Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO, speaks at the global launch of Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system on Oct 22.
(Rebecca McAlpin/Microsoft/MCT)Photos (1 of 1)
Windows 7 reviews still shine one week in
It may still be too early to tell, but early reports from both news sites and users say that Windows 7 is a winner.
By Chris Gaylord | 10.29.09
Windows 7 enjoyed a warm reception this week. The fresh software won over many reviewers and users – and seems to have successfully washed away the stain left on the company by Windows Vista.
However, as we wrote in our official Windows 7 review roundup last week, Vista received great initial reviews. Soon after the older operating system launched in 2007, opinions soured.
As Reuters reminded us:
In a 2006 review, PC World said, “All in all, Windows Vista is a great leap forward for the operating system.” While he stands by those words, writer Preston Gralla said he regretted not testing Vista on a wider variety of hardware, because many issues arose after the event, when users had had time to play with the software — a requirement that he believes is diminished for Windows 7.
“I certainly have learned from the Vista experience to try as hard as I possibly can to try to get the kind of hardware people are using to review it on,” he said.
The wire service pointed out an important lesson that many tech sites seemed to follow this year.
So, one week in, how is Windows 7 doing? Pretty well, according to most indicators.
Reports still say that Windows 7 offers better battery life for PCs. Speed tests show that it’s not actually quicker than XP or Vista in most situation (though it does shut down faster) but some how Windows 7 seems speedier in aesthetic, intangible ways. And many users are pleased with the reduced fluff-ware footprint, thanks to Microsoft scaling back the amount of extra software that comes pre-installed with Windows.
A helpful but very un-scientific sampling of Monitor readers also relayed mostly positive experiences with the new OS.
“One thing I love about this OS… It’s faster then XP, I haven’t had one driver, software or speed problems,” wrote Monitor commenter Andrej. “Everything is fully customizable, and from the start, your UI is clean, simple, and ready for the user. The OS is the people’s again.”
Commenter rockon0921 was also pleased with Windows 7. “Well the time I’ve had with 7 it is by far better than vista,” he writes. “Run like xp with some nice eye candy. Tons of options to personalize to your liking and not really alot of software compatibility problems and for those out there with mac I mean I don’t have 1200-1500 to spend on a cpu.”
But not all of our commenters were happy. “Having used every single version of Windows since its inception I can honestly say I had more problems with Windows 7 yesterday than all the rest of them combined!” wrote Jay after our review roundup. “Simple routines would hang with the infamous (Not Responding) that I got so tired of in Windows Vista, but this time I had to shut down the computer manually in order to get rid of them.”
And Steve Farley commented on our site that Vista has scared him away from the new OS, at least for now. “I paid $150 for Vista and installed it on my Dell laptop, nothing worked on my PC after that. I had to buy a new copy of XP and pay a guy to install it for me because like I said nothing worked, no C drive. All total, $300 for NOTHING. I don’t think I’ll fall Microsoft hype about how great W7 is. I can’t afford it.”
Share your thoughts on Windows 7. Comment below or join the conversation with us on Twitter.
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2. BigPapi | 10.29.09
Funny I am not the only one feeling the pain. I did the upgrade from Vista to Windows 7 and it was a waste of money and time. Tech Support whew good luck getting a hold of them sorry jokers. When you do just like comments above they tell you that you have to go buy the full version. I am not falling to that trap. I am leaving the Microsoft world and going to Mac they have put out products that are simply garbage. I may pay a little extra for a computer but I will say this 3 of my friends have that system and they absoulutely love it. Micrsoft has made some great products but just seems that they are lacking on excellent production and trying to put something together fast and it falls short of everything. Hope this helps people with thier decision.
3. Paul Perkins | 10.29.09
Greg - an upgrade disk of windows 7 is just the same as a full version. It installs exactly the same way. All the upgrade version requires is that you insert your windows vista disk at some point to verify that you are eligable to use an upgrade disk. Once you have done that you can install windows 7 upgrade in exactly the same way as the full version… and microsoft tech support would know that - they wouldnt tell you to go buy another exactly the same disk. Don’t you back up your files before you do an upgrade to keep things safe for exactly this reason?
For me personally this is a fantastic bit of software. Doesn’t boot as fast as XP for sure but is faster then vista. Once loaded it feels speedy and has made many of my tasks much quicker. Definitely worth getting.
4. Lily | 10.29.09
After downloading a pre-ordered copy of Windows 7 Professional Upgrade, there were no problems upgrading it on top of Vista. All the drivers upgraded without a hitch except for the Canon Pixma i5000 driver. By downloading the latest from Canon, Windows 7 recognized it without issue. It has been about a week and no problems so far. There are some display differences between Vista and 7, but I’ve never had problems with Vista except with driver compatibilty. Windows 7 appears to have addressed that with flying colors.
5. WarriorNoah | 10.29.09
I currently have vista and I never had a problem, and I plan to upgrade to windows 7 within a week because of the reports that it uses less resources, I think most of the problems are caused by users, people today dont seem to keep up with the technology and are quick to blame the product when something happens.
