Windows 7 Is it Windows 7 worth the money?

[Tepid]

But,,, if that PC dies and goes in the trash, so does that install of OEM Windows.
Just something to keep in mind.

 

[john3347]

Listen to Tepid

But,,, if that PC dies and goes in the trash, so does that install of OEM Windows.
Just something to keep in mind.

As tepid reminds us here, one of the differences between OEM and Retail is that an OEM OS cannot be transferred to a replacement computer whereas full retail copies can be transferred (provided that the previous installation is uninstalled). Although OEM versions leak out to consumers through a number of outlets, their main intent is for system builders to preinstall on commercial builds. This is the reason for the limitation discussed here. A retail copy often requires a phone call to Microsoft to transfer to a replacement computer (not a big hassle at all), but an OEM copy is "married" to the original installation and cannot be transferred. If this is not a consideration, an OEM disc will save you a few bucks, if you do not take this restriction into account at time of purchase, you could be disappointed later.

 

[djarrum]

As tepid reminds us here, one of the differences between OEM and Retail is that an OEM OS cannot be transferred to a replacement computer whereas full retail copies can be transferred (provided that the previous installation is uninstalled). Although OEM versions leak out to consumers through a number of outlets, their main intent is for system builders to preinstall on commercial builds. This is the reason for the limitation discussed here. A retail copy often requires a phone call to Microsoft to transfer to a replacement computer (not a big hassle at all), but an OEM copy is "married" to the original installation and cannot be transferred. If this is not a consideration, an OEM disc will save you a few bucks, if you do not take this restriction into account at time of purchase, you could be disappointed later.

In reality, You wont find many owners of an OEM copy, saying to them self "Damn I built a new machine I gotta go buy another OEM copy," they just install the one they have.

 

[john3347]

Doesn't install

In reality, You wont find many owners of an OEM copy, saying to them self "Damn I built a new machine I gotta go buy another OEM copy," they just install the one they have.

It's been 4 or 5 years, but last time I tried to do that I got an error message that informed me that I had previously installed the OS on another machine. It wouldn't even install, much less activate. Maybe WGA standards have been relaxed in recent years????

 

[djarrum]

It's been 4 or 5 years, but last time I tried to do that I got an error message that informed me that I had previously installed the OS on another machine. It wouldn't even install, much less activate. Maybe WGA standards have been relaxed in recent years????

I've never encountered that.

 

[messyhair42]

i haven't gotten to test the OS under heavy loads yet b/c i haven't installed Prime 95 or anything like that yet. I really dislike the desktop environment (after using GNOME) of 7 and much prefer XP. so the real question is can you survive with XP/Vista/etc until Windows 8?

 

[Radenight]

i haven't gotten to test the OS under heavy loads yet b/c i haven't installed Prime 95 or anything like that yet. I really dislike the desktop environment (after using GNOME) of 7 and much prefer XP. so the real question is can you survive with XP/Vista/etc until Windows 8?

OR you could just change all the UI settings to classic in Windows 7 so it will resemble XP..

 

[tblount]

I've seen many reports that you can buy the cheapest version 64 or 32 bid and delete the ei.cfg file and it will ask you if you want to install the home, pro or ultimate version. And there is the $30 offer to anyone with .edu email address.

Of course if you get a disk (rather than download the iso) you'll need to get a 4 gb usb memory drive and copy the files from the disk to edit/delete files.

You can copy your Win 7 dvd to the flash drive using xcopy:
xcopy x:\*.* /s /e /f y:\
x is the cd/dvd drive letter and y is the flash drive letter

This won't make the usb drive bootable. You would need the UNetbootin tool (free) from here:

Browse UNetbootin, Universal Netboot Installer Files on SourceForge.net

and an iso to make the usb bootable with the win 7 install on it.

