Upgrading to Windows7

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Chief Editor Ted Como brings you the latest tech advice on Tech Bytes

Published Monday, October 12 2009 - (0) Comments

Microsoft redeems itself from the sloppy initial release of the Vista operating system with delivery next week of Windows 7, a thoroughly vetted OS that brings greater stability and security to the PC world. But it's no great leap over Vista and especially if you're running XP and are thinking of upgrading directly to W7, buy a good book or check out an old episode of Scrubs and hopefully, get that bad thought out of your head.
Depending on your system hardware, you might be able to go directly to W7 from XP but unless you're using your computer for some specialized application like CAD or gaming for example, you won't need W7 until Microsoft fully pulls the plug on XP and stops delivery of security updates and fixes. In sum, if you're on XP and want W7, buy a new system with it already installed.
But if you just can't help yourself, here's what you need to know.
You can do what's called an in-place upgrade from Vista to W7 - put the W7 upgrade disc in your computer and a few minutes later you're running W7 with all of your programs intact and working. You also can upgrade directly from XP to W7 but unless you set up a dual boot custom install, your programs won't run because they will not be registered.
W7 will save your XP operating system, program files, documents and settings, etc. in an folder it calls Windows.old so you won't lose data. But the programs will have to be reinstalled in W7 - from the original discs, not from the saved folder. Not to worry about installing "old" XP programs on W7 though if you've got the Professional edition or above (it doesn't come on the Home Premium version which is what you'll find installed on mosts new systems.)
W7 requires more memory than XP. If your XP system is only several years old, likely it will support W7 if you have at least 2GB of RAM. To make sure, visit Microsoft.com, click on the first dropdown menu button at left called Windows, and select Windows7. In the next screen, click on Get Windows 7 and then on the Upgrade Advisor tab. Read the instructions, and download the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor.
It'll check your system and let you know if it can run W7. Generally, if your computer is running Vista, it can run W7 - the advisor will check all hardware, programs and attached devices on your computer and tell you if anything needs replacing or upgrading for W7.
I was a Microsoft beta tester for the XP operating system and at the time, configured a system to triple boot to either XP, Win98, or Red Hat Linux. There was really no need to do that - it was just something I wanted to play with. But if you do a Custom upgrade from XP, you'll have the option of setting up a dual-boot situation where you computer will ask you when you turn it on whether you wish to bring it up as an XP operating system, or a W7 operating system.
This process will retain your XP environment and all of your program installations but requires you either put in a second hard drive and install W7 there, or, repartition the primary hard drive to create a new partition for W7. You can do that without losing data in your existing XP installation using free software such as Easeus Partition Manager Partition (www.partition-tool.com.) Once W7 is installed and you reboot, you'll be asked which OS you want to boot to.
But if you're like most who'll upgrade from XP to W7, you'll just say to heck with it and have at it. Before you put the disc in, take some precautions.
Open Wordpad and go through your Programs. Make a list of those you'll want to reinstall in W7, and then check it off as you gather the install discs. Some of these programs may have installed from a download - be sure to save everything in your download folder.
Some programs save data in their own folder structure. For instance, you may use a genealogy program that saves your information in a folder under its primary directory. W7 should save this information in the Windows.old folder it creates - or it may not. For instance, what if you currently are near disc full and do the upgrade - I don't know what will happen but it's a safe bet you'll lose data.
So, go through those program folders and save information to either a second system drive, or a USB external hard drive. W7 comes with a program called East Transfer which you can run from the install disc before you install W7 and it will move all of your files and settings.
To upgrade a system running Vista to W7: While running Vista, insert the W7 DVD and click "Install now." You are presented with the option of going online to retrieve any updates for W7, and you must agree to the license terms. Then, click "Upgrade" and a compatibility check will run to ensure that all drivers will work after the upgrade. If issues are found, you will be shown a report. If no problems are found, the upgrade will proceed.
To transfer certain files and settings on an XP or Vista computer to a new computer running W7: Use Microsoft's "Easy Transfer" software available in different versions for XP or Vista (Google Windows Easy Transfer.) This software will allow you to move user accounts, files and folders, e-mail messages, settings and address books, photos, music, video, Windows settings, program data files and settings and Internet settings (you will still have to reinstall programs.) The transfer is accomplished through a home network, or a transfer cable - not a USB cable but a special cable for this purpose.
To upgrade an XP system to W7: The Upgrade option is not available in W7 setup when installing on a computer running XP; you'll be doing a full installation of W7. You can, however, use Easy Transfer which comes on the W7 DVD to move files and data to another locations like an external USB drive. You then do a full install of W7, and use Easy Transfer to move data back (you will have to resinstall programs.)
Once you're done with Easy Transfer, use Windows Explorer to browse the W7 DVD and find and double-click "setup.exe." Click to retrieve any W7 upgrades online, and accept the license terms. Now, click Custom, to ensure that folders in your existing XP installation are saved to Windows.old. Select the partition (C Drive) where you'd like to install Windows, click Next, and then OK, and W7 will install.
If you're upgrading to W7 from XP and have never used Vista, it's a good idea to spend some time at Microsoft's Windows 7 page (as instructed above) to learn how to use Windows7, which is quite a departure from XP. The site has good information on features of the new OS and how to navigate it.
Once you're up and running, visit http://download.live.com to download and install Windows Live applications that are not included in the W7 DVD. This includes Photo Gallery, Movie Maker, Mail, Instant Messenger, Live Writer for blogging, and browser customization tools.
If you have programs that you ran under XP and aren't sure they'll run in W7, be aware that the new OS has XP built-in to certain editions, including Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate. This is a free, licensed copy of XP that runs under W7 virtually. Once you launch it, you may install and use XP programs on your new W7 operating system.
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