Yes, I said effectively, there is always a right way to do something and installing Windows 7 is no different. I have discussed many times the virtues of using system imaging in Windows 7, but sometimes you just want to start things from scratch with a clean slate. This can be beneficial by removing any gunk that has built up in the OS since you upgraded to it, especially if it’s an in place upgrade from a previous version.

For me personally, I decided to do a clean install on my laptop since I have been beta testing the Service Pack 1 release of Windows 7 for a while now. Instead of restoring my Windows 7 RTM image, I would instead create a Backup and a Windows Easy Transfer .MIG file with all my personal files and settings. For me this was also an opportunity to re-evaluate my current setup. Do I need all the applications I now have installed? For you, it could be a great way to setup Windows 7 the best way, configure it the way you want to and create a nice backup of the installation for future purposes. Well, lets jump into it!

Step 1: Find all those applications disks, serials and hardware drivers

When planning a reinstallation of Windows, gather all important software first

This is a common mistake people make when they decide to reinstall Windows. They often just pop the Windows upgrade disk in and blow out the current installation, call it a day then complain the next day that Windows lost all their programs and they can’t get their current programs and hardware to work.

The first thing you should do before starting a reinstallation is to make a small inventory of all the current applications you have installed, the ones you use the most and the ones you think you can discard. You can use Programs and Features in Windows 7 to see a list of all the applications you have installed, then you can categorize by Last Used On, see below.

Right click the Column bar, then click More…

Then click the check box for Last Used On then click OK

The next step is to click the Last Used On header column to show a list of all your most recently used applications. You can make an exception for driver related software such as Modem or Video driver utility programs. Select the programs you no longer need and click Uninstall/Change on the command bar.

A list of all my most recently used programs.

Common locations on the system unit where you can find your Windows product key

Step 1A: In regards to Windows, if you purchased an Upgrade license and not the full version license, you might need to reinstall the qualifying license first. For example, if you upgraded from Windows Vista, you will need to reinstall Windows Vista then upgrade to Windows 7. It’s a chore because Windows needs to do a validation check to see if you qualify for the upgrade rights. I will be looking at a workaround in a future article. If Windows 7 came with your computer or you need to find the qualifying product serial, look on the chassis of the machine, either side, the top or the bottom (for laptops).

The same principle applies to software such as Microsoft Office. If you purchased a Microsoft Office upgrade license, when you decide to reinstall it, you will need to present the qualifying product as proof of purchase to qualify for the upgrade. So if you were previously running Office 2003 and purchased an upgrade license for Office 2007, you will need to have that Office 2003 disk nearby to do the validation check. Another common mistake users make is thinking that you can use a Windows product key to install and activate Microsoft Office and vice versa. You cannot do this, Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office are two distinct products developed by Microsoft Corporation. Both products use their own unique product keys for activation.

If you use programs such as Adobe Creative Suite or Apple iTunes, you should consider deactivating and deauthorizing each respective program first. Also, make sure your iTunes Library is backed up.

To deactivate an Adobe program, open the application, click Help > Deactivate… follow the on screen instructions

To deauthorize Apple iTunes, open the application, click Store > Deauthorize This Computer… follow the on screen instructions to complete the deauthorization. The reason why you should do this, iTunes might think you have installed iTunes on another computer. The software provides up to 5 authorizations, not deauthorizing can cause problems when you decide to authorize additional computers in the future since there will be no way authenticate that previous systems are no longer being used.

Additional resources for iTunes users

iTunes: Back up your iTunes library by copying to an external hard

How to back up your media in iTunes

Where to locate product keys?

Product keys can often be found inside or on the back of the product packaging. If you purchased Microsoft Windows or Microsoft Office digitally, check your email since it would have been emailed to you. If you have somehow lost the email, you will need to contact the Microsoft Store to find out if they have a record of your purchase. If the programs are installed and you had entered your Windows product key during activation, you can use one of the following programs to retrieve the product keys before you attempt the reinstallation:

Here are four utilities, all of which will may display your product keys if they are still there:

If none of these options are available to you, then the unfortunate truth is, you will need to purchase a new full version license.

Where to locate Hardware Drivers?

A very important part of setting up Windows successfully is having the right drivers. Windows 7 installs the most common out of box drivers, but if you have unique hardware devices such as a multi-function printer or other devices, make sure you have drivers on hand to reinstall when needed.

Some common drivers I recommend you obtain prior to reinstalling are Network Interface Card (NIC) drivers such as Ethernet, Wireless Adapter, Wireless/Wired Router, Video Drivers and Audio Drivers.

After you setup Windows, you will most likely need to connect to the Internet to download updates for Windows and your programs. Ethernet and Wireless Adapter drivers may be needed in this case which is why I recommend putting those on  a thumbdrive for easy access.

To make sure you have the right version, check the manufacturer’s website. If you are using a name brand laptop such as a Dell, just go to the manufacturer’s website, look for the Drivers and Downloads section of the website, enter the computers model number or service tag and click search. This will present all the drivers for your system model. Download all necessary drivers and store them safely until needed.

Examples of popular driver disks you will need

Other drivers such as your chipset driver might be handy too, especially if you are using integrated graphics, network and onboard audio, the chipset driver provides the communication between all the components in your system with processor and memory such as your audio device, video card and network interface card. You can often found this on the motherboard or recovery disc that came with your computer. If you are not able to find updated or Windows 7 native drivers for some of your hardware components, you can also try Windows Vista native drivers which will work most often.

