gHacks technology news » windows 7 upgrade http://www.ghacks.net A technology blog covering software, mobile phones, gadgets, security, the Internet and other relevant areas. Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:31:44 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 en hourly 1 Windows 7 Family Packs And Upgrade Editions In Europe http://www.ghacks.net/2009/08/25/windows-7-family-packs-and-upgrade-editions-in-europe/ http://www.ghacks.net/2009/08/25/windows-7-family-packs-and-upgrade-editions-in-europe/#comments Tue, 25 Aug 2009 04:29:34 +0000 Martin http://www.ghacks.net/?p=15710 windows7With the start of Microsoft’s new operating system around the corner it was time to clear some confusion that build up over the last couple of months. The confusion could mainly be attributed to Windows 7E, a version that has been specifically designed by Microsoft to meet the demands of the European Union. Microsoft’s initial plans were to ship Windows 7 without Internet Explorer – actually without Internet browser at all – in Europe. This did mean that European customers were not able to upgrade to Windows 7. It also meant that they needed to install a web browser. On the positive side pre-order prices for the full version of Windows 7 in many European countries were equal to upgrade versions in the United States or Canada.

A new proposal to display a browser ballot screen to users after installation was announced by Microsoft a month ago which turned all things upside down once again. Windows 7E got canned and Microsoft announced plans to ship the same Windows 7 editions worldwide. This meant that European customers were once again able to purchase Windows 7 Upgrades or full retail versions of the operating system.

Customers who have already pre-order Windows 7E in the European Union will now receive a full version of Windows 7 (which includes Internet Explorer). The price will remain the same for these customers and anyone else who is purchasing Windows 7 before September 1.

Microsoft mentioned in the same blog post that the Windows 7 Family Pack will be sold in seven European countries as well as the United States and Canada. The Family Pack ships with three Windows 7 Home Premium licenses that can be installed on computer systems in the same household. The European countries that will also receive the Windows 7 Family Pack are the UK, Ireland, Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands and Sweden.

Windows 7N will still be sold in Europe. This version of Windows 7 comes without Windows Media Player. Good news for European customers. Anyone who has not pre-ordered Windows 7 yet should do so before September 1 to benefit from the reduced pricing for the full version of Windows 7.

via Windows Team Blog

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]]> http://www.ghacks.net/2009/08/25/windows-7-family-packs-and-upgrade-editions-in-europe/feed/ 2 Windows 7 RC To Final Upgrade Possible http://www.ghacks.net/2009/07/11/windows-7-rc-to-final-upgrade-possible/ http://www.ghacks.net/2009/07/11/windows-7-rc-to-final-upgrade-possible/#comments Sat, 11 Jul 2009 09:08:24 +0000 Martin http://www.ghacks.net/?p=14314 windows 7I’m pretty excited about the upcoming launch of Windows 7, Microsoft’s next operating system. Not only because I’m running a very successful Windows 7 blog but also because I finally have the opportunity to install and use a new computer operating system. Windows 7 has seen lots of praise since its first announcement and it is very likely that it will be a good – if not great – operating system that combines the best of Windows Vista and Windows XP.

Many users are already running a beta or release candidate build of Windows 7. Some even on their main computer system as Windows 7 has proven to be very stable and reliable. These users might be interested in the following news. Microsoft is offering Windows 7 Upgrades to give users running specific Windows XP or Windows Vista operating systems the opportunity to upgrade. Windows XP users will have to do a clean install but can purchase the Windows 7 Upgrade editions which are cheaper than the full retail editions.

Microsoft recently confirmed that it is also possible to upgrade a pre-RTM version of Windows 7 with a Windows 7 Upgrade edition. This means that users who are already running Windows 7 RC (or another build) can buy a Windows 7 Upgrade edition and get a full installation of Windows 7 this way.

There are some limitations on the other hand. No data will be taken over. The installation will move the old data into the folder windows.old from where the files are accessible. Most programs on the other hand will not work unless they are portable.

