We’ve already seen a few instances of Windows 7 on netbooks. Now HP Mini Guide has loaded a Windows 7 Pre-Beta on a VIA-powered HP 2133 Mini-Note. Keep in mind the VIA CPU used (C7-M series) was underpowered compared to the Intel Atoms, etc., that we’ve seen powering netbooks with Windows 7 this week.
It only took them less than half an hour to install (which is a good sign) to the point where they were at a desktop. Only a few drivers were initially missing (ethernet among others), but Windows Update fixed those issues (there were video driver issues). Booting looks good – faster than Windows Vista, but slower than XP.
They did have some issues with sleeping and video (due to drivers), but overall it’s looking good, and running faster than Vista. Not something you would use day-to-day at this point (until the video driver issue is fixed), but as they point out – if Windows 7 Pre-Beta is looking this good, there may not even be a netbook specific build (or rather a need for one).
Read: HP Mini Guide