questions about monitor calibration

Hello folks.
I recently got a new computer with Windows 7. I'm using it and my old computer with WinXP at the same time, with the same monitor, until I feel confident in moving 100% to the new machine. (Okay, really, it's until I feel like I have a grasp of Windows 7's idiotic permissions, levels, etc. I can't really trust a computer that tells me I don't have permission to access & delete my own files!) Anyway, I've just realized that each of the computers gives me different results with the one monitor. I should have known it, of course, but I just never thought about it. I had previously done "eyeball" calibration on the XP machine using a web site I found, and I just finished Windows 7's built-in calibration, and of course that screwed up what I had done with the Win XP machine. So when I compared the same photo viewed on each of the machines, it was quite different on each of them.

So my question is, when I get a monitor calibrator, if I run it on both machines with the same monitor, should I expect to then get identical display results from both machines?

Thanks a lot.

ncjohn wrote in post #10556329
So my question is, when I get a monitor calibrator, if I run it on both machines with the same monitor, should I expect to then get identical display results from both machines?

Thanks a lot.

Yes

as for your windows issues, make yourself a admin and turn off user account control and you shouldn't have any issues.

Thanks.
I'm the only user; aren't I the admin by default?

Yes but you have to right click everything and hit run as administrator, stupid stupid stupid windows 7 lol

And as far as your question... Yes getting a calibrator will solve the problem on both PC's and give you the same results

Sdiver2489 wrote in post #10556341
Yes

as for your windows issues, make yourself a admin and turn off user account control and you shouldn't have any issues.

You do NOT want to turn of user account control.
If something requires admin rights it can be added via the task scheduler.

User account control protects the OS from damage - virtualises the registry and blocks direct access to system files.

ncjohn wrote in post #10556384
Thanks.
I'm the only user; aren't I the admin by default?

Technically yes practically no - you are a "Limited admin" - there should be another disabled account that is higher - but keep it off.

Heck, ideally users should just use user accounts (even owners) but nobody does as its too inconvenient...

ncjohn wrote in post #10556329
So my question is, when I get a monitor calibrator, if I run it on both machines with the same monitor, should I expect to then get identical display results from both machines?

Depends. What software?

Windows XP Picture and Fax viewer is not color managed. Windows 7 viewer is.

René Damkot wrote in post #10557554
Depends. What software?

DPP and Gimp.

With DPP, once you have calibrated your monitor in each system you then use Tools/Preferences/Colo​r Management to direct DPP to use your monitor profile. I'm not sure about Gimp.

Oh, and I use Win7 64 bit on a daily basis on my laptop along with XP on my desktop and Win7 does very well.

Thanks for the responses, everybody.