Making the leap

Dsprague

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Member
Messages
58
Location
USA, Vermont
Hello I am new to this particular forum, up until today I have only toyed around with Windows 8 on a virtual machine but my old laptop died recently and it was out of its warranty period so I said screw it and bought a brand new laptop with Windows 8 pre-installed on it. So here are my concerns from what I have read about the system my own experience:
-a number of times I have had windows updates mess up my virtual machine and had to delete the VM and make a new one will this happen with my new laptop?
-I have heard that windows 8 does not play nice with steam and steam games will I have trouble because I do a lot of gaming on my laptop
-I use a Macrium reflect to make backup images of my PC will this work with Windows 8?

For a little better information on the new system I have ordered it is an Acer Aspire V3 771g-9809 it has 8Gb of ram an Nvidia Geforce 650m 2gb dedicated video card 1TB hard drive and a core i7 2.2ghz processor.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire V3-771G-9809
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-3632QM 2.2GHz
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M
    Hard Drives
    1Tb
    Mouse
    Razer Deathadder
    Internet Speed
    54mbps
-a number of times I have had windows updates mess up my virtual machine and had to delete the VM and make a new one will this happen with my new laptop?
It's hard to say. Some have had problems with Win8 updates. But, I don't remember seeing the problem you mention.

-I use a Macrium reflect to make backup images of my PC will this work with Windows 8?
One user I am aware of reports that he used this program successfully, but it took two tries for some reason. I have no info about Steam programs.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win7 Ult on DIY; Win8 Pro on MBP/Parallels; Win7 Ult on MBP/Boot Camp; Win7 Ult/Win8 Pro on HP
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    DIY Rig; MacBook Pro (MBP)/Parallels/Boot Camp; HP Pavilion dv6500t Laptop
    CPU
    Intel i7-2600K (sometimes OC'd to 4.8 GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8P67 Deluxe Rev B3
    Memory
    16 GB Corsair Vengeance
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 570 SC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Gateway
    Hard Drives
    Dual Boot:
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on OCZ Revo x2 and
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on Caviar Black SATA 3's
    PSU
    Cooler Master Silent Pro 1000W
    Case
    Cooler Master 932 HAF
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9900MAX-B CPU Fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Mouse
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Internet Speed
    20 Mbps Download/2+ Mbps Upload
    Other Info
    Pioneer Blu-ray Burner/DVD Burner
I haven't tried Steam, but, in theory, Windows 8 should support all the apps that run on Windows 7.
So give it a try and see how that goes (and let us know as well).

Regarding the backup, you should also use this opportunity to look at some new features of Windows 8 like File History and Storage Spaces. You may find that they are a better, more transparent fit to your backup scenarios.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
Well I should have the laptop tonight and the first thing I usually do is make an image of the pc before i start to install things so I will report back about Macrium as soon as I get it on the PC and see how it works.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire V3-771G-9809
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-3632QM 2.2GHz
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M
    Hard Drives
    1Tb
    Mouse
    Razer Deathadder
    Internet Speed
    54mbps
For starters and safety, why not use Control Panel > Windows 7 File Recovery to make a system image prior to using Macrium. The "7" is not a typo. I don't know why the control panel item does not refer to Windows 8.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win7 Ult on DIY; Win8 Pro on MBP/Parallels; Win7 Ult on MBP/Boot Camp; Win7 Ult/Win8 Pro on HP
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    DIY Rig; MacBook Pro (MBP)/Parallels/Boot Camp; HP Pavilion dv6500t Laptop
    CPU
    Intel i7-2600K (sometimes OC'd to 4.8 GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8P67 Deluxe Rev B3
    Memory
    16 GB Corsair Vengeance
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 570 SC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Gateway
    Hard Drives
    Dual Boot:
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on OCZ Revo x2 and
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on Caviar Black SATA 3's
    PSU
    Cooler Master Silent Pro 1000W
    Case
    Cooler Master 932 HAF
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9900MAX-B CPU Fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Mouse
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Internet Speed
    20 Mbps Download/2+ Mbps Upload
    Other Info
    Pioneer Blu-ray Burner/DVD Burner
For starters and safety, why not use Control Panel > Windows 7 File Recovery to make a system image prior to using Macrium. The "7" is not a typo. I don't know why the control panel item does not refer to Windows 8.

