rboe
Reged: 03/16/02
Posts: 45406
Loc: Phx, AZ
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Any one upgrading from XP to Windows 7, let's hear how it went for you. I'm looking at upgrading one of my Windows boxes to see if it will run better under 7 (has 4GB of ram but XP applications, not keen on upgrading software - I'm too cheap  ).
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Ron
NS11GPS
Pronto
16" dob
15X70 Obies
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StarWars
Postmaster
Reged: 11/26/03
Posts: 13815
Loc: CyberSpace
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Hi Ron...
What you need Upgrading from Windows XP... 
Upgrading your PC from Windows XP to Windows 7 requires a custom installation which doesn't preserve your programs, files, or settings. It's sometimes called a clean installation for that reason.
A custom installation is more complex, and it can sometimes take a couple of hours to complete. For complete details on installation instructions after purchase, please go to www.windows.com / Help & How to section.
An external hard disk. You'll need to move your files off of your PC before you install Windows 7. To make this easier, we recommend a free download called Windows Easy Transfer, which will require an external hard disk. They're readily available at electronics and office supply stores, and they provide an easy way to add additional storage space to your computer.
The original installation discs or setup files for the programs that you want to use with Windows 7. You'll need to reinstall your programs by hand after installing Windows 7. When you run Windows Easy Transfer you will get a report that lists the programs that you are currently using with Windows XP.
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Sony Digital Media player..
MX 460 earbuds
Celestron 2x Barlow Lens
Orion Collimation Eyepiece
Rigel Quick Finder
Assorted Bino's 
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rboe
Reged: 03/16/02
Posts: 45406
Loc: Phx, AZ
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Ya, I'm looking at Windows 7 Professional Upgrade at $199. Sounds steep for a lot of work.  I may skip it.
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Ron
NS11GPS
Pronto
16" dob
15X70 Obies
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StarWars
Postmaster
Reged: 11/26/03
Posts: 13815
Loc: CyberSpace
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Ron
According to the Tiger Direct web site the $199 upgrade is for Vista not XP... 
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Sony Digital Media player..
MX 460 earbuds
Celestron 2x Barlow Lens
Orion Collimation Eyepiece
Rigel Quick Finder
Assorted Bino's
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rboe
Reged: 03/16/02
Posts: 45406
Loc: Phx, AZ
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Amazon, Buy.com and others say otherwise.
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Ron
NS11GPS
Pronto
16" dob
15X70 Obies
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markan
super member
Reged: 07/13/09
Posts: 126
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Quote:
Ya, I'm looking at Windows 7 Professional Upgrade at $199. Sounds steep for a lot of work. I may skip it.
I feel the same way. It's a bit of a chore reinstalling all my software. I tried Windows 7 RC1 when it was available. I don't dislike Vista, which puts me in a minority I guess. I think I'll wait a while.
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Sky-Watcher 100mm ED f/9 refractor
Sky-Watcher 200mm f/5 reflector
EQ5 mount, Orion SkyView AZ
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psonice
super member
Reged: 07/24/09
Posts: 159
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Paying a big chunk of money and spending a big chunk of time getting everything backed up, reinstalled and working again puts it firmly in the 'not worth the effort' category for me. I'm using XP, but only really for the stuff I can't run on OSX, so its not something I'd benefit from much anyway.
I'd say for a lot of people, the hassle and cost of changing from XP isn't really worth it so it'll be more of a "when I get a new computer" upgrade (especially as you can pick up a new machine for not much more than the cost of a win 7 license..) For those with vista, it's a much more appealing upgrade as it should be a fairly easy upgrade, and vista isn't exactly widely loved (yeah, some people get on with it, but I've met a load of people who are basically stuck with it and hate it).
To be honest, the main thing I'm looking forward to with win7 is 64bit.. 3.3gb of memory is really annoying when you've got more in there
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NeoDinian
Experienced Postmaster
Reged: 10/05/05
Posts: 12730
Loc: Rockford Illinois
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Quote:
Ron
According to the Tiger Direct web site the $199 upgrade is for Vista not XP...
Straight from Microsoft:
Quote:
Decide to buy an Upgrade or Full product
All editions of Windows XP and Windows Vista qualify you to upgrade. So, if you’re running either on your PC today, buy a package labeled “Upgrade”.
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Neo... (Jeff)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
10" LX200-GPS/SMT UHTC "Draco"
 Rockford, Il.
NeoDinian's Eye on the Sky!
Coming soon:
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rboe
Reged: 03/16/02
Posts: 45406
Loc: Phx, AZ
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The main reason I'd upgrade is to take advantage of some of my hardware that XP can't (4GB of ram and a quad core). If I get a new MacBook I think I could put it off a couple years.
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Ron
NS11GPS
Pronto
16" dob
15X70 Obies
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Greg K.
Reged: 12/11/03
Posts: 11534
Loc: Clifton Park, NY
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I plan to get a netbook soon and it'll likely have Windows 7. I might get an Windows 7 upgrade for my Macbook's VMWare Fusion. I also have a Vista laptop but it's getting some video problems so I think it's probably on its last legs. Probably not worth bothering with.
