Windows 7

[Glamdring]

If you chose the upgrade path then you were asking for trouble. The 'only' way is a clean install having first backed up your drive with a program such as Acronis Trueimage.

[ptcoll]

For big Microsoft OS changes I always buy a new PC. This way you can get the new OS working the way you want, then move data and apps across in your own time. Breaking a big problem into a series of smaller ones always helps.

I only change PC every 3 years approx. I went to Vista 6 months ago, so it will be some time before I go to Windows 7.

Pete

[Pumatwin]

I am going to wait till next year and buy a new desktop with Windows 7.

[genesos]

Just ordered a new Dell with Windows 7 Home Premium included

Slightly worried about the Itunes audio though

[thusspoke]

I have had real trouble with the upgrade...................Posters have mentioned that the clean install is OK but I have had to go back to VISTA .................I will try again in the morning!!!

[rfrazier]

There are been problems reported when upgrading via the Digital Rivers site for students.
MSWindows 7 upgrade problem.

Best wishes,
Bob

[thusspoke]

I must have upgraded loads of Microsoft stuff, starting back with windows to windows 3.11...........it never ever goes to plan....

Microsoft must assume " that my world has no beginning in time and no limits in space......"

[BDStevens]

I must have upgraded loads of Microsoft stuff, starting back with windows to windows 3.11...........it never ever goes to plan....

Microsoft must assume " that my world has no beginning in time and no limits in space......"

Been there! What's always p***ed me off during the install process the repeating messages such as 'crashes less often' and 'more reliable', particularly during a re-install! :D

[Glamdring]

25 minutes; clean install over Vista 64. No hassle.
Vista's Easy File Transfer used before and imported into W7 worked as designed. I do now have to reinstall my programs which is a pain but inevitable.

[Steve264]

WTF double post?

[Steve264]

:? well....

I'm now 18 hours into the process.

Have installed Win7 32bit on one machine and 64bit on another. :cry: :sad8: :coffee: :clock: :coffee: :clock: :coffee: :clock: :banghead: :coffee: :pottytrain4: :clock: :coffee: :computer: :confused1: :cyclops: :cyclopsani: :coffee:.......

And it goes on.

I have to have all my office software on the 64bit laptop for Monday so that is the priority. I installed Office 2007 from the original disks and WOW 128Mb download of updates, about 80% installed, rest had to be re-downloaded and installed after reboot, all seems ok now. Have a lot of customisation to do yet to get things the way I like them, but have had a play around.

Overall, the OS feels more responsive on 64bit and it reports 3.97G of usable RAM, which is nice as that's what I paid for :)
The actual installation process was idiotically simple - really very straightforward.

I was clever enough to use Window Easy Transfer - YOU MUST USE THIS if you are dong this upgrade - it preserved a large proportion of my settings from previous version of windows - worked very well, I was most impressed. Usually, Microsoft utilities like this are pretty crap. This one works, and well.

Games PC has just BSOD'd on ARMA2 which could be a problem.....

Good job the clocks are going back :?

Cheers,
Steve

[thusspoke]

2nd attemp to upgrade has failed :evil:

[Marek]

I admit I know bugger all or even nowt about computers but from my experience, where I moved from PC's to the "Dark Side :mrgreen: " of the iMac world, the whole Apple experience has been nothing but pleasure compared to the pain I suffered with numerous releases of Windoze that rarely worked as advertised until service pack whatever. I do have to, for work reasons, have to use a copy of Windoze alongside my Mac software and so I have just installed Win 7 Professional on my PC. My iMac and my PC have nearly identical hardware specifications, except my PC has a much more powerful graphics card. Installation of Win 7 was a pain in the rear end because I could not "upgrade" from XP Pro, had to hose the drive and start all over again... strangely enough there was no need to do that on the iMac when Leopard or Snow Leopard came out. Both O/S installs are 64bit and yet Win7 is a complete dog compared to Snow Leopard on the iMac! When, oh when, will Microsoft bite the bullet (as Apple did when they dumped OS 9 and went to OS X) and say to their user base "we are really sorry but in the interest of producing an operating system that is modern and works well we will have to abandon backward compatibility for our next O/S release" ? Win 7 is, essentially, and correct me if am wrong, based on MSDOS if its roots are traced back far enough ? Its just been added to and modified and messed about with. No wonder its problematic :-(

