The SSMB PC Troubleshooting and Discussion Thread

[Diz]

The I/O error may indicate physical damage or mechanical failure on either your internal or external HDD. To verify, you might want to install the free edition of HD Tune. From the drop-down menu, be sure to choose the correct HDD for which you want to test, hit the error check tab and click start. The test may take hours to complete, depending on each HDD and technology, so make sure your computer is not set to sleep after a set amount of user inactivity. Since you have two separate devices, you should be able to launch two instances of HD Tune to test both HDDs simultaneously.

 

For the duration, your computer is likely to slow down quite a bit, so you must not plan doing anything important on it at the time. I recommend running this program to verify both your internal and external HDD. As much as a single red square indicates a failing HDD. If your internal HDD is failing, creating a system image is inadvisable, in some cases impossible, and I would then recommend simply to drag and drop important content manually over to a healthy device.

 

I am not so familiar with creating a system image on a local drive, but could it be omitted due to there not being sufficient space left on it? Also, if hitting Refresh in the list does not help, keep in mind that a destination drive has to be formatted with NTFS, so if this is a drive you later formatted with a different file system, that would be one reason why it stops showing up in the backup destination list. Perhaps not likely, but I am throwing it out there anyway. To determine the file system of a drive's partition, open Computer, right-click the drive and select properties. You should be able to read the name of the current file system somewhere in that window.

[Spin Attaxx]

An update on the problem:

 

I've tried using the laptop now, and... it won't connect to the internet. Even though last night mum was able to use it just fine. Now I've put the thing right next to this laptop (which is rather close to the router) and it STILL won't connect!

 

I've tried everything Diz said here:

 

The first thing I would do is to let the computer try to detect the problem. Hit Start and type ncpa.cpl, then click on that file when it shows up in the search. (If it does not show up, you should go to Network and Sharing Center, accessible from the Control Panel. Then click Change Adapter Settings, available as a link in the left part of the sharing center.) Right-click the adapter used for Wi-Fi and then hit Diagnose. Windows will look for common problems and might try resetting the Wi-Fi device.

 

If nothing comes out of it, you should check the Wi-Fi driver date. You can do that by right-clicking Computer, clicking Manage, click Device Manager from the list in the left side of the approaching window, and in the right window, locate the Wi-Fi device (expand the network portion of the list if necessary). Right-click the Wi-Fi device and hit Properties. Go to the Driver tab and take note of the driver date. If you do manage to grab Internet access for a bit, try clicking Update Driver and see if it can locate and install a newer driver from the Internet. If not, and if Roll Back Driver is a clickable option, try clicking that to go back to a previously used driver.

Result? Fuck all, except that I found out my driver is up to date.

 

So my driver can't be incompatable with it if mum was able to use it hunky-dory, so what gives?

 

EDIT: Also, my laptop didn't have this problem until we arrived. At home, the worst it would do was occasionaly (like maybe once a week or something) disconnect from the internet and take a while to reconnect.

[Diz]

Is the Wi-Fi protected with a password? Windows sometimes seems to glitch with WEP keys. Can you still not see the network at all, or does it now show up but tells you it is unable to connect to it? Does it give you strong or weak signal, although you are right next to it?

 

Ask in the reception for assistance, is all I can think of at this point. They may have had similar situations before, as half the cause might be on their part, despite it working sometimes on your laptop and all the time on other devices. You should also see if you could test your laptop with another Wi-Fi elsewhere, if possible, no matter how silly that sounds.

 

Certain antivirus software is known to mess with network connectivity, having a filter which, when glitching, denies Internet access from time to time, but now I am just brainstorming if anything.

 

I wish I could be of more help ... but doing this sort of thing from across the world is never easy. x_x;

[Spin Attaxx]

It's a WPA network, and we do need a password. Thing is, though, my mum's laptop works just fine, my one doesn't, yet it's newer than my mum's! As for signal, it seems to be weak no matter how close I am to it, and I can see and try to connect to the network, but it goes "Identifying... No Access... Identifying... Limited Access... Identifying... Not Connected... Identifying... No Internet Access... Identifying..." ad infinitum.

