Windows 7 Professional SP1 64bit (OEM) System Builder DVD 1 Pack
- Make the things you do every day easier with improved desktop navigation.
- Make your web experience faster, easier and safer than ever with Internet Explorer 8.
- Run many Windows XP productivity programs in Windows XP Mode.
- Connect to company networks easily and more securely with Domain Join.
- Easily create a home network and connect your PCs to a printer with HomeGroup.
With Windows 7 Professional, fewer walls stand between you and your success. You can run many Windows XP productivity programs in Windows XP Mode and recover data easily with automatic backups to your home or business network. You can also connect to company networks effortlessly and more securely with Domain Join. With all the exciting entertainment features of Windows Home Premium, it’s a great choice for home and for business. Need to use multiple languages on your PC or help protect your dat
List Price: $ 179.99
Price: $ 129.98
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
- Windows 7 Home Premium (includes 32-bit & 64-bit versions) makes it easy to create a home network.
- And share all of your favorite photos, videos, and music–you can even watch, pause, rewind, and record TV
- Start programs faster and more easily, and quickly find the documents you use most often
- Make your web experience faster, easier and safer than ever with Internet Explorer 8
- Easily create a home network and connect your PCs to a printer with HomeGroup
- Make the things you do every day easier with improved desktop navigation
Windows 7 Home Premium offers a rich, dynamic entertainment experience on your PC, making it easy to create a home network and share all of your favorite photos, videos, and music. You can even watch, pause, and rewind TV or record it to watch whenever and wherever you want.
Manufacturer: Microsoft Corporation
Manufacturer Part Number: GFC-00019
Manufacturer Website Address:
Brand Name: Microsoft
Product Name: Windows 7
List Price: $ 199.99
Price: $ 169.99
How do-it-yourselfers do Windows,
If you’ve reinstalled Windows just once in your life, you’ve learned enough to tackle a full virgin installation of Windows 7 from a system builder DVD. Microsoft has finally created an operating system with so much built-in support and maintenance technology it practically does all the work for you, so if your current Windows XP machine is labeled “Windows Vista Capable” or “Windows 7 Capable,” this is the way to go. Just to be sure, install and run Microsoft’s Upgrade Advisor. If it passes the 64-bit system requirements, order up!
You can’t upgrade from XP to 7; you have to wipe the drive or partition and perform a clean install, but even an upgrade from Vista to 7 is fraught with peril, so you might as well do the same if you’re running Vista. Just back up your data and find all your application installation software before you begin. Once you activate Windows 7, it’s married to the PC’s system board. You can’t reuse the product key on another machine unless you can convince Microsoft that the previous PC is out of commission. You’re also not eligible for free phone and chat support from Microsoft, but there’s a big enough expert user base that you should be able to solve most problems by joining a few Windows 7 users’ forums. If you’re not building an exotic tricked-out übergamingmaschine with overclocked handmade graphics cards, you shouldn’t have much trouble that will require outside help. Your humble author installed Windows 7 64-bit on a MacBook Pro using Boot Camp. It found our Brother WiFi laser printer and installed the latest drivers and Brother’s printer control center.
The biggest advantage: you’ll skip all the “enhanced experience” software the likes of Dell, HP and Lenovo cram onto their otherwise zippy machines. After the latest updates install, head off to microsoft dot com slash securityessentials and you’ll get all the virus and malware protection you’ll need absolutely FREE. Pay a visit to your PC maker’s website, let ‘em scan your system and grab all the latest hardware drivers.
With a system builder DVD, you don’t get both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions. If you should find that 64-bit isn’t right for your machine, don’t fret. Just Google the phrase “legal windows 7 download” and the first match will show you how to create a 32-bit installation DVD that you can activate on the same PC using the product key from the 64-bit DVD. The new installation wipes out the old one and that keeps everything legal.
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|Works well with parallels for Mac,
After much research I decided to go with this OEM version of Windows 7 Professional SP1 to run virtually on my new MacBook Pro running Parallels. The install was flawless and it actually runs very fast on my MacBook. I turned off all accelerators and auto-everything. The main reason I wanted the system set up this way was to be able to run the Windows version of Quicken and Turbo Tax which I’ve been using for more years than I care to recall. I am able to do this concurrent with running OS X, which is very convenient. No conflicts with anything. Great solution to enable a Windows user to switch to Apple and bring essential programs and documents from the Windows environment over to Mac without missing a beat!
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|Easy Install, no problem encountered.,
I was running Windows XP SP3 prior to this “upgrade”. They call it an upgrade, but it was a full system init and a re-install of all my software. While this is my preferred method for a new operating system, it would have been nice to have the option to upgrade rather than do a new install.
