Ordered the new Windows8/7 computer. XP been good but I suppose it's time. Got 16GB, 128SSD, 1 terabyte SATA, I'm sure that is probably more than I need.
I hate these technology upgrades, better start taking patience pills, I'm sure some things are just going to be a pain. My old DesignJet probably won't work (drivers) and getting all the software transferred will probably be a nightmare if not impossible.
I can't upgrade my present workstation, the only thing is a complete new install of Windows 7. It's been so long on some of the software I might not even have the disks/codes etc. Even if I get the software installed I probably won't be able to get all the updates beyond the disks (no longer on support or support doesn't exist). Yup, this is going to be fun.
This is probably going to cost a lot more than just the new hardware.
If there's still time to make changes, I would recommend a larger SSD. I have a 120GB SSD installed in my Win7-64 machine that I only use for the OS and programs (all data goes on a different drive) and it is nearly full (16GB free). Not much more money for a 160GB or larger SSD.
Edit: What model Designjet are you dealing with? I have a Designjet 800 that works like a charm on Win7-64 and the 500 is the same plotter with less options installed so I would think it should work also.
I have a DesignJet 600. It stills works fine but I'd like to get a new plotter (with modern capability). Can't change the SSD ordered at this point. All my other files are stored on NAS. I hope the SSD will handle the OS and the most used programs. I can always put some not so often used programs on the hard disk if I need to.
I just hope this technology upgrade goes better than the last. I'm sure once it's all done and things running smooth it will be great, that is if I survive the troubles.
Yea, I'd say the 600 is toast for Win7 or Win8. The 120SSD will hold you for a while. I have AutoCAD 2013, Carlson Civil Suite 2013, TBC, MS Office Pro 2010, Adobe Acrobat Pro 10, and a bunch of other stuff loaded and mine still runs great (15 sec. from power button to log-in screen). Even though I have 16GB free, I can't add much more without running out of space for the Windows swap file so I'm going to upgrade to a larger SSD soon.
I have read that the Vista 64 bit drivers will work (on Win 7) for many of the older DesignJet plotters.
> I'm going to upgrade to a larger SSD soon.
I recall hearing about problems with limited write lifetime on SSDs. Has that been fixed, or are they cheap enough now that you can just get a new one when the limitation starts to become a problem?
I've read of issues with specific drives, but all my recent research says the typical SSD will last several years under normal use. Operations that are heavy on writes to the SSD will shorten its lifespan. That's why most systems are setup so that the OS and programs go on the SSD and data goes on a traditional HDD. Most manufacturers also build additional capacity into their drives to act as "spares" when cells do go bad. Just like traditional HDD's, SSD's track and mark sectors or cells that go bad.
My Crucial 120GB SSD has been up and running for 18 months with no issues and it gets left on pretty much 24-7.
Check out WinLine Drivers. Would be a lot cheaper than a new plotter.
I have Windows 7 and my DesignJet 600 plotter works fine on it. I use the 64-bit XP Driver and a $5 Parallel-to-USB adapter. Works every bit as good as when it was on my old XP computer that had a parallel port.
Dave
With most SSD's you're talking many years (as in over a decade), before you burn through the write capacity.
SSDs are a no-brainer these days. Spinning rust is only better for archiving and large data that you don't need to access quickly.
So, in my case I have:
512GB SSD as my main drive (Mac OS X)
512GB SSD for Windows
512GB SSD for active scanning jobs (These are essentially large databases, so you need quick reads, writes and access speeds).
3TB for immediate scan backup and "slow data". eg: photo library.
4TB for secondary scan backup and older data (Earlier photo libraries, files that I may not need any more but keep just in case, etc)
6TB on NAS for backup of everything.
And, of course rotating drives for offsite backup of critical files, scan data, etc.
To put things into perspective, my primary SSD will push close to 1GB read and write. The others will do around 400MB/s. A standard spinning drive will do 100-150MB/s and have access times orders of magnitude slower.
My 600 is wired in the network with a D-Link DP-301P+ print server. I think the driver maybe loaded into that so maybe it will be OK. The WinLine option looks good but I can't find a price for it.
Leon,
My 600 has an HP Network Card installed, but I never figured out how to use it. So that's why I got a Parallel-to-USB adapter.
Try the 64-bit XP driver before you spend any money for a driver. It's on HP's Driver Download site, or I can e-mail it to you.
Dave
You're gonna love the Windows 7 explorer. NOT. What a PITA. Just when you're about to click on a folder, the entire list scrolls up or down and you click on the wrong one. I've been using Xplorer2 for a while now, and I'm happy. Just sayin'
Check it out...
http://www.zabkat.com/
WinLine Drivers run about $199.00. But they will run essentially any printer or plotter. It's the only thing I could find in order to make my 450C work with my Windows 7 computer.
LSU recently purchased a MacBook Pro with dual operating systems: Mac OS and Windows 8. It takes a while to get used to computers made on Mars ...
