- This topic has 12 replies, 10 voices, and was last updated 16 years ago by
.
-
Posts
-
Hi all, I’m new to this forum. I just purchased my NC-10 a week or so ago, and am loving it. My friend has a copy of Windows 7 for me, and I was contemplating using it on this netbook since so far, it seems to run flawlessly on it according to other folks on this site and other sites. (I have the 2GB of RAM fyi). My question is this:
Who can explain step by step how to do this change of operating systems? I have Microsoft Office Ultimate, iTunes, BitDefender2010, and Mozilla Firefox on my system so far. I basically want to know if there is a way to not have to do all the installs again. Can I save those programs on a flash drive and reinstall them? I have an 8GB flash drive that can act as a disk drive also (called “U3” by SanCruzer). Should I just save my files on a flash drive/external HD? Anything else I should do? I can get the Samsung software off of their website later, right?
Also, if I do have to re-download and reinstall Microsoft Office, does anyone know if I can still use the same serial number? I purchased the student discount version of Ultimate, which only comes with one license. How will Microsoft know that I am putting it back on the same computer, and not a different one?
Thank you for any help you can provide!
Hi Shadow,
One of the more IT savvy forummers might be able to advise you better, but I think your best method would be to “dual boot” with both W7 and XP. This means you can choose which OS you want to use at start up, and means you can retain your initial XP installation. This can be done with Easeus Partition Manager…which is very good and, best of all, free!
Once you have re-partitioned, all you have to do is install W7 on your newly created partition. If it’s in .iso format, again you will need another program to create a virtual DVD drive.., the best one for this is Daemon Tools, and again it’s a nice free program.
Unfortunately, I think you will need to re-load all your programs from scratch, having done this recently myself, and with similar progs to youself, this shouldn’t take you any more than about half an hour!
As for your Microsoft Office query, I am unsure! Since you have already used it on your XP boot, I guess this counts as your one usage licence. Although the licences are usually per 1 per machine, I would presume that a dual boot would effectively be classified as 2 machines. Maybe someone can advise further.
The drivers should be no problem, you’ll find the majority of them will load with W7 on installation, the few that don’t (touchpad etc), you can use the NC10 Vista drivers without any problem.
I’m sure the forum has a thread on a few of these topics, have a quick scan and see if you cvan find them as they go into much more detail than I have, just thought that this would give you a decent overview of what’s required.
Good luck!
Re: Office : You should be able to install this without any probs. MS normally let you install 2 or 3 times before it stops you. If it does stop you then it will give you a telephone number to call and you just have to follow the procedure while sitting in front of your PC. I have done a few times when moving Office around from PC to PC at work and it’s pretty painless.
Kirk.
Thank you both for the quick answers! A couple more questions though…
Jesper: Why would you advise having the dual boot thing vs. just dedicating my netbook entirely to windows 7? Is it less dangerous or something? Would your files only be saved onto one of the OS since each OS is only part of the HD? (ie if I save a file on the XP, would I be able to load it and use it while using Windows 7?)
kirkuk: That is very encouraging, thank you! I’m glad Microsoft isn’t too rigid with their licenses, because things like this situation happen all of the time.
it sounds to me that a dual-boot OS would be a bad idea for you. No offence intended but if you are not technically savvy or cannot see the need for dual-boot I would advise against it.
Just have a copy of all your important files saved on a USB, download your programs from the aprpopriate sources (it doesnt sound like you have that many to download anyway) and go ahead with the change of OS.
You might want to check for compatibility issues:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/downloads/upgrade-advisorjust my 2 c
Just to add; the Wiindows 7 ISO that your friend has must be the Release Candidate, and not the official/paid for version (out end of this month), so bear in mind that in March of next year Microsoft will start to ‘close it’ by shutting down your machine every two hours or so, so then you have to find another OS or, as Microsoft hope, buy an official copy. Therefore, it makes sense to dual boot it, so that you can go back to XP if you have to. If you eventually end up buying Windows 7, you’re going to have to do a clean install then anyway, even if you’re going from RC to Paid-for (only with Vista can you put in Win 7 as an upgrade, enabling you to keep all programs and files etc.).
shadowtowel, as the old adage states: “keep it simple,stupid”. The official version of Windows7 will be out later this month. If, and only if, you really want Windows7, why go through all the gyrations of installing, reinstalling, dual-booting, etc unless you are well-versed in all of these steps and operations. By waiting, you only have to go through the process once. Plus, if you show a little patience, wait until others have installed the final version of Windows7 to see if any glitches surface. In the total scheme of things, waiting may make sense. I may be out on a limb on this observation, but your first post and all its questions lead me to my suggestion.Good luck.
dockehr
I have been running what will be the released version of Windows 7 for 2 mos on my NC10. I did a clean install using a portable DVD reader from a DVD of Windows 7 that I had made. Windows 7 runs quite nicely and installs easily. You will have to download the NC10 drivers and install them. Wireless comes up with the embedded Windows7 install so no need to install those from Samsung. The NC10 can only run 32 bit operating systems so download the 32 bit version.
Download NC10 Drivers here: http://www.sammymobile.com/plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?4996
Windows7 is NOT upgradeable from XP. You must do a fresh install…so back up any data/documents/pictures and anything else not easily reproducible, and do a fresh install.
Good Luck,
Ursa…Just a reminder, please can we avoid linking to any unofficial Windows 7 downloads or activation. Please link to official products only :)!
Thanks for understanding.
Thanks again for the answers guys. I’m not sure, but I’m pretty sure that I have a legit final copy of Windows 7 (if it exists). My friend gave it to me, and he got it from a mutual friend who I went to high school with, and this guy happens to work for Microsoft. He apparently even hacked into it so that it doesn’t ask you for serial numbers or something. My friend is running it smoothly so far, so hopefully it won’t have that whole “shutting down every two hours” thing someone referred to. Anyone know if there could be a final version in the hands of the Microsoft employees already? I would imagine so, right?
HI, you may check out this if You really want to upgrade from XP to W7. Never tried it myself, I run dualboot for now and wait for the official release of W7. Btw, W7 is super in finding drivers and for making networks.
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/3157/migrate-xp-to-windows-7-with-easy-transfer-over-the-network/[quote1254487210=shadowtowel]
Thanks again for the answers guys. I’m not sure, but I’m pretty sure that I have a legit final copy of Windows 7 (if it exists). My friend gave it to me, and he got it from a mutual friend who I went to high school with, and this guy happens to work for Microsoft. He apparently even hacked into it so that it doesn’t ask you for serial numbers or something. My friend is running it smoothly so far, so hopefully it won’t have that whole “shutting down every two hours” thing someone referred to. Anyone know if there could be a final version in the hands of the Microsoft employees already? I would imagine so, right?
[/quote1254487210]Hi Shadow,
Sounds like you’ve got a “hacked” RTM version, which is a bit of a no-no for discussion on this site, I’m afraid.
If I’m wrong, and it is actually a legit version, to answer your previous question about dual booting –
As another poster has mentioned, it is really just because the initial W7 release (RC) came with an expiration date, which allowed the user to use all the functions and report any bugs etc to MS. As a result of this, if you only had the one O/S on your NC-10, then after expiry you would need to do a full, clean install of an O/S anyway, (as W7 would have expired and would no longer be usable) so it made sense to recommend a dual boot.
Likewise, I tend to agree with another forummer….I would wait until the full version of W7 has been officially released and read-up on user experiences before installing this as your sole O/S, until then I’d probably just stick with XP – It is pretty good/speedy as it is, so as they say….”If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.
Good luck with whatever you choose to do though.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.