Windows 7 Beta

[doubledragon5]

I decided to download and install windows 7 beta. It took only about 20min to install. When you get t the desktop it looks and acts just like vista. I personally only using it for about 2 hrs find it just as confusing as Vista.It however boots and shuts down quicker than my Vista home premium.

I did how ever find that my drivers for Vista installed and are runing with no issues in 7. This particular version is called Windows 7 Ultimate. I have no idea what Vista Ultimate has compared to Vista Premium which is what I use. This trial use it good until 8/09 for those of you who wish to give it a shot.

But one thing I found so far was that it doesn't dual boot with previous version of windows. I was dual booting XP Pro and vista, and decided to install over Xp, but when this trial is all over I will have to reinstall both OS unliss I decide to just run Vista. From the sounds of it they probably will have multiple version of 7 like they do Vista.. I'm not great when it comes to given a review of software or hardware, but like I said if you want to try it out, they go for it..

[pally01]

I tried to grab it on Friday from M$. All the slots were used up even though I tried early in the morning.

[shadowpr]

Their site was delayed cause of the amount of people trying. I suggest you try it again. I know it was up all day yesterday.

[pally01]

Thanks Shadow. I thought the alloted D/L's were all used up. Checking it now...

Edit - made it to the product key page. Clicking on the d/l button doesn't seem to start the download though. Maybe too busy?!

[thefultonhow]

The download will only start if you use IE.

Once I have a paper that's due in around 24 hours turned in, I'm planning on installing the 64-bit version on my primary machine.

[pally01]

Grabbed the 64 bit version. Probably install it sometime this week.

[mikeL]

I currently have Windows7 Ultimate 64bit installed, and dual booting with XP pro on separate drives. The only problem I see so far is I cannot view my XP drive, disk management will not start even after letting it run for about 10 minutes and the "Homegroup" networking. One plus to this is I was able to get a product ID from MS so we will see if the activation last longer than the 30 to 120 days. I also posted on how to extend the 30 day activation to 120 days http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=204485

I also don't care for the Beta fish on the desktop, either.

[David M]

Does anyone see any advantages over Vista? That's kind of the bottom line isn't it?

[glc]

You guys that are installing Windows 7 on production machines shouldn't. You very likely will wind up having to wipe it to upgrade to the release candidate or the final version. Use a dedicated test computer or run it in a virtual machine.

[EzyStvy]

The current Beta expires in August and can't be upgraded....

[thefultonhow]

Originally Posted by glc You guys that are installing Windows 7 on production machines shouldn't. You very likely will wind up having to wipe it to upgrade to the release candidate or the final version. Use a dedicated test computer or run it in a virtual machine.

GLC, assuming 7 uses the same reinstall process as Vista, that's not a big deal, because it just moves your old files to a WINDOWS.OLD folder, and you can then copy stuff back over to your new user folder. It just means having to reinstall 7 and your programs later on, and I think most people on this forum are comfortable with doing that. I'll probably be upgrading to an SSD sometime this spring, anyway, so no biggie for me.

[doubledragon5]

Originally Posted by David M Does anyone see any advantages over Vista? That's kind of the bottom line isn't it?

I'm still playing with it, but it looks like vista, and is just as confussion....

[glc]

I think most people on this forum are comfortable with doing that.

I don't think that's a safe assumption. Tell ya what - when the excrement hits the fan when the beta expires, I'll assign you to bailing people out.

[shadowpr]

Pretty good review I found so far: http://arstechnica.com/articles/paed...ows-7-beta.ars

[mikeL]

Basically it looks like vista, mine boots to the desktop, and apps open faster. However I am still in the process of installing programs, It is basically a clean install as of yet, but I'll see as I install more programs.

As for removing Windows7, I'll just boot into xp and reformat the Windows7 drive. There no way I would install it on the same hard drive as my regular OS. Just something I learned from experience, or the school of hard knocks.

[hudson80]

Installed, clean install on an external ESATA drive this afternoon. It installed as 64 bit Ultimate.

Now runing in Vista Home Premium 64 as default. XPPro 32 bit and Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit .

First glance looks like a keeper, played with it for a bit. Will see what happens as I try to move programs over

[pally01]

Originally Posted by glc You guys that are installing Windows 7 on production machines shouldn't. You very likely will wind up having to wipe it to upgrade to the release candidate or the final version. Use a dedicated test computer or run it in a virtual machine.

Good heads-up. Thanks GLC. I'll be installing onto my linux box and aren't too concerned if I have to wipe and re-do in August. Nothing on that p.c. that's special.

I did read on one of the Microsoft pages that 7 has issues with .mp3 playability, so some users may want to pay attention to that detail. There's a fix for it, but I don't know much more than that.

