Windows 7
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Small update: I have two hard drives, the first one with two system partitions and the second one with all my data. The first one contained XP and Ubuntu so I decided to delete the Ubuntu partition and install Windows 7 there. I can now dual boot XP and 7.
Now, for the dark comedy part: Windows 7 can't read my second hard drive. No matter what I try, it simply can't. Every time I boot 7 it messes up my data drive file structure and I have to repair it with XP later. Not only that... the first time I booted 7 with the data drive it offered me to format it. Imagine what could have happened.
My data hard drive is NTFS and was formatted in XP. Any ideas of how to make it readable by 7? It has no fancy features turned on besides XP's Index Server, but then again my XP system partition also has this feature enabled and it's perfectly readable by 7. I guess I'll have to move all my stuff to one of the system partitions, format the data drive and move all my stuff again so I can finally start to actually use 7. 
The ironic part: Ubuntu had no problems reading my data disc. It's infuriating that Linux can read an XP-formatted disc with no problems (in fact, it can read pretty much any format you throw at it), while 7 can't.
The scary part: Imagine what would have happened had I not kept XP. I would now be Simply Outta Luck, completely unable to access my data. sigh Now I know why Linus Torvalds poked fun at 7.
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Didn't you install Win7 64 bit? Will it read 32 bit dirves? I know that you can have 32 bit data, and programs, but????
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Yes, I installed Win 7 Pro 64-bit. I still haven't installed any software on it, but for some obscure reason it won't read my second hard drive, a 500GB Samsung SATA disk I bought just months ago. XP 32-bit and Ubuntu 32-bit can read the drive without any problem, but Win7 can't and prompts me to format it.
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I would highly recommend installing Win7 in dual boot instead of wiping out your XP. Then you can see if your hard drive is read automatically by Win7, and if it isn't, you can still access your data.
My two discs are formatted in NTFS and both use the SATA interface, so it's weird the one is being read and the other not. The one that does work is a Western Digital, while the other is a Samsung.
When I tried to install the Release Candidate of Windows 7 it was not compatible with my LG DVD writer, but the retail version works perfectly with it, so I guess the odd problem with Samsung my hard drive is just one of those little things that will be ironed out sooner or later by MS. Until then, I've started moving all my stuff and I'll soon be reporting how things go after formatting the disk.
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Will Win7 64 bit read a Hard Drive formatted in 32 bits? I did a quick google but didn't find a answer.
MS list of compatible "external drives" are all 64 bit. You may have to run VPC 64 with WinXP 32 bit connected to your drive, then connect Win7 via a Virtual Network to the VPC, and copy your date to the 64 bit drive. Once done, you can reformat the old 32 bit drive as 64 bit, and copy the data back. Before doing this, make sure that MS has a 64 bit driver for your old drive.
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Miguel, I don't think that you get it. Win7 reformatted its partition on your primary hard drive to 64 bits when it installed itself. Your primary drive is half 32 bit (WinXp) and half 64 bit (Win7).
I do not think that Win7 can read the other hard drive that is formatted as 32 bits. Its got nothing to do with NTSF or SATA requirements. But I could be wrong. Hope that you work things out.
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Im almost certain that the fact your last OS was 32 bit has very little to do with why 7 cant read your hard drive. Just did a quick test and was able to read and write data from a 32 bit OS to an external hard drive thats only previously been used by a 64 bit OS. I cant offer an alternative theory, though
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Disc 0 is my Western Digital. It has a partition for WinXP (C:) and another for Win7 (D:).Disc 1 is my Samsung. It has only one partition (L:) for my data.
Windows XP can read all three partitions.
Windows 7 can only read partitions C and D in Disc 0. The other disc is recognized but it shows up as unformatted in Windows 7.
All three partitions are formatted in NTFS. Both discs are connected via SATA.
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Well, I stand corrected. Sorry, if I confused the issue.
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Quite freaky. Had a bit similar configuration, but I connected the data disk after Windows 7 RC (64-bit) was fully installed. Worked fine. Perhaps if you try to connect that disk to a different sata port...
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Please note that there are different Windows 7 packages, to some the differences are irrelevant and others that use 64 bit with tons of ram for 3d apps (myself included with 12GB ddr3) the different packages have various memory capabilities.
Windows 7 64 Bit Memory Capabilities
ā¢ Starter: 8GB
ā¢ Home Basic: 8GB
ā¢ Home Premium: 16GB
ā¢ Professional: 192GB
ā¢ Enterprise: 192GB
ā¢ Ultimate: 192GB
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Looking forward to the day i can afford 192Gb of RAM.
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It's Windows 7 Professional 64 bits, with anytime upgrade meaning I can upgrade to Ultimate when I want for a fee.
(Why do I want Ultimate, anyway? All it has is Bitlocker.)Pentti, I did the same thing, just in case. I unplugged the data drive while I installed Windows 7, and plugged it again after the install. I didn't want to accidentally erase the wrong partition.
I'll install the ethernet driver in Win7 and connect to Windows Update to see if MS has already a fix for this; I'll keep you posted.
SMALL UPDATE:
Right now I'm waiting while 10 updates to Windows 7 download... 10 updates just a week after launch, wow. Guess what the name of the first update in the list was? "Windows x64 malware detection tool". And I thought I would forget about malware by upgrading to 7...Tasks already done:
-Installed all the Intel mainboard drivers
-Got rid of Aero and those HUGE icons in the taskbar
-Got rid of Internet Explorer 8I'm still trying to figure out how to disable the antialiasing of fonts, as they look all fuzzy.
ANOTHER UPDATE:
After installing all available updates, including the nvidia driver, I right clicked on the desktop, chose properties and... ka-bam! my very first Windows 7 Blue Screen Of Death. Oh, and I still can't access my data drive from Windows 7. -
Seems that mileages can vary... Why to get rid of Aero, for me it's one of the best features in Win7.
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I turned it off because it was slow with my GeForce 9600GT card. However, that was before installing the nvidia driver. I guess I'll give it a second chance.
I'm still moving my stuff one piece at a time. I guess tomorrow I'll be ready to format the data drive from Windows 7 and see what happens.
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@ecuadorian said:
Guess what the name of the first update in the list was? "Windows x64 malware detection tool". And I thought I would
Why would malware go away with 64bit? Looks like MS own malware protection is in need http://blogs.technet.com/mmpc/archive/2009/10/27/msrt-october-release-case-study.aspx
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I assumed the User Account Control would make Windows 7 a lot safer...
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People are easy to trick install someting; for curiosity (funny screen savers, gags & porn), greed (pirated programs) or fear (antivirus scams). How would UAC prevent against it, if user want's to install something.
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You're right. Even now with just XP and ESET antivirus, I have zero malware problems, so I hope not to have them in 7.
The worst fear for me are clients and friends who bring USB drives, so I hope 7 ignores autorun files in such media by default. -
My experience with Windows 7 Ultimate: I Installed it on an Acer AOD250 netbook:
Can't find and install the following:
- WiFi
- Intel VGA so you can display on larger LCD Monitors
The Wireless LAN_Atheros driver and VGA_Intel drivers which work for an XP SP3 install, wont work with the Windows 7 install.
Microsoft is a joke! Imagine spending all this time and effort and the install still cant
recognize an internet connection. Thank god we have access to open source OS's like Ubuntu etc.
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