How to Upgrade XP or Vista to Windows 7

Summary : To upgrade your PC from Windows XP/Vista to Windows 7, you can follow our simple 5-step tutorial on Windows 7 installation.

• Upgrading from Windows XP to Windows 7 

Upgrading from Windows XP to Windows 7To upgrade your PC from Windows XP to Windows 7, you can follow our simple 5-step tutorial on Windows 7 installation. This five-step tutorial helps guide you through the entire process each step of the way.

• Upgrading from Windows Vista to Windows 7

To upgrade your PC from Windows Vista to Windows 7, you can follow our step-by-step tutorial to upgrade your system from Windows Vista to a corresponding or higher edition of Windows 7

Windows 7 Upgrade - Step 1 : Check if your PC is Windows 7 compatible

Not every computers are Windows 7 comptaible. Windows 7 has its own hardware requirements. "Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor" can check your computer compatibility. It scans your PC for potential issues with your hardware, devices, and installed programs, and recommends what to do before you upgrade.

"Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor" is free and clean. You can directly download it below.

 

Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor 2.0

 

The Advisor scans your PC for potential compatibility issues and lets you know about your Windows 7 upgrade options.  Install Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor Now.

 

Windows 7 Upgrade - Step 2 : Moving & Saving files and settings

If you upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7, you have to reinstall Windows 7 from scratch. All your data will be deleted during the custom installation of Windows 7. There is no alternative and painless way. We recommend you "Windows Easy Transfer" here. It can automatically backup all your stuffs including files, photos, music, emails, settings, and more. Restroe them back to your new Windows 7 only takes one click.

If you upgrade from Windows Vista to Windows 7, Microsoft provides a smoothly upgrade. Your files and settings will be kept untouch. However we still highly recommend you to backup your files and settings if they are important to you. Due to the hardware varisity, no one can guarantee a 100% error-free upgrade.

"Windows Easy Transfer" is free and clean. You can directly download it below.

Windows Easy Transfer for transferring from Windows XP (32 bit) to Windows 7 6.1

 

Windows Easy Transfer enables you to automatically copy your files, photos, music, e-mail, settings, and more...

Install Windows Easy Transfer Now

 

Windows Easy Transfer for transferring from Windows Vista (32 bit) to Windows 7 6.1

Use Windows Easy Transfer to copy your files, photos, music, e-mail, settings, and more from a computer running...

Install Windows Easy Transfer Now

Windows 7 Upgrade - Step 3 : Upgrade your PC to Windows 7

There are two recommended ways to install Windows 7 on your computer.

When upgrade your PC from Windows XP to Windows 7, you can only choose the Custom option during installation and you install a new copy of Windows on your PC.

When upgrade your PC from Windows Vista from Windows 7, you can choose both Upgrade and Custom options. If you choose Upgrade option, you keep your files, settings, and programs from Windows Vista.
If you choose Custom option, this option does not preserve your files, settings, or programs. You'll need to back up your files and settings before installing Windows 7.
If you don’t have a Windows 7 installation setup.exe, you can purchase and download from below links.

Get Windows 7

 

Windows 7 Home Premium - Windows

Windows 7 Home Premium makes it easy to share your favorite photos, videos, on demand with Windows Media Center... Install

 

Windows 7 Professional - Windows

With Windows 7 Professional, fewer walls stand between you and your success... Install

 

Windows 7 Professional Upgrade - Windows

Moving to Windows 7 Professional from Windows Vista Business qualifies as an upgrade... Install

 

Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade - Windows

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium makes it easy to create a home network on your PC and share all of your favorite photos... Install

 

Windows 7 Ultimate Upgrade - Windows

Windows 7 Ultimate gives you everything Professional offers – plus added security features and the flexibility to work in ... Install

Windows 7 Upgrade - Step 4: Moving files & settings back to your Windows 7

After you've installed Windows 7, now you're ready to move your files and settings back to your computer.

Note ：If you chose Upgrade option during Windows 7 installation, you don’t need to perform this step since you didn’t make any files backup before.

Tools for data backup/restore

 

Windows Easy Transfer for transferring from Windows XP (32 bit) to Windows 7 6.1

Windows Easy Transfer enables you to automatically copy your files, photos, music, e-mail, settings, and more... Install

 

Windows Easy Transfer for transferring from Windows Vista (32 bit) to Windows 7 6.1

Use Windows Easy Transfer to copy your files, photos, music, e-mail, settings, and more from a computer running... Install

Windows 7 Upgrade - Step 5: Upgrade Your Drivers and Enjoy Windows 7 Compatible Software and Games

Upgrading your drivers is the first thing you should do after Windows 7 upgrade. Driver is the bridge between your hardware and system. An outdated driver could slow down your system and even make your system unstable. Data shows that 60% of computer errors and crashes are driver related. Hardware manufactures keep developing the latest drivers to keep its hardware stable and at peak performance.

We recommend to download and install from the Windows 7 Software on PCWatch.com. All software on PCWatch.com are clean and virus-free , which will scan your driver's problem and automatically keep all your drivers updated.