Step 2: Do some house cleaning.

Over the years, we tend to store a digital copy of  almost everything we own. While we enjoy archiving and having instant access to the information from years ago, sometimes its best to re-evaluate the need to have it all stored on our hard disk. Instead, storing some of those old documents you rarely access or those old digital photographs you only look at once in a while on an external hard disk might be best.

This is also a good time to look for redundant files. Do you need to have 4 different versions of your resume? My recommendation is to just delete the older ones and keep the latest version. Another area to look at is email, do I need to have 10 years worth of email on my hard disk? Do I need to have all those contact files? What this also does is reduce the complexity and time it takes to backup your most important files which we will discuss next and guarantees that you will restore just what you need after setting up Windows.

Duplicate files are also an issue, I use this handy program called DoubleKiller to weed them out.

Step 3: Backup, Backup, Backup!

An External Hard disk is an important investment when planning a backup

I can’t stress enough how important a step this is. Losing access to programs or drivers can be an inconvenience, even a temporary one, but to lose years of work such as documents, photos, videos, emails is not a good thing. Make sure you have all that information backed up safely.

The best way to do this by using an external hard disk. Just leave CD’s and DVD’s out of the options for backup, they are inconvenient, unreliable and can be easily damaged. External hard disks are affordable, robust and offer lots of storage to backup GB’s or even TB’s of data you might have accumulated over the years.

There are multiple methods of doing a backup in Windows 7. The first one I recommend is the standard Backup which backs up all your personal files and settings. The next one is System Image, another reason why External hard disks are recommended because what it does is creates an exact replica of your installation. So, if something goes wrong with the reinstallation, you can always restore your backup and you are back in business. The other option is Windows Easy Transfer, this is quite similar to Backup, but is narrow in its capabilities. I have also discovered it has issues backing up Microsoft Outlook .PST folders and you cannot specify specific locations in the system you want to backup, it only does common directories such as the User folder and shared folder. I recommend you use both Backup and Windows Easy Transfer to compliment each other. For instance, you can use WET to do the backup of common user folders and Backup unique directories where you might have data stored.

You can learn more about how to do a back up here

You can learn more about how to use Windows Easy Transfer here

How to backup your Microsoft Outlook email, calendar and contacts

• Using the Microsoft Outlook Personal Folders Backup tool
• How to back up Outlook e-mail messages
• How to Backup Personal folders in Outlook 2007/2003/2002 - The Personal Folders Backup download creates backup copies of your .PST files at regular intervals, in Outlook 2002 and later versions, making it easy to keep all of your Outlook folders safely backed up.
• Outlook Backup Tutorial
• Outlook Password Help

Step 4: Decide which architecture of Windows 7 you want to install (32 or 64 bit)

Like I have been saying, the opportunity to reinstall Windows 7 gives you some choices. If you initially installed the 32 bit version of Windows 7, you might have upgraded your installed memory since then or plan to. If you are running 4 GB or more RAM, you can effectively take advantage of it by using 64 bit Windows 7. First you must ensure that all your drivers and applications are compatible.

To determine this, use the free Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor provided by Microsoft. Also check the manufacturers/developers website for all your applications and hardware devices. If your computer came with 64 bit Windows 7 installed or you installed that initially, you might not be seeing the immediate benefits and would prefer to downgrade to the 32 bit architecture. This is especially true if you only have 1 to 3.2 GBs of RAM installed. It’s also likely that system performance can greatly improve running the 32 bit version.

Note: If you do decide to downgrade to Windows 7 32 bit, you will need to backup your files manually to an external hard disk, not by using Windows Easy Transfer. This is because Windows Easy Transfer backups from within Windows 7 64 bit are not backward compatible with Windows 7 32 bit.

Step 5: Starting the installation.

The first thing you should do is disconnect any non-essential devices. This might interfere with setup. So things such as printers, external hard disks, scanners or any other device that is not needed (apart from your mouse and keyboard) should be disconnected. If you plan on moving from one architecture, 32 to 64 bit or vice-versa, insert the Windows 7 disk, restart the computer, make sure your DVD drive is set to boot from the disk.

In this case, I will be reinstalling the same edition and architecture.

Click Start, type: reinstall windows

Hit Enter on your keyboard

This will open the Recovery Control Panel item.

Next, click the link Advanced recovery methods

Click the option ‘’Reinstall Windows (requires Windows installation disc)’

This process will do a standard clean installation, I won’t go over the entire process since Notebooks.com has already documented the process here. Our intention though is to do a clean install, which means, nothing will be left on the drive. To be clear Programs, Drivers will need to be reinstalled and your personal files and settings will need to be restored. If you have not backed up your files and downloaded your drivers, please go and do it first and remember, back up to an external hard disk.

Make sure you have your Windows 7 installation disk, insert it when prompted, then click Yes.

You will be asked if you want to backup your files first. Windows 7 will intelligently detect if there were any backups done as you can see in the above screenshot.

When you are ready, click Restart to begin the reinstallation process.

When the computer starts, you will be prompted to boot from the Windows 7 DVD, click any key to do so. Windows 7 will load files on your hard disk to assist with the installation.

We have now arrived at the Setup screen, here you will select your Language if the option is available, time and currency and keyboard. After doing this, click Next.

