Windows 7 - Install now or wait?

Hi
I have just bought an acer 8930g laptop which comes with a free version of windows 7 when its released.

I have become sick of windows vista and starting to really hate it, although I do not get crashes or anything, I just think my laptop might perform better if I had windows 7.

But then again I do not know anything, can someone with the same laptop answer that? Shall I download and install it now (32bit)? Or wait until October?

Will all the acer software etc work ok?

Is windows 7 much better than vista or is it just another crappy os from M$? I would love to have my laptop as a mac but I think it would be rather expensive lol

Cheers

 

Oh and I am buying a new hard drive for my laptop for the 2nd slot, so I could have a dual boot system to try it out, would that mess up my original installation? Cheers

 

The downloads of the Release Candidate are over. If you do not have a copy, you will need to wait for the release in October. If your computer is running stable now, I wouldn't worry.

 

If you have a legal Windows 7 Key since you are elgible for the upgrade, I would grab the RTM and install it right away! you'll feel you have a neww laptop instantly! much faster! much more stable! it is the best of both worlds......XP speed + Vista increased features, power management, funcitonality

 

if you have the rc or a legit key do it now or just wait. but for those of us who beta tested i say for the most part can never go back to vista ick. you always have those people who are like ewww its new and i dont want to use it (eeehrmn xp hold outs)

 

I went back to XP after using 7 for 2 weeks.....I loved it.....but I just hated the new task bar concept....... I would never touch Vista though

 

Hahaha, did you not know you can change it to have simple as always QuickLaunch?

 

People who get a free upgrade don't get a key until they receive their media.

 

I'd recommend 7 over Vista any day.

 

I'm waiting for 2 things:

1) For my University to officially support Windows 7
2) For Dell to release all drivers (64bit) for the Latitude E4300

After that, I plan to purchase either an OCZ or Intel SSD, download Windows 7 Professional x64 via MSDNAA, and just have a blast with it.

I can't wait. My notebook will be rockin' with that setup.

 

7 runs way better than Vista.
Buy that replacement hard drive, install it in the first bay, and do a clean installation of Win7. Then, harvest your data from the original drive.

 

BTW people ALL vista drivers will work on 7.

Windows 7 is Vista renamed and rebranded as well as re written or re coded.

I highly recommend Windows 7 if you want to move into the future. XP is Windows Xtinct leave it alone let it die.

Windows 7 will work on all older manchine and will run faster than Windows Xtinct.

 

Not all drivers, nor programs will work with 7. I loaded W7 RTM and had several things on my laptop that will not work. On the Panasonic thread there are several people that are experiencing the same problem. I spoke to Panny support and they are still trying to figure it out. One of them is the screen brightness adjustment. I use my ToughBook in my vehicle alot including nightime, and believe me when you are pushing 1000 Nits, it's freakin bright! If you go into Power Options and manually adjust it, it will go down for about 3 seconds then just blow right back to 100%. Just for that 1 problem I cannot use W7 right now. Which really sucks because I LOVE it.

If you can use W7 I would not hesitate for a second. It's that good in my opinion. I am just going to have to wait until Panny has it figured out. They are in the middle of changing the Drivers to a more consumer friendly sort at this time. They are very complicated to install, meaning that you must install them in a certain order, different steps for different Drivers, etc. They made them for a very experienced IT person, which they admit was a mistake.

 

Except there's no legal way to get the RTM now other than Technet or MSDN, and if the OP had those options then he'd not be worrying about the free upgrade key that he's got. So legally speaking, his one option is to wait until October 22.

 

well i say wait if its microsoft the real bugs start to appear as u use it let the reviews come in before going for it.i still regret switching to vista as soon as it was released

 

i installed win 7 on my sl400, and one of the drivers packages was not directly compatible with windows 7, but a quick run of the program in vista compatibility installed it and the drivers. win7 should be able to install win vista drivers and if it doesnt but you know that it worked before with windows vista, you can try running compatibility mode on the installer of the driver you are having trouble with

 

Not exactly true... I just figured out today that the HP protectsmart (hard drive read/write head drop sensor) driver will install under windows 7 but the sensor doesn't work using the vista driver. Also using vista's driver under windows 7 the HDMI audio isn't recognized, windows 7 sound control just tells me the HDMI audio device is unplugged.

I have also been having a few issues with the vista firewire driver which sometimes stops working and the vista IDT sound driver sometimes freaks out. So while most vista drivers will install under win 7 there are some of them which won't actually work as they did under vista or actually work at all.

 

What ever your decision, go 64-bit.
Windows 7 is based on Vista. Vista 32-bit was junk on comparison to the polished Vista 64-bit. Moreover, you got a system with a 64-bit CPU why not use it? And if you have 4GB of RAM, why not use it all. If not, then you are better off with a Pentium M, 3GB of RAM system, that is the way I see it.

 

Hi

Someone who works for Microsoft is sending me an official copy of windows 7 with a cd key. Its the 64 bit version. I am currently using windows vista home premium 32 bit but that is only because it was installed by default on my laptop.

I have an acer 8930g. Currently it is a t6400 4gb ram etc but swapping it for a q9000 same ram.

The software I use is adobe, ulead and office. Other than that I just play sims 3 and watch films etc.

I am concerned if I install windows 7 it might get rid of the factory reset partition on the hard drive. Is it much beter than vista?

