Windows 7

**trip** · 12-26-2009, 11:32 PM

Well, just updated from Windows Vista to Windows 7. It came free with my new Dell, so....why not?

While I don't really have any formal complaints and had no real problems, I do have a gripe about the fact that Microsoft decided to not include Outlook in Windows 7. So, I converted my email program over to Mozilla Thunderbird.

Thunderbird is totally compatible with Windows 7, looks and feels like Outlook and best of all...it's free.

Trip

blowndodge · 12-26-2009, 11:43 PM

I just received my free Windows 7 Home Premium from Toshiba. They were offering a free upgrade if you bought one of their laptops which I did 3 months ago. Not sure if I should do a clean install or upgrade Windows Vista Home Premium which I have now.

Some say run a complete backup (I have an HP 1T external drive) and install Windows 7 after a complete reformat and some say it's not necessary. Not sure what I'm going to do for now.

Bought the lady a new laptop for Xmas with Windows 7 Home premium and it doesn't look nor act THAT much different than Vista Premium.....

Any suggestions?

cactusjack · 12-26-2009, 11:58 PM

I ordered a Toshiba Satellite L500 15.4" from Toshiba Direct with Windows 7 Professional 32-bit. It has 4GB RAM, 320 GB hard drive and all the other bells and whistles. I also ordered a docking station and a new Belkin wireless "N" router. It should be here end of week, or more likely, first of the next week due to the holiday. I recently bought Office 2007 Enterprise through my employer for $10.

Then I have the daunting task of migrating several years worth of accumulated stuff from my Dell desktop onto it. Ugh.

I have decided to reload my Dell desktop with Red Hat Linux just to play with and use the new Toshiba as my only PC at home.

ballast · 12-27-2009, 03:16 AM

I just got off the phone with Dell tech support cause my new rig with Windows 7 decided it didn't want to boot up anymore. Kept freezing in process, no safe mode or anything. Turned out to be as simple as unplugging everything 'cept the mouse and keyboard and turning it back on. Apparently 2 printers may have been the problem.

**trip** · 12-28-2009, 07:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blowndodge "Darksider"

I just received my free Windows 7 Home Premium from Toshiba. They were offering a free upgrade if you bought one of their laptops which I did 3 months ago. Not sure if I should do a clean install or upgrade Windows Vista Home Premium which I have now.

Some say run a complete backup (I have an HP 1T external drive) and install Windows 7 after a complete reformat and some say it's not necessary. Not sure what I'm going to do for now.

Bought the lady a new laptop for Xmas with Windows 7 Home premium and it doesn't look nor act THAT much different than Vista Premium.....

Any suggestions?

BD, if you're running Windows Vista Home Premium and your updating to Windows 7 Home Premium (which is what I did), you don't have to do a clean install...just an upgrade. However, if you're updating from Windows XP to Windows 7, a clean install is required.

And you're right.....as far as feel or looks, WIndows 7 is not that much different than Vista. However, I have found some better features and it seems to be more stable.

**trip** · 12-28-2009, 07:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cactusjack

I ordered a Toshiba Satellite L500 15.4" from Toshiba Direct with Windows 7 Professional 32-bit. It has 4GB RAM, 320 GB hard drive and all the other bells and whistles. I also ordered a docking station and a new Belkin wireless "N" router. It should be here end of week, or more likely, first of the next week due to the holiday. I recently bought Office 2007 Enterprise through my employer for $10.

Then I have the daunting task of migrating several years worth of accumulated stuff from my Dell desktop onto it. Ugh.

I have decided to reload my Dell desktop with Red Hat Linux just to play with and use the new Toshiba as my only PC at home.

I, too use Office 2007 and have found it to be useful....better than previous versions. It took some getting used to tho. Have fun with RedHat.......I've used it before. I used to run Linux and Windows 2003 in two separate virtual environments on my PC along with XP.

**trip** · 12-28-2009, 07:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ballast

I just got off the phone with Dell tech support cause my new rig with Windows 7 decided it didn't want to boot up anymore. Kept freezing in process, no safe mode or anything. Turned out to be as simple as unplugging everything 'cept the mouse and keyboard and turning it back on. Apparently 2 printers may have been the problem.

