Upgrading to Win7

Hello, majorgeeks ^^

I just bought a 1TB external hard drive.
Now i'm planning to upgrade my winXP pro SP3 to Windows 7.
I'm gonna copy everything important to the ext. harddrive and then format & install Win 7 on to my original hard drive.

Are there any special precautions for me to do?
Like backing up something or adding new software etc etc?

Sorry for the idiotic question but i just need to make sure i'm not doing anything wrong so i don't have to install everything again.

:major

 

I am sure Halo will pop in if i am wrong but i don't think you can upgrade from XP to windows 7, i believe you have to do a fresh install and i also doubt if your applications from XP will work.

 

you seemed to get me wrong, im going to transfer my important stuff , such as music and pictures and such, on to my external hard drive, then install a fresh copy of 7 on my computer

 

Sorry for the misunderstanding but when you said you were going to upgrade we assumed that you meant it literally.

Sure all you private stuff will go on it but it's doubtfull about any XP application, most apps that run on Vista will also run on W7.

 

Almost every older application I've tried over the last 7+ months works fine on 7, sometimes have to use Compatibility mode, once had to drop an older .dll into a program's folder. I think that if there's a way to run an older App in Vista, it'll likely work fine with 7.

But - if there's a vital older App, do some research before committing your only PC over to 7.

Check that all your hardware is compat., also that your mainboard BIOS will play ok with 7 and you should be ready.

EDIT - composing this whilst DomLuc was posting, sorry if there's any duplication.

 

Thanks for all the replies guys & gals, you've been very helpful
And sorry for making u misunderstand, i don't speak english as a mother language.

And

i tested the hardware with the program halo linked, everything was fine.

EDIT:
@Halo
I've got the RC version and im Downloading Windows 7 Ultimate "AIO Activated"
Which should i use? i was going to use the ultimate, which im downloading atm until the date that the retail is on p2pand then re-install the retail version.

 

Edited my last post while you posted this... read it please ^^

 

Ok, i'll install the RC, since you can make the trial 30 days longer 3 times with a simple command ^^

 

Regardless, of what version of Win-7 you're going to use, it's advisable to install it on a separate HD. I've been testing Win-7 thru many versions since MS first released it and I've always installed it on a second (or third) hard drive, so it has NO influence on my main system (XP Pro SP3).

If you have only one internal HD and cannot add another one, then back up your entire C: drive to DVD's or to an external HD using a backup and compression program like Ghost or Acronis True Image.
Then if you become totally sick of Win-7, you can totally restore XP and "No Foul".

With very few exceptions, Win-7 will run all my XP applications.
I've been testing Win-7 Ultimate 64.
Things I could easily do with XP or even Vista Ultimate, have been made much harder in Win-7. I'll never understand why they have to take something that is so simple and easy and make a nightmare out of it.

It will be a snowy day in Panama before I commit myself to Win-7 as my main OS.
I just don't find it all that user friendly.:cry

Cheers Mates!
The Shadow :cool

 

Only if you don't select the first option to register/activate with MS - that'll give you just 3 days each time ^^

 

Thanks for the tip