I will now don my flame retardant underwear and await comments with interest :shock:

[sjdavies47]

In reality MS did this when they launched Vista and people had to 'upgrade' from XP. All sorts of devices and hardware were left unsupported, and as a result lots of people didn't upgrade which make the Win7 upgrade much more unpleasant. IMHO it is very fair to compare Snow Leopard to Win 7, both are effectively upgrades (L-->SL , Vista-->Win7) and it is unfortunate that the upgrade process is so much harder with MS.

BTW I'm a PC owner and have never owned a Mac (yet)..

[Glamdring]

When, oh when, will Microsoft bite the bullet (as Apple did when they dumped OS 9 and went to OS X) and say to their user base "we are really sorry but in the interest of producing an operating system that is modern and works well we will have to abandon backward compatibility for our next O/S release"

Never.
Windows is the OS of choice the world over and too many businesses use it to abandon them.
There is always money too. Effectively only new machines would run your proposed new OS so they'd sell a few thousand copies initially compared to tens of millions they sell now.
In fact with Windows 7 Pro they're actively encouraging people to use their old software with the XP compatibility option.

[Seamaster73]

I admit I know bugger all or even nowt about computers but from my experience, where I moved from PC's to the "Dark Side :mrgreen: " of the iMac world, the whole Apple experience has been nothing but pleasure compared to the pain I suffered with numerous releases of Windoze that rarely worked as advertised until service pack whatever. I do have to, for work reasons, have to use a copy of Windoze alongside my Mac software and so I have just installed Win 7 Professional on my PC. My iMac and my PC have nearly identical hardware specifications, except my PC has a much more powerful graphics card. Installation of Win 7 was a pain in the rear end because I could not "upgrade" from XP Pro, had to hose the drive and start all over again... strangely enough there was no need to do that on the iMac when Leopard or Snow Leopard came out. Both O/S installs are 64bit and yet Win7 is a complete dog compared to Snow Leopard on the iMac! When, oh when, will Microsoft bite the bullet (as Apple did when they dumped OS 9 and went to OS X) and say to their user base "we are really sorry but in the interest of producing an operating system that is modern and works well we will have to abandon backward compatibility for our next O/S release" ? Win 7 is, essentially, and correct me if am wrong, based on MSDOS if its roots are traced back far enough ? Its just been added to and modified and messed about with. No wonder its problematic :-( I will now don my flame retardant underwear and await comments with interest :shock:

FWIW, I use both OS X and Windows XP day-in, day-out and find it impossible to believe anyone genuinely prefers the latter.

[744ER]

I admit I know bugger all or even nowt about computers but from my experience, where I moved from PC's to the "Dark Side :mrgreen: " of the iMac world, the whole Apple experience has been nothing but pleasure compared to the pain I suffered with numerous releases of Windoze that rarely worked as advertised until service pack whatever. I do have to, for work reasons, have to use a copy of Windoze alongside my Mac software and so I have just installed Win 7 Professional on my PC. My iMac and my PC have nearly identical hardware specifications, except my PC has a much more powerful graphics card. Installation of Win 7 was a pain in the rear end because I could not "upgrade" from XP Pro, had to hose the drive and start all over again... strangely enough there was no need to do that on the iMac when Leopard or Snow Leopard came out. Both O/S installs are 64bit and yet Win7 is a complete dog compared to Snow Leopard on the iMac! When, oh when, will Microsoft bite the bullet (as Apple did when they dumped OS 9 and went to OS X) and say to their user base "we are really sorry but in the interest of producing an operating system that is modern and works well we will have to abandon backward compatibility for our next O/S release" ? Win 7 is, essentially, and correct me if am wrong, based on MSDOS if its roots are traced back far enough ? Its just been added to and modified and messed about with. No wonder its problematic :-( I will now don my flame retardant underwear and await comments with interest :shock:

FWIW, I use both OS X and Windows XP day-in, day-out and find it impossible to believe anyone genuinely prefers the latter.

