When I heard that Microsoft was going to give away Windows 7, I had
to sign up. This wasn't just the beta version or an upgrade. I got the
full Windows 7 Ultimate Steve Ballmer signature edition.
Sure, there was a catch - there's always a catch. I had to have some
kind of party to show off Windows 7.
How hard can that be?
It is horrible: You get something for free, but you have to invite
seven people over to show them what you got for free. They will be
asked to pay hundreds of dollars for what you are telling them was free
for you. It is totally unfair.
So what is the first thing people say after I tell them I got
Windows 7 for free? "Why didn't you tell me about this?"
Hey, I'm a Mac person. I figured that if they liked Windows so much,
they'd have heard about it too. Sheesh!
Mac Guy Installs Windows 7
The funny part is that the lone Mac guy gets to install Windows 7 on
his MacBook before anyone else. I got my copy last week. It was sent
early so I could install it before my party. That way I would be
familiar with it and could show off the new features to my friends so
they would all want to buy it.
It is a nice theory, that a party would be a great way to show off
Windows 7. So far the response is that everyone would like to get the
free copy like I did, but no one wants to pay for it. This
shouldn't be a surprise. After all, Microsoft likes to campaign on how
much cheaper PCs are then Macs.
You can't expect customers, who are too cheap to buy a Mac to jump
at the chance to pay for something they don't need.
Windows Is the Biggest Mac Tax
The Windows
7 Ultimate version costs $319.99 for the full retail copy. It is
funny to hear Steve Ballmer
complain about the "Mac Tax" and then price a version of Windows 7
at over $300. For that price you can buy a small netbook. Which one
sounds like the better deal, Windows 7 or a netbook?
Come on, Steve, I thought you knew your customers better than
that?
As a Mac user, I actually need a copy of Windows, because my Macs
didn't come with it. Last year I bought an OEM version of Vista
Ultimate off
eBay. Even at that discount, I only installed it on one computer
for testing. If I had to "upgrade" all my computers to run Windows, I'd
go broke.
The biggest "Mac Tax" for me is getting licensed copies of Windows
for my Macs.
Trying to Install Windows 7
So I got to save money on Windows 7, and I get to confuse my friends
by having it before they do. I thought it was a good deal - until I
went to install it the first time. I got two days of frustration as a
penalty for being overconfident.
I had prepared my MacBook by installing an unregistered copy of
Vista. It worked fine. I surfed the Web a little and downloaded virus
protection software I did nothing else with Vista. I figured Windows 7
would be coming soon, so I'd wait until then to play around with
it.
To install Windows 7, I booted into Vista. I first tried installing
the 64-bit version, and it failed to even run. I got some not
compatible error message. I think this was because my copy of Vista was
32-bit. Then I tried installing the 32-bit version of Windows 7, and
during setup I got an error code that it couldn't write a file. It made
no sense - I was logged in as the administrator, so there shouldn't
have been any privilege issues.
The advice the installer gave when it failed was to make sure my
copy of Vista was up to date. Heck, I didn't know any better, so I ran
the Vista updater. There were 70 items that need updating. After two
crashes. I switched to updating only a few items at a time. Eventually
everything was up to date - and the installer for Windows 7 still
failed.
It was time to search the Web for that error code. I found a dozen
different sites that talked about it, and each one had different
advice. I tried the Mr. Fix It tool from Microsoft, but that failed.
Then I tried to make changes to the registry, and that didn't work.
Back to Boot Camp
By now I'm thinking, "Who cares about updating Vista? I'll just wipe
Vista, and do a clean install." So I booted back into Mac OS X and
ran Boot Camp. It wiped out Vista, but then it couldn't partition my
drive. I got the error that a file can't be moved. Great! I am stuck
with no way to set up Boot Camp again.
I try repairing permissions using Disk Utility - same problem.
Finally, I pull out my TechTools DVD. The software is out of date, so I
download the update and ran a disk surface scan. It didn't find
anything, but there was a problem with the volume structure. It
prompted me to download a file from Apple's website. The file was a
disk image of Tech Tools to boot from so I can make repairs - only it
is the same version I already have. Apple hasn't updated its website,
so I'm worried that this old version may have compatibility problems
with Mac OS X 10.6
"Snow Leopard". I run it anyway, and luckily it works.
Boot Camp is now able to partition the hard drive. I'm back in
business with my Windows 7 install. I start with the 64-bit version.
Now that the old copy of Vista is gone, it works. Everything is
working!
The excitement won't last long.
No 64-bit Boot Camp Utilities
I then go to install the Boot Camp Utilities from my Snow Leopard
disk. It gives me the message that 64-bit Boot Camp Utilities doesn't
work with my computer. Thanks a lot, Apple, for ruining the rest of my
day. Windows can see that I have a 64-bit computer, but Apple doesn't
see things that way.
Without Boot Camp Utilities, I won't have drivers for many features
of my Apple hardware. I can't live without two finger scrolling on the
trackpad, but what to do? Microsoft hasn't implemented this feature on
Win 7, and no other utility from Apple would work. I tried finding
a solution on the Internet, but nothing worked. I really didn't want to
go back to 32-bit Windows. I pressed on with installing other software
as is. I start using a cordless mouse to help navigate around.
Incompatibilities Galore
I began installing some software I have around the office. After
numerous failed software installs, I finally gave up. It was time to
start over again.
This time I did it from Windows. There is a special control panel
called "Recovery". I was supposed to be able to reinstall from a backup
disk or a disk with a copy of Windows on it. The only problem I found
is that it wouldn't recognize my install disc as having a copy of
Windows on it. I have no idea why.
Instead, I ran setup.exe from the desktop. It would only proceed if
allowed to overwrite the C: drive, but the Mac partition was listed
with the C: drive. I hoped for the best and clicked OK. It worked. I
still have the Mac partition unharmed.
Installing Windows 7 Again
The install of Windows 7 was not easy. Neither Microsoft not Apple
were much help. Microsoft tried to be helpful in a dozen different ways
and failed each time. Apple mostly failed from the start, and that was
it. I had to keep trying to find alternate solutions where I could.
Installing an operating system that is this new on a Mac, for which it
isn't intended, meant I wasn't going to find the help I'm used to
getting from the Internet. I generally avoid being an early adopter for
this reason.
After two days of problems, I've had three days of things mostly
working.
It Doesn't 'Just Work'
Will Win 7 replace Snow Leopard on my Mac? No, it is slow
starting programs, I get random cursor movements, and I don't own much
PC software. There are even applications that don't work. I will still
need to keep Vista on my Mac Pro for applications that fails on Windows
7. I do think Win 7 is a little nicer than Vista, but who cares
about nice, computers are about getting something done. It is a big
problem when not everything works as it should.
Good luck to those who want to make the switch. Be ready for a
couple of days of pain as you sort out what still works and what won't.
If all you do is surf the Web and use Office, this may be an easy
upgrade. If you are like me and you want to be able to run whatever
oddball programs you happen to have, expect to find a few that just
won't work anymore.
I can say that I got what I paid for. Sure it was free, but I spent
two days sorting out dozens of problems, just so I could throw a party
to tell all my friends how great Windows 7 is. Since the party is still
days away, hopefully the bad memories will fade in time for me to smile
when I tell people how great Windows 7 is.
