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Upgrading From Windows 1.0 To Windows 7
An anonymous reader writes "YouTube user Andrew Tait has uploaded a video titled Chain of Fools: Upgrading through every version of Windows. Tait starts with MS DOS 5.0 running Windows 1.0 and keeps upgrading the operating system until he reaches Windows 7, taking note of the changes to system settings and application compatibility along the way."
I have, and I totally agree. Also, he fails in terms of "evaluating software compatibility"... many more applications from early versions of windows run in Windows 7 than he made note of, and he didn't even aknoledge that early control panels, designed for EGA usage, look beautiful in True Color because of the way they were programmed. Also, what's with starting with DOS 5.0 - Couldn't he have found a version released in 1.01? And not finding a 98 upgrade disk, or going to ME instead of 2K seemed moderately flawed...
should of also installed the video driver for higher res / more colors in 3.0 / 3.11 / 95 / 98.
I found the fact that he actually *could* upgrade all the way to Win7 and have applications still work utterly amazing. What other OSes can do that? Maybe linux (or maybe not...), definitely not OSX.
...there is ONE program that I have to use that ONLY runs on Windows, so I run it on an XP virtual machine ... 13 computers in our house, and not one of them runs MS software!
Umm, what? XP isn't MS software?
A guy shows how the upgrade procedure goes from DOS -> Windows 7, and instead of making comments on the robustness of the Windows upgrade system or anything even remotely related to the video, instead there are comments about how the poster doesn't use Windows anymore and brags about it.
Jeez, is there any wonder the Linux community is seen as toxic by outsiders?
I am totally amazed that this was actually possible and that the system didn't break at some point. Every single time I've tried to upgrade from one Ubuntu version to the next, the system becomes unusable.
Sometimes I think Microsoft deserves more credit than nerds want to give them!
Upgrade from a 386 with Win3.1, to Win95 on 486DX, then Win98 a Pentium, Win2000 on Pentium II, etc. Try migrating your settings from one hard drive to another larger one at each step. Perform a few service pack upgrades along the way like a normal user would. Hint: Migrating your systems through multiple hardware & service pack upgrades is a pain in the ass and flaky as hell.
Just try to take an older windows version and copy the files and settings onto AN ALREADY INSTALLED OS that your hardware vendor gave you -- OS pre-installation will be the death of me.
You save time if you wipe the new system, copy the old files from one PC to the other, then use the OEM CD (IF YOU CAN) to "upgrade" the OS back to the newer version... I've had to buy an additional copy of windows (having paid for the one that's pre-installed) just to get a CD that would allow me to upgrade. That's the price you pay for being a loyal Microsoft customer...
Copying the old windows files over to the new larger drive won't copy the master boot record, and even if you do manage to reimage your new system to match the old system Windows will call you a THEIF (user of a pirated copy of windows), and prevent you from upgrading until you to re-validate since the massive hardware change. Good luck booting & revalidating, the old OS drivers don't work on the new system they've been copied over to... "Upgrades" are subject to having a "valid" installation of windows already on the machine.
To note: Another option worked sometimes -- Actually full on install the old OS into the freshly wiped new system. Then, copy all the files / settings, etc (or use migration tool if it exists & your old OS boots on the new machine...) Finally, "updrade" the new machine back to it's original OS version... Got a new machine?! Great! Stop right there, you can't use it till it has thrice installed windows!
Also: I dare you try using a 386 to run Vista.
So what if MS can be upgraded through "EVERY VERSION*" ON THE SAME VIRTUAL HARDWARE without monthly and/or service pack updates? This is a solution in search of a use-case that doesn't exist.
* Well, except ME -- Guess that it isn't possible to upgrade through "every version" then is it?
Old hardware won't run MS's new OSs, and the old OSs don't work on the new hardware (outside of a damn controlled environment VM -- Win3.1 on a x64 quad core? Don't make me laugh -- it won't even support my mouse). Of course using these old OSs for testing & supporting software for legacy systems is a useful ability, but come on...
Actually having lived & worked through the hell that is the upgrade path through multiple windows upgrades w/ data & software migration and different hardware, and then watching how easy it is in a VM is just maddening (Oooh, it COULD have been that easy!? Well, damn, then why wasn't it?! -- rhetorical question [no need for pedantic answers] )
Reality has been quite a bit more frustrating... Lesson learned: NEVER, I repeat NEVER use Windows (outside of a VM), and ALWAYS place your user files on a different drive and/or partition than the operating system -- It makes migration a hell of a lot easier.
Thank you.
I've been in VMware for 7 years, and yes, this technology is taken for granted these days and there are a bunch of alternatives, but c'mon folks, remember the old days when Workstation just came out. Wasn't it cool? man, the world of opportunities it opened to everybody back then.
I touched my first VM back in 1987 in the IBM mainframe (a 37XX series) and I was just blown away by the concept. Years later I had the chance to work at VMware and I didn't even blinked twice. Yeah, yeah, we've grown pants, and are big boys now, but you would be amazed how many of us old timers are still around and we all recognize each other and share a smile from those days.
Once thing I love about working here is that in spite of all the new stuff that we are doing in higher layers of the stack, and in spite of the "mission critical" impact of the hypervisor these days, we still try to hold on to that sense of awe we first saw, or being a rebel and think outside the box. And yes, some day that may go away, but I must say for me and a bunch of other old timers like me, we'll try as much as we can to keep the spirit that made us cool alive as long as we can.
Actually it wasn't the hardware that was the problem. After dealing with one crashing WinME machine after another when I came across a customer that had a PERFECTLY running WinME machine I decided to investigate, and there I found the answer. The reason why WinME sucked for so many. Ready for the revelation?
His machine had NO VXD drivers, only WDM. Checking the other machines (including my own, which after watching a brand new WinME install crash in less than 20 minutes of just sitting I went Win2K) I found that damned near ALL WinMe machines had a mix of VXD and WDM drivers, and there lay badness.
If you had ALL VXD? Fine and dandy. ALL WDM? Good to go. A mix of the two? Welcome to crashy town. Sadly for WinME owners any hardware that had been manufactured pre release already had Win98 VXD drivers written, and since MSFT in their infinite stupidity said you could use VXD drivers the OEMs simply wrote new WDM drivers for new hardware while keeping the VXD for the old, which was usually sound and modem.
So there you have it, the answer to the mystery of why Win98 was more stable than WinME. if you were one of the few that got WDM drivers congrats, you were few and far between. Most of us got a mix and could set our watches by how fast WinME bit the dust.
ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.