Windows 7 experience

[ad1977]

First I tried an upgrade from vista and boot times were around 5 to 6 mins though windows performance noticably faster than Vista. Just completed a clean install and it boots in seconds now. Ive got to say im slightly disappointed in that its been the most trouble free install of windows Ive ever had. It just works - so what am I supposed to do now.

[FiB3R]

First I tried an upgrade from vista and boot times were around 5 to 6 mins though windows performance noticably faster than Vista. Just completed a clean install and it boots in seconds now. Ive got to say im slightly disappointed in that its been the most trouble free install of windows Ive ever had. It just works - so what am I supposed to do now.

LOL Not happy if you have nothing to fix?

[Udedenkz]

I love the install speed, this is a good improvement over XP.

Regarding the 7100 RC x64

Performance went down the drain and I cant make it double click to open and single click to select - so I would rate the RC fairly low if I could now rerate but I can't

That's a deal breaker right there :(

Thread hijacks ftw :p

Although, I am just trying this out so I might have been wrong about that statement. Now I think they are back (???) - I have no idea - after all I am also using a beta Firefox. :) It has performance hickups it seems to me - although page loading is on steroids

[FiB3R]

Udedenkz, can you link me some info about how to do it? I'm not exactly sure what I should be Googling for. Thanks ;)

[Gibletz]

Had a few quirks here and there, but other than that, it's a great OS. Been single booting since 7077 and I'm not going back to Vista or XP. :)

[jimkraz]

Great experience so far, install no problems, the one thing I did not expect to get working was my old Canon Lide20 scanner, Vista drivers worked for that, the only thing so far, my LG phone software acts up a bit, but I can get there with it. Speed good, boot fine, shut down fine, love it. Jim

[jjrambo]

I still see no improvements over Vista SP2. Sorry but there is none.

[paranoidxe]

Ok is everyone drinking the Windows 7 kool-aid? How can Windows 7 possibly get a 7 rating for features? It is virtually identical to Windows Vista SP1 in every way, save for the taskbar features there are no ground breaking features in 7 AT ALL.

Performance is improved on boot times but other than that it feels the same as Vista.

I think XP users might have a reason to upgrade, but as for Vista users its more of the same thing. Same annoying explorer windows, horrible Vista Start Menu which you are now FORCED to use, an even more messy display panel.

What an incredibly overrated operating system. This should be a pay for service pack for Vista not a new operating system. No way can I see anyone sanely justifying shelling out $100+ for this update from Vista.

[Ci7]

First I like Vista. I have to say that since so many people hated it. Windows 7 is without question faster and more polished than Vista, but it should be since it is really a x.1 version.

The new UI is a very nice refresh of the Vista UI. The super bar is one of my favorite features. I've had a few compatiblity issues with software but that is to be expected and doesn't deserve docking points to the O/S. Though I do wish Stardock would get more of my Eye candy ready for Win 7. I'm betting Windowsblinds and Superbar present some very interesting challenges, especially for backward compatilbility to Vista and XP while moving forward for Win7. My overall satisfaction in roughly a 6.5, under the assumption a 7 is nearly unattainable.

but it is effectively NT7.0

I still see no improvements over Vista SP2. Sorry but there is none.

bla bla bla

Ok is everyone drinking the Windows 7 kool-aid? How can Windows 7 possibly get a 7 rating for features? It is virtually identical to Windows Vista SP1 in every way, save for the taskbar features there are no ground breaking features in 7 AT ALL.

Performance is improved on boot times but other than that it feels the same as Vista.

I think XP users might have a reason to upgrade, but as for Vista users its more of the same thing. Same annoying explorer windows, horrible Vista Start Menu which you are now FORCED to use, an even more messy display panel.

What an incredibly overrated operating system. This should be a pay for service pack for Vista not a new operating system. No way can I see anyone sanely justifying shelling out $100+ for this update from Vista.

more bla bla bla

[+KibosJ Subscriber²]

I had my first problem with 7 this week lol. It was loading 7127. First boot was slow as hell. It froze 3 times on the desktop. Everything was slow as hell. Firefox installed but ALWAYS said it was already open (even though it wasn't). Reboot didn't fix these problems.

Went out last night, turned my PC on this morning and it is all working great again now :/ lol. No idea what happened.

[Guest xiphi]

It is virtually identical to Windows Vista SP1 in every way, save for the taskbar features there are no ground breaking features in 7 AT ALL.

Have you even tried out 7 for more than 5 minutes and looked beyond the taskbar? Faster search results, improvements to the sound (changes to output or enhancements no longer stop playback of audio), Aero Snap, WDDM 1.1 (less memory consumption with DWM, GDI acceleration, etc), HomeGroup, Play music to other devices using WMP12, faster access to Wifi connections, Libraries, the list just goes on and on. There's just too many improvements in 7 to list them all here.

