Upgrading to Windows 7

[Antares 531]

My wife's desktop computer (Insignia Model D400) was purchased a few
years ago at Best Buy with Windows XP Home installed. She uses this
computer on our home network system, but recently it developed some
problems with the Wi-Fi connection and can't get through to the
Internet. It will connect to the Access Point, and show a strong
signal and a firm connection, but can not connect to the Internet, or
to the e-mail server. Any ideas as to what may be the cause of this
problem?

Our home Wi-Fi system uses an Actiontec GT704-WG 54MBS Wireless DSL
Gateway. This has worked very well for the past two or three years,
and still works very well for my desktop (LAN cable setup) and laptop
(Wi-Fi setup) computers but for some reason my wife's computer (Wi-Fi
setup) can not establish an Internet connection through this Actiontec
network as of last week. The Active User List I get on my desktop
computer doesn't show her computer but it shows my desktop and laptop
computers.

I am thinking of upgrading all three of our home computers to Windows
7 when it becomes available later this month. I do not have the
Windows XP Home CD that was used to install Windows on my wife's
Insignia computer, but there is a Product Key on a label on the side
of the computer case.

Can I use this product key and a 3-Pack Windows 7 Ultimate CD to
install this new O.S. onto my wife's computer? I understand that an
upgrade in the conventional manner is not workable when going from
Windows XP to Windows 7. Does this mean that I can only go the route
of a full install of Windows 7 on this computer?

Thanks for any information you can provide.

Gordon

 

[Daave]

I am thinking of upgrading all three of our home computers to Windows
7 when it becomes available later this month. I do not have the
Windows XP Home CD that was used to install Windows on my wife's
Insignia computer, but there is a Product Key on a label on the side
of the computer case.

The CD is not necessary if you wish to upgrade to Windows 7. However,
you will need to have XP installed because before Windows 7 Setup
formats the drive, it looks for an installation of XP. See this page for
more information:

http://community.winsupersite.com/b...upgrade-media-how-does-that-work-exactly.aspx

Can I use this product key and a 3-Pack Windows 7 Ultimate CD to
install this new O.S. onto my wife's computer? I understand that an
upgrade in the conventional manner is not workable when going from
Windows XP to Windows 7. Does this mean that I can only go the route
of a full install of Windows 7 on this computer?

Again, the link above will answer your question.

If you plan on upgrading, an Upgrade (which is Retail, and therefore
transferrable), is a better choice than an OEM CD.

If the hardware isn't robust enough, you really should just stick to XP,
though, IMO. Security updates will continue to be issued for another
five years.

32-bit or 64-bit?

 

[BillW50]

In Antares 531 typed on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:20:51 -0500:

My wife's desktop computer (Insignia Model D400) was purchased a few
years ago at Best Buy with Windows XP Home installed. She uses this
computer on our home network system, but recently it developed some
problems with the Wi-Fi connection and can't get through to the
Internet. It will connect to the Access Point, and show a strong
signal and a firm connection, but can not connect to the Internet, or
to the e-mail server. Any ideas as to what may be the cause of this
problem?

Our home Wi-Fi system uses an Actiontec GT704-WG 54MBS Wireless DSL
Gateway. This has worked very well for the past two or three years,
and still works very well for my desktop (LAN cable setup) and laptop
(Wi-Fi setup) computers but for some reason my wife's computer (Wi-Fi
setup) can not establish an Internet connection through this Actiontec
network as of last week. The Active User List I get on my desktop
computer doesn't show her computer but it shows my desktop and laptop
computers.

I am thinking of upgrading all three of our home computers to Windows
7 when it becomes available later this month. I do not have the
Windows XP Home CD that was used to install Windows on my wife's
Insignia computer, but there is a Product Key on a label on the side
of the computer case.

Can I use this product key and a 3-Pack Windows 7 Ultimate CD to
install this new O.S. onto my wife's computer? I understand that an
upgrade in the conventional manner is not workable when going from
Windows XP to Windows 7. Does this mean that I can only go the route
of a full install of Windows 7 on this computer?

