Windows 7
We will use Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. That is pretty much the thing to get for HTPC's nowadays. No reason for 32-bit on a new build.
You can get the Full Version for system builders.
 | Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64bit (Full) System Builder |
Or if you have 3 old licenses for XP or Vista you can upgrade them by getting the Family Pack Upgrade and save some money. It is a good deal and bringing some of your other computers current will make networking them much easier -- I did that.
 | Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade Family Pack (3-User) |
This is an in-place upgrade. However, if you want a clean install you may want to check you the "double install" method. Check it out here or google for it. Follow the instructions to the letter.
Whichever you choose make sure all the windows updates get applied. This is the most painful part of building a new system. It will take many hours. Check in periodically to press a button as needed.
Antivirus
Microsoft offers free Antivirus with Microsoft Security Essentials.
Follow the link above after the you have applied all the "Windows Update" patches.
A word on Backup
Windows 7 Home Edition does not come with support for backups over a network. That is silly because backing up "machine A on machine B" is pretty much the easiest way to get a reliable backup going.
There is a work around though. Create a VHD ("Virtual Hard Disk") on the remote machine and map it as a drive.
Here are the instructions or google for "windows 7 network backup workaround."
The drive I created was for 30GB and it was plenty. Make sure to create a system image and back up the entire C drive. Make sure your back up is current before installing any new software -- if later you want to revert that will be the cleanest way.
Gigabit Network
With network backups and possibly media files on different computers, it may be a good idea to take this opportunity to upgrade to a gigabit network. It will make moving stuff around computers much faster. Wireless networks are still for less intense usage. I would only use them for handheld devices like tablets and phones. For a computer that will stay in place you want a wired (cat-5e) connection.
I use the following switches and I'm pretty happy with them. There is no configuration. It is plug and play.
 | NETGEAR GS105 ProSafe 5-Port Gigabit Switch |
 | NETGEAR GS108 ProSafe 8-Port Gigabit Switch |
Playing Blu-rays
You will need some software to play Blu-rays. Windows 7 does not play them out of the box because licensing fees would increase the cost of Windows for everyone, including the folks that do not play BD's on their computers.
CyberLink PowerDVD version 9 came with our BD Burner. It is working fine for playbacks -- I have not burned anything yet. The maintenance upgrade was free. They had a promotion to upgrade to version 11, but I did not take it -- at least not yet.
Whatever drive you get make sure it comes with something you can use to play BD's. If not, a standalone application can set you back close to $100.
Color Calibration is next. It came out awesome :-)
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