Windows 7 aaargh!

[Kirk Gittings]

Though in general I find W7 to be far stabler more and problem free than Vista, I have had three crashes (windows won't start and won't boot from repair disk or C clone or C image) of the OS since switching when W764 bit first came out. Two were major-would not repair or go back to earlier set point or re-install from an earlier clean system image.

So..........Once again without warning today (after hours of trying everything) I am forced to do a complete reinstall of the OS from scratch.

So..........Once again without warning this happened in the middle of an impossibly tight deadline for a commercial photo job. So I had to call them and tell them I probably won't make their deadline......ouch.

i'm just venting.........really frustrated and depressed. Anybody have similar problems? I can't afford to switch to Mac......your thoughts?

[Math]

Sorry to hear that! I know the pain.. And it only crashes majorly at the most important times!
The thought that Macs don't crash at all is an incorrect one, it's sadly a problem with PCs in general. I have been running Windows 7 for over a year now, and honestly I haven't had a single crash.. Maybe it's hardware related? Perhaps a smaller / cheaper back-up PC would be helpful if this occurs more often, in case of deadlines?

[Scott Walker]

I feel your pain, I replaced all my office computers a few years back and the OS they came with was Vista. After about a month of frustration I decided the easiest and most productive solution was to go back to XP. I recently repalced 2 laptops and they came with 7......way better than Vista, but one of them crashed way too often so it got traded in for XP. The other is being used by a 20 year old and he does not want to switch to XP so he works around the fact that I have had to reload the OS twice now. Fortunately he does research with it mostly so there is little information to loose on the hard drive.

[Kuzano]

What you describe is so unlike Windows 7 in my experience and I have been working on PC's for over 20 years and have finally reached the point of admitting that perhaps Microsoft got it right this time.

Is the machine you are talking about built for Windows 7 or OEM with W7 originally installed. Upgrades to Window7, and particularly Vista for a machine that was originally built during the XP era is a real crapshoot and often does not work.

I'm inclined to think you have a hardware driver problem, ie using a custom graphics card not properly driven by drivers for W7, or made before Windows 7. Other things I would look at would be mismatched RAM or test the RAM thoroughly. Also, download the hard drive test utility from the drive manufacturer and run the extended test and read/write test a couple of times. Again, what you describe can result from a "sketchy" hard drive corrupting the Operating System.

I any event, I would definitely look at hardware driver or memory problems. I don't think your reload of the system is going to last much longer than what you have been experiencing. I hate to say this, because we've been able to blame Microsoft for these problems for Soooo Long. This time, I think you have to look elsewhere.

I also have to mention that there are some things that Windows 7 is getting some complaints on, like running VERY slow when sorting or indexing folders with many large files in them (like images). I'm still on XP since it's going to be supported until 2014 at this point in time. That's a concession Microsoft made to the corporate marketplace when Vista turned out to be such a "black" eye. (Remember Millenia here)

[Brian C. Miller]

What kind of hardware are you running?

This really sounds like your disk subsystem has a problem, like the controller (possibly on the motherboard) or a drive. I am presuming that you are trying to boot from the CD and it won't go, is that correct? Is the CD the first boot device, with the hard drive being the last boot device?

The last time I personally had something like that happening on a system, the hard drive itself was dying. If you have any kind of hardware diagnostics, I would recommend that you run those. Also, there are Linux diagnostics distros, and they are menu-driven. You can use one of those to check your hardware.

[Kirk Gittings]

FYI This 64 bit machine was built for me about two years ago. It is pretty stripped down as I only use it for LR and PS. It originally came with Vista (just a couple of weeks before W7 was released) and I upgraded soon to W7. BUT it has crashed once before and I ended up doing a clean install. That was about a year ago.

[Armin Seeholzer]

i'm just venting.........really frustrated and depressed. Anybody have similar problems? I can't afford to switch to Mac......your thoughts?

The Mac is the cheaper thing to go, then loosing jobs!

My 2 cts. and iMacs are not so much anymore!

[Kirk Gittings]

I simply cannot afford that option right now especially because it means buying another copy of PS since I am switching platforms.

