Windows 7

Dark Nation, make sure you install the update that fixes the Windows Media Player chopping off parts of mp3 files bug.

I've been using Windows 7 since the first pre-beta was released, did all the blue patches and what-not to unlock the pretty, and I then installed the leaked beta 1. Besides a few bugs I can say I'm ready to switch to this operating system permanently (until something better comes out of course).

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Well Zerg, if you enjoy Office 2007's ribbon then you'll be happy to hear that Microsoft has brought it to a few programs in Windows 7 and is releasing the ribbon code to developers to use in their own products..

Shin, there are some 3rd party software products you can download that will give you the old Office 2003 look. I can give you one if you'd like.

As for Windows 7's performance... I'd liken it to XP's zippyness upon first clean install. Its system allocation for memory and the way it does things is far superior to XP's though. Vista was heading in the right direction but it was half finished in a few key areas. Windows 7 takes that direction, finishes it, and refines it. So in short better than XP performance and Vista-like features and eye candy.

While it's only still in beta it's still better than any operating system Microsoft has released. If you're happy with what you're using and weren't thinking about reinstalling your operating system any time soon then I suppose you could pass. If not I'd definitely recommend that you give Windows 7 a shot. Even if you only try it out. I've been using it for over a month now. I'm not going back to Vista or XP.

Now I warn you that you may encounter a few bugs. It's beta. Not final. Be aware that you may have to change compatibility modes to install a few things.

For example I live with the fact that I can't really get sleep mode for my laptop to work but because my laptop equipped with an Intel 80 GB SSD is so fucking fast at booting up and shutting down that doesn't bother one bit. Also, I can't change brightness for some reason. This doesn't mean it'll apply for everyone but be ready for this kind of thing. Test just about every feature and function of your machine out that you think you'll be using.


Oh and one more thing. Beta expires in August unless you install a patch to disable the timebomb like I have.

How ya doing, buddy?

No problem. Every now and then folks can't adjust to the ribbon so I offer it as a option.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Zergrinch

Mmm, aside from the expiration, that sounds rather promising.

The expiration is very easy to get around.

Originally Posted by Zergrinch

Thus far, you have encountered few driver and program compatibility problems, am I correct?

Hmmm... it might not be true for everyone but a few programs with consistent bugs. For example, I can't get the latest version of utorrent to work but version 1.4 works fine. I haven't attempted slightly newer versions yet though, but basically the newest version just freezes and I have to wait a while before the process goes away in the task manager after I've killed the program. Vuze aka Azureus is a bit better as it's actually functional. However, you just can't exit it properly. And because of that you can't shut down your machine so you have to turn it off manually. I know there a few programs that just don't work period like Daemon Tools but I recommend Virtual Clone Drive (which does work) over that piece of shit program anyway.

I've found no problems with emulators, adobe cs4, nero 9, microsoft office 2007, media player classic (with cccp of course), foobar2000, firefox, Fallout 3, and many other programs. And drivers install just fine. For some of them you might need to change compatibility to vista for it to install since when it checks the installer doesn't know what Windows 7 is and will tell you your operating system isn't supported otherwise. It was a wise decision to have Windows 7 use the same driver system as Vista. That means practically all the drivers you need are already available and compatible.

Originally Posted by Shin

I would have thought there would be an option built in to keep using the button bar, to be fair I've not really gone looking for one as I only ever use the thing on other people's computers.

Nope. Don't bother looking because Microsoft doesn't give you the option to switch to the old style. It's not there.

Well I'd say that Windows 7 is a pretty good leap from the 98 interface. You might end up liking it, Shin. One day.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I installed utorrent 1.6 and it's working well and pretty much every tracker accepts it. Hurray for no freezing up anymore!

Also, I've learned that you can kill the Vuze/Azureus process. The process just kind of hangs like the latest version of utorrent does for a while. Dunno why. The folks at utorrent probably would blame that I'm using Eset antivirus or something. Whatever. I don't need to use Vuze/Azureus anymore.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Pretty much. I intend on keeping it until the retail version comes out (unless there is another beta which I don't think there will be or a release candidate).

And since it's just a beta Microsoft doesn't really give a crap as they don't really hold much responsibility for what happens on it. It's beta. Torrent the fuck out of it.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Well eventually they'll run out of beta keys to hand out. Maybe.

In any case I've been running on the leaked beta 1 which is the same thing as they're offering.

FELIPE NO

Probably something they built into their shortcut for Steam. Try making your own shortcut. Go to Program Files and find the steam executable file. Copy. Paste Shortcut somewhere. Then see if you can change those properties.


Oh and here's something cool to look at.

Tim Sneath : The Bumper List of Windows 7 Secrets

Some nice keyboard shortcuts and features you might like to fool with.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

It basically acts as an integrated dock of sorts. It's like quicklaunch but it also has specific application specific functions you can perform as well (although that's part of the superbar in general regardless if you pin things to it). So yeah it's kind of like combining quicklaunch with the taskbar to a certain extent.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Did you try Vista compatibility. Also what program was it?

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Oh here's something for those who are running Windows 7 and have UAC turned off. You probably can't use any sidebar widgets, right?

Fix Windows 7 Sidebar with UAC Off issue

An easy registry fix will get you with dem gadgetwidgetthings again. =)

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I have a few places I like but here's the latest one I've come across.

win7vista.com - Index

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Only concern is if your chip supports 64-bit or not which unless you are running an Intel Atom netop or netbook should be the case. 64-bit versions of 7 and Vista are superior. But it's not like it'll be a world-ending difference or anything. It would also help if whatever your computer hardware you have has 64-bit drivers. 7 comes with most drivers you'll need though so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

If you are worried about how large your systems partition should be I'll tell you that from scratch 7 takes up about 10 GB of space. Then add in updates and whatever software you add on top of that and you'll probably want to have 20-30 gigs for the operating system partition AT MINIMUM. Honestly, I'd give it at least 50 or 80 gigs if you are thinking of sticking around with it.

Oh and try using Windows Easy Transfer (for Windows XP you'll need to download it from Microsoft, it's a small program and its free) when going from OS to OS when you finally want to make the move to 7. I'm not a fan of using the OS Upgrade option. Feels junky to me. I like starting from a clean slate. Yeah, so back up all the shit you want to an external harddrive and once you've done that try out Windows Easy Transfer. It's been really reliable so far but you can never be too careful with shit you don't want to lose.

I was speaking idiomatically.

lol 5 hours? That's crazy. Takes me maybe 20 minutes to an hour depending on the machine (and I've installed it on plenty of different machines). That problem does sound like RAID issues.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

It's great to have 4 GB or more for 64-bit 7 but keep in mind that it also works just dandy with only 2 GB of memory.

FELIPE NO

I use the feature all the time on my 4 GB memory Win 7 64-bit vaio laptop. So yes.

I can confirm that it also works on several workstations with more than 2 GB of memory.

I've always seen that feature as more useful for laptops. I tend to remotely connect to my machine at home so if it went to sleep or hibernation then I couldn't rightly access it then could I? But if you like saving a bit of power then that's cool I guess.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I don't know how many folks around here use the Corel suite but CS4 and Office 2007 work just dandy. It can run 32-bit applications for the most part if that's what you're worried about.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

RR, I'd recommend going to a windows 7 forum of sorts to figure out how to dual boot win 7 and xp. By default win 7 will take over boot from what I hear.

There's nowhere I can't reach.