Windows 7 out and ready for action

[JoeDaStudd]

Hi all,

 

My copy of Windows 7 arrived Wednesday (it had to come early instead of the same day as my new 1tb harddrive....).

I installed it last night and I must say I'm very impressed.

 

If I had to sum it up in 1 sentence it would be; Windows XP crossed with Vista's interface, it cuts all the junk Vista had yet keeps the nice feature list with everything where it should be.

 

I did run into a little issue with the installation.

 

If it hangs on the final setup stage when its connecting to your network heres how to fix it; unplug the network cable and/or disable wireless, reboot, finish the installation then plug it back in and/or turn wireless back on.

 

If you need a free antivirus Avast! works perfectly with windows 7 (unlike Avira).

 

Personally I still can't get over Windows 7 recognizing the exact model of my mouse and keyboard (it even shows pictures of them) as well every single part on my PC from the off. Yes not a single ? or ! in the device managed.

 

Overall every impressed, well worth the £65 for the full home premium installation and surprisingly better then I was expecting.

 

Anyone know of any cool gadgets which work well with Windows 7 (windows gadgets not usb devices :-P)?

 

Post your experiences here

[Hobgoblinpie]

Windows 7 Is much better for drivers and support than Vista or XP ever were. All my hardware was recognised instantly, except for my Belkin Wireless Adapter. I'm stuck with 32bit, until i get a new adaptor, because according to belkin, it doesn't work at all with 64bit.

 

I am very impressed at the actual operating system, and I prefer it greatly over XP.

[obfuscator]

I've downloaded it (have connections so got it for free ). I've yet to install it though, I don't think I want to switch to it on my laptop and lack another computer.

[Youmu]

I don't have Windows 7 yet. I might get it soon, though.

[Jernlov]

I used the RC pretty much since its release until now, but I just couldn't get used to it at all. I had issues with HD H.264 playback (taking far more CPU power than it should), Windows Update (computer would hang on booting into Windows after updating), sound (too quiet, pops and cracks) and Aero switching itself off if I left my computer idle. Recently I just decided to format and install XP again; life has been better.

 

I blame my nForce motherboard.

[dsavi]

I don't have the money for an upgrade, and it would be of little use to me to do so anyway; Ubuntu is my main operating system. I haven't used Windows on my own computer since May.

[Blake]

I got it a couple weeks ago, and after I installed it I can't install Oblivion... I made a topic about it 3 days ago, but not one reply yet <_< But other than that its great. I have it as a back-up OS on my Macbook pro

[Nadril]

Got it for $30 through the windows 7 student upgrade deal, I've been very impressed so far. Everything was very easy to upgrade and all of my drivers and devices were recognized immediately.

[Sbrideau]

I just went and bought the retail version of Professionnal ($372 CAD, that hurts the wallet). I have yet to install it, but having used the Beta and Release Candidate, I will have far less troubles with my Ati card than I have on Vista (which gave me a blue screen in the middle of the vb.net class) plus will use all 4GB of RAM I have in the laptop.

 

The desktop will remain on Vista until its death. It works very well (much better than xp ever did on it, and I'm not putting money on it since it's already starting to die).

[Sam]

I'm just wondering why they aren't selling copies of the software with multiple licenses.

[Lionheart_0]

I get it free through a deal with my school. I just tried the upgrade, but I don't know if I am doing the ISO burning wrong or not.

[Sbrideau]

I get it free through a deal with my school. I just tried the upgrade, but I don't know if I am doing the ISO burning wrong or not.

 

Meh, my college is with msdnaa, but there's nothing for students in there, guess colleges pay to be part of msdnaa and that it costs more to them to get students in.

[depresins]

Why does anybody buy the retail version? Buy Vista. For example, my dad wanted w7 home premium. He went and bought 64bit Vista with a free w7 upgrade for $140. He saves $200 by waiting a few weeks.

[RSBDavid]

Since my school is partnered with Microsoft, I get W7 for free. I have a copy of Ultimate -N (no media player), Professional, Enterprise, and home premium coming why way Monday. I was really happy with the Rc so I will continue to use Windows 7.

[champion]

Noobish question here. I can download Windows 7 Professional for free because of a school thing, but right now it's only available in 64 bit. I know I am running 32 bit Vista, but can I use the 64 bit Windows 7? What's the difference, anyway?