To begin the installation, click Install Now

Accept the End User License Agreement then click Next

Click the Custom (advanced) option, we will be configuring the hard disk.

Select the partition on which Windows 7 will be installed, then click Drive options (advanced)

If there is more than one drive listed, it likely means, one is a Recovery partition and the other is the System Partition. Avoid formatting or deleting the Recovery partition, select the system partition where Windows 7 is installed and click Format.

You will be warned that all data on the drive will be destroyed. Again, make sure all your files, settings are backed up. Make sure you have downloaded all necessary drivers, have all application disks near by. If you are unsure, click cancel, and then click Next. This will do is create a Windows.old folder with the previous installation still intact so you can recover any missing files.

The installation is now in progress. Once complete, you will go through the Out of Box Experience which involves joining a wireless network, a homegroup if available, entering your user name, password, name of computer, date and time and configuration of common settings. Please see previous Notebooks.com article for instructions here

After installation is complete

• The first thing you should do is install an Antivirus Utility. I personally use the free Microsoft Security Essentials, but there are others out there such as AVAST! Home or AVG. Make sure it is the most up to date version.
• If you are unable to connect to the Internet, make sure your Network Interface Card, Wireless Adapter, Router drivers are installed. Again, these drivers should have already either been downloaded or you have the driver disc ready for reinstallation.

Run Windows Update, a fair amount of updates have been released for Windows 7 since it came out. I recommend, just for convenience purposes, if you must reinstall Windows 7, wait until Service Pack 1 is released which should be very soon. This can reduce a significant amount of downtime, since all you will need to do is reinstall Windows 7 form your disk, then install the Service Pack.

Avoid installing driver updates for hardware, just install security updates first. If you encounter problems installing updates, you can learn more about resolving it here

• Finish installing any addition drivers needed to have a functioning system. I would recommend you do next after this is to create a System Image of the installation. What this will do is create a backup of the installation, so you could use it in the future as a way to reinstall Windows 7 quickly without starting from scratch. You can learn more about doing this here
• After you have backed up the installation, you can start restoring your personal files and settings, either from a Backup or from a Windows Easy Transfer file, whichever method you used. Windows Easy Transfer should give you a report of which applications you will need to reinstall. Learn more here
• Reinstall your applications. I suggest you try creating system restore points in between each configuration. So, after you had installed the drivers successfully, restored personal files and settings, create a new system restore point each time, it can be a life saver, trust me.
• Reconnect any external devices you were using, try doing it one at a time then restart, just in case one causes a system instability. If it does, it likely means you need to update the driver.
• Reactivate Windows, this can be done by Internet, especially if you are reinstalling Windows on the same machine, the same applies for Microsoft Office. If you encounter any problems reactivating Windows, please review the following Notebooks.com article here for tips and solutions to common activation problems in Windows.

Now, this is a lot to digest when considering a reinstallation, so its best you don’t do this when you are in the middle of a project or working on something important. Do it when you have some off time, focus on certain things over a period of time such as gathering reinstallation disks, drivers, backing up files and settings. It is also best if you can have a backup system on hand you can use during the down time. With careful planning, this should be a fun and easy to do project itself and it will save you some money compared to carrying your computer to a repair company and it will enhance your computing skills.

How to Reinstall Windows 7 From Scratch: An Effective Method for a Clean Install is a post by Andre from Notebooks.com.

In a previous Notebooks.com article we looked at using System Imaging as handy way to backup our entire computer. The benefits being, you are able to keep a safe replica of your system in a working state. System Images though can be quite large, using a lot of hard disk space that might not be available to all users.

The next best option is Backup and Restore. First introduced in Windows Vista, this enhanced recovery solution replaced Windows XP’s dated NTBackup utility.

The benefits are convenient too, you can individually backup individual user accounts, libraries and folders. In fact, I discovered, Backup and Restore is most preferable over solutions such as Windows Easy Transfer. One of the ill-effects I discovered from using WET for backup is, it messes with your Microsoft Outlook Personal Folders.

WET does not have any idea about other locations you store important information. Neither does Backup and Restore, but you can change that easily. An example, right now I am testing Windows 7 SP1, what I realized, when I did WET Backups, then restoring on an updated build, my Windows XP Mode which I use for compatibility was never backed although its something I regularly use. With Backup, I can ensure that the specific directory where XP Mode stores its .VHD file is included all my backup sets.

Types of Backup

One of the important things to know before beginning a backup is  to know the types of backup there are.

• Normal Backup – A normal/full backup archive all files selected to the medium. These files are marked as having been archived by clearing the archive bit.
• Copy Backup – All selected files are copied, it however does not mark the files as having been archived.
• Differential Backup – Back up is performed on All the files and folders that have been created or modified since either the last normal backup or the last incremental backup. Files are not marked as having been archived. Copies will be made from the same starting point until the next incremental or full backup is performed. Making differential backups is important because only the last full and differential backups are needed to restore all the data.
• Incremental Backup – An incremental backup procedure backs up all the files and folders that have been created or modified since either the last normal or incremental backup. It marks the files as having been archived by clearing the archive bit. This has the effect of advancing the starting point of differential backups without having to re-archive the entire contents of the drive. If you have to perform a system restore, you would have to first restore the last full backup, then restore every incremental backup in order, and then restore any differential backups made since the last incremental backup.
• Daily Backup – Daily backups only back up the files that are modified on the day of the backup. Daily backups do not modify the archive bit.