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Astro-Tech AT111EDT f/7 - Celestron CGEM
NexStar 11 GPS
Orion SkyView Pro 8EQ (w/ Autostar mod)
15x70 Celestron SkyMasters
Orion 90mm Mak
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StarWars
Postmaster
Reged: 11/26/03
Posts: 13815
Loc: CyberSpace
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Did you see the taskbar on Windows 7 it looks and functions just like the Apple O.S. X taskbar..  I hope Jobs pulls the plug on this game... 
Windows 7 looks just like O.S. X ... Might as well get a Mac and avoid all the nonsense like Antivirus, Firewalls, Malware/Spyware scanners..
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Sony Digital Media player..
MX 460 earbuds
Celestron 2x Barlow Lens
Orion Collimation Eyepiece
Rigel Quick Finder
Assorted Bino's
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StarWars
Postmaster
Reged: 11/26/03
Posts: 13815
Loc: CyberSpace
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Apparently there is a upgrade from Win XP to Windows 7 called Microsoft Windows Anytime Upgrade.. DVD
XP to Windows 7 Home $79.99
XP to Windows 7 Pro $89.99
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Sony Digital Media player..
MX 460 earbuds
Celestron 2x Barlow Lens
Orion Collimation Eyepiece
Rigel Quick Finder
Assorted Bino's
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Greg K.
Reged: 12/11/03
Posts: 11534
Loc: Clifton Park, NY
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Actually the "Anytime upgrades" are to upgrade from lesser versions of Win7 to higher levels, such as from Basic to Premium or Premium to Ultimate.
The best deal for those who have multiple PCs seems to be the family pack, which is 3 licenses of Home Premium for $149. I think I would need two of those if I upgraded everything.
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Astro-Tech AT111EDT f/7 - Celestron CGEM
NexStar 11 GPS
Orion SkyView Pro 8EQ (w/ Autostar mod)
15x70 Celestron SkyMasters
Orion 90mm Mak
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jrford
member
Reged: 08/25/05
Posts: 80
Loc: Birmingham, MI
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We have few extra peecee's at the office and i thought i give it a try. Just to see what 'happens' i took one of our unused HP dx2000 with 2gb, Celeron 3.0ghz on a ATI Radeon Xpress 200 with on-board video, and did the Win7Home 32-bit upgrade. The upgrade advisor didn't like the Video which is to be expected, and thus said no Aero support.
Install ran fine, i didn't have a stop watch but it was about 30min or so. Only problem is that its running Std VGA, being on board video with an xtra PCIx2 slot open, i would want to upgrade the Video card if i would keep it. Interface in the 30 seconds i looked at it, looks a lot like office 2007. Not a big fan of it, but aw well. Might try the Win7Pro next.
little update on some times:
Boot time ~1min, shutdown 20seconds, Excel'07 start 5sec.
Video looks like it will support 1280,
Edited by jrford (10/23/09 03:21 PM)
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StarWars
Postmaster
Reged: 11/26/03
Posts: 13815
Loc: CyberSpace
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Quote:
Actually the "Anytime upgrades" are to upgrade from lesser versions of Win7 to higher levels, such as from Basic to Premium or Premium to Ultimate.
The best deal for those who have multiple PCs seems to be the family pack, which is 3 licenses of Home Premium for $149. I think I would need two of those if I upgraded everything.
According to the Tiger Direct web site...
Windows 7 Upgrade System Requirements
To be eligible for this offer, you need to be running a genuine copy of the Windows XP or Windows Vista operating systems.
1GHz or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor.
1GB RAM (32-bit) or 2GB RAM (64-bit)
DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver.
Apparertly this upgrade will work with Vista, XP and Windows 7 ... 
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Sony Digital Media player..
MX 460 earbuds
Celestron 2x Barlow Lens
Orion Collimation Eyepiece
Rigel Quick Finder
Assorted Bino's
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SkyArcher
Post Laureate
Reged: 04/12/06
Posts: 3449
Loc: 9545' in Colorado
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I have three XP computers including a CAD workstation at work and I probably will not be upgrading to Windows 7 anytime soon. If my systems are working well as it is, then I'm not going to mess with it. The only reason to upgrade to Windows 7 would be if I upgraded another software like AutoCad and they require Windows 7.
Now, does Windows 7 bypass the 4 gig RAM limit?
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Sir Skyler Archibald.....
An 8" Deep Space Hunter
4.5 w/ GOTO
4.5 newt w/ home built Dob mount
Omphaloskepsis - I didn't realize that there is a word for what I do while waiting for web pages to download 
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ccs_hello
Post Laureate
Reged: 07/03/04
Posts: 3300
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For 4GB or more RAM, 64bit OS (in Windows) Vista or Win7 will be able to take advantage of it. 32bit version only recognized 3.2GB RAM. The rest is not used.
Clear Skies!
ccs_hello
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ccs_hello
Post Laureate
Reged: 07/03/04
Posts: 3300
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Many have XP (or Vista) running with many accumulated software and data in the current harddisk. Win 7 upgrade for the Win XP case will wipe the disk clean. If you use this opportunity to get a larger (but now cheaper) hard disk, there is a way to help you to do a "windows 7 upgrade clean install" linky here. After you have a brand new machine available, try to find a way (e.g., put your old hard disk back as a secondary hard disk) to move your old data/programs over to the new Win7.
P.S.
