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Is it worth ugrading to windows 7?

RubyXI · 2010-03-04 21:28:50

I'm running windows vista and have nevet been a huge fan of it. I have a lot of problems with updates, i don't run them anymore because it means doing a restore afterwards. I haven't heard much good or bad about windows 7. Would you reccomend it?

04-03-2010 9:28pm

#1

RubyXI

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I'm running windows vista and have nevet been a huge fan of it. I have a lot of problems with updates, i don't run them anymore because it means doing a restore afterwards. I haven't heard much good or bad about windows 7. Would you reccomend it?

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#2 04-03-2010 9:31pm

amacachi

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Had this laptop going on 3 months now, think I've had a total of 5 program freezes in that time, with it being powered off for a total of maybe 100 hours. So yes, I would most certainly recommend it.

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#3 04-03-2010 10:45pm

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I've been using Windows 7 Professional 64-bit full time for the last week and a half. I'm actually getting the hang of it. If I can do it, anyone can, believe me!

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#4 04-03-2010 10:53pm

Biggins

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Yes, no question.

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#5 04-03-2010 10:58pm

corcaigh1

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Running Windows 7 ultimate myself..defo worth it, much better than vista, xp.;)

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#6 04-03-2010 11:04pm

flutered

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for me the bloody thing hangs at times, when my old lappy is repaired (xp) this new fangled thingimig is on the block, its probably my age.:mad:

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#7 04-03-2010 11:18pm

Ghost Train

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Have been sticking to xp for certain hardware reasons but windows 7 seems to work fine when I switched over recently. Makes certain aspects of xp feel very dated and heavy, install and setup very quick

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#8 05-03-2010 8:04am

RubyXI

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Thanks for the response. It would be the home premium edition i would be upgrading to. I'll have to try and find a good price on it!

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#9 05-03-2010 10:22am

Mister Gooey

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Using Vista for last two years. Never had any problems with updates, never crashes for me either. I have Windows 7 on a new computer. Not much differrence really between the two, tbh. I wouldn't upgrade my old PC from vista. It's not worth the money.

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#10 05-03-2010 1:57pm

humaxf1

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OP, when you say upgrade to 7, do you mean an in-place upgrade or a clean install?

In-place upgrades are fine to a point, BUT, they can go up their own arse either immediately or 6 months down the road.

One thing to look out for is...does your computer have drivers available for Windows 7? For example, graphic card drivers, sound card or touchpad drivers for laptops can be either a pain to get or not available full stop!

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#11 05-03-2010 2:00pm

Alanstrainor

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humaxf1 wrote: »

OP, when you say upgrade to 7, do you mean an in-place upgrade or a clean install?

In-place upgrades are fine to a point, BUT, they can go up their own arse either immediately or 6 months down the road.

One thing to look out for is...does your computer have drivers available for Windows 7? For example, graphic card drivers, sound card or touchpad drivers for laptops can be either a pain to get or not available full stop!

Windows 7 will pick up vista drivers, and i've managed to get it working with ancient hardware using xp drivers no problem, so unless the laptop/hardware is obscure i would think sorting out drivers shouldn't be a problem.

Oh and i completely agree a fresh install is a much better option.

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#12 05-03-2010 2:13pm

ScumLord

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I never had Vista so I couldn't say if it's worth the upgrade but a friend moved from Vista to Windows 7 and says it's made a huge difference to his laptop, not so much in performance but in actually being able to get software to run properly. .

I moved from XP both at home and at work and noticed a huge difference in performance myself. The only problems I've had are on the work PC, the sleep mode was causing the PC to lock up and wouldn't come back on until I knocked off the power to the power supply.
Even though it crashed and had power completely cut to it when I turned the power back on and booted up it still had all my applications open with the unsaved data intact. Turned off sleep and haven't had a problem since.

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#13 05-03-2010 5:24pm

RubyXI

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humaxf1 wrote: »

OP, when you say upgrade to 7, do you mean an in-place upgrade or a clean install?

