Windows 7 or stay with XP?

 

Will all of my XP programs and hardware work with the new OS or will i have to update the drivers?

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Garmin-Nuvi 855, 200W, etrex vista
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and...

kelvinqnn wrote:

Will all of my XP programs and hardware work with the new OS or will i have to update the drivers?

...and the software and hardware you have now are......?

There is a program

Microsoft released a program that will let you know what works and doesn't work as far as the hardware goes. They also list some of the programs that are incompatible. Try the official MS site.

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ɐ‾nsǝɹ Just one click away from the end of the Internet

Windows 7

Go to the MS web site and run the advisor, link below. This will test your system for drivers and compatible software. I only lost 1 or 2 old programs when I upgraded. I did manually find some drivers that the MS advisor missed. Overall, it was not too bad.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/downloads/upgrade...

XP

I would stay with XP if you have no issues, still W7 has Blue/Black Death Screen issue like siblings.

Remember, the later the OS version the more demand in Hardware like Processor Speed, RAM, etc...

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Garmin Nuvi 2555 LMT, Street Pilot C340, nuvi 265WT, Mio Moov 300, nuvi 255W, Navigon 2100 (Retired)

XP vs. 7

I have a Dell Inspiron 5150 with windows XP and just got a new Inspiron 1545 that came with windows 7, wife has a Insprion 1425 or something like that that came with Vista. I have to say windows 7 is really better over Vista. It looks like mircosoft finally got it right where Vista was a disaster.

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-Chris

My personal opinion is that

My personal opinion is that if you don't need to upgrade, don't do so. You'll save money, and there's no need to suffer through a possible learning curve.

However, I do feel better about Windows 7 over XP in terms of security framework, and the user interface improvements made since XP are nice. In terms of drivers, I would hazard to say that generally speaking, Windows 7 offers a better, more streamlined experience. Can't say that all drivers you need are in there for sure, but I bet it is more complete than XP.

Absolutely agree about having the right hardware. If you hardware is particularly "old" and you don't feel like upgrading that, Windows 7 might not behave the way you want it. Using the Upgrade Advisor is perhaps a good thing to investigate.

XP

I agree with the others. Stay with XP until it is time to get a new computer.

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Alan - Android Auto, DriveLuxe 51LMT-S, DriveLuxe 50LMTHD, Nuvi 3597LMTHD, Oregon 550T, Nuvi 855, Nuvi 755T, Lowrance Endura Sierra, Bosch Nyon

Windows 7

I have tried both 32 and 64 and have found my Toshiba laptop sure had a lot of problems with the 64 bit version. I had major hardware issues as my monitor would have strecked lines across it and I started having sound issues. A lot of the drivers did not work very good. My sugestion is stay with XP untill they have fixed the issues with 7.

big improvement over Vista and a gigantic improvement over XP

I'm now running all of my computers with windows 7 in both the 64 and 32 bit editions and have not had one problem on any of them. I have not had one blue screen or any program or hardware that would not work with Windows 7. If you have any aprehension install the 32 bit version as there are very few programs written today that actually would take advantage of the 64 bit version anyway.

It is a big improvement over Vista and a gigantic improvement over XP. Makes home networking and network printer sharing a breeze.

Unless you are running a very old computer you shouldn't have any problems.

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Garmin Drive Smart 55 - Samsung Note 10 Smartphone with Google Maps & HERE Apps

Sometimes a system is either

Sometimes a system is either so old or so slow that upgrading an OS will mainly serve to reveal the limits. New computers are much less expensive now, maybe a new system is the best solution?

Windows 7 upgrade

When i purchased my dell pc back in 2007 it was
installed with XP, at that time Vista was introduced so i got a free upgrade. up until now
i just upgraded to Windows 7 (32 bit version) and i must say its alot responsive and quicker than vista and/or xp. Microsoft says that you must do a clean install from xp to windows 7, do you want a clean install? How old is your Pc? , How much ram do you
have? , How much Memory? Cpu Speed ? Maybe its best
to get low priced pc which will make up for lack of
components.

