My top 2 reasons to upgrade to Windows 8--share yours

[Cly]

Coke Robot--Windows To Go would be on my list but it is only available with the Enterprise Edition, which puts out of reach of many of us.

Crawfish--did you ever wonder how such a polished and [hopefully] secure program as TrueCrypt can exist for free for such a long time, without any prospect of ad revenue or a commercial version? Just sayin.

 

[crawfish]

I tried encypting the whole drive. I got an warning that I have nonstandard partitions and encrypting the whole drive could make the system unusuable. I clicked cancel at that point. I never create partitions either so I have no idea what it's talking about.

How do you delete the 100MB partition that Windows 7 creates?

I follow the procedure on this Terabyte page.

When I encrypt a partition, I always choose the partition as opposed to the drive in the Truecrypt dialog box, and remember, I only ever have a single partition, so that does the whole drive. For data drives, either before or after doing this (doesn't matter), I remove the drive letter in Windows Disk Management. After encrypting, I mount it to the desired drive letter in Truecrypt and make it a "System Favorite" volume for permanent drives and a "Favorite" volume for external and thumb drives, setting the appropriate options to mount them automatically. From then on, the fact that a drive is encrypted is totally transparent as I'm also using system encryption on all my computers. Of course, you should manually dismount an external drive and eject it before powering the drive down or thumb drive before removing it.

EDIT:

I just opened Computer Management. There is an 86MB partition labelled OEM Partition. Safe to delete? It's a Dell laptop.

If you have your own OS installation media and don't care about any Dell files that may be there, I would say yes. I know I wiped my Vostro's hard drive after ensuring it started up and then I installed my own copy of Windows.

Crawfish--did you ever wonder how such a polished and [hopefully] secure program as TrueCrypt can exist for free for such a long time, without any prospect of ad revenue or a commercial version? Just sayin.

In the couple of years I've been using it, I've never run into a bug with Truecrypt. It works great with Windows 7 and will continue to do so. It doesn't do anything irreversible, and though it would be a minor PITA to stop using it, it's something I can use now. Bitlocker is a non-starter with its PIN or even worse, a USB drive. Truecrypt is used by lots of people all over the world which gives it a base for its donation requests, is open source, and is highly regarded by security experts.

 

[Cly]

In the couple of years I've been using it, I've never run into a bug with Truecrypt. It works great with Windows 7 and will continue to do so. It doesn't do anything irreversible, and though it would be a minor PITA to stop using it, it's something I can use now. Bitlocker is a non-starter with its PIN or even worse, a USB drive. Truecrypt is used by lots of people all over the world which gives it a base for its donation requests, is open source, and is highly regarded by security experts.

I've been using TrueCrypt for ever. I just don't find them very transparent. How much money do they raise through donations? This is a serious programming effort that requires a deep knowledge of every aspect of several generations of all major operating systems and how they function and interact with hardware at a very low level. How many software shops can program at this level for several generations of Windows, Apple OS and Linux? Like you said, I haven't had a single crash or error in years. When they publish an update that "fixes minor bugs" I scratch my head because I've never noticed any. They did goof up the first attempt at plausible deinability, but that just shows you how difficult the task is. And writing that 150-page manual is somewhat unusual these days.

What security experts have reviewed the source code? They say there must be someone reviewing it because they get bug reports once in a while. Hmm.

Do you compile the source code or like most people just download the precompiled package?

 

[jimbo45]

Coke Robot--Windows To Go would be on my list but it is only available with the Enterprise Edition, which puts out of reach of many of us.

Crawfish--did you ever wonder how such a polished and [hopefully] secure program as TrueCrypt can exist for free for such a long time, without any prospect of ad revenue or a commercial version? Just sayin.

Hi there
Windows to go mechanism might be "Do-able" on std windows -- all it needs is the boot commands which presumably you can extract off the current Windows 8 stuff. While Windows 8 CP will expire in January 2013 --that doesn't mean that some of the individual PROGRAMS will stop functioning.

I doubt if Ms will change the whole boot mechanism before release date --especially at this stage.

Of course the main problem with any "Hacked" windows to go version will be the need for re-activation if you try and boot it on different hardware.

