Windows 7: Who's got it?

lindy · 11-22-2009, 09:02

Finally got my "free" Win7 from Dell and installed it. Holy cow and I'm glad I got it. I have...HAD...Vista on my oldest's Dell laptop (I know, I know why still using a PC) and it appears to have "fixed" many of the problems encountered with Vista. The feel is a little different but it SEEMS more stable than Vista (have only had Win7 48 hours).

Here's the "getting started" link.

Overall, my initial impressions are good but I would have preferred a hammer & chisel to Vista. I think most of the "improvements" are underlying and invisible to the typical user.

Anyone else have other experience with 7?

Lindy

Red Flag 1 · 11-22-2009, 09:18

lindy,

Did you get an upgrade or the full?

Still working off XP here; is that upgradeable?

Thanks!

RF 1

lindy · 11-22-2009, 09:50

I got the Premium 64BIT upgrade. I also have to other laptops on my LAN that are running XP, which I still love. All my external components always worked very well with XP and it wasn't until I introduced Vista into the network did things start messing up.

I don't see why you wouldn't be able to upgrade from XP except that Win7 requires the following (from MS web):

1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit) <------ COMMENT: I'm the most impatient person in the world so I like at least 6 GB.
16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver

HTH,
Lindy

BigJimCalhoun · 11-22-2009, 10:08

I was using the beta and release candidates at work for 6 months without issue.

At the house we have two Dell laptops that came with Windows 7 Home Premium. I also upgraded my machine at the house to Windows 7 Ultimate. My home machine is from 2003 and uses the Intel D865 chipest, so it is a relatively old machine in computer years. The upgrade from Vista took several hours and worked perfect. I know many people don't want to upgrade but instead want to install new, but the upgrades are different than they were from going from win95 to 98.

The new upgrades essentially back up the whole OS, install a clean new OS and then copy your settings over. The only thing I needed to do after the upgrade was a windows update for a SB Audigy driver and share my printer.

Earlier in the year I tried to do an upgrade of Vista to Windows 7 Beta and that upgrade did not complete due lack of a sound driver for my older sound card. The upgrade failed and the system restored itself back to Windows Vista and I just went on with life.

The only reason I have Windows 7 Ultimate is that is what MS gave us as a gift. I think most people only need Home Premium. Windows 7 Ultimate does have the BitLocker feature though.

There is no upgrade path from Windows XP to 7 - it needs to be a clean install, but as I alluded to above, the upgrade from Vista to 7 is awesome. I just upgraded the mother-in-law's machine yesterday from Vista to 7 and that also went off without a glitch.

If you want to go greater than 4 GIG ram, you need to use the 64 bit version, which most computers are being sold with now anyway. I did 32bit because my processor is only 32 bit.

Red Flag 1 · 11-22-2009, 10:34

This knuckle dragger thanks you both!!

RF 1

11-22-2009, 11:33

I signed up for Win 7 in July. They said they wouldn't bill my card until then. Long story short, I got it and up in the corner in the little blue triangle, it said "for upgrade from Vista". When I purchased my current computer I paid EXTRA just to have XP Professional instead of Vista. I called and was told the only way to go from XP to Win 7 is to purchase the full package. There has been some discussion about a possible work-around, but I am shipping Win 7 back. It seems to me that Vista user should get the Win 7 upgrade for free.

JessicaD · 12-02-2009, 13:17

Red Flag 1,

Please note that when migrating from Windows XP to Windows 7 you will not have an "in place upgrade" option. You will however have the option to select "custom" install when prompted. The Windows 7 install process will then copy all of your data in "My Documents" over to a Windows.old folder within Windows 7 itself. All applications and documents stored in other locations will have to be reinstalled / transferred manually.
For more information on the Windows 7 Upgrade, please go here: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/w...ling-Windows-7
For additional assistance with the migration of Windows XP to Windows 7, please go here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/w.../ee150430.aspx

Jessica
Microsoft Windows Client Team

Red Flag 1 · 12-02-2009, 13:32

JessicaD,

Thank you for the info!

Over the years, I have learned that there are two laws in using computers:

1. You can do anything with a computer.
2. You can not afford law number one.

Not to be an ingrate, but if you would take a moment and fill in your bio/profile, we would appreciate it.
"Signature block" noted.

RF 1

**Bill Harsey** · 12-06-2009, 13:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by JessicaD

Red Flag 1,

Please note that when migrating from Windows XP to Windows 7 you will not have an "in place upgrade" option. You will however have the option to select "custom" install when prompted. The Windows 7 install process will then copy all of your data in "My Documents" over to a Windows.old folder within Windows 7 itself. All applications and documents stored in other locations will have to be reinstalled / transferred manually.
For more information on the Windows 7 Upgrade, please go here: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/w...ling-Windows-7
For additional assistance with the migration of Windows XP to Windows 7, please go here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/w.../ee150430.aspx

Jessica
Microsoft Windows Client Team

Jessica,
Nice of you to check in here.
Could you please make an intro in the intro thread and fill out your profile?

I've been running Windows 7 for 15 minutes now. No glitches yet.

**Kyobanim** · 12-06-2009, 16:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill Harsey

I've been running Windows 7 for 15 minutes now. No glitches yet.

Bill, drinking a beer and looking at the screen does not qualify as "using it". You have to move the mouse around every once in a while.

sonofranger · 12-06-2009, 17:03

I've been running Win7 since July or so. Originally, I was going to dual-boot it and XP, until I got a feel for 7. After about 48 hours, I'd deleted the XP side and now run exclusively Windows 7 Professional. I've been in IT for 9 years, it thrills me to see that Microsoft has finally made a rock solid desktop OS.

So far, all of the applications I used in XP, have worked flawlessly in 7. I am running the 64-bit version, so I doubled my RAM to 4GB. It's just so...fast.

**Bill Harsey** · 12-06-2009, 18:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kyobanim

Bill, drinking a beer and looking at the screen does not qualify as "using it". You have to move the mouse around every once in a while.

Oh.

orion5 · 12-07-2009, 00:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill Harsey

Oh.

Hey Bill- glad you got your new computer up and running. Did you get the drool protector for your new keyboard?

Guy · 12-07-2009, 05:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill Harsey

I've been running Windows 7 for 15 minutes now. No glitches yet.

Stay safe.