Aero problem - no Aero

[fridgemagnet]

I have a new Dell M4800 laptop, which came with a 500 GB hard drive - all works well here.
My problem is with a 1TB samsung evo SSD that has my old computer cloned on it - same windows 7 pro 64 bit O.S. - when I swop the hard drives, this works, but with no Aero.
I have installed the latest drivers, but still no Aero.
Can anyone help me to get the AMD Firepro M5100 to work properly please?
I am a beginner, so please use simple language.

 

[oreo27]

When you say "swap the hard drives", do you mean that the 1TB drive has an OS from a previous installation? Or do you mean you re-partition the hard drive and install Windows on it again after placing it in the laptop?

 

[fridgemagnet]

The 1TB drive has a clone of my old computer's hard drive - it contains my older version of windows 7 pro 64 bit O.S.
This is the drive that I want in my machine, but it has a problem - no aero.
It had aero before, when it was installed in my old desktop.

 

[Boozad]

You'd need to install the drive, format it and then do a clean install of Windows for it to work properly and you'd have to use your product key from your Dell laptop. I'm surprised it's booted at all to be honest.

 

[fridgemagnet]

Bummer - that version of windows is 'modified' so that it will let me do things that windows 7 nanny system will not allow.
I can't remember what was done now, and it would take forever to duplicate it.
Why do I need to give the Dell the new product key? The old O.S. is valid/genuine.

 

[fridgemagnet]

and how would I find the new product key anyway - it's buried in the impenetrable disc that was supplied with my Dell.

 

[Boozad]

It will probably be in the battery compartment. What do you mean by 'modified'?

 

[fridgemagnet]

I'd have to ask the friend responsible for the mods - widows 7 sometimes says ' I can't let you do that' - it no longer raises such objections. It no longer keeps me safe from myself.
He has no idea why the aero is not working.

 

[Boozad]

You really need to perform a Clean install - Factory OEM using your product key that came with the laptop, then run all rounds of updates to ensure you have all of the correct drivers for that machine. If you've brought the laptop over from another rig then you probably don't have the correct drivers, or at least have driver conflicts.

As I've said, I'm surprised it works at all and I would recommend against carrying on with how you're set up. I'd also advise against 'modifying' Windows. It's set up like it is for a reason.

 

[oreo27]

You'd need to install the drive, format it and then do a clean install of Windows for it to work properly and you'd have to use your product key from your Dell laptop. I'm surprised it's booted at all to be honest.

Agreed.

Bummer - that version of windows is 'modified' so that it will let me do things that windows 7 nanny system will not allow.
I can't remember what was done now, and it would take forever to duplicate it.
Why do I need to give the Dell the new product key? The old O.S. is valid/genuine.

In order for you to use your older install of Windows, you'd need to do a Sysprep transfer.

But since you've already transferred it to the Dell laptop, that may be an issue to do too. In any event, you could try plugging it back in to the desktop, doing the sysprep and transferring it back to your laptop. You'd let the license of your Dell laptop go to waste though if it does have one.

 

[fridgemagnet]

Look - it boots - I'm using it now. All that is missing is the aero (transparencies), and the other wobbly bit being the AMD Firepro GPU, which, running on this HDD, has a problem with the latest drivers. It is temporarily disabled now, otherwise, on restart, I get a message sayng that this GPU has a problem.

Surely all this migrating, and clean install stuff is not strictly necessary.
I do not want to lose about 30GB of work, plus being stubborn...

 

[oreo27]

Actually, from my experience and point of view, yes it is.

It is indeed tedious to get a workstation setup like you had it before. In my experience, it takes me about 3 days to do that and I have a somewhat complicated setup compared to my peers. But it beats 5 days of mucking around drivers and workarounds trying to get it to work and in the end might fail to do so.

File backups is surely not an issue if you can partition your drives or if you've got external hard drives or any other media for that matter.

In any event, I'm honestly out of ideas on this one. Maybe someone else will read this thread and chime in other ideas.

 

[Boozad]

Look - it boots - I'm using it now. All that is missing is the aero (transparencies), and the other wobbly bit being the AMD Firepro GPU, which, running on this HDD, has a problem with the latest drivers. It is temporarily disabled now, otherwise, on restart, I get a message sayng that this GPU has a problem.

Surely all this migrating, and clean install stuff is not strictly necessary.

The first part of your post implies it is. You're carrying an HDD over from another rig and booting a different rig with it and are having problems, unsurprisingly. I've offered my advice which I believe is sound enough, if you don't want to take it I'll leave you to it.

 

[HelpGiver]

Hi,
There are many problems that can disable the aero effects.
The first thing you should do is to TROUBLESHOOT
to troubleshoot aero go to :-
Windows explorer and type "Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Troubleshooting"(without quotes) in address bar
You are now in Control Panel Now click on Appearance and Personalization (make sure u r connected to internet)
Now Click on Aero. If there will be any problem the troubleshooter will fix

OR

Right click on Desktop and now Personalize
Now click on Aero theme (windows 7).
If this do not helps then see the next method

OR

Open windows explorer and in the address bar type
"Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Performance Information and Tools"(without quotes)
Now the windows experience index will open from there click on Run the assessment.(Do this if the second method does not help). After this try to change the theme to aero theme.

Many Thanks,
HelpGiver

 

[Boozad]

The GPU is disabled and has problems if it isn't, Aero is not going to work. The system needs a clean install of Windows 7 on that hard drive to get it working properly.