I suspect that's because it'll be gone by Win 9 in favour of the terminally useless and pathetic Reset and Refresh 'functions'.

And because, unlike Acronis and Macrium, it actually works properly.

Yet another retrograde move by MS.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Enterprise 64-bit (7 Ult, Vista & XP in V-Box)
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire Ethos AS8951G 'Super-Laptop'.
    CPU
    Intel Sandy-Bridge i7-2670QM quad-core
    Motherboard
    Acer
    Memory
    8GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel 3000HD / Ge-Force GT555M 2 gigs
    Sound Card
    Realtek/5.1 Dolby built-in including speakers.
    Monitor(s) Displays
    18.4" full-HD
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1024
    Hard Drives
    2x750GB Toshiba internal, 1x500GB Seagate external, 1x2TB Seagate external, 1x640GB Toshiba pocket-drive, 1x640GB Samsung pocket drive.
    PSU
    Stock
    Case
    Laptop
    Cooling
    Air-cooled
    Mouse
    I/R cordless.
    Internet Speed
    Borderline pathetic.
For starters and safety, why not use Control Panel > Windows 7 File Recovery to make a system image prior to using Macrium. The "7" is not a typo. I don't know why the control panel item does not refer to Windows 8.

Sure I will be happy to look into it I'm always happy to look into cheap or free ways to backup my system. I used to use Clonezilla but it started to randomly corrupt my images and eventually I got fed up and simply moved on to Macrium
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire V3-771G-9809
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-3632QM 2.2GHz
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M
    Hard Drives
    1Tb
    Mouse
    Razer Deathadder
    Internet Speed
    54mbps
Cool.:dinesh:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win7 Ult on DIY; Win8 Pro on MBP/Parallels; Win7 Ult on MBP/Boot Camp; Win7 Ult/Win8 Pro on HP
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    DIY Rig; MacBook Pro (MBP)/Parallels/Boot Camp; HP Pavilion dv6500t Laptop
    CPU
    Intel i7-2600K (sometimes OC'd to 4.8 GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8P67 Deluxe Rev B3
    Memory
    16 GB Corsair Vengeance
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 570 SC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Gateway
    Hard Drives
    Dual Boot:
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on OCZ Revo x2 and
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on Caviar Black SATA 3's
    PSU
    Cooler Master Silent Pro 1000W
    Case
    Cooler Master 932 HAF
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9900MAX-B CPU Fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Mouse
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Internet Speed
    20 Mbps Download/2+ Mbps Upload
    Other Info
    Pioneer Blu-ray Burner/DVD Burner
For starters and safety, why not use Control Panel > Windows 7 File Recovery to make a system image prior to using Macrium. The "7" is not a typo. I don't know why the control panel item does not refer to Windows 8.

I suspect that's because it'll be gone by Win 9 in favour of the terminally useless and pathetic Reset and Refresh 'functions'.

And because, unlike Acronis and Macrium, it actually works properly.

Yet another retrograde move by MS.

