Windows 7 And Back To Xp

[Supernova]

Wait when I will try to migrate from XP to Vista and then immediately to 7

My system is loaded with complex software. First I was thinking about a clean install. But there is too much software with too many settings to install. I will let you know what was left after XP -> Vista -> 7.

If you're going to take the upgrade path, you might as well stick to XP. Performing an upgrade isn't worth it IMO.

[Pib]

Wait when I will try to migrate from XP to Vista and then immediately to 7

My system is loaded with complex software. First I was thinking about a clean install. But there is too much software with too many settings to install. I will let you know what was left after XP -> Vista -> 7.

Scary thought of going from XP to Vista...I know my experience with that upgrade several years back left me with months of cleanup/fixing software/drivers work. And if trying to then immediately upgrade from Vista (without any cleanup work) to Windows 7, you might be be left with really messed up settings. Then again, you could give it try and it just might be less painful than doing a clean install; and if it don't work, just do a clean install to right the ship. Good luck.

[Beggar]

I do not expect anything else than scrap when I will start the system after this migration to be honest. But I want to try it. Alone my video editing software has endless settings to get the right PAL stream with the correct Dolby.

For me there are not so many reasons to move from XP to 7 - it is more a challenge. What is better at 7 at my system is the 2 disk RAID 0 performance. I do not get the same with XP. But this seems to be a (not solved) driver issue in XP.

What is impressive too is the very quick start from hibernation. Confusing in this respect is that there is no display when saving the data anymore.

And then DirectX 11. But I do not play games so much anymore. I am afraid I am too slow in the meantime for all those things. Other performance nothing better than XP - at least this was my experience. And when I look at Firefox without Aero - I could not tell what OS is running at the moment. Did not make TTT faster

[Pib]

I can understand the desire to upgrade...good luck in this challenge...I expect you will win after some hair pulling battles.

[stolidfeline]

Beggar, there is a known problem with Catalyst control center. You may get an update with Windows update service, but it's better to look on ATI website - there are Windows 7 drivers. There are quite a few issues with other people's drivers too, some print drivers, some utility software with Canon printers for example. Microsoft are very active in getting these fixed as quickly as possible. If they are unable to do so quickly enough they attempt to give you a compatibility warning in 7 while installing the OS.

If you upgrade from XP always try to completely erase all the crud on your Windows drive by a reformat. I would personally always do the same with Vista, upgrading it leaves too much crap around to strike at you later. I would strongly advise against XP>Vista>7 but I would personally dump XP as quickly as possible. As good as it was in it's time, it is history now.

A quick mention - Intel wireless cards have very buggy drivers, this has gone on now for several years and the latest b/g/N cards are no different. If you have problems, use Google.

Edited November 13, 2009 by stolidfeline

[garyh]

Beggar, there is a known problem with Catalyst control center. You may get an update with Windows update service, but it's better to look on ATI website - there are Windows 7 drivers. There are quite a few issues with other people's drivers too, some print drivers, some utility software with Canon printers for example. Microsoft are very active in getting these fixed as quickly as possible. If they are unable to do so quickly enough they attempt to give you a compatibility warning in 7 while installing the OS.

If you upgrade from XP always try to completely erase all the crud on your Windows drive by a reformat. I would personally always do the same with Vista, upgrading it leaves too much crap around to strike at you later. I would strongly advise against XP>Vista>7 but I would personally dump XP as quickly as possible. As good as it was in it's time, it is history now.

A quick mention - Intel wireless cards have very buggy drivers, this has gone on now for several years and the latest b/g/N cards are no different. If you have problems, use Google.

I just did a new installation of W7 64 bit due to setting up a raid system, I downloaded the latest catalyst/drivers and installed them. Later W7 said I needed and update for my ATI driver, I let it do the update and so far all is well. This was just yesterday.

[Beggar]

I doubt more and more that I can use Win 7. So far I have installed not even 10 percent of my software - all of it problem free in XP for years. In the meantime I end up with endless random crashes. Sometimes the application works and the suddenly not. Then it works again.

