new Win7 computer

[heartbone]

I've been busy configuring a brand new (to me) computer, replacing my June 2007 PowerSpec B601 desktop computer.
My friend also bought the same model at the same time, and left it with me so that I can properly configure it for her.
It may not look like much to a "serious gamer", but for someone who does not like being on the bleeding edge, it's just right for my uses over the next five years or so.
PCI-Z reported something that I'd never seen, a 100% Intel build!

Code: Select all

CPU name: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU     E8400  @ 3.00GHz, 2 logical CPUs
Computer name: HP8000
User name: User's Name
Operating system: Microsoft Windows 7
Available memory (MB): 3991

IDE interface: Intel Corporation 4 Series Chipset PT IDER Controller 
Audio device: Intel Corporation 82801JD/DO (ICH10 Family) HD Audio Controller 
IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801JD/DO (ICH10 Family) 4-port SATA IDE Controller 
USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801JD/DO (ICH10 Family) USB UHCI Controller #2 
Host bridge: Intel Corporation 4 Series Chipset DRAM Controller 
USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801JD/DO (ICH10 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #1 
Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 82567LM-3 Gigabit Network Connection 
USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801JD/DO (ICH10 Family) USB UHCI Controller #5 
ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801JDO (ICH10DO) LPC Interface Controller 
VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation 4 Series Chipset Integrated Graphics Controller 
PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801JD/DO (ICH10 Family) PCI Express Port 2 
USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801JD/DO (ICH10 Family) USB UHCI Controller #3 
Communication controller: Intel Corporation 4 Series Chipset HECI Controller 
PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 PCI Bridge 
PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801JD/DO (ICH10 Family) PCI Express Port 1 
USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801JD/DO (ICH10 Family) USB UHCI Controller #6 
Display controller: Intel Corporation 4 Series Chipset Integrated Graphics Controller 
USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801JD/DO (ICH10 Family) USB UHCI Controller #1 
USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801JD/DO (ICH10 Family) USB UHCI Controller #4 
IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801JD/DO (ICH10 Family) 2-port SATA IDE Controller 
Serial controller: Intel Corporation 4 Series Chipset Serial KT Controller 
USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801JD/DO (ICH10 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #2 

Created by PCI-Z 1.3, http://www.pci-z.com/ | Database: The PCI ID Repository | Version: 2015.06.21

That system's current $109.99 price simply can not be beat for a good quality system, one that includes a virgin copy of Windows® 7 Professional!
(This past Tuesday the same unit was selling at Newegg for $124.99 ($1.99 shipping), but if there is a defect, then their return process is problematic.)
Right about now there are a lot of people who want a fresh copy of Win7 after M$ borked their install, folks who might pay $110 for Win7Pro without the hardware.
I had been waiting for my old 2007 WinXP box to bite the dust before I upgraded, but it didn't, and time is quickly running out for retail Win7.
As a result, I'll have a decent backup desktop computer in case of a hardware failure of the new computer.
This new unit is a very high quality build from HP, one made before the more recent "Carly Fiorina degraded and cheapened most of the product lines" era.

Everything is still fresh in my mind from hooking up my daughter's PC this past November (the same model, it was $129.99), so the install moved along fairly quickly.
Depending on the end user needs, it takes from seven (light home office, web browsing) to ten (gamer, developer) hours for me to setup everything just the way that I like it.

The advertised 250 GB hard drive after deductions, starts with 218 GB available for the OS and user data.
However I never even got to see 200 GB free, it was about 195 GB free when I got control.
I'm looking forward to repartitioning the new hard drive next month for UBUNTU 16.04 LTS, with its five year support cycle.
I think that I'll setup a 50 GB partition for Linux, which should be enough for the five years of use.
After Linux is installed, my new desktop computer will be ready for daily use.
Until then it's back into the box, and for another month or so it will still be WinXP & UBUNTU 14.04 for me.
Now that I've sorted my close friend and family's Win7 situation, I can get back to concentrating on some serious PureBasic programming on Linux.

One last thing, the new computer came with three primary partitions:
Windows: 24.5 GB used of 218 GB
Restore: 6.6 GB used of 14.8 GB
System: 39.9 MB used of 311 MB
I'll need to add two partitions, one for Linux and one for the Linux swap.
My old school knowledge tells me that a physical hard drive can have four primary partitions at most.
Can I put the Linux and Linux swap as logical partitions in the same primary partition?

I know that I can safely delete the Restore partition, as I have my system backed up using Paragon B&R 2014.
Does anyone know what is the function of the System partition, and could I delete it without it causing problems?

[IdeasVacuum]

I think that I'll setup a 50 GB partition for Linux, which should be enough for the five years of use.

I know people do that all the time, you probably do on your old PC, but it is much safer to install Linux on a seperate drive.

