The clean installation took us about 30 minutes, but that will vary depending on your computer. Vista users merely need to back up their data before choosing the Upgrade option from the install disc. Custom will have the same effect as a clean install, although it'll save your old data in a folder called Windows. Once you choose Custom, you'll need to select the partition of your hard drive that contains Windows XP, and then follow the instructions to enter your product key and allow the computer to reboot as needed.
If you're not sure if your current computer can run Windows 7, you can download and run the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor from Microsoft. Features: Taskbar and Aero Peek Although the look of Windows 7 may seem to be nothing more than some polish applied liberally to the Vista Aero theme, make no mistake: This is a full replacement operating system, and more than just 'Vista done right. The first thing that should stand out is the new taskbar. This is one of the best improvements Microsoft has made--third-party program dock makers are going to have to do some serious innovation when Windows 7 goes public.
Besides incorporating the translucent style of Aero, the new taskbar is arguably even better than the Mac OS X dock. It features pinned programs using large, easy-to-see icons. Mouse over one and all windows associated with that program appear in preview.
Mouse over one of those preview panes to reveal an X to close the window. Hover over the preview to show a full-size preview of the program, or click on the window to bring it to the front. Because of the button size, people with touch screens should find it especially easy to use. Jump lists are another new taskbar improvement that make recently opened documents easier to get to. Right-click or left-click and drag on any program icon pinned to the taskbar to see a list of files that you've recently used in that program.
In Internet Explorer, this will show recently visited Web sites, although it doesn't yet seem to work in Firefox. If you've noticed the missing Show Desktop icon, that's because it's been baked into the taskbar itself. Mouse over to the right corner. Hovering over the Show Desktop box reveals the desktop, and then hides it when you mouse away. Click on the box to minimize all your programs.
Resizing programs has been simplified and improved by the capability to drag a window's title bar. Drag a program window to the top of your monitor to expand it to full screen. If you want to work in two windows simultaneously, drag one to the left edge and one to the right edge of your screen, and they'll automatically resize to half the width of your monitor.
Dragging a program away from the top or sides will return it to its original size. Theme packages also make it much faster to change the look of Windows 7. From the Control Panel, you can change the theme under Appearance and Personalization. Microsoft has created several theme packages to give people a taste for what the feature can do. Click on one to download it, and it instantly changes the color scheme and background--no need to reboot.
Users can create their own themes, as well. Windows Media Player and Device Stage One of the biggest new features makes Windows Media Player useful again: you can now stream media files from one Windows 7 computer to another, across the Internet and out of network. Even better, the setup procedure is dead simple. When you open Windows Media Player, there's a new Stream option on the toolbar. Click it, and you're presented with two choices.
Both require you to associate your computer with your free Windows Live ID. When you've associated a second Windows 7's WMP with that same ID, you can remotely access the media on the host computer.
To install a driver using Troubleshoot compatibility, point to where the driver files are located, right click the setup. You will be given a couple of choices, the first being Try recommended settings that the operating system thinks will be suitable for this device driver.
Or you can manually select the option to troubleshoot the program. For the purposes of this article, I will select Troubleshoot program. If you have determined the program worked in an earlier version of Windows, check that option and click next. Simply right click the driver setup file or. This will give the software driver all the privileges it needs to install properly so you device can function without any limitations.
The ultimate reality of hardware compatibility is that sometimes, we have to let go. Yes, that HP Deskjet you bought in is certainly a work horse, but because of advances in operating systems and manufacturers own desire to innovate and offer support options for newer model devices, support for older ones have to be discontinued to reduce the cost which can even be a burden for large hardware and software companies.
Microsoft has tried to ease compatibility with Windows 7 by offering these many solutions. Also, some computers use something called shared graphics, which means the graphics in your system uses some of the main memory to help render the interface. Sometimes the manufacturer of your computer might be conservative and allocate just the bare minimum. If you would like to adjust this, consult the documentation that came with your computer, this often requires going into the BIOS settings for your computer.
If your computer has what is called a discrete graphics card or what is known as a dedicated video card from a known vendor such as AMD or Nvidia then you probably need to download the latest driver which can enable additional capabilities. This will open the DirectX Diagnostics Tool window. Go to the Display tab, there you will see under Device information about graphics device you have installed in your system, such as the name, manufacturer, chip type.
You will also notice under Drivers, the version installed, along with the last time it was updated and Driver model support. DirectX Features displays information about the capabilities of the card. Had trouble downloading windows 7 Ultimate on my daughter's pc to replace existing XP. Unexpectedly it finally took but it wiped out all other existing programs, including audio. Before this, she was wirelessly hooked up to our home network which only consists of 2 computers running FIOS.
My computer is currently running in Safe Mode while awaiting a new hard drive, so there are many things I also cannot do. However, even in this condition my daughter was able to connect wirelessly to the internet with XP. Now that I have replaced it with Windows 7, I don't seem to be able to reconnect the network so she can use her computer.
Since she is in a different room I don't have a wire long enough to hook her up. Since I am not really educated in this sort of thing, any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. This thread is locked. You can follow the question or vote as helpful, but you cannot reply to this thread.
Unlike people running Vista, you can't do an 'in-place' upgrade from XP to Windows 7 even though that was offered as an upgrade choice to Vista, and Microsoft's bragged numerous times about how. Well look how much fancy graphics it has and if you upgraded to windows 7 from xp then your computer was probably built for xp not windows 7.
But my computer is faster with windows Obviously it can run Windows XP applications. It's a tool that will assist in dertermining wheather a computer can be upgraded to Windows XP or not. As of , the OS will no longer be updated or upgraded. Yes, it is possible to upgrade from Windows 98 to Windows XP. Create an account. Edit this Article. We use cookies to make wikiHow great.
By using our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Cookie Settings. Learn why people trust wikiHow. Download Article Explore this Article Steps. Tips and Warnings. Related Articles. Author Info Last Updated: June 3, First, you will need a Windows 7 installation disc.
Load it into your drive. It doesn't matter if you load the disc from inside windows or when your booting up, but you will only be able to load from inside windows if you have it pre-installed. Then click custom install.
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