Windows 7

[Iheartsubarus]

Anyone making the switch?

I started my downloads this morning and can't wait to get home to set it up. I got lucky too, back in june microsoft had some really good pre-order deals out and I got my upgrade for $50!

[Subygirl8330]

nice i want it, i missed the pre ordered by a few hours!

[SRTie4k]

I've been running Windows 7 for a month now. It's far superior to both XP and Vista, although a bit tricky to get legacy games to work 100%, but not impossible.

[Oscar_Meyer]

7 sounds good... the only issue I have seen is what SRTie4k mentioned... the people I know using it joust with video drivers and have gaming issues... other than that it looks good IMHO.

[Subyspeed]

When you install 7 does it upgrade your old Windows version? Or do you need to reinstall all your apps?

[Oscar_Meyer]

someone at my gaming site said they had the best results after a low level format of their HD, prior to that it had been giving him issues and jousting with some of the remains of his prior OS. Luckily he is employed by a large city in ohio as their technology guy so it wasn't tragic...

[-=AKA=-]

You guys let me know just how crappy it is.

[LostinMaine]

i love it you can ask oscar i have been running it since may on my netbook. runs great and its much faster then Vista, only uses a bit more system then XP but with alot more features. there is a bit of a learning curve but once you get it, its far superior in ease of use over xp

[drdabbles]

I've been running it on a few systems and virtual machines. It's become my primary windows VM at work (I don't use Windows except for two things I need it for). Win 7 64bit is sooo SOOOO much better than Vista. And 64bit XP was just a sad effort.

Upgrade to 7 if you have the cash kicking around, but before you do...make sure any programs you NEED to run are not having reports of issues. If you're running a recent Core 2 Duo system, buy the 64bit version and toss in 4GB of ram minimum. Memory is so cheap it's dumb not to.

[Iheartsubarus]

When you install 7 does it upgrade your old Windows version? Or do you need to reinstall all your apps?


For me when the install screen can up it let you choose to do a clean install of just upgrade and save most of your programs.. I did the clean install.

I am very happy so far!

[adam]

i have it on 3 workstations and a media machine.... everyone knows i am a HUGE mac snob, but 7 is really impressive to have come from Microsoft

[PSI ADDICT]

i have it on 3 workstations and a media machine.... everyone knows i am a HUGE mac snob, but 7 is really impressive to have come from Microsoft

that does it for me, if a MAC snob can openly admit in here he likes 7...well them... I think I need to try it.....................

Having a Mac snob admit they like 7 is like a wine snob admit to liking boone's farm watermelon wine..

....................................

Oh crap, btw this is Occar_Meyer on my other PC logged in as PSI....my pc is history...

[jonny-rockets]

you can't beat $29.99 for the full edition if you have an .edu email address.
also, if you're in college and part of MSDN you can get it free!

srsly though they did a lot of good work. a couple conferences i've gone to this year had reps from microsoft giving demos and stuff. this OS has major improvements in:

1). timing resume from suspend to disk (hibernate)
2). boot time
3). network device activation after resume

i've been using the rc for a while too, will download the real deal at some point in the future.

[Gearhead Geek]

Been running 7 since it went RTM. It's a definate improvement over Vista. Granted, I had no issues with Vista (ran it since it came out, on my gaming rig), but 7 is just a much cleaner UI. Also, the UAC has definately been improved in terms of how intrusive it is. In Vista the first thing I always did (besides turning off the Superfetch service, which btw, sucks, and is still in 7. Turn it off right away), was to turn off UAC. In 7, I've left it on.
Also, 7 is AMAZING for older hardware or lower end hardware (netbooks in particular). I put it on my netbook the day after I got it, and I don't understand how anyone can bear using XP on a netbook anymore.

Overall, it's well worth the upgrade. And with Microsoft doing such aggressive pricing on it, there's no reason not to upgrade (Family Pack is $150, I mean common, you can't beat that for 3 liscenses).

[Pulski]

you can't beat $29.99 for the full edition if you have an .edu email address.


I beat that by about $29.99. ;) MSDN-AA FTW!

Today's project involved a format of the Vista partition, installing XP on a secondary partition and then installing Windows 7 on the Primary. (Dual-boot) So far, things seem to be running very smoothly. I've managed to get working drivers for everything (P4 2.8, AGP video, other old parts, etc.).