Believe it ;) I don't care for OSX at all. Never had any problems with XP, hence I still run it until next time i upgrade my hardware. Will get W7 then most likely.

[BDStevens]

In fact with Windows 7 Pro they're actively encouraging people to use their old software with the XP compatibility option.

For which you need relatively new hardware, i.e. a processor capable of virtualisation (my dual-core Athlon can't)

[BDStevens]

Win 7 is, essentially, and correct me if am wrong, based on MSDOS if its roots are traced back far enough ? Its just been added to and modified and messed about with. No wonder its problematic :-(

No - Win7 is based on Vista, which can trace its routes through back to XP which was based on Win2000 which was based on NT which was based on OS2. The DOS based line ended with 98 and ME (the latter which M$ fugged about with and claimed they had removed DOS from, but arguably it was still sat underneath)

[Mrcrowley]

OK help me here.

I have Vista. Wanted to go to xp but told my pc being new would miss out on features of some kind.

I know some dont like vista here so what does a man do :lol:

[Chris_in_the_UK]

When, oh when, will Microsoft bite the bullet (as Apple did when they dumped OS 9 and went to OS X) and say to their user base "we are really sorry but in the interest of producing an operating system that is modern and works well we will have to abandon backward compatibility for our next O/S release"

Never.
Windows is the OS of choice the world over and too many businesses use it to abandon them.
There is always money too. Effectively only new machines would run your proposed new OS so they'd sell a few thousand copies initially compared to tens of millions they sell now.
In fact with Windows 7 Pro they're actively encouraging people to use their old software with the XP compatibility option.

Load of old bollocks :twisted:

Microsoft have historically abandoned previous users due to 'system requirements' - not everybody is happy to build their own computer, arse about with their existing computer, reformat, clean install, re-install etc, etc.

It's about personal choice - what works for you is what works.

[Seamaster73]

OK help me here. I have Vista. Wanted to go to xp but told my pc being new would miss out on features of some kind. I know some dont like vista here so what does a man do :lol:

Get a Mac? 8)

[Glamdring]

If you want to stick XP back on then do it. Or stump up for W7.

[BDStevens]

OK help me here. I have Vista. Wanted to go to xp but told my pc being new would miss out on features of some kind. I know some dont like vista here so what does a man do :lol:

Get a Mac? 8)

It's a bit unfair to suggest that as his laptop is new. Perhaps he didn't buy a Mac as that may have been beyond his budget.

[hogthrob]

FWIW, I use both OS X and Windows XP day-in, day-out and find it impossible to believe anyone genuinely prefers the latter.

I use computer applications day-in, day-out, and find it impossible to believe anyone cares what OS they run on. :D

[siddhartha]

I use and prefer Mac OSX Snow Leopard, but recently installed Windows 7 on a partition on the drive. I had Vista there before.

Vista was nothing but a pain in my ass, and I often considered going back to XP on it, but something in me didn't want to go back to that older OS. I liked the look of Vista, and some features were nice when it worked, but it was a lot of trouble, and unstable.

Windows 7 is like a patched, stripped clean version of Vista. It runs well, is fast, and stable. It actually, for the first time in my opinion, gives a viable alternative to the Mac OS. I finally have a version of Windows on my iMac that I feel confident in, enough to load programs, etc., and not think I'll have to reinstall the whole thing in a few month's time.

The best compliment I can give it is this-when I find myself loading Windows 7 for those few programs for which there is no Mac alternative, I don't reboot into Mac OS right after. I often go for days in the Windows 7 environment, whereas with Vista it was "get in get out" as soon as possible.

