Windows 7 experience

Today I'm going to talk about my experience in installation of the Windows 7 platform... Microsoft's next flagship Operating System

Before I dive into the Windows 7 thingy, here is the background of my PC :

I wanted a media center machine, that sits next to a HDTV to play videos so I bought parts and assembled a PC based on the Gigabyte motherboard GA-MA69GM-S2H (cant remember exactly), but it's a AMD platform using X2. It also comes with integrated HDMI port due to it's 690G chipset. I furnished the motherboard with only 1 GB of memory at that time and simply installed XP on it.

However, since then, maybe Hardisk-based mediaplayers has emerged, and they are cheap and noise free. So I wanted to replace the mediacenter with a smaller standalone device. But what do I use the PC for then? I decided to toy with Windows 7.

I decided on Windows 7 beta 7077 x64, and so I went ahead. The installation was pretty straight forward, and the system rebooted a few times during the whole install. After it finally booted up, most things worked except for my DLink USB wireless device, and the audio. Both drivers were easily found on Dlink's and Gigabyte's websites. After installation, the devices worked and I could also get audio from my HDTV.

Then came Windows 7 RC1 x64... so I upgraded the system to the newer RC1... the upgrading process is a little daunting and long... almost like the full install - except you do not have to reinstall all the software. Sadly, after the system finally booted up, I found that the audio no longer worked. Looking at the Device manager, the audio drivers and devices seem to be working, but there is simply no sound output from the TV.

And this stage, I tried re-installing all the various drivers from ATi/AMD and Realtek... all not helping to resolve the issue. I scout the internet, googled to death the words "Windows 7 x64 HDMI audio"... but I do not see any fix or people with my exact issues...

So at last, Windows 7 RC1 x64 has audio problems which kinda surprised me since the Beta version worked flawlessly.

I will post most if I can get the problem fixed!

until then.. adios!

List of useful / must have applications/websites

The list can be found at the forum .