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Tested Win7 beta here at work and it was actually rather smooth. Then came RC1 and it hasn't been quite as smooth. Some issues with RC1:
PC used for testing: Dell E4300 laptop, 4GB memory.
Beta loaded fine and all the Vista drivers from Dell worked in Win7 Beta without issue.
RC1 loaded fine initially, but the Dell NIC driver install says no supported device found. Left the driver that was loaded by RC1 and it seems to work.
RC1 took three tries to get the PC on our domain. It said it was joined, but the PC never showed up in AD.
Trend Micro anti-virus pops a driver error in RC1 but had no issues in Beta.
Running through various tests with our software so far has been ok, however attempting to run Chess Titans causes a video driver error with the Intel GM45 video and ends with a memory dump and restart. The driver in question is the update provided by MS through updates.
Uninstalled the video driver from MS and re-installed the Dell Vistra driver and all is now well.
After several hours of use and multiple restarts, the PC finally pops up informing of a missing driver for the fingerprint reader. Installed the Dell Security Manager and it took care of that.
Other various "weirdness" as Win7 seems to "notice" things after time and prompts for changes, updates or other settings required. Not sure why all of this doesn't happen right away after loading. It's almost a game to see what the PC is going to want next on a boot up.
Started the PC this morning to continue loading software and now IE 8 prompts for saving my settings again (just like the first time you use it). Hmmm.
Checked updates again and there are two new IE8 updates available, installed them and so far so good.
Log on and log off are excruciatingly slow in RC1, but seemed ok in Beta.
All in all, the look and feel haven't changed much (still don't like the way all the menus have changed and the methods for accessing settings I am used to in XP), but it appears a fair amount has changed internally from Beta.
Continuing to trudge through....
PC used for testing: Dell E4300 laptop, 4GB memory.
Beta loaded fine and all the Vista drivers from Dell worked in Win7 Beta without issue.
RC1 loaded fine initially, but the Dell NIC driver install says no supported device found. Left the driver that was loaded by RC1 and it seems to work.
RC1 took three tries to get the PC on our domain. It said it was joined, but the PC never showed up in AD.
Trend Micro anti-virus pops a driver error in RC1 but had no issues in Beta.
Running through various tests with our software so far has been ok, however attempting to run Chess Titans causes a video driver error with the Intel GM45 video and ends with a memory dump and restart. The driver in question is the update provided by MS through updates.
Uninstalled the video driver from MS and re-installed the Dell Vistra driver and all is now well.
After several hours of use and multiple restarts, the PC finally pops up informing of a missing driver for the fingerprint reader. Installed the Dell Security Manager and it took care of that.
Other various "weirdness" as Win7 seems to "notice" things after time and prompts for changes, updates or other settings required. Not sure why all of this doesn't happen right away after loading. It's almost a game to see what the PC is going to want next on a boot up.
Started the PC this morning to continue loading software and now IE 8 prompts for saving my settings again (just like the first time you use it). Hmmm.
Checked updates again and there are two new IE8 updates available, installed them and so far so good.
Log on and log off are excruciatingly slow in RC1, but seemed ok in Beta.
All in all, the look and feel haven't changed much (still don't like the way all the menus have changed and the methods for accessing settings I am used to in XP), but it appears a fair amount has changed internally from Beta.
Continuing to trudge through....
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2023
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It seems like you encountered various issues and observations while testing Windows 7 Beta and RC1 on a Dell E4300 laptop with 4GB of memory. It's common to face some compatibility and driver issues when working with pre-release versions of an operating system. Here's a breakdown of the points you mentioned: 1. NIC Driver Issue in RC1: - The Dell NIC driver installation reported no supported device found in RC1. Although the driver loaded by RC1 worked, it's recommended to ensure you have the correct drivers for optimal performance. 2. Domain Joining Troubles: - It took three attempts to successfully join the PC to your domain in RC1. Despite the message indicating successful joining, the PC did not show up in Active Directory. This may require further investigation to ensure the domain connection is stable. 3. Trend Micro Anti-Virus Error: - Trend Micro anti-virus encountered a driver error in RC1, which was not present in the Beta version. This could be due to compatibility issues with the newer build of Windows 7. 4. Video Driver Error with Chess Titans: - Running Chess Titans caused a video driver error with the Intel GM45 video driver provided by Microsoft through updates. Reverting to the Dell Vista driver resolved the issue. 5. Missing Driver for Fingerprint Reader: - After several hours of use, a missing driver notification for the fingerprint reader appeared. Installing the Dell Security Manager resolved this issue. 6. Intermittent Prompt for Settings in IE 8: - Internet Explorer 8 prompted for saving settings as if it was the first time, even after multiple uses. Updating IE8 and installing the latest updates seemed to improve the situation. 7. Slow Logon and Logoff Times in RC1: - Logon and logoff processes were slow in RC1 compared to the Beta version. This could be due to changes in the operating system or specific configurations. It's commendable that you are persisting through these challenges. It's essential to stay updated with the latest drivers and updates to address some of the issues you faced. If you encounter further issues, reaching out to Dell support or Microsoft forums for assistance can be beneficial. Keep testing and providing feedback to help improve the Windows 7 experience.
