univbee Jun 3, 2004











EDIT: The OP has been edited to reflect the existence of Windows 8 and what that means for currently on or migrating to a previous version like Windows 7.



Discussions pertaining specifically to Windows 8 (including Windows 8 UI Syle Apps and info on upgrading to Windows 8), Windows RT, and related products such as the Microsoft Surface, should go in their specialized threads (see threads section below for appropriate links).



Welcome to the Windows Megathread! This thread is intended for asking questions, giving advice, and general discussion on the Microsoft Windows series of operating systems. Is something broken? Tech support questions should not go in this thread! There's a dedicated subforum for that.



Threads:

The Windows 8 Thread

The Windows RT Thread

The Windows 8 UI Style Apps Thread



The Windows 7 Discussion Thread

The Windows Home Server Anticipation/Discussion Thread

Leveraging Group Policy



News and Rumors:

Microsoft Watch

Neowin.net



Blogs:

Paul Thurrott's WinSuperSite

Ed Bott's Windows Expertise

The Microsoft Vista Team Blog

The Microsoft Exchange Team Blog



Information Sources:

msexchange.org

Daniel Petri's Windows IT Knowledgebase

Windows Licensing FAQ

Windows XP Product ID Guide

4sysops



Forums:

Microsoft Software Forum Network

The Green Button - Windows Media Center Discussion Board

MSDN Forums



Internet Explorer 9 is now available for Vista and Windows 7. It will show up in Windows Update, or you can go here for a manual installer: http://www.microsoft.com/ie9



Service Pack 1 is now available. The final build number is 7601.17514.101119-1850. This will allegedly be the only Service Pack for Windows 7.



Download here (X64 is 64-bit, X86 is 32-bit).



A retail disc, by default, will only install the edition of Windows 7 labeled on it. However, going to the "sources" folder and deleting the "ei.cfg" file will allow for a ballot screen early in the install process allowing the installation of other versions. Note that this won't allow the installation of Windows 7 Enterprise (this is a separate ISO). You can go to this link for an easy ei.cfg change/remove from ISO utility, no other ISO tools required (note: tool doesn't work on SP1 integrated discs yet, hopefully will be updated soon).



FREQUENT QUESTIONS:



Why is upgrading to Windows 8 Pro only $40 and upgrades to Windows 7 Home Premium, if I can even find them, are over $100 (over $200 for Professional)?



There are several likely reasons, including Microsoft being frequently berated by Apple because Apple's OS only has one edition and is now $30ish, and Microsoft trying to bring as many people to Windows 8 as possible. Regardless, this makes Windows 7 upgrades hard to come by and will only get worse with time, and given the considerable difference in price it's an important question to ask yourself. Just realize that if you MUST have Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7 and can't upgrade to Windows 8, you will probably want to get whatever you need ASAP while the getting is still good. The most significant thing missing from Windows 8 is Windows XP Mode; for more specifics, consult the Windows 8 Thread.



What version do I buy, tl;dr edition.



- If you don't need XP Mode or the ability to join a domain, buy Home Premium.

- If you need XP Mode and/or the ability to join a domain, buy Professional. Professional includes ALL Home Premium features.

If you want to make a more informed decision, read the more detailed version differences at the bottom of the OP.



Q: How do upgrade licenses work? Does the previous OS have to be installed or is there a way to install it "clean"?



A: Generally, a previous valid OS must be installed, but there are some funky workarounds. Read this link for more info.



Q: What scenarios require a clean install? What scenarios allow the choice of clean or upgrade install?



A:



Clean install only (files are backed up to a folder called Windows.old and the system is then effectively clean installed. All software and drivers must be reinstalled. Note that the presence of the previous copy of Windows counts for upgrade editions of Windows 7, even though it's being "removed")



- Upgrading from Windows XP

- Upgrading from 32-bit Windows Vista to 64-bit Windows 7

- Upgrading from 64-bit Windows Vista to 32-bit Windows 7

- Upgrading from Windows Vista Business to Windows 7 Home Premium

- Upgrading from Windows Vista Enterprise or Ultimate to Windows 7 Home Premium or Professional



Choice of Clean install (see above) or Upgrade install (programs and drivers are preserved and don't have to be reinstalled. Some software may have to be removed or upgraded either before or after the upgrade process)



- Upgrading from Windows Vista Home Basic or Home Premium to any version of Windows 7 on the same bit architecture

- Upgrading from Windows Vista Business to Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise or Ultimate on the same bit architecture

- Upgrading from Windows Vista Ultimate to Windows 7 Ultimate on the same bit architecture



Legal restrictions with upgrade editions



Note: end users and stores are going to cheat some of these points like crazy, it's inevitable; treat talking about license-bending as you would talking about pirating software here.



