You need to use Virtual PC 2007 for Windows 7 x64.
Get the 64-bit version ***here***

Don't blame the computer for not running Jazz & Faust without crashing. It crashes on most every computer. It did it back when the game was made too.

Installed Overclocked - heard slight noises coming from the new laptop - sounded like a soft "shhss, shhss, shhss" next (after game was near completely/completely installed) noise was a soft rattling noise, think noise was prob. the optical drive, but other than that, game installed & ran ok.

Should I be concerned about this noise from the optical drive when Overclocked was installing?

Next, installed Zelenhgorm, intro runs but game proper crashes.

Have yet to test NiBiRu and AnaCapri.

Edit - installing NiBiRu. Optical drive now making soft "whirr" noise.

As I recall Overclocked had a lot of little compressed files and if you've got AV running in the background it may have been scanning them.

Some drives are nosier than others, but as long as you're not seeing read errors I wouldn't worry about it too much.

BTW - Overclocked is one of the better games I've played in a long time (you do have to like conversation though).

Edit -



Your version may be incompatible - you probably just need to download the 64 Bit edition. You can find both below -

Virtual PC Download

oh - didn't think of read errors. had none of these.



already d/l vpc '07, also d/l vmware player 3.1 for 32-bit/64-bit, will use this temporary until the new laptop's testing period is over, then will repartition and install xp/7 as a dual boot.

edit - tested nibiru. game installs, runs ok in w7, no tweaking.

Just don't void that warranty yet...

Do make sure you try using the compatibility modes for both playing and for installing for games that initially don't seem to work. Check out the Windows 7 and Games thread for more info...

I'd also highly recommend going to Help and Support in your Start menu and watch some of the videos and read some of the things about all that Windows 7 has to offer so you don't miss out on the new features of this OS.

How long should I wait before tinkering (setting up as dual boot) re: the warranty?

Regarding the warranty - I bought the computer *sealed, brand new* from an ebay seller that was located in Ft. Worth, Texas, so I believe if anything goes wrong with it, it'll be too much of a hassle to track down the seller (let alone trying to remember his/her name, packaging up the laptop and shipping it, we discard the ebay/Amazon papers after several months). With the mac, when something went wrong with it (from a d/l from Brothersoft) about a month or so after I rec'ed it, we took it to the Apple store 13 miles from home by car, so that wasn't too much of a hassle.

EDIT - For these of you who want to do gameplay screenshot captures while gaming in Windows 7 64-bit, I've found that Fraps v3.3.0 works perfectly, and it's free.

FRAPS v3.3.0

cruise - in answer to your question : how long is your warranty for ?
that's how long......

My goodness, I can't imagine buying anything as expensive as a computer and throwing away any papers regarding the sale. I keep them until the warranty is expired. The warranty will be a manufacturer's warranty, not a seller's warranty. Read the documentation that came with the laptop. You may have to register the laptop through the mail or over the internet, but the manufacturer is the one who will honor whatever warranty they provide with the computer.

What if the hard drive or the motherboard croaks next month? Believe me, it can happen. So, read your documentation that came with the laptop. Protect yourself.

I did get a couple of booklets with the laptop. The warranty is for 1 year. Does this mean I have to wait a whole year before setting it up as a dual boot?

I am in the process of trying out the laptop by installing my XP games to test how these games install/run in 64-bit Win 7.

It's your computer. It's up to you how long you want to test it for.

Have you checked how the hard drive is partitioned? Click Start and type
diskmgmt.msc
in the search box and Enter it. Diskmgmt.msc can show you if you have more than one partition on the hard drive.

Jenny I totally forgot that Acer used to ship all their laptops with partitioned hard drives. I don't know if they still do or not, but I had to show 2 people how to use the two partitions to best advantage.

Jenny, I checked my new laptop's HDD, it was 452 GB partitioned for Win 7. So I shrunk this win 7 partition to 233 GB, leaving a 219 GB unalotted partition which I did a quick NTFS format of it, labeling it Win XP. Then I went into the BIOS, changed the boot order to Slim DVD (optical drive), saved/exited, put the Win XP disc in the drive, did a restart, but I never got a prompt to "press any key to boot from CD" - since pristine XP CD's are kind of costly (and I'm on a fixed income), I had my nephew burn me a Win XP installation CD, and I'm using this to try to boot off the CD - why don't I get the prompt?

I have Easy BCD on my new laptop now but I haven't installed nor ran it yet - should I at this point?

Is somehow the computer is not seeing the CD (from which to invoke the prompt) in the drive?

I suspect that the x64 version of Win 7 is not letting me install the x86 (32-bit) Win XP, and is perhaps blocking the computer from seeing the CD in the drive/blocking the "press any key..." prompt?

Anyway, with this CD in the optical drive, if I let the computer boot into Win 7, it sees the CD and a little dialogue box pops up with "setup" highlighted - I clicked on this and that's when I think (don't recall exactly) I got a something like "this program is blocked by the newer version of windows" kind of message, and I tried going to Start, typing in the search box, "D:setup" <enter> and but I do recall I made it boot off the Win XP CD while in Win7, I tried to make it install Windows XP, but it wouldn't let me do it.

