Since Windows 7 was released on 22nd October, most netbook manufacturers started to pre-install their netbooks with Windows 7 Starter edition instead of the Windows XP Home Premium. In terms of price, there isn’t much difference between these 2 OS.. so most people will naturally choose to go with the newer version. We have however seen quite a number of these customers, who choose to go with Windows 7 starter edition, being dissatisfied with the new OS due to the lack of some features on the starter edition. So when buying a netbook, it’s important to understand the limitation of Windows 7 starter, before deciding which version of OS to go with.
Below is a great video from com.puter.tv that explains the in and outs of the Windows 7 starter edition. In a nutshell, the limitation of the starter edition includes:
- No Desktop Personalization
- No DVD Playback (update: there’s solution for this limitation)
- No Multi-Monitor Support
- No Windows Aero features and effect (i.e. Glass (translucent borders) and Peek (thumbnail previews of open windows))
- No Windows Media Center
Many of these limitations are in fact not needed by a netbook.. except for the desktop personalization feature (not able to change desktop background) which most customers are complaining on. Also, if you have spend $50 to get an external DVD drive, the Windows 7 Starter edition will not be the OS version you want to go with as there’s no DVD playback feature.
If you have already purchased a netbook with Windows 7 Starter edition only to find out later that this OS is not what you want because of the limitation, you can consider spending $75.99 to upgrade Windows 7 Starter to Windows 7 Home Premium
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