Shoutbox

I want to download and install the new windows 7 beta version over my current Vista installation. One says that even the beta is already better than any version of Vista this moment.

Only, the beta stops at august 1; what after that? It it possible to rollback to Vista? Or will it need format to go back to Vista as it has always been with microsoft downgrading?

Because i'm in my finals at that moment, I don't want my computer to shut down and I won't have the time to backup everything the day before...

Greetz

You'll have to format to go back to Vista, if you've got the disc space I propose you create a partition and install Win7 to that, it won't affect your Vista install then and you can move files across both partitions etc.

Replacing your everyday primary OS with Windows 7 is not a good move....

Windows 7 is still beta and a lot can happen with it. It is still very far from being finished. Of course some people will say Windows 7 is already better than Vista. Some people say DOS is better than Vista too....

And that old DOS text editor is of course far more "stable" than that fancy rich text editor using speech reconition in whatever fancy OS. Of course it also has a lot less to deal with and thus far less chances to screw up, but apparenty that is besides the point for those who claim Windows 7 is already "better"..... if you catch my drift...

Not everything is already working in Vista 7, far far far from it.

Seeing that you're in your finals you need an OS which is reliable and isn't going to "crash" or do unexpected things at the worst moments (eg: you were just about to save that big essay). So, I would very strongly suggest to switch back to Vista ASAP (or whatever OS) and only install Windows 7 if you intend to test it for what it is, a beta, and install it on a seperate partition like vaccination suggested.

VM FTW!

im only gonna install it on a virtual machine atleast until i get use to the new OS... then i might format my Vista (i still use XP everyday)

I can enable virtual machine in my bios, i don't have a clue how it works however.

Thanks for your input. I might try another partition

quote:

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Originally posted by Exca
I can enable virtual machine in my bios

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I think you're referring to something like "Enable hardware virtualization". Virtual Machines do benefit a great deal from enabling such settings, but you still need software to install your VM. Virtual PC, VirtualBox and VMWare Workstation will all do great (the first 2 are free).

If you want to run a VM you'll need a good CPU and a lot of RAM. You're running 2 OSes simultaneously, so you will be using twice as much resources. You won't be able to use Aero features or and 3D accelerated games/apps in a VM either.

If your system doesn't have enough resources, or you want the full Aero/3D acceleration experience I recommend doing a dualboot. LifeHacker has a tutorial on how to do a dual boot.

Yes, never ever upgrade from a release OS to a beta OS unless you are willing to format and reinstall (or put back an image-copy) when expiry date comes. Also not wise to install it like that if you have to rely on one computer!

Dual boot (install on other partition) is the wise choice if you do wish to try/test a beta OS - How to Dual boot Windows 7 with XP or Vista (same one MenthiX linked too, he linked me to it before).
No need for BC edit tools, not yet anyway! But once expiry time comes and you want rid of Windows 7 you might want/need one to remove the Windows 7 boot entry (if you format the partition you installed it on, from release OS. Correct way to uninstall: Remove Windows 7 from dual-boot with Vista). Install one on your current release OS installation for when the time comes/just in case - EasyBCD


I have it set up like that and was mighty glad I still have Vista installed too, as my network adapter (Atheros L1, formerly Attansic) was not recognised and the driver disk would not install it on Windows 7 either (motherboard driver disk). So I booted back into Vista, downloaded driver installer from the internet, put that in the partition I use to store my installation files and documents, then back to Windows 7 and install. Imagine someone installing it fresh ("hey, fresh install is always better so let's wipe current installation") on the one computer they have and not have access to the Internet anymore!