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Windows 7 is nearly
here!
Do you
sit this one out, upgrade or buy new?
So some of you have been putting off
buying a new computer, waiting for Windows 7, and some of you are
considering whether to upgrade from Windows XP or Vista.
Here's our .02 on these subjects.
Our quick take on this: If you
have Windows XP and your system is working ok for you, don't bother
upgrading it - this option is really for hobbyists and computer
enthusiasts. If that's you, then you can upgrade anytime you
want. For everybody else using Windows XP, the choice is stick
with what you have for awhile, or go buy a new PC with Windows 7.
Now, if you have Windows Vista, we say go to
Windows 7 at the earliest opportunity. Even Vista SP2 isn't
nearly as trouble-free or as fast as Windows 7. We've used Windows XP, Vista,
and 7 extensively, and hands-down Windows 7 is the best overall by a
healthy margin - much more stable, better (but mostly unobtrusive)
security, and much better performance. Now, there is one
caveat - not all software you have or use will work in Windows 7, so
be sure to check with the manufacturer to make sure it is compatible
with Windows 7. Or, you can use
Microsoft's
. The quick rule of thumb is that if
the software runs in
Windows Vista, it'll run in Windows 7. We happen to use a
video editing program that doesn't work in Vista, so the PCs that
run that will be on Windows XP for awhile.
If your computer is over 4 years old,
in general it's pretty much time for a new computer. You may
consider a Windows 7 computer, or an iMac or a MacBook. With
Windows 7, Microsoft has drawn closer to the Mac in terms of
performance and stability, although Windows will continue to be a
large target for hackers and other nefarious denizens of the
internet, and will always present more of a computer security
challenge. Unless, of course, Apple's market share of the
personal computer sector were to grow much more than it is now -
then the hackers would start to target it. Macs aren't immune
to attack, but they are much less prone to being attacked (IMHO).
But our focus is on Windows PCs, so if you're with us, read on!
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If you buy a new computer, do you
buy a desktop or a laptop? These days, most any laptop
will have all the power you need for normal tasks. Plus,
you have the ability to work even in a power outage, the ability
to work just about anywhere, and the ability to take your work
with you wherever you go (this may not be a boon for many!).
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If you buy a desktop PC, you have
the advantage of having more standard parts (easier to replace
or upgrade), likely more powerful graphics for the cost, and
likely more hard drive space for data storage. If you
already have a flat-screen monitor, it may be worthwhile.
If you are still using a CRT monitor with your desktop PC, it's
time to make a switch - flat-screens consume a lot less energy,
and are now priced very low. Expect to pay $400-$700 for a
good desktop PC, and a couple hundred for a flat-screen monitor
if you need it.
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There is an in-between option,
but we don't think it's quite ready for prime-time. That's
the all-in-one PC, basically a large, wide-screen monitor with
the guts of a PC tucked behind the screen. Some even have
touch-screen capability (but you'll still want a keyboard and
mouse to deal with emails, writing documents, etc.).
Expect to pay well over $1,000. This finds its best u se
as an internet kiosk, perhaps in the kitchen or a office waiting
room.
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If you buy a laptop PC, you have
some choices to make: The first one is screen size. For most people, a 15" (or so) widescreen
monitor is big enough. If you jump up to
17" or larger, be prepared for greater weight and somewhat less
portability. If you don't plan on flying with it, that may
be worth it - you'd be
surprised how much larger that extra 2" is. You may also
want to pay attention to the screen resolution. Many
laptops that come with DVD or Blu-Ray capability will have very
high screen resolutions - this can mean very small stuff
on-screen, so the bigger the display the better. Most
laptops you'll be ableo to get on Windows 7's launch date will have ample memory
and hard drive
space, plus decent wireless capability, so don't worry much
about those (just make sure there's at least 2gb of RAM and
250gb of hard drive space). So the last big question is
about graphics capability. If the laptop comes with a DVD
or Blu-ray player, the graphics will be a bit better than if it
doesn't. But for most things you'll do, whatever the
laptop comes with will be fine. Unless you are a gamer or video
editor - those tasks take more graphics computing horsepower.
If that's you, look for an nVidia or ATI graphics
adapter with at least 512mb of video memory. BTW, you can spend
thousands for a true "gaming laptop", but for most
casual gaming and online gaming, you
should be able to find something good for under $1,500.
For everybody else, you can find a nice laptop for between
$500-$800 easy. We'd stay away from the under $500 group,
they generally don't have the horsepower needed to do the tasks
you want.
