So theres a rumor floating around that this will be a free upgrade to anyone who bought Vista. So if you have Vista Home you get W7 Home, ect. No idea if thats true. But boy would that be something.
Not quite. It seems that this is only offered to people who buy a machine with vista on it from a participating OEM within a certain time window. Looks like it'll also be available only to those who get a machine with Home Premium, Business or Ultimate. You can read more about it here (multi page madness warning. Looked for a one page print version, but alas, I did not find one).
This is weird, when I use HDD Health my HDD comes up with a health score of 0%. What does this mean and how can I fix it?
Sounds like it can't read your drive's SMART info. SMART might be turned off (sometimes you can switch it on and off in the BIOS), or it maybe it doesn't know how to read your particular drive.
Is this being released for realz anytime soon?
I mean I'm building a computer within the month
should I go ahead and put vista on it or what is the deal here
If you didn't get a beta copy, you're stuffed for a few months at least. There are vague rumors of a Release Candidate appearing around April, which would be free to download like the beta was, but there won't be anything sooner. The actual, final release date is still anyone's guess.
They're fixing it in the RC. I think Long Zheng (one of the guys who pointed out the UAC problems) suggested that anyone currently using the betas or pre-betas should put UAC up to the highest level.
So theres a rumor floating around that this will be a free upgrade to anyone who bought Vista. So if you have Vista Home you get W7 Home, ect. No idea if thats true. But boy would that be something.
Not quite. It seems that this is only offered to people who buy a machine with vista on it from a participating OEM within a certain time window. Looks like it'll also be available only to those who get a machine with Home Premium, Business or Ultimate. You can read more about it here (multi page madness warning. Looked for a one page print version, but alas, I did not find one).
Man, it's exactly like every upgrade program ever for these "transition periods" to keep computer sales from falling off. People are just latching on to that misleading headline of "Free Upgrade for Vista Users" as proof of some admission that Vista sucks or something by Microsoft.
Basically, just like every other Windows release, if you buy a new computer from an OEM who is part of the upgrade program in within a few months prior to Windows 7 being released, you'll get a free coupon/offer/something so you can upgrade from Vista to 7 when it is actually released.
jonxp on
Every time you write parallel fifths, Bach kills a kitten.
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So theres a rumor floating around that this will be a free upgrade to anyone who bought Vista. So if you have Vista Home you get W7 Home, ect. No idea if thats true. But boy would that be something.
Not quite. It seems that this is only offered to people who buy a machine with vista on it from a participating OEM within a certain time window. Looks like it'll also be available only to those who get a machine with Home Premium, Business or Ultimate. You can read more about it here (multi page madness warning. Looked for a one page print version, but alas, I did not find one).
Man, it's exactly like every upgrade program ever for these "transition periods" to keep computer sales from falling off. People are just latching on to that misleading headline of "Free Upgrade for Vista Users" as proof of some admission that Vista sucks or something by Microsoft.
Basically, just like every other Windows release, if you buy a new computer from an OEM who is part of the upgrade program in within a few months prior to Windows 7 being released, you'll get a free coupon/offer/something so you can upgrade from Vista to 7 when it is actually released.
Here's my question (can it even be answered at this point?): Is it cheaper for someone to buy Vista Ultimate now and get the voucher for 7, or just buy 7 Ultimate (assuming it is even purchasable, which it sounds like it won't be generally available)?
I'm not interested in having any stripped down versions of an OS. I avoided XP home like the plague, and the home versions of Vista as well. If you're not getting the full OS and its capabilities, it's a waste of time and money for enthusiasts and IT pros.
Unless you need the ability to join domains and other enterprise features, Home Premium of 7 has everything.
If you must have more, you can get Win 7 Pro, which adds these things. Ultimate simply adds the few extra enterprise features from the Enterprise edition which is only available for licensing.
It's not a question of whether it's "stripped down". The question you should be asking is, why pay for features you're not going to use?