[ts-soft]

I know that I can safely delete the Restore partition

The Restore partions is for "Bitlocker", "Bootmgr with some files" and some other things. This partions is not required, for install windows 7, but if you have installed windows 7 with it, you can't boot it. You have to repair your system.

[heartbone]

I know that I can safely delete the Restore partition

The Restore partions is for "Bitlocker", "Bootmgr with some files" and some other things. This partions is not required, for install windows 7, but if you have installed windows 7 with it, you can't boot it. You have to repair your system.

I did not install the OS, the Microsoft Authorized Refurbisher did, so I don't know if the Boot Manager is in the Restore partition or not. Perhaps that is the purpose of the System partition?

I think that I'll setup a 50 GB partition for Linux, which should be enough for the five years of use.

I know people do that all the time, you probably do on your old PC, but it is much safer to install Linux on a seperate drive.

You are totally correct. One of the unfortunate limitations of this small case system is no space for another 3.5" drive. There is for a 2.5" drive, but I don't have one of those yet.

After decades of Windows®, there many free applications that do the job of those that we used to pay for.
'Paragon Backup and Recovery 2014 Free' comes to mind, replacing 'Acronis True Image Home 10' for me.
The forum's Good Freeware Stuff thread is a valuable resource, but it is a bit spread out, and some of it is out of date.
The problem is that because there are so many apps to choose from, that it's easy to overlook some these gems.

Here is heartbone's Windows® 7 installed applications list.
√ Adobe Flash 21
√ Adobe Reader 11
√ Adobe Shockwave
√ Alarm
√ AMP Font Viewer 3.86
√ Art Rage
√ Avira 2016 Free
√ Balabolka
√ BandiZip
√ Camstudio 2.0
√ CCleaner
√ DAEMON Tools Lite v4.49.1
√ DVD Flick
√ FastStone Image Viewer
√ Firefox
√ GoldWave
√ HHD Free Hex Editor Neo
√ Imgburn 2.5.8
√ Malwarebytes Home Free
√ Merriam-Webster's Dictionary
√ MiniTool Partition Wizard Free Edition
√ Paragon Backup and Recovery 2014 Free
√ Paragon ExtFS for Windows
√ Pixelformer
√ PureBasic
√ Read Please 2003
√ Softmaker Freeoffice
√ VLC
√ Winamp 2.77
√ Windows Virtual PC
√ Windows XP mode
√ Emulators:
Stella
Atari 800
WinUAE
DOSBox
Project64
PCSX
PCSX2
Dolphin
√ Standalone Utilities:
BurnCDCC
FileTypesMan
KompoZer
PCI-Z
Video To Video Converter

Descriptions would have been better, but I'm finished.

[ts-soft]

so I don't know if the Boot Manager is in the Restore partition or not.

It is always in the restore partions, if available!

Perhaps that is the purpose of the System partition?

Not only, it is also for big drives and hold the GPT Partition.

[Bisonte]

Here is heartbone's Windows® 7 installed applications list.

I count 3 security risks and 5 known Ad-Ware installers in your program list

And one of them is the %#$§ OpenCandy.... but you also install MalwareBytes
You have definitly run it after install your list !!!

But your topic : You can delete all partitions, and reinstall windows. This "recovery" partitions are most full of programs, that you
don't want... If you don't have an install-medium you can download it from microsoft... But before you delete the partitions be sure that you have the
windows serial code as a sticker or read it with "Keyfinder" or similiar !

[heartbone]

I count 3 security risks and 5 known Ad-Ware installers in your program list

And one of them is the %#$§ OpenCandy.... but you also install MalwareBytes
You have definitly run it after install your list !!!

"3 security risks and 5 known Ad-Ware installers"
If you want to be helpful Bisonte then you should do better than that, name your suspected perpetrators.

All too often some anti-virus detects something harmless and reports it as malicious. I know for a fact that DAEMON Tools Lite v4.49.1 and Imgburn 2.5.8 are reported by AVIRA to be "infected" with OpenCandy. Its use by them is totally legitimate as it allows the developers to gain a bit of revenue from their program development efforts. As long as the end user has the common sense to decline those wonderful additional offers when installing these great free tools, then OpenCandy will not place anything extra on the computer when installing those specific versions of the apps. Yes I do have to turn off AVIRA's real time protection during the installation, but trust me it is not a problem, else I would not have listed those program versions. By reporting a false condition in those two cases, the AV is doing more harm than good.

After all installations both Malwarebytes and AVIRA report a totally clean system, so I would be interested in knowing about what other programs on the list that you suspect to place a user's system at risk. I admit that I haven't gotten around to installing the emulators yet, and I seem to remember that Project64 caused some AV to complain although it ran just fine after the install.

