Windows 7 question (activation)

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jaganath
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Windows 7 question (activation)

Post by jaganath » Fri Jan 23, 2009 4:43 am

Hi everyone,
I'm currently downloading the Windows 7 Beta and I want to install it on several different machines. I realise I will need a different product key for each machine, however can I use the same burned DVD ISO file each time (just as you would with an XP or Vista install disc)? also does anyone know roughly how much space a complete Windows 7 installation takes up?

thanks in advance,
J.

bgiddins
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Post by bgiddins » Fri Jan 23, 2009 4:50 am

No reason you couldn't use the same install media - my download was done separate to the product key.

I installed W7B into a virtual machine - just fired it up, it used 16.9GB to install.

jaganath
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Post by jaganath » Fri Jan 23, 2009 5:32 am

I installed W7B into a virtual machine - just fired it up, it used 16.9GB to install.
wow, given that W7B is supposed to be optimized for netbooks, I'm a little suprised at how large the install is. still, it's good news that I can use the same ISO for different installs, thanks.

lm
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Post by lm » Fri Jan 23, 2009 6:07 am

bgiddins wrote:I installed W7B into a virtual machine - just fired it up, it used 16.9GB to install.
Does it come with porn included or what's the deal?

My whole OS+programs takes about 5 GB for a system that has been in use for almost a year.

BillyBuerger
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Post by BillyBuerger » Fri Jan 23, 2009 6:51 am

My installation of W7 is only using 7.44GB. Only additional thing I did was install firefox. Not that 7.44GB is a small install. Not sure how yours ended up using 17GB. Did you install it over an existing windows install where it would have kept all of your old files and stuff?

jhhoffma
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Post by jhhoffma » Fri Jan 23, 2009 8:14 am

Installation size will depend on the amount of RAM and your Power Settings. You will have a Page file 1.5x the amount of RAM by default and then a hibernation file equal to the amount of RAM.

So the more RAM you have, the bigger the "Installation size". Of course you can manually adjust both of these figures by using System Properties to reduce Page File Size and disabling Hibernate in the Power Options.

Nick Geraedts
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Post by Nick Geraedts » Fri Jan 23, 2009 8:53 am

Another thing to note - Win7 x64 will be larger than Win7 x86.

derekva
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Post by derekva » Fri Jan 23, 2009 10:20 am

With Win7 Enterprise version, my %systemroot% is 9.57GB.

-D

hybrid2d4x4
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Post by hybrid2d4x4 » Sat Jan 31, 2009 4:47 pm

I made a separate partition for it on my HTPC (made up of really old parts) to try out. My Win7 Ultimate x86 install takes up 7.35GB with 1322MB swapfile and 786MB hiberfil.sys (i'll have to disable hibernation to get that little bit back).
I timed startup time from the moment the power button is pushed to the time it gets to the desktop and the hourglass/spinning-circle cursor goes away (a fair indicator of when you could actually start using the pc). My 6mo old WinXP Pro install (nLite'd to slipstream SP3 and gutted out drivers/features I didn't want) with a few productivity apps s/a OpenOffice, Paintshop Pro, etc. boots in 47.7s. Windows 7 did it in 66.3s. Measurements are probably +/- 2s. WinXP has the benefit of being on the fastest region of the HDD, Win7 is on the inner 20GB (assuming drives fill the outer regions first), but WinXP probably has some fragmentation.

bgiddins
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Post by bgiddins » Sat Jan 31, 2009 7:20 pm

It was the 64 bit version with 4GB RAM allocated. As I said, it was an install into a virtual machine, so no, I didn't apply it over the top of an existing installation.

Looks like I was looking at the free space, not the space used - but it was still 15.4GB used for the install. I installed to a 32GB virtual disk.

NeilBlanchard
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What is Win7 like?

Post by NeilBlanchard » Sun Feb 01, 2009 4:09 am

Hi,

If you are allowed to, can you post some screen captures and/or give a quick review of what it is like to use, please?

bonestonne
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Post by bonestonne » Sun Feb 01, 2009 9:45 am

you can use the activation key you get with the 7 beta on as many computers as you like.

as for the install size, i have to say, i've seen mixed results. i have mine installed in VMWare like other people, and it only took up 9.6gb...granted there's only a 20gb virtual drive for it, that might have made the difference, however i don't think the OS differentiates between disk size and installed software. i have 64 bit installed, and i haven't used any of the media center software, maybe that takes more?

i need to get the OS running outside of VMWare with all graphic enhancements before i can say i like it or not. i'm using windows XP x64 now, but i still have to say i'm partial to linux...Slackware or Ubuntu...Sabayon has me when running fluxbox though.

Rebellious
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Post by Rebellious » Tue Feb 03, 2009 2:53 pm

It doesn't scare you to load all that spyware onto your computer?

bonestonne
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Post by bonestonne » Tue Feb 03, 2009 3:32 pm

let's not enter that argument when it comes to windows...i think that those who are careful in a smart way with their computers don't have to worry about that.

jaganath
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Post by jaganath » Tue Feb 03, 2009 11:18 pm

bonestonne wrote:you can use the activation key you get with the 7 beta on as many computers as you like.
just got an email from Microsoft regarding this, here's an excerpt:
If you have misplaced your product key for activation, don't worry. Just return to the site where you downloaded the Beta, restart the download process and re-enter your Windows Live ID. This will re-display the product key you were assigned when you downloaded the product. (And, you can use the same product key to install the Windows 7 Beta on up to three PCs.)

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