Windows 7 Pro, for example, comes with every feature except for BitLocker Drive Encryption, which only works if you have a Trusted Platform Module on your motherboard; AppLocker, whose sole function is to lock users out of certain applications; DirectAccess, a feature that "enables mobile workers to seamlessly connect to enterprise network resources when connected to the Internet"; Branch Cache, a branch-office cache system for files stored on central file servers; Multilingual User Interface; and VHD support. Do you really need these features? No. As far as I can tell, Windows 7 Ultimate is just Enterprise relabelled and targeted at "enthusiasts" with more money than brains.
7 Pro is going to be a lot like XP Pro; it will come with every feature of Home plus a few of those business networking features that enthusiasts like to use, such as advanced permissions and remote desktop. You are crazy if you think you need Ultimate.
With Vista it gets a little more difficult. Vista Business has the aforementioned networking features but it doesn't come with Media Center or Movie Maker, and you have to manually install Solitaire. Big deal. Home Premium has those things but it doesn't have the business features.
The thing is, eventually, Movie Maker is going to be a separate free program called Windows Live Movie Maker that you download from live.com. There's already a beta. And Media Center is really only useful if you intend to use the machine as a dedicated home theatre PC. If you're an "enthusiast" you're probably going to be navigating your hard drive and watching videos in VLC/Media Player Classic and as far as you're concerned Media Center is a flashy interface designed for remote controls. So really, unless you must have both the enthusiast networking features and Media Center, Vista Ultimate is a waste of money and you should just buy Business.
Ok, fair enough. Pro sounds like what I would want then.
Also, WTF memory usage:
This is no better (but not exactly worse) than it was with Vista. The freed memory came up after closing all my gadgets and Firefox on the guest user. This is bothering me more than it should.
For some reason, one of my Vista installs (I re-install every few months) did something like that. I've only got a gig of RAM and every other install was fine, but this particular one was terrible. I still don't know what caused this - it was just slow and terrible, with something like 70% of my RAM apparently eaten up as soon as I logged in.
Ok, fair enough. Pro sounds like what I would want then.
Also, WTF memory usage:
This is no better (but not exactly worse) than it was with Vista. The freed memory came up after closing all my gadgets and Firefox on the guest user. This is bothering me more than it should.
Keep in mind that "Standby" and "Free" memory are basically the same thing, so run those together. Also, since you have so much memory, Windows is going to swap stuff out to disk at a much later point than usual. It's generally surprising to people just how much memory they're using on a day to day basis. Your swap file is generally several gigs and often very full when you don't have scads of RAM.
Standby means that Windows has precached programs or something into that memory in anticipation of you running them. The memory is not actually "in use" and the contents will be overwritten the moment memory is needed without needing to be swapped to disk. It doesn't impact performance negatively (except maybe the disk access needed to precache them in the first place).
jonxp on
Every time you write parallel fifths, Bach kills a kitten.
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As long as you have free memory there's no reason to complain. Operating systems will hog some memory for stuff it might need, which means way less swapping to disk.
I've tried searching the thread to no avail, so I'll pose the question here.
I remember reading that there was a Registry Edit to make the toolbar preview windows pop up a little faster - does anyone know where to point me to in regards to this?
I've tried searching the thread to no avail, so I'll pose the question here.
I remember reading that there was a Registry Edit to make the toolbar preview windows pop up a little faster - does anyone know where to point me to in regards to this?
Run regedit.exe, navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Mouse and double-click MouseHoverTime. It defaults to 400 (ms), so just drop it down (or increase) to whatever setting you prefer.
Oh and by the way, this tweak also applies to Vista.
As long as you have free memory there's no reason to complain. Operating systems will hog some memory for stuff it might need, which means way less swapping to disk.
yea Vista nad 7 do this almost identically, as does linux fwiw. If you have the ram, the system is going to use it. Vista and 7 are smart enough to recognize the programs you use most often, and will actually begin loading them into memory before you even launch them. It also does this with OS functions. "oh look, you load up the control panel every day, let me just get that ready for you before you get here" but, if you launch something like a game that will need all that memory, Vista and 7 will also release that memory pretty much instantly for the program that needs it right now.
