Windows 7 v’s Vista v’s XP

Hey there fellas, I have some results on Windows 7!! Thanks to people like Nicholas Wilkinson and others for dropping me a message, I’ve built some information up for you, I hope you enjoy it.

How does Windows 7 beta 1 compare to Vista and XP in terms of performance? That’s a question that’s been hitting my inbox regularly over the past few weeks. Let’s see if we can’t answer it!

Important note: Before I go any further I feel I need to make a point, and make it clear. The build I’m testing of Windows 7 (build 6.1.7000.0.081212-1400) is a beta build, and as a rule beta builds are usually more geared towards stability than performance. That said, the performance of this build should give us a clue as to how the OS is coming along.

Rather than publish a series of benchmark results for the three operating systems (something which Microsoft frowns upon for beta builds, not to mention the fact that the final numbers only really matter for the release candidate and RTM builds), I’ve decided to put Windows 7, Vista and XP head-to-head in a series of real-world tests to find out which OS comes out top.

The tests

There are 23 tests in all, most of which are self explanatory:

1. Install OS – Time it takes to install the OS
2. Boot up – Average boot time to usable desktop
3. Shut down – Average shut down time
4. Move 100MB files – Move 100MB of JPEG files from one hard drive to another
5. Move 2.5GB files – Move 2.5GB of mixed size files (ranging from 1MB to 100MB) from one hard drive to another
6. Network transfer 100MB files – Move 100MB of JPEG files from test machine to NAS device
7. Network transfer 2.5GB files – Move 2.5GB of mixed size files (ranging from 1MB to 100MB) from test machine to NAS device
8. Move 100MB files under load – Move 100MB of JPEG files from one hard drive to another while ripping DVD to .ISO file
9. Move 2.5GB files under load – Move 2.5GB of mixed size files (ranging from 1MB to 100MB) from one hard drive to another while ripping DVD to .ISO file
10. Network transfer 100MB files under load – Move 100MB of JPEG files from test machine to NAS device while ripping DVD to .ISO file
11. Network transfer 2.5GB files under load – Move 2.5GB of mixed size files (ranging from 1MB to 100MB) from test machine to NAS device while ripping DVD to .ISO file
12. Compress 100MB files – Using built-in ZIP compression
13. Compress 1GB files – Using built-in ZIP compression
14. Extract 100MB files – Using built-in ZIP compression
15. Extract 1GB files – Using built-in ZIP compression
16. Install Office 2007 – Ultimate version, from DVD
17. Open 10 page Word doc – Text only
18. Open 100 page Word doc – Text and images only
19. Open simple Excel doc – Basic formatting
20. Open complex Excel doc – Including formula and charts
21. Burn DVD – Win 7 beta 1 .ISO to disc using CDBurnerXP
22. Open 10 page PDF – Text only, using latest Adobe Reader 8
23. Open 100 page PDF – Text and images, using latest Adobe Reader 8

These series of tests will pitch Windows 7 build 7000 32-bit against Windows Vista SP1 32-bit and Windows XP SP3 32-bit. The scoring for each of the tests is simple. The winning OS scores 1, the runner up 2 and the loser scores a 3. The scores are added up and the OS with the lowest score at the end wins.

The test systems

I’ve used two desktop systems as the test machines:

• An AMD Phenom 9700 2.4GHz system fitted with an ATI Radeon 3850 and 4GB of RAM
• An Intel Pentium Dual Core E2200 2.2GHz fitted with an NVIDIA GeForce 8400 GS and 1GB of RAM

The results

Here are the results of the tests for the two systems:

Conclusion

The bottom line is that the more I use Windows 7 the more I like it. Sure, we’re looking at a beta build here and not the final code, so things could change between now and release (although realistically final code ends up being faster than beta code). Also I still have some nagging issues relating to the interface, and some concerns that the UAC changes will break applications and other code, especially installers, but overall Windows 7 beta 1 is a robust, solid bit of code.

Sure, Windows 7 is not XP, and never will be (thankfully). And if you’re put off by things such as activation and DRM, then Windows isn’t the OS for you (good news is there are others to choose from). But if you’re looking for a solid OS then Windows 7 seems ready to deliver just that – a fast, reliable, relatively easy to use platform for your hardware and software.

