W7 Diehards - at least TRY W10 on a VM

[jimbo45]

Hi there

Unlike XP where some older hardware won't even RUN on W7 / later Ms seems to have got itself back on track with the latest build (9926) of Windows 10 both PRO and Enterprise versions.

Why not try downloading and running as a VM - the downloads of both Enterprise and Pro are FREE and last until OCT 1 2015 with extensions to come later so plenty of time to test.

Most of the HIDEOUS issues of W8 have been addressed -- some minor work on the start menu but it's useable. I think also everything will run - even on a VM.

Simply with VMWARE converter tool (free) Virtualise your CURRENT RUNNING W7 machine, power on the VM and then do a W10 upgrade. VMWARE PLAYER is still FREE for non commercial users - latest release 7.1.

You might then find the pain of moving from W7 not so bad -- W10 is far better than the fiasco that was W8 - and it runs a lot faster than W7 too.

For those who have large database / multi media files on Windows 10 you can combine disks (even of different capacities) into Storage spaces so your multi media files don't have to be restricted to a single volume either -- great idea.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I don't because I have other things to do with my time, I prefer to let others be the guinea pigs, and, even though it is a huge improvement over Win 8.x and, in some ways, even Win 7, I'm still not all that impressed with it. The RTM version will be different from the test version and will need to be debugged after release, which generally takes about a year. Win 7 is currently meeting my needs and will probably be able to continue to do so for almost five more years.

I'm still trying to wrap my mind around Storage Spaces but, from what I've read, it's not too much different from RAID and/or spanned drives and still has some of the disadvantages, such as data loss across all drives if one drive fails. It seems to me that externally stored backup drives and Windows Libraries would do a better job of protecting my data and letting me see it all, or select portions of it, in single directories.

 

[doctore]

I run both Win10s virtual and while it's better than Win8, the interface is still too gimmicky and apps continue to be way too intrusive on a desktop, not to mention on Enterprise edition. Don't get me started on the "PC Settings" stupidity...

Interface was never the problem with Win7 and the entire issue with Win8. Clearly Microsoft hasn't learned anything from the Win8 fiasco.

Don't see myself switching to Win10.

 

[jimbo45]

I don't because I have other things to do with my time, I prefer to let others be the guinea pigs, and, even though it is a huge improvement over Win 8.x and, in some ways, even Win 7, I'm still not all that impressed with it. The RTM version will be different from the test version and will need to be debugged after release, which generally takes about a year. Win 7 is currently meeting my needs and will probably be able to continue to do so for almost five more years.

I'm still trying to wrap my mind around Storage Spaces but, from what I've read, it's not too much different from RAID and/or spanned drives and still has some of the disadvantages, such as data loss across all drives if one drive fails. It seems to me that externally stored backup drives and Windows Libraries would do a better job of protecting my data and letting me see it all, or select portions of it, in single directories.

Hi there

Storage spaces re HUGELY different from RAID -- here's a few of differences

1) DIFFERENT size volumes can be in the mix
2) you can reserve part for data recovery - you don't need to reserve 50% of the array for "mirroring" -- about 15% is probably enough on domestic machines.
3)DYNAMICALLY ADD and REMOVE storage volumes (within reason --obviously if you have a 4 TB Database over 3 X 2 TB drives you might not be able to remove a volume).

If a volume starts failing you usually get adequate warnings before the HDD fails.

You can also set up EXTERNAL USB drives as storage spaces -- remember though if you set up sy 2 external drives as a storage space you need both to be switched on.

Other stuff "under the hood". It takes the best of RAID and Dynamic volumes. I've used it regularly and it works really great. No troubles at all so far. Very useful for large multi-media databases -- I've 6 X 500GB HDD drives which I've made into a 3 TB dataspace which I use for multi-media -- no more "Out of space" on HDD or having to care about what volume it's on. Just backup as "data directories or folders".

cheers
jimbo

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I don't because I have other things to do with my time, I prefer to let others be the guinea pigs, and, even though it is a huge improvement over Win 8.x and, in some ways, even Win 7, I'm still not all that impressed with it. The RTM version will be different from the test version and will need to be debugged after release, which generally takes about a year. Win 7 is currently meeting my needs and will probably be able to continue to do so for almost five more years.

I'm still trying to wrap my mind around Storage Spaces but, from what I've read, it's not too much different from RAID and/or spanned drives and still has some of the disadvantages, such as data loss across all drives if one drive fails. It seems to me that externally stored backup drives and Windows Libraries would do a better job of protecting my data and letting me see it all, or select portions of it, in single directories.

Hi there

Storage spaces re HUGELY different from RAID -- here's a few of differences

1) DIFFERENT size volumes can be in the mix
2) you can reserve part for data recovery - you don't need to reserve 50% of the array for "mirroring" -- about 15% is probably enough on domestic machines.
3)DYNAMICALLY ADD and REMOVE storage volumes (within reason --obviously if you have a 4 TB Database over 3 X 2 TB drives you might not be able to remove a volume).

If a volume starts failing you usually get adequate warnings before the HDD fails.

You can also set up EXTERNAL USB drives as storage spaces -- remember though if you set up sy 2 external drives as a storage space you need both to be switched on.

Other stuff "under the hood". It takes the best of RAID and Dynamic volumes. I've used it regularly and it works really great. No troubles at all so far. Very useful for large multi-media databases -- I've 6 X 500GB HDD drives which I've made into a 3 TB dataspace which I use for multi-media -- no more "Out of space" on HDD or having to care about what volume it's on. Just backup as "data directories or folders".

cheers
jimbo

Thanks for the mini tutorial on Storage Spaces. I don't doubt that Storage Spaces trumps RAID overall but there still is the issue that, if one drive should fail, the data on all the drives will be toast. Windows Libraries don't have that problem. I don't connect drives externally to my machine (nowhere to put them and I have plenty of room inside anyway) other than to insert a backup drive into a hot swap bay in the machine (and then, it's in there only long enough to update a backup). Storage Spaces will be just as unsuitable for backing up data as RAID is (one reason I don't use RAID).

Btw, when it comes to the integrity of my data, usually receiving a warning of impending failure doesn't cut it. Drives can (and often do) fail without warning. Also, drive failure isn't the only way one can lose data.