I’ve been frustrated with the performance of my laptop lately, and so have been entertaining the idea of a fresh install. The Windows Home Server is nicely established, so I have backups there, on mozy and on the MO’s big-ass hard drive. After much dithering, I took the plunge on Monday and installed Windows 7. So far things have been (mostly) awesome!
First of all, the installation process was clever enough to realize I already had Vista, and offered to keep all my data (and programs, I think—not really sure because I didn’t choose that option) or go with a blank install. I wanted to wipe the slate clean, so I chose the install. Then I still had the option to keep a copy of my old stuff! Very cool. Yet another backup, I guess….
The install picked up all the basic drivers except for my card reader, and I found those with the “look for this on the web” option. (I haven’t hooked up my printer or scanner yet, so I suppose I shouldn’t get too giddy, but still.) Network, WHS, various Live applications, all so far so good.
EXCEPT. The one thing I didn’t bother to check for compatibility—Windows Live OneCare. Which I have just paid my subscription for. And is apparently being end-of-lifed by M$! Soooo, something called Avast is now pulling virus protection duties. I am still irked by this one. But 7 is purty, and for this magpie, that goes a long way, so I suppose I’ll get over it before long :-)
