Upgrade win XP to win 7

tiler65

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Has anyone upgraded win xp to win 7 on their machine using the easy transfer method that MS recommend?

How easy is it? I know I will have to reload many programs again.

Will win 7 32 bit make use of all my installed 4gig of Ram?

If any one would post a how to in easy steps I would appreciate it.

Also, I ran the MS upgrade facility and yes my machine can run win 7.
 
Win7 32bit will not see 4G, you need Win7 64bit for that. Not sure what the easy transfer method is, but you should always reinstall an OS on changing it, never upgrade in place.
 
Aye, much better to do a clean install.

Back up all your data, all your programs will need reinstalled.

Ensure you are set to boot from DVD drive (setup in BIOS; normally DELETE or F1 or F2 key during startup to access BIOS).

Stick in your Win7 disk and follow instructions for new installation.
 
Andy I think it is a new install but it makes use of transferring my personal files to an external space and the an easy migrate back once the new OS is installed as the HD is formatted to make room for the new OS, that is what I read on the MS site I think.
 
Easy transfer has worked well for me in the past but I wouldn't trust it completely. It does copy lots of things you might not need copying so just saving what you want is another option. You need to run the win 7 version of easy transfer on the XP install to gather the info. XP's easy transfer version will not work.

Either way I'd do the install to a new hard drive not overwrite XP. Just take the drive out and put a new one in and start from scratch. Once it is all working how you want and has your data restored you could fit the old drive as extra storage.

Any problems getting 7 installed you could always put the old drive back while you sort it. Don't forget there is no email program on the 7 disk so you will need to sort out how your emails and contacts will be migrated.
 
Ahh, yes, think I've used it in the past when moving between computers. Seemed to work well in my case :)
 
Thanks Robert, I new about the email, I have MS office so I will have to reinstall that and I like the idea of a new drive. Saves alot of messing.
 
I upped Win XP to Win 7 64bit some time ago.

Reccomend the fresh install route as cited by others.

Stick any docs, files you need on to a spare drive (or if like me your D: if you have a partitioned hard drive).

Its pretty painless, a few options to choose during install, but largely the CD and process 'just does it'

Something worth doing, jsut incase is getting a copy of the latest drivers for your machine. Windows 7 will probably recognise most things, but as a general rule of thumb I make sure I have the following:

Chipset
Graphics
Wireless / Network Card

Least then I have something workable, that I can see and get on the internet with to download additional items if needed.

Cheers
 
Nothing like a clean install for getting rid of all the rubbish that builds up on a typical PC over time. Windows 7 is pretty plain sailing as it sets up all the drivers without having to faff about downloading things separately.
 
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