Does Windows 7 live well on a 1 GB RAM Atom netbook? It's hard for me to try before I buy at the moment, so any advice from those that are already running Windows 7 would be appreciated.
Windows – Does Windows 7 run acceptably on a 1 GB RAM Atom netbook
compatibilitynetbookperformancewindows 7
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I just looked at several guides describing the process and none make any reference to changing the installation files (to redirect it to a USB stick) or changing any settings (except booting from USB).
Therefore I'd go with ifferte's suggestion and either download it again unless you are sure the image worked on another pc. In that case I would reformat the USB stick and try the copying of the files again.
Check this guide from MaximumPC just to be sure
I wonder if there is a technical reason for using Windows 7 Starter?
There are no technical reasons to use Windows 7 Starter (au contraire), the reason is purely economical (it's cheaper - you buy cheap, you get cheap): while the resource usage is pretty much the same, Windows 7 Home Premium outperforms Windows Starter on the same system in most aspects, Starter even boots slower than Home Premium (see benchmark resuslts below).
The test platform is a Lenovo IdeaPad S12.
(courtesy of German compumag Chip.de, although it's in German, the results aren't not too hard to interpret)
Windows 7 Home Premium or better on a Netbook?
Most certainly! Not only is it faster with Home Premium, you also get all the bells 'n' whistles. :)
AFAIK, you can't officially buy Windows 7 Starter anyway, there is no retail version. it's only a cheap option for OEMs to sell netbooks with Windows 7.
Best Answer
Yes, I am using it on an ASUS N10 (1 GB of memory), and it seems to run as well as Windows XP did. There are a few minor driver issues, but nothing bad enough to make me revert to Windows XP.