I took the plunge this weekend and installed Windows 7 on my Aspire One D150 netbook.

Initial indications are that it is remarkedly zippier than the dated Windows XP that was on their previously. Note that I am not going to comment on any new windows 7 features, as this post is about the netbook install itself.

The install was done using an external USB CDROM drive, from the official 2GB DVD image. The total install time was less than 30 minutes, taking far less time than expected.  The only issue encountered during the install was that I could not re-format the origina lWindows XP partition. This resulted in the final result containing some of the old non windows directories on the C: drive.

As far as drivers go, Windows 7 detected and installed all the drivers except for the built in 3g module. I found the link for the Option Globe Trotter HSxPA drivers and Acer 3G Connection Manager utility relatively easily on this link.

Boot time since running Windows 7 is now down to around 20 seconds, compared to around 1 minute on XP. Note however that is “clean” boot time without any additional programs installed that needs to start services on startup.

I intend to keep the netbook relatively clean form clutter, rather depending on web based applications like Gmail and Google Docs. I do however use Dropbox and Goodsync to syncronise passwords, files and other stuff between my multiple computers. On my laptops I use RoboForm and Google bookmarks to keep favourites and their associated login details at hand.

Next step is to do a dual boot install of Ubuntu 9.10. I originally had 9.04 on the netbook under a second partition, but will wait for the official 9.10 release later this month before reloading ubuntu.

Overall impression is that Windows 7 is fast and solid on the Aspire One, but only time will tell.  Once I have used it for a month or so I will post an update.