[paranoidxe]

Have you even tried out 7 for more than 5 minutes and looked beyond the taskbar? Faster search results, improvements to the sound (changes to output or enhancements no longer stop playback of audio), Aero Snap, WDDM 1.1 (less memory consumption with DWM, GDI acceleration, etc), HomeGroup, Play music to other devices using WMP12, faster access to Wifi connections, Libraries, the list just goes on and on. There's just too many improvements in 7 to list them all here.

None of these features are ground breaking, none of them justify shelling out $150+ on a upgrade from a Vista machine.

[Guest xiphi]

None of these features are ground breaking, none of them justify shelling out $150+ on a upgrade from a Vista machine.

Who justifies their purchase based on ONE feature? Not I. The features I mentioned are what I would consider to be worthy of my money because they are of importance to me. It's never been about one "killer" feature. It's always been about the many small features that improvement the overall experience. They may not be important you, but they matter to millions of other people. The improvements to the Start Menu and Taskbar are my main interests of 7 due to the fact that they make everyday tasks THAT much easier to perform.

[paranoidxe]

Who justifies their purchase based on ONE feature? Not I. The features I mentioned are what I would consider to be worthy of my money because they are of importance to me. It's never been about one "killer" feature. It's always been about the many small features that improvement the overall experience. They may not be important you, but they matter to millions of other people. The improvements to the Start Menu and Taskbar are my main interests of 7 due to the fact that they make everyday tasks THAT much easier to perform.

I don't, but thats the main feature that appeals to me [the new task bar] and that alone will not justify the purchase price. I'd upgrade if they offered a step-up version for a limited time for $50-$60 for Vista users...but as a full fledged update I'm not interested in "under the hood" tweaks that will yield no real world performance differences outside of benchmarks.

Difference of opinion bro, I just don't happen to think the operating system is "feature rich" when compared to Windows Vista. Maybe someone coming from XP would be impressed , but as a Vista Ultimate x64 user there isn't much this operating system offers me.

I'm really disappointed in the continued use of the Vista style start menu it makes more work for the user than the XP style/classic ever did..just highlight now its a clicking game. I'm even more disappointed in the force of using this style of start menu.

[dcoaster]

I just wanted to say how impressed I am with some of the features that were added to Windows 7. For one, the Aero Snap is a HUGE time saver, especially when working in Office programs and Firefox. Also, I love how .mov Quicktime videos will now play natively! My digicam records videos in .mov and never could be read by XP or Vista so I had to download some reg hacks and other programs to be able to use mov in Windows Explorer and Media Center. I had to use Quicktime which I really don't like, but WMP is much better (and finally greatly improved!) Those are just two that I can think of right now, but there are plenty others that make the experience so much better!

Thanks MS for the hard work and listening to your customers. (Y)

[Zwinky]

This release is actually verry important to system admins and developers. It's going to make their life's alot easier ... Vista was the other way arround. It was made to impress the consumers. This time it's the itpro's turn !

I love it ! In fact I'm installing it on a work pc to try out with server 2008 as we speek. Never did this with a beta os before ...

Zwinky

p.s. To all the critics here: Get a life ... After this release bashing MS is just not done anymore :) After hearing "ow but aren't there alot of problems with Vista" on a daily basis for over 2.5 years this is going to be a relief !

[notuptome2004]

I don't, but thats the main feature that appeals to me [the new task bar] and that alone will not justify the purchase price. I'd upgrade if they offered a step-up version for a limited time for $50-$60 for Vista users...but as a full fledged update I'm not interested in "under the hood" tweaks that will yield no real world performance differences outside of benchmarks.

Difference of opinion bro, I just don't happen to think the operating system is "feature rich" when compared to Windows Vista. Maybe someone coming from XP would be impressed , but as a Vista Ultimate x64 user there isn't much this operating system offers me.

I'm really disappointed in the continued use of the Vista style start menu it makes more work for the user than the XP style/classic ever did..just highlight now its a clicking game. I'm even more disappointed in the force of using this style of start menu.

What the Search bar in the start menu is so Hard to understand and use or something. if you cant use the Search function and call that complicated and hard to use them you sire should be operate a computer period. . . . . . .

now in windows 7 the search in the start is more defined and separates what you need based on categories so if you type in the word ( Power ) it will separate what is a control panel options and or regular programs you installed with the word Power in them

Windows 7 tho as a Whole has 100s to 1000s of little improvement and some big ones in all Windows 7 is about usability discoverabilty and the user experience something in witch those 3 things lacked in previous version of windows well some of it may have been but it was a hit or Miss .

Edited May 18, 2009 by notuptome2004

[P.M.K]

This release is actually verry important to system admins and developers. It's going to make their life's alot easier ... Vista was the other way arround. It was made to impress the consumers. This time it's the itpro's turn !

I love it ! In fact I'm installing it on a work pc to try out with server 2008 as we speek. Never did this with a beta os before ...

