There's sure to be something available...a vista one perhaps.

Unless it's an ancient/uncommon printer...

Oh I have the driver backed up .. was installed 5 mins later ( lexmark) running 2 printers Hp the other

had all my stuff backed up - a couple of days loading it all back and i was good to go !

Glad to hear.  I've been using Vista for 1 week now and my free 7 upgrade is in the mail (should be here by Monday) and I can't wait!!

Did my upgrade thing. Got the message "Can't upgrade"...so it did a full, clean install! I got it on the cheapo!

Next? A wireless printer.

Any gurus have suggestions? Sorry if that's Pyrating th' thread, Az...it's what I do best!

I'm not a guru but I'm going to be getting a wireless printer next as well. Mostly for my wife and it will be the 3-in-1 kind. I'm thinking this one:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Photosmart+Wireless+Multifunction+Printer/+Copier/+Scanner/9364163.p?id=1218091520646&skuId=9364163

looks pretty good. It kind of matches my wife's HP laptop and I've never had a single problem with HP printers (I hate Canon).

Has anyone installed and used 7 on an x86 system?  Field Value
CPU Type AMD Athlon XP, 2200 MHz (11 x 200) 3200+
Would need 32 bit I assume.

It works great on my x86 laptop (3-4 years old, 2GB RAM).  I've not had problems with the beta, RC, or actual 7 on it.

You would have to give us some more system specs before we could tell you if it would run (amount of RAM is very important and model of video card to a lesser extent). I wouldn't bother with it with that CPU anyways. Seeing as it's about 6 years old, I doubt you'd have the performance to make a switch from Windows XP (what I assume you currently use) to Windows 7 enjoyable or really worthwhile. Would it run? Yeah, It would probably run okay (if you have around 2GB of RAM). I just don't think it would be worth you money or your time. To answer your final question, yes you assume correctly, you would have to use a 32 bit version of Windows 7.

Personally, I would take the money you would spend on buying a copy of Windows 7 and put it towards a general upgrade of your entire computer. I recently went from an Athlon XP 2600+ system to a computer with an Athlon X2 7750 (2.7GHz dual core) and the difference was light years and I highly recommend the change to anybody close to my situation (which you appear to be).

I hope that helps.

Charvel1: take a look here....might save you some of them bucks!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=wireless+printers&x=0&y=0 

I just bought a new laptop last nite (18.4"!!!) with Vista, and my son's copy of Win7 was delivered today, so I'll be starting tonite to install it (he can wait till mine comes in). Any suggestions for an easy install, or do you just put the CD in and follow the instructions?

Thanks JSW_Balls and Wirespeed.

If your not doing a clean install, remove the crapware you don't want first. defrag and optimize Vista, set up your internet connection, disable AV. Then just pop in the disk. It will scan and tell you if any software is going to be a problem (I.E. Ghost). Click next and have a seat for awhile (about two hours depending on the amount of software loaded). It's actually pretty painless IMO.

@ Nitro Cruiser - thanks for info, about to start

I did that with my vista ultimate -> win 7 professional upgrade (boot with win 7 disk, and reformat OS drive).

That way you have no leftover possible problems.  And clean installs are a good thing to do every year or so anyways.

My custom install went quickly and without event.  No driver/etc. problems either.  Home network was immediately recognized with no problem, etc.

All in all a very nice and easy experience.

Good luck with yours (and good for you for having dad go first and son wait   )

While I had very few early teething issues with Vista Ultimate x86, and none with Vista Home Premium x64, Win 7 is by far the best OS Microsoft has ever done... bar none.  Not only is is faster, both to install and run, it is very reliable and seamless to use.

I currently run Win 7 Home premium x64 and loving it.  The installation/set-up was painless and it found all my device drivers, so there were no compatability issues whatsoever and everything worked as it should from word go.  However, what I'm liking most is the ease of use and the additional options (folder, personalisation, etc) that were missing in Vista.... I feel as though I have more control now, particularly as the UAC has become more user friendly.

Yup, I rate Win 7 12 out of 10.

Hey Ed.  

While your machine may be a little underpowered by today's standards (quad cores and etc), Win 7 is nowhere near as bloated as Vista and it requires fewer resources, so yes, your PC would be capable of running Win 7, but how well would depend on having a decent video card the amount of RAM you have... 2gb would be the minimum, I expect.

Microsoft realises that it made mistakes with Vista, in particular its hardware requirements, so Win 7 was slimmed down and designed to run on lesser machines.  I ran the Win7 RC on an Intel P4 machine with 2gb RAM and a Nvidia 7800GT without issue and at respectable speeds, though understandably not as fast as my Athlon quad core with 8gb ram and a 9800GT

Ideally, a hardware upgrade or new PC would be better, but obviously when the budget doesn't allow for this you have to make the best of what you've got.... and I'm pretty sure you'd be OK with Win 7 x86 on that machine if you have 2 gb RAM and a decent video card.  To remove all doubt, the best way to see if your PC will run Win 7 is to use this tool