Best way to go from 32bit XP -> 64bit 7?

[Stridder44]

No its not...you are all still using a free Beta version of Win 7, it is the RTM (Released To Manufacturer) build but until the code is signed off by Microsoft and released for sale it is not the same as the final release version that you will buy in the shops. Not a single piece of code may change from your build and the release build but that does not make it the same. Try getting support from MS or Apple in a years time with your RTM version.

You are all missing my point...

No my friend, you're missing the point. The drivers Apple has been providing has been filled with bugs since day one. Yes, even on officially released/supported OS's such as XP and Vista.

Besides, there are many of us here who do have Windows 7 RTMs from TechNet, MSDN, etc. Obviously we don't expect flawless support for Windows 7 yet, but when the drivers aren't even working for XP or Vista, then we have a problem. Hence why you see so many complaints. For your sake, I'll overlook the fact that Vista drivers almost always work perfectly fine on Windows 7.

Many manufacturers have already released Windows 7 drivers. Even Dell as balamw pointed out.

Nvidia are part of the MS public beta test. Apple are not. Microsoft would sue Nvidia if they released Apple drivers for Win 7 before the release. I'll say it again as a BootCamp tester working for Apple...WE CANNOT RELEASE APPLE DRIVERS, UPDATES OR FIXES FOR WIN 7 UNTIL MS GOES LIVE WITH WIN 7.

What? Nvidia doesn't make drivers specifically for copies of Windows that run on Macs. They make general drivers for notebooks. You say you're a Boot Camp tester for Apple (which I doubt after your last statement)? Well no wonder the drivers are so buggy.

Win 7 installs at all because it is basically Vista SP3 or SP4

Oh please, now you're just trolling.

 

[balamw]

FWIW I attended one of the W7 launch events for Developers, and I really hope that Apple has been working on their drivers for W7 to make ones that are native W7 drivers and not just refreshed Vista drivers. W7 has a bunch of new API hooks for sensors, exactly the kind of sensors that have been deployed in Macs for some time now. Ambient light, temperature, accelerometers, ... and touch. W7 is multitouch aware, but only if you let it be.

I look forward to Apple's official driver pack for W7, but I'm not fooling myself into thinking that a) it's in Apple's best interest to make W7 shine b) Apple will provide any actual support for the drivers once they and the retail OS are actually fully released to the wild.

There is one way Apple really does differentiate itself from "PC" OEMs like Dell. The PC OEM is obligated to support Windows installs because that is the deal they have made with Microsoft. You give us cheap licenses to pre-install, we'll handle support. Since Apple doesn't pre-install Windows and only promotes the use of full retail licenses on their hardware they can push the full burden of support for these installs onto Microsoft. Even though the problems may lie with the provided hardware drivers.

Quite shrewd actually.

B

 

[hideous.ape]

I've explained the Win 7 Bootcamp situation in the hope it might help some people from wasting a lot of their time. Not getting drawn into other arguments.

Goodluck.

 

[balamw]

I've explained the Win 7 Bootcamp situation in the hope it might help some people from wasting a lot of their time. Not getting drawn into other arguments.

Goodluck.

And we've demonstrated with facts why your explanation holds no water.

The facts are:

• Windows 7 is finalized and available, legally, through a variety of means supported by Microsoft
• Many of us are already running said code on our Macs with a variety of drivers, some from Apple, some from Microsoft and some from the component OEMs. Installs are mostly successful and the OS runs well.
• Apple has chosen not to release any additional drivers specific to Windows 7 yet. Other vendors of computers that can run Windows 7 are not waiting.
• The drivers Apple has released for other released Microsoft OSes are far from perfect, in fact some of them are downright buggy and unstable. (I personally had to reinstall Vista SP1 due the the multi-touch trackpad driver causing BSODs, and earlier in the thread there are reports of BSODs from the HFS+ driver, ...).

Given those facts, is is no more a waste of time to install Windows 7 on your Mac today than it is to install any of the released Windows OSes.

B

 

[gugucom]

Could not agree more. There is probably no other company that releases so many buggy Windows drivers as Apple does. The HFS driver in BC 3.0 is a PITA as is the MNT driver. On top Apple manages just fine to screw up almost any piece of software that is useful. Reference to EFI32 and it's faulty boot loader for instance.