Are you hesitant of upgrading to from XP to Windows 7? Why?

[propellen]

My primary reason for disliking Windows 7, is the graphical user interface. How about you?

I think I will be using Windows XP, with the classic theme without cleartype, till Microsoft quits supporting it

[ashleys]

I'm a long time NT4/W2K user who is currently using XP and very much requires the old understated interface aka Classic.

I've installed Windows 7 Professional on my T30 and am currently testing it out.
I've made some contributions to the following thread which you may find useful,
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=57&t=84150

With a bit on tailoring you can get Windows 7 to look pretty much like the old classic. The Start Menu is quite different but in my opinion not too bad.
I currently have a serious problem with the change to Explorer window sizing which I've just added to the above thread.

Personally, I think I'll be able to live with Windows 7 at some point and will have to upgrade, if only for Security fixes etc.
My biggest problem is not so much the operating system interface but the interface in one of my heaviest used applications, namely Office. Some time ago, I tried using Outlook 2007 but after two weeks of struggling with the new (Ef)Fluent User Interface (aka The Ribbon) I gave up. That is a complete disaster, especially in the area of Outlook Journalling which I make extensive use of. I'm planning to use Office 2003 for many years to some.

[propellen]

With a bit on tailoring you can get Windows 7 to look pretty much like the old classic.

If you read this thread, http://thinkpads.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=57&t=82054 , you'll see my dislikes about the Windows 7 classic theme.

I will eventually have to upgrade from XP, but at the current moment in time Windows 7 doesn't offer any functionality advantages for me. I've played with it quite a bit and the "hood" is good, but with my strong preference for the real classic interface (without cleartype) makes me still favor XP over 7.

I don't want eye candy in my OS, I want stability (win7 passes) and GUI consistency (win7 fails).

However, I'm not hating on Windows 7, because I'm a happy XP user for the years to come

[ashleys]

I've done the same tweaks as you to try and get the Classic look.
To me it now doesn't look too bad and Cleartype improves the look to my eyes, especially on the ThinkPad.

As you say, many people don't need a fancy GUI and just require good stability and performance, which to be fair, seems to be the case with W7.

As mentioned in my previous post, on a day to day basis, I'm using applications more that individual OS interfaces. Thats' why the Office 2007 changes were such a disaster for me.

[K0LO]

My employer installed this add-on http://www.addintools.com/english/menuoffice/ on its PCs with Office 2007 to satisfy users who prefer the Office 2003 menu.

[ashleys]

I did see that software when I was giving Outlook 2007 a trial run.
Whilst the ribbon was the biggest problem, there were performance related problems (even after installing SP2), many of the forms layouts had been altered (ruined in other words) and certain right-click drop down options removed altogether from Contacts. Putting all of these problems together meant it was unusable.

Thankfully I have no real need to move from Office 2003 and long may that continue.

[A31]

I like XP, and used it on the A31 for a little while (now runs Vista Ultimate), however I have never used Windows 7, but we have it on one of the PC's in our house. The main reason not to upgrade from XP to 7 is becuase in Windows 7 you can download "XP mode". It claims to make programs and hardware drivers etc designed to run on XP run on Windows 7 as well as it did on XP. However, what is the point in this when you can use all of your XP applications just fine in XP??
But then again, Windows 7 Professional has some cool features, but for laptop computers, XP is the best.

Don't forget though that if you do upgrade from XP to 7, you need at least 1GB RAM for x86, which the older legacy ThinkPads cannot support (I'm sure if you owned a legacy ThinkPad you wouldn't really want to upgrade it to 7 anyway!!) and 2GB RAM for x64. If you upgrade from Vista to 7 you can do an Upgrade installation, which copies all your files from Vista into Windows 7 and keeps all the programs that you installed on Vista and installs them on 7, however for XP you have to back up all your files and do a clean install of Windows 7.

But as Microsoft are still issuing support for XP until 2014, then I suggest sticking with it... I have Vista on the A31, but I am keen to when/if I can get a secondary drive, create a dual booter between XP and Vista, like I have on my HP desktop.

[propellen]

But as Microsoft are still issuing support for XP until 2014, then I suggest sticking with it...

True. But hopefully Windows 8 is being released within that time, so there will be another option to choose from

[A31]

Or maybe even Windows 9 if 7 only (like Vista) lasts for about 2 years!! By that time, you'll need 1TB RAM to run x86 version!!!

[propellen]

Or maybe even Windows 9 if 7 only (like Vista) lasts for about 2 years!! By that time, you'll need 1TB RAM to run x86 version!!!

hehe, true.

The hardware requirements doesn't bother me though, but inconsistency in the GUI bothers me a lot
Mac OS X's GUI is consistent, Ubuntu's GUI is consistent, Windows 7's GUI is not.

- Good design is innovative
- Good design makes a product useful
- Good design is aesthetic
- Good design helps us to understand a product
- Good design is unobtrusive
- Good design is honest
- Good design is long-lasting
- Good design is consequent to the last detail
- Good design is concerned with the environment
- Good design is as little design as possible

[killer]

XP works well.

Should I pay £150 (approx. US $ 250) for Windows 7 when I can get Linux for naff all? Linux has free software to download.

Windows has MS Office that costs a small fortune and is constantly open to abuse by hackers.

Please show me the benefits in terms of:

Security
Performance
Appearance
Convenience
Economics
Durability

For those that aren't aware, they are the 6 reasons why anyone buys anything.

[Brian10161]

I recently upgraded my desktop from XP to Win7 and I'm somewhat regretting it at the time being. I have a lot of experience with Vista on my Asus notebook, and I don't the way folders react. They seem to have fixed the folder issue in Win7.

