Rightio, I have caved and for simplicities sake i am going to use a PC lappy for imaging (i am a dyed in the wool Mac person). I have inherited my wifes 3 yr old Compaq which currently has Vista installed. Now from my very limited PC knowledge i know that Vista sucks. Question is what is the best winblows OS to install. Should i go for 7 or try and track down XP? I will be running PHD with a GPUSB cable and a toucam for guiding, EOS Utility for capture and DSS.
Stick with the Vista until you have thoroughtly tested it and proved it is not suitable. Vista is not really as bad as everyone is led to believe and proprietry computers like Compaq don't always take kindly to OS changes. You may have trouble finding suitable drivers particularly if it is 64 bits.
Apparently Windows 8 is due for release on 26 Oct 2012.
Through until 31 Jan 2013, Microsoft have announced that
"if your PC is running Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7
you will qualify to download an upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for just US$39.99".
Whether it is any good or whether it will run any of the applications you
would like to run, I have no idea, but it is another variable to possibly
consider rather than forking out dollars for another OS today.
Vista ultimate was quite decent, people said it sucked mostly cause it was very different to xp. Win7 is essentially Vista V2, best of vista and best of xp.
As for calling it winblows well I deal with macs and mactards every day. Both OS's have their good and bad sides In general windows 7layout is more logical but not as logical as xp. Mac os can do some cool things as well. Both os's I often go wtf were they thinking its so much easier on mac or windows.
I have no input on other linux's as I dont use them.
If you were to reinstall grab a copy of win7 however minus quirks vista is basically the same
Nothing is as good as XP, Xp just got old and out dated unfortunately.
Might I suggest before getting stuck in a mindset about an OS and how it works, give it a chance and use it for a few months. Being made to use and support both you learn the best and worst of each OS. At the end of the day excluding supporting infrastructure e.g. if you have other windows or mac machines on your network etc, they are basically the same. Same quirks, different layout and for the most part can do the same thing with some exceptions.
tldr; Get a copy of Win7 either 32 or 64bit if the CPU supports it, install it, update it, enjoy it
As for win8, not sure but my early impressions of it using it for a little here is I wouldnt touch it yet, i hate the layout.
Some interesting comments on operating systems!
I use:
1 installation of Win 7 Ultimate, 2 installations of Win 7 home premium (all 64 bit on dual core platforms). The main computer has two installations of Win 7 64 bit Ultimate. Win 7 is great for programs designed for 64 bit that are unuseably slow to use on a 32 bit system
1 installation of Vista Home (32 bit on this laptop)
7 computers with at least 1 installation of of XP SP3. but mostly 2
and 3 installations of Linux (Ubuntu)
I have XP as a main system on all computers
The computers running Win 7 all have VMware 8.04 virtual systems supporting XP, Linux, DOS and Win 98 2e.
XP in any installation is by far the most user friendly but does not display well on some laptops with ATI video that has no drivers for XP and does not run some of the other later software designed for 64 bit.
Win 7 needs to be fitted eventually so you need to get used to its unfriendlliness that is much worse than Vista was. Doing something new like setting up networks, adding software that hasn't been approved by microsoft or just having to get administrator approval for the simplest of tasks makes jobs that took a single keystroke and a few seconds in XP take anything from a few seconds to 30 minutes.
Win 7 is no bother for most who just use a computer for browsing and normal microsoft programs although I would recommend removing the update to IE9 and revert to IE8 or better still use Firefox.
I haven't tested Win 8 yet but will try it some time on one computer that is well backed up first. I have heard nothing but bad reports on it so far.
Barry
Last edited by Barrykgerdes; 24-08-2012 at 10:55 AM.
I support about 200 XP (decreasing) and about 300 Win 7 (increasing) at work. Win 7 can be made MUCH easier by typing 'UAC' (User Access Control) into the box then minimising the slider. As long as you are the admin for the OS it then becomes quite user friendly and only annoys you now and then with security prompts.
Took me a while to get used to Win 7 but having built just about all 300 in the company and fixed, reimaged, loaded drivers, tweaked etc I am now quite happy with it.
I think your biggest issue may be finding drivers etc for some of your gear and that is where XP is so good. It has been around a long while and is almost universal.
My one experience with Vista was not good, overly protective and slow. Win7 is a lot better in that regard and pretty stable now at SP1 and 97 updates.
Linux\Ubuntu\Puppy Linux etc I have used and good for some tasks for sure but not for me as a standard desktop.
Win 8 I have seen and played with. Apparently it is just really another overlay on Win7 (which is an overlay on XP ) but with more focus on tablet and touch screen capability.
My Win7 64 bit Media PC at home has this as a access desktop called screen tap I think.
Gaah, all of this is exactly why i hate Winblows. I just want a simple machine that will run my Canon DSLR through EOS utility, PHD with Toucam for guiding and Deep Sky Stacker. Everything else i will do on the Mac. Will Vista handle these relatively simple tasks?
Gaah, all of this is exactly why i hate Winblows. I just want a simple machine that will run my Canon DSLR through EOS utility, PHD with Toucam for guiding and Deep Sky Stacker. Everything else i will do on the Mac. Will Vista handle these relatively simple tasks?
Yes.
Just install the software. It is pretty easy. You don't need a big powerful puter to do these tasks.
Gaah, all of this is exactly why i hate Winblows. I just want a simple machine that will run my Canon DSLR through EOS utility, PHD with Toucam for guiding and Deep Sky Stacker. Everything else i will do on the Mac. Will Vista handle these relatively simple tasks?
All those programs run in my XP, Vista and Win 7 or have equivalent versions for the operating system.
Barry
PS I lost intenet for an hour while making my last post and needed to edit it. I have done that now.
Windows 7 is by far the most stable. Vista was a dog.
As far as UAC is concerned, turn it off. Never to be nagged again.
Unless you do a zillion searches, turn indexing off as well.
You just got to know how to operate the OS.
Microsoft gives you lots of options to configure the OS to suit your needs.
My main imaging computer is a four year old Vista home premium machine. On it I run PHD with a starshoot astroguider, DSLR with Astrophotography tool, Nebulosity 3 with CCD and Maxim DL. I also have The Sky X on it. I also use DSS both an older version and the new beat for Canod 60Da frames.
It runs guiding and imaging with PHD and APT seamlessly, but sometimes crashes if you overburden it with Maxim DL and The Sky X.
I have had little issues with Vista except making sure all the drivers are correct.
I could never get EOS utilities to run smoothly enough to use for acquisition- it kept crashing or freezing-hence I use APT.
The only thing I need to keep doing is making sure there is enough disc space for processing and capture.
Cheers
Graham
Last edited by graham.hobart; 24-08-2012 at 11:34 AM.
Reason: added
Gaah, all of this is exactly why i hate Winblows. I just want a simple machine that will run my Canon DSLR through EOS utility, PHD with Toucam for guiding and Deep Sky Stacker. Everything else i will do on the Mac. Will Vista handle these relatively simple tasks?
Dude, I do that, easily without issue. On your mac do you have to enter your admin password to authenticate everytime you want to make changes? its the same thing as UAC
Mick - extend the wallet a little and buy an Orion SSAG. These (as opposed to the QHY5) will run on OSX natively under PHD. Then, like me, you can do the whole lot on a platform you prefer. If you're stuck with the webcam, then there are drivers for some... have a look at macam. A hassle, but maybe worthwhile.
Like Chris said, get a guide camera that will work with PHD on the Mac, and then use Nebulosity as well to drive your Canon.
That way you bypass any of the issues you have with Windows.
Gary
