CRN SPOTLIGHT
Windows 7: Identifying And Troubleshooting Windows 7 Issues
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The increasing number of Windows 7 users is helping Microsoft to get out of the woods from its Windows Vista debacle. Yet the number of Windows 7 users is still greatly behind that of the Windows XP operating system. With WinXP nearing almost a decade in existence, it's hard to overlook the issues that have been surrounding Windows 7 since its release as a deterrent to adoption.
Check out the articles below for a closer look at the issues surrounding the Windows 7 upgrade process, five performance issues giving Windows 7 users headaches and some tips to provide your customers for maximizing the power of their Windows 7 operating system. And when it's all said and done, find out if CRN's Test Center believes if moving to Windows 7 is actually worth it.
Windows 7 Upgrade: Isolated Problems, Not Disaster
Windows 7 got off to a rough start with Microsoft failing to provide clear technical details on the Windows 7 upgrade process. While this had the Microsoft blogosphere up in arms, CRN's Test Center conducted its own independent tests on the upgrade process. The good news is that none of the issues found in testing should render a business system inoperable. Instead, most Windows 7 upgrade issues were more incidental with third-party hardware drivers, line-of-business applications, and just random quirkiness.
5 Windows 7 Issues Microsoft Needs To Address Now
Users have definitely experienced some very specific issues with Windows 7. While the CRN Test Center has proven that these issues aren't uniform, they're still a burden. For instance, certain users have been unable to install XP Mode. Others are experiencing issues with Windows 7 being unable to perform incremental backups. Another major complaint is that while Windows 7 appears to be very fast at first, the operating system has a tendency to become slow and weighty in performance over time. One thing is for certain, Microsoft needs to address these Windows 7 issues.
7 Ways To Maximize The Power Of Windows 7
Issues aside, you can't ignore the fact that Windows 7 is feature-rich and provides significantly better performance and power management capabilities over Windows Vista. What's even better is that CRN's Test Center discovered seven ways to achieve even better performance from Windows 7. Learn some tricks for maximizing the power of Windows 7, including modifying data execution prevention, customizing the power management plan, tweaking the visual settings and more.
The CRN Test Center's Take: Is Windows 7 Worth It?
While many in the IT channel prefer a clean install of Windows 7 to an upgrade from XP, the question still remains if migrating to Windows 7 is actually worth it. Even though deploying Windows 7 is not without its headaches, CRN's Test Center believes that moving to Windows 7 is definitely worth it. Windows 7 is a substantial operating system improvement over Vista that boasts major improvements in Server 2008 R2, Exchange 2010 and Office 2010. It's also important to not overlook the fact that extended support for WinXP ends in four years.
