Windows 7 Discussion Thread

[Manco]

I just reinstalled Windows 7 again. I downloaded and installed all the recommended updates except the nvidia drivers. So far no more freezing.

[bdshort]

Has anyone installed this to a dual-boot Mac yet? I have a spare external USB drive, I wonder if it would be possible to install it to and run it from that so I'm not taking up space on my internal drive, which is only 160 gigs. I have the 2007 series MBP.

[Jay G.]

Originally Posted by bdshort

Has anyone installed this to a dual-boot Mac yet?

From 3 months ago on this thread:

Originally Posted by Jay G.

Yes.
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles...boot_camp.html

I have a spare external USB drive, I wonder if it would be possible to install it to and run it from that so I'm not taking up space on my internal drive, which is only 160 gigs. I have the 2007 series MBP.

The Windows installer will not allow installation onto an external USB. This is true for all versions of Windows.

[al_bundy]

Originally Posted by Manco

I just reinstalled Windows 7 again. I downloaded and installed all the recommended updates except the nvidia drivers. So far no more freezing.

When you first install it check to see if the drivers are there

[Manco]

Originally Posted by al_bundy

When you first install it check to see if the drivers are there

I'm not sure I follow you. Do you mean see if there are drivers already on the install somewhere?

I assumed what I downloaded were the drivers as I had the nvidia control center or whatever its called to make adjusts and I could get all the screen resolution settings and get all graphic affects.

Looking at the display setting now it says I have a generic vga adapter.

[wmansir]

I'm using it now on a fresh install. I played with a previous beta in a VM but didn't do much more than install and check it out.

Only 2 really notable things.

1. It fixed my sleep/wake issue. When I first installed Vista sleep/wake worked fine, but when I switched from DDR 667 to DDR 800 the wake part stopped working. There was no change when I moved to Vista 64, but now it works.

2. I had to hack ATI's video driver to get it to install. I have an X1650 and a couple of months ago ATI depreciated that series to legacy support only. That means no Windows 7 drivers, but the Vista drivers should work fine right? Yes and no. Yes they will work, but no they won't install. From what I understand the problem is the driver pack partially supports Win7, but only for newer cards. So when Windows sees Win7 support it goes looking for a compatible driver and doesn't find one for the legacy card. The solution is to edit the .inf so windows doesn't know it supports Win7 at all, and it will then happily find and install the Vista drivers.

[RockyMtnBri]

Doing a clean install right now on an old 80GB drive I had lying around. I'll share observations later. I have the X1650 as well so I may have to hack the ini file as well.

[wmansir]

Here are the instructions I used: http://forums.amd.com/game/messagevi...&enterthread=y

The driver that came with the RC worked fine for the most part, although I didn't play any games with it. I wanted the ATI driver because without it the Catalyst Control Center wouldn't load and I use that for color management.

[RockyMtnBri]

OK, I've got it up and running, but I have to go to the Gigabyte site to see if I can get it to recognize my on-board audio. Other than that, it just seems OK. I'll probably shut it down in a bit and go back to my original setup.

[al_bundy]

Originally Posted by Manco

I'm not sure I follow you. Do you mean see if there are drivers already on the install somewhere?

I assumed what I downloaded were the drivers as I had the nvidia control center or whatever its called to make adjusts and I could get all the screen resolution settings and get all graphic affects.

Looking at the display setting now it says I have a generic vga adapter.

windows 7 has drivers for most devices on the DVD and no need to install manufacturer drivers. when you first install it, check device manager and if there is a driver, no need to install another one. check the date as well since the MS one may be the more recent one.

and you don't need the nvidia app to change screen resolution

[Manco]

Originally Posted by al_bundy

windows 7 has drivers for most devices on the DVD and no need to install manufacturer drivers. when you first install it, check device manager and if there is a driver, no need to install another one. check the date as well since the MS one may be the more recent one.

and you don't need the nvidia app to change screen resolution

The drivers that were freezing my system were from Windows update.

I found the solution on another page. Someone recommended that I use the latest Vista drivers from Nvidia for my card instead of their Windows 7 drivers. It worked no more freezing.

[al_bundy]

Did you try the official nvidia windows 7 drivers

Supposed to be an official rc version on the website

[Drexl]

Originally Posted by wmansir

Here are the instructions I used: http://forums.amd.com/game/messagevi...&enterthread=y

The driver that came with the RC worked fine for the most part, although I didn't play any games with it. I wanted the ATI driver because without it the Catalyst Control Center wouldn't load and I use that for color management.

