XP to windows 8.1 help

DCB40

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i am worried about my PC now that xp has been abandoned by Microsoft :mad: .My current PC is really old but goes real well and i,m gutted to have to start again, but i realise that it,s time to move on. I do a lot of photoshop stuff and have 1000s of photos on hard drive. I also have 2 external WD hard drives where i copy my photos to.
So i'm looking for a new PC and might as well treat myself to a new super duper machine, but not being a pc expert i need to understand how to change over to a new machine. I can copy my photos from the external hard drive ok, but what about all my programs like photoshop CS5, and all the plug-ins i have for it, and my itunes music etc etc what happens about all that sort of stuff, how do i copy this stuff.
I will be struggling to find installation discs for printers,scaners etc, but i could download some of that stuff off the net i suppose.
Can anyone share the secrets, ive found nothing of any help real help on google.
Thanks Duncan..
 
Welcome to a whole lot of hassle, if you like XP then I would suggest buying a good second hand Windows 7 PC on Ebay rather than a new Windows 8 machine. I have done this recently. You may find though that you cannot get the drivers for some of your printers and scanners for Windows 7 or 8. I have a scanner and there are no drivers available for Windows 7 so I have kept my old Win XP laptop going just for scanning. Just do the transfer gradually and keep the XP machine up and running until you are happy the new PC is fully working. Depending how much time you have the transfer could take weeks and months rather than hours and days.

Another option is to keep your XP machine as an off line device not connected to the outside world which avoids the security problems with the OS now being unsupported anymore. Then buy a separate device just for the online side of things. I am seriously thinking about this option to keep my personal stuff completely separate to my internet connected PC. I work in IT and I coming to the conclusion that it is not possible to have a totally secure internet connected device anymore.
 
I'd be putting the money into a new PC - you can buy new pcs with windows 7 as well as 8/8.1 and if drivers don't exist for the new operating system in almost every case you can continue to run them in 'XP mode' on your new PC.
 
Fanum said:
Interesting first post on a GS based forum :confused:
Click to expand...

Yes but Op has been here for a while and is a subscriber..the quiet supporting type, unlike some overenthusiastic types, maybe he/she even owns a WC which would be great.

BTW, I know deck all about PC's so can't help unless you want the water muddied.
 
judge said:
I'd be putting the money into a new PC - you can buy new pcs with windows 7
Click to expand...

I didn't know that, if true then I agree, buy a new one with Windows 7.

Do you know who is still selling new PC's with Windows 7 as I would like to get one for my parents?
 
thanks for the replies,
i need access to the web for picture printing/website uploading etc, so keeping off line is not really a option.
Going to the latest operating system will i suppose protect me from doing this all over again for a pretty long time, so windows 8.1 looks to be the best option for me.
just want to know if i can put Photoshop onto my external hard drive when i change over...and then load it back onto the new machine ?
I have been on and off this site for ages and enjoy it, i currently have a suzuki but am looking to change it for a rt later this year, the GS is a fine machine but is too tall for my little legs, you tall people don't know how lucky you are:)
picture of current bike.....not safe for non GS fan boys..........
 
Sorry, can't help you with the detail on moving Photoshop but it isn't usually as easy as just copying it, most applications need to be re-installed from disc or downloaded software.
 
MikeS said:
I didn't know that, if true then I agree, buy a new one with Windows 7.

Do you know who is still selling new PC's with Windows 7 as I would like to get one for my parents?
Click to expand...

http://www.businessdirect.bt.com/

http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/st/windows-7-laptops

Are to name but two, initially Microshite removed the rights on manufacturers to sell new with Windoze 7 and forced them to sell only Doze 8. Faced with a massive backlash from their main customers ' business' who weren't prepared to roll-out Windows 8 but needed new tin and business decision was made to allow the selling again of Windows 7 - it can be bought as a Windows 8 with downgrade rights to Windows 7 (this gives the advantage of running it as 7 then upgrading for free to 8/8.1 when it is considered worth doing), or buying it as Windows 7 only and having to pay to upgrade to 8.1+ in the future.

I've gone direct to 8.1 as 8.1 is a big improvement over 8.0 and I can't be bothered to upgrade this again later and pay for the privilege, and whilst I'm no fan of the tile interface which is primarily because its designed for a touchscreen interface, but as others have said this can be disabled.
 