Note 2: These are the rules according to Microsoft's EULA and should be treated as legally binding in the United States and Canada. Although the EULA is identical worldwide, some aspects of it may not be enforceable in some countries (e.g. apparently Microsoft can't tie OEM editions to specific hardware in the EU, but this could just be a rumor)



- If you buy an upgrade edition, you MUST have a licensed copy of either Windows XP or Windows Vista.

- If the OS you're upgrading from is an OEM version (came with your computer and has a COA sticker on the case), you MUST install the Windows 7 upgrade to the computer it was originally installed on. No transfers, you play by the same rules as the OEM version of the original OS.

- Purchasing an OEM edition can only be done with an accompanying hardware purchase (I believe that officially, the hardware must consist of motherboard + processor as a bare minimum). That OEM edition can then only be installed on that particular hardware. The Windows 7 OEM license can be purchased up to three months following the hardware purchase. The COA sticker must be affixed to the case the hardware is installed in.

- Once upgraded, you may NOT install the previous OS license to another machine or sell that license (eBay sales are shut down frequently for this very reason). You also can't have any form of dual-boot or virtual machine configuration; only one OS or the other can be installed at a given time. Downgrading is allowed, but the Windows 7 installation must be removed. Those wishing to dual boot will have to buy a Full version.

- Upgrades must be for the same base language as the OS being upgraded (i.e. you can only upgrade an English OS to an English version of Windows 7).





COMMON ISSUES



Q: What Anti-virus programs work?



A: Pretty much any major anti-virus software, including AVG, Avast!, NOD32, VIPRE and others will work if you install their latest versions.



Looking for a free solution? AVG and Avast have free versions for non-commercial home use, and Microsoft Security Essentials can be installed for free for home users and small businesses of 10 users/devices or less. You don't even have to go far for Security Essentials, as it will show up in Windows Update if no AV software is detected.



Q: Game sound goes down in volume by 50% when I attempt to voice chat in it. What's happening?



A: Windows 7 auto-detects the use of VoIP solutions and does automatic volume adjustments to compensate. You can disable this using the following steps:



- Go into the "Sound" section of "Control Panel".

- Click on the "Communications" tab.

- Change the option to "Do Nothing."



Q: How does this new taskbar (Superbar) work?



A: If you pin an application to it, it becomes something like a shortcut, where if you click on the icon, the program is launched and then the icon becomes the program's "taskbar mode" for lack of a better term. Some programs (i.e. InfraRecorder and some unzipping programs) will have added features like showing a green progress bar over the icon. Note that some programs require some modification (read: updating) in order to completely support this; expect more programs to start supporting this as Windows 7 becomes more and more mainstream.



Q: What happened to the tray now?



A: In a sense, the tray is being somewhat phased out, or at least rethought in light of the superbar's features stated above. All taskbar icons by default now get hidden behind a ^ that appears next to the time. Clicking on this will open a small window with all the tray icons. You can customize this to force some of your tray icons to be always visible for preserved functionality (like if you have to see a "new mail" icon in a tray program, for example) or simple personal preference.





GENERAL INSTALLATION QUESTIONS



Q: What are the system requirements for Windows 7?



A: If your system can run Windows Vista, it's almost guaranteed to be able to run Windows 7. In fact, some of Windows 7's system requirements are actually LOWER than Vista's (the installation footprint is smaller), and most people find that Windows 7 performs faster and more smoothly for general use than Vista does. For completeness' sake, here are the official requirements:



- 1 GHz or faster processor (Hardware Virtualization is recommended for Windows XP Mode, but not required if you're running Windows 7 SP1)

- 1 gig of RAM for 32-bit, 2 gigs for 64-bit (note: I can vouch that the 32-bit version will "work" on 512 megs, but don't expect to do anything fancy)

- 16 gigs of hard disk space for 32-bit, 20 gigs for 64-bit (exact footprint size varies depending on what edition is installed, for 32-bit it's typically between 6 and 10 gigs)

- DirectX 9 graphics processor with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver



Q: Should I install 32-bit or take the plunge to 64-bit?



A: You should almost definitely install the 64-bit version unless one of the following is true:



- Your processor doesn't support 64-bit (some Netbooks, older processors like Pentium 4s and single-core Intels). If you're not sure if your processor is capable, you can check your current system for compatibility using SecurAble available here.

