# Best SSD for Windows Xp



## spectre1

Hello I was wondering if anyone on the Forums here has any experience with ssd drives and windows xp Pro? What would be the best ssd for it as well?















:

Thanks.


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## scottb75

The problem with installing XP on an SSD is that XP does not have the TRIM command.


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## TekWarfare

Windows XP is an old Operating System and doesn't support SSD's all too well, unlike Windows 7. If you are to get a SSD then I suggest disabling the scheduled "Disk Defragment" which comes with Windows XP.

No SSD is suited to an OS, you are best helped if we better understand your needs for the drive, e.g. gaming, editing etc...


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## PhilWrir

XP can run SSD drives, but they will degrade pretty quickly. If memory serves only Win 7 has built in Maintenance for SSD Drives.
What will you be doing with it? And how often will you be willing to replace the drive because it degrades?
In XP you would be better off just getting a Velociraptor Drive.


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## DuckieHo

Quote:


Originally Posted by *scottb75* 
The problem with installing XP on an SSD is that XP does not have the TRIM command.

That's why he's asking.

He could get an SSD with Idle Time Garbage Collection (ITGC) or one with a cleaner application.

Intel G2 SSD Optimizer works in XP: http://download.intel.com/support/ss...oolbox_fqa.pdf

Indilinx SSDs have ITGC and a Wiper Tool.

Samsung controllers have ITGC as well but they aren't as good.


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## ACHILEE5

I'd get an Intel and as ^^ said, run the Intel SSD Toolbox


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## scottb75

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ACHILEE5* 
I'd get an Intel and as ^^ said, run the Intel SSD Toolbox









Yes that would be the best bet, the Toolbox works well.


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## H969

Quote:


Originally Posted by *spectre1* 
Hello I was wondering if anyone on the Forums here has any experience with ssd drives and windows xp Pro? What would be the best ssd for it as well?















:

Thanks.

Intel's where made for XP, I ran two different Intel SSD's with XP and they worked fine, just use the Intel tool box like once a week and it will trim your drive very nicely, in like 10 minutes or less.
Only thing is XP will not align your Intel SSD, so if you do an AS-SSD bench test it will show as 31K misaligned, I did testing with the drive aligned and unaligned and there was little difference in performance.
http://www.overclock.net/9744525-post79.html


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## Kramy

Quote:


Originally Posted by *scottb75* 
The problem with installing XP on an SSD is that XP does not have the TRIM command.

Which means he needs a Vertex 1, flashed with the v1.6 garbage collecting firmware.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *TekWarfare* 
*No SSD is suited to an OS*, you are best helped if we better understand your needs for the drive, e.g. gaming, editing etc...

Not true! I gather the C300 is only suited towards Win7. Sandforce drives are great on Linux/OSX(?)/Win7, and Indilinx drives are great on WinXP+/Linux.

Or something like that.

I'm not quite sure where Intel drives fit in... they all appear to have similar names to me.









Quote:


Originally Posted by *H969* 
Only thing is XP will not align your Intel SSD, so if you do an AS-SSD bench test it will show as 31K misaligned, I did testing with the drive aligned and unaligned and there was little difference in performance.
http://www.overclock.net/9744525-post79.html

I believe it matters for Indilinx SSDs. Good thing you can download a Vista or Win7 System Repair disk - which apparently can partition/align drives?

Just make one big NTFS partition, then get out of there and install XP.


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## H969

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Kramy* 
Which means he needs a Vertex 1, flashed with the v1.6 garbage collecting firmware.

Not true! I gather the C300 is only suited towards Win7. Sandforce drives are great on Linux/OSX(?)/Win7, and Indilinx drives are great on WinXP+/Linux.

Or something like that.

I'm not quite sure where Intel drives fit in... they all appear to have similar names to me.









I believe it matters for Indilinx SSDs. Good thing you can download a Vista or Win7 System Repair disk - which apparently can partition/align drives?

Just make one big NTFS partition, then get out of there and install XP.

