baldysblog.co.uk

This particular blog is about sharing the actual experience of upgrading PCs to the latest Windows 7 so to a large extent, it is sort of nerdy and to be avoided if such things are not of interest to you. If however you were to ask whether it is a difficult thing to do because of all the “technical horrors” my answer would be NO and the reason being that people like Microsoft make it all so easy for you and fully automated.

Likewise theses days, even the main Linux distributors do the same unlike a decade or so back when a black pointed hat, black robes with stars on them and the mandatory magic wand were very necessary for a Linux install !

Windows 7

As I have written before, through the “Public Beta Programme” that Microsoft ran followed by the RC version, the Release Candidate, I have been using Windows 7 for quite a time and came to like it very much. How much ?

The usual saying is that when a new Windows system came out, you waited for the first Service Pack or bug fix before you considered installing it but with Windows 7, things have changed. Firstly it is a well engineered product that works very well from outset but more than that, the monthly updates that Microsoft does on its products rather does away with the need for Service Packs as such, in fact they are only for users who aren’t connected to the Internet regularly.

I won’t rattle on about it, I like it and have converted all my PCs to various flavours of it and yes, maybe because I had the chance to try the system and see how it worked with the software and devices I use before I had to part with money was a big factor. However, what I really want to look at is the actual installation.

The Upgrade

Technically, upgrading the software on any modern machine is really easy and the only problem you will ever come across concerns very old bits of hardware that are no longer supported by their original manufacturer with software and firmware upgrades. The only choice here is stick with the old or trash and replace it with something more modern and generally, the latter makes more sense.

The most difficult thing about upgrading is quite simply backing up all your data to somewhere else and making sure that you have the original disks and serial numbers to re-install any programmes you may need to. Really its a housekeeping come librarian job, be thorough and organised in protecting your data and you will be fine, the software installs itself and you only have to answer a couple of questions on screen to do the job properly.

Yes, do a “clean” install as opposed to an “upgrade” and if you have to re-install a lot of your “user software”, it does take time because of all the loading and updating on-line plus, for most people the horror of email restores !

My Situation

Although it is just me, I have a number of networked PCs each of which is dedicated to a particular set of tasks plus there is a laptop, a test PC and although not relevant for these purposes, a Server. In fact, I do not use the Server for its intended purpose, it runs a series of “virtual operating systems” and is just to keep my hand in on client/server technology so, we can ignore it for these purposes.

I essentially have three main PC workstations and prior to upgrade, one was running Win 7 Ultimate RC, one x64 Win XP and the third x64 Vista. Beyond that, the laptop is on Win 7 x64 RC and the test PC win7 x32 Home Premium RC.

A word of genuine appreciation is appropriate here. The “RC” versions were free downloads from Microsoft, they update automatically as any shop bought one but will start to play up during next Spring when you need to replace them but that is one heck of a “test drive” so well done that company.

The moment the discounted pre-sales started last June, I placed my orders for 3 copies which were the maximum number then and later picked up another at a similar price. The reality is that MS gave a very good discount and because the product is that good, I decided to consolidate all my 3 main PCs plus the laptop on one system and “Home Group” with properly shared data through a SAN which I have up and running.

The Actual Experience

Because I use a lot of graphics programs and historically they ran best with two hard drives in one machine, all my PCs (laptop excluded), have twin hard drives so quite apart from the SAN, it is easy to move important data from C to D drive and do a “clean/virgin install”. As to why a clean install is simple to understand. Within Windows is something called the “Registry” and over time when you install and un-install programs and such like, it gets pretty cluttered with redundant “gunk” so trashing the hard drive and starting afresh from time to time, is a good idea.

My first “clean install” was on the PC running Win 7 Ultimate RC. It booted from the DVD to a nice clean install to 32 bit Home Premium Windows 7. Next up, the x64 XP to Windows x64 Pro 7, no problem, clean as a whistle and in both cases, a very fast and simple install so, on to the Vista PC…

Vista Seems Different

I couldn’t get the PC to boot from the DVD drive and ignore Vista sitting on the first drive, it insisted on firing up Vista first and from there you could upgrade from within Vista. There was the option for an “in situ upgrade” or a fresh copy of Windows (which I did) but it wasn’t that satisfactory in my opinion, all the empty directories were still there afterwards. With hindsight I could have formatted the drive using an XP disk, stopped that install after it reached that point and then booted off the Windows 7 DVD.

However and for the nervous, what that does mean is that if you have a Vista PC, doing a straightforward “upgrade” to Windows 7 that leaves all your files and programmes in place, should be a doddle. In fact and probably the hallmark of this particular version of Windows is that it try s very hard to totally shield the user from any of the cogs inside the machine at every stage.

It’s still good though so a big “thumbs up for Microsoft”.