I've tried searching the thread to no avail, so I'll pose the question here.
I remember reading that there was a Registry Edit to make the toolbar preview windows pop up a little faster - does anyone know where to point me to in regards to this?
Run regedit.exe, navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Mouse and double-click MouseHoverTime. It defaults to 400 (ms), so just drop it down (or increase) to whatever setting you prefer.
Oh and by the way, this tweak also applies to Vista.
Thanks much mate - the delay was irritating at best, glad I could pick it up.
It's a real pity that that option's hidden in the Registry. I set the delay to 40ms and it's so much better now. They should make the delay by default and put the delay option in the Taskbar Properties dialogue.
It's a real pity that that option's hidden in the Registry. I set the delay to 40ms and it's so much better now. They should make the delay by default and put the delay option in the Taskbar Properties dialogue.
I suggested this exact thing in the Beta response form. I suggest all who have done this tweak to do the same.
I had to uninstall the W7 Beta because I was having trouble with it, but the bootup selector thingy is still there. How do I get rid of it? I don't have W7 installed any more.
I had to uninstall the W7 Beta because I was having trouble with it, but the bootup selector thingy is still there. How do I get rid of it? I don't have W7 installed any more.
It's a real pity that that option's hidden in the Registry. I set the delay to 40ms and it's so much better now. They should make the delay by default and put the delay option in the Taskbar Properties dialogue.
I suggested this exact thing in the Beta response form. I suggest all who have done this tweak to do the same.
Ooh, good idea. Done and done!
Cyvros on
0
TehSlothHit Or MissI Guess They Never Miss, HuhRegistered Userregular
edited February 2009
Hey, accidentally posted this in the computer build thread, but I'm looking for a nic that has drivers working for windows 7. Thanks!
Hey, accidentally posted this in the computer build thread, but I'm looking for a nic that has drivers working for windows 7. Thanks!
Any device that has working Vista drivers will work in Win7.
Most...
My new laptop (November 08 model) has some goofy drivers that worked under Vista (won't restore properly; bluetooth craps out a lot) and a few that won't work (fingerprint reader, camera).
Morskittar on
0
syndalisGetting ClassyOn the WallRegistered User, Loves Apple Productsregular
edited February 2009
So I just built and installed windows 7 on a friends' new rig;
He loves it, and hated Vista... but thinks this is the shit.
I have to agree, Microsoft has a winner on their hands here.
syndalis on
SW-4158-3990-6116
Let's play Mario Kart or something...
0
Blake TDo you have enemies then?Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.Registered Userregular
edited February 2009
95% of everything will work.
For the rest look for the new beta drivers and they will most likely work.
Windows 7 allows application developers to write DRM that bypasses your firewall, refuses to let you modify or disable DLLs, and to block you from mixing your audio inputs (to prevent you from recapturing DRM'ed music, presumably).
That Photoshop stopped functioning after we messed with one of its nag DLLs was not so much a surprise, but what was a surprise: Noting that Win7 allows programs like Photoshop to insert themselves stealthily into your firewall exception list. Further, that the OS allows large software vendors to penetrate your machine. Even further, that that permission is responsible for disabling of a program based on a modified DLL. And then finding that the OS even after reboot has locked you out of your own Local Settings folder; has denied you permission to move or delete the modified DLL; and refuses to allow the replacement of the Local Settings folder after it is unlocked with Unlocker to move it to the Desktop for examination (where it also denies you entry to your own folder). Setting permissions to 'allow everyone' was disabled!
Windows 7 allows application developers to write DRM that bypasses your firewall, refuses to let you modify or disable DLLs, and to block you from mixing your audio inputs (to prevent you from recapturing DRM'ed music, presumably).
