Installing Windows 7 onto a new HDD, (The good, bad and Ugly).

Damn you guys are getting ripped price wise...
Anyway, if you have a Win installation disk it should be easy upgrading to a new HDD. Problems start when you have to clone disks etc.
And yes use Youtube, there are probably dozens of vids detailing the process....

PS! I would suggest upgrading to a solid state drive SSD, their prices have come down considerably here in the US...

Cheers

Why not buyin an SSD?

1. This post belongs in off topic. It has nothing to do with internet marketing
   
   
2. You don't need a new hard drive. You can just reformat the old one, wiping Windows 10 off of it. You can also dual boot Windows 7 and Windows 10 if you want both (though personally I think this is a waste of hard drive space). That said, if you don't have another copy of Windows 10 and want to be able to use it in the future, I suppose you could get a new hard drive and use the old one as a Windows 10 backup. It would probably be cheaper just to download Windows 10 later if you want it (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/soft...d/windows10ISO) -- just be sure you save your product key so you can install it.
   
   Of course, even if you don't need a new hard drive, you may want a new one -- salegurus is right that SSDs are really nice and it might be cheaper to buy a second disk rather than getting one preinstalled when you buy this laptop. Just make sure before you buy a new disk that the old one isn't soldered in. Macs, for instance, solder everything in: batteries, RAM chips, hard drives, etc., making it difficult, dangerous or expensive to upgrade anything.
   
   
3. This shouldn't void your warranty. Obviously you should read the fine print, but if you keep the original hard drive, wipe it and install a clean version of Windows 7, Toshiba won't offer you any software support, but they should still honor their warranty where their hardware is concerned. Even if you do get a new hard drive, they should honor their warranty -- though obviously not on the hard drive since it probably won't be theirs. (That said if the hard drive is soldered in, you may well void your entire warranty if you try to swap it out.)
   
   
4. Make sure that you can download Windows 7 drivers for this laptop. I don't see it being a big problem given how many companies still run Windows 7, but it would suck if your video resolution didn't work right or you had no sound or your wi-fi was incompatible or... well, you get the idea. A quick hop over to Toshiba's support page could save you a lot of hassle.
   
   
5. Do continue to install updates. I know they're a pain, I know that things sometimes break. But they actually are important.
   
   
6. This whole process is actually rather easy, if very time consuming. And there's no reason to be intimidated. If you screw something up, you can just reformat and try again. I've not seen any of the videos on YouTube, but I'm sure there are many out there that can guide you through what you need to do.

Yes, l know, the only supplier in AU, vic, finally after a month of so, (ships take a while) got one in, and it costed $1.650 with 500 gig of memory. A few years, and l would reach that limit, but if l spend another $250 to install a 250gig SSD then l could get around it. And spend a thousand more than my current option.


That company is screwing its customer base for every cent, since it is the only supplier that offers a w7 laptop, (not including iffy, internet ones, thankfully l found a decent one).


Because the decent quality ones in AU, are $400+ and a 1 tb HDD is $100.


I know that it is cool to have Photoshop load in a second or two instead of 10, but unfortunately it still relies on the chip speed and ram for the actual using it.




Thanks Kilgore, SSD, are probably too expensive, so a HDD is probably the best choice.


And according to tons of TY videos the HDD is easy to access and remove.


As for wiping the HDD, l wish, but l have talked to sales people here and there as well as online forums, and installing w7 over 10 only black screens the Laptop or if it worked then w10 would creep back in, (that has also happened).


Wiping the HDD completely, l have looked into using magnets to wipe it, but unless they are high frequency, it won't work and if it does destroys the HDD in the process.


So buying a new one, is probably the way to go, and keeping the w10 one, as a doorst...ahem, as a replacement if l need something repaired.


Good to get some reassurance that it is easy, looks easy online.


And as for updates, groan, no, XP hasn't had any important updates for 2 years, and my PC with XP is still going as strong as ever.


My current one, after 4 months of reversing Microsfots adobe suit messer update, finally got through and after that,.....it could not be removed, even tried the registry, and it could not be removed from there, so yeah, Microsoft is evil.


But in a nice way l am sure!

If you'r prepared to pay up to 2000 dollars for a laptop then you could buy a cheap one and get the new version of the Adobe stuff with the rest of the money. Problem solved for now and in the future. It should still run it efficiently enough.

The other observation is why are you doing graphic design on a laptop anyway. The wife has been a professional graphic designer for years and runs a full size computer with a big screen. Only now and again as a last resort would she use her 17 inch laptop.

Or are you a: "I want to work from coffee shops fanatic"?

I looked at the link, what a rip off, integrated graphics, only a 15.6 inch screen and only 1366*768 resolution (are you serious). Sort of several years ago specification in some departments.

Ok, interesting, l will have to look into that, might save me $100!


Yep, my XP one is connected and been connected for year, but l don't do much surfing on it.


Most Microsoft updates, are a crock anyway, l mean endless Microsoft Word updates, how many times has MSW got a virus. l have used computers online for almost 10 years and cannot remember getting one there.


I have done a lot of research into that one as well, and usually IE gets a virus, but not the OS. Last virus l got was in the IE browser; impossible to remove, but a few months later Norton got rid of it.