In the case of Windows 7 Backup and Restore, the initial backup is a full backup, subsequent backups are Incremental - i.e – only changed files are backed up. When certain rules (eg. a long time has passed since the last full backup or the amount of data being backed becomes too large compared to the previous backup sets) Backup and Restore runs a full backup which automatically deletes the older backup sets through ‘Manage space’. You will see a new entry with a newer backup period in the Manage space wizard whenever a new full backup is created.

External Hard disk

To efficiently, effectively, reliably and safely backup your computer, please invest in a External Hard disk. I am imploring on you seriously, please do so.

Why? Well, they are cheap, you can get a good 1 TB external hard disk below $70. Backing up gigabytes of data to DVD’s which store about 4.7 GBs of information is inefficient and is likely to produce a number of coasters in the process. I can tell you this personally from experience when I had to backup a friends computer. I remember successfully backing up a small amount of data to DVD’s, when I tried to restore the data, it just would not happen. External hard disks allow you freedom and wide open space to do more innovative types of backup. For instance, you could do a Standard Backup, create multiple system images, a Windows Easy Transfer file and if you are using Windows 7 Enterprise or Ultimate, create a bootable copy of Windows 7 installation on a partition called a .VHD Boot, so you can use a Windows 7 installation with a Virtual Machine or another computer.

Uninterruptable Power Supply/AC-DC Power

The worst backup is when the power goes or your battery dies during the backup, that’s called an immediate disaster. It is recommended you plug the External hard disk into a UPS to ensure consistent power even if a power outage occurs. A UPS might not guarantee you that you will be able to complete the backup, since most of them provide a max 30 mins of juice. But if you only have a few minutes remaining, it can be very handy or it allows you to safely cancel the backup without causing damage to external hard disk or computer. By default, laptops must be plugged in when running backup.

Starting your backup.

Click Start, type: Backup

Then hit Enter on your keyboard

This will open the Backup and Restore center. From here you will see an overview of information about your backup activities, such as your storage devices used (CD/DVD, External hard disk), time you did your last backup, when backups are scheduled, settings for adjusting backup, and information for restoring backups.

There are multiple backup methods available in Windows 7. You have System Image which creates a replica of your entire Windows 7 installation along with your personal files, installed applications and personal settings. An External hard disk is most certainly recommended for this type of backup. Notebooks.com took a look at how to create a System Image and Restore it here Then there is the Standard backup or what is known as the full backup this only backs up your accounts and libraries, along with important information such as your personalized settings.

Beginning your Backup

Connect the External hard disk (I will be using an external USB hard disk), turn it on.

Note: If you are backing up a laptop, please make sure you are connected to AC/DC power since Backup will not execute on battery power.

If you don’t see your external hard disk show up as a backup location in Backup and Restore, click the Change settings link.

Select the Backup Destination and click Next.

Next, you will be asked to select what you would like to backup.

Let Windows choose

If you let Windows choose what is backed up, the following items are included in your backup:

• Data files that are saved in libraries, on the desktop, and in default Windows folders for all people with a user account on the computer.

  Notes

  • Only local files in libraries are included in the backup. If you have files in a library that are saved on a drive located on a different computer on a network, on the Internet, on the same drive that you are saving the backup on, or on a drive that is not formatted using the NTFS file system, they aren’t included in the backup.
  • Default Windows folders include AppData, Contacts, Desktop, Downloads, Favorites, Links, Saved Games, and Searches.
• If the drive you are saving your backup on is formatted using the NTFS file system and has enough disk space, a system image of your programs, Windows, and all drivers and registry settings are also included in the backup. This image can be used to restore the contents of your computer if your hard drive or computer stops working. For more information, see What is a system image?

Let me choose

You can choose to back up individual folders, libraries, or drives.

Notes

• All files in known system folders (folders that contain files that Windows needs to run), and known program files (files that define themselves as part of a program in the registry when the program is installed) will not be backed up even if they are in a selected folder.

• If a folder or drive is not selected, the contents of that folder or drive are not backed up.

I personally will be going with the Let me choose option because, there are certain directories that are not included in the default Backup option. Click Next

Individual folders I have selected and excluded for backup

Here you can see Backup allows you to select which locations you want to backup, these include user accounts, drives and folders. I personally would like to have my Windows Virtual PC folder backed up since I use it regularly and make changes to it. After I have selected what I want to backup, click Next

Backup now provides a review of the items we have selected and excluded in our backup. Your options will likely be different. Once you are happy with the options (you can always click the Back button and make adjustments if needed), click Save settings and run backup

You will then be taken back to the Backup and Restore window where you can monitor the progress of the Backup. The time it takes to backup will vary depending on the size of the backup. Other factors include processor and memory. For this particular backup I did, which is about 16 GBs of data, it took about 2 hours.

Once the backup is complete, you can click close, eject you’re your external hard disk and turn it off. That’s it! In a future article, we will take a look at restoring the backup.

How to Backup to an External Hard Drive is a post by Andre from Notebooks.com.

I read/watched an interesting blog entry by Ben Rudolf of the Windows Team Blog about an option customers have at the Microsoft Store to have their PC’s customized and optimized with Windows 7 that includes just the essentials. This optimized version is called Microsoft Signature and we are going to show you how to get that same Windows Signature Experience on your current computer.

