Windows 7 prebeta user reviews (build 6801)

Pros It's better than Windows versions 1.0,1.03,286,95 need I go on.

Cons Not yet better than Windows XP Pro 64 bit

Summary I have had a chance to install it on two machines one old one new, newer than a lot of the operating system files circa July and I guess that's at least part of the problem.

Installed on an Intel D865 Perl if found most of everything installed hardware wise and ran smoothly until the install of Adobe Master suite, then it started unexplained reboots, no cause was noted in the log files, oh well I thought, it's an old system let' try it on the new.

Wrong again.

Installed it on a Gigabyte GA-EG45M-DS2H with:
8gb 1066 DDR2 memory
Western Digital 740ADFD 74gb 10,000 rpm drive
Seagate 31500341AS 1.5tb 7200 rpm drive
EVGA 9800 GT w/512mb DDR3 (the kicker)

First of all it couldn't identify the on board gigabit ethernet or any of the modern dynamic energy saver enhancements of the Gigabyte board or of the Intel E8500 processor.

It also had problems resolving the on board G45 graphics and HDMI Audio.

With XP the Eaglelake Chipset is only enabled for the HDMI at the moment (the 9800GTX was an afterthought when the system was built it's probably okay with the onboard graphics alone, but with the way the components are shoe horned into this micro atx case I wanted to see how it would handle everything installed for a fair comparison with the replaced operating system XP Pro 64).

By the time all the drivers were installed and ALMOST everything worked, the instabilities with crashing the dynamic energy saver (we all like green right) it was more trouble than it was worth, much like the pre-beta of NT 3.5 that I worked on years ago, The breaker for that system was a Microsoft Serial Mouse that had to be removed for the system to install properly and once the system was loaded the mouse driver could be loaded and caused no problems.

Sorry I got carried away for a moment, but that's just how long I've been at this and then some (my first DOS on my first system was MS-Dos 1.10 opps that aged me).

It seems that Microsoft ( I don't hate them, after all I made a lot of money working along side them and they have been "helpful") takes two step forward and then one HUGE step back then little baby steps ahead again to recover their balance and mis-steps and this is one of those baby steps ahead after the Vista goof ( I still don't have it installed since removing the beta off my machines redirecting my efforts to Linux).

Over all I could live with Windows 7 the way it is but driver support is paramount, modern Operating Systems should support ALL modern hardware, which has been the bane of existing with Windows over the years. It's been improving, old systems we can live with older versions of operating systems, we've figured out how what works with which and have fine tuned out the snags.

The last thing the end consumers need is more inconsistencies , for us supporters we all can profit from making bullet-proofing systems for the not so knowledgeable.

So the beat goes on, we make money and others complain, But after 25 years we could be closer to being perfect but then others wouldn't need our support.

I once had a customer ask "Why the other guy couldn't make things run right at his office like I did with his systems?"

To which I replied " If he did you wouldn't call him back."

He said " Oh I get it."

In the end it all depends on your perspective, whether you work at making money or saving money.

For what it's worth after Vista this is a step in the right direction and I'm sure as the feedback arrives and the product matures, it will all work out in the end.

For me I'll wait and finish the fight later, right now I have renovations to work on.