I believe Microsoft really did their homework on Vista, and got it right this time through. They SHOULD offer a reduced/free upgrade to Vista users though-it's really like Vista 2.0

[bricktop]

I thought a bit about switching to 7. In the end I have decided to order a MacBook Pro soon. Don't get me wrong - I more or less grew up with DOS/Windows and even make a living from knowing a lot about Windows. But a Mac is just so much more quality....

:)
Oliver

[MikeB]

Ububtu 9.10 is available? All I see is the rc :o

Edit: just seen the 29.10 as planned release - yipee :bounce:

[Mrcrowley]

OK help me here. I have Vista. Wanted to go to xp but told my pc being new would miss out on features of some kind. I know some dont like vista here so what does a man do :lol:

Get a Mac? 8)

It's a bit unfair to suggest that as his laptop is new. Perhaps he didn't buy a Mac as that may have been beyond his budget.

I just wanted a new PC. Dunno how much a Mac would have cost me. I just want to know i've got a reliable OS, hence why a bit concerned about people's dislike of Vista.

[Griff]

XP Pro for me, might consider changing in about a year when they have at least some of the bugs worked out.

ditto

[BDStevens]

Ububtu 9.10 is available? All I see is the rc :o

Edit: just seen the 29.10 as planned release - yipee :bounce:

In terminal type update-manager -d and then the update will appear.

http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/release ... 10overview

[BDStevens]

I just wanted a new PC. Dunno how much a Mac would have cost me. I just want to know i've got a reliable OS, hence why a bit concerned about people's dislike of Vista.

Why worry about other's dislike of Vista? If it works for you fine. If you'd be happier with the familiarity of XP, then go for that. If you want something newer, then go for 7.

If you're finding it hard to find your way round Vista, I found it easier to understand and find may way around by going back to the old Win95/98 look by changing the theme to Windows Classic and doing away with the glitzy Aero.

[Seamaster73]

If you're finding it hard to find your way round Vista, I found it easier to understand and find may way around by going back to the old Win95/98 look by changing the theme to Windows Classic ...

I must admit that was the first thing I did on my XP notebook.

[Mrcrowley]

I just wanted a new PC. Dunno how much a Mac would have cost me. I just want to know i've got a reliable OS, hence why a bit concerned about people's dislike of Vista.

Why worry about other's dislike of Vista? If it works for you fine. If you'd be happier with the familiarity of XP, then go for that. If you want something newer, then go for 7.

If you're finding it hard to find your way round Vista, I found it easier to understand and find may way around by going back to the old Win95/98 look by changing the theme to Windows Classic and doing away with the glitzy Aero.

Hows that done? Also how do you put it back if I don't like it?

[Steve264]

If you're finding it hard to find your way round Vista, I found it easier to understand and find may way around by going back to the old Win95/98 look by changing the theme to Windows Classic ...

I must admit that was the first thing I did on my XP notebook.

Me too, I never used the XP "new style" interface, it's horrible. But I like the functionality of the vista Start Menu (and particularly the Win7 version, which is really quite clever), as it lets me type in a few letters of a program name and then launch it rather than all the pointy-clicky nonsense of hierarchical menus.

Paul, you need to go here, mate: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/wind ... assic-view

Cheers,
Steve

[hogthrob]

Hows that done? Also how do you put it back if I don't like it?

Start -> Control Panel -> Personalization -> Theme -> then select Windows Classic from the drop down 'Theme' list.

To change back:

Start -> Control Panel -> Personalization -> Theme -> then select Windows Vista from the drop down 'Theme' list.



From Start -> Control Panel -> Personalization you can also change various other appearance settings.

[Mrcrowley]

Hows that done? Also how do you put it back if I don't like it?

Start -> Control Panel -> Personalization -> Theme -> then select Windows Classic from the drop down 'Theme' list.

To change back:

Start -> Control Panel -> Personalization -> Theme -> then select Windows Vista from the drop down 'Theme' list.



