Windows 7 related Q&A and Support

[Tamer]

There seems to be a lot of threads being started with questions about Windows 7. Hopefully we can keep all the questions condensed to this thread.

DO NOT POST LINKS TO DOWNLOADS / GUIDES ON HOW TO ILLEGALLY ACTIVATE WINDOWS 7 7600. YOU WILL BE BANNED.

Frequent Q&A-

Q. Does Aion support Windows 7?
A. Yes.

Q. I'm thinking about upgrading to Windows 7 from Windows Vista. Is it worth it?
A. Windows 7 is basically Windows Vista 2.0. It is much better in terms of performance, taking up less memory, start-up/shut-down times and sexiness.

Q. Will Windows 7 offer better performance in Aion over Windows Vista?
A. It really depends. If you have less than 3GB, then you will see a noticeable difference in performance. Especially in crowded areas like cities as Windows 7 isn't a resource hog like Windows Vista. The average user will probably see a minimal increase in performance as long as they don't have anything running in the background or have a billion Firefox tabs open.

Q. Will Windows 7 offer better performance in Aion over Windows XP?
A. Not in Aion, no. Performance should be about the same regardless of your computer/memory.

Q. Should I get 32-bit or 64-bit?
A. If your computer supports 64-bit then you should definitely go with 64-bit. The main difference between 32-bit and 64-bit is the ability to support more than 4GB of total system memory. Say you're running a video card that has 1GB of memory. You will be limited to having 3GB system memory. So basically, even if you put 12GB memory into your computer, it can only utilize 3GB of it.

There was once a time where 64-bit compatibility was a problem. This is no longer an issue.

The only computers that may not be compatible with 64-bit are ones over 4 years old. If your processor has more than one core, it supports 64-bit. There are some single core processors that support 64-bit as well.

Q. People claim that they have the final/retail/release/manufacturer/7600 version of Windows 7 Ultimate. I thought that Windows 7 wasn't out yet?
A. The Release to Manufacturer version of Windows 7 Ultimate leaked onto the internet. You could simply go on a torrent site, download it, burn it to a disk, and install it with the 30-day activation trial. Then later on, a master serial key from Lenovo leaked that could activate every single copy of Windows 7 Ultimate. You can't input the code directly as you would still have to go through Microsoft's online activation, but people quickly made activation utilities using the key. Now people have a free completely activated Windows 7 Ultimate. The same exact version you will buy in the store. Months before it is even released.

Also, there are a small amount of people that got a free copy from beta testing Windows 7. MSDN subscribers also have access to legit copies of Windows 7, but the cost of the MSDN subscription costs more than Windows 7 Ultimate itself so I can't really recommend getting a subscription solely for Windows 7.

There is also a legit way to use Windows 7 that Microsoft allows. Install the final version but don't use a serial key. It will work for 30 days before it stops working. At the end of the 30 days, you can re-arm it a total of 3 times. So that's 120 days. Before that 120 days is up, you will have to buy Windows 7 and input the serial key or transfer all the files off and start all over. Microsoft considers this a "trial".

Q. I'm using Windows 7 and I had error *insert number here*.
A. This isn't a Windows 7-specific issue.

Q. Can I upgrade from Windows Vista to Windows 7 without doing a clean install?
A. Yes.

Q. Can I upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7 without doing a clean install?
A. No. You will need to do a clean install.

Q. Can I upgrade from Windows Vista x86(32-bit) to Windows 7 x64 without doing a clean install?
A. No. You will need to do a clean install.

More Q&A to come.

I'd also like to note that if you are a student, you can get Windows 7 Home from Microsoft for $29. All you need is a college email account. http://www.win741.com/ It's a hell of a lot cheaper than the retail price.

[Krimzin]

The current release candidate is 7100. You can still get legit Keys here: Windows 7 Release Candidate

[Tamer]

They don't work for Windows 7 7600 (release) though. Windows 7 7100 will stop working early-mid 2010.

[T0maten]

Q. Can I upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7 without doing a clean install?
A. No. You will need to do a clean install.

Not true.
I upgraded my XP x86 to Windows 7 x64 without any problems.
I can actually still use programs I installed on XP without problems also.
I still have my Windows.old folder d:

[レン。]

Originally Posted by ???

