Need a compatabilty check for Win 8.

On Fri, 22 Mar 2013 21:40:02 -0400, SC Tom wrote:

"Gene E. Bloch" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 22 Mar 2013 18:00:07 -0700, Drew wrote:

On 3/22/2013 5:03 PM, Peter Jason wrote:
I have Win7 SP1 64bit installed and hundreds of
programs left over from the ME days and after.

Is there a Microsoft product to check my computer
to see if all its content, especially programs, is
compatible with Windows 8?

Is an upgrade the best way to go?

Store bought box or custom built? I followed the upgrade advisor for my
wife's 4 yr old store bought computer and all was supposedly fine..
However once the upgrade was complete the computer endlessly black
screened (the replacement for blue screen of death). Shows no errors or
message of any kind. Microsoft worked on it for 10hrs over 2 days and
could not fix it. They recommended returning it to win 7 64bit as it was
obviously not compatible without a bios update and graphics update from
the manufacturer (HP). Bottom line is I have a copy of win 8 both 32 and
64bit that are going to be used as either frizbee's or coasters. Not
sure which yet. Buyer beware and research the hell out of it before you
upgrade!

Since the disks have holes in them, they are not very good as coasters,
so you'll probably be happier using them as frisbees.


Or skeet :-)

That's even better! Thanks...

--
Gene E. Bloch (Stumbling Bloch)

On Sat, 23 Mar 2013 11:03:14 +1100, Peter Jason wrote:

I have Win7 SP1 64bit installed and hundreds of programs left over from
the ME days and after.

Is there a Microsoft product to check my computer to see if all its
content, especially programs, is compatible with Windows 8?

Is an upgrade the best way to go?

First, I've found in the past MS sites that supposedly tell you about
compatibility issues aren't always accurate.
Personally, I don't upgrade, I run the OS that came with the machine with
auto updates. There is no compelling reason to bother with Windows 8.
If I were to want to try an upgrade, there are two ways to go (safely)
a) Get an image program, macrium have a free version, image the system
safely to an external drive (you should be doing this anyway), then play
to your hearts content, the only thing you stand to lose is the cost of
the upgrade.
b) A little more complicated, still get the image program and also a multi
os and partitioning program such as bootit from www.terabyteunlimited.com.
You will need to register, so it will cost, although you can evaluate for
free. This also does imaging, but I like macrium a lot.
The advantage of b) is that you now have a machine on which you can
install other os's, like you might want to take a look at Linux. Just
having a copy of your main system is good for trying out new freeware
without being too worried about picking up nasty stuff.

On 3/22/2013 5:03 PM, Peter Jason wrote:
I have Win7 SP1 64bit installed and hundreds of
programs left over from the ME days and after.

Is there a Microsoft product to check my computer
to see if all its content, especially programs, is
compatible with Windows 8?

Is an upgrade the best way to go?

I don't have the answer to your first specific question and I don't
remember what I had for a compatibility check when I 'upgraded' from
Win7 to Win8.

I bought a 64 bit Toshiba laptop in June '12 and 'upgraded' my Win7 to
Win8 using the $14.99 special. Just today I finished upgrading my Win8
back to Win7 on the same laptop.

Be sure to save a Disk Image of your Win7 before you do anything! You
might have to go back to where you were at some point. All I had was
the original Restore disks that I recorded on DVD when I first received
the laptop. I then transferred my files using my home network and
Windows File Transfer utility from my desktop (Primary unit). BTW, it
took 5 hours to do the transfer.

Win8 was full of problems for me. But the members of this newsgroup
provided welcome assistance in getting me pointed in the desired direction.

My Win8 laptop had a persistent problem of hanging up upon a 'restart'.
I would install updates that required a restart and I ended up with a
black screen. I would power down using the 'button' and push again and
most of the time it would come alive.

I found that this problem is not unique and there was a solution I think
I found on the NG. I implemented the 'fix' and ended up with a dead
computer! It would not boot up after the 'fix'. I ended up installing
the disk image I made about 30 days prior. (Keep a Disk Image!)

For me Win8 was a continuous struggle, although it did work, just not
within my comfort zone. I used Start8 to make it looks like Win7.

For your second question, - - - Be sure to leave yourself the
flexibility to completely restore your 'upgrade' back to Win7. I
experimented for 5 months with Win8 and it wasn't for me.

On 3/24/2013 1:51 PM, Ken1943 wrote:
snip
For your second question, - - - Be sure to leave yourself the
flexibility to completely restore your 'upgrade' back to Win7. I
experimented for 5 months with Win8 and it wasn't for me.

