Windows7 on a netbook?!?

November 21, 2009 1:16 PM

Should I install Windows 7 on my netbook?

I have an Eee PC 1000HE currently running Windows XP. It's a fantastic little computer and does everything and more for me, I love it.

It's got an Atom N280 proc, and apart from upgrading the RAM to 2GB, everything on it is untouched.

I have been loving using Windows 7 on my primary computer, and really want that on my netbook.

The question is, will the netbook be able to handle Windows 7? I don't use the netbook for much apart from internet browsing, doing my coursework using Office, and some video watching/mp3 playing. I'm not concerned about any "heavy" applications.
Has anyone made the switch on a netbook? Let me know what you think. Is it significantly slower?

posted by smitt to computers & internet (16 comments total)

I'm using Windows 7 on this laptop I'm typing on (much more power than a netbook) and haven't had any problems with it. But, if your netbook ain't broke and is doing exactly what you want it do do for you, I'd say leave it alone. The graphics card and CPU on that Eee might have problems keeping up, and you might not be able to enjoy the "aero" effects of Windows 7. I'd give upgrading the OS a pass unless you want to go with a dual boot option to test first.

Also, keep in mind that you can't directly "upgrade" to 7 from XP but will have to do a clean install unless you want to create a partition and setup a dual boot.
posted by Burhanistan at 1:24 PM on November 21, 2009

I installed the beta on one of the oldest intel atom netbooks and it ran great! I remember reading somewhere that Microsoft made sure Windows 7 would run well on netbooks since they are gaining so much popularity. So I say go for it.
posted by meta87 at 1:34 PM on November 21, 2009

My MSI Wind U100 has an atom N270 with a 1.5G of ram, and Windows 7 is the first OS that can play Hulu videos well (I have also had XP, Ubuntu and OS X on there). I say go for it!
posted by cjemmott at 1:48 PM on November 21, 2009

You could try the upgrade advisor from Microsoft and see what it has to say about your current spec. Download is here.
posted by Blacksun at 1:52 PM on November 21, 2009 [1 favorite]

Seconding cjemmot, since I have the same netbook and a similar OS layout.
Hell, World of Warcraft is somewhat playable under Windows7, even!
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 2:09 PM on November 21, 2009

I've bookmarked a forum for Eee PC users (I have a 1005ha I run Linux on) has a 1000x sub-forum that includes people's accounts of installing Windows 7, e.g.
posted by Abiezer at 2:29 PM on November 21, 2009

I'm using Windows 7 on a Dell Mini 9 (16MB SSD, upgraded RAM to 2GB). It is a fantastic experience. It's my "kindle", Hulu, portable movie player (I have a 16GB SD card in it as well), e-mail, Twitter-ing, etc computer.

I even have Word & Excel 2010 on it. No problems at all.

I did pick-and-choose various settings from a number of sites that have lists which help to optimize Windows 7 configuration options on netbooks, but even without them, it would probably do very well.
posted by hrbrmstr at 2:49 PM on November 21, 2009

I've installed Windows 7 on a 6 year old desktop computer which probably has far less power/RAM than any of today's netbooks. It works like a champ. I did a clean install.
posted by bluefly at 3:39 PM on November 21, 2009

I have the same model as you (1000HE, great little machine) and I've been running the Release Candidate since July or August, and it's been great. No reason to think the retail version would be different, so go for it. Boots up quickly and all that, too. Doesn't run slow at all.
posted by DMan at 3:58 PM on November 21, 2009

From what little I've seen of W7 so far, it seems to run about the same or even slightly quicker than XP on any given box. It's in no way as hideous a hog as Vista. Certainly worth a try.
posted by flabdablet at 4:58 PM on November 21, 2009

Win 7 Home Premium works great on my MSI Wind U100.
posted by chairface at 6:09 PM on November 21, 2009

Try the upgrade adviser. I've hood great things about it on Netbooks and it's a nice OS, to boot!
posted by Gideon at 6:31 PM on November 21, 2009

i have a mini9 as well, 32 gig ssd though, and 2 gigs - have had no problems running wincows 7 (beta) on it. waywayway better than XP and ubuntu (any version) has run on it in the past

just look up on your eee website of choice and make sure theres nothing they suggest doing after you have installed it to make it run better and you should be in good shape
posted by knockoutking at 7:11 PM on November 21, 2009

I've no personal experience but I follow a lot of gadget blogs and the consensus seems to be it'll run about the same or a little better but apparently it can be significantly worse for battery life if that is a concern.
posted by juv3nal at 8:10 PM on November 21, 2009

I ran the 7 beta on my 1st gen SSD-based Aspire One for several weeks without any troubles.
posted by jjb at 10:14 PM on November 21, 2009

Just wanted to say I've gone through with it, and put Windows 7 Pro onto my EeePC 1000HE. It works fantastically well, I don't notice much difference in speed with regards to openning and using applications. It boots up faster, actually.

Only issue (and I mean ONLY) I've had has been difficulty in getting my iPhone to pair over Bluetooth so I can tether my internet connection. Though I don't appear to be the only one having that problem. Not too worried about it, to be honest though.
posted by smitt at 12:45 PM on November 26, 2009