A possible good idea until a "Hackable" version of Windows to go appears is to install any version of Windows you like as a VM on an SSD under a tiny version of Linux and connect the SSD via a SATA==>USB3 interface. This should (even with the VM overhead) still be fast enough to be useful and the VM would only ever need to be activated ONCE.

Hacking a standard W8 system would present "Activation" problems -- but if the W8 to go was just being used as a tool then you could always re-image it as activation is normally required within 30 days. Decent imaging programs could restore a new image within 15 mins (on an SSD probably within about 7 mins !!).

SATA==>USB3 connections aren't available yet on a lot of laptops --especially company one's who tend to go for generic models like HP == fine but aren't leading edge technology.

A SATA==>USB2 connection works decently enough though --especially with an SSD. -- If you have an older 60GB SSD this would be a good use for it.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[Hopachi]

Not sure why people are so excited about iso mounting.

I suppose it is marginally more convenient to have it included if all you ever want to do is mount them .

No biggie. Plenty of free isomounting software already available. If you have simple needs, then this is good WinCDEmu - the easiest way to mount an ISO. And more... ( it also creates iso's). Works great on win7.

If you want to do more than just mounting you would need a full isohandler anyhow.

Like this: PowerISO - Create, Burn, Mount, Edit, Compress, Encrypt, Split, Extract ISO file, ISO/BIN converter, Virtual Drive


the free (unregistered ) version does almost everything - the only limitataion of the free version is you are restricted to editing only up to 300mb. It is also great for writing iso to flash

There are a couple of reasons for preferring it to be built in:

(1) Having a to look for, possibly paying for, verifying that it's secure and not some trojan, and keeping it up to date. Multiply that by every utility that could be provided by a third party and it gets tiresome pretty quickly.

To me ISO mounting is as basic as reading the contents of a hard drive or a Zip archive. Also, recall that MS had a utility that worked only in Windows XP, but they discontinued support for it in Vista and 7.

(2) I carry some ISOs with me that I would like to use on clients' computers sometimes. It's not convenient to also carry an ISO mounting tool AND ask the person to give you Admin privileges so that you can install it!

It's just a very basic OS function.

I would have liked to see ISO creation too. I am hoping that oscdimg can handle basic ISO creation.

Indeed.

It's something basic that should be included in the os (Ubuntu has it) and it's way better than those third party stuff (poweriso, magiciso, ...), not that it's that important but they are 32bit on a 64bit os and the built in function is 64bit as it should.

 

[Hopachi]

Top two reasons:
- iso support also
- better compatibility mode + reduced color mode

I am curious, what do you mean by "- better compatibility mode + reduced color mode"?

This:

Allows to use compatibility mode that works better for some old program's need: sometimes you need 16bit color mode (65536 colors) or 8bit (256 colors) and you don't need to manually choose that from the screen resolution menu, it switches automatically when needed.

And for some programs (tested Dune 2000 and Moto Racer 1) that worked (designed for, built on Win95/98) back in Win98, the compatibility in Win8 works better for them now.

 

[Cly]

Coke Robot--Windows To Go would be on my list but it is only available with the Enterprise Edition, which puts out of reach of many of us.

Crawfish--did you ever wonder how such a polished and [hopefully] secure program as TrueCrypt can exist for free for such a long time, without any prospect of ad revenue or a commercial version? Just sayin.

Hi there
Windows to go mechanism might be "Do-able" on std windows -- all it needs is the boot commands which presumably you can extract off the current Windows 8 stuff. While Windows 8 CP will expire in January 2013 --that doesn't mean that some of the individual PROGRAMS will stop functioning.

I doubt if Ms will change the whole boot mechanism before release date --especially at this stage.

Of course the main problem with any "Hacked" windows to go version will be the need for re-activation if you try and boot it on different hardware.

A possible good idea until a "Hackable" version of Windows to go appears is to install any version of Windows you like as a VM on an SSD under a tiny version of Linux and connect the SSD via a SATA==>USB3 interface. This should (even with the VM overhead) still be fast enough to be useful and the VM would only ever need to be activated ONCE.

Hacking a standard W8 system would present "Activation" problems -- but if the W8 to go was just being used as a tool then you could always re-image it as activation is normally required within 30 days. Decent imaging programs could restore a new image within 15 mins (on an SSD probably within about 7 mins !!).

SATA==>USB3 connections aren't available yet on a lot of laptops --especially company one's who tend to go for generic models like HP == fine but aren't leading edge technology.