DCB40 said:
thanks for the replies,
i need access to the web for picture printing/website uploading etc, so keeping off line is not really a option.
Going to the latest operating system will i suppose protect me from doing this all over again for a pretty long time, so windows 8.1 looks to be the best option for me.
just want to know if i can put Photoshop onto my external hard drive when i change over...and then load it back onto the new machine ?
I have been on and off this site for ages and enjoy it, i currently have a suzuki but am looking to change it for a rt later this year, the GS is a fine machine but is too tall for my little legs, you tall people don't know how lucky you are:)
picture of current bike.....not safe for non GS fan boys..........
Click to expand...

You will need to install the application setup disk or files, whilst Windows comes with file and settings transfer tools this doesn't extend to applications which have to be installed from their original installation files.
 
Moving Photoshop requires a little care. Adobe use an on-line registration system to keep track of how many times you install from the same set of discs. On your XP machine, open Photoshop, select Help then Deactivate with an Internet connection available. This should let you re-install on your new machine from the discs you originally installed CS5 from. If you downloaded a trial version then bought a licence for it then you might well have problems as Photoshop is now on CS6 (which costs more). Adobe may well have a solution but I'd ask them before trying anything too clever.
 
Some hard older drives will not work on windows 8 or 8.1 as you should now use as it's more stable. On older PC / Laptop you may also find that cameras and memeory card slots will not work with 8.1
If you have Photoshop for XP or other software progs and you copy to Hard Drive as far as I know it's unlikely to run on 8 or 8.1. If it's a pukka registered version I'd guess there's a way of upgrading to newer version.
But try this and the comapatabilty assistant feature!
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows-8/upgrade-to-windows-8
 
Upgraded from my old XP Dell to a new ZooStorm i5 PC from ebuyer a month ago. Their website stated that it came with Windows 8.1 downgraded to 7. When it came it was set-up with Windows 7 as I expected but only came with a Windows 7 restore disk. I had to contact ZooStorm for the Win 8.1 disk, which to their credit they sent out that afternoon and I received it the next morning. So if buying a downgraded PC make sure that it comes with both Win 7 and 8.1 disks.

As to Photoshop, it might be worth considering the Creative Cloud Photoshop/Lightroom bundle for a very reasonable £8.80/month. The perpetual drip. drip, drip from your bank account into Adobe's does leave a bitter taste but if you upgrade Photoshop every now and then it's worth it. Lightroom is also a good tool for photographers. The old perpetual licence software from Adobe is dead in the water at CS6, no future updates. ISTR that CS6 was version 13 for Photoshop, the CC offering of the same is now at 14.2.1. Though, TBH, I'm not sure what the actual differences are as I moved from CS3 to CC.

Edit; just noticed that there's a Photoshop update, downloading now. Another advantage of CC :D
 
DCB40 said:
i am worried about my PC now that xp has been abandoned by Microsoft :mad: .My current PC is really old but goes real well and i,m gutted to have to start again, but i realise that it,s time to move on. I do a lot of photoshop stuff and have 1000s of photos on hard drive. I also have 2 external WD hard drives where i copy my photos to.
So i'm looking for a new PC and might as well treat myself to a new super duper machine, but not being a pc expert i need to understand how to change over to a new machine. I can copy my photos from the external hard drive ok, but what about all my programs like photoshop CS5, and all the plug-ins i have for it, and my itunes music etc etc what happens about all that sort of stuff, how do i copy this stuff.
I will be struggling to find installation discs for printers,scaners etc, but i could download some of that stuff off the net i suppose.
Can anyone share the secrets, ive found nothing of any help real help on google.
Thanks Duncan..
Click to expand...

So what is your actual concern to continuing using your XP computer?

Is it a business machine with client data on it?

Do you do online banking or shopping?

Do you realise that unless the above is the case you could continue to use your XP machine although you should use AV software that still plans to work with XP (Avast Free) and Malwarebytes Anti-Malware (free) keep them up to date and scan regularly. Then use a supported web browser that has anti-malware and anti-phising built-in (Google Chrome) and carry on as you are :nenau

No one is forcing you to abandon XP especially if there's no business involved and you have a good back-up strategy you should still be able to sleep at night.
 
judge said:
So what is your actual concern to continuing using your XP computer?

Is it a business machine with client data on it?

Do you do online banking or shopping?

Do you realise that unless the above is the case you could continue to use your XP machine although you should use AV software that still plans to work with XP (Avast Free) and Malwarebytes Anti-Malware (free) keep them up to date and scan regularly. Then use a supported web browser that has anti-malware and anti-phising built-in (Google Chrome) and carry on as you are :nenau

No one is forcing you to abandon XP especially if there's no business involved and you have a good back-up strategy you should still be able to sleep at night.
Click to expand...


I hear ya:D
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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