That Photoshop stopped functioning after we messed with one of its nag DLLs was not so much a surprise, but what was a surprise: Noting that Win7 allows programs like Photoshop to insert themselves stealthily into your firewall exception list. Further, that the OS allows large software vendors to penetrate your machine. Even further, that that permission is responsible for disabling of a program based on a modified DLL. And then finding that the OS even after reboot has locked you out of your own Local Settings folder; has denied you permission to move or delete the modified DLL; and refuses to allow the replacement of the Local Settings folder after it is unlocked with Unlocker to move it to the Desktop for examination (where it also denies you entry to your own folder). Setting permissions to 'allow everyone' was disabled!
Are they talking about the Windows Firewall, or whatever I happen to be using (Comodo)? Because I always disable the Windows one right away.
However the dicking around with my own permissions is unacceptable...though I'm sure it'll all be figured out soon after release.
There's just so little info from this 1337 h4ckr about his story that I'm gonna call shenanegins.
Oh, you changed a DLL and an application stopped working? Really? You don't say! There are quite a few Phostoshop/CS3/CS4 hacks that change a DLL that do not work. No surprise here.
Applications have always (since XP SP2) been able to insert themselves into the Firewall Exceptions, maybe not silently, but they've been able to add themselves. We're not told anything other than "OMG they stold mah megahurtz and took over mah 'puter!"
Then the best part. "It won't let me change Local Settings!". There hasn't been a "Local Settings" folder since XP. In Vista it's a damn Junction that's hidden unless you're going in from a command prompt and doing "dir /a" (may be possible to see if you have "Hide protected operating system files" unchecked in Folder Options).
There are no steps to reproduce this. There are no screenshots. It's just kdawson being a goddamn moron on /. again and posting a story that seems completely unfounded. BoingBoing shouldn't have even picked this up.
Windows 7 allows application developers to write DRM that bypasses your firewall, refuses to let you modify or disable DLLs, and to block you from mixing your audio inputs (to prevent you from recapturing DRM'ed music, presumably).
Seriously? Capturing music from your soundcard just to avoid getting the music legally? Does anyone do this really?
What does it mean for FRAPsers? Also this is a big fuck you to sound/music producers who actually want to record from the inputs and listen to it in the outputs....
Windows 7 allows application developers to write DRM that bypasses your firewall, refuses to let you modify or disable DLLs, and to block you from mixing your audio inputs (to prevent you from recapturing DRM'ed music, presumably).
Seriously? Capturing music from your soundcard just to avoid getting the music legally? Does anyone do this really?
What does it mean for FRAPsers? Also this is a big fuck you to sound/music producers who actually want to record from the inputs and listen to it in the outputs....
And if you think "FRAPsers" and people with legitimate reasons won't be able to do that, then I've got a bridge to sell you. This is a driver/soundcard/software issue that the author just handily blamed on the OS. Certainly it's not a problem with the driver. Certainly it's not a problem with the software creating/consuming the audio and that piece of software certainly works flawlessly with a beta version of an OS! So that only leaves Windoze! Fukkin M$, m i rite?
There are NO details about this article. If you click on the link for the author of the article on slashdot you get "http://lmalinofskyatgmaildotcom/". Wow, an email address... sorta. There is absolutely diddily-fucking-shit to back this article up. It's such horrible FUD that it actually makes me angry.
Windows 7 allows application developers to write DRM that bypasses your firewall, refuses to let you modify or disable DLLs, and to block you from mixing your audio inputs (to prevent you from recapturing DRM'ed music, presumably).
Seriously? Capturing music from your soundcard just to avoid getting the music legally? Does anyone do this really?
What does it mean for FRAPsers? Also this is a big fuck you to sound/music producers who actually want to record from the inputs and listen to it in the outputs....
And if you think "FRAPsers" and people with legitimate reasons won't be able to do that, then I've got a bridge to sell you.
