[bigtraceyd]

Hey guys, I have just changed over to the new Windows 7 operating system and was wondering what other people thought of it, my opinion is that its easier than xp, and quicker and its much better than Vista.

It would be nice to know if anyone else has swaped over, and what they think of it.

[Beegordon]

I've upgraded from XP to Win 7 and her indoors upgraded from Vista to Win 7. Both of us are delighted as 7 is much faster than the other systems in running as well as starting and closing.

It is a joy to use and the quality of the display is outstanding. The majority of my covers are now getting a "good rating" and as I'm not doing anything differently, the upgraded Win 7 drivers for my scanner must be the answer. Personnally I'm glad I skipped Vista but Win 7 has virtually everything I want and I keep finding new things virtually every day. I can plug just about anything into a USB and it instantly finds drivers and gets it working. It is first class.

[RedWagnum]

I'm sitting on the fence right now. I just upgraded to Vista Ultimate last December and initially found a lot of the new pretty interface features kind of cool - nearly all of which are now turned off. Vista is bloated as each new version of Windows tends to be. Performance was slightly faster in some areas, slower in other compared to XP Pro. Add to the mix the pain of trying to find where they have moved things and how to do the things you're used to doing. I guess on a scale of 1 to 10 my satisfaction rating with Vista would be about a 4.5.

From what I have been reading Win7 has fixed a lot of the annoyances with Vista and it is supposed to be faster too. I about ready to do a reload (which I seem to do about annually anyway) so I am thinking about getting Win7. I kind of dread doing reloads because of all the time it takes to reload all the software that I use (usually takes about two weeks or so) but I really like that zippy feeling a system has after a fresh load!

What I'm pondering right now is whether the stick with the 32bit version or go ahead and take the plunge to 64bit. Current hardware will work just fine with the 32bit version. If I go to 64bit I'll have to pull two 512MB sticks of RAM and replace them with either two 1GB (to bring the total up to 4GB) or two 2GB (total to 6GB then). Otherwise there is not really any point to going to 64bit.

Decisions, decisions, deci$ion$!

[RedWagnum]

Well, just got all the new upgrade parts today:

• Windows 7 Pro 64bit
• Kingston HyperX KHX6400D2LLK2/2GN (2x1GB)
• WD Caviar Black 1TB drive for system
• WD Caviar Black 1TB drive for eSATA enclosure (backups)
• Soundblaster X-Fi Titanium PCIe x1 (the Audigy is just getting old)
• Neo-Flex pivot monitor stand (for my 24" Acer display)

Starting the backups tonight. Hopefully get all the hardware installed tomorrow and start the software install tomorrow night. If all goes well I should be basically functional by Sunday night and back to about 95% by next weekend.

Woo-Hoo! here we go...

[Stochem]

Nice package Redwagnum,

I have a Vista and I'm happy with it....One thing to keep in mind when you upgrade from XP or Vista to Windows7 is make sure that your hardware, like your printer is compatible. I had to learn the hard way...I had to buy a new printer when there was nothing wrong with my other one and I had already bought a bunch of ink for it...

Most people like Windows7 so far and I hope you guys do too.

[Nav]

Hi,
I just changes my operating system to windows 7 and there are many new great features beside the fact that it works much faster then vista.
Nav.

[RedWagnum]

Originally Posted by Stochem

Nice package Redwagnum,

That's not the half of it. I bought all new tubing to re-plumb the system. Keeps loosing fluid and there are no signs of leakage so it must be evaporating through the Tygon tubing I used in the last re-plumb.

Then I have a replacement power supply to install. The replacement is a 750w that popped a few months ago. I've been riding on my 550w spare since then. With a little luck that will also solve the motherboard-won't-turn-on problem I've been having. If not, I have a replacement motherboard to install too.

