# WINDOWS 7: Anyone get to try it yet? What's your feedback?



## sjc (Oct 29, 2008)

Flipped through the TV channels and HSN was doing a Gateway laptop Windows 7 launch...

Just wondering if it is all that it is cracked up to be...I know I HATE Vista64. Awful.


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## travelgirl (Sep 22, 2009)

I bought a new computer less than a month ago that has Vista 64 on it, and I'm with you...HATE it.  It did come with a free upgrade option to Windows 7 on October 22, and I'll be upgrading then.  

I have no idea if the Windows 7 will be better than Vista 64, although I am hoping very much that it is.  I have a few applications that have some serious compatibility issues, even though it says right on the box that it's Vista 64 compatible.  They are not.

I'm curious to see if anyone here has had a chance to see it in action or try it out.


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

I hated Vista but 7 is okay.  I signed up for the test build thing and didn't bother to try it until my harddrive died, now I'm using it waiting for my order to come in on the 22nd.  It doesn't seem to be as much of a resource hog as Vista and seems far more polished and streamlined, but it's still similar in style to it.  I didn't use Vista a whole lot so I may be off my mark.  It's doing a few annoying things that I'll blame on my drivers not being up to date, but I am okay with it.  Not thrilled with the new Paint program though.  I liked using the old one for simple things because it was simple.  Now they've muddied it all up and made it too complex.

I'll be happily upgrading to Windows 7 come the 22nd and am somewhat happily using it now.  That's more than I can say for Vista which I went out of my way to avoid when I built my computer after they stopped selling XP.  I've had XP for too long, though, so it's nice to finally have a change.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

I've been using Windows 7 "Preview"  for about three months. I like it. I'm primarily a Mac user, but I have a PC desktop machine. I passed on Vista and used XP on on my PC and Mac up until recently. I have two copies of Win7 on pre-order, one for my desktop machine and one to use on my Mac laptop.

I like Win7 much better than Vista, and more than XP. The only thing I've found that I don't like is the "Compatibility files" mode, which is a gigantic pain in the a**. MS made a huge mistake in my opinion by going with the Registry instead keeping the PIF function, and now they've made another by hiding away files which weren’t created by Win7/Vista programs.

It's definitely a big improvement over Vista, and a moderate improvement over XP. Your mileage may vary.

Mike


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## mom133d (aka Liz) (Nov 25, 2008)

I'm a host for that Windows 7 Launch Party that HouseParty is throwing/organizing. I got the UPS tracking number today so hopefully I'll have a copy soon. But, I'll be installing over Xp and it sounds like I might have to do a clean install. Bummer, gotta start backing up my Calibre library....


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## geko29 (Dec 23, 2008)

I've been running it for 10 months now (been on the final release since late July), and have been blissfully happy since day one.  There have been some minor compatibility issues with certain apps (Cisco VPN client, VMWare Infrastructure Client, Symantec Endpoint Protection) that took some digging to find fixes for, but aside from that, the experience has been perfect.  Fast, reliable, stable--beta 1 was a more solid, polished OS than Vista with SP2 applied, and for the most part things have only improved from there.

Our initial testing (half the IT department is running 7 Enterprise on their own machines) has led us to planning a companywide deployment in Q1 or Q2 of 2010, upgrading every single desktop from XP or 2000, and every possible server to 2008R2 (some aren't 64-bit capable, so will be staying on 2003R2).  It's THAT good.


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## geko29 (Dec 23, 2008)

mom133d said:


> But, I'll be installing over Xp and it sounds like I might have to do a clean install. Bummer, gotta start backing up my Calibre library....


You will have to do a clean install, but if you run "Windows Easy Transfer" before and after, it'll put everything back the way you like it, including all your data and settings. It'll even remind you of apps you may have forgotten to reinstall after the upgrade.


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## travelgirl (Sep 22, 2009)

geko29 said:


> You will have to do a clean install, but if you run "Windows Easy Transfer" before and after, it'll put everything back the way you like it, including all your data and settings. It'll even remind you of apps you may have forgotten to reinstall after the upgrade.


I assume this will also work going from Vista to Windows 7? I have never heard of this before, but I will certainly be looking into it!


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

Vista to Windows 7 is a straight upgrade.


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## geoffthomas (Feb 27, 2009)

Just a quick note to say that I use Vista Ultimate 32 and love it.
Now maybe it is that I have the Ultimate version.
I don't know.
But I much prefer it to XP, which I had the similar version of. Professional I think they called it.
And you must understand that I have it on a Core 2 Dual high-end processor with a 7200 rpm SATA mirrored hard drives and separate graphics board with its own 512meg graphics memory and 3 Gig of DDR2 RAM.
Don't think I would like to use Vista on a Pentium 4 with a 4200 rpm HD and 512meg of RAM.

The thing I hear most people complain about is that Vista is constantly asking them security questions.
Well that is the default and you can turn it off......if you know how.
Anyway that is my experience and I am sticking with it.

Looking forward to Windows 7 just because it is the next thing.

Just sayin......


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## sjc (Oct 29, 2008)

Very interesting. Thanks all. 
I actually had a HP tech *tell me* to BUY more memory to get around Vista64bit compatibility issues. HELLO, I have 213 GB available free space out of 286 GB!!! Buy more memory!!! LMAO!! Duh...it's called I shouldn't have to.


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

sjc said:


> Very interesting. Thanks all.
> I actually had a HP tech *tell me* to BUY more memory to get around Vista64bit compatibility issues. HELLO, I have 213 GB available free space out of 286 GB!!! Buy more memory!!! LMAO!! Duh...it's called I shouldn't have to.


I think he meant RAM rather than Hard drive space. Its a different kind of memory. A few years ago 512mb (1/2 gigabyte) was the average. Now its usually 1-4 GB


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## 911jason (Aug 17, 2009)

Add me to the list of people who've been happily using the beta for quite awhile now. I've had very few problems and I agree with the media who've been saying this is the best version of Windows ever. 

Those of you complaining about Vista64, that was the main reason I didn't order a laptop with 4 gigs of RAM, because I didn't want to deal with the 64-bit operating systems. Way too many software compatibility issues for me.


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## Anne (Oct 29, 2008)

I have Vista and hate it. Would I be able to change to Windows 7 or to Wnidows XP without buying a new computer. Also if I was able to change would I lose all the info on my computer?


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## 911jason (Aug 17, 2009)

It is *ALWAYS* better to install an operating system "fresh" whenever possible, as opposed to upgrading over the top of an existing installation. It is somewhat inconvenient for people who are not doing regular back-ups of their data, but that is the perfect opportunity to start backing-up.



Anne said:


> I have Vista and hate it. Would I be able to change to Windows 7 or to Wnidows XP without buying a new computer. Also if I was able to change would I lose all the info on my computer?


Yes you can install Windows 7 without buying a new computer... and as mentioned above, you would need to back-up your documents and data before doing so in order to keep them. I use this 500 gig external hard drive:



which is under $75 and works great. Then you can use a free program like *Microsoft's SyncToy* to conduct regular back-ups.


