Will You Buy Windows 7???

mrk · 21 Jul 2009 at 09:20

Indeed, "normal" people will be perfectly happy with XP and will ask questions on why they should pay to upgrade when XP does them fine...

Stuarts · 21 Jul 2009 at 09:33

XP is actually very good.

I am using Windows 7. Its nice. Seems nippy, and I do like the way the new toolbar at the bottom works. And of course the 64 bit version uses all the ram.

However, other then that, I cannot honestly see what they have been doing for 6 years? (or however long it is since XP launched)

raptormonkey · 21 Jul 2009 at 09:34

XP will end up like Win 95 though. Lots of software just won't be developed with it in mind. Might aswell go with Windows 7 as it is cheap at the mo and a very good OS.

The Mad Rapper · 21 Jul 2009 at 09:34

Burnsy2023 said:
He has a point here. It takes me weeks to get my PC to how I like it after a fresh install. Just Windows updates, Office 2007 and updates, and Visual Studio 2008 plus updates takes an evening.

So do it once, then make an image? As long as your hardware hasn't changed in the interim, all that you'll have to add are any updates since the image was created.

The Mad Rapper · 21 Jul 2009 at 09:35

raptormonkey said:
Might aswell go with Windows 7 as it is cheap at the mo and a very good OS.

It is a very good O/S. Anyone who can't recognise that Windows 7 is a vast improvement over Vista is just being stubborn IMHO.

mrk · 21 Jul 2009 at 09:38

I can't come round to understanding how it takes days/weeks to return to a similar state of an OS post fresh install! unless your PC and net connection are ancient then Windows updates, Office, VS, .NET etc etc all install within minutes.

In fact slipstreamed installs even less so.

I reinstalled XP for someone the other day, I used a custom XP SP3 slipstreamed disc so virtually everything was back to how it was within the following 3 hours :/

When I upgraded from Vista32 to 64bit I was back up and running that night (started in the afternoon).

Meh!

Stuarts · 21 Jul 2009 at 09:53

Two things:

1/ Is there a guide you would recommend to this slipstreaming?

I install an operating system very rarely. So I have only ever done it the conventional way.

I have Windows 7RC, and everything is backed up toi a Windows Home Server.

I don't see how these 3 hour re-installs are possible if you need to install Windows 7 from scratch, and have hundreds of programs? Perhaps someone could elaborate, or point me in the direction of a guide?

2/

And what were they thinking with the lack of quick lauch? Yes I enabled it, but to have it disabled by default is daft.

I agree. Total madness.

The windows menu (when you click on the button) is ridiculous. Its like it has never moved on. Having one scrolling list is silly.

You need the quick launch to be able to get to programs you use regularly, but don't want permanently cluttering up the toolbar.

Whoever decided to get rid of the quick launch in Windows 7 at Microsoft by default is an idiot.

TheVoice · 21 Jul 2009 at 09:56

Stuarts said:
It would be bizarre if you installed it, and DIDN'T want to upgrade.

Not at all. I simply wouldn't want to install one OS over another, let alone install the final release of an OS over the unfinished version intended for testing only. MS are not obligated to make that more convenient for anyone. If you're using 7RC, you've agreed to the fact that it's only a preview intended for testing, and not a full release with proper support. It was also free.

Personally I'm glad 7E won't have an upgrade install option, it always seems like they're the installs that go wrong at some point, so it means less people asking questions about why their system is having problems!

Daegan · 21 Jul 2009 at 09:58

mrk said:
I can't come round to understanding how it takes days/weeks to return to a similar state of an OS post fresh install!

I can't understand how people would put up with a setup that takes days/weeks to reinstall. It's not so bad with Vista, but back with XP after a few months it ran like a dog, cue the reinstall. Maybe I have some Windows OCD, but as a result a simple batch file to backup and restore key user data and settings, a base install image (sans drivers), a partitioned drive with the bulk of applications and data on separate partitions, and I can be back up and running in 20 minutes, an hour tops for everything just as I like it.

CaptainCrash · 21 Jul 2009 at 10:03

Fire Wizard said:
I'm not quite sure why people want to "upgrade" from an operating system that is in it's release candidate state to the release code.

I think some peoples minds have slightly drifted with regards to the whole "testing" aspect of Windows 7.

It's just my own uncorroborated opinion, but I think the reasoning behind MS's decision to release/leak the betas and then the RC was never primarily to do with "testing" as such, more a (very successful) exercise in viral marketing, although I'm sure they also got some useful feedback as a byproduct.