Finally, I'll be dumping the RAID arrays to try to get some write performance back. The boot array is a pair of 300GB Seagates in RAID 1 (mirror). I'll keep one drive for the boot drive and hold the other as a spare. The storage array is a foursome of Western Digital 500GB drives in RAID 5 (stripe set) for about 1.35TB of space. I'll pull at least 2 of those and replace them with a 1TB and a 750GB.

That ought to keep me busy most of tomorrow!

I have a Vista and I'm happy with it....One thing to keep in mind when you upgrade from XP or Vista to Windows7 is make sure that your hardware, like your printer is compatible. I had to learn the hard way...I had to buy a new printer when there was nothing wrong with my other one and I had already bought a bunch of ink for it...

I'm hoping I'll be okay with my HP Photosmart 8450. It's listed as "No Information Available" in the Win7 Upgrade Advisor but it was the same deal under Vista - HP provided no drivers for Vista but it worked fine with the Vista generic drivers. Only lost functionality was inability to read/write to the built-in flash card device from the PC. Meh - who cares.

Most people like Windows7 so far and I hope you guys do too.

Me Too!

[The Wizard]

Vista is the platform for Windows 7 so upgrading from Vista to Windows 7 will be easier as you are simply upgrading. Upgrading from XP Home or Pro will be slightly longer and will need a little bit more attention so I would recommend you use the Windows 7 upgrade Advisor Tool (Link below) to let it scan your computer like I have done and it will show you what parts are not compatible and will need either upgrading or complete new install.

I'd recommend the Pro version if your budget can stretch that far, if not, get the Home Premium. Stay away from the Starter Edition though, This is only sold on certain low-cost computers and is severely limited. I'd avoid this one personally speaking but what I've seen in most computer retailers shops is that most come with Home Premium.

Starter Edition does not offer the following in its package:-

* It can't create a homegroup
* Can't play DVD's
* Doesn't show taskbar previews
* Windows Media will not let you change your desktop wallpaper.

Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor Tool: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/win...e-advisor.aspx

[bigtraceyd]

I thought it would be as simple as the upgrade for Vista, boy was I wrong, I had went from xp pro to vista, didn't like Vista so went back to xp pro. Then decided to update to Windows 7, and backed up my files, then installed windows 7. it is great, and alot faster, but my backup was for xp (oops). Fortunately. most of my stuff was easy to upgrade, just took some time. Apart from that I really do like Windows 7.

[RedWagnum]

Well, the update went relatively smoothly. Swapping out the PSU seems to have taken care of the motherboard-won't-turn-on issue so I didn't have to swap out the motherboard. The rest of the hardware went as expected, though I didn't re-plumb. Figured I'll be upgrading the 8800GTS soon enough and that will force me to re-plumb.

The install of Win7 went well, albeit rather slowly. Took a little less than an hour from start to final desktop. Whoever said it installs in 20 minutes is nuts!

Here is a big tip for anyone doing a clean install upgrade:

Backup everything using a Win7 compatible backup program (I used Nero BackItUp 4) or whatever method works for you. Then run Windows Easy Transfer. This program will save you tons of effort after you install Win7! It will save all your "important" stuff (documents, images, music, etc) along with settings for many programs.

After you install Win7, install whatever drivers you might need, then start reinstalling your applications. After you have reinstalled everything run WET again to restore your "important" stuff. Chances are pretty good that you won't have to reconfigure (as in setting up your personal preferences) much at all. Saved me a butt-load of time and effort.

If you have a good security setup (software and hardware firewall, anti-virus, anti-malware, anti-whatever), turn off UAC, at least while you are installing your programs! I left it on for the first couple of days and it nearly drove me insane! It seems to interfere with just about everything, especially startup apps. I tried every way from Sunday to get Speedfan to start from the Startup group. Wouldn't go until I turned off UAC.

All that being said, so far I am quite happy with Win7. It sees all my hardware (including my printer, Stochem!) and I've had only a small handful of software problems.

And I finally have a wallpaper changer that works well!