Upgrade From XP to Windows 7? Prayer Is The Answer

How to Upgrade From XP to Windows 7 - washingtonpost.com.

This article from PC World, reprinted in the Post, gives misleading a new meaning. Let's recapitulate, shall we? You have to do a clean install of Windows 7 on an XP machine. Check. Your motherboard will need to be upgraded to the latest firmware, and even then it may not have the juice to run Windows 7. Check. Your drivers won't work, and dozens of them will need to be upgraded one at a time. Check. You will have to do a clean install, and then reload ALL of your programs and data. The ones that will work with 7 anyway. Check. You have to run the Windows 7 upgrade advisor first. We all know how well that worked with Vista, right? Check. You may have to run some of your XP software in XP compatibility mode, even after you upgrade to Windows 7, and even that might not work? Check. Windows 7 stores commonly used files, like Outlook pst files, and Music, Pictures and Videos in different locations, so you will have to find them again. Check. I realize I am a sinner, but I don't wear hair shirts, and endure physical torture to get right with God. That is so medieval. I will wait until God sends me a Microsoft priest who can forgive my sins with a wave of his hand, thank you very much. In other words, the only thing that will enable a successful upgrade from XP to Windows 7 is prayer. I think I will wait until my computer running XP dies, and then I die, and it is pried from my cold, dead hands.

Comments

[Buzz Bruggeman]

Hey Rick...

I am running W7 on 4 computers, e.g. Netbook, ThinkPad, Tablet and iMac in Bootcamp. All run great, no problems or software conflicts. My take is that it is a much better product than XP. I can't imagine why anyone would not install it.

Backup everything, use Belarc Advisor to make sure you know what you had on your computer, license numbers, etc. and start fresh.

In a perfect world it would be simple and easy, but it's not so complex that you shouldn't be able to easily get it done.

And, ActiveWords works great in Windows 7 too.

Regards,

Buzz

[Norcross]

I'm in the same boat as Buzz, Win7 has been flawless for me. And most of the software I use (Office, the Adobe CS3 suite, etc) has worked without a hitch. It's easy to say that "XP to Win7 is a nightmare", but if you think about it, it SHOULD be. It was released in August 2001. So we're talking about an OS that is over 8 years old. I don't need to tell you what 8 year old computers run like now.

For a user going from Vista to Win7, there shouldn't be many concerns at all. It's the same kernel, so the drivers / programs should move over without an issue. And unlike Vista, the hardware makers are ready for this one.

[Dave]

I needed to get a new laptop for my teenager, so it will be brand new, have 7 and I'll let the school computer class provide tech support -- ask your teacher don't ask me? We'll see how that works.
For me, I'll keep XP on the main computer, I like Linux on the netbook and for my spouse, the Mac (ask Apple don't ask me?).

[Wm Paul Slough]

I just installed 7 on my wife's desktop, an old MSI motherboard with a 2.5 Ghz processor and 1.5 GB of ram (old PC2700). No problems at all, took maybe 20 minutes to install. I did a fresh install, but did do the upgrade on my laptop and it went fine also and did not take long.

Having experienced Windows nightmares over the past 15 years I totally empathize with your post; but give 7 a chance because I think you'll find it to be very much improved and a much more efficient work experience.