Windows 7

by Caffrey

Back to The Real World.

Chade2009-10-29 14:48:32
QUOTE (Kialkarkea @ Oct 29 2009, 02:40 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Important question from the uninformed. Do your Vista drivers still function?


All the Vista drivers I've used in Windows 7 RC1 have worked just fine.
Unknown2009-10-29 15:58:03
QUOTE (Chade @ Oct 29 2009, 10:48 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
All the Vista drivers I've used in Windows 7 RC1 have worked just fine.

Good. My Laptop is unsupported, so new drivers are hard to come by.
Unknown2009-10-29 18:04:27
I have some very laptop-model-specific drivers, like for the media buttons and such, that aren't yet available for Windows 7, but everything else works fine (and came to me through Windows Update, such as my Nvidia drivers). My only issue is that I went from 32-bit Vista to 64-bit Windows 7, so some of my old 32-bit apps (low-level driver type stuff) don't work now, but I'm finding some very nice new replacements for them.
Daganev2009-10-29 18:06:48
is windows 7 good enough that it's worth buying if I get an old used laptop?
Unknown2009-10-29 19:32:26
It's less of a resource hog, sure, but you still need to check the requirements against the system you want to buy. Also, keep in mind that sufficiently old systems may not have drivers for the latest OS, as it doesn't always pay for a company to continue maintaining them.
Merik2009-10-29 19:54:56
Does it have all those weird security things that Vista has? It was annoying that it asked me every single time if I wanted to run a program, or that I had to go manually change permissions in folders listed under anything other than User just to save or modify things. sad.gif
Unknown2009-10-29 20:00:49
It's a lot better about letting you modify files in "protected" folders, though it will still prompt you by default. The prompts are a fair security measure, but you have more control now over which UAC options you leave enabled and which you disable because they really annoy you. I choose to leave the options enabled, simply because I've seen the damage others do (or have done by others) on their own machines.
Xavius2009-10-29 20:45:22
QUOTE (Kialkarkea @ Oct 29 2009, 09:40 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Important question from the uninformed. Do your Vista drivers still function?

Yes, and that should be universal, with one major caveat: 32-bit drivers will work on a 32-bit system, but very possibly not 64-bit.

A lot of 64-bit AMD processors were shipped with 32-bit Vista. I suppose it made sense at the time, since 64-bit XP systems were awfully rare and the Vista rollout was very poorly prepared for, but in trying to take advantage of my processor, I ended up with a lot of useless peripherals.
Eventru2009-10-29 21:05:06
QUOTE (Xavius @ Oct 29 2009, 04:45 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Yes, and that should be universal, with one major caveat: 32-bit drivers will work on a 32-bit system, but very possibly not 64-bit.

A lot of 64-bit AMD processors were shipped with 32-bit Vista. I suppose it made sense at the time, since 64-bit XP systems were awfully rare and the Vista rollout was very poorly prepared for, but in trying to take advantage of my processor, I ended up with a lot of useless peripherals.


Being one of those 64-bit processors w/ 32-bit Vistas, yea. I was very annoyed.
Ayisdra2009-10-29 21:24:24
I'm also annoyed that my HP printer doesn't work...as I never had vista on my laptop (or even use vista at all)..so I have to weight for drivers by HP to use my printer...
Unknown2009-10-29 22:57:28
QUOTE (Xavius @ Oct 29 2009, 04:45 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Yes, and that should be universal, with one major caveat: 32-bit drivers will work on a 32-bit system, but very possibly not 64-bit.

A lot of 64-bit AMD processors were shipped with 32-bit Vista. I suppose it made sense at the time, since 64-bit XP systems were awfully rare and the Vista rollout was very poorly prepared for, but in trying to take advantage of my processor, I ended up with a lot of useless peripherals.

That's just the thing. As we all know, my laptop, despite having 64 bit processor, was loaded with a 32 bit version of vista, yet regularly makes use of both cores. So I'm not entirely sure what things are anymore. sad.gif
Daganev2009-10-29 23:09:16
QUOTE (Kialkarkea @ Oct 29 2009, 03:57 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
That's just the thing. As we all know, my laptop, despite having 64 bit processor, was loaded with a 32 bit version of vista, yet regularly makes use of both cores. So I'm not entirely sure what things are anymore. sad.gif


64bit and dual core are not the same thing.

You could have multiple 16bit cores if someone wanted to.

As it currently stands, 64bit mostly just allows you to have more than 3gb of ram.
Unknown2009-10-29 23:10:31
QUOTE (daganev @ Oct 29 2009, 07:09 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
64bit and dual core are not the same thing.

You could have multiple 16bit cores if someone wanted to.

As it currently stands, 64bit mostly just allows you to have more than 3gb of ram.

I'm aware of that, I have 2 32 bit proccessors. It was, graphics card aside, the most expensive part of my machine. And I also have 5 gig of ram, so...
Xavius2009-10-29 23:27:35
QUOTE (Kialkarkea @ Oct 29 2009, 06:10 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I'm aware of that, I have 2 32 bit proccessors. It was, graphics card aside, the most expensive part of my machine. And I also have 5 gig of ram, so...

That's not a 64-bit processor. Totally different thing. That's two 32-bit processors. The same assembly language will work on any number of 32-bit processors.
Unknown2009-10-29 23:54:42
QUOTE (Xavius @ Oct 29 2009, 07:27 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
That's not a 64-bit processor. Totally different thing. That's two 32-bit processors. The same assembly language will work on any number of 32-bit processors.

*sigh* http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SL9SK

Still, my fault for posting after just waking up I guess...
Daganev2009-10-30 00:17:53
QUOTE (Kialkarkea @ Oct 29 2009, 04:10 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
And I also have 5 gig of ram, so...


Sadly, only 3.* can be used at at time sad.gif
Unknown2009-10-30 01:04:07
Some of you are confused and/or misinformed regarding your computer architectures. tongue.gif

And, that HP printer probably has Windows 7 drivers available, if you go and look on the HP Support & Drivers page. I just setup my C4385 with no trouble at all. The only suspicious thing is that they said the drivers were 64-bit and then they installed like a 32-bit app...
Unknown2009-10-30 03:14:30
QUOTE (daganev @ Oct 29 2009, 08:17 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Sadly, only 3.* can be used at at time sad.gif

4 Dag, 4. The extra gig was free though, so mreh. My laptop was the savings edition. Free Screen, Free Hard Drive, Free Space Potatoe(Not joking, could show you a pic if you'd like)
Daganev2009-10-30 15:33:48
QUOTE (Kialkarkea @ Oct 29 2009, 08:14 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
4 Dag, 4. The extra gig was free though, so mreh. My laptop was the savings edition. Free Screen, Free Hard Drive, Free Space Potatoe(Not joking, could show you a pic if you'd like)


More than 3, less than 4. Check your system settings

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929605/en-us
Simimi2009-10-30 15:35:30
Blatant IBM/Lenovo fan that I am... I like the LenovoEE version, as it brings back ThinkVantage, Media buttons, and other Lenovo features that were missing from the standard install.... such as the 3g network adapter in my model. I do not know about speed but my reality distortion meter says it feels so much faster! Wwish they would bring back their Linux optimization though...