Fuck Win 8, Win 8.1, MS, MCD, and Prole

[Shaka Khan]

[A preemptive "FUCK YOU" and "DIAF" to Andrex, because this isn't the time and place for his snarky shilling]

I have an online test that I've been preparing for using spreadsheets and word docs the entire weekend, a graphics project that should have been finalized by now and submitted tomorrow, and a slew of other papers and work files that need to processed and submitted too (it's the midterms period).

And yet instead of doing any of that, I've spent the past 5 hours trying to get my laptop to boot up, if only to back some of the files that aren't already backed up.

It's most likely a driver issue, because it always is with this POS called Win 8.

As soon as I find a way to back up my files, I'm using my restore discs to go back to Win 7. And unless something dramatic happens soon, this will probably be the last Windows device I ever purchase.

[Shaka Khan]

I need a hug from Eel O'Brien.

[nudemacusers]

is there anything i can do to make you feel better

[Shaka Khan]

PM'd cock pics always make me feel better.

[Tasty]

Yeah well fuck you too bitch.

[Brehvolution]

Just built my new work computer and put this on it last week.

Hyper-V

[Shaka Khan]

Yeah well fuck you too bitch.

I'll take that over a regurgitated chromebook ad.

[Rusty Shackleford]

Does it boot to safe mode? Because I'm pretty sure Windows includes USB drive support for safe mode. You could just dump your files that way.

[Tasty]

Yeah well fuck you too bitch.

I'll take that over a regurgitated chromebook ad.

Actually my angle would have been Google Docs.

Have fun not recovering your important files, loser.

[Shaka Khan]

Does it boot to safe mode? Because I'm pretty sure Windows includes USB drive support for safe mode. You could just dump your files that way.

It does, and that's how I've been backing up some of my files, but it's been throwing the same random lockups I've been experiencing in safe mode.

I've narrowed it down to 8.1 having a hissyfit over my AMD drivers (latest stable release). Some of the reports I've found that drove MS to yank the 8.1 update had something to do with similar issues.

Yeah well fuck you too bitch.

I'll take that over a regurgitated chromebook ad.

Actually my angle would have been Google Docs.

Have fun not recovering your important files, loser.

The fact that I download template Office files, work on them, then submit them doesn't make Google Docs an attractive solution. But if it's any consolation, having some of my work on Google Drive is sort of the only thing preventing me from having a total meltdown.

But still, fuck you!

[Rusty Shackleford]

Well....how badly do you need the files? If there are any electronics stores near you, you could buy a cheap external HDD enclosure for ~$25. Most laptop hard drives can be yanked from the side or underside of the laptop with a small phillips screw or two. Yank the laptop drive, plug it in to the external enclosure and hook it up to another computer via USB. Voila, you have your laptop drive as a removable USB disk with (hopefully) none of the freezing issues.

Again, this all depends on just how bad you need the files.  I had to do this exact thing a few years ago for a buddy's drive.

[Shaka Khan]

Yeah, barring my HDD having issues of its own, that's going to be my last resort. I'm holding my breath and hoping it's not HW related— last fall, almost exactly a year ago, my second HDD that had all my docs shat the bed.

[Rusty Shackleford]

Yeah that's what I was thinking about your HDD possibly being the problem. They'll sit there and repeatedly attempt to read a defective sector, which can give the illusion that your computer has frozen. Obviously a little different from a total crash-and-restart.

You may...have ownership issues with the files if you access them from another computer, depending on where they're stored in the drive. That's an easy fix with another windows machine so don't panic if you get an "access denied" message from the other computer.

[Shaka Khan]

Overall, I'm just too frustrated with the frequency of issues and how poor my overall experience with Win 8 have been so far, regardless of whether it's caused by 1st or 3rd parties. I've never been in a similar situation in all the years I've been using PCs.

[Rusty Shackleford]

Windows 8 seems to be breaking a lot of otherwise working computers. Jesus, remember Vista? That thing broke all sorts of hardware. Seems to be a running gag with new MS operating systems.

[Shaka Khan]

I was wise enough to completely skip Vista, and I should have done the same with Win 8.

[Rusty Shackleford]

TBH, if you've got the enclosure already (or can get one quick enough), you should just bite the bullet and pull the drive now. The files you need so badly can become corrupted if the computer crashes while accessing/manipulating them. Multiple crashes only compound the problem.

[Rusty Shackleford]

Just built my new work computer and put this on it last week.

Hyper-V

I didn't think Hyper-V supported W8 as a guest OS. Are you running Server as the host? Because if there's a way to get W8 in a VM I'd like to try it out.

[Rusty Shackleford]

'Skip every other Windows OS' is a solid rule to compute by.

I've heard them be compared to Star Trek movies.

[Joe Molotov]

Windows 8"

[Shaka Khan]

Judging by my gaping asshole, I think you might be onto something.