The best review I can give so far is... I haven't booted back into XP yet. :)

[Melissa8483]

Dammit, this is on my CHristmas list cuz I can't afford it now. I had the misfortune of my old laptop crashing and being forced to buy a new one with Vista about a year and a half ago. I haven't been the same since.

[LostinMaine]

cough cough i can go to UMO and pick up copies for that cheap too with my ID

[Nate8409]

How? I have an EDU address I can use.

Nate

you can't beat $29.99 for the full edition if you have an .edu email address.
also, if you're in college and part of MSDN you can get it free!

srsly though they did a lot of good work. a couple conferences i've gone to this year had reps from microsoft giving demos and stuff. this OS has major improvements in:

1). timing resume from suspend to disk (hibernate)
2). boot time
3). network device activation after resume

i've been using the rc for a while too, will download the real deal at some point in the future.

[Bigzach88]

MSDNA FTW i got mine free too i run it on 3 workstations and then i still run xp on an older laptop

[Robk0000]

just got it for $29.99, downloading now and hopefully my super fast internet will have it done by next weekend. :(

[Oscar_Meyer]

after reading this I am really tempted to go full blown 64 bit seven...
has anyone used the MS compatibility tool?

[Robk0000]

i did when i first went to vista, alot of my accessory programs like photoshop, movie makers and specialty programs werent compatible. But they ended up installing and getting a patch and it works...

I havent actually ever had a program that didnt work.

[Robk0000]

i didnt bother with the new one from vista - 7 so we will see how it goes. i have alot of games i dont wanna lose. So ill back them up prior to install.

[LostinMaine]

yeah there is always a way around to make the programs work. im still using the Win7 RC on my netbook, and it runs every program i try. they only problem i have had is the WMP plug in for firefox doesnt work for me

[ScrapinSti]

MSDNA FTW i got mine free too i run it on 3 workstations and then i still run xp on an older laptop
Ditto... ;) Running it on my laptop (Came with Vista)... It woke this puppy up.

Also running it on some older Precision 370 workstations... I'm running the 7100 build on one, and its VERY quick... I'm running the RTM on another one as my HTPC, and its noticeably slower, but still liveable. (3.6ghz HT, 2gb RAM, 160gb Raptor)

[Bu11dogg2]

so.... a few years back I bought a printer/scanner combo.

When I updated to Vista it lost it's ability to scan.... no fix was ever released.

Do I

1. buy windows 7 and hope it scans
2. buy a new scanner

[Gearhead Geek]

so.... a few years back I bought a printer/scanner combo.

When I updated to Vista it lost it's ability to scan.... no fix was ever released.

Do I

1. buy windows 7 and hope it scans
2. buy a new scanner

Did you try the Windows Fax & Scan tool? I know HP is notorious for not updating any printer software released prior to Vista to work, and their website basicly walks you through using the generic MS drivers and Windows Fax & Scan for scanning. And, if that works, try downloading GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) as a much more full featured alternative.
That being said, definately upgrade to 7, it's well worth it. And worst case you can get an all-in-one for cheap (we sell em at work for $60 or less all the time).

[jonny-rockets]

so.... a few years back I bought a printer/scanner combo.

When I updated to Vista it lost it's ability to scan.... no fix was ever released.

Do I

1. buy windows 7 and hope it scans
2. buy a new scanner


download a copy of win7 and test it out. even if you get a non-legit copy they will let you use it for 30 days or so before lockout.

[Evil Jeff]

I played with it a bit during beta and a bit at work since it was released, but that's about all. I really like it so far though.

I too have a freebie copy sitting at home, but it didn't come from MSDN. ;) I'm just waiting for my new video card to arrive, then do both at once, probably during my X-mas vacation. I just haven't been in that big a rush to make the jump because I've never had any substantial problem with Vista that I couldn't fix. Honestly, the UAC warnings were the only thing I didn't like in Vista, and those were shut off easy enough.

[Pulski]

I beat that by about $29.99. ;) MSDN-AA FTW!

Today's project involved a format of the Vista partition, installing XP on a secondary partition and then installing Windows 7 on the Primary. (Dual-boot) So far, things seem to be running very smoothly. I've managed to get working drivers for everything (P4 2.8, AGP video, other old parts, etc.).

The best review I can give so far is... I haven't booted back into XP yet. :)

Update: Still haven't booted XP.

Maybe I will this weekend just to set up all the drivers and do some side by side benchmarks.