[jdeb]

Originally Posted by glc You guys that are installing Windows 7 on production machines shouldn't. You very likely will wind up having to wipe it to upgrade to the release candidate or the final version. Use a dedicated test computer or run it in a virtual machine.

good call glc, if I do check it out, I will install on my dedicated linux box... I don't understand why they are coming out with another one. It would be nice for once if MS would just give away an upgraded version with enhancement and improvements. I also wish they would sell one copy and have all the different versions as options at the end users discretion.

[not important]

I installed the 32Bit version Saturday on a clean HDD. It is Vista with some improvements. Everything is still scatted all over the place and just as difficult to navigate. It seems to have a smaller footprint and MOST of my regularly used softwares have installed. I did notice that it recognizes my whole 4GB of RAM which I found odd for a 32Bit OS.
The biggest plus I've found is MS got rid of that disgusting green theme!
7 does appear to boot faster than Vista but so far I've sen nothing that would warrant buying it.

[MaxRat]

I have been messing with build 7000 x64 for a few days now....

I can agree 125% with GLC....

put it on a spare drive and install it as the only drive plugged in...dont dual boot with it as some rigs do corrupt when messing with certain programs....Mainly Intel rigs atm....

x64 bit is still as buggy as Vista is but it's a little faster...thats all...WMC and WMP neither work right and fiddling with them too much causes the hard drive to corrupt as well...I have corrupted the bootsector twice just trying to load media from a networked server....

Win7 also has every powersave feature known to man enabled by default even if your hardware doesnt support it....I had issues with my LAN going into sleep mode while browsing the web and my network disconnecting and wouldnt recoonect without rebooting....

I added a NIC card and ran cable to them both and it seemed to help as the onboard wouldnt come out of sleep mode...I disabled the powersave features for the LAN and NIC via the device manager....

All of the Asus drivers I got would not load from the Asus setup exe and all had to be manually loaded via the device manager as well....

networking is rather painfully slow once you get the network up and change the workgroup to your network....(via the search bar) Also if networking is slow then go into the Programs and click on the turn windows features on/off and uncheck the Remote Differential Compression....that really boggs down the network enabled...

WMP wont easily add media to the library...I check to add a folder on my network and set it to watch that folder for content as well and it saw the content but wouldnt add it...I had to open the Music folder the drag the biggining folder to the library for it to get it....then I get sound issues...skipping once in a while...it's not the network because I have it set up this way in XP and it's flawless....

WMC is the same way...I had to install Xvid with the AC3filter to watch .avi files and get the WMC to see them...I could add several files and get WMC to to see them...but not all of them...the more I added it was hit or miss whether they would even show up...if they di it was painfully slow loading....on reboot they are all gone...I even tried this with a cloned drive of the media in the PC...still no go...x86 does work fine though...

it's just basically as someone else put it best....Win7 Vista attempt #2

it's definitely Vista with just a service pack...there isnt much difference at all..other than simple looks and a few different feature changes it's just about the same...

I think MS is just trying to get past the Vista name and from all the Vista bashers and haters...Mojave' anyone?

I have to say for the most part it is snappy and fairly responsive but still needs more work...I do like the boot repair options on the DVD though...

When i corrupted the bootsector on the HD all I had to do was run the Start up repair console and it told me what the problem was...I just had to run it 4 times in a row to finally get it to boot...but hey the prompt told me that up front.....just keep running it until it boots...

Win7 still has all of the same sound and networking issues that Vista has...I heard from a friend they know of the networking issue and were suposed to incorporate the fix in this build but it got missed...but it is in the next build

[pally01]

Very informative review, Maxrat. Definately some issues for the rest of us to watch for. Thanks. I'll get my 64bit 7 installed sometime this week and join in the fun!

[doubledragon5]

I got a BSOD today, and was having a hard time getting it to load again. I had to disconnect my other hd, with Vista on it just to get it to boot back to the desktop. They have a windows debugger with beta symbols so I downloaded it and I'm going to run it and see what caused the BSOD. Yes it runs much faster than Vista, but my sound is not right it breaks up a lot. This also was the case with Vista, but not with XP. I thing the Vista drivers are not working right period..

[snooker]

Originally Posted by doubledragon5 I got a BSOD today, and was having a hard time getting it to load again. I had to disconnect my other hd, with Vista on it just to get it to boot back to the desktop. They have a windows debugger with beta symbols so I downloaded it and I'm going to run it and see what caused the BSOD. Yes it runs much faster than Vista, but my sound is not right it breaks up a lot. This also was the case with Vista, but not with XP. I thing the Vista drivers are not working right period..

