25 replies to this topic

[Daryl]

Has anyone got the new version of Windows 7 operating system (legitimately )?

Also, has anyone installed Windows 7 as an upgrade to Windows Vista?

If so, what do you find different (either by liking or disliking it) to both the operating systems?

I am seriously thinking about upgrading to Windows 7 from Windows Vista (Home Premium) and would just like to know the pros and cons of it... especially the sound system, because when I went from Windows XP to Windows Vista the sound system, especially when playing my music, was, and still is to a degree, abysmal in Windows Vista. I just want to know if the sound quality is a lot better in the new Windows 7 OS.

Thoughts please...

[xvxvx]

apart from having to create the show desktop icon its a lot better then vista
ms meant to be mailing me a free copy for testing i doubt very much ill get it mind ,it upgrades well from vista 7 will download the newest drivers out for your card
so far iv found nothing wrong with it in the 6 months iv been testing apart from the constant bsod 124 errors i was getting with nero vision which turned out to be due to ram not being set right and fsb set to high ect
the 64 bit ult version would be the way to go ..

[todd1970]

This thread may help Daryl.

http://www.fruit-emu...indows-7-a.html

[Steveir]

you don't need to create a desktop shortcut its there already! They've made it into a rectangle to the right of the clock.

I installed professional from Vista HP last week. My machine was up and running in about 20 minutes with all drivers found (a first!). I've had no problems so far apart from Symantec Endpoint Protection needing some updates to work but still generates a couple of error messages when Windows starts. Entire machine seems faster (Pentium dual core 1.8ghz with 2gb memory) start up/shut down and hibernate very quick.

Taskbar is main difference, takes a bit of getting used to but I really like it. Oh...xp mode (not in home versions) will only work if your computer supports Hardware Virtualisation. Mine doesn't so I had to use Virtual PC 2007 (current one has same problem as XP mode). But even running XP in VP07 is much smoother in 7 than Vista (I use it to get proper sound in the early and yamaha MPU4 machines in MFME).

Certainly go for it if you're on Vista

[Bandits]

use the link below and download a small programme that will scan your computer and hardware and tell you if you can run windows 7 and tells you whether they have all the drivers for your hardware

Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor


I just purchased windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade NEW & SEALED on ebay for my vista laptop for just £59.99 on ebay there is only one left so if you want it follow the link below

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade NEW & SEALED on eBay (end time 30-Oct-09 12:47:40 GMT)

[levartemit186]

I have been using the various builds of 7 up to the RTM, due to being a member of the technet forums. It beats Vista hands down in almost every aspect, though I have been forced back to Vista due to a few program incompatibilities. I am sure these will be/have been ironed out as 7 is rolled out for release. I know of only one major bug that involved a memory leak, but I am sure this has been patched already. My legit copy lasts until 2010 then I have the option of buying etc. I believe this is what Vista should have been had it not been rushed out etc. One great advantage IMO is that the UAC isn't half as invasive and irritating as Vista, yet maintains relative security of the system.

In summary I believe this is the logical progression from XP and think Vista will go down as the 'ME' of modern times.

[Magz]

I ran an upgrade of my Vista PC in the office a couple of months back (we're a SPLA partner) and it ran fine, even on my complicated (I have around 50 active apps that I use for testing etc) configuration. It did take about 3 hours to go through everything (AMD dual core with 4GB RAM), but the upgrade has been smooth, fast and without error ever since.

All of my apps worked as expected, including things like Virtual PC / VMWARE which I expected to have a few issues.

Vista blows in comparison to W7. We're no longer shipping any Vista based PCs, and have no intention of doing so. W7 is by far the best Microsoft O/S I have ever used and I'd recommend an upgrade to anyone who currently runs Vista.

[Bandits]

It did take about 3 hours to go through everything (AMD dual core with 4GB RAM), but the upgrade has been smooth, fast and without error ever since.

W7 is by far the best Microsoft O/S I have ever used and I'd recommend an upgrade to anyone who currently runs Vista.

Wow i ran upgrade advisor on my desktop and laptop and it only took about 5minutes to run on

microsoft use to dominate the operating systems market but now they got stiff competition from google and others so they said this was microsofts last chance to get it right and from what I've read ( i have read soo much) they really have got it right this time most are saying it's the best operating system to date!

[nails]

ive re-installed windows7 and must say it seems to run smoother. first time round was the release candidate or RC version which i found was lacking but couldnt quite put my finger on it. This time round i confess ive downloaded the pre-activated version - and it runs like a dream.

There have been no compatibility issues, the built in drivers for the graphics cards have worked great, and as an added bonus, it loads up nice and quick.

that said, im still using XP untill im 100% with W7 and i can migrate all my software etc.

i believe the ultimate that i have, retails at some £120 ? sorry guys, but f*** that if i can get it for free.

[yorkie07808]

Anyone know if it would be possible to downgrade. As i am thinking of getting a new PC over xmas and would rather keep XP if possible.

[Magz]

You can, but you'll have to buy the Pro version or better, and downgrade to a pro version. Home versions are not covered. Additionally, the downgrade rights will not last forever either.

For full details, checkout this link:

Microsoft: 18-month Windows 7 downgrade rights ? Channel Register

[Daryl]

Has anyone got the new version of Windows 7 operating system (legitimately )?

