Number 319 - December 2009

Moving From XP to Windows 7
by Vinny La Bash, Sarasota Personal Computer Users Group, Inc
Installing Windows 7 from XP is more complex than a straightforward upgrade from Vista. You need to perform a custom install, and you can do this with an Upgrade package of Windows 7. A normal upgrade won't work, but Microsoft describes the installation process as the option to "either completely replace your current operating system or install Windows on a specific drive or partition". Microsoft also allows a multi-boot system to be installed. In other words, you have the option of running both your current version of XP and Windows 7 if you want. Switching back and forth may not be the best choice as the interfaces are very different.    Completely replacing XP will not eliminate it from your system. The setup program creates a folder on your primary hard disk which it names Windows.old . The process than places all the major XP folders such as Windows, Documents and Settings, and Program file folders in the Windows.old folder. Nothing happens to your data files. You can still access them, but your applications will have to be reinstalled.    No matter which option your settle on, back up everything on your system first, especially your data files. Back up your data files at least twice and keep a copy in a separate physical location. Backing up more than one copy may seem like paranoia, but if anything goes wrong you'll be glad you did.    There are lots of ways to back up programs and data. If you use a third party program go to the manufacturer's web sit and make sure the program will be modified to work with Windows 7. If you can't verify compatibility with Windows 7 or you don't use a third party backup utility, you will probably turn to XP's backup utility which Microsoft calls the Windows NT Backup-Restore Utility. Microsoft developed and released it specifically for restoring backups created in XP to restore in Windows Vista. It's pretty safe to believe that Microsoft will adapt it to work in Windows 7. If you can't verify that your third party backup utility will work in Windows 7 or you don't trust Microsoft that it will modify its special XP utility, make copies of all your important data files to CD or DVD.	Read the article called Step-by-Step: Windows 7 Upgrade and Migration on the Microsoft TechNet site. It provides some great information about a utility called Windows 7 Easy Transfer. This program lets you transfer all your data and settings from XP to Windows 7. The Windows 7 installation disks contain a copy of the program and during installation a copy will be installed on your computer. You can then use the program to copy all your data files and settings to Windows 7.    Microsoft has recognized the popularity of low cost net-books, and Windows 7 was designed to operate on systems that many people consider underpowered. You won't need terabyte sized hard disks or 6 gigabytes of RAM to run Windows 7. If your XP system was manufactured in the last four years there is a high probability that Windows 7 will run just fine. To be safe, run Microsoft's Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor on your old system before rushing out and buying Windows 7.    The Advisor does a complete check of your internal hardware, installed programs, and any externally connected devices. If there are any compatibility issues the Advisor will report it, and even make suggestions on how best to eliminate incompatibilities, and select upgrade options. Go to the Microsoft Download Center to download and install a copy of this utility to your system. It will make you much better prepared for the upgrade to Windows 7.    You won't be the only one changing to Windows 7. Don't be shy about asking questions, and please share any good information you get with other members of the PC community. A good place to start is the Getting Ready for Windows 7 section of the Microsoft Answers web site. Don't forget your local PC User Group. There is no better source for good, accurate information. Even Microsoft will acknowledge that.:    Copyright 2009. This article is from the November 2009 issue of the Sarasota PC Monitor, the official monthly publication of the Sarasota Personal Computer Users Group, Inc., P.O. Box 15889, Sarasota, FL 34277-1889. Permission to reprint is granted only to other non-profit computer user groups, provided proper credit is given to the author and our publication.
Number 319 - December 2009