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

Do you have to back up documents for a Vista to Windows 7 upgrade?  I thought that you didn't need to in that case.  Going back to XP, though, yeah I'm pretty sure it'd be a clean install.

Also, from what I've read, Home Premium should be just about enough for anyone and Ultimate really isn't worth what you get for the extra money.  Definitely look into the options before deciding on one as more expensive isn't always better.


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## 911jason (Aug 17, 2009)

If you are going to do an upgrade, then no you do not technically have to back-up. However, I would not recommend doing an upgrade first of all, and secondly, I would always recommend doing a back-up before you make any major change to your computer (i.e. OS upgrade) in case anything goes catastrophically wrong.


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## geko29 (Dec 23, 2008)

Scheherazade said:


> Do you have to back up documents for a Vista to Windows 7 upgrade? I thought that you didn't need to in that case. Going back to XP, though, yeah I'm pretty sure it'd be a clean install.


As 911jason said, the upgrade is typically seamless and a backup SHOULD not be necessary. But it's advisable to take one anyway (as above, I recommend "Windows Easy Transfer" to an external HDD for this task) just in case something blows up during the upgrade and you're forced to do a clean install. But all the vista->7 upgrades I've done have gone well, except one where security software for the fingerprint reader was installed, and the login capability (ANY login, password or fingerprint) was disabled. Took this Network Admin with 17 years experience about 6 hours to solve that one.

So I guess take that as another piece of advice...uninstall any software that affects the way you log into your machine before you upgrade. You can put it back later if you still want to use it.



Scheherazade said:


> Also, from what I've read, Home Premium should be just about enough for anyone and Ultimate really isn't worth what you get for the extra money. Definitely look into the options before deciding on one as more expensive isn't always better.


Business slots in between Home Premium and Ultimate. It includes all the features of Home Premium, plus a few key ones (for some users) that are missing in Home Premium. Chief among these are backup to network shares, "XP Mode" (free copy of Virtual PC and free license/self contained XP virtual machine), the ability to join a domain, and the ability to accept inbound Remote Desktop connections.

XP mode and inbound RDP are the big gets for the Business edition in a home environment. I don't use it anymore (found another workaround), but XP Mode provides an easy and convenient way to run applications that just don't like 7.

Ultimate only adds bitlocker drive encryption and multi-language user input to Business, so nothing earth-shattering. Of course, it only costs an extra $20 if you're already getting Business, so that makes it a little easier to swallow. It's $100 more than Home Premium, so if you don't need any of the features of Business, definitely not worth it.


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## MeganW (Dec 28, 2008)

I've had the Windows 7 Release Candidate installed on my home laptop for a month or two now and love it so much I want to hug it.  I had Vista before, and 7 is a breath of fresh air.  I have the Ultimate edition on pre-order from Amazon (locked in the early $100 each price) and can't wait to get it installed on my husband's laptop -- he won't know what hit him!


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## Anne (Oct 29, 2008)

MeganW said:


> I've had the Windows 7 Release Candidate installed on my home laptop for a month or two now and love it so much I want to hug it. I had Vista before, and 7 is a breath of fresh air. I have the Ultimate edition on pre-order from Amazon (locked in the early $100 each price) and can't wait to get it installed on my husband's laptop -- he won't know what hit him!


Did you install it yourslef?


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## kevindorsey (Mar 4, 2009)

surprisingly, everyone who has used beta version, likes it a lot.  Microsoft must have really put some real work after Vista disaster.


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## MeganW (Dec 28, 2008)

Anne said:


> Did you install it yourslef?


I did. It was really easy and didn't take very long.


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## Anne (Oct 29, 2008)

MeganW said:


> I did. It was really easy and didn't take very long.


Thanks I am going to order it when I get home today. Did you back up your files etc before you downloaded it?


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## MeganW (Dec 28, 2008)

Anne said:


> Thanks I am going to order it when I get home today. Did you back up your files etc before you downloaded it?


No problem! I backed up my files to an external hard drive and then copied them back over when I was finished installing. They recommend doing a clean install, not just upgrading, to properly install Windows 7.


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## sjc (Oct 29, 2008)

> I think he meant RAM rather than Hard drive space. Its a different kind of memory. A few years ago 512mb (1/2 gigabyte) was the average. Now its usually 1-4 GB


Silly me; I forgot to mention that it is 4GB. The guy just didn't want to admit that VISTA


Spoiler



sucks


 and there isn't very much that is compatible with it.


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## kevindorsey (Mar 4, 2009)

sjc said:


> Silly me; I forgot to mention that it is 4GB. The guy just didn't want to admit that VISTA
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> ...


Haha, 4 GB HD should take you to memory lane, 1997 Here you come


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

sjc said:


> Silly me; I forgot to mention that it is 4GB. The guy just didn't want to admit that VISTA
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> ...


Ahhh!! That makes sense now  I agree about the Vista. Windows 7 sounds pretty good and if I hadn't already jumped ship to the Mac because of the Vista/aging XP choice I might be tempted....


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## 911jason (Aug 17, 2009)

kevindorsey said:


> Haha, 4 GB HD should take you to memory lane, 1997 Here you come


She's talking about her RAM not her Hard Drive. 4gb of RAM is plenty.


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## sjc (Oct 29, 2008)

> She's talking about her RAM not her Hard Drive. 4gb of RAM is plenty.


lol...yes my RAM not my hard drive!! And to think all I have on my computer are: 1 scrabble game about 100 pictures and maybe 15 bookmarked pages....HP wants me to buy more memory. I never had a complaint with XP. Vista isn't worth a dime. Here are my specs:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c01566854&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN


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## F1Wild (Jun 15, 2009)

jmiked said:


> The only thing I've found that I don't like is the "Compatibility files" mode, which is a gigantic pain in the a**.
> Mike


Can't you opt out of that? When I installed it as a beta many moons ago I know it was suggested not to use this.

BTW, my software architect hubby and I started using it quite awhile ago (he tries everything since we have a friend/business partner in MS) and we both have found it to be awesome - the best of Vista & others without all of the headache & problems.

We use it with Google Chrome which has made a world of difference in our Internet surfing and doodling.


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## carlobee (Jul 21, 2009)

to be sure about your RAM, you might want to go to your Control Panel and then System Properties. There you can find all the information regarding your PC 

btw, thanks for this one. been considering on going for Windows 7. now i know it's the real deal. i'm going to have it.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

I know I could look it up, but does anyone have handy a link to the minimum specs to run Win 7. . . .and is there a 'check your system' app like there was for Vista?

I have a couple copies on order. . .we have 3 computers in the house, plus the one my husband owns that he uses at work. . . .but we're not sure which if any will actually handle the OS. . . .OTOH, I don't mind buying new bits and upgrading the processor, etc. in my desktop -- DH built it in the first place anyway -- if it would help.  My laptop is what it is. . . .and I wonder if it's enough.


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## Gayle (Aug 31, 2009)

I found this yesterday when I was trying to discover more info about the upgrade for Windows 7. Hope it helps.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/get/upgrade-advisor.aspx


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## geko29 (Dec 23, 2008)

Ann in Arlington said:


> I know I could look it up, but does anyone have handy a link to the minimum specs to run Win 7. . . .and is there a 'check your system' app like there was for Vista?


