I've often thought I'd like a modular PC - drives on the desk, mobo wa-aaay out of the way ... hmm ...

Uninstalled the AV software and it worked better, reinstalled it and it still worked ok. Seems to be a software issue eh ... fouled up windows files or some such ... when I get a true Windows 7 I'll reinstall ...

I may have a key for you Kamikuza. I'll have to VPN into my work machine tomorrow so I'll send you a U2U then. My work PC came with a win7 and winXP key but we only use XP. It may or may not work but your welcome to try.

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Originally posted by Midgaar I may have a key for you Kamikuza. I'll have to VPN into my work machine tomorrow so I'll send you a U2U then. My work PC came with a win7 and winXP key but we only use XP. It may or may not work but your welcome to try.

Probably won't work. They're usually tied to the brand of the hardware.

I had a suspicion but I've never tried using the key on another PC before. Another option Kamikuza, my wife goes to school for nursing, but she can get a copy of win7 for like $40. I'd be more than happy picking it up for you and then just giving you the key.

$29.99 for the Win7 Pro UPGRADE. You'll need a valid copy of Win XP. I'll look into the standalone version if you are interested.

Never figured out how the upgrades work ... if it just installs over XP - dunno if I like the sound of that! Being paranoid and all ... I usually buy the OEM version for the homebuilt PC - if that's the standalone, that'll be the ticket!
Cheers dude :D

Midgaar, the upgrade path for Windows 7 goes through Vista. You have to have Vista to upgrade to 7.

Kami, upgrades install over the previous version while attempting to keep your programs and settings. They are generally a lousy idea.

Figured as much

Got another 500Gb HDD on Sunday, got it in the machine and installed Win7 on it ... system runs fine so long as I don't try to access the only folder on the old Win7 install HDD that I NEED to access crap.

So it seems a borked HDD or file system is the culprit. If I could just get a peak at the contents of that directory (my Downloads folder) I could just get on with format ...

Y3,890 or about US$40 for 500Gb SATA drive ...! I remember way back when, I was selling 100Mb HDDs for $100 and people were psyched at the great deal! Then I paid nearly $1,000 for an 850Mb HDD All my HDDs are the same brand, 4x 500Gb and I think the first three cost about Y9,000 ... but now, I almost buy 1.5Tb for that :ticking:

Oh the times they are a changing. I shudder to think how crap my CPU and video card is!

Burn an Ubuntu disk, boot to it, then burn the stuff you need.:dunno:

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Y3,890 or about US$40 for 500Gb SATA drive ...!

I think it's time for a RAID array, then you won't have this problem.

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Midgaar, the upgrade path for Windows 7 goes through Vista. You have to have Vista to upgrade to 7.

The requirements for the upgrade specifically say Windows XP. I agree that upgrade aren't always the best, but on a clean install of XP/Vista then upgrade I don't see any problems. Also upgrade have the option to keep your old settings or install like new and delete your old files. Current upgrades do anyway.

That's not what Microsoft had said about Win 7 upgrades when they released it...

You ABSOLUTELY DO NOT NEED VISTA to install Windows 7. I have no idea how such a falsehood gets spread.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/help/upgrading-f...

Never mind. I was thinking of the fact that there was no upgrade path from Vista Home Basic to Win 7, without having to upgrade to Vista Home Premium in the middle.

Problem is I can't look at the drive without it hanging in windows, and now I've a new install of Win7 I can't even get a directory listing in DOS shell cos "access is denied" I'm going to have to boot to DOS somehow and just write down all the files I want to re-download

I've thought about RAID arrays but ... dunno if I can be bothered. First HDD issue in Y-E-A-R-S ... last one was an IBM drive that ticked loudly and that was 7 years ago

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I've thought about RAID arrays but ... dunno if I can be bothered. First HDD issue in Y-E-A-R-S ... last one was an IBM drive that ticked loudly and that was 7 years ago

Look into it, it's cheap, easy and you WILL thank yourself someday. With drives becoming cheaper and cheaper the are going to fail more and more. At work a get at lease of couple drives fail a day, but we have over 100 on our SUN. For your everyday user, RAID 1 or RAID 0. Have a mirror image of your file system or have a faster file system. I'm my experiences alone I've seen more bad drives then I can count, the thing about them is they don't always cause critical problems and can often mask their problems as others hardware issue.

With as much information I have on my PC I would NEVER run without a backup system of any sort. I have a dedicated server that takes care of all my saved files, docs, pics, movies, games, and anything else. The only way I'm losing my data is a fire!

Even when someone visits me with a wifi laptop, my server takes all his common folders, encrypts them, and saves them. Now if he crashes within the next few months I can be like...Hey, I have all your files!!! My server holds 2TB half of which is mirrored. No point in mirroring videos and music.

Sorry, Midgaar and Qside are abouts the same persons. Just depends what PC I use to post.

Music and photos are the things I want protected the most

All my photos are mirrored, but I don't have many songs. Only like 500, all replaceable IMO. Besides all the songs I like are backed up in my iPhone...

All my GoPro etc stuff too ... my .mp3s are rips off my CDs that are back in NZ. And a lot of them are NZ bands that you either a. can't get anymore or b. can't buy outside of NZ.

Wouldn't mirroring slow the PC down? Having to write or delete every file twice?

Use Ubuntu Live CD to Backup Files from Your Dead Windows Computer Worked like a charm for me. + Convinced me to convert.:saint:

Will have a look see ... have to print that article though!

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Wouldn't mirroring slow the PC down? Having to write or delete every file twice?

No, it writes both files at the same time, to two different hard disks. RAID0 works similarly writing one file to two different hard disks at the same time, effectively increasing read/write speeds x2. With mirroring, RAID 1, your operating system doesn't even know your writing the files twice, your raid controller (hardware) takes care of all that. The only down side of mirroring is your 4 hard disks become 2, but your whole system is backed up completely.