Evaluate and Upgrade at Some Point

As already mentioned, run the MS compatibility tool to check the majority of your software and hardware. For me, Windows 7 has been running great - no regrets about upgrading.

Do make sure that you make plans to upgrade prior to support expiring for Windows XP (you have time). Keeping you system up to date with security patches (no matter what OS you are running) is one of the responsibilities we all have (to ourselves and others).

See: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;[ln];lifesupsps
and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_XP#Support_lifecycle

xp or 7

I would stay with XP until you buy a new computer. XP is a stable operating system. Windows 7 is the fix for Vista.

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"If winning isn't everything, why do they keep score" Lombardi

XP

I think i'll stick with XP for a while longer. It works fine for me.

Merry Christmas

ohwogo nuvi 750

New 7 is better

cool

Just got a new laptop on black Friday with new OS 7, all of my programs from XP ran with no problems. I have the 64 bit with 4GB of memory and that's what makes all the difference... if you want the new 7 start with at least 3GB and go with the 64 bit version as it can and will revert back to 32 if needed. WIN 7 is very stable and much faster than any other! Don't be afraid to upgrade or move forward in time. Get yourself a external drive and do a backup
and you cant go wrong... YOU WILL LOVE THE NEW 7!!!

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"Destination Eternity" Garmin 765T, & Samsung Galaxy Note Edge

There is really no

There is really no compelling reason to go to win7...
Well..unless you want eye candy the wastes resources.

--
Nuvi 350 Born Oct 07 - Nuvi 660 Unit #2 (re)Born Sept 08 - Nuvi 360(Gift to 'the chick' yet maintained by myself) Born July 08

Wait

Wait until you REALLY need new hardware.

--
Bob: My toys: Nüvi 1390T, Droid X2, Nook Color (rooted), Motorola Xoom, Kindle 2, a Yo-Yo and a Slinky. Gotta have toys.

I'd rather stay with XP

I have a machine that I loaded Windows 7 and I'm not impressed by it. Too much fancy stuff that seems to rob performance from my system.

My opinion

alandb wrote:

I agree with the others. Stay with XP until it is time to get a new computer.

I, like yourself, had the same thoughts when debating whether or not to move on to Windows 7. I have been running XP Professional and have not had any issues with it.

I tossed it around and finally decided to take the plunge. I went with Windows 7 Professional (32-bit). I went with the 32-bit system because I was afraid I might have issues finding drivers for my hardware. The one thing I did not do was run it as an upgrade. Nothing but headaches it seems whenever you do that. Leaves too much crap on your computer from the older system.

Doing a "clean install" seems to be the best way to go. From start to finish it took about 25 minutes and I was up and running. I immediately went to Windows update to get any updates needed. I think I was back and forth from there maybe 3 or 4 times, but when I was done I had everything I needed ... drivers and all for ALL my hardware. The install went flawless for me.

It did take me a little while to learn to navigate through it as it renamed certain links. I guess if I had been using Vista (yeah right) that the transition might have been a little easier.

I have been using Windows 7 now for about 2 weeks and I have had "zero" problems. I am very pleased with this new OS and I am glad I decided to take the plunge.

I will tell you this ... I downloaded Driver Genius Professional Edition 9 (DGPE9) and it has been great. It keeps all my drivers up to date. It makes it so much easier then having to go to each site and look to see if something new is out. DGPE9 checks and notifies you if there is a new driver avaialble. Wouldn't be without it now that I have got it.

I have since also redone my girlfriends computer with the same version. Again ... another flawless installation. She is very pleased with it. She was running Vista Home Premium (poor girl).

The one and only issue we had with hers as far as drivers goes was with a CD ROM disc printer she has ... a Primera. That is the only one right now that has no drivers available for it. I went to their site ... and nothing. No big deal as she rarely used it anyways. The one that DID surprise me was her HP LaserJet 5p ... a printer that has to be about 10+ years old. When I went to Windows update ... it actually picked up a driver for it from HP. I was blown away! I thought for sure that printer was gonna go to the "printer graveyard".

So ... I guess, in conclusion ... I would say that it is not a bad thing to go to Windows 7 ... just do it as a "clean install".

