may have already seen these large displays on network news shows. Aside for the business and home computer market, I believe we will see Microsoft give Android and Apple and run for the smart phone market with Windows 8 as well. Currently, cell phone use is dominated by Android, which is a Linux-based operating system for mobile devices or iOS if you have an iPhone. Windows has a small share as does Blackberry, and a few others. Almost 500 million smart phones were sold in 2011, so the market is rapidly growing with Microsoft and Android battling for placement in it. Android and Linux are forces to be recognized. You may not see Linux-based PCs when you go shopping, but they are around. The Department of Defense and the U.S. Navy, as well as many municipalities, schools and businesses use it. I tried Windows on my phone, but like Droid better. On my PC I prefer Windows over Linux. The new version of Windows is supposed to have enhancements other than those for touch screens. It should run more efficiently, using less memory. It will have a new user interface. The start menu will be gone, to be replaced with a tile-based grid of images including your applications and photos. To log on, you will click a series of points on an image, not unlike some smart phone logons we use already. Much of what we will need will be a la carte via a Microsoft website, Window Live, rather than clog the operating system with things that we may or may not use. Windows Live currently has a half billion accesses monthly. It sounds like Windows 8 has gone through a major overhaul, but until I find myself showing up at clients' homes with my touch screen tablet computer, I'll think I'll stay with Windows 7. Arthur Glazer is a freelance writer and computer technician in Gainesville. His column appears biweekly on the Business page and on gainesvilletimes.com.

Reinstalling your Operating System

Computer Care: Best to reinstall your OS when problems mount

By Arthur Glazer
arthur@glazerthepctech.com

POSTED Oct. 25, 2009 12:08 a.m.

On occasion, I find myself attempting a tuneup on a computer that is beyond tuning. If your registry is corrupt, you have unnecessary programs run at start-up and check disk initiates every time you boot up, you have a problem.

If there are too many pop-ups to navigate the desktop — and even when you can, nothing happens when you click an icon — then a tuneup is not the answer. Sure, it could probably be fixed, but it would take longer than another option and you might miss something anyway.

When there are that many problems in a system and it is that unstable, it would take less time to reformat your hard drive and reinstall Windows than it would to attempt a repair. It also makes better sense. With the latter, you would not even be certain you fixed everything.

With a reinstall, you would not fix what ails the system, you would be erasing it. It will get rid of any malware and possible viruses, toss the trojans, the temps, clean the cache and give you a fresh version of the registry.

It may seem a bit intimidating to take on such a task, but it is really the more sensible choice. It is even more so now, with the release of Windows 7. It is a good time to upgrade from XP or Vista, a must if you still have the Millennium Edition.

The upgrade from Vista to Win 7 won’t hurt at all. You’ll even get to carry over your settings. With XP though, you’ll need to wipe everything. If you’re just replacing XP with itself, depending upon your choices, your data may also be saved. As much as I liked working with XP, this new operating system is a pleasure and I don’t have the regrets I had with Vista.

You will hear from the naysayers that Windows 7 is nothing but Vista with a fresh coat of paint. I say it is more. They gave it a better engine with more horsepower. It now runs like a race car instead of a jalopy.

Should you decide to go with a reinstallation, you first need to make sure to save what you don’t want to lose. I’ve had clients ask me where their address book was or that their Favorites or Bookmarks were gone after I wiped their hard drive. Sure they were. If you don’t save it, it won’t be there.

All it takes is an external hard drive or a couple of DVDs, depending on how much data you want to back up. You might just copy the entire My Docs folder. Alternatively, look for My Pictures, My Videos or My Music. Give the desktop a once over just in case there is a stray file or two out there.

You could use a wild-card search to be sure. For example, in the search box, type *.*jpg if you want to see all the jpegs in the system. Use *.*doc to find Word documents.

If you have a dedicated backup utility, now is the time to use it. Vista has a program to help you with the task. Pick and choose carefully what you decide to keep.

Tools like Norton Ghost or Acronis True Image will create an image or a snapshot of your hard drive, operating system and all.

But this, too, warrants caution. If you are reformatting because of problems with your system, you will be transferring the problems with an image, defeating the purpose of the reinstallation. You’d be better off just copying what you need manually, unless you created an image back before you had issues.

If you plan to upgrade to Win 7, then the image won’t do you any good. Just back up your files.

If you want a clean fix with the same operating system, it usually works one of two ways. PC manufacturers either ship a system restoration disk with the computer or include a rescue partition on the hard drive. If you didn’t get a disk, look for a D drive under My Computer. It should say either Recovery or Rescue.

