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I have been running Windows 7 (build 7000) on my HP 2133 for a few weeks now and it has been running very smoothly with very few issues.
I ought to really get a 6 cell battery for the 2133 as the 3 cell battery is really insufficient for most needs, okay for around the house, but rubbish for taking the 2133 out for the day.
At least the camera works, which it didn’t in Suse, and it remembers my wireless network too.
On my home iMac I run a variety of flavours of Windows through Parallels. In the main to test Windows software and to access some sites which only really work on IE.
Over the last few months I have been running in the main Windows 7 or Windows Vista.
A couple of days ago I started the Windows XP VM on Parallels and started getting a WMI crashing error.
A Google search brought up this solution however despite trying this (including deleting the relevant files from Parallels Explorer.
It was suggested to me that it might be a virus, but even my AV software then started to crash.
The only solution was to delete the VM and create a new VM and install Windows XP all over again. Not a quick solution as there are quite a few updates to install like SP3.
Seems to be working now.
So far so good, the installation of Windows 7 on my HP 2133 went fine, no worries and no problems. Have rebooted the computer to check that it is working all okay.
Useful site if you have an 2133.
I have taken the plunge and an now installing Windows 7 on my HP 2133…
So far no problems…
Using an USB DVD drive to install.
Screen says Starting Windows…
You know not sure why I am writing this, as HP no longer make their HP 2133 having replaced it with the 10″ HP 2140…
As netbooks go, I quite like the HP 2133, in the main as the keyboard is much bigger than your average netbook and therefore a lot more usable.
The model I got has 1GB of RAM, a 100GB HDD and an 8.9″ screen.
The included camera does not work under the Suse Linux operating system (which surprised me) and in many ways the Suse Linux is (for me) the one weak point of the machine.
Now don’t get me wrong (yes I know I come across as a bit of a Mac fanboy) but it’s not that I don’t like Linux. I do like Ubuntu and think the Xandros distro on the Asus EeePC is extremely well done. I have installed Mint on another system. I do use and like Linux. However there are some issues I am having which are making me thing to either install another Linux distro or possibly Windows 7.
So what are my main issues?
Well it’s all to do with the wireless networking. I can’t seem to get the HP 2133 to join my wireless network automatically, I always need to enter not my wireless network key, but the administrator’s password to unlock the HP 2133’s default keyring
so that it can then connect to the wireless network. The other aspect is that if I set the HP 2133 to Sleep or Hibernate, the only way I can rejoin the wireless network once I have awoken the HP 2133 is by restarting which kind of defeats the reason for using he Sleep or Hibernate function!
Now I have done a little searching (not a lot, but a little) but haven’t come up with any answers.
So what with the camera, the sleep wireless issue and the Flash Player problems I am seriously giving thought to putting on a different OS
BBC reports on developments at Microsoft
The multi-touch controls familiar to Apple iPhone users will be built-in to Microsoft’s Windows 7.
Windows Touch will be a “first class way to interact with your PC alongside mouse and keyboard,” said the firm.
I do quite like Windows 7 as though similar in appearance to Windows Vista seems less clunky and smoother.
As a result of this new development, will we see a Windows 7 interface on a small tablet PC device which reflets the intuitive and ease of use that we currently have with the iPhone?
From my experience, so far no touch interface I have used has come close to the iPhone interface, but doesn’t mean in the future that nothing will match it.
Well my copy of Parallels 4.0 arrived from Amazon who are selling the boxed upgrade for just £32
The install went fine, converting my Vista and Windows 7 images went fine and Windows 7 is working fine. However I did have issues with the conversion of the Windows XP image, with some WMI errors.
The new version of Parallels is an improvement on version 3.0, but still don’t like coherence mode (default) which just doesn’t seem right on a Mac, much prefer using Windows in a window.
In a previous post I did say I was downloading Parallels 4.0 so that I could install Windows 7. The download only includes the software and you pay for a licence key to use it. I have Parallels 3.0 and therefore will be getting the upgrade version.
It’s weird though, from the Parallels store, the upgrade is $49.99 which is nearly £50 by the time you convert to pound sterling, add VAT (even at just 15%). Must be because the pound is so weak against the US dollar at the moment.
It’s weird because Amazon are selling the boxed upgrade for just £32
So for just over £15 less I can get the boxed set and real media, or pay more for a download. Doesn’t make sense to me.
I can wait for a few days, as it is only Windows 7 we’re talking about!
Though I initially had problems with the Samsung Q1 Ultra I have grown to like the UMPC, the main benefit being the five hour battery life (even longer with the powerbank).
However the operating system has always been a bit of a pain, yup you’ve guessed it, it runs Windows Vista. Though the Q1 Ultra has 1GB of RAM, this really isn’t sufficient for Vista, and as a result boot times are too long, and there are performance lags which I blame on the OS.
I was seriously considering downgrading to Windows XP and to see if that would improve the performance. Now though I am thinking I might install the Windows 7 beta and see if that could improve the performance.
If all else fails, I will install Ubuntu!
Having downloaded the Windows 7 beta I installed it in a virtual machine (VM) using Parallels 3.0 running on my Mac.
Though the install worked fine, the installation of the Parallels Tools failed (either automatically or manually).
According to Downloadsquad it will work if you are running Parallels 4.0, build 3810.
So guess what I am downloading now?