I am not an expert on computers ... but I have been playing with them since 1999 and about 5 years ago started building my own. I have had my share of problems ... but always earn from my mistakes. One of the big ones I learned is to NEVER DO AN UPDATE to a new OS. Period!

By the way ... I am 59 years old. Just shows that you CAN teach us old dogs new tricks! smile

Below are the specs of my latest creation:

Antec Nine Hundred case, 4GB A-Data DDR2 800 RAM, Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz, ASUS P5K-E/WIFI-AP MB, XFX GeForce 8600GT XXX 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 video card, ZALMAN CNPS9500 AT 2 Ball CPU Cooling Fan/Heatsink, Seagate Barracuda 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s HDD, Aerocool FP-01 Multifunction panel w/card reader, Zerodba 620W PSU, LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD with LightScribe SATA, Samsung CDDVDW SH-S203B SATA, Acer P241W 24" w/s monitor, Canon CanoScan LiDE 35 scanner, Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 speakers, Kodak ESP3250 All In One printer.

Upgrade.

I upgraded my computer and laptop to Windows 7 and love it. It runs real nice. I hated vista!

--
Nuvi 660. Nuvi 40 Check out. www.houserentalsorlando.com Irish Saying. A man loves his sweetheart the most, his wife the best, but his mother the longest.

I second the motion!

rlallos wrote:

Wait until you REALLY need new hardware.

I am looking forward to Windows 7 on my NEXT computer... wink wink wink

Upgrade upgrade upgrade!

I recently did the upgrade from windows xp to windows 7 and am loving it! I have windows 7 64bit and have not had a single problem thus far. All programs that i have work fine and are compatible including the POI loader and garmin drivers. Microsoft has a sweet deal for anyone who has a .edu email address and wants to upgrade they can get home edition or professional for only 30 bucks. Its what I did and its quite the steal!!!

Stay With XP..!!

dood wrote:

There is really no compelling reason to go to win7...
Well..unless you want eye candy the wastes resources.

I agree with dood, stay with XP..!!

Nuvi1300WTGPS

Nuvi1300WTGPS@gmail.com

--
I'm not really lost.... just temporarily misplaced!

XP For Me

XP works fine and I am going to stay with XP until Microsoft stops supporting XP.

Win 7

I just got a new Sony laptop with Windows 7 - as a few others have stated... It's fantastic compared to Vista

My desktop runs on Vista, and I hate it.

Now, that was a new PC with Win 7 already installed. Can't speak to an upgrade on an existing PC.

Only program I lost was an ol version of photoshop (5.5). Otherwise, everything worked on Win 7.

I put Windows 7 on an old

I put Windows 7 on an old laptop and got a program called Driver Genius Pro which first off repaired and updated all my Drivers in my computer running XP and has an option to store all the drivers in an executable format. After installing Windows 7 I put the executable file in a USB drive and installed the drivers on my desktop as a folder and was able to direct Windows 7 to find the drivers that I needed to the driver folder. All my hardware worked and is running great.

upgrade

If it ain't broke don't fix it.

--
Anytime you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there's a 90% probability you'll get it wrong.

everything seems to be

everything seems to be working fine for me
windows 7 has a compatibility program shell

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/download.aspx

What to do...

I'm in the market for a new laptop. Torn between a Dell with Windows 7, or a new Mac. I hate that I'm even considering a Mac; however, my daughter has had one for a year without a single issue. Wish I could say that I've had a month without an issue in all the years I've lived with Microsoft!

--
"For those who fought for it, freedom has a flavor the protected will never know."

That's a easy answer

You can throw your money away and buy a Mac, or buy your laptop with Windows 7 installed. If you noticed the apple slamming PC commercials have all but died out. Windows 7 is simply the best.

Do yourself a favor buy a PC laptop with 7 installed save the money and and then take advantage of thousands of software titles written for PC's that are not available for Mac's. 99% of mac's software is available for PC's but not not the other way around.

when you think about it, how many people do you know that have their PCs emulating a mac? then how many Macs are emulating PCs? so just buy the PC with 7 installed, it's macs direct competition now.

