Well...

...I don't know Chums... ...

After the unfortunate crash of my trusty Windows XP Pro Hard Drive, and the subsidence loss of my trusty FS 2004 on it....
..and my enforced re-installation of FS 2004 on a new Windows 7 installation Hard Drive...

I am somewhat disappointed with its performance... ...!

I don't know if Win 7 is a massive resource hogger compared to Win XP, but I am finding that I am having to turn my settings down from their previous Win XP maxed settings, but still suffer very slow response to graphical changes/updating, lots of juddering in flight, etc, and very slow response to various window selections during the program...

....all in all, a VERY big disappointment compared to my old Win XP + FS 2004... ...!

I have come to the conclusion, after using it for a while, that Win 7 is fantastic for Mum, Dad, and little Johnny/Susan to type their Facebook stuff, and look at their Photograph Album...
..but for we dedicated Hardware/Software "tinklers", in my opinion, the excellent Windows XP still leads the way for us!

It's just a massive shame that I have lost my trusty copy of Win XP Pro due to a recent Computer crash...(and no way of re-installing it)... ...!
The familiarity, and simplicity, of Win XP running in "Classic" Mode is something to die for... ....
...hang on to it.... ...!

Paul...G-BPLF..FS 2004...Windows XP...The King....long live the King!... ...!

Steve M wrote on Nov 7^th, 2010 at 9:28am:


..therein lies the problem, Steve...

My trusty copy of Windows XP Pro SPzero (with SP1+SP2 recently installed,) is/was a non-boxed, OEM version (Original Equipment Manufacturer), dating back from the year dot (2000?) following my Win 5 and Win '98SP, with a Product key no longer recognised by Uncle Bill and his Heavy Gang, since my computer crash....
....I can no longer install the more recent Service Packs, SP1+SP2, since the crash, so I cannot install more recent programs!

Do you spot my dilemma?... ...!
...say no more!

The only way out now is to purchase a NEW, boxed, copy of Win XP SP3...which, of course, no longer exists from the Retailers!

I/we, are well and truly Stuffed... ...!

Paul...XP Windowless... ...!

Tip: Some time/years ago, Microsoft instructed Dealers to no longer sell OEM versions of "Windows" to the general public, which immediately put a fly in that ointment.... ...!

A quick Google search turned up the following:

http://software.pricegrabber.com/windows-operating-system/windows+xp+professiona...

A bit "pricey" but apparently still available from a number of sources - XP Professional version that is.

Yea.. I got interested and spent several hours this morning reading and searching. It looks like you can still get XP Pro/ SP2. for a price.

Edit: I just wonder if you can reactivate it after 2014?

Sorry to hear about your crash - and about your less-than-happy experience with W7 and FS9. I've been using W7 64-bit and FS9 since the early part of the year, and have been very impressed with it. Much less of a resource hog than Vista was; 'looks like Vista, works like XP' is what I heard, and I've had no cause to doubt that.

Don't know if you've done all this, but because of the increased 'security' features of the newer OSs, there are a couple of things that you must do to get a smooth installation - turn off the dreaded User Account Control during installation, and don't install it inside the default location in the Program Files folder - put it somewhere else. This makes a big difference as it gets around the security wall that W7 puts around the Program Files folder.

Hope this helps, and good luck.

By the way, you can get XP from Amazon UK too, here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=w....

Supremely windicated, ol' chum! After having lost two hard drives in the last six or seven years, I feel your pain.

I put my FS9 outside the Program Files folder right from the outset in W7 after some web research, so I don't know how it would perform inside that folder (maybe Opa can weigh in?). All I know is that it runs pretty well. I have FS9 installed on a AMD quad-core desktop running XP, and a Vaio/Core i5 M430 laptop running W7 with similar graphics cards, and they both run FS9 at pretty much the same very good level; I tend to use the Vaio/W7 more as I prefer the operating system...

Hope you resolve it.

I've been disappointed with 7s stuttering as well - especially with radio messages and when you spool around the big airports

XP was flawless

Is the process difficult to 'regress' back to XP if I bought a copy - is there somewhere to find 'dumb-dumb' instuctions on how to do it?

Cheers

This is a very interesting thread you Open Paul..

It looked to me that w7 make run FSX faster ,but I could be wrong, I'm not sure, I ask Once in this forum every one agree that W7 make the game works faster and better performance

Quote:


exacly this is also the way I see it ,when its about 3d modeling design ,video editing , audio editing ,its more like something that works without BS ,not asking so many times Permition to do things (I hate it BTW)

the question is the same ,Does it really make FSX run faster ? It looked to me a little bit ,but to be honest I'm not so sure

alrot wrote on Nov 9^th, 2010 at 5:21pm:

Amen to that. As a tech, I can't even count the number of times that I needed access to appdata, program files, or, god forbid, the windows directory, to do one thing or another. Usually involving manually removing viruses because the idiot company I work for makes us use symantec products... and I get the "access denied" message even though I am on the admin account and have (attempted to anyway) take ownership over the file.

Yes, I know vista/7 does that because they don't want people bitching when they change something and now their programs don't work, but seriously, at least give us a more convenient way to override this...

After being forced to purchase a Hard Drive of a total capacity too large for my Computer to recognise, ie; 250 GB.
("Small" HDD's are no longer sold!)

I have suddenly found out that Win 7 will allow me to Partition and Format the additional unused section of my HDD, and treat it as a separate HDD (D Drive), even AFTER installing programs in the "C" section!
I don't think this was possible with my XP?

The problem now is making all the Icons and Folders similar in size and type to Win XP style. I've got the Task bar sorted, it just leaves the Desktop and Pages to revert back to Windows Classic style.
..also...another BIG problem for me...something I regularly carry out...
Win '98/XP included easy, right-click, "Copy and Paste", "Drag and Drop", etc. There is something in Win 7 that makes this more difficult/complicated/impossible?

Its just that for many years, I've been brought up with Win '98 and Win XP, and I have got very familiar with the layout, and the way of "doing things".
What I really needed? was an upgrade to Windows XP, sorting out any remaining niggling problems which may have still existed.......Bill!.....NOT something totally different!.... ...!

I'm spending more time trying to understand Win 7, instead of chuffing around the World in my favourite Aeroplane!... ...!

I suspect that Win Vista/7 is fantastic for new users to Operating Systems...but for me, its a pain in the "whatsit" after '98 and XP... ...!

.... ...!

Paul...Wondozing off!... ...!

P.S....does installing FS 2004 outside of the usual; "Program Files" Folder REALLY make a difference in Win 7, and if so, what?

JBaymore wrote on Nov 11^th, 2010 at 9:15am:


Where did all this; "Cutting Edge Hardware" suddenly appear from, John?.... ... ...!

The last time I heard, you were still on Win '98, with a Pentium DX 100, 3DFX Voodoo 3 Graphics Card, and 256K of System Memory....
...and, Dial-up, for Multiplayer?... ...!

Lottery Win?
Great Aunt's Will?
Wells Fargo job?... ...!

Paul... ... ...!

I like; "Old Stuff"!... ...!

Steve M wrote on Nov 7^th, 2010 at 10:36am:
I love Windows 7. Beats any XP iteration all to hell...