Paragon Alignment Tool, is the easy way to align all your drive's and is stated to extend the life of your SSD's, and it does it on an active drive, I have used it on all my drives, wonderful tool!
It is a GUI tool that will show all your drives and tells you if your drive supports alignment, or does not support. It also gives color codes to your drives..Green Optimally aligned partition, Yellow Non-Optimally aligned partion.
I had an Intel SSD 80gb g2 & 40gb g2, that W7 did the align to I dont remember something like 130,424 ( I see that all most all SSD intel or not ) show this high number. Now the 40gb is 1024 and the 80gb is 2048.
You just select an Non-optimally aligned partition and it goes to work..simple!
Pargon Alignment white paper link, you fill in the form and they email you the link,http://www.paragon-software.com/land...ment_tool.html
Pargon Alignment Tool, sorry is no longer free.


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## TheDreadedGMan

Sandforce.

Since it's TRIM is sort-of pointless anyway.

Be sure to read an "align your partition" guide or use a Win7/WinVista boot disc to partition your drive first.

Also, Intel would not require alignment since it compensates for bad alignment, and it has the Intel Toolbox...


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## DuckieHo

Quote:



Originally Posted by *TheDreadedGMan*


Sandforce.

Since it's TRIM is sort-of pointless anyway.

Be sure to read an "align your partition" guide or use a Win7/WinVista boot disc to partition your drive first.

Also, Intel would not require alignment since it compensates for bad alignment, and it has the Intel Toolbox...


SandForce still need TRIM.

How does Intel compensate for a bad alignment?


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## TheDreadedGMan

Quote:



Originally Posted by *DuckieHo*


SandForce still need TRIM.

How does Intel compensate for a bad alignment?


1. Sandforce needs TRIM? I was under the impression they just added TRIM support so they could pass the Windows Logo requirements.

2. I am not sure on the technical details, but I assume it detects if small read/writes are not aligned with sector/block boundaries and offsets the actual data on the drive... I've noticed that in reviews the unaligned numbers are generally the same as the aligned numbers, and also the few unaligned results in my AS SSD Thread have been the same as the aligned numbers, or within the margin of error...
*EDIT:* Also I found one source of similar information: Anandtech article

Quote:



Originally Posted by *Anand Article*

*Some controllers* take this into account when mapping LBAs to page addresses, which generates additional overhead but makes for relatively similar performance regardless of OS/partition alignment. Other controllers skip the management overhead and just perform worse under Windows XP without partition alignment as file system writes are not automatically aligned with the SSD's internal pages.


My assumption is: Since X25 series was designed back before Win 7 was the popular new OS, and Win XP was still widely used, and Vista was new, that Intel would make it perform well out of the box.


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## DuckieHo

Quote:



Originally Posted by *TheDreadedGMan*


1. Sandforce needs TRIM? I was under the impression they just added TRIM support so they could pass the Windows Logo requirements.

2. I am not sure on the technical details, but I assume it detects if small read/writes are not aligned with sector/block boundaries and offsets the actual data on the drive... I've noticed that in reviews the unaligned numbers are generally the same as the aligned numbers, and also the few unaligned results in my AS SSD Thread have been the same as the aligned numbers, or within the margin of error... My assumption is (since I can't find the data that I read at one stage that mentioned the alignment compensation,) is: Since X25 series was designed back before Win 7 was the popular new OS, and Win XP was still widely used, and Vista was new, that Intel would make it perform well out of the box.


1) Yes, SandForce needs TRIM. SandForce compresses data during writes but it will still suffer performance degradation if it can't find clean blocks to write to.

2) Misalignment is caused OS when it creates the file system starting at Block 63 (0-63) instead of the next block. The solution is to make sure the file system starts at the begin of a block so it doesn't cross over so many block boundries. Alignment only has to be done once and it is good until the file system is recreated.


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## Dhalmel

If you have cash to buy a SSD, you have cash to upgrade to Windows 7. You're just gimping yourself with XP as others have stated.


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## TheDreadedGMan

Quote:



Originally Posted by *DuckieHo*


1) Yes, SandForce needs TRIM. SandForce compresses data during writes but it will still suffer performance degradation if it can't find clean blocks to write to.

2) Misalignment is caused OS when it creates the file system starting at Block 63 (0-63) instead of the next block. The solution is to make sure the file system starts at the begin of a block so it doesn't cross over so many block boundries. Alignment only has to be done once and it is good until the file system is recreated.