Thanks for any information you can provide.

Well Gordon, lots of points to make here.

1) First, upgrading to newer version of Windows isn't usually a piece of
cake. Best to make a backup of your older one first or create a
dual-boot environment. The problem is generally finding drivers that
will work. And some of your older applications might not work well or
not at all.

2) Your wife's computer which doesn't have a recovery/install CD... make
a backup of that system right away. I'll list some free ones at the end
of this post. That way you can hack away trying to fix it and if
something goes wrong, you can get everything back.

3) WiFi problems... Boy these are lots of fun and where does one start?
Usually one attempts to turn off WEP or WPA WiFi security and see if
that works. Are you using the Windows Wireless utility or the WiFi
manufacture's one? If the former, what happens with the Repair option?
I'll give you more ideas (and so will others) once we have more
information.

Acronis True Image Seagate Edition (DiscWizard)
http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/support/downloads/discwizard

Acronis True Image WD Edition
http://support.wdc.com/product/downloaddetail.asp?swid=119&type=download&wdc_lang=en

Paragon DriveBackup Express 9 (free)
http://www.paragon-software.com/home/db-express/

 

[JS]

My wife's desktop computer (Insignia Model D400) was purchased a few
years ago at Best Buy with Windows XP Home installed. She uses this
computer on our home network system, but recently it developed some
problems with the Wi-Fi connection and can't get through to the
Internet. It will connect to the Access Point, and show a strong
signal and a firm connection, but can not connect to the Internet, or
to the e-mail server. Any ideas as to what may be the cause of this
problem?

Our home Wi-Fi system uses an Actiontec GT704-WG 54MBS Wireless DSL
Gateway. This has worked very well for the past two or three years,
and still works very well for my desktop (LAN cable setup) and laptop
(Wi-Fi setup) computers but for some reason my wife's computer (Wi-Fi
setup) can not establish an Internet connection through this Actiontec
network as of last week. The Active User List I get on my desktop
computer doesn't show her computer but it shows my desktop and laptop
computers.

I am thinking of upgrading all three of our home computers to Windows
7 when it becomes available later this month. I do not have the
Windows XP Home CD that was used to install Windows on my wife's
Insignia computer, but there is a Product Key on a label on the side
of the computer case.

Can I use this product key and a 3-Pack Windows 7 Ultimate CD to
install this new O.S. onto my wife's computer? I understand that an
upgrade in the conventional manner is not workable when going from
Windows XP to Windows 7. Does this mean that I can only go the route
of a full install of Windows 7 on this computer?

Thanks for any information you can provide.

Gordon

You have already received good advice from
Dave and BillW50.

However as far as Windows 7 goes (assuming you
computers meet the requirements)

I would (After making a image backup) only install 7
on one computer at a time, preferably the one that has
the least impact on your families computer needs.

Then after everyone get comfortable with 7 upgrade the other computers.

Windows 7 for XP users - How to find your way around
http://www.pagestart.com/win7forxpuserspart3.html

As for the Wireless issue a friend has been going round
and round on this for more than a month. Other members
in his family could connect using wireless USB be he could
not. The solution was replacing the router from Comcast.

 

[BillW50]

In JS typed on Tue, 6 Oct 2009 13:11:58 -0400:

You have already received good advice from
Dave and BillW50.

However as far as Windows 7 goes (assuming you
computers meet the requirements)

I would (After making a image backup) only install 7
on one computer at a time, preferably the one that has
the least impact on your families computer needs.

Then after everyone get comfortable with 7 upgrade the other
computers.
Windows 7 for XP users - How to find your way around
http://www.pagestart.com/win7forxpuserspart3.html

As for the Wireless issue a friend has been going round
and round on this for more than a month. Other members
in his family could connect using wireless USB be he could
not. The solution was replacing the router from Comcast.

And to add to the great advice JS mentioned. There is one trick that you
should do before anything else. As this solves many problems, even if
just temporary in some cases.