Before you initiate a reformat, make sure you have something to put back on the hard drive in the form of an operating system; otherwise, you’re just creating a doorstop.

Start to finish should take two to three hours, again depending on how much you have to save.

It is important to note that you will have to reinstall any programs you had. You can’t copy a program.

Once you get going, Windows does most of the work. You’ll get the occasional question about time zone, computer and network name, but for the most part it is on auto pilot.

You might check out a web site or two to gain some confidence before you begin. Just Google, “Windows reinstallation” and choose.

There is no down side to this. Your system will be cleaner and faster than it has been in a long time. You can live with a corrupt computer, replace it or just reinstall Windows. Have a plan, back up what needs backing, take a deep breath and get to work.

Arthur Glazer is a freelance writer and computer technician in Gainesville.
His column appears biweekly. Arthur welcomes your computer questions and ideas for future columns.

Windows 7 is Coming

Computer Care: Windows 7 is a big step up from Vista

By Arthur Glazer
arthur@glazerthepctech.com

POSTED Oct. 9, 2009 9:19 p.m.

Windows 7 will be out in a couple of weeks and unlike its predecessor, it is something to look forward to.

Although its release isn’t officially until Oct. 22, I have a prerelease version installed on my computer and I like it. I took advantage of Microsoft’s offer back in June to try it free for a year. It’s installed on my laptop alongside Vista; I can’t remember the last time I booted into Vista.

It’s not a totally new interface like the difference between Win 98 and XP, but it beats Vista by leaps and bounds.

Win 7 seems to have added what XP left out and repaired what Vista messed up. Some things are new, others polished. Gone are the constant nags of permission to access something on your own computer. They called it security; I called it a nuisance.

Vista initially had issues with many peripherals that XP handled with ease. Win 7 is ready. Vista couldn’t run on the new tiny netbooks where XP could. So could Win 7.

I think Vista must have been a huge a huge disappointment, if not an embarrassment to Microsoft. It ended up being nothing like its older brother, XP. Whether it was released prematurely or what, we’ll never know. It was kind of like Win ME, the Millennium Edition. The turn of the century is here and we’d better have something to sell, ready or not. I used mine as a coaster on my desk.

A nice addition to Win 7 is not so many additions. Instead of cramming a bunch of add-on programs and utilities to the operating system, some that may never be used, Microsoft decided this time around to offer them as optional, free downloads on its Web site. Many add-ons are in Windows Live Essentials. That’s where you’ll find Window’s Mail and Messenger now as well as the new Writer and some others. Go to http://down load.live.com to see what’s there.

I added Photo Gallery to my installation. Aside from being a nice photo viewer and sufficient editor, it has a panoramic feature. If you’re on the beach or mountain top and want to remember the expansive panoramic view, now you can, and Photo Gallery does it effortlessly.

You can also make slideshows or movies in Photo Gallery, and when done, you can upload your finished products directly to You Tube, Flickr or Facebook for publication. A new addition to image-viewing is the slider in each folder that lets you adjust the size of the thumbnails.

The taskbar is perhaps the most noticeable change to the operating system’s interface. The start button is still there; it just doesn’t tell you what it is. Instead of pinning programs to the start menu or the Quicklaunch bar, you can now pin them to the taskbar.

All you do is hover the mouse over a taskbar item and it reveals a readable thumbnail. Then you click on either the item or the thumbnail to open it. The thumbnail offers a list of what each app recently had open. Word for example, will show a list of documents, and Firefox, a list of sites.

If you have multiple windows opened and want to view them in equal sizes, simply right-click on the taskbar. You will have a choice to cascade them, view them side by side or stacked. Personally, I like the side-by option. It’s like having my research book adjacent to the paper I’m writing. I can Google something and keep writing.

If you double-click anywhere on a window’s title bar, it will show in full screen. Alternatively, you can just drag it to the top of the screen and goes to full size automatically, with the new snap feature.

I have deleted the recycle bin more than once instead of emptying it. That option to delete is thankfully no longer there.

Having never been a fan of Internet Explorer, the new version has not changed that. My advice is to go to mozilla.com and download the latest version of Firefox. It is far more versatile and customizable than IE ever was.

What is versatile in the new OS is the redesigned Media Center that handles not just photos and music, but videos and TV. It asks what you want to configure and takes it from there.

Windows 7 installed on my laptop in an hour and booted in less than a minute. I found a huge collection of themes to download from Microsoft as well as add-ons as mentioned. It goes to sleep in seconds and wakes up almost as fast.

I found this OS more helpful than its predecessors. It connects to wireless much easier, finding local connections quickly.

Whenever you run into a problem, a troubleshooter is there in the form of a wizard to assist you. It asks just enough proper questions to help get you going again.

