Upgrading XP to 7

[Antares 531]

I want to build a new desktop computer then install Windows 7 on it
while keeping my old desktop computer with Windows XP Pro SP3 alive so
I can retrieve the files and other information from it after I get the
new computer thoroughly checked out.

Can I buy an upgrade version like Windows 7 Professional Upgrade and
install it on this new computer while still using the Windows XP that
I upgraded from, on my old computer? That is, can I have both
computers up and running, on-line, at the same time, or do I have to
kill the old one before the new computer with the Windows 7 upgrade
can be activated?

Next question; Can I buy one box copy of Windows 7 Professional
Upgrade and use it to upgrade my desktop computer, my wife's desktop
computer and my laptop? That is, can I buy multiple licenses for one
box copy or must I buy three separate box copies of Windows 7?

Is there a Windows 7 newsgroup yet? I can't find one.

Thanks, Gordon

 

[Shenan Stanley]

I want to build a new desktop computer then install Windows 7 on it
while keeping my old desktop computer with Windows XP Pro SP3 alive
so I can retrieve the files and other information from it after I
get the new computer thoroughly checked out.

Can I buy an upgrade version like Windows 7 Professional Upgrade and
install it on this new computer while still using the Windows XP
that I upgraded from, on my old computer? That is, can I have both
computers up and running, on-line, at the same time, or do I have to
kill the old one before the new computer with the Windows 7 upgrade
can be activated?

Next question; Can I buy one box copy of Windows 7 Professional
Upgrade and use it to upgrade my desktop computer, my wife's desktop
computer and my laptop? That is, can I buy multiple licenses for one
box copy or must I buy three separate box copies of Windows 7?

Is there a Windows 7 newsgroup yet? I can't find one.

If there will be a newsgroup - it won't happen until Windows 7 is released
to the public (October 22, right?) Rumors abound that there will be no
newsgroups - just forums.

You should wait until you can actually buy copies of Windows 7 before
accepting any answers. If it is anything like past versions of Windows -
you can indeed buy one boxed copy and then - at a barely noticable
discount - buy additional licenses. Or maybe they will come through with
the family license like Apple offers this time...?

You cannot upgrade (without a clean install) Windows XP to Windows 7. Yes -
you get a price discount, but you will lose all installed programs,
settings, etc. You can pass through Windows Vista (upgrade from Windows XP
to Windows Vista to Windows 7) - but that seems - costly.

As for your plan - I'd personally just make an image of my Windows XP
machine and possibly even virtualize it and just run it on my new machine in
a VM - but that is just me. As far as activation, etc. If you purchase an
upgrade version of Windows 7 then you probably *shouldn't* activate it
until you have killed your old copy of Windows XP that you are using to
qualify - but you have at least a 30 day grace in there.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I want to build a new desktop computer then install Windows 7 on it
while keeping my old desktop computer with Windows XP Pro SP3 alive so
I can retrieve the files and other information from it after I get the
new computer thoroughly checked out.

OK, that's a reasonable thing to do.

Can I buy an upgrade version like Windows 7 Professional Upgrade and
install it on this new computer while still using the Windows XP that
I upgraded from, on my old computer? That is, can I have both
computers up and running, on-line, at the same time, or do I have to
kill the old one before the new computer with the Windows 7 upgrade
can be activated?

Two points:

1. No, technically you may not have two computer both running the same
copy of Windows XP, even for a short time.

2. Even more important, you can *not* do an upgrade from XP to Windows
7. You either have to upgrade XP to Vista, and *then* to Windows 7
(ugh!), or clean-install Windows 7.

Next question; Can I buy one box copy of Windows 7 Professional
Upgrade and use it to upgrade my desktop computer, my wife's desktop
computer and my laptop? That is, can I buy multiple licenses for one
box copy or must I buy three separate box copies of Windows 7?

Since boxed copies of Windows 7 aren't available yet, I can't answer
for sure, but assuming that it will be like prior versions of Windows,
yes you can buy multiple licenses, but for only three copies, buying
boxed copies will be a better deal.

Is there a Windows 7 newsgroup yet? I can't find one.

No, there isn't. There is a web-based forum, though.

Whether there will be Windows 7 newsgroups remains up in the air. I
hope so, but I don't know for sure.

 

[peter]

If your going to build your own computer you would need a Retail Full
Version of W7..
especially since you are aiming to run both computers at the same time.
This from the W7 website
Microsoft designed Windows 7 Upgrade media for Windows Vista. Customers with
Windows XP can purchase Windows 7 Upgrade versions but must back up their
files, clean install, and then reinstall their applications.
Each computer needs their own version of W7(or at least license) to upgrade
to and once the upgrade is applied the old
OS that you upgraded from becomes invalid for anything but to reuse for the
same system upgrade if something goes wrong.

Multiple licenses have been available in the past for MS operating system
but they do not seem to be listed at this point in time for W7..
Maybe when we get closer to the actual selling date will they show up.

here is the website
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/default.aspx

peter

 

[Tecknomage]

I want to build a new desktop computer then install Windows 7 on it
while keeping my old desktop computer with Windows XP Pro SP3 alive so
I can retrieve the files and other information from it after I get the
new computer thoroughly checked out.