1) Shutdown the computer that doesn't connect, remove the power, and
press and hold down the power button for 30 seconds.

2) Also remove the power to the Actiontec GT704-WG 54MBS Wireless DSL
Gateway for at least 30 seconds.

Now turn on in reverse. Now check everything to make sure all computers
has Internet access.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I am thinking of upgrading all three of our home computers to Windows
7 when it becomes available later this month.

You've already gotten some good "how-to" advice. I just wanted to add
the following two points:

1. A change of operating system should be driven by need, not just
because there is a new version available. Are you having a problem
with Windows XP that you expect Windows 7 to solve? Do you have or
expect to get new hardware or software that is supported in 7, but not
in XP? Is there some new feature in 7 that you need or yearn for? Does
your job require you have skills in 7? Are you a computer hobbyist who
enjoys playing with whatever is newest?

If the answer to one or more of those questions is yes (and your
hardware is adequate for 7), then you should get 7. Otherwise most
people should stick with what they have. There is *always* a learning
curve and a potential for problems when you take a step as big as this
one, regardless of how wonderful whatever you're contemplating moving
to is. Sooner or later you'll have to upgrade (to 7 or its successor)
because you'll want support for hardware or software that you can't
get in XP, but don't rush it.

I say all the above despite the fact that I'm a big Windows 7 fan. I
think it's the best and most stable of all versions of Windows.

2. If you do decide to do this, be sure your hardware is adequate for
Windows 7. It generally requires more powerful hardware than XP, and
many older machines are inadequate for it.

 

[Antares 531]

Snip

2) Your wife's computer which doesn't have a recovery/install CD... make
a backup of that system right away. I'll list some free ones at the end
of this post. That way you can hack away trying to fix it and if
something goes wrong, you can get everything back.

3) WiFi problems... Boy these are lots of fun and where does one start?
Usually one attempts to turn off WEP or WPA WiFi security and see if
that works. Are you using the Windows Wireless utility or the WiFi
manufacture's one? If the former, what happens with the Repair option?
I'll give you more ideas (and so will others) once we have more
information.

Thanks, Bill, this got things on the right track. The WEP key had
somehow gotten altered. It normally has 10 alpha/numeric characters
but when I checked it after reading your message I found it had only 8
characters. These are shown on the setup screen as dots, and I just
had not noticed that there were only 8 instead of 10 dots. Gordon

 

[Antares 531]

You've already gotten some good "how-to" advice. I just wanted to add
the following two points:

1. A change of operating system should be driven by need, not just
because there is a new version available. Are you having a problem
with Windows XP that you expect Windows 7 to solve? Do you have or
expect to get new hardware or software that is supported in 7, but not
in XP? Is there some new feature in 7 that you need or yearn for? Does
your job require you have skills in 7? Are you a computer hobbyist who
enjoys playing with whatever is newest?

Ken, I may be overreacting a bit here. My motivations have their roots
in the demise of MS Money. I have used MS Money for several years, and
would like to keep my old MS Money files alive as long as possible,
but at the same time, I would like to start using Intuit Quicken and
have time to get the kinks all ironed out before I lose MS Money.

I want to get Quicken set up on the latest version of Windows, in the
hopes that it will be a usable accounting system for years to come.
I'm reticent to set Quicken up on Windows XP, then have to upgrade to
Windows 7 in a year or two when XP is no longer supported.

I don't know if I'd be able to transfer my old MS Money client and
record files to Windows 7 after my MS Money license expires or not, so
I'm thinking I'd better do it now and get it over with.

The second chapter in this is that I don't like to maintain our home
network if each computer is using a different O.S. I'd rather get them
all settled down to one O.S. and hope for some long-term stability.

Gordon

 

[Antares 531]

Snip

You have already received good advice from
Dave and BillW50.

However as far as Windows 7 goes (assuming you
computers meet the requirements)

I would (After making a image backup) only install 7
on one computer at a time, preferably the one that has
the least impact on your families computer needs.