Tip and Tricks to XP

Hello again. On regards to the last blog, if you find that a little to much then you can have a try at the tips that come a standard XP Pro and its registry, so here is one of two. however if you’ve got some ideas of your own feel free to post them. Please note that you should all ways back up your registry as well and looking into VMWare and also these tweaks do not need any 3rd party software in order to complete and I will give some long over due Linux tips next blog:

Automatic Administrator Login:
Well here’s the trick which you can use to prove that Windows XP is not at all secure as multi-user operating system. Hacking the system registry from any account having access to system registry puts you in to the administrator account.
REGEDIT 4
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionWinlogon]
"AutoAdminLogon"="1"

Menu Delays:

Another minor and easy tweak to remove any delay from menus sliding out. For this you will need to use regedit (open regedit by going to Start -> Run…, then typing ‘regedit’ and pressing enter). The key you need to change is located in HKEY_CURRENT_USERControl PanelDesktop. The actual key is called MenuShowDelay – all you have to do is change the value to 0. Remember, you will have to re-boot your computer for this tweak to take effect.

 

Automatically Kill Programs At Shutdown:

don’t you hate it when, while trying to shut down, you get message boxes telling you that a program is still running? Making it so that Windows automatically kills applications running is a snap. Simply navigate to the HKEY_CURRENT_USERControl PanelDesktop directory in the Registry, then alter the key AutoEndTasks to the value 1.

 

Shutdown Computers Over The Network.

To make this 1. Open Notepad, 2.Type Shutdown -s -m \xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx (IP Address)
3. Save To Desktop As (Anything).bat (DONT FORGET THE .BAT)
4.Double click on the icon and wait.
5. Now there is of course other ways of doing this, read the post on the front page,
you can also open CMD and type "Shutdown -i"

The XP Prefetcher

Windows XP has a service called the Prefetcher. It basically monitors the different programs that start during startup and helps them launch faster.
To find this tool browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlSession ManagerMemory ManagementPrefetchParameters
The important key is EnablePrefetcher. Default value for this is 3. You will want to try numbers between 1 and 6. 5 seems to work best for me but your mileage may vary.
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlSessionManagerMemory ManagementPrefetchParameters]
"EnablePrefetcher"="5"

Default Vista for XP

 

Hey, have you ever wanted your XP to look more like vista with out installing a theme pack or a shell addon / extension? well you can, I’ve been working on my own type of explorer for a few days now and my god it get a bit boring but least you can say its worth it because you can import your default .BMP’s (bit maps) in to the DLL’s and don’t forget to compile. There is I simplified version shown here at AskVG.com click this link and you’ll find some inspiration to improve you system and here’s another one Icon list that will tell you more about theShell32 .DLL so that’s the best bet if if you windows to be a bit better with out giving in to Bill Gates HA HA or you can wait till I’ve finish this one! Also there’s BlackBox which isn’t a shell but a explorer and engine, that’s the best one for all platforms including mac, you can find it though Shell City, BlackBox is great and well worth having if you want to learn more about skinning. If you just want a bit of code for your project and some more projects to join in on then there’s more on CodeDump.org and SourceForge.net and I’ve made an easy way of finding what you want when your surfing the net for torrents, new film releases, codes, cracks, keygens, and games as well as much more and it’s called Hackers. I’m planing to put it on my home page just as soon as I get my forums sorted in order to host the second page, I would it with Google’s API but live spaces don’t support some of their features, well there the link to Hackers home page and I hope it help you guys find what ya looking for.

Later TC

Intergarating OS

There are a number of important things in the world today and while
Windows XP does have a lot of interesting stuff to it, there are
certainly other things that it could benefit from having as well.  For
example, there are a number of different things that can be
incorporated into the Windows XP install CD through the use of this
addon pack.  It was a pack created by Ryan VanderMeulen and it includes
a number of useful addons that people interested in getting additional
functionality out of Windows XP might want to take a close look at.

Some of these include:

• Shell extensions for the copy to and move to functions that are available in file manipulation;
• HashTab 1.9; a specific program that increases the functionality of Windows XP;
• Microsoft Calculator Plus 1.0; a replacement for the calculator
  file that normally comes with Windows XP and an upgrade in terms of
  what you can actually do with the calculator itself;
• MS HighMAT CD Writing wizard;
• MS Make Cab;
• An extension to the font properties and the OpenType fonts that come already with Windows XP;
• A remote desktop client; something that is lacking in the original Windows XP install.