Windows 7 Issue..Anybody Else Have This?

[ugadog99]

We upgraded my daughter's laptop to Windows 7. That was on Saturday. Since then, she has had several instances where the computer would not shut down properly. We don't want to continually shut down the wrong way for fear it will eventually cause damage. Has anyone else had this problem? Does anyone have suggestions for correcting this problem?

 

[hercamore]

No ideas here.

We have Windows 7 on our new desk top, and I just love it. We haven't had any problems.

herc

 

[Mellie2162]

I just got a new pc Tuesday and Im having the same probs.

 

[harrislimo099]

I dont have any problem too in installing Windows 7 and in running also.Windows 7 is going great.

 

[ugadog99]

Does anyone have any ideas about how to fix this?

 

[FireDancer]

What do you mean by not shutting down properly? Is there just a service that hangs and needs manual termination or is it something else?

If anyone wants to upgrade to Windows 7 DO NOT. Instead wipe the drive and do a completely clean installation from scratch. It works much better that way. Even with an upgrade disc you can do a clean installation. Instructions are here.

 

[PaulaSB12]

My problem is that it occasionally starts up with no toolbar no start button and no shortcuts.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

If anyone wants to upgrade to Windows 7 DO NOT. Instead wipe the drive and do a completely clean installation from scratch. It works much better that way. Even with an upgrade disc you can do a clean installation. Instructions are here.

You don't necessarily need to wipe your hard drive, just do a clean install. Your are still given an option to save your old files, they are just saved in a Windows_Old directory. This makes it easy to copy pictures and other media files to your new environment. The only thing I would caution is not to move programs, just media/documents from the Windows_Old directory.

Otherwise, no issues here either with Win 7.

Also, how many people actually shut down their computers on a regular basis? You should just leave your computer on and enable sleep on it.

Most of the updates on PCs are scheduled at night (same with virus scanners), you can change these, but if you don't your PC could be outdated with software updates and the like. It might catch up at the next use, but it's better to just leave the machine and let it do its thing.

Modern PCs use virtually no energy while in sleep mode.

 

[FireDancer]

You don't necessarily need to wipe your hard drive, just do a clean install. Your are still given an option to save your old files, they are just saved in a Windows_Old directory. This makes it easy to copy pictures and other media files to your new environment. The only thing I would caution is not to move programs, just media/documents from the Windows_Old directory.

I like to completely wipe the drive, SpinRite the drive and then just get my media files off of my backup. Even using the Windows_Old method leaves some breadcrumbs to the old system for file purposes and I like the install to be literally from bare metal. To each their own though. Your method is still much better than an in-place upgrade.

 

[Green Tea]

The upgrade killed a laptop here. I had to send it back to the company.

 

[left210]

We got DS a laptop for Xmas and it has Windows 7. It seems so slow on the internet. His is an HP and I have a laptop with same specs (compaq) and the internet connection is so much slower on his. Also, we tried downloading a program and it was on his for over an hour when we finally clicked it off and it downloaded on mine within 15 minutes. Has anyone had similar problems?

Also a friend of mine got her kids the same laptops and hers are flashing on the screens at random times. Ours is not doing that but again we havent used it much for internet because it is too slow.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

We got DS a laptop for Xmas and it has Windows 7. It seems so slow on the internet. His is an HP and I have a laptop with same specs (compaq) and the internet connection is so much slower on his. Also, we tried downloading a program and it was on his for over an hour when we finally clicked it off and it downloaded on mine within 15 minutes. Has anyone had similar problems?

Also a friend of mine got her kids the same laptops and hers are flashing on the screens at random times. Ours is not doing that but again we havent used it much for internet because it is too slow.

It could just be a manufacturing defect/hardware issue, completely non-related to Windows 7 in these cases.

 

[ugadog99]

Thanks for the information. Some of the instructions are just way above my technologically simple mind, though. When I say not shutting down, I mean it just freezes. It will stay on the wallpaper with no icons showing, no task bar until I hold down the power button to turn it off.

 

[PaulaSB12]

Thanks for the information. Some of the instructions are just way above my technologically simple mind, though. When I say not shutting down, I mean it just freezes. It will stay on the wallpaper with no icons showing, no task bar until I hold down the power button to turn it off.

Yes that is what happens to mine but it also goes to that when you start it up as well, its driving me nuts.

