Windows 7 - Initial Look

Initial Look: Windows 7 first-time install with recommendations on whether you should upgrade or not. This article is not a feature-review (which is already well published on the net). Instead, it covers basic installation concerns. In my case, the installation went flawlessly but there was a struggle with drivers.

I just received the Family Pack Windows 7 Home Premium. Microsoft's Family Pack, which allows 3-installs, on three separate machines. For $150, this is a no-brainer when you have 2 or 3 machines. Sadly, I have 5.

The Start-from-Scratch installation on the Dell XPS Laptop was flawless.



Installing 64-Bit Windows 7

Windows 7 comes in two flavors - a 32-bit and a 64-bit version. I recommend installing the 64-bit because this is where the world is going. All computers sold in the last five or six years are capable of running the 64-bit Windows -- but machines 2 or 3 years and older will varying degrees of trouble with 64-bit drivers. With this said, even old machines (without the 'correct' drivers) will probably work well-enough with default Microsoft drivers.

Here are my recommendations:

• Run the Microsoft Update-checker and confirm the machine is W7 capable. Even remotely-modern machines should be capable. Also, check your Vendor's website to see if they have recommendations or if they have done testing.
  
  
• If the machine is 2006 or newer, install the 64-bit version but you may need to use Vista 64-bit drivers if nothing better is found.
  
  
• If the machine is pre-Vista (prior to 2005), install the 32-bit version, even if it is a 64-bit capable machine because the drivers may be hopeless. See the next bullet point...
  
  
• .... however, if the computer is older than (2005), it is probably time to buy a new $400 or $600 computer -- it will come with more memory, a better video, and faster speed, plus it will be sold with a Windows 7 license, saving that expense. In other words, I would buy a new machine before installing the 32-bit version.
  

Windows 7 is a good upgrade and I recommend it -- provided you have newer hardware. For older machines, it may not be worth the trouble or expense. When you can buy a new desktop machine, with 64-bit processors, 2GB of RAM, dual-core CPU, and it comes with Windows 7 -- all for $400 to $500 -- it is pretty hard to spend $120 for the Windows 7 upgrade plus the RAM you will wish you had.


Installation Recommendations:

• Have 2GB of RAM; better yet, 4GB.
• Make an Image Backup (Acronis/Ghost)
• Make a separate drag-and-drop backup of your data
• During the install, nuke the entire disk and start over; do not migrate.
• Install the 64-Bit OS
• Do not allow the Install to automatically Activate

I do not recommend installing Windows 7 as an in-place upgrade over the top of Vista. For both Vista and XP, I recommend a clean install along with a re-installation of your software. Yes, this is a pain, but here is your chance to clean up years worth of accumulated garbage.

XP users will see Microsoft's included Easy-Transfer software, which can make the upgrade from XP to Win7 theoretically easier. I admit I've not tried this program but my general feeling is why bother; make the data-backup yourself and erase the entire hard drive, starting over.

When doing a clean-install, you will get better results if you let the Win7 installation program nuke the drive during setup. (***In other words, do not erase the disk manually before starting the install. As usual, Microsoft's "Upgrade" disks -- which most of us qualify for -- will not install gracefully on a bare disk*** - I have instructions below on how to actually do this. If you have a bare-metal disk, see Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for work-arounds.)

Rough Installation Steps:

1. Make an image backup (Acronis/Ghost) of your system in case something goes horribly wrong. See Acronis Step-by-Step. Note, this is not a file-by-file backup; be sure to pick the 'Image' option.

2. Make a second, 'drag-and-drop' backup of your data folders. This is what you will use to recover data once the new OS is installed.

In my case, because of fanaticism, all of my data lives in 'C:\Data', so it is easy to make the backup. For most other people, their data is stored in C:\Documents and Settings (XP), or C:\Users (Vista)

Some data easily forgotten and may not be stored in your Documents-folders:
Favorite wallpapers
Checkbook/Quicken data
Email settings and preferences
Other User Accounts

3. Install the 64-bit version.

Boot from the 64-bit OS installation disk.
Choose the "Custom (Advanced) Install"
Type the Product Key when prompted

Important: Uncheck the 'Automatic Activation when online' (this way, if something goes wrong, you won't have to call Microsoft and beg for your license back). You will activate later, after all drivers and applications are installed.

4. When prompted for the hard-disk partitions:

- Select your original Windows drive.
- Delete the entire (C:) partition; leaving the disk empty. Windows7 detects the old software at this stage, satisfying the upgrade-license restriction.

5. Allow the install to proceed.

The install is remarkably automatic and pleasantly quick. The base install will take about 20 minutes. Upgrading and installing drivers and applications will take considerably longer.

Update Drivers First

Once the base operating system is in place, update all hardware drivers; do this before installing your applications.

In general:

Click Start, Control Panel, Device Manager. Look for any "yellow bangs" (exclamation marks) -- these indicate missing drivers. Missing drivers may or may not be a problem. Some of these drivers are esoteric, such as hardware monitoring interfaces, and may not be needed for day-to-day operations.


Weak, wimpy Drivers:

Some drivers issues are more subtle. Windows 7 installs "default" drivers for these devices, but the results will be less-than optimal:

• Video Display Adapter
• Network Interface
• TouchPad (laptop)
• Mouse Drivers

For example, the video Display Adapter may appear as a Microsoft "default" driver or in the Network Interface section, you may see a "Microsoft driver". In each case, the machine will function, but it will be less-than optimal. How do you tell? Open the Control Panel, Device Manager and start snooping.

