Downgrading to Windows 7 - Driver Hunt

Sometimes, you truly need to take a step back in order to move forward. This is especially true in the Microsoft Windows hierarchy where Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 often don't last long on devices and are soon replaced by the more intuitive and stable Windows 7. But sometimes going backwards is not so simple.

I assisted someone in the purchase of a laptop recently and also had to downgrade the operating system. The laptop in question is an Acer Aspire V3-472G. I encountered several challenges with this specific laptop and one of which is yet to be resolved.

Part 1. Bios access and configuration

The simple task of access in the BIOS was a struggle due to the fact that Acer uses "F2" as an access key as opposed to the often used "Del" or "F1". Furthermore, by default the boot menu accessed through the "F12" key is disabled. So just to be able to boot from the USB CD Rom, I needed to change the bios from UFEI to Legacy, then set the USB CD to enabled and then remove security settings in BIOS.

Part 2. OS Install

This was the easiest part. The OS (Windows 7 Professional) installed with no hiccups so this was smooth. As expected, none of the device drivers worked out of the box, other than the sound. So this brings us to the 3rd and most tedious part, the Driver Hunt...

Part 3. Driver Hunt

As mentioned above, none of the drivers came pre-installed although my ISO of Windows 7 had Service Pack 1 pre-installed. Step one was to get the network driver so that I could update and register Windows 7. So I proceeded to the product page for the Acer Aspire V3-472G to get a list of devices in order to download the ones for Windows 7. Of course Acer only supplies drivers for Windows 8.1 so it was off to the various vendor sites.

The network driver from Realtek was easy to download and install so I was online within a few minutes and ran Windows Update. I was hoping that it would auto update some of the drivers for me but no such luck. The video chipset drivers from Intel and NVIDIA were easy to get  and install as well. And that was it for the easy part...

The Intel chipset and sata drivers were a struggle to obtain and I had to resolve to an extracted inf file from another vendor. But at least I got them to work.

So this is what I had left to accomplish; set up the USB 3.0 hub to work at full capacity (the port works but not at full efficiency) and, most importantly the wifi would not work. So I downloaded the driver directly from the vendor, Atheros Broadcom which was Windows 7 certified. After spending several hours on this issue, I decided to use a Linksys USB wifi adapter as a temporary work around.

Sometimes, in order to move forward, a step back is necessary.

Phablet what Phablet?

I recently had a BIG problem that most tech inclined and dependent individuals will inevitably come across one day; my smart phone became acting stupid (read failing)!

So I was at a cross road with many offerings and had to make a quick decision. Because, as so many of us, my phone is my life (digitally speaking). I need it to email, skype, socialize, text and keep my work life organized. So the perspective of being stuck with a device that was always dying or failing to be useful was not something I was seeing enthusiastically.

I wanted to stay with my current carrier as my agreement was not up and because the service I get from them is very good (a rare feat in a world of gouging and scamming by Big Telecoms). So that already set some limitations as to which models I could choose from.

I also knew I wanted a powerful smart phone with a big screen. So the choices were again reduced. Happily for me, I was buying at a time when the iPhone 6 and Samsung Galaxy Note 4 were about to become available to consumers so the prices of their predecessors were slashed substantially. So after looking up the specs of major offerings from LG, Samsung, Apple and Sony, I had 3 choices left to decide from;

1. Apple iPhone 5s 32GB

2. Samsung Galaxy Note 3

3. LG G3

My first criteria was screen size as I wanted to stop carrying my tablet around as it became too cumbersome for a commute on which I regularly have to fight for standing space on the train. That meant that the Apple iPhonre 5s with its measly 4 inch display was quickly eliminated. It simply cannot compete against the LG G3's 5.5 inches and the Samsung Galaxy Note 3's 5.7 inches.

My second criteria was to be a net improvement in comparison to my LG Nexus 4's featurs. The second thing other than it's sheer screen size that caught my attention about the
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 was the Smart Pen and the S Note app. This feature truly turns your phablet into a portable laptop if you use it properly. You can write and edit on the fly. No more post its or shopping lists for me! Also S Health and it's integrated pedometer was a nice bonus.

So I now have a single device, my trusty Samsung Note 3 that acts as a reader, notepad, and of course as a phone. And to those that think that their hands will hurt from holding this behemoth, trust me it will not. It may require some adjustment and adaptation in the first minute or so but then it's amazing.

Simply speaking, the Note 3 is awesome and very complete. As for the Note 4, I do not feel the need to pay top dollar to have a phablet that hit the market last week. Last month's model is just as good and was FREE. I mean what else can be better then a FREE Samsung Galaxy Note 3? Not much, tech wise of course!

The comeback post

I was reading Ted Bird's column and I discovered, by pure accident, that a blog I had five years ago was still active. So I decided to do a comeback! Time has flown by and the world of technology has drastically and rapidly evolved, making sure that we as users are addicted to and fascinated by all that it has to offer.

Since I decided to write again, I also want to commit to a weekly post. I will try to either review or comment a technology related product or event on a weekly basis in order to channel my own obsession and geekiness to the outside world.

On this note, I wanted to highlight a few of the upcoming posts and their content so that you can get an idea as to what I have in store for the coming weeks;

- Making a decision as in regards to which smart phone or phablet to acquire;

- The importance of quality customer service and ensuring customer satisfaction;

- Niche products by Fractal Design (chassis review);

- Building of the "Uberstation";

- The unbiased geek's holiday wish list;

- And hopefully much more!

As a side note, I wanted to mention that as always all reviews are based on my own experience with products that I use either in my professional or personal environments. I do not receive products for review from any supplier or vendor.

Cheers,

Greg

Google+