Google Earth and Windows 7

Pete, I use Google Earth with Windows 8. While I do not recommend Windows 8 to anyone, Google Earth should work fine on 7, as it did for me before I upgraded. Have you used a registry cleaner to remove all the left-over XP files for Google Earth? Sometimes this is all it takes to get a program working after an OS upgrade. I use the free utility CCleaner. If you have already done, this, I have another idea.

Lyman,

As far as I know, I did not transfer any Google files to the new computer. My computer came with 4 disks that would allow me to upgrade to Windows 8, but after a look at it I concluded that I didn't like it,

Pete,
I am using Windows 8 and it was about time I caught up to the present. My previous experience was having Vista removed and XP installed. Both the Vista machine purchase and the conversion back to XP were painful experiences.
Windows 8 isn't too bad. More bells and whistles than I care for but it works well enough once you start getting used to it.
Google Earth works fine with Windows 8. I can't imagine why it does poorly on Windows 7.
Had your eyes checked lately (LOL)?

Pete,
I have used Google Earth with Windows 7 for more than a year. And I have had very good results except for a brief problem with the registry, as Jordan suggested. I would get blank areas as I panned or moved to different locations. Clearing the registry fixed the problem.

I did a search for ["google earth" and "windows 7 professional"] and found that I am not alone. Loads of people are having the same problem.

I took the advice of one of those who had succeeded and downloaded and installed Google Earth 5.1, an older version.

While I cannot get "street view" I can use the measuring tool and everything is now hi-def and quite fast.

One of the postings I saw was supposedly from Google and said they were working on it.

Hmmm. I have Windows 7 Home Premium, and have no problems with GE 7.0.3

Wonder why Pro is different? But, not for me to figure out.

Pete, if you did any kind of file transfer of your old "My Docs" stuff to your new hard drive, you most likely have some old GE files there. They may have affected your new registry. Try doing a registry cleanup, which is a good idea when you swap files to a new machine, anyway. Then, you should be able to use the most recent version without difficulty.

Lyman et al:

When I search for "registry cleanup" I get a lot of choices, none of which are supported by Microsoft. This makes me hesitant.

Can you give me a clue as to which program worked for you? I suppose the proper procedure would be to uninstall GE 5.1 before I start, clean the registry, and then install the latest version of GE.

If this fails, there's always "system restore" to pull the chestnuts from the fire.

Pete, I hope you find a solution, because Google Earth has crashed again on my computer. I have Windows 7 Home Premium with Google Earth 7.1.

But what is interesting, Google Earth still works on my laptop with Windows 7.0.3

Pete, try the free utility CCleaner . The best place to find it IMO is CCleaner From PC Magazine . Use both the "Cleaner" utility and the "Registry" utility. If you are going to try to download the latest version of GE, you should also use the "Tools" "Uninstall" utility to remove the old GE before you do any of this.

Here is my recommended order of steps:

• Download and install CCleaner
  
• Remove All GE .exe files using the Uninstall utility of CCleaner
  
• Run the Cleaner utility to get the old GE stuff and the GE data files left behind by the uninstaller
  
• Run the Registry cleaner utility
  
• Install the latest GE
  

Let us know how this works.

- Lyman

Lyman,

I'll give it a shot later today and let you know what happens. Thanks for the tutorial.

Lyman,

I followed your instructions, but when I got to “Remove all GE files” there were none to be found, so I was dead in the water.

I ran “system restore” to get back to yesterday.

I uninstalled the GE 5.1, which had reappeared.

I installed the current version of GE.

A miracle occurred and I now seem to have the current version with clear viewing, including Street View.

Maybe your advice was not exactly on the mark in my case, but the exercise of using it solved my problem. Many, many thanks.

Pete, I just realized my instructions about using CCleaner were vague. Sorry. If you ran the registry cleaner, even though you did not see anything specific to GE in the list of registry items to be deleted, CCleaner will still find old left over GE and other registry items that get left behind. Not trying to give myself any credit here. I am just happy GE seems to be working for you now now.

FYI, almost any time you uninstall any program, uninstallers leave some registry items behind. Sometimes the leftovers do not cause a problem. Often they do. Program updates leave junk registry items behind, too. On occasion, the new or updated .exe or .dlls can still incorrectly reference these leftovers that are dead ends. That causes the program to malfunction. I am no computer expert, so I am still probably not explaining this well. I just find that it is useful to use the CCleaner for temp files and cookies every few days, and use it for a registry cleanup at least once a week.