In-place upgrades are fine to a point, BUT, they can go up their own arse either immediately or 6 months down the road.

One thing to look out for is...does your computer have drivers available for Windows 7? For example, graphic card drivers, sound card or touchpad drivers for laptops can be either a pain to get or not available full stop!

No idea!
What is an in-place upgrade?
I would be buying the windows 7 upgrade dvd whichever one that is!!!

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#14 05-03-2010 6:31pm

Capt'n Midnight

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Don't forget that the upgraded version of windows can't be moved to another PC later on. If you replace your computer you can't reuse the upgrade.

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#15 05-03-2010 9:45pm

Moriarty

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I was under the impression that that was only with OEM licenses?

And even with an OEM licence not really, as long as you no longer use the machine you originally bought the licence for it's still valid according to MS and they will allow the key to migrate.

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#16 06-03-2010 5:39pm

doyler442

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Hi

I would definetly recommend installing Windows 7 - I had Vista Home Premium and in recent weeks it has just driven me demented:

- there was the constant 100% usage of the CPU for no reasons at all, and also due to system idle time even though it wasn't idle at all
- the installer for programs was starting to take five/ten minutes to start up
- Visual Studio decided to stop working because I had removed Office 2007
- Couldn't install Xampp for Wordpress because of Vista related issues

There was countless other ones so yesterday I got a copy of Windows 7 Professional and couldn't be any happier at the moment - all the problems from above are gone and I'm just after installing Xampp and Wordpress with no problems at all.

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#17 06-03-2010 11:54pm

Capt'n Midnight

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Moriarty wrote: »

I was under the impression that that was only with OEM licenses?

And even with an OEM licence not really, as long as you no longer use the machine you originally bought the licence for it's still valid according to MS and they will allow the key to migrate.

Yes it's only for OEM licenses. Very few home users will have a non-OEM license.

Also the license is not bound to the machine. It's bound to the motherboard. It can't be moved to another motherboard, let alone another machine, unless the manufacturer replaces it under warranty.

If your motherboard dies out of warranty , the license dies with it. :mad:

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#18 07-03-2010 9:43pm

fifth

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I just upgraded to Windows 7 Home premium 64 bit and it's well worth it.

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#19 07-03-2010 9:46pm

RubyXI

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funkyflea wrote: »

I just upgraded to Windows 7 Home premium 64 bit and it's well worth it.

What's the difference between 64 bit and 32 bit?

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#20 08-03-2010 1:41am

Capt'n Midnight

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phi3 wrote: »

What's the difference between 64 bit and 32 bit?

you need a 64 bit processor to run the 64 bit version
64 bit will handle more than 3 GB of Memory

what make/model computer do you have ?

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#21 08-03-2010 8:02am

RubyXI

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Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

you need a 64 bit processor to run the 64 bit version
64 bit will handle more than 3 GB of Memory

what make/model computer do you have ?

I've a samsung x22
Think i've 32 bit processor and 4 gb memory

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#22 08-03-2010 8:10am

wildefalcon

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Comparing Vista, XP and 7, I'd have to say that 7 is my favourite.

It works, it is slick and intuitive, the window resize options are great, the shake to clear is clever, and the Themes are nice. Compatibility is very good.

You would be well advised to ensure you have sufficient RAM memory - preferably 2 Gb, and a processor running faster than 1.5 ghz.

To use the Aero interface you need to have a Direct X "10" standard graphics card, I think. But the plain interface is very good too.

As for worthwhile, that depends on how much it costs you!

So, if you can get it at the right price, and you meet the spec. Get it!

WildeFalcon.

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#23 08-03-2010 9:57am

Capt'n Midnight

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phi3 wrote: »

I've a samsung x22
Think i've 32 bit processor and 4 gb memory

http://www.samsung.com/ie/business/b2b/products/notebooks/business_class/x22.htm
Intel Core2 Duo Processor = 64 bit

so 64 bit windows is an option, not that 64 bit is twice as good as 32 bit or anything like that , unless all your programs are also 64 bit you wouldn't get the full benefit anyway.