[Human Snorenado]

Wanting to build a new pc this winter and having to put Win 8 on it is such a fucking downer.  Can you still buy Win 7?  Or could I just clone my existing HD to the new one, OS and all?  (keep in mind I'm the dumbest fucking person in the world to be on a tech savvy podcast.  I think I'm kept around for giggles)

[Rusty Shackleford]

They're still around on Amazon and Newegg. Full version is pretty pricey, though. You can get the Upgrade version instead for ~$120. If I were you, I'd stay away from the OEM/System Builder copies. They're cheap and they're the full/non-Upgrade version, but they're a gamble because those license keys get locked to one motherboard and it can be hard to convince MS to reactivate the key on another computer if you decide to replace the old one down the road.

[Shaka Khan]

Since the HDD isn't producing the same sounds the old one did when it broke, and I was able to back up some of the more important files when I gained access in safe mode, I decided to restore from the recovery disks that came with the laptop (Win 7). Fingers crossed.

[Shaka Khan]

Wow, sounds like a real problem.

[Tasty]

Not setting the taskbar to not collapse and to use titles 

[Rusty Shackleford]

COG, if you decide to get the Upgrade version of W7 be sure your current OS isn't an OEM version (came with the tower or laptop from the manufacturer) or an upgrade version itself. Ideally, you should have a full, non-OEM, non-Upgrade version of your current OS. I think you can use W7 Upgrade on a blank hard disk nowadays, but you may have to call MS to activate the key and you may have to prove to the MS tech support that you qualify to use the Upgrade version.

[Rusty Shackleford]

So I had a Vista laptop for the last five years. I got a Windows 7 laptop last month, and I have to say, win 7 is awful compared to Vista for image based fapping. For videos it's the same, but say you just want to have a dozen or so femjoy or hegre art model pics open. With Vista it was super easy to click back and forth between them, but with Win 7, no matter how many images you have open, it's just one tile one the taskbar. So there's an additional layer of user input required, which isn't ideal in a fap context. I imagine Windows 8 must be much the same.

You do know you can set the taskbar to not group similar icons into one icon, right? Or just, you know, use ALT-TAB like everyone else.

[fistfulofmetal]

hm, my computer booted up just fine this morning. sounds like a local issue.

[Shaka Khan]

"No disc detected. Insert the DVD-4 with the file AsusRdvd.003"

... It's not reading the 4th and final recovery DVD.

FML. For real this time.

[Rusty Shackleford]

Try burning another copy on a different computer.

[Shaka Khan]

This could be karma. I'm trying to think of everyone I've wronged in the past couple of years.

[Brehvolution]

Just built my new work computer and put this on it last week.

Hyper-V

I didn't think Hyper-V supported W8 as a guest OS. Are you running Server as the host? Because if there's a way to get W8 in a VM I'd like to try it out.

No. W8 has Hyper-V. I'm using that to run virtual servers. Today I set up my own domain. Then I tried to get a Lync 2013 server up on it.

I thought that would be fairly easy and straight-forward, but

[Shaka Khan]

Try burning another copy on a different computer.

When I first got the computer, it didn't come with a recovery disc set, but with a recovery tool to burn my own set (Asus was being cheap and stopped shipping them). When I attempted to burn the discs it constantly threw a "task could not be completed"  error, to the point where I requested a set from Asus when I shipped my laptop for repairs.

What I'm seeing right now is exactly the result of that— the guys at Asus didn't care to check whether burning the 4th disc was completed or not and shipped me an incomplete image set.

My very last hope is Positive_Touch. He has the exact same model and I hope that somehow the recovery discs are identical. If not, I'm screwed.

[nudemacusers]

hm, my computer booted up just fine this morning. sounds like a local issue.

mine works fine too

spoiler (click to show/hide)

[close]

[Rusty Shackleford]

Try burning another copy on a different computer.

When I first got the computer, it didn't come with a recovery disc set, but with a recovery tool to burn my own set (Asus was being cheap and stopped shipping them). When I attempted to burn the discs it constantly threw a "task could not be completed"  error, to the point where I requested a set from Asus when I shipped my laptop for repairs.

What I'm seeing right now is exactly the result of that— the guys at Asus didn't care to check whether burning the 4th disc was completed or not and shipped me an incomplete image set.

My very last hope is Positive_Touch. He has the exact same model and I hope that somehow the recovery discs are identical. If not, I'm screwed.

I hate how lazy the OEMs have gotten with recovery discs. The factory-pressed ones were always more reliable than ones burned by grandma at home who probably doesn't think to check their integrity periodically.

You're not screwed, but you probably will have to resort to getting that external enclosure. Barring that, if you have any copy of Windows laying around the house, you can install that just to get the files off. You don't have to activate the copy -- you won't have it on there permanently and you have 30 days to activate anyway.

[Eric P]

No. W8 has Hyper-V. I'm using that to run virtual servers. Today I set up my own domain. Then I tried to get a Lync 2013 server up on it.