Glad you got everything worked out.

12-30-2009, 11:08 PM

You guys need to cross over to an Apple iMac desktop. Bought one a couple of months ago. Comes with their " Snow Leopard" OS. Very stable. I haven't missed Windows a bit ! Outstanding machine. Mozillla Thunderbird is what I have used for several years, and I really like it. Like Trip said....it's free.

Dave · 12-31-2009, 06:26 PM

Doesn't premium come with Bit Locker? I'm thinking of using PGP Whole Disk on my laptop. I'm current using a PGP virtual disk to secure my personal files. I'm think I'd rather secure the whole drive.

**Cajunrider** · 01-03-2010, 07:17 PM

My new toy came with Windows 7 Home Premium loaded. Picked up a Toshiba Satellite P500 today. Nice machine with 18.4" screen. Best Buy was running them for $799 until the 9th. Got lucky with only 1 left and I got it. Never owned a laptop before. Santa is sooooo good.

**trip** · 01-03-2010, 08:07 PM

Just got through converting my wife's computer to Windows 7. She was running XP.

cactusjack · 01-03-2010, 09:43 PM

So my new Toshiba Satellite L500 showed up on Wednesday. Found out my 3 year old HP inkjet printer isn't compatible with Windows 7. HP's website says there are no Windows 7 drivers available. Windows has a generic driver that will print to it, but I lose a bunch of features since it is a printer-fax-scanner. So I did some research and found the Canon Pixma MX860 is a decent unit and it had full Windows 7 support. So I went to Staples yesterday and bought one. In today's Staples ad, it's $20 less than what I paid yesterday, so tomorrow on my lunch I am going to go visit Staples and try to get the $20 difference. The good news is the new Canon printer has a flatbed scanner, so I can scan pages out of manuals and stuff to post here.

I also have a Western Digital external hard drive that works just great if I plug it directly into the new laptop, but when I plug it into the docking station, Windows 7 can't recognize it. Still working on that one.

It's going to take a long time to get this laptop setup the way I like it, one surprising thing that this Toshiba didn't come with a ton of "crapware" on it that I had to remove (like my old HP). It's really a fast machine and should serve me well for quite a while.

dougster · 01-03-2010, 10:54 PM

CJ, I love your description of the junk that so often comes preloaded!

By the way, I just bought a MacBook Air in November. I feel kinda like the Darksiders who say . . . I only wish I had done it sooner.

audiogooroo · 01-03-2010, 11:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dougster

CJ, I love your description of the junk that so often comes preloaded!

By the way, I just bought a MacBook Air in November. I feel kinda like the Darksiders who say . . . I only wish I had done it sooner.

In my line of work, I've been both a Mac and PC guy for many years. No doubt, Mac is more stable and superior in many ways, but if you like to game, you pretty much have to go PC. I had to have two laptops for a long time. Once they released the Intel Mac, I was able to go with just one. I now have a MacBook Pro running both Snow Leopard and Windows XP Pro. Actually, I have 2 MacBook Pros, one for personal use with a 17" screen, and one for work with a 15" screen. Will be going to Windows 7 soon, although we have been running it on several of our machines successfully since it came out. I just haven't had the time to upgrade mine yet.
My sons just bought me a new tower PC for Christmas for home. Pretty screaming machine that will run Windows 7. Should be delivered this week.

blowndodge · 01-04-2010, 10:46 AM

I HATE PRELOADED CRAPWARE!! I got a Kodak digital camera for Xmas and I refuse to load the software. I still plug it into the laptop and download the images through Vista. Works just fine and plays the videos and show the pictures I took just fine. I can even do minor fixes to the images.

I don't plan on installing the Software unless I find a compelling reason too!