The official system requirements are:

1 GHz processor (32- or 64-bit)
1 GB of RAM (32-bit); 2 GB of RAM (64-bit)
16 GB of available disk space (32-bit); 20 GB of available disk space (64-bit)
DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver

At work, 90% of our users run virtual machines, which are currently XP with 512MB and one 2Ghz vCPU. We did a test of 7 Ultimate RC on one of these, and it was quite usable. With 768MB or 1GB they positively fly. I actually got one to boot with 180MB of RAM and a 200Mhz processor. It took 20+ minutes to come up and was completely unusuable once at the desktop, but it DIDN'T crash. My boss is currently using a VM with 1GB of RAM as his primary desktop, and it works just fine for him.

Overall, our tests found that just to run the OS, Vista takes slightly more than double the resources that XP does. 7 takes about 30% more than XP. That's just amazing for an 8-year-newer OS to use only a quarter more resources. Microsoft worked hard to make 7 run better and more efficiently on existing hardware, and it really shows.


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## Rhiathame (Mar 12, 2009)

I have been on W7 for over 8 months now and have the early release as a MS Partner and I have to say I love it. I also felt some of the early pains with compatibility which are mostly over. I have a few issues with printers but that is because I went 64 bit and those drivers have been lagging behind a bit. I do have W7 on order for home but I will be doing 32 bit there. 

Overall I love it. I find the little things (like the easy docking of windows) to be some of the features that make the most difference to me becuase I use them constantly. It has been very stable most programs I have run work just fine.


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

my wife uses an XP netbook, is it reccommended for netbooks?


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Thanks Zia and geko. . . . .off to look up a few more things and check stuff out. . . . .


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## geko29 (Dec 23, 2008)

Chad Winters (#102) said:


> my wife uses an XP netbook, is it reccommended for netbooks?


I have a friend who loaded it on his netbook, and I haven't heard any complaints. Make sure you don't have one of the ones with a 4 or 8GB SSD instead of a hard drive, however, as there's not enough space. If you've got 1GB or more of RAM and a 40+ GB hard drive, you're golden.


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## libros_lego (Mar 24, 2009)

If I decide to install windows 7 (I have vista), will I still have my microsoft office programs?


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## F1Wild (Jun 15, 2009)

Jenni said:


> If I decide to install windows 7 (I have vista), will I still have my microsoft office programs?


We did a big save and I think we re-installed Office...but it may have been due to a few issues we were having with Vista that prompted the decision.


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## geko29 (Dec 23, 2008)

Jenni said:


> If I decide to install windows 7 (I have vista), will I still have my microsoft office programs?


Yes, all your programs will be retained. It'll generally warn you ahead of time if there are programs with known compatibility issues (generally antivirus, firewall, and VPN programs), but all the Microsoft apps at least going back to the XP (2002) editions are certainly fine.


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## bkworm8it (Nov 17, 2008)

If I do a clean install, after backing up -I use my 80gb iPod as my back up since I can't buy anything else at this time- anyway do I need to wipe my computer clean first to remove vista before installing Windows 7?

Theresam


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

I have XP on both of my systems so it looks like I'll have to do a clean install.  Not really a problem.  It'll be a piece of cake to save my data and, frankly, there are some programs on both machines that I really don't need or use anymore -- you know, the sort of stuff you download or buy and try out and then just sort of abandon and never actually use. . . . .  I actually usually do a 'reformat and reinstall' every couple of years anyway, so I'm a bit overdue.


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## Rhiathame (Mar 12, 2009)

bkworm8it said:


> If I do a clean install, after backing up -I use my 80gb iPod as my back up since I can't buy anything else at this time- anyway do I need to wipe my computer clean first to remove vista before installing Windows 7?
> 
> Theresam


No the install process will take care of that for you.

By the way, those of you who are doing an inplace upgrade you should still plan on backing up your files. If you don't have an external drive to back things up on, look for an online storage or back-up service. There are a lot of them out there that allow you do either us 2GB or so free or a paid service but usually the first month is free. I use Sugarsync and have been very happy with it and it worked well for my installs.


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## Anne (Oct 29, 2008)

I am going to wait till I can get someone to help me do this. I am afraid I will have a problem if I do it myself.


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## bkworm8it (Nov 17, 2008)

Thanks Rhiathame! This will be my first upgrade, or move to new platform. I've wipped my laptop clean and started over a few times due to computer issues but that was xp and I had window washer to do it for me  love that program 


Theresam


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## sjc (Oct 29, 2008)

Anyone find competitive pricing?  What is the ultimate going for?  Think there will be any deals out there?


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## Bren S. (May 10, 2009)

I am one of the seemingly rare people who actually had no problems with Vista, and actually liked it.

However I am a Mac convert now, and so no Windows program could ever measure up.


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## Reeses_Addict (Sep 21, 2009)

Well I ran the above upgrade adviser (it took a few minutes like it said) and I cannot upgrade without a few improvements.  Mainly, my motherboard graphics on my Dell Dimension 3000 does not have the capabilities to run their new Windows Aero interface.  O well.  One other item of note is this little jab at Sun Microsystems

OpenOffice.org 3.1
version 3.1.9420
OpenOffice.org Uninstall first You need to uninstall this program before upgrading to Windows 7. You won't be able to install it after upgrading to Windows 7.  

There is now a 3.1.1 version and it may be corrected but I am curious why it is incompatible.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

re: OpenOffice on Win7. . . . .probably best to contact the Oo people and ask why. . . .and when/if they expect to have an update that is compatible -- I find they're pretty responsive so, while it might not work now, I won't be surprised if there is a good version available by the 22nd when the OS is officially released.

Or download the newer version and run the upgrade adviser again.


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## geoffthomas (Feb 27, 2009)

And as a point of clarification, Sun is a contributor to the OpenOffice.org.
Sun has a version of openoffice and it is called STAR office suite.
OpenOffice.org is free.
STAR office has a cost of $39 and can be used on multiple computers of your ownership.
Not sure yet about either being compatible with Windows 7.
Will research.


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## Reeses_Addict (Sep 21, 2009)

Thanks for the clarification.  If you couldn't tell, I didn't put much research into it   I just noticed that it popped up as incompatible and thought that was curious.  Since I cannot upgrade anyway, it is a moot point for me.


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## angelad (Jun 19, 2009)

So, is this out?


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## geko29 (Dec 23, 2008)

Reeses_Addict said:


> Thanks for the clarification. If you couldn't tell, I didn't put much research into it  I just noticed that it popped up as incompatible and thought that was curious. Since I cannot upgrade anyway, it is a moot point for me.


You can run 7 just fine, you just can't run Aero Glass. That means certain features of the OS won't be as flashy--no translucent taskbar, menubars, etc, no aero peek (seeing fully live contents of a window when you hover over its taskbar button)--things like that. But the basic interface will work fine. I use it all the time when I VPN in to work from home--Aero doesn't work through Remote Desktop, no matter how badass your hardware is. It's not quite as pretty, but it's still extremely usable.

