Malik
(7/7/10)
Let's continue my
computer trouble rant, shall we? I don't want to have anything to
get upset about with my PC. I thought I was done with the troubles.
I killed my TDL3 root-kit issue with a new HDD, a fresh install of
Windows 7, and a lot of downloading of software and updates with a
dose of installation from CDs and DVDs. It was done, or at least as
close to done as I needed to feel that things were right with the
world again.
I did have one
small issue, but I pretty much pushed it out of mind for now. If you
don't enter an activation key on a piece of Microsoft software, then
you get 30 days to put it in before the all mighty masters at
Microsoft exact retribution. Well, during my Windows 7 install, I
had an error with my activation key. Since I wasn't online yet, I
ignored it and figured it would be solved when I got online in the
future.
I had an error
again when I was online. By this time, I had installed Windows 7,
all the updated drivers I needed, Avast antivirus, uTorrent, Guitar
Pro 6 (that's a slow and agonizing download), EA Downloader to get
Dragon Age Origins, FrontPage, Office 2003, a ton of Windows and
Office updates, and...well, the list can continue for a long time,
since it took a long time to do. I even had my software all
configured to make me feel comfortable. I was set. So, I put in my
activation key and was told my key was for an upgrade and not a full
install.
In the past,
Windows upgrade disks would allow you to install from a fresh HDD
and then prove your ownership of a previous version through
inserting the install disk of the older Windows. Instead, Windows 7
doesn't allow this. You have to be upgrading from an installed
version of Windows. The worst part of this is that there is no
mention of this change in any of the Microsoft supplied
documentation. Also, pretty bad is the fact that a fresh install of
Windows is almost always a more streamlined OS than a version that
has been upgraded. It also doesn't help that you can install the
"upgrade" version from a clean and fresh HDD. Why is this allowed if
it cannot last more than 30 days (the time needed to enter an
activation key)?
Ok...I lied. The
WORST part is that this meant I had to nuke my install of Windows 7.
Then I had to install Vista (I lost my XP activation key...my PC
stuff is a mess right now after all of this chaos). Then, after one
of the longest damned Microsoft installs I've ever seen (7 is faster
than Vista), I had Vista. I then put in my Windows 7 Upgrade disk
and was set...or was I? Nope. I needed SP1 for Vista to "upgrade".
After a long download, I had SP1 fired up...and then I had an even
longer install for SP1 than for Vista.
A good four hours
after I started this hell, I had SP1 installed. In the meantime, I
did a few installations of other software while waiting for the SP1
package to download. If I had to upgrade, I'd at least get a head
start on rebuilding my software. Well, I then started the Windows 7
upgrade, and after about two hours, I noticed it crashed. It seems
that when it reach the step to transfer settings over from Vista, it
hit a snag. I restarted the PC, only to have Windows 7 uninstall and
I was back to Vista. So, I then started again with the upgrade and
selected a "Custom Installation", as opposed to the "Upgrade
Installation".
What's the
difference, you ask? I didn't know, but "Custom" remove Vista from
the PC. I was getting a clean fresh Windows 7 installation...the
same process I performed the previous day. Only this time I got
Windows 7 activated. So, I had to waste at least four hours
installing Vista (with SP1) before I could do a fresh install of
Windows 7 that removed all traces of Vista? What the f#@$,
Microsoft!?
I then wasted
another few hours installing all of my software and updates again.
Luckily, I was smart enough to use my large new HDD to save the
installation files. However, finding license keys for my older
digitally obtained software was nothing short of a pain in the ass.
I had previously done so the day before for my first Windows 7
install, and then during my "I think Vista settings will be
transferred" Vista install. All of this time waste because Microsoft
changed how upgrade disks work without any notice. I might have seen
this stuff on some rather unhappy message boards online, and they
are out there, but I had no reason to look at such boards. I trusted
Microsoft to let me know of this type of change. A change from a
standard they set back in the Windows 98 days (if not earlier).
Microsoft, I want my time back. I also want my time back proactively
for when I'll have to make a fresh install of Windows 7 in the
future...because no OS installation is ever "one and done".
I mean there are
many ways Microsoft could have informed the public. The simple way
would to be something on the first damned page of the instruction
guide (no longer a manual, since it's about 20 pages long and full
of visual crap instead of real information). That would be simple.
Even a sticker on the "Upgrade" version boxes. Of course, knowing
Microsoft's current PR push, I imagine their ideal solution would be
a TV commercial.
<Start scene with
"normal" looking guy doing something pointless...maybe waiting in a
doctor's office...that seems pointless enough>
"I was sitting on
the crapper taking a deuce, when it came to me..."
<Show cut scene of
"good looking" actor taking a shit>
"...I wish Windows
was harder to install, when it crashes again and I have to make a
fresh install..."
<Back to "normal"
looking actor>
"...and Microsoft
must have listened. They made it where you can do a fresh install of
Windows 7 from an upgrade, but only if I waste time installing Vista
or XP first! Plus, they even let me install the first Service Pack
before the upgrade would work. Before I was like 'click, click'..."
<Actor waves arms
like he's a victim of a botched lobotomy>
"...and now I'm
like 'wait, wait'! I feel like a mighty god of time waste. It was so
cool that I called my proctologist!"
<Bored/annoyed
sounding voice off screen: "Yes, he did call me...">
"He was excited
too! I'm a PC, and Windows 7 was my mistake!"
<End scene...man,
we're going to have to hire security for these actors...someone who
doesn't have a fun time installing Windows 7 from an Upgrade on a
clean HDD is going to get violent towards them>
I was actually
feeling pretty happy with Windows 7. It was my first ever easy
Microsoft OS installation since the days of DOS. It was like
Microsoft was actually doing what their ads claimed; they were
listening. Now, all I can say is what I kept yelling at my PC last
night; F$#@ you Microsoft! F#@$ you and that shit you love to pull!
Ok...in all
seriousness, Microsoft has all rights to do this, since it is
another form of stopping piracy. However, no warning just
seems like they really took the lazy wait out. It also feels
like punishment to a large number of semi-advanced users to punish a
smaller number of pirates.
Malik |