 

[mp3sgt]

Or the easy method...fake your way to the finalist phase of the Windows 7 launch party...use the cards and napkins they give you, play some cards with the family, take some photos of this, upload them and all to remain legit. And best of all. The cost of Windows 7 Ultimate Full retail is 0.00. So, to me, yes it is worth it!

 

[cybercore]

Please, tell me your opinion.I have the RC and i'm more than charmed-it has new themes, i get more control of the user account control,Win7 starts up faster than Vista or XP,it has per-icon system tray customization.

And last but not least,all my number 1 programs as mil shield,picasa,avg anti-virus has been installed successfully on Win7 and interact with it pretty well.

I think the best evaluation is to Link Removed.

Another great feature I don't see anywhere mentioned is the new sleep mode, when you put your 7 to sleep, then turn the power off, and the next day turn it on and have all your applications (or games) open and running exactly the same way that they were when you put your pc to sleep.

 

[jeradw]

Plain and simple, OP, most definitely.

 

[strgzr]

Here are the details on estimated retail pricing. First, for upgrades:

• Windows 7 Home Premium, $119.99.
• Windows 7 Professional, $199.99.
• Windows 7 Ultimate, $219.99.

And for the full packaged versions:

• Home Premium: $199.99.
• Professional: $299.99.
• Ultimate: $319.99.

And as far as I know,,, all of these include both 32bit and 64bit disks.... I do not know if this will be the case with OEM.

Before anyone else says it, I will........ Mac is only 30$
But Apple is a hardware/software company. If they do ever go strictly software, they will run about the same price or more.

And I wonder how many copies they think they will sell. Does anyone have an estimate? I'm thinking that most copies of "ultimate" will be pirated at that price. My sons laptop was only a couple hundred more and it came with vista home installed. I think MS might just price themselves right out of people's budgets. I know they are beyond mine!

 

[djarrum]

They need to stop with the three tired product. make two versions, a server or as MS would call it "Enterprise" version and a home version. $99.95 for the home, and perhaps start pricing the Enterprise version at a little more, with additional costs for support if the company doesn't have their own certified techs. Of course the more licenses you buy the lower the end cost should be.

Oh yeah, and the home version? one license should cover all the computers owned by whomever resides at that physical location.

I don't know what Microsoft was thinking with things like SLIC and OCUR being viable methods of copy protection. If I can write to my BIOS, I can get around this. They would have people believe that only certain hardware can have SLIC and OCUR, but what many don't know is that neither of the two have anything to do with hardware. It's just Bullshit data written into a chip that gives windows or media center permission to carry out certain tasks. If an OEM can put that data there the end user can too, who do they think they're fooling?

 

[tblount]

I don't know what Microsoft was thinking with things like SLIC and OCUR being viable methods of copy protection. If I can write to my BIOS, I can get around this. They would have people believe that only certain hardware can have SLIC and OCUR, but what many don't know is that neither of the two have anything to do with hardware. It's just Bullshit data written into a chip that gives windows or media center permission to carry out certain tasks. If an OEM can put that data there the end user can too, who do they think they're fooling?

They know they are "fooling" 99% of their customers who find it easier to pay than to figure out how (or find a program ) that will "write to bios" or emulate it.

Here is a typical example... I was doing some work at a guy's house and we needed to look for a part on the internet. His computer was so slow it was taking forever just to search and load a web page. I had him run msconfig and showed him how to uncheck the junk that was loading when his computer started. EVERY piece of software he had run had installed itself to run when his computer was booted... even if it was just checking for the latest version. I suggested he uncheck all that crapware and he said it was better to leave it because it may mess up something. He is very typical.. do you think he would dare to screw around with his bios? He doesn't even know he has a bios.

 

[Radenight]

They need to stop with the three tired product. make two versions, a server or as MS would call it "Enterprise" version and a home version. $99.95 for the home, and perhaps start pricing the Enterprise version at a little more, with additional costs for support if the company doesn't have their own certified techs. Of course the more licenses you buy the lower the end cost should be.

Oh yeah, and the home version? one license should cover all the computers owned by whomever resides at that physical location.