For instance uTorrent yesterday - I click on an entry - no problem. I click the next entry and uTorrent freezes. I try to kill the application - impossible. I try to use an application that normally really kills if nothing else works - impossible. I restart the system and try again - the same. I switch off the computer and sleep. Today uTorrent works but at startup other programs crash that never crashed before. I did not change anything in the system since yesterday night.

There is no virus, the HD is okay and it is the cleanest install one can imagine AND it is the 90 days trial from Microsoft - so no copy. But I have reached a situation where I cannot pinpoint the reasons for the problems anymore. Uninstall of software according the install history did not help and the error messages are pretty useless.

I cannot believe that my installation is so special. And I think what might happen if I install the other 90 percent of my software... I really was happy with Win7 and I spent a lot of time with all the installations. But now I will spend more time to wait at least until Win7 SP1. A sad experience for me but useless to continue.

[Beggar]

Beggar, there is a known problem with Catalyst control center. You may get an update with Windows update service, but it's better to look on ATI website - there are Windows 7 drivers.

I always have the latest drivers and the latest BIOS. Does not change anything. Just can hope for tomorrow

[spacemunk]

Beggar, there is a known problem with Catalyst control center. You may get an update with Windows update service, but it's better to look on ATI website - there are Windows 7 drivers.

I always have the latest drivers and the latest BIOS. Does not change anything. Just can hope for tomorrow

Having the latest Drivers and BIOS , doesn't mean they always work better.

When it comes to drivers and software , you have to get the best drivers which are more suitable or makes ur system stable.

Windows 7 is a very new released OS. And newer P55A mobos and direct11 may cause Windows 7 to be unstable due to driver issues.

So far Windows 7 hasn't caused me to have any problems at all since i use crossfire direct10 graphic cards and the 750SB/790FX chipset board.

Its better for u to stick to Windows XP at the moment until Windows 7 become more mainstream or until they release Windows 7 SP1.

[Pib]

A quick mention - Intel wireless cards have very buggy drivers, this has gone on now for several years and the latest b/g/N cards are no different. If you have problems, use Google.

Amen to above statement regarding Intel wireless drivers...getting my Intel 3945ABG wireless chip in my laptop to work consistantly/properly over the years has taken some real effort. The next laptop I get "WILL NOT" use a Intel wireless chip.

[Beggar]

I know that everything is new and might create problems. But you have to see that this new system has been running with WinXP SP3 for about 1 month now - almost problem free.

Just before my not RAID disks were suddenly running at about 10 MB/s transfer speed - 10 !!! and not even 100. The RAID disks were at normal speed. When I re-booted scared to XP to check the HD no problem. Then I re-booted to check Win7 again - suddenly no problem. A mixture of driver and Win7 I guess. Those disks run on one of the two Gigabyte SATA controllers and not on the Intel SATA controller - here is RAID.

I am aware that there was not much time to get the drivers and Win7 working for the new technology on the Gigabyte MBO side, on the Microsoft OS side and on the ATI graphic card side. But I cannot write my own drivers nor can I correct Win7. I hope for Microsoft that my experience is unique so that Win7 will not end in a disaster for them At least it was a great idea of Microsoft to let my try before I buy.

[stolidfeline]

Beggar, I do sympathize with your problem. I do not have the answer for you. But I would like to say, I have installed 7 on hundreds of PC's and never seen this instability. Except on one motherboard by PC Chips from about 5 years back. I think if I were in your shoes, I would have to accept that something is not normal here, and my own course of action would be to upgrade immediately to something newer. Windows 7 is so vastly improved over XP that I wish you every success in resolving the problem, and I hope you don't give up on 7 just yet. If not, perhaps you may have some other hardware around to assist in isolating the problem, for example, install on an old HDD first, use VGA only drivers, etc. and see at waht poin the problems begin. I know it's hassle (gloom) ...

