Category: Geeks r Us
Hey all,
Writing this from my laptop whish is running windows 7 as we speak.So far i'm quite happy with it, a few little things popping us here and there but those are minor. My laptop is a lot faster than it has ever been, and jaws 11 is running flawlessly.
Messenger isn't showing in the system tray, so if anyone has any ideas on how to get it back I'd be greatful if you'd share.
I had the wonderful opportunity to experience Windows 7 just today, and I am very happy with it. The layout is about the same as Vista - which I actually like. It's a lot faster than Vista, which I also like.
I like the continer it comes in. It's nice looking, so Microsoft did well. I didn't want a download because I like to hold what I buy in my hand. The future will be sweet! Lol
Same here, couple things you have to disable in services.msc, like windows defender and such, but other then that, thing runs like a charm.
I'm glad I came across this bored. I'm glad that win 7 is running well for you guys. I have a few questions.
1. I have a netbook that is running win xp. Would it cause any problems to upgrade from xp to 7?
2. I heard there was a feature called touch which allows you to use your screen to use the computer. That's optional right? Thanks,
Leslie
to see if your computer can run 7 i'd suggest you get the upgrade advisor from the microsoft website, it'll check to see if 7 would work for you. as for this touch stuff, never heard of it.
Is seven recommended for the netbooks?
7 should run fine on most netbooks, much more so than Vista.
You may want to Google your specific netbook and "Windows 7" to see if there might be any driver issues or such, if you have netbook specific drivers that do not run in Windows 7 upgrading could be a major head ache, I think, generally speaking, you should be able to upgrade with relative ease.
Thanks
-B
the advisor would spot those problems, and it is possible to run in vista compatble mode for programs if needed
yes i have ben testing it sense the rc and it works well. yes you can use tuch with it but it is totally up to you if you want to anible it or not.
I have an old laptop--about 3 years old, so it should be interesting to find out if can run Windows 7. i probably wont for a while because I have to get the jaws upgrade and everything.
So I'm getting a windows 7 dell laptop, and I'm looking all over for a mud client to support it. Someone who's betaed it, or someone who knows more about it, help?
haha.
Dule booting xp and win 7 professional on my nc10; love it.
A couple of things:
Win 7 works fine onnetbooks; faster than xp infact.
If you do the install from with in your os then its completely accessible; be it an upgrade or dule boot. Its possible to install (Not upgrade) 7 onto the same partition that your booting from, but you have to run the setup from some form of media other than your harddrive so the current partition can be deleeted.
Drivers aren't a problem; everything was found on my nc10. Where drivers are an issue; xp / vista compatability mode works fine - my brothers box is using xp ethernet drivers and he's more than capable of hogging are connection, so i'm assuming the drivers work fine.
Sorry, I meant its possible to install and upgrade to the active partition - thats what hours and hours of drinking does.
Hmmm interesting. So would y'all almost recommend win7 over xp for a netbook. I notice a lot of descussion out there about win7 on netbooks.
It truly runs faster and more smoothely over xp?
Where's a thumb drive with system access when I need it! It would be nice to try the opporating system out before taking the leap!
At the Microsoft store you can get the correct Win7 install for your netbook if you want to be sure it works fine. Now trying an OS out before you buy it? Naughty, but I suppose you could just buy a Win7 system, play with it for the 15 days allowed, than return it? Trying an OS out was what the Beta was for, but now it's released the money sucking, big bad company wan't your money. Lol. JK.
cala, monkeyterm and VIPMud will work fine.
Hmm. I thought you would need at least half a gig of ram to run windows 7 properly, but maybe I'm wrong? Windows 7 works well even with Jaws 10, with the only exception being that access to the system tray no longer worked with insert f11. Windows B will accomplish the same thing though. That may have been fixed though since I ran the beta earlier this year.
I am running windows 7 on a 3 year old laptop with a pentium mobile 2.13 GHZ processor and 1 GB of ram. Runs nicely if not better than the xp install i had on it. If you are new getting used to the new interface and where stuff is in 7 takes some time but once you are used to it and seen some of the new features or functionality in it you wont want to go back. or atleast i didn't. The touch stuff is in there and there will be alot of companies making touch screen computers now but you need a touch compatible screen to use it you can just install it on any computer and enable touch, so i wouldn't worry about it. Should run fine on netbooks as well as microsoft made sure it would for the simple fact that they didn't like having to extend XP support to the netbook market as they would of love to have been able to sell them vista instead. so no worries there as well.