Jenny can tell you more, but, um... you can't install "burned" XP installation CDs - it's illegal. Plus, did he burn it as an ISO file? I recently worked on a computer that had a "dirty" OS on it (illegal) and there wasn't much I could do with it after I got it to boot up again. I gave it back to the individual and told them I wouldn't work on it.

Hope you're crossing your fingers about that warranty... sounds like it's now null and void.

You don't need it until after you install XP.
According to the instructions ***here*** you run Easy BCD from XP.


The CD has to be bootable. If you just copy files to a CD, it won't be bootable. I don't know if your XP disc was burned properly or not. I thought you had a real Windows XP disc. How do you intend to activate XP if you don't have a license for it?


Windows 7 isn't running in the early part of the boot sequence so it wouldn't be blocking anything.


You need to boot off a Windows XP CD to install XP. You can't do it while another version of Windows is running.

Apparently the CD isn't bootable. My nephew probably just copied the files to a CDR. I don't know if it was burned properly.



No, I don't have a real Windows XP CD, except the install discs - one with XP_SP2 that came with my HP Compaq laptop - tried this last night (before trying that disc burned by the nephew), the computer gave me that "press any key to boot from the CD" prompt then, but after loading the files/drivers, etc, (it didn't even get to the part where I was supposed to get a prompt to install XP yet) I got a Blue Screen of Death, from this point I powered off, then powered on again and the computer was ok; plus I got the Win XP reinstallation CD that came with my old Dell Dimension 8200, haven't tried this - should I?

The big question is, how can I get myself a real Windows XP CD if they're pricy and I'm on a fixed income? And do I have to buy an OEM version?



I know a little trick that lets me do this. It involved using the regedit. I believe it'll prove useful for XP fans after XP's extended support from MS ends, PC gaming-that-are-Win7x64-incompatable-wise.



I don't know if he burned it as an ISO file - how can I tell? But as far as I can tell, he burned the files onto a CDR.



Yes, Drac, I'm crossing my fingers. In fact, both computers I ordered (the old Dell in 2001 and the old laptop in 2005) had nothing go wrong with them except got infected with malware which my nephew had to wipe their hard drives and reinstall XP.

You'll have to bite the bullet and purchase a legitimate Retail copy. OEM versions are generally branded to the hardware they're intended to be installed on - in other words, you can't use a Dell disc on a Gateway PC. It may work, but it's highly unlikely.



Browse the disc from windows 7 - if it contains a large .iso file then it's an Image, and can't be used (as is) to install XP.

Not to mention that all this is highly illegal. You still have XP from those disks installed on another computer - your Dell or the HP. And registry tweaks that encourage such illegal activity? I have no comment except that if you are still thinking about opening your own computer repair business, you need to find out how to do your work ethically.

And causing BSODs on a brand new laptop and voiding the warranty? You're much braver with your money than I am. You've been lucky so far and I hope your luck holds out. I've just read too many horror stories about laptops developing problems or just dying.

Holy cow, you're right about legal XP Home being pricey! I only checked at Amazon, but even upgrades are $180. I'm so glad I bought a couple of XP Home Upgrades about a year and a half ago for $80. I had two legal Windows 98 disks here and used those for the upgrades. If you absolutely insist on putting XP on this brand new Windows 7 laptop and then try to find drivers for everything, it looks like you'll need to start saving your pennies for a legal copy of XP!

Cruise,

Just a reminder:

This is what you agreed on when you signed as a member.



This also applies to any software, music or movie. Removal of membership privileges is done with no notice.

They sure can be - but, I was able to locate a copy of SP3 for $79.00 (although it's not the Professional version).

Microsoft Windows XP Home with Service Pack 3 Full New Genuine Version (CD-ROM)

For gaming, there's really no compelling need to run the Professional edition.



Yes, running a repair business (or any other business) requires word of mouth and return customers in order to be profitable. The last thing you want is someone hacking your OS just to make a quick buck.

I listened to you, Inland and scouted around for a retail XP, and I think I found one on ebay for under $100 - should I buy it?

Windows XP retail (ebay)

Guess I didn't dig deep enough - I just did a search on XP Home and got the upgrades for $180. If I needed another copy of XP, I'd grab this deal! The ones I got were just SP2, but I bought a SP3 disk a few years ago and have used it several times.

Ask the seller - better yet, have them scan the box and send you a picture.

The term OEM is thrown around a lot, and misused just as frequently - If the version is from Microsoft, then it a retail version. All others should state Windows XP for the hardware OEM's PC's.

The ones Inland linked to are a much better deal.

Google can be your friend -

Here's a link to a retail copy of XP Professional for $75.00 -

Microsoft Windows XP Professional

Edit -

Scratch that one, I went to the sellers store - and it's a Dell install disc. Google around you'll find one eventually.

Inland, Drac - I just bought the $97 retail XP from ebay just now. It has free S & H. I didn't want to take any chances on the $79 XP from Amazon being an OEM version.