Can Windows 7 (from disc) be installed on new laptops?
- Thread starter Eleanor Fudd
- Start date
rob aylestone
Well-known member
I've no idea how I would ever have an internet free system - so many things NEED continuous internet access now that any form of isolation I just don't even try. I have some antivirus software that seems to work (paid for AVG) and so many applications I use have to authenticate, or tell you that important things need doing, plus of course sample libraries that you click on and add new things - I can't imagine the annoyance an isolated machine would cause me.
VomitHatSteve
Hat STYLE. Not contents.
Fortunately, if you air-gap your computer, AV is really a non-issue.
Oof. That would be a deal-breaker for me. If nothing else, refusal to support an offline-configuration tells me that the company isn't going to provide much support for other alternative configurations. And, let's be honest, the digital recording world is rife with non-standard configurations. If it won't boot offline, what are the odds it will see my obscure Russian interface?
(Meanwhile, Reaper runs just fine in Windows ME)
rob aylestone
Well-known member
But I need internet connection, and worse still - I'm using a NAS drive, so no network, no audio!
Sorry? I have a NAS drive ( V old V slow) and that is on my copper network. I get internet on lappys with Wi Fi but I could just pull the plug out of the back of the router and then, I assume, I would still be networked but no internet?
Dave.
VomitHatSteve
Hat STYLE. Not contents.
Yes.
Honestly, if you wanted, you could set up a whole internal network that is disconnected from the internet at large.
Of course, one of the advantages of disconnecting your DAW from the network is the performance boost from disabling the networking capabilities entirely.
This is precisely what I have done. An Intranet. I have 9 computers for various tasks (music, engineering, archive, etc.) and only this one is ever connected online. No W10. W7, XP, Mac, and Linux. Everybody talks to everyone else, except this one. This online unit is W7, but no problems thus far.
Any software that needs to "call home to momma" is disabled, discarded, replaced, or modified to prevent further oversight and management. I hate that.
BroKen_H
Re-member
Ponder: Check IN your router's 192. page (Usually 192.168.1.1) and see if you can deny internet access to specific computers. It's what I've done. My computers all talk to each other, but only one (and the TV & ROKU box) can talk to the internet...You have to be doubly sure your files are clean, but it works. I have a 3TB hard drive attached to the router itself where I share all the files that need sharing.
Oh, I'm well aware of all those settings, both in the router and within W7, itself. Sure, it'll work. What you suggest is entirely configurable and generally reliable. I've done it myself.
But I think you hit on something with "you have to be doubly sure..."
No. I don't.
As long as there's a connection, there's a possibility, however unlikely, of a violation or incursion. So when something goes wrong, there's always that lingering question-mark if it's net-related. But with no physical connection, that question is off-the-table.
I send and receive engineering data by email attachment and conduct design review webinars.
By having no physical connection, this ensures all other customers have their data offline 100% of the time - they like that - with only the customer, and that specific job, exposed.
So sure, what you say will generally work. And perhaps what i do is overkill. But there's other factors afoot.
But I think you hit on something with "you have to be doubly sure..."
No. I don't.
As long as there's a connection, there's a possibility, however unlikely, of a violation or incursion. So when something goes wrong, there's always that lingering question-mark if it's net-related. But with no physical connection, that question is off-the-table.
I send and receive engineering data by email attachment and conduct design review webinars.
By having no physical connection, this ensures all other customers have their data offline 100% of the time - they like that - with only the customer, and that specific job, exposed.
So sure, what you say will generally work. And perhaps what i do is overkill. But there's other factors afoot.