WARNING for XP USERS planning to go to WINDOWS 7 !!!!

[Frank Trinkle]

WARNING ON WINDOWS 7 FOR XP USERS>.....

I've gone ahead and pre-ordered for my Vista Computer, but I noticed that the upgrade for ANY version of XP will require a completely fresh install... you CANNOT directly upgrade from XP and keep all your programs intact without reloading EVERYTHING!!! BE AWARE!

This means you'll have to back up all of your settings and data, and then reload all your existing programs from their original install disks or files... then restore your data. Pain in the butt! No thanks... I'll keep the one computer I have with XP... ON XP! (I probably couldn't find the original install disks/CD's anyway for half the programs on that computer)

Thankfully, I use my Windows computers very little now, though I still have some occasional needs.. I do virtually everything else on our MAC's!!:D

From Win 7 Information :

Windows XP (or any other operating system)
We recommend that you experience Windows 7 on a new PC. While we don't recommend it, you can opt to upgrade your current PC from Windows XP or another operating system to Windows 7. We recommend that you get help with this process from your local computer service provider. You'll need to back up your current files and settings, perform a custom (clean) installation, and then reinstall your files, settings, and programs.

[Sean Nagle]

This means you'll have to back up all of your settings and data, and then reload all your existing programs from their original install disks or files... then restore your data. Pain in the butt!


Frank, Windows users should be doing this every 6-12 months anyway :D

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

what's the appeal of Vista?

The commercials seem to suggest it's all flashy display and a touch screen interface.

Touch screen?
Like I really want to be raising my grubby mits to the screen whenever I want to invoke some action the mouse will do just fine.
If I want to exercise I'll go to my gym.

[Bruce Page]

Thanks Frank. I've been wondering if I needed to upgrade and how painful it would be. You've answered that question, I'll stick with XP.

[Doug Shepard]

My prior laptop died and I found myself buying a new one last Christmas eve and everything comes with Vista now. So I've been putting up with this OS for 7 mos now. It's the biggest pain in the youknowwhat I've ever worked with.
- A few programs that can't be installed on Vista and don't have Vista compliant versions yet. And some of these are MS programs.
- The first OS I've ever run that needs a popup blocker for the OS
- Websites I have to access to gain access to my work email that wont work with Vista

If you have XP and are happy with it, DONT upgrade to Vista/7 just to have the latest bells & whistles.

[Jeff Wright]

I recently had a computer tech help me with some network issues. He made the comment that he reinstalls EVERYTHING every month. I told him I thought he was nuts. There's better things to do in life than go down that route.

In the past I felt compelled to buy ONLY the most tricked out most powerful computer offered. My replacement for my dell laptop/docking station will be a sub$1,000 netbook with a full-sized keyboard and a LARGE LSD . . . I mean LCD screen for at-home use. No more $4,000 laptops for me. My iPhone has replaced much of my online activites when it relates to casual web surfing, texting, email or twittering.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I've got a bit of a Vista experiment going on here in my office. It's really small office, 5 computers and a server. I bought all XP machines for 4 of them, but on my own, I decided that I could tolerate more nonsense, and I wanted to try Vista, so we have 4 XP machines, and 1 Vista. We use some pretty heavy duty mapping and data management software, along with the other normal office stuff.

I'm finding that the Vista machine is FAR more reliable then the other 4. Could be the way I use it, but I'm not babying this thing. Not the result I expected. There is some crappy old software that won't work on it, but it's really rare, and for the most part completely outdated.

Now, before you all start beating on me for saying this, keep in mind that I'm NOT a computer expert, and I really don't know why most of this stuff works, but I sure am good at finding out how to break things.

[Greg Peterson]

Late last month companies started offering new computers with XP and an upgrade to 7 in October. I bought a Sony laptop loaded with Vista but have a free upgrade to 7.

This Sony allows me to boot up into just a web browser. Takes a few seconds and I'm up and running. Really pretty slick, and conserves battery. Wasn't a big fan of laptops, but this one is pretty darn nice.

By all the accounts I've heard from people I know that are personally working with 7, is that this new OS is good. I'll load 7 when it becomes available just because I don't think MS will lay two dudes in a row.

Just read today that Google is jumping into the OS game. Shouldn't be long before Balmer starts crying foul. He once tried to claim that open source programming was illegal.

