5/1/10: Conclusion: I reviewed these web pages and find them to be accurate and potentially useful to others who may follow me. I have placed the Windows 7 computer into service and will now conclude these web pages.

1/31/10: After consulting with others on the Win7 forum and reading more data on the 32-bit vs. 64-bit issue, I've reversed my position. I see that the multiple Google Chrome windows are all running in their own memory allocation, and that using 64-bit allows more 32-bit applications to share available memory, and that is perhaps why the Chrome windows seem so fast. I've been assured that there are very few 32-bit applications that will not run on the 64-bit installation, so I'm going to stick with 64-bit for now.  I installed Mozilla SeaMonkey and it seems to run fine. I haven't attempted to replicate any mail files yet, but the mail account works fine sending and receiving email. I am using Mozilla Composer, part of SeaMonkey, to edit this file.

1/28/10: Now that I have more time to work on this project, I've reached the conclusion that 64-bit isn't the way to go, because of the fact that many applications won't run. I'm now considering starting over with 32-bit Windows 7 (and pulling some RAM!) or perhaps running the XP mode under 64-bit. I believe that the XP mode may be more complex than it is worth, but I'm looking for other opinions.

1/7/10: MS Office Professional: My copy of Office Professional, which includes Word, Access and Excel that I use, is the 2002 version. MS says it isn't compatible with Win7 64-bit, and MS wants me to upgrade to the 2007 version. However, the Beta version of Office 2010 is available, and I have decided to install it instead. I have downloaded the beta installation files, and I'll install it after I read up on the new version.

12/28/09: Printers: I believe the printer issues are resolved. This turned out to be more time consuming than I expected, diverting my attention from the Windows 7 computer. See the Printer page for details.

12/27/09: Microsoft Security Essentials: I installed MSE. It went in easily, updated itself and scanned the computer. From what I can determine, this is as effective as Norton or other paid products. This is free, from Microsoft. It also looks like it will work on earlier computers. See http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials.

12/27/09: Hosts file: My NAS is called "q1" and I access it on my LAN as http://q1/. To do this I must edit the hosts file in Windows. The file lives at C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc\hosts. I found it was protected from edits in Windows 7. I learned that to edit it in Notepad, Notepad must be run "as administrator". I found details on how to do this at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/923947.

12/27/09: Adobe Reader: I used the CD that was provided with the CD/DVD ROM to install Nero7. To review the pdf file of the manual, I let it install Adobe Reader. The Version of Adobe Reader provided was 5.0.5. An error window came up telling me that it was incompatible with this version of Windows. I installed it and it worked, but later I got Adobe Reader 9.20 to replace the old version. The new version of Adobe Reader installed as expected with no problem.

12/27/09: AutoPlay: I found the new controls for AutoPlay, or what to do when a CD or DVD is inserted, to be very useful and easy to control. They are at Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > AutoPlay. Several selections are suggested for each type of media.

12/20/09: Most of my recent time on this project has been spent resolving printer compatibility issues. See the Printer page for details.

12/15/09: KVM Switch: As I've decided that it will be some time before I'll be able to replace my backup XP computer with the new Win 7 computer, I ordered a KVM switch so that I could remove the clutter on my desk and remove one monitor. So far, I'm impressed with the user interface and speed of the Win 7 computer, but it isn't ready for prime time here. The IOGEAR GCS932U Micro DVI-D KVM allows me to share one keyboard, mouse and monitor with two computers. It works fine so far.

12/11/09: As discussed 12/8/09, I reviewed the Norton issue and decided to revert to the Ghost image I made before installing Norton Virus Scan and SystemWorks. I reinstalled printers, added Windows explorer Send To selections for NotePad and WordPad, etc. I will try the free Microsoft Security Essentials product instead of the Norton products I skipped.

12/8/09: I started over, installing Win 7 again from scratch and using Ghost 15 to save images as I went along. As expected, some things went "wrong" and I had to back up to a clean image a few times. But I am quite happy with the installation at this time, even though I haven't loaded many programs on it. I use Norton for virus and spyware protection and to clean up the registry; I have been using Norton SystemWorks for years. Norton VirusScan, part of the SystemWorks package, loaded and runs fine. I encountered an error message in installing SystemWorks itself; it complained about being incompatible. As I read on line that others had installed it successfully on Windows 7 64-bit, I did so and it seems to run fine, finding and correcting registry errors. After installing it, however, I learned that Norton has discontinued SystemWorks! I will research this, and no doubt revert to the last image I made just before installing SystemWorks so that I won't have to deal with a discontinued product. It's a good thing this is a "hobby", because priorities just don't give me the time I would like to spend with Windows 7. Right now, however, it does a great job with four Google Chrome windows on two screens watching cameras and my weather station in real time.

12/6/09: The Canon D1150 scanning software runs fine on the computer, after navigating the installation. Some of the software on the Canon CD was necessary, along with the downloaded Win 7 64 bit software. I used Ghost 15 to save an image of the computer, then restored it, booting from the Ghost 15 recovery CD I made when first loading Ghost 15. It appears to have restored the computer as expected. Next, I will completely start over with Windows 7 64-bit and save it step-by-step with Ghost 15.

12/5/09: Canon D1150 installed successfully as a printer on Windows 7 64 bit computer. Drivers downloaded from Canon as the Drivers on the CD that came with the printer work in XP 32 bit, but not Win 7 64 bit. This printer is also a scanner; it works fine in XP. Next to try the Win 7 64 bit scanning software, also downloaded from Canon.

12/3/09: Canon D1150 received, unpacked and set up as network printer. Works fine with computer running XP, but as expected, the CD won't work with Windows 7 64 bit. I will download the correct drivers from Canon and hopefully try it with the Windows 7 computer tomorrow.

11/28/09: No progress on Windows 7 due to other distractions.

11/23/09: I've been distracted by bringing up SeaMonkey 2.0 in my XP computer, which I thought would be simple. Not so.
Today I called Canon about their rebate program (see printers Canon) and ordered a new Canon D1150 on the Canon Loyalty Program for $249.04 including California sales tax.

11/22/09: Ghost 15 Installed in Windows 7 computer. It seems ok.

11/21/09: Ghost 15 finally available on line. Purchased for $49.99 and downloaded. Installed on computer running XP.

11/16/09: I was waiting for Ghost 15 from Norton, so I could incrementally add programs and easily revert to an image before an add of a new program. Now that I don't know when Ghost 15 will be available, I've considered Acronis as a backup alternative. But before I go there, I will do another backup using Windows 7 'System Image' and confirm that I am able to back up one iteration using System Image. Once I feel that I have a solid position to revert to, I'll add more applications. This will include Firefox, Thunderbird, Nero, MS Office, Google Earth, MediaMonkey, Goodsync, and other programs. In the meantime the Win7 computer does a fine job displaying three video cameras on two monitors.