by Artemis

Created on: July 21, 2010

Upgrading to Windows 7 seems quite easy. I'm not guiding you for the click per click walkthrough for the installation process to avoid this article being a manual, but the overview of what you need to prepare for the transition to Windows 7.

1. Back up all your important data: Favorites (IE) and Bookmarks (Firefox/Chrome/Safari/other browsers), My documents (plus My Music, My Pictures, My Videos, etc), Address Book for the old Outlook Express (XP) or Windows Mail (Vista).

2. Choose the right edition of Windows 7 you prefer: Starter (in some countries only), Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional and Ultimate. I don't really recommend the use of Windows 7 Starter due to extreme limitation it has. For most users, I recommend the latter three editions: Home Premium, Professional and Ultimate (if it's okay for your budget). Also choose whether you're installing 32-bit version or 64-bit version. 32-bit version only supports RAM up to 3 GB. If you have a plan to someday upgrade your RAM to 4 GB or above, it'll be better to install the 64-bit version from now on. For most people, 2-3 GB RAM is already enough. Only certain professionals need 4 GB or even more, including for heavy gaming purposes. Adobe CS5 applications for video editing (Adobe Premiere and Adobe After Effects) require 64-bit Windows to be installed (watch out if you intend to use those applications).

3. You have the option to perform an upgrade or a clean install. There's no problem at all. But I personally prefer a clean install to ensure minimum troubles, since earlier versions of Windows tend to bring in troubles from external sources, due to their lack of security (yes, it even includes the fussy Windows Vista).

4. Right after installation, most people will prepare to install necessary drivers for their hardware. With Windows 7, think about it again. Most hardware already connected might already have drivers installed, since Windows 7 recognizes most current hardware. If it doesn't, it might have connected to the Internet (if available) and find the necessary drivers there, and install them for you, all without notification. All you know is that all of your hardware are already working very well.

5. You may then restore your backed up data back, this time to the new Windows, and make adjustments.

6. Things you may miss is that there's no embedded replacement for Outlook Express (in Windows XP) or Windows Mail (in Windows Vista). You will need to download Windows Live Mail Client (free). It's much better, but there's an extra step to go. It's worth the effort though. The reason why Microsoft doesn't include the software within the Windows installation may have something to do with antitrust.

7. If it's installed in a laptop, I'll make some adjustments in its power settings, to make sure Windows shuts down the computer (instead of bringing the computer to sleep) when I press the power button, both when connected to electricity and when running on battery. It's because it's much better to shut down the computer rather than letting it sleep. Don't worry, Windows 7 starts much faster, it won't be a problem waiting for a while to make sure everything goes fine.

8. You may want to place some desktop gadgets. Just right click on the desktop, and click on Desktop Gadgets. Pick the ones you need, and the gadgets may be placed anywhere on the desktop.

9. You may also choose a theme to use for the desktop, making it much more attractive.

And voila! Your computer has Windows 7 and it's now ready to serve you with all your computing needs. Have fun with the new Windows!

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