Windows 7 Most users happy with Windows 7

[kemical]

At least it is better than Vista

Users of Microsoft's Windows 7 are generally "very satisfied" with the new operating system.

A report from Forrester Research said that most of the great unwashed know the product is there if they want it. Writing in its blog Forrester said a "strong majority" of US consumers knew about Windows 7 by the end of 2009. Microsoft released the operating system in October to favourable reviews and while punters still love Windows XP, Forrester said, particularly for their notebooks.

However what Forrester has noticed is that people have been buying the Operating system without splashing out on new PC. Forty-three percent of Windows 7 early adopters bought an upgrade, according to Forrester. Another 45 percent got it on a new computer. It was the first time that upgrade purchasing matched replacement-cycle purchasing among OS owners, the firm said.

This is because Windows 7 was a thinner client program than was Windows Vista, meaning that it works well on older hardware configurations.
In the past, OSes were designed with Moore's Law as an underlying assumption – that is, that newer PC hardware would be significantly faster and more powerful than the previous generation's hardware.


Fudzilla - Most users happy with Windows 7

Well judging by most of the happy folk we have in this forum I'd say the above was a reasonable statement to make..

 

[cybercore]

At least it is better than Vista

Lol, most users happy with 7, reason: at least it is better than vista.

 

[stueycaster]

It's much more stable than XP too. I don't have near as many problems with W7 as I did with XP or Vista. I could never go back to XP now.

 

[Agent Data]

I returned to Vista for the following reasons why 7 home/ulti (32/64) is failing on me:

1) floppy drive dysfunctional (AMD 770 chipset)
2) bad compatibility with my wife's older designer software (database related)
3) irregular AHCI performance - wildly floating performance ( 2MB/s - 90MB/s) depending on what/where you copy
4) Windows Explorer - the two panes are no longer connected to each other

Frankly, 7 is a joke in terms of software backward compatibility (with Vista) and overall slower than Vista. It's just not good enough to have older software working but the slowdown is unacceptable. The 7 UI looks cheap compared to Vista even it is nearly the same layout.

Tried both 32/64 bit versions and always the same problems.

 

[Athlonite]

who the hell still uses floppy discs buy a usb memory stick not only are they faster they hold a heck of a lot more data and unless the computer was made 15yrs ago it'll most likely have a usb port

did you check the software manufacturers website for an update/upgrade

and file copy can be dependent upon size and type of file being copied and what the HDD being used likes the best

and as for the UI it's the same Aero used in vista

Did you make sure all the drivers were upto date

what's the exact Hardware in the PC that your attempting to use win7 x32/x64 on

 

[Athlonite]

OH just about forgot Windows 7 x64 ROCKS in fact if i had to go backwards in OS my personal choice would be WinXP sp3 Vista for me just sucked in the 8mths i used it as soon as win7 RC1 came out i ditched Vista it's probably gotten better since SP2 but i don't care

 

[Agent Data]

Meanwhile I am on 7-64 ultimate and the XP-VM cured the software trouble.
However, answering your questions:

who the hell still uses floppy discs buy a usb memory stick not only are they faster they hold a heck of a lot more data and unless the computer was made 15yrs ago it'll most likely have a usb port

system boards are still manufactured with floppy support for a reason and windows has to support it. It's fairly known by now that some AMD chipsets crap on floppy support under 7 but still working fine under Vista (same machine)

did you check the software manufacturers website for an update/upgrade

development stopped in 2007 (dot). For now W7 saved true XP compatibility with its XP VM a very impressive 1.13GB install just for XP but only for 7Pro or better.

and file copy can be dependent upon size and type of file being copied and what the HDD being used likes the best

it is quite amazing copying small Documents is so slow (5MB/s) but big binaries like zipped files copy full speed (190MB/s) Another annoying example burning two sata DVDs concurrently - if you burn faster than 4x speed both device buffers are running dry slowing down the whole process due to "waiting for buffers to recover". However I suspect a 770 chipset issue, not Win7!

and as for the UI it's the same Aero used in vista

yes, but deeper

Did you make sure all the drivers were upto date

All AMD drivers are latest...

