Windows 7? On my PC? It’s less likely than you think!

Because it was so easy to put Windows 7 on my MacBook, I was sure that it would be at least as simple to do so on my Gateway pc. I mean, Gateways are native Microsoft environments, so what could possibly be so difficult, right? WRONG. It turns out that Vista sucks every bit as much as you may have heard, and so, instead of being able to partition my hard drive and make space for Windows 7, I have just spent large chunks of the last three days figuring out how to partition my hard drive. I had 113 GB of free space on the drive, and Vista said that a grand total of 98 MB of that was available to be partitioned.

So what was the problem? Vista has built-in software to do partition drives, but the way that it stores system files means that all my free space is basically worthless. Vista’s default storage area for system files is at the very end of the hard drive, which means that you can’t lop off any part of the drive until you’ve moved those system files further in. It’s not hard to fix, but you can’t do it with tools provided within Vista.

Here’s the tutorial that I used to figure out what to do. Some notes: I used PerfectDisk2008 with no problem (there are many versions of PerfectDisk to choose from when you get to that web site). When you’ve finished the regular defrags, choose the System Files option in PerfectDisk. This will require a restart of your system, but took less than 5 minutes on my system. I went from seeing 3 GB of space (after I deleted my pagefile) to over 100 GB.

I’m having some of the same trackpad issues with Windows 7 on my MacBook that others have had, which is one of the reasons I wanted to try Windows 7 on my pc laptop. I’ll use it for a couple of days and then give my thoughts on both experiences.

Sweet!

My new computer arrived today, three days ahead of schedule. It’s so awesome I can hardly stand it!! I haven’t even done too much exploration, but this machine is so quick, it’s insane. It was no hassle to set up my network, connect to the internet, or set up my programs. Plus, I’m using my same network connection as always, and it’s seriously about 6 times faster than my PC.

Gone over to the dark side

Did I tell y’all that I bought a Mac the other day? No, of course not, because I haven’t really been updating the way I should. Moving on…I have wanted an Apple forever, but couldn’t justify buying one. Well, that’s all changed. I saw the new generation of MacBooks, and just knew that I had to have one. They’re so pretty, and so well-constructed. How can you not love a computer that is made out of a solid block of aluminum? Not possible, my friend.

I ordered the 2.4GHz MacBook on Monday morning while processing loans (much to the amazement of my coworker, who does not understand my compartmentalization skills at all), and added a printer, along with a larger hard drive. The printer wasn’t something that I actually needed (and neither was the computer, obviously), but there was a rebate of $100, and it seemed silly not to get something that I would have to buy in a few months anyway when I finally move into my own apartment. The very very very nice guy from the Apple call center (what up, Arnie???) told me that I could process the rebate as soon as I got the printer by going to apple.com/promo, filling out the form, and entering the serial number from the box. Except: wrong!

I really needn’t have waited at all, because the form did not require any information that I didn’t know already when I placed my order. The whole thing took like 37 seconds, and 25 of those were spent entering my name and address. I didn’t even need to put in the serial number, which means I lugged this ridiculously light box to my room for no freaking reason at all, except to admire my adorable, wireless printer (which my dad is already lusting after). Even if the delay had been necessary, it wouldn’t have been very long, as the printer arrived the next day (the computer is coming from Shanghai, so I won’t see that baby until Monday morning). I know it’s a cult, but glory be, I am happy to have finally joined the ranks of blithely dismissive Apple fangirls who simply do not understand why Windows users put up with all the hassle. Thanks, Apple!!