To Update or Not to Update, that is the question

[dhinds]

My Computer works great with Vista. Several People have told me that Windows 7 is much more stable and is great looking also. My problem is this, how compatible will my software (Office 2003, Dreamweaver, etc) be with a new version of Windows. I lost a few things that were none essential to the Vista compatibility question and I don't want to lose more. Software is expensive. I am guessing I should just be satisfied with a computer that works fast and looks good and not try to keep up with the CompGeeks. What is the general feeling on this matter.

[Allan]

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/compatibility/windows-7/en-us/default.aspx

[quaxo]

Windows 7 is much more stable and is great looking also.

People say this about almost every new OS release. I've got Vista on my laptop which I've had for two years now. I've never had a serious issue with it and have only twice seen a blue screen, both due to my actions of pushing too much, nothing to do with Vista.

Windows 7 is nice looking though. 

[bilklb]

I have one computer running Vista 32 bit, and one running Win7 64 bit....  I prefer Vista.  I have a lot of compatibility issues.  My son cannot play his online games with the Win 7.  The games come up, but they run in ultra slow motion.  Like about 5% of the speed they run at in Vista.  I have used the compatibility function in Win 7 and set it to run as Vista compatible, but it does not help at all.

I would downgrade to Vista if I knew how.

Basically, I think Win 7 sucks.

[quaxo]

My son cannot play his online games with the Win 7.  The games come up, but they run in ultra slow motion.  Like about 5% of the speed they run at in Vista.  I have used the compatibility function in Win 7 and set it to run as Vista compatible, but it does not help at all.

This isn't typical and there could be a lot of causes for it. I play several online games and many offline games and have had no issues with Windows 7.

If you'd like help getting to the root of the problem, we'd be more than happy to help sort it out in another thread.

[2x3i5x]

I think Microsoft has mentioned that "Games for Windows" branded games will work on Vista, XP, and 7....

And @bilklb, just curious, what are these online games? One thing, if you have an older game that predates win7, then maybe that's why you get compatibility issues. And so maybe you want to run in compatibility mode in those cases?

[quaxo]

I think Microsoft has mentioned that "Games for Windows" branded games will work on Vista, XP, and 7....

I've never heard such a thing and if Microsoft ever made this claim it was a lie. Halo 2 was branded a "Games for Windows" game, but officially it will only run on Vista and 7. There are also several titles that are branded "Games for Windows", but are only officially supported on Windows XP and Vista, not Windows 7.

Games for Windows, like Steam, is an annoying gimmick. They even try to compare themselves to Steam on their official GfW website. But there's no guarantee that a Games for Windows game will work across the board. It depends on the game.

[2x3i5x]

This is the specific blurb for which I saw Microsoft's claim on Games for Windows

2) Compatibility. Games for Windows branded titles work on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7-based PCs, including both 32 and 64 bit editions. Games for Windows titles that support controllers are also compatible with the Microsoft XBOX 360 controller for Windows, including the Xbox 360 Wireless Gaming Receiver for Windows. They even support widescreen resolutions and more.

source: http://www.microsoft.com/games/en-us/aboutgfw/pages/gamesforwindows.aspx

But still ... anyway ... for the original poster (dhinds), if vista works fine on your pc and can do the things you would like to be doing on your pc, then why upgrade now?

[quaxo]

This is the specific blurb for which I saw Microsoft's claim on Games for Windows

Oh well, Microsoft lied then. Like I said, Halo 2 and other titles won't run across the board. Just check the system requirements of a lot of Games for Windows titles.