Any experience of upgrading from XP to Windows 7?

[Wigglyamps]

Hi,

I am currently running windows XP on a Dell Dimension E520 with an Intel D CPU 3.00 GHz and 2046 MB RAM.

For all kinds of reasons it's getting to the point where I need to upgrade the OS, I don't want to go straight to Windows 8 but I have heard that it's not advisable to upgrade from XP to windows 7, if anyone has any experience of this I would be very grateful for any feedback. Money is a bit of an issue so I'm trying to find the most cost effective solution.

Thanks

Wigglyamps

[ex_matelot]

I did, only to find my dvd rom drive is not wholly compatible. Works when it wants to basically. My advise is buy a new pc thst ships with win 7 and save hassle later. Are dells reknowned for being awkward for hardware upgrades also?

[Bushfiva]

Upgrade advisor at Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor - Download - Microsoft Windows (http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/downloads/upgrade-advisor) will tell you whether your computer is suitable. You can see a tutorial at Upgrading from Windows XP to Windows 7 - Help & How-to - Microsoft Windows (http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/help/upgrading-from-windows-xp-to-windows-7). You need to do a clean install, so you need your software discs etc. and use something like Windows Easy Transfer to move the data.

If you're tight on cash, I'd stick with XP. But you can upgrade direct to Win 8 for $40, which is probably cheaper than going to Win 7. Again, the upgrade wouldn't preserve your software, but you could move your data.

Win 8 requires a DEP-compliant motherboard/BIOS (Data Execution Prevention). It's probably easy to check if your model has that.

[OFSO]

Having a PC running XP and a laptop running 7 and switching from one to the other I can only ask *why*.

XP does everything I want (obvious riposte: perhaps I don't want much) and is reasonably stable.

Ancient adage: if it ain't bust don't fix it.

[jimtherev]

Unlike Ex-M, I've had no trouble with either of the machines I've upgraded; one of them a fairly standard Dell, the other I built from 'bits'.

'7 is quite a friendly beast; often the drivers for peripherals don't work, so it says 'hang on a bit' and goes off into t'internet and finds some for you. This can be an advantage. For example, the Windows-found drivers for my HP Laserjet are fine, HP's offering add all sorts of cr@p - heaven knows why. And I've only had two blue screens of death in 3 years, both due to faulty usb drives... much better than XP which I managed to crash quite regularly, mostly due to finger trouble, I expect.

I'd say, go for it.

[vulcanised]

Read the recent thread on W8 before considering using that - you won't!

(even if your Dell will run it)

[izod tester]

If you go to the 32 bit version of Win 7 then you should not have any problems. However, some peripherals (scanners) may not work with the 64 bit version - happened to me my with a Canon n670U scanner which Canon do not provide 64bit Win 7 drivers for.

Some software may also be not compatible with the 64bit environment. Check before you change.

Since the principle reason for me to go to 64bit Win 7 was to use 8Gbyte of RAM for some graphics processing, I have plenty of RAM to run a virtual Win XP machine in Virtual Box which sorted out the scanning issue.

[lomapaseo]

If you go to the 32 bit version of Win 7 then you should not have any problems. However, some peripherals (scanners) may not work with the 64 bit version - happened to me my with a Canon n670U scanner which Canon do not provide 64bit Win 7 drivers for.



If you buy a newer machine, you have got the same chalenge. But it's an assumption as to how incompatible your accessories are in the first place.

I just went for the newer machine and waited to find out what didn't work and ended up replacing only a scanner.

[Saab Dastard]

A few quick notes:

First check if your PC and its components are on the Win 7 (or 8) HCL, and then check the same for peripherals, then apps.

You can also use the Win 7 Windows Experience Index to see where your current system is in need of upgrade. Note that in the graphics department, you can simply turn off the whole Aero interface.

There are a couple of User Migration tools that you can run to migrate settings, but don't expect them to be comprehensive - you will have to run them as each user, and even then it's probably wise to keep all the files in "Documents and Settings" available after the migration.

What I did was to get an extra hard disk, remove the XP disk and install Win 7 on the new disk. That way I found most of the problems and gotchas. It works best if you already have separate disks for System / OS and data.

List all the cards, components and peripherals (as much detail as you can get - make, model, revision) in your system before you start, so that you know what drivers you are going to need to get hold of - much easier to use XP Device Manager than open up the PC to check!

SD

[Wigglyamps]

Thanks for all the replies, it would seem as long as I keep a list of all peripherals and drivers and back up the disc before I start it won't be too bad.

The principal reason for upgrading was to be able to play black ops 2 which doesn't support Windows XP, however, by the time I've bought Windows 7 and the game it's going to be over a hundred quid, think I'm going to have to wait for a bit, or I could sue Wiggly Amps Ltd for breach of copyright of my name.

Wigglyamps