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General discussion

Upgrading to Windows 7

by 303british Jul 28, 2009 12:29PM PDT

Ok, I know this may be ridiculous to ask, but I haven't really a clear idea as to the answer. So, I'm upgrading to Windows 7 from Vista and my question is this: will my users, files and programs from Vista still be there when I reboot with 7? Or do I lose everything and need to do some massive reinstall effort?

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5 Posts
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Yes, and
by MarkFlax Forum moderator Jul 28, 2009 8:53PM PDT

possibly no!

Windows 7 isn't available for general purchase yet, it is expected around the end of October.

But when it does arrive, we are told that Vista will upgrade to Windows 7 reasonably well. But this is always at the users risk. We backup those, important, cannot afford to lose personal files like photos, videos, music, documents, etc before upgrading.

Most programs and other software applications should remain intact, but those that don't we will have to reinstall from the installer CD/DVDs or the installer files we backed up.

I hope that helps. There's more about Windows 7 in CNET's forum here.

Mark

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Place your bets....
by Willy Jul 28, 2009 9:37PM PDT

There are no guarantees on this OS stuff. Being a winRC7 release isn't going to make things easier.

The best advice is always to install fresh and in clean blank HD. Dual or reload/upgrade of OS is a gamble and can work, but its open to debate. If this is too important an issue play it safe, don't load on an already present OS. The good news is your system ran using Vista, it should with winRC7.

tada -----Willy Happy

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safest
by special_ed1 Jul 29, 2009 1:19AM PDT

Buy another internal hard drive, install Windows 7 on that and use the other hard drive as a storage volume, or back up everything on your hard drive to an external drive before upgrading

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Another perspective
by jeff_windows_team Jul 29, 2009 1:55AM PDT

When you go from Vista to Windows 7, there will be two ways of doing it: Upgrade installation and Clean installation.

An upgrade installation is just as it sounds. In theory your files and programs *should* be safe and will transfer over to Windows 7. However, when dealing with a change like this, it is important (dare I say necessary) to back up your important files to either DVDs, an external hard drive, or whatever method you see fit.

A clean installation will wipe out your computer and you will have a shiny, fast new OS, but none of your previous files or programs.

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Thanks!
by 303british Jul 29, 2009 10:38AM PDT

That about does it for me! Thanks for the help!

Cheers, British

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