Have an option of getting either Windows 7 or XP on a netbook. Which is the best choice and why?

I have quite a few older Windows programs I am running, which I will not be getting later copies of (some no longer exist) plus I like to multi-task.

Windows 7 was designed to be good for netbooks, because MS were a bit embarassed that people couldn't use their previous flagship Vista.

I personally think XP looks and works like crap.. but I'd suggest if you are worried about usability then go into PC world and try a few. They'll unlock them and let you play if you ask.

Note that if you want to do more than just surf or email, netbooks are pretty low power and you might struggle whatever OS you use.

I have used a netbook before (Acer Aspire, Win XP) and there have been no problems with it, so not sure whether to keep with it or try something new.

I dont want to go to Win 7 and find its annoying and rubbish.

my limited use on 7 (some on netbooks) i found it refresingly easy to use. (and look at)

Someone said somewhere on here recently that 7 was limited and you could not even change the desktop colours (or something similar to that). Any truth in this or anyone know more?

You might find it very difficult to find one with XP installed – I certainly found that even in the early days of Vista

Windows 7 on two laptops here. It's fine and easy to use – and it's certainly not limited in choice of desktop colours or anything. In fact it comes with a load of themes, and is if anything more customisable than it used to be.

It's basically like Vista bit a bit neater, prettier, smoother, better thought out and a fair bit quicker. No complaints.

May I suggest that those who find it annoying are just annoyed because it's different to what they are used to? Everyone complains about new Windowses.. those who are lamenting the loss of XP seem to be the same as the ones who hated it when it came out and replaced the previous version 🙂

go with win7

win XP feels old and outdated (it is)
win Vista is a resource hog
win 7 is what Vista SHOULD have been

I have win 7 on a HP DM1 (an overgrown netbook, or tiny laptop)
works fine with no issues whatsoever

I also have a a windows home server, and win 7 integrates very nicely with WHS

also, IIRC, the next version of IE will not be compatable with win XP

I can live without internet explorer! More worried about 7 being any kind of cut down or restricted version just for netbooks (as MS seem previously to have imposed a lot of limitations on netbooks).

Windows 7 on two laptops here. It's fine and easy to use – and it's certainly not limited in choice of desktop colours or anything. In fact it comes with a load of themes, and is if anything more customisable than it used to be

win XP feels old and outdated (it is)
win Vista is a resource hog
win 7 is what Vista SHOULD have been

Exactly – so much better, functional and customisable than either XP or Vista

I would also suggest Google Chrome on a netbook – uses up less valuable processor power and hence less battery power too.

I went for win7 as it's startup from hibernate is more reliable than xp imo and it's better at automatically finding usb device drivers.

More
worried about 7 being any kind of cut down or
restricted version just for netbook

There isn't a "Win7 for Netbooks Edition" as far as I am aware. Pretty sure it is the same as it is for desktops.

i have home premium, seems fine

get about 4 – 5 hours on battery

OH has Vista on her Acer, netbook has the faster of the Atom processors and 2gb of ram but it feels really slow. It would probably fly on XP, but there is no driver support on Acer website. My brother really likes windows 7, however again on his OH laptop not all drivers were available for 7 and some options can be temperamental at times.

I don't know whether I would want win 7 on a netbook, as the processor is slow, even an old Pentium M 1.4ghz on an old Dell D400 with XP kicks the crap out of my OH Atom equipped netbook (even in benchmark tests), everything works quicker, smoother and just plain better.

My conclusion would probably be go for anything apart from Vista 🙂 But would recommend XP as win 7 on netbook might be a bit slow.

it's windows 7 basic on netbooks – so there may be limitations relative to home premium.

I can live without internet explorer! More worried about 7 being any kind of cut down or restricted version just for netbooks (as MS seem previously to have imposed a lot of limitations on netbooks).

Yeah, they seem to have relented a lot of what they originally stated.
The only obvious bit that has been cut out is the inability to change the background image. There's probably other stuff, but not enough for me to bother installing a work copy of win 7 pro at the moment.

/EDIT

Just noticed you wrote –
I have quite a few older Windows programs I am running, which I will not be getting later copies of (some no longer exist) plus I like to multi-task.

One thing win 7 starter doesn't do is run in 'XP mode' which may mean that some of your old programs might have problems. Having said that, I've yet to have to run any software in xp mode on my desktop PC, but it's something to be aware of.

I don't know whether I would want win 7 on a netbook, as the processor is slow

Windows 7 has been specifically designed to run well on Atom tho – it was an advertised aim.

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/162772/intels_atom_chips_to_support_windows_7_this_year.html

Ive just got an ASUS netbook with windows 7 starter. It surfs well and plays movies and music fine! You can't change the desktop background or encrypt folders apart from that its great!
Just remember its a netbook not a laptop don't try running photoshop or 3ds max its not designed for that!

The acer Aspire One netbook I have used actually runs older versions of photoshop just fine for my purposes. No hesitating or waiting at all, but I am just using normal photos, not large scale advertising photography. The newer versions wont run as Adobe have put minimum screen size restrictions on the programs 🙁

cp – Member
it's windows 7 basic on netbooks – so there may be limitations relative to home premium.

There is. Most of the graphical features (change desktop picture, opaque borders etc) are disabled. My missis was gutted as she want'ed to put up a picture of our nipper but can't, and is stuck with the windows 7 screen.

I take it back then. What a daft restriction. Can you get netbooks with Win 7 Home Premium on them?

Or get a Linux based netbook and reformat with your chosen Win 7 variant.

Read a bit more now and there is NO WAY I'd buy a laptop/netbook that only came with Win 7 Starter.

That version was originally only intended for poorer markets, where the price and features of full Win7 was too high. It wasn't (originally) intended to be available in Europe at all.

