# Windows7 issues



## KennMacMoragh (Aug 14, 2009)

After being an XP user for about seven years, I recently made the switch to Windows7. The only advantage I have seen so far is it's ability to automatically search for and install drivers for whatever devices you have plugged in. Everything else about it just seems like a nuisance, doesn't work right, and takes up more of my time. Maybe I just haven't adjusted to it yet, I don't know.

Here are some of the issues so far:

#1. The search is very limited, doesn't work right. I tried searching for a file I had titled "resume", so I typed it in the search and up came a dialog box for adjusting the sleep and display settings?? So it took me forever to try and locate the file manually. With XP you had the option to search for certain files or folders, programs, or whatever, and I never had an issue with finding something I needed. 

#2. When you drag the window near the top of the screen, it will automatically maximize. I suppose they put this in for convenience to users, just to give them another way to maximize the screen as opposed to double clicking the top bar or clicking on the square up in the corner. But all this does is drive me crazy, I am constantly doing this by accident while shuffling windows around, and it just takes up my time.

#3. Certain games don't work right. I tried playing Warcraft3 and I get terrible lag, it looks like a slide show. I used the same settings I had before and it worked perfect on WindowsXP.

#4. Trying to open a file right from the desktop does not work. If I try to open a Microsoft Works file, I get an error message saying the file might be corrupted. So I have to open up Microsoft Works first, then open the file that I want, which just takes a long time. If I try and open up an Office2010 document from the desktop, well it opens, but it takes forever, it's extremely slow. Then it opens it on something called Word Starter, which I don't even know what that is. I want it to open on Office 2010, the program it was created with.


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## FLGarageDoors (Oct 24, 2009)

I recently got myself a new laptop with Windows 7. The thing I hate the most is #2 (window automatically maximizing), it's terribly irritating. On saying that, though, I'll take Windows 7 over Vista anytime. Vista made me want to smash my old laptop to pieces.


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## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

Windows 7 is better then Vista, worse then XP in my opinion
But should have been released as a FIX to Crapista
I'm not impressed with WIN7 at all
Another piece of bloatware with stupid "features" that cause more problems then they are worth
...until you find how to turn the junk off
1st thing I do is turn off the Aero looks & adjust the PC for Max performance

It would be nice to be able to drag windows to the edge with out MAX
I usually just use the task bar to swap between windows
Rarely have 2 windows side by side

Games = do you have a dedicated video card ?
Not a built in card that shares memory ?
Ho wmuch overall memory ? Video memory ?

Did you buy Office 2010 & install it ?
Or did you receive the 2010 Office Starter pack w/PC - Word & Excel ?


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## poppameth (Oct 2, 2008)

Disabling the Snap function is fairly easy. It's just finding the option that takes time. Or 2 seconds with a google search.

http://www.askvg.com/how-to-disable-aero-snap-in-windows-7/

There is a lot I still haven't really gotten use to in Vista/Win7 and I prefer the ease of use in WinXP, but I think Win7 is solid and it runs just fine so long at you aren't trying to install it on sub par hardware.

As for search, all you have to do it open the folder you want to search and use the search box in the upper right corner. The Start Button search doesn't look at every place because you'd get a ton of results. It looks in places that are set to be indexed. You just have to tweak your index settings if you want everything to be searched. Don't expect to get results as quickly though. The rest of your concerns really sound like something is configured or installed wrong. Office works just fine in Vista and Win7 for me.


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## rusty baker (Feb 13, 2009)

The reason you are having game problems is that the Flash Player is not compatible with many games. The games need a 64 bit and Adobe doesn't have one.


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## hyunelan2 (Aug 14, 2007)

Win7 > XP > Vista. I have 75 machines I maintain, 7 is by far the best. I can't stand when I have to go use an XP machine anymore. Speedtests prove the same thing. 7 is faster than XP, and both are way faster than Vista when running the benchmark program on identical systems.

I personally love the screen snapping and maximization. It's much faster to move windows around and work, especially on multi-monitor setups. If Aero is slowing your computer down, you need a faster computer. 


To the OP, did you do a fresh install of Windows 7, or use the "upgrade" option? If the latter, every once in a while the upgrade seems to make things a bit screwy. Of the 12 I rolled-up from Vista to 7 using the upgrade process, one went bad and I had issues with it.


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## KennMacMoragh (Aug 14, 2009)

I have a dedicated video card, it is a GeForce 8500 GT with 512 MB of dedicated video memory. 2 GB regular memory. 

Still can't figure out how to open my Microsoft Works files without opening the program first. Can't open a file right from the desktop. But I solved it for my Office 2010 files, I uninstalled Office Starter and they seem to be working fine. So it's just the Microsoft Works files that are messed up.

The disable for the screen maximizing works good, thx. 

The search I don't get. So I have to find the folder that has what I need first, then enter my search? But if I knew what folder my file was in, then why would I need the search option in the first place? With XP, the search would give me a ton of results, but it would still bring up what I was looking for, right in front of me. 

With the games, I might look into that Flash Player later. I actually don't have time for games right now anyway, it was just a gripe.

To hyunelan: It was a fresh install of Windows7. The Aero didn't really slow things down, it's just that I kept doing it by accident when moving windows around. And when I do need to maximize, double clicking the top bar works pretty fast for me, so I didn't see a need for that screen snapping option.


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## hyunelan2 (Aug 14, 2007)

Screen snapping comes in handy if you do a lot of work with Excel, where you may be entering in the data from another window into your Excel sheet. I like to be able to restore-down by just dragging the bar of a maximized window. You don't know how much you do use this and will like it until you have it for a while, then go to a computer that doesn't have it (Vista/XP).

For search, don't hit enter when you search. If you type "resume" and hit enter, it is going to go to the first thing on it's list that it finds - system resume settings. Instead, type resume and don't push anything. Let it populate the list of everything that has resume in it. If your computer has not yet indexed all the files, it may take a while - or may even not find it until indexing is complete.


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## KennMacMoragh (Aug 14, 2009)

I have a dedicated video card, it is a GeForce 8500 GT with 512 MB of dedicated video memory. 2 GB regular memory. 

Still can't figure out how to open my Microsoft Works files without opening the program first. Can't open a file right from the desktop. But I solved it for my Office 2010 files, I uninstalled Office Starter and they seem to be working fine. So it's just the Microsoft Works files that are messed up.

The disable for the screen maximizing works good, thx. 

The search I don't get. So I have to find the folder that has what I need first, then enter my search? But if I knew what folder my file was in, then why would I need the search option in the first place? With XP, the search would give me a ton of results, but it would still bring up what I was looking for, right in front of me. 

With the games, I might look into that Flash Player later. I actually don't have time for games right now anyway, it was just a gripe.

To hyunelan: It was a fresh install of Windows7. The Aero didn't really slow things down, it's just that I kept doing it by accident when moving windows around. And when I do need to maximize, double clicking the top bar works pretty fast for me, so I didn't see a need for that screen snapping option.


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## bigcaddy (Jun 12, 2009)

to search you just type the file name or part of it in the run area. 7 indexes in the background making it fairly simple to search and quick.


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