Because back then they cost like $300 which was more than I paid for the whole computer.
Thinking of getting a larger hard drive for my desktop
- Thread starter atikovi
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Is your SSD SATA based or NVME driven?
SATA
For large capacity long term storage it’s hard to beat spinners. That’s especially true for rarely accessed files where speed often isn’t much of a concern.
I say that as someone whose current desktop has a 2tb NVMe drive(which is about 5x faster measured speed than the theoretical limit of SATA drives) and an 8tb spinner for long term storage. I have photo libraries that are a few gigabytes each-current ones stay in easy reach, while older ones get offloaded to the big spinner. Often I’m just looking at older ones briefly, but if I need to work with them again I’ll shift them forward to the SSD so I’m not dealing with slow.
Storage in any form is cheap these days. Always get more than you think you need.
And last thing-Windows 7 got its last security update(forever) last month. Chrome and Firefox are dropping it with their next updates, which I think will be in the next week or two. Aside from things not working correctly online, using Windows 7 online will be unsafe. There are genuine use cases for older OS versions(I have several computers running Mac OS X 10.6.8, which was released in 2009 and last updated 2013 or so) but they are best used offline or only sparingly online.
I say that as someone whose current desktop has a 2tb NVMe drive(which is about 5x faster measured speed than the theoretical limit of SATA drives) and an 8tb spinner for long term storage. I have photo libraries that are a few gigabytes each-current ones stay in easy reach, while older ones get offloaded to the big spinner. Often I’m just looking at older ones briefly, but if I need to work with them again I’ll shift them forward to the SSD so I’m not dealing with slow.
Storage in any form is cheap these days. Always get more than you think you need.
And last thing-Windows 7 got its last security update(forever) last month. Chrome and Firefox are dropping it with their next updates, which I think will be in the next week or two. Aside from things not working correctly online, using Windows 7 online will be unsafe. There are genuine use cases for older OS versions(I have several computers running Mac OS X 10.6.8, which was released in 2009 and last updated 2013 or so) but they are best used offline or only sparingly online.
I recenlty upgraded from 2T hardrive to 6 T hardrive (in 3 seperate drives).
Was not expensive at my corner computer store.
I do a lot of gaming and download mods for said games.
Was not expensive at my corner computer store.
I do a lot of gaming and download mods for said games.
It's an operating system file. Leave it alone.
I assume you mean Boot Driving an SSD with HDD doing the file storage setup.
With a couple setups installed into real world scenarios, im apprehensive in recommending that approach for hands off systems.
Usually a person like the OP, who justs values uptime, KISS. 1 drive, single OS, automatic updates, and a nightly backup to an external USB Desktop, with maybe some cloud backups of the most essential pieces of their data.
Its a slippery slope when we get into more nuanced system configs, Linux setups, or multidrive setups.
I guess to me it's a no-brainer solution, but then I'm also someone who's almost always had multiple drives in my systems. Heck, I had two in my last main use laptop for a while(SSD in place of the optical drive, spinner in the main HDD bay, and no I didn't lose performance as the optical bus in that system is the same speed as the main HDD bus, and I did it that way so that I still had an SMS on the mechanical drive).
The desktop I'm using has the capability for both a PCIe drive and a 3.5" SATA drive because the default base model configuration was a "fusion" drive(what everyone else calls a hybrid drive), or a 32gb PCIe drive and a 1tb mechanical drive that automatically shuffled data back and forth between the two based on access frequency. Back in the day before SSDs got cheap, I installed a bunch of off the shelf hybrid SATA drives, usually with an 8 or 16gb solid state drive integrated into the controller for a ~500gb or 1tb spinner. I don't think those are really made or popular anymore because most would just go straight to SSD now, but back in the early to mid 2010s they were a great way to get a decent speed boost with good capacity for not much more than a similarly sized spinner and not pay the $1/gb prices that a lot of SSDs were running then. I haven't looked, but I'd not be surprised if there's software for Windows that can do this automatically as well.
The OP has mentioned using external hard drives, which I also use for "deep" backup. That implies some familiarity to me with handling multiple drives, but for me I like having at least one big one internal so that I don't have to go digging through external drives and find the right one(and then get it plugged in and maybe plug a power supply in after I find the right one) for that one random file from 2 years ago that I need. I can just search for it and search for it or manually look, especially provided I organize with good file names and directory structures on the front end without getting up from my desk.
To each their own, though. At the end of the day I'm actually not sure why the OP starts threads like this, as they seem to already be convinced about what solution they're going to use before starting it and are not open to other suggestions no matter how much sense they make.
Also, it's good info to have out there for others who may read.
I know, but it doesn't change that it's still an increasingly terrible idea in 2023 even though we'll likely still be reading posts about things not working in Windows 7 in 5 years from the OP.
Love all the W7 bashing here from people who don't use any software or programs that won't work on W10. Maybe tell owners of 1990's Hondas and Toyotas that are still running just fine, to switch over to a 2020 model because it still has support and it's safer and more secure with all the nanny features and increased tech.
