The heads at Microsoft are waiting for the shit to really hit the fan with the release of Windows 7. Every product they have released since Windows 95 has always had a major hiccup at the beginning. In the coming months, however, Microsoft has really been trying their best to get everyone on board. The cynical amongst you may feel that Microsoft is trying to pull the wool over your head and to force you to pay for a product you thought you already had. A lot of bloggers out there will be using the phrase “Windows 7 is what Vista was meant to be!” , but wouldn’t you be a bit pissed off if you had to spend twice as much to actually get what you thought you had in the first place? This is essentially the controversy surrounding Windows 7, why should we have to pay for something that could be released as a Service Pack? The simple answer is that Microsoft has actually done a lot of work on Windows 7, a lot of work that costs a lot. They know that most people will not be rushing to the shops to buy a copy, but they also know that the work they have put into creating Windows 7 will have to be filtered down to Vista users. This means that Microsoft has to somehow cover its costs for releasing DirectX 11 and all those security updates to XP and Vista users, and the easiest way to do this is to release a new OS and to charge normal prices for it. In a bid to get the money flowing, Microsoft has released a very limited number of copies for pre-order. In the UK, we were tempted with a £49 price tag for Windows 7 Home Premium. Unfortunately we can’t get the upgrade version because the EU has banned Microsoft from selling Windows with Internet Explorer. Which is ridiculous considering all the other browsers can only be downloaded using IE. Anyway, putting aside this ridiculous requirement, those of you who really want a copy will be sorely disappointed if you didn’t get in quick for the pre-order. All the copies that were selling for £49 are gone, which just leaves the normal price of £70, which will then be hiked up to about £140 next January. The reason there is a big step up is that Microsoft is compensating for the fact that they can’t release IE in CD form yet.
So, this brings us to our first milestone. If you want Windows 7 without having to pay through the nose, go to Amazon and pre-order it for £70. We’ve been living with Windows RC now for 3 days, and our advice is to go and buy it if you need it. I for one will be spending the £70 on a copy; however, I will be keeping it in my drawer for a couple of months. The reason for this is that although Microsoft has done a great job with the current Release Candidate, it is not worth risking all your data yet. We suggest that if you want Windows 7 ,to buy it but wait at least 6 months before committing to it 100%. So, assuming that you’ve bought a copy, we’ll move onto our second milestone.
Installing Windows 7 from scratch is a breeze. Before you start, you will need to enter your BIOS and change your boot options. When your computer starts there should be a button you have to press to enter your BIOS, it’s usually something like F10 or F12. Once you are in your BIOS, go to boot options and make sure that your PC is trying to boot from your DVD drive first. Once you’ve done that, just stick in the DVD and follow all the instructions on screen. Generally speaking, it’s fairly simple. The installation is very similar to Vista’s installation, however this time you’ll have the option between 32 bit and 64 bit. We suggest that you back everything up and go with 64-bit, assuming that you’ve waited for 6 months. The reason we suggest this is that most people will have 64-bit capable PC’s, which will benefit greatly from a 64-bit OS. Essentially it makes your CPU (Central Processing Unit), twice as effective and it lets you install a lot more RAM. In essence this will break through all the old performance celings. The installation will take a while as everything gets unpacked onto your newly formatted drive, although this is not necessary. Unlike Vista, the Windows 7 installation will actually let you install over your original Vista instalment, and it will just move everything into a folder called Windows.old. This is a nice little feature if you can’t find a way of backing up everything. Once the installation is done, the computer will restart. We suggest that before Windows starts up for the first time that you take the DVD out. This will stop you from installing the whole thing again and again. When Windows boots up for the first time you’ll be taken through a few screens that will set up basic user preferences.
If you don’t feel like waiting 6 months, however, there is another way that you can use Windows 7 without having to commit completely. What you have to do is create a second partition on your hard drive so that you can Multi-Boot Windows 7 and Vista. If you’re currently using Vista, go to Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Computer Management and then click on Disk Management. Once there, click on your Primary Hard Drive and click Shrink. You need to make sure you have plenty of space on it, we suggest you have at least a 500 GB hard drive with 250 GB free to shrink. Once your Hard Drive is shrunk, you will have unallocated space. Leave that space for now and follow the normal Windows 7 Installation. When you install it, make sure you go for the Custom option and then choose your unallocated partition. The windows 7 Installation will automatically format this unallocated space and install Windows 7 on the partition. This means that when you boot up, you will have the choice between starting Windows 7 and Windows Vista. Once you’re completely happy with Windows 7 you can go ahead and back up all your data ready for a clean install. You will have to format and extend the primary partition so that it takes up the whole hard drive again.
So what about people with laptops? Well, generally speaking we would advise against messing with anything. However, this time around we’ll be going against the grain a little. The current Release Candidate of Windows 7 has much better performance than Windows Vista. It is also easier to customise and to keep in check. So in actual fact we suggest that you do purchase a copy of Windows 7 and install it when everything is completely ironed out. You will find that your laptop will be given a new bill of health, saving you from having to buy a new one for at least a couple more years.
When you first start Windows 7 you will notice the nice new background to the log in screen, you will also notice a bigger task bar. The windows themselves, however, remain completely unchanged since Windows Vista. I can guarantee that your first reaction to Windows 7 will be “why the hell did I spend money on this?”. In our next review we will be exploring what’s new about Windows 7 in a hope that it will justify spending those precious pennies.
Coming up next : What You See and What You Get, a review on the features that make up Windows 7.
Tags : Microsoft, Windows 7, Multi-Boot, Partition, Home Premium, £49
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