Windows 7 vs. Windows XP.Which 1 is better? - Page 2

Question

javaAddict 900 Nearly a Senior Poster

15 Years Ago

Hi everybody,
I also have a question related to this matter and I hope I am not out of topic.

Me and a friend of mine bought a year ago new PCs with Vista installed. He is been telling me that he wants to upgrade to Windows 7, but I disagree.
I have a new OS and there is no point in spending more money to buy again another OS (Windows 7), because since it is that new the programs that I run might be incompatible.

What is your opinion on that?

Also since I am not that familiar with the procedures of installing and upgrading OSs, If I put Windows 7, will that effect my Graphics Card or my sound card? Will I need new drivers?

Thanks.

kaninelupus 275 Practically a Posting Shark

15 Years Ago

Me and a friend of mine bought a year ago new PCs with Vista installed. He is been telling me that he wants to upgrade to Windows 7, but I disagree.
I have a new OS and there is no point in spending more money to buy again another OS (Windows 7), because since it is that new the programs that I run might be incompatible.
What is your opinion on that?
Also since I am not that familiar with the procedures of installing and upgrading OS's, If I put Windows 7, will that effect my Graphics Card or my sound card? Will I need new drivers?
Thanks.

Don't get me wrong... I actually really liked Vista. Win7 however will give you much more bang for your buck - much lighter, more intuitive, cleaner by far. As for cost, look on line for OEM copies for sale.... if MS won't close that loop-hole, then make use of it :) Also, Win7 seems to have better compatibility with older apps, and Pro/Ultimate versions give the option of XP Mode (so long as your CPU supports it) for those more problematic applications.

As to drivers, in most case the Vista & Win7 drivers are often one and the same, but with Vid and Audio drivers, best to see if the manufacturer has released updated builds for Win7... not much leg work involved in that after all

Edited 15 Years Ago by kaninelupus because: n/a

javaAddict commented: Thanks for the info +4

jbennet 1,618 Most Valuable Poster

15 Years Ago

Yes, but its free.

Secondly, i wouldnt use products from a company which use spam (ZInstall has spammed here in the past)

Edited 15 Years Ago by jbennet because: n/a

javaAddict 900 Nearly a Senior Poster

15 Years Ago

Don't get me wrong... I actually really liked Vista. Win7 however will give you much more bang for your buck - much lighter, more intuitive, cleaner by far. As for cost, look on line for OEM copies for sale.... if MS won't close that loop-hole, then make use of it :) Also, Win7 seems to have better compatibility with older apps, and Pro/Ultimate versions give the option of XP Mode (so long as your CPU supports it) for those more problematic applications.
As to drivers, in most case the Vista & Win7 drivers are often one and the same, but with Vid and Audio drivers, best to see if the manufacturer has released updated builds for Win7... not much leg work involved in that after all

Thanks.
But I will hold on to my Vista for now. I don't believe that I need it right now, but in the future when I decide to do a format, I will upgrade.
Your comments were very helpful.

Portgas D. Ace 7 Posting Pro in Training

13 Years Ago

Snap to grid - Different windows can snap to the grid, just move it to any side of the screen and it will expand to full screen, half screen, or length of the screen depending on where you dragged it. - Very good for moving files between folders.

Shake to minimize - If you have multiple windows up one behind the other, you can grab any one window and shake it with the mouse, all the other windows will minimise leaving this one open.

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kaninelupus 275 Practically a Posting Shark · Answer 1 · 2009-11-18T02:51:40+00:00

Certainly I need my favorite XP apps (a lot), which probably will NOT run at all on Windows 7 (there are of a lot of incompatibilities between XP and 7). In any case, Windows 7 "Clean install" is not for me - re-install dozens of progs from scratch?! . No, thanks.
Certainly I wish Windows 7 on my PC.
So, what to do? Double boot? It is Annoying...
I did find some solution - a product called Zinstall XP7 that simply embeds the entire old XP into the new Windows 7 (I guess some VM is here to do that). Then you use both new Windows 7 and old Windows XP at the same time.
Sounds to good to be true...

Clean installs are usually the better option - much easier to troubleshoot, for example in the case of a dodgy driver, or a software incompatibility. A pain I know, is a cleaner way to go about upgrading.

AndyRun 0 Newbie Poster · Answer 2 · 2009-11-18T03:04:42+00:00

Clean installs are usually the better option - much easier to troubleshoot, for example in the case of a dodgy driver, or a software incompatibility. A pain I know, is a cleaner way to go about upgrading.