7. Fred Williams | 10.29.09
I’ve just installed Windows 7 Ultimate oem on my intel x58 based pc.
I have had zero problems as of yet. The performance is a leap ahead of Vista, matches the speed of xp in all areas.
My biggest gripe of the day are the people who have little or no computer knowledge complaining about data loss! Folks, never ever do os fiddling without a solid backup strategy in place! I’ll keep you all posted on my next windows 7 project this week.
8. Andy | 10.29.09
I have Vista and have no plans to upgrade to Windows 7. As they say “Don’t fix if it is not broken”. So I am staying with Vista. It is working fine on my computer.
9. Wilfred | 10.29.09
Well, i have just install windows 7 64 bit about a week ago and it running so smoothly. It is 2x faster than vista and run almost everything i need smoothly. Jcreator, dreamweaver, latest games.. you name it. Windows 7 new toolbar make multi tasking easy too since it group the stuff you opened. Microsoft have done a good job this time and i am really loving windows 7.
10. rar | 10.29.09
Have been using 7 for a week. Had Vista, went back to XP. Did a complete wipe and load and have not had any problems. Found 7 as slick as vista without the driver headaches. I know a lot a peole like mac, but can’t bring myself to flip. Still a PC…
11. Justin | 10.30.09
I am a IT person. If you are having problems installing Windows 7, and you were previously running windows, please take your computer to a local PC shop for help. If you are not SURE you know what you are doing, then take it in. Also for Greg, with the initial release of Windows 7, there is no reason why you should have to buy a non-upgrade copy of it to do a clean install. It will let you do a clean install from the upgrade version surprisingly. Put in the disc and watch your first boot up screen until you see what button to press for boot options, then press that, and choose DVD/CD whatever drive. Then you should be able to install windows 7 clean, even with the upgrade disc. IF YOU NEED TO BACK UP DATA THAT YOU HAVE NOT OVERWROTE YET AND DO NOT KNOW HOW, TAKE YOUR COMPUTER TO A TECH NOW, before trying anything!!!
12. Morescratch | 10.30.09
I have been running Windows 7 Professional without any problems at all. I also ran Vista from day one (upgrade too from XP) with absolutely no issues except for a Dell printer driver (which Dell finally sorted out). Windows 7 is more responsive and much cleaner. I say go for it, you won’t be disappointed. I am finally going to retire my home Mac for good. Windows 7 kicks!
13. mapleleaf | 10.30.09
Wow, I can’t believe I bought into the hype by Microsoft once again. After numerous problems with Vista I decided to plunk down my hard earned cash to upgrade to W7 for my PC and hopefully have a stable and reliable OS. Now my PC is stuck in an endless reboot cycle! REBOOT….REBOOT….REBOOT….REBOOT…. I guess I will stick with the unreliable Vista on my laptop here…because at least it frickin’ works right now, unlike my desktop. Although according to WarriorNoah I guess this is all my fault because these problems are caused by users like myself who can’t keep up with technology. Yep, silly me, thinking I could pop in the W7 upgrade disc and follow the instructions. What was I thinking??? I guess I should get my act together and keep up with technology more so I won’t have these problems in the future!
14. fung0 | 10.30.09
I have Windows XP Pro, and have experienced no problems at all. Application and driver compatibility is excellent - all my devices just work, and even software that won’t run on Vista runs perfectly on my system. The user interface is clean and simple, and I have lots of ‘eye candy’ for the asking, with free themes and little desktop apps widely available.
In short, I’m very happy with my non-upgrade, and would happily not do it again.
15. NayNay | 10.30.09
I have to agree with WarriorNoah. I am a Web Developer, and because of the nature of my work I have alot of applications running at the same time. With Windows 7 I can multi-task like never before! Aero Peek, Aero Shake, etc. great features…thanks Microsoft:)
16. Jorge Sanchez | 10.30.09
I actually very much like Windows 7 (in fact, I am writing this comment on my laptop WITH Windows 7). I don’t know about improved program speed, but the load times are faster then the XP on my desktop or when Vista was on my laptop (which crashed on me 7 times in less then two weeks). I didn’t actually have a choice in the matter of upgrading: it was either test out Windows 7 or stay with a Vista that kept crashing and corrupting itself. So I went with the first option and I don’t regret it. I will not say this operating system has much in the way of features (besides a built in back up image and system repair disk function)but it beats Vista’s stability hands down.
18. Shayan Javed | 10.30.09
I’ve installed windows 7 on my pc and it surely works great. But I think, keeping in view the variety of software available, xp is still me first choice. I not know any of the leading software which has discontinued supporting xp and neither they will. There’s a lot of people who still want to stick to xp as there work is going with it. Windows 7 is not a kind of revolution that we run away towards it spending money just to feel its visual effects. But I think after xp, u may say Vista was a beta version of windows 7 and that ended up now. Lets see what Microsoft come up with, but its not that easy to win the battle of OS…
19. Mark | 10.30.09
Unfortunately for many people an upgrade is not a basic procedure. I’ve seen upgrades by people who are “IT professionals” where the data was not backed up and the person lost all the files. You should have a level of competency with the computer beyond youtube, AOL, and email. Seriously. Otherwise, back up your files and take your computer to someone who performs upgrades. Save yourself the headache and unwarranted complaints.