 

Also, we're not really staying in a hotel, but an apartment. The router is literally perched on a radiator close to the door. And that router's Wi-Fi is the only Wi-Fi we have here.

[KrazyBean]

The I/O error may indicate physical damage or mechanical failure on either your internal or external HDD. To verify, you might want to install the free edition of HD Tune. From the drop-down menu, be sure to choose the correct HDD for which you want to test, hit the error check tab and click start. The test may take hours to complete, depending on each HDD and technology, so make sure your computer is not set to sleep after a set amount of user inactivity. Since you have two separate devices, you should be able to launch two instances of HD Tune to test both HDDs simultaneously.

 

For the duration, your computer is likely to slow down quite a bit, so you must not plan doing anything important on it at the time. I recommend running this program to verify both your internal and external HDD. As much as a single red square indicates a failing HDD. If your internal HDD is failing, creating a system image is inadvisable, in some cases impossible, and I would then recommend simply to drag and drop important content manually over to a healthy device.

 

I am not so familiar with creating a system image on a local drive, but could it be omitted due to there not being sufficient space left on it? Also, if hitting Refresh in the list does not help, keep in mind that a destination drive has to be formatted with NTFS, so if this is a drive you later formatted with a different file system, that would be one reason why it stops showing up in the backup destination list. Perhaps not likely, but I am throwing it out there anyway. To determine the file system of a drive's partition, open Computer, right-click the drive and select properties. You should be able to read the name of the current file system somewhere in that window.

 

The drive is definitely NTFS. I'll run the HD Tune and see what happens next. Thanks.

 

EDIT: I ran the test. No red blocks detected...so yeah, I guess Windows is just being stupid.

[Bluecore]

Good afternoon,

 

I am trying to upgrade my Optiplex Small Form Factor because it is the only PC I own, I do not have the time or resources to build my own from scratch, and don't have the budget to buy an "over the counter PC". I am also having trouble doing normal tasks like opening files, folders and loading internet pages without it taking a long time. My computer is completely clean from viruses "at least that's what my computer guy says" so I just figured the parts have run their course. All day I have been browsing this forum and many others to find the best parts my PC can handle. I Believe I have found them, but I would like your honest opinion on, if you think there are better parts I could get. I have no intentions of buying a new PC all together or building one from scratch, and my computer guy said it would be much easier for him if I just bought some upgrades. So if you think the other two options would be my best bet, I'm very sorry but I just can't do that. My budget is $200, but I am willing to go to $250 and not a penny more. My current parts for my GX260 are as followed.

 

CPU: Intel Pentium D 830

GPU: Intel 82852/82855 GM/GME & Intel® 82945G Express Chipset Family

Ram: 1GBx1 PC2-5300 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM & 512mbx3 PC2-5300 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM

If you would like to see each detail of my computer, thanks to CPU-Z click on the Spoiler.

dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/k221y1vbv603r7l/OWNER-75F1422CE.txt

 

I listed those three computer parts first because those are the ones I want to change. Though if anything else needs to be change, either it be the power supply or what not. Feel free to say, for I myself will not be doing the changes. My Computer guy will be the one upgrading my PC. My new parts for my GX260 and their prices are as followed.

 

CPU: Intel Pentium® D Processor 960 [$50]

GPU: XFX ATI Radeon HD6670 [$90]

RAM: Kingston 1GB PC2-5300 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM [$5] --- To replace one of the 512mb sticks. Windows XP can only handle about 3GB.

If you would like to see the places where I will be ordering these parts from click on the Spoiler.

CPU:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B009YPTGGQ/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&condition=used

GPU: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B005PX9HJW/ref=olp_tab_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new

RAM: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000PCX780/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&condition=used

 

Each part added up comes out to be $145. Plus the $50 I am going to pay my computer guy to set up the parts for me, the cost adds up to $195. If I need to buy more parts for this to work, I will. However, keep in mind I don't intent on spending much over my Max budget. If you all would check to make sure everything is alright with my parts or can be alright with some additional parts, I would very much appreciate it. Thank you for your time, have a nice day.