- You have a piece of hardware with no 64-bit driver (older printers especially can be problematic with this)

- You have software like Cisco VPN that won't work in a 64-bit OS (note: if you get the Professional or higher edition of Windows 7, you can potentially run it through Windows XP Mode)

- You want to be able to play all Windows games using Gametap (note: Gametap is actively working on this, and most of their newer titles will work in 64-bit, but some of their older ones won't. This is also only a restriction for their Windows-based titles -- their DOS, console and arcade games are 100% compatible)

- You're doing an in-place upgrade of a 32-bit version of Vista and don't want to reinstall everything.



64-bit means taking full advantage of systems with 4 gigs of RAM or more. The 64-bit version is standard on almost all preinstalled systems other than netbooks, so there's definitely market pressure to ensure software and hardware is supported on 64-bit systems.



The days of 64-bit meaning hunting for drivers or not being able to run software are mostly a thing of the past. In fact, Microsoft has already stopped producing 32-bit server OSes (Windows 2008 R2 and its variants are 64-bit only; Windows Server 2008 is Microsoft's last 32-bit server OS).



Q: I have no DVD drive. Any alternative ways to install?



A: Yes. You can start the installer within an existing OS as long as it has some way of getting to the files; USB drive, external HD, whatever. Even when rebooting to continue setup, it will do everything it needs to do beforehand so it doesn't need to access any external media during install.



There is also this official Microsoft tool for making a bootable USB key installer from an ISO file.



UPGRADING PREVIOUS WINDOWS INSTALLATIONS (IN-PLACE UPGRADE)

(For the sake of simplicity, in this section, "upgrade" refers to installing Windows 7 over an existing OS in a way that preserves existing files and installed applications (a.k.a. in-place upgrade), and not to anything license-related. For licensing details, see the end of this OP)



Q: Can I perform an in-place upgrade of Windows XP to Windows 7?



A: No. Upgrading from Windows XP is not possible (nor will it be in the Final, although migration tools will be provided) and requires a clean installation.



Q: Can I in-place upgrade my 32-bit OS to 64-bit?



A: No. You cannot upgrade using a different bit architecture (i.e. 32-bit to 64-bit or vice versa) due to massive differences between both builds in terms of drivers and how software is installed and handled (system files and registry entries go to completely different places so the OS can run 32-bit programs correctly on the 64-bit version). A clean installation is required in these situations.



Q: Can I in-place upgrade from Vista Business to Windows 7 Home Premium?



A: No, only upgrades to an equal or better equivalent version are allowed.



Q: So if I have Vista Ultimate, I can only do an in-place upgrade install to Windows 7 Ultimate?



A: Correct.



Windows XP Mode







Q: What is it?



A: Available as a separate download for Windows 7 Professional or higher, this basically runs a Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 3 Virtual Machine, which is seamlessly integrated into Windows 7 and allows running programs that otherwise wouldn't run on Windows 7.



Note that this does NOT do any fancy DirectX or anything like that. The graphics hardware emulated is an S3 Trio with 64 MEGS of Video RAM. In other words, anything that puts a significant strain on graphics hardware, like games, isn't going to work acceptably if at all; this is a Business-use feature for running old/proprietary software in a corporation that won't work on Vista or 7 natively. If you're a home user, there's a very low chance you would have any use for XP Mode, let alone require it, but for some companies it's a godsend.



Q: What exactly is this for? Why do I want an older OS?



A: Businesses everywhere rely on software that can't be made to run in Windows Vista/7. Frequently, they will only run on a specific version of Internet Explorer, usually IE6. In many cases, these aren't off-the-shelf programs, but programs specifically commissioned by and programmed for the company, and are almost invariably under budget, rushed, and programmed by a monkey. This fact hurt Microsoft considerably, who saw several businesses "trapped" with Windows XP and for whom upgrading was literally not an option due to their dependence on the horribly-programmed software.



Windows XP Mode seeks to eliminate such issues, allowing businesses and power users alike to upgrade their OSes and gain all sorts of new features and improved security, while still allowing them to run their old, otherwise-incompatible software. This also has the added bonus of allowing software requiring a 32-bit OS to run on Windows 7 64-bit. And, lest we forget, this solution is FREE; alternative solutions require a separate purchase of a Windows XP Pro license.



Q: Any special system requirements for XP Mode?



A: Not anymore; as of March 18th, the requirement for Hardware Virtualization has been dropped via an update. While having Hardware Virtualization will give you better performance, Windows XP Mode will now work regardless of your processor's features. The download is about 500 megs and installation just over a gig.



Q: So how do I set this up?



