Upgrading OS advice

[df]

I've bought the upgrade for my Vista computer to upgrade to Win7. What should I do to keep PSP and not get locked out? I plan on wiping the hard drive and doing a fresh install.

[teknisyan]

Hello DF,

it would help if you tell us the version of PSP that you have. In any case, please remember that the only version of PSP that is compatible with Windows 7 is the PSP X3, so if you have any other version that is lower than PSP X3 and already installed Windows 7, then there is a workaround that you can do. But it is not 100% fool proof.

First, you can visit http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite/ ... 4516325170, to know which version of the Corel Software is compatible with Windows 7.

The work around that you can use are the Windows 7 Program Compatibility and the Windows XP Mode with Virtual PC, which are both from Microsoft.

You can follow the steps for Windows 7 Program Compatibility from this link: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/wind ... of-Windows

You can download and install the Windows XP Mode with Virtual PC from this link: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtua ... nload.aspx.

You also want to consider upgrading your Corel software, since the latest version of PSP is full compatible with Windows 7, you can download the 30 day full working trial at http://www.corel.com/trials.

[df]

Hi Abiel, thanks for responding.

I do have PSP X3, but I also have PSP X which is more stable and doesn't have nearly as many bugs that I use for things like text. If I can't get PSP X to work or if PSP X3 continues to be a problem with bugs that have been known about for over a year I will be purchasing Adobe Photoshop. But rather than do that I'd like to give the OS upgrade a try first. My patience with PSP X3 is getting rather thin though. I just don't want to go through days of installing and uninstalling again just to get it to work. On my laptop I still don't have the KPT filters and Corel's only solution is to reinstall again (which is what broke it the first time ).

[OldRadioGuy]

Hi Abiel, thanks for responding.

I do have PSP X3, but I also have PSP X which is more stable and doesn't have nearly as many bugs that I use for things like text. If I can't get PSP X to work or if PSP X3 continues to be a problem with bugs that have been known about for over a year I will be purchasing Adobe Photoshop. But rather than do that I'd like to give the OS upgrade a try first. My patience with PSP X3 is getting rather thin though. I just don't want to go through days of installing and uninstalling again just to get it to work. On my laptop I still don't have the KPT filters and Corel's only solution is to reinstall again (which is what broke it the first time ).

Dan, I understand your frustration. Many of us are/were in the same situation. I see that you have only 2GB of RAM. The first thing I would do is increase RAM to 4GB. That helps a lot of folks with other applications, too, not just PaintShop Photo Pro X3.

My experience only: Since I installed the last patch for PSPPX3, the application has not crashed on my system. I never open the Organizer, and I don't process my RAW photographs with the PSPPX3 RAW module. I do a lot of scanning and repairing of old photographs, and PSPPX3's Blemish Fixer and Scratch Fixer can't be beat for that kind of job. However, because most of the operations are limited to 8-bit images rather than 16-bit, I am increasingly relying on the shareware program PhotoLine, a very powerful and fast Photoshop competitor (under $100 US). The downside is a steep learning curve, but you would have that with Photoshop, too.

I don't know what your photo image work requirements are. Perhaps Photoshop Elements would do the job if you can't solve the problems with PSPPX3. Elements is really competing for the same market PSPPX3 is after. Photoshop CS5 is a big program, aimed at the professionals in photography, advertising, design, etc. That would be a big investment if you wind up using only 10% of the features.

Bob

[df]

Update: installing the OS was actually pretty easy and dare I say it kind of fun in a geeky sort of way. Reinstalling PSPX3 went off without a hitch, then I installed each patch in order and even patch 5 beta. Installed the KPT filters, no problems there. But now I'm trying to set PSPX3 to adobe RGB as the main color space and it's not even an option. On my laptop there's several options, but with my new build desktop there's only sRGB and my monitor. Any advice on this?

Thanks
Dan

PS to OldRadioGuy: I'd load my computer up with more RAM if the motherboard supported it. 2gb is the max it will take. It's an older system. I did add a bigger video card to alleviate any vRAM requirements and free the RAM up for main computing.

[wds937]

...I also have PSP X which is more stable and doesn't have nearly as many bugs that I use for things like text. If I can't get PSP X to work or if PSP X3 continues to be a problem with bugs that have been known about for over a year I will be purchasing Adobe Photoshop. But rather than do that I'd like to give the OS upgrade a try first. My patience with PSP X3 is getting rather thin though.

I recently had to go through the new OS/reinstall game, as my old computer (XP) died, and I ordered a new computer with Windows 7 32-bit. Fortunately, I had done a complete backup of the old computer about two days before it died.

If my experience is any indicator, you may well be able to get PSP X to work on your Windows 7 installation.

I installed all of PSP 8, 9, X, XI, X2 Ultimate, and X3 Ultimate on the new Windows 7 computer; these are the same versions of PSP I had on the old computer. So far, so good. I have done a few basic operations with each of them, but I have not had the opportunity to really put any of them, other than X3, through its paces. While I do expect to uncover a few issues here and there, particularly with some of the older versions, I am encouraged to this point.

I did not have to use compatibility options or XP Mode for any of them. But I do remember that I had to run one of the installers using the compatibility option for XP. (I am not sure which version of PSP it was, or if it was something else, as I installed a whole buncha programs back-to-back-to-back.)

It is very possible that some of my good (lucky?) experience was due to having chosen the 32-bit version of Windows 7. From much of what I read, many people have more compatibility problems with the 64-bit version, especially with older software.