Windows 7 RC Discussion

[drlunanerd]

Another thing I like - which may have been in Vista, I don't know.

Fast user switching is supported on domain member workstations. Very, very nice.

The amount of times I need to do something as an admin on someone's PC and can't because they've forgotten to log off. Being able to log in as admin without having to log them off is extremely useful.

The "Run As" command helps in this situation.

 

[Saladinos]

I'm not sure why Thurrott and others are making a big deal out of this. It's not like they bothered to integrate it with the operating system and dropped pre-Vista compatibility from Windows 7.

Exactly. IIRC, not many people complained about Vista's lack of software compatibility. It was the lack of hardware compatibility that was no good.

We're also going to get in to situations where devices with XP drivers only are usable by applications in the VM, but not those same applications running native.

It's a nice little addition, but it's not THAT good.

 

[edesignuk]

The "Run As" command helps in this situation.

Sometimes it can, but a lot of the time it can't.

 

[steveza]

Sometimes it can, but a lot of the time it can't.

Indeed - like trying to change network settings for someone who only has 'user' access to their machine. This was a nightmare back in the days when I was doing XP rollouts.

While I don't advocate torrent downloads those who are planning on getting one of the 'leaked' RC ISOs make sure they match these MD5 hashes. There are ISOs online that have a trojan injected into the image. It's only a few days to go so I would suggest waiting for the official download.

Windows 7 RC x86 ISO MD5=8867C13330F56A93944BCD46DCD73590
Windows 7 RC x64 ISO MD5=98341af35655137966e382c4feaa282d

 

[drlunanerd]

Indeed - like trying to change network settings for someone who only has 'user' access to their machine. This was a nightmare back in the days when I was doing XP rollouts.

...which you can change using Run As, from command line or UI

 

[steveza]

...which you can change using Run As, from command line or UI

link or it isn't true . . . not that it really matters as I don't ever see users any more

 

[MRU]

I've been running 7 on my Hp2140 for a while, first with 7000, then 7058,7069,7077 and now 7100 RC...

It's a very good operating system overall, and it surprises me how well it runs on systems that would otherwise struggle with vista.

Haven't really encountered too many issues, and the ones that I have come across have been rectified with tweaks found by googling.

It'll probably be the first operating system from Microsoft that I'll actually buy.... Though I'm still not liking the 7 editions and pricing part.

 

[Kebabselector]

...which you can change using Run As, from command line or UI

...does depend on how locked down the group policies are.

 

[SHIFTLife]

Anyone have the RC running with Boot Camp? Can you load the x64 version, or do you need to use the x86 version? I'm downloading x86 now, but I'm having trouble getting back into my TechNet Subscriptions page to grab the x64...way overloaded at the moment.

 

[steveza]

Anyone have the RC running with Boot Camp? Can you load the x64 version, or do you need to use the x86 version? I'm downloading x86 now, but I'm having trouble getting back into my TechNet Subscriptions page to grab the x64...way overloaded at the moment.

You an use the x64 version if your hardware supports it. I just got kicked out of TechNet - was just about to start dowloading

 

[drlunanerd]

I for one am not rushing to test it:

"We were able to shave 400 milliseconds off the shutdown time by slightly trimming the WAV file shutdown music.
"It's indicative of really the level and detail and scrutiny on Windows 7."

 

[steveza]

Well that answers the 'will it be availble in '09 question': Windows 7 on Acer machines 23/10/09

 

[jashsayani]

I'm guessing if you have Win 7 Beta build 7000, in order to have this one you have to do a clean install.

Yeah, I am using Windows 7 Beta (Build 7000) on a netbook and wanted to upgrade to RC1 as I just got my hands on the disk. However, You need to do a clean install, that's what Microsoft said. You can upgrade to RC1, only if you are on Build 7077.

I think so. I'm sure I read somewhere there is a way round this. You're probably better off just going the clean install route though.

Finally, I found the way around this. Just go to /sources/ dir of disk and open sversions.inf file. Change the CliMin from 7077.0 to 7000.0

Now when you run Setup.exe, the installer will run.

Still have to upgeade though. Getting some sleep now.....

 

[Chad H]

I just installed the Windows 7 RC. My beta disc got corrupt so I had to temporarily switch to Vista. God its good to be back. I really like Windows 7 as good as OSX. Now, to me having a Mac with Windows 7 is the perfect machine. I still wouldn't want to own a PC .

 

[roger6106]

Old Internet Explorers in XP mode?

I do some web development, and I have to test my sites in different browsers including IE 6, 7, and 8.