[edit] missed the "2"

If you want to speed up Vista try these tips - if it's still slow the consider doing a clean install again.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=61492466&postcount=3

NB. upgrading windows will not fix slowness caused by malware or too many drivers and it probably won't fix driver problems either.

Also if the PC is slow on startup check that Skype or Antivirus scan isn't set to auto-start.

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#24 08-03-2010 10:05am

leninbenjamin

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Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

http://www.samsung.com/ie/business/b2b/products/notebooks/business_class/x22.htm
Intel Core2 Duo Processor = 32 bit

so 64 bit windows is NOT an option, not that 64 bit is twice as good as 32 bit or anything like that , unless all your programs are also 64 bit you wouldn't get the full benefit anyway.

This is wrong. Core 2 Duo's are perfectly capable of executing 64 bit instructions considering they are fabricated using a 64 bit architecture.

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#25 08-03-2010 10:58am

RubyXI

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Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

http://www.samsung.com/ie/business/b2b/products/notebooks/business_class/x22.htm
Intel Core2 Duo Processor = 32 bit

so 64 bit windows is NOT an option, not that 64 bit is twice as good as 32 bit or anything like that , unless all your programs are also 64 bit you wouldn't get the full benefit anyway.

If you want to speed up Vista try these tips - if it's still slow the consider doing a clean install again.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=61492466&postcount=3

NB. upgrading windows will not fix slowness caused by malware or too many drivers and it probably won't fix driver problems either.

Also if the PC is slow on startup check that Skype or Antivirus scan isn't set to auto-start.

It's actually not slow. I just have problems with updates. Anytime i install a suggested windows update eg. service pack 2, it won't start up again afterwards so i have to go back to a previous restore point. I'm not even sure if it's a vista problem or not but i've heard others had problems with updates on vista too.

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#26 08-03-2010 6:59pm

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Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

http://www.samsung.com/ie/business/b2b/products/notebooks/business_class/x22.htm
Intel Core2 Duo Processor = 32 bit

so 64 bit windows is NOT an option, not that 64 bit is twice as good as 32 bit or anything like that , unless all your programs are also 64 bit you wouldn't get the full benefit anyway.

*ahem*

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#27 08-03-2010 9:01pm

Panda

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drop vista like a hot snot,
i've had 7 running on a hp compaq nc6220 and its far better compared to the slow slog that is vista.

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#28 08-03-2010 10:27pm

Capt'n Midnight

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oops missed the "2"

for some reason I saw just the duo

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#29 09-03-2010 1:12pm

ScumLord

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phi3 wrote: »

What's the difference between 64 bit and 32 bit?

Bigger is better and 64 is twice as big as 32.

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#30 09-03-2010 2:38pm

TheDoc

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Upgraded my laptop from vista to windows 7 ultimate 32bit, noticed a massive performance increase. Seconds to boot up and it was fantastic.

I cleaned it and am using ubuntu now just so I can see what the fuss is about, can see myself changing back over the summer.

I use windows 7 ultimate 32bit on my main pc. Gaming machine.

Its fantastic, from its built in security software and anti-spyware, to just the performance tweaks, it made my machine alot faster, moving from xp. And it was easy peasy, and kept all my files like music etc

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#31 10-03-2010 1:45pm

fifth

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The last 3 days with Windows 7 have been lovely. It feels like the proper step up from XP that Vista should have been.

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#32 11-03-2010 11:17am

LinHaX

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I used to have problems with drivers in Windows 7 few months ago, but last month I had to format my HDD, and I gave it a next chance. Installation process is very quick and intuitive even for beginners, and the system works much faster and definietaly more stable than Vista.

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#33 14-03-2010 1:21pm

RubyXI

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http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/6759441/Trail/searchtext%3EWINDOWS+7.htm

Is this one looking ok to upgrade from vista home premium?

