Windows 7 or 8 for Hoster

[Skybird74]

I'm getting ready to buy a new laptop before my old Vista decides to die. For those of you who have gone to Windows 8, can you tell me which works better with Hoster - Windows 7 or 8? I see that Windows 7 is getting hard to find, as I prefer staying with HP.

[kod]

Originally Posted by Skybird74

I'm getting ready to buy a new laptop before my old Vista decides to die. For those of you who have gone to Windows 8, can you tell me which works better with Hoster - Windows 7 or 8? I see that Windows 7 is getting hard to find, as I prefer staying with HP.

I've been looking around too. I've seen Win8 a friend has and I DO NOT want it.

I prefer to stick with Win7, but as you said, it's getting hearder to find!

I wonder, can you buy one with Win8 and then back down?

[Lonman]

I don't care for the Win 8 platform. It's really designed to be used with a touch screen, the people I know that have it still have mouse and don't like it.
But it's also set up like their smart phone, so in that respect it would probably be easy if you already know the phone.

[Skybird74]

Originally Posted by Lonman

I don't care for the Win 8 platform. It's really designed to be used with a touch screen, the people I know that have it still have mouse and don't like it.
But it's also set up like their smart phone, so in that respect it would probably be easy if you already know the phone.

Thanks. Which would you choose: 8G Ram, AMD Radeon HD graphics OR 4G Ram, Intel HD 4000 graphics. TigerDirect has the best deals I can find anywhere on new HP's. (Think it's time to upgrade my old Vista.)

I wonder how many people are still running Shows on a 7yr old laptop with XP.

[Skybird74]

Well, I made a decision and bought an HP with i5, 4G Ram & Intel HD 4000 graphics, with Win 7. Anxious to see how Hoster (and all MTU programs)will perform on it after using Vista for so long.

[Lonman]

Originally Posted by Skybird74

I wonder how many people are still running Shows on a 7yr old laptop with XP.

I ran my show for quite a few months with my 6 yr old HP laptop with Vista while my main computer was dead - that one had XP too.

[Skybird74]

Originally Posted by Lonman

I ran my show for quite a few months with my 6 yr old HP laptop with Vista while my main computer was dead - that one had XP too.

Did you run your shows with XP also? Most people that post that they do seem to be using older versions of Hoster. I am up-to-date, run my Shows (2-3 weekly) & do testing on my old Vista and it's still running smooth. But, I decided it was time to upgrade before something breaks & I have no choice but to go to Win8.

[Lonman]

I ran XP up until Oct last year when my show computer died. When I got the new computer it came with Win 7 Pro so I stuck with it. I will NOT get 8 until absolutely necessary. Win 7 should be supported for quite a few years before it's pushed off.

[Skybird74]

Originally Posted by Lonman

I ran XP up until Oct last year when my show computer died. When I got the new computer it came with Win 7 Pro so I stuck with it. I will NOT get 8 until absolutely necessary. Win 7 should be supported for quite a few years before it's pushed off.

So was it your Vista laptop that died? Your specs say it had an Intel processor. Guess I've been lucky my AMD is still running good. In fact, I have never had anything die on me yet. Guess I get a new one before anything happens. I hope to have my new one up & running by this weekend.

[Lonman]

Originally Posted by Skybird74

So was it your Vista laptop that died? Your specs say it had an Intel processor. Guess I've been lucky my AMD is still running good. In fact, I have never had anything die on me yet. Guess I get a new one before anything happens. I hope to have my new one up & running by this weekend.

No it was my XP show system that died. Motherboard fried. The Vista laptop was my backup, but I ran it from Oct to May I think it was, 7 nights a week.
And my mistake the replacement show system has Win 7 Home Prem. My test computer has Pro.

[Skybird74]

Originally Posted by Lonman

No it was my XP show system that died. Motherboard fried. The Vista laptop was my backup, but I ran it from Oct to May I think it was, 7 nights a week.
And my mistake the replacement show system has Win 7 Home Prem. My test computer has Pro.

Thanks for sharing. So, it sounds like I bought the right thing - Win7 Pro. Installing Windows Updates now. Surprised how fast it's doing that.

[kod]

Originally Posted by Lonman

I ran XP up until Oct last year when my show computer died. When I got the new computer it came with Win 7 Pro so I stuck with it. I will NOT get 8 until absolutely necessary. Win 7 should be supported for quite a few years before it's pushed off.

I totally agree with you on Win8. I'll stick with Win7 until I'm FORCED to Win8.

Does anyone know if you can back down from Win8 to Win7 if you're forced to purchase a computer with Win8?

[Lonman]

If you reformat your hard drive you should be able to load it with whatever you have - provided all of the hardware is compatible to run on the Win 7 platform - which i'd bet it would be.
Or you may be able to set up a partition on your OS hard drive and load Win 7 on that section having a choice of OS when you boot up. Not sure how that works though.

[Skybird74]

Originally Posted by kod

I totally agree with you on Win8. I'll stick with Win7 until I'm FORCED to Win8.

Does anyone know if you can back down from Win8 to Win7 if you're forced to purchase a computer with Win8?

HP gives you a choice. Win7 is considered a downgrade from Win8.

[RIKKI TIKKI]

Originally Posted by Skybird74

HP gives you a choice. Win7 is considered a downgrade from Win8.

When Vista came out and all the betas were having problems running Hoster... I downgraded to XP when I bought a new computer... been 3 or 4 yrs now, and running XP on my Show laptop, and Windows 7 on my test computer (Acer)... haven't heard anything good about Win 8, so I'll hold off until absolutely necessary!

[kod]

Originally Posted by Skybird74

HP gives you a choice. Win7 is considered a downgrade from Win8.

I Googled it and what I read is "IF" you buy a system with Win8 "PRO" (more expensive) there is a way to back down to Win7.

This is an excerpt from the article:

Hewlett-Packard is typical: It does not support downgrades of consumer-grade Windows 8 PCs to Windows 7. But if you buy a machine loaded with Windows 8 Pro, you can make the jump. HP's policy is based on Microsoft's licensing terms, which support downgrade rights only to new PCs preloaded with Windows 8 Pro, the version of Windows designed for business.

Unfortunately, machines loaded with Windows 8 Pro will demand a pricing premium over similarly spec'd Windows 8 systems. We ran a quick comparison survey of machines from HP, Dell, and Toshiba, and found that an upgrade to the Pro version of Windows 8 increased system prices anywhere between $35 and $100.

Me... I will gladly pay the difference!

[Skybird74]

Originally Posted by RIKKI TIKKI

When Vista came out and all the betas were having problems running Hoster... I downgraded to XP when I bought a new computer... been 3 or 4 yrs now, and running XP on my Show laptop, and Windows 7 on my test computer (Acer)... haven't heard anything good about Win 8, so I'll hold off until absolutely necessary!

I was answering KOD's question. He wanted to know if you can back down from Win8 to Win7. I already posted that I had already purchased an HPi5 with WIN7. That's how I know they would support a downgrade.