No netbook will ever run 7 properly. Yes, the touch screen is optional. And I still wouldn't pay for it. 7 is what vista should have been and is not worth money in my opinion. I had 7 professional install well over a month before it was released. Why? Because i got it from msdn. I'm still having issues with jaws and video intercept. I'm stilling having issues with windows explorer crashing. But at least now unlike xp and vista, it will not shut down your computer like the little brat that windows is, after you've said no, I don't want to restart my computer now after updates have been applied. If you want a good post of personal feelings on 7 then all of you can refer to Tomi's posts and reviews, very good, I might add. If we're going to post about how, Oh the icon is not showing up for messenger, boohoohoohoohoo, then this is nto personal view then. Hell, I got my copy from a torrent which came from msdn, but i fooled the m$ activation servers so mine is technically a legal copy because i didddd validate with them. That was luck but still, it worked. That won't stop me from switching to mac come wednesday, windows will be shit canned and linux will be going on here.
who said i'm complaing about the msn icon? just asked if anyone had any ideas on getting to to show in the system tray. and in any case i figured it out. jaws doesn't have any problems on 7 so far on my machine, and i've been doing a lot on it. plus windows explorer has not crashed once yet. netbooks may run 7 better, given the hardware supports it. you sound like one who hates microsoft and needs to poke what they think in, even if it doesn't help. not helpful.
I'll go offa bit on what Farcry88 was saying,
I too don't see the reason to upgrade to Win 7, i'm happy with XP Pro SP3. Yes, Win 7 is better than Vista, I do have to admit, but not if you're a business who has to upgrade all of your xp era machines. Win 7 isn't exactly cheep even with the VLK (volume license key.) I wish they'd just make 1 universal version of Windows like Apple does with Snow Leopard or Linux does with, pick your distro. No more home, pro, enterprise or ultimate. No more 32 bit or 64 bit.
I'll go offa bit on what Farcry88 was saying,
I too don't see the reason to upgrade to Win 7, i'm happy with XP Pro SP3. Yes, Win 7 is better than Vista, I do have to admit, but not if you're a business who has to upgrade all of your xp era machines. Win 7 isn't exactly cheep even with the VLK (volume license key.) I wish they'd just make 1 universal version of Windows like Apple does with Snow Leopard or Linux does with, pick your distro. No more home, pro, enterprise or ultimate. No more 32 bit or 64 bit.
Sorry for the double post, was having connection issues at the time.
I agree with the above microsoft need to do away with the multiple version and just do one version that can boot 64 or32 bit like OSX. Other than that i think its well worth bumping up from xp if your machine can run it and you can afford the $30 if you are a student. As for it running on netbook, i faile to see why farcry88 doesn't think it will run on netbooks. Everyone i know that runs it on one said it runs great and in cases better than xp did. Its made to run on that hardware.
Oh and i Find with Jaws 11 it seems to work better with windows 7 the only time that mirror display driver issue pop up is when your computer crash and you have to restart it by holding the power button. otherwise if i shut down properly i don't have that issue.
I installed windows 7 very early on Monday Morning I think it was. I haven't really had much time to play with it, but I like the fact that is faster than vista and just more responsive when you go through the menus with JAWS. I just did the upgrade rather than custom install, so my stuff was just transferred over. The slightly annoying thing is as Rat said, the fact that windows live messenger is not in the system tray. I also tried to change the start menu to look like the old one with the internet and email icons and stuff, but can't work out how to do it. Mind you, that doesn't matter really because I can just stick the programs I use most often to it automatically anyway and make desktop shortcuts for the rest.
To the last 2 posters,
I believe that Farcry88 is saying that since Netbooks are underpowered in comparison to laptops, Win 7 might not run as well on them. I do see his point, to install Win7 succesfully on a Netbook, you need a bootable flash drive, not external DVDRW drive. Just for your info, Win7 doesn't have the classic start menu any longer. It also does not come with any e-mail or IM programs installed by default, you have to get Windows Live Essentials.
Or get miranda, and thunderbird, and not worry about anything that has to do with windows live.
I understand everyone's point about netbooks being underpowered and all but Microsoft speciffically made sure that windows 7 could run well on a netbook, and everyone who has tested it saiys it works great. Also another windows 7 tip when you bring up the start menu and it places you in the search box just type the program you want and press enter to launch it, in most cases you don't even have to tyep the full name out.