1. Is there any easy way to check that Sandforce actually degrades from lack of TRIM? OCZ Forum about how Sandforce works

2. I'm not trying to argue what misalignment is and what it's caused by, I'm just saying some Controllers do compensate for it, so you don't *have* to even know about alignment when you install Win XP/Vista... I personally DO suggest knowing about it and doing it right since you only have to do it once.


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## DuckieHo

Quote:



Originally Posted by *TheDreadedGMan*


1. Is there any easy way to check that Sandforce actually degrades from lack of TRIM? OCZ Forum about how Sandforce works

2. I'm not trying to argue what misalignment is and what it's caused by, I'm just saying some Controllers do compensate for it, so you don't *have* to even know about alignment when you install Win XP/Vista... I personally DO suggest knowing about it and doing it right since you only have to do it once.


1) All NAND performance degrade without TRIM. SandForce and Intel controllers are just more resilent to degradation. That does not mean they don't need TRIM.

2) X25-M G2 120GB does 37MB/s at 4K random write while it does 46MB/s at 4K random write aligned.


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## TheDreadedGMan

OK I think arguing this point is pointless perhaps?

My main point: Sandforce compresses the data before storing it on the drive, so the relationship of actual filesystem blocks etc is not 1:1 with data on the drive... in any way, shape or form... So TRIM perhaps helps, but from the link to the OCZ forums I posted, you can read OCZ staff saying it's not using those TRIM commands to TRIM the drive right away, and *POSSIBLY* EVER... Which would make it an excellent candidate for Win XP.

A secondary point: Some SSDs have *SOME* alignment compensation... however as you've pointed out it's not 100%, and it's always good to align the drive, and I AGREE, but I was just pointing out the difference in that some controllers don't do *ANY* compensation.


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## Old Hippie

Quote:



and Win XP was still widely used, and Vista was new, that Intel would make it perform well out of the box.


Unfortunately that wasn't the case with XP.

I used a first generation GSkill and an Intel 80GB G1 with XP and alignment was very necessary.

I used DiskPart to align before the install.

For some reason I'm thinking that the Intel units didn't use any compensation and were severely effected by misalignment......But as usual I could be thinking entirely incorrect!


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## parityboy

As far as I am aware the Crucual C-series SSDs have built in garbage collection, so they shouldn't need to rely on TRIM support from the OS.


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## Kramy

Quote:



Originally Posted by *parityboy*


As far as I am aware the Crucual C-series SSDs have built in garbage collection, so they shouldn't need to rely on TRIM support from the OS.


Performance degrades a lot without TRIM.

All current-gen SSDs have active or passive garbage collection. (my terms - nothing official) It's just a question of how effective the GC is.

Active would be where the SSD pre-erases lots of blocks, to ensure maximum write speeds when it's time to start writing. Indilinx controllers have the best active garbage collection. JMicron controllers probably have the worst.

Passive is where the SSD pre-calculates where to erase lots of blocks, but waits until it's necessary. This allows smarter decision making thanks to the calculations done when idle, yet avoids wasting lifespan by making prediction errors. Sandforce controllers have the best passive garbage collection.

You can find references to these styles of garbage collection on the OCZ forums, although they aren't explained as concisely as this.

Ex: I saw some posts saying Sandforce controllers have different modes that they flip to. Under heavy write workloads, performance drops after a while to improve longevity. This behaviour can be explained by there being a queue of _good blocks to erase_ that gets emptied. Rather than making less optimal decisions once it runs out, the Sandforce controller throttles itself.

It may also opt to cache data until there's enough writes to fill 100% of a NAND block... once it determines that it's being thrashed.

Under light desktop use (where log files increase by 16KB/minute, and stuff like that), caching data for that long wouldn't be a good idea. It's much more likely to flush it to NAND far sooner.


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## spectre1

Hey Everyone Thanks for all the Input. I think I should just save a bit more so I can upgrade to win 7, although I hate to leave my XP pro it looks like I don't have a choice.


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## H969

Why leave XP pro if you like it? I loved XP pro,it is lean & mean, I did not leave it for my SSD's I left it for 64 bit when I built my I7 sys., Also it was cheaper to get W7 64bit sys. builders for $120 than get the 64 bit XP. I think Microsoft is supporting XP until 2015.. I am sure someone will correct me on this but it is still supported.