It doesn't even get mentioned on the Microsoft site:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/compare/default.aspx

Graham, thats a bit worrying. The bits the more advanced systems have dont look very interesting for my purposes anyway, so not going to be worth my forking out more for an advanced copy, maybe. Beginning to think if my XP source is still there, might go for that.

They are going to stop supporting XP soon.

And as for features, why not check to see if 7 starter has the features you need.. the only other option is Linux I think.

I put Win 7 Home Premium on my daughters Samsung NS10 to replace the XP that was already on it. It runs absolutely fine with no problems whatsoever.

And as for features, why not check to see if 7
starter has the features you need.. the only
other option is Linux I think.

All versions of Win7 should run just fine on any decent netbook.

I just wouldn't cripple myself with Starter.

Looking round on the net a bit more now.

"WIn the United States, Windows 7 Starter is only available on small notebook PCs (netbooks). Want to turn your PC into an entertainment hub and personalize it to match your style? Consider Windows 7 Home Premium."
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/compare/starter.aspx

"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.
After using Windows 7 Starter out myself on my Dell Mini 9, I loved the advancements that it inherently offered versus Windows XP but also concluded that I wanted more. I like to personalize my Dell Mini 9 the way I want it (because I like showing it off and take it everywhere because it’s so small). I also use it to watch videos and listen to music. Because I also have a portable DVD drive, I also sometimes watch movies on my Dell Mini 9 as well."
http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/windows7/archive/2009/05/29/let-s-talk-about-windows-7-starter.aspx

Other interesting comments at
http://blogs.zdnet.com/Bott/?p=844
http://www.geekwithlaptop.com/netbook-users-not-happy-with-windows-7-starter-edition

I need to look more into the lack of mulimedia support as thats primarily what I use a netbook for – web browsing and home entertainment. I dont think I can stand not to be able to adjust sound themes as they are usually naff and annoying.

If you have an older (5yrs or so PC) but one that supports 64bit (mine has a AMD Athlon 64 x2 dual core 3800+) is it always sensible to go with the 64bit version if changing from xp?

Getting a netbook soon for out and about and in front of TV surfing and email and 2 computers in the house with different operating systems would be a step further than my computer phobic other half could handle so the old pc might need an upgrade.

I've just uninstalled XP and put Linux UNR on my Advent netbook and it is much faster, more efficient and user adjustable. Power up times are significantly faster and I've had no problems with drivers etc. The pre-installed software is all pretty good and certainly better than what comes pre-installed on Vista/XP (not really played on 7 much). And it's all free, which is nice.

If you're intending to use your netbook as a "proper" netbook and not just as a small laptop then I'd seriously give it some consideration.

Having said that I've just installed the full Ubuntu onto my proper laptop – a big improvement on the Vista which it was running on. However I tend not to use much in the way of specialized software so if you do you'll need to experiment with emulators etc or dual booting.

Had XP on my Samsung NC10 and got fed up with the speed etc. Got so fed up that I put Ubuntu on as the only OS and it is really quick. There are some functionality issues with it, like iPlayer, Google Earth etc. However there are some fantastic forums with some very clever people who appear to spend all day working out "frigs" to make it work. You do have the opportunity to run it alongside whichever MS OS you run, this is good as it allows you to compare the 2 systems.
Overall, I am greatly impressed with the OS and especially as it is free!

I assumed everyone just used netbooks for everything, like a small laptop (my prev one has been fantastic for this, but hinges etc wearing now as used such a lot). Looks like Microsoft and many people just see it as a terminal, which is a real step backwards from my point of view. If I wanted a web viewing terminal, I would get an internet phone or save for an ipad.

Not a step backwards. They figured out that a very large number of people only surf on their computers, which is why we have netbooks. Why pay for and carry about processing power you don't need?

The comment about the iPad is fair enough, but it's only just come out and is meant to be a better implementation of the netbook concept. But really that's all it is.

Full laptops are still available. It's called choice, which is a step forwards in my (net)book 🙂

We have a Win7 starter netbook – I find it does most things that you'd expect to use a netbook for, but then I wouldn't expect a netbook to be a good multimedia device given the poor graphics. It does Skype ok but I wouldn't really want to watch a film on it. Win7 starter is definitely better than XP provided you can live with the limitations and it has the bonus of being still in support. You do get Windows Media Player with it (but not Media Centre) so it's not as bad as it seems. It also comes with the option to upgrade the version on-line for an appropriate (?) fee…

One surprise is that it works really well with a remote desktop connection to our desktop PC running Vista so if we want to e.g. re-encode media files we do it that way rather than wait a week for the netbook to do it.

.. I wouldn't expect a netbook to be a
good multimedia device given the poor
graphics. It does Skype ok but I wouldn't really
want to watch a film on it

Really? We've watched quite a few films on our netbook (N110) and found it pretty watchable. 1024×600 is still higher def than standard def telly.

found it pretty watchable

Probably a YMMV thing – we've found it drops frames and stutters as though it's just not quite powerful enough, but yours may be slightly newer/more powerful.

Possibly. No problems with stuttering here: a Samsung N110 netbook with 2GB, running XP and playing DivX movies via VLC.

net books with windows 7 only get the starter pack, this is very limited on its setup, screen savers, settings ect but as i do not change anything anyway as it is only a surfing tool it causes no problems to me

When I last looked XP was providing longer battery live when compared against W7 starter on same machine. Still I'd go for W7 starter (in fact I did).

I use xp but if had a choice on a new machine-win 7 deffo.

Besides the graphics of previous generations hold it up and new sytems have gpu's that don't rely heavily on the cpu.

Check out the Acer Ferrari One-I'm tempted but sticking my single core laptop until USB 3 gets fully recognised and triple core on laptops is out later this year.