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The last option we'd consider is
the netbook. We feel the utility of this format is very
limited - after a few hours of use, you'll be wishing you had a
regular notebook. For some road warriors and casual
computer users, it may be fine, but we'll hold out for Apple's
iPad (or iTablet), coming within the next 6 months.
If your computer is less than 4 years
old, has Windows XP or Vista on it and is working ok and not
physically damaged in any way, you can consider upgrading to Windows
7. We have been testing the Release Candidate of Windows 7 for
over 6 months now - we installed it on several different computers,
2 desktop PCs, and 4 laptops. One desktop was over 4 years old
and had Windows XP, the other one was 2 years old and had Vista.
The laptops ranged in age from 5 years old to 2 years old, some with
XP and some with Vista.
So here's the good
news:
Windows 7 installed virtually trouble-free on all of them, and has
run without any problems ever since! Please see our Windows 7
setup tips below. If your computer has at least 1gb of RAM,
you can make the upgrade, but the system will be a bit slow, we
recommend at least 2gb. If you have 512mb, be sure to check
with the computer maufacturer (or use the online memory configurator
at www.crucial.com) to make sure you computer can be upgraded to
2gb. We've tried both the clean install and the
Vista-to-Windows 7 in-place upgrade - we prefer the clean install,
but that is more work...
Now here's the not-so-good
news: There is no in-place upgrade for Windows XP, you must do
a clean install (wiping the hard drive and installing from scratch
Windows 7 and all your applications). We actually don't like
the Vista-to-Windows 7 upgrade in place either, but I imagine most upgraders won't want to spend the extra time and effort to do a clean
install if they can avoid it. But we think you'll be doing
yourself a favor if you do a clean install on a nice, new hard
drive.
Also consider the cost: For any
computer that's over 2 years old, we recommend you replace the hard
drive - that's the primary moving part in a computer that wears out,
and hard drives are cheap (like $100 or less). The cost of the
Windows 7 upgrade is a factor ($120 for the Home Premium version, if
you want to run older software or connect to a corporate domain you
need to spend $200 for the Professional version). Plus, you'll
likely need a new protection program (we recommend Norton Internet
Security 2010, which costs $70 for a one-year subscription).
If you don't have the installation CDs for your software, you may
need to buy software (except for Vista-to-Windows 7 upgraders).
If your computer has less than 1gb of RAM, you may need more (may
cost $40 or so). And finally, you may want to consider the
cost of your time (or someone you hire to do the upgrade), which may
run several hours or more. You
may be approaching the cost of a new replacement computer anyway.
But you make the call. Again, we consider upgrading a computer
to be something best done by computer enthusiasts or hobbyists. If
that's you, we've provided a Windows 7 installation guide
below.
Of course, we'd be happy to do the
upgrade for you (and so will a myriad of other computer consulting
firms), but for the most part, you'll end up paying as much or more
than the cost of a new computer. Doing it yourself is really
the only way that makes sense to us, unless you have much more money
than time. If that's you (and you're in the Wash. DC metro
area),

So how do you do this upgrade? We
highly recommend a truly clean install for everyone. Think
about it: the moving part most likely to wear out first on a PC is
the hard drive. If you are trying to breathe new life into a
slightly aged desktop or laptop PC, then your first purchases should
be:
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a replacement hard drive (be sure
to get one that's compatible with your PC - either IDE/EIDE or
SATA in most cases). You can get quite a bit more capacity
than you had previously and be quite happy. Also, if your
hard drive isn't a 7200rpm drive, make sure the replacement is.
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a Windows 7 upgrade disc.
Microsoft is selling the family pack of Home Premium for $150 (a
single version is $120). With the family pack, you can
install it on up to three computers (that works out to $50 per
computer, nice!).
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If you have less than 1gb of RAM,
visit
and see if you can increase the RAM - we recommend 2gb.
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If you don't have a backup drive
or a high-capacity thumb drive, get one. We like the WD
Passport drives - they don't require an electrical power source
and are very small (and not high-priced). Get one with
enough capacity to copy all your files from the old computer.
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Oh yeah, that's the first step in
the upgrade process - copy all your files to an external hard
drive. By all means, copy these folders:
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Windows XP: My
Documents, Desktop, Favorites, and any other folders that
may contain your information (there shouldn't be any, but
you never know, so search around). Do the same for
every user account.
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Windows Vista: Just click
Start, and your username and a window will open with all
your user folders. You can copy them all, or pick and
choose.
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windows XP/Vista: If
you use an email program installed on your computer (like
Outlook Express or Outlook), be sure to record (we mean
write down) your email account settings from the program's
Account Settings (username, password, incoming mail server
name, outgoing mail server name, and any special settings
for the outgoing mail server). And don't forget to
copy your data files!