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## Zardiw

Intel rules on SSD's from what I've heard.........I also want to run XP on an SSD.......Can I just slap my C: image onto it?.........z


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## Zardiw

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Dhalmel*
> 
> If you have cash to buy a SSD, you have cash to upgrade to Windows 7. You're just gimping yourself with XP as others have stated.


That's not the POINT. The POINT is he wants to run XP, so 'recos' on other OS's are pointless and a waste of board space.

FWIW, I LOVE XP.....and will run it as long as I can..........I don't need a bunch of overhead and fancy shmancy crap slowing down my system, NOT allowing me to do the stuff I can now, and making my life miserable....................z


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## Zardiw

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *parityboy*
> 
> As far as I am aware the Crucual C-series SSDs have built in garbage collection, so they shouldn't need to rely on TRIM support from the OS.


Good engineering!.........all this should be built into the controller anyway.........why make the OS do crap it doesn't need to.......z


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## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Zardiw*
> 
> Intel rules on SSD's from what I've heard.........I also want to run XP on an SSD.......Can I just slap my C: image onto it?.........z


Yes you can put your image onto the SSD, you just need to make sure it fits and the partitions are aligned correctly.

BTW. This thread is like 2 years old...it was dead for quite a while.


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## Zardiw

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> Yes you can put your image onto the SSD, you just need to make sure it fits and the partitions are aligned correctly.
> BTW. This thread is like 2 years old...it was dead for quite a while.


Thanks for the response!.......Great news........And it may be old, but the information isn't.......and I found it with Google.......I don't believe in 'old thread bashing'....lol......cause the information is the point, not the age.........fwiw I'm pretty old too.........lol.............z


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## Zardiw

PS......I am SO glad I got Acronis to do images of my main partition........has saved me probably YEARS........and I haven't been forced to reinstall windows in like 9 years .......lol.......You have no idea how much I hate the 'OH...well, just reinstall windows dude' response.........lol........z


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## Sean Webster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Zardiw*
> 
> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> Originally Posted by *Sean Webster*
> 
> Yes you can put your image onto the SSD, you just need to make sure it fits and the partitions are aligned correctly.
> BTW. This thread is like 2 years old...it was dead for quite a while.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks for the response!.......Great news........And it may be old, but the information isn't.......and I found it with Google.......I don't believe in 'old thread bashing'....lol......cause the information is the point, not the age.........fwiw I'm pretty old too.........lol.............z
Click to expand...

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Zardiw*
> 
> PS......I am SO glad I got Acronis to do images of my main partition........has saved me probably YEARS........and I haven't been forced to reinstall windows in like 9 years .......lol.......You have no idea how much I hate the 'OH...well, just reinstall windows dude' response.........lol........z


I personally think reinstalling Windows is the best thing to do tho


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## Kramy

Heh... funny how things change.

My Indilinx SSD crapped out. Then OCZ put out 1.7 firmware which revived it, and it's been working fine to this day. Sandforce put out their buggy SF2281 drives (only 6 months to be fixed!), which do have very decent ITGC. (Someone told me it triggers after hitting 85% used blocks?) Intel put out their buggy 320 drives, then fixed the severe data corruption issue. And Crucial released their M4 - a revised C300, which is far faster and depends less on TRIM. Actually, it's currently _the_ drive to have. (reliability wise)

OCZ put out their Indilinx-based Petrol series a few months back, but the firmware is bad and they're all dying. The Indilinx-based Vertex 4 just came out a week ago, but nobody knows yet whether it'll be stable or a timebomb waiting to go off.

Heh... I wonder if someone will revive this thread again in 2 years? Then I'll have a look at how things have changed yet again.


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## Hermanson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Kramy*
> 
> Heh... funny how things change.
> 
> Heh... I wonder if someone will revive this thread again in 2 years? Then I'll have a look at how things have changed yet again.


That would be me, but it's been 3 years. Microsoft has quit supporting XP (glad auto manufacturers aren't like them) and I've finally loaded Win7. After running it for a while I don't really see the advantage, until I do my next build with a MB that can support more than 4 G of memory.

So I am sticking with XP for now because it has served me well for many years and it is all I seem to need. More importantly, to keep up in my industry I have to learn and relearn new versions of many software programs continually. If my operating system does not have to be one of them, I will use the time more productively.