[Brian Ashton]

This means you'll have to back up all of your settings and data, and then reload all your existing programs from their original install disks or files... then restore your data. Pain in the butt! No thanks... I'll keep the one computer I have with XP... ON XP! (I probably couldn't find the original install disks/CD's anyway for half the programs on that computer)



That's if the programs will even work on win7... which is highly unlikely. Best alternative is stick with xp.

[glenn bradley]

I know we all do regular backups so doing a full install and restore is no big deal. By nature, Windows leaves a mess. I accept that because I have to have a Windows machine (in addition to others) at work. After a couple decades, you get pretty quick at rebuilding a Windows box.

[Frank Trinkle]

Glenn... you misunderstand the requirement. You CANNOT just backup and restore. You MUST load all of your programs from their original installation disks, CD's, or installation files.

A restore from a backup is only for the same operating system. You will NOT be able to restore from either XP or Vista, though with Vista you can just upgrade automatically without having to re-install programs from scratch.

ALSO... to an earlier post that stated that XP programs may not run on Windows 7.... You are SORT OF correct. The info on 7 states that there will be a compatibility mode that will have to run under a Virtual Emulator that will be free from MS... but do I really want all THAT hassle???? I think not!

[Frank Hagan]

People I've known that have upgraded from XP to Vista had a ton of problems. Our laptop that came with Vista runs great. Installing an upgrade of Windows has always been problematic, and its just easier to buy new hardware that is rated to work with the new OS.

I can't imagine thinking you can upgrade two steps from XP to 7 and not have problems. We won't even be upgrading the Vista machine to 7.

[Joe Pelonio]

When my collection of XP computers are all dead I might buy a new one with Vista or 7, but will never upgrade, too many horror stories. Currently I'm sitting in the family room with my new Acer Aspire 10" laptop which came with XP, one of the reason I chose it for couch surfing. Apparently the intel Atom proc3essor won't support Vista.:D

[Mike Gager]

i dont know why anyone would want to "upgrade" from xp to 7 anyways. just wait a few weeks for googles Chrome OS to go live

[Rob Russell]

Folks,

This thread is close to being yanked.

Keep the personal attacks and inflammatory comments out or it will be yanked. Any more of the "Apple vs. PC" stuff and the thread will be removed.

Please keep the topic of this thread to the originally posted topic - upgrading to Windows 7.

Thanks,

Rob

[Greg Peterson]

According to MS:
"While we don't recommend it, you can opt to upgrade your current PC from Windows XP or another operating system to Windows 7."

Not recommended doesn't mean it can't be done.

[Brian Elfert]

I always do a clean install when going to a new version of Windows. I've had strange things happen when doing an upgrade that went away when I a clean install of the new OS.

Personally, I don't upgrade just because something new is out there. I did order the Windows 7 upgrade because my laptop has Vista on it. I am not planning to upgrade my desktop that has XP on it.

[Dennis Peacock]

I've been running Vista for just over 2 years now. I've had no problems with it. I have had problems with Norton Anti-virus causing issues with the system and various other apps, but once it's all calmed down, the O/S is pretty stable.

I work on computer systems at my day job that run in the millions of dollars. Even those machines have to be rebooted from time to time in order to clear it's head and make it run better. ;)

I've ran Mac's before for several years right along with a standard PC. Every form of O/S has it's own set of issues. Some are just more stable than others. Current releases of Linux are about as stable for a home office machine as I've seen in a long time. I just couldn't imagine having to write code for an O/S that would have to cover the many manufacturers hardware components.

[Jon Knauft]

For those of you considering Windows 7 I give it a +1. I've been running Vista on a Dell laptop with 4gb of Ram and was never impressed with the performance. I was part of the Windows 7 beta testing and have been running it exclusively since the end of April. Performance issues I had in Vista are gone. I used to boot in 15-20 minutes (yes, minutes). I now boot in under 20 seconds. Shutdown is similar in performance. I have yet to have a compatibility issue with any software but my job requires me to be on the latest version of everything. Look and feel of Windows 7 is identical to Vista. One thing I will say about Vista as well as Windows 7. I haven't seen the blue screen of death in years. Both OS have been rock solid.

