Upgrading computers

[chickpiper]

I finally had to upgrade my computer. The one I have now is a Dell using Windows XP Pro. Been a super machine but it is getting some age. So I went and bought a new HP with Windows 7 Premium Home Edition and began the long process of transferring all my software to the new machine. What a headache I have Photoshop, Nikon Capture NX, and a host of Photoshop plugins to reinstall. Not to mention some of the other stuff I use like Access and Word. I got NX installed with some help from Nikon. Photoshop - I had to upgrade from CS3 to CS4 because I could not find my CD, had the serial numbers though. So now I am waiting on the new CD to be delivered. I have already deactivated Photoshop on the Dell. After that, reinstall all my plugins like Tiffen Dfx and Nik filters and Vivesa. It is a real pain to upgrade and some people seem to do it very often. Any shortcuts I may be missing?

[db83]

nope. best way is to clean installs of everything.

[Bonsaidad]

the best advice i can offer, is to do like i do, i get my daughter to do it for me



Best regards Paul

[Gna]

Originally Posted by chickpiper

Any shortcuts I may be missing?

Here's a short-cut you missed: if you had bought a Mac the Apple Genius would have transferred the contents of your old PC to your new Mac for you while you had lunch...

[chickpiper]

I figured Mac would have been eaten up by all the competetion by now. They seem to manage to hold on however - a one finger grip at best

[felix.reichardt]

Originally Posted by Gna

Here's a short-cut you missed: if you had bought a Mac the Apple Genius would have transferred the contents of your old PC to your new Mac for you while you had lunch...

Whoever has to transfer content after an upgrade is doing something wrong anyway.
Content belongs on a different harddisk or partition and will be available immediately after the upgrade.

Applications are different ... and that's what the OP is talking about ... now tell us how your super-couper Mac would have transfered applications from windows to OSX. There is also a list of applications not working anymore after an upgrade to 10.6 ... published by Apple.

[Dirk]

i do a clean install every 120-150 days. i have all the files on a sperate harddrive (documents , photo's baclup of outlook etc) i only use the C:\harddrive for windows and files (it is 500 GB) i have 320 GB for photo's , documents etc and a 200 GB backup dirve which i use for a recovery.

all the latest files , drivers , bakups are there so when i install vista again i do not need to serach for the right drivers , they are there in a folder

it is easy and painless and i am back on track real quick..

[felix.reichardt]

Originally Posted by Dirk

i do a clean install every 120-150 days. i have all the files on a sperate harddrive (documents , photo's baclup of outlook etc) i only use the C:\harddrive for windows and files (it is 500 GB) i have 320 GB for photo's , documents etc and a 200 GB backup dirve which i use for a recovery.

all the latest files , drivers , bakups are there so when i install vista again i do not need to serach for the right drivers , they are there in a folder

it is easy and painless and i am back on track real quick..

If you do that why not make a disk image of your system drive and restore from there. Much faster and you do not need to install all the apps and drivers all the time. There are some really good free programs which will create disk images.

[ohenry]

You don't need to wait for the disks. You can d/l CS4 from Adobe now and fill in the ownership data when you get it.

[swampler]

Originally Posted by felix.reichardt

If you do that why not make a disk image of your system drive and restore from there. Much faster and you do not need to install all the apps and drivers all the time. There are some really good free programs which will create disk images.

Windows 7 has a really good system image and rescue disk built into it that will do it for you. Just create a system image to an external (or separate internal) drive, then create a rescue boot disc and your set. When ready to reinstall the clean system, just boot off the CD and restore the image from the drive you saved it to. Just make sure to turn off the automatic, incremental backups that get set up after first use so it doesn't overwrite your clean image.

It also lets you make the image on DVDs if you don't want to risk the file on the internal drive getting messed up.

[chickpiper]

Originally Posted by ohenry

You don't need to wait for the disks. You can d/l CS4 from Adobe now and fill in the ownership data when you get it.

I thought I could just download the version I needed and then enter my serial numbers. But Adobe would not let me for some reason. They insisted to ship me a new CD. I have an open case number with them. Anyway, I needed to upgrade to CS4, was just a matter of time. Thanks.

[chickpiper]

Hey Dirk - "i do a clean install every 120-150 days". Wow - seems like a lot of re-installs. I have never reinstalled Windows XP on this machine and I have had it for at least 3 years. I have the Automatic Update options set which allows Microsoft to automatically download and install the new updates nightly. My only real issues is that I have had 2 different virus's over the course of the years. I am now using McAfee. The latest virus was webweb123. That was a bugger.

[Dirk]

Originally Posted by felix.reichardt

If you do that why not make a disk image of your system drive and restore from there. Much faster and you do not need to install all the apps and drivers all the time. There are some really good free programs which will create disk images.

i know Felix , i am a computer nerd who knows about images , but what images can't prevent is that windows slows down eventually

the only way to prevent that is a clean install and backup of the most vunerable data and program's ..

but that is just how i like it..

