Usefulwindows's Blog

This article has been updated and move to the new site you can go here to read it.Go back to Part 4 for Windows Vista 32bit.

Go to Part 6 for Windows XP

Check out Part 7 for Windows 7 64-bit

Windows Vista was given a bad rap because of the release candidates and because some software and hardware no longer worked with it.  Vista has matured a lot from its 2006 release and now after Service Pack 2 is a nice operating system to use.   It is not as good as Windows 7 I will admit but it’s not that bad either.

As with every Windows version starting with some releases of Windows 95, Internet Explorer has been included with Windows, but is it really the best to use, I will look at the five major browsers and see which one works the best in my opinion. For a look at the 64-bit version click here.  This time I am doing these tests on my Compaq Presario C700 (C712NR) laptop with a 2.16 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2 Gb of ram, and a 7200 RPM hard drive.  This computer is running Windows Vista Home Premium 32bit.  All updates have been run for Windows, the internet browsers, Java, and Flash. All tests are ran unchashed.

1. Internet Explorer 8.0.6001.18828  If you have passed on the newest Internet Explorer, well it’s time to look again.  This is not the Internet Explorer from Window past, nor is it the one that shipped with Vista.  IE 8 is fast a loading normal web pages but is not as fast when it comes to Java or Flash.  This is supposed to be better in IE 9 however for now all we have is 8.  But 8 is nice, I love the new features like the Web Slices pictured below.  These give you a quick glance from Ebay auctions to the weather in your area.  There are is also new visual search, and accelerators.  IE is my main browser for a lot of things, and my daily browsing.  You should check it out at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=79154fb4-c610-4a1e-811d-dfe0f1dd84d1&displaylang=en

Internet Explorer 8 in Windows Vista

2.  Firefox 3.5.5 Firefox is not the fastest program to open but it renders pages faster than IE.  I use Firefox for work because of the built-in spell check which I wish IE had.  Firefox also supports a wide variety of plugins.  The interface is dated and cluttered but it still does a good job, I’m looking forward to see what comes out in version 3.6.  you can check it out at http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/ie.html?from=getfirefox

Firefox 3.5 in Windows Vista

3.  Opera 10.01  This browser has come a long way, Version 9 was just not that great but 10 is fast and slick.  The user interface is very good at staying out of your way.  I like the thumbnail previews on the tabs.  It also has a most used page like other browsers called Speed Dial.  It is actually a good alternative browser if you’re looking for something other than the leaders IE and Firefox or want something different from the hyped up ones Safari and Chrome.  You can get it at http://www.opera.com/

Opera 10.01 in Windows Vista

4.  Chrome 3.0  The newest version of Google Chrome is actually better than version 2.  I sure beats Safari in all but one thing, the user interface leaves much to be desired.  I prefer Safari’s user interface however Safari is a dog compared to Chrome, still does not have anything for me to want to switch and it is made by a company that makes money off advertising.  You can check it out at http://www.google.com/chrome?hl=en&brand=CHMI

Chrome 3 in Windows Vista

5. Safari 4.0.4 Looks better than any version before it, they have finally use the Windows interface instead of porting the ugly grey Mac interface.  Safari 4 looks better than Chrome too, however it is not as fast, the top sites take some time to load and the browser itself does not load webpages very quickly.  We will have to see what Apple does with Safari 5.  You can get it at http://www.apple.com/safari/download/

Safari 4 in Windows Vista

What will be interesting to see is how the browser makes will react to Windows 7, with the jump lists and such.  IE, Firefox, and Opera already are working on some things.  IE 8 currently uses the jump lists to their fullest in Windows 7.

Go back to Part 3 for Windows 2000

Go to Part 5 for Windows 7 32Bit

Some of you know that I set up Windows Vista Home Premium on this Netbook earlier and you can read that here.  I was glad to say goodbye to  XP and see Vista running on this little machine.  Well the day after Thanksgiving I was able to get the family pack of Windows 7 Home Premium for $150.  It was time to upgrade the Mini, I knew my fiance would love the new features and I wanted to see how much better it would run on there.  So again I went to work.

Here is some background, I got this Netbook because it is light and portable, not to just check e-mail and look cool.  This thing is very light.  I would suggest any of the HP Netbooks if you are interested in them.  This one is an HP Mini 1000 the true model number is the 1030NR.  I have read that the best thing you can do to these computers that run Intel Atom processors is to upgrade the ram and I did just that, I upgraded it to 2Gb.  Other than that this thing is still stock.

The upgrade was much simpler than putting Vista on this and I would say that anyone could do this very easily.  I had purchased an external DVD drive when I got the Mini so I attached it to it and booted off of the Windows 7 install disc.  The Mini will only support 32bit versions of Windows. I booted off of the 32bit disc and formated the hard drive and installed Windows,  it was simple.  Afterward I ran Windows Updates and installed Microsoft Office 2007 Ultimate.  Total Windows, Office and a few programs fills up the 16Gb Solid State hard drive.  Just a few gigs free when it is all said and done.  I again disabled System Restore and set to a manual page file size instead of letting the OS manage it.

Windows 7 on HP Mini 1030NR

This was an easy install, the Device Manager was clear from the end of installation.  However a basic mouse driver was installed.  If you want the scroll function, download the Vista mouse driver from another HP laptop that used a Synaptics driver.  Also just a note the built-in webcam in the Mini works just fine in Windows 7, did not have to load any drivers for it the Windows Setup did it automatically.

All in all this Mini seems faster with 7 installed than with Vista.  The numbers are interesting, below is the Scores from Windows 7, check out my other blog here for windows Vista’s numbers on the same machine. Remember in Vista the highest score was a 5.9, in Windows 7 the highest score is a 7.9

Again I ran the Passmark Performance Test and Vista got a 172, while Windows 7 gets a 178.8, not a big jump but it is still a performance increase and you notice it on the Mini, the system is much more responsive.

So if you bought that Netbook on Black Friday or have an older one  I would suggest a Windows 7 upgrade.  If you do not have an external DVD drive you can look into local computer service shops to do an upgrade for you.  Windows 7 takes everything good about Vista and makes it better, as well as taking the bad and making it great. This upgrade is simple and recommended.