It also has to be noted that a clean install at a later time requires a Windows XP or Windows Vista installation (or a new installation of a pre-RTM build of Windows 7).

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]]> http://www.ghacks.net/2009/07/11/windows-7-rc-to-final-upgrade-possible/feed/ 7 How To Replace Windows XP With Windows 7 http://www.ghacks.net/2009/02/15/how-to-replace-windows-xp-with-windows-7/ http://www.ghacks.net/2009/02/15/how-to-replace-windows-xp-with-windows-7/#comments Sun, 15 Feb 2009 11:40:53 +0000 Martin http://www.ghacks.net/?p=10561 Many Windows XP users have decided to skip the Windows Vista operating system due to countless problems reported in the early days of its release. Especially performance related issues where the main culprit why many Windows XP users decided to wait for Vista’s successor instead. The release of Windows 7 is not that far away anymore. Microsoft did already make announcements regarding the possible upgrade opportunities. In short; Windows XP users will be able to buy an upgrade edition of Windows 7 but will not be able to upgrade the operating system itself to Windows 7. They need to do a clean install of Windows 7 on their computer system.

This essentially means that no data will be taken over automatically to the new operating system. Experienced Windows XP users should not have a problem installing Windows 7. They also should not have a problem backing up and moving their data to the new operating system. Inexperienced users on the other hand might wonder how they can move their pictures, music, emails and applications to the new operating system.

If you are running Windows XP on a computer system currently and want to upgrade to Windows 7 you basically have a few choices which largely depend on the storage capacities of the computer system. The easiest way would be to backup all data, format the hard drive and install Windows 7 afterwards. Some users might not like this solution. They could alternatively create and install Windows 7 on a second partition to create a dual booting operating system until all data from Windows XP has been moved to Windows 7.

Backup Data

We covered Windows Backup Software (Hard Drive Backup Software) before here at Ghacks. Both applications can be used to backup a hard drive. This obviously requires another storage device with enough hard drive space to transfer all of the data. It might be a good idea to backup the data even if you have the intention to install Windows 7 on a different partition. This might be less important for individuals but should be essential for business computers.

Installing Windows 7

We recommend to install Windows 7 on another partition or hard drive at the beginning. This will essentially create a dual-boot system with the option to switch between Windows XP and Windows 7. This is the easiest way to keep the Windows XP data for the time being as Windows 7 will not overwrite or tamper with the data of the Windows XP installation.

The other option would be to format the partition containing Windows XP and install Windows 7 on the (now) empty partition. The data of the Windows XP partition would be gone for good if it would not have been backed up first.

The third option is to install Windows 7 on the Windows XP partition without formatting the hard drive first. Most computer savvy users do not recommend this option as it can lead to all kinds of troubles and problems. It has virtually no benefits as the programs and applications of Windows XP cannot be used in Windows 7 without reinstalling them.

Moving data from Windows XP to Windows 7

Microsoft has created a tool called Windows Easy Transfer
 which can be used to transfer data from Windows XP to Windows Vista. The application should also work in Windows 7 as Microsoft recommends it in the Windows 7 installation guide. The software can be used to transfer data over network, usb cable or disk to another operating system. It will copy files like music or pictures but also emails and settings to the new operating system.

If Windows 7 has been installed on a second partition or hard drive data can simply be copied by dragging and dropping it to the new partition. Some data might need to be imported, for example web browser bookmarks or emails. Please note that it is usually not possible to move installed applications to the new operating system. It is necessary to install them again when the new operating system is running.
If backups have been created the data can also be restored or extracted from the backups to the new operating system.

Verdict:

Inexperienced users will find it troublesome to move data from their old operating system to Windows 7. Microsoft should make sure to include a step by step guide prior to the release of Windows 7 that explains how to migrate the data to the new operating system.

If you run into troubles you can visit our sister site Windows 7 News or the Windows 7 Forum to find help with the migration and other Windows 7 related difficulties.

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