Which operating system do you use on PC?

Bobbsy said:
... I was warned off Win8 by several specialists whose opinions I trust--they've refused to make the move. (Indeed some have refused to move from XP!)
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I'm one of those too. It will be a long time before I seriously consider something other than XP for audio/video. For day-to-day stuff I'll use Win 7 and as a computer technician I run across it a lot in the wild, but you'd be surprised how many, schools, hospitals, city governments, businesses, etc are happily using XP with no immediate plans to "upgrade." By the time I move on from XP, Win 8 will probably be discontinued.
 
Mo Facta said:
Windows 7 Pro here. Never felt the need to strip down things too much. Runs like a charm. I'm mixing a record as we speak with 50+ tracks per song and writing this post as it renders the mix in the background.

What's the big fuss?

Cheers :)
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If it ain't broke don't fix it! There are basically two types of DAW users: those who are in a constant state of transition, moving from one machine, OS and program version to the next for no apparent practical reason, and those that value stability in the studio. The former are primarily motivated by marketing and the belief that they must stay, "Current." The later are too busy actually making music and recording to live from one NAMM show to the next.

I ask what's the big fuss too, but from a different angle. Why do so many feel they have to rush out for the next version of whatever when the current or even older version is serving them so well, and they finally have the bugs worked out to perfection? I know the answer. It's music chain sponsored forums like this, magazine ads, music store sales people, etc. Feel the pressure? Everyone feels it, but some of us are immune to the disease. ;)
 
Yeah...another happy WinXP 32bit DAW user, and I'm still running SP2...just didn't want to bother with SP3 (but I have it), and I don't think I'm missing anything AFA audio goes by using SP2.
The DAW is not touching the Internet, so I never need to upgrade/patch the OS or worry about anti-virus software or hacking.
I recently made a point of purchasing a LOT of plugs/apps that are still available for the 32bit architecture and that are WinXP compatible, since WinXp is going to be 100% non-supported starting this April...so I'm sure most app/plug coding will then drop the XP compatibility/support (or just not worry about it)....but I won't care, 'cuz I have more apps/plugs than I will ever use at one time on any session, and they cover everything one could think of....so the XP DAW will be getting used well into the future. :)

At my day gig....we were forced to drop XP recently, and everyone is on Win7....and now I hear we will be going to Win 8 (yuck) probably sometime this year, though I think Win 7 will still be allowed for use, as it's not anywhere near obsolescence.
 
I must admit I'd still be on XP were it not for some gear I use ceasing to do XP drivers and a need to move to 64 bit for the current version of Audition.

Win 7 works and works reliably--but the UI for audio is clunky and inconvenient while setting up and the tendency to offer "helpful" automatic changes could be a pain if I used my DAW computer for anything other than, er, DAWing.

As a general comment, I've never understood the perceived necessity to always run the latest OS. Especially when first released, new versions tend to not be overly reliable as was proved by the first release of Windows 8 or the early version of the Apple Maverick OS.
 
I am surprised to find out I am not the only one still running XP. Yay! My recording computer is dedicated - doesn't have internet, and I stripped off every other non-essential program except pro tools. Been almost 10 years now. I did add 2.5 terra bytes of memory.
 
powpowmeow said:
Microsoft Suggests That No Windows 7 Service Pack 2 Is Coming
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Don't confuse service packs (major updates) with minor updates. All updates for XP after April will cease (at least that is MS's claims). I get updates for Win7, but since I don't foresee major issues with Win7 it doesn't surprise me there are no major changes. Win8 just received 8.1 update, rather large, mainly to give the Win7 GUI if wanted, other than that, I don't know of any reason for an X.1 release.

But, if you're not on the net, and just using it as a stand alone machine and there are no issues, XP is no an issue. I would also say, any new devices you purchase will most likely not have XP support for the drivers.