Don't let lack of Aero support keep you from upgrading.



angelad said:


> So, is this out?


Next Thursday. Some of us have been running the beta or release candidate, and a smaller subset of us have volume license agreements or MSDN/Technet Plus memberships, so have had access to the final release since July. But October 22nd is the official street date.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Well, sadly, it looks like my baby laptop is not going to go 7.  It would probably just sorta work. . . .but it's iffy and Sony doesn't recommend it.  My little Vaio is 3 years old after all. That's middle aged in computer years!  So.

Next step is to check out my desktop.  Pretty sure I won't have a problem there. . . .though I might need new graphics to run AERO, but it's home built so that won't be a problem. Pretty sure my husband's laptop will take it o.k. since it's relatively new.


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

Amazon is being flaky and not shipping mine until Monday despite me preordering it -really- early.  I'd be more irked and would have just gone to a B&M to buy it, but I'm pretty busy this weekend and probably wouldn't have gotten around to wiping and reinstalling anyway.  So I figure I'll just save myself the tax.  It's still irksome though!


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Well, sadly, it looks like my baby laptop is not going to go 7. It would probably just sorta work. . . .but it's iffy and Sony doesn't recommend it. My little Vaio is 3 years old after all. That's middle aged in computer years!  So.
> 
> Next step is to check out my desktop. Pretty sure I won't have a problem there. . . .though I might need new graphics to run AERO, but it's home built so that won't be a problem. Pretty sure my husband's laptop will take it o.k. since it's relatively new.


You might want to download and run the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Yeah. . . .did that. . . .it said probably o.k. except for a couple of things.  But it also suggested I go to the Sony website to see what the manufacturer said -- the biggest problems were with the built in wifi thingy.  Sony said, flat out, they don't recommend upgrading my model to Win 7 as they won't be providing any updates for the wifi or a couple of the other potential problems.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Yeah. . . .did that. . . .it said probably o.k. except for a couple of things. But it also suggested I go to the Sony website to see what the manufacturer said -- the biggest problems were with the built in wifi thingy. Sony said, flat out, they don't recommend upgrading my model to Win 7 as they won't be providing any updates for the wifi or a couple of the other potential problems.


Ugh...I hate when hardware companies do that. I had the same issue with my scanner under Vista. Fortunately, I found a hack on the web that made the XP driver work under Vista (minus a few features I never used anyway).


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Well, it's not as big a deal on the laptop.  I use it mainly for web browsing and, though I do check e-mail on it, all my accounts are set to leave messages on the server for a couple of days and my desktop is set to d/l regularly whether I'm there or not.

And I have run the Advisor on the desktop.  As expected, I'll need a new video card, but that's o.k.  Everything else will work just fine.  A trip to MicroCenter is in the offing!


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## 4Katie (Jun 27, 2009)

My son, who is seriously NOT a Windows fan, really likes Windows 7. He works on the Geek Squad at Best Buy, and he's been playing with it for a while. I'd say his liking it must mean something good!


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

The latest: well, got a new card for my 'puter. . . .originally the video was on the motherboard. But it doesn't seem to recognize it at all. Now, it is not _new_. Probably 5 or 6 years old. But works great and has enough memory. Still, it may come down to getting a new m/b, processor and video card.

Before going that far, however, we have a few other things to try and I have a question for those uber geeks among us.

According to the upgrade advisor, the only problem is that the current video (NVIDIA GeForce4 MX integrated) is not going to handle "Aero" effects. Yes, we've made sure it's got the latest driver. So, my question is. . . if I install 7 and it works just fine but without Aero, will Aero just start working if we do get a new video card that will work in it. Or will I have to change some settings.

Related to that, if we do decide to just get a new m/b+processor+video set, will 7 (i.e. Microsoft) see that as a whole new computer and require hoop jumping to migrate it from my existing system.

Any thoughts are welcome.

Oh, the card we tried is a Visiontek Radeon 3650 512 MB DDR AGP. . . .the system did not seem to recognize it as being installed, except that it didn't let anything work. Gonna try another AGP card we've got around here to see if we can determine whether the card problem is with the Radeon or the MP card slot. That might determine whether I go ahead an load 7 now, or just get a new system.

What fun!


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## 911jason (Aug 17, 2009)

Ann, you probably need to disable your integrated graphics before your computer will "see" the new card... I've never done this, so I can't give you advice from my own experience, but here's a link that looks promising.

http://www.wikihow.com/Disable-Onboard/Integrated-Video-On-Your-Computer

As for using Aero, it's just a theme, so if you aren't using it initially but later want to, you can just right-click on your desktop and choose Personalize, then select one of the Aero Themes.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Yep. . . .that was in the little booklet that came with the card.  We did it via device manager.  Then put in the card and the machine would not restart.  DH thinks it's possible the power supply is not up to it. . . .the fan on the card doesn't even spin but we're sure it's well seated. . . . I will look at that link, though, and see if it suggests anything we didn't try.

Good to know I can turn Aero on later if I get a better card. . . . .the more I cogitate, though, the more I'm thinking it's time for a new 'puter.    (Merry Christmas to me!)


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## brianm (May 11, 2009)

Received my copy from Amazon on a pre-order on 10/22..... I had been running Vista 32 bit and changed to Windows 7 64 bit.....
it is really GREAT. Really glad I decided to change.

                    Brian


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## 911jason (Aug 17, 2009)

http://lifehacker.com/5390086/the-master-list-of-new-windows-7-shortcuts

A great list of all the cool and very useful new keyboard and mouse shortcuts in Windows 7.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

O.K. 'Fessing up time. The new video card I got DOES work -- though I haven't run the 7 upgrade advisor yet. Was talking to my son and he said, "did you plug it in?" Of course. . .it was tightly into the slot, even flipped up the little plastic thingy. "No, but did you plug it into the power supply?"
.
.
.
.
D'oh! <slaps forehead>

Now, in my defense, DH had theoretically read through the little book and has put many bits and pieces into computers before and I was accepting that he'd have done that if he needed to. (But I admit I didn't know at all that it was needed.) Well. I guess he hadn't read the little booklet as thoroughly as I would have ('course not, he's a man, I should have known!). Turns out there was even a troubleshooting section that said "No video? You may need to plug it into the power supply".

ANYWAY. . . . . .Learned something new, so that's not a bad thing. . . . .

Next step> > >see what the Upgrade Advisor says.


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## 911jason (Aug 17, 2009)

Oh good, glad it was something simple!


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Yeah. . . .but UA still says Aero won't work.  BUT it also looks like there's a Win7 driver for the card that, of course, I can't load while it's still XP.

So, I guess what I'm going to do is clean up my system. . . load Win7 and see what I can see.  If I like the OS even without Aero, I'll just live with it. . . .if I really want Aero, I'll take out the new video card and return it and save up for a new 'puter. . . .same hard drive, new m/b, processor and video.  

And if I decide next year that I still want a new computer, well, I'm sure I can find someone in the family to give this one to!


