That RAM question... again

[Nibiru2012]

Always do a clean or "custom install". Windows 7 likes it better that way and your computer will run much better.

Yes, you'll have to reinstall your software. However, you'll notice a marked improvement in the way the system runs. People who have done "upgrade installs" have had issues with lockups, stutters, and other issues.

Make your Windows 7 partition about 48-64 GB in size. Let the Windows 7 install create the 100 GB System Partition automatically. The use the rest of the hard drive space as another partition for file storage, downloads, etc.

 

[catilley1092]

Is your current install stock (OEM)? I have this same concern, I can reinstall 7 w/o the bloatware installed, but some of the software, I want to retain. I'm not sure myself if I can reinstall my OEM software on a "custom install". If I knew for sure that I can, I'd do it w/o hesitation. There are many HP OEM programs on my desktop, they update themselves, the same way that Windows updates itself. And I tried "shrinking" my install, but it still wanted half of my disc. But as far as installing your 64 bit version goes, you can format and do it with no problem. The OEM software, I don't know if you can reinstall it. These EULA's are funny about things. Really, I'm surprised that a 64 bit OS was not preinstalled on your system.

 

[Nibiru2012]

Cat - OEM is a generic term here. M$ makes OEM install discs for independent, small business or hobbyist builders. HP, DELL, Lenovo, Gateway, Sony and the others make their own "custom" OEM install discs; really more of a brand specific OEM install disc with all the junk and bloatware added.

The M$ OEM Windows 7 may be reinstalled many times, only to the same machine and hardware as it was originally installed on. There are exceptions, such as a crashed hard drive, RAM failure, burned-out motherboard, etc. Then when the activation is done in those situations a simple call to M$ Tech support will rectify any issues regarding hardware changes.

In all my years of installing Windows operating systems, I have found that the M$ OEM installs are much cleaner and better than any computer maker's "OEM" install discs with all the added junk. It's more compact, cleaner and then one can install the latest drivers versus having to redo drivers.

 

[catilley1092]

Nibiru, I realize this, but my concern is this. What about the the bundled programs that I still want? Can I still keep them, they are backed up? You're absolutely correct, much of it is garbage, wasting space on your disc. But sometimes a couple of good programs are thrown in, too. There's a tune up program, a media suite (which includes my webcam), Microsoft Works, to name a few. Can I place these programs onto my clean install? If not, I guess I could use a decrapifier program to get rid of what I don't want.

 

[Nibiru2012]

You should be able to access those programs from the install/recovery disc that came with your computer.

 

[catilley1092]

I had to make my own recovery discs, the problem with that is this, once you boot from it (there are three of them), the first two does the formatting, the last has the programs on it. Instead of booting from that disc, can I simply put it into my DVD and open the files to install them? Or is this what you were referring to?

 

[scottiecb19]

I must admit to being a wee bit nervous at doing the reinstall in case it all goes Pete Tong.

I agree about the bundled software issue too. One of things on my laptop that is very useful is the WinDVD software which allows Blu-Ray discs to play. I tried getting different software before when WinDVD had a problem (which was resolved), and most programmes were quite costly to buy. I have checked on the Sony website, and I think I can download them again.

I'm curious, how do programmes run on a 64 bit machine which are 32bit compatable?

Also, is it worth all of this to have a 64bit system. Will I gain anything more than an extra gig of ram???

 

[Thrax]

There are plenty of free software options that will allow you to play Blu-ray discs. VLC and Media Player Classic-Home Cinema are the premiere options.

Programs in 32-bit vs. 64-bit is more or less identical. 64-bit is an extension of 32-bit, like adding a new level on a parking garage; the old levels work just fine.

 

[catilley1092]

I must admit to being a wee bit nervous at doing the reinstall in case it all goes Pete Tong.

I agree about the bundled software issue too. One of things on my laptop that is very useful is the WinDVD software which allows Blu-Ray discs to play. I tried getting different software before when WinDVD had a problem (which was resolved), and most programmes were quite costly to buy. I have checked on the Sony website, and I think I can download them again.

I'm curious, how do programmes run on a 64 bit machine which are 32bit compatable?

Also, is it worth all of this to have a 64bit system. Will I gain anything more than an extra gig of ram???

Yes, you'll gain more than a gig of RAM. You'll be able to run more open programs without your system slowing to a crawl, or crashing. And you have a perfect system for it, I don't understand why a 32 bit one was on there in the first place. You have a lot to gain, so much that I can't possibly list them all here. And the OEM software that you can't get the exact replacement for, there's plenty of other programs that are free, and does the same thing. I myself am coming to that realization. If I really need the program, Nibiru is right, the program(s) are on the disc. So to answer your question, yes, it's worth all this to have a 64 bit system. You'll see for yourself, once it's installed.

 

[scottiecb19]

Always do a clean or "custom install". Windows 7 likes it better that way and your computer will run much better.

