Should I upgrade my Vista OS to Windows 7?

I haven’t used either OS, but from all reports I’ve seen the answer is yes. Either that or downgrade to XP.

If you have $120 laying around, go for it.

If you have the money, it is definitely worth it (though I’d make a back-up of the download on a disk). I’ve been using 7 for the past several months, and I can say it is an excellent OS, and yes, it will improve performance. Not by a huge amount, but it should be noticeable.

The $25 Student upgrade is a great deal (and definitely worth it since 7 is such an improvement over XP and Vista both in stability and speed) if you have a .edu email.

I’m torn between Ubuntu 9.10 and 7, so I use Windows 7 for my media computer and Ubuntu on my laptop (mostly used for writing).

@RedMosquitoMM Can you get the $25 student upgrade to upgrade from XP or do you have to have Vista first?

$25 student upgrade is only from vista, unfortunatly. XP owners don’t really get an upgrade option. It makes me sad. At least my beta’s good until march.

Upgrade discs work on Windows XP: while it’s not technically “upgrading” your XP installation, the Win7 upgrade disc checks for a valid installation of XP before installing.

What operating system are you currently using?
How much RAM do you currently have?
How much space do you have left on your hard drive?
It could be better to do a ‘clean install’ . Are you prepared to analyze that?

Let’s talk more later <g>

From a performance standpoint, I’d highly recommend it. Vista was terrible about memory management.

Just in case anyone is interested, the student version is $29.99 and can be found here: Student Offer

@BhacSsylan I believe you can pay for the $25 student upgrade only to have the license for so much cheaper. It’s only for Home Premium, but if you don’t mind wiping your entire system and starting from scratch (which often is the cleanest way to go as long as you can back files up externally or on another partition) I think it’s a useful workaround.

If you’re coming from XP that is. Vista can be upgraded.

I’ve heard mostly great things about Windows 7, whereas Vista was largely a huge flop. I have been using XP on my computer for years and have had very few problems with it, as far as any Windows OS goes that is. Most of my computer problems have been hardware-based, not relating to XP.

If you do have the money to upgrade and don’t mind going through the laborious process of backing up, reformatting, and installing the new OS, it’s not a bad idea. However, I am a firm believer of waiting a few months after a new OS is released before purchasing it. No matter how good a particular OS is said to be, the first version will always have some kinks that will drive you crazy. It takes a few months for the first users to complain about this and the Windows developers to make an updated version (or patch) to fix those initial kinks.

If you don’t have to buy it, you should certainly upgrade. It’s a much more stable and intuitive platform. If you have to pay for it, decide on the basis of affordability. It’s probably worth doing, but not absolutely necessary.

@RedMosquitoMM Well, I was under the impression that the ‘Upgrade’ was only licensed for those currently using Vista, as far as buying it. But, i could be mixing that up with the fact that XP can’t be upgraded directly, in terms of software. I’m trying to check Microsoft’s site, but it won’t load right now >.<. I’ll try again later.

And I agree, a full reformat is the best way to go. And plus, reformatting every once in a while keeps one’s computer running well.

Really the best solution is to switch to Linux.

@RedMosquitoMM Whoops, okay, checked my sources, and you’re right. Sorry about that! I somehow mixed it up. Thanks for pointing that out.

@gussnarp No need for a “flame war.” Linux is great if you don’t have proprietary business/design apps and/or if virtual machines aren’t an option. Even with that situation, the question here is should Vista be upgraded to Windows 7, which – in my opinion – it should.

Personally, I run both and have a DamnSmallLinux boot disc for when calamity strikes.

@RedMosquitoMM I don’t even have Linux, actually, and I’m as tied in to Microsoft for a variety of reasons as anyone. It just seems like today is the day of snarky answers on Fluther.

Why does Fluther’s spell check tell me I spelled Fluther wrong?

@gussnarp Well said.

Oh, also, for anyone interested, that $30 student deal also allows you to buy 7 Professional. After you get your e-mail confirming your school address, and you click on the link to “get started”, there’s a yellow bar on the bottom, that says “Need to join your school’s network domain? You can also get Windows 7 Professional for $29.99 Click here”

@gussnarp Fluther doesn’t have a spellcheck…it’s your browser. :)

@augustlan ah, I see. I always assumed it was some spell check plug in in the Fluther text editor. That makes sense

If you are a student you can upgrade to Win 7 Home Premium for 29.95 at DigitalRiver. You need an academic mailbox.

@pdworkin Yeah, we’ve been talking about that. The link’s above.

@analysys That may work, I guess. Hadn’t thought about that. But you can’t upgrade from RC to the full version without hacking the install disk, so I’d highly suggest just getting the $30 version unless you feel like reformatting in June. Granted, I won’t mind, but I actually find reformatting an enjoyable experience, so I’m certifiably weird.

Prolly will, 7 is more stable. Also, if you purchase your notebook recently you may get the upgrade for free.

Not sure if Win7 is that good, but you should at least upgrade to XP. The only thing worse than Vista is Windows95 without the Service Packs.

Definitely upgrade from Vista. Install time is faster (clean install took me 15 minutes on my Latitude E6400), performance is heaps better and we even did a few nice things with the UI. My wife’s been running it on her MSI Wind and it performs better than XP. I should probably mention that I work for Microsoft in the Windows division—but I’d recommend the upgrade anyway.

@tallin32 Did you actually sell your soul to the devil? How does that work? Is there a contract? Will you suffer for all eternity in exchange for success on earth? Did they let you be a really good guitar player? Were you guys punished for Windowes ME?

@pdworkin Couldn’t tell you about windows ME—as thatwas, fortunately, long before my time (as opposed to Vista, which was… not so long before my time). I think in exchange foryour soul you get full medical, dental, vision, employee stock purchase plan, contribution matching on your 401K at 50% of your contribution, and free soda.

I say spend the money and go for it. The effort is worth it.