A: After installing, launch "Windows XP Mode" from the "Windows Virtual PC" folder in the Start Menu. Set a password for the default "XPMuser" when asked, set options accordingly. Give it a few minutes to set up the initial image, which by default has Service Pack 3, Internet Explorer 6, and IE7 and IE8 moved into "optional software" on Windows Update. Install your software within this virtual machine, and then log off. Application shortcuts will appear in a subfolder in your Windows 7's "Windows Virtual PC" menu.



If you need a shortcut for something that isn't a program with an install routine (e.g. a program you just unzip, a website URL etc.), create a Windows shortcut (.lnk file) in the XP Mode virtual machine and move it into "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu" in the XP Mode virtual machine.



Note that performance in this VM isn't stellar, don't expect to run anything I/O or processor intensive, this is more of a just making basic stuff work setup. Some other VM software vendors, such as VMware with VMware Player and Workstation, will import an XP Mode VM and may provide additional options.



Software incompatibilities



While Windows 7 has settled in the computer world well and compatibility is excellent, some companies haven't done the necessary tweaks to their software yet to ensure full compatibility. There are some slight UI changes, particularly in the taskbar, that some programs may behave oddly with. In some cases, running them in Vista compatibility mode can fix the problem, but expect updates to several pieces of software in the coming weeks and months that will fix the odd kink and take advantage of the new UI features. Windows 7 is built off the same codebase as Vista, so it's not as major as the upgrade from XP to Vista.



Some software may require special hack-like steps.



There's almost no software (and no "major" software) that works in Windows Vista that flat-out will not work on Windows 7.



Post-RC questions (RTM/Final-related questions)



Q: What about the Express Upgrade program?



A: If you bought a computer after July 26th with Windows Vista Home Premium or higher, you can get the equivalent version of 7 mailed to you for S&H. Check with your computer manufacturer for details.



Q: So are there a billion versions of this too, just like Vista?



A: Yes (technically six), but Microsoft has learned from their mistakes and is only actively marketing two versions: Home and Professional. Also, unlike with Vista, where the Home versions and Business were forked (Business didn't have some of Home's features and vice versa), Windows 7 has a straight version-feature progression, meaning Professional has ALL the features of Home Premium, and it's possible to Anytime Upgrade from Home Premium to Professional as a result.



Here are the six versions of Windows 7 (the recommended versions are in bold):



Starter: This is designed for netbooks and is only available pre-installed on certain entry-level netbooks. It has artificial hardware limitations (a RAM and CPU cap), and it's 32-bit only. It also doesn't come with anything fancy like DVD Playback support through Windows Media Player (you can install install another DVD Player program, though). That being said, licenses for it are very cheap, allowing netbook manufacturers to sell really cheap units with it (although some may go for a more advanced version of Windows 7 for more powerful netbooks). Also, Microsoft has backed off from an initial plan to limit the number of programs that could be open simultaneously with this version. This version DOES NOT limit the number of open applications.



Home Basic: This is only available in developing countries. It's like Vista Home Basic: no frills, no out-of-the-box DVD playback, stuff like that. It doesn't have any sort of hardware cap, though, other than RAM, and it's available in a 64-bit version.





Home Premium: This is the "Home" version that's generally available worldwide, preinstalled and in retail stores. Like Vista Home Premium, it has out-of-the-box DVD Playback, Windows Media Center functionality and some extra home use software.



Professional: This is the "Pro" version that's generally available worldwide, preinstalled and in retail stores. This version connects to domains and is the cheapest version of Windows 7 that features the XP Mode mentioned earlier. Unlike Vista Business, Windows 7 Professional includes all the features of Home Premium like Media Center and DVD Playback.





Enterprise and Ultimate : These versions are essentially the same thing, except Enterprise is sold at...enterprises, mainly as part of an Action Pack or Volume Licensing Agreement. Ultimate is its "available to the public" name. Both these versions allow booting from VHDs, and it has MUI support (i.e. every user account can run Windows 7 in a different language). MUI is NOT the same as merely typing in other languages, which is possible in every version of Windows 7; MUI changes the language of the user interface completely and is intended for use in large multi-national corporations that want every computer they run in their business to have the same base install, even across different countries and continents.



Q: OK, how much for each?



A:



EDIT: Upgrading to Windows 8 Pro is $39.99 US until January 31st. Further, Windows 7 Upgrades are no longer being produced and have largely been phased out, especially in Brick and Mortar stores.