There are NO details about this article. If you click on the link for the author of the article on slashdot you get "http://lmalinofskyatgmaildotcom/". Wow, an email address... sorta. There is absolutely diddily-fucking-shit to back this article up. It's such horrible FUD that it actually makes me angry.
Thats nice to know. I wouldnt think Win7 would fuck things up for the music producers.
Posts
Not quite. It seems that this is only offered to people who buy a machine with vista on it from a participating OEM within a certain time window. Looks like it'll also be available only to those who get a machine with Home Premium, Business or Ultimate. You can read more about it here (multi page madness warning. Looked for a one page print version, but alas, I did not find one).
Well, ok then. :P
Sounds like it can't read your drive's SMART info. SMART might be turned off (sometimes you can switch it on and off in the BIOS), or it maybe it doesn't know how to read your particular drive.
If you didn't get a beta copy, you're stuffed for a few months at least. There are vague rumors of a Release Candidate appearing around April, which would be free to download like the beta was, but there won't be anything sooner. The actual, final release date is still anyone's guess.
Can you get rid of them by just making UAC behave like in Vista?
And will they fix it for the general populace?
Man, it's exactly like every upgrade program ever for these "transition periods" to keep computer sales from falling off. People are just latching on to that misleading headline of "Free Upgrade for Vista Users" as proof of some admission that Vista sucks or something by Microsoft.
Basically, just like every other Windows release, if you buy a new computer from an OEM who is part of the upgrade program in within a few months prior to Windows 7 being released, you'll get a free coupon/offer/something so you can upgrade from Vista to 7 when it is actually released.
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Here's my question (can it even be answered at this point?): Is it cheaper for someone to buy Vista Ultimate now and get the voucher for 7, or just buy 7 Ultimate (assuming it is even purchasable, which it sounds like it won't be generally available)?
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Why is that?
I'm not interested in having any stripped down versions of an OS. I avoided XP home like the plague, and the home versions of Vista as well. If you're not getting the full OS and its capabilities, it's a waste of time and money for enthusiasts and IT pros.
SC2 NA: exoplasm.519 | PA SC2 Mumble Server | My Website | My Stream
If you must have more, you can get Win 7 Pro, which adds these things. Ultimate simply adds the few extra enterprise features from the Enterprise edition which is only available for licensing.
Lineup
Windows 7 Pro, for example, comes with every feature except for BitLocker Drive Encryption, which only works if you have a Trusted Platform Module on your motherboard; AppLocker, whose sole function is to lock users out of certain applications; DirectAccess, a feature that "enables mobile workers to seamlessly connect to enterprise network resources when connected to the Internet"; Branch Cache, a branch-office cache system for files stored on central file servers; Multilingual User Interface; and VHD support. Do you really need these features? No. As far as I can tell, Windows 7 Ultimate is just Enterprise relabelled and targeted at "enthusiasts" with more money than brains.
7 Pro is going to be a lot like XP Pro; it will come with every feature of Home plus a few of those business networking features that enthusiasts like to use, such as advanced permissions and remote desktop. You are crazy if you think you need Ultimate.
With Vista it gets a little more difficult. Vista Business has the aforementioned networking features but it doesn't come with Media Center or Movie Maker, and you have to manually install Solitaire. Big deal. Home Premium has those things but it doesn't have the business features.
The thing is, eventually, Movie Maker is going to be a separate free program called Windows Live Movie Maker that you download from live.com. There's already a beta. And Media Center is really only useful if you intend to use the machine as a dedicated home theatre PC. If you're an "enthusiast" you're probably going to be navigating your hard drive and watching videos in VLC/Media Player Classic and as far as you're concerned Media Center is a flashy interface designed for remote controls. So really, unless you must have both the enthusiast networking features and Media Center, Vista Ultimate is a waste of money and you should just buy Business.
Also, WTF memory usage:
This is no better (but not exactly worse) than it was with Vista. The freed memory came up after closing all my gadgets and Firefox on the guest user. This is bothering me more than it should.