Can I buy an upgrade version like Windows 7 Professional Upgrade and
install it on this new computer while still using the Windows XP that
I upgraded from, on my old computer? That is, can I have both
computers up and running, on-line, at the same time, or do I have to
kill the old one before the new computer with the Windows 7 upgrade
can be activated?

Next question; Can I buy one box copy of Windows 7 Professional
Upgrade and use it to upgrade my desktop computer, my wife's desktop
computer and my laptop? That is, can I buy multiple licenses for one
box copy or must I buy three separate box copies of Windows 7?

Is there a Windows 7 newsgroup yet? I can't find one.

Thanks, Gordon

A very, very personal comment.

Be absolutely sure you want Windows 7.

Also be aware of Microsoft's release history. Original WinXP very
buggy, WinXP SP1 better, WinXP SP2 stable. Then there's Vista;
original buggy, Vista SP1 better. Now do you expect Win7 to be
different? I suggest, if you insist, hold off on Win7 until a SP1
release.



I suggest thinking about NOT using Win7 because if you're like me, use
ALL classic modes; classic Start Menu, classic Explorer (aka My
Computer), etc. Classic Start Menu is one feature that Win7 is
reported NOT to have. Note that Vista does.

Also, if you like to customize your Windows, *if* Win7 is anything
like Vista you will find it harder to do. Of course, if you like
taking what Microsoft hands you (THEIR idea of how your system should
look and feel) then no problem.

Then... Did you know that Vista does not have "c:\Documents and
Settings"? I will never understand why Microdunce stopped using a
standard that's been in place since WinNT. Not having a single
Profile folder is just one thing that makes customizing harder. I
expect Win7 will be the same.

I am close to retirement and I will not be downgrading from WinXP to
Vista or Win7 since all apps I use are stable and my WinXP is very,
very customized. This includes games of which I have plenty, and come
the day that new games do not come WinXP compatible well who needs
them.

 

[David B.]

You obviously have no experience with Win 7 thus your advise is useless and
inaccurate.

 

[Antares 531]

A very, very personal comment.

Be absolutely sure you want Windows 7.

Also be aware of Microsoft's release history. Original WinXP very
buggy, WinXP SP1 better, WinXP SP2 stable. Then there's Vista;
original buggy, Vista SP1 better. Now do you expect Win7 to be
different? I suggest, if you insist, hold off on Win7 until a SP1
release.



I suggest thinking about NOT using Win7 because if you're like me, use
ALL classic modes; classic Start Menu, classic Explorer (aka My
Computer), etc. Classic Start Menu is one feature that Win7 is
reported NOT to have. Note that Vista does.

Also, if you like to customize your Windows, *if* Win7 is anything
like Vista you will find it harder to do. Of course, if you like
taking what Microsoft hands you (THEIR idea of how your system should
look and feel) then no problem.

Then... Did you know that Vista does not have "c:\Documents and
Settings"? I will never understand why Microdunce stopped using a
standard that's been in place since WinNT. Not having a single
Profile folder is just one thing that makes customizing harder. I
expect Win7 will be the same.

I am close to retirement and I will not be downgrading from WinXP to
Vista or Win7 since all apps I use are stable and my WinXP is very,
very customized. This includes games of which I have plenty, and come
the day that new games do not come WinXP compatible well who needs
them.

Points well taken, Tecknomage. My main reason for wanting to get
Windows 7 up and running is that I use MS Money, and it is on the way
out. I plan to get Quicken installed on this new computer and get
myself familiarized with it before I put my old computer out to
pasture. I would like to overlap the transition from Money to Quicken
and be able to go either way as things develop. I want to keep MS
Money active at least until the end of this tax year or maybe the end
of next year, but I want to have Quicken going and be ready to start
the new tax year using it.

Gordon

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

A very, very personal comment.

Be absolutely sure you want Windows 7.

I completely agree. 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 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 7, but don't rush it.

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

Also be aware of Microsoft's release history. Original WinXP very
buggy, WinXP SP1 better, WinXP SP2 stable. Then there's Vista;
original buggy, Vista SP1 better. Now do you expect Win7 to be
different? I suggest, if you insist, hold off on Win7 until a SP1
release.

But I completely disagree with this point of view. The point in time
when a service pack is released is at the discretion
of Microsoft and is completely arbitrary. Upgrades and fixes to any
version of Windows are released when needed--once a month, normally,
but more often when necessary. At some arbitrary point, Microsoft
decides to roll up all those upgrades and fixes into one package and
calls the result a service pack.

There's no particular significance to when that service pack is
released, and it doesn't mark a special point of stability. There were
upgrades before it and there will be more upgrades after it. Since it
has no particular significance, treating it as a special event, and
waiting for it, is meaningless.

If you want to wait some period of *time* (six months, a year,
whatever) rather than for a service pack, before getting Windows 7,
that makes much more sense. However, I've been running Windows 7 RTM
here since it was released, and I can report that it's been completely
stable, and I've had no problems with it at all.

 

[Antares 531]

I completely agree. 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 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?