Then after everyone get comfortable with 7 upgrade the other computers.

Thanks, JS. I see your point. If I buy a 3 Pack Windows 7 box, I can
install it on each computer, as it seems prudent to do so. I agree
that I should go one computer at a time, and get each one thoroughly
checked out before messing around with the next one.

I really want to get my desktop computer upgraded to Windows 7, then
get Intuit Quicken installed and checked out. I hope to get my M.S.
Money files imported into Quicken and have this setup ready to do my
2010 Tax Year work. I need to have Quicken and myself ready to roll by
the start of the new year. But, I need to keep MS Money 2007 alive and
usable until I've completed my tax returns for 2009 and am reasonably
sure I won't be audited, or if I am audited, have the information
ready to present. Gordon

 

[Antares 531]

The CD is not necessary if you wish to upgrade to Windows 7. However,
you will need to have XP installed because before Windows 7 Setup
formats the drive, it looks for an installation of XP. See this page for
more information:

http://community.winsupersite.com/b...upgrade-media-how-does-that-work-exactly.aspx

Daave, this has me wheezing and panting a bit. My wife is very
apprehensive about losing the data on her computer's hard disk, but
there is so much stuff there that I don't know a convenient way to
back it all up. Would it work if I install a new hard drive, making it
the Primary and moving the old hard drive to the Secondary level, then
install Windows 7 on this new Primary hard drive. That is, would
Windows 7 setup look on the secondary hard drive and be satisfied with
the Windows XP files there?

If I could do this, I could then copy the files as needed from the old
drive to the new one, and maybe even set the old drive up as a
"mirror" backup means. Gordon

 

[Daave]

I want to get Quicken set up on the latest version of Windows, in the
hopes that it will be a usable accounting system for years to come.
I'm reticent to set Quicken up on Windows XP, then have to upgrade to
Windows 7 in a year or two when XP is no longer supported.

Microsoft will continue to offer limited support for XP until 2014 (in
the form of critical updates and patches, which is really all you need).

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Ken, I may be overreacting a bit here. My motivations have their roots
in the demise of MS Money. I have used MS Money for several years, and
would like to keep my old MS Money files alive as long as possible,
but at the same time, I would like to start using Intuit Quicken and
have time to get the kinks all ironed out before I lose MS Money.

I want to get Quicken set up on the latest version of Windows, in the
hopes that it will be a usable accounting system for years to come.
I'm reticent to set Quicken up on Windows XP, then have to upgrade to
Windows 7 in a year or two when XP is no longer supported.

OK, your choice. But I'm a Quicken user, and I'll tell you my
experiences with it. I currently run Quicken 2009 under Windows 7, but
I used to use it under Windows Vista. In the past I ran almost all the
versions of Quicken for the past 20 years or so under almost all the
Windows versions available. I can't promise what Intuit will do in the
future, but I don't remember any version of Quicken that didn't run
under any of the current Windows versions.

 

[Daave]

Daave, this has me wheezing and panting a bit.

Take a deep, cleansing breath, feller!

My wife is very
apprehensive about losing the data on her computer's hard disk, but
there is so much stuff there that I don't know a convenient way to
back it all up.

She is correct to be apprehensive. Assuming she is not regularly backing
up her data, she needs to start doing this ASAP - even if she decides to
stay with her current PC and XP.

I recommend an external hard drive and a program such as Acronis True
Image. You can have the backups made automatically overnight. Bonus:
Instead of just the data, *everything* - the OS, programs, and all the
settings will all be backed up.

Would it work if I install a new hard drive, making it
the Primary and moving the old hard drive to the Secondary level, then
install Windows 7 on this new Primary hard drive. That is, would
Windows 7 setup look on the secondary hard drive and be satisfied with
the Windows XP files there?

I haven't tried that yet. I'm guessing the answer is no.