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## sjc (Oct 29, 2008)

Some are now coming through with 500gb and windows7.


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## mom133d (aka Liz) (Nov 25, 2008)

The advisor said that Aero wouldn't run on my netbook either. We installed anyway because that wasn't a deal-breaker and guess what? Aero works.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

That's good to hear. . . .and what I'm hoping works for me. . . .thanks!


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

I installed the Home Premium Edition on my MacBook Tuesday. It works fine, better then the "Preview" edition. Several things I didn't like have been fixed, so I'm pretty pleased with it. I installed the 32 bit version.

My Professional Edition arrived yesterday, but my new hard drive for my Windows desktop machine has not gotten here yet, so it's sitting on a table. I'm going to install the 64 bit version on the desktop machine.

After reading all the statements that you needed to have the Pro version to run your XP programs, I was a bit surprised to see that all my XP programs run just fine on the Home Premium version. I still trying to figure out why they make a big deal out of running XP programs on the Pro version.

Mike


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

jmiked said:


> After reading all the statements that you needed to have the Pro version to run your XP programs, I was a bit surprised to see that all my XP programs run just fine on the Home Premium version. I still trying to figure out why they make a big deal out of running XP programs on the Pro version.
> 
> Mike


Glad to hear that. I didn't think it was worth the extra money for that, especially when one of the few programs I -did- have to try to use that with while using the preview edition still didn't work. I am wondering if they'll sell it as an addon since it does seem like it's just a suite of software in case some of us regret not getting it. Time will tell. I'm still hemming and hawing on installing it. Need to backup and wipe my harddrive again and my nerves just aren't in a good place for that at the moment.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

Scheherazade said:


> I am wondering if they'll sell it as an addon since it does seem like it's just a suite of software in case some of us regret not getting it.


You can upgrade from Home Premium to the Professional version for $89.

Mike


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

Nifty, thanks for letting me know!  I was flipflopping on Pro, so it's good to see I can flip back in case I flopped.


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## geko29 (Dec 23, 2008)

jmiked said:


> After reading all the statements that you needed to have the Pro version to run your XP programs, I was a bit surprised to see that all my XP programs run just fine on the Home Premium version. I still trying to figure out why they make a big deal out of running XP programs on the Pro version.


What they meant by that is "run XP programs that _aren't compatible with Windows 7_". The feature really is a free license of Virtual PC 2007 and a prepackaged, pre-activated XP virtual machine, into which you can then install the incompatible apps. The icons for them go into your start menu, and when you open them, it launches the VM in the background, and loads the app into your windows 7 ui.

I had to do that at first to run the VMWare vCenter client (oh the irony, having to use MS virtualization to control VMWare virtualization!) before I found a hack that allows it to run directly in 7.

The only added features of Pro that I see as being worthwhile are:
XP Mode (described above)
Ability to join Domains
Remote Desktop Server

Of course, the latter two of those are absolute dealbreakers for me, so I have to have pro or better. 90% of home users could probably care less, so Home Premium will usually get the job done nicely.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

You can check and see how well your system fits the Win7 requirements:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=1b544e90-7659-4bd9-9e51-2497c146af15&displaylang=en

Mike


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

My copy shipped today (along with a new external hard drive), so some time next week I'll be ready to post a review.


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## JimC1946 (Aug 6, 2009)

I've been putting off buying a new desktop for the last year because I didn't want anything to do with Vista. Today I ordered a new PC from Dell with Windows 7 Professional, so I'll know how I like it in a few days.


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## lmk2045 (Jun 21, 2009)

I have Vista Ultimate 32-bit installed on my Dell M1730 notebook computer. I have encountered the BSOD or GSOD on several occasions, but overall I am happy with it.

I am not a big fan of OS upgrades because they can be problematic and I want to move from 32-bit to 64-bit. That being said, I will be doing a clean install of Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit when my copy arrives from Dell in a few days.


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## JimC1946 (Aug 6, 2009)

I doubt if I would have bought Win 7 for an upgrade, but my old PC is way over the hill. I've put off getting a new one so I could have Win 7 from the start.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

My new hard drive showed up Monday, so I installed Win 7 Professional 64 bit on my desktop machine (I installed Home Premium 32 bit on my Mac laptop last week). 

I'm very pleased with it, the installation went pretty well with the exception that it wouldn't take my serial number, and I had to do some research to find out that the upgrade version needs to installed over an existing version, you can’t just use a new drive and stick the old installation disk into the drive for verification as in previous years. Typically Microsoft, the only message was "That isn't a valid serial number, dummy," instead of actually telling me useful info.  

It also helped when I plugged the power cable into the new drive.  

The only other thing I had to do research on was how to set up a shared folder on my home network so my Macs and PCs could trade info.

I did download the XP virtual machine so I can run some older games I like, but I haven’t configured it yet. The important programs, like MS Flight Simulator X and X-Plane work just fine, though. In fact, they work better than they did with XP.

MobiCreator seems to work fine. I bought a new version of WinZip (mine was horribly out of date), and will get new versions of Macro Express and SnagIt in the next few days. The versions I had of all three of those were pretty old and not compatible with Win 7 (or probably with Vista, which I skipped altogether).

I'm glad to see the "compatibility files" mode seems to have been dropped from the released version, I was pretty unhappy with the way that worked.

Mike


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## kevindorsey (Mar 4, 2009)

I think i've decided to make the switch.  Vista just gave me an error that is not fixable, spent countless hours trying to fix it


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## 911jason (Aug 17, 2009)

You can perform a clean installation with an upgrade disk...

http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/clean_install_upgrade_media.asp


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

911jason said:


> You can perform a clean installation with an upgrade disk...
> 
> http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/clean_install_upgrade_media.asp


You could have pointed this out before I did the install.

You're off my Christmas card list.  

Mike


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## 911jason (Aug 17, 2009)

Oops... sorry Mike! 

Actually, I just heard about this site on Leo LaPorte's podcast. It was from Sun 10/25, but I just got around to listening to it...


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

Which podcast? He's got like... 37 of them. The only ones I have time to keep up with anymore are TWIT and MacBreak. And I'm behind on those.  

Mike


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## 911jason (Aug 17, 2009)

Oh yeah, that's true... I only listen to his "Tech Guy" podcast.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Upgraded my HP Pavilion dv5000 notebook from WinXP to Win7 Home yesterday. Generally all appears to be running well. I'm able to use "Aero" themes even though the Win7 compatibility tool said I couldn't. One snag was that the Windows Easy Transfer program apparently did not copy my Thunderbird address book, or else if it did the reinstall of Thunderbird did not find/recognize it. I had an old-ish backup of it, so I probably lost a few addresses. Therefore, if you're running Mozilla Thunderbird for your mail client, make sure you back up a copy of your address book and any mailbox data you want to keep. (The Firefox data/settings seemed to transfer fine.)

I downloaded and installed the Win7 driver/software for my Synaptics touchpad (Win7 just used a generic mouse driver), and that then allowed me to configure it the way I wanted. Other than that all the hardware seems to be working fine, and I've been downloading/installing all my productivity software: Firefox, Thunderbird, OpenOffice.org, The GIMP, Komodo Edit, Filezilla, AVG Anti-Virus Free, and WAMPserver. All these seem to be working fine with Win7.