This is exactly the point. According to their website (zinstall.com):
"...once the migration complete, users can instantly switch between two “TV channels”: a clean “7” channel and an “XP” channel, which looks and works exactly as the old XP system with all the user applications, settings and files. The two channels are fully integrated – including copy-paste and file access – but completely isolated to protect the new Windows 7 system from instabilities and crashes, which might be caused by incompatibilities, corrupt drivers, applications and system files from the old XP.
Certainly, I can't assure you that it is indeed working as they claim, but this is what they say.

jbennet 1,618 Most Valuable Poster Team Colleague Featured Poster · Answer 3 · 2009-11-18T11:42:59+00:00

ZInstall seems exactly the same as VirtualPC/XP Mode on Windows 7

That has copy/paste integration and you can use the same hardware, printers etc... (because in reality it all works over remote desktop) and have it nested, with all your apps in both start menys.

AndyRun 0 Newbie Poster · Answer 4 · 2009-11-18T15:26:20+00:00

ZInstall seems exactly the same as VirtualPC/XP Mode on Windows 7
That has copy/paste integration and you can use the same hardware, printers etc... (because in reality it all works over remote desktop) and have it nested, with all your apps in both start menus.

Yes, it seems that quite similar base technology underlies Zinsatll XP7 and VirtualPC/XP Mode on Windows 7.
However, there is one big difference: VirtualPC/XP Mode provides EMPTY VM AND DOESN'T CARE AT ALL TO MIGRATE YOUR LEGACY XP APPLICATIONS.
In contrary, Zinsatll XP7 also provide VM and also migrates all the soft from XP to 7.
Besides, VirtualPC/XP Mode :

requires hardware-assisted virtualization
is only available for the Professional, Ultimate, and Enterprise editions of Windows 7

when Zinsatll XP7 has no one of the above limitations.

AndyRun 0 Newbie Poster · Answer 5 · 2009-11-18T15:40:32+00:00

Yes, but its free.
Secondly, i wouldnt use products from a company which use spam (ZInstall has spammed here in the past)

To claim "spam" is a good argument when nothing to say to the case in question.
Besides, you're right, jbennet. To use free - is free! This is free country, man.

AndyRun 0 Newbie Poster · Answer 6 · 2009-11-18T15:55:27+00:00

... Also, Win7 seems to have better compatibility with older apps, and Pro/Ultimate versions give the option of XP Mode (so long as your CPU supports it) for those more problematic applications.
As to drivers, in most case the Vista & Win7 drivers are often one and the same, but with Vid and Audio drivers, best to see if the manufacturer has released updated builds for Win7... not much leg work involved in that after all

Even so some of older XP apps could run "straight-forward" in
Windows 7, this might affect system causing instabilities and crashes.
The situation is much better when you move from Vista. I agree - Vista's

drivers are often one and the same.

kaninelupus 275 Practically a Posting Shark · Answer 7 · 2009-11-18T16:06:15+00:00

Even so some of older XP apps could run "straight-forward" in Windows 7, this might affect system causing instabilities and crashes.

Maybe so, but the Disk Imaging tech built into Win7 (most commonly encountered in Sys Restore) is much better than when first rolled out in Vista, meaning very easy to roll back OS if a problematic app is causing headaches :) Explorer also seems harder to crash and quicker to recover than in Vista (and definitely more so than XP).

Rickrdm 0 Newbie Poster · Answer 8 · 2011-05-29T06:52:43+00:00

windows 7 sucks nothing works right with it. vista works prety good now ..
but XP is still the best! os out there nothing can beat it, nothing even comes close.
windows 7 trys to force you to do things its way BAD OS MICROSOFT...

Ancient Dragon 5,243 Achieved Level 70 Team Colleague Featured Poster · Answer 9 · 2011-05-29T11:03:06+00:00

I'm using 64-bit Windows 7 and have not had any problems with it. What are you trying to run that doesn't work?

jingda 135 Industrious Poster Featured Poster · Answer 10 · 2011-05-29T11:47:44+00:00

Windows 7 is better. But why are you guys posting in a old thread?

Portgas D. Ace 7 Posting Pro in Training · Answer 11 · 2011-05-30T09:01:01+00:00

Portgas D. Ace 7 Posting Pro in Training

13 Years Ago

..... Windows 7.... obviously.

jingda 135 Industrious Poster Featured Poster · Answer 12 · 2011-05-30T12:51:26+00:00

But I would prefer mac platform as i were to choose between windows 7 and mac. But definitely win 7 against xp and vista. Vista keep having a lot of problems.

Portgas D. Ace 7 Posting Pro in Training · Answer 13 · 2011-05-30T12:53:50+00:00

I hate Vista it has terrible file set-up and sharing and space it's just a bad OS.

jingda 135 Industrious Poster Featured Poster · Answer 14 · 2011-05-30T12:55:58+00:00

I hate Vista it has terrible file set-up and sharing and space it's just a bad OS.

