Windows xp zu windows 7 upgrade

You've likely heard that you can't straight upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7. Some folks who apparently have a pile of operating systems discs have proposed that one could upgrade from XP to Vista, then from Vista to Windows 7, but I think that's insane. Most PC experts will recommend you start fresh and "pave" your machine anyway.

I think this is a hassle, but in the case of XP to 7, it's necessary. I was asked to "upgrade" a relative's machine from Windows XP to Windows 7, so I figured this was a good time to write-up the experience in case it helps others.

Disclaimer: I do work for Microsoft, but I don't work with the Win7 team so this is just one dude's opinion. If this walkthrough paralyzes your hamster or causes you any emotional distress, we never spoke and I don't know you.

You found it on the intertubes for free, so what do you expect. Good luck. The machine is years old, so I didn't think a Windows 7 install would be unreasonable. Personally, I wish that there was a "migrate your settings from Windows XP" button or something on this page. It's a great feature and it's not advertised enough. The problem here, and with most OS installs regardless of vendor is that, at some point, reading and comprehension is required.

Unless you're lucky enough to just click "next, next, next, finish," you need to read. The instructions that show up at this point shown at right have a section on "Upgrading from Windows XP. They probably named it migsetup. I've never see an "Easy Transfer cable" in the real world, but apparently they do exist on Amazon. Fortunately I had a small external hard drive, so I just used that since both the "old" and "new" computer were the same machine. Next it found the 3 accounts on this XP machine as well as Shared Items and started tallying them up.

It spends some time 15 minutes or so in my case estimating just how much non-Program data is on the machine. In our case, it was about 15 gigs of Photos and general crap. It shows you what user has what stuff. It also has a nice, but subtle, customize link under each name you should click on. You can be very specific as to the folders and settings you care about. Hit next and wait a while. I waited about an hour, but it was telling me what was up the whole time.

Next, I actually installed Windows 7. I decided to let Windows 7 format the hard drive so I could start from scratch. I could have just installed 7 over the top, but the hard drive was a bit untidy, so I just took the opportunity to start fresh. At this point, remember that nothing has been transferred and I have a fresh Windows 7 machine. When you see the list of names in the migration file, click Customize. You'll have to wait a while again, I waited about an hour.

After the process is done, you get the option for very detailed report. It shows not only what was transferred in detail but also a list of applications "you might want to install. This was very helpful as it reminded me of the different apps I needed to get on this machine to make it ready for my relative. It's true that this isn't an "upgrade" as it's a "migration" but an hour or so later I was all set and my relative had a machine with all the things they were used to exactly where they expected them to be.

Documents, Photos, Accounts, all brought over cleanly. Yes No. Sorry this didn't help. Thanks for your feedback. I have an older computer running XP, which, of course, is no longer receiving update support from Microsoft. I would like to upgrade to Windows 7. I have run the Upgrade Adviser and my computer is compatible with the 32 Bit version of Windows 7. When I look on line for Windows 7, there do not seem to be any versions for upgrade only, they all require a clean installation.

What product do I need to buy and what are the procedures for a simple upgrade from XP to 7? This thread is locked. Device Stage can also be used to preset common tasks, such as synchronization. Device Stage support for older devices makes one of Windows 7's best features applicable to peripherals and externals that don't need to be upgraded. One annoying change is that Bluetooth driver support no longer comes baked into the operating system. If you need a Bluetooth driver, you'll either need the installation disc on hand or you'll have to go download it.

Search, touch screens, and XP mode Windows 7's native search feature has been improved. Files added to the hard drive were indexed so fast that they were searchable less than 5 seconds later. Search result snippets now include a longer snippet, and highlight the snippet more clearly. This should appeal specifically to people who juggle large numbers of long documents, but it's a useful feature for anybody who wants to find files faster. However, the search field is available by default only in the Start menu and in Windows Explorer, and cannot be easily added to the taskbar.

Touch-screen features worked surprisingly well. The hardware sometimes misread some of the multitouch gestures, occasionally confusing rotating an image, for example, with zooming in or out of the image. Overall, though, there were few difficulties in performing the basic series of gestures that Microsoft promotes, and this places Windows 7 in an excellent position for the future, as more and more computers are released with multitouch abilities. Experts and people or companies who hope to use Windows 7 for business situations will appreciate the new XP Mode.

It doesn't have much of a practical application for the home consumer, but if you need to access programs designed for Windows XP that have not been upgraded to Windows Vista or 7, XP Mode creates a virtual environment within Windows 7 that should assuage any fears of upgrading without backward compatibility. It's not easy to set up once you've downloaded the XP Mode installer. You'll need to double-check that you have the right hardware, and can get the right software.

Motherboards older than two years probably won't work, and even if you do have a newer one you might have to go into your BIOS and activate Hardware Virtualization. CPU-identification utilities are available from Microsoft that can tell you if you're in the clear or not. However, if compatibility is the issue, this hassle will be worth it to you. Users will have full access to peripherals connected to their Windows 7 hardware, including printers, and the clipboard can be used to cut and paste between the virtual operating system and the 'real' one.

Microsoft has tweaked the feature so that it's less intrusive, but it's not clear whether that means you're actually more or less secure than you were in Vista. UAC was one of the biggest changes in Vista. It tightened program access, but did it in such a way as to frustrate many owners of single-user computers.

Windows 7 provides more options for user customization of UAC. The default setting is to notify users only when programs try to make changes to the computer, one step below the most restrictive setting of Always Notify. Under Always Notify, anytime a program tries to access the Internet, or you try to make changes to the computer, Windows 7 will require user confirmation.

The second-least restrictive option doesn't dim the desktop when UAC is activated, and will only notify the user when programs try to make changes to the computer. When the desktop dims, Windows 7 is locking it down and preventing access. Never Notify is the most relaxed option, and is only recommended by Microsoft for programs that aren't compatible with UAC.

UAC also displays a blue banner when confronted with a program from a known publisher versus a yellow banner and exclamation point when the program is from an unknown publisher. The number of clicks it should take to use UAC safely has been reduced, However, it's important to note that it's a less aggressive default posture by UAC.

A less glitzy, but no less important, change to how removable drives are handled also can affect your media. This kills off a risky vector for malware infections that has been the bane of many security experts.

Although Microsoft is working on a revamp of its antivirus and antimalware program, now called Microsoft Security Essentials, it won't be bundled with Windows 7. Users are still required to download a third-party antivirus and antimalware program, although the Windows Firewall remains intact.

As with many features in Windows 7 that have been carried over from Windows Vista, people will notice there's far more granular settings control than before.

The last thing before we get to the actual Windows 7 disc is to download and run the Windows Easy Transfer Wizard. This will allow you to back up all your files and settings to an external hard drive.

A different one than the one you imaged earlier. Launch the wizard and make sure your external drive is plugged in. You can send your data to a network location; in this example we're choosing an external drive. The program will check for what can be transferred then give you an opportunity to password-protect the data. Finally, choose your external drive and begin the backup. You shouldn't use your computer while this process is running. It will take a while to move all your data over.

Once it's done, you can set that drive aside--you won't need it until after Windows 7 completes updating. Finally, you're ready to insert the Windows 7 disc. When doing a clean install, it doesn't matter if you restart and boot off the disc or just run it from within Windows. It will give you one last chance to check compatibility.

If you're sure you don't need that, go ahead and click "Install now. It will ask if you want to go online and get updates. I say yes. It could save you some time later.