"Microsoft has never commented on the possibility to release a second service pack for Windows 7 users, but with so many new Windows versions hitting the shelves, it’s pretty clear that the company has abandoned this concept. Instead, it goes for rapid releases, as outgoing CEO said so many times, so large updates and new Windows editions are expected to come at least annually."
 
gecko zzed said:
I started with a Commodore 64, then had a marvellous time with an Amiga.
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Amigas were FABULOUS for sound recording in their day. There were 8 bit audio recorders for the C=64. Had one. Wasn't up to snuff with analog audio of the day. Great thing about Commodore was you could get a LOT of free software. Amiga, on the other hand, caused me to go to DOS. The beginnings of digital recording, right there.
 
ibleedburgundy said:
I am surprised to find out I am not the only one still running XP. Yay! My recording computer is dedicated - doesn't have internet, and I stripped off every other non-essential program except pro tools.
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That's the way to do it!!! Configure your PC and assorted programs as a dedicated recording device, and strip it down to optimize for recording. Operating systems are loaded with fat because they take a one-size-fits-all approach to computing. You can disable half the services in XP and have a lean mean recording machine, and with much less hardware and RAM than most people think they need. If you know how to manage your board resources you'll have plenty and then some.
 
Beck said:
That's the way to do it!!! Configure your PC and assorted programs as a dedicated recording device, and strip it down to optimize for recording. Operating systems are loaded with fat because they take a one-size-fits-all approach to computing. You can disable half the services in XP and have a lean mean recording machine, and with much less hardware and RAM than most people think they need. If you know how to manage your board resources you'll have plenty and then some.
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This^^^^^

I'm still on XP. No plans to change for the foreseeable future.
 
DM60 said:
"....and new Windows editions are expected to come at least annually."
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:facepalm:

They keep selling the same shit over and over....since people want whatever is "the latest". :D

At my day gig, I have no option on what I can use...though I was literally the last guy to keep a a couple of running XP systems on our network. I had exceptions in place for several years, back when we first went to Vista (what a pile of shit that was)....so finally when we dropped Vista and moved to Win7, everyone was told to remove the XP boxes, but I managed to string the XP exceptions out for another year :p until finally they told me I had to remove the XP boxes off the network permanently, about two months ago. Now we're running Win7 and Win8 is coming.

On my DAW box and two home Internet laptops (like the one I'm using to type this)....I'm still running XP, though I may opt to go to Win7 soon just because of the patching/secruity needs... since they are on the Internet.

My offline DAW box will stay on XP for a looooooooooong time. I also have my older DAW box with W2K on it, and that thing still runs fine, and it too was stripped down for offline use. Never patched/upgraded either of my two DAW boxes.
I only switched from the W2K box to the XP system because I was looking at newer audio apps/plug that needed at least XP to run, but now I'm all caught up with that stuff, and happy to keep this my status quo for a long time. :)
 
powpowmeow said:
Microsoft Suggests That No Windows 7 Service Pack 2 Is Coming
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Just to confirm what DM60 said, there was no Service Pack 2 for Win 7 because, after SP1 it was a good stable system with no major bugs to fix.

I still prefer a lot of of aspects of XP but was forced into a change because of a lack of drivers for some of my gear on XP and a need to move to 64 bit architecture to use the latest Audition--otherwise I'd likely still be on XP myself. However, my problems with Win 7 are certainly not stability or reliability.

I'm certainly not planning to move OS until either forced into by developments or MS coming out with something a heck of a lot more suitable than Win 8.
 
Mr Clean said:
This^^^^^

I'm still on XP. No plans to change for the foreseeable future.
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Only reason I switched from XP was drivers. A couple Korg controllers have drivers that will not work in XP.

Hvae been using Win 7 x64 Pro since with equal efficiency, and essentially the same system load (around 1.06 GB after bootup) after stripping down all non-needed services in Win7 the same way I did in XP.

I'm guessing USB 3 is going to be the next frontier in PC audio recording, and windows 7 should be able to handle that fine, so I should be good
 
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