12-26-2009, 11:32 PM	#1
trip VBA Founder Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Lindale, Texas Posts: 6,846	Windows 7 Well, just updated from Windows Vista to Windows 7. It came free with my new Dell, so....why not? While I don't really have any formal complaints and had no real problems, I do have a gripe about the fact that Microsoft decided to not include Outlook in Windows 7. So, I converted my email program over to Mozilla Thunderbird. Thunderbird is totally compatible with Windows 7, looks and feels like Outlook and best of all...it's free. Trip __________________ Robert "Trip" Hilliard VBA/KawaNOW - Founder/Past President VBA # 00001 Trip's Website Custer 09, 18 / Maggie Valley 11 / Eureka Springs 09, 17 / Antlers 09, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18 Texas Hill Country / Deals Gap / Colorado / Wyoming / Montana / Utah / More trips for Trip Login or Register to Remove Ads
	0

12-26-2009, 11:43 PM	#2
blowndodge Sr. Contributor Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Washington City, Utah Posts: 16,474	Windows 7 I just received my free Windows 7 Home Premium from Toshiba. They were offering a free upgrade if you bought one of their laptops which I did 3 months ago. Not sure if I should do a clean install or upgrade Windows Vista Home Premium which I have now. Some say run a complete backup (I have an HP 1T external drive) and install Windows 7 after a complete reformat and some say it's not necessary. Not sure what I'm going to do for now. Bought the lady a new laptop for Xmas with Windows 7 Home premium and it doesn't look nor act THAT much different than Vista Premium..... Any suggestions? __________________ I love my Victory Cross Country Tour 106. Smells like Victory! Ultra's are Limited There are two types of Harley riders. Those that trailer them and those that push them. The most Interesting Man in the World "Find the things in life you don't do well and don't do those things" Member # 0005
	0

12-26-2009, 11:58 PM	#3
cactusjack Mega-Contributor Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Where it doesn't snow...ever! Posts: 21,926	Windows 7 I ordered a Toshiba Satellite L500 15.4" from Toshiba Direct with Windows 7 Professional 32-bit. It has 4GB RAM, 320 GB hard drive and all the other bells and whistles. I also ordered a docking station and a new Belkin wireless "N" router. It should be here end of week, or more likely, first of the next week due to the holiday. I recently bought Office 2007 Enterprise through my employer for $10. Then I have the daunting task of migrating several years worth of accumulated stuff from my Dell desktop onto it. Ugh. I have decided to reload my Dell desktop with Red Hat Linux just to play with and use the new Toshiba as my only PC at home. __________________ Scott "Cactusjack" Hanks VBA #00105 H.O.G. #4250060 2011 H-D Ultra Limited 103ci :: 2011 HD Electra Glide Ultra Limited w/Stage 1 :: Rallies: Mesquite '08\|Custer '09\|Cortez '10\|Crescent City '11\|Kanab '12\|Antlers '12\|Estes Park '13\|Antlers '13\|Orofino '14\|The Dalles '17
	0

12-27-2009, 03:16 AM	#4
ballast Sr. Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Orting, WA Posts: 1,394	Windows 7 I just got off the phone with Dell tech support cause my new rig with Windows 7 decided it didn't want to boot up anymore. Kept freezing in process, no safe mode or anything. Turned out to be as simple as unplugging everything 'cept the mouse and keyboard and turning it back on. Apparently 2 printers may have been the problem. __________________ Charlie "Ballast" Krogh 2005 1600 Nomad "Tangerine Dream" VBA #999 VROC #29355
	0

12-30-2009, 11:08 PM	#8
Guest Posts: n/a	Windows 7 You guys need to cross over to an Apple iMac desktop. Bought one a couple of months ago. Comes with their " Snow Leopard" OS. Very stable. I haven't missed Windows a bit ! Outstanding machine. Mozillla Thunderbird is what I have used for several years, and I really like it. Like Trip said....it's free.
	0

12-31-2009, 06:26 PM	#9
Dave Sr. Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Itchycoo Park Posts: 3,422	Windows 7 Doesn't premium come with Bit Locker? I'm thinking of using PGP Whole Disk on my laptop. I'm current using a PGP virtual disk to secure my personal files. I'm think I'd rather secure the whole drive.
	0

