Windows 7

[TheAtomicKid]

Who's using it? Thoughts?

Just stuck the release candidate on my machine a little earlier.... smooth, no problems. Everything seems to be working by default, with no driver updates from the manufacturers... we're gonna leave it like this a little bit, and see just how good it does.

P45 based motherboard seems to be running like a champ... not too surprised.
Realtek based network and sound... default drivers no problems so far.

This all said, I'm reinstalling Eve Online as I write this... we'll see how well the 'defaults' hold up to a game.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/

Atomic

[Daehawk]

Im thinking about it. But I dont want to lose my OS im using right now so I guess I want a dual boot system. I just have no idea how to do that.

 Oh and I guess Id try the 64 bit version? Not sure what the big diff is. But this is all mute unless I figure out a dual boot ability.

[TheAtomicKid]

The main difference is how much memory the OS can address... 32bit OS (pick your flavor) are generally restricted to 4GB of addressable range... EVERYTHING... motherboard resources, video card ram, everything, has to map into that 4 gigs. What is left over after subtracting all the hardware, is available to map to your ram... if you don't have enough memory addressing left over, you end up with more ram than you can address, thus the complaints from people who installed 4 gigs of ram, and why does windows only see 2.4/2.8/3.2 etc etc etc.

Since everybody is going to end up upgrading anyways, there's very little reason to choose the 32bit option...

Atomic

[TiLT]

Windows 7 is also supposed to be the last Windows OS with a 32-bit version. From there on, you'll only get 64-bit. You might as well go all the way now and get it over with.

I'm really happy about Win7 x64, after having run it on my laptop since tuesday. No crashes, no bugs, no problems at all. It's been a perfectly smooth experience, and the only game I've run so far, LOTRO, runs better than it did on Vista.

[Destructor]

I've installed it before, just on my netbook. I wonder if it would solve the constant crashing issues of City of Heroes...

[Tals]

Does it install over your existing os?

[Brendan]

Does it install over your existing os?

If you want, it can do in-place upgrades over Vista, but not XP.  Alternately, you can install to a different partition and dual-boot.

[Daehawk]

So if i want to dual boot I just install it to my F drive or something and when I reboot it will find it and ask which to boot with?

[Tals]

Is it posisble at a later stage to kill the Windows Partition? i.e if I like windows 7 I then want to effectively use the xp partition within windows 7...not sure if i'm being very clear

[wonderpug]

Is it posisble at a later stage to kill the Windows Partition? i.e if I like windows 7 I then want to effectively use the xp partition within windows 7...not sure if i'm being very clear

Say you start with two partitions:
C:\ - Windows XP system boot partition
D:\ - Partition for general use

Then you use a utility to split some space off of D:\ to create a Win7 partition:

C:\ - original Windows XP partition
D:\ - slightly smaller partition for general use
E:\ - new partition to install Win7 on

Now your question is if you can free up that C:\ space?  Yes, you can merge that back into D:\ or wherever.  Don't know if the default tools in Win7 can do it or if you'll have to use something like Partition Magic.

Keep in mind, though, that you're going to have to reinstall Win7 when the retail release comes out.  Might as well keep that XP partition earmarked for that reinstall and then reincorporate the E:\ instead.

[Brendan]

So if i want to dual boot I just install it to my F drive or something and when I reboot it will find it and ask which to boot with?

Yep.  During setup, choose "custom" rather than "upgrade", select the partition to install to, and then you'll have your choice of OSes when the bootloader launches.

[Brendan]

Now your question is if you can free up that C:\ space?  Yes, you can merge that back into D:\ or wherever.  Don't know if the default tools in Win7 can do it or if you'll have to use something like Partition Magic.

Yep, the in-box tools should be capable of it.

Keep in mind, though, that you're going to have to reinstall Win7 when the retail release comes out. 

I suspect in-place upgrades from RC to RTM will be supported, but I'd have to ask, which seems like a lot of effort.

[Blackjack]

A notebook PC site I visit was recommending this free site to search for missing Windows 7 drivers if Windows Update has trouble finding anything. You can search by app categories, or limit it to certain OS types (including Vista and XP)

RadarSync
http://www.radarsync.com/windows7

[Ridah]

I have Win 7 64 on my desktop and Win 7 32 on my netbook, both run perfectly. I love Windows 7 in so many ways.

One thing I should point out though for others who are considering upgrading their netbooks, for whatever reason it decreases the battery life a bit. Judging from other people who own my netbook and are running XP, I lost about 1.5 hours of battery time moving to Win 7.

[Brendan]

A decrease in battery life is going to be the fault of inefficient drivers - Win 7 has better power profiling than Vista, and most hardware we use (with OEMs who've updated their drivers) has seen noticeable increases.

[Harkonis]

Where is the best place for me to get this legally and cheaply?

[TheAtomicKid]

Personally I prefer Newegg and Amazon for a lot of my purchases.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

I also tend to get OEM copies anymore these days... retail is seldom worth it, since they end up putting out a new version every couple of years anyways. It does have it's uses though.

Note that if you catch it on sale, you can find it for about 20$ off usually.

Atomic

PS: If you know you're gonna be upgrading hardware sooner than later... don't give it a product number when you install. It'll run for... 30 days? Without activation while you get your new hardware kitted together. (or if you're gonna say, change the boot drive and the graphics card... OEM installs allow a few changes, but major changes will cause it to complain... so give it the product code AFTER you get your final hardware in order, so as to maximize on your ability to upgrade hardware later on without having to beg permission from daddy gates

[Calavera]

Personally I prefer Newegg and Amazon for a lot of my purchases.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

I also tend to get OEM copies anymore these days... retail is seldom worth it, since they end up putting out a new version every couple of years anyways. It does have it's uses though.

Note that if you catch it on sale, you can find it for about 20$ off usually.

Atomic

PS: If you know you're gonna be upgrading hardware sooner than later... don't give it a product number when you install. It'll run for... 30 days? Without activation while you get your new hardware kitted together. (or if you're gonna say, change the boot drive and the graphics card... OEM installs allow a few changes, but major changes will cause it to complain... so give it the product code AFTER you get your final hardware in order, so as to maximize on your ability to upgrade hardware later on without having to beg permission from daddy gates

I'd agree with Newegg or Amazon. I'd disagree with OEM, however. For Windows 7, the OEM has a major disadvantage. The OEM edition ties to the motherboard, whereas the retail edition doesn't have this limitation. The upgrade copy will install and activate correctly on a blank drive (there's directions everywhere if you search for them). As a separate note, the upgrade edition includes both 32 bit and 64 bit editions just in case you find yourself needing the 32bit edition. Personally, I'd spring the extra $10 for retail so I didn't have to call MS when I replace the mainboard.

Caveat: This CNET article details why the upgrade might not be correctly licensed if you don't have a good copy of Vista/XP. So, if its for a business, the OEM edition would be a better plan.

[TheAtomicKid]

I'd agree with Newegg or Amazon. I'd disagree with OEM, however. For Windows 7, the OEM has a major disadvantage. The OEM edition ties to the motherboard, whereas the retail edition doesn't have this limitation. The upgrade copy will install and activate correctly on a blank drive (there's directions everywhere if you search for them). As a separate note, the upgrade edition includes both 32 bit and 64 bit editions just in case you find yourself needing the 32bit edition. Personally, I'd spring the extra $10 for retail so I didn't have to call MS when I replace the mainboard.

Caveat: This CNET article details why the upgrade might not be correctly licensed if you don't have a good copy of Vista/XP. So, if its for a business, the OEM edition would be a better plan.

You found a retail copy for 109$? Where?

Atomic