I currently use Gigabyte motherboards and have no issues with any of them, but they are all relatively new, less than a year old and some are only a few months old.

Pib - I hope you don't have a HP/Compaq with the magic melting Nvidia graphics processor.

Edited November 13, 2009 by stolidfeline

[Supernova]

I never had any problems with Gigabyte boards either -- old and new.

Windows 7 runs very good on my 5 year old nForce2 system (Athlon 2600+, 2GB DDR RAM, GeForce 6600).

[robblok]

Using a legal version of windox 7 home premium. Works so good ten times better as xp so stable. The program was worth its money and with a legal version i also have now microsoft security essentials so no problem with viruses too. I am one happy camper with windows 7

[Beggar]

For me the Win7 story is over for now - partition clean again. The last thing I tried is to get the beep from the motherboard speaker in Win 7. I need this when I get a Skype call for instance. In WinXP no problem. In Win7 with whatever driver and whatever beep producing software impossible. I do not want to switch on the main speakers all the time. And the problems got more and more. Some might be specific to my combination of OS and motherboard. It is one of the latest (Gigabyte GA-P55-UD6) and just on the market for some weeks now. Not more mature than Win7...

In respect of virus & security - XP can handle this too and perhaps even in a more tested way. Win7 has a long journey until it reaches a tested and corrected state like WinXP SP3. It took WinXP SP3 a long time too to get there. This is normal with software. I have been working in one of the biggest software companies for more than 15 years. So for me software problems are nothing special - as soon as you add the first IF statement to your program code the problems might begin.

For me the picture that gets painted that Win7 without an SP is the OS heaven number seven is questionable. Perhaps it is true for people who don't use the computer in a more complicated fashion. But I have been using computers for more than 35 years now and so I am not only using the internet or standard software like Office. This should not sound negative - not everyone has the computer as hobby.

My advice - download the 90 day test version and try before you buy. And do not let this love at first sight feeling close your eyes.

[mosan]

I sense some flaws in what you're reporting. I also believe that the complexity of your system is outstripping your knowledge level. You say you've been into IT for 35 years, but it seems you're having trouble with software packages that are well tested and stable in an XP environment only you can't get them to operate in Win7. Obviously you've heard of the K.I.S.S. principle however you seem to ignore the principle itself. You're also using Win7 Enterprise 90 day Trial software which comes in a VHD format—are you sure you understand what you're asking your system to do? This software is aimed at IT professionals to evaluate software designed for use in an "enterprise environment". Are you running a enterprise? Are you asking it to run some legacy 16 bit software? Give us a list of the software you're running, I'd like to see how it stacks up to what I'm running. At least we'll all know if you're a little off base or way out in left field. This is not a personal attack, I would just like to get some of the questions in my head answered. By the way, I think the Release Candidate version would have served better as an evaluation platform, and it will still work until deep into next year—readily available in many IT Malls, that is if you're in Thailand.

Edited November 17, 2009 by MOSAN

[Beggar]

I sense some flaws in what you're reporting. I also believe that the complexity of your system is outstripping your knowledge level. You say you've been into IT for 35 years, but it seems you're having trouble with software packages that are well tested and stable in an XP environment only you can't get them to operate in Win7. Obviously you've heard of the K.I.S.S. principle however you seem to ignore the principle itself. You're also using Win7 Enterprise 90 day Trial software which comes in a VHD format—are you sure you understand what you're asking your system to do? This software is aimed at IT professionals to evaluate software designed for use in an "enterprise environment". Are you running a enterprise? Are you asking it to run some legacy 16 bit software? Give us a list of the software you're running, I'd like to see how it stacks up to what I'm running. At least we'll all know if you're a little off base or way out in left field. This is not a personal attack, I would just like to get some of the questions in my head answered. By the way, I think the Release Candidate version would have served better as an evaluation platform, and it will still work until deep into next year—readily available in many IT Malls, that is if you're in Thailand.

