Windows 7 aaargh!

[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, a forum for all things Win7. See if anyone posted about gitches for any of your hardware.

Nasty, cheating stability tweak for Windows

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.

Nasty, cheating stability tweak for Windows

(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.

[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.

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".

[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.

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