----------



## 911jason (Aug 17, 2009)

Also, if you have any problems finding a Win7 driver for any of your devices, you can always try the Vista driver. I did that with a few items when I installed the beta earlier this year and it worked fine.


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## geko29 (Dec 23, 2008)

NogDog said:


> One snag was that the Windows Easy Transfer program apparently did not copy my Thunderbird address book, or else if it did the reinstall of Thunderbird did not find/recognize it. I had an old-ish backup of it, so I probably lost a few addresses. Therefore, if you're running Mozilla Thunderbird for your mail client, make sure you back up a copy of your address book and any mailbox data you want to keep. (The Firefox data/settings seemed to transfer fine.)


You want to run the Easy Transfer restore AFTER reinstalling your applications. The Thunderbird installer probably dropped the default empty address book file in the same location and overwrote the one that ET put there. But if you run another restore now that the program's installed, you should get your address book back.


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## lmk2045 (Jun 21, 2009)

Yesterday, I did a clean install Window 7 Ultimate 64-bit on my XPS M1730 notebook. So far, I like it and it is faster than Vista. I have not encountered any problems with drivers and I am slowly adding my programs.


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## angelad (Jun 19, 2009)

I bought a copy.  Going to install it when I get a chance.  Hoping for an error free installation


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## sjc (Oct 29, 2008)

Opinion needed:  I just got an extension on my Warranty from HP free of charge...if I go with windows 7 (right now I'm ugghh Vista64 bit) doesn't that void out services with HP?  Doesn't the original operating system have to be installed?  HHhhmmmmm??


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## JimC1946 (Aug 6, 2009)

I would think that the HP warranty applies only to the hardware.


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## lmk2045 (Jun 21, 2009)

sjc said:


> Opinion needed: I just got an extension on my Warranty from HP free of charge...if I go with windows 7 (right now I'm ugghh Vista64 bit) doesn't that void out services with HP? Doesn't the original operating system have to be installed? HHhhmmmmm??


Give HP a call. Dell will provide me support under my warranty since I purchased W7 from them.


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## geko29 (Dec 23, 2008)

sjc said:


> Opinion needed: I just got an extension on my Warranty from HP free of charge...if I go with windows 7 (right now I'm ugghh Vista64 bit) doesn't that void out services with HP? Doesn't the original operating system have to be installed? HHhhmmmmm??


The warranty is still valid (as JimC said it only covers the hardware), but for certain problems that "look" like software, they may not be completely helpful if you're running an OS that isn't specifically supported on that model. But of course, if you were, the first question they might ask you is "Do you have your restore disc handy?", so you're in mostly the same boat either way, IMO.


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## sjc (Oct 29, 2008)

Thanks.


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## Cindy416 (May 2, 2009)

I upgraded from Vista 64-bit Home Premium to Window 7 Professional 64-bit. I had to do a clean install, which went fine. (I'm one of the few who loved Vista, I guess. I have 4 GB of RAM, so that probably helped. Techs that I've talked to as I was getting ready to order new computers for my school computer lab described Windows 7 as "SP 3 for Vista," btw. Much less of a memory hog, according to them.) 

I've had a terrible time getting a wireless network adapter to work with the 64-bit version of Windows 7. I bought 3 different adapters, thinking each would work. I took them all back, and am now using my old Linksys USB54GC, v1. It worked fine with Vista 64-bit, but is a bit quirky with Windows 7. Currently, after much research, I'm pretty well convinced that no one yet has any reliable Windows 7 drivers available for any of the network adapters that I can find in the office stores where I make my purchases.  When I finally see either a Linksys download that will work (the one out there is unstable, according the a sr. Linksys tech) or an adapter with an actual Windows 7 sticker on the box, then I'll try another one. (I had to buy a new router after my upgrade. I have an AirPort Express, by Apple, and so far, it's working pretty well. I had an issue with it today, but I unplugged it and then reversed the process, and now all is ok.)

I've also had a terrible time getting my iPhone (3GS) to sync properly since doing the upgrade. I get "connection timed out" and "the disk can't be found" or some such errors. Apparently, many other people are having the same issues. Hope they get straightened out soon. I've tried several of the workarounds that are out there, but not with a lot of success. I think part of the issue may have something to do with my adapter. Last night, I tried shutting down my computer, unplugging the adapters, and then re-booting. I ran iTunes and the sync process without my adapter in the USB port, and my phone synced perfectly. After that, I ejected my phone and plugged my adapter back in.  Guess I'll have to try that again until something better comes along. (I uninstalled iTunes, and then downloaded the program again, but still had issues. That's what led me to try to sync w/o my adapter being connected.

Megan says I'm the only person she knows who loved Vista and has had problems with Windows 7. I blame the problems entirely on the 64-bit factor, especially since many hardware companies aren't up to speed with the release of their compatible drivers.


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## 911jason (Aug 17, 2009)

Have you tried using the Vista 64-bit driver for your wireless adapter?

As for the iPhone, I wonder how much of that is Apple making their PC vs MAC commercials come true all by themselves... it doesn't hurt that millions of PC users are using some of their equipment and if they can make allow it to cause some hiccups for awhile, all the better for the computer side of their business.


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## Cindy416 (May 2, 2009)

911jason said:


> Have you tried using the Vista 64-bit driver for your wireless adapter?
> 
> As for the iPhone, I wonder how much of that is Apple making their PC vs MAC commercials come true all by themselves... it doesn't hurt that millions of PC users are using some of their equipment and if they can make allow it to cause some hiccups for awhile, all the better for the computer side of their business.


Jason, thanks for the suggestion about the 64-bit Vista adapter. I saw that in an earlier post that you'd made, and will give it a try.


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## sjc (Oct 29, 2008)

I tend to think it's the 64bit factor too.  I've heard several similar incidents and they were all 64bit related.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Hi folks. . . .well, I am currently transferring my files back to the main computer. . .Win 7 is live. Woo hoo. I need to install a couple of programs once the transfer back is complete. . . .and get the Win 7 driver for my video card so I have something better than 800 x 640 resolution.  So far <fingers crossed and knocking on wood> everything seems to be working as it's supposed to.

Question, though: someone posted a while back a link to the new Windows security stuff. . . .free anti-virus, etc? I thought I'd bookmarked it on my laptop (which I'm on now) but can't find it. Help? 

Thanks!


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

So. .. .just wanted to follow up on my upgrade experience (though still looking for the link for the security stuff).

Everything went very well.  Believe it or not, the biggest problem was with MS Office. .. ..I'd initially acquired it as a Beta, had upgraded to the full version, but for some reason the only product code I could find was for a trial version.  Anyway, I was able to call MS and talk to someone there who took some info off my disk (a good reason to always order backup disks of this sort of thing!) and was able to generate me a new product code.  It cost $10 bucks, but that's cheaper than new software!

