Windows 7 forum: Some doubts on switching to Windows 7

What I'd suggest, is checking to see whether or not drivers actually exist for the hardware you want to use, then decide in large part based on that. And if you go 64-bit, make sure there are 64-bit drivers, not just drivers period.

I don't really know what "annoying problems" Vista had, since it was nothing but smooth sailing for me while using it. Most of the complaints I've seen are from people who either hate any kind of change, were expecting a lot of whiz bang features and weren't happy with a lot of major "plumbing" improvements, or bought some really low end system and expected it to perform as well as a top of the line $2500 system. Not to mention the people who buy some really cheap low end Acer or HP system, so not only are the specs barely adequate, you have to contend with hardware of questionable quality. I don't care what OS you put on a system, if the hardware's defective, or even just dodgy, it'll have problems. If you could be a bit more specific as to what "annoying problems" you had with Vista we might be able to offer a better opinion.

As for me, I've been using Win7 x64 since pretty much the day it was released, no problems. But I am very particular and selective about hardware and planned for this sort of thing. If you do the same, you should be fine. You just have to realize you can't go out and buy any random cheap POS printer or scanner out there, which is kind of a blessing in disguise if you ask me. True, you have less selection when looking for 64-bit compatible devices, but if a company goes that extra little ways to add 64-bit support, odds are this isn't some device being dropped onto the market for 6 months which will have one and only one driver release, etc.

And on the Pro v Ultimate question. That's a purely subjective question, so only you can answer what is best for you. Type in each of those features to your friendly neighborhood search engine and see what comes out. Then decide if that's something you care about or not. Also, with the anytime upgrade system, you can always buy Pro, and then upgrade it to Ultimate in place.

And I found the XP Mode interesting as I was able to (sorry this gets technical now) to create a VHD of an old laptop with http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/ee656415.aspx and run that image under XP Mode. That was important as that old machine gives us a virtual backup to a dev system we use.

I have one device that didn't get a 7 driver and it now lives on with XP Mode.
Bob

Yeah seems the best would be to get 64 bit 7, but one question, i have XP on my current computer and i see there are some better upgrade prices, how does that work? will i get a CD and everything? i want to have a clean installation

I suggest running the Upgrade Advisor before moving from XP to Windows 7 to make sure you're computer is ready for the install.

If you'd like assistance during the installation, you can print this guide to help you through the process - http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/help/upgrading-from-windows-xp-to-windows-7

Cheers,
Cassandra

People are probably happier with 7 because all of their friends an family aren't telling them how lousy their OS is like they did with Vista. Vista was never as bad as what everyone said about it. My opinion is that the people (like myself) should have received a discount for upgrading to 7.
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I am running a custom built PC, with Q9550 CPU, Gigabyte P43 mainboard, 8GB RAM, Radeon PCI express 2.0 x16 1GB Vid card, 2 SATA HDD's, 500 watt PSU, 2 optical drives, and Windows 7 64 Bit Professional. I have had NO problems finding the drivers for my old Epson flatbed scanner, or for my really old HP Deskjet 940c printer! I have helped other folks install Windows 7 on there machines from both XP, and Vista. I performed clean installs, and had NO problems finding, and installing the drivers for their printers, scanners etc. Whatever printer, scanner, card reader you have attached, most likely Windows 7 can find the drivers for you, or the manufacturers have them available by now. Windows 7 is here to stay for awhile. It is a stable, fun, and easy O.S. to work with, and the 64 Bit version runs quick, and clean.

I have had problem with intermittent slowdowns due to updates running in the background but this was easy to fix by enabling alerts instead of auto updates. This might be a PC hardware problem though.

Windows 7 is far better then XP and for awhile it might be safe from most malware (due to a phenomena known a Malware developer lag). <<<<<<<<< just kidding there, sorta.

With 16 GBs of RAM all OS might start slowly. More RAM was the reason Vista loaded so slow. In windows 7 they hide it with a few new tricks. You might wish to look into sleep mode as an option to slow starts with 16 GBs of RAM.

I also have XP pro 64 bit but a multimedia edition and am pondering the same as you.
I think to future proof it you need to go for the Ultimate as this will cover you for the best options for the future.
If you go to MSN website and type in "windows 7" you can navigate through their webpages and fill in the self answer or look at the different versions it shows you and what you want it for mainly and you will see which version is best for you.
Good Luck!

I think you need to identify why you need to change from XP. What job doesn't it do anymore ??
What do you actually do with your computer ??
You are going to encounter the same problems as XP with Windows 7. It comes with lots of bugs and there will be many fixes, some of which you must expect to pay for. Eventually Microsoft will replace it with another "new" operating system which will have to be purchased.
If you are really looking for more stability,privacy and reliability why don't you change to change to Linux.
Remember that Microsoft's customer strategy is to make as much money as possible out of their customers - that is why they keep launching new "operating systems".

Not really. Windows 7 is merely a seriously patched and scripted O.S. upgrade onto Win. 6.

Since, Win. 7 has the version # 6.1.7600 onto its main Win.ini/exe program files. The driver matrix for it is the exact, same ones. You still have to, go to the manufacturer's web-site and download-install all of the latest drivers for your mainboard's/machine's chipsets(internal hardware also).

You might, also, have to go to the video/graphics card's web-site for its own, exclusive drivers. The same for the sound card's chipset one. Not to mention your Monitor's newest one and, finally, your Keyboard's and mouse's ones too. If you happen to have a web-cam and a game-pad, you will have to reach out and get their respective newest drivers for them too.

Windows 6(Vista) and Windows 7 both have the exact same Spring-Summer-Fall dates of 2006's time. For people where they have been able to assemble their own machine piece by piece, installing the latest drivers onto every hardware unit has been, a revealing experience for them all. They've been able to get the latest driver for their newest multi-processor die via the manufacturer's thorough retail packaging's ensemble.

Hope that clears up a lot of non-sense myths about the differences between the two out-most recent Operating Systems.