Windows 7: Upgrading from Windows Vista

Should you upgrade from Vista to Windows 7 or should you go with a fresh installation?
 
The question has many variables, not the least of which is the cost of Windows 7 itself. Upgrade versions historically cost less, and at this time it is not certain if the Upgrade version of Windows 7 is going to allow for simply putting in the Vista code to prove you have purchased it, or if it is going to expect Vista to be installed on the computer before it will provide the upgrade.

We don't know.
 
My System Administration experience suggests that a clean install when moving into a new OS on any computer, is always the best route to take. With this in mind, there are some other factors which suggest a fresh install might be the best route for you, other than my experience.


 
Upgrade versions are limited : If at some point in the future, if you have to reinstall Windows 7 because of something coming in from the wild, are you going to have to reinstall Vista first so that Windows 7 will install? Can you reinstall Vista? Do you have the disk?
 
Upgrade versions inherit existing problems: No matter how well you clean and prepare Vista prior to the upgrade, if there is an existing problem, it is likely that your new installation will inherit it at some level. This could include damage existing on the hard drive, which might have been dealt with a complete formatting.
 
Preparing a system for Upgrade takes longer than a clean install: Face it, time is money.

The real question here may be, where do you want to invest your time/money?

This being said, I haven't heard any serious complaints from the world at large with the Vista-to-Win7 upgrade program that came out with Windows 7 beta, so it might be a mute point.

In this article however we are going to look at doing a fresh install.

In another article we will walk through the various steps for doing a good upgrade. You should be able to make a good choice between these two with the combined information.

No matter which you choose, getting out of Vista and on to Windows 7 is going make your computer world a much better place.

Prep for Installation

There isn't much prep to accomplish when coming up from Vista, nothing like coming up from XP. Ninety percent of your data files should be under the profile area in your Documents, Music, Pictures, Video and the other folders you can find in your profile directory. This is due to a stronger adherence of Vista ready software packages for using the Profile and Documents directories for the default area for saving data files, such as Word Documents, Data bases, spread sheets and the like.
 
If you use Outlook Express, or Windows Mail, your biggest problem is going to be getting a new email client. Windows 7 doesn't have an email client that comes with the operating system (OS). In another article we walk through a few possible email clients that are stable, available and low-cost/free, and the steps to take to move your mail over from Outlook Express and Windows Mail. It is a process, but not a daunting one.
 
The only other step for preparation you will need to take, and you will need to be thorough with this step, is to seek out that other 10% of data which did not find its way into your Profile directory tree. Perhaps you have a program like KeePass, and decided that having the secure datafile in an easy to find area defeated some of the purpose, and you hid it in some strange area, or perhaps you made a directory under the C:\ drive for work related files. You might have made two separate profiles/log-ins (one for work, one for personal use) on your computer, or perhaps you have multiple profiles because someone else uses your computer.
 
Multiple profiles aren't much of a problem, since we are going to back up the entire Documents and Settings, and User directories, so everyone's data and settings and email are going to go into the backup before the installation. What we are looking for are files and data which are outside these areas.
 
The only other item, on our list of things to do, is to insure that we have the installation disks for all of the programs we use, and or the install programs freshly downloaded from the Internet, along with the installation keys or passwords, so that we can install all of our programs after Windows 7 is setup.

New Hardware

If you are running Vista, then you are not going to be required to upgrade any hardware for Windows 7 to work as an operating system(OS) on your computer. In fact, the hardware requirements are less than those for Vista -- which is one of the benefits in moving to Windows 7 (faster, smoother, able to run more programs with less effort).
 
You might be wanting to put in a new hard-drive, or upgrade your RAM, or install a Video card which will do justice to the graphic intensive game you like to play. If this is the case, now would be a good time to get your hardware installed -- prior to the installation of Windows 7, so that it exists when the operating system is being installed.
 
I don't mean this to sound like a limitation, or that installing the hardware afterwards will not be possible, because it certainly will be, however, it is normally easier to make sure that the hardware will work with the new OS, if the new OS is installed with the hardware existing.
 
So, if any of these items are on your own personal agenda, install the hardware with Vista still running and get them working. Then, proceed with the upgrade.

Backing up the Profile area

First we need a place to back our information up ... meaning an external drive. External drives are fairly cheap, easy to use and have the added benefit, that if we mess something up we can always take our external drive over to a friends house and still get at that report we need to have Monday morning. If you do not have an external drive, they are very cost effective; you can get a 500 gig these days for a little less than $100.00 USD, and a terabyte for around $200.00 USD.
 
If you have a wireless network, seriously consider investing in an external drive that functions across wireless networks, so that once you are done with this upgrade, you will have an external file server which will be of much more use, than simply an external drive that can only be accessed by a single computer at a time.
 
