Difference Between Windows 7 and Windows Vista with Proper Definition and Brief Explanation

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Windows 7 is the latest version of Windows. Released in 2009, Windows 7 has been universally praised for being much better than Windows Vista, which was criticized by users and critics alike.

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Windows 7 vs. Windows Vista Comparison Chart

Windows 7	Windows Vista
Update method	windows update	Windows Update, Windows Server Update Services, SCCM
Kernel type	Hybrid	Hybrid
Introduction (from Wikipedia)	Windows 7 (formerly codenamed Blackcomb and Vienna) was the last version of Microsoft Windows until Windows 8, a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers.	Windows Vista is a line of operating systems developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablets, and media center PCs. Before its announcement on July 22, 2005, Windows Vista was known for
License	Microsoft EULA	Microsoft EULA
Source model	Closed font / Shared font	Closed font / Shared font
Preceded by	Windows Vista	Windows XP
Release date	RTM: July 22, 2009 Retail: October 22, 2009	RTM: November 8, 2006; Vol. Lic.: November 30, 2006; Retail: January 30, 2007.
Company / Developer	Microsoft	Microsoft
Default user interface	Aero	Windows Explorer
Supported architectures	IA-32, x86-64	IA-32, x86-64
Windows Aero user interface	Yes (added Aero Peek, Aero Snap and Aero Shake)	Yes
Current version	6.1 (Build 7600.16385.090713-1255) (as of 2009-07-22)	6.0 Service Pack 2 (SP2) (Build 6002) (6002.18005.090410-1830) (a partir de 2009-4-28)
Entry	Keyboard, mouse / track pad and touch screen (on some models).	Keyboard, mouse / track pad and touch screen (on some models).
Multi-touch support	Yes	No
Available User Account Control (UAC) options	4 options (Always notify me / Notify me only when programs try to make changes to my computer / Notify me only when programs try to make changes to my computer (do not dim my desktop) / Never notify)	2 options (On / Off)
Succeeded by	Windows 8	Windows 7
Hardware restrictions	Windows 7 Home Premium allows only 16GB of RAM, while Ultimate allows 192GB of RAM	Windows Vista Home Premium only allows 16GB of RAM, while Ultimate allows 128GB of RAM

Contents: Windows 7 vs Windows Vista

• 1 user interface differences in Windows 7 vs Vista
  • 1.1 desktop
  • 1.2 Windows Explorer
  • 1.3 Windows 7 Start Menu
  • 1.4 Differences in the Windows 7 taskbar
  • 1.5 Manage windows mouse gestures in Windows 7.
  • 1.6 New keyboard shortcuts in Windows 7
  • 1.7 Font management
• 2 Device management in Windows 7 vs Windows Vista
  • 2.1 Devices and printers
  • 2.2 Device stage
• 3 touch functions in Windows 7
• 4 features of the Windows 7 file system
  • 4.1 solid state drives
  • 4.2 Virtual hard drives
  • 4.3 disk partition
  • 4.4 Removable media
  • 4.5 BitLocker para IR

User interface differences in Windows 7 vs Vista

Desk

Topics

Support for themes has been expanded in Windows 7. In addition to setting the window chrome and desktop background colors, themes in Windows 7 include a set of sounds and desktop slideshow settings. The default theme is titled “Windows 7”, which consists of a single desktop background named “Harmony” and the same sound set as Windows Vista. Six new “Aero Themes” are included.

Gadgets

Windows Vista introduced Gadgets and a sidebar that provides the ability to pin Gadgets to the side of the user’s desktop. In Windows 7, the sidebar has been removed, while gadgets can still be placed on the desktop. Windows 7 adds a Windows Media Center gadget to the default collection by removing the gadgets from Contacts and Notes.

Unlike Windows Vista, all devices run in a single process, which saves memory, and the process does not run at all if the user has no devices on the desktop.

Windows Explorer

Libraries

Windows Explorer in Windows 7 supports Libraries , which are virtual folders that aggregate content from multiple locations and present them in a unified view. Searching a library automatically associates the query with remote systems, in addition to searching the local system, so that files on remote systems are also searched. Unlike search folders, Libraries are backed by a physical location that allows files to be stored in libraries.

Windows 7 Start Menu

The Windows 7 Start menu retains the two-column layout of its predecessors, with several functional changes:

• The classic version of the Windows 95 Start menu is no longer available.
• The “Documents”, “Pictures” and “Music” buttons now link to libraries of the same name.
• Added a “Devices and Printers” option showing a new device manager.
• The “shutdown” icon in Windows Vista has been replaced by a text link that indicates what action will be taken when the icon is clicked. The default action to take can now be configured through the taskbar and the Properties window of the Start menu.
• The jump lists of the taskbar are presented in the Start menu through a guillemet; When the user moves their mouse over the guillemet or presses the right arrow key, the right side of the Start menu is expanded and replaced with the Application Jump List.
• The search box, which was first introduced with Windows Vista, has been expanded to allow searching for Control Panel items.