A SATA==>USB2 connection works decently enough though --especially with an SSD. -- If you have an older 60GB SSD this would be a good use for it.

Cheers
jimbo

I am going to install Windows 8 RP in virtualbox just to try it out. Is there an option for building a Windows To Go USB built right in?

 

[Arpan]

Hello cly,
Before you proceed with installing windows 8 release preview in virtual box, my advice is that you drop the idea.
Because you won't get the real experience. Virtual box had lots of unexplained crushes in my case.

Another important thing is, the virtual box guest addition is having problems with windows 8. In my case the title bars in windows 8 desktop mode always flickered. So the point is, you won't be able to experience the real windows 8.

My suggestion is that install windows 8 in a virtual hard disk.

 

[Cly]

Hello cly,
Before you proceed with installing windows 8 release preview in virtual box, my advice is that you drop the idea.
Because you won't get the real experience. Virtual box had lots of unexplained crushes in my case.

Another important thing is, the virtual box guest addition is having problems with windows 8. In my case the title bars in windows 8 desktop mode always flickered. So the point is, you won't be able to experience the real windows 8.

My suggestion is that install windows 8 in a virtual hard disk.

What program would you use to install Win 8 in a virtual hard disk?

 

[Hopachi]

Hello cly,
Before you proceed with installing windows 8 release preview in virtual box, my advice is that you drop the idea.
Because you won't get the real experience. Virtual box had lots of unexplained crushes in my case.

Another important thing is, the virtual box guest addition is having problems with windows 8. In my case the title bars in windows 8 desktop mode always flickered. So the point is, you won't be able to experience the real windows 8.

My suggestion is that install windows 8 in a virtual hard disk.

Use VMware Player (version 4) instead of VirtualBox and the additions (tools) work better.

VirtualBox works, I agree that's nor the real experience, but for testing things out works pretty well.
I have a workaround for the additions problem in VirtualBox. If you install(ed) the additions (before or after the install) go to Control Panel -> System -> Advanced System Settings and in the Advanced tab => performance settings and select this and OK:

By disabling animations, (transparency is not that important here) the flickering dissapears.

Even better is to uninstall the VBox Graphics Display Adapter (roll back driver) from Device Manager and use the standard graphics display instead. Then shut the VM down and add a custom resolution that matches your real monitor resolution: example for 1080p resolution: <ExtraDataItem name="CustomVideoMode1" value="1920x1080x32"/>
See this thread for details (2nd post): http://www.eightforums.com/virtualization/6908-vm-trouble-2-a.html

That's all

 

[Arpan]

You don't need any program. All you need is the win 8 rp iso file which is about 3.3 gb.

I followed this tutorial:
How to use a VHD to dual-boot Windows 8 on a Windows 7 PC | ZDNet

If you have any problem, feel free to ask.
PS: I used dvd for burning the iso file instead of usb stick.
So if you also want to use dvd instead of usb stick, don't follow the steps for burning the iso in usb stick.

 

[Arpan]

Hello hopachi,
My point is why to use virtual box when a better option is available?
Because in the process I am talking about, all the actual hardware is used except the hard drive. But in vb almost everything is virtual and it puts a lot of pressure on the pc.

 

[Cly]

You don't need any program. All you need is the win 8 rp iso file which is about 3.3 gb.

I followed this tutorial:
How to use a VHD to dual-boot Windows 8 on a Windows 7 PC | ZDNet

If you have any problem, feel free to ask.
PS: I used dvd for burning the iso file instead of usb stick.
So if you also want to use dvd instead of usb stick, don't follow the steps for burning the iso in usb stick.

Which version of Windows 7 do you have? In that tuturial Ed bott says you need Windows 7 Ultimate or Entreprise.

 

[Arpan]

Sorry I forgot to mention.

I have home basic and it worked as it should. Just ignore. It should work on all versions of windows 7. I don't know about starter but as I said it worked fine with my home basic 7.

And another important thing:
When you use the diskpart command please see that you put double quotation before and after .... as I show below:

select vdisk file="....."

replace .... by your vhd file path.
This is the only thing that is probably missed by the author in that tutorial.

Follow this tutorial very carefully.
And if yore stuck feel free to ask

 

[Hopachi]

Hello hopachi,
My point is why to use virtual box when a better option is available?
Because in the process I am talking about, all the actual hardware is used except the hard drive. But in vb almost everything is virtual and it puts a lot of pressure on the pc.

