Win 7 install order and few other ?'s

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rabiddawgs

Limp Gawd
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Aug 16, 2004
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I have basically been away from the max pc craze for awhile. money and time have kept me away. but I do have a pretty simple question for installing Win 7.

I know with xp there was a basic order of installing everything. like mb drivers first, video card then sound etc.

Is there a specific order that everyone prefers for Win7 pro. 64

also are there x2 drivers needed like there was with xp? or any other recommended things to get/do for a smooth running OS.

should i get a 2gb drive for readyboost? i have 4gb mem right now.
 
Order makes no difference, but I usually start with mobo drivers.

I don't know what you mean by X2

With 4gb, there's no real benefit of using ready boost.

About the only thing you can do to increase performance is get an SSD.
 
thanks for the reply.
as far as x2.. dual core cpu. my bad on the explanation of that.

i got this new HDD to replace the crappy 500 gb seagate i had before. wanted a ssd but out of my price range right now
 
My recommended course of action:

1) Install the OS.
2) Hit Windows Update, grab everything that's offered, reboot, hit it again, and again, until there's no more updates to be downloaded.
3) Install Microsoft Security Essentials for antivirus/malware protection.
4) Install IE9 just because it's available now, it's faster than IE8, and it's safer/more secure than IE8 as well.
5) Update the video drivers to the latest available from either the OEM (prebuilt PC or branded laptop) or ATI or Nvidia or Intel directly if you're into games and care about getting the utmost in performance.
5a) As far as all other drivers are concerned, I recommend you stick with the drivers that are provided by Windows Update for all hardware save for the video drivers. The ones from Windows Update are rock solid stable, and while the video drivers from WU may not give the best possible performance from gaming, etc, they are damned stable and reliable nonetheless. They're the only drivers that I recommend updating to something not available on Windows Update - all other drivers should come from Windows Update. If you don't have one available from WU, then go find it at the computer maker (if an OEM machine) or from the individual component manufacturer.
6) Install the stuff you want after.
7) Don't muck with the OS - it doesn't require or work well with a lot of XP-like tweaking; Windows 7 just doesn't need that crap anymore, the idea is leave it alone in all the ways possible if you can handle it. The OS will self-tune to some degree and get faster as time goes by, but that takes about 2 weeks of using it daily before things really get situated - it won't happen overnight, but it WILL happen as time passes.
8) Get it set up just the way you want, with everything updated and running well, image that system partition with something like Acronis True Image or Clonezilla or whatever imaging tool you want so you don't have to do it again anytime soon.

That's about it...
 
I agree that Win7 is a lot better than XP; but there are still some things you can do to make it a bit faster.

- Disable any programs or services you or the system doesn't use. Why run Wireless autoconfig service on a workstation that doesn't even have a wireless card?

- If you run an SSD:
-- Disable indexing, auto defrag and and write cache.
-- Some suggest disabling SuperFetch or bootfiles only. YMMV
-- Some Suggest enabling AHCI, but depends on your bios/drive/sata controller. Can cause problems if not supported properly.

- Swap file: Still debated, but don't disable it like some sites suggest!
http://www.techradar.com/news/softw...imise-your-windows-swap-file-634911?artc_pg=1

- Clean up space.
-- Disable system restore (obviously you need another backup/recovery process in place)
-- Disable Hibernate if you don't use it.
-- In "Programs and Features" you can uninstall windows components if you don't use them (like the default games, or whatever).
-- Do NOT delete winsxs directory! It'll get huge, but that is just the way Win 7 is.
-- Run windows diskclean up (this can nuke your roll back of SP1! Make sure SP1 is working for you before cleaning it up)

- GUI
-- Personally I like to disable the Windows Themes/Aero and just use classic
-- Disable Aero Peak/Snap if you don't use it.
-- In Advanced->Perforce->Visual effects I disabled everything (Set to "Adjust for Performance).
-- Disable the gadgets and all that junk.
-- Disable sounds.
-- Disable Thumbnail preview in Explorer

This of course depends on personal preference on how you like your GUI.

-Tweak Tools
TCP Optimizer: http://www.speedguide.net/downloads.php
CC Cleaner (just cleans up garbage).