From previous posts, I read that the serial number for Win 7 could
not be used after upgrading to Win 8.

Were they wrong ?


KenW

Apparently. I heard the same thing but decided to just try it. I
loaded in my original restore DVD's and it didn't even ask for my
product key.

On 3/24/2013 2:01 PM, Ken1943 wrote:
On Sun, 24 Mar 2013 13:57:19 -0700, Mellowed wrote:

On 3/24/2013 1:51 PM, Ken1943 wrote:
snip
For your second question, - - - Be sure to leave yourself the
flexibility to completely restore your 'upgrade' back to Win7. I
experimented for 5 months with Win8 and it wasn't for me.

From previous posts, I read that the serial number for Win 7 could
not be used after upgrading to Win 8.

Were they wrong ?


KenW

Apparently. I heard the same thing but decided to just try it. I
loaded in my original restore DVD's and it didn't even ask for my
product key.

Guess you will find out when/if MS does a check.


KenW

Yeah. It is what it is. Regardless I had to get rid of
Win8. I think the secret is that I had Win8 Pro. It might not have
worked if I just had standard Win8.

On 23/03/13 04:10, Peter Jason wrote:
On Fri, 22 Mar 2013 21:31:10 -0400, "SC Tom"
wrote:



"Peter Jason" wrote in message
...
I have Win7 SP1 64bit installed and hundreds of
programs left over from the ME days and after.

Is there a Microsoft product to check my computer
to see if all its content, especially programs, is
compatible with Windows 8?

Is an upgrade the best way to go?

Go here http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/buy and click on Get
Started. When given the choice, choose Run to start the Upgrade Assistant.
That will give you an idea of what will/will not work if you upgrade. It's
not 100% accurate, but it's a starting point.

You can also check your programs here to see if others have deemed them
compatible or not:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/compatibility/win8/CompatCenter/Home?Language=en-US
Do a search for each program.

Go to your motherboard or PC manufacturer's site and see if they have
Windows 8 drivers for your make and model. That's a pretty good indication
if your hardware is compatible. They may have different drivers; one set for
"Upgrade From Windows 7 to Windows 8" and another set for factory-installed.

16-bit programs will no longer work, so you can forget about them (if you
have any left). I haven't seen any 32-bit programs that won't on my 64-bit
Win8 Pro (yet!!).



Thanks. Would a good test to be to connect a
Win8 Pro 64bit portable machine to the Win7
machine and try to run the Win7 programs? Would
this be definitive?


if that is the case get virtualbox it's free install. install that then
install what ever os you want then install apps you want in that.

Darklight wrote:
On 23/03/13 04:10, Peter Jason wrote:
On Fri, 22 Mar 2013 21:31:10 -0400, "SC Tom"
wrote:



"Peter Jason" wrote in message
...
I have Win7 SP1 64bit installed and hundreds of
programs left over from the ME days and after.

Is there a Microsoft product to check my computer
to see if all its content, especially programs, is
compatible with Windows 8?

Is an upgrade the best way to go?

Go here http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/buy and click
on Get
Started. When given the choice, choose Run to start the Upgrade
Assistant.
That will give you an idea of what will/will not work if you upgrade.
It's
not 100% accurate, but it's a starting point.

You can also check your programs here to see if others have deemed them
compatible or not:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/compatibility/win8/CompatCenter/Home?Language=en-US

Do a search for each program.

Go to your motherboard or PC manufacturer's site and see if they have
Windows 8 drivers for your make and model. That's a pretty good
indication
if your hardware is compatible. They may have different drivers; one
set for
"Upgrade From Windows 7 to Windows 8" and another set for
factory-installed.

16-bit programs will no longer work, so you can forget about them (if
you
have any left). I haven't seen any 32-bit programs that won't on my
64-bit
Win8 Pro (yet!!).



Thanks. Would a good test to be to connect a
Win8 Pro 64bit portable machine to the Win7
machine and try to run the Win7 programs? Would
this be definitive?


if that is the case get virtualbox it's free install. install that then
install what ever os you want then install apps you want in that.

The only problem with this, is the kinds of OS licenses available for sale.

If I look on Newegg, I can see OEM (install once on one machine, can't be moved)
or there is Upgrade (install over top of an existing OS, or use the double-install
method). So strictly by licensing terms, there's no "Retail" boxed OS, for
usage in a movable way. In the past, you could have bought an expensive Retail
version, and moved it as you saw fit.

You can buy the Upgrade version, and do the double install method, but
it's possible the Upgrade version is treated like the OEM version,
in terms of moving it. The first time you install it, the OS will be
activated against the hardware hash of the virtual machine. The second
time you install it (onto real physical hardware), the hardware hash
will look different. There's no reason for them to activate a copy
installed on a "second computer".