[Preston]

Kirk,

I am in the 'hardware problem' group. As mentioned, this could be a disk controller on the motherboard, a failing disk, or a RAM problem. You might also check to see if the power supply, and the cooling fans are operating correctly.

While you're looking around, open the case check all the connectors, reseat your RAM sticks, and blow out any dust bunnies.

--P

[Kirk Gittings]

Thanks I will check things out.

[Mike Anderson]

Long range plan might be to get a laptop that can be used for critical work in a pinch. Keep work work files on an external drive.

...Mike

[Bob McCarthy]

I simply cannot afford that option right now especially because it means buying another copy of PS since I am switching platforms.

Kirk, the cost to switch from PC to Mac OS is $10 if you call Adobe. You have to certify you will destroy the version of PS you are replacing.

The easy way to do it is, download the free 30 day eval, while your waiting for your paperwork to clear adobe.

bob

[Peter De Smidt]

I'm in the "hardware problem" camp. My diy Windows 7 machine has never crashed.

Regardless, any computer can crash. Wouldn't having a very inexpensive backup be a good idea? Adobe lets you have Photoshop installed on two machines.

[rdenney]

Golly, my work laptop and my new home machine have never crashed with Win7. My home machine is a cheapie HP built for Win7-64 that I use for running scanners, printers, and Photoshop, and it's been perfect.

I'm with the others that I think you have a rogue hardware driver or bit of hardware lurking in your machine. That doesn't make it any easier to live with, or easier to diagnose and correct.

I would look into a backup system that is not quite so dependent on Windows restore software. I use ShadowProtect, and though I've never had to restore an image, it will do it more reliably than will the built-in Windows restore software, from all reports.

Rick "who once traced a blue-screen problem to the way a slim CD drive plugged into a laptop" Denney

[Kirk Gittings]

Hmmm.......the ShadowProtect tutorial seems to recommend using the W7 restore software, but from their backup......

[Eric Rose]

I had one machine that ran XP and Vista just fine. However when I put W7 on it I had nothing but problems. It would freeze up for no apparent reason. Stripped W7 off and reinstalled XP. Runs like a charm once again. So I guess what I am saying is it seems to be a driver/hardware issue. I had a few "experts" check it over and nothing could be found.

I also have W7 running on two other machines with no problems. Vista even works just fine on my wife's laptop.

I wonder if the 64bit version of W7 is just plain buggie. Especially when using PS. A good buddy of mine who does PS for a living is running a high end Mac and found that he had to replace his machine because he would get the same freeze up scenario I did on my PC running PS. The tech's at the Mac store could find nothing wrong with the machine. However the new machine runs just fine.

[Kirk Gittings]

So I ran chkdsk on my C drive and it found no problems...................now I'll try the memory doohickey.

[jp]

Computer hardware, especially hard drives, is getting more and more suspect in the race to zero. I would not be surprised if you had some failing ram, a dying hard drive, or just a cheap motherboard that needs the ram reseated because they saved 25c on inferior memory clips.

I think you might be able to install a second copy of the adobe software on a second computer (such as a laptop) if it's a backup/alternate that isn't intended to be used at the same time.

download an iso of memtest86 to test the memory. Windows7 is a decent product.

[jeroldharter]

Sure makes my darkroom sound like fun!

Good luck. Reinstalling Windows is a nightmare.

[Kuzano]

Here is one of my standby suggestions for people who are critically impacted in business mode when a computer crashes.

When the computer is freshly loaded with all critical programs and security software, but before it is put into play as a work machine, buy an identical new hard drive and install as a secondary drive in the newly refreshed computer. Then, using specific cloning software (I use Acronis TruImage), clone the newly software onto the new drive. Then take out both hard drives and test the boot on the new hard drive. Now, using either the original hard drive, or the clone, put the computer back in service. Put the extra hard drive on the shelf. The cost of this redundant protection is the price of the extra hard drive... relatively cheap as business use goes.