A trick if your old desktop PC does not have SATA hard disk interface:
1) SATA hard disk is much cheaper than IDE per Gigabyte capacity
2) either use a PCI SATA adapter (about $15) to extend your desktop PC, or
3) use a IDE-SATA converter module (about $10) (one side is IDE to your old desktop PC, while the other side is SATA to your new SATA hard disk
P.S.2:
Another advantage is that if you want to go back to XP for whatever reason, the original hard disk is still there and not wiped clean.
Clear Skies!
ccs_hello
Edited by ccs_hello (10/24/09 09:15 PM)
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Jimmy2K63
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 04/26/09
Posts: 1193
Loc: Kentucky
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Ahh yes the fun begins. Incompatible software, non-existent drivers, etc. Processor hog and more.
We'll get some new machines soon that will have Win7 on them and I'll play with it then and see how it loads and functions with other software, but upgrading for the sake of upgrading is not something I really want to do right now.
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http://astronomyguy63.blogspot.com/
LXD75 SN6-UHTC
Cave Astrola 10" f/5
Garrett 15x70/FarSight
Canon XS (1000D)
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NeoDinian
Experienced Postmaster
Reged: 10/05/05
Posts: 12730
Loc: Rockford Illinois
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Quote:
Quote:
Actually the "Anytime upgrades" are to upgrade from lesser versions of Win7 to higher levels, such as from Basic to Premium or Premium to Ultimate.
The best deal for those who have multiple PCs seems to be the family pack, which is 3 licenses of Home Premium for $149. I think I would need two of those if I upgraded everything.
According to the Tiger Direct web site...
Windows 7 Upgrade System Requirements
To be eligible for this offer, you need to be running a genuine copy of the Windows XP or Windows Vista operating systems.
1GHz or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor.
1GB RAM (32-bit) or 2GB RAM (64-bit)
DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver.
Apparertly this upgrade will work with Vista, XP and Windows 7 ...
I'd believe Microsoft before I believe anyone else... According the Microsoft's own site, the "Anytime" upgrades are to upgrade from one version of Win7 to another Win7... This is why the cost is MUCH less.
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Neo... (Jeff)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
10" LX200-GPS/SMT UHTC "Draco"
Rockford, Il.
NeoDinian's Eye on the Sky!
Coming soon:
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BlueMoon
sage
Reged: 06/14/07
Posts: 377
Loc: Idaho, USA
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Anyone thinking about doing a Win7 upgrade to an existing XP install should have their head examined... (and I mean that in the most caring and concerned way...)
Trust me, if anyone wants Win7, just bite the bullet, buy the "full install" and install Win7 clean. MS "upgrades" have a long and annoying history of creating all kinds of problems. In my professional and personal experience I've never had an upgrade go smoothly and faultlessly from Win95 onwards.
The reason: the upgrades work best on "clean" installs, where the upgrade has only to replace known OS files. Once a user starts to add their own applications, and the supporting application files, (including vendor supplied files that overwrite their stock OS counterparts) the fun begins.
I'd venture to say that it would take less time to install Win7 clean and reload one's application software than it would be to ferret out the glitches. Less hair pulling and use of colorful metaphors around the kids too...
As for the "upgrade anytime" offer, meh... It took me 4 months of emails and telephone calls to get my Vista 32-bit OS upgraded to the 64-bit version I needed. My experience with the subcontractor, yes MS subcontracts this stuff out, was very frustrating to say the least.
And remember, Win7 is basically Vista "under the hood" so despite the hype about compatibility and how "warm and fuzzy" MS got with software and PC makers to make Win7 work, it's still a first release...
Remember the Vista rollout. I'd wait a year... at least.
Cheers.
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Jeff
Herrett Observatory, Twin Falls, Idaho.
Edited by BlueMoon (10/24/09 10:47 AM)
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Pedestal
Post Laureate
Reged: 03/11/06
Posts: 3859
Loc: Smoggy Bottom, Baytown,Texas
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Can you redo partitions with "clean install"?
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Hubert
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www.smoggybottom.org
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rboe
Reged: 03/16/02
Posts: 45406
Loc: Phx, AZ
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Not sure if Win7 has the tools to do that but there are tools to do so - so you could. After all, it's a clean slate so this would be a good time to do so.
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Ron
NS11GPS
Pronto
16" dob
15X70 Obies
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ccs_hello
Post Laureate
Reged: 07/03/04
Posts: 3300
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Hubert,
Don't know Win7, but I assume it's similar to Vista's. During installation, select Advanced (or called Custom) setting. In that case, there is a visual hard disk partitioning tool. I don't know exactly what's the limitation on that tool but I would guess first partition and primary set for the Win7 should be okay. But for other type of special config, probably using other method, such as Grub boot manager and "chain0" file in Windows root directory. These are tricky dual-boot, triple boot stuff.
Clear Skies!
ccs_hello
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groz
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 03/14/07
Posts: 1078
Loc: Duncan, BC
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If for some reason I end up in the situation where I absolutely _must_ do something with Win7, I'll spin it into a virtualbox virtual machine. That'll allow me to do all the experimentation necessary, without actually destroying the existing configuration on a computer.
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Sidereus Nuncius
super member
Reged: 03/27/05
Posts: 175
Loc: Chester County, PA
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Not exactly on topic, but ...
I'm looking to build a Windows 7 (64-bit) PC. What I want to do is to buy the "upgrade" and install that on the new hardware, after which I will retire one of my XP licenses.
Does the upgrade installer require the XP install media to verify the previous license or just the license key? I don't see how it can inspect the system for XP since one *has* to do a clean install.