That being said, the process went smoothly and quickly. From start to finish to get up and running on Windows 7 with SP1 it took about 90 minutes. Now that did not include re-installing my applications, just the basic Windows 7 OS being up and running on my machine.
I have never used MS support in the past, so I had no reservations about buying an OEM product with no MS support.
I would recommend this product to anyone that has installed an OS in the past and does not feel they will ever need to us MS for support.
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|Worth the Wait,
I’ll admit, I’ve been running Windows 7 for six months now: the preproduction version of it and have just upgraded to the gold code. So I have quite a bit of experience with the operating system. Let’s get to the nitty gritty:
Should you upgrade from Windows Vista? YES! I mean it – upgrade today.
Windows 7 is quite simply faster, more stable, boots faster, goes to sleep faster, comes back from sleep faster, manages your files better and on top of that it’s beautiful to look at and easy to use. Even the preproduction version of Windows 7 was better than my Vista with SP2.
Should you upgrade from Windows XP? Maybe, but for different reasons.
XP is a good operating system and if you don’t need to add new hardware or software, XP is good. However, XP is old as an operating system. Also chances are that if you’re running XP, you might not meet the minimum requirements for Windows 7 – check the compatibility site at Microsoft to see if your system will support Windows 7. That said, Windows 7 is light years ahead of Windows XP in terms of functionality, ease of use, etc – to me it’s worth buying a new system.
64 bit or 32 bit?
If you don’t know what I’m talking about, that’s ok skip this section. If you have a core2 duo or core 2 quad or a multi cpu machine, go with the 64 bit OS, it handles memory and the CPUs much better. If you have a single core CPU, one CPU or run special programs that require 32bit, then stick with 32 bit for now.
BEFORE INSTALLATION:
I recommend you have:
-a core 2 duo or core 2 quad machine
-4gig of RAM (That’s about $50 in today’s market)
-good hard drive with (200 gig – it doesn’t need that much but that’s another $50)
-back up your files to a USB drive like Western Digital My Passport Essential 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive WDME5000TN (Midnight Black)
-check to make sure your computer is compatible with Windows 7
INSTALLATION:
Installation was very straight forward. You put in the CD and reboot your machine. You might have to enter your bios and enable the “boot from CD” option. Once the machine reboots a nice screen comes up to guide you through the installation. You have the option to upgrade your PC or do a clean installation. I did an upgrade and it brought in all of my files and settings from my windows Vista system. It worked great.
The upgrade did take about 2 hours for me so definitely consider.
I noticed that early on in the installation the operating system went out to Microsoft’s site to look for the latest and greatest updates, so I think this should help Microsoft respond quickly to any hiccups with compatibility.
WHAT DOESN’T WORK:
The driver from my old HP Inkjet printer for 2001 doesn’t work on Windows 7 so there are some things that will not transition. I had to use a generic HP driver which doesn’t give me the quality that I got from an injet – so overall, I’m up and running with that printer but I’m degraded on the inkjet front. That said, I recently upgraded to a HP CP2025DN Color LaserJet Printer that I love so no real loss there. I’ll likely pick up a cheap inkjet for the occasional photo that I might need to print. Everything else upgraded.
BENEFITS
-faster boot time
-faster go to sleep
-faster wakeup
-faster about 20% to 30% faster at running applications than my Vista – seriously (but those are my results without any benchmarks or anything like that, just seeing how fast Adobe Illustrator loads, and how fast all the applications respond)
-joining wireless networks is much easier
-the interface is just plain beautiful
-my wallpapers are now a slideshow that can be set to change every few minutes (I’m not stuck with the same picture)
-Gadgets – these are wonderful little small applications that you can drag onto your desktop. I have a weather gadget and a calendar gadget on my desktop that tell me
-Better taskbar management – hovering over the taskbar icons shows me mini windows of what’s running
-Better file management – I can organize my files into Libraries that are sortable not only by type but by folder or other data. It’s great! I can browse through my presentations or illustrator files!
-Windows Media appears to be smoother which I love.
-You get some virus protection and firewall with Windows 7 but consider something more comprehensive like McAfee Total Protection…
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|Here Comes Windows 7,
Here comes Windows 7, nearly three years after Windows Vista and eight years after Windows XP. By most accounts, Windows 7 is what Vista should have been. Do we finally have a worthy successor to XP?