Consequently, the least risky way to use the VM, is to find an
"evaluation" version of Windows 8, and install that in a VM
for software testing. You can't install Windows 8 as a guest
in Virtual PC, but VirtualBox might work.

"Download Windows 8 Enterprise Evaluation - Windows 8 evaluation for developers (90 days)"

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-US/eval.../jj554510.aspx

Things that affect Windows 8:

1) NX/XD support is required, and checked during installation.
2) If your video card (or virtual equivalent) in Windows 8, has no video
driver, some kind of VESA driver stuck at 1024x768 is used. This will
prevent evaluation of "snap".
3) Hyper-V (an application provided with certain versions of Windows 8)
needs SLAT to install, a feature of the processor. I can't imagine
that being made "transparent" inside VirtualBox. Not a big deal really,
but just another hardware dependency for anyone who is counting them.

HTH,
Paul

"Paul" wrote in message regarding virtual installation on Win8

The only problem with this , is the kinds of OS licenses available for sale.

Fyi...the only Windows 8 version EULA that confers use in a virtual environment is the Personal Use for System Builder version
(full version available on 32 or 64 bit DVD).

--
....winston
msft mvp consumer apps

On 25/03/13 11:21, Paul wrote:
Darklight wrote:
On 23/03/13 04:10, Peter Jason wrote:
On Fri, 22 Mar 2013 21:31:10 -0400, "SC Tom"
wrote:



"Peter Jason" wrote in message
...
I have Win7 SP1 64bit installed and hundreds of
programs left over from the ME days and after.

Is there a Microsoft product to check my computer
to see if all its content, especially programs, is
compatible with Windows 8?

Is an upgrade the best way to go?

Go here http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/buy and click
on Get
Started. When given the choice, choose Run to start the Upgrade
Assistant.
That will give you an idea of what will/will not work if you
upgrade. It's
not 100% accurate, but it's a starting point.

You can also check your programs here to see if others have deemed them
compatible or not:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/compatibility/win8/CompatCenter/Home?Language=en-US

Do a search for each program.

Go to your motherboard or PC manufacturer's site and see if they have
Windows 8 drivers for your make and model. That's a pretty good
indication
if your hardware is compatible. They may have different drivers; one
set for
"Upgrade From Windows 7 to Windows 8" and another set for
factory-installed.

16-bit programs will no longer work, so you can forget about them
(if you
have any left). I haven't seen any 32-bit programs that won't on my
64-bit
Win8 Pro (yet!!).



Thanks. Would a good test to be to connect a
Win8 Pro 64bit portable machine to the Win7
machine and try to run the Win7 programs? Would
this be definitive?


if that is the case get virtualbox it's free install. install that
then install what ever os you want then install apps you want in that.

The only problem with this, is the kinds of OS licenses available for sale.

If I look on Newegg, I can see OEM (install once on one machine, can't
be moved)
or there is Upgrade (install over top of an existing OS, or use the
double-install
method). So strictly by licensing terms, there's no "Retail" boxed OS, for
usage in a movable way. In the past, you could have bought an expensive
Retail
version, and moved it as you saw fit.

You can buy the Upgrade version, and do the double install method, but
it's possible the Upgrade version is treated like the OEM version,
in terms of moving it. The first time you install it, the OS will be
activated against the hardware hash of the virtual machine. The second
time you install it (onto real physical hardware), the hardware hash
will look different. There's no reason for them to activate a copy
installed on a "second computer".

Consequently, the least risky way to use the VM, is to find an
"evaluation" version of Windows 8, and install that in a VM
for software testing. You can't install Windows 8 as a guest
in Virtual PC, but VirtualBox might work.

"Download Windows 8 Enterprise Evaluation - Windows 8 evaluation for
developers (90 days)"

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-US/eval.../jj554510.aspx

Things that affect Windows 8:

1) NX/XD support is required, and checked during installation.
2) If your video card (or virtual equivalent) in Windows 8, has no video
driver, some kind of VESA driver stuck at 1024x768 is used. This will
prevent evaluation of "snap".
3) Hyper-V (an application provided with certain versions of Windows 8)
needs SLAT to install, a feature of the processor. I can't imagine
that being made "transparent" inside VirtualBox. Not a big deal really,
but just another hardware dependency for anyone who is counting them.

HTH,
Paul

It only becomes a problem if you register it, If you are just testing it
don't connect to internet!. Then if you need to download any thing
do it through win7. Then from win8 access the download.

If you have a copy of winxp play with that until you know what you are
doing with virtualbox.