To the last post. That's true. I've set a shortcut on the desktop to get to the internet, but I just type most of the other programs in. Sometimes I only have to type the first 2 or 3 letters in, which is pretty cool.
So, is the start menu just the search box, or is there more to it? My husband and I are considering Windows 7, so, we've found this topic very interesting, and we're interested in any information about Windows7 and its differences from WindowsXP Pro...Which is what we're running. :)
The start menu feels a lot like Vista. No, it doesn't have just the search box, it has applications you cn open under that box. It's just like Vista, but more improved.
I work that task bar over time. Smile. I can put my momma on there and call her faster. Lol. The start min can be changed to. Also about the email and all did anyone see that icon when you install on the start min that says getting started. You right arrow and you can learn much. My only gripe so far, and that has been solved is one machine seems to keep changing locking codes, and that makes Jaws unauthorize, but there is a fix. It happens if I upgrade a driver, or unplug the monitor. Strange, but okay. Beautiful however. I'd say to the couple that is thinking about changing if you can do so. Make me want glasses for all the visual stuff I read it can do.
LOL, ok, had to go over that one a couple times, but I think I'm getting the drift. Ok, I think we're going to give it a wirl, but here's a question. Does Jaws 9.0 work on Windows7 at all? If not, I've got to look into Window-Eyes, and my first go around with WE has not been pleasant...I am running WindowsXPSP2 with Jaws9.0 and today I installed WE7.11 and what do you know?...My sound card (Sound Blaster Odidgy) crashed!!! We just spent 4 flippin' hours reloading my system!!! But, anyway, that doesn't mean I'm giving up on WE, just a bit frustrated at the moment!!!
to cattleya,
No, Jaws 9 does not work under Win 7. But Window Eyes 7.11 should. The only versions of Jaws that I'm aware of that work with Win 7 are 10.0.1154 and the latest release of 11. Since you've got Win Eyes 7.11, use that.
I have had windows 7 for a week and really like it!
Yes, Window Eyes 7.11 does work with Windows 7. And it might just be your computer that made those drivers crash, and not the Window Eyes itself because usually, Window Eyes won't do that to your computer.
No update your drivers. Sound blasters are beautiful things while working, but difficult to get back if you can't see. Smile. With that sound card I never install anything that has to do with sound unless I've got sighted help or want to mess with narrator. And you can't mess with narrator, because you have no sound. Lol. A stand bye USB card works as well that way your screen reader will load on to it if the sound blaster is waiting on you to except the license agreement. Smile. No Jaws 9 doesn't work on 7, but 7 is really blind friendly, and if you need to correct an issue and have speech it's really simple 7 will fix it for you, restart the machine, and hand you a cup a coffee while you wait. Lol
LOL, could have been my comp...And, luckily, my husband is completely sighted, so, he was here to reload it. We tried updating the drivers, but nothing we did was giving sound back...Well, until he moved the computer to work on it...Anyways, it simply needed reloaded. Thanks for the advice. I think we're definitely going to give it a wirl...
I forgot. If you and your husband are going to continue using XP upgrade to service pack 3. Makes all better.
LOL, my husband did upgrade...with no problems, but when I upgraded to it...Well, had to uninstall it to get my comp back to working correctly. I sware, this comp is the most tempermental, picky, difficult pile of junk I've ever met. *shrug* Could have been something corrupt with the install, but been hesitant to try it again since my first attempt didin't go so hot...Funny part is my comp is newer than my husband's...
if i were you i'd demo jaws 11, just to see how it acts in 7, depending on how tht goes for you. i'm personally reluctant to try window eyes again as it really hates installing on me for some reason. Plus before upgrading, get and run the upgrade advisor from the microsoft site, it'll point out any issues you have to fix, or that have fixes already.
If your going to install 7, do a clean install. I have a friend whose dad is a network admin, and he says that if you do an upgrade, your more likely to run into problems. I'm running windows7 home premium on a 2.something something GHZ proccessor, 2 gigs of ram, 250 GB hard drive, with jaws 11.734. Runs like a champ, much better then vista ever ran on it.
going for 7 professional so i can get the built in VM running XP
I've got 7 Ultimate...I'm hoping my comp will take it. 2.6 ghz, 512 mb ram, multiple hd's but my main is 20 gb with larger ones for my backups. Definitely want to upgrade, just trying to work out the reader issues. :) Going to get the update advisor hopefully tomorrow if I have time. We never do upgrades, always clean installs.