Then, if the drive crashes, it takes about 15 minutes to pull out the corrupted drive, swap drives, do your updates, and get the computer back in operation. This is a great fall back plan if you are:

1) keeping your backups current so you can load your files back onto the corrected machine.
2) checking your drives regularly with the manufacturers utility.
3) use like drives. Not different brands and suggest not different capacities.
4) reclone the drive in the machine to the corrupt drive.
5) understand that the clone process wipes the drive clean along with the corruption.

Another option, and I do this on important computers. Consider a program that locks and creates a boot image which boots fresh every time you use it. One such program is used heavily in computer labs where the machine has to clear the drive every session and boot from a fresh image. The program I am most familiar with is "Deep Freeze" by Faronics.

The scenario is that you set up the machine for work with all the necessary software and security software. Then you install the program and lock the hard drive with Deep Freeze. From that point, the computer does not retain any information while you use it. You save your work to external drives, OR there is a companion product that specifically creates a "virtual drive" for saving work. The computer uses the locked in image boot file for every boot while it is locked in.

Regarding updates or configuration changes, you unlock the Deep Freeze at some regular interval and do updates or change software. One plus is that if you want to try a software product, you can install it, use it, simply don't reboot. When you want to take every trace of it off the computer... simply reboot. Then if you decide to use it, unlock Deep Freeze, install the program, and then lock the Deep Freeze.

Pluses. No spyware, rogue spyware, malware or viruses survive a reboot. Not a trace. In fact on the computers I have used it on personally, I don't even use antivirus or malware security software.

You can even go into Windows folder when the Deep Freeze is invoked, delete critical folders, or registry files, reboot, and it's as if you never touched the deleted files.

Between Deep Freeze and the clone drive held in reserve, I can't imagine a situation that puts a machine out of service more than a half hour.

However, drivers and hardware remain as potential problems. The poster who mentioned running XP, then Vista, then Windows 7 does not surprise me in the least. The implication is that the machine in question did not have hardware friendly with Windows 7.

Not many know this, but the most significant delay in Vista was that Vista was not friendly to Pentium 4 processors at all. Microsoft would NOT deploy Vista until Intel could reliably introduce the Duo Core CPU's. Those who attempted to upgrade Vista to Pentium 4 processors soon found out that was a match made in hell. Both Vista and Windows 7 are critically sensitive to use of any hardware prior to their code.

Not hard to understand why IBM got out of the PC hardware market, and why HP is bailing as well. Hard enough to configure a computer that creates black ink on the bottom line, as well as survive users putting in "upgraded" components, and/or "custom built" machines where the builders aren't paying attention to the details.

I'm more uncomfortable now that you say you had this computer "built" for you two years ago. Now your builder becomes part of the equation.

I build a "mean" machine myself... Well, I used to. Today, No Way. I quit building computers four years ago. Can't afford to nurse them to health on my dime, with the state of components and software today. I certainly make more money correcting other's mistakes. Plus, I get the time to do the research on mismatched components. Parts that don't play nicely together show up on the internet VERY fast.

[patrickjames]

I am surprised that anyone making a living doing photography is using a Windows machine. Kirk, do yourself a favor and switch. Like it was stated above, there is no real cost to switch your Adobe products. The only problems I have had in the last decade with Macs are two dead hard drives which of course is inevitable no matter what you use. I make it a habit to clone my drives every month or so though, so even with a dead hard drive I am back working in a few minutes.

There is a reason why people are smitten with Macs. They just work. You don't have to waste hours online trying to figure out the various problems Windows generates because you will almost never have any. Yes they cost more, but how much is your time worth? What if you lose a client because your Windows computer craps out and you are late, like the situation you are in now? Would you spend money on a camera system that wasn't reliable? I will tell you I don't miss all the time I used to spend jerking around with my Windows machines.

[Kirk Gittings]

Patrick you seriously want to lecture me about what it takes to be a professional photographer?

Thanks guys but I'm really not interested in the Mac vs PC debate. So don't waste your time or the space on this thread. I know all the arguments both ways and have had Mac laptops for the last ten years, bought my wife and all my kids Mac laptops and use Macs at the university where I teach with Macs. I also know from allot of first hand experience what the problems with Macs are. They are more stable than PCs but far from rock stable. So save your breath. BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH. FWIW every survey I have ever seen show a virtual dead heat between Mac and PC use by professional photographers, graphic artists and web developers.

