Using Windows 7 as main OS

[ibit]

Just wanted to know how many people are actually using 7 as there main OS?

Do applications like itunes, office 2007 work with out any problems.

I have downloaded a copy of the official beta but i have not yet installed it. So before I do I thought i would ask a couple of questions


Thanks in advance

 

[petrossa]

about 3/4 of programs run i use on a daily basis run. But anyroad one should never use a beta as main os as a matter of principle.

 

[NosferatuX]

Hi ibit and welcome to the forum!

I'm using Windows 7 as my main OS as well as Office 2007. No problems at all for Office. On Windows 7, please do note that this is a beta release and one of the goals of this forum is to help people with Windows 7 issues that they may encounter. As a rule of thumb, it might be safe to say that most of what you can run on Vista can be run on Windows 7.

If you do decide to take the leap and test drive this puppy, expect to encounter some bumps a long the road but its fairly an enjoyable experience as Windows 7 is one of the better beta release from M$.

For issues encountered, just post it here and a lot of people will be willing to share their expertise and experience in making the Windows 7 experience be a good one.

I'd recommend reading through the tutorial section before hand.

Cheers

 

[ibit]

Thanks guys

What I think I will will do is ghost my current Vista installation and install 7, then if I have issues with 7 then I can always go back to Vista.

 

[NosferatuX]

Oh, one more thing, I'd suggest reading the Windows Driver Solution post as driver issue might be a show stopper.

Make sure you have the latest drivers (i.e. motherboard, bios, Ethernet, video, sound, etc.) on hand for your setup before taking the plunge to avoid these issues

You're most welcome

 

[scaramonga]

Its like any Beta, although this runs smoother than any I've used. Most software installs/runs without a hitch, but that doesn't mean all will. If your willing to put in a little effort trying to solve the odd glitch, its well worth testing, after all, that is what we are all doing with Windows 7, testing, and most of the time that can be a lot of fun.

 

[ibit]

I will install windows 7 tonight after work. It looks really good and I have heard good things about it

 

[fogkeebler]

I just jumped on the Win7 Bandwagon about a week ago and joined this forum today.

I do however use XP as my everyday OS as it purrs right along as usual. I run it on a separate hard drive. As the others have said, Win7 is a beta and prone to have some bumps in the road. Here for anyone's reference are the issues I have encountered so far.

Office 2007 - Works like a champ, no issues

Utorrent - Works fine, only issue is I don't get a green go light. I have the firewall turned off and everything else, port is forwarded and shows good. I get normal DL speeds none the less so it has become a non issue for me.

SIIG AP-10 SCSI - This controler card is OLD and I use it to run my OLD flatbed scanner. I can not get the driver to load in Win7 no matter what I try, yes I have stood on my head, no voodo dont work either. I use this scanner only when the Moon of Endor is visible in the nights sky; so I just boot up Win XP when I need it.

Adobe Reader - Has worked fine up till the other day. Whn viewing a PDF File within Firefox Adobe Brings up a window with no information except an OK button. Clicking the button closes Adobe. Runing adobe to veiw a PDF file as its own (not within a browser) it works fine.

Realtek Audio - Installed the latest driver and had horrible audio. Audio was distorted. I had to install the original Realtek audio manager and an old driver off the disc that came with my mobo to get it to work properly

I want to offer a tip to all who use Office 2007; Outlook 2007 specificly. When operating 2 OS systems and trying to do email it can get real frustrating becuase you can be on one OS and need an email that is on the other OS. Outlook stores all the data for your emails in a .pst file. When you install the Outlook on the second OS point it to the original .pst file on the hard dirve for the first OS. This way both use the same data and you wont worry about loosing/needing an email. Incedently keeping that .pst file on a hard drive that is used for files only is a big help as you never worry about loosing it acedently when you forget to back it up and wipe your drive to install the OS again.

 

[NosferatuX]

I just jumped on the Win7 Bandwagon about a week ago and joined this forum today.

I do however use XP as my everyday OS as it purrs right along as usual. I run it on a separate hard drive. As the others have said, Win7 is a beta and prone to have some bumps in the road. Here for anyone's reference are the issues I have encountered so far.

Office 2007 - Works like a champ, no issues

Utorrent - Works fine, only issue is I don't get a green go light. I have the firewall turned off and everything else, port is forwarded and shows good. I get normal DL speeds none the less so it has become a non issue for me.

SIIG AP-10 SCSI - This controler card is OLD and I use it to run my OLD flatbed scanner. I can not get the driver to load in Win7 no matter what I try, yes I have stood on my head, no voodo dont work either. I use this scanner only when the Moon of Endor is visible in the nights sky; so I just boot up Win XP when I need it.

Adobe Reader - Has worked fine up till the other day. Whn viewing a PDF File within Firefox Adobe Brings up a window with no information except an OK button. Clicking the button closes Adobe. Runing adobe to veiw a PDF file as its own (not within a browser) it works fine.

