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I got my new mini laptop with Windows 7 Starter

What is the Starter Edition?
Can I install Windows 7 Pro or higher on the laptop?

BinaryMisfit
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3 Answers3

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Windows 7 Starter is a basic, more limited edition of Windows, designed for cheaper and/or less powerful computers. It has the following restrictions:

  • The Aero theme has been disabled. This means you can't get any of that fancy transparency or UI candy.
  • It only comes in 32bit. If a computer has more than 4GB of ram, it will only recognise a maximum of 4GB. For more advantages of 64-bit computing, see this SuperUser question.
  • You cannot change the wallpaper. The wallpaper is locked to the standard 'Windows 7 Wallpaper'

You cannot buy this version of Windows by itself, as it is only available to manufacturers and system builders.

As long as your computer fits the minimum specs of the higher versions of Windows 7, then you should be able to buy, for example, Home Premium and install that.

For more information, refer to the Windows 7 editions article on Wikipedia

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Josh Hunt
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Joshhunt said it best about what Windows 7 is (so +1) - it is simply a restricted, cut down version of Windows 7 - take a look at Wikipeda's comparison page.

As for the second part of your question, I like the HP laptop - personally, I wouldn't buy anything Atom right now - the N270, N280 has been out so long that they are due an update very soon - so you can either buy a newer device for the same price, or existing devices will be cheaper. This is a personal choice and you have to ask your self if you are willing to wait for the new or do you just want it!

Yes- You can install regular Windows 7 on the laptop without any problem.

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William Hilsum
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Mind you, the HP mini is not a laptop but a netbook.

a 10" screen and a crammed keyboard is not everyone's cup of tea, they're certainly not ideal for heavy work. they are however great companions.

if you want a netbook, they specifications are pretty much identical, the differences are the display (the HP display is a pretty decent one) and the battery life (4 hrs for the HP mini is a rather mediocre value, some ASUS Eee PC models can easily double that).