 

[irishbosoxfan]

Can anyone tell me why W7 doesn't like my photo program? I have a Pentax and it came with ACDSee. I ran it no problem on my old computer but this new one keeps saying there was an error with the device detector and needs to shut down whenever I plug my camera in to upload photos.

My poor sister is in Iraq and has been waiting since the beginning of November for photos from her DDs birthday party but I can't get them off my camera!

 

[FireDancer]

Those of you hanging on shutdown and startup, are you fully patched (Windows updates)? If you are attached to a domain the delay in loading could be related to the slow loading of security profiles from the domain controllers.

Can anyone tell me why W7 doesn't like my photo program? I have a Pentax and it came with ACDSee. I ran it no problem on my old computer but this new one keeps saying there was an error with the device detector and needs to shut down whenever I plug my camera in to upload photos.

My poor sister is in Iraq and has been waiting since the beginning of November for photos from her DDs birthday party but I can't get them off my camera!

When you say it worked on your old computer was that computer running Vista or an older OS? Starting with Vista the driver model has changed and manufacturers had to re-write their software for it to really work correctly.

Most of the issues with Vista were not Microsoft issues but poor programming on the part of developers. Without getting overly technical a lot of security measures were enacted in Vista and programmers that cut corners making assumptions had their code break or appear to break Windows.

Any OS after XP (or possibly XP SP1) should recognize your camera as a attached drive. Attach your camera to the computer via the USB cord and go into My Computer. You should see an entry there for your camera. If you see it you can treat it just like any other logical or physical drive and drag and drop the pictures off of the camera.

 

[Silent1CB]

Are there any free upgrades available?

If you buy it, where is it cheapest?

And if you buy it, how many machines can you install it on? I would hate to have to buy it for each computer and laptop we have. $$$

We currently have Vista. No problems.

 

[FireDancer]

Are there any free upgrades available?
Sure, if you pirate. If you mean legally, no. Unless you purchased a new computer running Vista after June 26, 2009 then you can download a free upgrade.
If you buy it, where is it cheapest?
If you are a student or know a student you can get a cheaper upgrade copy here. All that is really needed is an email address ending in .edu. If not Amazon has single license upgrades for $107.67.
And if you buy it, how many machines can you install it on? I would hate to have to buy it for each computer and laptop we have. $$$
You can install a copy of Windows on 1 computer technically unless you buy a family pack, then you get 3. The family pack might not still be available but I am not sure.
We currently have Vista. No problems. If you are happy with Vista you don't need to upgrade.

See answers in red above.

 

[nd5056]

We got DS a laptop for Xmas and it has Windows 7. It seems so slow on the internet. His is an HP and I have a laptop with same specs (compaq) and the internet connection is so much slower on his. Also, we tried downloading a program and it was on his for over an hour when we finally clicked it off and it downloaded on mine within 15 minutes. Has anyone had similar problems?

Have you scanned it for Malware and Adware???

Also, what applications are loaded on DS laptop that are not loaded on yours?

Just because is the specs are the same doesn't mean the speed will match based on what's installed.


Also for those upgrading to Win 7, what are you upgrading from? The Laptop/PC my be outdated speed and hardware wise. IMO, you'll need at least 4 times the Processor speed and RAM Memory size in order do match the Win XP performance.
Many will do fine on 32bit OS but fail on 64bit OS.

 

[left210]

Have you scanned it for Malware and Adware???

Also, what applications are loaded on DS laptop that are not loaded on yours?

Just because is the specs are the same doesn't mean the speed will match based on what's installed.


Also for those upgrading to Win 7, what are you upgrading from? The Laptop/PC my be outdated speed and hardware wise. IMO, you'll need at least 4 times the Processor speed and RAM Memory size in order do match the Win XP performance.
Many will do fine on 32bit OS but fail on 64bit OS.

Ok I am going to show my ignorance here with this question but here goes - what is the difference between malware and adware. We have Norton that came with the laptops and continue to get error messages. Someone at work recommended we go to www.malware.com and use that virus protection but when I go on that site there are so many to choose from I dont know what to do. Also, is the stopzilla just for adware and not virus protection? If so then I need to install another virus protection if I uninstall Norton?

Yes my DS laptop seems to have some stuff running in the background which I am sure is making it slower but how do I know what I need and what I can uninstall?

Also I dont know if it makes a difference but we use wireless verizon card for our internet but again it is pretty fast on my computer but not DS. Thanks for your help.