 

[Athlonite]

hmmm ok I never use the floppy drive on my ATI/AMD 790FX/SB600 board i always turn it off in the bios

have you tried turning off AHCI and just running in SATA IDE mode as i remember a thread i read a while ago that was about SATA DVD burners having issues with AHCI mode but when running in SATA IDE mode they were fine

maybe find another newer program that does the same thing as the old one.. XP mode is a good thing and 1.13GB isn't very big

 

[Agent Data]

Look, I am not going to compromise to make the floppy work in 7 - I boot into Vista when I need it

Newer program? - there simply is nothing. for some unknown reasons most major developers in this branch stopped in 2007. I guess most of them have been kinda copycats. Consequentially they had to stop too.

 

[kemical]

I still find it odd though Agent Data that the floppy won't work in 7 but is fine in vista. As you well know it's one of the oldest technologies still being used by some of us and should work no problem. Tell me, did you upgrade from vista or do a clean install? Apologies if this has been asked already.

 

[Agent Data]

I still find it odd though Agent Data that the floppy won't work in 7 but is fine in vista.

This is the situation here and I am not alone with this problem

Tell me, did you upgrade from vista or do a clean install? Apologies if this has been asked already.

I had one upgrade from Vista to 7-32 H.P going wrong consequentially another clean install 7-32 H.P and later upgrade to 7-64 ultimate. Floppy never worked correctly - any write destroys the disk while reading foreign floppies is no issue...you even can boot from the foreign floppy.

 

[stueycaster]

I still find it odd though Agent Data that the floppy won't work in 7 but is fine in vista. As you well know it's one of the oldest technologies still being used by some of us and should work no problem.

It might be a flaw in the drivers for the AMD 770 Chipset. I know on my old desktop there was always an issue with the VIA K8T800 Chipset and it's USB Ports. Only 4 of it's 8 ports worked. They never updated it. Now that old desktop is stashed away in storage. Win7 x64 works great on my new laptop.

If there's a hardware issue it's not caused by Windows. It's up to the hardware manufacturer to take care of their product's drivers.

 

[dechef]

WHAT ? none of you have a network printer

Year 2010 2.5 gig HD / 2.2 GHZ / dual core + $700 price tag reputable big chain store purchase legitimate Windows 7 home edition premium

AND I CAN NOT PRINT ANYTHING

How can microsoft get away with continiously screwing us . Other computers print fine, no problem. Windows 7 : myself and my son in law, 4 days hundreds of searches and still
I CAN NOT PRINT ANYTHING

I do not expect to have to work so hard to get a minimal operation out of modern technology , 40 years ago they brought back Applo 13 with duct tape and a prayer BUT

I can not print anything !

My daughter unpacked her Apple, turned it on and .... wait for it ... printed ! yes that fast.
She is strutting around chirpng "told ya ... get a Mac

Well if this issue does not get solved before the thirty days from the store is up , that is exactly what is gonna happen.

I know you all have this problem, NO ONE on any forum does not have this problem... thing is , do any of you have an answer ?

thank you if you do resolve this for me .

 

[kemical]

Hi Dechef,
sorry to hear your getting problems.. Could you please post the name and make of the printer as well as the the machine you've just purchased.

Just a thought:
If you bought the printer and computer at the same time why not phone the store and get them to sort it out?

 

[Agent Data]

Year 2010 2.5 gig HD / 2.2 GHZ / dual core + $700 price tag reputable big chain store purchase legitimate Windows 7 home edition premium

AND I CAN NOT PRINT ANYTHING

...

again, printer details?

 

[stueycaster]

I plugged my HP Printer into my W7 laptop. It started the installation, went online and got the software and installed it. I didn't have to do a thing. Now it works flawlessly. I set it to be the printer for my home network. When I set it up on my wife's W7 laptop it started the installation, went online to get the software and installed it. Again, I didn't have to do a thing to help it. Now that works flawlessly too.

 

[dechef]

well I thank you for your response , you may have deduced that I am very frustrated, more by the fact that this is apparently not just my problem. In the old days , we sorted this kind of stuff out every time you moved the computer to the other side of the room. Hey you pretty much needed planning permission !
ANYWAY toshibia satellite, dual core AMD 2.2 ghz the printer is a cannon all in one mp 260 (270 ? ) i think.
there is a cable modem to wireless router, printer is cable linked to machine running XP home edtion ( son-in laws un-sure of specs) daughter runs a Mac and prints off the wireless network hassel free, wired machined prints no problem.
Toshibia recognises the printer , but ALWAYS says it is offline .... and that is where everything falls apart.
It simply does not need to be this kind of an issue. Microsoft KNOWS people are gonna run into this.
From what I can figure out, it may have something to do with the fact that the XP machine is 32 bit and the Win7 (problem machine) is 64 bit. I really don't know any more.I personnally stalled on Win 2000 which I personally run and have had no problem with. It is not PART OF THIS SETUP right now to print we wirelessly transfer / file share from the Toshiba to the XP and then print .... so I need two computers to print a document and the Mac to surf the forums looking for solutions ! !
I really appreciate any help on this because the wife is basicly enamoured by the Win7 and the Office 2007 ( her Toshiba )
thanks again to evryone and anyone with input.

