Windows 7 Home Premium (Full) - £44.97

[Scott]

I've been running Windows 7 Ultimate for just the last couple of weeks. I do like it but it seems to use a lot of RAM even when the PC isn't really doing anything. My 2 year old PC only has 2gig of RAM, which was fine for XP, but under W7 a full gig of that 2gb is being used all the time!

 

Don't worry that its using a gig of ram, this is deliberate to keep things running smoothly and snappy. When another program requires a lot of ram it is free'd up. Its a clever little system similar to what vista had, cept it works properly.

 

Hmm, isn't W7 supposed to be a better version of Vista?

 

I'm not sure if I should upgrade yet due to the fact that I'm running a 64 bit system and I don't want to risk any system downtime

 

Is it up for sale now btw?

 

Windows 7 is what Vista was meant to be in the first place. It was taking too long so they rushed out "longhorn" with some of the windows 7 idea's.

 

A few bugs i had have been fixed already. Thats pretty quick for microsoft.

[imi]

Why upgrade to 7 when XP seems to do the job?

[Scott]

Everytime i use an XP machine it just feels dated. Its like asking why watch a movie in HD rather than SD.

 

Its modern, slicker, asthetically pleasing and requires next to no drivers to run out of the box. It runs almost all media without installing any codecs and comes with all kinds of software for burning, editing etc etc. The backup software is one very good reason to buy it. Once you are happy with your system you simply back it up. When you get any hassles you run the program to restore the backup. Vista was very very similar but as very resource hungry without any benefits.

[AndyT]

For a reason I'm not quite sure of I still fold to the MS side.

It might be because the Mrs can't do techy stuff as required by Linux, Ubuntu.

I reformatted to Ubuntu and found it was sh1te. Took loads more know how and power to work with it. Slowed the computer down too. Not good.

I'm looking at learning Mac now.

[imi]

Everytime i use an XP machine it just feels dated. Its like asking why watch a movie in HD rather than SD.

 

Sorry, thats a very poor analogy, XP > 7 is nothing of the sorts.

 

XP might be "dated" however its quick, stable - I havent rebooted my home XP server for over 6 months (which must be a record for windows). All the apps that I need to use work on XP really well.

 

Drivers - I dont really care about whether they are there out of the box or not cause I dont need to constantly build the machine over and over again - cause its stable.

 

So - back to the question - why bother upgrading to 7, what does it do that XP cant? whats the compelling reason to upgrade?

 

backup - I thought thats what restore points were all about with XP.

[Scott]

Sorry, thats a very poor analogy, XP > 7 is nothing of the sorts.

 

XP might be "dated" however its quick, stable - I havent rebooted my home XP server for over 6 months (which must be a record for windows). All the apps that I need to use work on XP really well.

 

Drivers - I dont really care about whether they are there out of the box or not cause I dont need to constantly build the machine over and over again - cause its stable.

 

So - back to the question - why bother upgrading to 7, what does it do that XP cant? whats the compelling reason to upgrade?

 

backup - I thought thats what restore points were all about with XP.

 

For you there is clearly no reason, for me i like to have up to date software.

 

I have 4GB of ram and a 64 bit processor. XP 64 is absolutely crap and doesn't run anything well IMO.

 

I remember all the same bitching about XP to be honest. Everytime MS release a new OS all the same recycled comments are put foward with all the same arguments for and against. If you want to upgrade and have the latest OS then do, if you don't and are happy with you have then don't.

 

Everyone will have their own reasons for upgrading or not, its a bit of a vague question and leaves the opportunity of only vague answers.

 

Windows 7 is far more user friendly than XP for your non-PC guru hence my drivers & codecs comment. Thats not my reason, its just A reason.

 

You think the restore points are the same as a backup?

[imi]

For you there is clearly no reason, for me i like to have up to date software.

 

Was a question that clearly still remains unanswered.

 

Running the latest OS for the sake of running the latest OS is something that I stopped doing in my late teens, the novelty of working my way through Microsoft's convoluted software just wore off

 

You think the restore points are the same as a backup?

