64 bit alternative to windows 7...

These threads are troll rat traps. But it allows us to blow off some steam, too.

Alejandro85 said:

mantion said:

I tried windows 7 for a year, I am done, I just can't do it. I absolutely hate the explorer and just about everything else. I have done everything I can to adjust and just can't do it. I am going to have to revert back to XPP.

I really want a 64 bit process for the memory access.. I want something as close to XPP or W2k as possible. Has anyone tried XPP64?

I have tried classic shell its better but still not XPP.

I already have a Linux box, its great Love it, definitely the future unfortunately a lot of the programs I need are still windows and I need 64bit.

I used server 2003 briefly its pretty good, but I know nothing about 2008. Is 2008 explorer closer to XP or vista/7.


This will be for a brand new 6 core I7 Desktop that I will build. I do not care one bit about support or updates, I turn auto updates off and only update when there is a new SP.

I will not really be using windows much except for swapping files and a few simple windows program and thus the need for a good explorer. Most of my time will be spent in virtual machines.

Again windows 7/vista/8 are a no go.. Never going to happen.. Tried them hate them.

Just a question, why does it absolutely needs to be 64 bits? If you like XP so much, why not stick to it simply instead of searching for something new?
I agree that Windows explorer is a complete crap in Win Vista/7/8, but personally I can live with it after applying the Classic Shell and got a very usable thing after tweaking. But if you won't use Windows too much, what about installing it as a virtual machine under a Linux host? A 32 bits XP should run just fine on that conditions.

mantion said:

Yah that is what I heard... I think I am going to have to go with 2003 Enterprise. I hear 2008 is too much like vista/7

I was really hoping that someone out there knows of some rare version of windows.. lol

I use 2008 R2 and yes, it's exactly the same as Win7, with a totally useless Windows explorer unless tweaking. Unless for some server-specific functions not available in 7, 2008 it's the very same thing and after some configuration, you can't tell on what system you are

mantion said:

Son I tried windows 8 its complete Microsoft. I use my keyboard for almost everything. Windows vista, 7, 8 are made for mouse users. I rarely if ever reach for my mouse. for me the best windows was win2k. My XPP is basically win2k. I just don't have time to be slowed down by a mouse. Sorry.

Not that exactly. Windows Vista/7 are mostly for mouses. Windows 8 is made for tablets and touch screens. XP is a mix of mouse/keyboard.
But what about using a command line? It's 100% keyboard, mostly with the same functions when you learn the commands and for file management it works great. You may be used to it if you're on Linux too.

mantion said:

Isn't this website devoted to talking about how bad windows 7 sucks?

Nooooo. It's all the opposite. In this site, the general line is "XP is old, Win8 sucks, Vista is fine, and Win7 is the greatest". Here the fanatics even defend the un-defendable things as if they were THE best things ever (MSE being the most clear example).

Thanks I do use the command line and event the run window for everything. All it seems every tweak that they made for window 7 annoys the hell out of me. I really did try hard to like it but its horrible.

I try every day to find ways to make windows 7 more xp but I can't.

For example if I open a folder of videos, they are in the stupid thumbnail. I want a list. every folder should be in a list. The left most column should be the date, then size then extension (3 letter not description) then file name.. I can make every folder in xp do this, but in win7 I have to change it every time I open a new folder. So when I create a folder for video clips I am editing BAM its in thumbnail. WTF. I have looked through the registry and forums trying to find a solution, there is none.

Oh and the check box?? WTF who uses that, why can't I get rid of it completely. its always getting in the way..

As I said I am using classic start menu, but its still not perfect.

Like the control panel.. How can I get them in a line. I want them in a row from top to bottom for faster scanning and navigation.. When you type "so" to get to sound in xp it highlights, you can see it nice and clear, in win 7 it puts a faint box around it. ?? why not just highlight it..

Now bout minimizing the window you are in with the keyboard. I mean I am glad windows d/m still works, but I can't figure out a quick way to minimize my current window. I do this maybe 20 times a minute when I am working, so 2 times a minute I have to reach for my mouse.

Lots of times I have like 10 explorer windows open. Lets say I want to drag one most of the way off the screen, oh wait it snaps to the side, interesting idea but not use full. I then have to drag it a second time to get it mostly off the screen.

I could go on for days talking about all the things they got right in win2k and all the things they got wrong in win 7, and that would just be with explorer. Looking under the surface at things like winsxs (side by side, or winsucks as I call it). What absolute moron thought of this. You would have to be the biggest ****ing retard in the world to think this is an improvement to stability or performance.

I think my biggest complaint is how unstable and slow it is. The eventvwr is a pain in the ass to use and takes forever to load. XPP 2 seconds to see system events win7 2 minutes if your lucky it doesn't bug out.