[The Observer]

Noobish question here. I can download Windows 7 Professional for free because of a school thing, but right now it's only available in 64 bit. I know I am running 32 bit Vista, but can I use the 64 bit Windows 7? What's the difference, anyway?

 

You have to do a clean install I believe. Could be changed though, idk. Because some people have had problems installing Vista 64-bit to Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit.

[champion]

Noobish question here. I can download Windows 7 Professional for free because of a school thing, but right now it's only available in 64 bit. I know I am running 32 bit Vista, but can I use the 64 bit Windows 7? What's the difference, anyway?

 

You have to do a clean install I believe.

To be quite honest I really don't know how to do that or why I would have to. How would I know if my system could handle 64 bit? I might just wait for the 32 bit to be available if it's a hassle, I think they said it should be on there soon.

[Salad]

I have a free upgrade to Windows 7 and I'm going to install this weekend, I just can't wait :ohnoes:

[Sbrideau]

Why does anybody buy the retail version? Buy Vista. For example, my dad wanted w7 home premium. He went and bought 64bit Vista with a free w7 upgrade for $140. He saves $200 by waiting a few weeks.

What store?

 

There's no such deals around where I live.

[Mirror]

I'm waiting for my version to come in the mail. I think it is waiting for me in the mail room (so I will get it Monday most likely). I hope it is awesome like people have said.

[Will H]

Noobish question here. I can download Windows 7 Professional for free because of a school thing, but right now it's only available in 64 bit. I know I am running 32 bit Vista, but can I use the 64 bit Windows 7? What's the difference, anyway?

It's all about your processor, some can only run 32-bit OSs, some can run 32-bit and 64-bit OSs, if you tell us the make and model, we could probably tell you. The differences are that 64-bit OSs can run 64-bit programs as well as 32-bit programs, which generally can perform better and will become increasingly common in a few years time. Also, 32-bit OSs have a limit of about 3.5GB of RAM, whereas 64-bit OSs have a limit many times greater than any existing computer will have for decades to come, allowing you to make your computer better at multi-tasking and running without lag. In a word, it's futureproofing, and we will all have to make the switch eventually.

 

You're probably going to have to do a clean install though, which will involve making a back-up of all of the files you want to keep (on a few USB sticks or an external hard drive), wiping your hard-drive clean (a.k.a. low level formatting), installing windows 7, then moving your back-up files back on to your computer.

 

I'm going to upgrade from the RC to the retail version soon, I really recommend 7 unlike Vista.

[lordkafei]

I ran the Win 7 Upgrade Advisor, and hardware-wise, I am good to go. But they will have to address the XP upgrade procedure before I jump.

 

You shouldn't have to pay for a third party app to upgrade from XP to Win 7. Microsoft is giving me the finger, so I'll give it right back.

[Racheya]

My brother keeps saying 'Have you looked up the Windows 7 upgrade yet?' and it's doing my head in. Tbh even though it's rubbishy, I don't want to risk putting something with higher Requirements than what I'm currently running. I also can't afford it (my brother says there's a free upgrade available - I doubt it). I think it looks nicer, but Vista does (mostly) what I want it to do.

 

Except run Portal that is <_<

[Hobgoblinpie]

My brother keeps saying 'Have you looked up the Windows 7 upgrade yet?' and it's doing my head in. Tbh even though it's rubbishy, I don't want to risk putting something with higher Requirements than what I'm currently running. I also can't afford it (my brother says there's a free upgrade available - I doubt it). I think it looks nicer, but Vista does (mostly) what I want it to do.

 

Except run Portal that is <_<

 

Windows 7 is much more scalable than Vista (was). It will be running on really low-end netbooks (though without the aero features, for obvious reasons).

[Sbrideau]

 

 

You're probably going to have to do a clean install though, which will involve making a back-up of all of the files you want to keep (on a few USB sticks or an external hard drive), wiping your hard-drive clean (a.k.a. low level formatting), installing windows 7, then moving your back-up files back on to your computer.

 

Never ever do a low level formatting except if you're having a lot of trouble with your hard drive. I normal format is enough to install it, and when you install windows 7 it will ask to format, which will be enough.