Who's your team? Mac? PC? Yankees? Cowboys? Canon? Nikon? I DON"T BLOODY CARE!

What I really need is help with this problem and I thank the guys who actually bothered to offer actual help.

[Paul Fitzgerald]

"FYI This 64 bit machine was built for me about two years ago. It is pretty stripped down as I only use it for LR and PS. It originally came with Vista (just a couple of weeks before W7 was released) and I upgraded soon to W7."

Definitely sounds like a hardware problem, specifically you need a BIOS update from the motherboard manufacturer. If you don't have the info Google 'Speccy', a little program that inspects your computer and lists all hardware data.

"So..........Once again without warning today (after hours of trying everything) I am forced to do a complete reinstall of the OS from scratch."

If this is the first version there should be a SR1 update (600 megs) and be sure to have 'automatic updates' turned on, Microsoft will also find any updated drivers.

Have fun with it, but a back-up box is a good idea.

[Kirk Gittings]

Thanks Paul, On a clean install wouldn't you automatically get the latest drivers and Bios? Educate me please.

[Paul Fitzgerald]

If it's a clean install from the orginal disk there has been at least 1 major Service Release since, so it should be updated. Downloading take forever but a new disk is $150, your choice. Automatic updates runs in the background and will find the newest approved drivers.

This problem sounds like a BIOS update, the motherboard was built for Vista and would need to be updated for Win7. You can only get the update and install program from the manufacturer.

FLASHING THE BIOS IS DANGEROUS, you should have a tech-head help you with it. It is simple, read and re-read the instructions before you start. You can not stop it once you start.

Piriform is the company for Speccy, also get Ccleaner, a utility that deletes all the temp files you cannot get to manually, run it monthly.

[Brian C. Miller]

For updating drivers, you may also need to manually run Windows Update and make sure a needed driver isn't hiding with the optional updates. The critical fixes are for something that is a security risk, or makes the system crash. Typically the accessories (like video cards) may have an optional update.

On a clean install, the new drivers won't be on the disk. With some manufacturers, you may have to go to the company website and get the latest drivers. This is what I have to do for my cards. Windows may also install a "good enough" driver and call it quits, and you'll still have to go to the company website for the best drivers.

[rob]

Check you ram timing in the BIOS. 2 years ago I built a pc and used a set of rams that has a built-in code to automatically set the BIOS to use a more aggressive timing (faster timing above the ram rating). The windows 7 ran fine until a couple months ago that it gave me blue screen crash and corrupted the OS files. After googling for information, I slowed down the ram timing, and it has since run smoothly again.

[patrickjames]

Patrick you seriously want to lecture me about what it takes to be a professional photographer?..............


Nope, not my intention Kirk. I am sorry if it came off that way. Your computer problems have nothing to do with being a photographer.

I have never been, and take steps to never be, in your shoes. I realize that you are under a lot of stress right now so the only other thing I can say is I hope you find a solution to your problems, I really do.

[Vaughn]

I hope Kirk does not mind an OT question...since we seem to have the more knowledgable computer folks here.

I am looking for a computer for my boys. Looking at a medium range machine for their high school work, light gaming, photoshop.

Is there a better PC machine out there? I don't really trust Dell -- the comment about HP looking to leave the field has me wondering (I have been looking at them). Looking for just the tower and would like to keep the price around $600. If I could afford it, I'd buy a Mac (I even get a big discount at the university).

Sorry to hear about your problem, Kirk...it is a royal PITA.

Vaughn

PS...perhaps you could PM me to keep Kirk's thread clean.

[DanK]

I'd say the Vista, as original config is probably the root of the cause...I picked up a Compaq with Vista, and actually still use it with Vista - because I'm too afraid to upgrade or change OS......for the first year, every update attempted from microsoft would crash it, and require factory restore...clean computer beyond ps, and printer driver...