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Regards,
Louis Marchesi
TMB 152, WO ZSFD80 Anniversary
AP 1200GTO
SBIG ST-2000XM, CFW9, Astrodon LRGB
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mclewis1
Thread Killer
Reged: 02/25/06
Posts: 3952
Loc: New Brunswick, Canada
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Louis,
When looking at XP to Win7 upgrade it all comes down to what Win7 sees on your hard disk when you run the installation. The way it's supposed to work is if Win7 does not find a licensed and activated OS you will need a full version to do the install. If Win7 finds an existing OS you can use the upgrade license. Both versions assume that there are no applications to be saved on the disk.
There does currently appear to be a method to use an upgrade license on a system without an existing OS ... reference the link in ccs_hello's post #3407525 above.
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Mark
C11, C6, APM/TMB115, and AT80ED - Tandem mount CGE and CG-5A, WO EZ-Touch and AT Voyager
25x100s and 8x56s, T-Mount Light, Mark 1 eyeballs - Modded 350D, DSI-P, SPC900, Mallincam
Just because you can doesn't necessarily mean that you should
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Matthew Ota
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 04/30/05
Posts: 1096
Loc: New England
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I am not going to upgrade until one of my essential applications require it. Why try to fix something that is not broken? All of my apps work fine under XP.
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Matthew Ota
Meade LX250GPS 10 inch SCT (Frankenscope)
Orion ED 80
ETX-90 OTA
Coronado Helios 1 H-alpha
TheSky 6 Pro
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bsim
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 01/04/08
Posts: 1060
Loc: New York City
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Quote:
Anyone thinking about doing a Win7 upgrade to an existing XP install should have their head examined... (and I mean that in the most caring and concerned way...)
There is no upgrade from XP--only Vista. It's a clean install only.
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StarWars
Postmaster
Reged: 11/26/03
Posts: 13815
Loc: CyberSpace
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Windows 7 = Vista + Apple O.S. X ...
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Sony Digital Media player..
MX 460 earbuds
Celestron 2x Barlow Lens
Orion Collimation Eyepiece
Rigel Quick Finder
Assorted Bino's
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Pedestal
Post Laureate
Reged: 03/11/06
Posts: 3859
Loc: Smoggy Bottom, Baytown,Texas
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I just went from XPsp3 to Win7, full install, not update. Some things to note:
Don't bother with Acronis Backup for XP. It don't work with Win7
Win "Easy Transfer" makes files identical to Acronis... humm
If you want to do partition work, forget the instructions-when you're ready to install, boot from the CD...
The partition program works easy... compared to DOS. But exactly the same way.
You have to be online for the entire install. There are already several updates.
Backup, install/update took about 2.5 hrs. I expect days/weeks reinstalling software.
OUTLOOK EXPRESS IS GONE! Find another email program, if that's what you use. Consider your address info... (I did not know that before I started...)
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Hubert
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www.smoggybottom.org
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Sidereus Nuncius
super member
Reged: 03/27/05
Posts: 175
Loc: Chester County, PA
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Quote:
There does currently appear to be a method to use an upgrade license on a system without an existing OS ... reference the link in ccs_hello's post #3407525 above.
I think the article describes how to do exactly that
Thanks for the link.
If all else fails, I'll just use one of my MSDN licenses.
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Regards,
Louis Marchesi
TMB 152, WO ZSFD80 Anniversary
AP 1200GTO
SBIG ST-2000XM, CFW9, Astrodon LRGB
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BlueMoon
sage
Reged: 06/14/07
Posts: 377
Loc: Idaho, USA
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Quote:
Can you redo partitions with "clean install"?
Actually, one of the best tools for resizing and moving partitions is "gparted", a hard disk tool found with Ubuntu.
Basically, you create a "live" Ubuntu disk, run Ubuntu from it without installing it on your HD and access gparted to move your partitions around. It works great and has an easy to use GUI interface.
Quote:
There is no upgrade from XP--only Vista. It's a clean install only.
Actually you can, but it's a PITA... You can upgrade XP to Vista and then Win7. But again, this is certainly a "clean install" scenario...
You can use a copy of Vista to do the upgrade without violating the license because after you do the XP to Vista segment, you would install a licensed copy of Win7 over Vista before the 30 day registration period ends.
Edited by BlueMoon (10/27/09 03:58 PM)
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Ken....
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 01/22/04
Posts: 1115
Loc: Nashua, NH, USA
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Quote:
You can use a copy of Vista to do the upgrade without violating the license because after you do the XP to Vista segment, you would install a licensed copy of Win7 over Vista before the 30 day registration period ends.
Considering past issues with 'in-place' upgrades, doing 2 of them to get from XP to 7 is really asking for it.
Some one said earlier you must have the full version of 7 to upgrade from XP (because there's no 'in-place' upgrade capability). Not true. You CAN do a clean install of 7 using the upgrade version, but you'll be prompted during the process to insert the install disk of a qualifying version of Windows.
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Ken....
Discovery 12.5"
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Unknownastron
sage
Reged: 04/06/05
Posts: 214
Loc: CatsEye Observatory,Rural Sout...
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Right now XP still does everything I want to do. If and when I feel a need for a different OS I will finally buckle down and learn Linux.
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"My God, it's full of stars!"
