Does anyone actually LIKE Windows 7?

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  1. Posts : 757
    Win10 Pro 64-bit
       #131

    I have to admit... after using Win 7 since May 2012, as-is out of the box, 7 seems like a downgrade from XP.
    I had to add Classic Start Menu, Ultimate Windows Tweaker, ShellFolderFix, Network Activity Indicator, go through the hassle of re-creating the QuickLaunch button, turn off that damn annoying UAC, and use the good ol' non-Aero Classic GUI. Except for the Start button flag, my PC GUI looks just like Win95, and that's perfect for me.

    I ignore the Libraries... I don't see the point. I just use file folders like I've been doing since Win95.

    One thing I absolutely HATE about Win 7 is that steaming pile called Windows Media Player 12! I've tried to get rid of all file associations that use it, and use either Winamp or VLC to play all media files on my machine. If I could revert to WMP10 I'd do it in a heartbeat.

    I had to go to Thunderbird for email because M$ didn't want to let me keep using Outlook Express. That's a fail.

    I have had more trouble getting older programs to work with 7 than I ever did with XP. Nero Suite 6 is a no-go, as is my old video capture software... I can't switch off video acceleration! Even DVD Flick needed to have compatibility modes and permissions altered to let the component programs within it run.

    I have to be honest and say that the only advantage I see so far that Win7 has over XP is a faster boot time.

    So do I "LIKE" Windows 7? Now that it looks and acts like XP, I'd rather say it's "acceptable". And I still have to dual boot with XP to get older programs to work... Win7's XP VM and Compatibility Mode do not work for me.

    For a few programs, I'll still be using XP for many years to come.
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  2. Posts : 4,049
    W7 Ultimate SP1, LM19.2 MATE, W10 Home 1703, W10 Pro 1703 VM, #All 64 bit
       #132

    Clarification


    I should point out that I like using Windows 7.
    My opinion is that W7 isn't superior in every way to XP. :)

    For example:
    I need to use XP for WLE-PhotoGallery because of the Libraries in W7.
    WLE-PhotoGallery is controllable in XP because it has no Libraries.

    OvenMaster said:
    One thing I absolutely HATE about Win 7 is that steaming pile called Windows Media Player 12! I've tried to get rid of all file associations that use it, and use either Winamp or VLC to play all media files on my machine. If I could revert to WMP10 I'd do it in a heartbeat.
    Agreed.
    IMO, WMP 10 is easily superior to WMP 12.
    Last edited by lehnerus2000; 18 Nov 2012 at 01:35. Reason: Quote Added
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  3. Posts : 6,668
    Windows 7 x64
       #133

    lehnerus2000 said:
    I should point out that I like using Windows 7.
    My opinion is that W7 isn't superior in every way to XP. :)

    For example:
    I need to use XP for WLE-PhotoGallery because of the Libraries in W7.
    WLE-PhotoGallery is controllable in XP because it has no Libraries.

    OvenMaster said:
    One thing I absolutely HATE about Win 7 is that steaming pile called Windows Media Player 12! I've tried to get rid of all file associations that use it, and use either Winamp or VLC to play all media files on my machine. If I could revert to WMP10 I'd do it in a heartbeat.
    Agreed.
    IMO, WMP 10 is easily superior to WMP 12.
    ...and VLC is superior to all windows media players because it doesn't rely on codecs it also has vastly more adjustments and features if you bother to look for them. Also it will play the new 10 bit format which media player seems to hate.
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  4. Posts : 21,004
    Desk1 7 Home Prem / Desk2 10 Pro / Main lap Asus ROG 10 Pro 2 laptop Toshiba 7 Pro Asus P2520 7 & 10
       #134

    One thing I absolutely HATE about Win 7 is that steaming pile called Windows Media Player 12!

    Hiyya OM well my friend I have just found this if you want to try it as my attempts at getting the Xonar to work is a waste of time

    Media Jukebox: Free J. River Media Jukebox software WMP never was much chop.

    As for the mail mate what about WLM you just need a Live account and well away you go:)
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 9,600
    Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit
       #135

    OvenMaster said:
    ...turn off that damn annoying UAC...
    I'll admit UAC can be as annoying as an itch you can't reach (or a telmarketer) but turning it off is a bad idea. At the very least, the default setting should be used. I have it turned all the way on and have gotten used to dealing with the pop-ups. UAC is another layer of protection that will alert you to any rogue programs that might have slipped past your AV trying to start up.

    OvenMaster said:
    ...and use the good ol' non-Aero Classic GUI...

