Win7 has refused to notice several things I had on my previous computer. There are supposed to be emulator programs for XP equipment

So far as I've been able to tell, the "emulator programs" consist of ability to run in a "virtual OS" mode that is only available in the Win 7 Ultimate (the highest priced) version of Win 7. It's not clear without having "Ultimate" but it appears that in order to run the "virtual OS" application you need a separate partition on your hard drive for the alternate OS, and if you're going to have a separate partition you might as well just "dual boot" and pick the OS you want, although the "virtual OS" method may(??? - can't tell and Mickey won't tell you) be able to move between two similar OS types to run programs from both sort of at the same time. Microsoft doesn't make it clear, but it appears that in order to dual boot or to use the virtual OS mode in Ultimate you must have the prior OS installed and install the newer (Win7) version after the previous one is in place and operable, as an upgrade. You cannot reinstall the earlier OS version after Win7 is installed in order to get the dual version functions - although information about this is typically vague.

You also must "move up" to "Ultimate" in order to enable any of the "system tools" Micorsoft claims are available for finding and fixing any of the "little annoyances" that eventually accumulate in any OS. Unfortunately, Microsoft doesn't clearly tell you what useful differences exist between the various versions, so it's up to you to "infer" from vague "Ad-Speak" blather that "you should send more mmoney if you really want something that works."

The biggest failure (and it's nearly complete) by Microsoft is in abdicating all support to their "social network" bulletin boards where you can find nothing but opinions from people you can't identify who offer their imagined hallucinations about problems they've obviously created through their own stupidity, based on the assumption that everyone else is as ignorant as they are. Since Microsoft takes no responsibility for any "help" offered, even when someone who posts there claims to be "from Microsoft" you can't tell if they're a programmer or a mail-room clerk. (Or whether a programmer knows any more than a clerk.)

Microsoft (apparently intentionally) deleted virtually all information related to older OS versions from their "Knowledge Base" some time ago, apparently as part of the attempt to get people to quit using Win98. Some bits of information seems to have crept back in, and there have been occasional "new articles" there; but that previously helpful resource is obviusly no longer maintained.

"Help" files that come with newer Microsoft programs could be reduced to a single link: "Click here to post your question on our social network" since that's usually the only result given when you search in Help. You can post a question, but it won't be answered credibly.

John