Windows 7 Is Nearly Here... Some Cautions

[LarryFlowers]

Windows 7 release is just around the corner and I and many others are enthusiastically looking forward to its final release, but I want to temper the excitement a little bit.

As you look to switching to Windows 7, here are some things that should be on your check list:

1. While the driver situation for Windows 7 is exponentially better than it was for Vista, there are still issues. Even if you have made all your stuff work during the testing period, ask yourself if you are missing any features that might be an issue in the long haul and is the driver supplier likely to address them.

2. Must have applications... do you have some that don't work? Do you think they are likely to be fixed? There are some categories of applications that aren't going to work at first... VPN's for example, they never have and probably never will be ready on time. Can you make your VPN work using Windows 7 Virtual capabilities until the VPN company get's its head out of the sand?

3. Accounting Apps are almost as bad... will yours have full functionality under Windows 7? Can you make it function in Windows 7 virtual Vista or XP until it is ready?

4. Windows 7 is going to have IE8 (a finished version, not the beta version we currently have). Will this create any issues for you? Can you resolve the issues with another browser or will you need to use Windows 7 Virtual to resolve the problems. I currently can run IE6 in Windows 7 using it's virtual capabilities so you can run other IE versions if you need to.

5. Keep a careful eye on the RAID driver situation if you use a RAID array, these can be problematic.

Take a hard look at everything, you don't want to have to roll it all back because it is just a hassle.

That being said I expect Windows 7 will come out of the gate with most issues resolved, but be prepared

Larry

[Grentz]

Good tips Larry!

Accounting software...ugh, has always been from even since back in the 95/98 days. I have always wondered how such a simple concept and really just an ordinary program can always have so many incompatibilities with anything new!

[Nick]

Good stuff, but your posts give no credit (the author(s)), provide no links (your source(s)) and most likely violate copyright (excessive quotation under 'fair use').

[FHSPSU67]

Thanks, Nick! I'm really not educated on this copyright stuff.
I did credit "Windows Secrets", But I've edited to include the Author, Woody Leonhard.
It is a free-edition newsletter I subscribe to. I've followed Brian Livingston (the owner) since the 1980's.
Let met know if this is sufficient or not.

[Nick]

"Windows Secrets" may be free, but that does not mean that the publication is "free" to copy. I noticed at the bottom of the WS home page is the standard copyright notice:

Copyright © 2008 by WindowsSecrets.com LLC. All rights reserved.

A poster being "not educated on this copyright stuff" would not be a defense for DBSTalk.com if it is charged with infringement. I don't really want to get into a 'back and forth' discussion here about copyright law, so I would suggest that for anyone who wishes to quote protected material on this site, they adopt the following practices:

- limit quotations of copyrighted text, under 'fair use', to ~100 words
- provide a valid hyper-text link* to the full article, or, if registration is required, to the site's 'home page
- identify the publication, and the author when appropriate (for ex., first-person quotes)

Finally, if you will review Wikipedia's fairly brief treatise on the subject, that will provide you with a basic layman's understanding of copyright law and the application of 'fair use'. There are other 'helps' on the subject of copyright on the web.

If I can ever be of assistance, please feel free to PM me.

Nick

[harsh]

The article that FHSPSU67 referenced is not one of the paid articles apparently:

http://windowssecrets.com/2009/07/16/01-Some-versions-of-Windows-7-worth-it-others-not

The part that quoted is near the bottom. I used the website's search function and used the word "conundrum" as the search key.

[LarryFlowers]

In spite of what the EULA says, I have never seen Microsoft "turn off" the old key. I suspect it would be more trouble than it is worth.

As to in place upgrades... this is one thing I am adamant about.. No "in place" upgrades.

I have never seen an "in place" upgrade that turned out as well as a clean install. In fact, I have seen many come back to haunt the user.

When you do an in place upgrade, you are carrying forward what may be some both useless and harmful baggage. I have asked people many times why they would do this and the answers seem to revolve around the following:

1. Too much trouble to do a clean install... not anywhere the trouble if you have to turn around and re-do it anyway.

2. I don't have the discs for <insert name here> program and I do not want to lose it..... why don't you have the discs? If there is a legitimate reason, you can nearly always contact the software company and get them replaced for a nominal fee.

3. I have it customized the way I want it... there is a good chance many of your "customizations" won't survive anyway, and Windows 7 presents a whole new chance to customize the system in ways you never had before.

I am going to produce a document and post it here in the next week or so outlining some methods to use when you set up a new OS or a new computer that will minimize the difficulties in doing clean installs. Vista and Windows 7 provided tools that can make this very easy. These methods can even be used on existing Vista machines to make your transition to Windows 7 much easier and still do a clean install.

Larry



One interesting conundrum on the minds of many future Win7 users is whether using the Windows 7 upgrade DVD to install Windows 7 invalidates your old copy of Vista or XP. While Microsoft's End-User License Agreement certainly implies that this is indeed the case, it remains to be seen whether Microsoft will actually "turn off" the old key.

Several readers complained about the lack of in-place upgrade paths for Vista Ultimate. To recap, if you have Vista Ultimate installed, you can perform an in-place upgrade only to Windows 7 Ultimate, which costs two arms and three legs. The Microsoft Store verbiage on the topic is confusing. Rest assured that the picture I painted in my July 2 column is accurate — if you have Vista Ultimate, MS supports only an in-place upgrade to Windows 7 Ultimate.

About the only thing that's certain is that we're on the verge of an important new chapter in the history of Windows. Strap on your crash helmet and hold on tight!":confused:



"I readily confess that I don't understand the allure of an in-place upgrade: the gunk persists and potential problems abound. More importantly, an upgraded system never performs as well as one on which a clean installation was performed — despite Microsoft's best efforts to the contrary.

[smiddy]

Thanks Larry, I am using this as my checklist moving forward!

[cdizzy]

Just bought a new laptop that comes with a free upgrade from vista HP 64 to Win 7 HP 64. I didn't get a chance to try out win 7 during the beta so I'm a little nervous about upgrading.

Are the drivers going to work right?

[ncxcstud]

cdizzy -

I've been using Windows 7 exclusively on both my laptop and desktop since the RC came out and the only program to not work on it is my wife's coupon program.....other than that...everything works.

From what I've noticed, as long as it works in Vista...it works in Windows 7...

[LarryFlowers]

Yes, you should have no driver issues whatsoever with the new laptop. Make sure you do whatever is required to get your free upgrade... There have been some issues, sort of a bug in the system so to speak.

People who have purchased computers from brick and mortar retailers like Best Buy, after the June 29th date that qualified you for the free upgrade, where getting turned down for their free upgrade.

Seems that the "glitch" was that companies like HP & Dell (and others) recorded the "purchase" date of these computers as the one when they were delivered to the retailer for the purposes of this promo... important to note this does not have the same effect on your warranty... fixes are underway but it may take a telephone call to customer service.

Larry

[cdizzy]

Thanks ncxcstud and Larry.

I bought my ASUS laptop from bestbuy and ordered my free copy of Win7 from the ASUS website without any issues.

I am really looking forward to trying it out.