Comments on: Windows 7 on Flash Drives? Maybe

By: djcarey

djcarey — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 01:20:46 +0000

Booting off of USB’s are not terribly difficult if you know what you are doing. However I agree with Reter the average Joe Blow is not going to upgrade to Windows 7, they would most likely buy a new system. That is what I have noticed amongst my friends that are not ‘technology savy’.

Many ask me why I installed Windows 7 on my netbook, they feel that it is a waste of time and is just easier to purchase an entire new system.

By: Oliver

Oliver — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 20:37:13 +0000

@Ivan — where’s that USB stick that came with that laptop last year? ;)

Am I the only one who thought the story was going to be about running Win7 off of the USB stick?

By: Ivan | SEO Consultant.ie

Ivan | SEO Consultant.ie — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 20:15:50 +0000

Then again having a USB key with the Win installation would have been a handy thing for a lots of the occasions in my previous life… (Where is that CD I got with that laptop last year…)

Also it is a branding possibility for MSFT – to put their logos all over it!

By: Pam T.

Pam T. — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 18:26:51 +0000

I don’t agree – I think the hype about Win7 has gotten a lot of people interested in its goodness and they’ll want to upgrade.

Some won’t, for various reasons including the cost and the WSI? (Why Should I?) factor. But I know I’d like to upgrade mine easily – and a USB stick works on all my computers.

By: Jake

Jake — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 18:20:55 +0000

Ah, I’ve just read elsewhere that you can pre-order for a download direct from Microsoft. I told you it was a good idea :)

By: Jake

Jake — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:35:30 +0000

I think this is a great idea. I carry an 8gb flash drive with me at all times with all the OSes I might need to install from time to time because it’s just so easy. When Windows 7 hits RTM I’ll be downloading it from MSDN and replacing the RC image I currently have on my drive.

In addition to this I’d really like to see Microsoft moving towards direct downloads of DVD images for retail customers. The days of buying disks are almost over and it would be nice to see them start on this now. It would also make life easier for people who end up with x86 media but need x64 – just download it.

By: Reter

Reter — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:23:41 +0000

even in this day & age there are still many many netbooks that cant boot from a USB stick, whereas any machine can boot from an optical drive.

netbooks will come preinstalled with W7 anyways, i doubt Joe Blow running netbook/XP will be updating manually to W7.