So, I bought Windows 7 back in the day

Video Game Discussions and general topics.

Moderators: AArdvark, Ice Cream Jonsey

User avatar
Ice Cream Jonsey
Posts: 28877
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2002 2:44 pm
Location: Colorado
Contact:

So, I bought Windows 7 back in the day

Post by Ice Cream Jonsey »

And I am making a new computer. I want to use Windows 7.

This has become an unmitigated disaster because I thought I saved the .iso files when I originally bought it - I did not. I burned it to a DVD.

My current computer doesn't have the DVD drive hooked up and the new one only has SATA ports. So I had to find an IDE cable and connect my DVD writer to my current computer. Fine, whatever, that is not why I am here.

I paid somewhere between $150 and $200 for Windows 7. Microsoft does not let you download the .iso any longer.

I am turning the DVD I did burn into an ISO and then I am going to make it a bootable USB drive and hopefully that works. But why the fuck would I ever give them money ever again if - when I did finally purchase their stuff - they hid the download? Yeah, they don't want to support it any more, that's fine. I am not asking them to. I am asking the richest corporation in the history of the world to make the iso I bought from them available.
the dark and gritty...Ice Cream Jonsey!

Casual Observer
Posts: 3266
Joined: Wed Oct 01, 2003 10:23 pm
Location: Everett, WA, 2 blocks from where the Green River Killer picked them up

Re: So, I bought Windows 7 back in the day

Post by Casual Observer »

I have some XP burns still, happy to share but I'm sure you can find online. I hate windows 10, it's notifications are the worst and it's still not really stable. I want to roll back to before windows was so invasive to my experience. It's almost an apple bullshit operating system now what with telling me when to upgrade and trying to force me to use search to access any system settings. I'm kind of off lots of new tech, it seems like they're taking more and more of the apple perspective, telling users what to do. I've rented 3 new cars recently and each is way too bitchy for my taste. If i want to drive through my parking lot at 5mph without my seatbelt then i don't need my car to escalate the fucking beeping. If I want to connect my Bluetooth device while in heavy traffic then I don't need the car to prevent that unless I'm in park. If i tell my goddamn phone to turn off wifi then it shouldn't turn it on every time i pass a hotspot. My view of tech is it should work for me, not force me to confirm to it's corporate liability or the preferences of the nerds who built it.

Can't you still use old windows inages found on torrents or usenet?

User avatar
AArdvark
Posts: 16177
Joined: Tue May 14, 2002 6:12 pm
Location: Rochester, NY

Re: So, I bought Windows 7 back in the day

Post by AArdvark »

Exactly. That's why there's an old thumb drive with all rhe W7 versions floating around downstairs someplace. I refuse to W10 because 7 just works. Microsoft never really needed to move further. There's nothing about 10 that's better from a user's POV.
Once they hit their peak its al downhill from there.

User avatar
AArdvark
Posts: 16177
Joined: Tue May 14, 2002 6:12 pm
Location: Rochester, NY

Re: So, I bought Windows 7 back in the day

Post by AArdvark »

Al Downhill is the head quality tester for touchscreen keyboards

User avatar
Ice Cream Jonsey
Posts: 28877
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2002 2:44 pm
Location: Colorado
Contact:

Re: So, I bought Windows 7 back in the day

Post by Ice Cream Jonsey »

AArdvark wrote: Fri Mar 29, 2019 2:59 am Exactly. That's why there's an old thumb drive with all rhe W7 versions floating around downstairs someplace.
Unfortunately, Microsoft accounts for that.

I didn't get a DVD drive for the new computer I am building. I didn't have mine hooked up to the current (Windows 7) computer so I figured I didn't need it. Fractal had a full tower case with no slots for a DVD drive. Stupid to not have one, but whatever. I made that decision because the case looks so great.

I did download the Windows 7 Ultimate image from the Internet Archive. Now I've got it as an .iso. I also found the Windows 7 DVD I made when I bought Windows 7.

The new computer's motherboard does not support IDE. I only have an IDE DVD-ROM drive.

So I'll burn a bootable USB image! I'll let go of the fact that this took for-fucking-ever last night. I finally got the Windows 7 .iso that I downloaded from the Internet Archive to be a bootable USB drive. I plug it into the new computer and...

No USB 3.0 support on the Windows 7 Ultimate image. They never added it. The richest corporation in the history of the world has an image that people paid for that they have to download off a free software archive and never updated the drivers for it.