20. Schmekle | 10.30.09
Can I upgrade from Windows Bob to Windows 7? Only the old timers will get that joke…
21. troy | 10.30.09
Agree with Mark saying that an upgrade is not a basic procedure. I always encourage people to do a clean install if it all possible so you don’t run into driver and software conflicts. But that does require backing up all your data and then restoring it when the install is complete. There is the upgrade advisor to check your system, but that’s not a guarantee that you won’t have a problem just a quick system check for “known” problems. I’ve been running 7 since the RC and now have the released version. It has some great features without the noticeable performance problems that plagued Vista. Haven’t had any issues installing software or any driver problems yet either.
22. EDLIN | 10.30.09
Windows “Bobby”….hey dont knock Winders 3.1 I am still running it! You just have to modify a few drivers for your laptop now and then! Come on folks…its made by humans. There will be problems
23. Mo | 10.30.09
Reality is, i had vista, downgraded to xp because of all the driver and security issues, popups and what not. Now tell me again why i should install windows 7, what is it that it provides that i don’t already have?
24. Mike | 10.30.09
I’ve had a very good experience with Win7. I had Vista Ultimate and went with Win7 Home Premium and did a clean install(bought the family pack for $150 and can install on 3 PC’s). I had one issue with a driver for my DVD player, but sent the error message to MS (did a cut & paste of the message) via the ’satisfaction survey’ at the end of the support page I was searching on and MS responded in 2 hours (I left to go ride my bike and saw the Action Center flag notification of a message when I returned) with a url link to Nvidia’s website for the driver for my graphics card. My problem was resolved quickly! So, bottom line, from my POV– Windows 7 is a winner! Simpler, clean, appears faster, and great eye candy (love the aero architecture desktop). I’m pleasantly surprised with the experience.
25. Brandon | 10.30.09
I am an IT guy and to put it bluntly, Windows Vista is similar to the days of Windows ME… it was more or less Microsoft’s platform for trying out new technologies which absolutely failed… however Windows Vista is not nearly as bad as Windows ME was in it’s day. After Windows ME was Windows XP, and Microsoft learned from their mistakes and enhanced the new technologies and look what they came up with… Windows XP. Now, when Windows Vista was released, it was the same thing and that is why I never made the switch to Vista. Of course other things persuaded me not to switch either. So, now I strongly believe that Windows 7 is similar to Windows XP in that it is a fix for an operating system gone bad, so making the switch to Windows 7 from Windows Vista is definitely a good idea, plus there are added “simplicity” features that are also an added bonus.
Now for the users thinking about moving to Mac. That is definitely a personal preference, but I also continue to hear about how Mac OS is intuitive and easy to use, etc. Well that may be true for an average user, but being an I.T. guy and having to support some Mac users, the “intuitiveness” definitely seems to disappear as you dive deeper into the OS to solve it’s problems. And don’t be fooled about the hype either, I have experienced with some Mac users who have upgraded from the OS X Leopard to the new OS X Snow Leopard and have experienced all kinds of problems… one major issue was with their new Mail app, it deleted all the messages in their sent box and passwords that were saved for retrieving mail, just magically disappeared. This definitely reiterates the need for frequent backups and definitely a backup before upgrading.
Always remember, as long as you have Mac OS drivers for the hardware, you can buy any Intel based computer and install the Mac OS. And if it makes you feel better buy an Apple logo sticker and slap it on the side. 
This may save you some money if you really want to go the Mac route.
26. Gabe | 10.30.09
I haven’t had a chance to play with W7 yet but I think it’s going to be a REALLY good OS. The reason why I haven’t bought it yet is pretty simple. You don’t buy things when they first come out!!! I’m planning on waiting 6-12 months before spending my money. Let other people lose data and toast computers while figuring the bugs out.
27. la3875 | 10.30.09
All,
I plan on upgrading every machine in my house - a desktop and 2 latops. Noting the challenges people are having, you might want to give this site a look - http://www.winsupersite.com/Default.asp as there are several very user friendly ways to upgrade.
Good luck all!
28. Chris | 10.30.09
I’ve been working with computers since the inception of Windows.
I have struggled with it for years and finally has Windows become easy and intuitive.
Search is awesome; it finds things instantly.
The GUI is simple and clean.
The taskbar is great.
People who have problems with it will have problems with any computer, Mac, definitely with Linux, however, I think MS did a good job limiting those problems for most people.
29. Randy | 10.30.09
I installed windows 7 on my netbook which I had Ubuntu linux running on. Ironically the netbook came with Windows XP and that crashed about ten days after buying the computer. I am very happy with windows 7, I have had no issues whatsoever, it has not crased on me yet and the new features on the start menu are SWEET!!! I am very happy I got this.