Don't need msdn to get it and install RTM without a key. Using the beta is retarded, and cracking it is even more retarded since it has a key that lasts a year.

http://torrents.thepiratebay.org/502...75.TPB.torrent
Just grab that and install without a key until you get a legitimate key (or use a different solution). You can reset the trial via a simple command line.

The ISO above is legit, unmodified, NOT cracked, matches msdn hash:

File Name: 7600.16385.090713-1255_x64fre_client_en-us_Retail_Ultimate-GRMCULXFRER_EN_DVD.iso
Size: 3224686592 bytes
CRC: 1F1257CA
MD5: F43D22E4FB07BF617D573ACD8785C028
SHA-1: 326327CC2FF9F05379F5058C41BE6BC5E004BAA7

/10 characters

[Tamer]

Originally Posted by T0maten

Q. Can I upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7 without doing a clean install?
A. No. You will need to do a clean install.

Not true.
I upgraded my XP x86 to Windows 7 x64 without any problems.
I can actually still use programs I installed on XP without problems also.
I still have my Windows.old folder d:

It is still a clean install on a new partition. You won't have any of your programs/settings/anything except data saved on the other partition. If that is considered upgrading then you could also upgrade Windows XP to OS X and Linux at the same time.

Also, you can't upgrade from x86 to x64 even if you have Vista.

[Caninearf]

Bumping for reference

[Flo]

Q. People claim that they have the final/retail/release/manufacturer/7600 version of Windows 7 Ultimate. I thought that Windows 7 wasn't out yet?
A. The Release to Manufacturer version of Windows 7 Ultimate leaked onto the internet. You could simply go on a torrent site, download it, burn it to a disk, and install it with the 30-day activation trial. Then later on, a master serial key from Lenovo leaked that could activate every single copy of Windows 7 Ultimate. You can't input the code directly as you would still have to go through Microsoft's online activation, but people quickly made activation utilities using the key. Now people have a free completely activated Windows 7 Ultimate. The same exact version you will buy in the store. Months before it is even released.

This is a bit unfair. It implies that everyone who has a final version of Windows 7 has downloaded it illegally. There are several legit reasons and sources for having the final version of Windows 7, including MSDN or Technet subscriptions, or participation in the technical beta test.

[Tamer]

Originally Posted by Flo

This is a bit unfair. It implies that everyone who has a final version of Windows 7 has downloaded it illegally. There are several legit reasons and sources for having the final version of Windows 7, including MSDN or Technet subscriptions, or participation in the technical beta test.

I'd guess that the ratio of non-legit : legit versions of activated windows 7 is something like 150,000:1.

There are people that have legit versions, but that number is very small in comparison. Also, it's hard to recommend buying a MSDN subscription as it costs more than Windows 7 Ultimate. Will make note of it, though.

[Livvy]

unwise to post links to pirated copies and illegal keys on an open forum,guys.In all other respects ,great summary

[Tamer]

Originally Posted by TheBear

When Windows 7 rolls around next month it appears I will have to do a clean install from XP home 32x to 7 64x.
I was wondering since I have all tha Aion data installed seperately from the boot drive but not the launcher. If I just installed the launcher would there be a way to use my already installed Aion data. Or am i going to have to do another 12 hour download?

Are you talking about the patch files? They may or may not be saved somewhere in a temporary file.

While Aion is installed onto another hard drive, some things like registry are on your boot drive. You will most likely have to re-install.

[TheBear]

I mean the general install. Like say if i was to boot up the launcher and install it from scratch.
Would it notice an installed Aion on a different drive?

[レン。]

Originally Posted by Livvy

unwise to post links to pirated copies and illegal keys on an open forum,guys.In all other respects ,great summary

A pirated copy is a copy containing a crack or key.
My post contains neither. Microsoft put the 30 day trial (by not using a key) for a reason. It helps business.
What better way to help business than getting people addicted to the new OS, when they only need buy a copy and then input their key?

lol.

[Tamer]

Originally Posted by TheBear

I mean the general install. Like say if i was to boot up the launcher and install it from scratch.
Would it notice an installed Aion on a different drive?

Oh, no not by default. You would have to edit the source path to the Aion executable. Default tries to fetch it from the same drive.

[Caninearf]

bumping for reference