[downriver]

Tried to update w7, started process, found an update and clicked to install. Norton popped up saying it was doing something in the background. I'm guessing the competition between Update and whatever Norton was doing hit a stalemate, dead circle...

Bottom line, it all froze up... I walked away for a few hours and still had the little circle indicating the update was trying to happen; mouse cursor moved around, but nothing else on the system worked. Could not close the update or stop Norton... nada.

Tried the ancient cntrl+alt+del. That combo has shut down windows forever (even DOS, if memory serves), and more recently opened task manager so one could shut down apps individually and/or the whole system.

Nada. Whassup? I saw a different combination in a google search (ctrl+shft+esc), but that did nothing either.

Finally I just forced a shutdown. Re-started machine. OK. The update is now installing, so I'm good -- but how do I get to task manager in the future, in w7? Is the old 3-finger salute retired? In favor of...? Or was the freeze something the old hot-key combo couldn't bypass?

Thanx

[Hermitt43]

Right click the task bar and choose "Start Task Manager".

Jim

[fairnooks]

It was probably so locked up that it couldn't bring up the screen of options (from the 3 finger salute), one of which includes starting the task manager. Try it while its working ok to see. The shutdown/restart options are no longer in the task manager however, those are on that option screen down it the lower right corner.

[Hermitt43]

I'm sure you're right Fairnooks. I had that happen to me recently when I swiped the mouse across some link in Facebook which instantly locked up my PC. I mean nothing worked, it was totally froze up. The only option I had was to press and hold the power switch until the PC shut down.
After a few seconds I turned it back on and everything was OK. Needless to say, the first thing I did was do a thorough scan with everything I have in my arsenal of crap/virus scanners and they found nothing.
God I hate Facebook!!

Jim

[downriver]

Thanks all. Here I am learning w7, and there's model 8 on the horizon. How much of my hardware will be obsolete when this new one takes over...? (Rhetorical question.)

[hackindave]

I'm running 8 on a Dell XPS laptop and have no hardware issues at all..(so far). I don't really like the new interface on it. Guess I just got used to the start button and every thing