You want to cling to shrapnel throwing airbags and obsolete crash standards? Or use an old Nokia dumb phone? It is like driving an old four banger automatic Volvo 240 down the interstate in post 55 America
Yea, a $500 monthly payment for the next 72 months is way better.You want to cling to shrapnel throwing airbags and obsolete crash standards? Or use an old Nokia dumb phone? It is like driving an old four banger automatic Volvo 240 down the interstate in post 55 America
You really don't know what I do with my computers. I run software, often interfaced to VERY expensive older hardware/peripherals, that requires OSs even older than Windows 7. I do have one computer at work running Win7 on an FT-IR spectrophotometer. It could probably be made to run on Windows 10(just like my GC-MS does despite not being officially supported) but I haven't taken the time to do it.
Here's the key, and this is the point I'm trying to make-I run these computers OFF LINE. For the rare case that I might need software that requires a specific older OS and doesn't necessarily interface to hardware, I sandbox it in a virtual machine and if I need internet access, what I do is very, very tightly controlled and specific. Trying to limp along with an older OS as a primary computer is a guaranteed way to at best find things don't work(like the frequent site access problems you post about here) or at worst get hacked.
And those are just the people who still think it's worth it to bother trying to explain to someone how **extremely** unwise it is to use an unsupported OS. Most of us realize there isn't much point when someone whose complete lack of acuity is met with a total attachment to their baseless opinion that their EOL software is somehow secure (are you expecting malicious parties to advise you when they've breached your installation?!); yet here I am: Brother, it is **extremely** unwise to use an unsupported OS. Extremely. And it is not just about you: It is about malicious parties using your vulnerable machine to victimize others.
No one is bashing Windows 7. People are pointing out repeatedly it's lack of security support, lack of browser support, and so on and the risk to you for running. People are trying to help you, but as I said before, you just dig in your heels. I have to add this too: You don't know what "support" means in the context that people keep referring to either.
Many of us noticed that you use 3 or 4 (??) different web browsers too. I have my suspicions as to why but they don't matter. When you post about website issues, browser issues, computer issues, you're going to get tired of the same answer (your OS is insecure, outdated, etc). Never once have I told you to upgrade from Windows 7 either, by the way. I only point out why these issues are likely occuring.
I would never bash Windows 7. It was the last version of Windows I used before I jumped ship to Macs, and in my book it's on par with Windows 2000 and XP for stability and just general greatness.
My like of it in the past, though, doesn't change what I think all of us are saying about it, and that's that as an internet-connected OS its day has passed. It still does everything it did when it stopped being a current OS, but time marches on and the internet in particular has left it behind(or will very soon).
I would never, ever say that running it as a stand-alone system or in a VM to support a specific piece of software(or hardware) is a bad idea and in fact as I mentioned I do that with Win7 and a few other obsolete OSs. I just don't go onto the internet with them.
Whats the saying again, when you make assumptions you make a .......
Window's 7 no longer exists in the eyes of Microsoft as a platform they actively support and secure. Slowly a lot of application developers who tend to be accepting of keeping older machines running are also slowly migrating away as well. This means certain websites may simply deny access to their websites due to limitations in an outdated browser.
Keeping machines with W7 offline is fine and slowly once those Internet Applications walk away your essentially going to have to accept an offline machine.
That being said I have folks who still need a dedicated Windows XP 32bit machine for their Techstream for diagnosing their 1996+ Toyota and Lexus products. Bashing and telling them to go make car payments for a new machine and software package to run their software is borderline stupid. For them, I hand them a older laptop, thats offline all the time, and can be used to run as many OBD programs to their hearts desire. It works. Those can be acquired for free sometimes. Reset the machine, install your desired software.
All of your sensitive information get any OS thats supported by their creator. You can go as expensive as a MAC that costs the same as a 200k 1990 Toyota Camry or as frugal as implying installing an absolutely free Linux Distro like Ubuntu LTS that will at least keep you upto date for at least a half a decade or longer.
To each their own of course.
The last thing I posted about here had nothing to do with my computer running W7 and other here have experienced it as well. https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/whats-this-error-message-mean.364655/
Are you suggesting that people using W10 never get hacked? What do the companies that are subject to all the ransomware hacks use if not W10?
I can appreciate people trying to help but maybe I'm just not as concerned with security or support as others may be, especially when I'm satisfied with the performance of the computer overall. I mean, if someone came on here asking for advice on replacing the water pump on their 1988 Buick, would you instead of giving that advice, tell them their car is a POS death trap and they should instead spend their money on a 2020 model with airbags, abs and all the driver assist nannys to keep them secure?
I use Chrome the majority of the time because most websites don't work on Explorer anymore.
I use Brave because it plays Youtube videos without ads.
I use Edge and Firefox to check how a webpage looks when I'm not signed on a site compared to how it looks when I AM logged on with Chrome.
I use Explorer only to catalog my Favorites list, then go to Chrome and import it.
If Windows 7 is such a risk, why do all the online banking sites still let you use it? They won't let you log on with Explorer anymore so why don't they make it so you can't get to your bank account if you are using W7?
Well, I have Microsoft Security Essentials which scans for viruses and spyware every week, so that is still something they actively support.
1) Use Chrome or Firefox with an ad-blocker
2) Use Chrome or Firefox in Incognito Mode (FF calls it something else but has the same function)
3) Sorry, that is clutzy....
Have I ever done that ? I'll answer for you.... "No".
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