There are workarounds that don't work for me. The workarounds are "unplug the USB drive after you start the install and put it in a new slot" and "in your BIOS, set your USB slots to be 2.0". Those don't work for me.

So now I'm like, I guess I have to buy an internal (or SATA, anyway) DVD-ROM and I guess hope that the CD I made works or the new one works and hope that I can still register by 100% legitimate key with Microsoft.

I am only doing this now because my nephew is turning 12 at the end of the month. He does not own a computer. I was 12 when I got the PCjr. I wanted to get him a computer made up of my old equipment and change his life forever. I have two days to get this all done.

So congrats, Microsoft, you outlasted me by being the biggest fucking shit possible. I finally paid for your software and it had a lifespan four times less than Zork. I am going to put Windows 10 Professional or whatever dumbfuck name they are giving it on the new computer. But I absolutely refuse to pay for it. So I am going to spend some time today trying to figure out how to make that happen.
the dark and gritty...Ice Cream Jonsey!

User avatar
Ice Cream Jonsey
Posts: 28877
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2002 2:44 pm
Location: Colorado
Contact:

Re: So, I bought Windows 7 back in the day

Post by Ice Cream Jonsey »

And I'm sorry - these posts are not goofy, they are not fun. They are complaining about computer companies which is a time honored thing for bulletin boards. They just sicken me because they are so desperate and greedy. I'd go 100% Linux but I need Windows to get Cyberganked done.
the dark and gritty...Ice Cream Jonsey!

User avatar
Ice Cream Jonsey
Posts: 28877
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2002 2:44 pm
Location: Colorado
Contact:

Re: So, I bought Windows 7 back in the day

Post by Ice Cream Jonsey »

It looks like I can get Windows 10 Pro for free if I enter my Windows 7 key. Which is fine - however, I'd like to keep using the Windows 7 key on the computer for the nephew. Do you guys know if that is possible? Or do they fuck up the Windows 7 key once entered for Windows 10?
the dark and gritty...Ice Cream Jonsey!

User avatar
Jizaboz
Posts: 4811
Joined: Tue Jan 31, 2012 2:00 pm
Location: USA
Contact:

Re: So, I bought Windows 7 back in the day

Post by Jizaboz »

Ice Cream Jonsey wrote: Fri Mar 29, 2019 6:42 am It looks like I can get Windows 10 Pro for free if I enter my Windows 7 key. Which is fine - however, I'd like to keep using the Windows 7 key on the computer for the nephew. Do you guys know if that is possible? Or do they fuck up the Windows 7 key once entered for Windows 10?
As long as that Windows Genuine Advantage bullshit isn't installed on your Windows 7 machine, there's really no way for M$ to shut down the Win7 machine from the Internet with license crap.
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻

User avatar
RealNC
Posts: 2244
Joined: Wed Mar 07, 2012 4:32 am

Re: So, I bought Windows 7 back in the day

Post by RealNC »

Yep. That's Microsoft. Getting an up to date ISO is pretty much impossible. They did use to have a "Bootable Windows 7 USB/ISO Tool" thingy that would download the ISO for you from some secret URL or whatever, but I don't know if that still works.

User avatar
Flack
Posts: 8822
Joined: Tue Nov 18, 2008 3:02 pm
Location: Oklahoma
Contact:

Re: So, I bought Windows 7 back in the day

Post by Flack »

ICJ, I can work with you tonight to get this straightened out. I have Win7 ISOs and tools (I use Rufus, which is free) to convert them into bootable USB images.
"I failed a savings throw and now I am back."

User avatar
pinback
Posts: 17672
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2002 3:00 pm
Contact:

Re: So, I bought Windows 7 back in the day

Post by pinback »

I hear the Rufus developer can be a bit prickly.
I don't have to say anything. I'm a doctor, too.

User avatar
Ice Cream Jonsey
Posts: 28877
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2002 2:44 pm
Location: Colorado
Contact:

Re: So, I bought Windows 7 back in the day

Post by Ice Cream Jonsey »

I knew that using 10 would be frustrating and I know they have the worst developers and managers in the world.

I start to get it going. I have a USB Wireless dongle installed. I get on the Internet. Great.

First two things are to get video drivers, Chrome and Steam.

And I lose connection to the internet after about 2 minutes. Why?

In the process of setting itself up for a new user, it fucks with the wireless drivers.