[Dirk]

Originally Posted by chickpiper

Hey Dirk - "i do a clean install every 120-150 days". Wow - seems like a lot of re-installs. I have never reinstalled Windows XP on this machine and I have had it for at least 3 years. I have the Automatic Upgrade options set which allows Microsoft to automatically download and install the new updates nightly. My only real issues is that I have had 2 different virus's over the course of the years. I am now using McAfee. The latest virus was webweb123. That was a bugger.

Hi chickviper .. it shure sounds like it , with vista the time is now a lot longer , but shurely once or twice every year i like to do a clean install. i used mcafee too but i am now with AVG free and in my opnioun there is less load with avg than running mcafee

i also am on adsl so every time there is a update it updates my main selfbuild pc
i build my pc self over 10 years now , i like to choose good hardware once every 3 years or so or sooner if i really gut bugged by waiting too long

I now have a fast core 2 duo (extreme 8400 2 x 3ghz) and 4048 MB ram (fsb 800 duak chanel pc6400) a 500 gb sata II for C:\ a 320 GB hitachi /ibm for D:\ (my files , ducoments and photo's) and a 200gb maxtor (pata/ide), a evga 8600gt 512 mb vga , viewsonic 19: widescreen , creative soundblaster audigy 2 (102 db(a) nr soundcard) and creative fps 3800 speakers set (2.1)

i also have a lg /blueray player+hd dvdplayer and cd/dvd dl +/- writer and a second dvd writer and a multi card reader (reads sdhc too) and a microsoft keyboard and trust 800dpi laser mouse and epson dx 8450 all in one and internet through my linksys modem/router ..

i will stay with vista for now and even thin k of bying the 64 bit version but not shure wich one (now have home premium 32 bit) oh the main hard is a asus pk5 epu mainbaord



then i also have a game machine amd 2000+ 2.5 gb ram 180 gb hdd soundblaster live platinum (also 120 db(a) snr ) a ati radeon 9600 pro agp 512 mb and nec burner and aopen dvd player and sony trinitron p700 17Inch and logitech keyboard (wireless) and ms mouse (intelli mouse ) and comodore 120w 2 way speakers an canon scanner



than i have my laptop a toshiba tecra a2 business line with 2gb ranm intel centrion 1.6 ( faster than a P4 2.8 HT ) 15 inch screen standard audio and normal video and xp pro sp 3 with vista look (real cool)

but that is not all but enough for here

[chickpiper]

Hey Dirk - sounds like you have done a very nice job on putting together a computer. I just went in to Best Buy and purchased one. Here are the specs for the machine I ended up with. It is really nothing spectacular. I have 3 external USB hard drives to connect to it. A Seagate FreeAgent 1tb, a Iomega 1tb eGo, and another 160 GB Seagate. I use these to batch from raw, tif, and jpg. It helps to have the files stored onto different drives I think.
Product Specifications - HP Customer Care (United States - English)

[swampler]

Originally Posted by Dirk

i know Felix , i am a computer nerd who knows about images , but what images can't prevent is that windows slows down eventually

But, if you make that image as soon as you install Windows and your programs, then everything else that slows down Windows over time will be purged when you restore the image...unless you upgrade programs a lot and want to clean install the latest program versions.

[felix.reichardt]

Originally Posted by swampler

But, if you make that image as soon as you install Windows and your programs, then everything else that slows down Windows over time will be purged when you restore the image...unless you upgrade programs a lot and want to clean install the latest program versions.

That was my point.

[swampler]

Originally Posted by felix.reichardt

That was my point.

I know, but I think it was lost.

[Dirk]

@Felix and Steve
A that must have been misunderstood by me , sorry .. indeed if you would do a image after windows and all the programs are set up it would take you back at that time and perhaps you than only have to reimport the latest backup of outlook ..

@chickviper

Thanks i am real happy with it it is stable and fast enough for now and near future .
but i can imangine that if your needs for special hardware are less that a hp or compaq pc will do
that is why i recently advised 3 people to buy a hp presario quadcore machine ..

the thing is that i didn't get any present from nor hp oer even the shop where the pcs where bought, my local ict as i always call them

[Gna]

Originally Posted by felix.reichardt

now tell us how your super-couper Mac would have transfered applications from windows to OSX.

Take your pick, felix:
Either they
• don't, but they simply run Windows apps natively in Windows OS on the Mac, side-by-side and simultaneously with OSX apps if you like, or they
• run Windows apps in a virtual machine; how many would you like? Or
• they run Windows apps in CrossOver, i.e. entirely without Windows.

But most Switchers never run any Windows apps anymore! Because there's no need to. They simply open and save their docs under MacOSX, in MacOSX apps. End of story.