Paul Edden Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 As the title says - it is time for this old numpty to raise another computer question. 7 machines in the office (Dell Precision 490) - running XP which is coming to the end of it's shelf life soon. What to do? Is there an easy and cost effective way to "upgrade" to Windows 7 (as per the other 4 machines we have)? Does anyone have an idiots guide? As always, your help is appreciated. Paul. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Colonial Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 Hiya boss That really depends on how often the machines access the Internet and are thus exposed to newer programs, updates, etc. More here: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/end-support-help?ocid=GA8-1_O_WOL_DIS_NULL_XPEOS_Null_02 First, go and download and run this on all the PCs: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-GB/windows/downloads/upgrade-advisor This will tell you if the machines are compatible with Win 7 or not, and what the repercussions will be - incompatible software and drivers usually, sometimes sound or video cards need to be replaced or you need more memory. I upgraded mine from XP to Win 7 about 2 years ago, and it took a good 2 days to finish the job, as I had to do a full install rather than an upgrade, i.e. backup all the files to another drive, wipe the hard drive clean and do a clean Win 7 install, then reinstall the old programs, transfer the files back, buy a new sound card, etc. It works fine, no regrets, but it does take time. I also lost a few programs that wouldn't work, even in XP compatible mode. Depending on how old the computers are, it might be more cost effective to type them into the floor and replace them when they die with something that has Win 8.x. It's just the Microsoft have stopped doing updates for XP - not entirely a bad thing, as it seems like every time they do an update, something else goes wrong. As long as you have good anti-virus and anti-malware software, your old computers should be OK - just back up all the files regularly. All IMHO, of course...cue the people who disagree with me in 5...4... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dommo Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 3... 2... and 1! Actually it's not entirely disagreeing. If you're not too fussed on security you can carry on with XP, but if it's anything remotely business critical go Windows 7. If the XP pcs are on the same network as anything business critical, definitely upgrade them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Williams (Panda) - Joint Manchester AO Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 Microsoft said in a partner briefing to us "move to windows 7"; we said "what about 8" and they said "move to windows 7." personally if you are buying windows then why not use the opertunity to upgrade the hardware... windows is around £87 new pc £265 including windows 8 (typically with a windows 7 downgrade) cheers John 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Banks Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 I like John's suggestion and just to add. Where do you store all your business critical files? What email system/programme/service do you use - you'll need to consider backing this up too if you replace any machines or do a full install of Win7. I surprise myself when rebuilding aging machines that I often forget to backup Outlook data and therefore have lost all my old emails. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Colonial Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 I like John's suggestion and just to add. Where do you store all your business critical files? What email system/programme/service do you use - you'll need to consider backing this up too if you replace any machines or do a full install of Win7. I surprise myself when rebuilding aging machines that I often forget to backup Outlook data and therefore have lost all my old emails. Don't forget your browser bookmarks as well - that's a real own goal if you forget to export those and save them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhett Turner - Black Country AO Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 There is also "Window Easy Transfer" I have used this on more than one occasion to migrate from XP to Win 7. this should help with picking up bookmarks and personal user settings etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyonspride Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 The real problem with win7 is knowing which version you need. I'm a bit of a computer geek and even I can't make sense if the differences and work out which version will do everything I need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Williams (Panda) - Joint Manchester AO Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 if you have a windows server then professional, if not then windows 8 (used to be called home) 8.1 is a free upgrade from 8.0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekJ Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 Watch out for the version fo Win7. If the PCs are running XP then they may be quite old. If you go for Win 7 64 bit then it can be a problem getting new drivers. However Win7 32 bit is a little more forgiving about using older drivers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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