• Expand "Display Adapter" - look for "Microsoft" under the vendor's name. You want to see the Video-card's brand-name.
  
  
• Expand "Mice and Pointing Devices" - Look for a standard Microsoft generic-like name (if you have a Microsoft Mouse with the right drivers installed, it will say "Intellipoint"). Sorry I forgot to document the details before this article.
  
  
• Expand Network Adapter (you want to see the brand-name)

Especially in these cases, consider upgrading to the vendor's real driver. It will take research and time to find the right drivers. When the press reported Windows installed with no issues, they undoubtedly glossed-over these types of issues.

Link to these articles to see what drivers I looked for when when I upgraded my laptop and desktops -- but keep in mind your hardware will be different and will need different drivers:
Dell XPS M1530 Windows 7 Drivers
Gateway Intel 975 Desktop Windows 7 Drivers

Install Drivers in this order:

Once you have identified the drivers, get them downloaded and ready to install. Install the drivers in this order:

1. Update the Motherboard's BIOS to the vendor's latest version. This is a hardware concern that is not operating-system dependent. (This should be done whether or not you are upgrading to Windows 7.) See the next section for rough information on how to search for the correct BIOS drivers.

2. Update your Motherboard "chipset" Drivers.

This varies widely by machine. For most people, you would go to Intel's site and search for your motherboard's specific model, searching for "965", etc. -- See your original shipping manifest for the motherboard make and model or visit the OEM's site -- Dell, HP, etc. to look up the correct model.

Be aware the vendors (Dell, etc.) seldom have the latest drivers and this is why I go to the motherboard's manufacturer site. Admittedly, figuring out which motherboard you have is tricky.

Intel Search Link: http://downloadcenter.intel.com/

3. Update the Video Drivers.

Often Windows 7 installs generic drivers and if left-as-is, the Windows Experience Index (performance rating) gives a retched value of "1.0." Review your original hardware purchase to see what video chipset is installed in your system, then go to that vendor's site for the latest drivers. Typically, this will be NVidia or ATI. Links below:

NVidia hardware: NVidia.com Downloads
ATI hardware: ATI Downloads

My Dell XPS M1530 uses this driver: GeForce NVIDIA 8M Series (Notebooks) (Currently version 186.81). You may have purchased a different video card with your machine.

4. Install Microsoft or Logitech Mouse Drivers next, followed by laptop Touchpad drivers (in this order). Get the drivers directly from Microsoft's or Logitech's download sites.

5. Install current Audio drivers.

Finding a 64-bit version of these drivers can be tricky and you may not find what you need. If a Windows 7 version of your audio drivers cannot be found, install the Vista 64-bit drivers -- this has worked on both of my test machines. For my experience on this, see: Dell XPS M1530 Windows 7 Drivers

6. Install current Wired and Wireless Network Card drivers; again, going to the original vendor's site (Intel, Marvell, Dlink etc.)

For example:
Marvell 88E80xx Ethernet Controller (ver 11.22.4.3 2009.10.21)
Intel Pro/Wireless 3945ABG (Version 13.0.0.107 2009.10.21)

Caution: Your hardware may be different; check your shipping manifest or look in the Control Panel before you begin your upgrade.

Run Windows "Update" after Installing Drivers

After installing the drivers, allow Windows Update a chance. Click Control Panel, Windows Update. This process will sometimes find a better driver.

Review the update list, especially the Optional Files -- where you need to look for hardware-drivers. Allow the updates to apply. In my case, it found 700MB of updates, including the fingerprint readers. This may take an hour or so to install.

* When all the hardware drivers are installed, review the Control Panel's Device Manager, looking for unresolved drivers. If yellow exclamation points are still found, you may have to ignore them and continue with the upgrade.

Install Base Applications

Once the drivers are installed, install your base applications: Word processors, spreadsheets, etc.. Do not be too concerned if the programs are not "Windows 7" versions. All of my older 32-bit programs have installed without any issues.

Return to Windows Update and update a second time; this will patch office applications. Manually patch non-Microsoft applications, such as WordPerfect, PSP, and other third-party programs.

Install Utility Applications

• Install Acrobat Reader, Flash and other such utilities (see www.adobe.com)
• Install other browser and email clients (Firefox, Thunderbird, Opera, etc)
• Install third-party backup software (recommend Acronis True Image)
• Wait on the virus scanner.

Install printers, Scanners, Cameras, as needed.

Build Printer Shares, as needed for your home network.




Once everything is just the way you like, use your backup software (Acronis, Ghost) and make a new Image backup of the workstation. Name this backup the "Golden" backup and keep this as a permanent backup in addition to your normal monthly or quarterly backups.

Install virus scanners

Install Virus Scanners last -- partly because I don't trust the software and partly because they change so often there is no need to have them on the Golden backup.

Finally, allow Windows to Activate with Microsoft (Control Panel, System, Windows Activation).

Conclusions:

The installation went well, but as always, rebuilding a computer from scratch is a nuisance. Although Windows 7 installed working drivers for all hardware, it missed the boat on the Video, the Touchpad and the sound card. Finding the correct drivers was troublesome. Obviously newer hardware makes this an easier transition. You can read about my experiences here.

Install Times:

1 hour to make the initial backups
1 hour to install Windows 7
3 hours to install base software and video drivers
3 hours to install all of the other miscellaneous software
5 hours writing and editing this article [grin]

Related Articles:
Windows 7 Cleaning Up the Start Menu and Explorer Settings (tips and tricks)
Windows 7 Drivers for Dell XPS M1530