P.S. I got this for 29.99 on Microsofts website using their student discount package.
30. Vikram mahal | 10.31.09
I installed windows 7 ultimate on my dell & it is faster when running 7 than when running xp. Windows got it right this time.
31. acljr04 | 10.31.09
Would love to hear comments from people who have loaded Windows 7 on their Mac.
Thanks
32. wuxjnozy | 10.31.09
I have operated and used all Windows OS except 7. I am currently running XP and have no plans to change to 7. I did have vista for about 2 weeks, I had to many problems and can’t run older games. I went back to XP and plan to stay with it till it won’t run anymore. If its not broke don’t fix it. I will keep an eye on 7 and if I decide to use the system I will build a system just for 7, I will not sacrifice my perfect running XP for something that is not fully tested. I did make a hasty switch from ME to XP because of extreme problems and it was the best thing I ever did. When XP is like the dinosaurs and becomes extinct I guess I will have no choice to move on but until then its XP for me.
33. iapiaya | 11.01.09
I loved Windows XP and never bothered with Windows Vista.I saw the headaches my friends that upgraded to Vista went through, Anyways XP worked fine for me. When the prospects of Windows 7 were voiced I payed close attention. What I heard was promising and I made the decision to take on W7. I have a 64Bit CPU so I naturally choose Windows 7 Ultimate 64Bit version. Installation only took 25 minutes. My machine was up running stronger and faster than it ever did with XP. I had never bothered using Vista on any machine yet I took to Windows 7 as easily as I took to XP after grudgingly leaving Win98. All I had to do for drivers is utilize Windows Update and what I needed was downloaded/installed.
Thank you Microsoft and of course a big thank you to Mac for pointing me to PC.
34. R. Johnson | 11.01.09
For those of you who didn’t know this, the recommended rule of thumb for an Operating System upgrade is such:
1)Back up everything you need to an external source (USB external drive, DVD’s etc. or an alternate partition other than the one you are saving the information from.)
2)Always do a FRESH install. DON’T DO THE UPGRADE ON TOP OF THE PREVIOUS OPERATING SYSTEM. Format your partition and then do a fresh install of the new Operating System after your files are backed up.
3)Have the most updated drivers available. I know windows 7 is supposed to take care of this but if you need to trouble shoot it’s better to be prepared before the potential problems start.
4)Wait 3-6 months to make sure the bugs are worked out of the new Operating System before you purchase and install the new Operating System. You can do this by reading reviews of the new Operating System and by googling your computer hardware with the new Operating System. Eg. ‘hpa1740n windows 7 probelms’ at the google prompt.
Just my friendly advice after building and servicing many computers.
35. Simon | 11.01.09
I still can’t see a good reason to upgrade from XP.
Microsoft would have us all run out spending our hard earned if they had it their way. I’m happy to say XP is more than adequate thank you very much.
I just wonder how long until all the software vendors stop writing software for XP. Resist the urge all you programmers! Microsoft does not have your interests at heart!
36. Jerry Wright | 11.01.09
My upgrade from Vista to Windows 7 was seamless. It has that old familiar feeling that I had while using XP Pro. and that is a big plus. Thanks Microsoft you got it right this time.
37. Aaron | 11.01.09
I am the manager of repairs at a very large retailer. I have to say one thing very clearly. We support all OS platforms (Mac, Windows, Linux) and I have never been so impressed with an OS release.
1.IF you read and follow the upgrade path, it is very easy.
I don’t understand the negativity arround the upgrade.
2. It runs great on old hardware. Show me another OS that is new and full of great features that will install on a 10 year old computer (No new Mac or Linux OS will run well)
3. Microsoft grosly overstated the minimum requirements. Meaning that you don’t need a 1GHz CPU or 512MB RAM.
4. On a huge number of different makes and models of computers, so far I have only seen a few that needed drivers. And the ones that did require drivers, Windows 7 located them or directed you to the appropriate download site.
5. Anti-Virus. The new Microsoft Essentials is great, and the new Norton 2010 products are simple and efficient.
I could go on and on. Simply put, an amazing job. Way to go Microsoft on record breaking OS release.
38. Matt | 11.01.09
It is always dangerous to run the upgrade in the first week of release. A better path is to wait until you need a new computer and get Windows 7 with it. The truth is that there is absolutely nothing wrong with Windows XP that Microsoft is likely to fix. Until the second service pack comes out, any upgrade from XP to 7 is likely to end up downgrading something.
Each operating system is designed to take better advantage of the latest hardware. If you just bought a brand new computer, it might makes sense to upgrade. Of course, if you just bought a new computer, then it probably came with Vista and the upgrade risk is lower (than if your computer has XP). If you have an older piece of hardware that came with XP, then upgrading to 7 is risky. You know it works with XP. What do you hope to gain from 7?