But, fwiw, in the past with other computers and systems - my best luck with serious problems beyond dead chattering hard-drives, was thorough cleaning - compressed air, cleaning contacts w/ rubber pencil erasers, etc...

Cheers,
Dan

[VanDyke]

Sorry to hear that Kirk.
I think you should not consider changing to Mac, because they can also crash.
I am running W7 64 from the start and had no crash or problem whatsoever.
And from what I hear in general lots of people are as positive as myself.
The best thing you can do in my opinion is not to install the upgrade because that gives most of the problems.
Invest in a w7 64 version an my guess is that all your problems will be solved.

Good luck!

Peter Koning

[Matus Kalisky]

Kirk, as you are under time pressure. Would it be a solution to loan or find some other way to get a backup computer until your will be checked/repaired? Did you consider getting a new PC and maybe keep your old one (once running again) as a backup for the future?

Getting a new PC could be the fastest way to get back to work (which seems to be the top priority for you).

I (as a Mac user) would say - forget the switch to Apple right now - it always cost time (and money) to switch platforms - you want to plan something like that.

[rdenney]

Hmmm.......the ShadowProtect tutorial seems to recommend using the W7 restore software, but from their backup......

That isn't right. You reboot the machine using the Shadowprotect recovery CD (which you make), and then you can either restore from a backup or you can mount the backup as a virtual disk and extract files from it. This assumes that the backup is not affected by the same failure that took down the machine, which is why I backup (daily) to network attached storage. I can't find anything in their web page or my experience that suggests you need the Win7 recovery software. It will work with Win7 snapshot services, so that you can make image backups of files in process (such as exchange server files), and I have had some trouble getting that to work on my box. But it will also make its own snapshot.

It is even possible to load an image backup as a virtual machine if your version of Win7 supports virtualization. I have not fully tested that feature, but it does make me curious. It may require a stronger virtualization tool than what comes with Win7 Professional, such as VMWare. With that, if a machine crashed profoundly, it would be possible to create that very machine as a virtual machine on another computer.

And during a really critical operation, you can set up Shadowprotect to create an incremental image backup as often as every 15 minutes.

http://www.storagecraft.com/shadow_protect_desktop.php

There are probably other products, and maybe even cheaper products, that do just as well, but this is the one I've been using.

Rick "who got tired of cheapie backup software" Denney

[jon.oman]

I could not stand how the backup software provided with my Western Digital USB drive slowed down my computer to a crawl. So, I wrote my own backup software. It does not stay resident in memory, but I can run it on demand. It automatically backs up everything to two USB drives. Normally, it takes about ten minutes each time I do it. This is with 1 TB drives.

[Brian C. Miller]

I am looking for a computer for my boys. Looking at a medium range machine for their high school work, light gaming, photoshop.

Is there a better PC machine out there? I don't really trust Dell -- the comment about HP looking to leave the field has me wondering (I have been looking at them).

Well, maybe this would help both of you. The reason that HP wants to leave the PC field is because the competition is fierce. HP, like IBM before it, is losing money on PCs.

Now, to the recommendation: the machine you buy from the mom & pop stores is like the machine I would build myself. It is comprised of parts bought from suppliers. The machine bought from Dell, Lenovo, Toshiba, etc., has gone through a certain amount of testing, which is the big difference between them and mom & pop. What you can get for $500 is pretty hefty these days in a desktop machine. For a general representation of what's out there, take a look at Newegg.com (http://www.newegg.com) and browse a little bit. You can get a quad core for $500. Or you could get a decent laptop for the same price.

[peter ramm]

Kirk, I join with those who say that W7/64 is the best (perhaps the only good) windows since XP. I've been using it on multiple machines since introduced and no issues with the OS. Compare that with Vista, which self destructed on me any number of times. However, all OS - including W7 - have to interface to hardware. In the PC world, that is made by everyone and anyone. I roll my own PCs and I've had problems with everything from FW drivers (big time) to hard disk interfaces to power supplies. I have never had one of those problems destroy the OS installation. That makes your case unusual.

Two years is a full generation in computer years. Depends on your finances but my inclination would be to do a clean install on a new machine. I would avoid migration or cloning software. I have had issues with both. Better to uninstall/reinstall software, despite the time it takes.