Also, has anyone installed Windows 7 as an upgrade to Windows Vista?

If so, what do you find different (either by liking or disliking it) to both the operating systems?

I am seriously thinking about upgrading to Windows 7 from Windows Vista (Home Premium) and would just like to know the pros and cons of it... especially the sound system, because when I went from Windows XP to Windows Vista the sound system, especially when playing my music, was, and still is to a degree, abysmal in Windows Vista. I just want to know if the sound quality is a lot better in the new Windows 7 OS.

Thoughts please...

Well there's a turn up for the books. I have received an Email from Acer and they have told me that I am entitled to a 'free' upgrade to Windows 7 (Home Premium) because I brought my Windows Vista in July of this year, and it falls within the upgrade time limit. I have just got to pay £12.78 P&P, which my nephew has done for me for my birthday - and I should receive the Windows 7 upgrade within the next two weeks.

It seems that it is a lot better than Windows Vista in so many ways, so looking forward to my upgrade coming and installing.

[djmat56]

Just a quickie.....I've been running the 32bit version of windows 7 for a while now and am perfectly happy with it. My pc is 64 bit capable so would i notice any major differences by installing 64 bit ultimate over 32bit ultimate? I don't use my machine for gaming....just web and music mixing mainly.

[Winnie]

djmat56 I have experimented with 32 and 64 bit on my laptop (which is quite old but 64 bit capable) and I hardly noticed any difference. If anything 64 bit was a wee bit slower and seemed to make my laptop run hotter so I went back to 32 bit. Got 64 bit on my PC though and it is fine, not tried 32 bit on it though. Plenty of people advise to upgrade to 64 bit if your machine is capable but I fail to see the benefit if you don't run any 64 bit software.

[Steveir]

two things I've read on the register.co.uk about this

1) Support for XP (ie Windows update) ends in 2014
2) Latest release of Ubuntu is a disaster, saying Win7 might have the edge on netbooks over it

[Bandits]

Well there's a turn up for the books. I have received an Email from Acer and they have told me that I am entitled to a 'free' upgrade to Windows 7 (Home Premium) because I brought my Windows Vista in July of this year, and it falls within the upgrade time limit. I have just got to pay £12.78 P&P, which my nephew has done for me for my birthday - and I should receive the Windows 7 upgrade within the next two weeks.

It seems that it is a lot better than Windows Vista in so many ways, so looking forward to my upgrade coming and installing.

I have installed windows 7 professional on my desktop and windows 7 premium on my laptop and i am soo happy i did windows 7 is the best operating system ever released, previous my favourites were windows 98se and windows xp, you won't regret installing windows 7!

Microsoft knew they had to get it right this time now they have stiff competition and they certainly have!

[westy20040]

I have installed windows 7 professional on my desktop and windows 7 premium on my laptop and i am soo happy i did windows 7 is the best operating system ever released, previous my favourites were windows 98se and windows xp, you won't regret installing windows 7!

Microsoft knew they had to get it right this time now they have stiff competition and they certainly have!

I have to agree, i've installed windows 7 ultimate and am having no problems at all, speed wise it is good and it installed all my drivers perfectly and runs all my software that i used with win xp pro.

All in all i'm very happy with it

[Magz]

djmat56 I have experimented with 32 and 64 bit on my laptop (which is quite old but 64 bit capable) and I hardly noticed any difference. If anything 64 bit was a wee bit slower and seemed to make my laptop run hotter so I went back to 32 bit. Got 64 bit on my PC though and it is fine, not tried 32 bit on it though. Plenty of people advise to upgrade to 64 bit if your machine is capable but I fail to see the benefit if you don't run any 64 bit software.

I'd go along with that, unless you have alot of RAM (say 4GB) in which case it can address the memory properly. Modern CPUs seem to run a lot better x64 than x32 as they're more geared towards 64 bit operation.

You can't upgrade x32 to x64 so it has to be a clean install which is a major pain! Windows 7 will very likely be the last x32 Operating System that Microsoft produce so if you are looking to run a new PC in the long term with the possiblilty of upgrade later then it's the way to go...

[billnye7]

you should all try Mac OS X v10.6.1, i've had it for about a month, no problems what so ever, works smoothly, quickly, efficiently. THE best laptops and desktops on the market

[Daryl]

you should all try Mac OS X v10.6.1, i've had it for about a month, no problems what so ever, works smoothly, quickly, efficiently. THE best laptops and desktops on the market

I would try iMac OS, but for a couple of things:

1 - and most important - iMacs do not let you run FME, so that is a no-go straightaway, and

2 - All of my games and software that I have brought are for Windows operating systems, so I would have to start from scratch and buy appropriate games and software to run on iMac, which would run into an incredible expense.

I really do like the look of iMac, and I have heard many times that it is a smooth runner, but really the upheaval of making such a move to another OS really does put me off.

I have tried Linux too. This is especially good, as you can run Linux through the same operating systems as Windows, and I like the look and feel of Linux, however, as with the same as going to iMac, updating games and software would cost too much - and also when I ran Linux, you needed a diploma in order to install things and get things up and running - it really is confusing for such a simple mind as mine!

So yes, I would like to try iMac, if you could run it as a dual boot on your Windows/Linux computers and laptops.