[Autosaver]

Spending $200 on old obscure PC parts is a waste of money to me. You would be better off spending money on a brand new PC. You also said you have a small form factor PC, which means a lot of GPUs will not fit in it. You may also have a poor power supply which means higher powered GPUs won't work in it. You're also on Windows XP. Windows XP is a OS that is no longer supported by Microsoft which leaves you vulnerable to huge security flaws. If you are connected to the internet, I would try to avoid XP at all costs.

 

Your bottleneck is your CPU and by extension, your motherboard. It simply can not support newer processors.

 

There's a lot of sales on Desktops, especially since Father's Day is coming up. I would honestly invest that money into buying something that will last versus something that will barely upgrade your performance and end up being a huge waste of money. You're also dealing with significantly older parts which have a chance of dying out. I would not pay $200 for a 5% performance boost when you could pay equivalent or slightly more for a 3000% performance boost.

 

960 is barely better than 830 and is NOT worth a $50 upgrade.

 

Either get a cheap Desktop, or get a laptop. A brand new laptop would be easy to carry around, do every day tasks, and overall be a nice investment for your future. A Desktop while being nice and having a lot more power, does not have the advantage of being portable. You could use the portable factor for school and work.

 

I know this might not be the answer you're looking for, but trust me. I've been there and done that. The route you're going now is basically flushing money down the drain. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I can guide you toward something that will actually make spending $100's worthwhile.

 

Let me know how you use your computer. Do you play games? Do you just browse the internet? Is portability important to you? Do you do school/work on it?

[Jix Hedgehog]

x

Edited August 15, 2015 by Jix Hedgehog

[Autosaver]

Not sure on upgrading, but I owned a GX720 and let me tell you that the entire optiplex line suffers from all sorts of problems, mostly related to capacitors on the motherboard (try googling "dell optiplex problem")

Had to replace it only for the same thing to happen again. Wouldn't recommend spending money on upgrades for something that's not going to last.

To add onto this, some of my older DELLs we have are dying out due to their hard drive dying and/or motherboards dying. There's just no point. You're going to keep draining money away by placing duct tape. At that point, you're going to ask why you even bothered.

 

I found something cheap for you.

 

This WAS $195. http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?sdtid=6926130&EdpNo=8986993&sku=B69-00143&SRCCODE=LINKSHARE&cm_mmc_o=-ddCjC1bELltzywCjC-d2CjCdwwp&utm_source=Linkshare&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=lw9MynSeamY&AffiliateID=lw9MynSeamY-sRpBkvVoh58cFojB00Hf4w

 

This is why I think you should wait for some sort of AMD bundle around Father's day. You can spend the same amount of money and get 3000% better performance. You have a ticking time bomb, it's time to kill it. Building or buying a brand new PC on sale is a better use of your money.

[Bluecore]

After reading your post, I decided to look at it from a different angle. By getting a new computer laptop now, I will be able to use it for college. In the next three years I will be attending one for videogame programming and design. Unfortunately they do not provide computers for the classes. I will need a laptop that will be able to handle the type of programs and graphics that my college will have us make. They won't be AAA games, but anything that can run UDK type graphics should be fine enough. I also need a computer that is fast in compiling C++ code and rendering videos in sony vegas. 5lbs or under is preferred. I'll just continue to save up over the summer, and hopefully by the end or close to the end, I'll have enough. I have two laptops in mind, I would appreciate it if you would judge them based on my criteria. The first one being the Toshiba Qosmio® X70, and the second one being the Lenovo Thinkpad® W540.

Links:  

http://www.toshiba.com/us/computers/laptops/qosmio/X70 http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/w-series/w540/

 

Thank you for the PC link, though I am not sure if lugging around a desktop is a good idea. 

[Diz]

The graphics card you have listed as an upgrade is not compatible. SFF is only compatible with low profile specific expansion cards, so the GPU will not fit in your computer.

 

I am also having trouble doing normal tasks like opening files, folders and loading internet pages without it taking a long time. My computer is completely clean from viruses "at least that's what my computer guy says" so I just figured the parts have run their course.

 

If your computer is slowing down, you should run a diagnosis on each component before buying new ones, especially if you are on a tight budget. The first component you should check is your HDD. These can, and will, die over time, and damage or impending disk failure will often slow down your computer quite a bit, if not completely hinder certain tasks, like opening files and folders. You can use HD Tune to perform an error check and scan for physical failure. You should also scan and automatically repair your file system, and make sure that your partitions are not excessively fragmented.