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#34 14-03-2010 6:48pm

RubyXI

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or this one...
http://cgi.ebay.ie/Windows-7-Home-Premium-Upgrade-DVD-32Bit_W0QQitemZ170456430104QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Computing_Software_Software_SR?hash=item27affeb618

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#35 14-03-2010 8:24pm

Capt'n Midnight

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phi3 wrote: »

or this one...
http://cgi.ebay.ie/Windows-7-Home-Premium-Upgrade-DVD-32Bit_W0QQitemZ170456430104QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Computing_Software_Software_SR?hash=item27affeb618

this is what they say at the bottom
For purchase of Dell computer from MADLapTOP only.

It's OEM and can't be sold separately from the laptop
also it's a DELL cd so won't install on another brand of laptop

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#36 14-03-2010 8:29pm

RubyXI

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Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

this is what they say at the bottom
For purchase of Dell computer from MADLapTOP only.

It's OEM and can't be sold separately from the laptop
also it's a DELL cd so won't install on another brand of laptop

Ya i emailed them to ask if it would only work on dell laptops and they said it would work on any laptop or pc. Still sounds a bit dodgy tho

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#37 16-03-2010 11:28pm

GTE

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Personally I moved up to Windows 7 this weekend.

Amazed. Its as fast if not a little quicker on my netbook then XP and thats pretty good going since all the visual features are on. Well done to Microsoft on this one.

I highly recommend Windows 7 for everyday use.
If you are using it for audio recording (my area), different story.

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#38 17-03-2010 12:03am

BostonB

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I haven't found much difference in speed between XP (One a few machines) and Windows 7 (on one machine) . I've had Windows 7 for over a year now. But I had no end of problems with Vista. Windows 7 has been great.

Not all CPU/Motherboards are 64bit compatible. you have to check that.

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#39 17-03-2010 8:03pm

Seifer

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OP have you tried a clean install of Vista?
It's as likely to solve your problems and at no cost.
I'm running Vista on my laptop (day to day machine) and W7 on my gaming desktop and wouldn't say it is worth the price of upgrading.

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#40 18-03-2010 8:05am

RubyXI

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Seifer wrote: »

OP have you tried a clean install of Vista?
It's as likely to solve your problems and at no cost.
I'm running Vista on my laptop (day to day machine) and W7 on my gaming desktop and wouldn't say it is worth the price of upgrading.

Really? Might give it a try. I did a restore before (with the restore disks) alrite if that has the same effect

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#41 18-03-2010 1:51pm

Seifer

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Make sure you do a clean install this time though not a restore.
If you're unable to install service packs then something important has obviously been corrupted.

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#42 18-03-2010 3:13pm

RubyXI

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Just a question on this full install.
Will i loose everything saved on the computer?
Will everything have to be re-installed afterwards?

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#43 18-03-2010 3:17pm

Seifer

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Yes to both.
This will be the case if you do a Windows 7 install as well though. It would be crazy to try and do an upgrade install of Windows 7 with your current Vista considering your main problem is with updating Vista.

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#44 18-03-2010 3:20pm

RubyXI

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Seifer wrote: »

Yes to both.
This will be the case if you do a Windows 7 install as well though. It would be crazy to try and do an upgrade install of Windows 7 with your current Vista considering your main problem is with updating Vista.

Thanks
Will have to root out my install disks so.

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#45 02-04-2010 8:56pm

RubyXI

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Well I've upgraded. All is well so far. Very quick install with no restarts or problems. Don't understand this watch live tv thing though. I thought they were saying there is a way you can pay per programme you watch but i can't figure it out yet anyway.

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#46 02-04-2010 9:11pm

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Still using Windows 7 here. Have had very few issues but still hate the shell.

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#47 07-04-2010 10:32pm

Viscaria

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Windows 7 is definitely an upgrade from vista, Internet explorer is still crap though.

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#48 08-04-2010 7:04am

RubyXI

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Viscaria wrote: »

Windows 7 is definitely an upgrade from vista, Internet explorer is still crap though.

Google chrome is an improvement on it-- not just for windows 7. just in general

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