Windows 7 has arrived – Ta daa.
1) Can my computer cope with Windows 7? If you have Vista then more than likely yes it can. If you have Windows XP or earlier you need to check your computer has the necessary capacity. Use Microsoft’s “Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor” to examine your system.
2) Will my programs and peripherals (printers, cameras etc) work? Again Microsoft has produced a website where you can check thousands of tested software and devices.
OK so now you know if you can – but should you? Some things to consider:
1) You can buy an upgrade version of Windows 7 so long as you own a previous version of Windows (and actually the upgrade disk works even if you don’t have a previous version of Windows) but you have to do a clean installation for all versions of Windows except Vista. I always recommend doing a clean installation of a new version of windows to avoid inheriting problems from your old system on your new system. Windows 7 helps you with this – start up your computer as normal and insert the Windows 7 DVD. It includes tools to help backup your previous data (documents, photos, music etc) and program settings (such as internet favourites) before you do a clean install of the new version.
2) If you are doing a clean installation before you go ahead visit the websites of your favourite programs and devices and make sure to download Windows 7 version of your software and drivers wherever possible so that you are prepared to install your programs again when Windows starts up for the first time.
3) Does Windows 7 do something that I can’t do with my current system? If you are still using Windows 98, ME or Windows 2000 then it is time to move on as support for those versions of Windows has either ended or is coming to an end. If you are using Windows XP or Vista you may want to stop and think if an upgrade will add anything worthwhile. See Microsoft’s reasons for upgrading.
Personally I like Windows 7 a lot (and I have now been using it through various testing phases for nearly a year and the full version for about 3 months without any issues). It is a huge improvement over the new release of Vista but Vista has now improved with the regular updates that have been released and an upgrade to Windows 7 seems harder to justify.
The good things in Windows 7 (for me) are the new TaskBar (the bar at the bottom of the screen) which has been totally redesigned and is now not only good looking but also has a lot more functionality also the new search functions work much better than in Windows Vista which makes it very easy to find what you are looking for. Windows XP didn’t really have a proper search function. If you have more than one computer in the house/office Homegroup is a very useful idea for setting up shared information and keeping it private. Finally for the first time all versions of Windows 7 have a good quality backup system built in.
Carol Haynes| Next > |
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