One of the things I have noticed over the past 3 years is the cut down of trialware that is included with most new PC purchases, but Windows Signature goes even further than removing trialware; it adds the items most users actually need. A Dell Inspiron a friend received for back to school, included a small bundle of programs most users out of the box can immediately take advantage of.

To get your PC configured with Signature, it must be purchased from the Microsoft Store, if you purchase your computer from another retailer, you will need to take it into your nearest Microsoft Store and have them configure it for you. One of things users don’t like about OEM Windows installations is the trialware is often integrated with the recovery media, so even if you attempt to do a clean install, you are basically going to reinstall the same programs you are trying to remove.

…you can get Microsoft Signature on any PC purchased from the Microsoft Store.  But what if you buy a PC somewhere else, but want the Signature Experience?  That’s where the other half of Signature Microsoft Signature Upgrade comes in to play.  If you live near a store, you can bring in any Windows 7 compatible PC and the Store techs will do a clean install of Windows 7 (you’ll need to buy a full retail copy, of course), migrate all of your data, and then apply the Signature configuration to it (i.e., set it up almost exactly like a Microsoft Store-bought PC).  It’s a great way to make your PC experience even better.

Lear more here

If you don’t have the option of visiting a Microsoft store or don’t live near one, here is a more cost effective method, create your own Signature Windows 7 PC!

Here is what you do, if you get a Windows 7 PC with unwanted trial software, all you need to do is the following:

Click Start, type: Programs and Features

Press the Enter key on your keyboard

Spend a few minutes looking through the library of software installed

Select the programs you don’t want to have installed, then click ‘Change/Uninstall’ button on the Command Bar and follow the on screen wizard to uninstall it.

Repeat this process for other programs.

Once you have uninstalled the applications you don’t need, restart your system.

Click Start, type Disk Cleanup

Run disk clean up on the drive on which Windows 7 is installed.

For details on what you should delete and remove, please review the following article I authored about how to speed up your Windows 7 system:

http://adacosta.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!E8E5CC039D51E3DB!40406.entry

After that is complete, restart your system, then download those programs in Ben’s post that Microsoft loads on a Signature PC:

• Windows Live Essentials 2011
• Microsoft Security Essentials
• Microsoft Zune Software
• Microsoft Silverlight
• Adobe Flash Player
• Adobe Reader

Recommendation, download all these programs first before you start any installation.

Install in the following order to reduce the number of restarts you will need to do, (also remember to close your web browser window and any applications you might have open):

1. Microsoft Security Essentials
2. Adobe Flash Player
3. Microsoft Silverlight
4. Zune Software
5. Windows Live Essentials
6. Adobe Reader.

(Please note, if your computer came with an Antivirus utility installed such as a trial version or you installed one yourself, uninstall it before installing Microsoft Security Essentials to avoid any conflicts.

Now for optimizations, one of the great things about Windows 7 is, you can uninstall components that come with Windows you don’t need, although I personally use most of the bundled programs that are included in Windows 7, but if there is a program you don’t need, you can disable it, using our guide for customizing your Windows 7 installation.

Once you have done that, here is a very important recommendation, create a backup of your Windows 7 installation. With the release of Windows 7, all editions now include system imaging. What this does is create a backup replica of your actual Windows 7 installation. An essential part of doing this is having an external hard disk which are pretty cheap these days with enough storage to store the backup.

If you have a 500 GB internal hard disk for example, its recommended you get at least a 750 GB to a 1 TB USB external hard disk. You should take into account future growth such as installation of applications, creation of personal files such as photos and videos over time. Once you have obtained the external hard disk, simply connect it to your computer, turn it on and open Backup and Restore Center (Click Start, type: Backup and Restore Center), press Enter on your keyboard. For step by step instructions check out our guide on how to back up your installation of Windows 7.

Here is a cool trick, you can store multiple image backups of your Windows 7 installation on the external hard disk for extra backup purposes. Click Start, right-click Computer, click Properties, under ‘Computer name, domain, and workgroup settings’, you will see the present workgroup name, you can do the initial backup with this name, but if you create a future backup, it will overwrite any changes to the backup on the external disk you might make in the future. A work around for this is to click ‘Change settings’, under ‘Computer name’ under ‘To rename this computer or change its domain or workgroup, click Change’, click ‘Change’ button, enter a new name, call it ‘Safe Backup’

Click Apply, then ‘OK’

Restart the machine if prompted. Go ahead and do the backup to the external hard disk. Follow the same procedure, change the name again to something else as to avoid overwriting that signature backup we just created.

The benefit is, suppose you want to refresh your Windows installation in the future? All you need to do is simply, backup any recent accumulated data you might have created since that first ‘Safe Backup’ using Windows Easy Transfer to the same External Hard disk, you should create a .MIG file, the following article will show you how to use Windows Easy Transfer in Windows 7.

Go ahead and restore the ‘Safe Backup’ image we created the first time we got our new PC, the following article will show you how to do the restoration.

Once that is done, simply, launch Windows Easy Transfer in Windows 7, connect the external hard disk, follow the on-screen wizard and point to where-ever you stored the .MIG file on the external hard disk and proceed to restore your personal files and settings, follow the Windows Easy Transfer report to reinstall any applications that you might installed on your system since you last updated the System Image we first created (aka ‘Safe Backup’)

There you go, no need to request OEM media and at the same time you are learning how to take charge of your own Windows 7 PC. For some novices or intermediate users, going to the Microsoft store might still be best if you are not comfortable with these suggestions I provided. The beauty of the Windows ecosystem is, you might just know a trusted family or friend that can guide you through this process.