If you are really interested in installing Windows 7, which will wind up
being a Clean Install, you really need to back up all your data first to
another hard drive. The data is all you need. But you need to make sure
you get all the e-mails and IE Favorites, too. The backup is a
precaution, of course. Chances are that if you follow these steps, all
the data will migrate:

http://www.blogsdna.com/3217/step-by-step-guide-to-upgrade-windows-xp-to-windows-7.htm

If I could do this, I could then copy the files as needed from the old
drive to the new one, and maybe even set the old drive up as a
"mirror" backup means. Gordon

I would just use an external hard drive. YMMV.

 

[mikeyhsd]

you might try directly connecting the wife's computer to the gateway to see if it is the computer or the gateway causing the problem.

(e-mail address removed)



My wife's desktop computer (Insignia Model D400) was purchased a few
years ago at Best Buy with Windows XP Home installed. She uses this
computer on our home network system, but recently it developed some
problems with the Wi-Fi connection and can't get through to the
Internet. It will connect to the Access Point, and show a strong
signal and a firm connection, but can not connect to the Internet, or
to the e-mail server. Any ideas as to what may be the cause of this
problem?

Our home Wi-Fi system uses an Actiontec GT704-WG 54MBS Wireless DSL
Gateway. This has worked very well for the past two or three years,
and still works very well for my desktop (LAN cable setup) and laptop
(Wi-Fi setup) computers but for some reason my wife's computer (Wi-Fi
setup) can not establish an Internet connection through this Actiontec
network as of last week. The Active User List I get on my desktop
computer doesn't show her computer but it shows my desktop and laptop
computers.

I am thinking of upgrading all three of our home computers to Windows
7 when it becomes available later this month. I do not have the
Windows XP Home CD that was used to install Windows on my wife's
Insignia computer, but there is a Product Key on a label on the side
of the computer case.

Can I use this product key and a 3-Pack Windows 7 Ultimate CD to
install this new O.S. onto my wife's computer? I understand that an
upgrade in the conventional manner is not workable when going from
Windows XP to Windows 7. Does this mean that I can only go the route
of a full install of Windows 7 on this computer?

Thanks for any information you can provide.

Gordon

 

[BillW50]

In Ken Blake, MVP typed on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:29:04 -0700:

I say all the above despite the fact that I'm a big Windows 7 fan. I
think it's the best and most stable of all versions of Windows.

2. If you do decide to do this, be sure your hardware is adequate for
Windows 7. It generally requires more powerful hardware than XP, and
many older machines are inadequate for it.

Interesting... I am in the other smaller camp. As I find Windows 7:

1) Slower than XP by far.

2) Administrators doesn't have permission to do common tasks.

3) Library feature is awful! I have two My Documents folders (one
smaller portable version and one much larger one) and Windows 7 Library
doesn't show the difference between the two.

4) Not compatible with 5% of Windows XP applications.

5) Much larger than XP, yet does less.

6) I like Windows Media Player 9 and 10 the best. While Windows 7 only
runs Windows Media Player 12 and higher.

7) Windows 7 gets bogged down too easy.

I have it running on two computers with Celeron CPUs both with 2GB of
RAM. One is a Gateway MX6124 (1.5GHz) and an Asus EeePC 702 (900Mhz with
a 16GB SSD) notebook.

If you look at operating systems market share, you will find that XP is
still leading the way with over 70% while nothing else is even close.

http://marketshare.hitslink.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx?qprid=10

 

[BillW50]

In Ken Blake, MVP typed on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:29:04 -0700:

I say all the above despite the fact that I'm a big Windows 7 fan. I
think it's the best and most stable of all versions of Windows.

2. If you do decide to do this, be sure your hardware is adequate for
Windows 7. It generally requires more powerful hardware than XP, and
many older machines are inadequate for it.

Interesting... I am in the other smaller camp. As I find Windows 7:

1) Slower than XP by far.

2) Administrators doesn't have permission to do common tasks.

3) Library feature is awful! I have two My Documents folders (one
smaller portable version and one much larger one) and Windows 7 Library
doesn't show the difference between the two.

4) Not compatible with 5% of Windows XP applications.

