Whats the best way to upgrade to Windows 7 with a new computer
 

My new computer is sitting downstairs unopened. I ordered my Windows 7 upgrade last week and I really don't want to have to install 3 times instead of the 2 I'm up for. I need to port data from my Windows XP computer to the upgraded Windows 7 computer.

Here is my plan. Let me know if I am doing something I don't need to do.

1) Perform initial setup of new Vista computer with 1 user account.
2) Let Vista perform all critical updates.
3) If no separate backup partition or disks provided by Gateway, backup C: drive.
4) Install Windows 7 upgrade.
5) Let Windows 7 perform all critical updates.
6) Add additional user accounts.
7) Install Firefox and Thunderbird.
8) Copy over Firefox and Thunderbird data files from XP backup.
9) Copy over Documents from XP backup.

The reason I am doing number 2 is that I'm not sure if the upgrade doesn't share elements of Vista and if I need Vista up to date.

I'm guessing 3-4 hours for everything.

shameless childish out of context quote

Y'know I thought of that immediately after I typed it, but then I thought to myself 'Naah, everyone on the Cellar's above that kind of thing'.

My bad.

griff would have done it if I hadn't

I think he's just showing ya some luv.

OK. we have officially reached the daily Cellar creepy quota for the day.:greenface

not that kind of luv!

sheesh

Um, am I allowed to go back on-topic? Hello? I don't wanna break the Cellar rules, I'm not here very often.

I recommend you boot Vista just far enough to burn a set of recovery disks, if it didn't come with any. No need to do a backup. And if you already have those, you can skip Vista completely.

MS "upgrade" disks usually let you install clean, as long as you can prove you have the previous version. I don't know how to do this with Win7; try booting the Win7 disk directly and see what options it gives you. You should be able to do it in a single session instead of the 2 or 3.

That's my instinct anyway. This article seems to indicate it should be that simple, but that article says maybe not.

It looks like both those links are the same. I'm guessing this is the 'maybe not' link.

I don't get any second chances here and I really really want to avoid a call to Gateway tech support on a weekend. I'd be willing to waste an hour to be %100 sure of no glitches.

I'm also worried about 'clean installs' since I have drivers for the Nvidia card and whatever else I might need besides the junkware that gets put on the computer. I might actually have a use for MS Works.

BTW, feel free to be on topic anytime. In this place it would make you the unique nonconformist. Trust me.:D

Here's how to do it:
 

1. Make recovery DVDs.
2. Make good system backup.
3. Install Windows 7.
4. Run updates.

If your Windows 7 upgrade allows you to format the hard drive and start over, I highly recommend that. Microsoft has a long and drawn-out history of in-place OS upgrades not working correctly with Windows, and we're talking since the NT4 -> 2000 days.

I assure you that if you do an in-place upgrade, many things will not work, and you may not realize it until later.

Hello
You should be here more often. M park needs some techie competition.

Yeah, what he said. That's why I said what I said - it's worth avoiding an OS upgrade altogether if you can. A fresh install will also clear out any bloatware the manufacturer may have installed. And you probably need to upgrade the drivers anyway.

I dunno how to keep MS Works, but I don't recommend it in any case. My niece sent me a Works file, and I couldn't find anything that could read it. Get Open Office, or splurge on the full-blown Word.