I used to do tech support but have been doing other things for the past few years. Now I’m once again seeking employment doing tech support again. The problem is while I used Vista briefly at it’s inception when I worked for Dell I’ve never used Win7.
I don’t have a copy of 7 but I’m confident I can learn enough from some basic tutorials to at least show I can learn it quickly and can go to an interview and talk coherently about the OS.
Does anyone know of any free tutorials? I’d really prefer someone that has used the tutorials and not just links to websites that say they offer them. I’ve already searched and have lots of those. Some seem good others are just shitty sites with pop-ups and slow load times.
just google how to do xxxxxx on windows 7 or buy a copy or choose a different carrer in which you have knowledge of. I don’t apply to be an SQL programmer because I do not know how
Chris: Next time you have nothing constructive to add to a thread perhaps you should consider not answering at all. M’kay? So, basically thanks for nothing.
I certainly know how to google specific problems. What I was asking for had nothing to do with that. I have plenty of knowledge in this career. I’m just wanting to learn something about Win7 and was checking to see if anyone had any personal experience with any tutorials. When I buy a new computer I’m sure it will come with the OS or perhaps I’ll purchase a copy. For now the system I have with XP Pro works just fine for me.
Applying for a job as an SQL Programmer is considerably different then doing tech support. So please, in the future, don’t shit on my thread.
hi NOLA Cajun,
seven forums has greatly eased my pain migrating from XP to Win 7. I’d recommend their tutorials. They aren’t total newbie stuff. Most of the tutorials explain changes since XP.
It sounds like you are already pretty familiar with earlier versions of Windows. Seven Forums should help a lot. http://www.sevenforums.com/
btw, You got any got any good boudin? My dad picks up some every time he visits our relatives in Ville Platte.
Trust me on this because, while I am not a cajun myself, I am a native Louisianan born and bred and I do IT consulting for the big name companies. I do high level support work as well. I am on your side and I have got your back.
Windows 7 is an excellent operating system and anyone that knows support should be able to figure it out in a day or two as long as they have a good understanding of XP. Windows Vista and Windows 7 are really the same operating system despite popular perception. Vista is Microsoft product 6.0 in internal lingo which most people didn’t like and Windows 7 is Vista with a bunch of service packs applied but it is still Microsoft Windows 6.1 for their internal use.
The best thing that you could do is just upgrade to Windows 7 yourself but you don’t have too. It is just more Appleified (new word?) over earlier versions and no great shift from anything you already know. As long as you understand XP deeply, you aren’t missing much except things are easier in Windows 7. I manage some serious production systems that ranges from Windows 2000 server to Windows 7 and it is the same game although Windows 7 is the easiest.
All you really need to do is work with a Windows 7 computer for a couple of hours to understand what I am talking about. It takes less knowledge, not more, as long as you know XP.
Thanks Ace. Looks like an excellent forum. I’m living in Colorado now so no boudin. I do miss it though. And the fresh gulf shrimp & fish. But to me the benefits of where I live now far outweigh those things.
Shag, I suspected as much about Vista & 7 and I’m sure with just a couple of hours on a Win7 machine I can be up to par. I do have a deep knowledge of XP and am confident 7 will come easily to me. I’ve done support work for EDS (when I lived in Plano,TX), Dell and a few others. Guess I got burned out on it and went and tried some other things. I worked in the Gulf as a cook of all things for a couple of years. Most recently I was working for a company that had a contract with the Arkansas Highway Dept. as a Traffic Counter Field Technician, which is just a fancy title for worker mule. Those things have made me miss working in more high tech positions and now I’m convinced I was meant to do things that require more brain power then laying rubber hoses across busy dangerous highways in 110 degree heat or cooking beans and rice for a bunch of unappreciative coonasses.
Right now I’ve only got an Acer Aspire Netbook with 1 gig of RAM. From what I can tell I should be able to run Windows 7 on this machine but as I plan on buying a newer system when I have the money, I’d like to keep an XP machine. Don’t ask why, I’m just weird like that. Just recently put to rest a Win98 machine (mobo finally died) and gave away 2 old dell portables I had (a PIII & a P4, both with XP Pro). Plus right now I just don’t have the cash for an upgrade.
I’ve actually found some other tutorials online for 7 since posting this so I feel certain I’ll have no problem supporting it when I find a job.
I signed up for a demo of the Microsoft E-Learning library (free for 10 days). One of the courses offered in the demo was Clinic 10077: What’s New in Windows 7 for IT Professionals training module, covering the differences between Vista and Windows 7. It was pretty good (good enough to convince me that spending money on a years access would be possibly worth it) and only 2 hours. You may want to take a look.
Paul Thurrott’s Windows SuperSite has tons of in-depth articles about new features in 7 and how to make the best of them:
He updates the site regularly and his articles are a history of Windows 7 that go all the way back to the first rumors about it.
In my own personal experience, I’ve found a lot more joy from 7 in changing the Mac-style taskbar to XP style courtesy of a 3rd party add-on. See the “annoyances” article for details on how to do that. I’ve also found that 7 arbitrarily moved a lot of things around, which make some simply tasks (such as networking two computers of different Windows flavors together) incredibly difficult. But by and large Win7 is pretty hassle-free.
As others have said/indicated, Win7 isn’t scary. as Shag said, it’s pretty much Vista without the crappy user interface. It feels pretty close to XP (which is “home” to most these days), but the OS is much more secure. You will have moments where you mutter, “where in the hell is…?” But that’s typical for MS products. I’d also recommend familiarizing yourself with the newer MS Office suites - much bigger changes there (most don’t seem to provide a lot more functionality - just “Windoze dressing,” per usual").
Good luck on your job search, I’m sure you’ll do fine.
Wow. Great responses. Thank you all so much. These are some really helpful things. I have used the newer office versions and while at first a bit of “Why the heck did they change X?” I’ve manged to figure them out fairly easily.
First interview tomorrow and I already feel smarter thanks to these responses.
Mucho Gracias to all!
When come back I’ll bring pie. (unless you prefer cake. i make better cakes then i do pie. except for crawfish pie which is one of my specialties.)