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For Outlook, open the
Control Panel, then Mail, and open the folder containing
your data file (usually outlook.pst). Copy that to
your external hard drive
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For Outlook Express,
you'll need to locate your folders (in the program, go
to Tools, Options, Maintenance, and then click the Store
Folder button. That will show you where they are.
Navigate there in Windows Explorer and copy everything
to the external drive. But, you're not done!
You need your Address book. In the program's main
menu, click File, Export, and Address Book.
You'll likely want to choose the text file format.
Export that to your external hard drive.
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The reason to choose
the text format is simple: Windows 7 has no
Outlook Express. You will need to switch to an
online WebMail program, or Outlook, or something
else. Microsoft has
as a replacement, but you may be happier with
something else. Sort of depends on where your
email account comes from - if provided by your
internet service provider, it's a POP account, but
they may have a webmail version. Or, you can use any
free email service like Google's gmail and have it
check that account.
Ok, with all your precious data
backed up on an external hard drive and all your other stuff
purchased, you're ready to upgrade, right? If you plan on
using your existing hard drive, then skip the next paragraph, and
choose the "Use your old operating system method". Otherwise,
read on...
Here's the rub: Microsoft has
changed the way the upgrading process works. Before, you were
able to install Windows on a new, blank hard drive and just pop in
the old version of Windows' installation disc to validate your right
to upgrade. With Windows 7, you can't do that. So here's
two workarounds to do after you've replaced the hard drive:
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Use your old operating system (if
you have the license key and installation disc):
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First, install your old
operating system on the new hard drive, using the install
media and your old license key.
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Then, install Windows 7 and
select the custom install, and select to not save
anything. The installation program will wipe out your
old operating system and you'll be good to go.
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Use the Windows 7 upgrade disc
twice:
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Install Windows 7 on the
blank hard drive. Do not put in your license key and
uncheck to automatically activate. Complete the
installation.
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Once you are booted into
Windows 7, re-start the Windows installation from the
upgrade disc. Yes, start all over again!. This time,
put in your license key and check the box to automatically
activate.
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After the installation is
complete, you can get the latest updates, install additional
software, etc.
A few notes about installing Windows
7 on an older PC:
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Older hardware (but not too old!)
will most work fine without any special drivers - even for
laptops. If you find some hardware that doesn't work, you
may have to search the manufacturer's website for a
Vista-compatible driver. If there isn't one, you may have
to wait a few months until they make one. In most cases,
you can do without that hardware, at least for awhile. We
installed Windows 7 on a number of laptops and desktops, and
only had one bit of hardware that wouldn't work - a SD card
reader built into an Acer Aspire laptop. we can live
without that...
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Install your other software from
the installation discs. Do not install really old
software, and we'd avoid really cheap or free software except
for a short list of acceptable items (we will continue to update
this list):
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Visit
www.adobe.com
and get the latest version of Flash Player and Adobe Reader.
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Visit
and
get the latest version of iTunes and Quicktime.
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If you have lots of digital
photos and want a good way to manage them, get Google's
.
Avoid installing any software you
don't really need. Do not avoid installing a protection
program - Windows computers will likely always be a ripe target for
hackers. Again, we recommend Norton Internet Security
2010. After installation, immediately get updates to that program.
So presumably, you now have a brand
new computer with Windows 7 on it (doesn't it run fast!) and your
favorite programs. You're not done...
Your next-to-last step is to copy back
all the data from your external drive. Plug it in, wait
for Windows to recognize it, and then use the same two-window
method as above. Windows 7
uses folders similar to Windows Vista, so just copy them back to
the same place. For Windows XP users who are moving to
Windows 7, click Start, and then your username at the top right
of the start menu. That'll open your set of folders in
Windows 7. Copy back from
the external drive window - do it folder by folder to get them in
the right place.
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For Outlook
or other email programs, we find it best to open the
program, setup your email account (username, password,
incoming server name, outgoing server name and mail
server-specific settings. Then import the old
stuff from the external drive. For folks who used Outlook Express,
decide on what you're going to use (such as
)
and set it up, then import your old files (inbox, outbox, and
your Address Book) into it. We haven't tried this yet, but hear
there is a wizard to import your old mail folders and address
book.
Ok, last step. Now, one by one, open
your programs and set any personal customizations you want.
If you use Outlook, we like to add an icon to the main toolbar
to add a sender to the Junk e-mail sender's list, and expand the
folder list as a start.
You're done! Now you can
get back to using your computer!

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