 

[john3347]

Year 2010 2.5 gig HD / 2.2 GHZ / dual core + $700 price tag reputable big chain store purchase legitimate Windows 7 home edition premium

AND I CAN NOT PRINT ANYTHING

How can microsoft get away with continiously screwing us . Other computers print fine, no problem. Windows 7 : myself and my son in law, 4 days hundreds of searches and still
I CAN NOT PRINT ANYTHING

I do not expect to have to work so hard to get a minimal operation out of modern technology , 40 years ago they brought back Applo 13 with duct tape and a prayer BUT

I can not print anything !

My daughter unpacked her Apple, turned it on and .... wait for it ... printed ! yes that fast.
She is strutting around chirpng "told ya ... get a Mac

Well if this issue does not get solved before the thirty days from the store is up , that is exactly what is gonna happen.

I know you all have this problem, NO ONE on any forum does not have this problem... thing is , do any of you have an answer ?

thank you if you do resolve this for me .

I would wager a small bet that this is an HP printer. I have an HP Photosmart C7280 wireless network printer that functions normally with my XP computers, but does not function with Windows 7. I spent many hours in support chat and email with HP technical support (support????) and they act like they don't even understand what I am trying to explain to them, much less have a fix. Finally, I have just had to give up and have connected a USB connected non-HP printer to my Windows 7 machine. (Windows 7 is what is different here, what has changed, not the printer.) I really think that means that Microsoft has to at least share the blame for the problem whether they are totally responsible or not. I do remember that I had HP printer driver problems (different HP printer from the one involved in this issue) with Windows Millennium and that problem was blamed on Windows Millennium. (Does that point to Windows 7 as the current problem?) It is interesting that this current printer also functioned normally with Vista for the few months I had a Vista machine.

So, it appears that, at the present time, the only solution to this particular problem is a non-HP printer OR a non-Windows 7 operating system. That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it until new evidence surfaces.


Edit: Just read your response. I guess I lost my small wager, didn't I?

 

[stueycaster]

well I thank you for your response , you may have deduced that I am very frustrated, more by the fact that this is apparently not just my problem. In the old days , we sorted this kind of stuff out every time you moved the computer to the other side of the room. Hey you pretty much needed planning permission !
ANYWAY toshibia satellite, dual core AMD 2.2 ghz the printer is a cannon all in one mp 260 (270 ? ) i think.
there is a cable modem to wireless router, printer is cable linked to machine running XP home edtion ( son-in laws un-sure of specs) daughter runs a Mac and prints off the wireless network hassel free, wired machined prints no problem.
Toshibia recognises the printer , but ALWAYS says it is offline .... and that is where everything falls apart.
It simply does not need to be this kind of an issue. Microsoft KNOWS people are gonna run into this.
From what I can figure out, it may have something to do with the fact that the XP machine is 32 bit and the Win7 (problem machine) is 64 bit. I really don't know any more.I personnally stalled on Win 2000 which I personally run and have had no problem with. It is not PART OF THIS SETUP right now to print we wirelessly transfer / file share from the Toshiba to the XP and then print .... so I need two computers to print a document and the Mac to surf the forums looking for solutions ! !
I really appreciate any help on this because the wife is basicly enamoured by the Win7 and the Office 2007 ( her Toshiba )
thanks again to evryone and anyone with input.

When I ran XP Pro x64 edition I had my printer hooked up to it. I needed to share it with my wife's XP Home laptop. I was unable to get the 64 bit machine to supply a driver for the 32 bit laptop because 64 and 32 bit drivers just don't mix. I was able to get it to work by getting the driver off the installation disk that came with the printer.

You'll probably have to get 64 bit software from the printer manufacturer's website.

 

[stueycaster]

It's not up to Microsoft to make Windows work with every piece of hardware in existence. It's up to the hardware manufacturer to provide drivers that work with Windows. You can't blame Windows for hardware problems. It's not their responsibility.