I am pretty hesitant to upgrade anything else at the time being to Win7. My desktop isn't that important really. It's more or less for gaming, which still works fine. Any of my other laptops will stay with XP for as long as I can keep it. I'm currently waiting for an X40 to arrive, and it is said to have XP Professional SP3 on it, but I suspect I will be reloading it anyway.

I think they have addressed a lot of problems in 7 that popped up in Vista, such as speed and other problems, but I don't think they have yet created the XP replacement they had hoped for. You still need a decent amount of power to run Win7. I find that even new lower end full size notebooks have a lot of trouble with Win7. Someone I know recently purchased a Sony notebook with Win7 on it and it runs like a dog. Takes over 5 minutes just to get to a usable desktop. Now, I know that part of that is the software Sony includes, but even my desktop is noticeably slower with Win7. My desktop is a quad core AMD, so I really shouldn't see any speed issues.

For me, I will just keep running Windows XP. As long as I can run it, get on the internet and have AV software, I will be happy.

[GomJabbar]

Security
Performance
Appearance
Convenience
Economics
Durability

For those that aren't aware, they are the 6 reasons why anyone buys anything.

I know people that buy things just to impress others. I knew one guy that bought every DVD title he could get his hands on whether he cared for the movie or not. I suppose he bought them so that anyone that came to his flat could watch most any of the latest movie releases that they might think of.

[rookworm]

No need, unless you're getting a new computer. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[rkawakami]

Security
Performance
Appearance
Convenience
Economics
Durability

Spaced?

[ashleys]

I am currently testing Windows 7 Professional on my (old) T30 after upgrading it from XP. This is just a hot spare/test machine for my desktop.
I upgraded the RAM from 768Mb to 2GB and replaced the disk for a WD Scorpio 250GB. This was the first significant amount of money spent on the machine in over six years, so good value.

Performance of Windows 7 on this machine is very good. Notwithstanding the extra hardware, the boot time is significantly better than XP. It's quicker at booting than my XP desktop and that has a higher hardware spec.

Still not planning to rush into migrating my desktop though, as I'm perfectly happy with XP. In fact, if truth be told, I'd still be on either NT4 or W2K if it wasn't for supporting later hardware.

[killer]

Spaced?

Yes, that's the acronym to help one to remember the list.

[rkawakami]

I'm sticking with WinXP, maybe until Windows 8 is released . Seems like roughly every third Windows OS that Microsoft releases is the one that does well.

And when I think of "Spaced", I imagine somebody pushing the item in question out of an airlock into the vacuum of outer space.

[A31]

Performance of Windows 7 on this machine is very good. Notwithstanding the extra hardware, the boot time is significantly better than XP. It's quicker at booting than my XP desktop and that has a higher hardware spec.

Wow!! I have now put XP back on the A31 and I am impressed with my XP configuration's boot time on the A31, but it seems Windows 7 is the way to go with this...

Will the x86 version run ok on 1.5GB RAM?? I have a boxed copy of Windows 7 Professional and on the box it states you need 1GB RAM for x86 and 2GB RAM for x64. In the future, I may make a dual boot between XP Pro and 7 Pro. I have some spare 40GB HDD's here right now (from other laptops) and an UltraBay expansion bay in the A31, so all I need is the 2nd HDD IDE caddy and I'll be able to make dual boot.

[craigmontHunter]

I like xp, I used the RC, and the lack of power management for the Mobility radeon 7500 was the bggest problem. - followed by cleartype, which I find makes reading more difficult, espcially when on a LCD screen running at it's native resolution.

Long live 2000 (Favorite of all time), I use xp for the dualview feature. (with classic theme)

Jack

[thinkpad1]

I can't stand Windows 2000. It looks so old and so buggy. The configuration 'look' is so outdated and really ridiculous. I have a relative who has a really old machine with it and I keep meaning to install XP on it. I wanted to install a flavour of Linux with xfce or LXDE but I know I'd receive cries and outbursts of confusion and paranoia, lol!

[ashleys]

Will the x86 version run ok on 1.5GB RAM??

I would certainly think so.
Looking at my 2Gb system it's not being pushed. Windows 7 is more agressive with memory usage than XP but not to the overall detriment of the system.

[A31]

I can't stand Windows 2000. It looks so old and so buggy. The configuration 'look' is so outdated and really ridiculous.

Couldn't agree more with you... I don't like ANY Windows OS produced before September 2001 - which funnily enough is when XP came out... Especially hate Windows 98 (first edition) and Windows Me.

I have a relative who has a really old machine with it and I keep meaning to install XP on it.

I know the feeling - it's one of the most annoying feelings in the world!! But your relative had probably been using that old OS for years and had probably become very used to it, which is kind of a shame really, as I (along with you) agree that they would benefit from a newer OS as that old OS probably isn't even supported anymore. Also, drivers for OS's like Windows 98 and 9x systems are becoming harder to find, though not as hard as drviers for XP x64!!

Should I pay £150 (approx. US $ 250) for Windows 7 when I can get Linux for naff all? Linux has free software to download.

It will be worth it on a good spec PC or laptop - personally, I really do not like Linux, I don't like the user interferance. But I know lots of people do like Linux, and I respect their views. I know a lot of people on here will think I'm crazy for liking Vista (maybe even preferring it to XP??), but I do.

[Bookworm]

My only reasons for considering eX Pee are 32 bit icons and skins. I will probably settle for 98SE & 2k with the Revolutions packs and Windowblinds. The skins are better anyway.

With a good anti virus program, security shouldn't be a problem.

Witch is slower, 2k with windowblinds or XP? On a 400Mhz Celeron with 320Mb RAM?