I like windows 7. JAWS 10 works with windows 7, but not as well as jaws 11.
Um, 512 mb of ram? that will be majorly majorly push it.
yeah i would try for atleast a gig or more. Ram is cheap now so max it out if you can.
Got ya, and will when we can...However, can't at the moment. :) Life...However, XP runs smoothly, so maybe...But, we'll see when I run the advisor...
The advisor will tell you you need more ponies. 512 won't cut it. If you upgrading ram go for a faster speed as well. I'll bet your ram is running at 400, or move up you'll need at bottom 512 exactly like you have, but if you have slots then ditch that card and get all new the more the better, and fastest you can get 667 800 go get it it's pretty cheap.
LOL, wish it was that easy. However, before I upgrade computers I have to pay bills...Family to support here. I don't care if it's only $20.00, I don't even have that at the moment, but maybe soon...If things start looking up. LOL, but thanks for the advice...I simply may have to weight before upgrading.
If windows 7 is like another better version of vista, how does it do on a recording standpoint? I mean, in vista, i have read up that it is unable to record from the soundcard I think because of the motherboard not supporting it. Does it do any better on 7? I have a vista laptop and I would really love to get back to recording. I do not want to record just from the mic but through the soundcard because it is a much better quality. Thanks yall.
Yeah, you don't just want 512 mb of ram. lol And 1 gb is the minimum amount for 7 to work, but it's always best to get more memory than that.
2 gigs should be plenty and then some for it to run and still have room incase things get a bit rough.
Ah! Bills. Can't you just tell the billcollectors you're upgrading your computer and they'll understand and just wait? Lol. JK.
Okay on trying out Windos 7 without buying it, or sort of. You have to purchase it, but you get 15 days to install it on your computer, try it, then if the say recording issue isn't working you un install it, return it. The key will not actually be valid for the 15 days and you'll see notices to do it now, or let windows do it. Now if you miss the deadline then you'll own it, but that is a way to see ho it will work for you. Now back to these bills. Anyone have any solutions to owning stuff, legal that is, and not paying? Lol
LOL, nothing in life comes for free, but in time...LOL.
You have 30 days to activate your copy of 7, not 15.
A couple questions...
A gig of ram minimum? Why is it so recommended on netbooks then?
Have y'all noticed the netbooks in the stores have win7 starter? We'll have to hurry up and order one online, if we still want xp.
Lastly, did microsoft offer up a different voice? I know Anna came with Vista, so was just curious...
1. I think netbooks come with a gig but not sure.
2. I don't understand why you still want XP, but that's just me. I am so used to 7 now, that when I am in my CIS class, I try to do things with their computers that have XP on them, as I can with 7, and can't do it.
3. No, no new voices.
I would like to offer the following thoughts. Although many of us are comfortable with XP it is two operating systems behind. There will be a time when XP is no longer supported. Don't stay stuck in the past. Windows seven by all accounts I have read is a stable and viable operating system offering fast smooth performance. It is not Vista and should not be compared to Vista. Think of it this way: Vista is what windows melinium was. Every now and then M-S releases something that just doesn't work and those were it. So, be brave and enjoy Windows 7. I am waiting for my upgrade which has been budjeted for but not here yet. I for one as a technology instructor look forward to leaving Vista behind and moving to something that actually works.
To WillieTheWoof,
I do partially agree with your post. You make valid points. Does anyone know if the mirror display driver issue has been resolved in Jaws 11 in Win 7? And will Win 7 actually be faster than XP on my current system, 2.0 ghz single core laptop, 2 gb ram, 80 gb hd, intel vid card no arrow. If not, I see no point in attemting the upgrade, since the system works as it stands, and XP will be supported until April of 2014.
Your processor should be fine, since you have 2 gb of RAM. And generally speaking, 7 does run a little faster than xp.
Unfortunely, the netbooks only come with windows7 starter. So, for the folks that may want a full opporating system, need to shell out an additional $130. One of the whole points of netbooks were their value. A great little machine for $300-$400.
I wonder if one can get the full system under that student program? Hmmm...
Ok, a few questions, for those who have upgraded from whatever Win OS to Win7.
Did you do a complete reinstall, reformat and reinstall of all your applications?
Are you using Jaws, if so, do you still have the mirror display issue discussed in another post?
If not, do you have dongles from FS?
Are you on 32 bit or 64 bit Win 7?
Can you use older applications such as Sygate Personal Firewall, Office 2003, etc?
