UPDATE: Windows 7 on the Viliv S5- Not Going So Well
When word came out that Windows 7 RC was available for the taking, I had to jump on it. I want to install Windows 7 on the Viliv S5, and I’ve read that some owners have already had success doing so. I downloaded Win 7 and set off this morning to install it on the S5, but unfortunately, I haven’t gotten very far.
I set up a USB stick (8 GB) as a Windows 7 install and plugged it into the S5 and fired it off. It started no problem, and it didn’t take me long to realize how goofy I was being. You see the S5 has no keyboard nor mouse, so I wasn’t going to be able to guide the install process very well. No problem, I stopped it and connected a USB keyboard and mouse using a little hub I found laying around.
I plugged the USB stick into the hub along with the mouse and keyboard, but this time the Viliv wouldn’t recognize the USB stick at boot time. I fired Windows XP up and tried to access the stick from there, but it errored out. I figured that maybe the three USB peripherals plugged into the unpowered hub were too much for the little S5, so I scrounged up a powered hub and sure enough, that was the problem.
The rest of the basic install went without a hitch, but I have some glaring problems that doom this to failure. Primarily, the system does not see the Wi-Fi adapter at all, so I can’t connect to Windows Update to fix other components that Windows 7 didn’t install. I have a bunch of WinXP drivers I downloaded from Viliv that other users claim to have used successfully, but I can’t get any of them to install. They all tell me that they are for another OS, and even running in compatibility mode doesn’t work. Oh well, the life of a geek on the edge. I’ll be fiddling with this the rest of the day since my S5 is now not very usable, so you might not see me for a while.
UPDATE: It’s all working now including touch. I’m going to play tonight and see how it all works now. 
I remember another user in umpcfever or umpcportal that had everything working. This is the link “http://www.phblogger.net/gadgets/7-and-windows-xp-on-a-viliv-s5.html” and “http://www.umpcfever.com/news/?postid=2124″ I hope to try the same install in a few days, please let us know if Windows 7 is better, the on screen keyboard is a deal breaker for me.
When I read the specs of the S5 I was concerned about the lack of an ethernet connection and only wifi for internet access. Only one USB port is obviously a drawback as well. Can you plug a USB wifi adapter into the overused hub and have Win7 recognize that?
The Windows 7 Engineering team have assured me that RC1 will support my specific 3G USB modem, so I hope to bypass *some* of these issues when I receive my unit. I will be using a powered USB hub as well.
James, perhaps you could install your Verizon usb727 3g stick and download the updates that way. That way you could install any necessary updates to get the wifi working. Just a thought.
I updated the post, I have everything working now except the touchscreen. That will come shortly as others have theirs working.
look forward to hearing how well win7 works on S5…
LOL there’s bleeding edge for you. I hope Win7 does work out on this device despite it’s limits.
James,
You may want to use an extraction program like winrar to “extract” the setup files from the dirivers and programs install files. I had similar issues with win7 on a certain tablet PC and all in one desktop. The manufacturers install programs look for the correct OS and when they cant find it, the install stops.
Use winrar to extract the files then, inside the extracted file folders, you should find either the extracted drivers (then just direct the driver update to look in that folder) or the proper “setup.exe” files that will run as normal.
Hope that helps…
David
Got it all working now! Who woulda thunk the touchscreen is a PS/2 device? Who makes those anymore?
Good stuff James. Mine should be here in a week so look forward to your review of it with Win 7 installed! What a great carry everywhere little PC.
If this works well, then you will have a killer device, worth the investment. Please let us know before the second wave of sales starting May 14.
I installed both XP and win7 version.
I will stick with the xp..
even calibrating the touch screen in win7, it is not very accurate,where as in xp is near perfect.
For a gaget w/o keyboard its very curucial using a good accuate touch screen.
I thought Win7 had an XP-emulation-mode. I think you can get all your work done in there. I would really like to see Ubuntu running on this puppy, it would scream.
I’m having trouble with the touchscreen rotating properly. It is not rotating to match the display rotation. That may be a killer for me, I depend on the rotation a LOT.
How do you install windows7 on a flash drive?
Would you mind putting together a brief summary of how to get 7 properly installed (ie, all the tweaking)?
Hi great news, this really has my interest.
A couple of apps I’ve yet to see any news on via the S5 is Netflix silverlight video streaming and Sony LFTV or Slingbox streaming. It’s all about location shifting and this little S5 would really shine in this capacity if it’s up to the task.
Regards, John