There have been lots of good suggestions here that would help improve the existing PC, but it just takes one bad solder joint or laggy memory chip to make a really evil computer.

[SamReeves]

I've been wanting to run W7 on my Mac Pro, but frickin Apple doesn't want to release drivers for my particular model. Bah…

Might as well go back to typewritters.

[Kirk Gittings]

Kirk, as you are under time pressure. Would it be a solution to loan or find some other way to get a backup computer until your will be checked/repaired? Did you consider getting a new PC and maybe keep your old one (once running again) as a backup for the future?

Getting a new PC could be the fastest way to get back to work (which seems to be the top priority for you).

I (as a Mac user) would say - forget the switch to Apple right now - it always cost time (and money) to switch platforms - you want to plan something like that.

Thanks all. Matus I am kind of stuck at the moment financially-business sucks-and what money I do have for equipment is going into video. I need to try and make this work and find a better C drive clone. Thanks.

BTW the memory test came back clean.

[Kuzano]

Well, maybe this would help both of you. The reason that HP wants to leave the PC field is because the competition is fierce. HP, like IBM before it, is losing money on PCs.

Now, to the recommendation: the machine you buy from the mom & pop stores is like the machine I would build myself. It is comprised of parts bought from suppliers. The machine bought from Dell, Lenovo, Toshiba, etc., has gone through a certain amount of testing, which is the big difference between them and mom & pop. What you can get for $500 is pretty hefty these days in a desktop machine. For a general representation of what's out there, take a look at Newegg.com (http://www.newegg.com) and browse a little bit. You can get a quad core for $500. Or you could get a decent laptop for the same price.

OEM machines from Dell, Lenovo, Toshiba usually have less of the driver, and drive subsystem errors because they are tested well on parts and OS compatibility. Machines built from scratch take a lot of research to put the right parts together, and the parts market is HUGE.

I favor Toshiba in the laptop market. All my clients using laptops, for the most part use Toshiba's. Toshiba's always place high in reviews, particularly the Consumer Reports April edition (computers) and usually receive 2 or 3 best choice awards in different size categories. I've also seen reports that Toshiba is the most "parts and assembly in America" laptop throughout the range of laptops.

I serviced Dell on-site for 5 years and still have a high regard for their desktops. Their laptops.... not so much.

I just helped an engineering student entering a four year degree progam configure and buy a new Toshiba with an I5 Intel, 8 GB of RAM and 650 Gb HD for under 700. Another $150 would have made it an I7.

[Francisco Disilvestro]

I would suggest Casper 7 (http://www.fssdev.com/products/casper/) from Future systems solutions as a tool to create C drive clones. I have used it extensively on windows Xp and it should work on windows 7 too.
You can download a 30 days free trial and perform tests to see it if works for you. Basically I recommend to test the cloning of the C drive and then trying to reboot from the cloned drive. If it works, then you could just repeat the cloning each time you update your OS.

[Bob McCarthy]

Oh, I dont know. I would press for a Mac as the solution. A used Mac Pro tower is an awesome piece of equipment and can be easily found. Mine hasnt crashed in years, and since I use time machine as well as a cheapie raid, this stuff just never happens.

bob

[Bill_1856]

Though in general I find W7 to be far stabler more and problem free than Vista, I have had three crashes (windows won't start and won't boot from repair disk or C clone or C image) of the OS since switching when W764 bit first came out. Two were major-would not repair or go back to earlier set point or re-install from an earlier clean system image.

So..........Once again without warning today (after hours of trying everything) I am forced to do a complete reinstall of the OS from scratch.

So..........Once again without warning this happened in the middle of an impossibly tight deadline for a commercial photo job. So I had to call them and tell them I probably won't make their deadline......ouch.

i'm just venting.........really frustrated and depressed. Anybody have similar problems? I can't afford to switch to Mac......your thoughts?