I do agree with you on the making only 2 versions... I think that there should only be a Home Version and a Professional Version.. Like they did with XP.. Make the Pro version equal to what is now called the Enterprise Edition so it still applies to large or small business.. But do away with this Starter and Basic edition crap.. Both of those are absolute garbage.. The fact that they even exist is like Microsoft is slapping people in the face.. It's insulting really..

They create 2 completely useless dumbed down versions of an OS that they barely mention in all the marketing. Then when the consumer goes to buy the OS not only are they confronted by 6 or more sku's but they are essentially lied to through the marketing because the Starter and Basic Editions have been barely mentioned.. They push all these fancy new features like Aero, Snap, Peek, ect.. Stuff that isn't even included in these two crap versions.. So the consumer gets to the store and sees that the price ranges from $400 down to $100 (for example).. Most consumers are always looking for a 'deal'.. So unless they have the knowledge prior to going into the store that these two dumbed down versions exist and don't contain the features they want, they will end up buying the cheaper version thinking that it will have these over advertised features.. They get home install it and are confronted with not only an ugly mock up of the full featured versions but something that completely turns them off of the OS and tarnishes the companies image to them.. They realize they were essentially lied to and as a result don't bother with any future versions of the OS..

That is of course only one example.. I know there are exeptions and not all consumers are like that.. I was just laying out one scenario..

I also agree very much that when you purchase an Upgrade or Full version the key should work for all of the computers in your home.. There are plenty of ways Microsoft could make sure that you don't just take it to your friends house and install it on their computer so don't argue that they couldn't control it.. Presently I have 6 pc's in my home. All of which I use frequently. I have to say it's very annoying having to purchase multiple licenses every time Microsoft puts out a new OS.. And yes I know some are going to say why don't you just get a cracked version and that way you wouldn't have to buy 6 licenses.. Well I could do that but for one thing it's illegal.. And secondly I would much rather have legitimate software running on my computer.. I don't much care for trojans, malware, etc that often reside in cracked software..

I donno, to me the Starter and Basic editions are pointless.. Windows 7 Home Premium will run fine on a netbook...

 

[djarrum]

Well I could do that but for one thing it's illegal.. And secondly I would much rather have legitimate software running on my computer.. I don't much care for trojans, malware, etc that often reside in cracked software..

"Legitimate software" is a misunderstood phrase. you can download someones ISO of their install disk and the only thing that makes it illegitimate is that you didn't buy it. it's the same data, or at least it whould be, check your MD5/Hash to make sure it at least an unmodified copy.

Do you know what the difference between a legit copy and an illegitimate copy is? if you don't, let me explain it. Legitimate means that the OS can authenticate itself and tell you that you own a legal reproduction. Every time you buy an OS you're Buying a reproduction of an original. Microsoft has tried multiple techniques to combat the very nature of data, but they can not change the fact that if data can be written it can be copied. the only sure fire way Microsoft could make it impossible to use their product without their consent is to make it impossible to write data. and that itself defeats their goal.

I say to hell with them, If they priced their product according to what people could afford to pay, they would have no issues with pirated software.

And BTW to all of you who believe that Microsoft pioneers everything the user experiences on their PC, that may or may not be true. I wont even engage you in a debate over it. But there is an entire community of people who will show you how you can legally do everything a Microsoft OS can do only they will show you a free product that will do it.

 

[penguin386]

I've seen many reports that you can buy the cheapest version 64 or 32 bid and delete the ei.cfg file and it will ask you if you want to install the home, pro or ultimate version.

I tried this yesterday with the Windows 7 Ultimate release candidate. I was able to install both Windows 7 Starter Edition and Windows 7 Home Basic. When I deleted the EI.CFG file, the setup program brings up a menu and lets me choose which version to install. What I did was copy the CD to a folder on the C: drive and delete the EI.CFG file. I shrank the C: drive to free space and created 2 new empty 20gb partitions. Then, I installed Starter Edition on one partition and Home Basic on the other.

