May need new laptop

[HarryD (Greg)]

Hi to you all.

I have been using an Asus laptop, 7 years old, with Windows Vista to run ASCOM Eqmod PHD2 etc. Its all been OK but......The Asus is getting a bit old and is sometimes unreliable.

If I get a new laptop with Windows 8.1 installed, how will all these 32 bit programs run?

Anyone done the change over?

Thanks in advance.

Harry.

[pluto (Hugh)]

I've run Windows 8.1 on 2 different laptops for astro stuff and everything you mentioned has worked fine. A 64bit Windows can still run 32bit applications so that's not an issue. You do hear people complain about compatibility for some things on Windows 8.1 but I've never had anything not work. It's also by far the most efficient and stable version of Windows yet in my experience (so the opposite of Vista ). If you can't live without the old start menu just grab Start8 or one of the free ones, it's not a big deal.

Astro applications I have tried and have worked include:
PHD and PHD2, EQMOD, Stellarium, DSS, CCDSoft, PixInsight, Atik Artemis Capture, Astrotortilla, alignmaster, CCDInspector (just the demo), Focusmax, StarTools, BYE, and I'm sure some more that I've forgotten.

[mithrandir (Andrew)]

One thing you will have to watch out for is USB compatibility. Some devices (or their drivers) will only work with USB1.x or USB2 ports. Given that warning W8 is supposed to have better USB3 compatibility than Win7.

[HarryD (Greg)]

That's good news as my laptop fell over last night.

I appreciate your replies.

Thanks again.

Harry

[Amaranthus (Barry)]

I did get around the Win 8.1 issues with some (Prolific) USB leads, by using an old legacy driver (from 2010). Once I rolled that back, I solved the issue. Otherwise, as others noted, all Astro stuff works really well in Win 8.1

[mithrandir (Andrew)]

You also need to watch out for USB cables that claim to have FTDI chipsets but don't. A recent release of FTDI drivers identifies imitation FTDI chips and kills them.

The hard part is that cable makers who think they paid for genuine FTDI chips may have been sold imitations.

I'd recommend that anyone who buys these cables test them immediately with the latest drivers and return them as "not fit for purpose" if they fail.

[Marios (Marios)]

As a IT guy my advise is to stay on 7 for now for the best support in apps and drivers. You cans still pickup a OEM copy of 7 for bit over $100.

[pluto (Hugh)]

Originally Posted by Marios

As a IT guy my advise is to stay on 7 for now for the best support in apps and drivers.

Anything specific?
I'm just curious as I've never had anything that worked on 7 not work on 8.1?

[ZeroID (Brent)]

Originally Posted by Marios

As a IT guy my advise is to stay on 7 for now for the best support in apps and drivers. You cans still pickup a OEM copy of 7 for bit over $100.

As another IT guy ditto. And wait for X to arrive. Yep, drivers and ease of use but mainly drivers. 8.1 tries to tell YOU what to do rather than do what you want it to do. To damn 'automatic' especially if you need to customise it for specific applications etc, Security is a bit of a head ache, not so flexible, it considers EVERYTHING as being dangerous.

In my big corporate working environment, 8 or 8.1 doesn't even get a look in.

[Marios (Marios)]

Originally Posted by pluto

Anything specific?
I'm just curious as I've never had anything that worked on 7 not work on 8.1?

Perhaps Win 8 has caught up with all its issues from its initial inception.
I just cant stand that damn interface..

[pluto (Hugh)]

Originally Posted by ZeroID

In my big corporate working environment, 8 or 8.1 doesn't even get a look in.

I appreciate that when deploying Windows on a corporate network you would want to go with a more tried and tested version that supports everything you're running, but are you really suggesting that someone buy a new laptop and run a 5 year old OS on it?
I know with my latest lappy that you can't get Windows 7 hardware drivers for it and I can't imagine any manufacturer releasing Windows 7 drivers for a consumer laptop now days (maybe for a few business/corporate models from the likes of Dell or HP)

Greg, the OP, asked if anyone had any specific experiences with running astro stuff on Windows 8.1 and other than maybe having to get some new cables, which I've never had to do, nobody has mentioned anything that doesn't work.
I've read many threads on here talking about Windows 8.1's suitability for astro work but I've never seen anyone post "X software/hardware doesn't run but it used to run on my old computer..." yet people are often advising against it...?

Originally Posted by Marios

Perhaps Win 8 has caught up with all its issues from its initial inception.
I just cant stand that damn interface..

I'm not a fan either so I don't use it.

Plus we're talking about Windows 8.1 which in my experience is much more stable and mature than Windows 8. If this was a couple of years ago and we were talking about Windows 8 then I would be joining you in advising that Windows 7 was the way to go