Reset and Refresh work properly.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS
    CPU
    AMD FX 8320
    Motherboard
    Crosshair V Formula-Z
    Memory
    16 gig DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS R9 270
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Seagate Barracuda (starting to hate Seagate)
    x2 3 TB Toshibas
    Windows 8.1 is installed on a SanDisk Ultra Plus 256 GB
    PSU
    OCZ 500 watt
    Case
    A current work in progres as I'll be building the physical case myself. It shall be fantastic.
    Cooling
    Arctic Cooler with 3 heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K750 wireless solar powered keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Touch Mouse
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, but I might go back on KIS 2014
Ok So here's how things went, it seems Macrium didn't want to play nice with Windows 8 though I didn't mess with it much. So i moved on to trying out the built in Windows 7 file recovery system it worked like a dream I now have my baseline image should anything go wrong I can simply restore from the image and it turns out acer has their own preloaded backup software though it only backs up the drivers and applications i made a copy of my drivers with that as well. Over all I have not run into any issues yet
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire V3-771G-9809
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-3632QM 2.2GHz
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M
    Hard Drives
    1Tb
    Mouse
    Razer Deathadder
    Internet Speed
    54mbps
Imaging suits my needs, Refresh & Reset do not.

And I lose nothing when I do a system restore.

That's not to say they won't suit others, tho... :D
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Enterprise 64-bit (7 Ult, Vista & XP in V-Box)
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire Ethos AS8951G 'Super-Laptop'.
    CPU
    Intel Sandy-Bridge i7-2670QM quad-core
    Motherboard
    Acer
    Memory
    8GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel 3000HD / Ge-Force GT555M 2 gigs
    Sound Card
    Realtek/5.1 Dolby built-in including speakers.
    Monitor(s) Displays
    18.4" full-HD
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1024
    Hard Drives
    2x750GB Toshiba internal, 1x500GB Seagate external, 1x2TB Seagate external, 1x640GB Toshiba pocket-drive, 1x640GB Samsung pocket drive.
    PSU
    Stock
    Case
    Laptop
    Cooling
    Air-cooled
    Mouse
    I/R cordless.
    Internet Speed
    Borderline pathetic.
I have always been a fan of just taking images it seems to simplify the whole process if i have an image I can work with it means I don't have to worry about drivers or applications or any of the woes that come with having to do a totally fresh install. I cant begin to tell you how many times I have accidentaly broken my windows install but I always make an image before I do any major changes.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire V3-771G-9809
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-3632QM 2.2GHz
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M
    Hard Drives
    1Tb
    Mouse
    Razer Deathadder
    Internet Speed
    54mbps
I have always been a fan of just taking images it seems to simplify the whole process if i have an image I can work with it means I don't have to worry about drivers or applications or any of the woes that come with having to do a totally fresh install. I cant begin to tell you how many times I have accidentaly broken my windows install but I always make an image before I do any major changes.

That's it, exactly.:thumb:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Enterprise 64-bit (7 Ult, Vista & XP in V-Box)
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire Ethos AS8951G 'Super-Laptop'.
    CPU
    Intel Sandy-Bridge i7-2670QM quad-core
    Motherboard
    Acer
    Memory
    8GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel 3000HD / Ge-Force GT555M 2 gigs
    Sound Card
    Realtek/5.1 Dolby built-in including speakers.
    Monitor(s) Displays
    18.4" full-HD
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1024
    Hard Drives
    2x750GB Toshiba internal, 1x500GB Seagate external, 1x2TB Seagate external, 1x640GB Toshiba pocket-drive, 1x640GB Samsung pocket drive.
    PSU
    Stock
    Case
    Laptop
    Cooling
    Air-cooled
    Mouse
    I/R cordless.
    Internet Speed
    Borderline pathetic.
Great. Glad it all worked out apparently so well.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win7 Ult on DIY; Win8 Pro on MBP/Parallels; Win7 Ult on MBP/Boot Camp; Win7 Ult/Win8 Pro on HP
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    DIY Rig; MacBook Pro (MBP)/Parallels/Boot Camp; HP Pavilion dv6500t Laptop
    CPU
    Intel i7-2600K (sometimes OC'd to 4.8 GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8P67 Deluxe Rev B3
    Memory
    16 GB Corsair Vengeance
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 570 SC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Gateway
    Hard Drives
    Dual Boot:
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on OCZ Revo x2 and
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on Caviar Black SATA 3's
    PSU
    Cooler Master Silent Pro 1000W
    Case
    Cooler Master 932 HAF
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9900MAX-B CPU Fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Mouse
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Internet Speed
    20 Mbps Download/2+ Mbps Upload
    Other Info
    Pioneer Blu-ray Burner/DVD Burner