U.S. Prices



Home Premium



Upgrade - $119.99 US

Full version - $199.99 US



Professional



Upgrade - $199.99 US

Full version - $299.99 US



Ultimate



Upgrade - $220 US

Full version - $320 US





Canadian prices (some of the regular upgrade prices may not be 100% accurate)



Home Premium



Upgrade - $129.95 CAD

Full version - $224.99 CAD



Professional



Upgrade - $249.95 CAD

Full version - $329.99 CAD



Ultimate



Upgrade - $279.99 CAD

Full version - $349.99 CAD



Q: What do I need to qualify for an upgrade edition of Windows 7?





A: Windows 7 upgrade editions are valid for upgrading from either Windows XP or Windows Vista. Note that certain types of upgrades, notably from XP to 7, or 32-bit to 64-bit, will require a complete reinstallation of your system, but from a licensing standpoint you'll be validated. See the first questions in the OP for more details about this.



General Windows FAQ



What's the best way to keep my Windows system maintained and clean?



Do all of your Windows updates to plug any system vulnerabilities. Internet Explorer 7 isn't nearly as bad as previous versions, but an alternative browser like Mozilla Firefox is still recommended. For an anti-spyware, I like MalwareBytes Ant-Malware, but there's also Windows Defender, Ad-Aware, and Spybot S&D. On the anti-virus front, AVG, Avast!, and AntiVir all offer free clients for personal use, while NOD32 is the undisputed king of commercial anti-virus solutions.



For keeping temporary files clean, Piriform's free CCleaner can't be beat - just watch out for the Yahoo! Toolbar option during install. Lastly, defragment your system drive every once in a while with Windows' built-in defrag program or Piriform's free Defraggler.



One final note: leave UAC on. Disabling it can create several compatibility issues and make you vulnerable to modern viruses and malware on the internet (and if you think it can't happen to you, a few years back someone embedded a virus in their Something Awful signature that auto-triggered if you loaded a thread he posted in, so the fact that you're reading this makes you vulnerable, keep that poo poo on.) I notice many system services in the Processes tab of the Task Manager and in the services.msc control panel. Should I disable the ones I don't need to improve performance?



Don't bother. Disabling many of these services can break low-level Windows functionality, and the gains aren't significant (both as far as performance and memory savings go). Should I disable my page file? I've got lots of RAM - won't Windows be faster if all of my working data is stored in memory rather than on the hard drive?



Leave your operating system alone. It almost always knows better than you do.



Disabling swap space won't actually stop swapping - Windows will still make a pagefile.sys. What you will end up doing by disabling swap is making sure that only private allocations (run-time data) cannot be written to disk. If the operating system decides it needs to free up more physical page frames, it's going to release copies of program text (executable code) instead. You may well end up swapping more than you did before, or the OS may swap things you need sooner, resulting in a performance drop.



Writing out private allocations is often better, because many programs tend to allocate lots of memory and then not use it fully (or use it frequently). What would you rather have swapped out: data that is never or rarely used, or the executable code of the program you are running?



Note for Windows Vista users: Microsoft has implemented a new feature called SuperFetch in Windows Vista that effectively accomplishes some of the purported benefits of disabling one's page file. SuperFetch prioritizes the programs you're currently using over background tasks and adapts to the way you work by tracking programs you use most often and preloading them into memory. With SuperFetch, background tasks still run when the computer is idle. However, when the background task is finished, SuperFetch repopulates system memory with the data you were working with before the background task ran. When you return to your desk, your programs will continue to run as efficiently as they did before you left.

Thanks to Unabomber Why is Windows telling me I only have ~3 GB of RAM when I have more than that installed?



32-bit operating systems can only address up to 4 GB of memory. By default, Windows can only address up to ~3GB of physical memory, due to the paging file and video memory. This isn't a Windows limitation, but rather a limit of x86 hardware that has existed ever since the first x86 PC. In order to utilize your extra memory, you have to use a 64-bit operation system, which will obviously require a processor that supports x86-64 (Athlon 64, Athlon X2, Core 2 Duo, later-model P4s and Xeons, etc). Here's a list of memory caps in current versions of Windows:



Windows XP Professional x64 Edition: 128 GB

Windows Vista Home Basic 64-bit: 8 GB

Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit: 16 GB

Windows Vista Business 64-bit: 128+ GB

Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit: 128+ GB



You may have read some things about adding the /PAE switch to your boot.ini in order to force Windows to use that extra GB of RAM that you might have. This is usually a bad idea for a number of reasons. You can read a lot more about the 32-bit memory limit and Windows here: http://www.dansdata.com/askdan00015.htm I want to see who is accessing my shared files in Windows 2000/XP. (Note: This is similar to netwatch from Win9X machines)



This OP is a work in progress, expect sudden changes as more information becomes available. Please post any useful information missing from here and I'll include it. univbee fucked around with this message at 18:27 on Nov 2, 2012