SC2 NA: exoplasm.519 | PA SC2 Mumble Server | My Website | My Stream
I've had Vista on here since October or November. I've had 7 on here for a few days.
SC2 NA: exoplasm.519 | PA SC2 Mumble Server | My Website | My Stream
Kind of stopped using Firefox around that time.
Keep in mind that "Standby" and "Free" memory are basically the same thing, so run those together. Also, since you have so much memory, Windows is going to swap stuff out to disk at a much later point than usual. It's generally surprising to people just how much memory they're using on a day to day basis. Your swap file is generally several gigs and often very full when you don't have scads of RAM.
Standby means that Windows has precached programs or something into that memory in anticipation of you running them. The memory is not actually "in use" and the contents will be overwritten the moment memory is needed without needing to be swapped to disk. It doesn't impact performance negatively (except maybe the disk access needed to precache them in the first place).
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I remember reading that there was a Registry Edit to make the toolbar preview windows pop up a little faster - does anyone know where to point me to in regards to this?
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Run regedit.exe, navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Mouse and double-click MouseHoverTime. It defaults to 400 (ms), so just drop it down (or increase) to whatever setting you prefer.
Oh and by the way, this tweak also applies to Vista.
yea Vista nad 7 do this almost identically, as does linux fwiw. If you have the ram, the system is going to use it. Vista and 7 are smart enough to recognize the programs you use most often, and will actually begin loading them into memory before you even launch them. It also does this with OS functions. "oh look, you load up the control panel every day, let me just get that ready for you before you get here" but, if you launch something like a game that will need all that memory, Vista and 7 will also release that memory pretty much instantly for the program that needs it right now.
Thanks much mate - the delay was irritating at best, glad I could pick it up.
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I suggested this exact thing in the Beta response form. I suggest all who have done this tweak to do the same.
You have to replace the MBR with something else.
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twitch.tv/tehsloth
Any device that has working Vista drivers will work in Win7.
Most...
My new laptop (November 08 model) has some goofy drivers that worked under Vista (won't restore properly; bluetooth craps out a lot) and a few that won't work (fingerprint reader, camera).
He loves it, and hated Vista... but thinks this is the shit.
I have to agree, Microsoft has a winner on their hands here.
Let's play Mario Kart or something...
For the rest look for the new beta drivers and they will most likely work.
Satans..... hints.....
Are they talking about the Windows Firewall, or whatever I happen to be using (Comodo)? Because I always disable the Windows one right away.
However the dicking around with my own permissions is unacceptable...though I'm sure it'll all be figured out soon after release.
e: Damn, half-beaten.
Oh, you changed a DLL and an application stopped working? Really? You don't say! There are quite a few Phostoshop/CS3/CS4 hacks that change a DLL that do not work. No surprise here.
Applications have always (since XP SP2) been able to insert themselves into the Firewall Exceptions, maybe not silently, but they've been able to add themselves. We're not told anything other than "OMG they stold mah megahurtz and took over mah 'puter!"
Then the best part. "It won't let me change Local Settings!". There hasn't been a "Local Settings" folder since XP. In Vista it's a damn Junction that's hidden unless you're going in from a command prompt and doing "dir /a" (may be possible to see if you have "Hide protected operating system files" unchecked in Folder Options).
There are no steps to reproduce this. There are no screenshots. It's just kdawson being a goddamn moron on /. again and posting a story that seems completely unfounded. BoingBoing shouldn't have even picked this up.
Seriously? Capturing music from your soundcard just to avoid getting the music legally? Does anyone do this really?
What does it mean for FRAPsers? Also this is a big fuck you to sound/music producers who actually want to record from the inputs and listen to it in the outputs....
There are NO details about this article. If you click on the link for the author of the article on slashdot you get "http://lmalinofskyatgmaildotcom/". Wow, an email address... sorta. There is absolutely diddily-fucking-shit to back this article up. It's such horrible FUD that it actually makes me angry.
Thats nice to know. I wouldnt think Win7 would fuck things up for the music producers.