XPost: comp.os.ms-windows.misc, alt.windows7.general, microsoft.   
   ublic.windowsxp.general   
   From: nospam@needed.invalid   
      
   On 11/19/2023 12:41 AM, Steve Hayes wrote:   
   > On Sat, 18 Nov 2023 06:53:03 -0500, Paul    
   > wrote:   
   >   
   >> On 11/17/2023 8:02 AM, Steve Hayes wrote:   
   >>> Someone stole my laptop computer, and I'm beginning to be concerned   
   >>> that it may be irreplaceable.   
   >   
   >    
   >   
   >>> Do today's third-party emulators work as well as the OS/2 ones, or do   
   >>> they have hidden disadvantages? Is there anyone here who has had   
   >>> experience of using them who would be willing to answer a few   
   >>> questions?   
   >>   
   >> Based on my experience, I would recommend you put the extra work   
   >> into finding just the right laptop setup.   
   >>   
   >> While VMs are fun, you sound like someone who actually   
   >> needs this stuff to work. You would be much more productive   
   >> without the VM.   
   >   
   >    
   >   
   >> Summary: I don't think you need a new hobby, you need something that   
   >>         works, and that is physical hardware with Win7 on it.   
   >>         Skylake is the last processor that officially supports Win7.   
   >>         I don't really know how "close" the later processors get to working.   
   >>   
   >>         The W10 x32 might work, but then, it would be W10.   
   >>         Refurbs might have W10 x64, but you could download a W10 x32   
   >>         and do a clean install of that (write down the key you find in   
   >>         the x64, as the same key will install x32 or x64). If you were   
   >>         going to do that, download the W10 x32 ISO first, so you can be   
   >>         assured of having media for the job.   
   >   
   > Thanks very much for that -- best advice I've seen so far.   
   >   
   > I'll print it out, show it to my local computer shop, and ask if he   
   > can give me a quote for replacement, including a new copy of an O/S   
   > for a Virtual Machine it a replacement for the original can't be got,   
   > and pass it on to the insurance, but it may prove that the old machine   
   > is irreplaceable, which has some very nasty implications for all the   
   > people who have been advocating the digitisation of archival records   
   > and destruction of the originals to save space.   
      
   To make a Win7 VM, I recommend getting media and installing   
   in VirtualBox and making your own, personal, virtual machine.   
   For patching it up, you can use wsusoffline preparation software   
   (there's a version just for doing Windows 7 prep work).   
      
   Getting media is tricky. It used to be easy. We would abuse DigitalRiver   
   download links, which had Win7 media (ISO files) for the grabbing.   
      
   I discovered, while trying to figure out a solution for you, that archive.org   
   seems to have placed a 2GB file limit on downloads. If I try to download   
   a virtual machine file which is archived on the site (some of those are 5GB),   
   the download stops at 2GB. I tried about three different files, and the   
   response was the same. I used aria2c downloader (which has restart capability),   
   and if you try to restart a download at the 2GB mark, archive.org refuses to   
   respond.   
      
   That told me that using archive.org as a source of media, is now out of the   
   question. I was thinking of digging up an archived W7 and   
   giving you the link to that, to get media.   
      
   W7 has probably been removed entirely from Techbench and MSDN subscriptions   
   (Microsoft sources).   
      
   And I don't know where else to try, except a computer store with old stock.   
   For example, the chinese guys store down town, I know he has a cabinet   
   with Refurbisher hologram DVDs in it, but those are all 64 bit and there   
   are absolutely no 32 bit in the display case. The refurbisher DVD is just like   
   a retail one. But refurbs only seemed to come with 64-bit OSes on them.   
      
   This is a hell of a time to be trying to "raise W7 from the dead", so to speak   
   :-)   
   A hell of a time. It will be easier to fly to Mars, than to get a 32-bit DVD   
   now.   
      
   The problem with me giving you en-us ISO files, is during activation,   
   the media may use geolocation, and sometimes it does not "like" the   
   location doing the activation, to "not be en-us". Someone was complaining   
   they took valid en-us media on a trip to China with them, installed an OS,   
   and they could not get it to activate while they were sitting in China.   
   At the time, VPNs were not a thing, or someone would have suggested that.   
      
   *******   
      
   Also, if you go the virtual machine route, you have to be careful to   
   make backups of your virtual machine file. Microsoft does not provide   
   high quality support for activation issues with virtual machines. You   
   can ask the poster "T" (todd), regarding what happened to his   
   virtual machine that was activated. He could not get Microsoft to help   
   him, and restore his activation.  Backing up the container,   
   is to provide a means to roll back and regain your activation.   
   Not all activation issues can be fixed that way, but some of them can.   
      
   Absolutely none of my VMs are activated with paid licenses. Neither   
   do I dabble in Daz Loader as a solution (that's a crack for activation).   
      
   Archive.org is *full* of copies of media. But the recent stoppage of   
   downloads at the 2GB mark, makes a collection like this one, useless.   
   You see, someone even uploaded the digitalriver collection.   
      
   https://archive.org/download/digital_river   
      
   At least the Index file works :-)   
      
   https://ia801300.us.archive.org/30/items/digital_river/xxx17index_file.txt   
      
      Paul   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)