Agreed.
Just saying if you don't like or are able to create a new boot entry, if you need a VM and your pc is good enough then go for VMware Player.

If you like dual-booting and all goes well in the install process, then use the VHD method which is indeed better.

 

[Hopachi]

You don't need any program. All you need is the win 8 rp iso file which is about 3.3 gb.

I followed this tutorial:
How to use a VHD to dual-boot Windows 8 on a Windows 7 PC | ZDNet

If you have any problem, feel free to ask.
PS: I used dvd for burning the iso file instead of usb stick.
So if you also want to use dvd instead of usb stick, don't follow the steps for burning the iso in usb stick.

Which version of Windows 7 do you have? In that tuturial Ed bott says you need Windows 7 Ultimate or Entreprise.

Here on the forums we have Brink's tutorial:
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/2393-windows-8-vhd-create-boot-dual-boot.html?ltr=W

It worked for me to install Win8 VHD along a Win7 Home Premium install. It works with all versions of Win7 (Installing a Win8 along a Vista OS is also possible).

Feel free to give it a try.

Good luck

 

[Arpan]

@hopachi
Yes yore right.
I haven't yet tried VMware. Yes, if you don't like dual booting virtualizing is probably the only option, correct me if I am wrong. Yes, after going thorough the process, I indeed felt that this should work with every version of widows 7 and may be also vista.

 

[Arpan]

Hello cly,
Before you proceed with installing windows 8 release preview in virtual box, my advice is that you drop the idea.
Because you won't get the real experience. Virtual box had lots of unexplained crushes in my case.

Another important thing is, the virtual box guest addition is having problems with windows 8. In my case the title bars in windows 8 desktop mode always flickered. So the point is, you won't be able to experience the real windows 8.

My suggestion is that install windows 8 in a virtual hard disk.

Use VMware Player (version 4) instead of VirtualBox and the additions (tools) work better.

VirtualBox works, I agree that's nor the real experience, but for testing things out works pretty well.
I have a workaround for the additions problem in VirtualBox. If you install(ed) the additions (before or after the install) go to Control Panel -> System -> Advanced System Settings and in the Advanced tab => performance settings and select this and OK:
View attachment 7319
By disabling animations, (transparency is not that important here) the flickering dissapears.

Even better is to uninstall the VBox Graphics Display Adapter (roll back driver) from Device Manager and use the standard graphics display instead. Then shut the VM down and add a custom resolution that matches your real monitor resolution: example for 1080p resolution: <ExtraDataItem name="CustomVideoMode1" value="1920x1080x32"/>
See this thread for details (2nd post): http://www.eightforums.com/virtualization/6908-vm-trouble-2-a.html

That's all

You don't need any program. All you need is the win 8 rp iso file which is about 3.3 gb.

I followed this tutorial:
How to use a VHD to dual-boot Windows 8 on a Windows 7 PC | ZDNet

If you have any problem, feel free to ask.
PS: I used dvd for burning the iso file instead of usb stick.
So if you also want to use dvd instead of usb stick, don't follow the steps for burning the iso in usb stick.

Which version of Windows 7 do you have? In that tuturial Ed bott says you need Windows 7 Ultimate or Entreprise.

Here on the forums we have Brink's tutorial:
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/2393-windows-8-vhd-create-boot-dual-boot.html?ltr=W

It worked for me to install Win8 VHD along a Win7 Home Premium install. It works with all versions of Win7 (Installing a Win8 along a Vista OS is also possible).

Feel free to give it a try.

Good luck

Ok, I had no problem with booting windows 8 from vhd. My request to hopachi is that do you have any idea of doing this process with ubuntu? I want to boot ubuntu from vhd but I could not find an article on the net to help me.

I would be highly grateful if you could help.

 

[Cly]

Ok, I've got Win 8 runnning in a VHD. I will reserve judgment until I've had a chance to play with it.

One thing I find really weird is you have give them your name, sex, birthdate, zip code, email address, and two of (another email address, phone number and secret question) just to install an operating system.

What gives??

 

[fafhrd]

Your zipcode locates you on the map.

Depending on how much of the other information you have given, it measures your gullibility index! (Sorry )