Windows 7 RC Discussion

[Chupa Chupa]

Seen on the release notes that although it's valid till June 2010, it'll start shutting down every 2 hours from 1st March 2010? That's a bit sly

Yeah, there is a Win 7 RC thread over at Fatwallet and the fanboys are going caveman on anyone who dares bring this up. From my totally non-biased perspective -- -- I think its a valid point. A machine that turns itself off every 2 hours is not real useful, and if you have unsaved work left unattended, well...

I'm not sure why M$ took that step. Seems bass ackwards and bound to piss unsuspecting users off. Just what M$ needs right now. It's an RC for freaking sake. They should just let it expire on March 1 if that's what they intend rather than playing some sort of gotcha game.

But hey, a narcoleptic PC would make for a great "I'm a Mac" ad.

 

[fountaineer]

i've installed windows 7 rc1 fine on my unibody macbook pro. installing beta 1 was super easy and all drivers installed without one hassle. with this though the bootcamp disk is stuck at "removing old realtech audio driver" it's been more than 10mins.

any suggestions? should i should cancel redo, or if anyone suggests something else?

thanks

 

[xavious85]

Am I going to have to do any voodoo magic to get the x64 version working? I remember I had a x64 copy of Vista but couldn't get it to install so I had to opt for XP. Later I read there was a way to install the x64 version of vista but it required some work that I wasn't prepared to do.

 

[sutom]

Is the process of installing the RC via Boot Camp basically the same as with the Beta(s)? Are there any clear Win7 RC x64 + BootCamp on unibody MacBook guides?

There's plenty of info in the threads on this forum but I'm still pretty confused about what drivers etc I need to install this, as I haven't bootcamped before. e.g. do I apply the Boot Camp 2.1 update in OSX or Windows? I see the LIMO patch mentioned, and apparently the nvidia drivers from Windows Update stop screen brightness from working. I know I need to use my Leopard disc for the drivers, but beyond that.....

Thanks for any help

 

[war eagle]

i've installed windows 7 rc1 fine on my unibody macbook pro. installing beta 1 was super easy and all drivers installed without one hassle. with this though the bootcamp disk is stuck at "removing old realtech audio driver" it's been more than 10mins.

any suggestions? should i should cancel redo, or if anyone suggests something else?

thanks

Question, you do indeed need the Install discs that came with your specific Mac? All I have right now is my OS X 10.5 retail disk.

 

[steveza]

I found that the 32 bit and 64 bit versions of W7 run at about the same speed so if you only have 4GB of RAM I would advise sticking with the 32 bit install. This eliminates many of the driver/application issues with the 64 bit install. When W7 goes RTM then there may be more compatible drivers and the 64 bit will be easier to use. If you have more than 4GB RAM then it's worthwhile to try and sort these issues out.

I've been testing the XP on W7 Beta this after and it works really well if you have any apps which require XP. I takes about 5 minutes to install - basically installs itself - and MS gives you a free copy of XP too.

 

[neiltc13]

I got 32 bit installed on my MacBook and just about everything is working. However, I cannot find a way to get my Apple Wireless Keyboard to pair with the computer, it either gives an error message or it times out. There was an earlier thread here suggesting that you add the HID Bluetooth Service, but for my keyboard that menu is blank.

I've also found that I cannot eject a CD under Windows 7, no matter how I try to do it.

 

[jellybean]

Running the RC on my Macbook now. Installation went v smoothly. Windows is running very fast and snappy. I love the clean UI and new taskbar. I love how you get previews of the app's windows when hovering over the icons in the taskbar. I wish the OS X dock done that!
Personally I feel Windows 7 matches OS X in many ways, and surpasses in some areas. But OS X still has iLife which blows all the Windows Live stuff out of the water. I really hope Snow Leopard pulls ahead.

 

[t0mat0]

Quick question - I read that you need a certain CPU to get the XP VM (the hypervisor II thing) working - which, if any Mac has compatible CPUs?

 

[steveza]

Quick question - I read that you need a certain CPU to get the XP VM (the hypervisor II thing) working - which, if any Mac has compatible CPUs?

I think any of the 64 bit processors have the Intel VT technology. You can run the following command in Terminal to see if your CPU supports it: sysctl -a | grep machdep.cpu.features. You are looking for VMX in the lines of output. If that is there then the processor is fine. By the way XP on W7 will run on the 32 bit version of W7 so you don't have to install the 64 bit version to get this either.

 

[t0mat0]

I think any of the 64 bit processors have the Intel VT technology. You can run the following command in Terminal to see if your CPU supports it: sysctl -a | grep machdep.cpu.features. You are looking for VMX in the lines of output. If that is there then the processor is fine. By the way XP on W7 will run on the 32 bit version of W7 so you don't have to install the 64 bit version to get this either.

Anyone had a chance to test the XP through Windows 7 from a VMWare/Parallels VM versus the WIndows 7 download version? I'm just curious what compatibility Macs are going to have with Windows 7, and whether this is going tohave an effect on those using VMWare/Parallels currently for an XP VM.

