Kurifuri

My laptop came with Windows Vista Home Basic, which is the version with everything disabled because the laptop’s hardware “can’t handle it”. Never mind that Linux+KDE can do the same things and more with no slow-downs.

Since Amazon had the $50 upgrade deal, I decided, “Why not?” I like to have Windows around “just in case”, but Vista is so sluggish, and supposedly Windows 7 runs better on low-end hardware than Vista does (due to the netbook rush). Of course, Windows 7 also recommends 1GB of RAM, and I have only half of that. Linux runs just fine with half a gig, but maybe an upgrade to one gig won’t be too bad in the future. We’ll see…

Update: This is the problem I’m having on activating Windows 7. Rather than calling Microsoft, I used the registry/command line hack to get it “activated”.

The Installation Process

So, what’s the installation like? First, I needed to be connected to the Internet to “get important updates for installation”. I was running Vista at the time and was connected to the Internet, but the installer couldn’t see that I was connected to the Internet.

When given the choice between an upgrade or a new install, I chose new install. I figured, that’s the best way to go. A fresh new start. A clean install. And I had just finished copying all my files to my wonderful SeaGate FreeAgent Go 500GB external hard drive. Upgrade or clean install, Microsoft recommends backing up either way, and that’s a good idea regardless of the operating system.

The Windows 7 packaging says 16GB is the minimum hard drive space, and the installer showed my “C: drive” partition as at 15.6GB. (The super-slow installer—or at least the installer running super-slow on the super-slow Windows Vista Home Basic that came pre-installed on Vista, but has had all the junk pre-loaded software long since removed—I might add.) The installer wouldn’t let me install here, which meant it was time for an Ubuntu Linux Live DVD to resize partitions.

Following a four minute shutdown (standard for Windows Vista Home Basic on my laptop, whereas Kubuntu Linux is closer to half a minute), I decided to just wipe out my Windows Vista partitions (fresh, clean start completely) and combine them into one, and then I went back to trying to install Windows 7. Up until this point, I was at fault for not having the partition at the proper size, having resized it smaller in the past so I could install Linux on the laptop.

The next time around, I figured booting from the Windows 7 installation DVD might be the way to go. If Microsoft were smart, it would be running Windows XP underneath the installer, much like my laptop has a Windows XP install to run its Windows Vista recovery mode.

The installation process started with a few clicks, then a promise of needing nothing more for a while and a few pending reboots. At this point, installation looked simple enough: wait through “Copying Windows file”, “Expanding Windows files”, “Installing features”, “Installing updates”, and then “Completing installation”.

The first reboot left the laptop with a blank screen and the DVD drive trying to read the DVD. I think. I’m certain it wasn’t repeatedly reading data. After about five minutes of this (I was reading on my PC while the laptop struggled off to the side), I ejected the DVD, and a “Starting Windows” screen came right up. This brought Windows back to the “Completing installation” step (and Windows finally understood the correct resolution of my laptop’s monitor, but it’s understandable that it wouldn’t have proper drivers loaded from the DVD for the prior stage of installation).

The second reboot came next. This brought it to asking for the product key. I gave the product key marked “Product Key” from inside the Windows 7 Upgrade box, and after a minute checking it online, this was rejected, invalid key. Next step? See if I can read the key on the worn-down sticker underneath the laptop for Windows Vista. Okay, typed that into a text file on my PC whlie the laptop’s upside-down. Turn the laptop over, key in the Vista product code. Instant rejection, invalid key… Since this was an instant invalidation, whereas the other product code took some time to verify online, I checked underneath the laptop again. Aha, a couple of worn-out Bs on the laptop’s sticker are actually 8s. Laptops really need to have better quality stickers for this kind of information…

After keying in product codes four times total by now, the corrected Vista code is registers as…invalid. But it took a lot longer to try validating this time, meaning there weren’t any typos in the product code this time.

All right, time to try the Windows 7 one again, just in case. Invalid. Okay, a magnifying glass to the Vista one underneath the laptop, and check every character carefully, while wondering if Windows Vista Home Basic doesn’t qualify for a Windows 7 Home Premium upgrade. No, no problems there. I’ll try the Vista one just one more time. One-minute wait for online validation. Response. Invalid.

At this point, I’m thinking, “Linux distributions are a lot easier to install than Windows,” and it’s all because of the product key.

I disabled the wireless, figuring Windows will think it can’t get an Internet connection, and will finish the installation while expecting to remind me to activate within 30 days. I click on the “Next” button so it can try to register and find I have no Internet connection. It takes a minute of waiting, then does nothing. There is nothing saying I may be offline. No results of the validation failure. Just…nothing.

I clear out the activation key then click on “Next”, and I am able to continue. Finally! No activation yet, but finally!