 

You should also test your memory. Faulty RAM can kill your computer's performance and make it come to a complete hault. This can be achieved by Windows Memory Diagnostics, but I always use Memtest86 for this task. One pass should give you an idea of whether or not your RAM is decently functional.

 

If both your HDD and RAM are A-OK, you should check your operating system. There are a ton of conflicts and hidden programs which will drain your computer for all of its resources, and this especially counts for Windows XP, which is no longer supported. You need to make sure that MSCONFIG is set to normal start-up, that there is only one anti-virus installed and that you have at least 20% free disk space on your system partition. In fact, I am almost certain that completely reinstalling Windows XP will speed up your computer loads in itself, assuming your HDD and RAM are fine, so you should consider doing that if none of this helps.

 

So if you think the other two options would be my best bet, I'm very sorry but I just can't do that.

 

In that case, I do not recommend doing anything. You have listed a few parts that you wish to upgrade, but you need to keep in mind that even motherboards die out of age, especially SFF. These computers are designed to last 4-5 years from when they were built, and it is almost 4 years ago I did voluntary work at the hospital, where I helped them throw all their Dell Optiplex GX620 SFF in the trash. When the motherboard dies, you will have to replace almost every single component in your computer to fit a new motherboard (good luck finding a similar motherboard), and power supplies may lose up to 20% effect every other year, which means you are likely going to have to get one of those as well soon (these do not necessarily come cheap). I also suspect you will need to buy a new HDD (do a diagnosis first though to make sure, though a healthy HDD still can get real slow due to age, and the HDD pretty much is a bottleneck).

 

Also, applications develope, the Internet developes, but Windows XP does not. This means that Windows XP is likely going to feel much slower than it once used to be. If you are going to surf the Internet with Windows XP, do not use Internet Explorer, as the most recent version for Windows XP is Internet Explorer 8, which barely even works on today's Internet. You should use Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox, which will not only speed up your online experience, but also keep you relatively safe in comparison.

 

In conclusion, do a basic diagnosis on your hardware. Your Windows installation is root to most of the problems, and a fresh reinstallation will eliminate any software conflicts and background errors, likely resulting in a less troublesome and more faster experience. Windows XP is officially dead, and your computer as a whole (motherboard etc.) has no guarantee of extended lifetime, and upgrading some components will not change that, so if buying a new computer is not an option, I recommend just reinstalling Windows XP without upgrading your computer to see if that helps.

 

We have a topic which is suitable for this subject, so I will merge yours in there as contribution. Best of luck~

Edited June 3, 2014 by Diz
Topic Merge: Will my Dell Optiplex GX620 SFF work with these upgrades? -> The SSMB PC Troubleshooting and Discussion Thread

[Autosaver]

By getting a new computer laptop now, I will be able to use it for college

Perfect. This will allow you to invest in your future and put a better use of your money.

 

The first one being the Toshiba Qosmio® X70,

 

 

I just googled it and this laptop is almost $1,500! You went from having no budget to having a ton of budget.

 

From what I'm reading, this laptop is a gaming laptop. Is has a very strong processor and has great performance. I'm not sure if they make the X70 anymore as the X75 is the one available on Amazon and other markets. There's a couple issues with this laptop though.

 

The battery life is horrible. It's a little over 3 hours. I know it's a gaming laptop but other gaming laptops have higher battery counts from a review I was reading. If you're using this mainly for school, it might become an annoyance in that you need to constantly charge your laptop. If you go class to class with your laptop or forget to charge it one night, you might end up with a dead laptop in class causing frustration.

 

 

Lenovo Thinkpad® W540.

 

http://www.amazon.com/ThinkPad-W540-20BG0014US-15-6-Notebook/product-reviews/B00HD7IX7K/ref=dpx_acr_rat_t2_txt?showViewpoints=1

 

Tons of horrible reviews. I would probably avoid this one at all costs.

 

 

This MSI Laptop is in a similar price range and has great reviews.