Libraries are something new. They are like what My Pictures was to My Documents in XP — on steroids. They are lists accessible across the OS. Using tags or keywords with libraries, files are easier to index and find from anywhere.

If you bought a new computer recently, chances are it came with a coupon or a link to get a free upgrade to Windows 7. I’d say go for it.

Even if you don’t have a coupon, the pricing is affordable. According to Microsoft’s Web site, the upgrade version for the Home Premium edition is $119.99, and $219.99 for the Ultimate Upgrade.

It may be just the operating system you’ve been looking for. Worst case scenario: it’s better than the one you’ve been itching to get away from.

Arthur Glazer is a freelance writer and computer technician in Gainesville. His column appears biweekly. Arthur welcomes your computer questions and ideas for future columns.

Windows 7 Almost Ready -Download It Now

Computer Care: Free Windows 7 trial worth a download

By Arthur Glazer
arthur@glazerthepctech.com

POSTED May 23, 2009 12:09 a.m.

Windows 7 was released in beta or trial form a few months ago. That bug-laden form, although free of cost, was free of support as well. It is the nature of the beast with betas.

As Microsoft works out the kinks from this soon-to-be-finished operating system, they are allowing us to not only preview the latest incarnation, but to use it free for a year. Yes, free Microsoft. This is not a typo.

Windows 7 RC, for Release Candidate, is an upgrade of the beta version and is now available as a download from its Web site. As with the beta version, all you need to do is register. It will scan your computer to see if it is capable of running Win 7 and issue an installation key if it is. You will get an iso-type file which you’ll need to burn to a disc. You’ll then boot from this disc to install the operating system.

It will be good for a year from now and will cease to function on June 1, 2010. Two months prior to that, it will begin to remind you it is only a trial version. How, you ask? It will turn itself off every two hours until you buy it or delete it. Annoying, yes. Now that’s the Microsoft we know.

You only have through the end of June to register with Microsoft and download your copy of Windows 7 RC. Windows 7 the finished product, is scheduled to officially go on sale sometime during the winter holiday season.

This is unprecedented by Microsoft, or any other manufacturer, to my knowledge. It gives us an opportunity to really see if Win 7 is any better than its predecessors. We have plenty of time to test it, and it’s free.

Although not a total overhaul (it is written on the same kernel or foundation as XP & Vista), Microsoft claims there are to be some major changes, many we are supposed to like.

If you don’t have an extra or old computer kicking around the garage, you could alternatively set up your current one to dual boot to Vista and Win 7 or XP and Win 7. By dual boot, I mean that two operating systems installed on one computer. When the computer boots up, you will have a boot manager to offer you a choice of which operating system to boot into. There is some prep work involved plus the addition of the second OS, but it’s not that time consuming.

Now this is not for the weak of heart, but it’s really not all that difficult, either. Just be sure that you clone, image or otherwise back up your current system before you begin on this adventure. Back up to an external drive or to DVDs to be safe.

There are lots of articles and forums on the Internet that deal with this. Microsoft’s Web site may be the first place you run to for support, but others are easier to comprehend. Would you rather take instructions from the guys who developed the operating system, or from guys who tried to install it, made mistakes, took notes and now know the pitfalls?

Get the OS at www.microsoft.com/Windows/Windows-7/download.aspx and then check out lifehacker.com/5126781/ for simple instructions or read more at www.gadgetpaper.com/how-to-install-windows-7-rc-as-a-dual-boot-over-vista-or-from-scratch. Or Google,"dual boot Windows 7 RC" for more options.

You will need a partition utility to have a dual-boot system. Your hard drive will need to be split up, or partitioned to make room for what’s to come. Get a free copy of Gparted, at gparted.sourceforge.net/download.php. You could also use Partition-it if you own it, or others.

Be sure you follow directions carefully, taking no shortcuts. You may end up with a doorstop if you decide to get creative.

A dual-boot system is good for many reasons. My laptop is configured as a dual boot with XP and Vista. Until I am totally comfortable with Vista (should that day ever come), I use XP as my main OS and play around with Vista. I do the same on another system with XP and Win 7. Ultimately I assume, I’ll switch to Win 7. Should something happen to one OS, I could always access its files from the other. It makes for a versatile computer.

Dual-booting with this generous offer from Microsoft will give us a chance to really test drive Windows 7, side by side with whichever one we use now. By the time we are forced to make a decision, we will either like it and buy it, or stick with what we have. But at least it will be an informed first-hand decision.

Arthur Glazer is a freelance writer and computer technician in Gainesville. His column appears biweekly. Arthur welcomes your computer questions and ideas for future columns.