Your profile directory tree is under the main directory off the C:\ -- unless of course you moved it, and if you did, then you know where it went.
 
There are a couple of methods to getting the User Profiles backed-up on to an external drive in preparation for the Wipe-and-Load upgrade to Windows 7
 
Login -> copy-> repeat
 
In this scenario we are on a computer that has one user (you), and you know where everything is as far as datafiles go. After plugging in your external drive and longing on to the computer, you are going to copy the C:\users and C:\Documents and Settings directories to your external drive.
 
Once this is accomplished, copy what ever else is out there to the external drive as well.
 
Remember that we are not copying program files or directories, we are only concerned with personal files and data.

Hint: Finding User Data files using Find

You can get a list of all common user documents and data files by using the find function.

The common file extensions are : .qdf, .qsd, .qel, .qph, .doc, .dot, .rtf, .mcw, .wps, .scd, .wri, .wpd, .xl*, .csv, .iqy, .dqy, .oqy, .rqy, .wk*, .wq1, .slk, .dif, .ppt*, .pps*, .pot*, .sh3, .ch3, .pre, .ppa, .txt, .pst, .one*, .mpp, .vsd, .vl*, .or6, .accdb, .mdb, .pub, .od*

Open the Explorer and use Find function and then go into the Advanced Setting so that you are searching the entire computer, for these extensions (plus any other extensions you know your files use). This will help you locate any errant files outside of your Profile area, and also allow you to copy them to your external drive from the search display.

On Vista, using Windows Mail, we aren't going to have much of a problem Exporting our mail to the External Drive (remember that exporting your mail and exporting your contacts lists are two separate functions ... see our article on Windows Mail Migration for more information on this subject). If you happen to have one of the Vista versions which had Outlook Express, make sure you find our article dealing with exporting, choosing a new mail client, and importing your mail.
 
Note: In this list of migration options, you might be expecting to find Backup, the Windows program which is used for Disaster Recovery. It isn't here, because Windows has never gotten Backup to function correctly, and it really isn't worth the hassle of trying to get it to copy all of our required files, without copying everything else.

Windows Easy Transfer:

Windows Easy Transfer (WET) is a utility that came out with Vista. There is a download available for XP users, and Win7 is continuing to carry and make use of this utility. If you are upgrading a home computer, with 1-4 users on the system, and you aren't supporting a small countries technical needs with the box, then WET is probably the best way to go, as it will gather and copy all of your User Profile data, files, email, favorites and settings from one computer to another, and from Vista to Win7.
 
Click the Start button and then choose All Programs,  Accessories, System Tools, Windows Easy Transfer. (You can also type Windows Easy Transfer in the Search box on the Start menu or type migwiz  at any command prompt, including the Run dialog box.) Click Next at the opening page.
Application settings  The wizard does not migrate program files; instead, it copies the settings and preference files to the correct location on the new computer and uses those preferences when you install the program on the new computer.
 
Registry settings and preference files for a long list of programs are copied automatically.

Naturally, this list is heavy on Microsoft programs—all versions of Microsoft Office from Office 2000 through 2007, Microsoft Works 8.0, MSN Messenger, Windows Live Messenger, and Windows Movie Maker 2.1.

It also includes the following list of third-party products:

You will notice that some of these are out of date. It is possible that by this time, with Windows 7 soon to be coming out, that this list has been updated.
 
There are several other programs which are supported as well, and a full list is available in %SystemRoot%\System32\ Migwiz \Migapp .xml file. You can also add in extensions and programs you know you have, but are not listed, in the Advanced Options - What do you want to Transfer to your new computer.
 
You will have the option of setting a password on the files this program is going to copy over to the External drive. I advise against this if the option is still available not to set one. Adding a password sets encryption, which is simply something that can go wrong.

The files will be on the External drive all of three hours, and then copied to your new Windows 7 computer, at which point, if you are concerned with security, you can delete all of the files from the External drive and format it, ... no more problems with security. Don't add to the complexity if it is not required.
 
Once you have made the export to your External Drive, continue on to the next step, which in this case is formating the hard drive, and then installing Windows 7.
 
Once Windows 7 is installed, you can start up the Windows Easy Transfer from under Accessories -> System Tools on Win7, and choose Next -> An External Hard Drive -> This is my new computer

To keep the hassle factor down, when you create User Accounts on your Windows 7 installation, name then then same, and also use the same passwords if possible.

It is ok if you choose a different user name, but you will have to go through the match-up process, and it is simply easier if you don't (you can always change your user name after you are done, if you really don't like being SupDoggyFan any more, and just want to go with Bob).
 
Windows Easy Transfer Companion (transfer programs as well)
 
Back when Vista was coming out, Microsoft threatened to bring out the Windows Easy Transfer Companion program, which would allow you to transfer programs as well as user information.
 