If your have a problem that not all people think like you this shows enough already about you. But there is no need to insult me in addition to this !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[h90]

old software brings blue screens on Win 7. I had to switch back to WinXP as well.

Win 7 is nice for at home or in a office which just need excel and word, but not for use in production environment. as well it does not has any advantages against winxp beside that it is more beautiful .

[Gary A]

I've done some pretty stupid things with Win 7 Pro already including trying to install some dodgy free software. I didn't know Win 7 had a blue screen.

I have had to run a couple programs in the XP mode but they do run Okay.

[Crushdepth]

Been using Windows 7 64 bit for a couple of weeks and its great. However, it breaks a lot more software than Vista did. Still, it's worth it.

[h90]

I've done some pretty stupid things with Win 7 Pro already including trying to install some dodgy free software. I didn't know Win 7 had a blue screen.

I have had to run a couple programs in the XP mode but they do run Okay.

Very old bad programed software which tries to use parallel and seriel port.

I think when it reaches out and checked the parallel port for the not existing dongle Win7 gets a blue screen.

makes a memory dump and restarts.

[garyh]

I've done some pretty stupid things with Win 7 Pro already including trying to install some dodgy free software. I didn't know Win 7 had a blue screen.

I have had to run a couple programs in the XP mode but they do run Okay.

Very old bad programed software which tries to use parallel and seriel port.

I think when it reaches out and checked the parallel port for the not existing dongle Win7 gets a blue screen.

makes a memory dump and restarts.

Bit hard to blame W7 for badly written software, it is not 16 bit code? I remember when XP was first released a lot of people and companies would not touch it, I was working for Xerox then and they wanted nothing to do with XP.

[Thanh-BKK]

Hi.

@OP

If you are not playing demanding games on your computer try if it works without the ATI driver, i.e. by using Microsoft's generic driver. I have found in many cases sticking to the drivers that Windows installs by itself has the system running much smoother/more stable than the drivers provided by the hardware manufacturers. Granted you will be missing some extra features or the last bit of performance but then again if you can live without that, go for it.

This by the way also holds true for ANY driver, from chipset to printer. If Windows offers one by itself (which will also be covered by Windows Update) it will be more stable than the one that comes with the hardware.

And a program that states "exclusively for XP" should not be installed on 7 - it *may* work but it may as well just screw up the system.

And Norton? "Die Gelbe Gefahr" (The Yellow Danger) as it is known in Germany (i assume you are German or at least German-speaking, judging by "Datenerfassung" which crashed) causes more problems than it prevents, if nothing else it will hog way too much resources. Try Avast! for anti-virus protection, i have been using it for years (still am using it at the office on the last remaining Windows-machine) and never had a virus problem.

Best regards......

Thanh

[Supernova]

old software brings blue screens on Win 7. I had to switch back to WinXP as well.

You can't blame Windows 7 for this. It's the application developers responsibility to ensure their products are up-to-date with the latest technologies.

Win 7 is nice for at home or in a office which just need excel and word, but not for use in production environment. as well it does not has any advantages against winxp beside that it is more beautiful.

LOL. If that's what you really think, then you should stick to XP.

Okay, Vista >> Win7 isn't a big improvment, but XP >> Win7 is a huge leap. Sure it's more pretty, but so was XP over Windows 2000 and Win9X. Perhaps the biggest improvement overall isn't the GUI, but the underlying security. The componentized design introduced in Vista has been improved even further which makes Windows 7 more secure than Vista. Windows XP can't even compare...

GUI-wise, I really like the new Taskbar (aka: Superbar), the Jump Lists, Aero Peek. The superbar with its ability to pin programs is a welcome and much needed change to the old style Taskbar. Good riddance to Quick Launch, although you could still bring it back if you prefer.

These are just some of the key features I like. There's more, but since this isn't a Windows 7 editorial, I'll keep it brief. From a users' point of view, there's a lot to be excited about Windows 7.