-Customize
Not really tweaks, but:

Power Toys and SysInterals:
- https://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx
- http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb842062.aspx

Change logon screen: http://tweaks.com/windows/39468/customizing-logon-screen-background-in-windows-7/
Quick Launch Bar: http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-7/add-the-quick-launch-bar-to-the-taskbar-in-windows-7/

Reg stuff: http://www.computingunleashed.com/registrytweaks-for-speeding-up-windows.html
 
budec said:
I agree that Win7 is a lot better than XP; but there are still some things you can do to make it a bit faster.

- Disable any programs or services you or the system doesn't use. Why run Wireless autoconfig service on a workstation that doesn't even have a wireless card?
Click to expand...
Why would you disable it? When you don't have a wireless card, it automatically sets the startup type to manual.

Can you offer any indication your advice improves performance in any measurable way?
 
Tawnos said:
Why would you disable it? When you don't have a wireless card, it automatically sets the startup type to manual.
Click to expand...

If you have a wireless card; but don't use it, it can start the service. Same with DHCP Client .. Why enable either of those up if you have a hardwired static ip. Yea, it only saves a few hunderd kb in memory or few ms in startup; but everything combined does add up.

Can you offer any indication your advice improves performance in any measurable way?[/QUOTE]

Benchmark it yourself. I benchmarked my system when I set it up (6 months ago). I don't have the numbers any more; but there was a drop in memory usage, number of processes running, boot up times, disk i/o and disk space (important on ssds).
 
well i got it installed... but i am having a problem... my onboard nics do not work... seems to be a driver issure from what i can tell... ugh not sure what to do.
asus m2n-sli deluxe. i have the most current nforce driver pack
 
rabiddawgs said:
well i got it installed... but i am having a problem... my onboard nics do not work... seems to be a driver issure from what i can tell... ugh not sure what to do.
asus m2n-sli deluxe. i have the most current nforce driver pack
Click to expand...

How don't they work? Is windows detecting them? Do they show up in System/Devices? What about in Networking->Adapters?
 
they will not connect to my router. windows says they are ok. goto diag connection problem and it comes back to a driver issue.
i have been looking aorund on other forums and the onboard nic with some of the nforce chipsets seem to have this problem. they are all confused also. some have made them work but have problems later and with bigger newtwork activity.
i think i am just going to go get a new nic card to use.. tired of messin with it.
i have looked around for new nics. was over at newegg and the highest ranking ones seem to be the intels. dont want an intel in my amd setup...lol..

is there a gb nic that is recommended. stay on the cheap side.

i think i have an empty pci-e slot... would i notice a difference between a pci-e and pci nic card?
 
budec said:
Benchmark it yourself. I don't have the numbers any more.
Click to expand...
Please don't give out 'advice' relating to performance improvements if you can't back it up with some sort of benchmark. Imagine if all Brent did in his video card reviews was say, "I don't have any numbers, but I benchmarked these cards and the AMD one was faster."

rabiddawgs said:
is there a gb nic that is recommended. stay on the cheap side.
Click to expand...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...-Network+-+Interface+Cards-_-Intel-_-33106033
 
Since XP SP2, all windows have firewall enabled IIRC, so, when i perform a fresh install, i do it unplugged from the net, install all drivers starting from mobo, gfx, audio, lan, and then i plug the puter back. Grab all windows updates, and then install the security software, Avast or MSE, depending of the mood / client / computer specs. After everything is updated, i install all software like office or whatever is needed and latest versions of every utility needed by the computer (java, ccleaner, messenger, etc).

Once the computer is running the way i want, i backup with ghost / acronis / clonezilla / ping / macrium / drive snapshot or whatever backup utility is handy.

...and never had an issue this way in decades.
 
OldMX said:
Since XP SP2, all windows have firewall enabled IIRC, so, when i perform a fresh install, i do it unplugged from the net, install all drivers starting from mobo, gfx, audio, lan, and then i plug the puter back. Grab all windows updates, and then install the security software, Avast or MSE, depending of the mood / client / computer specs. After everything is updated, i install all software like office or whatever is needed and latest versions of every utility needed by the computer (java, ccleaner, messenger, etc).

Once the computer is running the way i want, i backup with ghost / acronis / clonezilla / ping / macrium / drive snapshot or whatever backup utility is handy.

...and never had an issue this way in decades.
Click to expand...

I follow the same, except I make sure AV is installed before I connect to the net.
 
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