I am cursed to be an early adopter, which typically bodes well for the Department of Biology in that I can usually give first hand accounts of the newest IT related phenomenon. So, when I learned that RAMtech, Colorado State University’s computer store already had RM (Retail Media) for Microsoft Windows 7 Professional available for MS Select licensed IT personnel, I immediately got in touch and was able to procure a license.  Now, most IT folk would install this on a test machine and run it for a while very casually – I am wholly against that type of thing.  In my mind, if you are going to test it out – then dive head first into it.  This is why I chose to install this onto my main workstation and really see how it works in our environment.  This method of course is a little reckless, however I feel it will pay off in the end as I work toward handling all the little issues that inevitably pop up.  I should then be prepared when Windows 7 machines show up on our network in droves in the coming months.

First, a few bits of housekeeping before we get into my experiences.  These are a few little FAQs regarding versions and migration strategy’s.

What version of Windows 7 should I get?
This is simple, I am going to recommend at least the Professional package for every user, because of a little thing called Windows XP Mode.  This allows your Windows 7 computer to run a virtualized Windows XP session for all of those older software packages that may or may not run on Windows 7.  Since most of the Department is still running Windows XP, we are hedging the bet that a lot of the software installed has not been updated to anything considered current.  Using anything less than Professional is fine for your home machine, just don’t come whining to me when you need to spend hundreds of dollars on that new version of Photoshop.

32 bit or 64 bit?
This has a short and a long answer – check out this BioIT FAQ for an answer: http://rydberg.biology.colostate.edu/sites/bioit-faq/2009/09/17/32-bit-vs-64-bit-what-should-i-get/

What computer are you using for this test?
Good question!  In short I am running a 1 year old Dell Optiplex 755 with an Intel Quad Core Q9550 2.83 GHz and 4 GB of RAM.

On with the show!  I very rarely ever do a standard upgrade between Operating System versions.  Upgrading typically leaves a lot of stuff (files and programs) I don’t need anymore laying around.  I prefer to start clean and reinstall the stuff I really need.  Of course,  I first backed up all of my data to an external storage device (actually it was just a second hard drive in the computer).  I started this whole process at around 2:00 pm and quickly realized this was not going to be as straightforward as I had intended.  Stumbling block number 1 – the DVD media I got from RAMtech was not bootable – it lacked the ability to simply place the media in the DVD drive and boot from it.  Crud.  I now needed to created my own bootable media.  I followed the directions from this site to turn my USB flash drive into a bootable Windows 7 64 bit device: http://kmwoley.com/blog/?p=345.  These directions worked like a charm except that I needed a 64 bit version of either Vista or 7 in order to run the ‘bootsect’ program.  I didn’t have one of those just then, so I needed to make one – I just used my Windows 7 RC 64 bit DVD to create one out of one of my test machines.  Coincidentally, I also ran the ‘bootsect’ program off of this media to make the USB drive bootable.  It is now 3:30 pm and I finally have bootable install media.

Commence Installation!  Overall the installation was super smooth, you have to love the new Vista/7 setup process – very Mac-like in its simplicity.  I was officially installed at 4:15 pm.

First Impressions
First, I love the new look of the taskbar and its Aero previews.  The overall feel of Windows 7 is current and comfortable.  I am once again using the built in weather Gadget since it is no longer constrained to the silly sidebar application – you can drag these Gadgets wherever you want them on your Desktop.  On performance, I am also pleased – with any clean install there is typically a boost in load times and other operations.  This seems to have a little more pep than the previous Vista 32 bit installation I was using.  I also had success in easily joining the Biology domain for CSU eID authentication.  The built in video and monitor support for my dual monitors worked fine too – since one of my monitors is landscape and other is portrait – I typically need to go into a NVIDIA control panel to get this working properly – one less piece of software to install!  Overall, my first impression is positive.

Problems
Pangea – I have previously documented this problem with connecting to Pangea on the Windows 7 RC – Users will get an Error 86 upon authentication attempts – I had hopes that this would be fixed, although there may be a security reason that it isn’t, all I know at this point is you can find a solution here: http://rydberg.biology.colostate.edu/sites/bioit-faq/2009/09/04/windows-7-pangea-error-86/

iTunes 64 and my iPod Touch – I do not synch my iPod with this computer, but do use it to play podcasts through my speakers in my office.  However, it seems that the iPod is not being recognized by My Computer nor iTunes (version 9, 64 bit).  There is some chatter on the Internet about this problem on the Apple discussion boards – no concrete solution yet though.  http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2134302&tstart=0
UPDATE: I got my iPod working – what I did? Uninstall iTunes and the Apple Mobile Device Driver, then reinstalled… who knows what went wrong the first time I did this.

Well, that is it for my initial report.  I’ll be updating with shorter more specific posts as the need arises.  In any event, Windows 7 Professional is running on my main computer – fell free to stop by and chat about it!