XP to Windows 7? - Not so fast!
by Deb Shinder, Editor of WXPNews
Those of you who read both our newsletters know that I love Microsoft's newest operating system, Windows 7. So you might just assume that I want the whole world to upgrade when October 22 rolls around. But I've lived long enough to know that what's best for me isn't necessarily what's best for everybody else. So when my friends and relatives ask me whether they should run and out buy Windows 7 and put it on their computers, my answer is "it depends."
For those who are currently running Vista, it's easier to give advice. If you can afford it, do it. Almost everyone I know who has gone from Vista to Windows 7 has been thrilled with the switch. If your computer will run Vista, it will almost certainly run Windows 7 (and it will probably run it faster and better). There will be some interface changes to get used to, but almost all of them are for the better. And as long as you have Service Pack 1 or higher installed, you can do an in-place upgrade and not even have to reinstall your applications.
However, for those who have stayed with XP, the answer to the question is more complex. In one way, you have a more compelling reason to upgrade: security. Whereas Vista already had many of the most important security features that Windows 7 has, XP doesn't. These include User Account Control, protected mode for Internet Explorer, and, as Ed Bott has reported on numerous occasions, overall fewer security vulnerabilities found at each point in Vista's lifespan than for the equivalent period for XP:
http://www.wxpnews.com/GORAL5/091013-XP-Vista-or-Win7
However, if you diligently apply the service packs and patches as they're released and take normal precautions (make sure you have a firewall properly configured, anti-virus and anti-malware software installed, don't visit web sites that are likely to have malicious code - such as hacker sites, porn sites, and illegal music and software download sites - and don't open email attachments or click on links in messages from people you don't know and trust), XP is a reasonably secure OS for the average home user.
Although mainstream support for the operating system has ended, Microsoft will continue to issue security updates under its extended support policy until early 2014. So you have over four years before you have to worry about XP becoming unsafe to use. So, setting security aside, should XP users all jump ship now and "move on up?"
One of the biggest problems in upgrading for those who are currently running XP and don't want to buy a new computer is that, well, you can't. That is, you can't do an in-place upgrade from XP to Windows 7. That leaves you three basic choices:
* You can take the safest route (if you have enough disk space and it's partitioned) by installing Windows 7 as a second, dual booting operating system alongside XP. This gives you the opportunity to "ease into" the new operating system and build your Windows 7 empire slowly, confident in the knowledge that you can boot back into your old instance of XP whenever you want.
* If you're the brave and adventurous type, you can wipe out XP completely and install a clean copy of Windows 7, using the Easy Transfer feature to save your settings so you won't have to reconfigure everything from scratch (but you will have to reinstall all your apps and you'll probably need to do it quickly, since you won't be able to just go back to XP when you need something that's not installed).
* If you have plenty of time and money on your hands, you can do a multi-step upgrade. First you upgrade XP to Vista SP1 and then you upgrade Vista to Windows 7. This allows you to keep all your applications intact, but it requires that you buy a copy of Vista if you don't already have one, and it takes a bit of time (although arguably no more than reinstalling all the programs if you have a lot of them). You may run into application compatibility snags, though.
Before you opt for any of the above, though, you first need to consider whether your hardware is up to the task of supporting Windows 7. If you've had your XP computer for many years, you may not be able to find Win7 drivers for some of its components. That's one reason I'm telling those who are happy enough with XP to go slowly in considering an upgrade. If you're not the techie type who actually enjoys the process of getting things to work, the transition is likely to go more smoothly if you just wait until you buy a new computer and get one with Windows 7 pre-installed. That way, you'll be assured that everything is compatible.
After all, you'll already have enough to do, getting used to the new interface. While the step from Vista to Windows 7 is mostly a matter of discovering cool features that weren't there before, the switch from XP to Windows 7 involves discovering that many of the features you're used to using are gone, and getting used to a completely new way of doing things. Most folks, once they become familiar with it, find that the new interface allows them to do more and navigate around the OS more quickly - but the learning curve can be fairly steep and the difference is so great that some people just can't seem to adapt. Almost every one of the handful of people I've encountered who don't like Windows 7 were comparing it to XP, not to Vista.
When it comes down to it, the choice of operating system is always an individual one. You might have good reasons to upgrade to Windows 7 immediately or you might just like the new features. There's nothing wrong with that. But there's also nothing wrong with waiting a while. If XP does everything you need to do, and your computer is running well, and you have no particular hankering to be on the cutting edge, you can save some money (as well as the time you would spend doing the upgrade and learning the new OS) by sticking with the tried and true until you do have a reason to change. In fact, a recent survey performed by an electronics retailer showed that about half of PC users plan to take a "wait and see" approach:
http://www.wxpnews.com/GORAL5/091013-Wait-And-See
Tell us what you think. Do you feel pressured by friends or the media or advertising, when a new operating system comes out, to "get with the times?" Do you think there is a "planned obsolescence" whereby hardware and software vendors get together and conspire to force users to upgrade their systems (e.g., the latest version of your application won't run on the old OS so you have to upgrade the operating system, but the new operating system isn't supported by your old hardware so you have to buy a brand new machine)? Do you plan to run XP until they pry it from your cold, dead hands? We invite you to discuss this topic!