Can you reliably run an ftp server on Win 7 using either Serv-u or Filezilla?
Can you do torrents with more than 10 connections like you can under XP Pro?
To answer one of your questions, it's best to do a clean installation because it takes up less space on your computer. Microsoft recommends that you do that, and if you don't do that, you could run into a few problems. Since Windows 7 is not a minor upgrade, it's recommended that you do a fresh installation.
As far as I've seen, as long as you don't force shutdown your computer, I haven't had the mirror driver problem in weeks. Spike, you of all people should know that you should do a clean install not an upgrade to this. Yes, you can get the full copy of windows7 home premium or pro from win741.com. You need to have an .edu address though. I have 32 bit. I'm pretty sure that that system spike will be able to run 7 without a hitch.
Fair enough, since I don't care about the visual effects, I can just disable them. How close in performance can I get a Win 7 system compared to my current XP Pro install, XPLite not being taken into consideration? I've got max 22 processes running with many services either disabled or set on manual, and no system crashes or slowdowns. I'm very much aware that you have to do a different configuration since they've switch the number of services and their dependancies. For those who are gonna ask why change so much, the less services you have, the less of a security risk you have, the more cpu and ram you have available to you. I do not do LAN file sharing, so I would uninstall all those services and components. I don't see the point of the indexing service, or system restore. That goes for most of the multimedia services. Would be nice to get rid of the drm that is within 7, or should I just say fuck it and go for Server 2008 32 bit since it has allot of the stuff disabled from the get go and works pretty well with Jaws 10.
Mine runs on a 32 bit machine. I did a custom install because I was coming from XP. On Vista you can install over it it is said, but I have not done so yet on my Vista machine, so can't say if it's smooth or not. If you get 7 pro or Alt you can run all your programs and services. I've had no issues with anything and I'm running Jaws 11. All my drivers, and such were upgradable free, so that was no issue either, and most times the update will suggest and install what you need. I did have to install a video drive even though the update offered it, it for whatever reasons would not install from there, so I simple installed it directly from the source. 7 is flexable as fare as I can tell. Run what you like ditch what you don't. For the question on net books they are mostly low powered, so 7 started is best depending on the net book. A netbook was designed to do your basic stuff. If you are paying as much as 400 or even in some cases 350 or up just get a laptop. Lol Most will already have 7 installed, and the pre version to boot. I don't think I'd pay over 330 for a netbook, but that is me.
I forgot to say there is a program called PC mover. This program will allow you not to backup anything. It is the win 7 assistant version and works beautiful with Jaws. It works if you are moving from XP up, or even Vista, but is said to not be needed. You install PC mover, select the stuff you want to get back after the upgrade, upgrade via Microsofts directions, not a clean install, but custom, then after the upgrade reinstall Pc mover and it puts your stuff back. Smooth.
I don't have that website, but it is findable via Google, or Bing.
As of right now, II have 49 processes altogether, and my CPU is at 2 percent. I probably didn't disable as much as I did with my XP install, but its ok. I'm also showing all processes, so ones from the system were included in that check. It should work the same, if not better then your current XP install.
I don't know if it's just me, just this laptop or what. But i find that 7 can be fragile at times. What I mean is, probably 25 percent of the time, windows explorer will not respond and i'll have to click the "restart the program" button. I've also had control pannel not respond too. Anyone know what's up with that? And what is mirror display? that's probably a dumb question, but I've heard it mensioned several times in this thread.
Lots of things here.
I ran the Win 7 upgrade adviser, and it says something about not supporting windows arrow. Would that affect the display if it’s not included? It also said that my display driver, NVIDIA Quodro NVS 110M, may not work, and to check windows update.
I looked at the win741 website, and it’s an upgrade, but you can add the DVD instillation. I have windows XP so it has to be a clean install which I don’t mind. It’s an older laptop, so maybe I should wait until I get a new one anyways. It’s a latitude d620 with a warranty that will expire in February. Hmmm. I’m looking at more of the report. Some of these things such as the wireless, and Skype can be upgraded over the internet. Now I just looked at the dell website, and it’s not one of the operating systems listed for this model. At least, I don’t think. They show a table that’s a bit hard to figure out. I would have to get a new printer too. After looking at all of that as I was typing this, I rather wait until I can get a new PC. What do you all think?
Sorry guys. One more thing, and I’ll leave you alone. How well does Jaws 10 work on Windows 7?