Yes, you'll have to reinstall your software. However, you'll notice a marked improvement in the way the system runs. People who have done "upgrade installs" have had issues with lockups, stutters, and other issues.

Make your Windows 7 partition about 48-64 GB in size. Let the Windows 7 install create the 100 GB System Partition automatically. The use the rest of the hard drive space as another partition for file storage, downloads, etc.

Do you need to put windows in its own partition???

 

[Nibiru2012]

Do you need to put windows in its own partition???

It is NOT an absolute, but Windows 7 will certainly work better that way.

Most users put it on its own partition.

 

[scottiecb19]

Really? Why does it work better???

 

[Nibiru2012]

Because then you can put the Page File in its own partition. Downloads, files, documents, photos, audio, video may be stored on a another partition so the C drive doesn't get a fragmented. I have been doing it this way for years, nearly all geeks & ubergeeks do this method.

From Wikipedia:




Creating more than one partition has the following advantages:

• Separation of the operating system and program files, from user files. This allows image backups (or clones) to be made of only the operating system and installed software.
• Having an area for operating system virtual memory swapping/paging.
• Keeping frequently used programs and data near each other.
• Having cache and log files separate from other files. These can change size dynamically and rapidly, potentially making a file system full.
• Use of multi booting setups, which allow users to have more than one operating system on a single computer. For example, one could install Linux, Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows or others on different partitions of the same hard disk and have a choice of booting into any operating system (supported by the hardware) at power-up.
• Protecting or isolating files, to make it easier to recover a corrupted file system or operating system installation. If one partition is corrupted, none of the other file systems are affected, and the drive's data may still be salvageable. Having a separate partition for read-only data also reduces the chances of the file system on this partition becoming corrupted.
• Raising overall computer performance on systems where smaller file systems are more efficient. For instance, large hard drives with only one NTFS file system typically have a very large sequentially-accessed Master File Table (MFT) and it generally takes more time to read this MFT than the smaller MFTs of smaller partitions.
• "Short Stroking", which aims to minimize performance-eating head repositioning delays by reducing the number of tracks used per hard drive.[1] The basic idea is that you make one partition approx. 20-25% of the total size of the drive. This partition is expected to: occupy the outer tracks of the hard drive, and offer more than double the throughput — less than half the access time. If you limit capacity with short stroking, the minimum throughput stays much closer to the maximum.

For example a 1 TB disk might have an access time of 12 ms at 200 IOPS (at a limited queue depth) with an average throughput of 100 MB/s. When it is partitioned to 100 GB (and the rest left unallocated) you might end up with an access time of 6 ms at 300 IOPS (with a bigger queue depth) with an average throughput of 200 MB/s..

 

[yodap]

Good stuff Nib. Thanks

 

[Kalario]

Scottie...did you install the 64 bit version?

The suspense is killing me

 

[yodap]

The suspense is killing me

Me too!

Nice avatar Kalario. That brings me way way back.

 

[scottiecb19]

Scottie...did you install the 64 bit version?

The suspense is killing me

Ok ok.... drum roll please.......

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Yes, I have installed the 64 bit Windows (que the vintage windows 'Tada' sound)

It installed very easily as a clean install, very quick too!

I even put the OS in a 100GB partition, but managed to do something wrong, as for some reason the rest 350GB of remaining hdd did not show in my computer. Luckily I found that Windows & has a little partition wizard thingy, so all was solved quite quickly.

Only down side so far is trying to get drivers etc for the various hardware, such as the function buttons etc. Sony EU site is worse than useless, but most forums are pointing to the US site, so I'll see if I get more luck there. I'm currently downloading from their site at 30kb/s, where I normally get 1000kb/s+, so downloading a couple hundred megs of data is gonna take a while.

As for the memory issue, the system is recognising 4063MB RAM as sweetly as anything, so that's rather nice!

Other than that, I haven't notice any significant improvements, but I suppose these will become obvious the more I use the system.

So thank you guys for all of your help. When I figure out how to add thanks to your profiles, I will do so accordingly!!!

 

[catilley1092]

scottiecb19, on the lower right hand on each post, there's a "thanks" & "quote" click on. You can thank anyone simply by clicking "thanks" on the posts that were helpful to you. If someone helped you get out of a jam, or whatever they helped you with, it's good to thank the member, although it's not mandatory. It does add to a member's credibility here to do so, and it shows your appreciation for the member's assistance. I'm glad you got your 64 bit system going, and hope you enjoy it. Should you ever need further assistance, always feel free to come back anytime.

 

[scottiecb19]

Hey,

I'm back already. Sorry, there is only a 'quote' button at the bottom of the post, no 'thanks' button at all.

Also, on the subject of 64bit, wow, my laptop loaded real quick this morning. I know I haven't got as much crap on it as before... but still.... WOW!

 

[Kalario]

Glad you're up and running x64...you will love it. Congrats!!!