The stealth version of the laptop is very slim and easily portable.

 

 

Here's something to note.

 

1) The next generation of Intel Processors are coming out soon. These will have better battery life and performance. I guarantee there will be a refresh of gaming laptops that are based on these processors. The battery life is probably most crucial.

 

2) I would install a SSD instead of a HDD if there is one inside. SSD's lower the amount of noise produced by the laptop which is probably going to be a lot because gaming laptops usually have 7200rpm drives. It will also lower the amount of heat produced which will lower the amount of noise created by fans. Finally, it should increase battery life a noticeable amount because you would be changing from a mechanical to a digital medium. There will be no moving parts, it's all flash based.

 

I like to stress battery life, as this will probably be the biggest annoyance out of laptops. The 4th generation Haswell processors improved it a bit while the 5th generation will take it even further.

 

Windows 9 should be coming out next year too. Windows 8 has great performance but the interface made a lot of people confused. Windows 9 is set to solve that.

[SenEDDtor Missile]

So this might be a PC thing, or it might be a Wii thing, but here's the gist of it.

 

I have a USB drive that my dad filled with various Wii games that I link to my Wii using USB loader GX. Today I'd figure I would go play some Mario Galaxy...

 

And then I got this:

 

 

For teh record, I don't have any idea how my Dad got USB Loader GX onto the Wii in the first place, nor have I done any major updates or changes to it (as far as I remember, although oddly I remember there being a homebrew channel on it before) in the past few years/recently. Any ideas?

[Chaos Warp]

Okay so getting a new PC might be in the cards for me soon but all the ones in the stores have Windows Fucking 8. Not something I want whatsoever. What I figured I could do is use the Windows 7 install disk I have to "downgrade" to Windows 7 but the guy at the computer shop said that he couldn't guarantee all the drivers would work or something along those lines. My question is: How could I resolve this driver issue when changing from Windows 8 to 7, and is there a better way to get Windows 7 on a new PC other then scratch-building one (which I have nowhere near close to the skill level to do)?

[Badnik Mechanic]

First of all I'd ask, why do you want a Windows 7 machine over a Windows 8 one, is it for legacy reasons? Or more the learning curve with Windows 8?

[Chaos Warp]

First of all I'd ask, why do you want a Windows 7 machine over a Windows 8 one, is it for legacy reasons? Or more the learning curve with Windows 8?

I just dislike Windows 8 a whole lot. I hate the tablet-esque start menu thingy, for one. Really I just like Windows 7 immensely more. That's why. 

[Solkia]

First of all I'd ask, why do you want a Windows 7 machine over a Windows 8 one, is it for legacy reasons? Or more the learning curve with Windows 8?

 

Depends.

 

Windows 7 is outdated as shit now and has some problems with newer games like Battlefield 4, but has an interface actually worth talking about

 

Windows 8.1 is newer and easier to find, but it was designed to be a dual os for both Tablets and PCs, and doesn't benefit either particularly well.

 

Windows 9 is supposed to be out next year, and is supposed to be entirely disassociated with 8's fuckups, but who knows.

 

It's all a matter of personal preference. Windows 8.1 works just fine, just expect it to be vastly different from what you're used to.

 

As for legacy... I believe both have some form of support to an extent, but why the hell anyone would use legacy stuff  nearly a decade after it's relevancy is beyond me.

[Chaos Warp]

Depends.

 

Windows 7 is outdated as shit now and has some problems with newer games like Battlefield 4, but has an interface actually worth talking about

 

Windows 8.1 is newer and easier to find, but it was designed to be a dual os for both Tablets and PCs, and doesn't benefit either particularly well.

 

Windows 9 is supposed to be out next year, and is supposed to be entirely disassociated with 8's fuckups, but who knows.

 

It's all a matter of personal preference. Windows 8.1 works just fine, just expect it to be vastly different from what you're used to.

 

As for legacy... I believe both have some form of support to an extent, but why the hell anyone would use legacy stuff  nearly a decade after it's relevancy is beyond me.

Isn't there something you can download for Windows 8 to make the interface more like 7? I swear I saw that somewhere.....am I mistaken?