01-03-2010, 07:17 PM	#10
Cajunrider Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: (SE Louisiana) Posts: 8,340	Windows 7 My new toy came with Windows 7 Home Premium loaded. Picked up a Toshiba Satellite P500 today. Nice machine with 18.4" screen. Best Buy was running them for $799 until the 9th. Got lucky with only 1 left and I got it. Never owned a laptop before. Santa is sooooo good. __________________ 2016 Electra Glide Ultra Limited CVO Palladium Silver / Phantom Blue 110 cu in SE 2012 Electra Glide Ultra Limited (Traded 6/22/16) Tequila Sunrise / HD Orange Vance & Hines true dual headers Rinehart 4" slip ons Screamin Eagle Super Tuner Screamin Eagle Stage 1 intake Dyno tuned H.O.G.# 4514015 2007 Nomad 1600 (Traded 6/23/12) VBA #482
	0

01-03-2010, 08:07 PM	#11
trip VBA Founder Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Lindale, Texas Posts: 6,846	Windows 7 Just got through converting my wife's computer to Windows 7. She was running XP. __________________ Robert "Trip" Hilliard VBA/KawaNOW - Founder/Past President VBA # 00001 Trip's Website Custer 09, 18 / Maggie Valley 11 / Eureka Springs 09, 17 / Antlers 09, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18 Texas Hill Country / Deals Gap / Colorado / Wyoming / Montana / Utah / More trips for Trip
	0

01-03-2010, 09:43 PM	#12
cactusjack Mega-Contributor Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Where it doesn't snow...ever! Posts: 21,926	Windows 7 So my new Toshiba Satellite L500 showed up on Wednesday. Found out my 3 year old HP inkjet printer isn't compatible with Windows 7. HP's website says there are no Windows 7 drivers available. Windows has a generic driver that will print to it, but I lose a bunch of features since it is a printer-fax-scanner. So I did some research and found the Canon Pixma MX860 is a decent unit and it had full Windows 7 support. So I went to Staples yesterday and bought one. In today's Staples ad, it's $20 less than what I paid yesterday, so tomorrow on my lunch I am going to go visit Staples and try to get the $20 difference. The good news is the new Canon printer has a flatbed scanner, so I can scan pages out of manuals and stuff to post here. I also have a Western Digital external hard drive that works just great if I plug it directly into the new laptop, but when I plug it into the docking station, Windows 7 can't recognize it. Still working on that one. It's going to take a long time to get this laptop setup the way I like it, one surprising thing that this Toshiba didn't come with a ton of "crapware" on it that I had to remove (like my old HP). It's really a fast machine and should serve me well for quite a while. __________________ Scott "Cactusjack" Hanks VBA #00105 H.O.G. #4250060 2011 H-D Ultra Limited 103ci :: 2011 HD Electra Glide Ultra Limited w/Stage 1 :: Rallies: Mesquite '08\|Custer '09\|Cortez '10\|Crescent City '11\|Kanab '12\|Antlers '12\|Estes Park '13\|Antlers '13\|Orofino '14\|The Dalles '17
	0

01-03-2010, 10:54 PM	#13
dougster Advanced Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Crete, Nebraska Posts: 679	Windows 7 CJ, I love your description of the junk that so often comes preloaded! By the way, I just bought a MacBook Air in November. I feel kinda like the Darksiders who say . . . I only wish I had done it sooner. __________________ Doug Witzke - "Dougster" 2003 Nomad 1500 VBA# 740
	0

01-04-2010, 10:46 AM	#15
blowndodge Sr. Contributor Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Washington City, Utah Posts: 16,474	Windows 7 I HATE PRELOADED CRAPWARE!! I got a Kodak digital camera for Xmas and I refuse to load the software. I still plug it into the laptop and download the images through Vista. Works just fine and plays the videos and show the pictures I took just fine. I can even do minor fixes to the images. I don't plan on installing the Software unless I find a compelling reason too! __________________ I love my Victory Cross Country Tour 106. Smells like Victory! Ultra's are Limited There are two types of Harley riders. Those that trailer them and those that push them. The most Interesting Man in the World "Find the things in life you don't do well and don't do those things" Member # 0005
	0

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Video - windows vista military suppport - must see	wompus	Lighter Side/Jokes	3	09-04-2010 11:25 AM
Windows XP Professional Upgrade	Cajunrider	Parts & Accessories	2	02-14-2010 09:02 AM
Windows 7	cactusjack	Off-Topic	5	12-20-2009 05:14 PM