I'm not bothered by he crashes (yet), But the interface is just a mess compared with the simplicity and logical order of Windows XP. I would go back to XP if there was a choice, but since that's not an option, I'm halfway to MAC with a MacBook Pro loaded with CS5, Elements 9, and MS WORD.
I just bought a HP desktop with Windows 7 last year, otherwise I'd go all the way with a new iMAC.

[bobwysiwyg]

After moving "up" to Win7, I considered this. In the end, I just learned Win7 and have since learned to like it. But this might be worth you taking a look.

http://classicshell.sourceforge.net/

[Jim Cole]

Kirk,

I finally found a great c: drive cloning software called XXClone which is available for Windows 7. After failures with a couple of other software packages, this one really works. I keep a separate drive on my computer that is used just for the clone. Only software programs and Windows XP is on my c: drive. Everything else (all the data) is on a RAID 5 array which backed up every other night to an external NAS with another RAID array. I like redundancy.

Anyway, the C: drive is cloned to my D: drive using the XXClone software (www.xxclone.com). The cool thing is that it allows you to make the clone bootable, AND testable without jumping through hoops. It writes an extra line in your boot.ini file that pauses during boot giving you the chance to boot with either drive. There is also an option to turn the wallpaper blue on the clone drive so you know which one has booted up after the test.

Works like a champ!

Anytime I load more stuff onto my C; drive, I make an incremental backup to the clone so it is always in the last state used.

[Kirk Gittings]

The PC crashed again. I've got to pull the plug on it for now and try and use my MacBook Pro to get through these deadlines.

However. The MBP says it cannot access my LR catalogue on a external drive (the ED I used for the catalogue on my PC) because it cannot write to a network drive, read only drives, or removable storage which this drive is none of the above. Any thoughts? Is this because it is a NTFS drive? HELP!

[Matus Kalisky]

Kirk, undeer OS-X you can not directly write to NTFS drive. You need to install some kind of driver - I use: NTFS-3G : http://macntfs-3g.blogspot.com/
Works 100% for me (though I have older version).

there are several possibilities - just google "mac osx writing to ntfs"

hope this helps

[Kirk Gittings]

Thanks I figured out that solution a couple hours ago.

[gevalia]

Kirk,

Feel you pain buddy. As a software developer, I'm leary about new OS's from MS. XP with SP2 is rock solid yet Vista was a clusterf**k. I've been on 64 Win7 for a few years now and while it is quite stable, it seems to be the software patches via MS Update that cause me issues.

I find that a good scotch, say Bowmore 26, kinda takes the edge off any OS issues that come up. Heck, it's after 4pm, I'll have a dram.

Ron

[Kirk Gittings]

Thanks, to get me through this huge deadline I have set up my MacBook Pro with a big monitor, mouse etc. When I get through this I will start fixing the PC first by replacing the C drive and work from there.

Thanks all.

[Matus Kalisky]

Happy to hear that you manage to get the wheel rolling. Now I can just wish you a patient client and good luck bringing your PC back to life. But who knows, maybe you will find out that your MBP does the job so well that you do not need a PC anymore ;)

[sully75]

Definitely buy a copy of Acronis backup. Install your OS and all your programs and then you can make an archive file of it (you can add all your presets if you can find them and get everything set up as you like it). Then if your drive goes down or whatever happens, you can use Acronis to install your archive onto a new c drive. It's pretty awesome. Now every time I do a clean install on a computer I archive the install. It's nice too when a computer gets buggy. Just backup your documents and reinstall your archive, copy your documents back to your computer and you are good to go.

Seriously. It's awesome.

[Paul Fitzgerald]

"When I get through this I will start fixing the PC first by replacing the C drive and work from there."

Good luck with it all, when you get around to fixing your PC check out www.sevenforums.com (http://www.sevenforums.com/), a forum for all things Win7. See if anyone posted about gitches for any of your hardware.

:eek: Nasty, cheating stability tweak for Windows :eek:

IF you are satisfied that your old C drive is physically OK, install it as D drive.
Fdisk, partition and format with Win7 - 64 (so it's the same version of NTFS)
Set your virtual memory, min + max to the same size as installed ram, onto D drive
Reboot and check that the swap is done
Set IE temp files to D drive
Reboot and enjoy.
Now you can go to Microsoft.com and get Microsoft Security Essentials, the very best anti-virus for Win7 - 64 and it's free.