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daev
Graveyard Shift
Reged: 03/10/04
Posts: 4998
Loc: On the edge of the desert
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Quote:
Right now XP still does everything I want to do. If and when I feel a need for a different OS I will finally buckle down and learn Linux.
It's a different world, but the learning curve is not too difficult. It's much more capable than the naysayers would have you believe, but it does have some rough edges; lack of software being chief among them.
My sister wants to switch, but I advised against it. She's working on her Master's thesis and to be honest trying to make things work in linux is an exercise she really doesn't need right now. Once she's done and has her degree out of the way maybe she'll have time to learn her way around. Ironically enough, her professor has hooked her up with a login on a linux machine at school to do some work. I'm glad her school has some faculty aware of the importance of knowing one's way around other OSs.
It's a trade-off... buy windows if you haven't the time or inclination for linux, or download linux if you have the time to spare. Either way, you'll pay with money or time.
dave
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"Yes, I know it's flat here. When the seeing is good you can stand on a beer can and see Toronto...."
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rboe
Reged: 03/16/02
Posts: 45406
Loc: Phx, AZ
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I was a huge Linux fan until I got my Apple PowerBook a while back. UNIX back end like Linux (OK, Unix like) with BSD, the super nice GUI which kicks bum over K and Gnome. And it runs Linux programs.
I feel a bit used and dealing with the too friendly Apple people at the iStore is a bit much otherwise it has been a good experience - I ended up replacing the old G4 with a new MacBook Pro last weekend.
Do not ever look at the LED monitors (like this MacBook has). They are so drop dead nice (one picture of a grandkid with a dirty face made me want to clean the screen - this puppies are too nice). Made the mistake of looking at the 27" iMac with LED screen. Holy Moly - I gotta get one somehow!
By the way, I have XP running on the laptop - not too shabby.
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Ron
NS11GPS
Pronto
16" dob
15X70 Obies
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ccs_hello
Post Laureate
Reged: 07/03/04
Posts: 3300
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Ron,
These "LED Monitors" are still using TFT-LCD glasses. The difference is instead of using traditional cold-florescent back-light illumination, it uses (broadband white) LED side-light with light pipe to do LCD's back-light illumination.
Clear Skies!
ccs_hello
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psonice
super member
Reged: 07/24/09
Posts: 159
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I've been setting up a bunch of 21" imacs at work, and yeah the screens are fantastic. The LED backlight gives them a really even, accurate look. I have one sat next to my work imac (an older non-LED 20") and the difference is very noticable. Also note that all of the new imacs have IPS screens, which are MUCH better quality than the TN panels you find in the vast majority of LCDs. Before, the 20" imac had TN and the 24" had IPS - I have the 24" at home, and found the TN in the work imac pretty horrible
The new mouse is really cool too. Only one button, but the top is a multi-touch surface so you can press on the right/left sides to get right/left buttons, and just slide your finger around to scroll. I reckon it's MUCH better than a regular mouse with scroll wheel, but I really wish they'd added more features (I have an 5 button mouse, and tend to use all of them )
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Pedestal
Post Laureate
Reged: 03/11/06
Posts: 3859
Loc: Smoggy Bottom, Baytown,Texas
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A followup on my Win7 installation.
The only thing I have not been able to get to work is my HP4100 series printer. I'll note that it was listed as a compatability problem beforehand. (  there is absolutely no reason for people to have printer driver problems this day an age other than NIH syndrome in some companies!
I also used one of those commercial driver programs to update my drivers. I found it strange that it updated 17 drivers-after the Win7 install.
Other than the printer problem, I'm very happy with the change. My previous lockups, "blue death"screens have not reappeared.
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Hubert
---------------------------------
www.smoggybottom.org
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rboe
Reged: 03/16/02
Posts: 45406
Loc: Phx, AZ
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Thanks for the explanation on the monitor. It certainly is a big improvement over the old backlite. Very well done.
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Ron
NS11GPS
Pronto
16" dob
15X70 Obies
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~Steph~
Texas Wildflower
Reged: 06/11/05
Posts: 22999
Loc: North Texas
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Quote:
A followup on my Win7 installation.
Other than the printer problem, I'm very happy with the change. My previous lockups, "blue death"screens have not reappeared.
Hubert, thanks for giving some actual info on your installation.
I had bought Win7 at the sweet pre-order price they offered over the summer, but planned to wait to install it until more real-world experience of the final version came out. Unfortunately, my XP computer got messed up over the weekend and required a re-install of XP, which I did the bare bones of last night. I'm now seriously considering going ahead and just installing Win7 now, since I have to reinstall all my programs again now anyway (my other reason to hold off on Win7 for awhile ). Decisions, decisions....
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Steph
10" RCX400 ~~ 4" TV102 ~~ WO ZS80FD ~~ PST
Serenity Observatory 
HansenAstro | CN Member Websites
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rboe
Reged: 03/16/02
Posts: 45406
Loc: Phx, AZ
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Steph; now is the time to go for it. There are two major problems starting to crop up with Windows 7 installs (not to say it is a buggy install, just that of the problems reported there are two main ones that they seem to fall into) so you may as well go for it while you are in the mud just to see if you happen to be one of the problem children.
If not: well then, you just saved your self a second reinstall.
Link to just one article on the Win7 install problems.