But your topic : You can delete all partitions, and reinstall windows. This "recovery" partitions are most full of programs, that you
don't want... If you don't have an install-medium you can download it from microsoft... But before you delete the partitions be sure that you have the
windows serial code as a sticker or read it with "Keyfinder" or similiar !

The case has two stickers, the original likely invalid Microsoft product key, and one with the new refurbisher applied key. Where can I download this Win7Pro "install-medium" from Microsoft? I've heard about it but have never found it.

[Bisonte]

Microsoft Germany Windows 7 Download : https://www.microsoft.com/de-de/softwar ... d/windows7
(You need a windows key to download)
Btw. if you have an installation dvd from another windows 7 version, it's easy to make a "AllInOne" DVD.
Simply copy all files into a folder, delete ei.cfg in "sources" folder and make a bootable iso of it.

Security risc.... Flash / Shockwave / Daemontools ( Always try to call home like Win10 )
Adware installers : CCleaner (but a very good tool!) / DaemonTools / ImgBurn (also good tool) / FileTypesMan / DVD Flick

I mean, you have to clean your pc with malwarebytes and/ or other tools after install them.

Btw the key of the refurbish seller is the right one. Sometimes a telphone activation is needed.
In our shop we always make a reinstallation of windows on new/refurbish pc's. No one knows, what is really on this installation.
See Superfish on Lenovo PCs/Laptops.

[Keya]

Here is heartbone's Windows® 7 installed applications list.

Thankyou for divulging your main attack vectors! Hey check out this interesting PDF i found, it should open fine in your Adobe Reader v11. If you get any weird error messages just ignore them

[IdeasVacuum]

7-Zip --> Better is BandiZip

[heartbone]

Microsoft Germany Windows 7 Download : https://www.microsoft.com/de-de/softwar ... d/windows7
(You need a windows key to download)
Btw. if you have an installation dvd from another windows 7 version, it's easy to make a "AllInOne" DVD.
Simply copy all files into a folder, delete ei.cfg in "sources" folder and make a bootable iso of it.

This was the Google Translated result from typing in my refurb key.

"Error
The product key you entered is obviously one of software that was preinstalled by the manufacturer. Information about software restore options, device manufacturer."

Entering the original key yielded this response: Fehler
Bei der Überprüfungsanfrage ist ein Problem aufgetreten.
Thanks anyway.

Security risc.... Flash / Shockwave / Daemontools ( Always try to call home like Win10 )
Adware installers : CCleaner (but a very good tool!) / DaemonTools / ImgBurn (also good tool) / FileTypesMan / DVD Flick

I mean, you have to clean your pc with malwarebytes and/ or other tools after install them.

"Adware installers"... "have to clean"?

I will repeat, and this is from real life, not some third-hand experience....
I installed all of these fine programs using the provided installers.
After all the installations I scanned the entire system using AVIRA Free and Malwarebytes Free.
Both scans resulted in ZERO malware detections.

Here is heartbone's Windows® 7 installed applications list.

Thankyou for divulging your main attack vectors! Hey check out this interesting PDF i found, it should open fine in your Adobe Reader v11. If you get any weird error messages just ignore them

I see no problem there Keya, post your link.
My computers run with a firewall, an anti-virus with "Realtime Protection" enabled, and a couple versions of browser click protection combined with an ad-blocker.
In the unlikely event that anything ever gets through, I'll just restore the system and not repeat whatever mistake that I made.

7-Zip --> Better is BandiZip

It looks like you are correct IdeasVacuum.

BandiZip now replaces 7-Zip!
Thanks for the tip.

[davido]

@IdeasVacuum: Thank you for the tip on BandiZip - looks great.
@heartbone: Nice to have confirmation.

[heartbone]

An integral part of my computer experience during the past 15 years or so has been Zane Publishing's Merriam-Webster's Reference Library,
which includes their superb CD version of the M-W paperback Dictionary and Thesaurus.
There is nothing quite like having a dictionary where the words used in the definition are hyperlinked to their own definitions!

The ZANE CD's contents are essentially the same as what's in older editions of the first two volumes of this widely used desktop resource,

just a whole lot handier.

The "Reference Library" designation meant that along with the dictionary and thesaurus there was a nice multimedia Encyclopedia.
That Encyclopedia was a fantastic asset back in 2001, but not used so much nowadays.

In keeping with the thread's sub-theme of old was paid new now free stuff on my new Win7 desktop, I just looked for, discovered, and installed this.


Merriam-Webster's Dictionary

It much upgrades their 2000 Dictionary & Thesaurus with new content and audio!



This new download also makes available their Unabridged Dictionary!



Of course I'm adding this download to my recommended installs.

I kept my old version installed, they even co-exist peacefully in the same 'Program Files' folder.
However with all the resources available from an internet connection,
that 2000 encyclopedia component from the old version is merely an historical curiosity, and you won't miss it.