PROS:
- Fast startup and performance
- Stable
- Nice aesthetic and functional changes to the desktop
- Improved networking, power management & security
- 32-bit & 64-bit versions included
- Windows Media Center
- Windows XP Mode (Professional & Ultimate only)
CONS:
- User Account Control still annoying
- Upgrade can be challenging
- Expensive
There are only two Microsoft operating systems I’ve personally skipped since DOS 6.x– Windows ME and Windows Vista. Windows ME was so terrible that PC World coined it the “Mistake Edition.” Vista, when initially released, was considered to be bloated, relying on higher hardware requirements than XP, while being outperformed by XP on identical hardware. With Microsoft fast-tracking Windows 7, I decided to skip Vista altogether and upgrade to 7. This review briefly touches upon some of the key features and enhancements of Microsoft’s latest OS.
PERFORMANCE & STABILITY
One of the welcome enhancements Microsoft made was start-up time. The shutdown time has been improved as well. Also, in my non-benchmarked experience, Windows 7 has been at least as fast as XP if not faster. The kernel changes and ability to run the 64-bit version probably has a lot to do with that. Most benchmarks from around the Internet seem to support my observations.
64-BIT
I am elated to finally upgrade to a 64-bit operating system in order to take advantage of more memory support and modern processors. I have Intel Core 2 Duo processors in both my systems with 4GB of physical RAM but XP only allowed 3.25GB for system use.
DESKTOP
At first login, you’ll notice the changes to the taskbar. The taskbar is no longer just a place to store quick launch icons and view open windows. It now provides functionality in the form of Jump Lists, which allow you to select your most frequently opened files or links from the apps you have “pinned” on the taskbar. The clock and calendar are improved and the Show Desktop icon is now integrated in the far right corner. Other desktop enhancements include Aero Peek, Aero Shake, Snap, new themes and wallpapers. You also get gadget support. All of these features combine to create a much improved and enjoyable desktop experience.
LIBRARIES
Windows 7 introduces a new feature called libraries. Previously, your system had shortcuts to My Documents, My Music, My Pictures, etc. which had files residing in only those specific folders. Files can now reside anywhere on your system and be organized inside libraries. It’s similar to how many music and photo applications organize files.
NETWORKING
Even as good as XP was, networking was cumbersome. Windows 7 makes connecting two or more Windows 7 systems together easy, using HomeGroup. This enables easy sharing of files and devices. One downside is that HomeGroup is only supported between Windows 7 systems. File transfer performance between computers has been vastly improved and connecting to a wireless network has never been easier on a Windows machine.
SECURITY
Security in Windows 7 is good and comes with Windows Firewall and Defender. Still, you’ll probably want to invest in a more comprehensive Internet security suite, like Norton Internet Security 2010 or Kaspersky Internet Security. User Account Control (UAC) has been tweaked in order to give user accounts more flexibility in controlling their own security as well as providing more detailed information so the user can make better decisions about whether to allow certain actions. Coming from XP however, it is still annoying and I choose to turn it off. Also, in Windows 7 Ultimate, you can encrypt entire hard drives as well as external portable storage devices, like USB thumb drives. Though this is a welcome integrated feature, much of the functionality can be found in a popular open-source program called TrueCrypt. If you want encryption but not multi-language support, you could just get Windows 7 Home Premium and use TrueCrypt.
POWER MANAGEMENT
Power management has been improved overall and you should be able to squeeze more battery life out of your laptop, even when using your DVD drive. Sleep and resume has also been improved. XP wasn’t always consistent when entering or resuming from sleep mode, but Windows 7 has been perfect.
WINDOWS MEDIA CENTER…
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|Flawless install on 2009 Macbook,
I purchased this full version so I could load it on my Macbook via bootcamp and it worked flawlessly. All of the drivers for my computer peripherals were loaded correctly. The At&T Uverse wireless internet was configured in a snap. Bootcamp is a great utility. I was only able to load 32 bit version because my mac was just on the outside of the requirements for 64 bit. But it still works great! I really like this version of windows. We use XP at work and it was great for a while especially after win 95 but Win 7 is incredible. We skipped Vista so this upgrade was long overdue. Everything seems to work better. The Adobe CS 5 suite is amazing on Win 7. I wish there were better font management options. All in good time I assume.
*update* 7-23-2012
I have finally upgraded my Mac to lion and Win 7 still runs perfectly on the bootcamp drive. I had waited longer than I usually would to upgrade Mac OS X because I was reading that there was some issues with the bootcamp partition and OS X lion. Well, I had no issues whatsoever. I wish I would have upgraded earlier. This dual boot machine is the best thing that I have ever done. It’s like have 2 computers with you at all times! I can’t wait to get my hands on Win 8. It looks great!
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