The Mad Rapper · 21 Jul 2009 at 10:10

CaptainCrash said:
It's just my own uncorroborated opinion, but I think the reasoning behind MS's decision to release/leak the betas and then the RC was never primarily to do with "testing" as such, more a (very successful) exercise in viral marketing, although I'm sure they also got some useful feedback as a byproduct.

Well they've just got my money so it was a successful exercise on their part!

The Mad Rapper · 21 Jul 2009 at 10:20

Daegan said:
I can't understand how people would put up with a setup that takes days/weeks to reinstall. It's not so bad with Vista, but back with XP after a few months it ran like a dog, cue the reinstall. Maybe I have some Windows OCD, but as a result a simple batch file to backup and restore key user data and settings, a base install image (sans drivers), a partitioned drive with the bulk of applications and data on separate partitions, and I can be back up and running in 20 minutes, an hour tops for everything just as I like it.

I am getting frustrated having to repeat myself TBH. There is no need at all to have to put up with the process you describe above. Simply make a base install, update it with any O/S updates, security and essential apps then create an image. When neccessary, nuke your drive (dBan) and relay image. Add any O/S, security and app updates and off you go.

deshepherd · 21 Jul 2009 at 10:23

Daegan said:
I can't understand how people would put up with a setup that takes days/weeks to reinstall. It's not so bad with Vista, but back with XP after a few months it ran like a dog, cue the reinstall. Maybe I have some Windows OCD, but as a result a simple batch file to backup and restore key user data and settings, a base install image (sans drivers), a partitioned drive with the bulk of applications and data on separate partitions, and I can be back up and running in 20 minutes, an hour tops for everything just as I like it.

I'm sort of setup like this (all apps on a seperate partition and all user data on a NAS drive - so C: should really only be the OS) ... but isn't the problem that the default windows app install style has been to stick any extra DLLs etc that the app needs into WINDOWS/SYSTEM ... thus if you do a clean install of the OS you may still have all your apps around ... but they may now be missing some vital DLLs.

I'd be happy to be corrected as when I get my Win7E I'll be installing onto a couple of machines which have been accumulating stuff in XP for about 5 years!

robinbredin · 21 Jul 2009 at 10:34

Is there a guide you would recommend to this slipstreaming?

Hi, If you are using XP then you will need nLite HERE, or vLite HERE if you are using Vista. There is a guide HERE, though it deals with adding service packe, the method of adding drivers is the same.

m4cc45 · 21 Jul 2009 at 10:36

The best way, if you want a fresh install every few months would be to install everything and then image it with Ghost / Acronis, etc.

You could do it by exporting the registry, etc. but an image is a much nicer route of doing it. In Ghost I can have Vista reinstalled with the latest updates, latest office service packs, etc. in <8 minutes. In Acronis is was around 30 minutes.

M.

Burnsy2023 · 21 Jul 2009 at 10:45

The Mad Rapper said:
So do it once, then make an image? As long as your hardware hasn't changed in the interim, all that you'll have to add are any updates since the image was created.

There's simply no point. I've had to reinstall Vista twice since Nov 2006, all due to hardware failure. The time it takes me to image and then run all the updates is almost as long as it would take me to reinstall when you average it out over the years.

The Mad Rapper · 21 Jul 2009 at 10:55

Burnsy2023 said:
There's simply no point. I've had to reinstall Vista twice since Nov 2006, all due to hardware failure. The time it takes me to image and then run all the updates is almost as long as it would take me to reinstall when you average it out over the years.

Fair enough. If you aren't so unlucky though then it's a sound approach.

Burnsy2023 · 21 Jul 2009 at 10:59

The Mad Rapper said:
Fair enough. If you aren't so unlucky though then it's a sound approach.

I agree, but I take the view that I'll fix a problem rather than reinstall. I had an issue with Windows update and the trusted module installer, took me weeks to fix it but saved me a reinstall.

OspreyO · 21 Jul 2009 at 11:21

I was on a migration job once where we had to upgrade about 4000 live machines from Windows 95 to XP. We'd have a previously created image with XP, most of the applications and all of the updates including drivers etc. We'd physically swap the HD for one thats imaged, add a few apps not able to go in the image, configure outlook and psts etc. That took on average 30 mins each Usually we did min 8 machines a day.

A backup restore that takes 3 days is a bit excessive. Ditto needing hundreds of apps.I can do a wipe and rebuild of a home machine in a hour or so. Its good to clear out windows once a year. Mind you at work I'm running the same XP install for the past 4+ yrs.

m4cc45 · 21 Jul 2009 at 11:24

Did 500 machines in 3.5 days... using a mixture of Altiris and Ghost - using Ghost via the network doing multicasts to several machines at a time and then Altiris (again using PXE) for around 30 at a time as it was much slower than Ghost we used both.

M.