Also, I was very pleasantly surprised to find that the  Easy Transfer process did in fact keep all my Firefox favorites.  I was fully prepared to have to restore bookmarks and such but everything was there when I d/l the new software and opened it.  Using it as we speak, in fact!

One weird thing:  Win 7 seems to see the video card as generic. . . .not sure how to tell it it's something else. . . .may have it lookf or new hardware, but there's only one video device installed. . . .I did d/l the latest driver and the display is fine, though no aero, but. . . . .

Still to do:  make sure I can talk to the printer, and d/l the sync up software for my Smartphone.


----------



## kevindorsey (Mar 4, 2009)

Its loaded up on my laptop.  Looks nice so far, but I haven't really got used to it yet.


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## Cindy416 (May 2, 2009)

Anyone else have any issues syncing iTunes to your iPhone? I've finally discovered that I can sync successfully (knock on wood) if I have my wireless adapter removed from my computer. (I might just be able to disconnect. Will try that later.)


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

no iThing so I can't help with that. . .but finding a printer driver was dead easy. . . .I haven't had to look up how to do anything yet. . . .so that says pretty intuitive to me. . . .


----------



## sjc (Oct 29, 2008)

The only difficulties I know several people have had is with getting Norton reloaded and working OK...maybe that glitch has been addressed and fixed by now.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

I haven't used Norton in years. . . . .so don't have any feedback on that. . . . . .


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## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

Microsoft Security Essentials is free, simple and unobtrusive:

http://www.microsoft.com/Security_Essentials/

I started using it when I upgraded a Vista PC to Window 7 and liked it so much that I have replaced the anti-virus software on most of my other PCs with it.


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Thanks Jeff!  That's what I was looking for!


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## geko29 (Dec 23, 2008)

I'll second the recommendation of Security Essentials.  It's based on the same scanning engine and definitions as Microsoft's corporate scanner, Forefront Endpoint Security (which is fairly well-regarded and NOT free), and is both effective and fairly unobtrusive.  It even limits its CPU usage to 50%, so your machine never becomes unusable due to a scan.  The only downside I've found is it's rather slow, which I generally only noticed as a few second delay between when a large file finishes downloading and when it's available for use.  Full scans are also slow, but most people don't sit and watch them, so I don't see that as being a problem.


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Comcast gives us McAfee security suite free. . . .would MS essentials conflict with that?  Or would it be better to just use one?  I'm reading Sec Essentials as essentially a spyware blocker, etc. . . . .

Need input. . . .


----------



## scott_audio (Oct 19, 2009)

Jeff said:


> Microsoft Security Essentials is free, simple and unobtrusive:
> 
> http://www.microsoft.com/Security_Essentials/
> 
> I started using it when I upgraded a Vista PC to Window 7 and liked it so much that I have replaced the anti-virus software on most of my other PCs with it.


I use Ubuntu and openSuse linux, but I have a Windows machine that I connect to the net every now and then, and I installed SE when I read about it on another thread here, and like it much better than anything else - free is always good :] and it actually works without taking over the machine - I love it (well, as much as anyone can love a Windows app =))


----------



## geko29 (Dec 23, 2008)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Comcast gives us McAfee security suite free. . . .would MS essentials conflict with that? Or would it be better to just use one? I'm reading Sec Essentials as essentially a spyware blocker, etc. . . . .


Windows Defender is Microsoft's spyware blocker, while Security Essentials is a superset of defender, containing anti-spyware, anti-malware, and anti-virus components. I also get McAfee free from Comcast and school, but switched to MSE because it's a simpler, lower-profile program. As a general rule, do NOT run two real-time scanning engines at the same time. They tend to fight with one another over control of system resources and access to files for scanning.


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Thanks!  Now I must decide! . . . . .


----------



## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Comcast gives us McAfee security suite free. . . .would MS essentials conflict with that? Or would it be better to just use one? I'm reading Sec Essentials as essentially a spyware blocker, etc. . . . .
> 
> Need input. . . .


Microsoft Security Essentials provides the same basic services as the McAfee application. You could try both and then choose one or the other. I doubt that either will permit you to install any other anti-virus programs so you'll need to remove each before trying the other. My experience with McAfee has left me cold on the product and the company.


----------



## Rhiathame (Mar 12, 2009)

Ann in Arlington said:


> One weird thing: Win 7 seems to see the video card as generic. . . .not sure how to tell it it's something else. . . .may have it lookf or new hardware, but there's only one video device installed. . . .I did d/l the latest driver and the display is fine, though no aero, but. . . . .
> 
> Still to do: make sure I can talk to the printer, and d/l the sync up software for my Smartphone.


I had a similar problem with my sound card and after many hours of searching on the web found drivers that were more up to date but buried deep in the support pages.


----------



## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

As far as security software goes, I've been using AVG Anti Virus (Free Edition) with my Win7 install (32-bit) with no problems and good performance. I don't have any data on how it compares with M$ Security Essentials.


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Rhiathame said:


> I had a similar problem with my sound card and after many hours of searching on the web found drivers that were more up to date but buried deep in the support pages.


Oh, I can find the drivers. . . .but it's an AGP card and Win 7 doesn't seem to think it's anything special. It doesn't even list it as a possible video display device. . . .but I'll do some more checking. . .


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

A further update. So, generic driver worked fine, but son was home and he helped me find a newer driver for the video card and, lo and behold, computer figured out what card it was and seemed happy.

But. . . . .



The system/card/OS thinks it should do Aero just fine. . . .but I think I'm _just_ enough on the cusp of adequate memory that there's really not enough. . . .'cause as soon as I tried to do anything the card would go weird.

Again, 

Fortunately I could restart and log on as my husband, whose settings I'd not messed with and was able to reset the driver that way. So, my choice is to use the updated drivers, but not try to use an Aero theme, or use the generic driver and use an Aero theme, but without the Aero effects. . . .which is still pretty. 

Questions: Does anyone know if there is a way to manually say, use the aero theme without Aero effects, so that I could turn them off and still use the better driver (though 'better' is relative as it hoses up the display). I did try changing the settings to "best performance" which should have turned most of them off, but the problem still occurred.

Son told me where to check for driver updates and said if they post anything newer than the one I already tried, to try again. If the same thing happens, at least I know how to fix it.

Oh, and he's now plotting to get me a new computer. 

I also trolled for more desktop pictures and gadgets. . . .some cool stuff out there.


----------



## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

Ann,

Vista was such a bust that many of the hardware vendors have been slow in spending the money to update their drivers. The video card on one of my machines was very funky until the vendor did an update. Now it works fine. You might want to just turn off the Aero effects for now.


Jeff


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Well. . . .yeah. . . .that's what I tried to do. . . .but I can't figure out how.  At least, as I said, I check the "optimize performance" in the visual effects area and it un-checks all the boxes but even with that done the Aero themes still don't display well.


----------



## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

Just turn off transparency until you can get an updated driver.