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win7 Ult on DIY; Win8 Pro on MBP/Parallels; Win7 Ult on MBP/Boot Camp; Win7 Ult/Win8 Pro on HP
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    DIY Rig; MacBook Pro (MBP)/Parallels/Boot Camp; HP Pavilion dv6500t Laptop
    CPU
    Intel i7-2600K (sometimes OC'd to 4.8 GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8P67 Deluxe Rev B3
    Memory
    16 GB Corsair Vengeance
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 570 SC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Gateway
    Hard Drives
    Dual Boot:
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on OCZ Revo x2 and
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on Caviar Black SATA 3's
    PSU
    Cooler Master Silent Pro 1000W
    Case
    Cooler Master 932 HAF
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9900MAX-B CPU Fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Mouse
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Internet Speed
    20 Mbps Download/2+ Mbps Upload
    Other Info
    Pioneer Blu-ray Burner/DVD Burner
I have had no issues with Steam at all here. I play Skyrim and haven't had a problem yet. Matter of fact (for me) once I got my video drivers to install it runs Skyrim at a higher frame rate than it did on W7. (I am going to try Game booster from Razer tonight and see how it acts)

Razer Game Booster

(cool little software, it helps kill all unnecessary processes like Explorer Downloder Etc. while a game is running and moves the resources to the game. When you close the game it starts those services again, used it on W7 quite a bit)

Most times an Update will break a VM but not a hard install. Happens alot with Liux as well when there is a major Kernal change. I don't personally use VM's much because of this.

Geeve
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Dual Boot: Back to W7 and Ubuntu 12.04
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Dimension E521
    CPU
    AMD AthlonTM 64 X2 dual-core
    Memory
    4 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia 9800 GT 1GB
    Sound Card
    M-Audio Mobile Pre USB External
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 1916W
    Screen Resolution
    1440X900
    Hard Drives
    250 GB internal main, 500 GB internal backup, 1TB External
    PSU
    300 Watt (Dell stock)
    Case
    Dell Stock
    Keyboard
    Dell
    Mouse
    Dell
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    MSE/Defender or whatever it's called now
    Other Info
    Acer aspire One D255, Windows 8.1.1 Pro, 2GB Ram, Intel Atom N450 1.6Ghz
I may have to try out the Razer Game Booster as well it looks like an awesome program to help manage my system when I'm gaming
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire V3-771G-9809
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-3632QM 2.2GHz
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M
    Hard Drives
    1Tb
    Mouse
    Razer Deathadder
    Internet Speed
    54mbps
It is very cool, It creates a Game Hub of sorts, so you can add and take away games that you want it to manage. It took me some time to get it right for steam as I had to set the main Steam instead of the Skyrim up, If I remember right, damn getting old sucks LOL!

Geeve
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Dual Boot: Back to W7 and Ubuntu 12.04
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Dimension E521
    CPU
    AMD AthlonTM 64 X2 dual-core
    Memory
    4 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia 9800 GT 1GB
    Sound Card
    M-Audio Mobile Pre USB External
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 1916W
    Screen Resolution
    1440X900
    Hard Drives
    250 GB internal main, 500 GB internal backup, 1TB External
    PSU
    300 Watt (Dell stock)
    Case
    Dell Stock
    Keyboard
    Dell
    Mouse
    Dell
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    MSE/Defender or whatever it's called now
    Other Info
    Acer aspire One D255, Windows 8.1.1 Pro, 2GB Ram, Intel Atom N450 1.6Ghz
well right now i have set me steam games to installing while I'm at work when i get home tonight i will install the game booster and try and get it configured
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire V3-771G-9809
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-3632QM 2.2GHz
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M
    Hard Drives
    1Tb
    Mouse
    Razer Deathadder
    Internet Speed
    54mbps
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