Windows 7 upgrade?

[McGary911]

Who else has given this a shot. I just bought a new HP laptop which came with 64bit Vista installed. HP offered a free Windows 7 home Premium upgrade, also the 64 bit version.

I had to uninstall a couple of things prior to the upgrade (Most notably, McAfee Vscan 8.5, the driver for the volume control hard buttons, and the software for my HP6500 printer).

The upgrade took about 90 minutes. I installed McAfee 8.7, as 8.5 has a known compatibility problem with W7. I installed a newer button driver and newer printer software.

Still had a few quirks. IT seems the audio driver would crap out after a few hours. I had tried uninstalling\reinstalling that driver. No dice. I used a repair utility in W7 (after the sound quit). As it fired up, it detected a problem and automatically fixed it. Think that problem is licked.

Last problem was the SD card reader. It would detect the card, but wouldn't allow me to safely eject it, so I just had to yank the card. Later when logging off, it would hang during logoff, forcing me to hard boot. I just reinstalled that driver, so I'll see how it works for me now. I wouldn't recommend the upgrade to someone who doesn't have decent computer skills. Mom'll be keeping Vista.....

So, the upgrade had me jump through a few hoops, but I seem to be working pretty well right now. It still has the annoying confirm 10 times for lots of tasks like Vista (that bugs me) and even as admin there are some directories I can't get to, which makes no sense to me. That's just like Vista too. Jury's still out, but I don't hate it yet. That's something, right?

Anyone else try this upgrade? How was your experience.

[Ghost]

Thanks for posting. I've not tried it yet, but have been considering it. Will report in if/when I do.

Mike

[MOP]

I have been following the blogs, looks like it is a lot better then Crapista. I am leery of going 64 bit just yet so much is written for 32 and not a lot 64. The security should be way better with 64 though compatibility will be a pain for drivers and some other stuff. The article below goes into it a bit for those that have not had time to check things out. It will progress past this point fairly fast, just make sure the system will handle 64 before jumping.

http://www.w7forums.com/windows-7-64...-bit-t484.html

[jonzis donzi]

Why not try a Mac?

[MOP]

Why not try a Mac?

Why not save a ton of bucks! [media]http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1446903/turn_pc_into_a_mac_with_this_nifty_hack_osx_x86_ex plained/[/media]

[LKSD]

I like W7 so far except for a few things.. No email client & IE doesnt work as well & has some reduced features.. However not that big of a deal since fire fox works just as well for the most part for the internet browser (actually better in W7 environment IMO) and Microsoft outlook still works fine.. Other than that we shall see, I have only been using W7 for just under a week..

Has anyone tried using safari or I tunes on w7 yet? I have yet to load my itune library on.. & If safari works better than fire fox I may give it a whirl..

Jamie

[CaribouLou]

I use Chrome and will never go back to FF.


Been running 7 over a year now (Got early copies thru school). I've had the BSOD 3 times now with the "final" version, things I never had with the beta or RC....


I personally am not impressed, but oh well.

[McGary911]

I like W7 so far except for a few things.. No email client & IE doesnt work as well & has some reduced features.. However not that big of a deal since fire fox works just as well for the most part for the internet browser (actually better in W7 environment IMO) and Microsoft outlook still works fine.. Other than that we shall see, I have only been using W7 for just under a week..

Has anyone tried using safari or I tunes on w7 yet? I have yet to load my itune library on.. & If safari works better than fire fox I may give it a whirl..

Jamie

I've been runing FireFox for years, and it seems to work great under W7.

As for iTunes, I merely had to unauthorize itunes prior to the upgrade, as itunes will see the new OS as a different computer. if you don't unauthorize it prior to the upgrade, you'll never be able to do so, as the old "computer" will be gone for good (unless you backed up an image, which I did).

If you haven't installed iTunes yet, you can restore your mp3\4 library onto the W7 computer, install iTunes, and first time you launch it, hold down the <SHIFT> key. This will make it prompt you to find your library prior to launch. Just browse to it, and you should be good to go.

I was afraid of losing my music during the upgrade, but it never missed a beat. The method I described was what I used when i moved my music from my 8 year old laptop to my shiny new one. The shift \launch itunes trick is a good one if you've just restored a library to a new place.

[Cuda]

I'm thinking of getting a new laptop with W 7 installed. The program is about $120, and you can buy a new laptop with W7 for about $300.

[harbormaster]

I really like windows 7. I have it on my netbook and also my desktop.
Its pretty robust. The ONLY thing that sucks is the search feature.

I have a Dell mini 9 that I installed OSX snow leopard on. Its nice and stable. I am too much of a tinkerer and pulled it off. If any one wants Leopard, and Snow leopard, I have full copies in the packaging....

[LKSD]

I've been runing FireFox for years, and it seems to work great under W7.

As for iTunes, I merely had to unauthorize itunes prior to the upgrade, as itunes will see the new OS as a different computer. if you don't unauthorize it prior to the upgrade, you'll never be able to do so, as the old "computer" will be gone for good (unless you backed up an image, which I did).

If you haven't installed iTunes yet, you can restore your mp3\4 library onto the W7 computer, install iTunes, and first time you launch it, hold down the <SHIFT> key. This will make it prompt you to find your library prior to launch. Just browse to it, and you should be good to go.

I was afraid of losing my music during the upgrade, but it never missed a beat. The method I described was what I used when i moved my music from my 8 year old laptop to my shiny new one. The shift \launch itunes trick is a good one if you've just restored a library to a new place.

Good to see I am not the only one liking FF on W7

Yes, I know about the limit of Pc's with your I tunes library on them.. It sucks that they do that.. I understand why they do it but it still makes it a pita.. I have to contact them to see if I can wipe out my 2 pc's that bit the dust last year as it kind of cramps your allowed # of pc's.. Other than that I agree importing your back up isn't that bad.. J