39. WhyOwe | 11.01.09
I have been working with PC’s since 1976. I worked as a software engineer for 30 years. Went through an HP engineering PC, a Timex/Sinclair 1000, all Commodores, Apples, and finally went to the IBM clones; 286, 386, etc. I loved Windows 3.1 and fought Windows change until there was no choice. I have tried every version of Windows including 7, but XP is it for me until it dies for good.
I noticed that none of the posts mention that MS has still left many of the back doors open in Windows 7. All MS OS’s were written by thousands of engineers that each left themselves a back door to test their module with the OS. Hasn’t anybody noticed that this is what the majority of MS OS updates are for? Until MS copies Mac to fix this oversight it will always have problems. Will I switch to Mac after all these years? Probably not, but there’s no way on Gods green earth that I will switch to Windows 7.
40. jimmy the rose | 11.01.09
I will leave XP when games no longer work on it. By then, the’ll have sent out at least 3 service packs for windows 9 (no mistake there).
41. HollyMolly | 11.01.09
OK is good for everybody to pay $99 to $199 for an upgrade of a OS 7 is not bad but Microsoft is trying to take your money from out of your pocket people are stupid SPENDING MORE MONEY on a OS if your old OS already works find what is the urgency of paying more money, look Mac only charge you $30 for an upgrade and Linux $0 and they are braking OS record releases so don’t be fan-boy and for sure there is no perfect OS all has pros and cons.
42. Troy | 11.01.09
Thanks for all the posts here. I want to build another PC but am deciding what OS to buy and install on it. Can people still buy a full copy of XP anymore?
43. Mark | 11.01.09
Thankfully I get a free copy of Windows 7 Professional from my school, because i definitely wouldn’t pay $300 for it.
Even though they say you can run windows xp on your 7 machine, you cant unless your processor supports it.
Ill be installing XP on VMWare, because my Intel Core2 Duo t6600 (2.20GHz) doesnt support hardware virtualization.
44. Matt | 11.01.09
XP works for me!!!
XP has run awesome for me for over 7 years! In my experience it is the cleanest and most reliable OS Microsoft has ever released. And if I really need eye candy, then I can just fire up my new iMac which is sitting next to the PC!
Maybe it`s because I don`t feel like dealing with Microsoft`s BS, or maybe it`s because I know my way around a computer, but regardless of the reason, I just don`t understand the need to upgrade OS`s (and throw money away) every every time I turn around! I need reliability and functionality; not eye candy and bloatware!
45. Gerald | 11.02.09
Windows 7 was the best investment I ever made, 100% profit! Yes, I bought the pre-release at $49 and sold it for twice that on ebay. I’m not playing any more of this software push-demand. My terms: I had bought a new solid state hard drive and have just installed it downgrading back to XP 64bit edition. The thing flies. There is no need for Vista OR 7…7-up yours Microsoft!
I also sold my Full retail version of Vista, so cha-ching!
XP and a good anti-virus is all I ever need. And I do have a MacBook Pro to value good software.
7 might be better than Vista, but…the benefits do not outweight the costs.
Now for the solid state drive…must have it! That IS a leapfrog in technology.
46. jacob | 11.02.09
I dont know what these other peoples problem was installing windows7. All you do is put the disk in. Any way. If you have Vista upgrade as soon as you can. Installing Windows 7 on my computer was like buying a new one. Its Great. Everything is so much faster and the presentation of this o.s is awesome. Trust me and Get it.
47. Will | 11.02.09
I am in the unusual spot of being a teacher, an old tech, and a person with a narrow budget. I have always leaned towards PCs due to the dramatic cost difference. However, Vista was a disaster. I still can’t believe Microsoft and HP had the nerve to sell PC’s with Vista and 500MB of ram and claim that it was okay to run it. That computer went in the trash after 3 month of struggles….. I like Vista on my computer at home with 4 GIGS of ram; however, my work computer with 2 GIGs of ram still runs like a computer that I had back in 1998! It is slow; it hangs up all the time; and the updates occupy a huge bit of time.
I remember all of those great reviews that Vista got. How does that old saying go, “fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.”
Regardless of the higher cost, my next home computer will be a MAC. Unfortunately, I will still have PCs at my school due to the cost and software issues.
49. Ron | 11.02.09
I think that W7 has its benefits but also think that it is to early to do the switch.
What about all the legacy?
Until know XP did a very well job and I am running XP on my main. Vista on my laptop “without” problems. Knowing the OS more in depth is always a win win. Then even Vista will run fairly well.
I am in the IT field foe some years now and have started with DOS
My recommendation is not to upgrade before at least half a year after release.
Well my favorite is Linux anyhow.
With the new UBUNTU and the shortly to be released new SUSE “about another week or so” there is nothing to be missed.
In my opinion open source is the way to go. No commercial hype and tying to my wallet. This will not work that will not work.
Again surely W7 is most likely the XP after ME but it is still MS.
In about 2 weeks from now it will be for my private use Linux only.
I just keep several different WIn OS’s because that is what is mostly ran in corporate America.