:eek: Nasty, cheating stability tweak for Windows :eek:

(Windows loads tons of stuff into the ram chips when it starts, including ALL of your installed fonts. If you're not using those fonts, they are just eating up ram space that could be better used by PhotoShop. Just un-install the ones never used.)

[Once]

Reading the comments I wonder why nobody mentioned yet another possible cause of your PC crash. Maybe you have been a victim of a malicious cyber attack? It would not be unseen. Nowadays people can even pay attackers if they want to cause a pain to somebody. If you had a personal conflict with somebody in the time before the attack or behaved in a nasty way with someone or aroused somebody's ill will all this could lead to a revenge. You're teaching at a university and students are sometimes quick to react etc. etc. Just my 2 cents.

[Tobias Key]

I simply cannot afford that option right now especially because it means buying another copy of PS since I am switching platforms.

Kirk, I don't believe you have to pay for a full copy of PS when you switch, I think there's a nominal fee if you have the latest version or you can 'crossgrade' for the upgrade price. Not totally sure this is the case now but was when I last looked into it.

[Kirk Gittings]

So the follow up.

I limped through my deadlines with my MacBook Pro hooked up with my Lacie monitor, a mouse and an external firewire drive for scratch. It would have done better with a ram upgrade and I ordered it but by the time I got it I was through the crunch.

So back to the PC. Despite all tests showing there was no problem with the C drive. It was the problem. Now its replaced with a larger and faster drive and with a clean install of W7 it is humming along sweetly!. Thanks for the suggestion of the Casper cloning software. A bootable clone in 8 minutes-sweet! Sorry I had tried Acronis on a Vista machine and it crashed it. When I asked Acronis what to do they didn't say a word and just sent me a refund-so Acronis is not for me.

Catastrophe avoided and back in the saddle. Thanks all.

[SteveH]

Though in general I find W7 to be far stabler more and problem free than Vista, I have had three crashes (windows won't start and won't boot from repair disk or C clone or C image) of the OS since switching when W764 bit first came out. Two were major-would not repair or go back to earlier set point or re-install from an earlier clean system image.

So..........Once again without warning today (after hours of trying everything) I am forced to do a complete reinstall of the OS from scratch.

So..........Once again without warning this happened in the middle of an impossibly tight deadline for a commercial photo job. So I had to call them and tell them I probably won't make their deadline......ouch.

i'm just venting.........really frustrated and depressed. Anybody have similar problems? I can't afford to switch to Mac......your thoughts?

Actually "Windows 7 - aaargh!" is just the basic new windows opperating system.
For a few extra dollars you could upgrade to "Windows 7 - F@#$%$@!!!!".
Or you could go the whole way and instal the professional version "Windows 7 - Just Kill Me Now!"
Since trying to be more 'Fun' and friendly to basic users; more Mac-like, they seem to have alienated those who prefer stability and flexibility over new features.
If it wasn't for 64 bit I'd be back with XP in a flash.
cheers
Steve

[Once]

Once again, by announcing details of your OS you might have made future attacks on your computer easier or more likely? Just my 2 cents.

[SteveH]

Once again, by announcing details of your OS you might have made future attacks on your computer easier or more likely? Just my 2 cents.

I don't see anybody using this forum to try and hurt me.
I'm much more likely to be the one doing the attacking of my OS.
Preferably with a hammer.:mad:

[Brent Long]

I don't see anybody using this forum to try and hurt me.
I'm much more likely to be the one doing the attacking of my OS.
Preferably with a hammer.:mad:

When you're done with that hammer, may I borrow it? I need to have a word with Vuescan about its IR - sometimes I work, sometimes I don't - "Cleaning". :mad:

[Once]

I don't see anybody using this forum to try and hurt me.
I'm much more likely to be the one doing the attacking of my OS.
Preferably with a hammer.:mad:

Sorry, Steve, if my post misled you. I didn't mean to comment your post but Kirk's. See my post # 53.