As far as Blue & Black screen go, that's Hogwash. I have never seen one on windows 7, Ever! Only very fast speeds and a collection of the best from past operating systems. If people have never installed or used 7 they shouldn't be imputing into this conversation, because they don't know what the heck they are talking about.

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Using Android Based GPS.The above post and my sig reflects my own opinions, expressed for the purpose of informing or inspiring, not commanding. Naturally, you are free to reject or embrace whatever you read.

If its still running fine..Why fix it

If you have an older computer, stick with XP. grin If you purchasing or building a new computer go with Windows 7. smile Just my .02 cents. wink

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END_OF_LINE

Windows 7 is okay

The only potential hiccups would probably be an issue with migrating from 32 to 64 bit. Some companies, such as HP, simply dropped support for devices past a certain age. My laser printer that is less than 10 years old won't play nice with 64 bit since HP was too lazy to make a 64 bit driver, so my days of ever buying any HP products are over.

If you have access to really good pricing (such as 30 dollar Win 7 Pro purchased with student discount), I would go ahead and buy it. If you would be paying full price, I would wait until you buy a new computer and let the system builder subsidize the cost of your license.

Windows 7 is a worthy

Windows 7 is a worthy upgrade. Make sure that you can find the drivers for your hardware to verify it will work on 7. If so I would take the leap, much much better than Vista, a great upgrade to XP.

I am very happy with Windows

I am very happy with Windows 7, I went right from XP. I never dealt with Vista.

Miss POI

Win 7 compatibility

I have done 6 installs so far and the 32 bit version has been 100% compatible with XP software with small exception. The software will let you know as soon as you start the install if there are any issues with software and give you the chance to exit and uninstall the problem software. The only one I have run into is Trueimage from Acronis but they have a fix (update) for Win 7. One of the installs was on a XP PC still running Quake 3 and it not only works but the video is noticibly better. You will lose most DOS functions theogh there is a "virtual" DOS for standard commands. Two of the installs (fresh installs)were for 64 bit Win 7 and other than printer drivers(available online from within the install dialog)there were no issues and it's a little quicker than the 32 bit version.

Crashmanager

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Crashmanager

My two cents....

Within the past 2 weeks, I have purchased 2 Sony laptops with Windows 7 installed. I have been installing some of my favorite software from my XP machines and am amazed at how stable the new OS seems to be. I have plugged in various peripheral devices and hardware without the OS even causing as much as a hiccup. Drivers for the printers and optical mice were all found without much fanfare from the OS. It found the drivers behind the scenes while I was doing other installs and notified me when the devices were ready to use.

So far I am a fan of Windows 7. I did not use Vista in any form because of the negative comments and impressions from other users, but I am very impressed with what MS has done with 7.

Older hardware

I built my latest computer maybe 6 - 7 years ago so it's pretty old as computers go. At the time, I was a gamer and built a fast system with great hardware as the game I played was one of the more system intensive ones.

I ran the Windows 7 Advisor and, while I can definitely use the OS, it said that for FULL use of the graphics capabilities, etc. I would need to upgrade my video card. Holy cow! It was a GREAT video card when I purchased it.

I don't game anymore so I no longer need the latest and greatest system. I'll stick with what I currently have and also stick with XP since it works just fine for me. When I get around to building a new system someday that will be soon enough to upgrade to Windows 7.

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GPSMAP 76CSx - nüvi 760 - nüvi 200 - GPSMAP 78S

At 6-7 years it almost qualifies as an antique.

thrak wrote:

I built my latest computer maybe 6 - 7 years ago so it's pretty old as computers go.

At 6-7 years it almost qualifies as an antique in computer years. wink

--
Garmin Drive Smart 55 - Samsung Note 10 Smartphone with Google Maps & HERE Apps

kelvinqnn wrote: Will all of

kelvinqnn wrote:

Will all of my XP programs and hardware work with the new OS or will i have to update the drivers?

I switched to 7 several weeks ago and was amazed that some programs that I used in XP, but never would work in Vista, now work in 7. So far no problems. IMO, worth the upgrade. As far as drivers, I even used the XP driver for the sound and it's been working fine.

New Computer

I put together a new system last week. Intel i-5 CPU with an Asus P7P55 PRO mobo. No problems with the Win 7 64bit installation and most programs.