Agreed. Since everyone like windows 7, can anymore name some of its cool feature?

caperjack 875 I hate 20 Questions Team Colleague · Answer 15 · 2011-05-30T15:17:20+00:00

windows 7 trys to force you to do things its way BAD OS MICROSOFT...

that good one ,please do tell whats it trying to make you do,buy a mac!

win7 is the best new os[for me anyway]since win98se

jingda 135 Industrious Poster Featured Poster · Answer 16 · 2011-05-31T12:14:34+00:00

I am very attach to my macbook pro. Thus i will support it. I have two macbooks, macbook pro for home use and macbook white for school use. One thing is puzzling me, how can windows 7 force you to do anything. Maybe that is caused by a virus and not the OS problem. Win7 in very different from other windows OS. Those who use it should know. Ask Caperjack for example.

caperjack 875 I hate 20 Questions Team Colleague · Answer 17 · 2011-05-31T16:14:38+00:00

I have a 3 yr old Compaq laptop ,Im on my computer for hours at a time ,I have win7 ultimate duel booting 32 bit and 64 bit just to try out the 6 bit ,[ it runs slower actually ] ,i have virtual pc running winxp mode [rarely use it though ] and I use Firefox and IE9 as my browsers ,i;am always installing programs/drivers /manuals and such from the net on it all the time ,just to look at to try and help people on this forum and other forums having problems with said programs .Cant remember the last time i had windows tell me it performed a "illegal action and need to close ", bsod whats that ,I think a lot of the problems people have with computer is cause from where they surf and where they download music and movies from people say Vista it no good ,never used it myself but
My wife uses Windows Vista ,2 yrs and now same install, she once left it run for 6 weeks steady downloading[80 gig file ] a TV show,all the while using the laptop for here daily use,not a hiccup the whole time , and she watches TV on it ,getting hard to find a good site for that now ,last night she got the Vista Security trojan looking for a new tv site ,she used ALT+ctrl+del to stop it ,ccleaner to empty the tempfiles and registry entry's and its gone before it got a hold on here laptop ,

so my opinion is win7 runs/works GREAT
I too like Mac's just so use to windows and cant afford a good Mac I recently went to the Mac store just for fun and put together the Mac laptop i would like with options and programs i would want ,the price came to $4459.99,maybe next Christmas .lol

Marcus mouse 0 Light Poster · Answer 18 · 2011-05-31T20:00:57+00:00

For me computing is divided into three, Administration, Gaming, Other things. If you are for Administration you go with Linux ( which i know is not part of this thread ), if you are for Gaming you go with Win XP ( it will leave the much needed resources for your games ), then if you are for the other things, you go with Win 7.

caperjack 875 I hate 20 Questions Team Colleague · Answer 19 · 2011-06-01T00:20:57+00:00

For me computing is divided into three, Administration, Gaming, Other things. If you are for Administration you go with Linux ( which i know is not part of this thread ), if you are for Gaming you go with Win XP ( it will leave the much needed resources for your games ), then if you are for the other things, you go with Win 7.

sounds' about right ,i guess that why i use/enjoy win7

Erotikhot12 -2 Newbie Poster · Answer 20 · 2011-06-01T13:04:30+00:00

Vista failed because it is not a bad product but the main reason is because of its features require a PC configurations beyond the current common ground. In fact, Vista offers many interesting features, graphics and improved security compared to XP. If born in another time, maybe Vista will be more successful.

microweb 0 Newbie Poster · Answer 21 · 2011-06-02T03:11:03+00:00

I think win 7 is better but if you wanna play game you should install win xp

jingda 135 Industrious Poster Featured Poster · Answer 22 · 2011-06-02T09:24:39+00:00

Vista failed because it is not a bad product but the main reason is because of its features require a PC configurations beyond the current common ground. In fact, Vista offers many interesting features, graphics and improved security compared to XP. If born in another time, maybe Vista will be more successful.

This thread does not talk about vista, by including vista in your post you are hijacking the thread. It is only about winxp and win7, no vista!!

Sunnyrepairs 0 Newbie Poster · Answer 23 · 2011-06-02T14:09:33+00:00

i think it depends on your system specifications... if you have powerful PC Windows 7 will run smoothly on it... otherwise XP is still alive... and working superbly..!!

caperjack 875 I hate 20 Questions Team Colleague · Answer 24 · 2011-06-02T15:01:55+00:00

This thread does not talk about vista, by including vista in your post you are hijacking the thread. It is only about winxp and win7, no vista!!

me thinks your being a little picky .lol

Ancient Dragon 5,243 Achieved Level 70 Team Colleague Featured Poster · Answer 25 · 2011-06-02T23:15:23+00:00

i think it depends on your system specifications... if you have powerful PC Windows 7 will run smoothly on it... otherwise XP is still alive... and working superbly..!!

That's true -- you can't run Win7 on a computer designed for Win95. Microsoft provides a program that check the computer to see if it is capable of running Win7. If not, then don't install it. Simple as that. It doesn't mean Win7 sucks, it means your hardware sucks.