 

Not really, however what you described previously sounded similar to restore points;

 

The backup software is one very good reason to buy it. Once you are happy with your system you simply back it up. When you get any hassles you run the program to restore the backup.

 

Is it a copy of Apple's Time Machine?

 

I have 4GB of ram and a 64 bit processor. XP 64 is absolutely crap and doesn't run anything well IMO.

 

Strange, as I have 2GB on a dualcore and its superfast

[AndyT]

For you there is clearly no reason, for me i like to have up to date software.

 

I have 4GB of ram and a 64 bit processor. XP 64 is absolutely crap and doesn't run anything well IMO.

 

I remember all the same bitching about XP to be honest. Everytime MS release a new OS all the same recycled comments are put foward with all the same arguments for and against. If you want to upgrade and have the latest OS then do, if you don't and are happy with you have then don't.

 

Everyone will have their own reasons for upgrading or not, its a bit of a vague question and leaves the opportunity of only vague answers.

 

Windows 7 is far more user friendly than XP for your non-PC guru hence my drivers & codecs comment. Thats not my reason, its just A reason.

 

You think the restore points are the same as a backup?

 

I'd love to go non user friendly Scott. Time wise it's just not an option for us I'm afraid.

I can get around it but the Mrs has no chance.

Also I'm nowhere near as good as you are with this and I think that's where MS get there business. Even at my level people wait for me to get back home (4 months) to sort their facebook out.

People love the front end, compared to stuff like Ubuntu and such. They're not prepared to tweak it. They don't do performance / security against what is recognized as the norm.

I'm looking at upgrading to 7 too. For the sake of the karma in house.

[Scott]

I'd love to go non user friendly Scott. Time wise it's just not an option for us I'm afraid.

I can get around it but the Mrs has no chance.

Also I'm nowhere near as good as you are with this and I think that's where MS get there business. Even at my level people wait for me to get back home (4 months) to sort their facebook out.

People love the front end, compared to stuff like Ubuntu and such. They're not prepared to tweak it. They don't do performance / security against what is recognized as the norm.

I'm looking at upgrading to 7 too. For the sake of the karma in house.

 

 

I'm agreeing though, i LIKE windows 7

 

Re-read my replies

[Scott]

Was a question that clearly still remains unanswered.

 

Running the latest OS for the sake of running the latest OS is something that I stopped doing in my late teens, the novelty of working my way through Microsoft's convoluted software just wore off

 

For me personally it makes my life a lot easier. I like to keep my software up to date for security, compatibility and for future stability reasons. I do a lot of re-formats & builds for friends and family. The backup facility also makes this a lot easier. I constantly evolve in what i do with my computer, if i didn't i would still be running windows 95 and miles behind. I like to try new things and see what they are like, compare them to old things. I enjoy using my PC, i don't use it through need..... i use it for curiosity, experimentation and investigation.

 

Not really, however what you described previously sounded similar to restore points;

 

 

 

Is it a copy of Apple's Time Machine?

 

I've not seen Time Machine, it works like Norton Ghost? It takes a complete image of a chosen HDD and either backs it up to DVD's, a seperate partition or a different HDD. It means when it comes time for a reformat you just run the backup utility and it wipes and restores your files to the way they were. This includes all the software that was installed and configured as well as emails etc...... the works. It makes my life a lot easier for other peoples PC's as once i have finished with them i create a backup. Then when its time to do it again, a few clicks and 10 mins later the job is done.

 

Strange, as I have 2GB on a dualcore and its superfast

 

It wasn't slow, just nothing works on it. I struggled to find some apps and codecs that were compatible with it. Vista had some of the same issues but i haven't came across 1 with windows 7.

 

I guess we just won't see eye to eye when it comes to this. I wouldn't recommend to anyone to buy XP. I would recommend the more modern, slicker OS. If i would recommend that, then why wouldn't i use it just because XP does the same thing without the bells and whistles? I just like the bells and whistles

[RedM]

I reformatted to Ubuntu and found it was sh1te. Took loads more know how and power to work with it. Slowed the computer down too. Not good.