I thought that would be fairly easy and straight-forward, but

ha ha ha ha ha

Lync is the box from Hellraiser;  even if you manage to solve it, it still drags your screaming soul into hell

spoiler (click to show/hide)

fuck lync.  seriously.

[close]

[Positive Touch]

My very last hope is Positive_Touch. He has the exact same model and I hope that somehow the recovery discs are identical. If not, I'm screwed.

sorry breh i was too lazy to make the backups

[Shaka Khan]

I called Asus and they basically told me to purchase the recovery discs online for $50, and when I further explained that they're responsible for leaving me with an incomplete recovery set in the first place, their best offer was to give me a 25% discount.

I just wish it wasn't the midterms' week and/or I wasn't so broke so I could react.

[Rusty Shackleford]

That's terrible. Especially since it was their own half-assed DVDs that were the problem.

Is anyone nearby with a tower and is computer savvy? You could just plug in your laptop drive into their tower and get what you need. You wouldn't even have to buy the enclosure that way.

Does one you know has an old copy of windows laying around? Even XP would work. It'll only be temporary so no worries on activation.

[Shaka Khan]

I found a random disc laying around labeled "WIN 7 x64 Ultimate", possibly after my roommate. I tried it but it wouldn't work.

[Rusty Shackleford]

It has to be bootable. It's impossible to tell just by looking at the DVD and sometimes even the MS-made ones aren't bootable.

You can make a recovery console from W7 or W8. They can create a bootable USB flash drive that runs a cutdown version of Windows designed for recovery efforts. If someone near you has W7 or W8 you should be able to make a recovery USB from their computer and a blank flash drive.

[Rusty Shackleford]

Here, try this. Kind of involved, but it's either this or pulling your drive and putting it in another computer temporarily.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/2083-system-repair-disc-create.html

There's a link at the end of the tutorial to create a bootable USB drive instead. You can do CD or a DVD or USB.

[Shaka Khan]

Oh snap, I tried again and this time it loaded up. Fingers crossed.

Edit: Shackleford, I just wanna thank you for sticking with me in these dire times. <3

[Rusty Shackleford]

Make sure it doesn't wipe your drive's main partition. I think the install discs also have a recovery console option too if you don't want to wait for a full install.

[Rusty Shackleford]

No problem. I know what a pain in the ass this is. I had to do it a while back with a bad tower HDD so I became familiar with all the hoops.

[Rusty Shackleford]

Right click the taskbar. It should buried somewhere in the properties box.

ALT-TAB's been around since the NT/3.1 days.

[MCD]

Why install new OS and Driver updates on your work PC in the first place. And MS yanked RT, not 8.

Blame yourself, AMD or god.

[Diunx]

Lol why do people keep bothering with windows 8?

[Shaka Khan]

Why install new OS and Driver updates on your work PC in the first place. And MS yanked RT, not 8.

Blame yourself, AMD or god.

Because it's my personal and only computer, and I foolishly expected the updates to improve the unreliable Win 8, and to be stable enough to allow my system to continue working. The AMD drivers were updated months ago, 8.1 is the new variable.

This whole OS has been nothing but trouble since it was introduced, but you're still right— I blame myself for being stupid enough to trust MS and purchase the knee-jerk-reaction of products.

I hope they continue losing market share and relevance.

[Shaka Khan]

Oh, and Xbone sucks!

[MCD]

every windows is unreliable when its infested with oem crap software and drivers. expecting your situation to improve with 8.1, a major os update that requires new drivers and updates is plain foolish.

do a clean ISO reformat or don't bother again.

and I'm pretty sure your windows 7 is still working, escha.

[archnemesis]

Updating to 8.1 went smoothly for me. Nothing broke and I didn't have to reinstall anything. In general you should not use any of Microsoft's pre-release builds outside of test environments.

[MCD]

and if you want a windows 8 key, shaka, you know who to pm.

[Van Cruncheon]

:-(

[Shaka Khan]

I was angry and said some things I didn't mean.

Anyhow, crisis averted— the recovery process, even though it failed by the fourth DVD, backed up my stuff into Wondows.old so I didn't lose anything (but an entire day); I installed Win7 Ultimate from the disc I found laying around, it only came with a 3 day trial; Shackleford () reminded me that I can download the Win 7 Home Premium ISO from Digital River (who handles MS ISO dist.) and use the key I have on the bottom of my laptop, and it worked!

Now I have a fully functional, genuine Win 7 OS. And even though I miss some of the graphical and overall enhancements of Win 8, I'm so glad to have all my HW's bells and whistles running again smoothly with no driver BS or compromises. I'm more than willing to ride this for a couple more years.

[MCD]

it's cool. I don't think prole took any offense nor did I. it's the bore etc.

for an ease of mind, please consider buying your next laptop from your nearest Microsoft Store for the optimum experience and Microsoft Signature.

[Tasty]

I took offense but I got over it.

[MCD]

it's working then!

[Shaka Khan]

Guys, the title was a joke even at the height of my frustration.