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Ron
NS11GPS
Pronto
16" dob
15X70 Obies
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rboe
Reged: 03/16/02
Posts: 45406
Loc: Phx, AZ
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That said, it appears Microsoft is not having the install problems it had with Vista and the whole upgrade process is going fairly well. The link above just describes the two main problems of the few that they are seeing.
Which does not mean much for the poor folks that ARE having problems. It does appear that the odds are in your favour for a good install.
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Ron
NS11GPS
Pronto
16" dob
15X70 Obies
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~Steph~
Texas Wildflower
Reged: 06/11/05
Posts: 22999
Loc: North Texas
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Thanks, Ron, I was just reading about one of those main upgrade problems with the endless reboot thing a few minutes ago and thankfully (for me) it appears to mostly/only affect Vista users upgrading to Win7, not XP users. Not to say there aren't XP issues, also, but..... 
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Steph
10" RCX400 ~~ 4" TV102 ~~ WO ZS80FD ~~ PST
Serenity Observatory
HansenAstro | CN Member Websites
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rboe
Reged: 03/16/02
Posts: 45406
Loc: Phx, AZ
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With XP you are forced to do a clean install so hopefully you will dodge a whole host of bullets by doing it that way.
Typically that is the ideal install anyway - if you can get away with it.
Remember back in the Win98 days and conventional wisdom said to do a clean install every so often just to keep the gramlins at bay? Oiy!
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Ron
NS11GPS
Pronto
16" dob
15X70 Obies
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~Steph~
Texas Wildflower
Reged: 06/11/05
Posts: 22999
Loc: North Texas
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Just gotta see if my 500GB external drive has enough room to copy over everything from the non-WinXP partitions or if I need another one, since it sounds like the whole drive gets reformatted potentially as part of the clean install. I've got data backed up already on another external drive (I at least didn't have a data backup issue even if the computer problem this weekend had turned out to be a hard drive problem instead of a corrupt WinXP problem!), but I want to go ahead and copy *everything* en masse anyway, as much to be able to remember what programs I had as anything without writing it all down, since I now can't run any of those nifty programs that will print a list of what I had installed before doing the upgrade/install. I believe in multiple redundant backups at this point....
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Steph
10" RCX400 ~~ 4" TV102 ~~ WO ZS80FD ~~ PST
Serenity Observatory
HansenAstro | CN Member Websites
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rboe
Reged: 03/16/02
Posts: 45406
Loc: Phx, AZ
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The big externals are so "cheap" considering the size you get (kinda have to be the way digital cameras are creating files so big and fast it ain't funny) I'd highly recommend you get one. Or three.
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Ron
NS11GPS
Pronto
16" dob
15X70 Obies
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~Steph~
Texas Wildflower
Reged: 06/11/05
Posts: 22999
Loc: North Texas
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Well, I did have room on my existing big external drive, so copied everything over on Monday night.
I got Win7 installed last night, with seemingly no trouble. Got a few programs reinstalled but still have many to go plus some tweaking and such. Haven't tried adding the printer yet, though.
One good thing -- even though it meant Monday night's copying ended up being irrelevant -- is that only the partition on which Win7 now resides was wiped, my two other partitions (where most data, programs and backups were) are still there. I've always mostly installed programs into another partition, so that info is still there, even though the programs of course have to be reinstalled. So as I reinstall programs, the old settings and info is still in the same folders where I'm reinstalling, resulting in little fuss getting them going again for the most part, so far.
I don't mind having spent the time Monday copying everything from those two partitions, though; I just wasn't sure whether the Win7 install would hose the entire hard drive or only its own partition. I didn't *want* to hose the entire hard drive, so I was happy.
The install only took 30 minutes, from putting in the disk to beginning my own tweaks and installs of other programs. That's not too bad. Just gotta finish all the reinstalls now, which will take time.
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Steph
10" RCX400 ~~ 4" TV102 ~~ WO ZS80FD ~~ PST
Serenity Observatory
HansenAstro | CN Member Websites
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Pedestal
Post Laureate
Reged: 03/11/06
Posts: 3859
Loc: Smoggy Bottom, Baytown,Texas
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I "cheated" and solved my printer problem by swapping printers with my wife. ) She had a Canon S200, which works just fine under W7. Slower than the HP, though..
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Hubert
---------------------------------
www.smoggybottom.org
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bigbeck
professor emeritus
Reged: 08/13/08
Posts: 582
Loc: Trenton, NJ
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Quote:
I'd believe Microsoft before I believe anyone else...
Don
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Jimmy2K63
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 04/26/09
Posts: 1193
Loc: Kentucky
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Being an IT professional I think from the sounds of it many are sweating a lot of little things about this new OS. Unless you have substantial resources and very modern hardware I would not bother upgrading, just buy a new PC with Windows 7 on it and go from there.
Our enterprise will be making a gradual move to Windows 7 with our newly purchased client machines and I'll be getting to know it's headaches soon enough. Conventional wisdom is, in dealing with Microsoft, the OS is not really worth the effort until they at least have the first service pack in place. And in Vista's case....not worth it at all.
My best advice...keep your XP box, data intact, buy a new box for Windows 7.
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http://astronomyguy63.blogspot.com/
LXD75 SN6-UHTC
Cave Astrola 10" f/5
Garrett 15x70/FarSight
Canon XS (1000D)
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csa/montana
Den Mother
Reged: 05/14/05
Posts: 40281
Loc: montana
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I've received my upgrade disc to Windows 7 from Vista; but I'm in no hurry whatsoever for it to be installed. I'm still learning Vista. 