From Start -> Control Panel -> Personalization you can also change various other appearance settings.

Thanks G-see how it goes!

[BDStevens]

Or just right-click the desktop and select Personalize from there

[rfrazier]

Interesting to here they never got the XP>Vista upgrade properly sorted either then!

FWIW I just upgraded Ubuntu 9.04>9.10RC on my netbook and that took over 3 hours and I'm left with some spurious files now that I can't delete now. A clean install would have taken about 15 minutes (plus re-configurating personal settings etc).

It took me 1.5 hours to go from Debian stable to Debian testing. That included it scanning my system to see what I have installed, downloading and unpacking 1GB of replacement packages, making sure the dependencies for the packages were satisfied, and updating configuration files.

It was about 5 minutes of interactive time. And, of course, I didn't have to reboot to have the upgraded system running.

Changing from an all-singing-and-dancing CMF/CMS (zope/plone) to a simple static website generator (webgen) took a Hell of a lot longer. (And it is only about 500 files excluding images. 2000 including images. ;) ) But, now I can keep the website up to date much more easily, i.e., by using an editor (vim) and scripts, rather than having to mouse around.

Best wishes,
Bob

[BDStevens]

[
Changing from an all-singing-and-dancing CMF/CMS (zope/plone) to a simple static website generator (webgen) took a Hell of a lot longer. (And it is only about 500 files excluding images. 2000 including images. ;) ) But, now I can keep the website up to date much more easily, i.e., by using an editor (vim) and scripts, rather than having to mouse around.

Sorry - don't understand any of that! :)

What I do know though is that I'm really impressed with how Linux has moved on. This time last year I had never got a fully working system - there was always something not working - either video driver or wireless networking. Since I got my netbook earlier this year (Acer Aspire One with 1Gb memory and 16Gb SSD) I've had Ubuntu NBR on it (I took the Linux it came with off after about 5 minutes!).

As you know I put 9.10RC on last week. That's updated itself throughout the week to the final version, and definitely operates quicker than 9.04 which I'm please with, although nowhere near the fast boot times people talk about.

I have a Canon wi-fi printer and a Canon USB scanner. I decided to install these onto the netbook - which turned out to be easier than the four other operating systems I have installed them onto (XP, Vista, Leopard and Win7) - and that without resorting to Canon drivers (they didn't have any for these devices!)

[MikeB]

Ubuntu 9.10 release is now available. I updated this machine from 9.04 just now and everything works fine.
Acer Extensa 5220, cheap hardware, free OS and applications. Fast and stable. Windows 7, I don't think so :)

[Rinaldo1711]

I wish I'd read through this thread - I have a 'free' upgrade qualifying Sony laptop (or rather she does) and I ordered the upgrade - free apart from £20.00 shipping and handling and up to 28 days for delivery - that's what I call service :evil:

[Glamdring]

Ubuntu 9.10 release is now available. I updated this machine from 9.04 just now and everything works fine.
Acer Extensa 5220, cheap hardware, free OS and applications. Fast and stable. Windows 7, I don't think so :)

Now take it online and play CoD4....

[Rod]

Ubuntu 9.10 release is now available. I updated this machine from 9.04 just now and everything works fine.
Acer Extensa 5220, cheap hardware, free OS and applications. Fast and stable. Windows 7, I don't think so :)

Upgraded to 9.10 last night, took about 3.5 hrs. Booted up (after coming in from the pub :drunken: ) with no hitches at all. Still can't believe an operating system this good is free :)

Rod

[cman]

How many of you have installed Windows 7 on your Apple Macs via boot camp?

Is all running well? Any alarming issues?

[Phil Lee]

How many of you have installed Windows 7 on your Apple Macs via boot camp?

Is all running well? Any alarming issues?

I've got Windows 7 running on my MacBook Pro using Vmware Fusion 3. It runs very well, including the full Aero effects. I have been using Fusion over Bootcamp for over a year nor simply because you don't have to reboot your computer to change the OS.