So I am wanting to add an SSD to my system as my only drive. I don't need it, but if it will allow me to work faster, I can have more time for other things. I have purchased, not received yet, a Samsung 850 EVO 250G. I understand that I may need trim software and have read that Samsung SSD's have trim software included or available for their drives. I am not planning to install WinXP on my new SSD, but will be cloning my current SATA XP hard drive to my new SSD using Addonics mini drive duplicator, hopefully.

I see where I can change my SATA preference to AHCI in my ASUS P5QL-CM bios, but I have not yet found the Win XP 32-bit ACHI drivers for the Intel ICH10 chipset that my ASUS MB uses. I know I can install them before I switch to the SSD but am not sure how to install them without reloading WinXP. (I say NO to reloads).

So I need help with those two things.....and maybe some other things that I have not thought of.

All comments appreciated.

Hermanson


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## tylerand

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Hermanson*
> 
> That would be me, but it's been 3 years. Microsoft has quit supporting XP (glad auto manufacturers aren't like them) and I've finally loaded Win7. After running it for a while I don't really see the advantage, until I do my next build with a MB that can support more than 4 G of memory.
> 
> So I am sticking with XP for now because it has served me well for many years and it is all I seem to need. More importantly, to keep up in my industry I have to learn and relearn new versions of many software programs continually. If my operating system does not have to be one of them, I will use the time more productively.
> 
> So I am wanting to add an SSD to my system as my only drive. I don't need it, but if it will allow me to work faster, I can have more time for other things. I have purchased, not received yet, a Samsung 850 EVO 250G. I understand that I may need trim software and have read that Samsung SSD's have trim software included or available for their drives. I am not planning to install WinXP on my new SSD, but will be cloning my current SATA XP hard drive to my new SSD using Addonics mini drive duplicator, hopefully.
> 
> I see where I can change my SATA preference to AHCI in my ASUS P5QL-CM bios, but I have not yet found the Win XP 32-bit ACHI drivers for the Intel ICH10 chipset that my ASUS MB uses. I know I can install them before I switch to the SSD but am not sure how to install them without reloading WinXP. (I say NO to reloads).
> 
> So I need help with those two things.....and maybe some other things that I have not thought of.
> 
> All comments appreciated.
> 
> Hermanson


Hey, i see you're new to the board so welcome.

That being said, you'll probably do better making a new thread rather than reviving a 3 year old thread.


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## Kramy

Looks like Vertex 4's were da bomb... at least if you like to sleep your computer.














I've still got my Crucial M4 - working well to this day. I've also rolled out a bunch of M500's, MX100's, MX200's, etc. for people and businesses; zero failures to date. I'm staying away from TLC drives (including the EVO drives), since they back themselves into a corner more easily. They should be fine for desktop use and limited multitasking, but I did manage to completely kill two more TLC drives. At one point I was running so many programs on my PC, my 512GB Crucial M4 SSD (C Drive) was getting thrashed. (~8 full erases per day! My average erase count increased by 500 in a few months.)

Hermanson: You're best off going for Win7 (for driver/software support, proper TRIM) and then tweaking it to be more like WinXP. Win7 makes better usage of RAM and I/O resources, so you'll get more performance under AHCI mode in Win7 with an SSD than you will under WinXP. It's especially noticeable with older Intel Atom / 16GB SSD netbooks - WinXP is slow as molasses, Win7 is alright, and Win10 is rather snappy given the age of the computers.

Although many GUI options are buried several layers deep, they are there, and you can change Win7's style back to what you like. (WinXP) Win7 is the last version of Windows to be almost fully customizable back to WinXP's style.

If you insist on using WinXP, I suspect these floppy drivers are what you need:
https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/17882/Intel-Matrix-Storage-Manager

Microsoft has a Fixit Tool for AHCI migrations. You run it, reboot into BIOS, flip to AHCI, then fire up Windows and install AHCI drivers. Reboot once more and you're done.

I've only tested it on Win Vista and up. It has info about registry keys, so maybe you can get it to work on WinXP. Maybe.







But WinXP has no built-in AHCI drivers unless you slipstream them, so odds are you'll just get a BSOD after turning on AHCI mode in the BIOS.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/922976

Back when I was using WinXP primarily, I got into nLite slipstreaming, tweaking my OS greatly, and making it auto-reinstall most of my apps and restore/reconfigure my commonly used software. I slipstreamed AHCI drivers using it. With Win7 my OS has been more stable... I have not reinstalled in years.