[Autosaver]

Yes. There's a paid one that's apparently better but the free one is also pretty good.

 

http://www.classicshell.net/

 

Honestly, Windows 8 isn't even that bad. You get used to it. I like the more modern flow of it.

[Sami]

Honestly, Windows 8 isn't even that bad. You get used to it. I like the more modern flow of it.

 

To be honest I hardly feel a difference at all, personally. I barely use the Start Menu anymore beyond the search function anyway, which is still fully functional (and arguably better presented) in 8.1. Apart from that I barely notice it.

[Diz]

With the aforementioned Start menu addon, you will not see much of the modern interface, which scares most users away, and it is free, so I recommend installing that if you do not like the change in the Start interface. With the free Classic Shell, you can customize the Start menu to look like any recent edition of Windows', and the modern Start interface is skipped when logging in, taking you directly to the desktop.

 

Everything will be both cheaper and easier if you can adapt to Windows 8, but since you are looking into the possibilities of having Windows 7, here we go:

 

What I figured I could do is use the Windows 7 install disk I have to "downgrade" to Windows 7 but the guy at the computer shop said that he couldn't guarantee all the drivers would work or something along those lines. My question is: How could I resolve this driver issue when changing from Windows 8 to 7, and is there a better way to get Windows 7 on a new PC other then scratch-building one (which I have nowhere near close to the skill level to do)?

 

The first downside you quickly will have to face, by downgrading, is the fact that you need to purchase a new Windows license (unless you decide to go the pirate way), and even the Home Premium edition does not come cheap. The cost only covers the license, which means that you will have to do the installation by yourself.

 

Windows 8 typically is installed on GPT-initiated HDDs, which are not recognized by Windows 7 as boot volumes unless you specifically reconfigure a Windows 7 installation to support UEFI and re-burn the DVD, so you might have to clean the HDD before Windows Setup allows you to install Windows 7. This process will delete everything from the HDD, and it can be achieved in Windows Setup in few steps by using command prompt.

 

You can look up the (important: exact) model on the manufacturer's support site and verify if the model you are interested in has support for Windows 7, something which is disippating, especially for cheaper models. You will typically be greeted by a drop-down box, listing each supported operating system and architecture. Also, remember that 32-bit and 64-bit drivers only are compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit Windows 7 respectively. If your laptop model has Windows 7 drivers on the support site, then your laptop should be more or less fully supported. If it does not give a section for Windows 7, you are out of luck, and the only way to resolve the driver issue is to simply look for another laptop which has Windows 7 support. You could install Windows 7 and see which devices work and which do not (best case: most things appear to be working, worst case: Terrible screen resolution, no Internet connectivity, random crashing).

 

There are also still laptops which are being sold with Windows 7. Most of them are only available online, and they may even be more pricey and intended for corporate usage, but it might be worthy a look around.

 

Best of luck!

[Chaos Warp]

With the aforementioned Start menu addon, you will not see much of the modern interface, which scares most users away, and it is free, so I recommend installing that if you do not like the change in the Start interface. With the free Classic Shell, you can customize the Start menu to look like any recent edition of Windows', and the modern Start interface is skipped when logging in, taking you directly to the desktop.

 

Everything will be both cheaper and easier if you can adapt to Windows 8, but since you are looking into the possibilities of having Windows 7, here we go:

 

 

The first downside you quickly will have to face, by downgrading, is the fact that you need to purchase a new Windows license (unless you decide to go the pirate way), and even the Home Premium edition does not come cheap. The cost only covers the license, which means that you will have to do the installation by yourself.

 

Windows 8 typically is installed on GPT-initiated HDDs, which are not recognized by Windows 7 as boot volumes unless you specifically reconfigure a Windows 7 installation to support UEFI and re-burn the DVD, so you might have to clean the HDD before Windows Setup allows you to install Windows 7. This process will delete everything from the HDD, and it can be achieved in Windows Setup in few steps by using command prompt.

