Since you did not choose to upgrade to windows vista, you cannot upgrade from windows XP to windows 7 directly. That means you have to do a clean install, which does not preserve you files, applications or user settings. It is possible to migrate those items after the new install.
Pre-installation Tasks
Before you do the install there are a few things you need to do to see if your computer is compatible with windows 7.
Task 1 – Windows 7 upgrade advisor
- Open the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor webpage.
- Download the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor to your hard drive
- Double-click the installation file saved to your PC. You may have to download and install the .net 2.0 framework if you do not already have it installed before you can continue.
- Agree to the license terms and then click Install.
- When prompted, click Close
Task 2 - Windows Compatibility center – this will tell you if you need to update any of your drivers or applications so that they work in windows 7
Task 3 – Hard Drive – Backup your hard disk. I prefer something like ghost or drive image, however any backup program will work
Task 4 – Applications – Gather all your installation CDs, ISOs and other installation media that you originally used to install your applications. Windows 7 will put your data in a Windows.old file for you, but it won’t reinstall your apps. Don’t forget all the CD keys, etc. you need to do the installs.
Task 5 – Windows Easy Transfer Wizard – this lets you transfer your data and settings to an external hard drive. It is not a backup. You can password the data if you want. DO NOT use your computer while this is being done because you can corrupt your data.
You are now ready to do the install.
Installing Windows 7
- Boot from the CD or click on the setup file to start the install
- Accept the EULA
- Choose Custom install
- Select the partition you want to install windows 7 on
- You will get a warning that your old operating system will be deleted and your old files will be saved in C;\Windows.old before the install starts
- After a couple of reboots you will be able to set the time, password, etc.
- After the final reboot, the computer will be running windows 7
Post Installation Tasks
Unless you are extremely lucky, some of your devices will not work and you will need to update the drivers. You can just see what isn’t working properly and you can download the correct drivers and install them. If it is you network adapter that isn’t working you will need to use a different computer to down the driver so you have internet connectivity to download anything else you need.
Installing Your Applications
Make sure your external drive is connected. Then click Start, choose computer, and under hard disk drives, choose the external drive where you stored your transfer data. Find the file you should have named “Windows Easy Transfer–Items from old computer” and double click on it.
Select the accounts you want to move and the wizard will do the rest automatically.
If everything works, you should be able to use all your applications. If some of them don’t work, see if there is a free upgrade designed for windows 7 or try reinstalling them with your original installation media.
Summary
A windows XP to windows 7 upgrade is slow and can be a pain but it will most likely be worth it. Also, there are a couple of commercial programs costing around $30 that will restore all of your data and programs without you having to do anything. If you are not technical, they are definitely worth the investment.
Don’t forget to re image you C:\drive after everything is working so you can restore it to an already state if it crashes later and cannot be repaired.
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