Windows 7 or XP?

I ordered my T400s with XP on it for I've read reviews saying that XP still performs better. But I didn't realize that there won't be any support for XP in the future by Lenovo. I am now thinking of switching to the new Windows 7. There is this free upgrade that Lenovo offers- actually you've got to pay for shipping - something they didn't mention (how convenient) on their web when I ordered this machine - it just said free update.



What are you thoughts on this? Is it worth switching? Have you done it, what did it require? Have you had any issues with Windows 7 on your computer?



I know this is a huge question but any points would help.

Christina

 

If you've never used Windows 7, it might not hurt to try it and see if you like it. XP still runs great, some would argue however that it's outdated and to use a more modern OS. Only you can really decide which to use, I think it just comes down to personal preference here.

 

XP is dead. It’s only used in legacy business environments that have not switched to a modern OS yet. If this is a new system, don’t waste your time with XP. Run Windows 7. Seriously.

 

UI features alone make 7 so much better.

 

Are you sure Lenovo is offering an XP to windows7 upgrade? I thought they only offered a Vista to windows7 upgrade. I could be wrong though.

 

Yes, they offered it on their web when I bought the system.
So I believe I can do it.

 

It's definitely worth switching to Windows 7. I've been on XP for the last few years and just made the move.

I read a detailed review with benchmarks a few days ago comparing XP, Vista and 7. Each had their own strengths and weaknesses, but overall Windows 7 came out ahead on the majority of the benchmarks.

 

you do know the cd they shipped to you is "upgrade cd" right?

i prefer vista/7 more than xp at this point. providing all your hardware/software/driver that you want supports it.

 

So my home is a legacy business environment? Here's a hint: it's not.

 

I was in a similar boat. I recently ordered T510, and it came with Windows 7. I was nervous about using it, since I've been using XP for years, and didn't like Vista at all - and never upgraded.

2 days ago, my laptop arrived - and Windows 7 is just amazing. This is what Vista should have been. It will take a few days to figure out where everything is, but nothing difficult. It works flawlessly, is not a resource hog and looks beautiful. IMO, you gotta switch over.

 

Well XP does still run a bit faster ... I found Windows 7 on the new T400 slower than XP on my T61 when opening and closing programs and doing multi-tasking. I think I may stick to XP as long as I can. Windows 7 has nice little touches but also has problems with older printers & drivers. Even if you install the correct drivers there are still problems. I don't have those with Windows XP. A very small detail is that windows 7 cannot run Skype 3.8, you need to upgrade to 4.0 or higher. The newer versions are just not as good, thye are made more for mums and dads, they are worse for business. Just a matter of opinion. Also I still find XP clearer in usage. Windows 7 is not too different from Vista. The interface has too much stuff in it ...

 

Hmm. I just received a T400 I bought off of Feebay a couple of days ago, and it had Win7 already installed on it. I'll admit my first experience was a bit lackluster... if you have no previous experience with Win7's UI, you're going to be lost. Ever since using Win2K, I've been hooked on the quick launch bar and was more than a bit miffed to see it go in Win7... however if you think of the new taskbar as a combination of the old-style taskbar and the Quick Launch bar... you've got the main idea as to what it does.

I moved back to Vista for a little bit, but am deciding to give Win7 another shot. Personally, I don't see much difference between Win7 and Vista except for the new UI, but since Win7 is most likely going to be the de facto standard Windows OS in the next few years it doesn't hurt to learn it early.

 

XP is too old and this is a new decade now, but the comparability isn't perfect with all programs. I personally like it a more than Xp and Vista. Which brings up the question why isnt that an option?

 

If you're happy with XP I don't see a compelling reason to upgrade.

 

So you don't think the performance or the chance to use newer hardware is worth it?
I'm sure that there some drivers that only support Vista & 7 with no XP support.

 

There are nice tutorial of the Windows 7 UI that come with the machine. Microsoft's website also provide some excellent videos. There is a fair learning curve moving from XP, but it will save you tons of time in the long term.

Plus, Windows 7 is more secure. Many pieces of malware that work on XP are ineffective on Windows 7.

 

I should bother to spend a few minutes watching those videos; I just went to 7 straight from XP and figured stuff out; it wasn't too hard.

I wonder if my Win7 is really more secure than my XP, after I turned off UAC (user account control) in order to get SQL Server 2008 working properly. It may be more secure out of the box, but that seems to be because it's just locked down more in terms of permissions. I mean, I'm the admin user, and I still have to choose "Run as administrator" for certain programs? Seems ridiculous. I still have some things to figure out.

 

Mac and some linux distros do the same and even ask you for password.

 

That's what makes it more secure. For one, no admin in his right mind uses an admin account as his regular account. You explicitly elevate only the processes that require the rights.

But that may be too much for the average user...

BTW, you can run SQL Server 2008 with UAC on. It does take you understanding how UAC works though. The fact that you mention that you "still" have to choose run as admin makes me think you need to hit up Technet.

