Does XP software work on Windows 7?

[signmeup]

Thanks WW. The new machine is from the box store and has loads of Acer crap on it. I have themes(?) set to "Windows classic" now and deleted some crap and now it seems to idle around 600ish. It's going to take some time to get used to the new OS. I've been on XP for some time.

 

[ColesCreations]

At idle with only the OS open my Windows 7 machine uses 800 megs and my XP machine uses 200. 7 seems like a bit of a pig.

Shouldn't you use all identical RAM-sticks? (I've heard if they're not, they will end up fighting)

And- I'll stick to using XP for a while longer, as we've had problems with 64-bit Win7, and 32 bit Win7 is probably no better than XP. Still, most XP programs will run on Win7 32-bit.

 

[signmeup]

There appears to be no purpose to switching to Windows 7. It doesn't seem to do anything with my software that XP doesn't do. Photoshop and Corel look exactly the same on either. It all seems slower on W7 even though it's a on a 3.1 gig quad core vs. my old 2 gig dual core.

There is lots of "fluffy crap" included in W7 that I turned off. Animated buttons and drop shadows on windows etc. Useless stuff. I'm not tech savvy enough to see what advantages the the 64 bit stuff is to me. Maybe when I upgrade all my software to 64 bit versions it will become apparent.

My copies of Photoshop, Illy and Corel installed as "X86" versions if that's of any interest to anyone. So far the only real (and it's minor) annoyance with W7 is it does not support my Canon Digital Rebel camera. I was pretty surprised at that.

Oh yeah... one thing that does irritate me a little is when W7 is asleep, wiggling the mouse doesn't wake it up. I have to press the space bar to wake it. Any way to set it so I can wiggle the mouse like before?

 

[beckys]

I just got Dell Windows 7 32 bit, and it does not work will all my equipment. I am removing win 7, and installing XP.
In the process now, so hopefully it works. This was recommended by Dell & Gerber...

 

[signmeup]

Don't really blame you Bec. I see no big deal things in W7 I can't live without. Good luck with it.

 

[signswi]

You can't compare RAM usage in 7 to XP. 7 is supposed to use as much as possible at all times and smartly manage it, as all modern OS do (osX, Android, etc.) whereas XP tries to minimize usage (badly). The 7 method is vastly better. Unused RAM is pointless--don't you want to be getting the full benefit of your machine at all times? The trick is in the management -- dumping off old processes for new ones as required, etc.

 

[choucove]

The easiest and best way to change your computer settings so it doesn't go into sleep mode that way, Signmeup, is to change the power settings.

Go into your control panel and locate the option at the top that says "View by:" and select Large Icons. Then find the category "Power Options" In the middle of the next window it will probably list a few different selections like "Balanced" and "Power Saving" modes. The one you want to select is "High performance", which may be hidden in the drop down section below that says "Hide Additional Plans"