Thanks, Ken. My primary motivation is based upon the fact that MS
Money is on the way out. I want to get Quicken set up and become
familiar with it before I close my MS Money down. I would like to run
the existing MS Money setup at least until the end of this tax year,
and by then, have Quicken ready to take over my accounting work. But,
I don't want to lose those old Money files. I hope to keep them and MS
Money alive on the old computer as long as it will run. My thinking is
that I may as well go ahead and make the transition to Windows 7 at
the same time and get this all set up on a new computer, hoping that
this setup will be usable for the next few years. Gordon

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Thanks, Ken.

You're welcome. Glad to help.

My primary motivation is based upon the fact that MS
Money is on the way out.

Yes.


I want to get Quicken set up and become
familiar with it before I close my MS Money down.

Good plan (I'm a Quicken user by the way, and like it a lot).

I would like to run
the existing MS Money setup at least until the end of this tax year,
and by then, have Quicken ready to take over my accounting work. But,
I don't want to lose those old Money files. I hope to keep them and MS
Money alive on the old computer as long as it will run. My thinking is
that I may as well go ahead and make the transition to Windows 7 at
the same time and get this all set up on a new computer, hoping that
this setup will be usable for the next few years. Gordon

Everything you say makes sense to me except that last sentence. I
don't see any reason why you should lump together going to Quicken and
going to Windows 7.

 

[Patrick Keenan]

I want to build a new desktop computer then install Windows 7 on it
while keeping my old desktop computer with Windows XP Pro SP3 alive so
I can retrieve the files and other information from it after I get the
new computer thoroughly checked out.

Can I buy an upgrade version like Windows 7 Professional Upgrade and
install it on this new computer while still using the Windows XP that
I upgraded from, on my old computer? That is, can I have both
computers up and running, on-line, at the same time, or do I have to
kill the old one before the new computer with the Windows 7 upgrade
can be activated?

Next question; Can I buy one box copy of Windows 7 Professional
Upgrade and use it to upgrade my desktop computer, my wife's desktop
computer and my laptop? That is, can I buy multiple licenses for one
box copy or must I buy three separate box copies of Windows 7?

Is there a Windows 7 newsgroup yet? I can't find one.

Thanks, Gordon

Win 7 isn't released to the public, so there is no newsgroup.

For the same reason, you can't buy any kind of Win 7 install media, upgrade
or not.

The licensing scheme will be the same as it has always been: one PC, one
license. The only way you can get around having one physical DVD per
system is to purchase a Volume License, which starts in batches of five.
Then you get one DVD and one install key. This is what's often been
called the "corporate" version.

An upgrade install always requires that the upgraded OS is not functional -
it's been upgraded. So no, you can't do that either. Make an image of
your XP install using something like TrueImage and set it aside; or, better,
do a clean install to a new hard disk. Then, if things blow up, you can
just swap drives.

Finally, I can tell you that I have done an upgrade install (for test
purposes) of a very bare-bones XP install - not even an anti-virus program -
to Win7 with an Enterprise DVD. It worked fine, except of course that
there weren't any Win7 drivers for the video card. Vista drivers worked.

HTH
-pk

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Win 7 isn't released to the public, so there is no newsgroup.

Yes, but bear in mind that there is a distinct possibility that
Microsoft will only provide web-based forums on it, and not listservs,
even after it's released to the public. I like listservs *much* better
than web-based forums, and I hope that I'm wrong, but I fear that
that's what will happen.

 

[Patrick Keenan]

Yes, but bear in mind that there is a distinct possibility that
Microsoft will only provide web-based forums on it, and not listservs,
even after it's released to the public. I like listservs *much* better
than web-based forums, and I hope that I'm wrong, but I fear that
that's what will happen.

I certainly agree with you regarding listservs and NNTP servers. Perhaps
it's a sign of age, but I find them much easier to deal with.

On the other hand, in a previous life, I was tasked with running beta test
groups for software you probably used, and for a thankfully short time my
managers required me to use a Lotus-Notes-based web discussion group rather
than space on our NNTP server. The results convinced even my managers that
the NNTP servers were a better idea.

It's unfortunate that so many ISPs have moved away from supporting these
services.

-pk

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I certainly agree with you regarding listservs and NNTP servers. Perhaps
it's a sign of age, but I find them much easier to deal with.

I don't think it's a sign of age at all. I'm almost 72, but I've
almost always felt this way. Moreover, most of the other MVPs I know,
who are considerably younger than I am, feel the same way.

In fact, with an occasional exception, what I observe is that the only
people who prefer web-based forums are those who have little or no
experience in this sort of communication.

On the other hand, in a previous life, I was tasked with running beta test
groups for software you probably used, and for a thankfully short time my
managers required me to use a Lotus-Notes-based web discussion group rather
than space on our NNTP server. The results convinced even my managers that
the NNTP servers were a better idea.

Great!


It's unfortunate that so many ISPs have moved away from supporting these
services.

Yes, it is unfortunate, but what many people don't realize is that
even if their ISP no longer provides a news server, there are numbers
of others they can use; some of them are free, others are inexpensive.