50. Des | 11.02.09
Well, I won’t be going W7. I’ve been stabbed too many times by Microsoft. I switched from IE to Chrome and what a breath of fresh air. It’s never failed, hung up or done anything but run. Why can’t MS do this. I’ve weighed this up long and hard but, no, MS is out for me. I am in desperate need of a new machine so I now have to figure out whether to go Linux based or Apple. For some reason i still want to stay PC. Over the next few months I think I’ll try Ubuntu on one of my computers and see what I think. Scary times trying to get it right going forward. I feel so relieved that I have made the decision to ditch MS. You know I think I got to the point of being phobic about their products. Any delay and I’d be thinking it’s frozen, AHHHH reboot, lost data fear and anxiety kicking in. MS RIP.
51. B. of VA | 11.02.09
The new VISTA laptop qualified automatically for the windows 7 upgrade. I installed windows 8 last week and I have seen significant improvements on boot-up and shut-down. I love the new perks.
52. mac | 11.02.09
Windows 7: System Requirements
Before you begin
Download the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor for a more detailed understanding of whether your PC can run Windows 7.
Download now
If you want to run Windows 7 on your PC, here’s what it takes:
1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver
Additional requirements to use certain features:
Internet access (fees may apply)
Depending on resolution, video playback may require additional memory and advanced graphics hardware
For some Windows Media Center functionality a TV tuner and additional hardware may be required
Windows Touch and Tablet PCs require specific hardware
HomeGroup requires a network and PCs running Windows 7
DVD/CD authoring requires a compatible optical drive
BitLocker requires Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 1.2
BitLocker To Go requires a USB flash drive
Windows XP Mode requires an additional 1 GB of RAM, an additional 15 GB of available hard disk space, and a processor capable of hardware virtualization with Intel VT or AMD-V turned on
Music and sound require audio output
Product functionality and graphics may vary based on your system configuration. Some features may require advanced or additional hardware.
53. Ray | 11.02.09
I’m sticking to windows XP Pro with the Vista Transformation Pack installed, you’ll need to google {VTP} that to see what it means. But as for doing the Upgrade, igot this to say “get back to me in 5 years. I just might be ready to do this Windows 7 OS”. Keep feeding me your reviews on this Windows 7 I’ll be more than happy to read the failures or successes. Ha Ha and Ta Da to you lab rats again thx and keep posting the reviews.
54. Mike | 11.02.09
Well stated, R. Johnson (comment #34 11.01.09). I would like to add that while an upgrade works or doesn’t, a fresh install of a new OS is the only way to start from a known point.
There are additional advantages for those who are inspired to do so:
1. When you get everything working (which should be a breeze in Windows 7) the way you like it, do a ghost image of your installation drive.
Although Windows 7 Pro installation is quick, when I installed then ghosted and then reinstalled from the ghost image, it took a whopping 10 minutes and *EVERYTHING* was exactly as the way I installed it (OpenOffice, Java and various utilities).
There are still updates that you will need to do after loading a ghost image of your boot drive. Virus updates, Windows Defender, Windows Updates, etc but imaging once a week it cuts down the updating significantly.
You don’t need to keep a lot of versions of the images around. My recommendation is the base image with just windows 7 and two revisions of your C: drive after loading everything else. Even if you don’t add anything to your C: drive from week to week, your system is still getting modified.
55. Aaron | 11.02.09
Well I have been running a Beta version of Windows 7 since July and I’ve had ZERO problems on my laptop that previously ran that memory hog Vista. I received my free release copy of W7 in the mail today and installed it, and all is well! To me, this is the BEST version of Windows yet.
56. Scott | 11.03.09
Windows 7 is terrible! I bought a new Windows 7 pc because my computer with xp crashed. It was dilivered on the 22nd, and I started having problems that day. Internet explorer started getting really slow, pdf’s wouldn’t load right, itunes froze up regularly (probably Apple’s fault right?). Today I couldn’t get internet explorer to open some webpages, so I called tech support. They told me to do a system restore, so I did. Now I can’t get several programs to even open. I’m taking the computer back tomorrow to try to trade it in for a Mac.
57. Jeff | 11.03.09
Well, even if Windows 7 shoots your dog and runs off with your woman, it’s still got to be better than Vista.
59. Jonas K Fillibuster III | 11.03.09
The simple fact is that it’s easier to blame the technology than your lack of know-how. I had a customer come into my shop today wanting 7 installed on his laptop, which was no problem. Only he neglected to mention he had tried to install it himself and it was stuck in the endless restart cycle. Had to wipe the HD, reinstall the OS clean and reload all of his drivers. And he lost of of his stuff. And it ended up costing him way more than a simple 7 install by a professional would have….
A ton of MS products are garbage, especially Internet Explorer (Firefox HOoooooo!), but 7 is a winner.
As for everyone saying macs have no problems, their latest OS Snow Leopard has major graphical issues. Oh, and Windows 7 runs faster than it on an Intel Mac.
Not a Microsoft fanboy, I swear.
60. Jorge Blat | 11.03.09
I have been using Windows 7 Pro x64 since it was released under the Enterprise Agreement scheme.