I would agree that you install Windows 7 fresh. I normally do that anyway since I'm not a big fan of in-place upgrades. Install took a few hours but reinstalling the rest of my software took the rest of the day.:rolleyes:

-Jon

[Ryan Baker]

A Windows upgrade should always be done as a clean install anyway. Doing an upgrade install is simply asking for a lot of problems down the line. People carry over all the stuff that has been screwed up on their machines for a long time, and wonder why it is no better with the new OS. A few extra hours installing the things you actually still want to put back more than pay back in speed and cleanliness later.

Win7 does have the XP Compatibility mode as a fall back, but that is not what most people think. It is ONLY available in the Pro and Ultimate versions of the OS. Home Premium cannot run XP Compat Mode. It is downloaded from MS and installed after the OS is installed (it is not included with the OS). They are giving you a full license for XP, and it runs WinXP itself inside a Virtual Machine. You then install the programs on the XP machine and run them there. (This same solution could be set up independently of the MS implementation, as well as for systems other than XP, as well as on other OSs like Vista...) This is really only an issue of allowing support for legacy device drivers that do not meet the Vista/Win7 security requirements.

I have been running Vista for a couple years, and the only issue I have found is that the network transfer speed is curiously slow for some reason. I have yet to find a piece of software that does not run on it, and I never get a security popup except when I have launched an installer (which is what it is supposed to do). Most of the Vista complaints I have seen have come from people who have never used it. Most of the problems are from people running inadequate hardware, retaining problems from "dirty" upgrade installs, or expecting obsolete, insecure drivers to work with the security model.

If you are running Vista already, Win7 is essentially a major service pack update of Vista and should run even better. If you are running XP, you probably shouldn't be considering upgrading because your hardware is likely too old anyway.

My Vista machine is solid as a rock. It has never crashed at all. It has been up and running since it came out of the box, with the rare reboot only when a software update required it. That's a lot more than I can say for my Linux servers. I've been running those servers with various Linux distros for many years and they get a lottle more unstable with each version. I spent half the morning today recovering after another one just decided to stop running for no reason. I now have one siezing up every couple weeks. Just like Firefox ... leaks memory until it crashes when its not doing anything at all.

[Frank Trinkle]

If you are running XP, you probably shouldn't be considering upgrading because your hardware is likely too old anyway.



While that may be true for some older computers, it is certainly not necessarily true by any means. MANY MANY businesses and individuals have purchased late-model computers as late as last April with XP installed instead of Vista... by choice... and with the surrendered blessing of MS. Those computers will not have any problem with W7 at all.

When I started this thread, it was because many of us have programs that did NOT come on CD's, and were downloaded (legally) from the net. In many cases on my XP computer, I no longer have the reg codes or in some cases even the installation files anymore.... and those are for some programs that I still use extensively (AND WON'T RUN ON VISTA!!). That settles the matter for me, and I won't upgrade my XP computer as a result, because I can't afford to lose those particular progs. On the other hand, I fully intend to upgrade my Vista Computer just as fast as they can ship me my $99 upgrade... because while some have not seen the "screen of death"... I see it regularly, and many many program stalls and reboots. (And boy do I hope they've improved the Task Manager, because in many instances, it won't even force quit some non-responding programs).

The other hope that I have is that the peripheral mfr's don't have the same problems with drivers that happened when Vista was introduced. (Lexmark for example, kept putting new drivers on their site that just didn't work with their printers on Vista... among other companies with the same issues... or just stating that Vista would not be supported for a particular product)

The worst part of Windows in general is the REGISTRY. I'd love to see MS do away with it and do what "others" have done and run each program in its own virtual memory, alone and untouched by any other.... (Now see... I didn't say "Mac"!!) ;)

Again.. the thread was just a warning to all who have XP to consider carefully before purchasing. $99 buys a good load of wood if it turns out that you can't upgrade effectively.:)

[Mike Gager]

here at my work we got new computers just recently and they uninstalled vista which came with them and put XP pro on them all

[Greg Peterson]

I've never been a fan of 'download only' programs. I want the install media for recovery purposes.

There are no problems upgrading XP to 7 that would not already exist if you were to just buy a new computer running 7. You're still going to need to reinstall those applications you want or need. See my point about install media?

[Jim Becker]

I would do a fresh install no matter if an "upgrade" is available or not. I learned long ago, that a fresh install would most likely result in a more stable system.