2 of my old old programs, really for Win 95, don't work. And since the software company went out of business, I'm out of luck. All my XP programs work fine.

--
Garmin Nuvi 750

To upgrade, or not to upgrade, that is the question...

SoCal2OH wrote:

If you have an older computer, stick with XP. grin If you purchasing or building a new computer go with Windows 7. smile Just my .02 cents. wink

I plan on taking the same path. My 5-year old P4 desktop and 8-year old P3 laptop are pretty much at the end of their lifespan. Both still work great for their age (sorta like me mrgreen ), but not worth upgrading the OS.

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Tampa, FL - Garmin nüvi 660 (Software Ver 4.90), 2021.20 CN NA NT maps | Magellan Meridian Gold

I would agree that Windows 7

I would agree that Windows 7 is a major improvement over XP but don't upgrade if your PC is more than 3 years old and you don't have enough "horsepower" CPU and 4 MB RAM.

All the advice is find and

All the advice is find and dandy...yet I'd like to mention something that has not been touched on.

Memory..and CPU..in the context of running APPLICATIONS.

Sure..you can have 2..even 4 GB of ram. But much of that used for the OS (rather an obnoxious amount actually).

If you use applications that need that memory. Good luck.
For example, video editing software, large spreadsheets, graphics software and basically anything that uses large amounts of memory.

It may look pretty and seem stable once you fire it up..but when you start using applications, you could thrash your machine to death. Plus, if you have older memory(sub 800mhz) you may find your apps pokey.

I would NEVER load win7 on anything less than 2GB of memory. I would have 4gb as a minimum.
If you have a single core processor? Fuggetabout.
You get the idea.

I mention this because I see the focus ONLY on the OS.
Personally? I run APPLICATIONS...not operating systems.
In my opinion, I want an OS that is slim, stable, and does the most basic things an OS should do..and do it well. Once you do that? Get out of my way and let me run my applications.
You can keep your 'gadgets', DRM, sad attempts and indexing everything on the hard drive, goofball 'libraries' which is just more covoluted 'links'..but are more offensively stoopid...etc..etc.. (I could go on..)

Just another .02...

--
Nuvi 350 Born Oct 07 - Nuvi 660 Unit #2 (re)Born Sept 08 - Nuvi 360(Gift to 'the chick' yet maintained by myself) Born July 08

Thanks for all the replies

I did a windows 7 update advisor and all my hardware and software will work. But I think I will stick with XP for a few more months.

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Garmin-Nuvi 855, 200W, etrex vista

stick with xp

As someone who works on computers and has been dealing with Microsoft products since DOS, my advice is simple. Don't upgrade for a minimum of 6 months to a new OS. Let others get the bugs out! Windows 7 does seem to be a stable OS, but only time and a wide distrubution will tell.

why change

Microsoft never gets it right the first time...why rush. What would you gain with 7 that you need?

XP

Dwshouston wrote:

Microsoft never gets it right the first time...why rush. What would you gain with 7 that you need?

Agree. I'd stay on XP.

depends

it depends on your pc, i had 7 installed and loved it but because my ps is about 4 yrs old i had some issues with drivers, so i ended up reinstalling xp

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[URL=http://www.speedtest.net][IMG]http://www.speedtest.net/result/693683800.png[/IMG][/URL]

MS versions

Dwshouston wrote:

Microsoft never gets it right the first time...why rush. What would you gain with 7 that you need?

Yup..the 'tradition', is that you NEVER use any software from MS until it hits version 3.0.
And as long as I've been in IT, that statement is sooo true...for applications.

Yet win7 is a bit of oddball. It 'is' vista 2.0.
SP1 for win7 could make it 3.0. We can go from there.. smile

--
Nuvi 350 Born Oct 07 - Nuvi 660 Unit #2 (re)Born Sept 08 - Nuvi 360(Gift to 'the chick' yet maintained by myself) Born July 08

The reviews indicate it's

The reviews indicate it's off to a great start but there is still a lot of "bugs". I'd prefer to wait a while until some of them are resolved and then, definitely make the upgrade.

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