You cannot do this. YOU CANNOT FUCKING DO THIS. Blocker, don't ship, everyone works late till it's solved, fire everyone who thought it was ok.

Fuck with the network drivers and we're done. Kaput. Can't do anything. Maybe fuck it with AFTER everything else is set?

I knew I'd hate this. Congrats! I hate this. Now I have to bring this fucking thing downstairs to get it a wired connection. Dumbest people in tech work at Microsoft.
the dark and gritty...Ice Cream Jonsey!

User avatar
Ice Cream Jonsey
Posts: 28877
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2002 2:44 pm
Location: Colorado
Contact:

Re: So, I bought Windows 7 back in the day

Post by Ice Cream Jonsey »

Ok, after hooking up to a wired network I have to give them credit that the rest of the install went fine. There isn't anything that is improved in the operating system, but it exists and works now.
the dark and gritty...Ice Cream Jonsey!

User avatar
Ice Cream Jonsey
Posts: 28877
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2002 2:44 pm
Location: Colorado
Contact:

Re: So, I bought Windows 7 back in the day

Post by Ice Cream Jonsey »

I take it back! Hahah, wow. This is amazing.

I had it downstairs near the wired network. I unplugged the wired network. It was fine.

I took it upstairs. Plugged the hard drives in, started to use it.... wireless adapter was working for about 5 minutes and failed.

This is the worst operating system on the planet. :)
the dark and gritty...Ice Cream Jonsey!

User avatar
Flack
Posts: 8822
Joined: Tue Nov 18, 2008 3:02 pm
Location: Oklahoma
Contact:

Re: So, I bought Windows 7 back in the day

Post by Flack »

Under device manager, find your network adapter and then right-click properties. Under the "power management" tab, make sure "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power" is unchecked. It sounds like the NIC is going to sleep and not reconnecting properly.
"I failed a savings throw and now I am back."

User avatar
pinback
Posts: 17672
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2002 3:00 pm
Contact:

Re: So, I bought Windows 7 back in the day

Post by pinback »

I have enjoyed my time with Windows 10 and would recommend it to anyone looking for a quality operating system.

But at my job, I work on a Macbook, and no computer/OS in history has ever been as bad or as frustrating or stupid to work with than that, so everything else is a breath of fresh goddamn air.
I don't have to say anything. I'm a doctor, too.

Casual Observer
Posts: 3266
Joined: Wed Oct 01, 2003 10:23 pm
Location: Everett, WA, 2 blocks from where the Green River Killer picked them up

Re: So, I bought Windows 7 back in the day

Post by Casual Observer »

pinback wrote: Sat Mar 30, 2019 12:37 pm But at my job, I work on a Macbook, and no computer/OS in history has ever been as bad or as frustrating or stupid to work with than that, so everything else is a breath of fresh goddamn air.
This is what I think is hilarious about Apple fans. At work we can choose our device and about half the team has Macs. I love watching them deal with shit like a lost adapter dongle or trouble with the stupid multi Trac pad or the stupid operating system is making it hard to do something. I've always hated the way Apple tells you what to do with the expensive device you have. Of course the Apple mindset has been infiltrating into Google and Microsoft, possibly because the shithead engineers migrate between these big three, and apparently Tesla too. I want to go back to when we could control our own devices completely.

User avatar
RealNC
Posts: 2244
Joined: Wed Mar 07, 2012 4:32 am

Re: So, I bought Windows 7 back in the day

Post by RealNC »

Casual Observer wrote: Sat Mar 30, 2019 3:36 pmThis is what I think is hilarious about Apple fans. At work we can choose our device and about half the team has Macs.
It's called Stockholm syndrome.

User avatar
AArdvark
Posts: 16177
Joined: Tue May 14, 2002 6:12 pm
Location: Rochester, NY

Re: So, I bought Windows 7 back in the day

Post by AArdvark »

Haaaaa!

User avatar
Flack
Posts: 8822
Joined: Tue Nov 18, 2008 3:02 pm
Location: Oklahoma
Contact:

Re: So, I bought Windows 7 back in the day

Post by Flack »

I grew up using DOS and Windows (well shit, I guess we all did, right?). I've been supporting Windows clients and servers professionally for almost 25 years now. I don't love Windows and I don't hate it. After working with it for so long, I've just figured out ways to to work around its quirks and make it function (better).
"I failed a savings throw and now I am back."

Post Reply