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## Hermanson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *tylerand*
> 
> Hey, i see you're new to the board so welcome.
> 
> That being said, you'll probably do better making a new thread rather than reviving a 3 year old thread.


Thank you.
Yes, I am new the to board, but only as a poster. I've been reading this board for years, getting good information.

And although I am new here, I've been on enough forums to realize my need called for a new thread.
But, I did think that it was comical that the old thread had already been revived after being dead for two years, updated with new information, and yet I was still reading it to learn about things I did not know. : ) I thought maybe we'd give it one more life.

If it were a cat, it would have seven more lives coming. : )

That said, if I do not get the responses I need here, I will start a new thread. that's why I finally joined the forum.

Thanks again.


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## tylerand

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Hermanson*
> 
> Thank you.
> Yes, I am new the to board, but only as a poster. I've been reading this board for years, getting good information.
> 
> And although I am new here, I've been on enough forums to realize my need called for a new thread.
> But, I did think that it was comical that the old thread had already been revived after being dead for two years, updated with new information, and yet I was still reading it to learn about things I did not know. : ) I thought maybe we'd give it one more life.
> 
> If it were a cat, it would have seven more lives coming. : )
> 
> That said, if I do not get the responses I need here, I will start a new thread. that's why I finally joined the forum.
> 
> Thanks again.


Looks like i was wrong anyhow, as Kramy swooped in with a pretty darn helpful post anyhow







.


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## Hermanson

Thanks for the reply.

I know I may be better off with Win7, in some ways, and will probably continue to use it for wordprocessing, spreadsheets, emails, and web research.

But in the near term, I would be better off time-wise, if i could get an SSD working with my current XP installation, thereby saving the days and dollars necessary to reload or migrate the custom engineering software I use in business and the reliabel outdated software (pre "activation days") that would have to be purchased, loaded, and relearned. This old dog doesn't like new tricks. : )

I did spend a few hours trying to make Win7 look more like the windows I am used to, to make the change easier.
But I had done the same thing when I migrated to WinXP, so my Win theme looks like Windows 2000 Pro or maybe Win 98 ?!?! : )
I don't seem to be able to replicate that look and feel in Win7.

Thanks for the links. I will explore them.


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## Kramy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *tylerand*
> 
> Looks like i was wrong anyhow, as Kramy swooped in with a pretty darn helpful post anyhow
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> .


Hehe... I'm on instant email notifications for most threads that I posted in. Although I'm busier with life now, and don't often browse these boards... if someone needs some help I'll still drop by.








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Hermanson*
> 
> Thanks for the reply.
> 
> I know I may be better off with Win7, in some ways, and will probably continue to use it for wordprocessing, spreadsheets, emails, and web research.
> 
> But in the near term, I would be better off time-wise, if i could get an SSD working with my current XP installation, thereby saving the days and dollars necessary to reload or migrate the custom engineering software I use in business and the reliabel outdated software (pre "activation days") that would have to be purchased, loaded, and relearned. This old dog doesn't like new tricks. : )
> ...
> Thanks for the links. I will explore them.


Migrating custom engineering software could be a challenge. I know that many older pieces of software are never updated to be compatible with newer versions of Windows... or if they are, sometimes they want you to pay thousands to upgrade to it. That's awkward, and I don't have a solution for that... except keeping the old PC onhand for certain projects (Cheaper than thousands of dollars for new software.), and eventually moving to a totally new PC down the road. Either that or invest the time to figure out how to migrate it.

Win7 Pro does have Windows XP mode - if only a single piece of software isn't functioning in Win7, you could virtualize it. Probably easier to reinstall WinXP engineering software in a WinXP VM, then copy over config files and stuff. Only problem is, you're then in a VM with poor 3D acceleration and tons of CPU overhead.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-ca/windows7/install-and-use-windows-xp-mode-in-windows-7

Not all older pieces of software are "Program Files (x86)" aware, so their config files can break when running on 64bit Win7. If dealing with such software, I would just override where it goes. Stick the old 32bit software in "Program Files" even though 32bit software is supposed to go in x86. If necessary, hard-link the folder into the right spot. Some software wants to be in the root C drive... stick it where it wants to go.