 

Thanks for the tip! I wasn't going into any detail here; what I meant to say was that I couldn't attach my SQL 2008 databases (that I detached from XP) without doing some funky stuff. Taking ownership of the files and giving the admin group full control on the files didn't allow me to attach them (and I was running SSMS as admin), until I turned off UAC. I still have stuff to learn, as you can see.

I think it's typical for developers to run as admins.

 

Now, that is true.

Stubborn bunch......

 

I was in the same predicament with my Thinkpad T61 recently, though I chose to use Windows 7 Professional on my system in the end. My advice is to make some recovery discs of your Windows XP first then try out Windows 7 for a few days and see how it goes. Obviously if you don’t like it then you can always switch back.

The first thing you may want to try out is to see if the programs you use often will still work with Windows 7. Most should work fine, I use Microsoft Office 2003 and Adobe Photoshop 7.0 often and both run fine to this day, Though there will be a few that may refuse to work properly depending on the age of the application (my trusty WinZip 8.1 and Nero 6 Ultra Edition don’t work with Windows 7 for example). Check if the vendor offers an upgrade version that works with Windows 7 first before giving up entirely which should solve the problem.

The next thing to think about should be your hardware devices, Windows 7 makes a better job of finding common devices than Windows XP so rarely you will need to install drivers and do any configuring. Though I’ll admit that I do have some image quality issues using my HP printer through Windows 7. But check on the manufacturer’s website to see if there are any fixes or known issues that may affect your device in Windows 7.

Lastly if you find the interface feeling a bit odd, then you can always tweak it to make it feel someway to Windows XP such as reducing the size of the taskbar and turning off the UAC (if you know what you’re doing then UAC is unnecessary). I do find the Windows 7 interface a lot more appealing and cleaner than the “fisher-price” style of Windows XP - My Current Desktop.

Overall I’m quite pleased with Windows 7 and haven’t found any major issues that make me want to jump back to XP again (plus i'm one of those who skipped with Vista and stuck with XP previously). But the overall choice lies on which operating systems works best for you, hope this helps.

 

You bring up a very good topic. Finding printer drivers has been a serious PITA. Printers tend to last a long time this day and age. It isn't uncommon to find inkjets that are still kicking after six years. At that age, it is possible that the manufacturer no longer support that model and the generic printer driver does not deliver 100% functionality with the old dinosaur.

 

Indeed but its not just old dinosaurs that have problems with Windows 7, my previous workplace used a relatively new HP Color Laserjet 2840 but it never seem to recognise the scanning facility on Windows 7. It turns out HP (still) haven't released official scan drivers for Windows Vista let alone Windows 7! So it's best to try out your printing and scanning devices first as I had to find out the hard way!

 

Yeah, my home printer (epson) had a bug in the driver. To print to it over a network share, I had to install the printer driver locally and make a virtual USB port that pointed to the network share. Lame..........

 

Again, I think it all comes down to personal preference. XP is still a very capable OS. Personally, if one doesn't have all the drivers you need, I'd choose the other.

 

With W7 Ultimate and maybe some other versions, you also get XP free. Means you can load XP and run it while in W7 OS. Thus, one gets backward compatibility for legacy hardware and software which may not run or run imporoperly on W7. No license required as its part of the W7 license. Runs in Virtual PC. Seems to work fine but I have not loaded any apps. I recommend it. Should advance technology to latest not stick with the old.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/ This is Microsoft's way of quashing any claims W7 is not backward compaitble with XP.

Or if you prefer can run VMWare Server and load XP on it and run in W7 as a virtual OS. Basically, same concept as Windows Virtual PC. For this you probably need a retail version of XP. Have never tried it.

 

thank you guys...I guess I might just face the fact that life goes on...I am thinking, reluctantly, of upgrading to Windows 7. someone asked me whether I know that the CD I got with my unit is the free upgrade to Windowns 7. Well I didn't get any..the only way is to order it online and pay 14$ for shipping.
Also, I was curious about this one little issue: is it possible, finally, to lock certain part of disk or folders in Windows 7? I.e. set it up in a way that entering certain data would require a password?

 

In Europe you can buy a nice netbook for the price of Windows 7 license. That is hilarious. Ok if you get a new computer with the VM XP option in W7 then it may be OK. I don't entirely dislike it but I am rather impatient, so I will not spend hours trying to make a printer work etc, it should simply work. I know of people who either have taken W7 back off or simply bought new printers only to find out that these also don't work on W7. And in a business environment it HAS to work, you cannot spend $$$$ on problems that should not arise. My advice to business owners, do not go W7 until all those issues are solved.

 

As a warning if you intend to run Virtual PC count on spending money for additional RAM. Also, you would only use it for legacy hardware and software. Its not an everyday OS in that mode.

 

Strangely, my X200t came with XP installed and a Win7 DVD.