 

I can understand the having to learn more stuff side of using Ubuntu but the slowness bit seems off.

 

Ubuntu is widely used on older machines to make them 'faster' where Windows would crawl along. Certainly every test that I've done to compare Vista and Ubuntu shows that Ubuntu is faster.

 

Weird.

[Jake]

I havent rebooted my home XP server for over 6 months (which must be a record for windows).

 

Not even close. Just this morning we patched some w2k servers that had an 'hours up-time' well into 5 digits

 

 

 

Somebody mentioned the driver support in w7 and I have to say that it's extremely good. My new ViewSonic monitor and plasma TV screen were recognized straight away and drivers installed from the w7 installation.

I hated Vista because of so many driver problems when it first came out, that and the "Are you sure?" "Are you sure you're sure?" "Please enter your password to confirm that you're sure you're sure"

but I'm quite liking w7 - and I'm a proper luddite.

[imi]

Not even close. Just this morning we patched some w2k servers that had an 'hours up-time' well into 5 digits

 

 

- thats proper server hardware for you though. I'm running a measly home spec AMD 2Ghz with 1GB of Ram; 4300 hrs uptime aint that bad then

[Thorin]

Not even close. Just this morning we patched some w2k servers that had an 'hours up-time' well into 5 digits

 

Not patched in well over a year? Hope they're not connected to the internets

[stevie_b]

For a reason I'm not quite sure of I still fold to the MS side.

It might be because the Mrs can't do techy stuff as required by Linux, Ubuntu.

I reformatted to Ubuntu and found it was sh1te. Took loads more know how and power to work with it. Slowed the computer down too. Not good.

I'm looking at learning Mac now.

 

I can understand why you still lean towards MS. For me, it's dictated by whatever I have to use at work. Most people have Windows on their PC at work, and having to learn the ins and outs of a dis-similar operating system (e.g. Linux) is just not a good use of their time, unless they enjoy the learning.

[imi]

Its here.......

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8319083.stm

[RedM]

Its here.......

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8319083.stm

 

Thanks. I nearly missed it.

[RedM]

Just a quickie.

 

Is it worth installing the 64-bit version on a laptop with only 2g of ram?

[Scott]

It really depends if you want to run any 64bit apps?

 

I run windows 64 and it is the first 64-bit OS I haven't had any trouble with. If you are buying it and they are the same money I would go with 64bit.

[RedM]

It really depends if you want to run any 64bit apps?

 

I run windows 64 and it is the first 64-bit OS I haven't had any trouble with. If you are buying it and they are the same money I would go with 64bit.

 

The Home Premium full retail pack come with both 32 and 64-bit versions. Sadly you can't install both on two PCs! I'm wondering if it might be better just to get the single xx-bit OEM versions.

[Scott]

For the first time I recommend 64bit windows for normal users, simply because it works. Before i had nothing but hassle with drivers etc but so far everything is fine. IMO 64bit is just moving on with the times, its just now becoming useable.

[imi]

The Home Premium full retail pack come with both 32 and 64-bit versions. Sadly you can't install both on two PCs! I'm wondering if it might be better just to get the single xx-bit OEM versions.

 

Shocking isnt it.....other OSs allow you to boot in either 32bit or 64bit on the fly..

 

From what I have seen and read, 64bit is great to address larger GBs or memory. If there is a need to do that and a significant performance advantage then 64bit is the way to go today. Else no need for a general home user IMO.

[Pixelfill]

For the first time I recommend 64bit windows for normal users, simply because it works. Before i had nothing but hassle with drivers etc but so far everything is fine. IMO 64bit is just moving on with the times, its just now becoming useable.

 

I had driver problems with the 64bit beta version on my laptop. No change with the release version, so I'm sticking with the 32bit version again.

 

Mike

[Scott]

I had driver problems with the 64bit beta version on my laptop. No change with the release version, so I'm sticking with the 32bit version again.

 

Mike

 

Is it a modern laptop? I'm thinking I might not be having the trouble as my laptop is designed for it? Saying that my desktop PC is fine.

[imi]

Windows 7 Pro and Cons

 

so OSX......unbelievable.