New year – new operating system?

Happy belated new year everyone.

So, it’s 3 months since the launch of Windows 7 and it seems to proving fairly popular in our experience. Customers are actively seeking new laptops with Windows 7, rather than trying to avoid Vista and purchase XP. They are now taking the opportunity to buy new desktops with Windows 7 preinstalled, and people are also inquiring about the possibility of upgrading their system to Windows 7.

On the whole, the majority of systems that have Vista will be able to be upgraded. If anything, they will run better, as Windows 7 starts up quicker and runs more efficiently. A memory upgrade will help but is not always necessary.

Before taking the plunge and purchasing an upgrade disk, it is advisable to run the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor . Please note that you cannot upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7. You will need to do a clean install.

It is advisable that you back up any data you consider to be important before attempting an upgrade, as there is always the potential for something to go wrong and you losing your data. A clean install needs everything to be wiped so a backup is essential. Programs cannot be copied using a backup, so they will need to be reinstalled using original disks or downloaded files. License keys and product activation will also be necessary afterwards, something that usually causes problems after clean installs, with people rummaging through drawers full of old disks in a frantic search for the originals.

The actually upgrade itself is usually pretty straight forward once the recommendations of the Upgrade Advisor have been followed (usually uninstalling incompatible software such as anti-virus), although it can take many hours, so be patient.

Once the upgrade is complete Windows 7 will have installed most of the drivers for your devices automatically and everything works!