Also, Win7 only has so many spots for config files... if not the application's folder, *%appdata%\Roaming* is usually where it goes, sometimes *%appdata%\Local*, almost never %appdata%\LocalLow, but occasionally in *%ProgramData%*. These are hidden folders that are easy to get to by typing in the %folder% into a Windows Run box.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Hermanson*
> 
> I did spend a few hours trying to make Win7 look more like the windows I am used to, to make the change easier.
> But I had done the same thing when I migrated to WinXP, so my Win theme looks like Windows 2000 Pro or maybe Win 98 ?!?! : )
> I don't seem to be able to replicate that look and feel in Win7.


Hey, that sounds like my theme!







I like my classic Windows look and feel.










As I started to use more and more software, WinXP just did not cope with it properly. In Win7, I've set up Workspaces, so that I actually have ~6 desktops to play with, all full of running programs. Memory usage varies... sometimes ~15GB, sometimes ~25GB. 32GB of RAM seems to be adequate for extreme multitasking. (Almost never closing anything.)

I was just browsing my start menu... I'd have about 800 things to reinstall if moving to a new PC.


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## tylerand

Quote:


> Heh... I wonder if someone will revive this thread again in 2 years? Then I'll have a look at how things have changed yet again. smile.gif


Just noticed that part now in your other post.

I like it.


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## Hermanson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Kramy*
> 
> Hey, that sounds like my theme!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I like my classic Windows look and feel.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> As I started to use more and more software, WinXP just did not cope with it properly. In Win7, I've set up Workspaces, so that I actually have ~6 desktops to play with, all full of running programs. Memory usage varies... sometimes ~15GB, sometimes ~25GB. 32GB of RAM seems to be adequate for extreme multitasking. (Almost never closing anything.)
> 
> I was just browsing my start menu... I'd have about 800 things to reinstall if moving to a new PC.


Yes I am in the same boat. I will probably run one machine WinXp and the other Win7. But I'd like SSD's on both of them.

Say, how did you get classic menus in Win7. I changed a few things, but couldn't find that switch.

Hermanson


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## Hermanson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *tylerand*
> 
> Just noticed that part now in your other post.
> 
> I like it.


Glad you like it. : )

Hermanson


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## Kramy

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Hermanson*
> 
> Yes I am in the same boat. I will probably run one machine WinXp and the other Win7. But I'd like SSD's on both of them.


I can't argue with that.








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Hermanson*
> 
> Say, how did you get classic menus in Win7. I changed a few things, but couldn't find that switch.


You'll have to install third party software for that. I use Classic Shell and 7 Taskbar Tweaker to get the style and features that I want from a start menu and the taskbar.

http://www.classicshell.net/
http://rammichael.com/7-taskbar-tweaker

I'm also using the AllSnap 1.5 beta to make Windows snap together when they get 8px close, so that they line up nicely. Helps a lot when laying out a grid of windows to work on.
http://ivanheckman.com/allsnap/

And when there's too many Windows, I fall back to workspaces. (Alternate Windows Desktops)
http://virtuawin.sourceforge.net/

Takes a bit of effort to get that last one set up. You'll have to decide what sort of hotkeys to use to flip desktops, move windows between them, etc.; there's also a necessary tweak to get things like Steam windows to work properly. If you use Steam, let me know and I'll provide the details.

When everything is configured though, multitasking is very smooth.







At this point, I miss multiple desktops ("workspaces") on any computer that doesn't have them. I used to use them on WinXP as well, but they weren't perfectly stable. They work a lot better on Win7 and up.


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## Hermanson

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Kramy*
> 
> You'll have to install third party software for that. I use Classic Shell and 7 Taskbar Tweaker to get the style and features that I want from a start menu and the taskbar.
> 
> http://www.classicshell.net/
> http://rammichael.com/7-taskbar-tweaker
> 
> I'm also using the AllSnap 1.5 beta to make Windows snap together when they get 8px close, so that they line up nicely. Helps a lot when laying out a grid of windows to work on.
> http://ivanheckman.com/allsnap/
> 
> And when there's too many Windows, I fall back to workspaces. (Alternate Windows Desktops)
> http://virtuawin.sourceforge.net/


Thanks for the tip on these Win7 modifiers. They will make my transition much less painful.

Hermanson


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