5) Much larger than XP, yet does less.

6) I like Windows Media Player 9 and 10 the best. While Windows 7 only
runs Windows Media Player 12 and higher.

7) Windows 7 gets bogged down too easy.

I have it running on two computers with Celeron CPUs both with 2GB of
RAM. One is a Gateway MX6124 (1.5GHz) and an Asus EeePC 702 (900Mhz with
a 16GB SSD) notebook.

If you look at operating systems market share, you will find that XP is
still leading the way with over 70% while nothing else is even close.

http://marketshare.hitslink.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx?qprid=10

 

[BillW50]

In Ken Blake, MVP typed on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:29:04 -0700:

I say all the above despite the fact that I'm a big Windows 7 fan. I
think it's the best and most stable of all versions of Windows.

2. If you do decide to do this, be sure your hardware is adequate for
Windows 7. It generally requires more powerful hardware than XP, and
many older machines are inadequate for it.

Interesting... I am in the other smaller camp. As I find Windows 7:

1) Slower than XP by far.

2) Administrators doesn't have permission to do common tasks.

3) Library feature is awful! I have two My Documents folders (one
smaller portable version and one much larger one) and Windows 7 Library
doesn't show the difference between the two.

4) Not compatible with 5% of Windows XP applications.

5) Much larger than XP, yet does less.

6) I like Windows Media Player 9 and 10 the best. While Windows 7 only
runs Windows Media Player 12 and higher.

7) Windows 7 gets bogged down too easy.

I have it running on two computers with Celeron CPUs both with 2GB of
RAM. One is a Gateway MX6124 (1.5GHz) and an Asus EeePC 702 (900Mhz with
a 16GB SSD) notebook.

If you look at operating systems market share, you will find that XP is
still leading the way with over 70% while nothing else is even close.

http://marketshare.hitslink.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx?qprid=10

 

[JS]

In Ken Blake, MVP typed on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:29:04 -0700:

Interesting... I am in the other smaller camp. As I find Windows 7:

1) Slower than XP by far.

2) Administrators doesn't have permission to do common tasks.

3) Library feature is awful! I have two My Documents folders (one
smaller portable version and one much larger one) and Windows 7 Library
doesn't show the difference between the two.

4) Not compatible with 5% of Windows XP applications.

5) Much larger than XP, yet does less.

6) I like Windows Media Player 9 and 10 the best. While Windows 7 only
runs Windows Media Player 12 and higher.

7) Windows 7 gets bogged down too easy.

I have it running on two computers with Celeron CPUs both with 2GB of
RAM. One is a Gateway MX6124 (1.5GHz) and an Asus EeePC 702 (900Mhz with
a 16GB SSD) notebook.

If you look at operating systems market share, you will find that XP is
still leading the way with over 70% while nothing else is even close.

http://marketshare.hitslink.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx?qprid=10

Portable Library, by this do you mean you created
a new library?

 

[Gordon]

2) Administrators doesn't have permission to do common tasks.

Eh? What do you mean by that?

3) Library feature is awful! I have two My Documents folders (one
smaller portable version and one much larger one) and Windows 7 Library
doesn't show the difference between the two.

Then make a new Library to show the other.

 

[BillW50]

In JS typed on Wed, 7 Oct 2009 13:08:41 -0400:

Portable Library, by this do you mean you created
a new library?

Yes sort of. I mean this one computer dual-boots between XP and Windows
7. And I have a separate data partition shared between them. Under XP I
used TweakUI to change My Documents to D:\My Documents. And I also have
a much smaller separate version of My Documents found in
D:\SD\MyDocuments that I sync with my SD card. Since my most used
documents are in this folder, I use it much more than the much larger
one. And I later used TweakUI to use this one instead.

So under Windows 7, the large one shows up as My Documents and the
smaller one shows up as My Documents (same name, but two totally
different). So it is confusing which one I want to look in or save too.
Worse Windows 7 also can show them in the top heading of My Documents
all combined into one Library. Which makes a mess out of everything.