I want to offer a tip to all who use Office 2007; Outlook 2007 specificly. When operating 2 OS systems and trying to do email it can get real frustrating becuase you can be on one OS and need an email that is on the other OS. Outlook stores all the data for your emails in a .pst file. When you install the Outlook on the second OS point it to the original .pst file on the hard dirve for the first OS. This way both use the same data and you wont worry about loosing/needing an email. Incedently keeping that .pst file on a hard drive that is used for files only is a big help as you never worry about loosing it acedently when you forget to back it up and wipe your drive to install the OS again.

Hi fogkeebler and welcome to the forum!

I enjoyed reading your post and it made me laugh especially the scanner part.

Yes, uTorrent does seem to act strange when it comes to that ever elusive green check but all works fine. There is a new version out as you know.

Great tip on Outlook pst file usage

 

[anykey]

... When you install the Outlook on the second OS point it to the original .pst file on the hard dirve for the first OS.

Good tip, fogkeebler. I just changed mine

 

[Jason]

Realtek Audio - Installed the latest driver and had horrible audio. Audio was distorted. I had to install the original Realtek audio manager and an old driver off the disc that came with my mobo to get it to work properly

I had this issue too, but I managed to fix it by trial-and-error

Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Sound

Right-click "Speakers," proceed to the Enhancements tab. It came, by default, with a few enhancements that, in my opinion, distorted the sound. I believe Bass Management, Equalizer and Speaker Fill were on -- and to make matters worse, Equalizer was set to a flat mode (I changed it to Rock, I felt that it suited me).

I turned all the enhancements off except for the Equalizer, which I set to Rock. Once I did this, the sound came through much more clear.. but I still preferred my X-Fi card sound compared to the Realtek contraption.

-- On Topic --

I have two partitions set up, one for Vista and one for 7. Each has a 200GB partition. I stick with Windows 7 for most of my daily, and gaming, needs.. but when a problem arises, I jump on Vista, then promptly back to 7

 

[Decca]

Using as main OS now.
Much, much better than Vista and just as stable as XP.

Decca

 

[ceemeister]

Tip for those multibooting/using separate operating systems with Outlook/Windows Mail

You can set up your mail account to leave mail on server. That way when new email comes in you can retrieve it on any OS/any computer and keep all the inboxes current.

On only ONE of the computers/OS's, also set the option to "delete mail after X days" What you choose for X depends on how heavy your mail volume is, how frequently you need to keep all your Outlooks synchronized, and how much server space your ISP provides. I set mine to 3 days.

(This is a non-issue if your ISP supports IMAP email instead of POP3. Hotmail/Live Mail supports IMAP and is directly supported by Windows Mail.)

 

[scaramonga]

Here's another tip.....

NEVER use installed email software (Outlook, Outlook Express etc etc). Disable/Uninstall them all!

Mail is best brought in on someone else's server for reading and analysing i.e. Gmail, or if you must, Hotmail etc. Once sure its clean, then you can think about letting it near your system

Yes, we really are entering the 'netbook' world, even on PC's, Email software is not required any longer

 

[Jason]

Here's another tip.....

NEVER use installed email software (Outlook, Outlook Express etc etc). Disable/Uninstall them all!

Mail is best brought in on someone else's server for reading and analysing i.e. Gmail, or if you must, Hotmail etc. Once sure its clean, then you can think about letting it near your system

Yes, we really are entering the 'netbook' world, even on PC's, Email software is not required any longer

Agreed. Why would you even want your mail on your system? It takes up space, creates room for vulnerabilities, takes time to transfer from the IMAP/POP3 server to your computer.. Web clients (GMail, etc) are extremely safe, most noteworthy would be GMail. Google's spam filter is insanely well put together, Hotmail's, on the other hand, blows monkey tits (for lack of better terminology).

 

[kenshen]

hey i use windows 7 as my main os and it works perfect for me no bugs encountered so far

 

[Joan Archer]

For those talking about email, I have Mailwasher so can see what's on all my email accounts without it touching my inbox, any I don't want I just put a tick in the delete box and they never get downloaded to my computer but wiped off the server.

 

[drazenn]

Seems to me that me and kenshner(sorry if I didn't remember name well) are the only fools which runs this beta as main OS.
I've also installed it in a combination with XP,and in a week I've realised that they are way tooo different for me(I have just tried vista,and uninstalled it right away a long time ago),and that I'll never used win7 if I'll have dual boot.When I was sure that I have no problem with win7,I made it the only OS,and so far,I'm really happy that I have no problems with this beta,in the matter of fact,it serves me better then XP with all service packs.

 

[ibit]

Right I have installed windows 7 build 7000 and had no problems what so ever.

One thing that I noticed it only took 10 mins to install a clean install

Programs I have installed and running are:-

Office 2007
Adobe CS4
Itunes
Input Director (To control two pc's with one mouse and keyboard)
Logmein
Logmein Ignition

So far I am very happy with the install. Only time will tell if I have any problems

 

[agtak]

Win 7100 works perfect. However found one irritant. Its G mail standard view. Takes long long time to open it. Sometimes reports errors like " Browser not supported" , Forbidden or too long URL etc. Works fine html view. Compatibility view does not finish.
Very satisfied with 7110 after using 7057.