While this threat was put out in several press releases and TechNet articles, it never did come out as a true release.
 
However, even if it had, and even if it worked well, I would strongly urge you to install your programs from the disks (or installation programs) as fresh installs. I understand, completely, that some programs have a much longer setup tax than others, however, if there is any problem with the files, or hidden viruses, malware or other nasties, an automated transfer such as WETC would have offered, would be transferring your problem right on over to the new installation.
 
User State Migration Tool (USMT)
 
The User State Migration Tool is much like the Windows Easy Transfer tool, but it is designed for large deployments, where an office, or a whole company is looking to upgrade all of their computers to Windows 7. The use of this tool for such deployments is beyond the scope of this article, though we will soon have a few articles describing the use of the tool, and large scale deployments as well, before Windows 7 is released in October, so if you are not subscribed to our newsletter, do so soon.
 
The User State Migration Tool is now part of the AIK package (Automated Installation Kit)

Installing Windows 7

The installation program is going to ask if you want to do what we have already done. Tell it no. Once you are past that point, it will ask if you want to format the drive, and the answer to this is Yes!
 
Once the format is complete, most of the installation is nothing more than watching a blue line grow longer (an activity I have spent a great portion of my life doing).
 
You will then set up the primary user account. Recall the tip I mentioned before about staying with the last name and password you had on Vista. Again, you can always change both of these and still keep the same User Profile area, after the installation is done.
 
Once Windows 7 has come on line, get your network connection to the Internet established first. Then begin installing your programs. Once your software is installed, then start up the  Windows Easy Transfer tool, or begin copying your data files into your Library.... yes, the My Documents area is now called the Library, and there are some nuances to learn about this area before we get too happy.

All in all though, the changes appear to have some appeal on several levels. but that is another article, so make sure you sign up for the newsletter  if you haven't already.

The Walk Through
 
This article discusses moving to Windows 7 from Vista, installing Win7 as a New Installation or Fresh Installation, and how to use Windows Easy Transfer with this scenario.

Recall that in this scenario, you are not replacing the computer. Instead, you are formatting the hard drive and then installing Windows 7 on it. As a result, you must save user documents and settings in a temporary location. To do this:

1. On the user’s computer, run Windows Easy Transfer. To start Windows Easy Transfer, open the path that contains the Windows Easy Transfer files (on a UFD, removable USB drive, or network share), and then double-click Migwiz.exe.
 
2.  Click Use a CD, DVD, or other removable media.
 
3.  Connect the portable USB drive or network share, and then click External hard disk or to a network location. This guide does not recommend using CDs or a UFD. CDs are slow and inconvenient, and UFDs are unlikely to hold all of an average user’s documents and settings.
 
4.  In Network location, type the path of the file in which you want to store the migration data. This is not a folder path; it’s the path and name of the file you want Windows Easy Transfer to create. The location can be on a network share, or it can be on a portable drive. Microsoft recommends that you create a password to protect the information. Then, click Next.
 
5.  Click All user accounts, files, and settings to transfer documents and settings for users who share the computer. You can also limit the files that Windows Easy Transfer moves by clicking My user account, files, and settings only, or by clicking Advanced options.
 
6. Review the list of files and settings that Windows Easy Transfer will transfer. If you want to customize the list, click Customize. When you are ready, click Transfer to begin the process.
 
7.  After Windows Easy Transfer finishes, click Close.
 
8.  With the computer’s user documents and settings safely stored in temporary storage, you can now install Windows 7 on the computer. For help installing the operating system, see Installing and Reinstalling Windows. Continue with the remainder of these steps after successfully installing Windows 7.
 
9.  After installing Windows 7, and logging on to the new installation, check to see that the Internet connection is working. Then install the user software (Office, Games, etc) from installation disks or from the installation programs from the Internet.
 
10.  Connect the computer to the portable drive or network share on which you stored the migration data. Open the folder containing the migration data in Windows Explorer, and then double-click the migration (.mig) file. This starts Windows Easy Transfer.
 
11.  Type the path and name of the migration file you want to restore, type the password you created to protect the file, and then click Next.
 
12.  For each account from the earlier version of Windows listed (shown in Figure 4 as User account on the old computer), choose an account in Windows 7 to which you want to transfer the documents and settings. You can create a new account by simply typing its name in the text box. Click Next.
 
13.  Click Transfer to begin transferring the documents and settings from the migration file to the computer.
 
14.  Click Close when Windows Easy Transfer finishes, and then log off the computer. You must log off the computer for the changes to take effect.

Coming Soon:
 
    Exporting Windows Mail from Vista for Win7 Upgrade
    Exporting Outlook Express from XP for Win7 Upgrade
    Using the User State Migration Tool

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