It is great! Nothing failed me. No blue screens, Windows updates are great, messages are where they are supposed to be, I have little sticky notes on my screen, etc. Finally the Vista we all wanted is here. In terms of speed, well, IE 8 works a lot faster on 7 than on XP and the interface is very smooth and friendly.
Nevertheless, a couple of issues surfaced.
1. Windows Server 2003 print servers cannot publish Windows 7 drivers so I have to install them manully on our Windows 7 machines.
2. XP backup format, BKF cannot be read by Windows 7 so either copy the data manully to a Portable HDD or use 7zip (free) to put all files in an archive.
61. Michelle | 11.04.09
Vista inspired me to purchase a Mac. Never again will I go back. Vista is so horrible they should be giving out the 7 upgrades for free. I will never trust Microsoft again after the Vista experience.
62. MugHug | 11.04.09
Upgraded from Vista Premium to Windows 7 Professional. A very smooth upgrade with no issues and no lose of data. Pre-planning and a little technical knowledge did help. Windows 7 has been fast, stable and a pleasure to use. It is like a refined and mature version of Vista SP2 that is so nice to use. Having used Apple’s OSX for quite a time now, I still fine Win7 to be a better product. I think Microsoft are onto a real winner.
63. Web Design Dude | 11.04.09
Building a new system with an Asus 1366 sockett and i7 core processor. Hopefully the 64bit edition of Win7 can handle all that power. I need all the spped I can get when designing graphics and building websites.
64. Ray | 11.04.09
Having worked with corporate IT systems for years, i can say that most of the issues posted here are due to technical incompetence. If everything goes right, installation of an operating system is a straight forward process. However if things don’t go right, you need to have specific computing/hardware knowledge or experience. It has never been any different. Installation of an OS nowdays has NEVER been Easier - its just that if there are issues, the majority of us don’t know what to do - it requires specialist knowledge in these cases. A new OS IS a big deal. I never recommend upgrades, all ways a fresh install. if you run HW raid etc ensure before you start that you have all the appropriate drivers. There is a free windows 7 upgrade advisor and this should be run first before commiting. My opinion form a performance/technical viewpoint is that Windows 7 is a great OS. Stable, fast great memory manager and potentially very secure. So far it has provided less installation issues than any other system I can remember.
65. Brendan | 11.04.09
I have a Dell Precision box running XP, a g4 powerbook running OSX Tiger, an Intel iMac running OSX Leopard and a Dell Laptop running Vista. XP took some work to link up with the OSX machines, not much, XP has always been a cooperative piece of software and I’m hesitant to change what works.
VISTA on the Dell Laptop, out of the box, WAS ABSOLUTELY TERRRIBLE! It crashed, ran slow, had all kinds of junk/demo apps installed. We’d abandoned all hope of it ever working correctly and the ‘newest’ machine of the bunch has sat collecting dust, totally unused and unwanted…
ENTER WINDOWS 7! The first thing we noticed post upgrade is that booting was quicker and the FANCY new GUI… Cool! MS finally borrowed from the OSX Dock! 30 minutes later the machine locked up for no reason and rebooting freezes on a white screen…
… nothing lasts forever and it seems Microsoft has had there day in the sun, I would not recommend Windows 7 over ANY OSX or XP. OpenOffice (FREE!) over MS Office, PS3 over XBOX360 and OSX over WINDOWS. Don’t be sad for MS, they had a great run!
66. Tim | 11.04.09
I used the windows 7 beta release candidate 1 for many months on 3 different laptops/pc’s (not one problem) I even recommended it to other people with older machines (until they could afford to upgrade to new hardware/os) LET ME SAY I AM SELLING ALL MY OLD MACHINES IN ORDER TO UPGRADE EVERY PC/LAPTOP TO A WINDOWS 7 OS. IN THE WORDS OF TED KNIGHT FROM CADDYSHACK “TOP NOTCH TOP NOTCH” I also have a mac osX 10.5(wife’s fault) and this is equal if not greater in speed (since mac stinks with networking features like mapping shared drives for business and home offices). plain and simple win 7 will dominate the business environment in 1 year. Due to a down economy companies have not bought new gear in 3 years, sounds strangely equivalent to a 3 year business warranty/lease period. why buy 1 MAC when you can buy 3 PC’s. Go for it.
67. maiaibing | 11.05.09
Have done 5 (five) upgrades from XP to Win 7 so far on different PC’s. Made the jump from x32 to x64 at the same time.
So far I am amazed at how painless it has been. Even the oldest hardware is up and running without a glitch. No driver or software problems - and we run a lot of “stuff”, games etc.
Windows 7 is a significant upgrade from XP. Not everyone needs it now - XP was really good - but most PC owner’s will eventually enjoy the best Windows edition made sooner or later.
My tip: by full WIN7-versions that you can migrate from one PC to the next. Remember how long XP stod the test of time. OEM is just not worth it right now.