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Carol
AstroTech 16" Dob (Thanks ASTRONOMICS!)
Vixen 80MF/AstroTech Voyager
Masuyama's 7.5, 15, 25W, 35mm,
Pentaxes; 5XW, 7XL, 10XW.
14mm Meade 4000 UWA
TV Panoptics; 22, 35
DreamCatcher Dobservatory, #2
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mclewis1
Thread Killer
Reged: 02/25/06
Posts: 3952
Loc: New Brunswick, Canada
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Carol, they are close enough so that what you've learned about Vista will be transferable to Win7. Win7 is based on Vista code, it's been optimized and added to and the user interface has been updated but under the covers it still has a lot of Vista in it. I personally wouldn't put off the upgrade too long. Basically it would be better if you didn't become too attached to Vista, that way the transition and subsequent use of Win7 will be easier.
It won't be too long before Vista is merely a footnote in the Microsoft OS history.
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Mark
C11, C6, APM/TMB115, and AT80ED - Tandem mount CGE and CG-5A, WO EZ-Touch and AT Voyager
25x100s and 8x56s, T-Mount Light, Mark 1 eyeballs - Modded 350D, DSI-P, SPC900, Mallincam
Just because you can doesn't necessarily mean that you should
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csa/montana
Den Mother
Reged: 05/14/05
Posts: 40281
Loc: montana
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I won't be doing it myself; I'll have to get the computer guy up here to do it for me. So it just depends when I can afford it.
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Carol
AstroTech 16" Dob (Thanks ASTRONOMICS!)
Vixen 80MF/AstroTech Voyager
Masuyama's 7.5, 15, 25W, 35mm,
Pentaxes; 5XW, 7XL, 10XW.
14mm Meade 4000 UWA
TV Panoptics; 22, 35
DreamCatcher Dobservatory, #2
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Scott K
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 09/13/07
Posts: 1411
Loc: Dallas, TX & Eufaula, OK
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I upgraded my toshiba notebook from Vista to Win7, Carol, and had no real issues. The notebook feels a LOT peppier since I've done this - I think you will notice a difference on your system. I think you will like Win7, I certainly do, in a way that I have never liked Vista. (I've used Vista since LONG before its release, having worked with it during its development. I never liked its UI, it just never felt natural to me. I've used it literally every day for about 3 years now - and I've really never gotten used to it.)
Best of luck with your upgrade, and I can understand squeamishness on your part about doing it yourself. Its wise to know your limits.
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~Steph~
Texas Wildflower
Reged: 06/11/05
Posts: 22999
Loc: North Texas
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Alas, I've had to downgrade from Win7 back to WinXP.  I'm sad, because I really liked Win7. It looks great, and outside of a few quirks, it has some really nice features and upgrades over XP (never had Vista, never wanted it).
But I had some major connection problems -- which I've been reading online are not uncommon and have been a problem going back to at least January with the release candidates, using all sorts of hardware and variations of systems. There are no one-size-fits-all ways to fix it, and none of the options I read about and tried have worked for me. Essentially my connection would drop every hour or so, sometimes less. I was almost ready to even live with that, as annoying as it was, but once the speed dropped also to barely better than dial-up speed, I gave up.
I'll have to keep an eye on the various fora to see if some real fix is provided for the problem so that I can upgrade again.
--------------------
Steph
10" RCX400 ~~ 4" TV102 ~~ WO ZS80FD ~~ PST
Serenity Observatory
HansenAstro | CN Member Websites
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rboe
Reged: 03/16/02
Posts: 45406
Loc: Phx, AZ
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May take a service pack or two to do it.
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Ron
NS11GPS
Pronto
16" dob
15X70 Obies
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mclewis1
Thread Killer
Reged: 02/25/06
Posts: 3952
Loc: New Brunswick, Canada
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True Ron, but a lot of the issues are with device drivers and older hardware and applications. Sometimes there will be updates to handle things that the MS crew didn't get a chance to take care of when the OS was released but there will also be things that will simply get left behind. 3rd party vendors (of the problem products in question ) might find their products too tough to bring into compliance with Vista/Win7, or they may find that there is simply not enough business to warrant doing the work. Its a bit of a catch 22 that affects every OS vendor.
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Mark
C11, C6, APM/TMB115, and AT80ED - Tandem mount CGE and CG-5A, WO EZ-Touch and AT Voyager
25x100s and 8x56s, T-Mount Light, Mark 1 eyeballs - Modded 350D, DSI-P, SPC900, Mallincam
Just because you can doesn't necessarily mean that you should
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rboe
Reged: 03/16/02
Posts: 45406
Loc: Phx, AZ
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Since the basic engine is based on Vista a NIC device driver that worked in Vista (in this case it may not have since Steph went from XP straight to 7) should have worked in 7.
In any event, one would think that over the three years of the Vista release (counting betas) a vendor could have gotten a driver to work.
But like you said, maybe the number of products out there is too small.
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Ron
NS11GPS
Pronto
16" dob
15X70 Obies
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~Steph~
Texas Wildflower
Reged: 06/11/05
Posts: 22999
Loc: North Texas
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Everything I've read on the problem indicates that a wide range of vendors and models of NIC products are affected by this problem -- and obviously not everyone is affected that may have the same exact NIC product as another does. That seems a little odd, too.