How to Create Your Own Signature Windows 7 PC for a Better Windows Experience is a post by Andre from Notebooks.com.

We continue our look at moving from previous versions of Windows to Windows 7. Yep, there are many Windows XP users out there who continue to enjoy it. But they are hearing about Windows 7 a lot lately and all the really cool new features it offers, from desktop improvements to how you do things easier like networking, organization of files and better performance. You want a piece of that action, but there are some things you still don’t know about it, like. Can I upgrade to Windows 7? Will my current hardware work with Windows 7? What about my personal settings, will those survive the move to Windows 7…from Windows XP?

Well, I want to find out too, since I have friends who are still running Windows XP. So what I did was, setup a scenario which involved Windows 7 and Windows XP to find out if it was possible or even easy to make the move to this major upgrade of Windows. Now, back to those questions:

Can I upgrade to Windows 7 from Windows XP?

I checked and the answer is no, see the screenshot above. Good news though, Windows XP users will definitely qualify for upgrade pricing. The reason why Microsoft has decided not to support a Windows XP upgrade path to Windows 7 stems from the complexity involved. The Windows Team wants the best possible experience, because of the significant changes that have occurred since Vista, there are just too many variables involved that can potentially make the upgrade experience an unsatisfactory one. So, a clean install is the recommended and only way to get Windows 7 installed on your system for Windows XP users. Don’t worry yet, I know you have files and settings you don’t want to lose, I am going to take a look at getting those over.

Will my current hardware work with Windows 7?

That depends on what you have. Windows 7′s official requirements call for the following:

• 1 GHz 32 or 64 bit PC
• 1 GB of RAM (2 GBs for 64 bit systems)
• 16 GBs of free hard disk space (20 GBs for 64 bit)
• DirectX 9 compliant video card with 128 MBs of video RAM
• Internet Connection for access to additional services and activation of appropriate software

If you are in the above line up, you should be good to go. Some persons will be able to get away with some unofficial hardware configurations. I for instance have been running Windows 7 on 512 MBs of RAM. But I have a customized setup not requiring all the features of the OS. So your mileage will vary. Many have described Windows 7 as a significant release of the OS that actually improves the performance of your PC.

Will my applications work with Windows 7?

Now this is a tough one. Windows is known as the operating system that tries its very best to make it easy to run your old applications on the latest version. But there is always the possibility of compatibility issues. Windows 7 in particular just like Windows Vista will likely have problems with applications that also had problems in that version. Please note though, this does necessarily apply to all applications, there have been successful reports of applications that did not work in Vista, now working just fine in Windows 7. To help users evaluate their current setup, Microsoft recently provided the Windows Upgrade Advisor which analyzes and checks your system for potential software and hardware conflicts. Its a great starting point for Windows XP users who want to move to Windows 7. With over 1.2 billion Windows PC configurations though, there will certainly be hiccups.

Before you even pop the Windows 7 disk into your disk drive, you can do a few things. Like check the manufacturer of your devices for updated drivers or information about Windows 7 support. For applications you can do the same by checking the developers web site for updates or new versions.

What to do if its not compatible?

You have a few options:

1. Wait until a new version or update is released.
2. Acquire another brand that works with Windows 7.
3. Don’t bother with the upgrade at all.

Number 2 and 3 in particular might be tough decisions to make considering that the application or device is already working just fine in Windows XP. But users must understand that upgrading to Windows 7 is not just upgrading for upgrades sake. The operating system is easier to use, more reliable and definitely more secure. The day will come when you won’t receive updates for Windows XP anymore and that current device will most likely become unsupported when a problem does arise. This is not a scare tactic, its just how the hardware and software industry works. There is always a new version in the works to replace the old one. This is all theoretical though, so don’t worry.

For potential customers of Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate, Microsoft is providing a feature called Windows Virtual XP, which enhances the application compatibility experience in Windows 7. This is great especially for business customers who might still be running legacy applications on Windows XP. Another great thing about Virtual XP is, you can run your legacy applications side by side within Windows 7 without having to interact with the Windows XP operating side of things. It’s a powerful utility for users and businesses who want to maintain compatibility while transitioning to the latest. To learn more about Windows Virtual XP, check out my experiences with it here

In the screenshot from earlier, the Compatibility Report suggest that we use the Windows Easy Transfer utility. And that is what we will now do. Lucky for us, Windows 7 already comes with the Migration Tools on the disk. To find it, just navigate to x:supportmigwiz, ‘x:’ represents the name of your disk drive. In this folder, you will see a collection of files, the important one you need to look for and double click is ‘migsetup‘. This will launch the setup program for Windows Easy Transfer software that will be installed on your Windows XP computer.

Preparing to install the Windows Easy Transfer software on Windows XP

The last time I used Windows Easy Transfer to move files from Windows 7 to a new Windows 7 PC, I discussed the different options available for transferring your items to a new computer.

Windows Easy Transfer wizard

Identifying the PC from which you are transferring files

Scanning data and accounts to be transferred

Choosing the location where the Easy Transfer file will be saved, optional password

Saving data and settings

A successful backup of your files and settings!

So we have backed up everything. The next step now involves installing Windows 7. One thing Windows XP users must note, your applications will not survive a clean install and will require reinstallation. So please make sure you have those program disks available when you are ready to do so.