They installed just fine, but the Ultimate license key did not work. I was not able to activate them. I really don't care about activation, because it's just a temporary testing environment. I was kind of impressed by Windows 7 Home Basic. I like it better than Vista Home Basic. Too bad it won't be available in the US. I'll probably pickup some cheap copies next time I'm in an Emerging Market country.

The Starter Edition was kind of limited. You could not change the ugly gray screen background for example. I read that Microsoft removed the 3 app limit from Starter Edition, but this version of Starter Edition on the release candidate DVD still has this limit. Also, Starter Edition used 8.5gb of disk space. That's way too bloated for Netbooks with 8gb or smaller SSD hard drives. I was unimpressed by Starter Edition, so I'd stick with XP or Linux for Netbooks

So back to the original question, 'Is Windows 7 worth it?' I say Yes and No. In my opinion, I think it's worth the $119 to upgrade from Vista to Windows 7. I recommend doing a clean install to remove all the OEM crapware, then reinstall all your programs manually. Make sure to backup your data first. Upgrading from XP is a tough call. It depends if your hardware meets the Minimum System Requirements. If you have less than 1gb or RAM, a processor slower than 1ghz and a video card less than DirectX 9 capable with less than 128mb of RAM then you are hosed. Also, you can't really Upgrade from XP anyway. You have do the Custom Install and wipe out all your installed programs and drivers. If your not so geeky friends try this, they'll be calling your for help!

In my case, I'm using a $200 barebones computer that came with NO operating system. It has an Intel Atom N330 dual core processor and it works surprisingly well with Windows 7 release candidate. I plan to keep using the release candidate for FREE as long as I can until it expires. Then what? I think $199 is kind of pricey for the Full Version of Windows 7 Home Premium. That's as much as my whole computer cost. Ouch! The few remaining legitimate XP Pro DVDs available are going for almost that much. And Vista? Forget about it! Maybe I'll switch to FREE Open Source Linux and save the extra 200 bucks for Beer!

 

[Radenight]

"Legitimate software" is a misunderstood phrase. you can download someones ISO of their install disk and the only thing that makes it illegitimate is that you didn't buy it. it's the same data, or at least it whould be, check your MD5/Hash to make sure it at least an unmodified copy.

Do you know what the difference between a legit copy and an illegitimate copy is? if you don't, let me explain it. Legitimate means that the OS can authenticate itself and tell you that you own a legal reproduction. Every time you buy an OS you're Buying a reproduction of an original. Microsoft has tried multiple techniques to combat the very nature of data, but they can not change the fact that if data can be written it can be copied. the only sure fire way Microsoft could make it impossible to use their product without their consent is to make it impossible to write data. and that itself defeats their goal.

I say to hell with them, If they priced their product according to what people could afford to pay, they would have no issues with pirated software.

And BTW to all of you who believe that Microsoft pioneers everything the user experiences on their PC, that may or may not be true. I wont even engage you in a debate over it. But there is an entire community of people who will show you how you can legally do everything a Microsoft OS can do only they will show you a free product that will do it.

Yes I am fully aware of the differences between legit and non legit software thank you very much. I never said you were wrong in any way. I was voicing my opinion. If you don't agree with it that's fine. I never said you had to.

I have to disagree with you on one thing. It wouldn't matter if Windows was $10 (for example), people would still pirate it..

 

[strgzr]

I have to disagree with you on one thing. It wouldn't matter if Windows was $10 (for example), people would still pirate it..

I don't believe that anyone with a brain would load a compromised OS on their own system if they could buy genuine for under $100. I know I wouldn't and I am one crazy son of a bitch!

 

[tblount]

I don't believe that anyone with a brain would load a compromised OS on their own system if they could buy genuine for under $100. I know I wouldn't and I am one crazy son of a bitch!

In some parts of the world the average annual salery is $100.