Inside Windows 7

I may write more about Windows 7 itself later, or I may not, so I’m writing some initial impressions here.

I like the smooth transition from one desktop wallpaper to another when selecting a desktop wallpaper. It’s also nice to see that Windows finally has a desktop slideshow option, which includes a setting to not switch background images while on battery power. That something I have to disable manually in KDE on Linux if I have it enabled and want to unplug the laptop.

As I looked through the “Personalization” items, the first thing I realized is that Windows isn’t taking forever and ever to acknowledge each mouse button click. This isn’t the super-slow Windows Vista Home Basic with everything disabled that I’m used to. It’s Windows 7 Home Premium, and it’s snappy, with everything Windows Vista Home Basic excludes (namely Aero’s effects). Well, it’s mostly snappy. Some things still have a brief delay, but nothing nearly as bad as Vista, and things aren’t as quick as in KDE on Linux.

While going to download and install Microsoft’s “Security Essentials” software, the screen went black, then came back with everything stretched wide and at about 1000% normal size, then it went black and then restored. As I typed this (safely overe here on my PC), the screen did it against twice more. It left me with an invisible mouse, and no desktop wallpaper. Could it be those eight updates that installed in the background causing problems? Time to log out and then back in again… At least I have a cute sleeping kitten as my user picture to look at on the login screen!

Logged back in, I had my wallpaper back, but still no mouse icon. Changing the mouse theme doesn’t bring it back. Let’s try a reboot. Ah, yes, there we go. Mouse icon is back.

Now back to installing some security. This process went well, although the “validate” step had me worried, since I hadn’t been able to “activate” Windows 7. However, it passed as valid, and I was able to commence the “Security Essentials” installation.

Software

There’s a proper screenshot capture tool. Awesome. No more pasting into Paint to save a screenshot to a file. This pretty much removes the need to check and see if KSnapShot is available on Windows.

The sticky notes feature is probably nice, too. I use sticky notes on my PC and laptop under Linux.

Random Thoughts

I didn’t see an “undo close tab” in Internet Explorer 8, but I didn’t look much for it.

My touchpad can’t scroll, either by the touch pad or by the four-way scroll button. It must require a specific driver to be installed.

The titlebar with a blurred see-though style looks better than I thought it would. It’s probably the same as in Vista, but considering that my laptop “can’t handle” this type of effect and thus it couldn’t be enabled in Vista, I have no prior experience with it.

Logging out and shutting takes less than half a minute.

Overall

Overall meaning after maybe five minutes of playing in Windows 7, that is.

Windows 7 looks like it has a chance to be Microsoft’s best offering to date, something able to outdo even Windows XP. The activation part can be a pain, and I bet I haven’t see the last of that… Hopefully I can get ahold of someone with Windows support if need be…

Rebooting gets me right back to Windows loading. In other words, Windows killed my boot menu where I could choose to boot into Linux. I’d better get this fixed if I want to continue doing my daily activities on my laptop… At least this was an easy fix.

Most Windows users will probably want to wait until Windows 7 is widely adopted, bugs have been found, and then Service Pack 1 has been released. This should be…six months, maybe? But if there are no huge problems for “early adopter” users after three months, it might mean it’s safe for the more cautious to give it a try. I figure since I never use Windows, there’s no hard in trying it out right away.

A Windows 7 Home Premium upgrade will set a person back $120 (in the US). A non-upgrade install is $200. Personally, I find these prices to be very reasonable considering everything you get with a Windows 7 Home Premium install. It’s when you start looking at everything you don’t plan on using that you may find you’re paid more than you’d like.

The Verdict

If you’re considering buying Windows 7, here’s what I would tell you:

If you use Windows 98, Windows ME, or Windows 2000, and your computer can run Windows 7, then go for it. Keep in mind that you’ll have to buy the full version of Windows 7 for $200 for Home Premium, since you cannot upgrade from anything before Windows XP. If your computer cannot run Windows 7, then wait until capable computers are available with Windows 7 pre-installed for $200 for the whole computer tower and everything inside. Maybe the Microsoft stores have something like this, so you can avoid all the junk normally pre-installed by the likes of Dell, etc. Once you have your new computer, you’ll thank me for suggesting it, especially if you were considering spending $200 on Windows 7 alone.

If you use Windows XP, I’d wait a while. The upgrade is $120, but decide if you might want to put $200 toward buying a new PC if it’ll mean getting hardware better than what you currently use, along with Windows 7 pre-installed. As with 98/ME/200 users, this route can lead to better hardware. If you’re not in need of newer hardware, you’ll want to ask yourself one question: Does Windows 7 provide anything missing from Windows XP that I would want?

If you use Vista, and you can spare the cash, at this point, I want to say, “Go for it.” I haven’t used Windows 7 long enough to know what problems there may be, but I’m sure they’re a quick Google search away.