You have two options, you can launch Windows 7 setup in Windows XP or you can boot from the Windows 7 disk. If you plan on booting from your disk, ensure that your BIOS is set to boot from its optical drive. If you decide to launch setup from within Windows XP, you must select ‘Custom (advanced)‘ option. What does this entail?

Preparing to do a clean installation of Windows 7

Preparing the partition on which Windows 7 will be installed

Windows 7 has definitely made it clear about moving to it from Windows XP and the pre-requisites necessary. Its a clean install, applications will not be available and you should of course backup before attempting the migration. Since we have done all of these necessary things, we will go ahead and start the installation. The installation is typical of a clean install, if you don’t know what that is like, please refer to my experience here

So, after completing the installation, you would like to restore those personal files and settings. Connect your external drive or wherever you backed your Windows Easy Transfer file to. Launch the Windows Easy Transfer wizard – Start > type: Transfer > hit enter.

Selecting the Restoration method and identifying your computer

Connecting and navigating to where your Easy Transfer file is stored

Enter your password if you created one and select what to transfer

Restoring your data

After restoring your data and settings, you can view a report of what was transferred, along with what you will need to reinstall.

…and finally, a restart to apply necessary settings.

Follow the wizard and navigate to the location where the Easy Transfer file is stored. Enter your password if you had created one and the wizard will complete the restoration of files and settings. You can check the Easy Transfer Report when it is finished, which will detail what you will need to reinstall, along with what was restored. After this is completed, you will be asked to restart your computer.

…and there you have it, a successful migration from Windows XP to Windows 7

Windows XP users should note that applications that once came bundled with Windows XP are not included in the OS such as Email and video editing software. You can download third party equivalents or download and install Windows Live Essentials which includes updated successors to these programs. There are commercial solutions available from Company’s such as LapLink that promise to provide a way to easy migrate personal files, settings, applications and drivers to Windows 7 if you really must avoid the clean installation process. You can learn more about that here

Conclusion

Windows XP users can take confidence in the migration experience that Windows 7 provides. Yes, there are some requirements that are involved and appropriate planning of course can help to overcome some of the hurdles. The experiences promised at the end is definitely worth it!

Recommendations:

Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor - Find out how ready your Windows XP system is for Windows 7.

External hard disk – these can come in very handy. If you have lots of data stored on your Windows XP PC, you will need a good amount of storage to back it up. External hard disk these days are very affordable and you can pick up a 500 GB below US $80.

Have those program disks nearby – After completing the migration, you will need to reinstall all your necessary programs. Common apps include office productivity suites, finance software and any other favorite applications you often use in Windows XP.

Check for updates – after completing the installation, check for updates for the operating system, computer and your applications. This will improve stability, security, performance and compatibility.

Have security software installed. There are many free antivirus solutions out there, your existing one for XP is most likely not compatible with Windows 7. Antivirus programs tend to work specifically with the operating system version. You can find a list of available antiviral programs for Windows 7 here

Resources

Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor

How to install Windows 7 on your Netbook using a USB Key

Related

How to Install Windows 7

Using Windows Easy Transfer in Windows 7

Migrating from Windows XP to Windows 7 is a post by Andre from Notebooks.com.

So far we have looked at two ways of installing Windows 7 on your PC Clean/Custom Install or In-Place Upgrading. Many persons will be buying Windows 7 on a new PC when its released and would like to get their personal data from an old PC to the new PC running Windows 7. Windows 7 offers an easy, convenient way to make the move with the built in Windows Easy Transfer utility. As you can see in the screenshot below, I have a lot of files on my old PC running Windows 7, and I would like to get those files over safely over to my new computer also running Windows 7. First lets find out what it is Windows Easy Transfer:

My old computer

Windows Easy Transfer guides you through the process of transferring files and settings from one Windows computer to another. Using Windows Easy Transfer, you can choose what to transfer to your new computer and how to transfer it. You can transfer most files and program settings. Specifically:

• • Files and folders. Everything within the Documents, Pictures, and Shared Documents folders. Using advanced options, you can select additional files and folders to transfer.
  • E‑mail settings, contacts, and messages.
  • Program settings. Settings that keep your programs configured as you had them on your old computer. Windows Easy Transfer does not transfer the programs themselves. Some programs might not work on this version of Windows, including security programs, antivirus programs, firewall programs (your new computer should already have a firewall running to help ensure safety during the transfer), and programs with software drivers.
  • User accounts and settings. Desktop backgrounds, network connections, screen savers, fonts, Start menu options, taskbar options, folders, specific files, network printers and drives, and accessibility options.
  • Internet settings and favorites. Internet connection settings, favorites, and cookies.
  • Music. Electronic music files, playlists, and album art.
  • Pictures and video. Pictures—which includes any visual file type (for example, .jpg, .bmp, .gif)—and personal videos.

Windows Easy Transfer sounds like just the solution I am looking for to move my personal data to my new computer.

Launch Windows Easy Transfer

Launching Windows Easy Transfer utility

1. You can find the Windows Easy Transfer utility by clicking Start > type: Transfer. Or click Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Windows Easy Transfer.

2. When you start the Windows Easy Transfer, a wizard gives you an overview of what you can transfer and what will happen after the process is completed. Click Next to begin.

