Joan, I'm not lobbying for you to put Windows 7 on your netbook, but there is a reason your test failed. Portable computers have power-saving settings to throttle down the CPU. If you were to disable the power scheme and also run it on AC power, it is likely your CPU would pass the test.

I am an early adopter of new operating systems, but only because I have access to them and because I run them first on a test machine. Windows 7 that will ship to the public on October 22 is actually the third version, after the beta version and the release candidate version. In my opinion, it's been shaken down quite well. Microsoft learned from the lessons of how it rolled out Vista.

Notes has good suggestions and talks about the drivers. For the most part, M-Audio being an exception, drivers that worked for Vista will work for Windows 7 (yes, I know you have XP now). Also, because it has been available for testing for many months, many companies already have working drivers for Windows 7.

Lawrie makes a sensible point about not expecting older hardware to be able to run a newer OS. For 32-bit Windows 7, you need 16 GB of storage as well as a 1 GHz CPU and a video card or onboard video chip capable of running DirectX 9. If your system has these, and it passes the upgrade test, it should work. One enhancement to Windows 7 is to streamline it, particularly to decrease the loading time. It runs like XP in that respect.

All this having been said, I would not upgrade your netbook until others try it and succeed. I'm not doing mine.

BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.