Well, I bought a copy of Windows 7 Professional. I installed it (eventually) over a functional Vista installation on my Lenovo laptop. Before installing it, I ran all the tests that Microsoft set up about compatibility. The computer passed with flying colors. I started the installation…… A problem, the computer needed more space; I deleted some information from my hard drive to allow more space. Eventually, the installation succeeded and I had Windows 7 on the computer.
Initially, I reacted favorably to Windows 7. It appeared to run better than Vista and, in fact appeared to take less space on the hard drive than Vista. The computer seemed to run a bit faster on Windows 7. I was beginning to think that Microsoft actually did it this time, then it happened…… I put a CD into my DVD drive, so that I could reinstall some of the information I had deleted to allow Windows 7 to install itself on my computer. Nothing happened. I checked to see if the Windows system recognized the drive properly and discovered it did not. I dropped the drive fro the system and rebooted. This time, I saw the notice from Windows that it did not like the driver for the disk drive and blocked it. It told me that I needed an updated driver. I contacted Lenovo and they knew nothing about it. I checked the manufacturer’s web site and Microsoft’s website. I even did a full Internet search. No new driver existed.
So, I have a Lenovo laptop with Windows 7 and no DVD drive. I had hoped that Microsoft had finally done it right, but it seems that it is the same old stuff. Interestingly, when I installed Vista over XP, I had no such issues, although I know of others that did and I have had such issues with Microsoft in the past.
As it does appear that Windows 7 has the potential to be better than both XP and Vista, I will likely install it on other computers one day. Maybe the day after new drivers become available to enable me to use my DVD drive again. In the mean time, as it is clear that the compatibility tests do not do their job properly, I would delay installing Windows 7 on an existing computer for a while. It is apparently not a safe thing to do. If I were in the market for a new computer running Windows, however, I would likely not object to receiving it with Windows 7.
Copyright 2009, Jeffrey Allen. All rights reserved.
This is a very odd issue since DVD have a standard core I/O methodology; drivers are only needed for additional, manufacturer-specific functions. Your computer has at least rudimentary communications with the drive, otherwise, how could it boot off a DVD before an OS is loaded into RAM?
Coming from a Linux background, one thing that always was annoying about attempting to install a Windows system was the subsequent driver hunt. However, when I tried Windows 7 out recently, I was highly impressed how much hardware actually worked with just the install. In my case it was every piece of hardware that was on the computer. I also noticed Microsoft being greatly more conservatory on memory than over Vista. I was actually thinking I might leave this one computer with a Windows OS installed on it.
Later on, I was installing openVPN client on the computer, I get the warning that the driver for the virtual device is not signed. With no doubts about openVPN, I select the option to install anyway. This is when Windows tells me that I am not allowed to install unsigned drivers on my own computer. What nerve, some group of engineers at Microsoft think they can decide what I can or cannot install on my computer. I had to forge a driver-signature, hack Windows 7 to temporarily think it was in BETA mode, install the forged driver, then hack the system back to full release.
This is the reason that I prefer Linux system. It is a symbol of freedom. It allows the owner of the computer to truly control their own computer; a statement that no Windows or Mac user can say.