Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 on Windows 7: 1 month review

I have been using the Windows 7 Release Client since it was released early May.  I intended to post a review, but didn’t want to do it until I had run it for several weeks.  With operating systems, I like to see not just how it works following a clean install, but also what the experience is like after a month or two of normal use. 

For background, I’m using a 2.5 year old Dell D820 laptop, previously running Windows Vista 32.  Installed Windows 7 64.

Installation:  I chose to do a fresh install, rather than upgrading my Windows Vista installation.  This is always a good idea, and it give you a good chance to “clean house” and get rid of all of the junk files you accumulate through normal use.

The installation is very fast—significantly quicker than previous versions of Windows.

After the install, everything was working, but the graphics looked strange.  Then a message popped up saying that a new NvIdia driver had been found.  After a reboot, all was well.

Performance:  Windows 7 feels much faster and lighter than Windows Vista.  I’m probably a medium to heavy-use PC user, and I typically have Outlook w/ CRM open along with multiple Office application, messenger, and multiple IE windows open.  With Vista, system memory usage was typically 1.8-1.9 GB.  With Windows 7, it averages 1.2-1.4 GB.

CRM Performance: CRM has performed beautifully with Windows 7.  It is very similar to the experience with Vista.  If anything, it is a bit quicker to load because of more available system resources in general.

CRM Usability: I also frequently find myself with multiple CRM windows open at the same time.  I’ve found that the Windows 7 full screen preview is a great usability enhancement for CRM.  This lets you hover your mouse over an icon in the Windows taskbar and preview open windows.  If you have multiple CRM records open, this allows you to very quickly browse through open records and select the one you want.

Issues:  I haven’t seen any major issues with running CRM 4.0 on Windows 7.  There are a couple of minor considerations I have found:

1.  Pop-up error when opening records in IE8.  This is not really a Windows 7, more of an IE 8 known issue.  I’m including it here, as with Windows 7, you have to run IE8.  The issue is that when you open a record from a view in CRM for Outlook, you get the following error message:

This has to do with protected mode.  Turning off protected mode, adding the CRM site to your intranet zone and then re-enabling protected mode fixed it for me.

2.  VPN.  I have found several VPN clients to not be compatible with CRM.  Not Microsoft’s fault, but something to be aware of, if your clients have users who need to use VPN to connect to CRM.  Solutions are to consider using IFD for these users, or use the integrated Windows XP mode virtual PC to run the VPN client.

Technorati Tags: Microsoft CRM.,Windows 7

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