Review by Margaux Paschke

I had purchased a new HP computer that had Winbdows 7 and although the pc had issues and was returned, I did like Windows 7 while I had it. I had issues with several new pcs so I thought I would purchase the Windows 7 upgrade for my old pc. So far I am happy and feel it has more pluses then minuses. There are several reviews written by more tech savy reviewers so I will concentrate on my view of the good and bad points:nnGOOD POINTSnn1. Has made my computer run much faster and cut my boot time in half.n2. I love the two windows feature where I can open two programs and have them run side by side. I had a problem getting this to work at first but once mastered, a favorite.n3. When you have several items open under the same program, the tool bar at the bottom allows a preview of them so you can access the one you want with one click instead of opening the program and going through them until you get the one you want. Very cool.n4. Home Group allows you to easily share photos, music, etc. between your home computers (as long as they have Windows 7).n5. Windows 7 Media Center allows for easy tv viewing and recording but your pc must have a tv tuner to access this feature.n6. Great for multi-monitor users, makes it super easy to switch between monitors (Window image + Shift + Left Arrow keys and Windows image + Shift + Right Arrow keys to switch between the monitors)nnBAD POINTSnn1. Does not play well with older programs. Not everything is Windows 7 compatible.n2. My mp3 player (Creative) needed a new driver installed to work on Windows 7 - this is a work in progress as issues keep popping up which prevent me from connecting my MP3 player and using it the way it was meant like I did on Windows XP.n3. The automatic updates are not always a good thing. After the last update, my screen size shrunk and I had to reset my monitor.

Deciding which version to purchase might take a moment. The Professional version provides for an easier connection to company networks, a back-up to network option, and more importantly, the ability to run certain programs in a Windows XP mode - the $157 price difference was the deciding factor for me; although in hindsight, the Windows XP mode might have been worth it to access some older programs. Please note that if you purchase Windows 7 software, you receive customer support for the first year but if you purchase a new computer with Windows 7 pre-loaded, there is no support without a fee of $59.99.

I do not regret upgrading from Windows XP to Windows 7, although the new configuration involved a learning curve. I have been using it for a few weeks and I am still getting used to it but happy overall. I find myself more comfortable using a computer with Windows XP but Windows 7 is the future and it looks promising.