Windows 7: Question for DA

[Lavabe]

Will I like Windows 7?

FWIW, my daughter loves the ads for Windows 7.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I'm not DA, but I have used Windows 7 and was impressed. I've got 2 copies on pre-order. It's faster than Vista but looks lots like it. There are some more useable features as well. One thing I don't know and am curious about is will we be able to run "repair installs" on it. As a tech, we do that often with XP to fix problems caused by viruses, but in Vista that is not an option. You can run a "startup repair" which only fixes problems that prevents the OS from booting, or you have to do a full install, which wipes out any programs you already had. So for a badly infected system, you have no option but to backup data, wipe and reload. I hate that option. I pride myself on not having to do what the Geek Squad does by default.

[DukeUsul]

I pride myself on not having to do what the Geek Squad does by default.

You mean you don't steal people's photos and videos?

[CameronBornAndBred]

I pride myself on not having to do what the Geek Squad does by default.

You mean you don't steal people's photos and videos?

Only the naked ones!

[colchar]

If I were to buy it and upgrade from Vista how would that work? I know I just run the CD and allow it to perform the update but would it wipe Vista off my system thus freeing up some of the resources that Vista gobbles up or would Windows 7 merely be installed on top of Vista and therefore not free up any resources?

[CameronBornAndBred]

If I were to buy it and upgrade from Vista how would that work? I know I just run the CD and allow it to perform the update but would it wipe Vista off my system thus freeing up some of the resources that Vista gobbles up or would Windows 7 merely be installed on top of Vista and therefore not free up any resources?

It installs on top of Vista AND frees up resources. The resources we are talking about is RAM, 7 allocates memory better than Vista does. You will not gain any hard drive space.

[colchar]

If I were to buy it and upgrade from Vista how would that work? I know I just run the CD and allow it to perform the update but would it wipe Vista off my system thus freeing up some of the resources that Vista gobbles up or would Windows 7 merely be installed on top of Vista and therefore not free up any resources?

It installs on top of Vista AND frees up resources. The resources we are talking about is RAM, 7 allocates memory better than Vista does. You will not gain any hard drive space.

Yeah, it was RAM I was referring to but am not well enough versed to have explained it properly. As for HD space, that wasn't a worry as I have a 250GB hard drive with external 500GB and 320GB hard drives hooked up. So even if it did take up hard drive space and I was to start running out of space on the internal drive I could easily have just moved stuff over to one of the other drives. But again, that is a moot point.

[DevilAlumna]

Will I like Windows 7?

FWIW, my daughter loves the ads for Windows 7.

Yes. (But really, would you expect me to answer otherwise? ;) )

It's fast, stable, improves laptop battery life, has better driver support, will be cheaper (if you buy the "family pack"), and is more secure. It also has some cool, new user-centered features - I personally love the way it handles the taskbar, multi-monitors, and multiple libraries. Oh, and better home networking options ("Homegroup.")

I've been using it since February; frankly, I don't think anyone who tries Windows 7 over XP or Vista for more than 5 minutes, would ever consider going back.