68. GGoodnow | 11.05.09
Upgrade from Vista on a very fast Gateway 6800 was flawlessly completed in less than four hours. Have had no issues. None. This OS is an absolute pleasure to use. Feels much lighter than Vista. Might not be any faster but feels that way due to better workflows and design. Surprised to be saying this but, really nice execution Microsoft. Well done.
69. nintendo ds r4 | 11.06.09
Windows Vista is essentially warmed-over Windows XP. If you’re currently happy with Windows XP SP2, we see no compelling reason to upgrade.
70. Nastrodamus | 11.06.09
Luckily my PC was a brand new PC that I built and I decided to try the upgrade route to see how tough it would be or time consuming. I ran into 1 issue during the upgrade and that was from the fact that I didn’t read some info first and realize that I couldn’t upgrade from any 32 bit OS to 64 bit Win 7. So I just wiped the drive since it was a new hhd anyway and installed XP Pro 64 bit and used the upgrade for Win7 Pro 64 bit….the installation was pretty fast and clean.
I had no issues from any compatibility standpoints on my games/sound/video. I did have 1 video driver issue and that was actually my fault for installing the Asus Smart Doctor which killed the driver that I had installed without a hitch initially but I figured it out. So pretty much the 2 issues I had were because of user error and not the OS. Honestly I have found out even more cool stuff reading around and I have tried and used it and it’s cool. I am liking Win 7 a lot!
71. non-flip | 11.08.09
Im going to sit back and wait for all you people to report your issues and problems and wait for the patches to start coming in. The public can test it for me. Jumping on the wagon to get the latest is not always….the greatest.
Im still on XP pro and will remain that way until there is enough reason for me to change. I tried vista and it lasted a month on my machine because it was a hog.
72. Tuora | 11.10.09
I also have Vista on my laptop, but it is not working too well.
Constant freeze-ups is but the beginning.
Finally I gave up asking VISTA to do anything at all, but just be able to hold one Java program working.
On the average it takes about 20 min to get the sucker to hang on to it.
So, in essence I have a dummy machine that can do only one thing, and not too well at that.
With my VISTA experience, I am not planning to touch Windows7 with a ten foot pole. Probably another incentive to go Mack the next time.
73. Phillip | 11.11.09
As a teenager in high school I’ve seen my share computers, a majority of them were all running windows. My friends and I all agree windows sucks, we’ve all had dissapointing experiences with it. Anyways I dont know whether or not to upgrade to windows 7 or just buy a new computer with it already installed I mean it’s basically just like buying a new computer right?(financially speaking). I mean the majority of the people having problems with windows arent buying expensive pc’s like alienware that I’ve never experienced a problem with. =/
74. dan | 11.12.09
faster, not much diffrent setup wise than vista. but bluescreens, freezes constantly but dose load faster than vista did even though it crashes a couple of times a day. windows 7 ultamat 64 bit on dell studio 15 laptop. only paid $20 (student discount) and wish i had just went to xp instead. wait till the get some bugs out!
75. drummer | 11.13.09
If you know what your doing and have the appropriate hardware you will not have any significant problems with any of the operating systems. I’ve used XP, Vista, and 7. All have had hiccups here and there but nothing that totally destroyed me. Learn about computers instead of complaining about it.
76. TxpLover | 11.14.09
I have run xp for years. I test drove vista when it first came out and was very disappointed. This week I finally decided to get a new pc. It was real hard finding a new pc that came with xp(without buying xp on top of new pc) So I decided to buy one with win 7. Boy I never would have thought in a million years I could be as happy with a new os as I was with xp. Windows 7 is sweet. Logged 180hrs so far on my new pc and have had no problems at all. Those complaining of lock ups and lost data need to read up on pc operations and software basics! A+
77. Plinker007 | 11.15.09
There are a lot of ID10 errors on this page. 99% of you people with problems are having them because you don’t know what you are doing. I say this because even I with advanced computing skills made a stupid mistake trying to upgrade Vista to 7. I stopped and thought about it and realized it was my own mistake. It’s ALWAYS better to do a fresh install with any OS (as long as all of your info is properly backed up somewhere first).
78. musicman3204 | 11.15.09
I find W7 a refreshing leap from Vista…the music programs that work with my design programs for my job would freeze up and I’d loose a ton of work and drill sets because vista would slow my computer down and as of now i have gotten tons of work done with absolutely no problem…W7 has passed in my book
79. gary_h | 11.20.09
Wow, I think it is time to stop drinking the MS kool-aid. Windows 7 what a joke. I have been waiting on this only to find out it’s just like Vista. I want something groundbreaking, this sucks. Maybe time to switch to Mac or anything else.
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1. Greg | 10.29.09
I just upgrased from vista $112, which was working fine for me. Installed the upgrade and everything worked fine for about 4 days. Then my desktop turned white and thats when the trouble started. After 7 hrs on the phone to Support I now cannot boot up my computer. Another tech from microsoft called and told me to go buy the full install version another $200.Now I’m waiting for a call from microsoft to help install it. Now I loose alot of files..all
what bummer I’m sorry I ever did this upgrade.