1. Is it possible to access older Internet Explorers in Windows 7's Virtual Windows XP mode?
2. If so, which versions of Internet Explorer can be accessed?
3. Can the older IEs be run while running Windows 7 in a virtual machine on Mac OS X?

 

[NoSmokingBandit]

Hopefully Creative Labs will have fixed their SB Live! driver for win7. Their sh*tty drivers are the only thing keeping me on xp x64. The beta of win7 x64 is great, but im not going to download/burn/install the RC if my sound card isnt going to work.

 

[kevin j]

I do some web development, and I have to test my sites in different browsers including IE 6, 7, and 8.

1. Is it possible to access older Internet Explorers in Windows 7's Virtual Windows XP mode?
2. If so, which versions of Internet Explorer can be accessed?
3. Can the older IEs be run while running Windows 7 in a virtual machine on Mac OS X?

http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/xp_mode_beta.asp
This link may help you.

 

[illegallydead]

Running the RC (7100) now, 64-bit. For some reason I think I got a bad version of build 7057 (what I used to have) and it was just painful-god-awful-slow.

This build is AMAZING! The thing runs stupid fast, and I have only really had compatibility issues with Macdrive (but that is because the developers are either lazy or are ****ing idiots and have done almost zilch for 64-bit support)

If anyone has questions feel free to ask, but like I said, overall this thing runs like a dream. I may seriously consider going for a PC when my Macbook finally kicks the bucket (hopefully years down the road ) partly because of money, and partly because Win7 is something that I would not mind running...

 

[tubbymac]

The Windows 7 Beta (build 7000) was already working well for me so I was dreading the thought of having to format and reinstall all my applications. I went ahead and did it anyway and am now on the Windows 7 Release Candidate 64 bit edition (build 7100).

The OS itself is impressively rock solid at this point. No crashes, no slow downs, no issues at all. Compared to my Vista desktop box the Windows 7 user interface is in a completely different league of snappiness. It looks like Vista except for the new Taskbar, but it's no longer a slug on the desktop graphics front.

One thing that bugged me about XP and Vista and even the Windows 7 Beta was that my notebook had the dreaded Intel Core 2 CPU whine / motherboard coil whine from Windows trying to constantly popping the CPU in and out of a power saving state as it operated. With the RC they finally tweaked something about the power settings and with quite a bit of work and disabling unused ports in the BIOS, my Windows notebook FINALLY, for the first time ever, is about as quiet as my Macbook under OSX. It's still not as good as OSX in this respect but it's getting closer.

It looks like they replaced the beta IE8 from build 7000 with the release IE8 in build 7100. I didn't really get to test it much as I use Firefox but it seemed stable. In the beta it would crash quite a bit.

The new built in DivX/Xvid codecs seem more stable than beta but can still hang Windows Media Player if you try to view some older DivX/Xvid content over the network. They need to fix that before retail as it's embarrassing that VLC and third party programs have more reliable codecs than Microsoft.

There's also a whole new set of trippy wallpapers that have been added and a slew of minor fixes/changes in how the UI and shortcut keys work. Seems everything is quite solid and polished at this point except for the new codecs and Windows Media Player. Not bad. If Microsoft doesn't do anything really stupid before retail this could be quite a successful Windows OS.

 

[jashsayani]

Something else I just thought to look at. 7100 (that we're assuming is RC) is good until "02/03/2010 00:59".

View attachment 169013

Well, even the Beta (Build 7068) is good till "02/03/2010". The Time changes as per your installation time. Mine is "5:29 AM"

The screenshot has date in DD/MM/YYYY form due to regional settings....

 

[steveza]

The release candidate will expire in June 2010.

 

[CrossFireXT17]

hows this working on bootcamp on a macbook pro??? driver wise

 

[NoSmokingBandit]

Vista drivers are said to work 100% in 7 (and have worked perfect from my experience), so its going to be just as crippled as usual with Apple's shoddy driver package.

 

[illegallydead]

Vista drivers are said to work 100% in 7 (and have worked perfect from my experience), so its going to be just as crippled as usual with Apple's shoddy driver package.

It's working quite well for me. The only thing I am having issues with is the iSight camera, but it's not like I use it that much at all.

Anything that worked in Vista is working for me. Now, it may require "installing with recommended settings", but I can get most things to work just fine.

As mentioned before, the only REAL issue I have is with Macdrive. But that is not the fault of M$ or or Apple, that is just because the developers (seem to be) short-sighted morons who have more or less refused to give any sort of 64-bit support.

 

[Tallest Skil]

Yes, I realize that a clean install would be far better, but would it be possible to do a simple upgrade from Beta 7000 to the RC?