Where did you get your copy of W7 from ? torrent or MS site ?

[MaxRat]

Originally Posted by snooker Where did you get your copy of W7 from ? torrent or MS site ?

doesnt matter...thay are both the same....

I downloaded both versions of Win7 from Technet via my account and i compared it to the torrented version out...they are exactly the same....

I had the same sound issues in Vista as well...I dont really know if it's more the OS or the drivers...cant say..but P works well (or better than it should) and neither Vista nor Win7 work like XP does...

setting the audio properties i cannot get sound in 4 channel from WMP..I set the audio properties to Quadrophonic and I get no test tone for the RR/RL setting...but setting it to surround or 5.1 or 7.1 I do...

5.1 the RR/RL sound goes to the headphone jack and in 7.1 the sound goes to the RR/RL jack...but it doesnt go anywhere any other time....


another annoyance for me is Windows Live messenger...

once the app is running I can see the main app window and I ALWAYS minimize this...when I open a window like IE or Explorer or Firefox when I close that window WLM just is there on the desktop again....every single time...

Personally...I believe as long as MS makes an OS that has to include backwards compatibility and is built on the same kernal this is the way it's going to be...I also think they need to focus more on 64bit to get it right...

I mean we had to switch to 32bit and they stopped making 16bit stuff as well...so why make both now...?

I think the best thing they could do is make 2 OSs and make 1 brand new from the kernal level and just build a real OS....sure people will complain but let the vendors worry about that...

If someone just bought a 200.00 or 2000.00 app for a backwards compatable OS then hook them up with a reduced cost for free copy to fit the new OS...not that big of a deal really...

I would rather pay for a compatible version of software that to keep paying a high price for a new service pack with a face lift...right...?

I mean you cant please everyone but at this rate you'll drive more people to Brand X OS and figure out the learning curve...

it's not really any different that a person who has a PC with good software than purchases a Mac and has to get software to do the same things...they do it...we will too...

I should be offing x64 tomorrow and reloading x86 and running it through the courses again...it is faster and more stable than the x64 counterpart...by far

[doubledragon5]

Originally Posted by snooker Where did you get your copy of W7 from ? torrent or MS site ?

Microsoft.....

[shadowpr]

MP3 Problem: http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/w...rsions-get-se/

[Panama Red]

While this thread is quite informative, let me state the obvious for all using a BETA product. The only way MS is going to know about issues you discover or problems that need fixing is for you to join their forum groups pertintent to the product you are testing. When I was a beta tester for Vista and again for Windows Home Server, participation in the respective forums was the only way I found to get good answers. Vista had some major issues with networking initially and by working directly with some MS folks in the development area, I was able to point out some of these issues and do some simulation for them with my 14 machine Folding@Home network.

I'm not suggesting anyone is doing anything wrong by posting here at PCM, I'm just reminding you all to also make MS aware of your observations and complaints. Keeping the rest of us informed by way of posting in this thread is great too.

[snooker]

Originally Posted by Panama Red While this thread is quite informative, let me state the obvious for all using a BETA product. The only way MS is going to know about issues you discover or problems that need fixing is for you to join their forum groups pertintent to the product you are testing. When I was a beta tester for Vista and again for Windows Home Server, participation in the respective forums was the only way I found to get good answers. Vista had some major issues with networking initially and by working directly with some MS folks in the development area, I was able to point out some of these issues and do some simulation for them with my 14 machine Folding@Home network. I'm not suggesting anyone is doing anything wrong by posting here at PCM, I'm just reminding you all to also make MS aware of your observations and complaints. Keeping the rest of us informed by way of posting in this thread is great too.

I would totally agree with you and if its not out of line I would like to add this forum below which is free for beta testing W7


http://social.technet.microsoft.com/...egory/w7itpro/

[Petef56]

Originally Posted by Panama Red While this thread is quite informative, let me state the obvious for all using a BETA product...

Panama, what do you think about opening a new "Windows 7" forum?
It would be nice to begin with 2 threads:

Beta Testing & Reviews of Windows 7 (32 bit)

Beta Testing & Reviews of Windows 7 (64 bit)

---pete---

[Petef56]

Originally Posted by Panama Red I'm not suggesting anyone is doing anything wrong by posting here at PCM, I'm just reminding you all to also make MS aware of your observations and complaints. Keeping the rest of us informed by way of posting in this thread is great too.

Has anyone here tried the Feedback Icon in Windows 7 ?
I'm wondering how the feedback is supposed to work.
Are we expected to issue feedback at the end of our beta test or
should we be reporting via feedback anytime we see sometihing
we like or don't like.

---pete---