True, but l am not rolling in cash, (at least not yet) so the cheapest option is the best for me.


Sure, l buy a Laptop with w10, and eventually the so called critical update will come, and cripple adobe suite again. And given time, be impossible to stop.


When that happens, l could spend $1000 buy cs2 again, and put up with illustrator being dodgy.


Or go for the cloud version, and spend $300 a year, for something l can use for free now. Unless l want indesign and illustrator to work properly then it is $600 a year, groan.


Or instead spend around a thousand, and use adobe suite for the foreseeable future!


Worst case scenario, the w7 OS, collapses, but l always backup everything so a mild inconvenience at worst. But from my research XP and 7 are extremely well build and don't need endless updates. Updates are just a way Microsoft can have some control over herding the masses onto w10.




And yes lanfear, l do want to be mobile, seriously looked into a 17,3" screen one, but apart from a slight advantage when using cs2, it is hard to lug that down to the shopping centre.


Don't have air con, at home so have to go to the local shopping ctr/library during this time of the year, and in winter, since l cannot afford heating in my room, pretty much have to work on the dining table, so hence the laptop.


Yes 15,6" has served me well, (my current i3 one has it) so no qualms there, and l know 1366,.....but l ain't going to buy Dell, for a high res one, as it isn't very reliable.


Although Toshiba does do one with 4k, res, on Amazon,


I know that Toshiba screen are not the best available, but apart from some minor issues with video playback, it doesn't really bother me, neither does the screen res,.


But l will compare screens to see if there is any noticeable difference.

A couple of years ago I got a new HP Gen 4 i5 with 4 gigs of ram. (17.3") laptop. The cost was $399.99. Still going strong. The casing was strong plastic but I don't lug it around much.Not that it would be a problem.

Here is a new higher spec version now. Check the price. 1600*900 resolution screen.

https://www.amazon.com/HP-Pavilion-1...17+inch+laptop

You really thank that Adobe's latest stuff would suddenly become incompatible with Windows 10, (the last version they will ever do) highly unlikely.

How about this one, had refurbs before, they were indistinguishable from new. $399.99

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MRJFFFW...=A5OS1RR2Q6H5H

Another one from Dell, great specs. $609.00

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KH9YC34?psc=1

(non affiliate links)

Laptop bags, you just buy one that accommodates a 17.3 inch screen size. (I have one)
I have a laptop from 2008, no problem with the hinge.

So lets see a link to this i7 you are buying?

Yes!




Lol, nooo, and l agree it is a ripoff, but looked pretty good at that time. And they did get back to me, and said that it had a matt screen, (puke) and could be expanded up to 32 gigs. And as Amazon has shown me, it also has a shiny surface, so l would have a nice light reflected back in my eyes when working, (puke again).


So, that one is off the list.


The Amazon one, (that l am waiting for answers for) is $800 US, which sounds better than $950 AU, but when the conversions are done it is ($800US = $1078AU).


Still cheaper than $1900 or $1700 only other two options, in AU. I suppose that l also have the $1250 ASUS from GB Hi Fi, but to be frank it looks ugly.


https://www.jbhifi.com.au/computers-...tebook/980918/


I will have to get w7 pro from overseas, since AU doesn't sell them anymore.


https://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Satel...tandard+screen


This is the second most powerful Toshiba they have the most powerful doesn't have a DVD drive, so that one is out.


This seems to be duel core, but as l said before cs2 doesn't take advantage of hyper threading that much, so as long as the chip and ram are high, it should still be fast.


Nice looking Laptop as well, if l am going to be chained to this for the foreseeable future it would be nice to have an attractive one.


And not too many horror stories in the feedback, needing an extra cable for the Ethernet is the only issue, but l use Wi Fi so...




Hopefully get some good feedback in a day or so, and grab it, then collapse in a heap!


PS thanks for the packmule offer Lanfear, but when the currency is converted, not much of a change, unless Amazon are overcharging?


PPS if they are a bit, at this point l don't really care, l just want the f***thing, and no more stress.

So basically, if I have this correct, you wish to downgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 7?


Biggest thing I'd be worried about is not finding drivers for your hardware. It could be something is innocent as a mouse driver, or it could be something as critical as a chipset bridge (meaning half of your computer could be rendered inoperable). On laptops hardware is proprietary, meaning you can't just download a chipset driver from intel or amd and think it will do the job (it may not).


You need to talk to Toshiba, and see if they can find Win7 drivers for your laptop.


As to your other question, on your first laptop according to crucial, the max memory the laptop in question can hold is 16bg.


http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/compat...lite-l55-c5392

I'd like to offer an idea BUT I am not sure if it is possible on laptops or just desktops.
I do own one of each.
Anyway, when I wanted to upgrade my pc that was running XP, I wanted win 7.
At the time, they were mainly selling win 8.1 which I had heard horror stories about.

I spent time online researching options and found a large company in Clayton where you choose what you want in the "box" and you get it all.

For example, I wanted Win 7. I also wanted MS Office 2013.
So they installed both for me and, yes, I do also have the discs.

I don't know if companies would offer the same service where you buy your laptop but choose what OS and other things you want included.

Let me know if you want me to try and find that company for you.