So last weekend I decided to try Windows 7 since my computer seemed to be having some issues, first with my 500 gig ‘MyBook’ External drive starting to fail, and then all of a sudden getting similar issues on my main hard drive as well (the one which had Windows XP installed).
Well since you can get Windows 7 for free on a trial basis, I’ve heard enough good things about it (and how shitty Vista is) to give it a try.
A few posts back I mentioned I bought a 1TB Hard drive, and when I got it.. I ‘partitioned’ or split it up into 2 seperate drives for windows to recognize.. each 500 gigs each. The best part about free software nowadays is that you can now re-size those drives and split them up for more after the fact if you’d like. This was unheard of back say, 5 years ago. In order to do that, I used a program called Euseus Partition Manager which was easy enough to use and free also (big bonus), I basically created another drive on my 1tb hard drive which I would use to install windows 7 on. This allowed me to go back to Windows XP if I need to, but also a ‘fresh install’ of the new OS on a new drive. So instead of two 500 gig drives, I had a 500 gig drive, a 300 gig drive, and a 200 gig drive (approximately).
Installation was simple enough, and I won’t go into the fine details however I would highly suggest you run through the ‘Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor’ to determine if you’re going to need new drivers for your hardware before you install it. I ran the advisor and it told me I would need network drivers, however I didn’t bother to get them (stupid me) so once it was all isntalled and finalized, I wasn’t able to surf the web right off. Fortunately I had a wireless usb key which worked fine and I downloaded and installed drivers for my Intel 10/100+ Adapter from here.
So I’ve used it all yesterday and I must say that I’m impressed.. seems very snappy to me even with my older computer, and may well be worth the upgrade. Combined with some productivity tips which are coming in Part II, it could mean a positive, permanent change.