Do the GPU scaling options work for you? I want to change it to maintain the aspect ratio (for non-widescreen games), but the options are greyed out and it defaults to stretching to fill the screen. I have an HD4830 card.

[Manco]

Originally Posted by al_bundy

Did you try the official nvidia windows 7 drivers

Supposed to be an official rc version on the website

Yeah I tried those they wouldn't even install.

[wmansir]

Originally Posted by Drexl

Do the GPU scaling options work for you? I want to change it to maintain the aspect ratio (for non-widescreen games), but the options are greyed out and it defaults to stretching to fill the screen. I have an HD4830 card.

The option isn't even there for me. It looks like the second screenshot in this thread.

[kayak99]

I've been trying to download Windows 7 for a week or so now. After I sign in, all I get is that little circle thing spinning around. (I have Vista)

Am I missing something?

[Drexl]

Originally Posted by wmansir

The option isn't even there for me. It looks like the second screenshot in this thread.

Okay, thanks. Well, you can tell that I've seen that thread.

Does anyone know how to get NetFlix streaming? It's saying the OS isn't supported, but I think it might work if I could get it to install the player.

[SomethingMore]

So...
who's pre-ordering the upgrade (Home Premium or Professional) for half price?

I'm tempted... but I want to ensure that I can do a clean install with the upgrade package (just like you could do with the Vista upgrade package). It would be a huge letdown if Microsoft found an excuse to disable that 'feature'...

[Mok]

I pre-ordered this morning. I decided to order it as a download from the Microsoft store.

You can do a clean install with the upgrade only if you purchase the Windows 7 Upgrade version electronically according to Paul Thurrott.

http://community.winsupersite.com/bl...-upgrades.aspx

[Jay G.]

Originally Posted by SomethingMore

I'm tempted... but I want to ensure that I can do a clean install with the upgrade package (just like you could do with the Vista upgrade package). It would be a huge letdown if Microsoft found an excuse to disable that 'feature'...

From my understanding, if you want to do a clean install with Windows 7 Upgrade, you start the upgrade in your previous version of Windows, so the Win7 installer can confirm eligibility. Then Windows 7 can reformat the drive and install, or move Vista to WINDOWS.OLD.

http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/new...than-vista.ars
Unless the user chooses to repartition or format the current partition, Vista's files from C:\WINDOWS will be preserved under C:\WINDOWS.OLD, just as when upgrading from Windows XP to Windows Vista.

[Jay G.]

Originally Posted by Mok

You can do a clean install with the upgrade only if you purchase the Windows 7 Upgrade version electronically according to Paul Thurrott.

http://community.winsupersite.com/bl...-upgrades.aspx

I think he's saying the you have to purchase the upgrade from MS electronically to get the 64-bit version. The install method should be the same whether the purchase is a download or conventional disc.

Anyway, Staples Canada states that both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions will be included in the retail upgrade packages.
http://www.staples.ca/ENG/Static/sta...430&PID=361116

From a MS developer's blog:
http://trevinchow.com/blog/2009/06/2.../#comment-3989
32-bit and 64-bit versions are included in every version we sell. So if you buy Windows 7 Home Premium, you will get both versions. This applies to both the packaged product as well as the download version.

I think he meant "every version we sell except Windows 7 Starter," since Windows 7 Starter doesn't have a 64-bit version. But you don't need to buy from MS if you want the 64-bit version.

[fumanstan]

I plan on getting it, but luckily I have a cousin that works for MS and hopefully he'll be able to get me a copy from their employee store.

[Snowmaker]

Can someone tell me exactly what the Professional version does that the Home Edition does not do or have? The website description is so vague.

I have XP Professional now and went and got my coupon from Micro Center for the W7 Home edition because I didn't think I'd really need Professional. Thanks.

[SomethingMore]

The biggest difference, it seems, is compatibility with XP programs. Not a major issue for regular users, but definitely a plus for corporations like the company I work for. All of our programs work in XP, but apparently do not work in Vista.

[Snowmaker]

Originally Posted by SomethingMore

The biggest difference, it seems, is compatibility with XP programs. Not a major issue for regular users, but definitely a plus for corporations like the company I work for. All of our programs work in XP, but apparently do not work in Vista.

So you're talking big programs like CAD or documentaion control type stuff? My MS Office will still work, right?