Windows 7 Taskbar Differences

• The taskbar is 10 pixels taller than in Windows Vista to accommodate touchscreen input and a new, larger default icon size. A smaller taskbar size is also available. Running applications are indicated by a border frame around the icon.
• The Quick Launch Toolbar has been removed. The Windows 7 taskbar is more application-oriented than window-oriented and therefore does not display window titles (instead they are displayed when an icon is clicked if there are multiple windows or has shifted). Applications can now be pinned to the taskbar, allowing the user instant access to the applications they commonly use.
• Thumbnail previews : The thumbnail previews that were introduced in Windows Vista have been expanded not only to preview the windows opened by the application in a small-sized thumbnail view, but also to interact with them. The user can close any open window by clicking the X in the corresponding thumbnail preview. The name of the window is also displayed in the thumbnail previews. Another new feature added is the ability to get a “peek” of the window when hovering over the thumbnail preview.
• Jump Lists : These are menu options available by right-clicking on any of the taskbar icons or by holding down the left mouse button and swiping up an icon. Each application will have unique jump lists that will correspond to the unique characteristics of the application.
• Aero Peek: In earlier versions of Windows, the taskbar ended with the notification area on the right side. However, there is now the Aero Peek button. If the button is clicked, all applications are minimized, and when it is clicked again, they are restored.
• Notification area: The notification area has been redesigned in Windows 7. The standard status icons for Volume, Network, Power, and Action Center (now called “Action”) are present, but no other application icons are displayed. unless the user has chosen to display them. . A new “Notification Area Icons” control panel has been added. In addition to being able to configure whether the application icons are displayed, the ability to hide the notification balloons for each application was added. User can view notifications later.

Window management mouse gestures in Windows 7

• Aero Snap; Maximizing window and tiling: Windows can be dragged to the top of the screen to maximize them and can be dragged to restore them. Dragging a window to the left or right of the screen makes it occupy half of the screen, allowing the user to place two windows side by side.
• Aero Shake: Aero Shake allows users to clear up any clutter on their screen by shaking (dragging back and forth) a window of their choice with the mouse. All other windows will be minimized, while the window that the user shook remains active on the screen. When the window is shaken again, they are all restored, similar to the desktop preview.

New keyboard shortcuts in Windows 7

A variety of new keyboard shortcuts have been introduced in Windows 7 compared to Windows Vista.

Global keyboard shortcuts:

• Win + Space works as a keyboard shortcut for Aero Peek.
• Win + Up and Win + Down new shortcuts for Maximize and Restore / Minimize.
• Win + Shift + Up Vertically maximizes the current window.
• Win + Left and Win + Right place the current window on the left or right half of the current screen; successive keystrokes will move the window to other monitors in a multi-monitor setup.
• Win + Shift + Left and Win + Shift + Right Moves the current window to the left or right screen.
• Win + + and Win + – (minus sign) zoom in and out on the desktop.
• Win + Home works as a keyboard shortcut for Aero Shake.
• Win + P displays an “external display options” selector that gives the user the option to display the desktop only on the computer screen, only the external screen, on both at the same time (mirroring), or on both monitors with freestanding desks (extendable).

Taskbar:

• Shift + Click , or Half Click starts a new instance of the application, regardless of whether it is already running.
• Ctrl + Shift + Click starts a new instance with administrator privileges; By default, a User Account Control prompt will be displayed.
• Shift + right click shows the classic window menu (Restore / Minimize / Move / etc.); Right-clicking on the thumbnail image of the application will also display this menu. If the clicked icon is a grouped icon, the classic menu is displayed with the Restore all / Minimize all / Close all menu.
• Ctrl + Click on a grouped icon, cycles between the windows (or tabs) in the group.

Font management

The user interface for font management has been revised. As with Windows Vista, the collection of installed fonts is displayed in a Windows Explorer window, but fonts in the same font family appear as “stacks” rather than as individual icons. The Font dialog [13] has also been updated to show font selection previews in selection lists.

Device management in Windows 7 vs Windows Vista

There are two major new components to the user interface for device management in Windows 7, “Devices and Printers” and “Device Stage”. Both are integrated with Windows Explorer, and together they provide a simplified view of what devices are connected to the computer and what capabilities they support.

Devices and printers

Devices and Printers is a new Control Panel interface that can be accessed directly from the Start menu. Unlike the Device Manager Control Panel applet, which is still present, the icons displayed on the Devices and Printers screen are limited to system components that a non-expert user will recognize as add-on devices. For example, an external monitor connected to the system will show as a device, but the internal monitor on a laptop will not show.

This new Control Panel applet also replaces the “Printers” window in Windows Vista; Common printer operations, such as setting the default printer, installing or removing printers, and setting properties such as paper size, are performed through this control panel.

Device stage

Device Stage provides a centralized location for an externally connected MFP to present its functionality to the user. When a device such as a portable music player is connected to the system, the device appears as an icon on the taskbar, as well as in Windows Explorer. Opening the icon presents a window showing the relevant actions for that device. Device status information such as free memory and battery life can also be displayed.

Touch functions in Windows 7

An overview of Windows 7’s multi-touch capabilities, including a virtual piano program, an address and mapping program, and a touch version of Paint, was demonstrated at the All Things Digital Conference on May 27, 2008. Multi-touch capabilities were later made available on the web.

Windows 7 file system features

Solid state drives

To take advantage of the unique performance characteristics and capabilities of solid state drives, Windows 7 will shut down Windows Disk Defragmenter and use the new SSD TRIM command to physically wipe deleted data more dynamically.

Virtual hard drives

Windows 7 Enterprise and Ultimate editions incorporate support for the Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) file format. VHD files can be mounted as drives, created and booted from the same way as WIM files. Additionally, an installed version of Windows 7 can be started and run from a VHD drive, even on non-virtual hardware, thus providing a new form of multi-boot Windows.

Disk partition

The default disk partition structure in Windows 7 is to create two partitions: the first to boot, BitLocker and run the Windows recovery environment and the second to install the operating system.

Removable stocking

Windows 7 has also seen improvements to the Safely Remove Hardware menu, including the ability to eject only one camera card at a time (from a single hub) and retain ports for future use without rebooting; and removable media is now listed on its label as well, rather than just its drive letter, as in Windows Vista.

BitLocker para IR

BitLocker offers encryption support for removable disks, such as USB drives. Such devices can be protected with a passphrase, recovery key, or automatically unlocked on a computer.

See More

• Difference Between Windows 8 and Windows RT