 

[steveza]

Anyone had a chance to test the XP through Windows 7 from a VMWare/Parallels VM versus the WIndows 7 download version? I'm just curious what compatibility Macs are going to have with Windows 7, and whether this is going tohave an effect on those using VMWare/Parallels currently for an XP VM.

I'm pretty sure that won't work as the virtual processor presented in VMware/Parallels does not support Intel VT. I can't test this at the moment because VMware won't let me delete my old boot camp VM.

Update: It really doesn't work. As expected you get an error saying that hardware virtualisation is not available.

 

[war eagle]

Got it installed. How do I get my external HD to work via USB? It wont read.

 

[Thunder82]

I had the past Win7 Betas running on my 17" unibody MBP just fine, but I'm having some big issues with the RC7100 release. Each time I install the beta via bootcamp, my OSX partition refuses to boot. Has anyone else seen this issue? I've wiped the drive several times, reinstalling OSX followed by Win7 and I get the same result each time. The Mac partition will boot to that apple logo and sit there for all of eternity. (The Win7 Partition works flawlessly though)

I'm baffled at how this could be possible, but it is. I've reverted back to the older Win7 beta and everything is great again. Any ideas?

 

[steveza]

Got it installed. How do I get my external HD to work via USB? It wont read.

Did you already disconnect it and reconnect it again? My boot camp W7 doesn't read USB disks that are connected at startup.

 

[spencecb]

Just got a new iMac yesterday, and got Windows 7 RC installed this morning. Was super easy, and it downloaded the driver for my nVidia 120 perfectly.

Interesting to point out: I have a better overall "Windows Experience" score than my partner does. And he has a quad-core AMD with a slightly better GPU than mine. It's just funny to me because he is not too fond of Apple...doesn't hate the company (has an iPhone) but doesn't like the way they do certain things.

I never thought I'd be one to install Windows on my Mac, but I honestly have to say Windows 7 doesn't seem half bad. I really only did it in order to be able to install games that aren't made for OS X, so I'm sure I won't even be using it on a day-to-day basis. But it was by far the easiest Windows install I've ever seen.

 

[spencecb]

I've also found that I cannot eject a CD under Windows 7, no matter how I try to do it.

Not even if you right-click on the CD in My Computer? That's the only way I can do it...my eject key does not function under Windows 7.

 

[Eidorian]

I'm really enjoying all the driver support out of the box. You barely have to do anything with a P45 or 760/780G board. The HD4770 is supported too.

 

[war eagle]

I ran the Western Digital Data Lifeguard and it recognizes that my drive is hooked up via USB, but it's not coming up under devices like my primary HD is. Can someone help me?

 

[Razeus]

Downloading now. I was going to put my Vista 64 bit on Boot Camp this week too. Do I have to install Windows XP on my Boot Camp first, then apply Windows 7? Or will Boot Camp let me install Windows 7 64-bit from the get go?

 

[Eidorian]

Downloading now. I was going to put my Vista 64 bit on Boot Camp this week too. Do I have to install Windows XP on my Boot Camp first, then apply Windows 7? Or will Boot Camp let me install Windows 7 64-bit from the get go?

The Windows 7 RC is a full installer.

 

[ditzy]

Just downloaded win 7. At the moment I have to say I'm quite impressed. It still looks like windows, but that has never been my problem with it. But it no longer feels like windows, which kind of feels liberating. I can't say I prefer it to Leopard, but I'll no longer swear if I have to do something in windows now. The performance has improved a lot.

 

[kirreip]

Just downloaded win 7. At the moment I have to say I'm quite impressed. It still looks like windows, but that has never been my problem with it. But it no longer feels like windows, which kind of feels liberating. I can't say I prefer it to Leopard, but I'll no longer swear if I have to do something in windows now. The performance has improved a lot.

+1! That's exaclty what I thought after finishing my installation today. Vista was a pure pain in the a**... I hated it every time I had to use it.

 

[Cynicalone]

I downloaded the ISO today but can't for the life of me figure out how to make the Windows 7 Disk.

I tried just burning the image to disk wasn't recognized by Boot Camp Assistant. Then I tried opening the disk image and dragging the files to the disc and burning it that way. Still didn't work in Boot Camp. I feel dumb, but what do I need to do to get Boot Camp to recognize the DVD?

Or more specifically what do I use to make an ISO disc?

 

[spencecb]

I downloaded the ISO today but can't for the life of me figure out how to make the Windows 7 Disk.

I tried just burning the image to disk wasn't recognized by Boot Camp Assistant. Then I tried opening the disk image and dragging the files to the disc and burning it that way. Still didn't work in Boot Camp. I feel dumb, but what do I need to do to get Boot Camp to recognize the DVD?

Or more specifically what do I use to make an ISO disc?

I do believe you have to use Disk Utility to burn the disc. Not 100% sure.