    I personally like Aero. I turned off AeroGlass since it's just Window dressing (pun intended) that uses up resources unnecessarily but I love AeroPeek and Aerosnap! They are very handy.

    OvenMaster said:
    ...I ignore the Libraries... I don't see the point. I just use file folders like I've been doing since Win95...
    I won't bother to explain the point of Libraries (mostly because I'm too lazy and it's past my bedtime) but, although they are useful for some people, it's not for everyone. I use the default Libraries—Documents, Music, Pictures, and Videos in the Start Menu—but deleted all but the "parent" folder from each Library so they now act like direct links to the "parent" folders (such as Documents goes to My Documents).

    OvenMaster said:
    ...One thing I absolutely HATE about Win 7 is that steaming pile called Windows Media Player 12! I've tried to get rid of all file associations that use it, and use either Winamp or VLC to play all media files on my machine...
    I feel you are too kind with your assessment of WMP12. I've always hated it! I didn't have any trouble changing my music file associations to Media Monkey and my videos to VLC (took maybe five minutes). I also turned off Windows Media Center, which also turned off WMP, on my notebook from Services since I'll never use them on that machine.

    OvenMaster said:
    ...I had to go to Thunderbird for email because M$ didn't want to let me keep using Outlook Express. That's a fail...
    I never liked Outlook or Outlook Express. I got a foreman at one job mad at me because I always referred to Outlook as Outlaw and he got in the habit of doing so until he slipped and used Outlaw in a meeting and got his tail feathers chewed on. He told me to stop calling it Outlaw after that but I didn't.

    I prefer webmail anyway so losing Outlaw Express was not a loss for me.

    OvenMaster said:
    ...I have had more trouble getting older programs to work with 7 than I ever did with XP. Nero Suite 6 is a no-go, as is my old video capture software... I can't switch off video acceleration! Even DVD Flick needed to have compatibility modes and permissions altered to let the component programs within it run...
    I had only five programs that wouldn't work on Win7. Three were free Utilities I replaced with better freebies. One was a music cataloging program that also worked as a player through VLC. I replaced it with Media Monkey. Even the free version is vastly superior although I chose to get the paid version for additional features. I did have to run it in XP SP1 compatibilty mode to get one the visualization I liked to work properly. It took all of five seconds to set it.

    The other program that wouldn't work in Win7 was a professional music notation program. That particular one had become abandonware and would have cost me $400 to get the top program in the program lineup but, after I threatened on their user forum to "go to the dark side" (forum slang for buying the main competitor's program) if I was forced to pay $400 to upgrade to the more expensive program, they made me an offer I couldn't refuse; I was able to get a much better program for considerably less.

    That's the problem with paid programs; you have to shell out for upgrades every so often to maintain compatibility and/or support which is why I try to use freebies whenever possible, assuming they will meet my needs. Unfortunately, some programs can't be replaced by freebies. In my case, it is Adobe Acrobat 9.x, MS Office, and the music notation program. As long as Adobe supports Acrobat 9.x, I'm going to keep using it, then upgrade when it reaches end of life. Today, I upgraded Office 2007 Home and Student to the 2010 version because it will receive support until 2020, same as Win 7 (actually, a few months longer).

    Nero is now up to v12; it's past time you upgraded. Personally, I never liked Nero even though it is popular.

    XP is a good OS but it will not be supported after 4/8/2014. That means any security holes uncovered by hackers will not get plugged by security updates from M$. And I seriously doubt that AV manufacturers will continue to make XP definitions after that. I strongly suspect hackers will work overtime to find security holes, etc. after 4/8/2014 and anyone accessing the internet on XP will be taking a huge risk.

    OvenMaster said:
    ...So do I "LIKE" Windows 7? Now that it looks and acts like XP, I'd rather say it's "acceptable"...
    If you were to work with Win7's new features instead of expecting a clone of XP, I suspect you would have had fewer problems. I first got Win7 last June when I bought my notebook to replace my long-in-the-tooth XP netbook. Right out of the box, I had very few problems and was productive from the word go. I was able to learn how to deal with the few problems I was having by going to forums like these; mostly, they were learning curve issues. The only things I missed from XP was the default picture viewer and the camera and card download wizard. Win7's picture viewer is a piece of junk; it reduced the vertical height of many of my pictures so I just changed my graphic file associations to Office Picture Manager. The camera wizard didn't have the flexibility XP's has when it came to renaming downloaded pictures. I use the free program, IrfanView, which I already use, to replace that function.