3. You have three methods of transferring your data from your old computer using Windows Easy Transfer:

• An Easy Transfer cable is specifically designed to work with Easy Transfer to move your personal data from an old PC to a new computer.
• Network which is the method I will be using for this tutorial, requires that both PC’s have a network port installed and using a CAT5 cable to connect both computers.
• If you have an external hard disk with sufficient space, you can let Easy Transfer backup your data in a single file.

4. After clicking the Network option, you are asked to identify the computer you are using now. In this case, I am on the new computer.

5. Next you will be asked to install Windows Easy Transfer on the old computer, my old computer is already running Windows 7, so I will click that option.

Our next step now as the instruction says is to get an authorization key from the old computer before continuing.

On the old PC, follow the same procedures by selecting the same method you will be using to transfer your files, with the exception of identifying the Old computer when asked.

6. Once the authorization code has been generated, go back to your new Windows 7 PC, click Next and enter it and click Next.

Entering authorization key on new computer.

Easy Transfer analyzing the old Computer

7. A connection will now be established between both computers and Windows Easy Transfer will do a set of scans on the old PC to determine what can be transferred. You will be able to select accounts and shared files that you might want to transfer.

Creating an account on the new computer

8. Choose Advanced Options if there is some specific options you would like to apply such as Creating a specific account for your personal files on the new computer. My old computer has the account ‘Andre Da Costa’, I would also like that account on the new computer, so what I will do is click in the ‘User account on the new computer:’ list box and click Create User, enter appropriate information and click Save.

New Computer left, Old Computer right, Transfer in progress

Recommendations:

• Do not use the old and new Computer’s during the Transfer process.

Errors during Transfer, you can retry transferring, if you continue experience errors, check all files and click skip and transfer the file or files manually.

When the Transfer process is complete, you can view a report of what was transferred along with what you will need to reinstall.

The time it takes will vary depending on the data set (amount of information) you have stored on the old computer in addition to the user accounts that you might be transferring. I must say the transfer was a success except for an error I had with Easy Transfer reporting Windows Live Mail open on the old computer, refusing to transfer my storage folder. But after loading Windows Live Mail on the new computer, everything seemed to be ok, I could access all my messages and newsgroups  just fine.

Windows 7 (new computer), successful transfer..

And there you have it, an easy, convenient, secure and reliable process of transferring personal files and settings from your old computer to your new PC running Windows 7. My default wallpapers, taskbar layout, account picture, even my Firefox Bookmarks, Windows Live Writer settings were all transferred successfully.The only thing I need to do now is reinstall the applications recommended by the Windows Easy Transfer utility.

Lessons to learn

What I have discovered is that although Windows 7 64 bit will allow an Easy Transfer of personal files and settings from 32 bit Windows to 64 bit Windows, it will not do a vice-versa, see the proof below.

Oh really? I didn’t know that!

Interesting huh? I thought so too, but it brings up the question, is this a sign of the final hurrah for 32-bit Windows? Microsoft has not stopped development of 32-bit applications or operating systems, since Windows 7 will be available in both 32 and 64 bit flavors when its released to manufacturing. It does however bring up the issue of supporting 32-bit technology going forward where Windows is concerned. I asked a trusted colleague Bryant Zedegan, editor of popular Windows enthusiast community AeroXP.org why Microsoft would prevent Easy Transfer from 64 bit to 32 bit computers, here is what he had to say:

In strictly logical terms, blocking migration from 64bit to 32bit Windows likely exists in order to discourage rolling back to an old instruction set. Based on what Windows Easy Transfer is able to migrate, I doubt that there would be any significant issues with allowing for migrating data in the 64-to-32bit direction; it’s just one of those things where Microsoft wants to ensure that migration to x64 happens without users rolling back.

BryantZ

In a sense, the industry has been going through a transition from the old architecture for quite some time. Its something that happens every now and then as advances occur, examples include the transition from 16 to 32 bit instruction set during the the 90′s. 64-bit has been much slower because of early lack in available device drivers and programs that can harness the full benefits of what 64 bit has to offer such as a larger memory address space, meaning the ability to utilize 4 GBs or more of RAM, increased performance and stability. The release of Windows XP Professional x64 in April of 2005 and Windows Vista x64 in fall of 2006 help to boost the transition, a vast majority of Windows based desktops and notebooks now come with 64 bit processors built in and large amounts of memory. Windows Vista 64 bit has also seen greater adoption in recent times. But this does not mitigate the fact that there is still a large deployment of existing 32 bit only systems out there such as my Dell Dimension 8300 purchased back in March of 2004 that I have upgraded over the years and runs even Windows 7 32-bit well with full functionality such as advanced Aero window management effects.

Conclusion and Recommendations

My primary aim was to at least maintain some consistency between both desktops where personal files and settings are concerned. Although I learned a hard lesson, I was able to transfer back some of my personal files and settings manually from the User folder and AppData directory in Windows 7 64 bit to Windows 7 32 bit, I still lost some personalized settings along the way though. My recommendations for persons in a situation similar to mine is to use the create an Windows Easy Transfer file method and keep a copy of the file if you plan to continue using 32 bit Windows on that same computer you transferred from. This creates a safety net for restoring your personal files and settings, although a lot of available space will be needed for storing this information during the transition.

Resources

Step-by-Step: Windows 7 Upgrade and Migration

A Look at Improvements to Windows Easy Transfer for Windows 7

Explore the features: Windows Easy Transfer

Using Windows Easy Transfer in Windows 7 is a post by Andre from Notebooks.com.