Doing an upgrade of Vista to Windows 7

Having tested Windows 7 installation using clean install method previously, now I decided to do an upgrade of my daily work notebook to Windows 7. I decided that my Dell VOSTRO 1400 with 4GB of memory is good enough for the upgrade path. And choosing the upgrade path will saved me the efforts to reinstall most of my applications and migration of my documents.

So let me share with you my experience in upgrading my Vista to Windows 7 Ultimate! A few key points in my opinion would be Antivirus programs, hardware, existing applications on your computer and drivers for your hardware.

So on 6 August 2009, I downloaded the RTM copy of Windows 7 and immediately started working on the upgrade which I have been planning. :)

The Windows 7 setup wizard will greet you when you load the DVD into your DVD drive. Now, do not hit the Install now button immediately. I would suggest your backup your important data first as a good habit. Once backup is done, you still can’t click on the Install now button. haha.

I would suggest your check your hardware, drivers, applications and antivrus program before your start installing Windows 7. Please click on Check compatibility online to do a check on your system first.

This will bring you to a page to download Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor Beta. The upgrade advisor will check your hardware (disk space, memory, etc) and the applications on your system.

If you have antivirus programs, please uninstall them now to avoid any problems during setup. There might be programs that might not function well on Windows 7, you might want to check for the latest version.

The Upgrade Advisor will also check that all your device drivers are available. Do a search on the manufacturer’s support site for any unsupported drivers.

Please download and install Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor beta.

Accept the license agreement and start installation.

Once installation completes, click on Start Check to begin checking your system.

When the compatibility checks are completed, you will be presented with a report. If you see warnings or errors, then tackle them before you proceed with the installation of Windows 7.

Only when the report are clear of any warnings or errors, then you are good to go ahead with your Windows 7 installation. Good luck and have fun!