[Elecraft] OT- experience porting XP->WIN7

[Joe Subich, W4TV]

> I often wonder why folks will abandon a perfectly good working
> system just to have the "latest and greatest". Just look at all the
> pain you go through and then ask yourself what the benefits are.

As I wrote on another list just a day or two ago, there are many
reasons to upgrade both hardware and operating systems -particularly
when one is using Windows XP with hardware commonly available when
XP was the newest and greatest.  Current hardware - particularly
the mid-speed Intel i5 processor and its AMD equivalents are much
faster - typically eight processor units (four hyperthreading cores)
- and the support chipsets are capable of much higher data through-
put (disk access rates) that there is simply no comparison when one
runs multiple programs or sets of programs.  For example, most of
the logging (particularly contest logging) environments severely
stress a single or dual core Pentium processor that was the norm
before the introduction of Windows Vista.  Those support chip sets
do not contain the Windows High Performance Event Timer [HPET] used
by 2Tone and EXTFSK 2 for bit bang FSK generation or by some loggers
for CW generation.  The dual core Pentium processor is simply maxed
out when doing CW or FSK, logging, running Cluster, etc.  not to
mention trying to handle DSP necessary to run an SDR Console for
sound card based Panadapter (or CW Skimmer), etc.

Both operating systems and PC hardware have advanced light years
in the nearly 13 years since Windows XP first appeared in preview
mode and even in the eight years since Windows Vista.  Those old
platforms are as much off the developers' RADAR as 16 bit Windows 3.1,
95, and 98 ... reactionary attempts to keep those platforms going
not withstanding.

73,

    ... Joe, W4TV


On 2014-11-19 11:33 AM, Richard Solomon wrote:
> I often wonder why folks will abandon a perfectly good working system
> just to
> have the "latest and greatest".  Just look at all the pain you go
> through and then
> ask yourself what the benefits are.
>
> As for me, I picked up a Shuttle machine with WIN8.1 and 16 GB of RAM.
> It sits
> on the test bench awaiting the day my old XP Station machine finally
> dies. Not
> until then will I embark on the self-torture of updating.
>
> 73, Dick, W1KSZ
>
>
> On 11/19/2014 7:39 AM, brian wrote:
>> You often see postings here advocating abandoning XP in favor of newer
>> OS's.   Yeah sounds great, but the devil is in the details.
>>
>> I just finished a port to a faster refurbed multicore WIN7 machine.
>>
>> The task involved:
>> 1)50 programs and data
>> 2) 3 sound cards (4 if you include the video)
>> 3) eight USB ports of stuff
>> 4) five RS232 ports of stuff
>> 5) one lpt port
>> 6) Networking with XP computers
>> 7) Internet
>>
>> I started October 23.  Finally I have 98% of what I had working under
>> XP.   It took an estimated 80 hours of work and cost in excess of
>> $500.  Admittedly, I'm on the low knowledge end of OS stuff (and maybe
>> in the majority of ham users in that regard).
>>
>> The most difficult parts were:
>> 1) Device drivers.  Trial and error process.
>> 2) Sound card problems.  It's a zoo.
>> 3) Networking  (it takes 15 at first unknown steps in several pull
>> down boxes to do what a single click in XP used to do)
>>
>> I still have one unresolved issue with the motherboard sound.  It
>> simply won't output anything via line out.  I'm almost convinced that
>> the sound out hardware is bad.    It's quite possible on the refurbed
>> machine that the previous owner clobbered the hardware. WIN7 seems a
>> bit flaky in sound card stuff.
>>
>> It isn't a trivial process unless you're just interested in E-mail,
>> Internet browsing and a few spreadsheet programs.
>>
>> Thank goodness WIN7 isn't bleeding edge.  I can't imagine doing this
>> for a newly released OS.  GOOGLE is your friend in the process.
>>
>> 73 de Brian/K3KO
>>
>>
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