----------



## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

FWIW, I quit using the Aero theme after a few days anyway simply because I don't like it (for one thing reading window titles was difficult). I went back to the good old "Windows Classic" theme and am much more comfortable with that. (Old dogs and new tricks, I suppose.   )


----------



## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

NogDog said:


> FWIW, I quit using the Aero theme after a few days anyway simply because I don't like it (for one thing reading window titles was difficult). I went back to the good old "Windows Classic" theme and am much more comfortable with that. (Old dogs and new tricks, I suppose.  )


As I suggested to Ann, you might want to try disabling transparency before you abandon the themes. Just right click on your desktop, select Personalize, then at the bottom click on the Window Color icon. On that screen you should see a check box that says Enable Transparency. Remove the check and try the theme you liked. The text should be clearer.


----------



## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Jeff said:


> As I suggested to Ann, you might want to try disabling transparency before you abandon the themes. Just right click on your desktop, select Personalize, then at the bottom click on the Window Color icon. On that screen you should see a check box that says Enable Transparency. Remove the check and try the theme you liked. The text should be clearer.


Thanks, that definitely improves readability.

PS: However, I just remembered the other reason I switched to the "classic" theme: the selected menu option in The GIMP is unreadable in the Aero themes, as it ends up being white text on a nearly white background.


----------



## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

You'll probably notice an improvement in performance too. The "layered" screens use a lot of resources.


----------



## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Jeff said:


> You'll probably notice an improvement in performance too. The "layered" screens use a lot of resources.


As I just added to my last post, however, The GIMP does not play nicely with the Aero themes. In the menus, the option with the mouse currently over it becomes white text on a nearly white background -- very annoying.


----------



## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Ann, can Win7 see your Kindle?

Betsy


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Haven't asked it to. . . . .I usually connect it to the laptop. . . .maybe I'll try sometime this weekend, though, just to see.


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## qotdr (Nov 22, 2008)

I have it on a new HP desktop I just bought. No huge difference in the interface. New computer is light years faster, but the old one was 6 yrs old. I would not have  upgraded if my XP had been working well.


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## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> Ann, can Win7 see your Kindle?


There's no significant difference between XP, Vista and Windows 7 interaction with a Kindle that I've noticed.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Good to know, although it seems that some people with Vista have had problems with their PCs not seeing the Kindle. 

Betsy


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## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> Good to know, although it seems that some people with Vista have had problems with their PCs not seeing the Kindle.


Yes, you're right. As did some people with XP. Troubleshooting something like that on a busy forum where everyone is offering an opinion is impossible.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> Good to know, although it seems that some people with Vista have had problems with their PCs not seeing the Kindle.
> 
> Betsy


My reading is that it's the 64 bit version that can be a problem. I loaded 32 bit so. . . .I'll let everyone know when I get around to trying.


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## bkworm8it (Nov 17, 2008)

I'm using win 7 64bit and it connected right up to my kindle no problem, and my Ipod still works too! Thank goodness because I really don't have a lot of time to fiddle with everything. The only thing that went wonky for me was my graphics as well. Turns out a game I had been playing was too much for my card and fried it. So it's been replaced and so far so good!

Didn't know that the back ground. I kind of like them but will switch when I'm playing a graphic's hogging game so thanks for the heads up.

Can one of you please recommend a good spyware/maleware program? I've got McAfee anti virus but don't have any spyware program.

Thanks

Theresam


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## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

bkworm8it said:


> Can one of you please recommend a good spyware/maleware program? I've got McAfee anti virus but don't have any spyware program.


MS Security Essentials is free, has both spyware and virus protection and uses the Windows firewall.

http://www.microsoft.com/Security_Essentials/


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## bkworm8it (Nov 17, 2008)

Thanks Jeff, didn't realize it did both!

theresam


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## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

bkworm8it said:


> Thanks Jeff, didn't realize it did both!


My fault, Theresa. I didn't make it clear in my earlier post.


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## sjc (Oct 29, 2008)

I think the dual screen feature of Windows7 is awesome. My daughter can be typing in Word while simultaneously researching her work.

NOTE: Check out her new $1100 toy...this baby sings!! Full sized keyboard with numeric pad. Huge 17.3" screen; colors are amazing!!

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/computer_can_series.do?storeName=computer_store&category=notebooks&a1=Category&v1=High+performance&series_name=dv7t_series&jumpid=in_R329_prodexp/hhoslp/psg/notebooks/High_performance/dv7t_series


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## geko29 (Dec 23, 2008)

sjc said:


> I think the dual screen feature of Windows7 is awesome. My daughter can be typing in Word while simultaneously researching her work.


Depending on the video driver, this has been possible since at least NT 4 back in 1996. It's been a core part of the OS since XP in 2001. But I agree, multiple monitor support is awesome. I've been using dual screens on many of my PCs for 13 years.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

For the record:  Win 7 (32bit) had no problem recognizing the DX when I connected it via USB.  In fact, I was able to successfully copy the update file, I had no problem ejecting the Kindle, and it's now running the 2.3 update.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Good to know that both 32 bit and 64 bit versions work with the Kindle (at least in our sampes of 1 each, LOL!)

Betsy


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## 911jason (Aug 17, 2009)

Check out this cool new trick I read about for Windows 7... Create a new folder anywhere on your system and rename it:

*GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}*

It'll create a folder with all of your OS options in one place. Very cool!


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## sjc (Oct 29, 2008)

I love the GodMode...one of the first things I did.

*QUESTION:* Before I installed 7: I could left click to highlight; right click to cut, paste (shortcut mode) etc...
NOW: Since installing 7: I have to ctrl C and ctrl V from the keyboard because the right click shortcut feature has stopped
working. YES, I checked, the setting has not been changed. *ANY FIX FOR THIS?* Does anyone know if this is a known
issue?

THANKS.


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## 911jason (Aug 17, 2009)

Not that I've heard about SJC... do you have an extra mouse around somewhere that you can try to see if it the problem is on more than one mouse?


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

My son told me about God mode. . . .too cool. . . I have it on my desktop . . . .as to the clicking, it still works for me. . . .maybe it's a function of the program you're using.  For instance, if I try it in one of the posts above, 'cut' isn't an option -- but that makes sense 'cause it wouldn't be right for me to be able to 'cut' words from someone else's post.  But 'copy' is an option.  And in my reply pane, both 'cut' and 'copy' are options and, once I've cut or copied from anywhere, 'paste' becomes an option.  But I have noticed there are some places in some programs where those don't always work. . . . . . .


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## geoffthomas (Feb 27, 2009)

Thanks for posting the "God Mode" - looks handy.
I will go make it be so.


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## sjc (Oct 29, 2008)

Ann:  I've discovered that the right click thing is a Mozilla fix will be addressing the issue with an update in three days.  Thankfully; I can't imagine not being able to shortcut my right click.

OK all:  What are your Windows7 likes and dislikes?  I love everything SO FAR...but time will tell.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Odd.  By "Mozilla" do you mean the browser "Firefox" or one of their other programs.  Because the right click works fine in Firefox as installed on my Win 7 machine.  Weird.

I like the gadgets. . . . .


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## sjc (Oct 29, 2008)

Yes...Firefox. I love the WEATHER gadget. AND the sticky note...so* HANDY!!!*


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