Just some quick thoughts on the Windows 7 RC that was released earlier this month.
I finally had time to install it last weekend, and, for the most part, it has been trouble-free. For the installation, I opted not to hack the installation to allow for an upgrade from the Beta. Instead, I took Ed Bott’s advice and backed up everything using the Windows Easy Transfer Utility. It backed up all of my documents and settings to an external drive, and then I performed a clean install of Windows 7 RC.
Admittedly, I had to spend some time reinstalling applications, but I am used to this from before. For the most part, that was easy since I have the installation media handy for most of my applications. For those items I download, I tend to save them in a place just for this purpose.
I have only had two problems. One is something I have had since the Beta, and the other was a strange one.
- BlackBerry Desktop Manager and Leaked BlackBerry OSs
- The desktop manager refuses to see the leaked version of the BlackBerry OS I want to install to my Storm. While not a show-stopper, I can easily boot into Windows XP for this purpose. Of course, I need to get my Windows XP partition working as expected, but I should be able to do that in no time (stupid boot menus). This problem has existed since the RC, though. The method one uses to install a new OS to their BlackBerry device is to download the package, install it locally, then connect the device and let it receive the update. When I connect the device, though, it fails to see the availability of a newer OS.
- Strange Blue Screen Crashes
- For two consecutive days, I noticed my machine had experienced a reboot shortly after it went into some sleep/power-save mode. I tend to keep my machine on, but this was downright annoying. I disabled the power-save settings in use, and the problem has not returned. I think the problem is probably driver related, so I am starting with a BIOS update, then going from there.
As with the Beta, I really like what I see in the RC. Everything is smooth and fast, and I have not had any hardware issues following the installation. For the most part, I look forward to the final release of Windows 7.
