XP Home vs. Windows 7 Starter for Netbook

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kalevra

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I've got a MSI U100 1.6Ghz atom with 1GB DDR2 Mem - 160GB HDD

Which will provide the best performance XP Home (currently loaded) or Windows 7 starter?

If Windows 7 starter - how does it stack up against XP Home in terms of limitations in terms of installable applications (if any at all)

Want to make the most of out my netbook
 
The best option for you on this netbook is pretty much determined by how you are using it. The following is a quick list of "missing" features from Starter 7,if you can live without them you might as well get it :)


http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/wi...windows-7-starter-on-netbooks-is-back-in/1233
“It is important to note that Windows 7 Starter still includes only a subset of the features offered in the higher editions of Windows 7 such as Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional and above. Windows 7 Starter does not include:

Aero Glass, meaning you can only use the “Windows Basic” or other opaque themes. It also means you do not get Taskbar Previews or Aero Peek.
Personalization features for changing desktop backgrounds, window colors, or sound schemes.
The ability to switch between users without having to log off.
Multi-monitor support.
DVD playback.
Windows Media Center for watching recorded TV or other media.
Remote Media Streaming for streaming your music, videos, and recorded TV from your home computer.
Domain support for business customers.
XP Mode for those that want the ability to run older Windows XP programs on Windows 7.”
Click to expand...
 
I run Windows XP Professional on my Netbook & it works like a dream.

I can even play Warcraft 3 & CounterStrike on it.
 
UnUnOctium said:
I'd go with Linux Mint :)
Click to expand...

would love to just can't handle the conversion problems - work pc is windows - prefer to keep them the same so I can use the same apps, same files etc... My life is complicated enough as it is :P
 
I'll have to check the exact specs tonight. It is an ASUS, about 1.5 - 2 years old. What I can remember is that it has a 1.66Ghz Atom Processor & 1Gb of RAM. I think that the HDD is around 120Gb mark. It really isn't anything fancy, but is really convenient when one is perched on the couch & I don't feel like making the trip to the desktop...
 
Zarathustra said:
I'll have to check the exact specs tonight. It is an ASUS, about 1.5 - 2 years old. What I can remember is that it has a 1.66Ghz Atom Processor & 1Gb of RAM. I think that the HDD is around 120Gb mark. It really isn't anything fancy, but is really convenient when one is perched on the couch & I don't feel like making the trip to the desktop...
Click to expand...

Lol - just when ppl thought computer users/ gamers couldn't get any lazier :P
 
Um, to the best of my knowledge you cannot actually 'buy' a copy of Windows 7 Starter to put on an older netbook -- it's only available preloaded.

That said, it's a nifty little product for netbooks, and you can easily get around some of the imposed limitations (e.g. to regain the ability to personalise your display etc., just download the tiny freebie 'Personalisation Panel' (http://www.softpedia.com/dyn-postdownload.php?p=189197&t=4&i=1)
 
That's a hard choice to make, both those are pretty miserable. Both are 32-bit only which is a huge fail imo. So you have a choice between the ugly, ancient XP that needs tons of patching and searching for drivers to work, or the stripped-out, bare-as-can-be, slightly less ugly (no Aero, no changing wallpaper :wtf:) Win 7 Starter Edition.

Your best bet is to replace the 1GB with a 2GB RAM stick (about R150) and put on the big daddy, Windows 7 x64 Ultimate like I did. Unfortunately it seems that the Atom memory controllers are limited to 2GB. Windows 7 works great with 2GB though, even Aero is perfectly smooth. Just don't install all the bloatware crap that netbooks/laptops usually come with.

Edit: Nevermind, I see that the MSI U100 uses an older N270 Atom from 2008 which is still 32-bit only. Still, a higher 32-bit version of Windows 7 would be much better than the options you mentioned.
 
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