For XP users who wish to upgrade, a few tips

When Windows 7 is released on Thursday, many who’ll rush out to buy it will be users of Windows XP.

Unfortunately, Microsoft has not made it easy for XP users to move to Win7. You won't be able to run the upgrade disk and have the newer operating system install on top of XP, leaving your data and programs in place.

Instead, you have two options:

1. You can do a Clean install, in which you wipe the hard drive clean and install a virgin copy of Windows 7, then reinstall your software and copy your data back to the drive.

2. You can do a Custom install, in which your older setup is squirreled away in a folder called WINDOWS.OLD. This will include your program files, though you won't be able to run your software from there. It will also include data files, but you shouldn't rely on this as your sole backup strategy prior to upgrading.

Because you can't upgrade over XP, there are some steps you'll want to take before you install Windows 7 to make the process easier. This game plan also works if you plan to do a clean or custom install on a Windows Vista system.

• Make an inventory of the software you'll want to reinstall on Windows 7. This may be a good time to do some housecleaning. Identify the programs you really need and plan to keep them, and cast off those you don't.

• Download, install and run the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor at www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/get/upgrade-advisor.aspx. This will scan your PC and point out compatibility issues with hardware and software. You may have software that won't run on Windows 7, and you'll need to upgrade to a newer version of that program, or obtain a patch if available.

• Download and save to a CD, DVD or external drive any software patches you'll need. Do the same for any Windows 7 drivers that are available for your key hardware — video and audio adapters, printers, mice, keyboards, scanners, etc.

• Research and identify the security software you'll want to install. Don't expect the antivirus or antispyware programs you bought two years ago to work on Windows 7. Microsoft has a Web page that lists developers with compatible security titles at www.microsoft.com/windows/antivirus-partners/windows-7.aspx.

• Make a backup of your documents, music, videos and photos, to an external drive. Check the help files for your e-mail program to see how to export your mail folders, then save those to the external drive as well. If you're really cautious, make a disk image of your entire system — using software such as Acronis TrueImage, Norton Ghost or Norton Save & Restore — so you can recover your Windows XP setup in case something goes horribly wrong.

• Check the system requirements for Windows 7 to see if your PC is powerful enough. Although Microsoft says 1 GB of RAM will work with the 32-bit version, I'd recommend you have at least double that. Install your RAM — or any hardware upgrades — before you install Windows 7.

• Once you have Windows 7, you can start the installer from within XP. It will do additional compatibility checks, then reboot the system to begin the installation. I'd recommend doing the Custom install, because it does provide a secondary copy of your data files.

• When the installation is complete, install the latest Windows 7 drivers, then the antivirus software you've selected and let it update its malware definitions.

• Manually run Windows Update to check for any patches and fixes.

• Before you install any of your software, live with this installation for a while. Play around with Windows 7, learning its differences before you have to rely on it for real work. Give it a few days before installing your software, and copying data back to the hard drive.

Once your installation is the way you like it, consider using the Backup and Restore function in Windows 7 to make an image of your existing hard drive. You can use this later if you need to start over from scratch — and it will come in handy when Windows 8 rolls around in a few years!

dwight.silverman@chron.com

http://blogs.chron.com/techblog

By DWIGHT SILVERMAN Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle

Oct. 19, 2009, 11:08PM