There are a few things I like, like being able to set different volumes for different programs, its a neat idea, most programs have a volume control built into them.

I am all for change, if its an improvement, if it makes things better faster or easier. Windows 7 for the most part is visually gaudy and full of annoying features that get in the way more then help. I would be fine with the changes if there were a way to disable them. I understand 50% of the users out there aren't heavy Users and like thumb nails. So you made the people who spend 10 minutes a day on their PC happier but pissed off the people who spend 18 hours a day on their PC.

NT 5.0 core was the best, I guess its xpp64 or 2k3EE for me... sad

1337 said:

mantion said:

Isn't this website devoted to talking about how bad windows 7 sucks?

No, sir.

But out of curiosity what makes you think that this site is devoted to talk about how bad Windows 7 is?

Because the bad out weighs the good 10:1???? I sincerely thought that this was a sight to help people with windows 7 issues/annoyances. I certainly did not expect this to be a fan site.

gregrocker said:

There was always a thread going here for almost 3 years where a crank yammers on about how bad Win7 is. You'd sometimes thing they were pulling our leg with the way they imitate Grandpa Simpson demanding we get off his lawn (XP).

I think it disoriented them when threads started up with complaints about Windows 8, making them settle down and eat their oatmeal quietly in confusion.

My main lappy is actually a dell xt so I was very interested in a OS that was built for touch screen, how strange and disappoint window 8 was. cluttered square boxes taking up too much real estate. No useful multi touch features. Their screen keyboard is horrible.

I know its not released so some bugs will be fixed but I doubt that they will change the interface much. *Sigh*. I really don't get Microsoft sometimes. Their games are decent, I mean really decent, kinects is great though under utilized. Where is my pc or linux kinects? I would love to control my big screen Android ICS with a kinects. Microsoft hardware is pretty good too, mouses, cams, what not. Why can't they put out decent OS. They are never intuitive, they are never pleasurable, they are buggy as hell and prone to so many attacks and exploits.

here I go again ranting on my one day off..

take care all.

Layback Bear said:

mantion you are making it to difficult. All the operating system you don't like, don't use them. If you ever find a operating system you do like, use it. The only other choice is to create your own operating system. Be careful you might not like that one.
Have a nice day.

Did you read my post, I need a windows OS that is 64 bit, I wanted something newer then 2k3 that wasn't NT6.0 based. Sorry if that wasn't clear. Trust me if I didn't HAVE to use windows for work I wouldn't. I do most everything in a virtual linux. For reasons most likely beyond you I can't use a virtual windows inside a linux os or I would.

chrysalis said:

the default win7 interface annoyed me a bit as well, however with the way I modded it I now prefer it to how I had XP.

quick launch can be brought back.
also getting '7 taskbar tweaker' you can adjust the taskbar a lot making it much more like how XP was.

I still haven't given up hope on win7 so if you can share your information i would appreciate it. My main grip, the deal breaker for me is when I open a new window for the first time, it defaults to what MS thinks is best. I want every window in detail with the date on the left sorted from latest to earliest. Do you know of anyway to do that? Right now when I open a new drive or window with vids in them I get thumb nails. and even if I switch to details I still have to sort it by date. I just want every explorer window to be the same from now until eternity. Is that possible on win7?

richnrockville said:

Pardon me but do I smell a troll

Rich

YUP its u..

Hi there
Windows 2003 Server r2 can still use more than 4GB RAM - so you could continue to use this -- it's very easy to adjust it to run as a workstation - turn off the server stuff like nag screens when you want to re-boot etc and you can also enable the Luna Theme which I still prefer in some ways to the themes used on W7 and W8.


It's not often realized but with the /pae switch W2003 server R2 Sp1 will address up to 64 GB even though it's a 32 bit OS.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/libr...#memory_limits

The drawback is that you can still only run 32 bit programs however - and probably sourcing an Enterprise version of W2003 server these days might be tricky -- they are still available on TechNet though.

Don't go for any form of the 64 bit version of XP or W2003 server unless you can find drivers -- hard if not impossible to find.


That's the best I can do for you I'm afraid if you like the XP look --Other solution is fire up your favourite Linux and run your Windows apps on one or more Windows VM's.

If you CREATE a VM under windows on VMware or VBOX that same vm will boot unchanged on VBOX or VMware on the Linux platform too so your VM isn't dependent on the host os it's running on.


If you NEED to use windows for work I can't see any reason why you CAN'T use a VM under Linux -- we have plenty of people who use Macbooks to access Windows apps by Virtual machines so there shouldn't be a problem there.


However saying on a dedicated W7 Forum that you hate W7 so is there anything else you can use doesn't on the whole seem like a good idea for Post Nr 1 -- rather like joining a BMW Forum and on your ist post saying you HATE BMW's and Prefer HONDA's

Cheers
jimbo