 

George, your 'statement' there is patently false. Not just wrong. False.

MSFT just announced an official 'free' 120 day eval program.

Considering that takes you out to early Januaru 2010, that should be more than enough time to load W7, self-train, and obtain a real honest key at some kind of discount.

Not too many people pay full price for Microsoft software. There are way to many channels that offer discounts.

 

If this windows 7 I am getting tomorrow just turns out to be the test version, will it be worth me installing windows vista home premium 64 bit instead of my 32 bit? If so, would my product key work or will it only work on 32 bit? Why do the manufacturers put 32 bit version on when the cpu is 64 bit?!?!

 

All Windows, obey what you tell it to do. If you say "Delete this partition which is my factory reset" it will do it. Else it won't. During your clean install, simply select your VISTA partition, hit on format, and then proceed with the installation. This will remove Vista, and delete permanently any data on that partition, and Windows 7 will be installed. Else, the Vista partition will be moved to a folder called Windows.OLD, and Windows 7 will be installed with it, carrying all viruses and malware software on your HDD, if any, and waist room on your HDD. Of course, before you do this, make SURE you backup everything on an external storage device like an external HDD or DVD's.

In reality Windows 7 sucks. People are saying it's all good, but in reality Microsoft pays people by selling them a good product.... oh wait...

 

I would still get Windows 7, but if you had to choose between XP, Vista 32-bit and Vista 64-bit. I would go with Vista 64-bit without thinking a single milisecond. Vista 64-bit is not only faster (not Win7 fast, but it' s in 64-bit), and you get to use 4GB or more of RAM, but it's also more polished. Vista 32-bit feels like a last minute decision when I tried it. Also most beta testers of Vista were computer enthusiasts so few downloaded the 32-bit to test it.

I don't know if this is in against forum rules. I know it's 100% OK for retail version of Vista, but I don't know about OEM's. Assuming it's the same (I don't see why not, I mean you still use 1 Vista)
As long as it's OEM, and the same service pack, the product key should work and will activate fine.
If your 32-bit Vista is some-sort of pre-activated Vista, then the product key under the laptop is more of a proof of purchase than anything, therefor not activated.

In any case, works or not (I have not tested the above), it is best to ask Microsoft for permission or re-read the license agreement for OEM version of Windows Vista to make sure you stay legal. If it works, assume that perhaps, one day, as a simple Windows genuine update can disable your Vista. I think it's not worth to do all this, especially that Windows 7 is around the corner.


OEM's put Vista 32-bit, because:
1- Microsoft failed to pushed the 64-bit, and made every business feel that Vista 64-bit was like a XP 64-bit.
2- Because people complained that their old DOS games/software on floppy failed to work under Vista 64-bit as 16-bit application support has been removed. Also, you have bad programmers in that still made 16-bit application during XP area.
3- Because many peripherals lacked Vista drivers, so a 32-bit Vista allowed XP 32-bit to work... somewhat... with their device at the cost of system stability, that trow fuel of the fire of Vista reputation. OEM believed that the cost of system stability was worth it versus you having to go to the store and buy a new printer or other device. However, don't blame the OEM's just yet. It's because about every large companies that makes peripherals had the brilliant idea of not making Vista drivers for you to go by a repackage printer/scanner/etc... which has Vista drivers. I think OEM's decision was wise, but what was unwise is not give a 64-bit option during customization. Just recently you can start seeing Vista 64-bit version as an available OS selection.

 

guys, I have pre-ordered windows 7 for my asus g50vt a1, which is running the rc right now so this is set computer is set

I have just ordered an eee pc 1005ha which will come with xp tomorrow, My question is(as it's been a long time since I used xp) should I upgrade from xp to windows 7 on the netbook?

 

Yes, get Windows 7... you have the RAM, CPU speed. You won't get Aero working that is for sure.
On October 22, you will see all netbooks powered by Windows 7 (starter (netbook) edition, which is the same Windows7 with a lot of limitation, due to the fact that it's nearly, if not free for special OEM). Comparison chart:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_7_editions#Comparison_chart
This edition has no special optimization of any kind.. it's literary the same with limitations.

 

Well, if you're really concerned about messing up the recovery partition (a real possibility) another option is to simply pick up another drive at Best Buy for $80 (or whatever) and install Windows 7 on that. Stick the original drive in the drawer until you're satisfied that you're not going back. Then you can keep the old drive as a spare or install it into an external enclosure, or whatever.

Just an idea if you're really nervous about making the change.

 

Personally, here is my upgrade plan for my two systems:

Desktop:

I will install W7 Pro RTM x64 this weekend, with a desktop there are a lot less drivers required than a laptop, hence why I am upgrading very soon.

Laptop:

I will install W7 Pro RTM x64 as soon as Lenovo releases updated software and drivers for my T400 that work with W7 x64. Therefore, I don't know exactly when I will upgrade my laptop to W7, but I imagine it will be close to the actual release date of W7.

 

Hi

I have done a backup to 3 DVD's so if the recovery partition messes up then I will use that to restore. It looks like I will need to use windows vista 64 at the minimum anyway...

Anyway I now have the new laptop and I am just installing everything to it, does anyone here have an acer 8930G and running windows 7? Basically I want all the acer software and settings to work as they do on vista, do they? I.E Fingerprint reader, cinedash, surround sound, tv card etc.