Getting ready for Windows 7

With just over two weeks left until Windows 7 Hits the shelves, it's time to start thinking about whether or not you will upgrade. Many of you have held on for dear life to Windows XP but with XP support due to fade away very soon where will this leave you?

If you have bought a new computer running Vista since September, you should have received a voucher for a free upgrade to Windows 7. Upgrading from Vista to 7 can be time consuming and possibly confusing for a novice user. However, upgrading from XP to 7 is not possible. The only option is to back up all your files and settings to another drive, format your hard drive, perform a clean installation of Windows 7 and then import them once the Windows 7 installation is complete. Once again, this task could be daunting for a novice user. Another possible but lengthy and not practical process is to upgrade from XP to Vista and then to 7.

The people that have hung on to Windows XP for so long may have a bit of a rude awakening when it comes to learning the changes that come with Windows 7. In my opinion, Windows 7 is a combination of the stability of XP combined with the pretty user interface of Vista. Many of my customers didn't upgrade to Vista because of rumors and here say. Microsoft did eventually iron out most of the kinks that caused people to hate Vista early on. The problem was that by that time, most everyone had heard how awful Vista was and chose to hang on to XP. It's funny when a customer says "I hate Vista" You ask them why and they reply with something like "My sister said it sucked"

I tried Vista when it was first released and while I liked it, the hardware support wasn't there. I wasn't going to buy a new printer, video card and sound card just because the OS wasn't ready when it was released. I chose to go back to XP. Once Service Pack 1 was released, I went back to Vista and have been using it ever since.

I have been beta testing Windows 7 for a few months now and am typing this on my Windows 7 laptop. The change from Vista to 7 isn't a drastic one. There are a few changes that are noticeable but again, the average user will not notice them until they go digging around their new OS. All in all, I like Vista and Windows 7. I have already pre ordered my copy of 7 and am anxious to install in on my desktop.

I think Windows 7 will have a much better reception that Vista did. It's been getting a lot of good press and from a hands on experience I think that things like the absence of the UAC controls (that people hated in Vista,) those that refused to upgrade before will likely greet this with open arms.

If you need help or advice for upgrading, feel free to give B-TECH Computer Repair a call at (864) 252-0881 or email me at brian@btechpcrepair.com.