Zwinky

p.s. To all the critics here: Get a life ... After this release bashing MS is just not done anymore :) After hearing "ow but aren't there alot of problems with Vista" on a daily basis for over 2.5 years this is going to be a relief !

Myself and and a mate are using Windows 7 it at work. We use Active Directory, Exchange Management Console, VMware, Citrix, Lotus Note, RDC, ManageSoft and Softgrid.

When I upgraded my work PC to Vista I got all those apps to work, but I had to find and install a heap of patches, mainly for the AD and Exchange admin tools.

With W7 everything worked straight away and its super fast.

[misterchief5647]

I love windows 7! There are 2 things that are a problem but that's only because its a BETA (I am using Build 7100 32-bit. Latest as far as I know at the time of this post.).

Issues:

1. NVIDIA GeForce 9600GT drivers and motherboard drivers work but the video quality has gone from 1080i to 420p. Yes I checked and its the OS.

2. Some new monitors don't work with Windows 7 Build 7100. I know this should even happen but I was able to recreate the problem several times.

Rating you ask? I give it a 9 out of 10

[hamadauno]

hope to try it but not now I'll wait until final release i think Microsoft rocks about this new 7.

regards folks

[mattmatik]

Finally got around to installing it on my MacBook Pro via BootCamp today. I was using it in Fusion but I wanted better gaming support (AOEIII in Fusion was sluggish). So far, it's been great. Had to jump through various forum threads to get the x64 drivers for the Mac but now I know what to do so installs shouldn't take too long anymore.

I didn't use Vista a whole lot so going from XP to W7 has been different for me. XP is just so damn solid, hopefully W7 can/will be as reliable. Everything seems much more accessible.

[Flakheart]

Not bad. Supported a heap of things in the installation that Windows XP needed tons of driver discs for so that was a good start.

1. Installation and startup times are much faster. Startup even is fast enough with loads of junk installed and doesn't seem to stall the process. Lots of useful features to make it easier to use once you get used to them.

2. Having a permanent search bar in explorer is a blessing too. No need to pop up a separate window over your main on and obscure everything under it.

3. The ability to turn off drive letters in explorer is a good thing (very UNIXesque) except for beginners who don't understand the difference between copying and moving between different devices and are likely to forget that some of these devices are not always there and are going to turn off drive letters accidentally and then whinge when they remove a device and they can't find their files because they can't see a drive letter in the list.

4. Libraries can be a lot of fun when you are used to them. Even better (and strange) is that the timeouts associated with disconnected devices being selected is instant compared to my trouble with disconnected network devices causing explorer lockups. This could be improved.

I like the fact that external device libraries show the drive letter and you can see 'at a glance' everything in the one place instead of trawling through literally thousands of files and directories.

A 'favourites' for the file system. Some people are still going to forget the difference between copying and pasting to links in the library and miss files.

Minor problems. I can still lock up explorer when it clicks on a network link that is disconnected. And I mean totally lock up. But..It doesn't take the system with it or cause everything to reload unlike XP did. That's a good feature.

[Del-Funky Smelly Be.]

Windows 7 Rocks. Fast & Stable. No problems at all. It's now my primary OS even its in RC. :)

I love windows 7! There are 2 things that are a problem but that's only because its a BETA (I am using Build 7100 32-bit. Latest as far as I know at the time of this post.).

Issues:

1. NVIDIA GeForce 9600GT drivers and motherboard drivers work but the video quality has gone from 1080i to 420p. Yes I checked and its the OS.

2. Some new monitors don't work with Windows 7 Build 7100. I know this should even happen but I was able to recreate the problem several times.

Rating you ask? I give it a 9 out of 10

Yeah man you gave rating correctly because its very difficult to make a new OS flawless because you dont have oppurtunity to check it with old hardwares.

[Eevo]

after using win7 for about 6 months, the 2 tthings i miss the most.

quicklaunch/the old taskbar

sidebar

[Scorbing]

Well let's see...

It is much faster than sluggish Vista. The UI responds faster and better. Uses much less resources and less services running than Vista.

So far build 7201: Very good. It recognized EVERY piece of hardware on my Asus laptop, even the Nvidia card. I didn't have to install a single driver. Amazing. Vista never recognized anything! I had to install all drivers except for the sound on Vista.

I still think the UI needs a little bit more speed tweaking. Other than that, I can say that Vista is hanging by a rope right now. As soon as 7 comes out, Vista will hit the pages of history and I will burn the Vista DVD with so much pleasure it won't be funny.

Have you even tried out 7 for more than 5 minutes and looked beyond the taskbar? Faster search results, improvements to the sound (changes to output or enhancements no longer stop playback of audio), Aero Snap, WDDM 1.1 (less memory consumption with DWM, GDI acceleration, etc), HomeGroup, Play music to other devices using WMP12, faster access to Wifi connections, Libraries, the list just goes on and on. There's just too many improvements in 7 to list them all here.

I don't think he has. Windows 7 is a big improvement over Vista definately.