    OvenMaster said:
    ...And I still have to dual boot with XP to get older programs to work... Win7's XP VM and Compatibility Mode do not work for me...
    Painful though it is, there comes a point where older software and hardware have to be replaced. One of the reasons I didn't upgrade to Vista when it came out (besides Vista being better suited for keeping grass green), and didn't upgrade to Win7 until recently, was the expense and hassle of replacing software (which I've already mentioned) and hardware. My desktop is an XP machine that won't run Win7. Since XP is due to "die" soon, it's time to replace it (and will after the first of the year); I've gotten my money's worth out of it. My POS scanner has already been replaced with a duplexing ADF and a flatbed, either of which will run circles around my old scanner. My ancient B&W laser printer is still going strong but I can't get drivers that will let it run on Win7 and I can't get toner cartridges that the chip hasn't expired (the printer will still work but I can't access the tool box where settings are made once the chip has expired). I have a new color laser printer coming in on Monday. It bites me to spend the money but nothing lasts forever and, eventually, everything needs replacing or serious shekels have to be spent to repair them.
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  6. Posts : 55
    Windows 7 Professional
    Thread Starter
       #136

    gregrocker said:
    Is the problem that you're not able to install Front Page to WIn7? Because I've installed it several times and got it working fine - I believe in XP or Win2000 Compatibility Mode. It might have even been the one time I reached all the way back to Win98 Compat mode. Try it.
    I'm not sure why but my version of FrontPage - 2003 - was not installable. I think it was FrontPage 11 and one other version.

    So I started using the FrontPage-created web pages on a hard drive from my previous computer which the IT shop installed for me in my new computer. (I could have done it but . . . you know!) It works fine - apart from a long path that I have to follow manualy to get to the web pages from the starting page. I'll crack that one day.
    At first in thought I couldn't change the web pages, but then - under Files - I found a line which read: "Edit with Mircosoft Office FrontPage" which makes the pages editable. As long as I remember to delete the other (uneditable) versions of the web page in question which lurk in the background. If I dont, and try to save the changes to the page, I get a message about FrontPage not being able to save them.
    I think that will suit me for the time being, but I WILL make a note of your comments (thanks for telling me) against the day I can't use the hard drive nor - dare I say it? - XP !
    I'm not sure how far I can go back anyway. Win98? Maybe.
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  7. Posts : 1,442
    Windows 7 Professional 64bit
       #137

    I still have no issues with 7. I leave UAC on it's default settings. Don't use Libraries that much, if at all. I use VLC instead of WMP. The Aero UI is perfect for me, I especially like Aero snap. Outlook Express isn't included (along with other things) but I think that is because of lawyers and not Microsoft. I just download Windows Live Essentials (Windows Live mail only gets installed though).
    I do not have any older programs that I need to run in XP mode. I also have Home Premium, so I don't think it has XP mode (I haven't had to use Compatability Mode).
    After I put my main PC back together and install Windows 7, I'll be sticking with it for the foreseeable future.
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 2
    Windows 7 Home Premium
       #138

    I am happy with Win XP but probably Win 7 runs faster (?). I just bought an ultrabook which comes with Win7 Home Premium. This is my first experience with Win 7. I had a horrible experience. I have a file in ppt (Powerpoint), in four locations, incl in email as attachment, and in ext HD. I wanted to edit it in Word. so, i took one copy and rename it by putting two letters (PW) at the back of the original filename. Then I tried to open with Word. The file surprising damaged and damaged all original files in other locations too! These original files had actually now different file names, because the file I was working with I already renamed it by additional letters PW. How could this happened? This is never happened in Win XP. Also also in Win 7 there are changes made which I think do not add value. Could someone help me how to prevent the file damage in the future? Thanks. Wimenp
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  9. Posts : 5,605
    Originally Win 7 Hm Prem x64 Ver 6.1.7600 Build 7601-SP1 | Upgraded to Windows 10 December 14, 2019
       #139

    wimenp said:
    I am happy with Win XP but probably Win 7 runs faster (?)......Could someone help me how to prevent the file damage in the future? Thanks. Wimenp
    Hi wimenp, welcome to 7F! :)

    There may be corruption in your copy of Word, see if this link will help: Office 2010 - Perform Repairs You should also be able to apply this if you have 2007 or 12 and it may just repair those files.

    Also:
    How to recover a lost Word document
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  10. Posts : 6,668
    Windows 7 x64
       #140

    I wouldn't know I was taught to open power point in power point or a viewer then copy it into a no tabbed blank word document. I don't think I've ever tried opening one with word directly.
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