EeePC and aging OS
I have and love my EeePC. But I feel a bit silly having a new computer with an 8 year old operating system on it. So, the question is do I upgrade to Windows 7? Anyone have experience with that?
I did the trial version/temporary install of EasyPeasy. And I liked it. A lot. But there are some applications that I use that it will not run. I hear there are Windows emulators for it. Anyone ever try that?
December 8th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
I run eeebuntu on my Eee 4G, but I’ve heard the Ubuntu Netbook Remix is pretty good too. I use it for really light stuff like writing and e-mail.
December 8th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
What about Android OS?
December 8th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
I did it on my 900 series, worked fine but you have to use the 32 bit version.Only downside is all the Asus software and function keys will not work with windows 7.
December 8th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
Ben, i hear there’s a fix/patch for that.
December 8th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
I’ve been running the Ubuntu netbook remix on my eeepc. It’s a a bit different but works really well on a netbook. http://www.canonical.com/projects/ubuntu/unr
December 8th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
I run Win7 on my AspireOne, and it works wonderfully. No idea about the eee though.
December 8th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
You can download and try Linux puppy. Transfer it to thumb drive and boot from it, has most apps that anyone would need, and only 400mb give or take. Onething is for sure, it makes the EEEPC’s run like lightning.
December 8th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
http://wiki.geteasypeasy.com/Install_Microsoft_Office give instructions on installing WINE which I imagine should work well enough for you.
December 8th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
Nah, I use open office. But I play poker from the netbook so I need full tilt.
December 8th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
Running 7 Pro on the desktop for two months now (we got advance post-beta copies), running the same drive, processor and memory as with XP, haven’t upgraded the laptop yet. Works OK, faster than XP, more robust than Vista.
Only big problem I’ve encountered is being unable to run XP-only apps, which I have a bunch of. There’s an add-on function in 7 to create an XP environment, but when installed 7 told me the processor won’t support it. Ordered a new processor, we’ll see what happens this weekend.
7 Pro is supposed to be able to cleanly upgrade Vista, I’ll try that on the laptop once I’ve got the desktop squared away.
December 8th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
I’m an eeebuntu guy myself. I dual boot XP and eebuntu actually, so that I have windows when I need it.
December 8th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
I agree with the WINE solution. I use it to use a couple of low-level Windows apps …. anything more, and I’d probably spring for a copy of Codeweavers.
December 8th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
No experience with Windows 7; as I’ve noted before, I installed Ubuntu on mine. I did install VirtualBox a while back and set up a Server 2003/SQL Server 2005 VM under that (it was for a SQL Server class I was taking). The SQL Server VM actually performed surprisingly well, I thought; I wouldn’t have wanted to do real work on it, but it was zippy enough that I didn’t get frustrated trying to follow along in class. XP might be even better in that environment.
December 8th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Say Uncle
Asus is supporting the 1000 series (which you seem to have)for Windows 7 but so far no love for the 900 series that I can find.It still runs fine and I didn’t use those keys much anyway.I do wish I could run the Super Hybrid engine Asus uses but it is not a big deal.
December 8th, 2009 at 4:14 pm
I don’t think MS ever meant Windows 7 to run on netbooks, but here’s a handy guide you can use:
http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/windows_7_vs_linux_whats_best_os_your_netbook?page=0%2C1
December 8th, 2009 at 4:31 pm
I use Eeebuntu on my 900. Don’t do windows at all.
December 8th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
My advice? Don’t run linux on it*.
If XP is working fine for you, stick with it.
(Especially if you need specific Windows software – an Atom-based netbook just isn’t going to run a virtual machine decently, and you can’t trust WINE to work with random things.)
(* I’ve run linux since the 1.2 kernels – and I refuse to touch it as a desktop OS. I’d choose Windows or OSX over it for anything other than a server or embedded solution, any time, no question.)
December 8th, 2009 at 8:37 pm
You need Win7 enterprise or ultimate to have XP mode, which is a nifty implementation of a virtual machine.
You also need support in the CPU, as mentioned
December 8th, 2009 at 8:38 pm
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/download.aspx appears to claim that you do NOT need the higher-end licenses
December 8th, 2009 at 8:48 pm
Don’t bother with windows emulators. Eee is way under powered for that.
WINE (not an emulator) can run some windows programs, I use it on a regular basis.
I am sticking with XP on my eee.
December 8th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
I hate to say it, but the latest version of Eeebuntu is pretty great. There’s still some aggravations, but anything windows specific that I’d want to do on it, I’d rather wait and do on my desktop anyway.
December 9th, 2009 at 3:58 am
Computer software doesn’t age. If it meets your needs then it meets your needs. Don’t upgrade just for the sake of it.
December 9th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Windows 7 is nothing to write home about. I would put my vote with the people saying ubuntu. Is there really any windows apps your really need?
Warning Nerd Speak: On my new windows 7 netbook it seems like my Ubuntu virtual machine (running in virtual box) is faster than the host os. Or said another way, win 7 runs my ubuntu vm better than it runs itself.
I wrote about this over here:http://extremetolerance.com/blog/gear-review/review-conpaq-mini-netbook/