That said, I'm not in a hurry to upgrade to Windows 7. Vista has been extremely stable and enjoyable for me.

[George Lesniak]

According to MS:
"While we don't recommend it, you can opt to upgrade your current PC from Windows XP or another operating system to Windows 7."

Not recommended doesn't mean it can't be done.

Greg,

You are correct. You can upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7 without needing to re-install all of your programs; I've already done it. Windows 7 RC1 is available as a free download. MUCH faster than Vista in booting and application load times, but because it's a release candidate not all programs or hardware are compatible yet. Although I can say that some hardware that didn't work with Vista works in Windows 7.

George

[Ben Davis]

I remember all of this talk when we went from Windows 3.1 to Windows 95. In doing so we totally removed the DOS shell to which Win3.1 was simply a front end.

I run on Macs now and I HATED that switch for the first several months. I went from a guru to an idiot and it only cost me $2,100 to do so. Even after using U/Linux machines before, this was a different animal. Most of this is comfort zone and trying to run massive OS's and relatively outdated software on machines that weren't designed with those requirements in mind.... this is changing, but slowly. We're all moving towards an open source world.

[Phil Thien]

MANY MANY businesses and individuals have purchased late-model computers as late as last April with XP installed instead of Vista... by choice... and with the surrendered blessing of MS. Those computers will not have any problem with W7 at all.

We're still shipping 80% of our machines w/ XP. We still have plenty of XP stock. The only users really demanding Vista are MS DBA's and others doing any sort of MS development.

I have no qualms w/ Vista, but when someone asks if I can fill a P/O for 25 machines all running XP Pro, the answer is YES, NO PROBLEM.

[Frank Hagan]

I would do a fresh install no matter if an "upgrade" is available or not. I learned long ago, that a fresh install would most likely result in a more stable system.

That said, I'm not in a hurry to upgrade to Windows 7. Vista has been extremely stable and enjoyable for me.

I'm holding off buying a new system until 7 SP1. No sense being on the 'bleeding edge.'

[Greg Peterson]

Even though I have heard nothing but positive remarks about 7, I won't be installing it immediately. I can not that I'll accumulate enough files in the next several months to make migrating to a new OS very painful.

The heat is on for Windows 7 too deliver. Retailers want an OS they can sell, manufacturers want want to move hardware and MS wants to make XP, and especially Vista, a thing of the past.

After MS pulled the plug on XP a while back you couldn't find a Dell laptop that was loaded with XP. Then all of a sudden, they brought XP back with with a free upgrade to 7 when it became available. Not a very good commentary on Vista.

I don't have any major issues with MS products. Sure there are some things I wish they would do differently but considering the variables they have to address, they do a good job. I take issue with the way they have conducted their business. On the macro they are not consumer oriented. I find it difficult to feel sorry for MS when they get dragged into court.

[Pat Germain]

The laptop I'm currently using is running Vista. It was a company issued computer originally installed with XP. I bought if from the company recently. The price was good, but I found out late in the process that the computer came with nothing; not even an OS. The IT guys completely wiped the disk.

Although the computer has an XP license, I couldn't find a copy of XP. So I installed Vista. It runs much more slowly than XP did, but it worked. I spent a lot of time downloading about a hundred woodworking videos. Before I could archive them, I went out of town on business. During the trip, the disk died.

I bought a new disk. I reinstalled Vista. I spent a lot of time downloading about a hundred woodworking videos; again! Three days later, and just before I was finished downloading the final few woodworking videos, Vista refused boot. It kept complaining of boot errors. A little Googling revealed this to be a VERY common problem with Vista after it downloads and installs SP1.

I tried everything. A Windows repair failed. Reverting back to an earlier version failed. I booted from the Vista DVD and tried many repair commands from the command line. It was all to no avail. It wouldn't even boot into Safe Mode.

I had to reinstall Vista again. Now I'm trying to get up the wherewithall to download the woodworking videos again. :rolleyes: Although, during my last install I created a separate partition for my files. So, if Vista, or whatever OS I'm running, pukes, I'll still have my files.

One of my coworkers recently installed Windows 7. He says Windows 7 really screams. He even installed it on an old computer that didn't even meet the hardware requirements. Windows 7 runs well on that box as well.