My Belkin N1 USB wireless adapter on that particular computer is listed as being compatible with Win7. The drivers are updated to the latest available as shown on the Belkin website, and Win7 says it's the latest. I've tried everything I can to make it work correctly for longer than an hour or so. It doesn't. Well, once on Sunday it stayed connected for 3.5 hours. That was really nice... 
My computer is only a couple of years old...well, nearly 3 now that I think of it....but came out okay on the "can you upgrade" test. But there could always be something else in the guts that's messing it up that I don't know about, I suppose. 
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Steph
10" RCX400 ~~ 4" TV102 ~~ WO ZS80FD ~~ PST
Serenity Observatory
HansenAstro | CN Member Websites
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psonice
super member
Reged: 07/24/09
Posts: 159
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There were a bunch of network issues like this when vista came out too. Strange sounding things like playing an mp3 would slow file transfers to a crawl. And the wireless networking seemed to have taken a big step backwards at times too.
I guess it'll all be fixed in time, but for now it's sounding a lot like the old "wait for service pack 2" adage is holding. I was hoping it might be good from day one this time considering that it's not much different from vista, but it seems I'll be stuck with my 8 year old XP for a while longer (Well, for the small amount of time I spend outside of osx at least).
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Scott K
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 09/13/07
Posts: 1411
Loc: Dallas, TX & Eufaula, OK
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Quote:
In any event, one would think that over the three years of the Vista release (counting betas) a vendor could have gotten a driver to work.
But like you said, maybe the number of products out there is too small.
Working for a large PC hardware vendor, I can supply a little insight on this. If the vendor has decided that the product has reached end of life (they aren't selling it or supporting it any longer), they are not going to provide drivers for it for a new OS version. When they decide to do this will vary with the hardware maker, however, most of them DO NOT value driver software very highly. (It is viewed as purely a cost - one they'd love to be rid of.)
When you think about it, supporting hardware you no longer sell is an expensive proposition. Companies do it only for as long as they have to. (Depending on the company, this can be a rather short time indeed.)
Sorry to hear about your upgrade problems Steph.
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daev
Graveyard Shift
Reged: 03/10/04
Posts: 4998
Loc: On the edge of the desert
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Quote:
When you think about it, supporting hardware you no longer sell is an expensive proposition. Companies do it only for as long as they have to. (Depending on the company, this can be a rather short time indeed.)
This is true in many other areas besides PCs. We have a large amount of gear at work that is "manufacturer discontinued", nationally it runs into the billions of dollars worth. Sometimes a third party will license to manufacture replacement parts, other times we simply have to move circuits to newer equipment when we've exhausted our supply of spares. We've even had to replace parts because a new software framework was implemented by the manufacturer, something that generates a lot of grumbling.
dave
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"Yes, I know it's flat here. When the seeing is good you can stand on a beer can and see Toronto...."
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revans
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 09/26/05
Posts: 1516
Loc: Fitchburg, MA
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I run XP on most of my computers. I don't like Vista on my newest laptop, so I'm upgrading it to Windows 7 now. The laptop had Vista and XP partitions but the computer locked up a lot. So... I'm having a new hard disk installed and putting Windows 7 in. Unfortunately, my laptop won't accept Windows 7 professional, which has some kind of a virtual XP interface or some sort. So, I'm told that I won't be able to run XP applications in the home edition of Windows 7. Well... I'll see when it comes back from the shop...
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Rick Evans
http://www.freewebs.com/revans_01420/
"The universe is there for us to see, but it cannot be understood without learning its language -- mathematics." Galileo Galilei
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Pedestal
Post Laureate
Reged: 03/11/06
Posts: 3859
Loc: Smoggy Bottom, Baytown,Texas
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Quote:
So, I'm told that I won't be able to run XP applications in the home edition of Windows 7. Well... I'll see when it comes back from the shop...
If the 32bit version is installed, your XP software should run just fine, I think. If the 64bit version is installed, it might be a different story.
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Hubert
---------------------------------
www.smoggybottom.org
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ccs_hello
Post Laureate
Reged: 07/03/04
Posts: 3300
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This Microsoft free eBook is interesting:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/6/E/8/6E879EE6-F02A-40E4-99E5-8DCC7C49D28A/DeployingWindows7EssentialGuidance.pdf
Clear Skies!
ccs_hello
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KimB
super member
Reged: 02/28/08
Posts: 137
Loc: UK
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Quote:
Alas, I've had to downgrade from Win7 back to WinXP. I'm sad, because I really liked Win7. It looks great, and outside of a few quirks, it has some really nice features and upgrades over XP (never had Vista, never wanted it).
But I had some major connection problems -- which I've been reading online are not uncommon and have been a problem going back to at least January with the release candidates, using all sorts of hardware and variations of systems. There are no one-size-fits-all ways to fix it, and none of the options I read about and tried have worked for me. Essentially my connection would drop every hour or so, sometimes less. I was almost ready to even live with that, as annoying as it was, but once the speed dropped also to barely better than dial-up speed, I gave up.
I'll have to keep an eye on the various fora to see if some real fix is provided for the problem so that I can upgrade again.
I had slow connection, pages not turning up on my xp machine. Turned out to be AVG /Firefox causing problems. Changed to Avast and the problems disappeared.
--------------------
8" Meade lx90 LNT
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