 

You can look up the (important: exact) model on the manufacturer's support site and verify if the model you are interested in has support for Windows 7, something which is disippating, especially for cheaper models. You will typically be greeted by a drop-down box, listing each supported operating system and architecture. Also, remember that 32-bit and 64-bit drivers only are compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit Windows 7 respectively. If your laptop model has Windows 7 drivers on the support site, then your laptop should be more or less fully supported. If it does not give a section for Windows 7, you are out of luck, and the only way to resolve the driver issue is to simply look for another laptop which has Windows 7 support. You could install Windows 7 and see which devices work and which do not (best case: most things appear to be working, worst case: Terrible screen resolution, no Internet connectivity, random crashing).

 

There are also still laptops which are being sold with Windows 7. Most of them are only available online, and they may even be more pricey and intended for corporate usage, but it might be worthy a look around.

 

Best of luck!

Where is the best place to buy a new Windows 7 license these days?

 

Also, say I decided to keep Windows 8, I heard it has compatibility issues with tons of programs not given a Windows 8 version yet/have a Windows 8 version but are buggy on 8. Like the stuff I use like Utorrent and Steam and VLC and Handbrake and all that stuff, how will that work on 8?

[Diz]

Since you live in a different part of the world, I do not know which online services apply to you, but you can go to your local computer/electronics stores and ask around for it, someone should have it, or at least we sell it in my shop. Then again, we sell lots of things noone else really sell, soooo~

 

If the laptop model's support site supports only 64-bit drivers, make sure you buy the 64-bit version of the Home Premium edition, though for most modern laptops, 32-bit may not be a realistic option anyway. Not that you have anything to gain from that, unless your computer is severely old.

 

I run Steam on all my Windows 8 computers without any problems, not sure how each individual game will go, but I have not encountered any issues so far. VLC should work. μTorrent, I have no idea, but it looks like it after doing a quick Google lookup. The programs and games I have tested that did not work on Windows 8 never worked with Windows 7 to begin with, but you never know. The best thing to do is to lookup every game and program you suspect might be a problem, as chances are likely that someone else has researched the same thing.

[Chaos Warp]

Since you live in a different part of the world, I do not know which online services apply to you, but you can go to your local computer/electronics stores and ask around for it, someone should have it, or at least we sell it in my shop. Then again, we sell lots of things noone else really sell, soooo~

 

If the laptop model's support site supports only 64-bit drivers, make sure you buy the 64-bit version of the Home Premium edition, though for most modern laptops, 32-bit may not be a realistic option anyway. Not that you have anything to gain from that, unless your computer is severely old.

 

I run Steam on all my Windows 8 computers without any problems, not sure how each individual game will go, but I have not encountered any issues so far. VLC should work. μTorrent, I have no idea, but it looks like it after doing a quick Google lookup. The programs and games I have tested that did not work on Windows 8 never worked with Windows 7 to begin with, but you never know. The best thing to do is to lookup every game and program you suspect might be a problem, as chances are likely that someone else has researched the same thing.

I should probably mention that this isn't a laptop I'm looking for, it's a desktop. Does that change anything? 

 

Also, with Windows 7 there was a way to make it look more like Windows 95 or some older version of Windows to make it run faster (because the interface isn't as fancily colored and stuff), and this is something I use, does 8 have this feature?

 

Also, does Classic Shell have any downsides? Like does it slow down the computer a lot if it's a not as fast computer (the one I would get would most likely have 4 gigs of ram with 3 usable, and a quad core 2.2 something MHZ processor, or a bit better if I can't find an exact match as that's what my old PC has)?

[Diz]

Oh, desktop computer. My bad. I do not think it should change anything in terms of this subject though.

 

Windows 8 has the same option to deactivate things like visual effects to increase performance, but whether it changes appearance as dramatic as in Windows 7, I am not so sure, since I am at work and am unable to test this at the moment. Nonetheless, Windows 8 should not need as dramatic a visual change, seeing as the corners are already square and windows (except transparency) are already basic looking, and so on.

 

There are some Start menu programs which I noticed have crashed or slowed down Windows 8. Classic Shell, on the other hand, have never seemed to be giving an impact on my customers' PCs. I do not use the program myself (I prefer no longer having a Start menu), but it seems to be without noticeable side effects. If Classic Shell for some reason would turn out to be slowing down your computer, then it would not be any slower than the same computer with Windows 7 due to improvement and optimalization of system performance.