Windows 7

[Dan Cook]

Decided to put this on my laptop and am enjoying it so far. Runs much faster than Vista.

Only snag so far is that it's not finding my ATI card; just has "Standard VGA Adapter" as my card so I can't play with GrLevelX or anything else.

 

[Chris Nuttall]

I've been run Build 7100 full-time now for a little over a month with no problems. I did nearly a full rebuild of my computer. Went from a single core AMD 64 4000+ to the quad-core Intel Q9550. Wow...what a difference! I was dual-booting with XP before the rebuild just to test it. But after the rebuild, I didn't even bother loading XP.

 

[Dan Cook]

Got my Video issue working; old Toshiba drivers worked.

 

[Rob Wadsworth]

Decided to put this on my laptop and am enjoying it so far. Runs much faster than Vista.

Only snag so far is that it's not finding my ATI card; just has "Standard VGA Adapter" as my card so I can't play with GrLevelX or anything else.

Maybe you should go online to the Windows Update page and get some needed software upgrades for W7. I do it for mine every week or so. W7 is an xlnt OS. Furthermore, they may well have the 'optimized' video driver for your machine/W7 as well. Couldn't hurt to try...

 

[D. Hayes]

ATI also has W7 certified drivers out. I really like W7 I just wish they would smarten up on the price plans.

 

[john.sibley]

I've been using 7 since the original beta release. I have yet to have a single issue with GR2AE, GR3, streaming, etc...

I love you Windows 7.

 

[czenzel]

I haven't noticed a problem with Windows 7 and a Dell notebook. I noticed that on some Dell notebooks you need to run the NVIDIA (I think its ISL)'s driver set instead of the standard graphics driver off of Dell's web site.

You can still go to Dell Support -> Your Machine -> Drivers -> Windows Vista (64 or 32-bit).

I am running 64-bit on a Dell currently and I am having no problems with Graphics or Digital Atmosphere.

I still yet have to try Virtual Weather Station and the Davis WeatherLink drivers for the VPro2.

 

[J Kinkaid]

Just got my RTM key and copy of professional Windows 7 64 bit and don't have any major issues. It works with all weather applications that I have thrown at it . If you are on the fence about installing Windows 7 then just do it .

 

[Jason Foster]

The one thing that my buddy keeps telling me is something about making sure the graphics card has it's own dedicated memory if I'm going to attempt HD editing or install CAD software with 3D rendering. This may not be exclusive to Windows 7 either. However a few tech savy folks I know (including one that has been working the Seven since the beginning, and is playing with Windows 8 already) really likes Seven and says it is much more stable. Apparently Vista is basically like the ME release of windows, MS would like to soon forget it ever existed.

 

[Skip Talbot]

The one thing that my buddy keeps telling me is something about making sure the graphics card has it's own dedicated memory if I'm going to attempt HD editing or install CAD software with 3D rendering. This may not be exclusive to Windows 7 either. However a few tech savy folks I know (including one that has been working the Seven since the beginning, and is playing with Windows 8 already) really likes Seven and says it is much more stable. Apparently Vista is basically like the ME release of windows, MS would like to soon forget it ever existed.

Dedicated video memory won't matter for HD editing, as that process uses your system memory and CPU. For CAD software, it depends on which particular software you are using as some use the GPU and some use the CPU, but yes this is an area where it helps to have an upgraded video card with its own memory. You are also correct in that this is not exclusive to Windows 7. However, Vista and 7 use your video card's 3D support to render the Windows interface (Aero), so having dedicated memory and an upgraded GPU is a good idea if you are going to be using applications that utilize 3D graphics. You can always turn Aero off though to increase performance.

I'd argue Vista is probably more like Windows 95 in that it was a major release yet it had stability and hardware issues, and Windows 7 will be more like 98 with stability and performance improvements. ME was a minor release.

 

[J Kinkaid]

Vista is more like Windows 3.1

 

[Wes Carter]

I have the Windows 7 Release Candidate on my desktop PC and I absolutely love it.

My laptop is another story. It came with Vista, which has done OK but it is slower and more finicky. I've decided to put Windows 7 on it but I have a few questions before I do.

There are three versions of Win 7 that are readily available. Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate. I am reading on the Windows 7 site that you have to get Professional or Ultimate to have the Windows XP compatibility mode.

Do any of you have the Home Premium version, and if so will it run the usual software that is used like GRLevel3, F5 Data, Franson GPS Gate, etc...? Or will I need to fork over the extra $80 to get the Professional version?

 

[Bryce Hawkins-Fisher]

I have the Windows 7 Release Candidate on my desktop PC and I absolutely love it.

My laptop is another story. It came with Vista, which has done OK but it is slower and more finicky. I've decided to put Windows 7 on it but I have a few questions before I do.

There are three versions of Win 7 that are readily available. Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate. I am reading on the Windows 7 site that you have to get Professional or Ultimate to have the Windows XP compatibility mode.

Do any of you have the Home Premium version, and if so will it run the usual software that is used like GRLevel3, F5 Data, Franson GPS Gate, etc...? Or will I need to fork over the extra $80 to get the Professional version?

Wes, I have 7 professional and just run GRLevel3 in windows seven mode. I never have had to switch it to xp compatibility mode.
In saying that it may be better to fork out the extra $80 just incase you need XP mode for other programs etc...

 

[D. Hayes]

Like Bryce I'm have no issues what so ever with Windows 7 Ultimate. GRL2/GRL2AE/GRL3 and GPS Gate worked fine including any other software that I ran under Vista. Only issues drivers for older equipment, but that's the norm anyways.

 

[cedwards]

I ran into my first and only issue with Windows 7 today. My HP color lasor 2600n didn't work with it. It installs as an unknown device.
After going through a few fixes that I found online that didn't work, I eventually did find an updated driver from HP for windows 7 and everything works great again.